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Papers by Erika Lindsay

XVIII International Forum Le Vie Dei Mercanti: World Heritage and Contamination , 2020

Beginning with the assumption that contamination refers to layers of meaning accumulated over tim... more Beginning with the assumption that contamination refers to layers of meaning accumulated over time, this paper explores the concept of contamination as it applies to heritage conservation. Contemporary heritage conservation practice should not condone erasure of physical traces that have gained cultural significance and potential to act as "historical evidence." Citing exemplar architectural moments such as Chipperfield's reuse of battered columns in the Neues Museum and Foster's preservation of soviet graffiti on the walls of the Reichstag, the author believes that contamination can read as a form of "bearing witness to history" which enriches sites of memory. This research highlights The Partisan Memorial Cemetery which acts as multivalent signifier of memory in its post-Yugoslav context. This deep contextualization seeks to underscore the importance of tangible traces of the recent past working as mnemonic devices. These traces have the ability to link past and present and hold the potential to facilitate healing dialogue.

Dichotomy 21: ODDS, 2015

This research into former Yugoslavia’s spomenik (monuments) explores the critical relationship be... more This research into former Yugoslavia’s spomenik (monuments) explores the critical relationship between a series of material memorials, their mediatized representations, and their most recent appropriation in order to underscore the transformative nature of historic signification as both a built and symbolic continuum. Erected over the span of twenty years before Josip Tito’s death and just prior to Yugoslavia’s disintegration, the spomenik currently epitomize a gradient of decay, some fixed while others are in rapid flux at a critical point for conservation efforts. In each instance, however, their contemporary condition in stark juxtaposition to an original intended meaning points to the persistent power and allegorical potential of counter-monumentality. Tracing the modes in which these contradictory and semantically charged sites operate in response to or in spite of contemporary preservation efforts, allows for reflection upon both authoritative and informal cooption of singular cultural connotation and speculation about the power of memorial elasticity.

ACSA Fall Conference: Less Talk More Action, 2019

MORE REAL explores the question of "studio culture" in architecture schools. The authors conducte... more MORE REAL explores the question of "studio culture" in architecture schools. The authors conducted a survey of architecture faculty during the Fall 2019 ACSA Conference, Less Talk | More Action, which asked respondents, "What is your experience of studio culture?" The following paper discusses the design of the survey and conference engagement , analyzes the quantitative (demographic data and data about the respondent's position within the school) and qualitative (response to the "studio culture" question) information gathered in the survey, and discusses the MORE REAL session hosted at the ACSA conference. The authors identify a range of consistent themes that emerged in the survey responses and discuss the implications of those themes. Finally, the authors outline strategies for refining and expanding the survey design, as well as strategies for reaching a more representative set of survey participants in future iterations of MORE REAL. INTRODUCTION As instructors, we design our studios. We set the tone, control the pace, and shape studio culture. But few studio professors have received formal training in teaching methods, and we often find ourselves replicating the flawed models we experienced when we were students. While we regularly discuss project structures and course content with our colleagues, we rarely consider how we teach: the social dynamics we foster in our studios and the relationships we build with our students. If our goal as studio instructors is to foster positive studio environments where students feel ownership, agency, and support, we must explicitly consider studio culture as a defining component of our pedagogy.

ACSA Fall 2019 Conference: Less Talk More Action, 2019

Working Group investigates exclusionary practices in architectural pedagogy as a means to build m... more Working Group investigates exclusionary practices in architectural pedagogy as a means to build more equitable and inclusive architecture programs and therefore, a more diverse profession. At the Fall 2019 ACSA Conference, Less Talk | More Action, the authors led a small roundtable discussion where participants identified barriers to studying architecture and discussed ways that schools were working to overcome these barriers. After this discussion, the authors conducted further research to deepen their understanding of several of the barriers discussed. The following paper outlines the session discussion and subsequent research. The authors use data from national organizations such as ACSA, AIA, and NAAB to understand the current demographic makeup of institutions and architecture offices, and survey diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements on architecture program websites, in light of new NAAB criteria that requires programs to communicate their DEI statements. Because many barriers affect whether students would choose to study architecture in the first place, the authors identify programs working at the K-12 level to expose underrepresented minority students to architecture, and map programs to understand their distribution in the United States. The authors discuss examples of educators working to reinvent architecture pedagogy to produce more inclusive environments, and make recommendations on what can be done to foster more inclusive architectural pedagogy and urge national organizations to hold programs accountable beyond the DEI statement.

ACSA Fall Conference: Crossings Between the Proximate and the Remote, 2017

In the summer of 2016, I set out on a solo research trip to document Partisan memorials in the te... more In the summer of 2016, I set out on a solo research
trip to document Partisan memorials in the territory
of former Yugoslavia. This iteration of the fieldwork
would last for six weeks as compared to the initial
ten-day-long trip taken in 2013 (and the recently
completed four-week long journey made in July
2017). In the months leading up to the fieldwork,
I researched each of the 28 memorials, locating,
mapping and planning routes between sites, towns
and cities across Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, and Slovenia. During this time, I drove
4,853 kilometers across the five countries.
Sited in former Yugoslavia, this project situates itself
between a particular point of time in history when
the state of Yugoslavia existed and these memorials
came into being and their current plight in today’s
post-Yugoslav context. These memorial sites are
at odds with the nationalist and revisionist ideologies
increasingly present in the region and subject
to the myriad collective memories of people living
in the countries of former Yugoslavia. The inspiration
for this paper came from the many ways that
notions of the proximate and remote slip back and
forth geographically, conceptually, and politically
in this project. Rather than focus solely on research
outcomes, I aim to discuss the tools and techniques
employed to render remote sites of study visible.
While conducting the research, I moved between
clearly defined point locations and geographically
diffuse field conditions in attempts to locate memorials.
Monuments erected in both urban and rural
contexts, the latter which commemorate partisan
hospitals, battles, and strongholds, are typically
found in remote locations. Sites exist along a
gradient of discoverability; ranging from simple
to locate (marked with signage and visible) to the
nearly impossible to find (down unmarked overgrown
pathways), invisible until confronted. When
housed in remote locations, memorial areas operate
as urban enclaves, providing gathering space, circulation,
lighting and other infrastructure for large-scale
commemorative events. These memorial areas meld
familiarity of urban infrastructure in distant locations,
mediating them and rendering them less wild,
unknowable and remote. Vestiges of this decaying
civic infrastructure of mediation bear witness that
a memorial site was present in instances when the
memorial itself was less fortunate.
Lack of infrastructure produced conditions which
rendered an already distant location that much more
remote. Some areas were left far more devastated
than others following the breakup of Yugoslavia in
1991— to this day some regions are still undergoing
de-mining efforts. GPS-enabled devices attempt to
plot routes across non-existent bridges, down logging
roads, and through abandoned villages. In the
absence of known infrastructure and reliable GPS,
I turned to human interaction filled with handwritten
maps and roadside conversations in broken
languages and gestures. In each country, locals
offered help to navigate to the site. While engaging
this human infrastructure brimming with local
knowledge, the remote became far less distant and
unknowable to me, underscoring the relative nature
of our relationship to the idea of remoteness.

Conference Presentations by Erika Lindsay

EDRA 51 Abstracts -Individual Presentations: Transform in Transitions, 2020

This research explores shifting signification of iconic sites of memory within the post-conflict ... more This research explores shifting signification of iconic sites of memory within the post-conflict landscape of former Yugoslavia through comparative analysis of fieldwork case studies, uncovering circumstances which contribute to the iconic construction, destruction and resultant reconstruction of iconicity. Partisan memorials of former Yugoslavia continue to patina as these Second World War memorials find reincarnation in their ruinous state.
Many sites have been de-badged, stripped of their commemorative meaning through removal of all identifying elements. Layer by layer these monuments are re-inscribed with contemporary meaning as graffiti, attempts at removal, and wartime scars shape new narratives. Transformed through iconoclastic acts, these monuments wield more power in their ruined state. These monuments are survivors, their contemporary condition sitting in stark juxtaposition to original, intended meaning. A recontextualization of these sites through fieldwork and analysis situates the monuments in their current context as multivalent signifiers of memory. These hyperactive sites of memory continue to accumulate traces of the present while they write history for the future, demonstrating the power of memorial elasticity.

XVIII International Forum Le Vie Dei Mercanti: World Heritage and Contamination , 2020

Beginning with the assumption that contamination refers to layers of meaning accumulated over tim... more Beginning with the assumption that contamination refers to layers of meaning accumulated over time, this paper explores the concept of contamination as it applies to heritage conservation. Contemporary heritage conservation practice should not condone erasure of physical traces that have gained cultural significance and potential to act as "historical evidence." Citing exemplar architectural moments such as Chipperfield's reuse of battered columns in the Neues Museum and Foster's preservation of soviet graffiti on the walls of the Reichstag, the author believes that contamination can read as a form of "bearing witness to history" which enriches sites of memory. This research highlights The Partisan Memorial Cemetery which acts as multivalent signifier of memory in its post-Yugoslav context. This deep contextualization seeks to underscore the importance of tangible traces of the recent past working as mnemonic devices. These traces have the ability to link past and present and hold the potential to facilitate healing dialogue.

Dichotomy 21: ODDS, 2015

This research into former Yugoslavia’s spomenik (monuments) explores the critical relationship be... more This research into former Yugoslavia’s spomenik (monuments) explores the critical relationship between a series of material memorials, their mediatized representations, and their most recent appropriation in order to underscore the transformative nature of historic signification as both a built and symbolic continuum. Erected over the span of twenty years before Josip Tito’s death and just prior to Yugoslavia’s disintegration, the spomenik currently epitomize a gradient of decay, some fixed while others are in rapid flux at a critical point for conservation efforts. In each instance, however, their contemporary condition in stark juxtaposition to an original intended meaning points to the persistent power and allegorical potential of counter-monumentality. Tracing the modes in which these contradictory and semantically charged sites operate in response to or in spite of contemporary preservation efforts, allows for reflection upon both authoritative and informal cooption of singular cultural connotation and speculation about the power of memorial elasticity.

ACSA Fall Conference: Less Talk More Action, 2019

MORE REAL explores the question of "studio culture" in architecture schools. The authors conducte... more MORE REAL explores the question of "studio culture" in architecture schools. The authors conducted a survey of architecture faculty during the Fall 2019 ACSA Conference, Less Talk | More Action, which asked respondents, "What is your experience of studio culture?" The following paper discusses the design of the survey and conference engagement , analyzes the quantitative (demographic data and data about the respondent's position within the school) and qualitative (response to the "studio culture" question) information gathered in the survey, and discusses the MORE REAL session hosted at the ACSA conference. The authors identify a range of consistent themes that emerged in the survey responses and discuss the implications of those themes. Finally, the authors outline strategies for refining and expanding the survey design, as well as strategies for reaching a more representative set of survey participants in future iterations of MORE REAL. INTRODUCTION As instructors, we design our studios. We set the tone, control the pace, and shape studio culture. But few studio professors have received formal training in teaching methods, and we often find ourselves replicating the flawed models we experienced when we were students. While we regularly discuss project structures and course content with our colleagues, we rarely consider how we teach: the social dynamics we foster in our studios and the relationships we build with our students. If our goal as studio instructors is to foster positive studio environments where students feel ownership, agency, and support, we must explicitly consider studio culture as a defining component of our pedagogy.

ACSA Fall 2019 Conference: Less Talk More Action, 2019

Working Group investigates exclusionary practices in architectural pedagogy as a means to build m... more Working Group investigates exclusionary practices in architectural pedagogy as a means to build more equitable and inclusive architecture programs and therefore, a more diverse profession. At the Fall 2019 ACSA Conference, Less Talk | More Action, the authors led a small roundtable discussion where participants identified barriers to studying architecture and discussed ways that schools were working to overcome these barriers. After this discussion, the authors conducted further research to deepen their understanding of several of the barriers discussed. The following paper outlines the session discussion and subsequent research. The authors use data from national organizations such as ACSA, AIA, and NAAB to understand the current demographic makeup of institutions and architecture offices, and survey diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements on architecture program websites, in light of new NAAB criteria that requires programs to communicate their DEI statements. Because many barriers affect whether students would choose to study architecture in the first place, the authors identify programs working at the K-12 level to expose underrepresented minority students to architecture, and map programs to understand their distribution in the United States. The authors discuss examples of educators working to reinvent architecture pedagogy to produce more inclusive environments, and make recommendations on what can be done to foster more inclusive architectural pedagogy and urge national organizations to hold programs accountable beyond the DEI statement.

ACSA Fall Conference: Crossings Between the Proximate and the Remote, 2017

In the summer of 2016, I set out on a solo research trip to document Partisan memorials in the te... more In the summer of 2016, I set out on a solo research
trip to document Partisan memorials in the territory
of former Yugoslavia. This iteration of the fieldwork
would last for six weeks as compared to the initial
ten-day-long trip taken in 2013 (and the recently
completed four-week long journey made in July
2017). In the months leading up to the fieldwork,
I researched each of the 28 memorials, locating,
mapping and planning routes between sites, towns
and cities across Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, and Slovenia. During this time, I drove
4,853 kilometers across the five countries.
Sited in former Yugoslavia, this project situates itself
between a particular point of time in history when
the state of Yugoslavia existed and these memorials
came into being and their current plight in today’s
post-Yugoslav context. These memorial sites are
at odds with the nationalist and revisionist ideologies
increasingly present in the region and subject
to the myriad collective memories of people living
in the countries of former Yugoslavia. The inspiration
for this paper came from the many ways that
notions of the proximate and remote slip back and
forth geographically, conceptually, and politically
in this project. Rather than focus solely on research
outcomes, I aim to discuss the tools and techniques
employed to render remote sites of study visible.
While conducting the research, I moved between
clearly defined point locations and geographically
diffuse field conditions in attempts to locate memorials.
Monuments erected in both urban and rural
contexts, the latter which commemorate partisan
hospitals, battles, and strongholds, are typically
found in remote locations. Sites exist along a
gradient of discoverability; ranging from simple
to locate (marked with signage and visible) to the
nearly impossible to find (down unmarked overgrown
pathways), invisible until confronted. When
housed in remote locations, memorial areas operate
as urban enclaves, providing gathering space, circulation,
lighting and other infrastructure for large-scale
commemorative events. These memorial areas meld
familiarity of urban infrastructure in distant locations,
mediating them and rendering them less wild,
unknowable and remote. Vestiges of this decaying
civic infrastructure of mediation bear witness that
a memorial site was present in instances when the
memorial itself was less fortunate.
Lack of infrastructure produced conditions which
rendered an already distant location that much more
remote. Some areas were left far more devastated
than others following the breakup of Yugoslavia in
1991— to this day some regions are still undergoing
de-mining efforts. GPS-enabled devices attempt to
plot routes across non-existent bridges, down logging
roads, and through abandoned villages. In the
absence of known infrastructure and reliable GPS,
I turned to human interaction filled with handwritten
maps and roadside conversations in broken
languages and gestures. In each country, locals
offered help to navigate to the site. While engaging
this human infrastructure brimming with local
knowledge, the remote became far less distant and
unknowable to me, underscoring the relative nature
of our relationship to the idea of remoteness.

EDRA 51 Abstracts -Individual Presentations: Transform in Transitions, 2020

This research explores shifting signification of iconic sites of memory within the post-conflict ... more This research explores shifting signification of iconic sites of memory within the post-conflict landscape of former Yugoslavia through comparative analysis of fieldwork case studies, uncovering circumstances which contribute to the iconic construction, destruction and resultant reconstruction of iconicity. Partisan memorials of former Yugoslavia continue to patina as these Second World War memorials find reincarnation in their ruinous state.
Many sites have been de-badged, stripped of their commemorative meaning through removal of all identifying elements. Layer by layer these monuments are re-inscribed with contemporary meaning as graffiti, attempts at removal, and wartime scars shape new narratives. Transformed through iconoclastic acts, these monuments wield more power in their ruined state. These monuments are survivors, their contemporary condition sitting in stark juxtaposition to original, intended meaning. A recontextualization of these sites through fieldwork and analysis situates the monuments in their current context as multivalent signifiers of memory. These hyperactive sites of memory continue to accumulate traces of the present while they write history for the future, demonstrating the power of memorial elasticity.