this one will require you to use well established, fundamental methods of historical research in order to understand the physical, social, and symbolic construction of space, to analyze form for meaning, and to come to terms with change over time. You will make connections between the
historical themes and theoretical readings discussed in the Survey course and todays built
environment of New York City. You will acquire research skills essential to any architect and
thus useful to you in your design work in studio.
Projects goals: Description, analysis, and interpretation of the symbolic construction of
space.
Research methods: Ethnographic fieldwork (i.e., a scientific study and recording of culture;
in this case, through studying a curated exhibition in the United States).
Site: Moroccan Court, Gallery #456 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Some context: On November 1st, 2011, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened the New
Galleries for the Art of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. The
galleries include many exhibits, among them the Moroccan Court, located close to the entrance
of the galleries and flanked by screen walls. The project was curated by the landscape architect
Achva B. Stein (a former SSA faculty member). To build the Moroccan Court the Met hired
fourteen Moroccan craftsmen to (re)create a courtyard space in a style that borrowed from
several historic sites including the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain. The craftsmen worked in
traditions well known to them and with familiar materials, such as ceramic tile, marble, and
stucco. The project and installation were to reflect a relationship of educational exchange
between the Arab Lands and the U.S. that was otherwise (and to this day) not often portrayed by
popular media.
Instructions:
1) Read and consider. For background on the courtyard exhibit and installation, read
the New York Times article Historys Hands (March 11, 2011). For an analysis of
Orientalism, refer to Edward Saids introduction to his book Orientalism (1978). Both
texts are posted on Dropbox.
2) Visit the Moroccan Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (located on Fifth Avenue
and East 82nd Street). Take notes, and make photographs, sketches, or recordings. Be
sure to watch the video describing the construction process. Observe the courtyard and
the space surrounding it. Where is the courtyard located within the entire exhibition
space of the New Galleries? What architectural artifacts have been included in the
Moroccan Court exhibition? How are they displayed? How are objects arranged in space?
Do you think anything has been excluded? Do you think there is an agenda at play? How
does one interact within the space? Describe your observations in writing.
3) Interpret and respond. Formulate an argument while considering the following: How
is architecture used to exhibit culture? Is what is being exhibited reflective of the true
culture or is it skewed? Which culture is being displayed? Does Orientalism influence the
concept? Consider materials used (and not used), context (of the original and the
exhibit), and construction (method and labor). Does the recreated courtyard further the
designers and the museums intention of facilitating exchange between the U.S. and
Arab lands?
4) Remember to call on Saids text in analyzing the exhibit and identifying its successes and
failures.
