Retrofit (verb): to renovate or add capability, while maintaining the original purpose.
In mid-20th century, homes, buildings, planes, and other manufactured designs were being produced and implemented at a slower rate than the generation of new technologies like commercial passenger airplanes and suburban home construction methods. Research phases drastically out-paced production and construction time. Retrofit the term is however, not tethered to its past permanently. The dissemination of uniform technologies in turn created uniform cities across diverse populations and geographies; a contradiction placed at the center of our society.
The term “retrofit” is rooted in a particular moment in the early 20th century just like our cities, but it is not limited to the 20th century form. Retrofitting the 20th century infrastructure to new needs is the mission of the Retrofit project. Every project is an experiment attempting to remix, digest, and recontextualize what remains of the early-mid 20th century.
WST