WATER: A LOVE STORY 2013 AA Summer School Tutors: Jon Lopez and Sylvie Taher
Where did the romance go? Somewhere in the development of our modern lives, we lost the romance of water. Water has became part of the infrastructure, it is like the tube system. It is there, we are heavily dependent on it, but we would never outwardly accept that dependence, let alone celebrate it in anyway. We’ve taken it for granted. But wasn’t there a time when the romance still lived? When water was more then just water. When it was about a moment of calm, or purity, or travel, or even the simple promise of reflection? This unit is an attempt to rekindle the romance with water. Building from the myth of Narcissus, unit four will re-image the story of water in London. Narcissus is the portrait of a man, who, confronted with a reflective pool, fell in love with himself, and forgot his environment. The three principle elements of the myth, the material pool, the self, and the setting, are all central to the story. They each in turn become central to our story. We will take the three ingredients; the reflective surface, the protagonist, Narcissit himself, the scene and explore, deconstruct, and redefine, each one, until we finish in the end with a new scene. A different Narcissitic story, where London is reflected to inspire a new love story.
WATER: A LOVE STORY Ingredient One: The Reflective Surface
In our first week, we will focus on exploring the reflective qualities of water. What makes for the purest reflection in water, and what in turn breaks it? These are the types of questions that we will ask you to explore. The exploration will take place in two parts. First off, a photograhic archive; you will be asked to critically observe how water behaves. You will be paired off into groups of two or three, and will work together to build your archive. Day one of the archive, you will be encouraged to confine your exploration to the interior, the home, the school, the institution. Day two of the archive, you will be encouraged to move out into the city, the river, the canals, the ponds, the puddles. Observation done, we will move to the next step. Here, once again in groups of two or three, you will be asked to take your observation and transform it in a model. Each group will build one planar surface. Each surface should show the qualities of water which you found most fascinating in your study; perhaps a perfect mirror like reflection, maybe a distorted ripple, or a murky shadow. Whatever you found in your archive, you now have to build. This plane could be anything from a murky concrete cast to a crystine resin pouring. You will be encouraged to test and explore a variety of materials to express the quality which you have identified in your archive. We, in turn, will work along side you with suggestions of materials and techniques in order to enable you to build your image of water.
WATER: A LOVE STORY Ingredients Two & Three: The Protagonist & his Site
From water to protagonist... Having identified your ‘type’ of reflective water, you will now be asked to create a self portrait, using your model as inspiration. If your model was a perfect reflective plane, perhaps your self portrait should be too, if it was murky, a murky self portrait could follow. What we ask you, in that in creating your self portrait, you construct the scene. What are you showing, what are you hiding? Where are you placed and why? What is key is that this portrait is a construction, where you manipulate and transform the environment in order to convey one message. We will work along side you to help translate your earlier archive and model into a spatial construction, where you, as protagonist, center in the story. From protagonist to site... This is where you, now leave the picture. Each student will be given one of three sites, the canal, the river or the pond. At your given site, you will be asked to recreate your portrait. This new portrait, should have all the qualities of your self-portrait, except, without you in it. So what replaces yourself? A building, an object another reflective plane? Once again, the aim is to reconstruct the scene. It is a spatial excercise, where you define how the environment is portrayed. Perhaps like in the original myth of narcissus, you choose to ignore it, or maybe in a moment of generosity, you allow the setting to matter.
WATER: A LOVE STORY Ingredients Re-united: The Myth Recreated
Now, it all comes together. Using the original archival study, the model, the self portrait, and the urban portrait, you will be asked to create a collage of a new scene of Narcissus for London. In this final week, you will create new and unexpected relations of water within the city. The three elements of the myth of Narcissus; protagist, reflective plane and setting, become coopted and recollaged into a new story. This final week is again broken down into two parts. First, working quickly. In pairs of two or three, you will cut and paste a myriad of diffferent possible stories using the archive which you have build as your basis. After this initial process of working quickly, we ask you to slow down and focus on creating one final water collage; your re-imagined water myth of London.
Tutors Jon Lopez Jon read Architecture at Canbridge University, receiving the Edward S Prior Prize, and studied on a scholarship at the AA, where his diploma project was nominated for honours and won the prize for best technical thesis. He has recently set up his own office, OMMX. He has taken part in various building projects and workshops and maintains a keen interest in 1:1 fabrication and material testing. Sylvie Taher Sylvie is a writer and architect based in London. She trained at the AA where she wrote a thesis titled ‘Architects Versus the City or the Problem of Chaos’. She has since written for Publica, The Architectural Review, AA Files and Blueprint. She is currently teaching History and Theories in the 3rd Year at the AA, and working as a freelance writer.
UNIT 44 -- WATER: LOVE STORY WATER: A LOVEA STORY UNIT WATER: A LOVE UNIT 4 - WATER: A LOVE STORY STORY Schedule
AA Summer School 2013 AA Summer School 2013 Tutors: LopezSchool & Sylvie Taher AAJon Summer 2013 Tutors: Jon Lopez & Sylvie Taher Tutors: Jon Lopez & Sylvie Taher
WEEK 11 WEEK 1WEEK July - Mon 1 1 July - Mon
WEEK 1
1 July - Mon
2 July - Tues 2 July - Tues 32 July - Wed 3 July July -- Tues Wed 43 July Thu 4 July July -- Wed Thu 54 July July --- Fri Thu 5 July Fri 65 July -- Sat July 6 July - Fri Sat 76 July - Sun 7 July July -- Sat Sun 7 July - Sun
WEEK 22 WEEK 8WEEK July - Mon 2 8 July - Mon
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9 July Tues July --- Tues Mon 98 July 10 July Wed 910July July -Tues Wed 10 July - Wed 11 July - Thu 11 July - Thu 12 July Fri 11 July July --- Fri Thu 12 13 July Sat 12 July Fri 13 July - Sat 14 July Sun 13 July Sat 14 July - Sun 14 July - Sun
WEEK 33 WEEK WEEK 3 15 July - Mon WEEK 3 15 July - Mon 16 July July - Tues 15 16 July -- Mon Tues 17 - Wed 16 July July 17 July -- Tues Wed 18 July July -- Wed Thu 17 18 July - Thu 19 July Fri 18 19 July July -- Thu Fri 19 July - Fri
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Registration, Coffee + Croissants Registration, Coffee + Croissants Introduction Registration, Introduction Coffee + Croissants Unit Presentations and Selections Introduction Unit Presentations and Selections Lunch Unit LunchPresentations and Selections Electronic Media Lab Introductions Lunch Electronic Media Lab Introductions Workshop Introduction Electronic Lab Introductions Workshop Media Introduction Workshop Introduction Workshop Introduction Workshop Introduction Electronic Lab Introductions Workshop Media Introduction Electronic Media Lab Introductions Team Announcements + Drinks Electronic Media Lab Introductions Team Announcements + Drinks Loosen Up Team + Drinks LoosenAnnouncements Up Study ofUp the Qualities of Water Loosen Study of the Qualities of Water Model of the the Quality Identified Study of Water Modelof of theQualities Quality Identified Model of the Quality Identified Model of of the the Quality Quality Identified Identified Model Model of the Quality Identified Model of the Quality Model of the Quality Identified Identified STUDIOS CLOSED Model of the Quality Identified STUDIOS CLOSED STUDIOS CLOSED
Soft Room Soft Room Soft Room Soft Soft Room Room Soft Soft Room Room Soft Room AA Dining Soft Room Room AA Dining Room 16 Morwell St AA Dining Room 16 Morwell St AA Workshop 16 St AAMorwell Workshop AA Workshop AA Workshop AA Workshop 16 St AAMorwell Workshop 16 Morwell St AA Terrace 16 Morwell AA Terrace St 16 Morwell AA Terrace St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 16 Morwell Morwell St St 16 Morwell St 16 16 Morwell Morwell St St 16 16 Morwell Morwell St St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell 16 Morwell St St 16 Morwell St
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Study of the Site Study of the Site EVENT Cross Section 1: Internal Critics Study of the SiteSection EVENT Cross 1: Internal Critics PRESENTATION Student Work Show EVENT Cross Section 1: Internal Critics PRESENTATION Student Work Show Self Portrait PRESENTATION Student Work Show Self - Portrait Self -- Portrait Self Portrait Self - Portrait Self Portrait Deconstructed Self --- Portrait Portrait Deconstructed Self Self Portrait Reconstructed Self -- Portrait Portrait Reconstructed Deconstructed Self Collage Study of New Portrait Self Portrait Reconstructed Collage Study of New Portrait Collage Study of New Portrait
16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 33 Bedford Sq 16 Bedford Morwell Sq St 33 Soft Room 33 Bedford Sq Soft Room 16 Morwell St SoftMorwell Room St 16 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell Morwell St St 16 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St
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Collage Study of New Portrait Collage Study of New Portrait Final Collage Collage Studyof of New NewPortrait Portrait Final Collage of New Portrait Final Collage of New Portrait Final Final Collage Collage of of New New Portrait Portrait Final Collage Collage of of New New Portrait Portait. Final Final Collage of New Portait. EVENT Cross Section 2: External Critics Final Collage of Section New Portait. EVENT Cross 2: External Critics End of Summer School PARTY! EVENT Cross Section 2: External Critics End of Summer School PARTY! End of Summer School PARTY!
16 Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 Morwell Morwell St 16 16 Morwell St St 16 Morwell St St 16 16 Morwell Morwell St 16 Morwell St 16 16 Morwell Morwell St St Lecture Hall 16 Morwell Lecture HallSt BedfordHall Square Lecture Bedford Square Bedford Square