presentation:
1 -- what is the condition/definition of URBAN and what does that imply for creating "urbanism" in a city like Las Vegas. I'm positing that the urban condition is one of coexistence rather than cohabitation, meaning that contact occurs across physical/social/political "boundaries" and difference is confronted in order to produce new ideas, innovation, etc. that enable change and progress in the city. this involves at once a very specific definition of civic space and one that is flexible to include all spaces where such interactions might occur.
2 -- inherent to "urban" is dealing with the issue of BOUNDARY. boundaries at once allow a strong definition or image of an entity to be projected, yet they must simultaneously operate as thresholds that allow crossover, escape, play across the edge. this means understanding not only edge conditions between different spaces or communities but also understanding the seam between the social and the built environments, and how one affects the other. in the past architects have mainly used the tools of cognitive mapping and global positioning to try to understand human subjectivity and connection to context.
3 -- the strategy that must be employed might then be called TEMPORAL GROUNDING (my own name for the moment). this means that through appropriation by one entity of the boundary or edge of the "other," the group can connect, take ownership, and thus create openings and opportunities for productive interaction. specifically in Las Vegas--epitomizing boundary conditions in many ways--offers an opportunity for re-appropriated aspects/qualities of economic spaces to become strategies for other programs. civic space is then created that uses the power of escape and play to its advantage.
I'm still analyzing what could be seen as currently "urban" in Las Vegas, and in contrast what the various liminal conditions of the city are. through this I would like to make an overall growth proposal that is polycentric (as discussed at midreview), assuming insertions at various moments of boundary conflation/overlap within the city. I still think that for choosing a focus point, however, I will be most interested in an area "one-off" from the Strip, ingrained in the permanent population of the city but using/incorporating the tourist as well. one such site is highlighted. conditions here inlclude:
-- located on the main east-west connection across the Strip (Desert Inn road actually runs under LV Blvd, so you avoid the traffic)
-- proximity to the proposed LV Blvd monorail (hub for public transit? thinking specifically of casino workers)
-- in a to-be-redeveloped industrial area between LV Blvd and the highway. right now the area has mostly strip clubs, the seedy back-side of the luxury Strip
-- across from ChinaTown
program then will have social/infrastructural aspects (bus hub) combined with something more specific. right now I still think an aspect of housing might be appropriate, but I'm particularly interested in dance. like relationship (marriage/dating/counseling) program, which I could still also consider, dance implies connection, physicality, crossing boundaries...and can operate on many levels. an academy, lessons for tourists/residents, performance spaces, some relationship to exotic...? speculation for using the program toward the end of people meeting.
response:
questions about intent: designing a new casino typology--the big box--or something else? a: something else. rather I would explore a combination of social + specific programs that utilize the casino typology to create new civic space. re-making the casino specifically is not my goal, nor likely a feasible goal given the success of current economic operations in these spaces. but thinking of the casino as a city is productive, and specificities about its nature could be productive for creating urban space. looking at cycles...
similarly, in response to questions about the nature of tourism and singular interactions, I emphasize that the interactions I want to foreground are those potentially within the residential/permanent community, and secondarily those including tourists.
DEFINE public vs civic (social) spaces. understand private vs public roles. and make clear my own interests, especially because the image of LV has been so pervasive, so studied, and everyone comes in with their own notions (precisely what I would like to challenge).
escapism remains an important part of my research and strategy, and that should be more strongly incorporated into my proposal.
strengthen diagrams, site and program speculation...
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