larraine henning > university of british columbia, march > advisor,

8/14/2019 Larraine Henning > University of British Columbia, MArch > Advisor,

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gp1 research >larraine henning >university of british columbia, MArch > advisor, john bass > 11.12.09



abstractAccess to land and right to property have both historically and currently beenthe subject of much debate. Manifestations of territory and ownership have

and will continue to, de ne our cites and landscapes. The historic practice of gleaning, was a practice of harvesting the residuals after the harvest, takenon by a sub-culture of poorer, transient or indigent peoples. Such a practicechallenged the conventional notions of property, as after a harvest it was bothlegal and widely accepted to engage in such a production, where one mansleftovers becomes another’s livelihood.

The practice of gleaning, which still occurs today in both urban and rural settings,identi es the existence of the residual, the forgotten and the neglected, whichstraddles the boundaries of personal territory and human necessity. One beginsto recognize that when property is no longer useful or viable to its owner itmust be subjected to the interrogation and resourcefulness of others, so thatit can continue to maintain a productive and meaningful relationship with agreater context.

Informal architectures present itself as a tool to claim territory, and to delineateboundaries between private and public space. Architecture is then an enabler,empowering the individual in the development of their own built environment,

as such space is embedded with new meaning as one inscribes oneself on theirenvironment. The role of the built environment is then not only to provideshelter and a space for activity, but also as a space for strategic territorializationand negotiation within a larger community of people.

Informal interventions often appropriate left-over, neglected or vacant space,redeeming a discarded environment with new and often alternative forms of occupation. As denizens of gleaned land, informal settlers challenge traditionalnotions of property and value in the urban environment, questioning the

nature of conventional development. The imposition of, what in many wayscan be considered a subculture of occupation, into the space of the city createsa juncture where one must coexist with the other, overlapping, where neitherare independent of one another, but are de ned by opposition.

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abstracttable of contents

acknowledgementsdedication

urban vacancygleaning

point douglasinformal settlements

visionary utopiasopen building

infrastructuresystems

eeting moments in time and spaceparticipation

narrativecontingency

ephemeralitymaterials / scavenging

urban agriculture

synthesis

bibliographylist of gures

iiiiiivv

123456

789

101112131415

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table of contents



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01. urban vacancy“Cities emerge and then pass away. They give an impression of duration andsecurity, and yet without question they are in a constant process of being

reshaped and will one day disappear again. If nothing is permanent andeverything is only temporary, then all housing is only something provisional, itsfuture absence already inherent”. 1

The nature of the city is intrinsically entropic, where the processes of decay andrepair are continually at work. Cracks in the urban fabric emerge where spacesand buildings become obsolete and disenfranchised. Sometimes these spacesnd new life and emerge once again as active components of the city, but oftenthey do not and remain as voids in neighborhoods and districts. The phenomenon

of ‘shrinkage’, obsolescence, and abandonment is an urban condition prevalentall over the world whereby the e ects of economic downturns, politicalrevolutions, migration, technology, obsolescence and social disruptions, resultin the diminishment of the urban realm. Such shrinking can take the form of the demolition or abandonment of buildings and lots thus plaguing many citieswith overwhelming vacancy. ‘Hardcore sites’ begin to appear; “This is the termused by a recently published study for the English Partnerships regenerationagency to de ne spaces or plots that can no longer be permanently mobilizedfor the real estate market - despite the availability of infrastructure, full-scale

renovation, or careful urban repair. No further appreciation can be gained, andthe value of the property drops”. 2 ‘Hardcore sites’ are the product of variousfactors, such as a sites adjacency to major tra c arteries, the site no longermeets the demand of society, or the site is in an area of cumulative decline,which all render it unattractive to developers.

When the blight and decay of vacancy has consumed a site or a district foran extended period of time it becomes more and more di cult to retrieve itfrom its downward spiral. Many neighborhoods across North America have

become subjected to such a process. Sites become abandoned, are in ltratedby transients, buildings are demolished or begin to deteriorate, grasses, weedsand plants grow uncontrollably relinquishing the traces of the past. These placesbecome relics or graveyards of their former productive lives; their demise isperpetuated by the public’s perception of their own state of decay.

1. Oswalt, Phillip. Shrinking Cities Vol. 2:Interventions. Ost ldern, Germany: HatjeCantz, 2006. p 144.

2. Oswalt, p 581.



3{ gure 1} Michigan Central Station, 97-98

{ gure 2} Downtown Detroit, 97-98



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Just before his death Gordon Matta Clark proposed a project, which wasultimately un nished, titled “Reality Properties; Fake Estates”, wherein Clarkpurchased several properties in Queens and Staten Island, New York whichwere between $25 and $75 each.3 These sites were rather small and oddlyshaped due to mistakes of surveyors and bits of land caught between otherbuildings. The lots were essentially scraps of property, neglected by theneighborhood and the city, trapped in an awkward obsolescence. The projectwas intended to challenge the notions of how property is traditionally treatedin contemporary society, where ownership is determined by use and as a wayto articulate accessibility to what is seen by many as unusable space or leftoverspace. “The paradox of buying this unusable land, of submitting without use

value to the registers of exchange value, presents a contemporary attenuationof Marx’ early thinking on property, when he notes that ‘private property hasmade us so stupid and narrow minded that an object is only ours when we haveit, when it exists as capitol for us”. 4 The project describes the spaces withinmany cities that fall between the cracks and remain vacant regardless of anypotential value they might possess. The project asserts the notion that despitehow these vacant lots may seem there is value embedded on that property, justas there would be had they been located in other parts of the city or in di erentcon gurations.

{ gure 3} Gordon Matta Clark, “Fake Estates”

3. Oswalt, p 572.

4. Kiendl, Anthony. Informal Architectures:Space and Contemporary Culture. London:Black Dog Publishing, 2008. p157.

‘fake estates’



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Helle Tempo is a district of Hellersdorf in Berlin which has become overwroughtby abandonment and has prompted many residents and owners to ee for fearof further dilapidation. In an attempt to save the district from total disuse thedistrict authorities have initiated a strategy for occupation of vacant sites andbuildings in the interim. Each abandoned site has been identi ed with markersto solicit occupation from any interested parties to settle spontaneously andwithout the usual hindrances of bureaucracy. The lots became free, literallyfree, for those who took the initiative in exchange for only the operating costs,while the property taxes and liability insurance was waived. The district alsodonated materials to site occupants for use in the construction of their spaceto help promote its use. Spaces where then in ltrated by many for various

uses, such as pony stables, a merry-go-round museum in a former warehouse;a boxing club in a former gymnasium, ski classes on an arti cial hill and severalpublic gardens.

“Interim uses seem to be the miracle cure for bankrupt districts, space surpluses,vacancy, and reduced budgets. In addition to the goal of saving the fees andoperating costs incurred even by unused vacant lots, the governments of shrinking cities are hoping above all that interim uses can stop the trend towardperforated spaces and social segregation. Because lack of demand rules out

the options of selling or building on unutilized properties, interim uses oftenrepresent the only opportunity to stop the feared downward spiral- vacancy, thedeparture of residents, and vandalism, until entire districts are abandoned- sothat the urban network and public life can be preserved, at least temporarily”. 4

In Leipzig the city is currently trying to manage a stock of over 1000 vacantsites, thus it has initiated the organization HausHalten to mitigate the problem.HausHalten is an association that provides somewhat temporary occupants forvacant buildings by establishing temporary ownership that is transferred from

the actual owner to the ‘temporary’ occupants.5

Sometimes the occupantsstay for a period of several years, in some cases ownership was permanentlytransferred to the new occupants, or the occupant has been allowed to continuetheir possession for a considerable period of time. The city provides 15 Eurosper square meter to the new occupants on the condition that they becomeresponsible for all maintenance costs and utilities as well as take on the redesign

4. Oswalt, p 341

5. “The Wächterhäuser scheme”

interim uses



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of the space in such a way as to permit future construction. The original ownersof these buildings are attracted to this arrangement as they are relieved from

maintenance costs and the occupants prevent the building from being overrunby vandalism and criminal activity, the occupants also often repair the buildingand construct interior nishes etc, which must be left behind by the temporaryoccupants and become the property of the original owner when and if it istransferred back.

“A surplus of freed-up space provides new possibilities. A dearth of long termoptions for repurposing is replaced by the ephemeral activities of interestedparties who have little capitol to spare. They experiment with new uses and

forms of cooperation, create social interactions, and give new cultural meaningto what was found there. Not every vacant space will nd interested parties,and the eeting actions are of limited duration. Still, sometimes they representseeds for longer-term developments”. 6

These somewhat temporary buildings become desirable spaces for thosesectors of society seeking alternative lifestyles that cannot nd adequateor a ordable housing solutions in the typical market. Lützner Straße 30 is abuilding that was obtained in the 90’s and has since been transformed into loft

studios for he students of the Visual Arts Academy, as well as a large cornershop and communal meeting space on the main level.

“Interim use is one of the fundamental classical principles of the market economy.Utilization cycles are becoming shorter and shorter and capitol is proving to beextremely exible when it comes to changing locations. Temporariness is thusa principle of our time and not a speci c phenomenon relate to interim usealone. In this respect, interim use suits the system”. 6

Interim occupants cannot be regarded as a panacea for the blight of vacancy,as cities are uctuating organisms that go through cycles of decline andgrowth. Interim uses are either temporary or mobile or they satisfy the needfor program at a given moment in time. At some point the temporary occupantmust either overtake or move on. However an interim use is a strategy capableof transitioning a once disregarded space into one with restored purpose and

6. Oswalt, p 339.

6. Heydn, Florian & Temel, Robert. Eds.Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for theUse of City Spaces. Berlin: Birkhauser, 2006. p 39.



7{ gure 4} Lützner Straße 30, Leipzig.

{ gure 5} Lützner Straße 30, Leipzig.

occupation. Perhaps it is not important whether or not the interim use is thoughtof as a temporary installment, but rather as a strategy for reclamation, whereupon success, permanent status is most often achieved.



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The occupation of vacant space, the scavenging of scraps from a junk pile and thecollecting of discarded food from a dumpster are urban tactics which challenge

traditional conceptions of value and property in society. The common phrase“one man’s junk is another man’s treasure” accurately conveys the sentimentbehind the exploitation of what others seem to disregard, abandon or throwaway.

To glean:1.a) to pick up after a reaper. b) to strip (as a eld) of the leavings of reapers.2.a) to pick over in search of relevant material. 7

Gleaners were historically peasants that would reap harvested elds of thevegetables and grains that were left behind, collecting the odds and endsthat are typically left behind. These people tended to be the poor, homelessand indigent. The documentary “The Gleaners and I” by Agnés Varda portraysthe current practice of gleaning throughout France, and the somewhatcounter-culture movement of people that make use of food that is discardedand forgotten. 8 French penal code states that gleaning is permitted on anyprivate property post harvest. Gleaning occurs on farm elds, fruit orchards,greenhouses, and coastlines. This phenomenon is particularly unique as it

reinterprets the nature of private and public space, wherein private spacebecomes public in the event that is can be useful to others. Such a law whichenables the total utilization of agricultural land clearly exhibits the disparitybetween the majority and the minority and what they each deem valuable.During the course of an e cient harvest it becomes too time consuming andunproductive to reap every and all of the available food stock, therefore thereis always residual product. These residuals are a necessity to those who sustaintheir livelihoods on such collecting. The collectors belong to a unique sector of society whose sustenance is based on making do with what’s available to them,

and are of the attitude that everything has a value even society’s cast o ’s .Michel de Certeau writes that individuals tend to operate within prescribed andaccepted ‘modalities of actions’ or cultural formalities. 9 Some people howevertraverse the laws de ned by places and operate outside of the accepted normsof operations.

02. gleaning

7.http://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/glean

8. Varda, Agnes.

9. de Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkley, CA: UCLA Press,1984. p 29.



9

[ gure 6] “The Gleaners”, Jean François Millet

[ gure 7] Scene from “The Gleaners and I”, Agnes Varda.



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“They trace ‘indeterminate trajectories’ that are apparently meaningless, sincethey do not cohere with the constructed, written and prefabricated space

through which they move. They are sentences that remain unpredictable withinthe space ordered by the organizing techniques of systems...although theyremain within the framework or prescribed syntaxes (the temporal modes of schedules, paradigmatic organizations of places, etc.), these ‘traverses’ remainheterogeneous to the systems they in ltrate and in which they sketch out theguileful ruses of di erent interests and desires. They, circulate, come and go,over ow and drift over an imposed terrain, like the snowy waves of the seaslipping in among the rocks and de les of an established order”.10

Those who glean conduct their practices within a realm that is unconventionaland not typically accepted by society. Their practices are what Certeau woulddescribe as strategic tactics, ones that cease eeting opportunities.

“It takes advantage of ‘opportunities’ and depends on them, being without anybase where it could stockpile its winnings, build up its own position, and planraids. What it wins it cannot keep. This nowhere gives a tactic mobility, to besure, but a mobility that must accept the chance o erings of the moment, andseize on the wing the possibilities that o er themselves at any given moment.

It must vigilantly make use of the cracks that particular conjunctions open inthe surveillance of proprietary powers. It poaches in them. It creates surprisesin them. It can be where it is least expected. It is a guileful ruse”.

10. de Certeau. p 34.

11. de Certeau. p 37.

[ gure 8-9] Scene from “The Gleaners and I”, Agnes Varda.



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The practice of gleaning is not however, restricted to those in dire need, manyglean or pick out of a certain reverence for the abundance of the land, and

the notion that food should simply not be wasted. For instance, in the lm,a respectable French chef gleans regularly; using the food he collects in hisrestaurant or at home. He was taught to glean by his parents, and their parentsbefore them, and it has become a rather commonplace activity in his life,something to do on his time o or a sunny weekend, like a walk in the park.For some, gleaning is not a survival tactic, but rather a pledge to take completeadvantage of available resources regardless of ownership. The food that growsfrom the Earth is a common good and it should be available to everyone andnot to be the sole right of the property owner.

squattingJust as food and the air we breath can be considered a common good, the rightto land and property is a contested issue for much the same reason. Squatting ,not unlike gleaning, is a unconventional tactic of making use of what is no longeruseful for someone else. To squat is to glean space, land, property that under the

law is in the possession of someone else, regardless of whether or not they areactually occupying it. In some way it is an act of refusal on the eeting nature of the modern city. The Dutch tradition of squatting is somewhat advanced in thatthe government condones this practice and has gone so far as to establish amore legitimate manifestation of it; the anti-squat. An anti-squat or anti-kraakis a more organized and regulated response to the problems of squatting. In theNetherlands a building may be legally squatted only after it has been abandonedfor a period of one year. At the height of its movement in the late 80’s, a Dutchcensus identi ed 3,500 houses, 10,000 houseboats, 21,000 barracks and

caravans that were occupied and inhabited by squatters.12

Today the traditionis striving to become more legitimate, wherein housing organizations exist thatmanage and register anti-squats and those who live in them. The anti-squathas become the home for students, young professionals, artists, expats, andthose in need of cheap housing, which is otherwise unavailable. 13 Buildingowners often appreciate squatters as they protect their property from more

12. Corr, Anders. No Trespassing: squatting,rent strikes and land struggles worldwide.Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1999. p14.

13. Katsia cas, George N. The Subversionof Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements. Oakland, CA: Humanities PessInternational, 1997. p 90.



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illicit occupants and often make repairs and conduct general maintenance of the building.

In North America however, the proliferation of squatting is less organized andaddresses the profuse homelessness that handicaps many American cities.“The English word “squat” literally means to sit or hunch down in a temporarymanner. In the former Yugoslavia, squatted housing is termed crne gradnje,which literally means “black housing”. Like “black market,” the term indicatesactivity that must be hidden, in some sense, from authority”. 14 Squatting isgenerally illegal and unwanted by governments as it threatens a city’s image of lucrative investment opportunities, and condones the use of private space as a

public good which is seen as a risk or a liability.

However, there are cultural movements which oppose the current practicesof space occupation and engage in a struggle to better their living conditions,to equitably distribute land and housing, and to promote cultural sovereignty.The ‘Movement of Landless Rural Workers’ in Brazil are a group of landlessfamilies that occupy vacant land for the use of shelter and agriculture. Theyare roughly 200,000 families strong, and face major political and governmentalopposition.

These movements also take the shape of smaller and more urban organizationsof people. Christiania also known as ‘Freetown’ was established in the 70’s by acollective organization of anarchists, hippies, youth etc. who appropriated anabandoned military barrack in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughoutthe 70’s Christiania struggled with the political powers and governmentover their right to the space, and organized themselves as a self sustainingcommunity paying for their water and electricity, establishing their owngarbage collection and recycling and boasting several business and communityactivities. 15 Christiania became accepted to some extent as an experimental citywithin the broad frame of self-government. In 1989 the government decidedto implement strategies to ‘normalize’ the community in an e ort to permitits sovereignty but also to control the activities within it, which became wellknown as haven for the use of drugs and junkies. The community has persistedand become a widely appreciated and valued enclave of the city of Copenhagen.

14. Corr, Anders. p 10.

15. http://www.christiania.org



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The community bene ts from government subsidies on its utilities, and publicmoney for the repair and maintenance of its buildings and infrastructure.

In Paris Les Frigos is an old complex of refrigerated warehouses originallyowned by the French railroad (SNCF) built in 1945 on 91 quai de la Gare.Since the 1980’s the abandoned buildings have been squatted by a series of artisans who have now completely reclaimed the space. Artists workshopsare set up within individual cold chambers, however the initial transformationfrom a fallow industrial site to a productive workshop was an intense process.Windows pierced the thick concrete walls, oors were reconstructed, brick lain,wall partitions constructed, and water, electricity and sanitary equipment wereinstalled.

What is peculiar about both Christiania and Les Frigos is the kind of environmentthat is fostered from resisting territorial boundaries and cultural norms. Bothoperate with a certain disregard for regulation and bureaucracy, and yet bothbecome popularized due the freedom and autonomy that is cultivated fromits unorthodoxy. One would imagine, just as it is human nature to do so, thatthese places would naturally institute their own rules of operation and manners

of etiquette. One’s right to space and the claiming of space in such a placewould be done both democratically and spontaneously. People seem to takewhat they need, and passively negotiate with others to manipulate their ownpersonal environment within a larger community. Because space is deemedpublic and common one tends to manifest their occupation di erently than if they are a legitimate and legal owner. In order to claim as space as your own

16. http://les-frigos.com/

[ gure 12] Les Frigos, Paris.



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one might modify and alter that space to re ect their unique and individualcharacter. Through such initiatives, individuals and collectives assert an defend

their space. Such a tactic is clearly evident in places like Christiania and LesFrigos, where individual homes, buildings and interiors profess the tastes andartfulness of the occupants in a bold and public manner.

[ gure 13-14] Interior of Les Frigos, Paris.

[ gure 15] Atelier studio inside Les Frigos, Paris.



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03. point douglasThe site of Point Douglas in Winnipeg is one which has struggled with declineand abandonment for decades. The area has a rather turbulent history and an

equally dismal future.

Prior to turn of the century Point Douglas was one of the rst residential areas of the city, home to the middle to upper class. The sites original attraction was itsproximity to the Assiniboine River and its fertile lands which were much soughtafter by early settlers. During the period of about 1830-1880 the neighborhoodconsisted of some of the city’s wealthiest landowners, a variety of shopsand local businesses. However the railway which pierced the center of theneighborhood, quickly transformed the area into a thriving industrial district.

Homes were replaced by warehouses, mills and factories. The completion of theCanadian Paci c Railway station at the corner of Higgins and Main St. openedthe doors to an in ux of migrant workers and immigrants. The quality of theneighborhood was soon over taken by smog, grime and smoke from industry.As value began to drop and the railway brought in more and more foreigners,the neighborhood quickly became home to various immigrants of Ukrainian,Polish, German, Jewish, and Scandinavian descent. 17 North Point Douglaswas home to the poor and the working class, and it was not long that, dueto the low cost of ownership, it became home to the cities red light district. 18 The culmination of brothels and Madam’s houses resided on Annabella andMcFarlane St. It has since maintained its status as a home to minorities andsex workers, however the majority of industry has since dried up, leaving theneighborhood littered with unused warehouses and factories.

Today Point Douglas could be considered a ‘hardcore site”, where crime, vacancyand proximity to major tra c corridors render it unattractive to investment.The original industry that supported the area has since become obsolete andeither closed down or moved elsewhere, such as the Rutherford Lumber Co,Vulcan Iron Works, Winnipeg Cold Storage, and the Olgivie Mills. Industries of the past scar the landscape with relics of old and dilapidated buildings, chainlink fences and vacant demolished lots. Most of the lots are either abandoned,partially occupied or have been bought by private owners for junk car lots, repairshops and trucking warehouses. What few residents remain, are deprived of any social or cultural amenities such as schools, grocery stores or community

17.www.winnipeg.ca/ppd/planning/pdf_ folder/NPD_nbhd.PD

18. Gray, James. H. Red Lights on the Prairies.Toronto: Macmillian Company, 1971. p 47.



17

[ gure 16] Aerial view, North Point Douglas, 2007.



18

[ gure 17] Point Douglas, Winnipeg, 1881



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centers, and have but a few dingy hotels, corner stores and pubs. The strugglesof a neglected neighborhood have taken its toll on the site. The neighborhood

is now subjected to the con icts and crime of local gangs, which claim theirterritory as their own, and drugs and prostitution nd there way into the darkcorners, alleys and empty parking lots. The district is considered to be one of the most problematic and destitute and appears to be in a state of continualdecline. Violent gang related crime is at an all time high, and the neighborhoodis at present the subject of an escalating turf war between two prominentgangs. Residents that are outside the realm of gang a liation maintain relativeautonomy and live amongst the tumultuous environment that seems to takeover by night.

The site changes dramatically from day to night. During the day theneighborhood is a thoroughfare for heavy trucks and workers from the Westside of Winnipeg across the river to the East side. The streets resonate with thehowls and barks of the dogs that protect the junk yards and auto shop yards.Many of the former industrial buildings are now being demolished and muchof the area is littered with the fragments of former buildings, lots strewn withcrumbled bricks and piles of scrap materials. Empty lots which have enduredvacancy for much longer are overrun by grass and weeds, and become hometo garbage, litter, and lost shopping carts. Some residents make use of theabandoned space, like one on Annabella St. that has over the years constructeda makeshift garden from scrap doors and other junk yard nds. Other residentsnd the empty space as ideal places to park their cars, working or not. On theweekend during the day, bikers use the trail along the river (the path carvedby a former rail line) coming from downtown and passing through the sitealong Annabella St. At night the streets empty, and a ghost land descends, butfor a few stragglers and prostitutes. Occasionally cars make their way alongHiggins, cruising for women. Patrol cars conduct their usual rounds surveyingany conspicuous transactions, and residents and transients linger in front of thehotel pub up the street. In any given night attacks from rival gangs erupt andthe streets are lled by the sounds of sirens speeding to the aid of yet anotheryoung boy down.



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[ gure 18] abandoned Ogilvie Flour Mill, Higgins Ave.

[ gure 19] junk car lot, Higgins Ave.



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[ gure 20] demolition site of Able Wholesale, Higgins Ave.

[ gure 21] site of now demolished Winnipeg Cold Storage Building, Higgins Ave.



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resisting gentri cationThe waterfront to the Southwest leading towards the downtown, has in thelast 15 years, began a complete transition from what was a derelict collection

of unused factory spaces and the backend of industry, to what is now a fairlygentri ed middle class neighborhood. The neighborhood, however, is notentirely successful, as it caters to a wealthier market of urban city dwellers thatWinnipeg simply does not have much of. Thus, a fair amount of the housingis unsold or unrented. The waterfront land in North Point Douglas seems tobe resisting this trend of gentri cation, which could conceivably seep into thearea in 30-40 years. This neighborhood is somewhat dynamic, in that many arepersistent to protect their properties along the water so that the neighborhoodcan have some chance at becoming a smaller scale residential unit of mixed

income residents, like it once was. The environment of the “waterfront” and the“exchange” districts in the downtown of Winnipeg, is one which is developingcontrary to the types of people who have been or desire to live in these areas. Itis reasonable to assume that, a more alternative, inexpensive solution to livingwould be successful.

[ gure 22] Waterfront Drive, Winnipeg.



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The Watkins building was built in 1914 as a warehouse for the J.R. Watkins Co.America’s pioneer all natural apothecary. 19 The company got its start in Winona,Minnesota in 1868 and built the warehouse in Winnipeg as part of its strategy toexpand into the Canadian market.

Today the Watkins building is owned by Richlu Manufactring, who use a smallportion of the space (72,000 sq ft total) as a warehouse for boxes of outerwear.The CEO of the company has a particular a nity for the building. While he wasin art school he and his friends used part of the space for their studios, and it hassince been home to several artist studios. However, they have recently beenevicted. The company originally bought the building from the Watkins Co. in1986 for roughly $80,000, the building is now appraised at $600,000. Richlu isprimarily using the building to fend o intruders, break-in’s and to maintain theproperty. They have not been able to lease any of the space as there is very littleinterest from potential buyers for space in the neighborhood.

One could speculate on the building being taken over, or appropriated by thesespace seekers, who cannot nd adequate living spaces in the downtown area,or within the greater area of the city. Let’s say for instance that each oor isdivided into 1000 sq ft parcels, given the market price of $600,000 for all 72,000sq ft, that means a 1000 sq ft parcel would be $8,333 as a basic shell.

The Dutch phenomena of squatting is a form of informal space acquisition.What is interesting about squatting unused buildings is that it is a way in whichthese spaces can be usable in the interim. Canadian cites, especially Winnipeg,are rife with abandoned, unleasable space. Disuse becomes infectious, and itspreads throughout the city, resulting in a ghost town when the sun goes down.The site could then operate much like the vacant lots of Leipzig or Berlin wherethe original occupants relieve themselves of the responsibility of the buildingto the bene t of a new occupant, the opportunists; who desire that space as aplayground of sorts for their unconventional lifestyle.

The site of the Watkins building is at the top of what was historically a longriver lot stretching 290 meters from the railroad to the rivers edge. A section

90 Annabella Street

19. http://www.watkinsonline.com



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of the site illustrates the relationship the building has with its context; a seriesof struggling houses engulfed by patches of vacant open space. The vacantparcels in ltrate the building as well, wherein the interior space is not unlikethe exterior space, both potentially capable of becoming containers for newoccupation.

What then would be the condition of such an intervention, would it respondto a somewhat temporary status, and behave like a traveling circus movingfrom vacant site to vacant site, utilizing the interim periods of temporarilyabandoned spaces. Or would it overpower the original ownership and becomea strategy for permanence over time?

[ gure 23] Watkins Building, 90 Annabella St, Winnipeg



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[ gure 24] Watkins Building, 90 Annabella St, Winnipeg



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[ gure 25] Section of site



27



28



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04. informal settlement“Given the relative transparency of the processes, the limited resources andthe absence of intermediaries, informal settlements o er a particularly richenvironment in which to explore the construction of meaning through theinterlinkage between social and physical space”. 1

Informal communities like that of the favelas and barrios across Asia and SouthAmerica exhibit a culture of building unlike that of anywhere else in the world.These environments are most often constructed by the residents themselvesof local materials, scraps and salvaged junk.

“Although there is considerable diversity between settlements, most sharethree key characteristics. Firstly these environments are conceived andconstructed by the occupants themselves independently of external controlsor professional advice; secondly occupation and construction frequently takeplace simultaneously; and thirdly such places are usually in a process of dynamicchange and demonstrate considerable ingenuity and creativity within limitedresource constraints”. 2

1. Menin, Sarah. Constructing Place: Mind and Matter. London: Routledge, 2003. p 88.

2. Menin, Sarah. p 87.

[ gure 27] Favelas of Caracas



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Informal construction depicts the abilities and limitations of the occupants andare often reliant on a larger network of construction. Residents must negotiatewith one another as their roof becomes the entrance of their neighbor andtheir balconies are formed by the walls of the person adjacent. John Turnerproposes that the building of one’s own home opens up a creative dialogue withoneself furthering self-discovery. “The man who would be free must build hisown life. The existential value of the barriada is the product of three freedoms:the freedom of community self-selection; the freedom to budget one’s ownresources, and the freedom to shape one’s own environment”. 3

The “Hybrid House” exhibition in 2003 at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art was a piece by Marjetica Potrč, that spoke to the phenomenonof temporary housing in Caracas. Each house and structure has to negotiate withits neighbor, and one relies upon the other in a complex system of construction.

3. Menin, Sarah. p 89.

4. Kiendl, Anthony. Informal Architectures:Space and Contemporary Culture. London:Black Dog Publishing, 2008. p 160.

[ gure 28] Hybrid House exhibit, Marjetica Potrč



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The exhibit highlighted the erosion of public space within these communities.As space begins to be claimed and appropriated by occupants they constructextreme urban environments where there are sharp divisions between publicand private space. The architecture that results is rather defensive and territorial,where homes are equip with watchtowers and surveillance territory. 4

“The barrios are not planned settlements; they are homes built withoutpermission. These homes are self-initiated structures that have been upgradedand expanded as needs dictate. In Caracas, such barrios are expanding, notdecaying, and they exude a con dence in their own body. Theirs is a ruralarchitecture made of tightly interwoven buildings and alleys”. 5

4. Kiendl, Anthony. Informal Architectures:Space and Contemporary Culture. London:Black Dog Publishing, 2008. p 161.

5. Kiendl, Anthony. p 160.

open cityVacant, abandoned, desolate and remote locales tend to be desirable locationsfor ad-hoc and informal modes of habitation. There is something embeddedin such spaces that elicit alternative, eccentric and experimental settlements.Perhaps it is due to the site’s detachment from the greater social context,whether that be via proximity and distance or abandonment.

Informal settlements, much like squatting communities, are proof that groupsof society are capable of mobilization and self-organization when a commongoal is shared by all. The Open City of Valparaiso is an example of a kind of informal, amorphous community development, where the inhabitants are allwilling participants in an alternative artisan based lifestyle. The city manifestedas a result of a desire for a free and uninhibited community of artists, architects,poets, engineers etc, as the founders, Alberto Cruz and Godofreddo Lommi,became dissatis ed with their current environments of education, work andresearch. The manifesto was to establish an educational community in a barren



33[ gure 29] Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.

Chilean landscape, where anyone who showed interest could be apart of acommunal and rather non-hierarchical place to experiment with the poetics of art and architecture.

”Incorporating a particular aspect of a formal organicism, resisting aconventional form of systematization, always resorting to observation andto the case in question, in a kind of poetic empiricism, the reference to thateveryday life understood in as a classical myth was a central element in theconvictions of the school”. 6 What is explicit within the Open City is the attitudetowards the value of adjacency to one another and the in uence that acommunity of people might have on work and life. “The Open City is a placeof custom, intimate, everyday, routine. Between the two, a fabric of tales iscreated, the sum of consecutive experiences, interweaving work and life”. 7

Another peculiarity to the city is the lack of order, hierarchy and direction thereis in the overall plan of the community. 8 For one, the location is set amongst adunescape bordered by a grassy plateau, thus the building negotiates with thattopography and follows its irregularity. Secondly, the community is intended toembody a certain unpredictably and freedom, and also a lack of center, thus theplan of the city is somewhat meandering, with no over arching organization.

6. Pérez de Arce, Rodrigo & Pérez Oyarzum,Fernandez. Valparaiso School, open city group. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2003. p 12.

7. Pérez de Arce, Rodrigo & Pérez Oyarzum,Fernandez. p 17.

8. Pendleton-Jullian, Anne M. The Road that is not a Road and the Open City. Boston, MA:MIT Press, 1996. p 7.



34

This allows the inhabitants to build and to wander at will. Thirdly, as part of the ideology of the community, a built project will be carried out as a collectiveact, and buildings are constantly being built upon, disassembled, and reused.Therefore both the built and the natural environment are in ux, changing inrelation to the needs of the community and the natural forces of the landscape.”In this way the processes of the emergence of new forms alternate withsituation of gradual destruction: certain traces evolve into stable forms. Theouter shells of the buildings can be enlarged through fresh interventions; newworks can absorb former remains, material can be recycled, while some piecesremain unscathed and nite. Deliberately lacking an overall plan, the ensembleunravels itself on the basis of impulses guided by collectively assumed principlesunderlying design and execution and by the circumstantial conditions of timeand place”. 9

What is particularly relevant about the mannerisms of such a place is that thenotion of completeness is never known. The built space seems to mimic thecharacter of the dunes, whereby they are continually eroding, traveling, andrebuilding themselves in a cyclical fashion. This bears a certain value whenthinking of how architecture interjects in a landscape, or even a population for

that matter, that is not a stable entity, and is pervious to change. Built into thecity is a capacity and desire to not control daily life and to not predict the future,“volver a no saber”, to return to not knowing. There is also no boundary, in theconventional sense, separating city from non-city and building from building.

[ gure 30-31] Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.

9. Pérez de Arce, Rodrigo & Pérez Oyarzum,Fernandez. p 15.



35

[ gure 32] Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.

The Open City, like other developments of this nature, Wright’s Taliesin, seemsto reject urbanity by remotely locating itself. There is an element of counterculture at work here, however to counter a culture must one remove oneself from it entirely? Something has to be said for the need to seek nothingness andisolation in order to be completely free and improvisational. However, what thenis the repercussion of such an endeavor in a setting that is among the urban,social and political realities of an existing city? For in order to really challengethe conventional way of operating, wouldn’t that imply imposing and in ictingthat challenge on the environment you are challenging to begin with?



36

05. visionary utopiaThe ideologies of ad-hoc or grassroots settlements are akin to the principlesand theories of the utopian visionaries of the 1960’s. Groups like the Metabolistsfrom Japan, Superstudio and Paolo Soleri from Italy, and Archigram fromEngland were considered radically experimental and avant-garde. They werefairly antiestablishment and they challenged the conventions of public space,technology, modernism, and the role of architecture. The work from all thesegroups was provocative in that they proposed radically futuristic, and oftendemocratic alternatives for living.

Peter cook of Archigram believed that technology could liberate man in aprofound way, allowing people to be nomadic, architecture to become moree cient and space to be interchangeable and self-determining.

“The Ability of objects and assemblies to metamorphose over a period of time so that we are no longer stuck with monuments of a forgotten day….theability to use the world’s surface and mobility to achieve personal freedom. Thenomadic instinct and the nomadic potential of cars and car based enclosures…the realization that although we are beginning to be emancipated socially,economically and through a consumer society, building has not caught upwith this range…the interplay of man and machine to develop this responsiveenvironment and the free ranging exchange of all as and when needed”. 1

Cook professes that their work is fundamentally concerned with people, and

1. Kronenburg, Robert. TransportableEnvironments 3. New York: Taylor & Francis,2006. p 46.

[ gure 33-34] Plug-In City, Blow Out Village, Archigram.



37

nding a way to create a free and unrestricted total built environment.2 Projectssuch as ‘Plug in City’ and ‘Blow Out Village’ engaged ideas of prefabrication, massproduction and transportability as a strategy for housing that could improvethe quality of life and become less dependant on a speci c location by beingreduced to individual units that plug into to a larger system of infrastructureand services. The implication of both ‘Plug-In City’ and ‘Blow Out Village’ isopen-endedness , wherein the built housing systems transcends time andspace by being exible to its various inhabitants and terrains and being plannedfor its inevitable obsolescence. There is a hierarchy of permanence applied tothe various elements, where the longest lasting pieces are closer to the bottomof the section and shorter lasting ones at the top.

Alternatively, the work of Adolfo Natalini and Christiano Toraldo di Francia of Superstudio did not indulge technological opportunities and advocated for thedissolution of property and the commodi cation of space.

2. Cook, Peter. Archigram. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973. p 16.

[ gure 35] Life Without Objects, Superstudio.



38

”Superstudio professes to conceive of objects, of all buildings, of all arti cialphysical form, as coercive and tyrannical, as operating to limit a, probably,Marcusean freedom of choice. Objects, buildings, physical forms are, and mustbe considered, dispensable: and the ideal life must be seen as unrestricted andnomadic – all that we need are a set of Cartesian co-ordinates (representativeof electronic structure) and then, plugged into this grid of freedom (or skippingaround within it), an equilibrated and happy existence will, ipso facto, ensue”.3

Their work challenges consumer culture and commodity and imagined asociety that would be liberated by miniaturization and technological progress,proposing uniformity and equality in what they called ‘continuous monument’,a elemental form spread across the world liberating the rest as nature. The gridof the continuous monument would be a truly democratic human experience:every point on the grid is identical, no place is better than any other.

3. Nesbitt, Kate. Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture: an anthology of architectural theory 1965-1995. New York: Princeton Architectural Press 1996. p 269.

[ gure 36] Continuous Monument, Superstudio.



39

The work of Paolo Soleri was probably the least concerned with technology andrather strives to position human habitation within the natural environment ina way that is more ecological. Soleri promotes the idea that spaces should beplanned for spontaneity, because just like the earth and its organisms, it is in astate of change and renewal.

”As I see it, space is in constant metamorphosis, inside out if you wish. It isnot something that is, a being – it is a “becoming”, something on its way tode ning its own identity. As a consequence, I say forget reality. Reality doesn’texist because it’s ever changing. What exists is the process. Space cannot tell uswhat it is because it is in the process of creating itself. If we knew itself, it wouldbe the end of its own investigation, of its own creation”. 4

Arcosanti is an experimental town in the desert of central Arizona, founded bySoleri in the early 1970’s. The ideals of the settlement are to defy the trends of urban sprawl by providing an alternative to housing with increased density anda more healthy attitude towards the environment and its resources. Once againit seems the solution to the problems of contemporary urban settlement is towithdraw from the city rather than nding a way where one can coexist withthe other.

4. Wall, Donald. Visionary Cities: the arcology of Peolo Soleri. New York, Praeger, 1971. p26.

[ gure 37] Arcosanti, Arizona.



41

1. Teicher, Jonathan & Kendall, Stephen.Residential Open Building. London: E& FNSpon, 2000. p 4.

2. Brand, Stewart. How Buildings Learn.London: Penguin Books, 1995. p 13.

of habitation, ie. partition walls, kitchens, bathrooms etc.

”The broadest environmental trend leading professionals toward Open Buildingpractice is the reemergence of a changeable and user-responsive in ll ( t-out)level. In ll represents a relatively mutable part of the building. The in ll may bedetermined or altered for each individual household or tenant without a ectingthe support of base building, which is the building’s shared infrastructure of spaces and built form. In ll is more durable and stationary than furniture ornished, but less durable than the base building”.1

Frank Du y postures that a building consists of layers which are categorizedin terms of their lifespan, being permanent, semi-permanent or fairly

expendable. “A building properly conceived is several layers of longevity of builtcomponents”. 2 The categories are as follows;

1. Site: geographical and urban setting, boundaries and context that iseternal and will outlast all buildings.2. Structure: foundation and load bearing elements (30-300 years)3. Skin: exterior surfaces (20 years)4. Services: working guts of building, communications wiring,electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and circulation ie, elevators. (7-15 years)5. Space Plan: interior layout, walls ceilings, oors and doors

6. Stu : furniture, appliances, lighting,etc.

[ gure 39] Layers of longevity in a building



43

[ gure 40] Transference of control from the city to the individual .

diagoon houses

decision making of ones built space needs to be put back into the hands of theindividual. The removal of the dweller from the building process is problematicand the dweller should be an active participant in his/her dwelling for it to bemore meaningful and viable in the urban setting.

Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger is a follower of Habraken and employedhis concept of ‘base building’ to the Diagoon houses in Delft, The Netherlands,built in 1970. The homes are essentially conceived as concrete structural frame,where interior spaces remain relatively open and it is up to the occupant toorganize and manage the arrangement of interior walls and to classify rooms

with speci c functions. The plan is intended to be inde nite, thus allowing it toeasily adapt to change over time. 4

“The frame is not just the permanent part of the building; it also embodies thebuildings’ most important architectural and cultural values, which means that

4. A +U architecture and urbanism. HermanHertzberger. April 1991. A + U Publishing Co. p 66.



44

the building can react to changes in the requirements imposed on it over timewithout damaging its essential character”. 5

5. van Zwole, Jasper, Leupen, Bernard, &Heijne, René, Eds. Time-based Architecture.Rotterdam: 010 Publishers, 2005. p 18.

[ gure 41] Structural layout of typical Diagoon house

[ gure 42] Diagoon Houses, Delft, The Netherlands



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[ gure 43] Variations of plan, Diagoon House.

07 infrastructure



46

07. infrastructure

1. Allen, Stan. Points and Lines: Diagramsand Projects for the City. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. p 52.

2. Allen, Stan. p 50.

3. Allen, Stan. p 54-57.

The concept of infrastructural urbanism is one that counters the proliferation of semiotics, image, representation and meaning functioning in architecture as away of critique of human behavior, history, context etc. Infrastructural urbanism

works in and among the world of things. Stan Allen refers to the practice as“engaged in time and process – a practice not devoted to the production of autonomous objects, but rather to the production of directed elds in whichprogram, event, and activity can play themselves out”. 1 Architecture is powerfuland it has the capacity to not just represent and critique, but to transform theworld. Robin Evans describes this shift in the preoccupation of the architect,“A building was once an opportunity to improve the human condition; now itis conceived as an opportunity to express the human condition”. 2 One mightargue that a building can do both, however the point is clear that there is a

desire within the eld of architecture to address the reality of human activityand human space within a built articulation that is more than just mererepresentation.

The ideas behind infrastructure being a discourse within architecture not justwithin the realm of planning and urbanism are potent. Allen postures thatthinking of architecture in a broader more exible context is necessary toprovide useful and meaningful spaces for the public. “Infrastructure articulatesthe capacity of certain structures to act as a sca old for a complex series of

events not anticipated by the architect – meanings and a ects existing outsideof the control of a single author that continuously evolve over time” 7. What ismeant by infrastructure is a strategy of development that is analogous to forinstance a cities infrastructural system. Allen distinguishes the characteristicsof infrastructural urbanism into seven descriptions. 3

1.Infrastructure does not construct speci c buildings on sites, but thesite itself, it prepares the ground for the future. Its modes of operationare to divide and allocate space, and the provision of services for the

future.2.Infrastructures are exible and anticipatory. They work with timeand are open to change. By specifying what must be xed and what issubject to change, they can be precise and indeterminate at the sametime.



48

Miesian mentality of providing a pure open structure that is nothing more thanan unprogrammed container, such as his New National Gallery in Berlin. Thesespaces are generic and do not provide a smaller increment of space within it that

promotes any kind of activity. The Souks project, however unrealized, seemsto address the need for the larger system to relate to smaller ones, providingseveral increments of architecture that can promote speci c activities, whileproviding a larger boundary for exibility and interchangeability within thosesmaller units. The Souks project is not dissimilar to the Santa Caterina marketby Miralles, wherein the interjection of a new roof structure encloses parts of an existing market fabric as well as new facilities. The space is quite successfuland is in its own right as an infrastructural approach to architecture.

Perhaps for an infrastructural approach in architecture to be successful it has toallow the users to operate in their familiar and customary way, while providinga series scaled interventions that imply rather than prescribe program.

[ gure 44] Model of Beirut Souks porposal



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[ gure 45] Plans of Beirut Souks porposal



50

3. Allen, Stan. p 54-57.

Peterson, Gary. “Teddy Cruz - What adaptivearchitecture can learn from Shantytowns”.Resilience Science. 07. March, 2008. <http:// rs.resalliance.org/2006/03/15/teddy-cruz-what-adaptive-architecture-can-learn-from-shantytowns/>. (8. Oct, 2009).

“Before and After: Favela Bairro Projects”. Atelier Jorge Mario Jáuregui. <http://www. jauregui.arq.br/favelas_before_after.html>.(08. Oct, 2009).

“Estudio Teddy Cruz: Manufactured sites”.20. Nov, 2008. <http://www.informalism.n e t / 2 0 0 8 / 11 / e s t u d i o - t e d d y - c r u z -

manufactured-sites.html>. (09. Oct, 2009).

The idea that architecture could behave as infrastructure is a signi cant one, butthat does not however, negate the simple fact that the infrastructure, whetherit be a road or a building, still has to work well. Infrastructure is in a sense the

link between large systems to smaller systems, like a network of roads to themovement of individuals. Infrastructure becomes successful as such when it isno longer perceivable, but has facilitated the smaller units to thrive within it,taking it over. The smaller units, through repeated and continual productiveuse, then, dissolve the larger systems. The large system falls to the backgroundand the smaller systems at the foreground. In that sense infrastructure is a kindof enabler, enabling people, water, vehicles, power, etc. whatever the mediumof the system is, to not only participate in the system but to prosper.

The ‘Manufactured Sites’ project by Teddy Cruz, utilizes the medium of infrastructure in a way that eventually enables a community. Cruz developed aseries of sca olding that climbs the slopes of a poor neighborhood in Tijuana.The project became an interesting cross border dialogue between Tijuanaand San Diego, as scrap materials, recycling, and homes that were slated for

[ gure 46] Manufactures Sites, Teddy Cruz



51

demolition, were all transported across the border to be purchased and used bythe dwellers in the neighborhood. The sca olding then became the structurethat would support the insertion of these homes and the ad hoc building of

homes via the recycled materials. This project is a speci c example of howinfrastructure is used as a strategy for architecture while facilitating the uniqueand individual character of the smaller units. Each dwelling within the system isbuilt by individual families, with the materials they scavenge, therefore all thehomes represent speci c people in a matrix of variation.

Cruz’s project is also signi cant as it combines infrastructure with the practiceof gleaning. Favela’s are more often than not, built out of scrap and scavenged

materials. With this project Cruz has allowed the inhabitants of the neighborhoodto live and develop in a manner that is familiar to them, but he has providedthem a stable framework with which to do so. The sca olding is a system of permanence in an otherwise semi-temporary community.

[ gure 47] Manufactures Sites, Teddy Cruz



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[ gure 49] Favela Bairro Project, Jorge Mario Jáuregui

08. systems



54

The Watkins building, can in many ways, be considered infrastructural. Themuscular nature of its structural system and the spacious plan that is a resultof its broad column grid produce an environment that is in many ways generic,

however exible and easily adaptable. Such a space is at little risk of becomingcompletely idle as it has a great capacity to be re-appropriated for new uses.It is in many ways exactly the kind of building that lends itself to Habraken’s“open building”, wherein the structural, service and circulatory systems arerather permanent and can become the frame for less permanent “in ll”

The layers of the building can be broken down as Frank Du y had outlined ascategories of a buildings longevity.

SiteThe building itself is tucked to the South edge of the site to be adjacent to therailroad. Thus the site boasts a large front yard o Higgins Avenue. The pieceof land is roughly 78m long by 28m wide, giving 2,184 m Sq. During the periodwhen the Watkins co. occupied the building this land was used as a gardenspace with a gazebo for the wife of the building manager. The amount of land belonging to the site is signi cant given that there are almost no otherindustrial/commercial or warehouse type buildings in the city that have anyvegetated land. Most buildings of this kind have paved any additional space

that is not occupied by the building. In this regard the Watkins building is quiteunique due to its proximity and relationship to the railroad and for its quantityof unencumbered green space.

The original lot was divided down the center and parceled into several lots aswas the lower part of the long lot.

StructureThe structure of the building is composed of 8” thick cast in place concrete oorslabs. The columns are cast in place concrete mushroom columns, starting at34” in diameter on the basement level and decreasing by 2” per oor as theyascend. The structure of the building remains perfectly intact and shows littleto no signs of degradation



2 1

2 2

2 4

2 3

2 5

P L 4 1

2 8

4 1

2 0

P L

1 6

1 7

C . N . R

R / W

propertyboundary

C . N .

R

bicycle path water main power lines street light

55

[ gure 50] Plan of utilities / services



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[ gure 51] Interior of Watkins building



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[ gure 52] Interior of Watkins building



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SkinThe façade is a non-load bearing 6” masonry wall. Each elevation is roughly30% glazed with single pane windows measuring 6’x7 1/2’.

ServicesThe building is tted with two large freight elevators, both are 6’6” x 12’6”, onthe south side of the building. The mechanical equipment for the elevators are

[ gure 53] Interior of Watkins building.

[ gure 54-55] Interior elevator shafts.

l d h 9 h f h b ildi hi h h ll l Th



59

located on the 9th storey of the building, which has a smaller oor plan. Thereare two stairwells, one intended for employees at the northeast corner, and theother for business at the southeast corner.

There is a large 7500 gallon cast iron water storage tank, located on the 9thoor. It is used to store water for the sprinkler system running throughout thebuilding. The capacity of the storage tank could hold enough water for 250people for one day, using 30 gallons each for showering, laundry and varioussink usage.

Each of the oors is also embedded with a series of 4” drain pipes, which drain

down through a series of pipes connected to four columns per oor, down tothe basement, where it deposits into the ground. Each oor also has cesspoolcatchments with trap doors.

[ gure 56-57] Sprinkler Tank, Floor scales

[ gure 58-59] Floor drain system.

Th h ili i k d h l bi f ili i l d l h



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The washrooms, utility sinks and other plumbing facilities are located along theeast wall, between the stairwells. There is a pipe shaft that runs up the length of the building containing various plumbing pipes and electrical wires.

The building is heated via hot water radiators, which were originally heated bytwo massive 6’x14’ coal boilers and furnace system located in the basement.The boiler room was tted with large coal storage compartments, which wereloaded with coal by train. The building is adjacent to one of Winnipeg oldestrail lines, and they would o oad the coal into pits built into the loading dockon the south side of the building. Historically Winnipeg had an undergroundsubway, beneath the railway beside the building. The cavity left behind fromthis system still exists next to south wall of the basement of the building.

[ gure 60-61] Loading dock beside railway.

Space PlanThe interior oors have few if any partition walls. One column bay on the mainlevel was at one time sub-divided for administration o ces, however thosewalls have since been cut back.

Stu

The interior contains no furniture, cabinetwork, shelving etc. Lighting remainsutilitarian and is still intact.



61

[ gure 62] sprinkler system.



62

[ gure 63]septic system.



63

[ gure 64] oor drain system.



65



66



67



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10. participationInformal and ad-hoc settlements are often the product of a concerted e ortby a group of individuals or even individuals acting independently within a



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by a group of individuals or even individuals acting independently within alarger whole. These environments are the product of the occupants becomingactive participants in the organization, implementation and construction of their dwellings. A large portion of housing around the world are in fact built inpart by those who then inhabit them. 1 This reality, while it may often appearchaotic and disorganized, actually produces rather interesting and dynamicenvironments that more accurately re ect the needs of the occupants and areoften more conducive to change.

“Modernisation has meant the removal of people from decisions, as layers of bureaucracy and specialist procedures compel experts to intervene betweenthe user and the building. These experts bring with them their own valuesystems that are often at odds with those of the users. A gap thus opens upbetween the world as built and the world as needed and desired: to see thee ects of this gap we need look no further than the mass housing projects of the mid-twentieth century, when a standardised version of living and abstractnotions of ‘community’ were imposed statically by a supposedly benevolentbureaucracy, rather than being allowed to grow more spontaneously accordingto people’s wishes”. 2

By empowering the occupant in the design and construction process, thoseindividuals bring with them their own personal skills, dispositions and memories.The occupant is left with a greater sense of ownership over their space, and isenabled in the claiming of their own territory.

“Participation is also a formative process. Residents are initiated throughdialogue and interventions into becoming an active part of their immediatesurroundings. They start to shape their own policies, to articulate their ownvoices and preferences, to organise themselves independently. By facilitatingthis process, we might manage to pass on tools that will allow them to re-shapetheir world. We learn together to ‘make do’ with the available resources”. 3

What is the role of the architect in the development of participatoryarchitecture? The architect must then become a choreographer of sorts,

1. Burdett, Ricky & Sudjic, Deyan. The EndlessCity. London: Phaidon Press, 2007. p 348.

2. Jones, Peter Blundell, & Till, Jeremy. Architecture and Participation. New York:Spon Press, 2005. p xiv.

3. Jones, Peter Blundell, & Till, Jeremy. p 53.



mindless repetition. Columns are set at multiples of 90 cm to promote unitsthat will vary within that, rather than all sharing a common dimension. 5 5. Kroll, Lucien. Buildings and Projects. New



72

that will vary within that, rather than all sharing a common dimension. The oor slabs are unusually thick to accommodate wiring, plumbing andheating, in order to free up the oor plan and permit maximum exibility of unit placement. The façade is composed of concrete and masonry with in lladditions of timber and demountable window frames of various sizes alsowithin a grid. The interior is then lled with moveable partitions, prefabricatedsanitary units, and furniture. Kroll and his team worked with the students todevelop plans for their units, therefore they all tend to embody a spatial qualityand organization speci c to that person, and can be dismounted and changedin the future.

York: Rizzoli, 1987. p 44.

6. Jones, Peter Blundell, & Till, Jeremy. p 135.

“The development became not only a re ection of the many needs and

aspirations of the parties, but also a record of the evolving design process.Periodically, Kroll moved sta members from one group to another, so thatthey could not get too fond of a particular element and assume authorship.The design process became a voyage of discovery whose end remainedunpredictable, and it produced a building whose anarchic and anti-hierarchical

[ gure 76] Residents constructing wall partitions.



157 134 66 47

157 121 97 79 67

151 121 97

157 110 86,5 71 47

134 97 81 47

2 0 1

1 7 1

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[ gure 77] Possible facade components.



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[ gure 78] La Meme facade.



14.5 m2

13.07 m2

13.09 m2

13.54 m2

13.03 m2

8.81 m2

13.52 m2

10.51 m2

12.76 m2

13.37 m2

12.4 m2

11.06 m2

11.23 m2

18.25 m2

12.94 m2

12.64 m2

total area: 4525 m2

75

[ gure 79] Typical oor plan.

image ashed across the world. Contrast with the hospital next door couldscarcely have been starker: uni ed monotony versus creative diversity”.6



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The nature of the structural grid and the prefabricated movable wall panelsallow the plans to be almost in nitely re-con gured, given the temporary statusof student residency and constantly changing ow of occupants. The facadegrid and variety of in ll panels and window sizes also produces an exteriorcondition that is manipulatable and dependant on the tastes and desires of theoccupants.

With this project Kroll has proved that self-generating architecture is possible,where the process takes precedent over the result. The building is then not are ection of a particular aesthetic and ideology of one person (the designer),but rather a collage representing the needs of the inhabitants more so than animage of architecture. The building also embodies a certain incompleteness,wherein there is no nality to the façade nor the oor plan. The student residencyis temporary, therefore the building anticipates multiple users and change,but also the fact that over time interior elements of a building become dated,disused and no longer appropriate. Thus the space submits to the process of time and can be constantly renewed.



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[ gure 80] One unit con guration.

11. narrativeThe nature of an intervention on the site of the Watkins building is inherentlyspeculative with regards to how and who might inhabit the lot. What is thedemographic for an alternative community and how do those individuals



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demographic for an alternative community, and how do those individualscoalesce and in uence architecture?

A hypothetical narrative may begin to describe the potentially intricate dynamicof people and how these people come together, forming almost a movementof people that could mature either quickly or slowly. Perhaps the movementgains its beginning by those already on the site, and over time more and morepeople accumulate taking over more and more space, until the site is completelysaturated by new occupation. It could operate like a chain where one personinvites another, who invites another, increasingly gaining new residents andbroadcasting itself to the public.

In order to procure an environment where alternative habitation can developone would imagine the city would have to engage this development in anew way, with policy and regulation that would, in the end, bene t thelarger community. One such policy would be that of allowing for temporaryownership of the site on behalf of the new settlers. When and if the occupationbecame large and organized enough they might be in a position to buy outthe property. However, in the interim, provisions need to be put in place thatencourage the occupation of a currently vacant space. Subsidizing the costs of utilities (such as water and electricity), and property taxes property taxes, couldalleviate some of the initial setbacks. The donation of materials, like recycledproducts or excess resources, could induce construction and more permanentoccupation on the site. Manitoba Hydro regularly clears the overgrown trees inrural areas where their hydro lines run. What is cleared is often quite substantialand valuable wood. Perhaps the donation of this wood could become part of the material vernacular of the occupation.

One would imagine that a settlement on the site would begin as a relatively

temporary construction, but as the occupants form a tighter community, andare further enabled in the development of their own dwelling and public spaces,it might start to become more and more permanent, successfully in ltratingthe site, and perhaps in the end buying it out.

Eleanor is 61. She is a painterthat has practiced in Winnipegfor most of her life. She livedand worked for several years inRotterdam where she occupied

l di h



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a large studio space near theharbor. Eleanor lives in a modestapartment in Osborne Villageand works from a studio thatshe shares with several otherartists just North of Main St. atthe edge of China Town.

Markus (34) is a sculptor. He mainly dealswith works of pottery from clay, and sellshis pieces at various local markets andfairs, and shares a stall with a jeweler atthe Forks Market, and indoor market and

craft center near downtown. Markus isrecently divorced and now lives in a studioapartment near the golf dome.

Przemek and Travis are young aspiring artists, atthe ages of 25 and 29. Przemek works and Video

Pool, a media arts outreach center, and Travis is arecent graduate of painting. They live in a small 5storey walk up which they use as their studio tocollaborate on independent lms, one of whichhas just been released at a local lm festival.

Matt (27) and Kevin (32) are members of a local punk band and currentlylive in the basement of Kevin’s grandparents place. Matt plays the drumsand Kevin is the lead singer, of the band ‘Spit’, which has 3 other members.‘Spit’ sometimes has their practices in the basement suit or in the garageduring the summer, however they are increasingly becoming more andmore of an imposition on Kevin’s Grandparents as they are getting moreand more bookings and have had to step up their rehearsals.

Bobbie (27) and Candace (25) are students at the Universityof Manitoba and are also roommates. Bobbie recentlymoved from Toronto to Winnipeg to complete her PhD inAboriginal Studies, while Candace is in her nal year of herMasters of Architecture. Bobbie is planning an extensivecanoe trip p North in J ne in order to st d se eral



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canoe trip up North in June in order to study severalaboriginal communities. She has invited Candace to comealong as her assistant, to photograph the trip.

Francine is 38 and works as a server at TheDandelion Café, which specializes in local

vegan dishes. In the summer Francinealso participates in a food exchangeprogram where she helps for 3 weeks of the harvest of a local farm in exchangefor a vegetable and fruit hamper, whichis delivered every week for 3 months.Francine lives in a at share o CorydonAvenue with 2 other women.

Howie and his partner Karen are a retiredcouple both at the age of 67. They bothvolunteer at Winnipeg Harvest, a non-pro tfood distribution organization, deliveringfood to people in need out of their sky blue,

1977 VW bus. Howie is big blues fan and everysummer in July they drive from Winnipeg toSan Diego (where their 3 grandchildren live),stopping along the way to hit as many bluesclubs as they can nd.

Roger (47) and Doug (52) are brothers who moved out to the Red RiverValley back in 1981, they are what you might call ‘back to the landers’,and sought the reprieve of the country. Both Roger and Doug operatetheir own mill, and barter their skills locally for food and supplies. Dougalso maintains a ski and hiking trail in the valley while Roger busieshimself with local handy work for extra money. Recently Doug hasstarted supplying a small Winnipeg oor manufacturing company withwood and is often in the city helping them with installation projects.

Margo (55) and John (56),were elementary schoolsweethearts, who wererecently reunited. Margoruns a private Healing Touchpractice from her home

Alan is 46 and recently emigrated from the CzechRepublic to look after his mother who has beenhospitalized due to an extreme case of dementia. Alanh d i h hi if S hi d hi d h Eli hk



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Je is 49. He is a millworker and has a smallprivate practice of furniture making that heruns out of his garage. He lives in a smallone-storey house in St Boniface that hasbeen overtaken by his extensive collection of tools, small carpentry works and collection

of exotic woods. Je lives with two GermanShepherds, Oscar and Stu, and often drivesout to his friend’s farm to let the dogs runand to buy fresh farm eggs.

Julia and Russ are a young family of 4. Julia (28) and Russ(30) have two sons Isaac (6) and an adopted son Oliver (1).Russ is a youth pastor at a church and Julia works part timeat a greenhouse and tends to the churches communitygarden. Julia and Russ have just moved from Tol eld,Alberta to Winnipeg, where they rented space in the

Churches communal house, shared by 3 other couples and4 chickens that lived in a coup in their backyard.

practice from her homewhile John teaches electricalengineering at a localcollege. Every week theycollect their scrap fruits andvegetables and on Saturdaysbring them to Fort Whyte, acommunity center at theoutskirts of town dedicatedto promoting wildlife andhabitat conservation, to feedto the prairie dogs.

has moved with his wife Sophia and his daughter Elishka

(3). Alan is a writer and previously worked at a Newspaperback home writing obituaries. He is currently working ona book of compiled unusual obits and anecdotes with alocal Winnipeg Publisher.



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[ gure 93] Lightning Field, New Mexico.

[ gure 94] Lightning Field, New Mexico.

The acceptance that architecture must be cognizant of a larger system of human and environmental in uences is an acceptance of the indeterminacy of space. Indeterminate is de ned as a phenomenon of the unknown, inde nite



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5. Manolopoulou, Yeoryia. The Active Voice of Architecture. September, 2007. Field: a free journal for architecture, Vol 1, Issue 1. July,2009. http://www. eld-journal.org/uploads/ file/2007_Volume_1/y%20manolopoulou. pdf. p 2.

and imprecise. It is something lacking a predictable result or outcome. YeoriaManolopoulou, a professor at the University College London, describesindeterminate space as spaces of chance, and the idea that our environment ismade up of a series of coincidences, where time and space collide at any givenmoment illuminating the poetic beauty of chance.

“Chance may mean an event proceeding from an unknown cause and thusthe equivalent of ignorance in which we nd ourselves in relation to the truecauses of events. But it may also mean the unforeseen e ect of a known cause.Although we go about our everyday lives and to a certain extent produce space,

with a view to fending o the unknown aspect of existence, we often note afurtive enjoyment related to the unpredictably of chance”. 5

Built form is arguably incomplete, it is continually evolving and subject tomanipulations and deformation from its occupants, the weather, time etc.The indeterminate embodies a sense of entropy, whereby the original can bemanipulated but may never return to its original state. Such as the sand of adune, where the wind continually deposits and removes its matter, it is in nitelyevolving its form and displacing it elsewhere. This notion that energy cannot be

destroyed, it is simply transferred is at work here.

Perhaps an understanding of this can then inform a kind of architecture thatcould become the juncture between the absolute and the contingent. Is itpossible to be both constant and variable? Informal settlements embody acertain degree of unpredictably, as they tend to be built spontaneously andrather haphazardly, at least compared to traditional settlements. Informalcommunities also develop somewhat parasitically and irrationally, growingbigger and higher every year. How might this natural inclination of development

be anticipated by architecture in a new community in Point Douglas?



13. ephemeralTraditional ideas of property, territory and private land become void in the realmof vacant spaces, and are subjected to the improvisation of the public, natureand decay. To begin a narrative or scenario for inhabiting the long lot of theW tki it l k t ti f t l d h l t ti



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Watkins site one looks to notions of temporal and ephemeral construction as a

strategy to begin the process of possession. The rst critical move of ownershipis the materialization of possessions, objects, the things that one brings withthem to signify their existence. One begins to establish a dialogue of ownershipby the simple act of inscribing oneself onto the landscape. Drawing a line in thesand, painting your name on a wall or etching your footprint into the dirt arebasic gestures that humbly occupy space and denote territory. Occupation of such a site often occurs in stages, from these simple gestures towards morepermanent installations of habitation.

Ephemeral architectural strategies can be classi ed into three distinctcategories; works that are seasonal or time-based, ones that are mobile andtransportable, and works that are transitional, meaning, they establish aninitial stage of a future development.

mobile / transportable“Needs for temporality can result from culture (nomads), constraints (squatting,homelessness), uctuation (age-related mobility, social climbing, growinghouseholds, displacement), lifestyle (career changers, climbers, dropouts)

or in the context of desires for security (temporary use of public space withprotection from certain uses, privatization of public space)”.1

Los Angeles has utilized a politicized strategy of semi-permanence to house thehomeless. Dome Village is a microcosm of society where the homeless can ndstability in a communal setting. The domes overtake a parking lot near the busyHarbor Freeway, and are intended to draw the attention of passing motoriststo the issues of homelessness. The domes are made of durable berglass andmeasure 21’ in diameter and 12’ tall. They are composed of 21 panels which bolt

together and can be easily constructed in under 4 hours with two people, a stepladder, screwdriver and wrench. Each dome is inhabited by either 2 individualsor a family, with some of them occupied by washrooms, laundry and kitchenfacilities and communal rooms.




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[ gure 95] Dome Village, Los Angeles

[ gure 96] Dome Village, Los Angeles



89 3. Heydn, Florian & Temel, Robert. Eds.Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for theUse of City Spaces. Berlin: Birkhauser, 2006. p 27.

4 http://www.ndsm.nl/

city and in architecture. Use is, in any case, not a quality that is inscribed inthings, buildings or spaces but rather a social relationship in the triangle of property, possession and right of use. In that sense, use is a more or less exiblerelationship within which people can make various uses of one and the samething or, expressed more generally, can relate to this thing in di erent ways- and thus pursue di erent interests”.3

transitionalTransitional works can function in various ways, they can be an interim andtemporary use of a site, they can provide the foundation for a future installationor development, or they can be somewhat indeterminate, subjected to changesthroughout time.

The RDM docklands of Rotterdam was once home to a vibrant shipyard thatemployed thousands of people. Like many docklands throughout Europe ithas been subjected to the post-industrial era where information industries nolonger required such immense physical space. The city of Rotterdam is currentlydevising plans for regeneration of the site and in the meantime has allowed theabandoned site to be used for art installations that both promote the space andgenerate interest. 4 Now termed ‘Follydock’ the site o ers yearly competitionsfor artists, architects, and landscape designers etc. to design an architecturalfolly and install it on the site. The folly is a conceptual tool intended to produceworks that act as icons for the site to re-engage it with the fabric of the city.

[ gure 98-99] Module units within Add On, Vienna.



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The follies are temporary installations, inhabiting the site for a year, and are

eventually dismantled. The signi cance of the project is that with a series of small scale interventions a vacant industrial site is given new life, howevertemporary, utilizing the pocket of time from its total disuse to it eventual re-inhabitation.

[ gure 100] Follydock installation, Rotterdam

[ gure 101] Follydock installation, Rotterdam

Rottenrow Gardens in Glasgow, designed by landscape architect Max Grosswas originally intended to be a temporary use of a future campus building. Thesite was to be vacant for about 5-6 years, and the university felt that the spacecould be used in the meantime as well as set up the site for the future building. 5

5 http://www grossmax com/projects



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Once the garden was constructed and put to use it was so well liked by studentsand faculty that they decided to allow it to become a permanent space. Thepotential for an interim use of a site to lay the foundation or make formal andspatial gestures that would later serve a future construction is a particularlyinteresting concept. A semi-permanent construction of a site that is subject tochange at any given moment is given additional legitimacy if it can becomeadaptable and valuable to future users. A certain degree of open-endedness isassumed with such a spatial move, whereby such a construction would need tosatisfy the needs of the current users while either being exible to change or an

integral component for future development.

5.http://www.grossmax.com/projects.asp?n=Gardens&x=5&y=39.

[ gure 102] Rottenrow Gardens, Glawgow.

Time based works can also be seasonal where they surrender to the conditionsand circumstances of a particular environment. The land art movement of the1970’s and the works of Robert Smithson engage in temporal and site-speci cinstallations. Smithson’s ‘Spiral Jetty’ is a formation of mud, salt and basalt that

ice shacks



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is continuously being submerged and revealed by the rising water level. Theproject submits to the natural tendency of the lake system.

Not unlike the ‘Spiral Jetty’, the presence of ice shing villages are subject tothe behaviors of the natural environment. The ice shing village is a uniquecultural phenomenon whereby the conventions of property and territory arechallenged. The river or lake undergoes a critical transformation with the onsetof winter, changing from water to solid, essentially becoming temporary land.No one owns this ice land, as technically it is not really land, thus one is able to

possess it simply by being there.

“In a culture whose myths regard as sacred the ownership and possession of land, ideas, technology, and material goods, it is extraordinary to encounter a

[ gure 103] Ice shack.



93[ gure 104] Ice shing village, Quebec.

[ gure 105] Ice shing village, Manitoba

situation where ‘land’ disappears and reappears seasonally and, hence, cannotbe consigned to the cultural forces that shape our current condition of erodedsocial function. This landscape does not conform to the customary means andmethods of territorial ownership; it is a veritable tabula rasa”. 6

6. Kronenburg, Robert. TransportableEnvironments 3. New York: Taylor & Francis,



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The practice of ice shing that we have become familiar with today can be datedback to the early part of the last century on Lake Huron in Lower Michigan.Russian immigrants took to the frozen landscape and made their own shingspoons of scrap iron. 7 Their success with the local Perch drew the attention of locals who adopted their practices of handmade shing tools and makeshiftwindscreens. Since its inception ice shing has always remained as a ratherinformal and industrious activity, wherein shers often make their own toolsand rods of scrap metals, wooden dowels and broken shing rods. They tend to

appropriate common domestic objects for use in their practices, such as milkcontainers to hold their tackle, pickle buckets for seats and sh collectors, orkitchen utensils for catchers.The ice shack is particularly evident of this phenomenon of ‘making do’ andthe identity that is developed amongst ice shing communities. The ice-house,regardless of its material value is at the center of the ice shers operation, itplays an integral role in the creation of place. “A portable shelter bespeaks anomadic lifestyle, a lack of commitment or rootedness. And to some folks’ away of thinking a portable shack is no more satisfying than a Bedouin’s tent is

to a sense of home. They’ll abandon the advantages of mobility for the chanceto set down roots on a piece of property; a claim to a place, for at least as long asthe ice remains frozen”.8 The ice shack is more often than not an amalgamationof scrap or salvaged materials that when strategically assembled form ahumble yet comfortable shelter. “The ice angler’s version of the country retreatbegins with a basic plywood shack with a hole in each corner of the oor. Adda propane stove for warmth and a couple of beds. A cook stove and a portapotti make long-term habitation more tolerable. A bit of insulation, some woodpaneling pulled out of your basement when you remodeled your rec room, and

a remnant of garish shag carpet makes it homey: Slap on a coat of pain left overfrom a recent project. A bright colour lifts up the spirits. It also helps you ndthe house in a whiteout”. 9

2006. p 67.

7. Gri n, Steven. Ice Fishing: Methods &Magic. Merrillville, Indiana: ICS Books Inc,1985. p 108

8. Kennedy, Layne & Breining, Greg. A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why We Do It.St. Paul, Minnesota: The Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008. p 66.

9. Kennedy, Layne & Breining, Greg. p 66.



95

[ gure 106] Ice shack typologies constructed of; salvaged wood and aluminum doors, plywood sheets, osb sheets, painted wooden siding, stretchedvinyl fabric, various dimensional lumber, corrugated metal roo ng, extruded berglass roo ng, re ectors, car wheels, scrap aluminum and steel, tarshingles, plexiglass, salvaged windows, vinyl siding, plywood door.



96

[ gure 107] Govitz’s ice shack.

Mike Govitz a resident ice sher of Beaverton, Michigan, takes great pride inthe building of his ice shacks, and has constructed quite a few of them which hisfriends and fellow sherman often inherit. “He started with a basic oor plan– the size of the freezer lid – then dissected doors, using pieces of frame andpanel to esh in the sides. He used no speci c pattern – just tacked on materialwhere it was needed. He used sheet metal screws to secure everything, thenapplied silicone caulk to each seam to make the whole arrangement windproof.He took the tin box to a vanconversion shop and had the interior spray-foaminsulated. In all but the coldest weather only a gas lantern was needed to heatit”.10

The ice shack, at the very least, meets the most basic requirements of shelter,they protect from the wind, provide warmth via insulation and wood stoves, areoften connected to electricity or small generators for light, and are equippedwith provisions to cook, read, watch t.v, wash your hands, play cards, etc. The

10. Gri n, Steven. p 114.



meager interiors and objects that make up the space of the shack illustrate thecharacter and the nature of the ice shing lifestyle. The ice shack is the privateand secluded respite for the ice sher; a space where he/she has total freedomfrom the public and urban world. Because it exists beyond the realm of the

i hb h d d h i l d h l f h bi i d f



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neighborhood and the city, on temporary land, the rules of habitation and of ones personal expression are liberated. Certeau writes of one’s private space asbeing the re ection of ones character and daily routines; “This private territorymust be protected from indiscreet glances, for everyone knows that even themost modest home reveals the personality of its occupant. Even an anonymoushotel room speaks volumes of its transient guest after only a few hours. Aplace inhabited by the same person for a certain duration draws a portraitthat resembles this person based on objects (present or absent) and the habitsthat they imply”. 11 The arrangement of furniture, the colour and quality of

materials, one’s possessions, their books and newspapers, the sources of light,the care or negligence of ones space, are all indications of a “life narrative”. Theinterior space of the ice shack is no less symbolic of the modest and makeshiftsubculture of the average ice sher.

The ice shack has become increasingly popularized and has become a ratherclever medium for personal and artistic expression. The culture and communitythat such an activity has fostered further illustrates the free and uninhibitednature of the ice shing population. Art shanty projects is an annual competition

held on Medicine Lake, Minnesota that invites artists, musicians, architects,poets, scientists, craftspeople, actors, etc, to participate in the design andconstruction of ice shanty structures that will engage the public and the arts.Shanties vary from being a place to view the stars, to a puppet house, or a giantdice in which to play cards and games, or a dance shanty, which plays musicand inspires spontaneous dancing.

11. de Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life, Vol 2: Living and Cooking.Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,

1998. p 145

[ gure 109-110] Dance shack, art shanty project



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[ gure 111] Art Shanty Project at night.

[ gure 112] Ice Dice, Art Shanty Project.

These temporary communities emerge every winter, and are dismantled everyspring. The have a peculiar existence as they recreate a community year afteryear, clearing roads in the ice, sometimes erecting lampposts and power lines,and trucking out modest shacks arranged at the whim of each sher. The habitat

is rather unconventional as they are fairly meager and satisfy basic needs of



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is rather unconventional, as they are fairly meager and satisfy basic needs of shelter, and their size is limited to what can be pulled by a vehicle. These shingvillages also tend to establish unique organizations of public and private space,where shers are free to locate themselves as close or as far as they like to oneanother. However, shers tend to locate next to friends or relatives and usuallyorganize themselves in clusters nonetheless as they all want to take advantageof the good spots. Thus these villages are self-organizing and are the product of individual desires and attitudes towards their own social and cultural needs.



101

[ gure 113] Hypothetical shack community

14. scavenging

Many cities contain areas that are a gleaner’s goldmine, creating a subcultureof scavengers, that plunder and salvage all they can for vacant and abandoned

buildings “Caught within a bizarre cycle for survival scrappers depend almosti l h b d d l f D i ’ l d Th h



102

1. Oswalt, Phillip. Shrinking Cities Vol. 1:International Research. Ost ldern, Germany:Hatje Cantz, 2005. p 470.

2. Oswalt, Phillip. p 473.

buildings. Caught within a bizarre cycle for survival, scrappers depend almostentirely on the abandonment and neglect of Detroit’s landscape. They havefound ways to enter and remove metal from the majority of vacant homes andindustries, often using only orphaned shopping carts to transport their spoils.They work constantly, barehanded with makeshift tool, pushing their loadedcarts for miles to the nearest buyer”. 1

Metal is the most valuable material to the scrappers, good quality copper (afterburning) can sell for up to $0.75 per pound, while aluminum sells for roughly

$0.45 per pound.2

Hidden and informal economies and marketplaces emerge,with buyers and sellers going about their daily routines, each respectfully tryingto make the most of their modest enterprises.

[ gure 114] Scavenged building, Detroit.



Those in need resort to survival tactics like scavenging, an urban practice thatpillages both vacant buildings, garbage bins and land lls. These tactics can beproductive ways to develop a character of materiality for architecture. Given thesite of the Watkins building, being located amongst a series of vacant buildings

and demolition sites, there is a potential for material to be employed as a wayfor the community to easily access building materials to begin claiming the



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, p p y yfor the community to easily access building materials to begin claiming thesite. Piles of brick, rebar, steel beams, old windows and doors, chairs, furniture,wood paneling, etc. These materials are all leftovers of buildings on their wayto total extinction.

“The most important conceptual basis for starting a temporary project is a do-it-yourself mentality of the city’s residents”. 3

A do-it-yourself mentality is most certainly part of re-appropriating salvagedmaterials for new uses. The ice shacks and other informal communities rely onsalvaged materials and their own handiwork in the construction of their shelters,thus these tactics can be learned and implemented to foster an architecturethat is particular to that given location.

[ gure 117-118] Able Wholesale, Higgins Ave.


Scavenged materials open up new possibilities and alternative applicationsof rather conventional products. The Hotel Neustadt festival in Germany tookadvantage of recycled interior apartment doors and transformed a simpleobject; the door, into a catalogue of new uses. Scavengers harvested 450 mass

produced P2 interior doors from buildings that were either vacant or slatedfor demolition 4 The doors were converted into beds shelving minature golf

4. Oswalt, Phillip. Shrinking Cities Vol. 2:Interventions. Ost ldern, Germany: Hatje

Cantz, 2006.



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p gfor demolition. The doors were converted into beds, shelving, minature golf

[ gure 119] Possible uses of doors.

courses, bar furniture, bmx course ramps, honeycomb labyrinths, etc.

One could imagine that any salvaged or traditional building material could bere-purposed like the doors, developing a material language, or catalogue of

various building systems from which potential occupants could choose.



106

[ gure 120] BMX bike ramps made of recycled doors.



107

15. urban agricultureFarmadelphia is the winning proposal by New York’s Front Studio for the “UrbanVoids: Grounds for Change” competition held by the City Parks Association of Philadelphia. The proposal sought to remediate the copious amount of vacantlots and abandoned buildings within the city of Philadelphia by introducing

community based urban agriculture. “The architectural impact of Farmadelphiahas the potential to create an entirely new way of viewing abandoned structures.



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1. http://www.frontstudio.com/

Instead of seeing vacant land as an obstacle, Farmadelphia views empty spaceas full of possibilities. Not limited by traditional de nitions of urban typology, anabandoned townhouse could easily be converted into a greenhouse for orchids.An unoccupied warehouse becomes a barn for newborn calves. By reclaimingthe vacant structures for new, vital and integral uses, Farmadelphia transcendsstereotypical thinking regarding blighted urban fabric”. 1 The intention of the urban injections of agriculture is to reintroduce greenspace to the urbanenvironment, provide employment for the community and allow residents toreclaim a neglected neighborhood.

The proposal included a speci c method of operation and land assessment,wherein a city block must be at minimum 60% vacant in order to be convertedto farmland. Existing structures are to be renovated and repurposed, andexisting residents are encouraged to participate in the transformation of anurban neighborhood to a hybrid of farmland and residential uses.

Guidelines of operation:1 If a block exhibits greater than 60% vacancy, whether abandoned buildingsor empty lots, then the block shall be converted intofarmland. Farmland may consist of pasture, livestock grazing, cash crops,orchards, or wind farms2 Owners of occupied structures within the converted farmland block shallhave the option of remaining on the farmland and takingownership of adjacent elds or relocating to nearby rehabilitated structures.Owners remaining within the converted farmland blockwill be provided with nancial incentive in exchange for accepting someresponsibility for farming the adjacent land.3 Abandoned buildings within the converted farmland block shall be re-imagined as ancillary farming support structures. Some



109[ gure 121] Farmadelphia.

[ gure 122] Farmadelphia.

potential new uses for existing vacant buildings include: greenhouse, stable,barn, silo, livestock shelter, etc.4 Where 2 blocks facing one another exhibit greater than 60% vacancy and thestreet separating the 2 blocks is considered a minor

thoroughfare, the street between the blocks may be converted into farmlandfor contiguous parcel farmland.



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5 If a block exhibits 25% or less vacancy, whether abandoned buildings orempty lots, then the vacant parcels shall be rehabilitated forhabitable use. Owners displaced from the farmland conversion shall have rstpriority to the renovated structures.6 Side-lot vacancies or 1 vacant lot or structure surrounding by occupiedstructures on both sides shall be ceded to adjacent buildingowners. Building owners directly adjacent to a side-lot vacancy shall have rstpriority for taking ownership of the vacant parcelprovided they accept responsibility for its maintenance.7 If adjacent building owners do not claim adjacent parcels, 3 or more blockowners may acquire the property for use as a privategarden, playground, etc. provided they accept responsibility for itsmaintenance.

Potential city blocks are categorized into parcels of green space depending ontheir percentage of vacancy and its appropriateness for farmland. Accordingto their guidelines, land, falls into 1 of 4 categories; 1-farmland (pasture, eld,crop), 2- block owners public garden, 3-private yard (side lot), and 4- existingstructure. Existing structures can either remain as is or become renovatedand transformed into a component of the agricultural network as an indoorgreenhouse, or livestock facility, or it can be renovated as housing.

An assessment of the Watkins site with a similar logic illustrates that the majorityof the land is at least 60% vacant and potentially available for farmland. Thereare few existing structures, where the inhabitants could be encouraged toparticipate in such a transformation, and there is already a public green spaceon the site, which in some ways has already begun the remediation of a vacantlot.

i s t i n g

ru c t u r e



111 f a r m l a n d - c r o p

b l o c k o w n e r s

p u b l i c g a r d e n

p r i v a t e y a r d -

s i d e l o t

e x i s t r u

farmland - crop block ownerspublic garden

private yard -side lot

existingstructure

[ gure 123] Availability of agriculture on Point Douglas site.



113[ gure 124-125] Berkeley Community Garden.

16. synthesisWhen considering the site of the Watkins building in Point Douglas,

certain issues regarding its intervention take precedent over others. Giventhe relative vacancy of the space and of the neighborhood, one must come toterms with the fact that such a site is in some ways rather fragile as it existson the precipice of either extinction or reintegration. It is on an unstablemiddle ground, positioning it within a kind of neutrality, in limbo, where theslightest push could send it either way An intervention on a site with this



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slightest push could send it either way. An intervention on a site with thispredisposition must then consider its permanence rst and foremost. Informalsettlements often operate within the realm of a certain degree of autonomyand temporariness, but often as time goes on, they become more and moreembedded in a social and urban network. This site could be treated in such away. One must ask if an intervention should assume a level of temporariness, orrather should it become a strategy to foster permanence over time? The realityremains that informal architecture is somewhat contingent on economy,ows of people, culture, and changing urban conditions, therefore to denyany exibility would oppose the natural tendencies and inclinations of suchenvironments. In that case the introduction of infrastructure becomes explicitlyrelevant, as infrastructure can be thought of as a exible yet organizationalgesture that can be both subjective and determined. What is critical, whenthinking of how architecture might intervene is how it can synchronize twoseemingly disparate intentions, indeterminacy and stability, in such a way asto engender architectural moves that can operate independently and perhapsradically while remaining accountable to a larger operational frame. Theopportunities of an infrastructural approach to the site may resolve the desirefor change, uctuation, and growth while embedding it with de nition andlimitations, so that control and stability remain. What is critical when lookingto successful precedents of informal settlement is its degree of consistency.Kroll’s seemingly random facade, Cruz’s structural sca olding, the open city’sspaciousness and materiality, and Allen’s continuous surface, provide an overarching frame, aesthetic or organizational strategy that allow the projects tobe both recognizable yet random and manipulatable. What becomes critical isthat the two be reconciled rather than become counter-productive. One mustwork with the other, simultaneously.

What is interesting to consider is the infrastructure that already existson the site as a way to inspire a strategy for further investigation. By identifying

the utilitarian attributes of the site one might be able to engage with the spacein a manner that continues the tradition of the site in some way. In many waysthe bones and guts, which some might argue are rather trivial, may actuallydisclose a way to interject on the site in a poetic way. Henri Lefebvre believesthat it is in fact the banalities of life, and as an extension of that - the space of the city, that o er the most insightful explanations of human life and the urbancondition.



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condition.

“We are caught in a hybrid compromise between aesthetic spectacle andknowledge. When the ight of a bird catches our attention, or the mooing of a cow, or a shepherd boy singing, we think we are being very clever and veryconcrete. But we are unable to seize the human facts. We fail to see them wherethey are, namely in humble, familiar, everyday objects; the shape of elds, of ploughs. Our search for the human takes us too far, too “deep”, we seek it in theclouds or in mysteries, whereas it is waiting for us, besieging us on all sides. - Allwe need do is simply to open our eyes, to leave the dark world of metaphysicsand the false depths of the “inner life” behind, and we will discover the immensehuman wealth that the humblest facts of everyday life contain”. 1

The position of the research thus far has treated the site as a spacewhich embodies the potential to be treated as a unique landscape within aneighborhood, and within a city. As such that site can be conceptualized anddistinguished as a space where unconventional liberties can be taken. Thespace is dying, dwindling, and slowly slipping away, thus drastic measures canbe legitimized and ad hoc and alternative solutions become the opportunity forsuch a space to be given a fresh chance. What makes this particular conditionexciting is that it demands solutions that are radical and perhaps fantastic, asthe site is almost so neutral that it can accept almost anything. In many wayswhat is needed is a radical disturbance, rather than a simple elegant series of alterations. If one considers the capacity of the site, given the robustness of the existing building and the spaciousness of the landscape, it is absolutely acontainer. It is simple and in many ways generic, wherein those characteristicsresult in its ability to accommodate a range of programmes, building typesand people. When one examines the precedents of alternative communities,Christiania, the Open City, Les Frigos, one is able to identify that they exist on

1. Lefebvre, Henri, Critique of Everyday Life,Vol 1. London: Verso, 1991. p132.

the premise of opposition. Their manifesto, if you will, is to counter the normsof contemporary society, and how that society treats property, individuality,community, privacy, social amenities etc. Thus, what would such a communityin Winnipeg be counter to? Gentri cation, commercialization, demolitionperhaps, vacancy? This question is imperative when questioning the characterand identity of the potential community, and will continue to be investigated.



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works citedBooks

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Kennedy, Layne & Breining, Greg. A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why WeDo It . St. Paul, Minnesota: The Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2008.

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Websites

Gewertz, Ken. “GSD Prize awarded for transforming Rio Slums“. HarvardUniversity Gazette News. 14. Dec, 2000. <http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/12.14/08-gsdprize.html>. (08. Oct, 2009).

Gross, Max. “Rottenrow Gardens”. <http://www.grossmax.com/projects.asp?n=Gardens&x=5&y=39>. (18. Nov, 2009).

Kastner, Je rey. Land Acquisition 2: Queens County, NewYork. cabinetmagazine.org. Spring 2003. < http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/10/GMC_land.

php>. (17 Nov 2009).

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architecture, Vol 1, Issue. Sept, 2008. < http://www. eld-journal.org/uploads/le/2007_Volume_1/y%20manolopoulou.pdf>. (1. July, 2009).

Perry, Luke W. “ Pessac, France: Quartiers Modernes Fruges”. The IncrementalHouse. July 2008. <http://incrementalhouse.blogspot.com/2008_07_01_archive.html>. (07. Oct, 2009).

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122

Peterson, Gary. Teddy Cruz What adaptive architecture can learn fromShantytowns” . Resilience Science. 07. March, 2008. <http://rs.resalliance.org/2006/03/15/teddy-cruz-what-adaptive-architecture-can-learn-from-shantytowns/>. (8. Oct, 2009).

“ Art Shanty Projects”. 2009. <http://www.artshantyprojects.org/>. (16. Nov,2009)

“Before and After: Favela Bairro Projects”. Atelier Jorge Mario Jáuregui. <http://www.jauregui.arq.br/favelas_before_after.html>. (08. Oct, 2009).

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Film

The Gleaners and I. Dir. Agnés Varda. Perf. Bodan Litnanski, Agnés Varda,François Wertheimer. 2000. DVD. Zeitgeist Video, 2002.

list of figures1. Michigan Central Station, Detroit 1997/1998.

Photographed by Stan Douglas, Image source: Published inShrinking Cities Vol 1. Hatje Cantz, p 133.

2. Downtown, Ddetroit 1997/1998.Photographed by Stan Douglas, Image source: Published inShrinking Cities Vol 1. Hatje Cantz, p 130.

3. Gordon Matta Clark’s “Fake Estates”, Queens, New York 1973.Image source: http://architettura.supereva.com/



124

g p partland/20030425/index.htm

4. Hausehalten project , Lützner Straße 30, Leipzig 2005.Image source: http://www.haushalten.org/de/english_

summary.asphttp://www.haushalten.org/de/english_summary.asp5. Hausehalten project , Lützner Straße 30, Leipzig 2005.

Image source: http://www.haushalten.org/de/english_summary.asphttp://www.haushalten.org/de/english_summary.asp

6. Jean Francoise Millet, “The Gleaners”, 1857.Image source: bookofshortstories.com/stories/the-gleaners.htm

7. People gleaning, France 2002.Image source: Film by Agnes Varda, “The Gleaners and I”.



10. Christiania, Copenhagen 2007.Image source: ickr.com/photos/35034345972@N01/390773754

11. Christiania, Copenhagen 2007.Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christiania_Street.JPG

13 Les Frigos, Paris 2003.Photographer Pierre Laugier, Image source: commons.

wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Les-Frigos.jpg14. Hallway inside Les Frigos, ParisImage source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/7944143@

N08/498543941/in/photostream/15. Restaurant inside Les Frigos, Paris

Image source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/7944143@N08/498543941/in/photostream/

16. Artist studio inside Les Frigos, ParisImage source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/7944143@N08/498506332/in/photostream/

17. Point Douglas, Winnipeg 1881.



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g p gImage source: http://www.pointdouglas.net/Winnipeg_Map_histr300px.jpg

18. Vacant Olgivie Flour Mill, Higgins Ave, Winnipeg Oct 2009.Photographed by Margo Reimer.

19. Junk car lot, Higgins Ave, Winnipeg Oct 2009.Photographed by Margo Reimer.

20. Demolition site of Able Warehouse, Higgins Ave, Winnipeg Oct 2009.Photographed by Margo Reimer.

21. Former site of Winnipeg Cold Storage, Higgins Ave, Winnipeg July2009.

Photographed by Larraine Henning.22. Waterfront Drive, Winnipeg, 2008.

Image source: http://wigglezpictures.wordpress.com/category/downtown-winnipeg/

23. 90 Annabella St, Winnipeg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

24. 90 Annabella St, Winnipeg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

25. Section of siteDrawn by Larraine Henning

26. Plan of SiteDrawn by Larraine Henning

27. Favelas of CaracasImage source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/ryb_

ka/2232726109/28. Hybrid House Exhibit, Marjetica PotrčImage source: Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 2. Hatje Cantz,

p 473.29. Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.

Image source: Published in Valparaiso School, open city group.Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, p 64.

30. Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.Image source: Published in Valparaiso School, open city group.Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, p 81.

31. Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.



126

Image source: Published in Valparaiso School, open city group.Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, p 59.

32. Open City, Valparaiso, Chile.Image source: Published in Valparaiso School, open city group.Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, p 60.

33. ‘Plug in City’, Archigram, 1973.Image source: Archigram. New York: Praeger Publishers, p 39.

34. ‘Blow out Village’, Archigram, 1973.Image source: Archigram. New York: Praeger Publishers, p 61.

35. ‘Continuous Monument’, Superstudio,Image source: http://iforevans.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/must-see/

36. ‘Continuous Monument’, SuperstudioImage source: Superstudio. Rome: Centro Di, 1978 , p 7.

37. Arcosanti, Paolo SolariImage source: http://www.econsciousmarket.com/eco-times/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/arcosanti.jpg

38. Stadium conversion, Osaka, Japan. 1998.Image source: http://umpbump.com/press/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/osakastadium11.jpg

39. Lifespan of building layersImage source: Published in, How Buildings Learn. London:Penguin Books, 1995, p 13.

40. Diagram of ownership control, Habraken

Image source: The Structure of the Ordinary: Form and Control in the Built Environment . Boston, MA: MIT Press, 1998, p 84.41. Base structure axonometric, Diagoon house

Image source: Published in A&U, April extra edition, (1991), p68.

42. Diagoon houses, Herman Hertzberger, 1970.Image source: Published in A&U, April extra edition, (1991), p68.

43. Plan variations, Diagoon house, Herman HertzbergerImage source: Published in A&U, April extra edition, (1991), p70.



127

44. Model of Beirut Souks project, Stan Allen,Image source: Published in, Points and Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City . Princeton Architectural Press, p 71.

45. Plans of Beirut Souks project, Stan Allen,Image source: Published in, Points and Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City . Princeton Architectural Press, p 764-65.

46. ‘Manufactured Sites’ project, Teddy Cruz,Image source: http://www.archinect.com/features/article.php?id=79984_0_23_0_C

47. ‘Manufactured Sites’ project, Teddy Cruz,Image source: http://htca.us.es/blogs/perezdelama/2009/02/

48. Favela Bairro Project, Jorge Mario Jáuregui,Image source: http://www.jauregui.arq.br/favelas_before_after.html

49. Favela Bairro Project, Jorge Mario Jáuregui,

Image source: http://www.jauregui.arq.br/favelas_before_after.html

50. Plan of site utilities & services, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning

51. Interior of Watkins building, silver gelatin print, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

52. Interior of Watkins building, silver gelatin print, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

53. Interior of Watkins building, silver gelatin print, 2009.

Photographed by Larraine Henning54. Freight elevators, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

55. Freight elevators, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

56. Fire sprinkler system, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

57. Fire sprinkler system, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

58. Floor drain, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

59 Fl d i i W tki bld 2009



128

59. Floor drain pipes, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

60. Exterior loading dock, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

61. Exterior loading dock, Watkins bldg, 2009.Photographed by Larraine Henning

62. Sprinkler system axonometric, Ink on vellum, 2009Drawn by Larraine henning

63. Septic system axonometric, Ink on vellum, 2009Drawn by Larraine henning

64. Floor drain system axonometric, Ink on vellum, 2009Drawn by Larraine henning

65-73 Interior of Watkins building, 2009Photographed by Larraine Henning

74. la MéMé - Faculté de médecine, Lucien Kroll, 1970.

Image source: http://homeusers.brutele.be/kroll/auai-project-ZS.htm

75. la MéMé - Faculté de médecine, Lucien Kroll, 1970.Image source: http://homeusers.brutele.be/kroll/auai-project-ZS.htm

76. Facade panel modules, la MéMé, Lucien Kroll, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning

77. Elevation, la MéMé, Lucien Kroll, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning

78. Typical oor plan, la MéMé, Lucien Kroll, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning79. Possible unit plan, la MéMé, Lucien Kroll, 2009.

Drawn by Larraine Henning80-92 Portraits of characters, various dates

Photographed by Larraine Henning93. Lightning Field, Walter de Maria, New Mexico

Image source: http://gracefulspoon.com/blog/2009/08/03/lightning- eld-and-tourism/

94. Lightning Field, Walter de Maria, New MexicoImage source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/jlocke/3756896336/



129

jlocke/3756896336/95. Dome Village, Los Angeles, 2006.

Photographed by Joel Sternfeld, published in http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20060515/from-here-to-utopia

96. Dome Village, Los Angeles.Image source: http://domevillage.tedhayes.us/About_The_Domes.html

97. Add on, Vienna-Brigittenau, 2005.Image source: http://www.mobilejugendarbeit.at/?b=20&show=fotos&id=136

98. Add on, Vienna-Brigittenau, 2005.Published in Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for the Use of City Spaces, Birkhauser, p 209.

99. Add on, Vienna-Brigittenau, 2005.Published in Temporary Urban Spaces: Concepts for the Use of

City Spaces, Birkhauser, p 209.100. Folly dock, Rotterdam, 2007.Image source: http://www.follydock.com/ENG/

101. Folly dock, Rotterdam, 2007.Image source: http://www.follydock.com/ENG/

102. Rottenrow gardens, Max Gross, Glasgow.Image source: http://www.grossmax.com/projects.asp?n=Gardens&x=5&y=39

103. Ice shack

Image source: http://madhava.com/photo/cottage_feb2005/104. Ice shack community, QuebecImage source: http://www.bonjourquebec.com/ leadmin/

Image/decouvrez/activites/sports_plein_air/chasse_peche/tq_003004_g.jpg105: Ice shack community, Lockport, Manitoba.

Image source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/plinton/2177774892/

106. Ice shack elevations, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning

107. Govitz’s ice shack, Minnesota.Published in A Hard-Water World: Ice Fishing and Why We DoIt The Minnesota Historical Society Press p 53



130

It. The Minnesota Historical Society Press. p 53.108. Interior axonometric of ice shack, 2009.

Drawn by Larraine Henning109. Dance shack, 2009.

Image source: http://www.artshantyprojects.org/110. Dance shack, 2009.

Image source: http://www.artshantyprojects.org/111. Art Shanty Project at night, Medicine Lake, Minnesota, 2009.

Image source: http://www.artshantyprojects.org/112. Art Shanty Project at night, Medicine Lake, Minnesota, 2009.

Image source: http://www.artshantyprojects.org/113. Hypothetical ice shack structure, 2009.

Drawn by Larraine henning114. Scavenged building, Detroit.

Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 1. Hatje Cantz, p 471.

115. Scavengers at Bidston Moss Land ll, Birkenhead, 1991Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 1. Hatje Cantz, p 480.116. Scavengers at Bidston Moss Land ll, Birkenhead, 1991

Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 1. Hatje Cantz, p 483.117. Partially demolished Able Wholesale building, Winnipeg, 2008.

Image source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/1ajs/200056441/118. Partially demolished Able Wholesale building, Winnipeg, 2008.

Image source: http://www. ickr.com/photos/1ajs/200056441/119. Possible reuses of interior doors. Halle-Neustadt, Germany, 2003

Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 2. Hatje Cantz, p 456.120. Skate park made of recycled doors, Halle-Neustadt, Germany, 2003.Published in Shrinking Cities Vol 2. Hatje Cantz, p 457.

121. Farmadelphia proposal, Front Studio, Philedelphia, 2003.Image source: http://www.frontstudio.com/

122. Farmadelphia proposal, Front Studio, Philedelphia, 2003.Image source: http://www.frontstudio.com/

123. Agricultural capacity of Point Douglas site, Winnipeg, 2009.Drawn by Larraine Henning

124. Berkeley Community Garden, Boston.Image source: http://berkeleygardens.tripod.com/

125 Berkeley Community Garden Boston



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125. Berkeley Community Garden, Boston.Image source: http://berkeleygardens.tripod.com/

larraine henning > university of british columbia, march > advisor,

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