Flat Part 2 Project 2002 Paul Stady University of Calgary | Canada This project is in three parts. One, an adaptive reuse exercise focused on alternative urban development, two, an historical mapping of the apartment building in the past 200 years, with reference to popular culture, and three, a simultaneous aestheticization of the voyeurism/exhibitionism and the obtuse bricollage associated with urban architectural form and situation.Small apartment buildings from the 1960’s and 1970’s are used as a commodity onto which a layer of new information is systematically applied. Historical references and precedents, cultural trajectories, machine and technological system upgrades and customization, reconfigures the building carcass. The result is an apartment building that is "transmodern" in the way it addresses the modern period, the past 200 years. Commodification, media and technological saturation and influence, the increased affects on the urban psyche and behavioral patterns, combine in these buildings to not only accommodate and express new architectural forms and devices, but also anthropologically and archaeologically, preserve and promote wider themes of urbanism relating to the human condition. I was the supervisor of his final Master’s Degree Project entitled "Flat" and have known the student for the past four years. His previous training in Fine Arts prepared him well for the demands of architecture his personal challenge has been to balance his obvious talents at making with the perhaps more prosaic aspects of our profession. I believe that "Flat" demonstrates the success that he has achieved in striking this balance. As such it also serves as an important touchstone for other students. At a time when student projects seem to be in a hasty retreat from the real world, this project offers a refreshing alternative. The project proposes an adaptive reuse strategy for Calgary’s mid century apartment buildings. These structures are in a state of decline and Mr. Stady’s project offers an important alternative to the status quo. The project is made more poignant by the fact that its economically reasonable redevelopment scenario has been pursued within the context of a critical architectural theory. The project is also noteworthy in its attempt to synthesize the functional rationality of everyday life with a progressive aesthetic. It achieves this through the integration of advanced techniques in mass customization with the vernacular construction practices of wood frame construction. Mr. Stady has demonstrated an effective mastery of the multiple contexts and agendas that one faces in contemporary practice. For this reason, I give this student my highest recommendation for this award.