Intercedence

Historical Architecture and the concept of the palimpsest define places like Medina and Japan. In this paper I talk about using that same framework to interrogate the architecture in Steveston BC.

*How do we design an exhibition to suit the needs of stories that were erased during the forced relocation of the Japanese-Canadians during WWII?

Contested Memory as a Cultural Device

Intercedence while primarily an architecture excersice in the palimsest also touches on the sociological and historical trauma of the Nikkeis fractured Genius Loci. For Steveston to remain essentially unchanged in layout gives credence to the spatial memory and the contested memory of the village proper. By overlaying and challenging the conventional monument of sites and places where people have effectively displaced living memories during relocation, we can construct and play with the idea of contested memory in the village giving rise to dynamic forms that play with sense of distal scale in both time and physical spaces. Simply put, the entire fishing village of Steveston exsists as a palace to contested memory, as the Nikkei were forced out of ancestral homes and had trauma inflicted upon them, we can begin to deconstruct from conflicting views how these sites of "old town" should be memorialized, preserved or even interpreted.

A Primer Derrida's Metaphysical Trace + Steveston

Derrida's concept of trace is a critique of the metaphyiscal presence in Western Philosophy, described as the mark of an absence and is a critical identifier of deconstruction. The metaphysical trace itself is the presence of related signs inside of a specific sign. In essence, "the sign" is a reference to itself, similar to how words rhyme, it can be adapted as architectural vernacular by the deconstruction of architectural archtypes by distorting and dislocating the envelope, space, or program of the building. Like the concepts of contested memory the result is often a juxstaposition of "half truths" in the built environment resulting in a controlled but unpredictable building.

The notions of half truths in architectural design and the memories of the village permeate the design-creation of intercedence. Challenging both the current historical and architectural paradigm of Steveston. The historical, architectural and cultural layers of Steveston provide a ripe oppertuinity to carry out this investigation of built and percieved presence in the village which play with the ideals of dialectic presence and absence in the built environment.

Design Process

The layers of history in Steveston presents a unique opportunity for architectural interventions because of its contested memory. From multiple site visits we looked speculatively at how we could “process” and place buildings that exist in a historical context along a metaphorical grid that would highlight and offset the historical narrative along the current "spirit of place" of Steveston.

By integrating the methodologies of Eisenmann and his precedence of the fabric of the city, I tried to design a process in which we could look at the village as a blockade of walls, centering the user and evoking an image in how to find more about historical centers by peeling back layers of history through sightlines and the so called "patina of history".

In my initial pre planning me and my thesis supervisor looked at how different places in steveston could form contested memories of place. Architectually speaking we could observe different eras of design,

Critical Speculation

Intercedence proposes an alternative narrative to the museum structure set out across Steveston by placing and moving users through a reward + denial system of grids and walls. Overlaid on top of Steveston proper. In the speculations highlighted I propose 3 modular structures that touch on the ideas of memory and patina through architecture motifs from contemporaries like Peter Eisenmann and Kengo Kuma.

By providing a conduit for memories and history through the vernacular history of Steveston, this project sought to address the "whiteness" of architecture around Steveston and the obliteration of the past. By approaching the sensitive subjects of historical obliteration with kindness, Intercedence seeks a compromise with the Nikkei and the Fisheries as a way to erect temporary architecture that touches on history, inviting users to be comfortable with the uncomfortable past.∎

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