The concept of territorial architecture is a topic that questions various strategic understandings of complex site systems defined by conceptual ideologies, environmental implications, and identification of emerging phenomenal underlying patterns.
Borrowing influences from Zaha Hadid’s dramatic early paintings, the constructed landscapes of CJ Lim, and the writings by Sanford Kwinter, these investigations by Haecceitas Studio attempt to construct a series of methods, which will reveal the haecceity of multivalent landscapes. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Iterative processes of decoding internal and external territorial pressures initiate the formation of object and terrain self-reorganization and generation of emergent capacities. Throughout the development of articulation and orientation upon these fields, ‘objects’ are strategically controlled and locally expressed as adaptable, embedded architectural ‘organisms’, referring to a continuation of manipulation while maintaining a series of strict relational properties. Currently, this method is being tested on a series of eight Canyon Lakes in Lubbock, TX. Here you see this methodology thoroughly explored on the Llano Estacado Lake (lake 2). As we dissect the landscapes using tools such as mapping, data extraction, and field conditioning analysis we begin to understand more fully the hidden systemic networks operating along the draw at the local scale as well as the implications of phenomenal connectivity between ‘landscape’ and ‘city’.
During the last quarter of the 20th century, environmental activists, independent organizations, and even governments have become much more concerned with the negative impact of humans upon the environment. As architects, it is imperative that we begin thinking of ‘buildings’ not as independent entities and LEED ‘sustainable’ credits, but as a series of ephemeral organisms living amongst a natural ecological world. If we work through this tightly knit terrain within a specific territory, we can then reassess our architectural languages as both a by-product and as parallel projections of existing landscapes.
The pre-conceptions of West Texas and in particular, Lubbock typically falls into the categories of flat, and dry. Although this may seem the case on the surface, the city contains various sites of robust landscapes, which seem to go unnoticed. Furthermore, Lubbock in fact has an extremely complex water system, which is continuously being managed, maintained, and constantly morphing itself through natural flux. One aspect of this water formation is the Yellow House Canyon (or Draw). This channel slices through the City of Lubbock starting from the Northwest corner extending towards the Southeast reaching the body of Ransom Canyon, and then continuing on to Crosby County. (Although the canyon seems to originate at Yellow House Canyon Park, the channel essentially begins far North near Clovis.) Along the canyon, due to natural and manmade manipulations, a series of 8 canyon lakes are formed. From northwest to southeast: (1) Conquistador Lake, (2) Llano Estacado Lake, (3) Comanchena Lake, (4) Canyon Lake @ Mackenzie Park, (5) Canyon Lake @ Mae Simmons Park, (6) Dunbar Lake, (7) Buffalo Springs, and finally to (8) Ransom Canyon. The City of Lubbock has set a thirty-year agenda to enhance and re-purpose the use of these canyon lakes.
Our goal here in this project is to investigate the current conditions and future park implementation for not only each of the canyon lakes, but potentially begin to evaluate and understand the phenomenal connectivity between the 8 lakes. In order to focus the inquiry, the proposal is to define and construct a series of supplemental nodes at each of the eight sites. These nodes are developed as parallel studies into the complex topographic nature of these unnoticed dramatic landscapes. It is imperative to evaluate what a ‘public park’ means for Lubbock and how these sites can facilitate the necessary qualities for such an agenda. While fluctuating from the macro and into the micro scales, extracting, interpreting, prototyping, and iterating information creates new mapping derivatives. Furthermore, and most importantly, the project is directly intended to reverse develop the Southwest sprawl condition. The ‘zipper’ to make a tie to downtown and enhance socio-economic interaction is the foundation for such investigations.
Architects: Haecceitas Studio Location: Lubbock, Texas, United States Design Year: 2011 Year of Construction: TBA Area: 30 Acres
