Serdar Toka

Warcity

Construction and Destruction

Serdar Toka

"Even if we were to kill history, we would not be able to rid ourselves of its corpse." -Edwin Lutyens-

The Warcity project, conducted at the Department of Architecture at Mardin Artuklu University, is the third installment in a series of projects concerning urban debates[1].

Through an educational approach in architecture that fosters open-minded and questioning attitudes, the project revolves around a fundamental issue of space: the process of construction and destruction. By approaching the production of space from a reverse perspective, the project initiates discussions primarily on the act of destruction, fostering a variety of possible scenarios through an openness to different perspectives on construction and destruction in spatial production. What scenarios would emerge if architects' job were to destroy rather than build? What do those who destroy think and feel? What does destruction mean compared to construction?

How can the intersections of reality, art, and theory inherent in destruction be represented artistically or technically? The Warcity project revolves around such questions, leading to discussions that, while meaningful in their own right, culminate in a striking montage of written, visual, and mass imagery when brought together. The meticulous process of creating and ultimately destroying the model over approximately 7 weeks is both exciting and terrifying, as well as profoundly unsettling. The journey experienced by the architectural design class transcends mere storytelling to become a multilayered reality in itself. Ultimately, the practice of destruction, reevaluating and reimagining architectural knowledge from scratch, is realized. What emerges is an unconventional city model, frozen in the form of a destruction montage.

[1] https://www.arredamentomimarlik.com/dergi/332; https://manifold.press/gastrocity

"Explosion" (1917) by George Grosz

NOTES

I. The universe and life are in a constant state of construction and destruction.

II. Humans are both creators and destroyers. Destruction is benign when it is not merely about annihilation. They are both producers and those who strive to destroy or seize what has been produced, even at the cost of destruction. To build and destroy is either to improve upon or obliterate.

"Triumph of Death" (1562) by the Elder Peter Bruegel

III. To cope with what they encounter in the present, humans dig up the past. This pertains not only to architectural history but also to fossils dating back millions of years. Therefore, the science, political economy, ethics, epistemology, and aesthetics of destruction and creation exist. And of course, architecture: its aesthetics and techniques.

IV. Destruction is as old as humanity itself. The prophet Noah, in response to evil, exemplifies radical change. Anarchists and their archenemy, the liberals, along with revolutionaries, are the thinkers.

V. Cities bear wounds; if not destroyed on a large scale, they gradually crumble while being built upon.

"Disasters of War, Plate 39" (1863) by F. Goya

VI. Wars are human-made destructions. In contemporary times, wars may result in the subjugation of individuals economically and physically in the process of destruction and reconstruction through the intersecting mechanisms of spatial political economy and biopolitics.

VII. In art and science, creation is impossible without destruction. During the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo perfected and elevated realistic and rational art; however, the pioneers of Mannerism, Baroque, Romanticism, and Expressionism disrupted perfected rational art, initiating an aesthetic of destruction/destruction beginning with deformation.

VIII. In the first half of the last century, the Futurists advocated for a continuous and rational dynamic of destruction-construction-destruction. During the Second World War, Italian Futurists aligned with fascists besides advocating for destruction. German Expressionists, on the other hand, represented a state of deformation; some even attempted suicide.

"The second, widely televised demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe structures (April 21, 1972)"

IX. When destruction is rational, it turns into an external disintegration. For the soul, disintegration is horrifying; thus, when destruction is spiritual—as seen in art—it manifests not as disintegration but deformation. Francis Bacon portrays the horror of disintegration.

X. There have been artists who represent destruction alongside destruction. Old Peter Bruegel depicts the apocalypse, Goya portrays the disasters of war, and George Grozs depicts an explosion during the First World War.

XI. Destruction in architecture can be observed in the demolition of Le Corbusier's modernist and universal Purrit Iego structures, upon which postmodernism is built.

XII. Destruction is not merely physical/material. Every new piece of knowledge, every art movement, presents itself by destroying the old. Every field dismantles and constructs within its own practice. Life changes are continuous practices of destruction and construction. Spinoza's geometry of life designates encounters' creation of pain and joy...

XIII. Even when destruction is benign, it generates resistance, particularly among the most conservative middle-class bureaucrats. Changes involving destruction and construction are possible for the lower strata, such as the unemployed and homeless, as well as the bourgeoisie at the top.

XIV. Destruction and construction are opposed in academia as well, as academicism represents the conservative aspect of knowledge.

XV. When destruction is malign, it generates resistance in every field.

XVI. Whether it be for crime or rebuilding, destruction is jarring. With resistance and objections, the destroyer produces reflexes and doubts within themselves. Therefore, even when benign, destruction is challenging. Creating anew always involves destroying the old, as Rollo May states in his book "The Courage to Create," drawing from existential psychology, that artistic creation always emerges with feelings of guilt and fear, requiring courage[1]. Destruction causes pain; however, when endured with courage, it transforms into pleasure. Destruction leaves a wound, the ruins are the architectural wounds of cities, and their healing brings pleasure; in Spinoza's geometry of love design, the transformation of love into hate...[2] Thus, through destruction, the unsettling realities of humanity and life, primarily pain and joy, manifest. Other emotions are diversified around pain and pleasure.

MODEL

Warcity-2nd Model

In the project, the land of the Savur district of Mardin province is determined as the study area, and among the participants and facilitators of the project, actors and roles representing the city's power grids are shared[3]. In the first two weeks, sketch models and various materials are used to test burning and collapsing effects, and visuals of burning and collapsing are watched/discussed: images of the bombed cities of World War II, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the explosion in Beirut, and the collapse of Purrit Iego residences are examined.

Warcity-Model-Detail

Then, the project moves on to the implementation stages. In the first stage, the city is meticulously constructed on the terrain model, representing the power assamblages. The city begins to take shape with the establishment of an industrial facility (ginning factory) on the land, and actors representing the power assamblages gradually build the city according to estimated

Warcity-Model Detail

population data and the changes it undergoes. The industrial zone, coorperate housing, ghettos, and public buildings begin to emerge, gradually forming the city center and expanding the city. The second stage of the project is the burning and destruction of the model. This happens like a ritual. The destruction of the model is based on the relationship between fire and combustible materials such as styrofoam and cardboard; the model is burned and destroyed as controlled as possible, akin to painting with fire on styrofoam or arranging a sculpture, without decorative or material-forcing additions and interventions, allowing for chance occurrences between the burning of the model material and the dripping molten plastic. In the process of destruction, primary elements that sustain the city, such as dams and industries, are selected first. Then, transportation networks are chosen.

Warcity-Blueprint

The next step involves the rebellious ghettos and social spaces where people gather en masse. The occupation resulting from destruction occurs either through street clashes or as a result of chance occurrences, leading to the destruction of other structures. On the drawings, the transition is made to the architectural representations of this new situation/destruction. Each actor once again engages in representing the destruction within their role areas using architectural drawings. A process video is then created from the visuals of the experience[4].

[1] May, Rollo; Courage to Create, W. W. Norton & Company, NY 1994.

[2] Spinoza, Benedictus (Baruch); Ethica, Translator: Edwin Curley, Penguin Classics, London 1996.

[3] Industry: Ramazan Yüksel, Transportation: Sinan Kosta, Gehtto: Zehra Göğer-Osman Ulutaş, Social Hausing: Ali Aktuğ, Entrepreneur: Şeyma Tuz, Sport and Entertainment: Dilara Arım, Public Buildigs: Aygül Yüce-Elif Aslan, Downtown: Uğur Yüksel ve Public Authority: Serdar Toka.

[4] Process video: https://vimeo.com/794488313