About the Sheldon Scenarios

Introduction and Context

This group has undertaken the initiation of the architectural programming for the Sheldon Facility. The project has several unique challenges: The arts, being about form, are particularly connected to and effected by their structural environment. The form that the arts might take are not easily predetermined. The future uses of the building are potentially uncertain. The financial situation of the project and impact on the future operations of the organization put forth a complex and at times conflicting set of needs on the design.

These challenges are all dynamic in nature and point as a solutions to flexibility or the optimization of future change. The base inherent challenge is wrapped up in this need for dynamic and flexible change. These needs run counter to the traditional processes of design, and at times are may not be possible to solve in form. The challenge becomes how to design, commit to, and build static forms that serve these needs.

This group's work at an early stage became about investigating this flexibility. How much flexibility was possible? How much flexibility was good? What exactly was the nature of this flexibility? What are the costs of flexibility? With what forms and language does one deal with flexibility and how is that embodied in form?

The project for the organization requires a leap to a different level of engagement with the culture and economy. This leap is being made to a form the organization does not know, and in an environment of economic and cultural uncertainty. It holds some risks, but also some great opportunities to assure the future survival of the organization and address its mission in ways that have broad cultural impact. It is a model project that confronts issues such as:

What is the future of cultural institutions?

What is the future of the relationships between economy and culture?

How can form serve to support the building of community through experience?

What will the dynamic be between new media and technology and the arts and culture?

How does an organization plan through a structure to support innovative thought and creative action toward the development of a vital cultural community?

In an effort to work through many of these factors at an early stage this group convened to generate a program for these needs. There is not an established process appropriate to the dynamic challenges of this project.

The group met regularly in the Sheldon facility during the months of May and June. Time in the space as well as organized and impromptu experiences with the space informed the process. The process was collaborative in nature toward the end of the best solutions for the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. We used the process of scenario planning in addition to architectural programming methods. It was understood from the beginning that the use of Scenario Planning had not been used in architectural programming and that testing, forming, and evolving these processes was part of the project. Discoveries and developments were made in the areas of architectural programming and scenario planning. (see Appendix).

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ABOUT SCENARIOS	Index	here	Build	SSE	Proceed	Appendix

SCENARIO TEXTS

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