This post has been long over due as imagery has been posted and circulated on our social media accounts with not content to explain their relevance or meaning. Past Residence is my summer project / class that will begin to aid and situate the beginning of my thesis this coming fall. Below is an expert from my thesis proposal submitted to the university last semester explaining the concept and direction of the course. 

The chosen format at the time was what I believed to be fairly simple and was to be kept inconstant across all the projects to allow for comparison and equal evaluation. 

Format:
- Image of the project in use by residents 
- Project Data (Year built, Architect, Units)
- Project description outlining social issues that effected the project
- Plan Oblique drawing of the housing project within context 
- Diagram to help explain a part of the project 
- Two Architectural elements highlighted broken down and explored 
- Other photos/ Diagrams and my personal reflection of the project 

In total this summer I will be exploring 10-20 different housing project both new and old in North America. Some will be examples of success while some will be historical failures. As the research has developed and case studies identified I found a large amount of them to be social housing projects. Although this was not the intention and I have no definitive conclusion if this is a good or bad I found it an interesting aspect to bring up. Once all is said and done with Past Residence I will be sure to report back and see if this aspect has had an significance in my research or trajectory for the future. Below area a couple of the plan oblique drawing that I have completed. As the text and other imagery gets finalized I will begin to post full spreads.

AW

First Houses, New York 

Central Village, Winnipeg 

Pruitt–Igoe, St. Louis

The image drawn by Tereszka is open for interpretation because such little is actually known. Literal interpretations that have come to mind is that she is describing the barbwire around the perimeter of the concentration camp, which given her apparent age could be the only home she has ever known. Or do the lines posses means of circulation contained to the allotted rectangular space she was given on the black board just like she would have been contented inside a rectangle shaped concentration camp. Could this be a map tracking her knowledge of the camp. A more theoretical speculation could look at Tereszka as the chalk being worn down to almost nothing as the stress of her upbringing most likely had on her and the black board being the backdrop to the education gap that she is currently in because of the travesties of war.

The concept of home is something that I have always been interested in. It is a complex issue that is rooted in almost every facet of our lives making it not just an architectural issue. The social complexity that goes into describing "home" is even more fascinating. When asked to describe "What is home?" some will say 3 car garage and a finished basement, others will say their current apartment for as long as the lease entails, others may live in one city yet describe home as another city, state, or country, then others may describe family and people in their lives that make the dwelling home to them. The answers will go on forever. There answers will mostly be based on their upbringing or what they deem to be valuable to their over all lives. This question is not a judge of character it is an open question that will change over time as different factors such as college, work, love, children, etc. begin to play into ones life. For Tereszka growing up all she knew was destruction and chaos perhaps that is the driving reason behind the creation of the lines and shapes on the black board.

Tereszka will continue to return as I dig deeper in to my these Past/In/On Residence in the coming year.

​AW