made in asherton
an explication of texas’ microurbanism & hypercontext
“Young, instant and radically small, the American town operates as an extreme condition of minimal complexity and minimum urbanity. If America is the original version of modernity according to Baudrillard, then the extremities of that vast internal American territory offer us an insight to an accelerated end state of that modernity.” -- ksestudio
Made in Asherton seeks to produce a temporal reading of the “micro-politan” condition of southwest Texas through extensive research, catalogs, and projection exercises. By drawing the overlooked, the generic, the unseen, the irrelevant, the unfinished, and the unwrought, a critical iconography of the American town is produced. This can then be re-inserted in the imagery of the land to reveal architectural, cultural, and/or political implications of this hyper-specific territory.
Asherton, Texas and its surrounding areas have a rich history and traditions which are often overlooked by the 21st-century problems impacting the area today. This projection does not seek to alleviate the issues plaguing the town or to determine right vs. wrong for the community. The aim is to be critical, to create a discourse surrounding the mirco-urbanism of Dimmit County and its broader implications for the hyper-context of the state.
The basis of this exploration is a new plan for the city of Asherton which disassembles existing temporary housing structures outside of the city limits (hotels, motels, RV parks, and man camps) and then redistributes them within the existing town plan. The decision to relocate ephemeral housing structures arose from a series of interviews conducted with Asherton’s transient population of migrant shift workers. These workers detailed harsh working conditions, a lack of community, and substandard housing conditions -- all of which were addressed in this explication.
After locating and cataloging each housing typology migrant oil workers populate in Asherton throughout the year, the decision to superimpose a new autonomous city grid for Asherton was met. This grid runs entirely on a north/south axis and purposely contradicts the existing town grid. The grid served as an opportunity to prevent bias on the basis of class and race. Each property has been treated with the same logic, and the grid is democratic by randomization.
This imposition of new housing typologies creates moments of friction throughout the town. Communal areas merge in these examples and create co-living spaces for strangers who will now exist in the same space in an attempt to address issues of affordability and migrant populations. Asherton’s permanent residents will act as hosts and liaisons to their guests. New relationships between these different populations will be forged and allow for facilitated interaction.
Made in Asherton seeks to produce a temporal reading of the “micro-politan” condition of southwest Texas through extensive research, catalogs, and projection exercises. By drawing the overlooked, the generic, the unseen, the irrelevant, the unfinished, and the unwrought, a critical iconography of the American town is produced. This can then be re-inserted in the imagery of the land to reveal architectural, cultural, and/or political implications of this hyper-specific territory.
Asherton, Texas and its surrounding areas have a rich history and traditions which are often overlooked by the 21st-century problems impacting the area today. This projection does not seek to alleviate the issues plaguing the town or to determine right vs. wrong for the community. The aim is to be critical, to create a discourse surrounding the mirco-urbanism of Dimmit County and its broader implications for the hyper-context of the state.
The basis of this exploration is a new plan for the city of Asherton which disassembles existing temporary housing structures outside of the city limits (hotels, motels, RV parks, and man camps) and then redistributes them within the existing town plan. The decision to relocate ephemeral housing structures arose from a series of interviews conducted with Asherton’s transient population of migrant shift workers. These workers detailed harsh working conditions, a lack of community, and substandard housing conditions -- all of which were addressed in this explication.
After locating and cataloging each housing typology migrant oil workers populate in Asherton throughout the year, the decision to superimpose a new autonomous city grid for Asherton was met. This grid runs entirely on a north/south axis and purposely contradicts the existing town grid. The grid served as an opportunity to prevent bias on the basis of class and race. Each property has been treated with the same logic, and the grid is democratic by randomization.
This imposition of new housing typologies creates moments of friction throughout the town. Communal areas merge in these examples and create co-living spaces for strangers who will now exist in the same space in an attempt to address issues of affordability and migrant populations. Asherton’s permanent residents will act as hosts and liaisons to their guests. New relationships between these different populations will be forged and allow for facilitated interaction.
project information
location: asherton, texas
date: 2019
type: research, urban planning, housing
credits
project team: gabrielle mauldin, jacob t. middleton
location: asherton, texas
date: 2019
type: research, urban planning, housing
credits
project team: gabrielle mauldin, jacob t. middleton
typical micropolitan condition in dimmit county, texas
ephemeral asherton; mapping a removal of permanence. consists of oil fields, fast food joints, & temporary housing conditions present in asherton and surrounding areas.
by disassembling temporary housing structures and arraying them throughout town, an ephemeral population is superimposed on Asherton -- manipulating the character of the town. the layering of new typologies creates moments of friction and possibility
isometric view of asherton post-intervention
