ASO Studio: Barge as par.a.digm - Artificial River Ecological Formations
Architects’ fascination with the barge has been mythological, societal, cultural and utilitarian. This studio looks at the commonplace western Pennsylvania waterways and river barges as a way to resolve present cultural and ecological challenges as well as the making of objects that engage the water’s edge.
The Arrival of the Floating Pool. Madelon Vrussendorp and Rem Koolhaas, 1975.
ASOS Catalog Course Description
In each era of art and architecture, creatives have looked towards the present condition of context in search of new uses for the ordinary items that exist in plain sight. Architects’ fascination with the barge has been mythological, societal, cultural and utilitarian.
This studio looks at the commonplace western Pennsylvania waterways and river barges as a way to resolve present cultural and ecological challenges as well as the making of objects that engage the water’s edge.
Located on the western Pennsylvania waterways, the studio operates within a number of towns located along the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. The project(s) operate within the edge conditions of these places. Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act, river fish and related species have dramatically increased. How these interventions help to continue this ecological recovery is a critical part of this studio’s working process.
The projects will vary per student and site location selected. However, the programmatic responses are directly linked to the challenges facing western Pennsylvania communities. Each student evaluates the social, ecological and technological.