What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1477891
SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 39 PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwaonline.com Twitter: NWAbecca REPORTERS Monica Hooper mhooper@nwaonline.com April Wallace awallace@nwaonline.com (479) 770-3746 DESIGNER Deb Harvell ! UP WHAT'S ON THE COVER "My dad plays flute, my sister plays tuba, and my brother plays trumpet," says cellist Tess Crowther Kent. "I have a very musical family, but they never pushed me to choose music. I was always encouraged to choose whatever career path would make me happy." Kent plays with the Fort Smith Symphony in its season-opening concert Sept. 10. (COURTESY PHOTO) What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Totem House: Histories of Negation by studioSUMO is the most surprising of the structures you'll encounter in the exhibit, Turk says. The design firm out of Boston and New Haven merged the history and acknowledges that timeline in how you use the domestic space. The structure is in four segments, four totems, each with a general square shape with a triangle on top. Unlike the other prototypes, which are generally free of program — meaning the space can be dictated as the family needs — this one has very specific uses in mind for each segment: kitchen, bathroom, entertainment, etc. Looking closely, a visitor can see etchings for where the sink should be placed and even where the shoes should be stowed. Materials for the exterior and the roof would be dependent on the location, Turk says, perhaps adobe if you're building in New Mexico or all glass in sunny, warm places like California. "That's beautiful, but there's another layer" to it, Turk says. Writing etched into the sides of the totems reflects historic, defining events and moments of Northwest Arkansas from 1750 to today, including laws, elections, lynchings and other things that changed our society. In the end it was a cross- section of the Trail of Tears, the path of the Civil War, the series of sundown towns that pushed Black Americans north. The timeline was created through research by Yolande Daniels and funded with a federal grant. "Why are we imbuing domestic space with the history of people on this land?" Turk asks. "We've got to acknowledge why we're here and where we came from and what contributed to why we're standing here having a conversation about affordable housing and who that affects the most." A stairway leads to a second floor on one of the totems, which symbolizes standing on the foundations of everyone who came before you and having hope to innovate for the future, Turk says. Furthest down the trail is the prototype by Pablo Perez and PPAA (Perez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados). It was made in Mexico City and sent in pieces, along with its aluminum beams, to be put together here in Northwest Arkansas, Turk says. Ordinarily Perez designs and builds in the most populated cities of the world. Faced with constructing in a more rural setting, Perez kept returning to the images of Aztec and Mayan ruins being overtaken by the natural world. "We can try our hardest to fight against nature, but it will persist," Turk says. PPAA's prototype lends itself to the question "What if we think about designing and building structures that lean into the connection to the natural world rather than starting off fighting it?" The structure's clouded but translucent walls give it a definite greenhouse vibe, and that is intentional. Perez was exploring the idea of treating human bodies like we treat plants and vegetables: by giving them sunlight, creating a perfect climate and connecting to the outdoors. "It's his dream that it gets taken over," Turk says. Out on the back patio, look up and take time to see the light come through the leaves and appreciate the architecture of the forest, he encourages visitors. "It reminds me of being home… which is something I think is important for people to lean into the place." Architecture Continued From Page 9 FEATURE "Not my HUD house" by studio:indigenous explores ways to build houses that connect with the specific cultures and identities that they're being built within. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)