« Parasitism is described as a relationship in which a parasite temporarily or permanently exploits the energy of a host, » Rakowitz says, in introducing paraSITE. This temporary and transportable shelter for the homeless is dependent on the outtake duct of a building’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system for its form and source of heat. paraSITE is a conspicuous social protest, not a long-term solution to homelessness. « It is very much an intervention that should become obsolete, » Rakowitz says. « These shelters should disappear like the problem should. In this case, the real designers are the policymakers. »
The chosen title, paraSITE, is layered in its meaning, its derivation, and its understanding.
paraSITE borrows its prefix from the French definition of para, which translates to English as « guard against ». Para, when it joins its suffix chute as parachute translates to « guard against falling. » The French word for umbrella, parapluie translates to « guard against rain ». The prefix thus has a history in describing protective or preventive devices, or objects related to the tasks of survival and rescue.
The suffix, site, refers to a place or location. We can interpret this word, both prefix and suffix to mean « guard against a site », the act of holding or occupying a space. But in the context of a nomadic project based on the ephemeral the interpretation must also turn to « guard against situating » or guard against « becoming a site »; the nomad moves on, deterritorializing themself.
Looking at the work, one can make a physical association to a parachute, a folding umbrella like fabric device with chords supporting a harness or straps for allowing a person to float down safely through the air from a great height, rendered effective by the resistance of the air that expands it during the descent and reduces the velocity of its fall.
paraSITE is similar, in that it too is a membrane structure relying upon the resistance of air in its use. Inflated by the exterior fan ducts of architecture, it provides a new space to occupy, amplifying the harsh reality of life on the street, while offering refuge.
paraSITE scandalizes the above notions of safety or rescue while simultaneously making use of them. While there is an element of invention, of genuine survival strategy applied to this project, it also is presented as an act of desperation, an unacceptable approach to the problem as a design or as a solution. It is a project made at the intersection of problem-solving and trouble-making.
Contributo di
Juan Pablo Macías