ALAN PAUKMAN REPET IT IV E S PACE S EL ECT ED PROJECT S 2009-2013
REPETITIVE SPACE
WE EXIST IN REPETITIVE SPACE. THE INCREMENT OF THREE DIMENSIONS. THE TICKING INSISTENCE OF TIME. WE NAVIGATE WITH OUR BODIES. REPETITION IS MEASURE. ITS INCREMENT BEARS FRAMEWORK, FILLED WITH ELEMENTS OF EXISTENCE. REPETITION MAKES RULES. THE ORDER OF PARTS DEFINES A COHERENT WHOLE. REPETITIVE SPACE IS NOT MONOTONOUS. IT PRODUCES ATMOSPHERIC DENSITY. THE BARRAGE, OVER AND OVER, DAMPENS TO SOFT NOISE. REPETITION, RELENTLESS, A FORM OF EXORCISM, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ALTER OUR PERCEPTION OF WHAT SOMETHING TRULY IS. ENTERING A FAMILIAR PLACE. SENSING A KNOWN MATERIAL. REPETITION ENABLES MEMORY, NOSTALGIA, AND DÉJÀ VU. REPETITION COMES LIKE WAVES. REPETITION IS A FOREST. REPETITION ALLOWS A MOMENT TO SENSE BOTH WHAT HAS PASSED AND WHAT WILL COME. DURATION. AND PAUSE. A SPACE TO INHABIT.
CONTENTS
SPACES REPRESENTED SHED LOFT CUT THEATER QUARRY LIBRARY DRIFT SPACES CONSTRUCTED SWAY MOVING WALL EL VACÍO OBJECTS BOULDERING WALL DISCONTINUOUS SCREEN STACK BENCH TENSION VESSEL COLLIDING FORM IMAGES FABRIC STONE PRISMATIC MESH ONE LITER DIARY WORDS INHABITING THE SPACE OF THE WALL OF MONOLITHS, OF FIELDS STRUCTURE THROUGH INCREMENT
SPACES REPRESENTED
ARCHITECTS ARE CONVEYORS OF SPATIAL INTENT. THE ARCHITECT'S PRIMARY ROLE IS DEFINED BY THE ABILITY TO CONVINCINGLY REPRESENT THE IDEA OF A BUILT SPACE. BE IT THROUGH DRAWING OR MODEL MAKING, THE RESULTS OF REPRESENTATION LIE AT THE HEART OF ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE. BY VIRTUE OF THESE MEANS, ARCHITECTS COMMUNICATE THE DREAMS AND DESIRES OF A YET-UNBUILT PROJECT.
SHED SPRING 2012 CRITIC: R. MARINO PROGRAM: BOAT STORAGE SITE: EASTHAMPTON MARINE MUSEUM ATLANTIC AVENUE BEACH AMAGANSETT NEW YORK
SHED HOLDS BOATS FROM THE EAST HAMPTON MARINE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION. THE BOATS ARE ON DISPLAY AS OBJECTS TO BE ADMIRED FOR THEIR CRAFTSMANSHIP, AS WELL AS RELICS OF LIVES SERVED AT SEA. IN ADDITION TO FULFILLING ITS FUNCTION AS AN EXHIBITION SPACE, SHED CREATES A SPIRITUAL SPACE FOR REFLECTION AND CONTEMPLATION. VISITORS EXPERIENCE THE SPACE THROUGH A SERIES OF GRADE CHANGES IN RELATION TO THE SITE. THE APPROACH IS AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE SITE'S SAND DUNES, THE DESCENT GUIDES VISITORS DOWN THROUGH THE BUILDING, AND THE RETREAT IS AT SEA LEVEL. THE BOATS ARE EXPERIENCED ABOVE, AT, OR BELOW THE LEVEL AT WHICH THEY HANG. THIS REPETITIVE EXPERIENCE OF SPACE IMPLIES THE HUMAN BODY'S CAPACITY AS A MEASURING TOOL, USED TO GAUGE A PHYSICAL RELATION IN RESPECT TO THE BOATS AND THE LANDSCAPE. THE GRADE CHANGE IS USED AS A SIMPLE DEVICE TO PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY SEPARATE THE VISITOR FROM QUOTIDIAN LIFE. THE BUILDING'S STRUCTURAL AND TECTONIC SYSTEMS ARE DERIVED FROM THE COMMONPLACE TIMBER RETAINING WALL WITH ITS "DEAD MEN" TIE-BACK ANCHORS. THE LANGUAGE OF THIS WALL IS EXTENDED AND REPEATED. THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE IS MADE OF THE SAME LUMBER MODULE, BUT INCLUDES VARIATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS WHEN NEEDED TO FORM ALL THE BUILDING'S WALLS, STAIRS, DOORWAYS, AND ROOF. THE METAL GRATING FLOOR WHICH HOLDS THE BOATS HANGS BY STEEL CABLES FROM THE ROOF TO SIMULATE A LEVEL AKIN TO THE OCEAN'S SURFACE.
"HALTING FOR AN INSTANT AT THE FOOT OF
THE
LADDER,
FATHER
MAPPLE
CAST
A LOOK UPWARDS, AND ... MOUNTED THE STEPS AS IF ASCENDING THE MAIN-TOP OF HIS VESSEL. BY THAT ACT OF PHYSICAL ISOLATION, HE SIGNIFIES HIS SPIRITUAL WITHDRAWAL FOR THE
TIME,
FROM
ALL
OUTWARD
WORLDLY
TIES AND CONNEXIONS" HERMAN MELVILLE MOBY DICK, CHAPTER VIII. THE PULPIT
ABOVE
ABOVE
DESCENT
APPROACH
APPROACH
D E S C E N T
FLOATING
FLOATING
RETREAT
RETREAT
BELOW
BELOW
FLOATING LEVEL PLAN
BELOW LEVEL PLAN
1:24 SCALE MODEL PHOTOGRAPHED ON SITE
FLOATING LEVEL
BELOW LEVEL
RETREAT ELEVATION
APPROACH ELEVATION
RETREAT ELEVATION
NORTH ELEVATION
APPROACH ELEVATION
UNCOVERED RETAINING WALL WITH DEAD MEN
EAST H A MARINE MPTON MUSEU M
CLASSIC BOAT SOCIET Y
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDUSTRIAL LOFT SPRING 2012 WITH Y. KONSTANTINIDIS E. REMINGTON CRITICS: A. MARTINEZ E. MATAR J. WEALE THE SEVEN STORY INDUSTRIAL LOFT BUILDING IS A FURNITURE
PROGRAM:
MANUFACTURER'S HEADQUARTERS. THE BUILDING HOUSES
FURNITURE MANUFACTURING,
OFFICES AND SOME MANUFACTURING. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES A
SHOWROOM, AND OFFICES
FLEXIBLE SPACE ON THE GROUND FLOOR THAT ACCOMMODATES A VARIETY OF USES INCLUDING RECEPTION,
SITE:
CAFE, SHOWROOM, AND LOADING DOCK.
BRONX
THE BUILDING IS FOCUSED AROUND A CENTRAL ATRIUM WHICH
NEW YORK
VISUALLY CONNECTS WORK ROOMS WITH SOCIAL SPACE. THIS ATRIUM PROVIDES NATURAL LIGHT TO THE FLOOR PLATES WHILE CREATING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CENTER FOR THE PROJECT. IT HOUSES A CENTRAL STAIR FOR EMPLOYEES, WHILE TWO FREIGHT ELEVATORS ALLOW THE VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION OF FURNITURE PARTS AND MATERIALS. A 22" DEEP EDGE BEAM, WRAPPING AROUND EACH SLAB ABOVE THE PERIMETER COLUMNS, ENABLES THE BUILDING'S CANTILEVERING, TAPERING BALCONIES. THE CANTILEVERS ARE ACCESSIBLE AND PROVIDE A FLEXIBLE OUTDOOR SPACE FOR MEETINGS AND LEISURE. THE FACADE'S CANTILEVERS AND GLAZING SYSTEM RESPOND TO THE AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT ON EACH EXPOSURE, MITIGATING GLARE AND HEAT GAIN. THE GLAZING SYSTEM RESPONDS DIRECTLY TO THE SHADOWS CAST BY THESE FLOOR SLABS. WINDOWS RECEIVING AMPLE LIGHT ARE FITTED WITH TRANSLUCENT KALWALL. AREAS IN THE SHADOW OF A FLOOR SLAB ARE FINISHED WITH A TRIPLEELEMENT INSULATED GLAZING UNIT. A CERAMIC FRIT GRADIENT TRANSITIONS BETWEEN THESE TWO WINDOW TYPES. THE STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRIAL LOFT BUILDING IS COMPRISED OF CAST-IN-PLACE REINFORCED CONCRETE. TWO CORES, HOUSING VERTICAL CIRCULATION AND MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT, CARRY THE BUILDING'S LATERAL LOADS. STRUCTURAL LOADS ARE ALSO CARRIED BY A GRID OF 20"X20" COLUMNS. THE COLUMNS' ARTICULATED PYRAMIDAL CAPITALS SERVE AS AN EXPRESSIVE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE WHILE ALSO HELPING TO INCREASE SPANS AND REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF PUNCHING SHEAR. THE REPETITIVE YET MONUMENTAL AND ICONIC TANGIBILITY OF THE COLUMNS, COMBINED WITH THE RHYTHM OF LIGHT FROM THE FACADE SYSTEM, CREATES A DYNAMIC AND INSPIRING WORK SPACE.
ENTRANCE WITH FACADE SYSTEM
270' 270’-0” 270’-0” 7' 7’7’
5' 5’5’
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
111
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
333
22 2
30' 30’-0” 30’-0” 44 4
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
666
5 55
30' 30’-0”
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
30' 30’-0” 30’-0”
999
8 8
7 7
5' 5’ 5’
7' 7’ 7’
10 10 10
5’ 5' 5’ 5’
1’
7’ 7' 7’ 7’
270’-0” 7’
5’
AA
30’-0”
1
30’-0”
30’-0”
3
2
4
30’-0”
30’-0”
30’-0”
30’-0”
9
8
7
UP
UP
DN
UP
DN
5’
7’
10
DN
A 19’-0”
5’
30’-0”
6
5
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 7’ 30’-0”
DN
30’-0”
BB B UP
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 30’-0”30’-0”
DN
DN UP
19’-0”
UP
Manufacture / Studio A-03 Typical 1/16”=1’-0”
C
7’
5’
7’ 7' 7’ 30’-0” 7’
5’ 5' 5’ 5’
B
CC
270’-0” 7’
5’
30’-0”
1
30’-0”
30’-0”
3
2
30’-0”
4
30’-0”
30’-0”
6
5
30’-0”
Foundation Plan Structural Plan PLAN TYPICAL FLOOR S-02 Typical S-01 1/16”=1’-0” 30’-0” 30’-0” 5’ 7’ Manufacture / Studio A-03 Typical 1/16”=1’-0” 9
8
7
10
5’5’
A
30’-0” 30’-0”
11
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
33
22
30’-0” 30’-0”
44
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0”
6
55
30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
99
8
7
UP
UP
UP
UP
5’ 5’
7’ 7’
10 10
5’ 5' 5’
7’ 7' 7’ 30’-0”
5’
7’
270’-0” 270’-0” 7’7’
AA
30’-0” 30' 30’-0”30’-0”
B
S -101
title
7’
5’
30’-0”
1
30’-0”
2
30’-0”
30’-0”
270’-0” 30’-0”
scale 1/16”= 1’ date 4.30.12 3
4
Y. Konstantinidis E. Remington A. Paukman 30’-0”
6
5
30’-0”
30’-0”
YEA 30’-0”
9
8
7
5’
7’
10
Floor / Showroom A-02 Ground 1/16”=1’-0”
CC
A
Floor / Showroom A-02 Ground 1/16”=1’-0”
30’-0”
Structural Plan PLAN GROUND FLOOR S-01 Typical 1/16”=1’-0”
270’-0” 30’-0”
B 1
5’
7’ 7’
5’
30’-0”
5’
1
A C
30’-0”
1
30’-0”
2
30’-0”
30’-0”
3
30’-0”
3
2
6
5
30’-0”
30’-0”
30’-0”
9
8
7
5’
7’
10
270’-0” 270’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0”
4
30’-0”
30’-0”
4
5
30’-0”
30’-0”
6
30’-0”
6
5
30’-0”
7
30’-0”
30’-0”
8
30’-0”
30’-0”
9
8
7
30’-0”
9
5’
7’
5’
7’
10 10
5’
5’ 7’ 5' 7' 7’ 7’ 30’-0”
5’
5’
10
4
30’-0”
19’-0”
30’-0”
7’
7’
5’
3
2
30’-0”
7’
30’-0”
5’
30’-0”
A
B
30’-0” 30' 30’-0”30’-0”
Plan S-02 Foundation 1/16”=1’-0”
B 5’
B B
270’-0” 7’
5’
30’-0”
2
30’-0”
3
30’-0”
4
30’-0”
5
30’-0”
6
30’-0”
7
30’-0”
8
30’-0”
9
5’
7’
10
C
7’
C
1’
Plan A-04 Roof 1/16”=1’-0”
A
30’-0”
5’
7’
7’ 7’7'
5’
5’ 5'
1
30’-0”
Structural Plan PLAN ROOF S-01 Typical 1/16”=1’-0”
7’
0”
title
19’-0”
B
10
Structual Plans 19’-0”
C
30’-0” 7’
C
5’
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 7’ 5’
B
5’
A
A B
Studio
A
7’ 30’-0”
5’
19’-0”
7’
30’-0”30’-0”
5’
1’
7’ 7' 7’ 7’
5’ 5' 5’
Structual Plans
C
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 7’
5’
BB B
Y. Konstantinidis
C
Studio Studio
Plan A-04 Roof 1/16”=1’-0” Plan A-04 Roof 1/16”=1’-0” 270' 270’-0”
5’
7’
5’
7’
10
7' 7’
5' 5’
30' 30’-0”
11
30' 30’-0”
30' 30’-0”
33
2 2
30' 30’-0” 4 4
30' 30’-0”
30' 30’-0”
66
5 5
10
30' 30’-0”
30' 30’-0”
30' 30’-0”
99
8 8
7 7
5' 5’
7' 7’
5’
7’
10 10
270’-0” 5’
30’-0”
1
A
30’-0”
30’-0”
3
2
30’-0”
4
30’-0”
30’-0”
6
5
30’-0”
30’-0”
30’-0”
9
8
7
10
A B B
UP
UP
30’-0”
DN
19’-0”
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 5’ 7’
5’ 5' 5’
1’
7’ 7' 7’
7’
DN
DN
30’-0” 30' 30’-0”
19’-0”
C
UP
7’ 7' 7’
5’ 5' 5’ 30’-0”
B
C
7’
5’
om om
Foundation Plan Plan PLAN Typical Structural TYPICAL MECHANICAL S-02 S-01 1/16”=1’-0” Manufacture / Studio A-03 Typical 1/16”=1’-0”
7’7’
5’5’
30’-0” 30’-0”
1 1 11
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
2 2 22
30’-0” 30’-0”
3 3 33
30’-0”
30’-0” 270’-0” 30’-0”
5 5 5
30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
6 6 6
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
7 7 77
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
8 8 88
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 30’-0” 30’-0”
UP
9 9 99
30’-0” 30’-0”
5’ 5’
7’ 7’
5’5’
7’7’
10 10 10 10
UP
S -101 B B
30’-0” 30' 30’-0” 30’-0” 30’-0” 5’5’
4 4 4
A A
title
BB B
7’
5’
C C
30’-0”
1
Structual Plans
30’-0”
2
30’-0”
30’-0”
270’-0” 30’-0”
scale 1/16”= 1’ date 4.30.12 3
4
Y. Konstantinidis E. Remington A. Paukman 30’-0”
6
5
30’-0”
30’-0”
YEA 30’-0”
9
8
7
CC
5’
7’
10
Floor / Showroom A-02 Ground 1/16”=1’-0”
A
30’-0”
5’
1’
7’ 7' 7’ 7’
5’ 5' 7’7’5’
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
AA
19’-0”
Typical STRUCTURAL Structural Plan PLAN TYPICAL S-01 1/16”=1’-0” B
30’-0”
5’5’
30’-0” 30’-0”
11
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
33
22
30’-0” 30’-0”
44
30’-0”
30’-0”
6
55
30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
30’-0” 30’-0”
99
8
7
5’ 5’
7’7’
10 10 7’
C
A
AA
30’-0” 30' 30’-0”
30’-0”
5’ 5' 5’
7’ 7' 7’
5’
5’
270’-0”
19’-0” 7’7’
Plan S-02 Foundation 1/16”=1’-0”
B
30’-0”
BB B
270’-0” 7’
5’
30’-0”
1
30’-0”
2
30’-0”
3
30’-0”
4
30’-0”
5
30’-0”
6
30’-0”
7
30’-0”
8
30’-0”
9
5’
7’
10
7’
CC
1’
A
FOUNDATION Structural Plan PLAN S-01 Typical 1/16”=1’-0”
title
19’-0”
B
5’
30’-0” 30' 30’-0”
10
5’ 5' 5’
10
30’-0” 30’-0”
7’ 7' 7’ 7’
7’
5’
5’
5’ 5’
30’-0”
7’
0”
5’
5’ 7’ 5' 7' 5’ 7’ 5’5’ 7’7’
270’-0” 270’-0” 7’ 7’
Structual Plans 19’-0”
Y. Konstantinidis
C
office
office
office
manufacturing
manufacturing
manufacturing
showroom + cafe + exhhibition + loading dock
A -501
title
Long. & Lat. Sections scale 1/16”=1’ date 4.30.12
Y. Konstantinidis E. Remington A. Paukman
YEA
LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH COLUMN LINE B
office
office
office
manufacturing
manufacturing
manufacturing
showroom + cafe + exhhibition + loading dock
TRANSVERSE SECTION BETWEEN COLUMN LINES 5 + 6
SOUTH ELEVATION
WEST ELEVATION
A -401
scale
title
1/8”=1’
date 4.30.12
Exterior Elevations
Y. Konstantinidis E. Remington A. Paukman
YEA
1/2” HANDRAIL 3/8” CLEAR TEMPERED GLASS 5” x 6” STEEL PLATES (bolted to slab or stringer) 12” x 2” RECT. TUBE STEEL STRINGER 1” STEEL C-BRACKET WELDED TO STRINGER 1” STRUCT. GLASS LANDING/STEP STEEL SECTION GLASS SUPPORT
A-05 Atrium Stair Detail
A-05 Building Exploded Axon
A -302
title
Exploded Axon scale NTS
date 4.30.12
Y. Konst E. Remin
A-05 Exploded Atrium Detail
ATRIUM GLAZING ATRIUM GLAZING THICK 1”1" THICK 2’-9” x2'9" 5’-11”X 5'11" 3” x 8” KAWNEER 3" X 8" KAWNEER MULLION MULLION ATRIUM 6’ 6' C/CC/C 4” x 12” 4"STEEL X 12" STEEL BEAMS BEAMS BOLTED TO BOLTED TO PARAPET WALL PARAPET WALL 1/8” OVER 1’ SLOPED 1/8" OVER 1' SLOPED CONCRETE PARAPET CONCRETE PARAPET WALL WALL
1/2” HANDRAIL 3/8” CLEAR TEMPERED GLASS 5” x 6” STEEL PLATES (bolted to slab or stringer) 12” x 2” RECT. TUBE STEEL STRINGER 1” STEEL C-BRACKET WELDED TO STRINGER
A-05 Exploded Atrium Detail
1” STRUCT. GLASS LANDING/STEP STEEL SECTION GLASS SUPPORT
1/2" HANDRAIL 1/2” HANDRAIL 3/8” CLEAR TEMP- TEMPERED GLASS 3/8" CLEAR ERED GLASS
6" STEEL 5” 5" x 6” X STEEL PLATESPLATES (BOLTED SLAB OR STRINGER) (bolted to slab TO or stringer) 2" TUBE RECTANGULAR TUBE 12”12" x 2” X RECT. STEEL STRINGER STEEL STRINGER STEEL C-BRACKET 1” 1" STEEL C-BRACKET WELDED STRINGER WELDED TO TO STRINGER 1" STRUCTURAL GLASS 1” STRUCT. GLASS LANDING/STEP LANDING/STEP STEEL SECTION STEEL SECTION GLASS SUPPORT GLASS SUPPORT
A-05 Atrium Stair Detail
THERMALLY BROKEN ALUMINUM MULLION KALWALL CURTAIN WALL ADAPTER
2-3/4" THICK KALWALL 1-1/2" THICK TRIPLE ELEMENT GLAZING WITH SUSPENDED HM88 FILM
50% CERAMIC FRIT ON IGU SURFACE 2
SHEAR BLOCK 1/2" THICK GLASS BALUSTRADE STAINLESS STEEL CHANNEL STAINLESS STEEL MOUNTING BRACKET
"T" ANCHOR
1/4" SEALED ENGINEERED WOOD FLOORING 1-1/4" BLACK CLOSED-CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION ATTACHED WITH ADHESIVE
#8 REBAR
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC SECTION OF FACADE SYSTEM
3/4" ENGINEERED HARDWOOD FLOORING
3/4” ENGINEERED HARDWOOD FLOORING
VAPOR BARRIER
VAPOR BARRIER
1/2" STRUCTURAL GLASS BALUSTRADE
1-1/4" BLACK CLOSED-CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
1/2” STRUCTURAL GLASS BALUSTRADE
1-1/4” BLACK CLOSED CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
SS BALUSTRADE MOUNTING BRACKET
#8 REBAR
1/8" OVER 1' SLOPE
1/8” OVER 1’ SLOPE
16" 16”
12” 12"
9" 9”
VAPOR BARRIER
VAPOR BARRIER
1-1/4" BLACK CLOSED-CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
1-1/4” BLACK CLOSED CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
18" 18”
5' 5’
6" 6”
7'7’ - 12' 12’
Column Head / Cantilever Section A-04 1”=1’-0”
VAPOR BARRIER
2” CONCRETE PAVER
VAPOR BARRIER
GRAVEL BACKFILL
COLUMN HEAD / CANTILEVER SECTION
VAPOR BARRIER 1/2” STRUCTURAL GLASS BALUSTRADE
1-1/4” BLACK CLOSED CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
1/8” OVER 1’ SLOPE
16”
12”
9”
VAPOR BARRIER
1-1/4” BLACK CLOSED CELL RIGID FOAM INSULATION
18”
5’
6”
7’
12’
Column Head / Cantilever Section A-04 1”=1’-0”
VAPOR BARRIER
VAPOR BARRIER
2" CONCRETE PAVER
2” CONCRETE PAVER
VAPOR BARRIER
VAPOR BARRIER
GRAVEL BACKFILL
GRAVEL BACKFILL
/ Footing Section A-05 Column 1”=1’-0”
COLUMN / FOOTING SECTION
CUT FALL 2012 CRITICS: K. KONYK J. OTERO-PAILOS PROGRAM: EXHIBITION PAVILION ADAPTIVE REUSE SITE: U.S. PAVILION GIARDINI DI BIENNALE VENICE, ITALY
CUT IS A PROPOSAL FOR THE U.S. PAVILION IN VENICE, ITALY. THROUGH A SET OF RULES FOR INTERVENTION, THE PROJECT DICTATES THE CAREFUL REMOVAL AND ADDITION OF MATERIAL TO THE ORIGINAL 1930 BUILDING BY DELANO AND ALDRICH. BY CUTTING AWAY WALLS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING ROOMS, THE SCHEME BREAKS THE EXISTING ENFILADE PLAN AND OPENS THE PAVILION UP TO ITS SURROUNDINGS. THESE CUTS CREATE A NEW CONTRAST BETWEEN SOLID AND VOID, ECHOING VENICE'S SPATIAL RHYTHM. THIS ESSENTIAL INTERVENTION DOESN'T AIM TO DRAMATICALLY REDESIGN THE BUILDING, BUT IS FOUNDED IN THE NOTION THAT SOMETHING CAN BE TRULY FELT WHEN IT IS GONE. THE MEMORY OF THE REMOVED WALLS REMAINS, AS TRACES OF THEIR EXISTENCE ARE LEFT ON THE FLOOR WHERE THEY ONCE STOOD. THE ABSENCE OF THESE WALLS ALSO STRENGTHENS A PALPABLE AND ENGAGING TRANSITION BETWEEN ROOMS. STEEL IS UTILIZED AS A MATERIAL THAT, WHEN STRATEGICALLY INSERTED, CAN PRESERVE THE BUILDING'S STRUCTURE AND OVERHEAD COVERING. A NEW STEEL SCREEN, WHICH SURROUNDS THE PAVILION, ENCOURAGES VISITORS TO WANDER AROUND THE ENTIRE SITE. CUT PRESERVES THE PAVILION'S SYMMETRY, BUT REPLACES ITS CONSTRAINING LINEARITY AND MONUMENTALITY WITH A NEW SENSE OF PERMEABILITY. THIS IS ENABLED BY AN ARCHITECTURE WHICH IS MORE OVERTLY MADE OF PARTS THAN ITS PREDECESSOR. THE REPETITION OF ROOMS FROM THE ORIGINAL PLAN, COMBINED WITH THE SYSTEMATIC "CUT" AND "STEEL" TECHNIQUES OF THE INTERVENTION, LEND A SENSE OF FAMILIARITY TO THE BUILDING WHILE ENCOURAGING VISITORS TO FILTER THROUGH AND DISCOVER THE SPACE.
THE CUT
ELEVATES THE VISITOR'S MATERIAL, SPATIAL, AND HISTORIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PAVILION.
THE CUT
IS THE REMOVAL OF MATTER, THE CONNECTION OF INSIDE AND OUT, AND THE OPENING OF NEW PATHS, WHILE REMEMBERING THE OLD.
THE CUT
LEAVES TRACES WHERE MATERIAL HAS BEEN REMOVED. THESE TRACES ARE EVIDENCE, ARTIFACT, AND MEMORY.
THE CUT
ALLOWS THE BUILDING TO COMMUNICATE ITS HISTORY WHILE DEVELOPING A CONTEMPORARY DYNAMIC OF ITS OWN.
THE CUT
CREATES A NEW SPACE THROUGH THE FISSURE BETWEEN SKIN AND STRUCTURE.
THE CUT
EXPOSES NEW ELEVATIONS, ENGAGING THE VISITOR WITH THE PHYSICAL MATTER OF THE BUILDING.
THE CUT
FREES THE PLAN FROM THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE ENFILADE.
THE CUT
INVITES MORE OF A SENSE OF DISCOVERY THROUGH CIRCULATION THAN IS ALLOWED BY A LINE OF CONNECTED ROOMS.
THE CUT
CREATES A MULTIPLICITY OF PATHS AND A SENSE OF SYNCOPATION, STRIATION, AND FILTRATION WHILE MOVING THROUGH THE SPACE.
THE CUT
BREAKS THE TENSION BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE,
THE CUT
UTILIZES A THIRD SPACE THAT'S NORMALLY LOST BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE, WHICH ISN'T THOUGHT TO EXIST BECAUSE WE CAN'T SEE OR INHABIT IT.
THE CUT
LINKS THE PAVILION, ART, AND CITY INTO A HOLISTIC EXPERIENCE, CREATING A DRAMATIC SENSE OF PLACE IN THE LEFTOVER SPACES.
STEEL
A SHARP BLADE, IS THE MATERIAL LANGUAGE OF THE CUT.
STEEL
IS INSERTED INTO THE CUT TO PRESERVE STRUCTURE AND COVERING.
STEEL
IS THE CUT'S PHYSICAL EXPRESSION, MARKER, AND ENABLER.
DELANO AND ALDRICH, THE U.S. PAVILION, VENICE, ITALY, 1930
ORIGINAL PLAN
PROPOSED CUTS AND NEW CIRCULATION
ELEVATIONS EXPOSED BY THE CUT
STUDY MODEL
X-RAY OF CUT PAVILION WITH STEEL LATERAL TIES
X-RAY OF CUT PAVILION WITH STEEL SUPPORT BEAMS AND COLUMNS
X-RAY OF CUT PAVILION WITH STEEL AND GLASS ROOF
X-RAY OF CUT PAVILION WITH STEEL PERIMETER SCREEN
THEATER SPRING 2013 CRITICS: T. DE MONCHAUX G. LIGNANO A. TOLLA PROGRAM: THEATER FOR SHORT FILMS SITE: LOWER EAST SIDE NEW YORK
THEATER IS OPERATED BY A CULTURAL INSTITUTION SPECIALIZING IN THE PRESERVATION OF 20TH CENTURY EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILMS. 4:3 WAS THE UNIVERSAL ASPECT RATIO FOR 20TH CENTURY FILM, AND A 4:3 FRAME OF LIGHT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE THEATER'S ARCHITECTURE. EACH FRAME OF FILM HOLDS THE POTENTIAL TO BE PROPELLED INTO THREEDIMENSIONAL SPACE AS IT AWAITS AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE PROJECTOR'S BEAM. THE PROJECTORS' PYRAMIDAL LIGHT PATHS ARE TRACED AND MATERIALIZED AS CONCRETE SHELLS. THESE SHELLS ARE STACKED AND ROTATED TO CREATE INWARD AND OUTWARD FACING VIEWING ROOMS. VISITORS ENTER AT THE GROUND LEVEL AND CAN RISE UP TO THE LEVEL OF PROJECTED LIGHT VIA A CENTRAL STAIR. ONCE INSIDE, VISITORS ARE ENCOURAGED TO DRIFT BETWEEN CONCRETE VIEWING ROOMS, EACH INTENDED FOR A SMALL HANDFUL OF PEOPLE, AND EACH SHOWING A DIFFERENT SHORT FILM. REELS OF FILM ARE HOUSED AT THE TOP LEVEL AND ARE FED DOWN TO PROJECTORS HANGING IN THE BUILDING'S ATRIUM. DIGITALLY PRESERVED FILMS ARE TRANSMITTED TO PROJECTORS ON THE BUILDING'S FACADE. ON THE EXTERIOR, SHEET METAL WRAPS THE PROJECTOR BEAMS TO PROTECT THEM FROM SUNLIGHT. THE CENTRAL HALL OF THE THEATER IS A DARK ATRIUM FILLED WITH CRISS-CROSSING LIGHT OVERHEAD. THE REPETITION OF THE CONCRETE SHELL AS A STRUCTURAL MODULE CREATES A PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE FILM STRIPS. THE REPETITIVE NATURE OF THE SPATIAL EXPERIENCE WHILE WANDERING BETWEEN ROOMS EMPHASIZES THE SAMENESS OF NEIGHBORING FILM REELS, YET EACH IS DISTINGUISHED WITH ITS OWN CONTENT.
FILM STRIPS
FILM FEED PROJECTOR
LIGHT PATH
PROJECTED IMAGE
CONCRETE SHELL
PLAN OF INTERIOR VIEWING ROOMS
VIEW UP THROUGH ATRIUM
PLAN OF EXTERIOR FACING ROOMS
QUARRY SPRING 2013 CRITICS: T. DE MONCHAUX G. LIGNANO A. TOLLA PROGRAM: MANHATTAN SCHIST QUARRY QUARRY IS AN EXCAVATION SITE AND SHOWROOM FOR MANHATTAN SCHIST. WORKERS EXCAVATE AND PROCESS
SITE:
MONOLITHIC SLABS OF MATERIAL BELOW GROUND. THE ACT
LOWER EAST SIDE
OF EXCAVATION LOWERS THE SITE DEEPER INTO THE EARTH.
NEW YORK
ONCE CUT, THE DIMENSION STONES ARE MOUNTED ONTO CARRIERS AND, IN THEIR FIRST MOMENTS OF WEIGHTLESSNESS, ARE ELEVATED ABOVE GROUND. IN RESPONSE TO THE ISLAND'S CONDITION OF VERTICALITY, THE STONES ARE STORED IN A MULTI-LEVEL STEEL FRAME WHERE THEY ARE MOUNTED VIA A SLIDING MECHANISM ONTO TRACKS IN THE CEILINGS AND FLOORS. LARGE STEEL TRUSSES STRADDLE THE QUARRY PIT. THESE TRUSSES SERVE AS FOUNDATIONS FOR THE STORAGE AND DISPLAY STRUCTURE ABOVE. EACH LEVEL OF THE STRUCTURE IS A GRID OF STEEL TRACKS ALONG WHICH THE STONES CAN FREELY SLIDE AND ROTATE. VISITORS MOVE ATOP STEEL GRATING BETWEEN THESE TRACKS TO ACCESS AND INSPECT INDIVIDUAL STONES FOR PURCHASE. AS THE ESSENCE OF QUARRY'S OPERATION, THE DISPLACEMENT OF MATERIAL IS ALSO VITAL TO THE BUILDING'S ARCHITECTURE. BOTH THE IMAGE OF A STRUCTURE HOVERING ATOP A PIT, AND THE FACT THAT THE STRUCTURE'S FORM MIRRORS THAT OF THE VOID, SERVE AS POTENT REMINDERS OF THE PROJECT'S ORIGINS. THIS DOUBLING BETWEEN THE QUARRY'S SOLID AND VOID SPACE STRENGTHENS THE ARCHITECTURE'S PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE ACT OF EXCAVATION, AND INCREASES VISITORS' PALPABLE SENSE AND AWARENESS OF THE SITE'S NATURE. THE SENSE OF REPETITION IS STRENGTHENED INSIDE THE BUILDING WHERE VISITORS PASS A DIZZYING ARRAY OF NEARIDENTICAL STONES. NONETHELESS, THE METHOD IN WHICH THE STONES ARE DISPLAYED DEMANDS THAT EACH ONE BE EVALUATED INDIVIDUALLY. QUARRY MAKES UNDENIABLE AND INESCAPABLE THE PHYSICALITY, TACTILITY, PRESENCE, AND UNIQUE MATERIALITY OF MANHATTAN SCHIST. IT IS AN ESSENTIAL ARCHITECTURE COMPOSED OF NATURE'S STONE, THE UNDENIABLE EMPTINESS OF THE STONE'S ABSENCE FROM THE EARTH, AND STEEL AS MAN'S MECHANISM FOR CREATING THIS ABSENCE.
MANHATTAN SCHIST
QUARRY PLAN -5 TO 0
TRUSS LEVEL 0
+1
+2
+3
+4
DIMENSION DIMENSIONSTONE STONE
STONE STONE CARRIER CARRIER SLIDING SLIDING MECHANISM MECHANISM
TRACK TRACK BUILDING BUILDING STRUCTURE STRUCTURE
+5
LIBRARY SPRING 2011 CRITIC: K. ROTHSTEIN PROGRAM: LIBRARY SITE: GRAND STREET AND CENTRE STREET MANHATTAN NEW YORK
LIBRARY IS NOT A FIRM INDEX, BUT A DYNAMIC ACCUMULATION. BOOKS ARE NOT BOUND TO A PHYSICAL OR MENTAL PLACE; THEY ARE UNFIXED AS VISITORS PICK THEM UP AND PUT THEM DOWN. NEW CONNECTIONS CAN BE MADE FROM A BOOK'S LOCATION AND ITS ADJACENCIES IN THE LIBRARY. IF NEEDED, A SPECIFIC BOOK CAN BE LOCATED VIA ITS EMBEDDED RADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION CHIP, AKIN TO A WIRELESS ELECTRONIC LIBRARY CARD. THIS FREEDOM ENCOURAGES A PHYSICAL INTERACTION BETWEEN THE BUILDING'S ARCHITECTURE AND THE KNOWLEDGE IT STORES. AS BOOKS MOVE AROUND INSIDE, THEY CAN ACCUMULATE OR SCATTER TO LEAVE TANGIBLE TRACES OF THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION BETWEEN THE BUILDING'S CONTENTS AND VISITORS. THE STRUCTURE OF THE BUILDING IS A STEEL SCAFFOLDING FRAMEWORK. THE SCAFFOLD HOLDS THE LIBRARY STACKS. CONCRETE SHELLS ARE INSERTED INTO THIS FRAMEWORK TO CREATE QUIETER, MORE ENCLOSED SPACES WHICH FUNCTION AS READING OR MEETING ROOMS. THE INSERTION OF THESE SPACES INTO THE SCAFFOLD DICTATES DISTORTIONS AND OPENINGS WHICH ALLOW THE STEEL GRID TO SUPPORT THE CONCRETE SHELLS. THE NONHIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATION OF BOOKS ENCOURAGES VISITORS TO MOVE FREELY THROUGH A SPACE OF DISCOVERY. THE REPETITION OF BOOKS THROUGH THE SPACE AND THE INCREMENT OF THE SCAFFOLD SERVE AS MEASURES OF SCALE AND PASSAGE THROUGH THE LIBRARY. THE SCAFFOLD DISTORTIONS AROUND THE READING ROOMS ACT AS PUNCTUATED MARKERS FOR A CHANGE OF PACE AND MORE INTIMATE MOMENTS. DIFFERENT SIZED READING ROOMS ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PRIVACY, WHILE THEIR REPETITION ACCENTS THE RHYTHM OF THE STRUCTURE.
INDETERMINATE SITE BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOODS
000
100
INFORMATION PHILOSOPHY
200
300
400
RELIGION
SOCIAL SCIENCE
LANGUAGE
500
600
700
800
900
NATURAL SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY
ARTS
LITERATURE
HISTORY
INDETERMINATE BOOKS BETWEEN CATEGORIES
GRID DISTORTION STUDY
MAGNETIC DENSITY STUDY
PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS AS LOCALIZED DENSITIES
STUDY MODELS WITH MAGNETIC DENSITIES AND DISTORTED FORM
STUDY MODELS OF DISTORTED FORM AND INTERIOR GRID
STUDY MODEL WITH DENSITIES AS VOIDS AND TRANSLUCENT SKIN
STEEL STRUCTURE DISTORED BY CONCRETE SHELL READING ROOMS
LIBRARY AS FIELD OF BOOKS
DRIFT SPRING 2013 CRITICS: T. DE MONCHAUX G. LIGNANO A. TOLLA PROGRAM: CLINIC FOR SLEEP THERAPY SITE: LOWER EAST SIDE NEW YORK
DRIFT IS A CLINIC FOR SLEEP THERAPY. IT HOUSES A DENSE ATMOSPHERE WHERE VISITORS CAN LITERALLY DRIFT IN TO SLEEP. THE SPACE IS FLAT AND EXPANSIVE, YET PARTITIONED AND INCREMENTAL, LIKE AN OCEAN DELINEATED BY WAVES. VISITORS CAN CIRCULATE AROUND UNTIL FEELING LETHARGIC OR COMING ACROSS A BED. DRIFT IS A SLOW, SOFT SPACE. THE ARCHITECTURE CONSISTS OF VERTICAL SCREENS COMPOSED OF HORIZONTAL MEMBERS THAT DIVIDE THE SPACE, SLOWING THE FLOW OF PEOPLE, LIGHT, AIR, AND SOUND. A SOFTNESS IS CREATED THROUGH THE ENDLESS STACKING AND OVERLAYING OF THESE SCREENS AS THEY DULL THE SENSES. THE SCREENS SPILL ONTO THE SIDEWALK WHERE THEY COLLECT VISITORS. THE GAPS IN THE SCREENS TIGHTEN TOWARDS THE ROOF, AND ARE FILLED WITH GLASS ALONG THE BUILDING'S PERIMETER TO CREATE ENCLOSURE. BEDS ARE LIFTED AND BATHROOMS ARE SUNKEN, FREEING THE HORIZONTAL FOR DRIFT. THE DREAM OF DRIFT IS THE DREAM OF A DREAM. THE REPETITION AND WAVE-LIKE REGULARITY OF DIAPHANOUS PARTITIONS ENABLES A HAZY, SEMI-TRANSLUCENT MOOD BEARING THE PROMISE OF SLEEP.
STUDY OF LAYERING SCREENS
PLAN STUDIES
PLAN
SECTION
SPACES CONSTRUCTED
HABITABLE SPACE ENABLES THE FULL, POTENT RANGE OF SENSORY EXPERIENCE. IN CONSTRUCTED SPACE, DECISIONS ABOUT TANGIBLE ELEMENTS SUCH AS MATERIALITY OR STRUCTURE CAN ACT IN SERVICE OF MORE TRANSIENT QUALITIES LIKE THE FILTRATION OF LIGHT, SOUND, AND AIR. SPACES THAT ARE CONCEIVED AND CONSTRUCTED WITH FOCUSED INTENT HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRANSCEND THEIR PHYSICAL PARAMETERS AND APPROACH A PALPABLE QUALITY OF ATMOSPHERE.
SWAY SPRING 2013 WITH J. BARNES J. BRENNAN E. BULT R. DALE J. JUNG B. WEI M. ZYRO CRITICS: M. BEARAK B. BORDERS PROGRAM: ARCHITECTURAL FOLLY SITE: AVERY HALL COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NEW YORK
SWAY IS AN ARCHITECTURAL FOLLY THAT CREATES A SENSE OF SPATIAL ENCLOSURE, A LEISURELY PATH, AND A MOMENT OF PAUSE. TECTONICALLY, IT UTILIZES A RIGID BUT FLEXIBLE VERTICAL PVC NET STRUCTURE WITH A SOFT PLASTIC INTERIOR. THE VERTICAL MEMBERS SOFTLY SWAY WITH THE PASSAGE OF PEOPLE AND WIND. THE INTERIOR EXPERIENCE IS AKIN TO THAT OF A FOREST, WITH FILTERED NATURAL LIGHT, SOFT TACTILITY, AND A GENTLE RUSTLING SOUND. SWAY'S DEVELOPMENT EXEMPLIFIES A NONLINEAR DESIGN PROCESS THAT RELIES ON THE FEEDBACK BETWEEN DRAWING, MODEL-MAKING, AND CONSTRUCTING FULL SCALE MOCKUPS. EXPERIENTIAL QUALITIES AND A RELATION TO THE HUMAN BODY ARE TESTED IN MOCKUPS, INFORMING DETAILS AS WELL AS LARGER SCALE DECISIONS THAT ARE FIRST EVALUATED THROUGH DRAWING. IN TERMS OF FABRICATION, SWAY MARRIES THE USE OF DIGITAL AND MANUAL TOOLS. THE FLOOR CONSISTS OF CNC ROUTED PLYWOOD SHEETS THAT ARE CONNECTED BY HAND. THE PVC PIPES WHICH COMPRISE THE VERTICAL STRUCTURE ARE PERFORATED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A CNC ROUTER. THESE PERFORATIONS ARE THEN USED AS CONNECTION POINTS FOR PLASTIC SHEETS, WHICH ARE ATTACHED BY HAND. THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY RELIES ON A SMALL RANGE OF PARTS THAT ARE MULTIPLIED TO CREATE THE COMPOSITION. THE REPETITION OF PARTS PROVIDES A STRUCTURAL, TACTILE, AND AESTHETIC UNITY THAT DRAWS VISITORS THROUGH THE PATH.
10’
PVC PIPE PLYWOOD PVC TEE
MOVING WALL SPRING 2009 CRITIC: D. KARWAS PROGRAM: ART INSTALLATION SITE: 7ELEVEN GALLERY 169 10TH AVENUE NEW YORK
MOVING WALL UTILIZES AN ELECTRIC AND MECHANICAL MOTOR AND LIGHTING SEQUENCE TO ALTER THE SIZE AND BRIGHTNESS OF A ROOM. IT IS TRIGGERED BY MOTION SENSORS THAT DETECT A VISITOR ENTERING OR LEAVING THE SPACE. THE ROOM GRADUALLY BECOMES SMALLER AND BRIGHTER UPON ENTRY. IT RETURNS TO ITS LARGER, DARKER STATE WHEN IT IS LEFT EMPTY. MOVING WALL IS A MEMORIAL TO THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE OF 1911. WORKERS TRAPPED IN A BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN COULD NOT ESCAPE DEATHLY FLAMES DUE TO CRAMMED CONDITIONS AND IMPROPER EMERGENCY EGRESS. MOVING WALL SERVES AS AN ABSTRACTION OF THE INTENSIFICATION OF SPACE AND LIGHT THAT OCCURRED DURING THE EVENT. THIS INTENSIFICATION IS BROKEN DOWN INTO IMPERCEPTIBLY SMALL INCREMENTS AS THE WALL MOVES CLOSER AND THE LIGHT GROWS BRIGHTER. THE REPETITION AND ACCUMULATION OF THESE INCREMENTS CREATES A PRIMAL EXPERIENCE THAT PALPABLY PRESENTS THE DIVISIBLE NATURE OF SPACE, LIGHT, AND TIME.
LED
LIGHT
S
STRIP
TOR
A ACTU EAR 2 LIN MOTORS
L298 ER IV R DR
MOTO MIC ARDUIN ROC ONT O ROL L
ER
RED INFRA SSIVE ENSORS 2 PA N S MOTIO
SEQUENCE UPON ENTRY: ROOM GROWS BRIGHTER AND SMALLER
SEQUENCE UPON EXIT: ROOM GROWS DIMMER AND LARGER
EL VACÍO FALL 2011 - SUMMER 2012 WITH G. ESPARZA J. MELINGER PROGRAM: ART INSTALLATION SITES: JUST ANOTHER SPACE TOKYO, JAPAN WAYWARD GALLERY LONDON, UK 29 GREENE STREET NEW YORK
EL VACÍO IS AN INSTALLATION THAT TOURED GALLERIES IN TOKYO, LONDON, AND NEW YORK. THE PROJECT'S DESIRE IS TO CREATE AN IMMERSIVE SPATIAL AND SENSORY EXPERIENCE; A THREE DIMENSIONAL MANIFESTATION OF THE IMAGES AND VIDEOS ON DISPLAY. THE QUALITY OF THE RESULTING SPACE IS BOUNDLESS, BLURRY, AND SEDUCTIVE. REFERENCES TO THE GROUNDED, PHYSICAL WORLD ARE OBSTRUCTED. THE PROJECT'S MULTI-SENSORY WORLD IS MAGNIFIED THROUGH THE TAILORED USE OF MEDIA SUCH AS PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO, SCENT, MUSIC, PRINT DESIGN, AND WEB DESIGN. THE PRIMARY PHYSICAL COMPONENTS THAT ENABLE THE SPATIAL EXPERIENCE ARE DIGITAL PROJECTORS AND TRANSLUCENT WHITE FABRIC. THE PROJECTOR BEAMS DELINEATE SPACE, WHILE THE FABRIC SEGMENTS IT. EACH BEAM OF LIGHT HITS AND PASSES THROUGH MULTIPLE LAYERS OF FABRIC BEFORE LANDING ON A WALL. THIS REPETITIVE LAYERING EFFECT GIVES THE IMAGES VOLUME THROUGH REPETITION. THE ATMOSPHERE IS FURTHER THICKENED WITH FOG WHICH ADDS DENSITY TO THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SPACE. VISITORS WANDER BETWEEN HANGING SHEETS OF FABRIC, PHYSICALLY IMMERSED IN THE WORLD OF THE PROJECTED IMAGES.
PROJECTOR IMAGE PATH TRANSLUCENT WHITE FABRIC
EL VACÍO TOKYO 1-3-9 KAMIMEGUR0, MEGURO-KU 10.22.2011 - 10.23.2011
PROJECTOR IMAGE PATH TRANSLUCENT WHITE FABRIC
EL VACÍO LONDON 47 MOWLEM STREET, E2 9HE 11.17.2011 - 11.22.2011
PROJECTOR IMAGE PATH TRANSLUCENT WHITE FABRIC
EL VACÍO NEW YORK 29 GREENE STREET, SOHO 8.23.2011 - 8.29.2012
OBJECTS
WORKING IN THREE-DIMENSIONS DEMANDS A RELATION TO THE HUMAN BODY. OBJECTS ARE MADE OF MATERIAL, ESTABLISH GEOMETRY, AND OCCUPY SPACE. THEY PROMPT SENSORY ENGAGEMENT WHILE RETAINING A DISCRETE EXISTENCE AS ENTITIES APART FROM THE BODY.
BOULDERING WALL SPRING 2012 WITH H. BYRON M. GEORGOPOULOS
CRITIC: J. DRAPER SITE: MORNINGSIDE PARK MANHATTAN NEW YORK
BOULDERING WALL IS A PROPOSAL FOR THE RETAINING WALL IN MANHATTAN'S MORNINGSIDE PARK. OVER ITS 130 YEAR EXISTENCE, THE WALL HAS BECOME A HETEROGENOUS ASSEMBLAGE OF STONES, VOIDS, AND PATCHES. ITS UNEVEN TEXTURE CREATES A TACTILE QUALITY THAT LENDS ITSELF TO HUMAN ENGAGEMENT THROUGH CLIMBING. THIS PROJECT UNCOVERS THE RETAINING WALL'S HIDDEN POTENTIAL TO BE A CLIMBING WALL. THE WALL'S EXISTING CLIMBABLE LOCATIONS ARE RECORDED USING THE TOOL OF 3D-SCANNING. THESE 3D SCANS ARE DIGITALLY MANIPULATED TO CREATE FORMS FOR PANELS THAT CAN BE ASSEMBLED INTO A CLIMBABLE WALL. MOLDS FOR THE PANELS ARE CREATED WITH A CNC ROUTER, AND ARE THEN CAST WITH CONCRETE. CASTING IS USED AS A TOOL FOR RE-MAPPING THE MEMORY OF THE WALL'S CLIMBABLE SPOTS TO A CENTRALIZED CLIMBING LOCATION. THE REPETITION OF FORMS FROM THE ORIGINAL WALL TO THE PROPOSED CLIMBING SITE CREATES A PALIMPSEST AND PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE WALL'S HISTORY.
THE MORNINGSIDE PARK RETAINING WALL
FIDELITY TEST: CASTING A SCHIST NEGATIVE
CAST PLASTER POSITIVE
CNC ROUTED NEGATIVE
ORIGINAL PHOTO
ORIGINAL 3D SCAN
GEOMETRY FROM 3D SCAN
DIGITALLY SMOOTHED ONCE
DIGITALLY SMOOTHED TWICE
FIDELITY TEST: CASTING A 3D SCAN OF THE RETAINING WALL
3D SCAN GEOMETRY: LOCATIONS OF THE SCANS
A1 A2
C2 C4
C3
A4
B1 A3 C1
SITE STRATEGY TO LOCATE CLIMBABLE SPOTS ON THE WALL, AND TO REMAP THE MEMORY OF THESE SPOTS INTO A CENTRALIZED LOCATION THAT WILL BECOME A CLIMBING WALL
RETAINING WALL PROPOSED SITE 3D SCAN LOCATIONS PANEL NAME
3D SCANS USED IN FINAL PANELS
A 1
SCAN NUMBER
PANEL NAME PANEL SIZE
A
B
C
27”x9”
9”x9”
18”x9”
MORNINGSIDE PARK CLIMBING WALL FORMWORKS SPRING 2012 HANK BYRON | MICHAEL GEORGOPOULOS | ALAN PAUKMAN
OLD
NUTS NUTS STOP THREADED RODS FROM FALLING
THREADED RODS RODS THREADED FOR CONNECTING PANEL TO STRUCTURE
REGISTRATION POINTS REGISTRATION POINTS
TO ALIGN PLYWOOD BACK AND FOAM SURFACE
PLYWOOD BACK PLYWOOD BACK
POUR SPOUT SPOUT POUR
FOR GETTING ROCKITE INSIDE THE MOLD
TO HOLD RODS + CREATE LAP JOINT TO CONNECT TO ADJACENT PANELS
EMBEDDED WASHERS EMBEDDED NUTS + WASHERS EMBEDDED TO SECURE THREADED RODS IN CONCRETE
PLYWOOD PLYWOODSLIDE-OUT SLIDE-OUT
TO CREATE UNDERCUT LAP JOINT
CNCROUTED ROUTED FOAM FOAM CNC
WITH SURFACE GEOMETRY
MORNINGSID CLIMBIN
FORMWORKS HANK BYRON | MICHAEL GEORGOPOULOS | AL
PANEL B PANEL A
PANEL C
EGATION ON SITE: STRUCTURE + PANELS EXISTING EXISTING RETAINING WALL RETAINING WALL
HORIZONTAL HORIZONTAL CONNECTION BARS CONNECTION BARS
OUTRIGGERS
OUTRIGGERS
ANGLED ANGLED VERTICAL SUPPORTS VERTICAL SUPPORTS
THREADED THREADED RODS RODS
CLIMBING WALL PANELS
CLIMBING WALL PANELS
MORNINGSIDE P CLIMBING W
FORMWORKS SPR HANK BYRON | MICHAEL GEORGOPOULOS | ALAN P
DISCONTINUOUS SCREEN FALL 2012 WITH G. BURKETT Z. FLORENCE E. JONES CRITIC: J. VIDICH PROGRAM: FACADE SHADING SITE: BROADWAY AND HOUSTON STREET MANHATTAN NEW YORK
DISCONTINUOUS SCREEN IS A SYSTEM FOR SHADING THE FACADE OF A BUILDING. IT IS COMPRISED OF A REPEATING UNIT, FABRICATED FROM LASER-CUT AND BENT SHEET METAL. THE BOTTOM OF EACH METAL UNIT IS MECHANICALLY FASTENED TO VERTICAL MULLIONS ON THE BUILDING'S FACADE, WHILE THE TOP OF EACH UNIT CANTILEVERS. THE ONLY VARIABLE BETWEEN UNITS IS THE ANGLE AT WHICH THE CANTILEVERS MEET THE MULLIONS. THIS ANGLE IS VARIED ACROSS THE FACADE TO CREATE A VISUAL RHYTHM, AS WELL AS TO MEET DIVERSE SHADING NEEDS WITHIN THE BUILDING. THE OVERALL SYSTEM CREATES A DEGREE OF OPACITY WHILE ALSO ENABLING A VISUAL CONNECTION TO THE OUTSIDE. THE REPETITION OF THIS SMALL ELEMENT SUGGESTS A CONTINUOUS SURFACE, BUT ITS SPACING ALLOWS A GRADIENT OF FILTRATION THROUGH THE FIELD.
MODULE ASSEMBLY
VARIABLE ROTATION
AGGREGATION AGGREGATION A A
AGGREGATION AGGREGATION Z Z
AGGREGATION AGGRE E
SURFACE SURFACE SCREEN SCREEN STRUCTURE STRUCTURE BENDERS BENDERS WEEK WEEK 5 5
SURFACE SCREEN STRUCTURE BENDERS WEEK 5
G
AGGREGATION A AGGREGATION A
AGGREGATION Z AGGREGATION Z
AGGREGATION E AGGREGATION E
AGGREGATION G AGGREGATION G
AGGREGATION A
A
SURFACE SCREEN STRUCTURE BENDERS WEEK 5
TION A
FACE EEN UCTURE DERS K 5
AGGREGATION G AGGREGATION Z
AGGREGATION AGGREGATION E A
AGGREGATION Z
AG
AGGREGATION VARIATION STUDIES AGGREGATION VARIATION STUDIES AGGREGATION G
AGGREGATION A
AGGREGATION Z
AGGREGATION E
AGGREGATION AGGREGATION VARIATION VARIA AGGREGATION G
AGGREGATION VAR
AGGREGATION STUDIES
PANEL ASSEMBLY
INTERIOR SPACE WITHOUT AND WITH SHADING
STACK BENCH SPRING 2012 WITH L. ALARCON H. BYRON M. GEORGOPOULOS CRITICS: M. BEARAK B. BORDERS
STACK BENCH IS A PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT MARRIES THE USE OF DIGITAL SOFTWARE AND TRADITIONAL CRAFT IN ITS MAKING. AS A PHYSICAL OBJECT, THE BENCH EMPHASIZES THE PROPERTIES OF ITS MATERIALS. THE BENCH'S CONNECTIONS AND STRUCTURE RELY SOLELY ON FRICTION-FIT JOINERY BETWEEN WOOD AND STEEL ELEMENTS. THIS CONFLUENCE OF TWO MATERIALS IS MARKED BY A SURFACE PATTERN OF SQUARE-BASED PYRAMIDS. THE SURFACE PATTERN ADAPTIVELY RESPONDS TO THE POINTS WHERE THE CUSTOM STEEL PIECES ARE INSERTED INTO THE WOOD. THE VERTEX OF EACH PYRAMID IS CALCULATED BASED ON THE LOCATIONS OF ADJACENT STEEL PIECES. THE BENCH'S TOP SURFACE IS ERODED TO INCREASE SMOOTHNESS FOR COMFORT. THE REPETITION OF TWO TYPES OF MATERIAL COMPONENTS UNIFIED THROUGH A SINGLE JOINING METHOD PROVIDES THE OBJECT WITH TECTONIC CLARITY. THE CONTINUITY OF THE REPETITIVE SURFACE PATTERN CREATES A DECORATIVE ELEMENT THAT IS ALSO INTEGRATED INTO THE BENCH'S STRUCTURE.
CNC MILLED WOOD 4X4S
PLASMA CUT AND PRESS BENT STEEL FASTENERS
ANGLE (DEGREES)
BREAK PRESS PRESSURE TO BEND 1/8" STEEL
DETAIL OF COMPOSITE WOOD AND STEEL SYSTEM
FRICTION FIT STACK BENCH
44XX4 4ss WOOD WOOD
CN
METAL METAL
SH SH EEEET
T S STTEE EE L
L
PLAS
CCNNC C M MILILLL
TRIM
PLPALA SSM
MA A C CUUTT
AASSSSEEM M
B BLLEE
BR BA RA KKEE
P PRREESS S
S
Luis Alarcon | Hank Byron | Michael Georgopoulos | Alan Paukman
1
SIDE B
2 3 4 5
TOP
6 4 3 2 1
SIDE A
6 5 4 3 2 1
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
UNROLLED BENCH SURFACE WITH TETRAHEDRAL WOOD MILLING PATTERN
1
SIDE B
2 3 4 5
4
TOP
6
3 2 1
SIDE A
6 5 4 3 2 1
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
UNROLLED BENCH SURFACE WITH STEEL FASTENER BENDING ANGLES
BENCH ELEVATION WITH MILLED WOOD AND BENT STEEL
TENSION VESSEL SPRING 2012 CRITIC: R. MARINO
TENSION VESSEL IS AN OBJECT WITH THE REQUIRED CAPACITY FOR 2 POUNDS OF SAND. THE PRIMARY MATERIAL USED IS RED OAK. THIN STRIPS OF THIS WOOD ARE HELD TOGETHER BY BRASS RODS RUNNING THROUGH THEIR WIDTH. FIRST, ONE END OF EACH OF ROD IS HAMMERED FLAT TO KEEP THE WOOD FROM SLIDING OFF. STEAMING THE WOOD MAKES IT PLIABLE. IT IS THEN BENT ON A CUSTOM-BUILT CONCRETE JIG. ONCE BENT, THE OTHER ENDS OF THE BRASS RODS ARE TRIMMED AND HAMMERED TO HOLD THE WOOD IN PLACE. THE NAME "TENSION VESSEL" DESCRIBES THE TENSILE PROPERTIES EXHIBITED BY THE BRASS AS IT PULLS THE WOOD STRIPS CLOSE TOGETHER. THE WOOD PIECES ALSO EXHIBIT TENSION WHEN THEIR UNDERSIDES STRETCH AND ELONGATE IN THE JIG. THE JIG BENDS THE WOOD INTO A CONCAVE SHAPE THAT GIVES THE OBJECT THE ABILITY TO HOLD SAND. WHEN SAND IS PILED INTO THE VESSEL, IT ACCUMULATES INTO A MOUND THAT SHOWS THE SAND'S NATURAL ANGLE OF REPOSE AT APPROXIMATELY 40°. RATHER THAN USING A SINGLE SHEET OF BENDABLE WOOD, TENSION VESSEL EMPLOYS A REPETITION OF LINEAR MEMBERS. THIS REPETITION STAGGERS AND DEMARCATES THE TRANSFORMATION FROM FLAT STRIPS TO CURVED OBJECT. INSTEAD OF USING AN ADHESIVE, THE STRIPS ARE MECHANICALLY JOINED WITH BRASS RODS THAT RUN THROUGH THE WOOD AT FOUR KEY POINTS. THE BRASS RODS' RIVETED ENDS LEAVE A SUBTLE JOINERY DETAIL ON THE EDGE OF THE VESSEL.
RED OAK STRIPS ON BRASS RODS
CLAMPED INTO BENDING JIG AFTER BEING STEAMED
COLLIDING FORM 2009 - 2013 WITH J. MELINGER
COLLIDING FORM IS A SERIES OF METAL OBJECTS CREATED THROUGH NIKOLAI ROSE STUDIO, A PARTNERSHIP WITH JACOB MELINGER. UTILIZING A RANGE OF METALS AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES, THESE PIECES ALL EXPLORE COMPOSITIONS OF REGULAR GEOMETRIC SHAPES COMBINED WITH SUBTLE IRREGULARITIES. THESE SHAPES EXIST FLOATING AND INTERSECTING AT SLIGHT ANGLES, SPINNING ON AXES, OR MERGED AT CORNERS. THE HARD-EDGED FORMAL LANGUAGE OF THESE PIECES DOES NOT IMPEDE THEIR ABILITY TO EXIST AS FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS. BE IT A DOOR HANDLE OR A CUFFLINK, SIMPLE GEOMETRIC FORMS AND TACTILE METALS CREATE COMPLEMENTARY IMPLEMENTS FOR DAILY USE.
STERLING SILVER CATCHING RING
STERLING SILVER COLLIDING RING
STERLING SILVER INTERSECTING TIE BAR, COLLIDING CUFFLINKS, AND FALLING LINES NECKLACE
STERLING SILVER ROTATING CUFFLINKS, CLOSED AND OPEN
SMITH BRACELET DESIGN ITERATIONS
WHITE BRONZE SMITH BRACELET
BRASS DOOR LEVERS FOR THE NANZ COMPANY
BRASS DOOR KNOBS FOR THE NANZ COMPANY
IMAGES
IMAGE-MAKING IS A TOOL TO EXPLORE DESIRE. DRAWING CAN MAKE MYSTIC THE CONCRETE. PHOTOGRAPHY CAN DEMONSTRATE THE SPIRITUAL POTENTIAL OF INANIMATE MATTER. IMAGES HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CAPTURE IMAGINATIONS AND PROPEL DREAMS.
FABRIC STONE SPRING 2011 CRITIC: K. AYATA
FABRIC STONE IS AN ANALYSIS OF A BAS RELIEF AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. THE RELIEF, MARBLE GRAVE
STELE OF A YOUNG WOMAN, FROM GREECE CIRCA 400 BC, DEPICTS TWO FIGURES IN DRAPED CLOTH. WITHOUT MEASURING OR TOUCHING THE RELIEF, HORIZONTAL SECTION CUTS ARE TAKEN AT REGULAR INTERVALS. THE SECTION CUTS REVEAL THAT THE RELIEF'S COMPOSITION RELIES ON THE POSITIONING OF 24 BUMPS, REPRESENTING RIPPLES IN THE STONE FABRIC, RUNNING ACROSS ITS WIDTH. A STANDARDIZED, REPETITIVE VERSION OF THESE BUMPS, DEPICTING THE REGULARIZED FORM OF THIS GEOMETRIC PRINCIPLE, IS SUPERIMPOSED UPON EACH OF THE SECTION CUTS. A SERIES OF AVERAGING OPERATIONS CREATES 15 STEPS THAT SHOW THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE IDEALIZED BUMPS AND THE SCULPTED ONES. THE SPACING BETWEEN THESE STEPS GROWS TIGHTER AND WIDER AS THE SECTION CUTS MIMIC OR VARY FROM THE SUPERIMPOSED ARCS. VISUALLY, THE AVERAGED LINES REIMAGINE THE SPIRIT OF THE BAS RELIEF. THE ACT OF DRAWING THEM TEASES OUT A HIDDEN NATURE FROM THE STONE. THE HEAVY STONE BECOMES LIGHT, APPROACHING THE WEIGHTLESSNESS OF FABRIC AS THE LINES DANCE ACROSS THE COMPOSITION.
PRISMATIC SPRING 2013
PRISMATIC IS A SERIES OF STILL FRAMES THROUGH AN INVENTED STRUCTURE. THE STRUCTURE IS COMPRISED OF LONG NARROW VERTICALS SPACED EVENLY AND CLOSELY TOGETHER WITH SMALLER RECTILINEAR ELEMENTS SUSPENDED BETWEEN THEM. THE SMALLER ELEMENTS ARE ALL THE SAME SIZE, BUT ARE ROTATED AT SET INTERVALS. THEY ARE REPEATED VERTICALLY ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE VERTICAL MEMBERS. THE STRUCTURE HAS A SENSE OF PLAUSIBILITY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IS UNFAMILIAR. FROM ONE FRAME TO THE NEXT, THE MATERIALITY OF THE COMPONENTS SLOWLY DISINTEGRATES. WHAT APPEARS TO BE STONE AND STEEL TURNS TO GLASS BEFORE GRADUALLY DEMATERIALIZING.
MESH SPRING 2013
MESH IS A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT TO TEST THE VISUAL DEFINITION OF A SPACE REPRESENTED ONLY BY LINES. THE LINES HEREIN ARE NOT DRAWN OR INDIVIDUALLY ASSIGNED, BUT ARE DESCRIBED AS A TEXTURE FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL PLANES. THE COMPOSITION IS ARRANGED ONLY AS A REPETITIVE ARRAY OF THESE PLANES, STACKED AND ROTATED THREEDIMENSIONALLY. EACH PLANE RECEIVES THE SAME MESH TEXTURE, RENDERING IT AS A GRID OF HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL LINES. FROM ONE CAPTURED FRAME TO THE NEXT, THE ONLY VARIABLE THAT CHANGES IS THE COARSENESS OF THE MESH. THIS SEQUENCE APPROACHES THE VISUAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING INSIDE SOMETHING. IT QUESTIONS THE LIMITS OF ENCLOSURE, VISIBILITY, SCALE, AND MATERIAL, WHILE INQUIRING INTO THE HUMAN SENSORY SYSTEM'S CAPACITY TO PERCEIVE CHANGE AND ELICIT A RESPONSE TO GEOMETRIC IMAGERY.
PLAN AND ELEVATION VIEWS
PERSPECTIVAL VIEWS
ONE LITER FALL 2010 CRITIC: P. ANZALONE ASSIGNMENT: MELT ONE LITER OF ICE
ONE LITER IS AN INTRODUCTORY STUDY IN WHICH DYED BLOCKS OF ICE LEAVE TRACES OF THEIR MELTING ATOP SHEETS OF PAPER. ONE BLOCK OF ICE IS REMOVED FROM A SHEET OF PAPER EVERY 15 MINUTES OVER 2 HOURS, YIELDING 8 SHEETS OF PAPER AND 8 BLOCKS OF ICE. THE 8 DYED SHEETS ARE A VISUAL RECORD OF THE EVENT. EACH PAPER HOLDS THE MEMORY FROM A DISTINCT STAGE OF THE MELTING PROCESS. USING 8 IDENTICAL BLOCKS OF ICE TO CAPTURE THE MELTING PROCESS EMBEDDED IN 1 IS A CONCRETIZATION OF THE INCREMENTAL NATURE OF TIME. THE ENTIRE PROCEDURE IS CONDUCTED WITH PREDETERMINED RULES, MEASUREMENTS, AND STRICT REPETITION. THIS LEVEL OF CONTROL MINIMIZES SUBJECTIVE INPUT AND LETS THE INHERENT PROPERTIES OF THE ICE, DYE, AND PAPER EMERGE OVER TIME. THE TOOLS OF THIS STUDY ARE MINIMAL AND CALCULATED, YET THE RESULTS ARE LITERALLY FLUID AND VISUALLY EXPRESSIVE. THIS TYPE OF STUDY IS VALUABLE BECAUSE TEMPORALITY AND MATERIALITY ARE INDISPENSABLE QUALITIES OF BUILT FORM. ARCHITECTS STAND TO BENEFIT FROM THE ABILITY TO MEASURE AND UNDERSTAND THE EPHEMERAL.
9.11.10 75 - 78 DEGREES 1 LITER ICE = 2.01 LBS 10 MIN ICE = 1.89 LBS MELTED WATER = 1/4 CUP
110 MIN ICE = 0.68 LBS WATER = 2 3/4 CUPS
20 MIN ICE = 1.76 LBS WATER = 1/2 CUP
120 MIN ICE = 0.58 LBS WATER = 3 CUPS
30 MIN ICE = 1.58 LBS WATER = 3/4 CUP
130 MIN ICE = 0.484 LBS WATER = 3 1/4 CUPS
40 MIN ICE = 1.51 LBS WATER = 1 CUP
140 MIN ICE = 0.38 LBS WATER = 3 1/2 CUPS
50 MIN ICE = 1.39 LBS WATER = 1 1/4 CUP
150 MIN ICE = 0.275 LBS WATER = 3 3/4 CUPS
60 MIN ICE = 1.25 LBS WATER = 1 1/2 CUP
160 MIN ICE = 0.21 LBS WATER = 3 7/8 CUP
70 MIN ICE = 1.13 LBS WATER = 1 3/4 CUP
170 MIN ICE = 0.145 LBS WATER = 4 CUPS
80 MIN ICE = 1.03 LBS WATER = 2 CUPS
180 MIN ICE = 0.095 LBS WATER = 4 CUPS 1 TBSP
90 MIN ICE = 0.91 LBS WATER = 2 1/4 CUPS
190 MIN ICE = 0.055 LBS WATER = 4 CUPS 2 TBSP
100 MIN ICE = 0.78 LBS WATER = 2 1/2 CUPS
200 MIN ICE = 0.025 LBS WATER = 4 CUPS 3 TBSP
ONE-LITER CYLINDERS OF BLACK ICE MELTING ON PAPER
LITER #8 15 MINUTE INTERVALS
TIME
SPACE
ALAN PAUKMAN 9.13.10 GSAPP STUDIO I
DIARY 2013
DIARY IS THE PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF SPACES ENCOUNTERED IN DAILY LIFE. THE MOMENTS DEPICTED HEREIN ARE PUNCTUATED BY LIGHT, STRUCTURE, REPETITION, AND ATMOSPHERE. EACH PHOTOGRAPH ASKS THE QUESTION: WHAT MAKES THIS SPACE WORK? AS AN ARCHIVE, THE IMAGES CATALOG A RANGE OF SPATIAL QUALITIES, BUT ARE FLATTENED INTO A TWO-DIMENSIONAL FRAME. UNABLE TO CAPTURE THE FULLNESS OF SENSORY EXPERIENCE, THIS CATALOG SERVES AS A RECORD OR A REMINDER. THESE IMAGES ARE NOTES FOR FURTHER INQUIRY, AND CUES FOR ARCHITECTURAL EXPLORATION.
WORDS
THERE IS NO ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT WRITING. NOTES, ESSAYS, SPECIFICATIONS. THE WRITTEN WORD SERVES A VITAL ROLE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF IDEA TO PRODUCT. THROUGH LANGUAGE, THOUGHTS ARE COMMUNICATED IN AN EXPLICIT AND DELIBERATE WAY. WORDS ENABLE THE EXCHANGES OF HISTORY, THEORY, AND CRITIQUE.
INHABITING THE SPACE OF THE WALL: RENAISSANCE ARTICULATION OF THE PERIMETER FALL 2012 PROFESSOR: D. SHERER
The Renaissance period in Italian architecture, spanning from 1400 to 1600 AD, was characterized by the tension between rule and invention. Architects during this time period felt inescapably linked to the rules of architecture and the precedents of antiquity, but they simultaneously endeavored to create a contemporary dynamic of their own. This compulsion to invent partially manifested itself in rethinking ways in which to treat the architectural space of the wall. Renaissance architects had the wall, seemingly a given in the creation of architectural space, at the forefront of their thoughts about the reinvention of building. This attitude made the wall the "the chief constituent of Renaissance architecture."1 The exploration of the wall during that time seems focused on the connection and disparity between the wall's role as a structural member, and the wall's role as a divider and creator of space. Architects acknowledged and abided by the wall's physical and structural necessity to perform as load bearing mass. Yet, at the same time, they pushed and pulled on the wall, exhibiting the desire to dematerialize it, to invade the poche, to thicken and inhabit the space of the wall, and blur the line between solid and void, between structure and space. This tension came to the forefront of Renaissance spatial thinking.
Filippo Brunelleschi, Ospedale degli Innocenti
It is no surprise that the first work conceived entirely by a Renaissance architect, Filippo Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti, incorporates a loggia. In elevation, the loggia blends into the facade, exhibiting its flatness and camouflaging as a wall. Yet, the volume springs to life when inhabited or represented through an interior perspective. As the inventor of linear perspective, it is doubtful that Brunelleschi was blind to this fact. The loggia's determining quality is that it is not a room in and of itself, but rather a virtual expansion of the building's perimeter wall. The dead load from the loggia's arched and domed ceiling is carried to a colonnade on the outside, and inside to a corresponding row of corbels set into the building's outermost wall. These corbels make the loggia physically possible by transferring the ceiling's dead load into the ground. Yet, conceptually, they represent the exact opposite. These are points where the wall springs forward and thrusts itself out, tracing an arched path back into the ground on the other side. The perimeter wall thickens to scoop people into a space that can no longer be said to be outside. This gesture not only provides a space for passage that is protected from the elements, but also is a physical manifestation of the experiential desire to inhabit that perspectival space of the wall. The Renaissance obsession with exploring the spatial potentiality of the wall is perhaps best illustrated through the work of Brunelleschi's peer Leon Battista Alberti. An early example is Palazzo Rucellai, where he was responsible for the addition of a facade to the existing building. Working within the conditions of the site, Alberti was only able to apply a thin stone veneer to the
Leon Battista Alberti, Palazzo Rucellai
street-facing elevation.2 Yet, by putting thick black reveal lines between each protruding part of stone, Alberti creates an artificial sense of depth. The thin flat space of the veneer suddenly implies a three dimensional space. Each stone rectangle appears to be zooming off of the facade, towards the street. Alberti could be compensating for the fact that his facade is merely a skin applied on top of the full structural depth of the wall. The detail in the stonework on the cladding of this facade, particularly the use of rustication, expresses a desire for the thickening of the veneer beyond its physical means.
Pillar and arch vs. column and arch
Leon Battista Alberti, Palazzo Rucellai
In general, Alberti was very conscious of the wall in his designs and was explicit about their architectural treatment. In particular, he was very attuned to the relationship between wall and column, and the transition between the two. For Alberti, the column was a principally decorative element not to be confused with the primary function of the wall as a load bearing element. To this end, he made sure to never put a round column under the arches of a wall. In these cases, he always preferred a rectangular pillar because its profile maintains the continuity of the wall's surface. This use of the pillar maintains his understanding that "a row of columns is indeed nothing else but a wall, open and discontinued in several places."3 Alberti's notion honors architectural tradition while emphasizing the plasticity of the wall, and the architect's ability to spread or compress the wall to create space at will. Over the course of his career he became increasingly attuned to the three-dimensional quality of the column in opposition to "the flat character of the wall."4 To respond to this split in character, he began utilizing a pilaster whenever a wall was to be combined with a column. This seeming "misinterpretation" of the classical column is an example of the restrictions and inventions of Renaissance architects in response to antiquity - by substituting decorative columns for pilasters, Alberti "found a logical way of translating classical architecture into wall architecture proper without compromise."5 The gesture of the pilaster does not two-dimensionalize the wall, but rather shows Alberti's sophistication in sensing that the threedimensionality of the wall is different than that of the column. The column wants to act a freestanding element that can be walked around and appreciated from all angles. The wall, on the other hand, is a planar element that shows one side at a time. It is the space of linear perspective, and can be understood, as an object, from the imaginary view through the length of its inside. The wall's exterior three-dimensionality comes from pushing and pulling on its surface, as with a pilaster, an opening, or a loggia. Perhaps Alberti's greatest project for the wall is Tempio Malatestiano, a conversion of the church of San Frencesco in Rimini into a burial site for Sigismundo Malatesta, the despot of Rimini, and his mistress Isotta. Once again, this project deals primarily with re-cladding an existing building, so it
inherently is rooted in the issues of the wall. Yet, this project's aspiration to thicken the wall of the facade goes beyond the thin veneer of Palazzo Rucellai. In Rimini, the existing building was to be covered in a thick white marble covering, but the project was never completed. What stands today appears to be a casing for the original building, with parts of the older structure showing from below. The overall effect is as if the new marble is a sarcophagus for the old building. This creates a visual dynamism where the history of the building can be read on the facade, and the layering creates a depth greater than that of a uniformly finished facade. In addition to the encrustation of marble, Alberti utilizes arches to articulate the facade. The idea of this series of arches coincides with Alberti's notion about a row of columns being "a wall, open and discontinued in several places."6 It could be said that he views the void of the arch as the space of the wall, but as an irregularity in that space. The opening and the wall are not separate, but of the same nature.
Leon Battista Alberti, Tempio Malatestiano
Being that the commission was for a burial site, and that he was primarily dealing with covering the facade, Alberti proceeded to utilize the arch openings as areas for the storage of sarcophagi. This gesture adds more depth to the facade, and further emphasizes the physical desire to inhabit the space of the wall. Despite other projects where certain spatial tricks must occur to create the impression of being inside a wall, in this project Alberti seems to be implying that if humans are unable to physically and literally inhabit the wall during life, then perhaps it is fit to do so in death. The walls of the church and the people laid to rest there are both immortalized in this place of linear perspective, forever sanctifying the bond between man and building. In this case, human bodies become part of the physical architectural mass of the building. The art historian Rudolf Wittkower writes: Alberti's adaptation of the elements of classical architecture to a consistent wall architecture takes places in four clearly distinct stages, the milestones of which are his four church facades: S. Francesco in Rimini, S. Maria Novella in Florence, S. Sebastiano and S. Andrea in Mantua 7 What is it about the typology of the church that lends itself to exploring the space of the wall? Alberti evidently differentiated religious buildings from others because "it was one of [his] theoretical requests that 'temples' be raised above the level of the common world."8 Raising a building implies creating a level of separation between it and everything outside. The exterior walls of a building also lay in this zone between inside and outside, so they too can be useful in the "raising" of such a building. In the case of Tempio Malatestiano, Alberti uses arches with sarcophagi to create a filter of sorts leading into the building. This arrangement suggests exfoliation; that one must shed his or her mortal self before entering the realm of
Leon Battista Alberti, Tempio Malatestiano
the spirit. The walls do not create a clear black and white division between inside and outside - pushing, pulling, adding and subtracting from the thickness of the wall creates a grey zone linking the two spaces. The use of walls as a filtration device for spiritual buildings can also be observed in the work of Louis Kahn. Kahn, in the 20th century, was subject to the forces of rule and invention just as Alberti was during the 15th century. He was creating work at a time when modernism was reaching its height as the international style, yet he also felt drawn to the human qualities - the warmth of materials, the interplay of light - of classical architecture. Kahn was "trying to revive architecture by going back and starting with the ruins of Rome."9 He traveled to Italy twice and toured the monuments of antiquity while making notes and sketches. He strove to take lessons from ancient architecture and apply them to the new concepts of modernism. He was bound by the rules of his time and the rules of the past, yet he invented a highly personal style that fused elements of both. One of the conclusions that Kahn made from studying classical architecture was about the nature of religious buildings. He described the Pantheon in Rome as "a world within a world" because the client "saw the demand of this pantheonic requirement of no religion, no set ritual, only inspired ritual."10 It is evident that Kahn found significant meaning in the non-religious aspects of religious space, particularly as they related to the traditions and ritual of assembly. For Kahn, the ritual of assembly has a "religious atmosphere," and he felt that "a house of legislation is a religious place" because of the rituals of kinship and assembly.11 Yet the physical element which defined these spaces for Kahn was their enclosure: "because architecture has enclosure, it has the power to evoke a feeling of kinship when [one enters the space]."12 Much like in Alberti's work, the walls play a crucial role in defining the religious and spiritual atmosphere of Kahn's spaces.
Louis Kahn, Mikveh Israel Synagogue
Like Alberti, Kahn articulated the walls of his religious spaces by creating a sense of filtration along the perimeter, creating openings in the walls, implying their potential to be occupied. In an unbuilt scheme for Mikveh Israel Synagogue, Kahn used a layered composition with a double wall, punctuated by cylindrical light wells. The use of a double wall as a thickening of the perimeter creates a long narrow space around the building that can be inhabited. Conceptually, this space acts like an inhabitable buffer zone, much like Alberti's facade in Rimini. Yet for Kahn, the addition of light wells adds a performative aspect that increases the spiritual value of the place. The use of this exterior wall system embodies Kahn's desire to create "a space detached from its surroundings, floating in a sea of light."13 This space he describes is an inherently spiritual one, and being able to inhabit the wall may not be as important to Khan as using the wall as a vessel for light. Yet, the creation of
voids in the wall to carry light inherently make the walls inhabitable. The spirituality of the space seems to come from the atmospheric, environmental performance of light as enabled by the natural lighting control system in the delamination of the facade. Kahn's description of this technique is extremely reminiscent of Alberti's notion that "a row of columns is indeed nothing else but a wall, open and discontinued in several places,"14 yet with an added emphasis on light: If you see a series of columns you can say that the choice of columns is a choice in light. The columns as solids frame the spaces of light. Now think of it just in reverse and think that the columns are hollow and much bigger and their walls can themselves give light, then the voids are rooms, and the column is the maker of light and can take on complex shapes and be the supporter of spaces and give light to spaces ... In this way it becomes analogous to the solid column I mentioned above as a giver of light 15 Kahn was certainly passionate about this concept of letting light in between two layers of facade, which he also utilized in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar National Assembly compound in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In this building, the exterior corners are cut into squares in plan, and their walls also have geometric openings cut out of them in elevation, creating a light court within the exterior screen. In addition, some flat exteriorfacing walls also have geometric cut-outs exposing a circulation space, a sort of loggia, between interior space and the outside. This facade articulation seems to sanctify the building as a place of assembly, which to Kahn's mind, makes it a religious place. He called this "wrapping ruins around buildings,"16 which is exactly what Alberti did to his religious space in Rimini.
Louis Kahn, National Assembly in Dhaka
Kahn's relation to the Renaissance does not begin or end with Alberti. For example, there are some striking similarities between Kahn's final plan for the Assembly building and the plans of Renaissance centralized churches, "in particular, the interior light courts ringing the Assembly hall ... may be related to the small chapels which circle the main central sanctuary in Leonardo da Vinci's ideal church plans."17 In both cases, the main assembly space is ringed with a thickened, inhabitable perimeter. This perimeter articulation seems to serve the function of separating the "religious atmosphere" of the assembly space from the rest of the world, while creating an inhabitable zone along the exterior wall. The fact that this idea about layering and inhabiting the space of the perimeter wall keeps coming back to religious and spiritual spaces of assembly poses an interesting question. The connection comes back to the idea of a religious space being apart from the world, and the perimeter of that space acting as a sort of delaminated layer between the physical and spiritual worlds. It is also important to note that both Kahn and Alberti were heavily influenced by the ruins of ancient Rome. Perhaps
Louis Kahn, National Assembly in Dhaka
the idea of the inhabitable facade has something to do with the idea of beginnings and the past. This link may be best articulated in Kahn's last built project, Four Freedoms Park. This project creates an outdoor room at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in New York City. The perimeter of the room is marked by a row of giant 36 ton pieces of granite, with a one inch space of void between each. This narrow space seems to dematerialize the wall, creating a virtually occupiable space for Kahn's important light. The primal, elemental nature of this composition surely nods to the idea of beginnings: "the archetypal room rising out of the waters; the first parting of the walls; the revelation of the primary elements of structure; a creation myth dealing with the origins of architecture and the founding principles of democratic freedom."18 Walls make buildings possible by carrying weight and denoting the boundaries of space. Playing with the surface of the wall - pushing, pulling, removing, and adding material - lets architects articulate the space of the wall and allow the wall to aspire to be more than dead space. The trend to create effects or illusions of inhabiting the poche speaks of the desire to explore the space of the wall. The separated nature of religious spaces makes them prime for this spatial exploration. The ability to delaminate or carve into a building's perimeter for circulation or light also separates skin from structure, emphasizing the fundamental elements of architecture. Louis Kahn, Four Freedoms Park, masonry wall detail
Leonardo da Vinci, sketch for church plan
1
Wittkower, Rudolf. Architectural Principles in the Age of Humansim (W. W. Norton & Company, 1971), 41.
2
Burns, Howard. "Leon Battisti Alberti," in Francesco Paolo Fiore (ed.), Storia dell'architettura italiana. Il Quattrocento (Milan: Electa, 1998), 114-115.
3
Alberti, Leon Battista. On the Art of Building in Ten Books, Book I Chapter X, trans. N. Leach, J. Rykwert & R. Tavernor (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1988).
4
Wittkower, 42.
5
Ibid.
6
Alberti, Book I Chapter X.
7
Wittkower, 43.
8
Wittkower, 45.
9
Scully, Vincent. "Louis Kahn and the Ruins of Ancient Rome" in Modern Architecture and Other Essays, (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2003), 311.
10
Brownlee, David. Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture, (Rizzoli, 2005), 107.
11
Brownlee, 108.
12
Ibid.
13
McCarter, Robert. Louis I. Kahn, (New York, New York: Phaidon Press, 2005), 397.
14
Alberti, Book I Chapter X.
15
Brownlee, 126.
16
Scully, 311.
17
McCarter, 268.
18
Curtis, William. "Louis Kahn: The Space of Ideas," The Architectural Review (October 2012).
THE MEASURABLE AND UNMEASURABLE: OF MONOLITHS, OF FIELDS. SPRING 2013 PROFESSOR: L. A. COUTURE
"The measurable is only a servant to the unmeasurable."
-Louis Kahn
A work of architecture is a knowable thing. In the most concrete sense, a building is a precise, quantified assertion. Between construction drawings, detailing, and fabrication, there is little room for guesswork in achieving an architect's intent. Everything relies on specifications. As creative individuals, architects strive to achieve subjective qualities in their work. These qualities range from palpable experience, to sensory effect, to conceptual attitude. The goal in each case being to somehow influence the physical, sensorial, or mental perception and experience of a work of architecture. These goals are unmeasurable in their nature because their effects are only felt through an individual's subjective inner response. These two realities seem to be at odds with one another. Architects want to contribute to artistic and intellectual discourse by exploring ideas through their work. Yet, unlike most other artists and intellectuals, an architect's realized work is rigidly specified to be produced by others with as much precision as allowed by the tolerance of the tools and materials used. Instead of seeing this reality as an inhibitive limitation, it is undeniable that architects must play within the rules of this game; satisfying calculated definitions while attaining the abstract qualities that they desire. This process requires honing in on the relationship between the absolute built form of a project, and the response it provokes from those who engage with it. There are different ways of playing this game and with varied results. Two tactics will be outlined here: The Monolith and The Field. These are both strategies for using measurable means to produce unmeasurable results. They both present an attitude through geometric clarity, yet they both endeavor to achieve a level of transcendence, spirituality, or ethereality. The Monolith is monumental. The Field is
Kazmir Malevich, Black Square, 1913
dispersed. The Monolith is discrete. The Field is immersive. Both can be sensory. Both strive for the dematerialization of form. Both operate on the level of the psychological. Both approach kinds of infinities of effect and emotion. This dialectic has roots in visual arts. Specifically, there have been representative examples of both The Monolith and The Field in painting and sculpture. Although works in the visual arts are not subjected to architecture's stringent requirements for quantifiability, these works are nonetheless helpful in developing an attitude or discourse within which to evaluate architectural works. In architecture, works at the scale of pavilion design are perhaps most potent for the purposes of the comparisons in this research. As "the essay form of architecture,"1 pavilions can explore single ideas with greater clarity and precision than larger buildings. There is perhaps no better painting to introduce the theme of The Monolith than Kazmir Malevich's Black Square, painted in 1913. The composition is unquestionably measured and exact. A black square with a white border surrounding it floats in the center of a square canvas. The scale of the square in relation to the canvas presents a daunting figure. In the clearest sense, this painting is the abolition of representation. Gone is all similitude to worldly things and what remains is geometric abstraction. This is a bold gesture, especially for 1913, and has provoked a plethora of responses. What interested Malevich in painting was not representation per se, but a painting's ability to generate an emotional response or feeling from the viewer. In order to give his paintings a straighter path to the viewer's feelings, Malevich hoped to surpass representation by eliminating it for the purity of abstraction. "In a desperate attempt to rid art of the ballast of objectivity, I took refuge in the form of the square ... filled with the spirit of non-objective feeling, which penetrates everything."2 The blackness of the square is not a vacant void, but a space filled with feeling and atmosphere. It is a density. It is a manifestation of the psyche though
Piet Mondrian, Composition No. 10, 1915
a form only conceivable in the human mental space. Through a measured minimalism in form, Malevich sought to achieve an unmeasured maximalism in sensation and emotional response. "The visual phenomena of the objective world are, in themselves, meaningless; the significant thing is feeling, as such, quite apart from the environment in which it is called forth."3 He shows the viewer as little as possible so the space can be filled the reflection of an inner state. This is the essence of The Monolith. To introduce the concept of The Field in painting, a useful analogue to Malevich's Black Square is Piet Mondrian's Composition No. 10, Pier and Ocean, painted in 1915. This painting is part of a series in which Mondrian studied a pier as a vertical element jutting out into the horizontality of the ocean. The paintings in the series grow increasingly abstract, and as the tenth in the series, this work seems to finally attain the non-objective qualities that Mondrian was after. The composition consists of black horizontal and vertical marks against a white background. The accumulation of linear marks approximates a circular form. The edges of the circle are soft, implying a cropping of a field that could continue infinitely. The lines are not gestural but precise and intentional like vectors, with varying lengths but fixed angles of 0 and 90 degrees. Mondrian testifies that "every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture," and that "the emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture."4 He is interested in the relationships between lines and colors, quantifiable elements, as a means of achieving "the emotion of beauty," a seemingly boundless, unmeasurable phenomenon. Mondrian's use of abstraction is similar to Malevich's in the sense that he sought to abolish the distracting nature of representational painting in order to focus on the essence of sensation and effect. Yet, instead of substituting all worldly elements with a single form, Mondrian works gradually to abolish noticeable figures as a way to
John McCracken, Plank, 1981
highlight relationships between things, rather than the things themselves. The Field deploys a repetition of parts. Instead of assigning value to a single element, The Field relies on multiplicity and controlled interrelations to create a spatial, perceptual, or spiritual effect. In sculpture, John McCracken's Plank series, starting in 1966, demonstrates the concept of The Monolith. These works consist of a single tall, monochromatic, rectilinear board with one end tilted off the ground plane, and the other end resting on the wall of the space where it is installed. The planks are usually intensely colored, sometimes black, and are always brought to a perfectly polished finish. Materially, they consist of plywood coated with fiberglass and layers of resin. Formally and geometrically, these works are of little note. At first glance, little could be said of a rectangular cuboid. The true value of the planks lie in a perceptual and psychic understanding. The fact that the works are always at a tilted angle, combined with the ethereality of the finish and colors, elevates the planks to the realm of diaphanous floatation. The finish creates a perfect surface, denying its materiality. McCracken notes, "I see the plank as existing between two worlds, the floor representing the physical world of standing objects, trees, cars, buildings, [and] human bodies, ... and the wall representing the world of the imagination, illusionist painting space, [and] human mental space."5 The idea of the plank as an object in between worlds exceeds its corporeal limits. In its geometric and material perfection, it is an impossible object - the product of a concept conceived by man. He confirms the supernatural nature of the pure and polished rectilinear form with the statement that he "was trying to do the kind of work that could have been brought here by a U.F.O."6 In this admission that the planks belong to the realm of the unknown,
Esther Stocker, Untitled, 2006
McCracken invites the viewer to fill the piece with subjective meaning, feeling, and emotion. In sculpture, The Field is personified best through immersive room-scale installations. Esther Stocker has explored spaces where a simple single element is repeated to produce a seeming infinity. Examples of this work include Abstract Thought is a Warm Puppy, from 2008, and an untitled site-specific installation in Innsbruck, Austria in 2006. These projects fill the space they are allotted with a repetitive system of black geometric forms. The forms are made of thin, linear, rectangular elements, usually in wood or foam core. Stocker arranges the elements through a set of rules governing how they connect to one another and to the surfaces of the space. Through this poverty of means, she is able to achieve a wealth of effect. The intentionally laconic geometry develops a new nature when experienced as a multitude. "The artist seems to exploit the ostensible robustness of geometrical forms in order to dismantle that robustness completely."7 This dismantling is not something that happens in the space of the gallery, but in the space of the viewer's mind - "the simple does not turn into something complex, it is us who start to doubt about existence of 'the simple' as such."8 Stocker's work relies on the realities of human perception, the unchangeable ways in which the human sensory system is predisposed to experiencing space. In exploiting this system, the work is less about concrete forms in space, and more of an inward facing mirror that confronts the viewer with the limits of his or her own perception. As a result, "seemingly simple aspects and single parts are put together in a way that we suddenly cannot say for sure if we are looking at a picture or standing in the installation."9 The Field relies on a simple element, but submerges the viewer in an abundance of it, producing a dematerialization which calls into question the very nature of the element, as well as the viewer's perception of it. In architecture, The Monolith's expression is not strictly monolithic in the conventional sense of being comprised of a single indivisible unit. Architectural requirements such as habitable space quickly deny the existence of a truly monolithic building. Yet, at the scale of the pavilion, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion, originally built for the 1929 International Exposition, captures many ideals of The Monolith. Compositionally, the pavilion can be seen as a collection of monoliths. The primary elements are large rectilinear planes of a single material - glass, marble, onyx, and travertine. These material planes form the pavilion's vertical surfaces. Each plane has a perimeter of occupiable space, as if to suggest a viewing distance or buffer zone. The entire pavilion sits on a rectangular plane of travertine, and the roof is another horizontal rectangular plane that rests atop the vertical planes of the walls. The travertine plinth is interrupted in two places by rectangular planes of water. The other architectural element is a grid of highly polished chrome cruciform columns. The space has no program, other than to provide a resting place for
Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Pavilion, plan, 1929
Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Pavilion, sketch
Barcelona Pavilion, interior
visitors at the International Exposition, and visitors are forced to circulate in between and around these planes.
Kengo Kuma, Cidori, sketch
Kengo Kuma, Cidori, joinery detail
The pavilion is doubtlessly a measured construction. It is rigorously designed and constructed. It maintains a purity of form, a clear spatial concept, and an intelligent use of materials and structure. The design seems very rational from a functional point of view. Yet, upon closer examination, it is clear that the pavilion's desires are anything but functional. In isolating and highlighting large continuous planes of a single material, van der Rohe seems to be putting them on display. This gesture is highlighted by his choice of very fine and exuberant materials. Every surface becomes a shrine to an individual material, as well as to the human perception of that material. The use of cruciform columns underscores the subtly spiritual quality of the place. They are so thin and reflective that the roof plane appears to be floating. The asymmetrically spaced material walls seem to slip and slide past one another under this hovering roof. Mies' sketch of the interior perspective confirms the suspicion that he had something else on his mind besides the clarity and simplicity suggested by the pavilion's formal constructs. In this drawing, all that is shown is a thin column, defined by two vertical lines, as well as several vertical surfaces. The surfaces are rendered with great material definition, down to the glass’ translucency, while the floor and ceiling are given no resolution. The drawing underscores the reading of the pavilion as a suspended space where materials float freely, almost as supernatural beings, elevated to the realm of the unknown. Rosalind Krauss describes the pavilion as a structure committed to illusionism, with every material assuming, chameleon-like, the attributes of something not itself columns dissolving into bars of light, or glass walls becoming opaque and marble ones appearing translucent due to their reflectivity ... with a mysteriousness built into the plan such that the building is constructed without an approachable or knowable center.10 The seemingly sparse and reserved composition is in actuality a kaleidoscopic space of confusion, illusion, and obfuscation. The Monolith in architecture relies on a minimalism of form to produce maximal effect in material, sensory, and psychic perception. The Field in architecture is expressed as the repetition of a detail. This detail becomes the primary component of the project, so it must have an attitude towards architectural necessities such as structure, enclosure, and light. The detail is an exact, measured, and constructible entity. Through its repetition, the composition achieves a transcendent nature, reaching an otherworldly state that emerges as a result of the multitude. The detail's radical specificity enables the field's impossible infinity.
Kengo Kuma, Cidori, Milano Salone 2007
Kengo Kuma's Cidori project is a
pure expression of the potential embedded in a specific way of joining three pieces of wood. The project employs a traditional Japanese joinery detail, adapted from a popular children's toy block, which relies on notched square dowels that snap together mechanically. The resulting unit of three is a material expression of the X, Y, and Z axes of space. The units connect by sharing members, so that the X axis piece of one unit can also become the X axis piece of the neighboring unit, forming a dual-node unit. The same sharing can occur on the Y and Z axes. These units can grow into as many nodes as required by the project.
Thomas Heatherwick, UK Pavilion, 2010
The units, their material, and their assemblage are precisely defined. The detail's ability to create architectural space is thoroughly considered. It does not even rely on mechanical fasteners such as nails - everything is contained within the detail. The system is structural, has apertures for natural light, and can form horizontal and vertical surfaces. Kuma used this system to construct a pavilion at the Milano Salone in 2007. As a whole, the resultant configuration approximates a circular form comprised of discrete horizontal and vertical members, not unlike Mondrian's Composition No. 10, Pier and Ocean. As in that painting, the units of the field aggregate to approximate an absolute geometric form, in this case a domed vault. Yet, when enacted in three-dimensions, the composition takes on the intricacies material and space. The one-ness of the material and the strict repetition of the same exact detail lend a unity and concreteness to the pavilion. Yet, the thinness of the members in relation to their spacing, combined with the way in which light can penetrate the whole, suggests a dematerialization. Kuma's work with what he calls "particlization" means "undermining the monolithic objectlike appearance of a building and rendering it less definitive or solid so that it becomes permeable, ephemeral, and appears to have less bodily substance, almost as if it were a phenomenon."11 The pavilion underscores this apparent lack of bodily substance by sitting delicately on the ground plane like a feather, barely resting and suggesting flight.
Thomas Heatherwick, UK Pavilion, section
The perceptual effect is envisaged by Kuma: "Cidori, the literal translation being 1000 birds, does not express how material is dense, but rather the state of birds flying through the sky like particles ... The 'house' created by Cidori ... does not need any nails or adhesives ... can be easily disassembled, creating ... a free and eternally-open element. The
Thomas Heatherwick, UK Pavilion, detail
wood in Cidori has acquired such infinite liberty."12 This image of particlization, of architectural material flying through the air like birds, is the desire of the Cidori project. It is the unmeasurable concept, with its soft sensory effects, that is enabled through the rigor of the architectural detail. Thomas Heatherwick's UK Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo is another productive example of The Field in architecture. It is also the prime manifestation of his studio's research into what he calls "hairy buildings." The project is comprised of a defined volume, a cube, with a highly articulated surface. This surface consists of 60,000 acrylic rods that penetrate and protrude from the cube. The rods are all the same length (7.5 meters), are oriented towards the same point in the center of the cube, and are evenly spaced. In concept, these rods are the entire building, and the cube merely acts as a supporting scaffold. One imagines that with further development of the design, the cube could be done away with completely, leaving a volume defined solely through rods as the essential expression of the pavilion's field. However, in this configuration, the crucial detail, which is repeated 60,000 times to enable the project, is the connection between the cube and the rods. Each rod passes through a hole with a unique drilling angle to ensure that they all point to the cube's center. Each rod is then threaded through two aluminum sleeves which are slotted inside one another and secured with a rubber waterproofing ring. During the day, each rod acts as a window, letting natural light filter into the volume. Each rod also has a tiny LED that allows nighttime illumination.13 There are also plant seeds cast into the tip of each rod, making the pavilion a functioning exhibit. Although at a higher level of complexity than Kuma's Cidori, Heatherwick's UK Pavilion is a worthy example of The Field in architecture. The project's backbone is a highly articulated detail that does all the work. Everything else in the composition is a result of the rods and how they connect to the cube. They create the interior and exterior volumes, they allow light in and out, and they serve as the primary exhibition device. In this project, as in Cidori, slender individual members are repeated in combination with a connection logic to produce a monolithic overall form. As in Cidori, the individual members take on a new character when assembled in concert three-dimensionally. The abundance of rods produces an extreme parallax effect, causing the building to shimmer as one moves around it. As in Cidori, the form rests atop the slender rods, somewhere between take-off and landing, as an extraterrestrial object or apparition. The soft edge melds the pavilion with the surroundings. Heatherwick describes the effect: "The original object is lost inside the texture ... the texture actually becomes the form. What was exciting to us was the idea of making the outside of the building so indefinite that you cannot draw a line between the building and the sky, because they merge into each other."14 This merging of building and sky
is a testament to the pavilion's ethereal atmosphere and otherworldliness. The pavilion's unmeasurable effects are perhaps best summarized by its two nicknames. In English, the project is known as the Seed Cathedral. Programmatically it is an exhibit for seeds, but the word cathedral is ascribed to the immensity and spiritual quality of its atmosphere, both inside and out. In Chinese, the project is known as Dandelion. The seeds of a dandelion are barely attached, float in air, and can scatter at any moment. This dual nature, the ability to be both a cathedral and a dandelion, is the unmeasurable effect enabled solely by the immense precision of the rods and how they connect. The Monolith and The Field find their most suitable architectural home at the scale of the pavilion. The two tactics are a testament to the fact that architects want architecture to be that which it is not (floating not grounded, incalculable not solid, implied not actual). In a pavilion, there is less "is" to "not." Once a panoply of constraints are imposed on the concept (program, conditioned air, accessibility, plumbing, the list goes on), it must jump through figurative hoops to retain its purity. The Monolith and The Field are explorations of the effects achievable through the purity of a single architectural idea. It is true that a strong concept can and must thrive from being tested against the resistance provided by architectural constraints. However, there is no sincerer place to test an idea than a pavilion. There are less requirements to integrate than with a full-scale building. Pavilions grant more focus to the heart of the architectural problem: how to create a space. There is a productive analogy to be drawn between pavilions and abstract art. A program-less space is like a nonrepresentational painting. It doesn't have to be or do anything other than itself. 'Practical life,' like a homeless vagabond, forces its way into every artistic form and believes itself to be the genesis and reason for existence of this form. But the vagabond doesn't tarry long in one place and once he is gone (when to make an art work serve practical purposes’ no longer seems practical) the work recovers its full value.15
1
Whiteman, John. "Divisible by 2." Assemblage 7 (Oct., 1988): 42.
2
Malevich, Kazmir. Manifesto, 1926.
3
Ibid.
4
Haftmann, Werner. Painting in the Twentieth Century. New York: Praeger, 1965. 201.
5
John McCracken, cited in Thomas Kellein, "Interview with John McCracken, August 1995," in John McCracken published by Kunsthalle Basel, 1995, pp. 21-39, p. 32.
6
Smith, Roberta (April 10, 2011). "John McCracken, Sculptor of Geometric Forms, Dies at 76". The New York Times.
7
Prinzhorn, Martin. "The Misleading Clarity." Esther Stocker. http:// estherstocker.net/text_prinzh_ engl.html (accessed May 10, 2013).
8
Ibid.
Suprematist
9
Ibid.
10
Rosalind Krauss, "The Grid, the /Cloud/, and the Detail." In Detlef Mertins, ed., The Presence of Mies, pp. 132-147. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1994.
11
Bognar, Botond. Material Immaterial : The New Work of Kengo Kuma. : Princeton Architectural Press, . p 28
12
Kuma, Kengo. "Cidori." Kengo Kuma and Associates. http:// kkaa.co.jp/works/cidori (accessed May 10, 2013).
13
Heatherwick, Thomas. Thomas Heatherwick: Making. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2012, 452.
14
Ibid., 446.
15
Malevich, Kazmir. Suprematist Manifesto, 1926.
STRUCTURE THROUGH INCREMENT SPRING 2007 REVISED 2013 PROFESSOR: E. MELTZER
"The world is really going to hell in a toboggan, and I'm putting these boxes together. It's really silly. But ... the point is ... well, the idea in the first place is generally ... [of] no importance ... and then it's followed absolutely to its conclusion, which is mechanistic. It has no validity as anything except a process in itself. It has nothing to do with the world at all"1 These words, spoken by conceptual artist Sol LeWitt in 1969, capture the attitude of some artists working during the Vietnam War era. This generation operated in the shadow of continuing war, an arms race, and mounting anxiety for the future. Rapidly developing technologies, growing trade and industry, and global political and economic machines persisted in service of increasing the international quality of life, but operated at an incomprehensible and alienating scale. This speed caused individuals to grow increasingly distant from the mechanisms that were serving them. In response to this overwhelming context, some artists retracted into their own insular worlds, focusing on selfassigned tasks seemingly unrelated to the issues of the time. Works like Sol LeWitt's Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes and Roman Opalka's 1965/1-∞ disregard current events in favor of timeless concepts. Yet, by setting up systemic and manageable studies, these works are as much an attempt to understand the world as dismiss it.
Sol LeWitt, Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes, installation view
Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes is the exhaustive realization of its title. LeWitt reduces the idea of a cube to its 12 edges connected at 8 vertices. He then presents all 122 variations that have between 3 and 11 of the original shape's 12 edges. 3 is the least number of edges that still implies a cube, while 11 is the maximum without being complete. The 122 variations are not easily apparent because some solutions are merely rotated versions of others. So, LeWitt manually and painstakingly goes through the process of arriving at a non-redundant solution set. He employs a variety of media to verify his variations sketches, lists, and models. The word Variations implies repetition. Each of the sequential forms in LeWitt's dissection of the cube is built of identical lines, always orthogonally connected but in different combinations. All of the edges of the cube are the same, but none of the subsequent arrangements are extraneous; they belong to an interconnected, overarching order. They are made of the same substance and are members of the same family. Repetition is further employed as a tool by simultaneously presenting the same 122 variations in different media and modes of representation. When Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes is exhibited in its entirety, LeWitt includes sketches, schematic drawings, photographs, and sculptures of the same idea. For LeWitt, "the idea becomes the machine that makes the art." Utilizing a multimedia display emphasizes that no one iteration carries more importance than the others. Furthermore, expressing
Sol LeWitt, Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes, diagram
the same idea in a variety of ways is a technique to validate the idea's existence outside the modes of representation. The drawings and sculptures are tools to substantiate LeWitt's solution set, but the forms do not rely on the artwork for their conceptual existence. In order to further stress that the work is the mechanistic execution of an idea, LeWitt limits the trace of his own hand in the piece's production. He minimizes the potential for physical nuances by relying on straightforward geometric forms, precise execution, and a monochrome color palette. He clearly does not want his persona to shape the work. The outcome focuses on a universal truth regarding a cube and how many edges it has. It is the physical embodiment of a geometric idea. Approaching the matter as directly as possible seems to limit subjective readings. On other occasions, LeWitt often creates written instructions for art installers or fabricators to complete a work, further stressing that he himself has little to do with a piece after it has been recorded as an idea.
Roman Opalka, 1965/1-∞, one Detail
Roman Opalka, 1965/1-∞, detail of a Detail
When the piece is presented, it is absolute and discrete. There is a sense of completion derived from achieving a full and permanent solution to the question being addressed. This is possible because the project is bound by the limits of geometry. Once LeWitt has followed an idea to its conclusion, he moves on to the next one. Roman Opalka's 1965/1-∞ also presents a mission in its title. Opalka started a project in 1965 to include the sequence of every positive integer, starting at the number one and continuing to infinity until his death (the final number, 5607249, was painted in 2011). The painting is done systematically on a series of 196 x 135 centimeter canvases, called Details, each of which is filled with numbers from the top left corner to the bottom right. The numbers are painted in white with a thin No. 0 brush, and the background of each canvas is a shade of grey.2 The first canvas in the series has a black background, and Opalka slowly adds more white to the background of each new canvas, approaching the infinity of white on white. He also creates a white-togrey gradient through each line of digits by only adding more paint to his thin brush when necessary. Since this is a lifelong project, on days when Opalka is traveling he continues the numbers with black ink on white A4 paper. He also says the name of each number into an audio recording device as he paints. Finally, at the end of each day's work, he makes a photographic self portrait in front of the current canvas. These predetermined rules and limitations define the work, while Opalka's task is to carry out the motions that will render the work. Opalka's presence is palpable in all aspects of 1965/1-∞. He uses his own handwriting, not any mechanical means, to paint or write each number. The audio recordings feature his own voice reciting numbers in Polish, his mother tongue. Perhaps the most explicitly personal elements are the self portraits. Opalka physically inserts himself into the
work and shows the temporal changes in his visage alongside the numbers. While the title implies merely a numerical progression, the work is actually deeply personal. There is a sense of tactility and human warmth in the counting, and it becomes evident that the numbers are not purely mathematical, but also delineate the passage of time through a human life. Opalka's temporal self is set against the backdrop of infinity. Considered in its entirety, 1965/1∞ is a staggering display of seriality. The vastness of the production is immense, but the numbers allow it to be understood as a collection of repetitive yet individual items. The steady interval and march of the numbers indicates the modular divisibility of time and space. From the project's onset in 1965, Opalka does not take on any new creative pursuits. He wholly dedicates himself to counting the passage of time from that moment on. This determination to create an integral work is what makes 1965/1-∞ so pure. In his life as an artist, he truly casts aside all distractions, temptations, and worldly issues in exchange for focus. While he does choose an unresolvable task, he devotes himself to this task completely, underscoring its inconclusive nature. The world could be "going to hell in a toboggan," and Opalka would still continue meditatively counting his numbers. Opalka's death and the project's subsequent completion does not create a sense of culmination or resolution. The title's promise of infinity is not met as the final number hangs on. Instead, the project frames the finitude of lifetime within infinity. The last 46 years of his life, in which he chooses to embark on this undertaking, are Opalka's infinity. The unmistakable conclusion is the fact of mortality as a moment within endlessness. Some artists during the 1960s and 1970s, LeWitt and Opalka included, created art that was not overtly about a subject, but pertained more to the mechanisms behind that subject. LeWitt didn't make cubes, he made forms that describe a cube. Opalka didn't create an abstract representation of infinity, he methodically counted it out for himself, as if to demonstrate its existence. These works are about the intrinsic systems behind conventional concepts. They don't present something to be understood or perceived directly, they show the viewer how that thing is understood or perceived in the first place - a cube is a repetition of edges, infinity is a repetition of numbers. This mission to expose an underlying structure suggests a fundamental or essential way of describing the world. The problems of everyday life are fleeting, but LeWitt and Opalka manage to create a sense of universality and timelessness through their conquest of unchanging geometric and numerical truths. They address their goals directly, determine how to reach those goals, and proceed with precision. LeWitt's and Opalka's projects are comparatively manageable in juxtaposition to the trials of the world surrounding them. Being able to fulfill these goals creates a sense of
Sol LeWitt, Incomplete Open Cube No. 5-6
Sol LeWitt, Incomplete Open Cube No. 10-4
control and understanding in spite of the modern era's growing complexity. These artists aren't trying to understand the world form a topical standpoint, but are attempting to unravel the mechanisms behind what makes the world tick. In this sense, these works are as much an attempt to understand the world as dismiss it. Yet, however much certainty they may have in the rules they create, there is no preconceived notion as to where exactly those rules will lead. LeWitt doesn't imagine each of the 122 variations; his process shows him how to create them. Opalka doesn't know what his last number is; he arrives at it through the completion of a set of repetitive tasks. This fact gives the work the element of the trust in uncertainty. They are willing to embark on a tedious mission, not knowing where it will lead, but having full confidence in their rules. Because they are in control of the process, and because they have a grasp on the fundamental logics guiding their pursuits, these artists remain optimistic in the face of the unknown.
Roman Opalka, selection of Self Portraits
1
Norvell, Patricia. Recording Conceptual Art (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), 121.
2
http://opalka1965.com/fr/ lexique.php?lang=en (accessed 2013).
ALAN PAUKMAN REPETITIVE SPACE SELECTED PROJECTS 2009-2013 WWW.ALANPAUKMAN.COM