Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:00 am
-
10:00 am
EDT (GMT -04:00)
Of
the
thesis
entitled: AFTER
THE
CITY
Abstract:
This
thesis
is
an
anthology
of
stories, mappings,
photographs,
and
thoughts
about
Detroit.
It
is
an
analysis
of
the post-metropolis,
the
most
modern
city
in
the
world,
and
the
events
and convulsions
that
have
brought
it
into
being.
It
describes
the city
that
was, that
which
remains,
and
the
city
that
may
again
be.
It
is
also
an
account
of
my journey
to
find
that
city,
to
walk
its
streets
as
a
brother.
Detroit is not simply a collection of roads and buildings and people, however many or few, but rather it is an ecology of interdependent and often competing desires. It's story is the story of the building of the modern world, and its fall is the beginning of that world's end.
In a city defined by erasure and unbuilding, the role of architecture is unclear. It can provide the language to describe the structure of the city and the pieces that remain - it can suggest possible futures, but cannot realize them alone. Just one of the constellation of forces that have conspired to build the city on the straits, architecture and the city building have become useful tools for those seeking to reconstitute Detroit for their own ends, with often uneven results.
This thesis seeks to reconcile the city, not to remake it. It is not an intervention.
Detroit is not simply a collection of roads and buildings and people, however many or few, but rather it is an ecology of interdependent and often competing desires. It's story is the story of the building of the modern world, and its fall is the beginning of that world's end.
In a city defined by erasure and unbuilding, the role of architecture is unclear. It can provide the language to describe the structure of the city and the pieces that remain - it can suggest possible futures, but cannot realize them alone. Just one of the constellation of forces that have conspired to build the city on the straits, architecture and the city building have become useful tools for those seeking to reconstitute Detroit for their own ends, with often uneven results.
This thesis seeks to reconcile the city, not to remake it. It is not an intervention.
The
examining
committee
is
as
follows:
Supervisor:
Committee Members:
Robert Jan Van Pelt, University of Waterloo
Rick Haldenby,University
of
Waterloo
Donald
McKay, University
of Waterloo
External Reader:
Dr. William Woodworth
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Tuesday
May
19,
2015
10:00AM
Architecture
Room 1001
(Lawrence
Cummings Lecture
Theatre)
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.