MEGASTRUCTURE
Architecture’s profound ability to directly influence the human condition--socially, politically, and existentially--identifies closely with Giorgio Agamben’s conceptual of the apparatus, a broad term that captures any ideological or physical system capable of control that produces a unique subject. Problematically, dominant apparatuses produces a homogeneous subject that rejects all other identities, minimizing individuality and true autonomy. The social and infrastructural systems that underline our modern cities today are no exception. Through capitalistic and functionalist practices, a suppressed urban subject is produced; one that is characterized by:
1. A reduction in autonomy and ownership
2. A loss of both public and private social space, and
3. A loss of social connectivity and negotiation typically harbored by architecture.
Suburbia as an architectural apparatus homogenizes and flattens experiences of living.
ISAIAH LEE
New ideals for contemporary society must be identified to address the lack of true autonomy. Instead of encouraging a homogeneous society that flattens and marginalizes differences, a heterogeneous, differentiated people should be celebrated instead: this is what Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri call the “Multitude.” Capable of acting in solidarity ad hoc and resisting oppressive systems, the multitude is a resilient group that validates individual differences.
While the city used to be understood as a crucible of diversity, supportive of the multitude, current capitalist practices are not sufficiently dense or diverse, limiting autonomy and connectivity through functionalist planning that zones and limits access.
Thus, a new architecture is introduced: the MEGASTRUCTURE. First conceived and defined during 1960’s post-modernism, the urban strategy introduces two critical factors that empowers the multitude: high density and diversity. In the megastructure, the typological divisiveness of the master-planned city is dissolved through hyper-dense arrangements of space; similarly, the diversity of programs required within a hyper-dense urban fabric births novel adjacencies capable of challenging the current partition of human activities, such as work and leisure spaces. While the precedents of the 60’s produced by groups such as Archigram, Constant, and Paolo Soleri introduce an unseen level of urban density and alternative city design, their tendency towards a modernist formalism and typological repetition is a point of weakness, disallowing spaces of heterogeneity to arise, and thus thwarting spaces for the marginalized or non-conforming to thrive and take ownership of.
The goal of this thesis is not to follow in their footsteps, but to propose a new definition of the megastructure, one that is not marked by a homogeneity or partitioned heterogeneity, but a thorough amalgamation of diverse urban programs and subjects which would enable unprogrammed and novel interactions, practices, and existences that would challenge our current conceptions regarding housing, transportation, work and leisure, urban narratives, and consumer spaces—all of which are connected to the social and political systems that control how we live.
The re-imagined megastructure finds itself interweaving programs, blurring boundaries, and expanding endlessly. Best represented through a megastructural chunk, densely packed space is cut into, revealing a plurality of spaces and infrastructural systems that vary in scale and function. Rough programmatic blocks are allowed to bleed into each other with ambiguous boundaries, affording unique socio-spatial conditions; no singular block takes functional or programmatic priority. The large forms of the smokestack and light rail system are deconstructed, unveiling the various spatial opportunities that arise when infrastructure is punctured and made porous; a history of over-writing and re-writing spaces is hinted at through intersecting pipes and aerial catwalks. Light-shafts puncture the chunk indiscriminately, often terminating at greenery or continuing further downwards, where adjacent programs themselves puncture the shaft, grasping some of the light for themselves.
Nature is not excluded from the megastructural chunk but rather a requisite for diversity; grassy fields and rivers weave their way through structural columns and programs, providing moments of respite from the heavily industrialized sectors of the chunk. Both farm animals and wildlife find a home in these veins of nature, able to intermingle with human programs and generate products for consumption.
Sprawling pedestrian walkways ensure that various programs are accessible without requiring vehicular travel that would otherwise limit movement to a linear road. Paired with frequent elevators that make vertical movement equally convenient, the heightened accessibility within the megastructure loosens the partitioning of space typically reinforced by rigid means of travel; getting from an apartment space to the central garden doesn’t require a distanced car ride but a few minutes of walking. Despite a strong emphasis on pedestrian accessibility and movement, long-distance high-speed travel is not neglected but rather delegated to its own space. A section of a highway nests itself between an auditorium and lake, supporting vehicular travel while also acting as walkway and structural support.
Visually, the megastructural chunk is filled with various pipes, HVAC systems, and other industrial elements that generate a sense of diversity; similarly, organic and orthogonal forms are mixed for a heterogenous impression. To the same end, floor plates are deliberately made to vary in depth and elevation, connected through numerous staircases, avoiding repetition.
