Chili......the aftermath

Whats the MATTA?

Talking to Eugene

In my beginning research of vernacular buildings in New Orleans I have begun to grow more concerned with the people who actually make these places. As an architecture student it has grown easy for me to distance myself from the practice of building, and as a mediocre one, from the act of making anything. Thus I feel the need to focus my overarching research theme down, so far this focus has been on Lakeview. In an interview with a certain member of the Lakeview Civic Organization the topic of historic structures arose. “Eugene” said, “In my neighborhood we have several styles of architecture...Spanish and California Bungalow. It is quite a unique place.” This very small comment stood out to me after the fact. How unique could it be? In fact, how unique can areas of this city be in terms of buildings? I have begun to wonder how a street lined with basically identical bungalows can be viewed as different from one lined with brick, kit houses. Obviously if one looks at the details of the roof or the way the structure meets the street front differences will abound, but at the speed of the biker or car, what’ the difference. I understand what “Eugene” meant, as an abundance of styles would lead to a visual tossed salad, but once this condition is multiplied across the scale of three blocks the differences are massed together and solidified into a unified difference. This is why I want to scale down to possibly one builder in one area to look beyond building and into the act and meaning of it.