Thesis Writing
Research Commentary:Christian Dagg
Thinking Thesis
Reading List

Furious Architecture
Finding the Art in Architecture
or Searching for Form in Architecture and Urbanism

Abstract and Outline for Spring Intentions
Anthony Sullivan

fu·ri·ous?
Pronunciation: 'fyur-E-&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French furieus, from Latin furiosus, from furia madness, fury
Date: 14th century
1 a (1) : exhibiting or goaded by anger (2) : indicative of or proceeding from anger b : giving a stormy or turbulent appearance <furious bursts of flame> c : marked by noise, excitement, activity, or rapidity
2 : INTENSE 1a <the furious growth of tropical vegetation>
- fu·ri·ous·ly adverb

Architecture
How should we search for form? Furiously.

If producing form is the fundamental task of the architect than defining the way in which we search for form is fundamental to the success of that task. Furious Architecture is contemporary and modern. It has no affiliation with history. It is obsessed with the present and all the factors that contribute to the conditions of the present. It has a disdain for methods and techniques that precede it and oppose it. It is a way of thinking abut architecture in the fast paced contemporary world. It is open to the evolution of culture and technology. It is characterized by investigations and persuasions.
 
Some of the inclinations arrived at from the ideas put forth by a Furious approach to Architecture:

Redefinition of context: not the appearance of the immediate surroundings, but the performance of society, culture, and technology in the contemporary setting; the historical factors leading to current conditions.

Assertion that traditional program is data and leads to false conclusions, and now must be thought of in terms of events, behaviors, and effects. Program could be developed simultaneously with form.

Birmingham
Birmingham suffers from apathy towards urbanism. Its historical downtown has been rendered a wasteland littered by residue from a bygone era of prosperity and civic pride. I am proposing an investigation of the factors that lead to Birmingham's current condition as an abused center surrounded by the dispersed activity of the periphery.

There are three scales that will be used to investigate and draw conclusions from. The first is the scale of the metropolitan area of Birmingham made possible and defined by the interstate system. The second is the scale of the historical downtown bound by the interstates and Red Mountain. The third is the scale of one block and its immediate surroundings as defined by the grid.

For the scale of the metropolitan area I intend to document its development through the production of historical infrastructure maps. For the scale of the historical downtown I intend to document the physical history of the city center through the production of historical figure ground maps. And for the scale of the city block I intend to document its own physical history through detailed figure ground maps, use, and activity maps.

In addition to the production of maps I intend to further enhance my positions through the documentation of the cultural history of Birmingham through photographic essays, using both archived photographs as well as photographs taken by myself, and written documentations of the history of Birmingham.

Typology
My final proposition is the insertion of a building type into the fabric of today's Birmingham based on the conclusions taken from the research on the city. I intend to propose several gateways/viewing platforms strategically located throughout the city to produce awareness to the city's conditions and enforce ideas of its future.

The proposed gateways/viewing platforms are tentatively being called Museums of the City and are dominated by movement through the city and views of the city. Their development will also be the development of a new or evolved building type, for the endorsement of new civic activities.

Context
In addition to the focus on Birmingham I intend to use historical events and artifacts for comparisons and lessons.

The Bibliography will show what I am looking at and reading to prepare for and to include in next semesters undertakings.