ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY AND THEORY: ORIENTATIONS
ASSESSMENT TASK 2A: DRAWING/ NOTATION
Bernard Tschumi - The Manhattan Transcripts
Bernard Tschumi states that ‘architecture is defined by the actions it witnesses as much as the closure of its walls. Murder in the streets differs to murder in the cathedral in the same way love in the streets differs to street of love’. In other words, architecture should not only be interpreted by its spatial form, but rather by how events and movement interact in the space.
The Manhattan transcripts, which were developed at the late ‘70s, is a project that contains four episodes (see Figures 1,2,3 and 4) with a series of architectural drawings that represent imagined events occurring in New York city. Their purpose was to transfer an architectural aspect of reality by using photographs that witness events and design the structures in relation to the movement of the protagonists.
Figure 1: Episode 1: The Park, 1976-1977.
Figure 2: Episode 2: The Street (Border Crossing), 1980.
Figure 3: Episode 3: The Tower (The Fall), 1980.
Figure 4: Episode 4: The Block, 1980-1981.
Bernard Tschumi, since he wanted to represent the relationship between the space and its use, his method of drawing is quite unique compared to common architectural drafting. For instance, as seen in Figure 2, in the first column he used a series of pictures of a man falling from a Manhattan skyscraper, which then it’s translated into a continuous line, that shows the shape of the movement. Afterwards, in the third column, by using black and red color, he divides the space in negative and positive and also shapes the line. Lastly, he connects the different levels of the fall and forms a tower.
Inspired by the Episode 4 (see Figure 4) and the fight scene drawing from the Screenplays (see Figure 5), I shouted a short video at the Central Station, where people are getting off the train. I called my drawing ‘A transcript of a friendship’, since its main characters are two friends hugging. I selected four moments of the video, that express the movement the best possible. I put the photographs in sequence and by observing the actions of the protagonists, I made a diagram with arrows to show how people act at this space. Then, I gave shape to it and after making it 3D, I used scale to reflect height and importance to the structure (see Figure 6).
Figure 5: The Screenplays, 1976.
Figure 6: A Transcript of a Friendship. (Photo and Drawing by Marya Yaqo, 2018)
To conclude, Tschumi believes that architecture is the most important innovation of our time. In my opinion, Tschumi has created this new approach of event and action in architecture, as feelings come from events. Our everyday life is surrounded by architecture and every structure/building conveys a feeling to us. Therefore, there is a strong connection between event and architecture, which not only makes it meaningful, but expressive, too.
