ARCH-4980.6 | Chris Perry, Assistant Professor

NEW ECO-MONASTICISM

Physical and Phenomenological Re-Orientation

KATERI KNAPP

Inspired by the social and cultural phenomena of rediscovered freedom, do-it-yourself culture, and technological innovation that emerged out of the counter culture movement, the designers and thinkers of the Postwar period digested these desires into architectural phenomena. The realized design implications present themselves in the development of architectural, geographic, and social mobility which activate an unprecedented condition of indeterminate authorship and user curation. Developing along a parallel time frame, the Postwar period marks the birth of environmental philosophy and environmental activism as prominent players in Western cosmology. With many of these socio-cultural themes presenting themselves as very topical in the contemporary moment, there is a renewed need for a responsive architectural typology.

Throughout this timeline of social-architectural-ecological developments, the Hudson River Valley has served as a prominent site. Particularly influential in the Hudson River Valley’s role in these developments are the many seasons and flows of the region; climatic, social, educational, technological, cultural. This flux becomes highly influential in understanding our relationship with nature and how we situation ourselves within the larger matrix of design. By analyzing these fluctuations we can begin to situate ourselves as designers and architects within the historical discourse of unproductive relationships between agriculture and industry, the dichotomy of “natural” and “artificial” within our prevalently anthropocentric culture, and the currently re-emerging trends of symbiotic dualities in the region.

Despite the existence of these promising trends, we are discovering that the conception of homo ludens promised by industrialization is really a fallacy. Rather than the prophesized abundance of leisure time for creativity and exploration, our modern society is working consistently more hours every day and facing increasing stress levels. These strains lead us to a developing program need for the 21st Century of an eco-monastic retreat.  Proposed to weave through the forest-scapes of the Hudson River Islands, this program takes on an architectural typology that constantly challenges its occupants to re-orient themselves physically, spatially, and phenomenologically within the natural and artificial territories of the formal weave.