Poster Session
Asynchronous Session
The West After Water: Extractions, Frictions, and Power in the Desert Southwest View Digital Media
Poster Session Samuel Owen
The following study provides a critical inquiry into the infrastructures of extraction, circulation, and accumulation that enable American-style urbanism to develop in arid regions. Focusing on the exploitation of the Colorado River system for the benefit of Arizona and southern California, this paper highlights the scope of environmental destruction and cultural loss which has resulted from the development of these regions using settler-colonial principles of erasure and infinite growth. In the context of an ever-worsening regional megadrought that threatens the future of thirty-two million people and two percent of the world’s GDP, it is clear that new philosophical approaches to urban design will be necessary to mitigate urban collapse. As an alternative to the dominant settler-colonial perspective through which the Colorado’s network of dams and canals has been constructed, this article investigates the issue of mass water extraction through the lens of the water itself. Drawing from Macarena Gomez-Barris’s notion of “submerged perspectives,” the river can be divided into three eco-regions: the “spared” river, the conquered river, and the artificial river. In conclusion, this research hypothesizes regenerative urban design paradigms for these three eco-regions, respecting the fundamental right of the Colorado River to exist in its natural state.
Cultural Narratives in Brick: Constructing an Urban Fabric View Digital Media
Poster Session Maheshvari Naidu
This study has a specific focus on the Victoria Street Market in Durban, historically an Indian market space. Established in the early 20th century, this market has served as a hub for Indian traders, artisans, and cultural practitioners. The study examines the architecture and iconography of the market, which reveals a blend of traditional Indian and (wider) South African influences, in turn creating a unique cultural narrative. The market's architecture and iconography reflect the complex history of Indian cultural preservation in South Africa, shaped by colonialism, apartheid, and post-apartheid policies. The Indian community in South Africa has a rich history, dating back to the arrival of indentured laborers in the 19th century, primarily from the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. The Victoria Street Market is more than just a commercial hub; it is a cultural institution that preserves and promotes Indian heritage in South Africa. The building’s feature intricate tile work, ornate facades, and vibrant colors, reminiscent of Indian temples and marketplaces. The design also incorporates elements of South African architecture, such as the use of local materials and the adaptation to the regional climate. By critically analyzing the market's architectural elements and iconographic details, the study investigates how potentially, aspects of Indian cultural heritage may be seen as being maintained, negotiated, and expressed within the context of South Africa and the Indian community here. The findings underscore the complex processes through which Indian cultural identity is presented and reconfigured in the built environment.
Mapping Everyday Urban Life: A Café as a Dynamic Third Place View Digital Media
Poster Session Idil Bayar, Nurbin Paker
A city is a multi-layered, entangled entity woven by its inhabitants' daily activities; it is not static; on the contrary, it is constantly transforming in relation to culture, community, and intangible conditions. Examining third places embedded within a neighborhood-scale network holds creative potential for interpreting this complex structure through a minor narrative and for understanding the city's larger-scale relationships. This paper explores a third place that is intrinsically integrated into everyday urban life—an ordinary café in Istanbul—through this perspective and to position this research at the intersection of architecture and anthropology. This café silently and implicitly contains narratives of migration, women, and minorities—stories that are not apparent from the outside but can be discovered upon engagement. These narratives emerged through observations and interviews conducted in the field and were externalized through mappings composed of texts, drawings, and photographs. Mapping studies were developed by layering multiple participatory visits and observations to the place, as well as open-ended interviews with actors who interacted with the place at different scales. The method outlined in this paper offers an approach for uncovering diverse spatial practices and the embedded knowledge within urban life, and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of socio-spatial dynamics beyond conventional architectural and urban research. Rather than generating fixed or absolute knowledge, this research proposes a flexible and adaptive methodology that can be refined and applied across different urban contexts, fostering a more dynamic and inclusive framework for future urban studies.
