“Translating Voices / Subverting Subtraction”

My project will be about reinterpreting the conservation strategy programme to subvert the current urban development proposals, looking at demolition as an opportunity – e.g. as an economy of rearrangement and reuse.

Developing my scenario, I began with the event “Toursim Boom”.

The new Studio Libeskind tower is situated on the periphery of the area of wooden houses, and so, as a consequence of the tourists visiting the tower, they are also drawn into the historical region of Snipiskes.

Through the infrastructure of of social media, the masterplan for the development is shared online. Since the area has become appreciated by people visiting Vilnius, the plans to demolish most of the houses are met with vast opposition, and it leads to a protest. The developer withdraws the current scheme, and the architect proposes working with the current residents to develop an updated scheme.

The community consultation meetings, held at the pre-school on Giedraiciu St. and Dragon meadow, will not be your typical consultation meetings. For one, a lot of the residents speak only a little Lithuanian, their first language being Russian. The Architect will need to act a translator.

Translation will be a core theme of the project with the Architect as a translator, and my translation of the current Heritage programme.

Despite the “Implementation of Conservation Strategy Programme Regarding Wooden Architecture of Vilnius 2006” document put in place by Vilnius Municipality Council, the wooden houses are disappearing rapidly. In the document, there is no detailed research based on the values of the wooden architecture, therefore it is not evaluated adequately. This is one of the reasons it is decaying rapidly, and in some cases being intentionally destructed. There is also no proper legislation in place regarding the wooden houses. No legislation means the programme is open to interpretation.

The depreciation of its heritage is also due to its inhabitants. Most of the original owners were lost after World War II, and a specific poorest social group inherited the wooden area. Most are indifferent to the heritage of the area. The houses are heated by log fires, and the only water is from hydrants in the street. This has painted a picture of an uncomfortable and undesirable area to live.

Conversations with residents of Vilnius revealed this:

The second conversation also shows that Shanghai is quite an isolated community, cut off physically from the main highway and not really ventured into by locals. Even the pedestrian paths from Kalvariju St. are not very welcoming, with “keep out” signs, and rope blocking the entrances. As a group we mapped the guard dogs and cctv cameras along Silutes St., and it was evident that the inhabitants must feel unsafe or want to keep people out for one reason or another. See Output \\ Security – Urban Planning as a Cause of Crime

However, the current masterplan will uproot the long standing community.

Through my intervention I am hoping to protect the community by “protecting the heritage” – in inverted commas, as I would like to translate what protecting heritage means in my own way. The goal will not be to freeze the space as it is now, and preserve it, but to work with the idea that every building holds the capacity or disposition of creating space, if subtracted.

I want to explore the idea of subtraction not just as erasure, but as a positive activity – part of the ecology of building, perhaps seeing subtraction as a stream of material.

Feedback and Moving Forward:

Difficult to connect verbal and visual presentation – something to think about for next time
Explore the 3 key strands creatively and precisely: Architect as translator, redefining “protecting heritage” (subtraction as a positive thing), and designing the consultation meetings. Make them important.
Look at precedents for types of consultation meeting, e.g. Supertanker, Design Act
What does it mean to have the Architect as a translator? How can I develop it?
Develop pieces of work for each strand
“Creation through destruction” – explore at different scales