SITU

11/10/2021

In 2017, SITU participated in an eight-month research project led by Pauline Lefebvre, an architectural professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Lefebvre immersed herself with our team to study SITU’s production methods as well as client relationships. This work was focused on capturing architecture in the making, rather than analyzing forms of practice via built-work.

This research is now included as a case study within a bilingual publication by ULB and co-edited by Lefebvre along with Julie Neuwels and Jean-Philippe Possoz. Titled Thinking-Making. When Architects Engage in Construction, the book includes a range of investigations into the practice of making in the architecture industry, which traditionally focuses solely on design processes.

See here for more details and to order a copy: https://www.editions-ulb.be/en/book/?gcoi=74530100903210

06/02/2021

Today we launch a video produced in collaboration with The Intercept examining the use of a crowd-control tactic often referred to as “kettling,” in which law enforcement traps or encircles a group of people, preventing them from dispersing.

While police often argue that this tactic is focused on restoring order, in practice it often provokes panic and is frequently deployed in combination with indiscriminate punitive measures such as mass arrests or the use of tear gas against a trapped group of individuals. This video provides a primer of how police across the United States have used this tactic, with a particular focus on its implementation during racial justice protests that have proliferated across the country over the past 12 months.

The video focuses on a specific protest that took place on June 2, 2020 in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department kettled protesters and subjected them to an array of so-called “less lethal” weapons including tear gas, flashbang grenades and pepper-balls, without allowing them to disperse.

A full year after the murder of George Floyd and the movement his death catalyzed across the United States, it is critical to continue to question practices of law enforcement and the culture of impunity that continues to define much of modern policing. The development and release of this work is one way that SITU seeks to prioritize and advance this ongoing conversation around racial justice.

The video is accompanied by an article written by investigative journalist Alice Speri, examining the practice of kettling, its history, contemporary case studies and lack of regulation: https://theintercept.com/2021/06/02/kettling-protests-charlotte-police/

05/25/2021

Our SITU Fabrication team at the Little Island NYC opening last week! For months, our fabrication team has been working on designing and building custom benches and amphitheater seating throughout the 2.4-acre park, designed by Heatherwick Studio, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects and Standard Architects. We’re thrilled to see the completed vision; congratulations to everyone involved!

Stay tuned for more details on how we developed these custom amenities.

05/12/2021

In 2018, we launched Making Space, a flexible infrastructure-focused system for redesigning community spaces throughout the Brooklyn Public Library system. We’re excited to announce that the initiative, originally rolled out at the Brooklyn Public Library-Flatbush Branch as a pilot location, has expanded to three additional branches at Brooklyn Public Library-Clinton Hill Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, Branches, Cypress Hills and Brooklyn Public Library-Spring Crk. Our approach to adaptive renovation is centered around a customizable kit-of-parts, with components that can be tailored to the programmatic and spatial needs of each new location as the program grows.

Can't wait to see these new community rooms in action once the Library can safely resume its full programming! Stay tuned for more updates and visit our website to learn more: https://situ.nyc/news/making-space-2-brooklyn-public-library

04/23/2021

Last year, our Research division contributed to the development of Amnesty International's multimedia site, "Tear Gas: An Investigation". We're so excited to share that the site is now a finalist in this year's The Webby Awards, in the "Activism" category! Now that the jury has narrowed the selection, winners are determined by public vote, so we hope you'll help us by voting here: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting #/2021/websites-and-mobile-sites/general-websites-and-mobile-sites/activism

If you're unfamiliar, Amnesty's website serves as an expansive, interactive primer on tear gas—breaking down what it is, how it gets abused and why that matters to the public. Our Research team helped in creating a video analysis of tear gas, employing our digital modeling techniques to demonstrate how tear gas can have devastating effects depending on the environment in which it's deployed. Watch the video on our website: https://situ.nyc/research/projects/tear-gas

I just voted in The Webby People's Voice Awards and checked my voter registration.

04/14/2021

Today at 4 pm EDT! As part of the Common Lectures series at Rutgers University's Department of Landscape Architecture, we'll be talking about our practice and process in a lecture titled, "Multidisciplinary Spatial Workflows". Katie Shima, And Emmet and Bora Erden will share insights into our Studio, Fabrication and Research divisions—sharing current projects and approaches—while also speaking to how our cross-disciplinary collaborations reinforce the creative and social impact of our work.

Free and open to the public with RSVP. To request a Zoom link, email Gail McKenzie at [email protected].

View the listing here: http://landarch.rutgers.edu/Lectures.html

03/23/2021

Thank you to Barbara Wilks of W Architecture & Landscape Architecture for inviting us into her landscape architecture class at University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design last week!

Amy Hindson, Bora Erden and And Emmet gave students a tour of our practice, delving into both the design and business strategies behind the wide-ranging projects across our Studio, Research and Fabrication divisions. We had a particularly interesting discussion around contract models, sharing our experiences with projects that aren't led by funded opportunities—a model that has led to different kinds of creative and value-driven work that we’ve been able to achieve in the past year.

Best of luck to the class!

03/17/2021

Today SITU's And Emmet and Bora Erden will join University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design 's landscape architecture program, sharing insights into our multidisciplinary practice. Excited to meet you all!

03/08/2021

Tomorrow at Sheridan College: Our Director of Design Katie Shima speaks with students from Sheridan's Interior Design Collaborative about SITU's craft and material process, and the synergies between our Studio and Fabrication work.

RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezvx3GNtnvV1SAexM08xjXmOBrqLP6o199sC7L25ts4W_dtQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

03/03/2021

Since the pandemic, the boundaries between work and life have grown increasingly intertwined—affecting where we work, where we spend time outside of work and our daily commute.

At SITU, we’ve been examining how this development will shape our neighborhoods, cities and regions and asking what companies, developers and the public sector can do to re-imagine the future of commercial districts. What new opportunities are emerging as a result of these new workflows, particularly in terms of promoting equity and economic opportunity?

Last week, Director of Business Development Amy Hindson moderated a global panel focused on embracing the role of the workplace in civic life. In an exciting talk with Aisha Glover of Audible, Kate Wittels of HR&A Advisors, Inc. and Clare Newman of Governors Island, we explored this question about the with a truly multidisciplinary panel of expertise, drawing on experiences in economic development, urban planning, public program design and more.

Miss the event? Watch the recording here: https://vimeo.com/518967249