Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Art History, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

The dissertation addresses the negative consequences of the generally positive democratic ambition behind social planning: the good purpose may conceal less good actions. The aim is to study the thought-style of social planning and its most powerful topos, the denial of discrepancies. The focus of the dissertation is to exemplify how the denial of discrepancies and the consequences of denial become manifest. With emphasis on continuity and history, is shown how a Cartesian legacy shapes the thought-style of social planning, which is animated and upheld by the planning-collective: the integration of policy and science in planning. The planning-collective’s voice has become hegemonic through maintaining a harmony of illusions. The result is a lack of responsiveness to people’s varied modes of expression; voices that differ from the hegemonic thought-style are thus perceived as dissonance. Discrepancies in the form of differences of opinion and lack of consensus thus appear as sources of anxiety.  The mode of planning is based on a set of habitual thoughts and actions, topoi, that have become taken-for-granted. The result is an objectification of that which we call living, and the study shows through a number of examples, including “social economy”, how this form of objectification occurs. The epistemological frame of reference of the dissertation is constituted by Ludwik Fleck’s theory of thought-collectives, thought-styles and migrations of thought, and José Luis Ramírez’s action-theory, focused on language as action. Michel Foucault’s works on disciplining, political technologies, and discursive struggles are applied to create understanding of how the planning approach to representing people’s life activities has been shaped and how it influences them.

Badhus – Industrilandskapet i Norrköping Norrköping har behov av ett nytt badhus. Centralt i staden, längs Motala ström, finns Industrilandskapet som till stor del består av kulturell och vetenskaplig verksamhet men har en lång historia av textilindustri. Det nya badhuset är placerat i detta område; på ett befintligt vattenkraftverk. Syftet med projektet är att tillvarata Industrilandskapets kontrastrika själ, förstärka de rum och potentiella mötesplatser som finns samt ge Norrköping en möjlighet till friskvård och sportutövande. Målet är att visa hur en ny byggnadskropp relaterar och anpassar sig till den kulturella, platsspecifika och historiska kontexten. Byggnaden intar formen av en rektangel som skjuter upp ur slänten, likt en bergsrygg som sluter platsen. Byggnadskroppen aktiverar befintliga kvalitéer såsom den gamla stenbelagda trappan i väster och universitetsparken vid vattnet i söder. Byggnadens norra sida syftar till att ta emot och avsluta rutnätstaden i skala och uttryck. Den södra sidan av byggnaden tillsluter och definierar strömrummet med sin långsträckta fasad. Byggnadens interiör vänder sig utåt mot strömrummet så att det inifrån skapas en öppenhet åt söder gör industrilandskapet till en del av byggnaden. På entrévåningen ligger bassängerna vars vattenytor är visuellt kopplade till Motala ström i flera nivåer. Sutterängplanet inhyser omklädningsrum, det befintliga kraftverket samt fysioterapiavdelning med motionssal. / Public Bath – The Industrial Landscape in Norrköping   Norrköping is in need of a new public bath. In the centre of the city, along Motala ström, the industrial landscape is located. This area hosts cultural and scientific activities but has a long history of textile industry. The new public bath is located in this area on an existing water power plant. The aim of the project is to maintain the contrasty soul, enhance the spaces and potential venues that already exist and give Norrköping a possibility for wellness and exercising. The goal is to show how a new building adjusts and relates to the site specific and historical context. The building is shaped as a rectangle rising from the slope. It activates existing qualities such as the old stone stairs in the west. The north side of the building aims to receive and end the grid city in scale and expression. The south side with the long façade defines the river space. The interior faces the river and creates openness towards the south. Thereby the industrial landscape becomes part of the building. The swimming pools are located on the entrance floor and the surfaces of the water are visually linked to the river. The changing rooms, the power plant and the physiotherapy are placed in the basement.