.ALESSIO. GRANCINI
M A T T E R
M A T T E R .ART. DESIGN. ARCHITECTURE .ALESSIO. GRANCINI.M.ARCH1
M A T T E R Project and Artworks by Alessio Grancini Portfolio curated by Darin Johnstone
Statement Letter During this two semester the research in the field of architecture has been oriented in different directions, mainly toward a study of shapes and graphic choices in relationship with the design. From first and second semester there has been a radical change in terms of utiliziation of software. Meanwhile the first semester was a introduction of the way sci_arc is thinking architecture and the concept of “discipline of architecture�, the second putted into practice the notions assumed in the first part of the program. The ammount of work conducted during the winter and fall semesters can be defined extraordinary and the continuous competition bewteen student made still more hard to accomplish the assignments. However I can proudly say to have shared this year with professionists rather than students, that pushed me toward better results and define the experience I collected so far. The advantage of the M.Arch 1 graduate program is that many individuals come from a education of a different nature from the field of architecture and they can share their experience and enlarge the inspiration looking at the design itself. This first year meant for me the first approach with the american architecture in general and the differences between here and my undergraduate program are significant. I found many resemblances in the syllabus related to the cultural studies, but the design studio is organized in a radical different way. I personally think that sharing the working hours with students rather than work alone is one of the main quality this school is bringing to me. It’s almost impossible fail a test because of the mutual help between students. There
are
many
professor
with
different
background
and
mostly
international contributions; this implies rich reviews in terms of feedback. This portfolio is a collection of all the relevant moment that brought to the final assets of drawings and model in the different subject faced. I preferred a extended version because of the large ammount of work performed during this year that hardly can be summed up in a couple of few spreads. In every class has been used a different kind of technology and this define me as a multitask designer. Laser cutting, engraved techniques, handmade modeling, 3D printing and general advanced computer utilization increase my knowledge in architecture and gave me more solutions to solve a design question. I consider this first year a strong and complete introduction to what is the field of the architecture and design beyond the academic process. The discipline of the architecture is what makes the architecture what it used to be in the centuries and the sensibility located behind design choices can be only acquired with a deep analysis of every moment suggested from the images in front of us and with this a right interpretation of the architectonical language.
Alessio Grancini
FACULTY Southern California Institute of Architecture
M A STH E A D
TODD GANNON
Curator
Construction Reader (2002), Et in Suburbia Ego: José Oubrerie's Miller House
is an architect and writer based in Los Angeles. He teaches
history, theory, and design studio at SCI-Arc. His published books include The Light (2013) and monographs on the work of Morphosis, Bernard Tschumi, UN Studio,
Darin R Johnstone
Steven Holl, Mack Scogin/Merrill Elam, Zaha Hadid, Peter Eisenman, and Eric Owen Moss.
M.Arch 1 Candidate Alessio Grancini
PAVEL GETOV
LE A D E R S H I P
received his Diploma of Architecture from HIACE, Sofia
in his native Bulgaria and holds a Master of Architecture degree from SCI-Arc. Prior teaching positions include a Visiting Professor of Critical Practice at CALA, University of Arizona. From 1991 to 2007 he worked with Richard Meier & Partners,
Director / CEO
NBBJ and Morphosis leading large scale complex projects from initial concepts
Hernan Diaz Alonso
to final completion. He founded Studio Antares A + E as an alternative practice seeking integration between architecture, arts and environment.
Vice Director / CEO John Enright
ANNA NEIMARK
is Principal of First Office, a practice co-founded with
Andrew Atwood in 2011. Built projects have primarily focused on residential
Graduate Program Chair
and office rehabs and gallery installations. Her texts, both independent and in
Elena Manferdini
collaboration with Atwood, have been published widely, in Log, Future Anterior, Perspecta, Project, and Think Space Pamphlets, and have recently been compiled in a Graham Foundation book, Nine Essays, published by Treatise Press.
JENNY WU
is a partner at the Los Angeles based architecture firm, Oyler
Wu Collaborative, which she founded in 2004 with Dwayne Oyler. The firm is recognized for its experimentation in design, material research, and fabrication, and was the winner of 2013 Design Vanguard Award from Architectural Record. She was recently named one of the four design visionaries by Porsche and Dwell
I N F O R M ATI O N
Magazine in their Powered by Design documentaries, showcasing her pioneering
Since it first opened in 1972, SCI-Arc has been relentlessly expanding and raising its ambitions. Now is not the time to ease off the gas pedal and relax. Rather, now is the
work in 3D printing.
time to accelerate. The scope of what SCI-Arc represents and offers to the world should
CONSTANCE VALE
keep multiplying. In our globalized era, design matters like never before, and we have
research and design practice Vale Collins Studio, based in Los Angeles and New
the capacity to astonish the world by showing it all the different ways in which design
York. The practice undertakes conceptual and aesthetic investigations with an
can transform it.
interest in the relationship between art and architecture. In addition to working on
SCI-Arc is an institute and not a university—that is one of our many unique strengths.
speculative and residential projects with Tyler Seth Collins, she recently completed
We are not constrained by stubborn bureaucracy, and we are not preservationists of
a collaboration with fellow faculty Emmett Zeifman on a temporary theater for The
traditional forms of knowledge. We move rapidly into new territories, and we can be
Industry's production of Hopscotch: A Mobile Opera for 24 Cars.
is an architectural designer and partner in the
both inside and outside of the world. We entangle ourselves in complex ways, and we write our own rules of engagement and research. The ethical questions of architecture are poignant for an institute so dedicated to innovation. It isn’t hyperbole to posit that the very existence of architecture as a profession and as a way of thinking and knowing is at stake. Architecture needs its own heroes, but more importantly the world needs architects to take on that position and to conjure images of what the future might become. We experiment and keep taking risks to remake the real.
960 East 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90013 213 613 2200
06
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
MATTHEW AU
is a designer and founding principal of Au Au, a Los Angeles
based design office. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art History and Theory from University of California, San Diego and a Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture. z
C O N T E N T S 09 Visual Studies: Tony Smith, Breaking up the module 30 Design Studio: Library in Los Angeles, Mixing up geometry 58 Tectonics of materials: Leicester University, Seachange glass canopy 70 Cultural Studies: Contemporary architecture, Philosophical analysis
83 Design Studio 2: Duplex in Venice, The Dyptich in Architecture 130 Environmental System : Light Studio, Reflection and filtering 146 Digital Project: Power Copy Creation, Application and optimization 160 Cultural Studies: History of Architecture, Itsukushima Shrine 176 Visual Studies 2: Letters, Alghorithm patterns 190 Extra: Slay, Architectural installation in Los Angeles + EXPO pavilion 07
VISUAL STUDIES
VISUAL STUDIES
V I S U A L STU D I E S
TONY SMITH SMOKE INSTALLATION LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSUEM OF ART
1.1 SCULPTURE AND VISUAL ARTS
T
ony Smith (Anthony Peter Smith 1912-1980) was an American sculptor
The divertsity between the result of every student was stricking.
interested in what we call today "Minimalist sculpture". His research
Even though the module was the same used by everyone, the configurations was
strongly inspires the field of the architecture given that his large size
speaking totally different languages and in this chapter we will go through my
installations first affect the space around them, rather than the iconicity of the
personal case.
installation itself.
Beyond the studio analysis this is also the first approach I had with the philosphy of
Basically Tony Smith uses geometrical moves in order to create hybrid shapes in his
Sci_Arc, and I found myself strongly motivated because for the first time I was not
sculptures. For this semester we took in account the one at
guiding my design but it was leading me to different solutions. The image on the right is the Tony Smith sculpture at LACMA. I need to point out that the word "sculpture" in this research re-invent itself because with this hybrid configurations that remind architecture and art together Tony Smith wants to trascend the literal meaning of sculpture and go toward perception of space related with feelings and emotions always keeping a "ordered" arrangement.
It is distinguished by the module
hard to
Geometrically speaking as we could infer from the photo, there is a pilaster composed
recognize that compose it. Indeed this sculpture is a fragment of one hypotetical
by 6 triangular faces that are interlocked togheter defining a thetraedrical volume.
infinite repetition in the space. This module repetition inspired all our research in
Every node admits the presence of four pilaster component that we can call more
Studio and Visual studies. In a first moment we personally visited the installation at
easily "legs". A basic module or "cell" for the Smoke installation is composed by
LACMA and took some photos looking for the repeated module, than we focused on
nine legs assembled together in a precise order.
the construction of the installation trying to create a different result with the same
Making with Rhinoceros a module is possible using the function "Orient 3p" to
module. The divertsity between the result of every student was stricking.
get the module ina few seconds given that the two faces of the legs are identical.
Or Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
V I S U A L STU D I E S
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1.2 CONFIGURATIONS
IN TERMS OF SPACE
the Tony Smith configuration of the module can't
Apparently looks like a simmetric composition, actually in the next drawings we will
be easily interpreted. Most of the awarness of the sculpture derives from what is
understand that the relationship between floor and structure breaks completely
around the installation. Definitely we are not analysing a self-referencial object.
what we could perceive as a mirrored image.
The reprouction of the module in studio because of the scale of the model that we
The image on the right is the model built with Manilla paper by me. I repeated
were going to build implied different goals. The reading of a model on the floor
twice the construction because of the better understanding of the module against
differs from a colossal structure above our head.
my -personal idea of space.
Because of the previous reasons, we're going now into a personal analysis that
One of my first goal in this project was the isolation of every previous reference
come first of the personal studio project.
I had , so I often preferred to repeat some design processes more times to get
In the beginning
My personal research
has been strongly influenced from my
the idea that was not coming from me but the from the current analysis that was
previous undergraduate studies and I see the Tony Smith sculptue like a bridge
required in our studio.
from my previous and current experience.
From every point of view "Smoke"
I tried to create a space through this module that was the opposite of the one I
by Tony Smith looks different. When I was
in the LACMA atrium, I remeber how from the first level this structure seemed to
experienced at the LACMA. In plan the model is divided in three moments. To be
protect me and from the second floor seemed to decline my presence.
more precise, two external transition north-south that bring to a core where the
That's exaclty what I was looking for, a multy-lecture of the same object. We can
module become more intense and easy to recognize.
call it
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of
misreading.
V I S U A L STU D I E S
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(ABOVE) ELEVATION AND SECTION OF THE MODEL FRAME LINE AND RELATED VIEW
REDUCING
the module to a line-frame the reading of the composition become more direct and simplified.
a second moment to the whole structure.
This exercise has been applied first to the primary cell, in
The study of the "geometry layers" behind an architectural structure is essential in order to make a flawless complex configuration and don't insert some "passive" or "inactive" information in our model that do not have relation with any other components. Differently from "Smoke", in my personal configuration, the legs are reduced of lenght. If this model were build in a human scale probably the acces through one side to the other one would not be easy as much as the actual "Smoke" sculpture. We should jump or pass under the legs. Briefly, if in the real installation the relationship with the human scale was more confortable from a closer view, here it becomes the same but from a farther point of view.
The Core is impregnable like a fortress.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
V I S U A L STU D I E S
(ABOVE) ELEVATION SECTION AND ISOMETRIC VIEW OF THE MODEL FRAME LINE AND RELATED VIEW
SECTION VIEWS
are crucial to fully understand the module. They becomes still more interesting looking at the frame. The theme of the thickness in architecture
is one the most important in the final stage of the building process. Most of the time It is not included in a primary phase, however this installation seems to include it since the beginning. The relationship between the frame and the structure is incredibly strong and looks like an evolution of one flat pattern.
Evolution of the pattern.
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1.3 PATTERNS
T
he evolution of the frame in the real structure suggests flat geometries. These flat geometries can be emphasized with the use of color. In this short section we will treat the use of color in the drawings related to the "Smoke" installation. We took in consideration the studies of Josef
Albers. J. Albers is best remembered for his work as abstract painter ad theorist. He's one of the first designers that starts to see colors as a composition and not anymore like a single component to take in consideration. In his artworks different colors are associated and they belong to the same "mother-color" but in the same time they slighly differ. This way to associate color create a new understanding of colours in terms of composition. Putting this together in other words, our eyes can get different information in the same moment : the order of this information can change the impulse that arrives to our brain. If we consider the colour yellow on two different backgrounds, for example black and white probably we will think that every background includes a different tonality of yellow but actually is the same. Thanks to this
misreading
the association of color becomes a powerful tool to
associate top geometrical pattern. In this case we took in account our model and we "colour treat it". Once again the result was impressive, another way to read the same model made in the same way. In this page we see a mirrored image of the model and two different color composition. The drawing has been exposed on rigid support during a Sci_Arc students ehxibition in November 2015 named "Unexposed".
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
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Different colours associations follows in the next pages, however from this efforts arises a useful consideration. When the colour are treated like a association of tonalities that can remember shadows, the drawing loses the abstraction that we noticed in the previous btechnical drawings. On the other hand when we use colours that are less related each other in terms of shadows the drawing obtain different qualities that we merely we can considered abstracted. This last statement is not a "method judgment", instead it is a strong clarification related to the use of colour in the drawing. These are two different way to get information and achieve conclusions that probably would never been reached if we work always on the same "layer"without considering more abstract values.
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(ABOVE) PAPER MODEL 5 DIFFERENT NODES IN ONE MODEL
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
V I S U A L STU D I E S
(ABOVE)TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
1.4 RE-CONFIGURATION
DIFFERENT
moves can be done in order to have a different lecture of our
starting example. The scope of
re-configurate the model
Actually during the different units of the portfolio we will figure out that this
is the discovery of new
process will be useful in terms of joining the surfaces of the studio building model.
values : in the shape itself and the sorrounding space. In this paper model are
We are not fully treating a thickness model because the model is composed with a
included five different way to create a fold between a selection of"Smoke legs".
repetition of surfaces but we start to think about ways to link different components
From the left to the right
between each other. Is remarkable the use of an external element during this folding process. Indeed
- 90 Degrees mirrored rotation - 90 Degrees mirrored rotation with a opposite axis - Common plan cutting - Semi common plan cutting - Generic boolean union The result is significative. It remembers the Tony Smith installation but with a new concept going on that clouds the primary module.
the homogeneity of the model is encouraged thanks the use of a square box that defines the edges where the model has to be reduced. Let's remember that the starting step of this exercise was a random part of the "Smoke" module "packed-up" in a smaller size square box. From the section is clear the presence of one cutting plan, the one of the box that was including the inital component to fold.
The folding box is an interesting tool that can be treated in different ways.
For example a cut process can be done from the outside of the box or from the inside and this choice can define the quality of our final result.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
1.5 CONTOUR DRAWINGS
C
ontour drawings are one of the two last values added during the
We should remember that in architecture the experience comes with the theory
Visual Studies class. This exercise is not just about representation
and viceversa so in all the likelihood if we figure out more solution, we wil have
but includes also a creative process with extrusion and rotations. In
more references to pursue our research.
other words drawings and process are strictly related, more than ever
The contour technique in rhinoceros can be used for surfaces in general. In this case
because the contour line are the only way to describe the final object that will be
the contour is applied to the 3D model and than make2D. The effect is this final
built also in wood to best explain it.
pattern we obtained in the drawing on the left. Changing the direction and the
Since the final drawings exclude the line because of the contour technic, is
thickness of the lines emerge the geometry of our solid object.
required the research of a pretty dinamic shape. Dinamic in terms of legibilty and
I can add a further analysis about the personal result obtained. There are three
interpretation, but always leaving that kind of flatness that an abstract drawing is
different bodies in the object that interlock their profile.
able to give. On the left we see one pre-final drawing where the object is taking the
Two bodies are more clear, because they are joined like a chain. The third is a smaller
entire size of the page.
size and seems to be stopped in his extrusion process because of the presence of
Actually to increase the accuracy in the representation was required a further
the other two rings. The third little element reinforces the relation bewteen the
fdrawing where there is the same object in two different view related each other
remaining two because his 90 degree angle between the two bodies.
for some particular reason. This exercise aims to strengthen the sensibility in
One of the two ring is engraved in presence of the connection of the other one to
the representation having one limited tool available. Contour technic can be a
unveil the interlocking process between the two similar-circular shape.
value added when is weel used, however can be also reason of misunderstanding
Contour drawings root in the field of art like a technique used for fast sketches
if the object itself is not defined at all. The relation between built object and
and focuses on the outline. In this case is more used like hatches of the 2D
representation like we underlined in the previous chapter can be crucial to our
representation.
building process. A back-and-forth design route is suggested rather than a directed
The relationship with the 3D process makes the contour technique becomes from an
solution to every problem. forms of knowledge.
It
flat outline representation to a particular 3D effect image. we write our own rules of engagement and research.
V I S U A L STU D I E S
(ABOVE) FINAL DRAWINGS CONTOUR DRAWING FINAL SETTING
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
V I S U A L STU D I E S
1.6 FINAL SETTING
The wood model is another resource to determine the shape we are looking for.
It is interesting see
the relationship first between the different views on the left page and the real model on the bottom of the page. Describing the contour images,
we see that in the first one on the top there is a configuration that aims to explain an apparent simmetry, rather in the second set takes over the volume of the object and the image is more tridimensional. With a more precise analysis on the second image we can perceive the passage from a more 2D analysys and a 3D one given the perspective view. About the wood model, it has been hard to relate the thrid little element with the other two. Even if every measure comes from the software, playing with material is different than boolean union different extrusion in rhinoceros. However the result is pretty closer to the feeling perceived through contour patterns. The shadows on the clean surface of the model seems to be a different method to represent depth comparing the drawings. Once again It's surprising the relation existing between model and drawings inculding resemblances and differences and in the same moment speaking the same
language. Speaking the same language through different representations.
WOOD MODEL
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1.7 GRID WRAPS AND INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVELOPED MODEL DRAWING
GRIDS
are important elements in architecture. We can consider them like a urbang architecture tool, a small scale plan setting, a real architecture element like a ribbon
window sequence or any other applications that deal with a square organization. We can also think about grid in terms of application of paneling or external surfaces on the building. In this exercise we will wrap the grid around a box that in a second moment could represent a building. The application of a 2D pattern on a 3D solid implies many expedients. The main poblem is the corner, so the action of wrapping this 2D pattern. To visualize better this problem that the architecture deal with we could think about edges of building. How to relate a frontal facade with a back facade o more generally how to relate front with any surface we find on the side ? This choices have important consequences in the design process and can affect the exterior spaces as much as the interiors because if we relate openings to a grid structure, the position of them becomes the bridge between exterior and interior architectural configuration. So, we started chosing two basic grids slightly different each other and we tried to combine them, passing again from a 2D analisys to a 3D one. Beyond the choice of the grid was required also to take in consideration optical effect that help to abstract the concept of grid composition itself. I started with a pink grid and a white grid, both on a black background because I find interesting the contrast effect that bring us to think the intersetcion between lines are belonging to a different tonality related to the two colors in the page. For example in the two grids on the bottom the intersection of lines bring us to think that there is a slighlty variation of grey when actually there isn't.
(ABOVE) GRID A BLACK AND PINK
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of
(ABOVE) GRID B BLACK AND WHITE
V I S U A L STU D I E S
(ABOVE) GRID A + GRID B BLACK, PINK AND WHITE
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(ABOVE) PAPER MODELS WHITE FOLDED GRID
ADDITIONALLY
to the final wrapped model was required a 3D grid model where it has been applied the same operation we did with the "broken legs" we saw
previously. This is again a "double-check" between object 3D and pattern 2D applied to 3D object. Looking at the "grid boxes" in the following page we can see like the patterns interact between faces of the solid. The patterns are driven by a rule that it can be understood just in the moment we completely open the boxes. Regarding to the grid I opted for a
common plan cutting process that allowed me to represent a continuous grid without any evident misallignments. The developed model drawing.
We will see the application to this process in a building during the next chapter :
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
V I S U A L STU D I E S
(ABOVE)PAPER MODELS GRID BOXES
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STUDIO
Library in Los Angeles 960 East 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90013
The site of the Hyde Park Library is located in 2205 W Florence Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90043. The Library is actually existing. It's a small size building that guests activity related to primary and secondary school. In the library is included a large space for computer activities and also a room dedicated to conferences that can be rented.
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) SMOKE CELL MODULE FOUR DIFFERENT VIEWS
(ABOVE) CUBE ON POINT FOUR DIFFERENT VIEWS
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) SMOKE CELL MODULE WOOD MODEL
MODELS
composition in this unit of studies have been one the primary goals. During this period a have been realized from every student an enormous ammount of
paper and wood model by hand. I personally counted about 120 prototype including every typology of study. In the image above we find a photo of the smoke cell module. We introduced this module in the previous chapter when we expressed the concept of
wireframe . Here
comes another evolution of the analysis. Lookin at the image on the left page we see the association with another wireframe, to be more accurated, the one of the cube.
The cube on point has one view in common with the cell and viceversa. The hexagon is a key figure during this studio, we'll go through more detail in the following pages.
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(ABOVE) SURFACE MODEL
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
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(ABOVE) FAT MODEL SEQUENCE FOAMBOARD
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FROM "SMOKE" TO THE LIBRARY EVOLUTION OF THE BASIC MODULE
2.1 MIXED WIREFRAME
S
ince the wireframe is composed by edges, we can infer a surfaces
Supervisor applied a precise program and sequence of spacesfor the final built
development between them. This process is represented in the
structure and surprisingly they matched a functionless beginning of the design.
previous pages where there is an association of two different moments
Looking at the previous "fat"model and "surfaces" model I tried to create since
Surfaces models and Fat Models
immediately interesting relationship between exteriors and interiors leaving open
forerunning the final project.
represents two different way to interpret the space. During this chapter we will
the shell in strategic point without subtraction of material but letting the folding
first introduce the process and than we will move toward a more personal analysis.
process determine this quality of the openings.
One one hand the first step toward the final project sticks on the fact that merging
The main difference bewteen the model is the thickness. Thickness implies choices
the different wireframes is possible to keep the hexagon like one point of view.
that can be crucial for the final design. Indeed the difference between the two
On the other many other considerations come from spaces relation inside this new
models in no longer just the thickness when we see a new open space that subdivide
The presence of the hexagon will remain until the end of the studio, we will see that
conceptually the model in two moments : one more related to the structure and
in the final model is still recognizable from different model views.
another that is more about cover the primary structure.
It has been suggested from our supervisors to fold the wireframe with surfaces not
Even though we will explain in detail the relation between these two moment in the
just considering external qualities of the model, but to thinking about a dialougue
next pages, basically the building is exposed to a
between a exterior shell and some interior developments.
In the right page below the poto of a second fat model combining the two different
Translating the previous statement in architectural terms we could say that the
discovered moments with different material properties.
levels belonging to the building shouldn't be a second step but the creation process
The gray perforated grid describes a transparent way to cover the building in order
should include a brief program setting in term of spaces more than functions.
to don't interfer with the global composition but underlining a new feature.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
Pusihing in-process.
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) HYBRIDE WIREFRAME CELL MIX BETWEEN SMOKE CELL AND CUBE ON POINT
(ABOVE) FAT MODELS DIFFERENT MATERIALS DISTINGUISH PRIMARY BODY AND WRAPPING SCREEN
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(ABOVE) MODELS PAPER HYBRID #1
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) MODELS PAPER HYBRID #2
DOUBLE FACE
model. The new strategy to underline undiscovered qualities of the model. This
Dyptich Set of photos represents the two half of the final model that
will become soon the real project. The way they are related each other is pretty simple. For example, let's think about a joint mechanism with some surfaces in common. The one above include the top and the bottom of the building meanwhile the second one beside is really similar to the plan cut of the complete designed building. The colour white means the indside of the model rather the birght yellow the outside.
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(ABOVE) PAPER MODELS TWO HYBRID SURFACES MODEL TOGETHER
spaces If you have total freedom, then you are in trouble. It’s much better when you have some obligation, some discipline, some rules. When you have no rules, then you start to build your own rules. Renzo Piano
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) FACADE CONSTRUCTION TWO DIFFERENT TONALITIES OF GREY
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
2.2 THE RULES OF THE GAME
CHOICES
in architecture are necessarily affected from many entities, the
that reinforced the
Pushing-in initial deduction.
In this phase the model has
question now is how these enties are linked to the project. In the Design Studio
been developed looking at the elevation from more sides to think about how to
we always try to justifiy moves we do with some strong assertations more or less
make a
connected each other. I develop this conversation just to make a comparison and
entrances, exits and windows like we see in the image on the left where the facade
introducing the transition that will bring us to speak of walls rather than suraces, to
becomes almost a pattern if repeated and the shadow tonality seems to colour with
stairs rather than connection, to windows rather than open spaces etc.We see again
two different tonality of gray the building.The sequence of planes that we see on
in these two pages different views of the "fat" model. I personally believe that the
the image below represents the wrapping body around the axis that is defined from
this model has been one of the more powerful and useless in terms to knowledge of
the transparency of the photo from top to bottom.
non facade building playing with rotated planes
settings rather than with
spaces and organization because of his function to unveal the eventual real space occupied by the walls. Moreover I realised the existence of two different bodies in this step
"The model is composed by two different set of surfaces wrapping around one axis that connect two opposit pushing-in moments. The firszt one is located on the top and will be the architectural translation of exit, the second one on the bottom will be translated in entrance."
(ABOVE) MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS
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D E S I G N STU D I O
2.3 SECTIONS
I
n this chapter we are going to understand the project in all its qualities
I found interesting reduce the thickness of the grid in four direction starting from
through the description of the internal spaces.I need to remember that for
the intersection of two line. Basically. instead to have all the line visible we just
the final exam presentation was required a maquette showing half of the
have a interval, like if we were using a dashed line. We can see the process on the
building with interiors included. Probably is in this step that Visual Studies
upperpart of the page. In the beginning I tried to apply this pattern to a paper
and Design Studios stop to run parallel and start to cross exchanging design
model that was required to show the sections. From this study I understood that
In other words, in this chaopter we will treat :
some parts in the building becomes a transition between interior and exterior space because the pattern is prone to "enter in the building".
- External paneling - Windows - Interior distribution - Insertion of the program
Indeed the folding of planes is one of the generative moves of this hybrid model, so the way I treated the pattern I could describe it like a conseguence more than a choice. The first floor
arises
from the folding plane that is the external wall of the
building , same process for the roof. Another plane is wrapping around the first configuration described previously. The pattern comes into the building in strategic point to point out the relation with the exterior. I obtained two floors without
The research of the pattern to apply on our surface recalls the "boxes exercise" in Visual Studies even if now is not any more an abstract composition wrapping around a surface but a subdivision of the panels composing the whole shell of the actual building. I personally started to investigate the structure of the grid in terms of repetition. To see this topic on another light, let's think about a repetition of objects, that is what happen when we are building a wall with bricks. The module it has to be the same and be applied in the same way everywhere in the model.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
inserting any further extruded surfaces.
D E S I G N STU D I O
Interior Section A+ Section B
The library provides an inspiring environment in which to study, read and whatch documentaries. The section unveils the intention to leave large openings in order to don't lose the conctact with the exterior, but in the same time the location of openings doesn't make the surrounding environment become an opportunity for the lacking of attention .[..]
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D E S I G N STU D I O
SECTION A OPPOSITE PUSHING IN MOMENTS
STAIRS
came before of the program because of the way to deal with the global
da musica" by Rem Koolaash. This reference building is more or less a meteorite in
composition of the building. As we can understand, at leats in this first studio, the
the middle of nowhere (a large empty square) in Porto (Portugal) and organize his
program looks like is secondary to the subdivision of spaces.
program with three vertical strips in section. Two strips are external and are more
I can confirm to have experienced a sort of universal design that can be applied
or less half of the extension of the middle stripe where in this case is located the
to every sort of building more or less. After all in every building there are always
auditorium.
different spaces with different extension, expecially in a library.
The building in question differs from the precedent of Koolaash in many ways. The
We could think to the difference between a general offices or a multimedia room.
first is regarding the generation of the floors, where here comes from a "folding
Clearly the extension of the spaces defines in part the function or viceversa, so why
system" created in a conceptual phase.
we don't proceed with a different process that take in account the global geometry
On the right page we can see the real pattern applied to the building with the
qualities of the building rather the acces to the toilette from the multimedia room.
addiction of the blue torquoise colour in order to shadow the
In the section above the geometry of the building generates a nice skylight windows
structure that we will se in the following pages.
on the right, that opening marks the union between the two different moment we treated in the previous chapters . Stairs follow the orientation of the planes and leave a large space in the middle. The program more or less, in a very reduced scale remind to the disposition used
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
underlying wood
It's astonishing the level of precision we arrived as class even without go beyond 1/8 inch scale detail . We collected many information and everything is started from pure geometry.
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) FINAL PANELING THICK LINE CUTTED, THIN LINE ENGRAVED
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D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS PAPER MODELS
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) FINAL MODEL PAPER AND WOOD
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D E S I G N STU D I O
2.4 PROGRAM
The way the program is subdivided is pretty simple. As we hinted at the beginning there are three stripes of space recognizable in plan and section. Above the underground section plan. The larger spaces is dedicated to the reading activities and the other ones sorrounding the main one, to offices. The external pattern continues on the sidewalk to indicate the main entrance but there are also other two other entrances that serve people coming from the parking or library employees in general. When we visited the library we saw how the computer area was more crowded despite the one reserved to the book, so becomes appropriate spread the book area around the main spaces of the building in order to keep an homogenoeus circulation and not "dead zones". With this consideration I located book shelves to opposite areas, so the one in the middle more neutral and can be used from people that wanna use the computer or wanna read a book as well. I opted for a plan that create continuously connections because the little size of the building does no suggest a precise sequence of defined spaces where the flux of people can be more concentrated in a room rather than another one and so avoiding a waste of useful space. Moreover the program definitely follows the conceptual geometry of the building. The walls are the one that previously were surfaces and terraces and windows as well . Remarkable is the composition if the last floor that is a bridge between the two "pushing-in" moment that symbolises the confirmation of the initial concept around all the structure also in phase of development.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
Entry Friend's Room Book Drop Meeting Room Restrooms Communications Room
350 200 50 1000 400 100
Circulation Desk
200
Librarian's office Work Room Storage Janitor's Closet Staff Lounge Electrical Room Staff Restroom
200 550 200 50 300 50 100
Adult's Collection Adult's Reading Area
750 250
Children's Collection Children's Reading Area
3,750 1,250
Young Adult's Collection
500
Reference Desk
200
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) COMPARISONS FAT MODEL AND PROTOTYPE OF BLUE TORQUOISE APPLICATION
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D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) STAIRS INTERNAL VIEW FROM THE THIRD LEVEL
SECOND LEVEL PLAN SECTION
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
THIRD LEVEL PLAN SECTION
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) COLOUR REPRESENTATION TWO HYBRID PAPER MODELS
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D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) MODEL DEVELOPED DRAWING
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
(ABOVE) ISOMETRIC VIEW BLUE TORQUOISE PROTOTYPE
(ABOVE) THICKNESS DIAGRAM WIREFRAME, FAT MODEL, SURFACE MODEL TOGETHER
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D E S I G N STU D I O
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
D E S I G N STU D I O
FINAL MODEL VIEW THIRD FLOOR
RELATION BETWEEN PATTERN AND STRUCTURE
2.5 MODEL AND DEVELOPED MODEL DRAWING
The Developed Model Drawing is a way to describing the building qualities unrolling all the shell in 2-dimension. For my personal case I wanted to describe the connection between grids and pattern (we can see it also in the photo of the model above). It has been a really usefool tool to understand how to build the maquette. I found my research pretty succesful in terms of my expectations regarding the position between crosses and square. When I finished the maquette, looking at it from different point of view I found interesting the 3D effect resulting from the overlapping of paper, wood and color. In the photo on the upper part of the current page there is the "architecturalization" of the moment that I perceive during the construction of the "fat model" between the two moment I explained in the previous chapters.
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Sir James Frazer Stirling (22 April 1926 – 25 June 1992) Engineering Building, Leicester, 1963
MATERIALS AND TECTONICS
TE CTO N I C S
JAMES STIRLING LEICESTER UNIVERSITY (UK) LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSUEM OF ART
3.1 INNOVATION OF THE INNOVATION
T
he Leicester University of engineering is not just a building built in the 1960s but a great example of the industrial research in the field of the architecture. The most remarkable components of this structure are the "Attenborough Tower" and the "Diamond's roof" that we will take in
consideration in this unit. We need a short introduction in order to face what's going on in this chapter. First, we have to think about the architecture like a dialougue with questions and answers . Infact, every century with its own cultural values and technologies reflect its presence on the field of the architecture. This building is a great example of utilization of glass in an architectural element like a roof. We could think about this building as a "pioneer" of new glass application that maybe today we find really common. James stirling's glass roof is a repetition of structural frames that with glass compose a continuous skylight. Looks like a collection of long exstrusion cutted in a rectangular fence. The architecture is really sophisticated and cover a large amount of square foots. The section of the building is pretty dinamic and clearly describe a research of interrelationship between masses. What was required in this class was the futher development of one architecture that developed a technhology progress in the past. Before to start the design we collected many information about the building in order to understand what was the real innovation behind the architectural system and what were the reason of the operations made by Stirling. We figured out that the most interesting part of the project was the relationship between the plan and the section or elevation. Infact if we walk around the Leicester university we will never understand the real roof structure recognizable in plan. However the section is more or less a line of perfect sqare as we can see in the image.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
TE CTO N I C S
So, if basically Stirling adopted a module to repeat in a pre-setted surfaces (solution not so different from the current parametric architecture we are used to see) we didn't see any valuable reason to change the "fence" of this architecture. Rather than change the section we preferred start to work with the regular geometry of the extrusion and make it more disordered with the new software that we have nowadays. Through Rhinoceros and maya we reparametrized the surface and change the direction axes of the extrusion keeping the same final destination to the external facades. Every step will be more clear in the next pages through technical raffiguration and physical 3d printed models, however I need to specify that our intention was to give a value added to this building that was not possible at the moment of the construction keepingthe same intention of the architect.
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-2
0°
TE CTO N I C S
40
°
0°
60°
-60°
(ABOVE) CONCEPT IMAGES REPARAMETRIZATION OF THE EXTRUSION AXIS IN THE SAME RECTANGULAR AREA
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
TE CTO N I C S
3.2 SEACHANGES
The first problem we found trying to reparametrize the axis of the extrusion was that the end of these axis most of the time newer matched the final profile in the
The waves of J.Stilring are a calm see than in some moment the sea changes. "Seacghange" is a really approriate name for our new technology system because is based on the dinamic interpretation of the same system. Today we can track the different pieces composing the new structure and fabricate them after a further optimization of the primary Powercopy. elevations. So we decided to match just in elevation and to leave more wild section profiles.
Nowadays is so common to see "crazy" architecture because of the optimization of module. The module is no longer just one, can be composed by 10 different units that work together in oprder to shape the building. In this class we didn't figure out the construction of the model, we stopped at the concept but a further analysis could bring really interesting conclusion strictly related to the James Stirling initial thinking. Below we see the 3D printer maquette elevation where the profile of the elevation changes between the Stirling module and the new software application, even if this happen just in section.
(ABOVE) 3D MODEL ELEVATION
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TE CTO N I C S
(ABOVE)DETAIILS EVOLUTION OF THE SKYLIGHT UNIT
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
TE CTO N I C S
(ABOVE) TOP VIEW 3D PRINTED MODEL
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TE CTO N I C S
(ABOVE) ELEVATION 3D PRINTED MODEL
THE 3D PRINTED MAQUETTE
activates just a stripe of what is the actual
Sustainable architecture works in these terms. It leaves room for a further
extension of the Stirling roof. Let's imagine a creased carpet in the middle, more or
development. I personally found really useful this kind of subject in order to grow
less is the same process : edges remain the same but in the interior area the tissue
as a architect and belong to the actual generation of the architecture.
is moved creating an apparent disorder that turn to be ordered when we see the
When we see at the history of the architecture activating what we believe nowadays
external profile. Trypical of the today's architecture is the topic of the renovation.
surpassed is something that strongly stimulated me as designer.
Cities are saturated and most of the time project teams face
CONFIGURATIONS
requalification of
of masses makes us think about hybrid associations
failed industrial areas. This project is an example of how a innovative architecture
strctly relate to the first part of the Design Studio Class. This English architecture is
like the one of James Stirling can be alive in these days in spite of his age.
a good exapmple of hybrid composition.
Many times innovation is not something made from scratch, on the other hand is
In the architectural details nothing changed, but the way the pieces are connected
something that need a starting points, a connection with whas has been done ina
each other. Same material, same thinckness, same module, everything slightly
previous time.
distorted. So we find ourselves in front a discovery when actually we just reordered
James Stirling left great hints in his architecture. Another message that we can
something already existing and perceived from another architect in the same way
catch along this analysis is the influence of Stirling like architect in this building.
we are perceiving it now.
We can describe the Leicester University as a reat building as well as like a hybrid composition that leave room for further innovation in the following years.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
Contemporary analysis of the architecture belonging to the last century.
CULTURAL STUDIES
C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
R
eading a building as we could read a texts a
F.D. Sausurre maintains that “langue” is a
counter-productive activity. One way argue
collective aspect of a phenomenologic interpretation in
that an object or a building, if we are basing
a language. On the other hand “parole” is an individual
our experience on the field of architecture,
aspect.
assumes divergent meanings that depends on our
Putting the same concept in other words we can say that
personal interpretation.
in architecture there is a code with an unconscious aspect
Turning this process of knowledge upside down and
and messages with a conscious aspect.
putting our selves in the shoes of architects and
Previous reflections allow us to see once again a clear
designers we are dealing with the creation of objects in
dualism in the meaning of architecture. An infinite
terms of language.
diatribe between the body and the soul of objects.
Architects have a great responsability that relies on
Colin Rowe and Nicholas Slutzky offer a really good
the
the
comparision between cubism artworks and apply the
administration of the space through the space. George
obtained results in architecture. Indeed, comparing
Baird takes in consideration in his personal analysis two
Picasso and Braque he notice slight differences in the
examples of architecture where the role of the architect
composition in terms of transparency and how they
is definitely inappropiate and shows itself like a celestial
discern between a phenomenal transparency and a literal
entity able to handle the future flux of users of these
one. An example brought to architecture is related to
buildings.
the multiple association involving the painters Moholy
communication
of
information
regarding
CBS Building by Eero Saarinen and the
and Lager and the architects Walter Gropius and Le
Potteries Thinkbelt by Cedric Price highlight a great
Corbusier. Villa Garches by Le Corbusier includes a literal
failure for the modern architecture. On one hand the CBS
transparency that consist in deviations of visual axis in
building symbolizes Modern architecture for American
the facade through a strategic geometric composition.
corporations; on the other hand Price’s building identifies
The wings of the Bauhaus school represent a phenomenal
the life conditioning model that is also discussed in the
transparency due to a juxtaposition of materials like
Panopticon by Jeremy Bentham.
glass with translucent attributes.
Even though there are several differences between these
However, the distinction between two kinds
two programs and we could lose ourselves in a formal
of transparency does not necessarily imply a different
architectural review from a descriptive point of view,
architectural dialogue between humans and architecture
it is more remarkable treating the characteristics that
or between humans and objects.
associate the previous two examples.
What we perceive is transparency in both cases and a in
subdivision of two kinds of this property is a further layer
architecture a tendency that did not determinate all
of knowledge. So, without the term “transparency” we
the issues belonging to its period, hefirmly believes
would not have been able to suppose that objects could
that the “consecutive” era of functionalism after the
speak for themselves rather than for us.
age of modernism is a parallel solution rather than an
Einsenman in his architectural syntax analyzes objects
evolution. The two building previously decribed as
like self-referential figures that “stand on their own”,
examples are efforts to solve issues belonging to the
rather than communicate. Objects are independent from
modernism period but actually they are just relying on a
men and the conception where we are an active figure
man displacement in the society.
sorrounded by passive objects is overturned. We are
Moreover Eisenman recognizes that the new generation
surrounding objects.
Peter
Eisenman
considers
modernism
of architects is obsessing by “syntax”. A syntactical element in a project should be thought of more as summary of semantic fields. Intuitions by F.D. Sausurre give us more information about the two previous buildings. For F.D. Sausurre semiology is strongly related to anthropology and communication systems in general. Communications in architecture is an important aspect. When we are planning a space, we directly decide the most part of actions of a person during his or her day and there is an incessant quantity of data that a building could “instill” in this person. So, we can say that architecture speaks a language.
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
So, from an architectural point of view, architecture is speaking for itself or for us ? C.Rowe sees in Les Corbusier maison Domino the modernism abstraction of the objects. It seems as though that there is a dominant abstraction absorbing the architectural innovation. Dom-ino is the compelling truth, Dom-ino is a object that should already exist somewhere, we just needed someone to show us how to make it.
C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
VILLA STEIN Garches, Les Corbusier, France 1927
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C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
In this period architecture was subjected to a radical
Let's imagine a creased carpet in the middle, more or less
change in its language. Meanwhile the user of the
is the same process : edges remain the same but in the
previous era of “not abstraction” was guided toward
interior area the tissue is moved creating an apparent
meaningfull points of view in the space, now there is a
disorder that turn to be ordered when we see the external
total flattening in design.
profile. Trypical of the today's architecture is the topic of
We need to specify that a flattening of the
the renovation. Cities are saturated and most of the time
reading of objects or reading the space like object as well doesn’t indicate a lost of meaning, by contrats we gain
project teams face
an infinite extension of the object. It’s not by chance that
areas. This project is an example of how a innovative
in this disorder of quality reference in 1969 Superstudio
architecture like the one of James Stirling can be alive in
makes the “Monumento continuo”.
these days in spite of his age.
A utopian proect
requalification of failed industrial
where trying to recover the lost order and not disconnect
Many times innovation is not something made from
our selves with objects as much as building, we are going
scratch, on the other hand is something that need a
to build a monument that will never end and that will
starting points, a connection with whas has been done
give us all the comfort we siss in this modern period
ina previous time.
where objects do not need us to live, but paradoxically
James Stirling left great hints in his architecture. Another
we need them.
message that we can catch
There are many interpretations of the real language of
influence of Stirling like architect in this building.
objects that characterize the previous century and keep
We can describe the Leicester University as a great
growing in the new one. J.Derrida with his denaturilaztion
building as well as like a hybrid composition that leave
of natural elements inspires the deconstructivism of
room for further innovation in the following years.
along this analysis is the
Architecture in this context is manipulated to
shape made by Einsenman and as we stated in the
get distorted meanings, ambiguities and R. Venturi aims
previous passages, an object is auto-referential.
to discover the process behind this insane distortion.
Objects indipendent from man objects are auto-referential man depends on objects Man displacement Powerful Episteme
Historicism sought to legitimize architecture basing themselves on historical precedents, R. Venturi approach directly the crisis that the architecture is living. Substantially the reflection of Venturi is related to the language of architecture like as iconic language. He takes the use of capitalism symbols to the extreme and we could say that going in this direction, objects language
Architecture = Symbology
is pretty clear to us. In the real truth object are not communicating
Robert Venturi realizes how, during this pocess where architecture is abstracting itself, architectural elements assume a double meaning more than a double function. like a “flop” in the history of architecture because of its rigid division of function almost trying to avoid a transparency that is unavoidable in this process. Functionalism failed because even if it can be considered an abstraction of function, doesn’t consider that an abstraction brings into a question an ambiguous interpretation.
The field of
semiology, the study of interpretation, is most probably related to a kind of society that is always more relying on brands more than humans. On these few concepts R. Venturi thinks how architecture should face this society bringing back its discipline and ending to be an object where consumers seem to attach greater importance for a mechanic reason. believe
a
new
interest
in
architecture
of
communication involving symbolism and mixed media will help us to revalutate an electic style of the century”.
74
that belong to us. So, like functionalism, the use of objects to say something directly to humans is a great failure as well.
We read in the beginning of this essay the functionalsm
“We
anything to us, we are just filling up objects of meaning
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
The illusion of modernism doesn’t arrive to us because the abstraction of objects make us understand that the matter of architecture remains something mystic and ungovernable. We should reinforce and contradict our interpretations omitting an ideology that is no longer stable.
C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
MONUMENTO CONTINUO Superstudio, 1969
ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY Leicester Engineering Building, James Stirling, 1959
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C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
O
ntology
the
decide to travel in a country that is far about thousand
philosophical study of the nature of being
conventionally
is
kilometers from our residence. In the pre-internet era
starting from fundamental categories of
we probably would rely on some travel agency, let’s call
it, so adopting a formal language at the
them filter. Now, in the post-internet era we prefer a
beginning. When we relate ontology with architecture in terms
direct evidence in order to make a choice so we could
of language to describe entities we are exploring a
and several personal statements made from people who
definition of an object made by group of objects and
are living there, we will call websites precarious filters.
it becomes really hard to deem an architectural entity,
Tom Wiscombe concludes his associations aiming to
finding an universal definition.
indicate the instable role of the man in the new society.
rather consult a website where are included reviews
The OOO or Object Oriented Ontology, term
In the provided example clearly we prefer a contact
coined by Graham Harman, assumes that objects are not
with an object that is filled of information by humans,
products of human cognition and we can integrate this
rather that have a conversation with a human filled of
theory in an architectural panorama. The existence of
information through real experience. The change that we
non-human objects is not the latest discovery given that
previously discussed from filters to precarious filters is
if we think about contemporary art, for example, objects
the equivalent in a matter of architecture from objects
are prone to be self-referential because of their change
made by humans and objects living with humans.
in meaning from their original role in our society to a to
by Graham Harman, seems to reorder many thoughts
affects architects is as much architecture is a discipline
belonging to the past, like the general post-Kantian
established by humans. With an infinite exchange of
speculative realism or the Eisenman thinking about
information, always more frequently the architect takes
the self-referential objects in architecture. The Graham
on his own responsability the process of rewriting
Harman flat ontology opens a new way of coherence.
the rules that generate a design. Avoiding a common
information
projected
in
architecture,
strongly
The role of Gillez Deleuze as influencer of
view architects increase complexity and the design
generations of architects is the key to understand the
process is no longer a school of thought but a personal
questions that the flat ontology try to answer. Indeed,
interpretation.
Gillez Deleuze establishes his own theory on a dualism
Translating the unsolved question that the Deleuze theory
including
like
generates about the nature of the essence of everything
appearence. If we bring this concept in our society we
in architectural context we can describe the undefined
could consider Simulacra the “unsharable” piece of art
state of the essence of things like the impossibility
and Imagine every design product that remotely remind
of questioning the nature of space in the time we are
to the essence enclosed in that piece of art. Nonetheless
experiencing the space.
this Deleuze’s model introduces and excludes in the
Bernard Tschumi calls the impossibility of questioning
same moment the OOO. On one hand Deleuze generates
space “Real paradox” and his theory starts from a
a question mark about the nature of this essence that
dualism running out in an unique solution suggesting
flows between a model and its copy, on the other basing
a connection between the Deleuze dualism and the OOO
his theory on a dualism he abstaines from the research of
exclusion of any. The dualism of Bernard Tschumi is
an universal description of things and we are stucked in
based on the experience of space. He calls “Pyramid” the
a never ending circular syllogism.
perception of architecture like a conceptual discipline,
Simulacra
Tom
like
Wiscombe
model
and
makes
an
Imagine
interesting
and “Labyrith” the architectural relationship between
association between the radical change that occurs when
space and praxis. He also identify a third category that is
we are comparing the Deleuze theory with the OOO.
anything but the union of the previous ones, defining it
He takes in consideration the comparison between the pre-internet era with the post-internet era in terms of boundaries. Before the world wide diffusion of internet, connections were limitated and with them also our knowledge. After the creation of this system that makes easier, to don’t say natural, exchange of information in longer distances, it becomes extremely difficult control fluxes of data. Providing an example that makes clear the interaction between us and the World Wide Web, let’s assume we -
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This different filtered approach to access
personal interpretation of the artist. However this hint
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
like
Paradox of space.
The theory of Bernard Tschumi investigates
the gap between ideal space [mental process] and real space [social praxis]. This distinction summarizes the connection between humans and objects and indirectly is a dualism that leave rooms for interpretation. OOO is one of those. Nevertheless, bringing this dualism in the field of architecture Bernard Tschumi arrives to an interesting conclusion.
C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
Every avant-garde calls architecture its own ideology even
Indeed,
if try to rewrite the rules of previous movements. The
“evolution”, so what makes us think that one man is
the
history
of
the
man
is
unstoppable
use of the word “architecture” seems to be inappropiate
the real responsible of the creation of one object when
for an ideology that aims to destroy some fundamental
actually we are convicted to the evolution?
principles of architecture itself, so for that reason we can
Friedrich Nietzsche in his Genealogy deeply analyzed
state that the art of building differs from architecture.
how we have been influenced during our history to
Architecture is a discipline and one of its applications is
reduce our degree of freedom in every judgement
the art to build real structures to serve the society.
limitating ourself to distinguish what is right and what is
According the OOO the previous statement
wrong for us. He provokes the objective evaluation of the
about the difference between building like objects
moral and as a consecuence destabilizes the role of the
related to architecture and architecture like discipline
man in our society. In our unstoppable evolution we have
still remarks the apparent indipendece of the object life
never tried to think in a different direction from a human-
and his inaccessible nature.
oriented-model and now that we are going throught an
Jason Payne in his Doppleganger (Double
era where we completely are addicted to objects, rises
appearance) reveals with an example how our mind
the thesis that our evolution is not even more dictated
can predictably interact with an object let us seem
from ourselves but from an external entity that can be the
presetted organism able to recognize just a superficial
objects around us.
layer of essence that can be provided in many ways,
Classifing the relation of humans and objects in the
but in the same time keeping a veil of mistery on the
history we can outline a “Podium diagram”.
process leading our mind to misread this object. The two objects took in consideration are respectively an asteroid called Mathilde and an albanian bunker. Even thought, apparently these two objects differs at all for their nature, there is a common thread between them that mislead our perception of them. Big, blank and black. A big asteroid because of its scaleless dimension in the space where our scale is lost and big bunker because the function of a bunker is built in order to defend a large number of people. A black asteroid because of its hard legibility in an infinite dark space and a black bunker for its lacking consideration of color given its primary function. In the end a blank asteroid because of its unquestionable inner space, and a blank bunker for its own function to group people. This common thread “exalts” a speculative realism where objects are described as they are isolating them from their primary function. David Ruy arranges the OOO as a sub-category of the speculative realism calling to mind an undeniable resonant reading of our mind of objects.
Human Human-object Object The diagram claims a clear reversal of the role of the man an the one of the objects in our society during the history. Architecture is strongly affected from this historical transition and a new consideration of objects is gradually intruding into the design project. Architects increase one’s awarness that objects are not accessible and the role of the architect deals with the acceptance of abstraction of any other field experimenting new solutions, rather than think architecture in terms of setting of objects in the space. Architects should keep the distance and never overstep the boundary that divides the autonomy of the self-referential object and our consideration of it contextualized in our dimension.
This last connection means that we unconsciously interact with the objects themself rather than their primary function in the “human world”. Objects maintain their own identity they are unaccessible, but they can be interpreted. Objects are grasped from humans and not made by humans. Their selves referential nature suggests that we are just a means rather than creators. Shortly, nowadays if we have a smartphone, is just because these objects had to come into the world now, we are totally wrong if we think that these objects exist because of our technology development.
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ASTEROID 235 MATHILDE NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft, June 27, 1997
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C U LTU R A L STU D I E S
ALBANIAN BUNKER NEAR DURRES Photo: Jason Payne, 2013
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2 Second semester introduction
Differently from the first half of the academic year the second semester is dustingushed for the use of advanced techniques. Between them the use of 3D printer and CNC. Parametric and active design it has been one of the most important components experienced through the use of Grasshopper and Digital Project (Catia).
FACULTY DORA EPSTEIN JONES
is an architectural theorist, historian and
educator. Hailing from rural Oregon, Epstein Jones holds degrees in Dance, Community Studies, Urban Planning, and a doctorate in Architectural History, Theory and Criticism from UCLA. Jones has an expansive background in theory and critical studies, including psychoanalytic theory, feminist theory, gender studies, and aesthetics.
ALEXIS ROCHAS
received his B.Arch from Cooper Union. He is the founder
of STEREOBOT, a Los Angeles based practice focusing on the development of dynamic architectural methodologies integrating design, technology and advanced fabrication techniques. A member of SCI-Arc’s design faculty since 2003, Rochas has headed projects through the Community Design Program, including the FAB Arts Market Temporal Gallery, LINC Housing community grounds prototyping, SCIArc’s Lecture Hall Acoustical Treatment.
ANNA NEIMARK
Anna Neimark is Principal of First Office, a practice co-
founded with Andrew Atwood in 2011. Built projects have primarily focused on residential and office rehabs and gallery installations. Her texts, both independent and in collaboration with Atwood, have been published widely, in Log, Future Anterior, Perspecta, Project, and Think Space Pamphlets, and have recently been compiled in a Graham Foundation book, Nine Essays, published by Treatise Press.
RUSSEL FORTMEYER
Russell Fortmeyer is an electrical engineer and
sustainability consultant with the Los Angeles office of the global engineering firm Arup. In this capacity, he is involved in master planning, building projects and advanced digital modeling analysis, sustainability framework development, and strategic consulting. He holds a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University and an M.A. in Architecture from the University of California at Los Angeles.
KERENZA HARRIS
Kerenza Harris holds a Bachelor of Architecture from
the University of Arizona and a Master of Architecture from the University of California Los Angeles. Since 2008, she has been working at Morphosis where she is helping the firm to develop automation systems and parametric tools that can be integrated from the earliest concept design stages through fabrication.
MATTHEW AU
Matthew Au is a designer and founding principal of Au Au,
a Los Angeles based design office. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Art History and Theory from University of California, San Diego and a Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture. z
ILARIA MAZZOLENI
is an Italian architect, biomimicist, and founder of
IM Studio Milano/Los Angeles. Her book Architecture Follows Nature: Biomimetic Principles for Innovative Design (CRC Press) explores animal skin systems as they relate to building envelopes. Looking at both the animal coverings and enclosures as mediators of their environment, Mazzoleni proposes technology-enabled, speculative works that mitigate contemporary ecological concerns by mimicking tactics found in nature.
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C O N T E N T S 84 Design Studio 2: Duplex in Venice, The Dyptich in Architecture 130 Environmental System : Light Studio, Reflection and filtering 146 Digital Project: Power Copy Creation, Application and optimization 160 Cultural Studies: History of Architecture, Itsukushima Shrine 176 Visual Studies 2: Letters, Alghorithm patterns 190 Extra: Slay, Architectural installation in Los Angeles + EXPO pavilion
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STUDIO2
Duplex in Venice Beach 16 Park Ave Venice, CA 90291
The site of the duplex guests actually a real building. The lot dimension is around 120'"x 40" and the program is organized through 3 different level. Being really close to the beach is good to take advantage of the height to have a wonderful view on the seaside.
D E S I G N STU D I O 2
DUPLEX IN VENICE BEACH LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
5.1 THE DYPTICH AND EDUARDO CHILLIDA
D
uplex architecture impilies strategies to unify two different entities
Interaction between people in architecture doesn't always mean a physical contact
toghether. During this semester the help of the artist Eduardo Chillida
between individuals, but also a generation of transparency between spaces can
it has been crucial in a premature phase where the two entities has to
contribute to a relation.
de defined.
For example, in many museum, like the one of J .Stirling in Stocholm, there are
Eduardo Chillida
is an artist that made many variables of the same concept.
some passages that let interact people outside and inside the museum. They can
During the semester we had to chose one or more prints made by the artist and let
see each other, hardly they can start to talk or discuss given that the first part is in
them interact each other trough projection in a cubic space.
a gangway that connect north and south of museum acting as a urban space in the
Fundamentally we were making the same process that every architecture studio
city, the second one is in a courtyard of the museum and is enjoying the ehxibition
can make approaching the conception of duplex. Indeed the geometries in the
in a semi open space.
prints strongly suggest a subdivision of spaces or a contrast between what we could
This is just an example of the infinite way to connect people in spaces. During this
perceive as
mass and what we could perceive as void.
semester, in my personal analysis I start to recreate this condition with many topics
The reading of the mass and the void in the prints of the artist is really important
like light, openings, outiside-inside spaces etc.
and describe a total personal interpretation that is going to be reinforced during
This project took many attempts in terms of massing, the main idea it has been
the project phase.
changed at least around 30 times and some of the manipulations are included
The combination of two different prints is an introduction of concept of
Dyptich
in this section. All this units is developed really gradually, from a first entity and
that is the association of two different element slightly different but strongly
looking for that moments that can generate a second one or a third one. As can
correlated.
be inferred from the following images there are some features that will impose
Differences between entities in architecture become a way to design a full house
themselves more than others and they will end to become the crucial part of the
and distinguish the experience of two family that are living together but actually
project. During the final review the model leave rooms for many other developments
they never deal betwen them, or better they believe to do not interact.
so we can consider it a hybrid duplex.
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CHILLIDA PRINT #1 69. Eduardo Chillida (San Sebastiรกn 1924 - 2002 San Sebastiรกn) "Euzkadi VII" (Zustand B) (Baskenland VII) Aquatintaradierung 1976 120,5 x 120 cm Abb. 95 x 87,5 cm Pr. 96,5 x 88.3 cm Auflage ca. 65 Exemplare van der Koelen 76013 [16965]
CHILLIDA PRINT #2 43. Eduardo Chillida (San Sebastiรกn 1924 - 2002 San Sebastiรกn) "Aldebateko" (Einseitig) Radierung 1973 46,2 x 32,5 cm Pr. 10 x 10 cm Exemplar H.C. sign. bez. Auflage 64 Exemplare van der Koelen 73016 [17489]
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5.2 THE DOUBLE HOUSE - MVRDV ARCHITECTS
To clarify the concept of duplex the studio semester started with an exercise where our duty was to fully understand the startegies of these famous duplex or multi-familiar architecture. My personal case was "The double House" by MVRDV Architects in Utrecht, Netherlands. I found really interesting this case of study and took me a while to understand why it is so specal. Basically, in this building all the facades are the same. To be more specific the orientations north-south and west-east keep the same facade as it was a
continuous extrusion.
So, from outside is really hard to understand what is going on in this home and with a superficial analysis we could believe is not a duplex. Analyzing plans and section we can catch immediately how this "box" become a duplex. Even if more graphical explanations are in the following page I can try to describe this building looking at the plans above. Looking at this drawings can lead to a wrong conclusion. The building is a box and the stores are not shifting level to level. What is shifting is the wall that divide the two homes every floor and I wanted to emphatize this function of the wall representing the opposite so the shifting of the plans. Looks like they did the same thing SANA did with the art museum in New York but rather than keep a fixed body that works like a spline for the floors. they decided to keep fixed the floors and move the spline. Moreover in the articulation of the interior there are some other moments that tends to reinforced this initial strategy.
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PLANS DIAGRAM
Infact, if we look at the detailed section of the project the difference between materials is the key to understand how they related the shifting strategies with the real interior of the house. There are some metal platform that hepls to define the floors in terms of size and all this spaces with platform are acting like connecting spaces rather than rooms where in all the likelihood we are prone to stay for a while. The stairs are two extrusion that go in the opposite direction comparing the direction of the "extruded" facades. Another important point is that not all the windows are operable. Some frame from the exterior declares which openings we can open and which openings we can not. So the configuraton of the main facade does not change between the two houses, what change is the utilization of the facade and how we can deal with it. Dimensions of openings call the functions in the homes so more or less the two families has the same spaces but arranged in a different configurations. This home "nailed" the concept of Dyptich ; there are many features that apparently are the same for the two entities but actually are not. It's hard to get the idea of duplex from outside because it has been hidden by a box enclosure. The opportunity of the two families are the same but arranged in a different way. The use of material is related to the
subdivision of spaces in the space so there is a complex articulation and organization of the living spaces.
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DUPLEX DIAGRAM
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ISONOMETRIC EXPLOSE
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5.2 HYBRID PROFILES
The first interaction with the prints it has been the one that arrived to the end of the semester with many changes. Looking at the two prints selected from the Chillida gallery, rather tha project the geometries in different directions I preferred keep the same direction and create a mix between the two like it was a new generation of prints. Also the texture was a result of the mix between the two entities and I tried to make it more clear through a 3D effect that brought the jury during the final presentation to think about this slabs as marble inserted in a building. Actually it has been a right point because this concept I am going to explain during this chaper takes in consideration two enties that need each other. The first one is the presence of this Hybrid profile, the second condition is the presence of an extraneous body where this profile are inserted
of spaces.
At the right page there is a premature association of two bodies that are slightly different, in the following pages more interactions.
HYBRID PROFILE 69 + 43
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to generate subdivision
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CUBE #1 POROSITY ANALYSIS
CUBE #2 POROSITY ANALYSIS
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ABSTRACT ENTRANCE POROSITY ANALYSIS
ABSTRACT FACADE POROSITY ANALYSIS
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CUBE WRECKAGE POROSITY ANALYSIS
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PROFILE OVERLAYING POROSITY ANALYSIS
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PROFILE OVERLAYING POROSITY ANALYSIS
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OUT
IN
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OUT WITH TEXTURE FAT DIGITAL MODEL
5.3 IN 'N OUT
Pushing the porosity analysis what actually seemed to connect interior and exterior of this mass was the porosoty itself in terms of openings between in and out. Here in this image I was trying to figure out what was the potential of the interior once I extrude many profiles together to generate a fat model. Actually the relationship between interior and exterior was not so strong because the porosity was generating thin extrusion and I could not take in concĂŹsideration the creation of spaces. I started to considered this narrow extrusions like connection between facades, having in my mind the MVRDV duplex example but still the complex shape was not so easy to describe.
Textures was not working anymore like in the first models where theirs function was more of enclosure, now they lost their meaning.
However this fat model study it has been really usefull to understand that the interaction between profiles was requiring an external body and that they could not generate a body themselves.
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With the previous forewords I finally understood that profiles was requiring an external body and in this moment of the semester my performance like designer seemed to be a continuous unsuccesful trying because of the endless research of this external body. There were some other issues to solve, ; the size of the profiles, the position , the inclination and the relation with the siteplan. So, I started to recreate mass looking at the "marble profiles". I arrived to generate many interior spaces but always hard to transform in real spaces. Nonetheless, I arrived to develop the final strategy that allow me in a close future to define the final shape.
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Everytime I was trying to create mass one step was common in every attempt :
the cutting process of the volume.
The most succesful step of this several tries has been the moment where profiles "merged" them selves with the external volume thanks to boolean differences and simple cutting process where both the entities was affected in the same way creating an interesting continuity in all the whole building. Finding a methodology I really needed to push this method until the creation of something that I could believe like one of the best interaction so in the page that follows we can see many of my configurations until the final one that will be considered in the final project.
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ENTRANCE + TERRACE PERSPECTIVE VIEW
5.4 DUPLEX
T
his section will treat the description of the final project. I personally
cream color like body that include the walls.
consider this project still open to more solutions because of the plurality
Basically the keyrule to understand the building is that
of thematics that are included in it.
buiding.
In the final assets I took also in consideration many features of the actual site and
the walls never touch the
Infact, the two entities behave like two elements belonging to different worlds.
as it can be clear in the renders above and on the right page, the location of the
Deal with this concept has been really hard, because the division between these
building has a strong impact on design decisions. First the location in
elements in terms of friction implies continuous openings that can be more than the ones we actually need.
VENICE BEACH
In order to don't make redundant stripe openings, the building has been analized in all that moments that this consideration was going to become reality. So, finding another definition for the building we could say that the walls never
is pretty closer to the beach. About 50 foot are dividing the lot from the main
touch the ceiling and are closing open spaces in elevation.
boulevard of Venice and just one building is between the boulevard and the duplex.
However the spaces are always created from the position of the walls inside this
The height of the duplex is significant in order to maintain the view on the sea.
long, originally empty, volume.
The measures of the lot are 120 x 40 square foot and with a height of 30 foot leave many rooms for beautiful loft spaces. Taking in account the building itself, like we can perceive in those first images there are two opposite entities that are the vertical inclined walls and the
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VIEW FROM THE BEACH VENICE, LOS ANGELES
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HOUSE A FIRST LEVEL PLAN
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HOUSE B FIRST LEVEL PLAN
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HOUSE A SECOND LEVEL PLAN
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HOUSE B SECOND LEVEL PLAN
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HOUSE A SECTION AA
Long section reveals the relation between slabs and extraneous body. The floors are suggested from some inclinations of the external long body. This is a three floors building where the first or groundfloor is a continuous tunnel that works like a filter between urban space and private one at the seconod and third floor . More or less the height of the floors is the same for both the houses and at the groundfloor level slightly engraved in the ground is shared a swimming pool that is divided from a slab that also divide house A and house B. Maybe more clear in the short section, the presence of light is the result of the main foreword where walls never touch the ceiling.
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HOUSE B SECTION AA
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HOUSE A SECTION BB
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HOUSE B SECTION BB
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HOUSE A SHORT SECTION
Here I am going to introduce the short sections. These section, sometimes
Divertsities between spaces are significant.
slightly rotated to show the relation with the exterior are a great
Another important point is that is not existing modularity in terms of
opportunity to discover more qualities of the "marble walls" beyond their
spaces and openings.
function of division of spaces. The porosity took in consideration in the
Maybe, the lack of something that can be repeated is not a quality in a
beginning of the unit in these drawings is emphatized at the maximum.
executive phase of the building, but in this concept phase is crucial
Reflections of the material contribute to reinforced the sun light entering
because create the opprtunity to analyze one by one the moments that are
from the ceiling and the pipes of the enclosure generate nice line pattern
composing the duplex.
on the internal surfaces of the building.
This conversation is usefull looking at the light collectors that as I said
In section many times is possible to comprehend the external spaces of the
during the introduction of this chapter, are the solution to the foreword
groundfloor that helps to have a lighter section profile.
that states that the tw bodies, volume and slabs, never should touch each
In a first moment the section was not showing its floating quality, than in
other.
a more advanced phase with the creation of the groundfloor it has been
A topic not solved yet is the porosity in the slabs and the sun light passing
possible think how to lift the volume up in some parts rather than others.
through these holes. The "pattern" of the porosity is really wild and kind
I thought that introduce fornitures was a premature moves giving that
of unpredictable.
during all the semester we focused on shape perception.
Shortly, this building need several optimizations but has every input ready
So, I think that one of the best result has been the creation of loft spaces
to be deeply analyzed and developed.
that was one of the quality I was looking for in a location like Venice.
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HOUSE B SHORT SECTION
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HOUSE A SHORT SECTION
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HOUSE B SHORT SECTION
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POROSITY CONCEPT MIDTERM MODEL
5.5 MODEL MAKING
During this semester the model making has been oriented to the 3D printer utilization. This model above is the only one I have realized with laser cut techniques. The model above has been presented during the midterm and was a "manifesto" of what my analysis has been from the beginning to the end of the studio class. Here the slabs are the only component genrating spaces and there is no any balancing activity between different elements ; everything is porosity. This model has been really useful to understand how the porosity of the slabs was not the only component we need to make a building. In some way, comparing to an advanced level of design, building have many layers of readings and in their composition they are complex even to build the more simple element. By the way, something else positive from this model is the presence of entrances between spaces generated by the irregular profiles of the slabs. In the final project the presence of door is avoided, the connection between spaces are the void moments in the slabs's profile.
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POROSITY CONCEPT MIDTERM MODEL
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ISOMETRIC DRAWING RENDER MODEL
Even though was not in the requirement for the final presentation I preferred to provide two different scales to show the project. On the right is the smallest one 1/16 inch with the siteplan associated. Before to decide what isometric view present I really needed a further confirmation even because personally I like make models that area continuations of my drawings and not something different. A full white model and a beaux art render say completely different things but related. On one hand, with color I underlined openings and materials, on the other with the model I am able to keep the walls out and see what actually the building looks like without walls.
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ISOMETRIC PHOTO 3D PRINTED MODEL
Having a model of the building and taking photos with appropriate light developed really interesting conclusion from a light analysis point of view that was one of the more important features from the beginning. The contrast between the groundfloor and the rest is stricking, the building merge itself with the urban context even if the unconventional shape. In presence of the slabs the light change and this discovery is a confirmation of the extreme division of the two entities. The light ebtering in the building between openings in the proximity of the slabs make pleasant the groundfloor promenade and candidate the promenade itself to be further internal spaces.
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45 DEGREES BACK FACADE RENDER
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45 DEGREES BACK FACADE 3D PRINTED MODEL
The backside of the building says a lot more comparing to the front.
Also from behind is easy to perceive the contrast between slides and full
Almost the totality of the light comes from openings that tends to enlarge
volume. During the semester this building it has often been compared to
themselves on the back side. Also the central one that brings light on the
the magic box that magicians use to pull into many knife without affecting
shared swimming pool is located on the back to maintain a strong privacy
the interior completely. In some way this bizarre concept is true, because
on the front where the steady flux of cars make not so operable that side
wall are affecting the interior and the life of people but not at all.
of the building. Entrances are located on the groundfloor and they are
Infact if the walls were inserted completely in the volume there would be a
accessible from everywhere if I find myself on the groundfloor.
complete separation of spaces and every wall would create a unit.
There is a terrace that make possible to take advantage of the height of the
A partial insertion of the volume generate entrances and corridor and in
building. The two houses together took the whole extension of the site.
some way the plans can be inferred from a planivolumetric view.
This representation is 45 degree inclined to show two facades in the same
Another relevant feature of this building is the replication of itself in
moment. Also here, I was really struggling in the decision to show an other
height. Originally the height of the complex was reduced and in order to
Isonometry like the one showed in the previous page and in the end I
get the right scale, literally it has been duplicated.
opted for this solution looking at the model.
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WITHOUT WALLS 3D PRINTED MODEL
WITH WALLS 3D PRINTED MODEL
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PROFILES 3D PRINTED MODEL
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3/32 INCH MODEL ELEVATION
3/32 INCH MODEL TOP VIEW
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3/32 INCH MODEL PERSPECTIVE VIEW
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ISOMETRIC VIEW WITH CONTEXT 3D PRINTED SMALL SIZE MODEL
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PERSPECTIVE VIEW 3D PRINTED SMALL SIZE MODEL
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LIGHTSTUDIO
SMALL SIZE
Light Object
LI G HT STU D I O
lightOBJECT ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM FILTERING REFLECTIVITY
6.1 CRITICAL RESPONSE
A
s a defining technical term, we understand reflectivity to mean the
Using various boxes of multicolored, opaque material, we may project light on the
ability of a surface to reflect light in a compelling manner. Different
inside and intersect the results in order to create a similar visual effect. However,
surfaces can convey this term in a multitude of ways, such as the
treating a veil like a filter, the experience The main factor that applies to our project
amount of light lost in the material, its reflective strength, and the resultant visual
is opaque filtering. Taking advantage of color, our inspiration is the above painting
and/or spatial effects.
by Carlos Cruz-Diez. Using various boxes of multicolored, opaque material, we may
Considering these factors, our project takes into account two points with regards to
project light on the inside and intersect the results in order to create a similar
this term. The first is the power source, the second is an external entity that reacts
visual effect. However, treating a veil like a filter, the experience through the light
to the power source, e.g. mirrored or highly polished surface. The interplay of these
now is inverted in regard to the reflectivity. If before light was reflected by a more
factors can enhance the spatial affect created by our lighting object. Although not
or less related external entity, now it is spread differently. Filters are as important
related to reflectivity, the projector night light pictured above is an inspiration in
as the power source because it is what we actually perceive and this object is not
this sense. We imagine the property of reflectivity to take place within the object
anymore a filtered light but a filter generating light for us as much as in a reflection
and result in the light being released to create a wide spatial and visual effect.
we see an entity generating light and not the light itself.
The main factor that applies to our project is opaque filtering. Taking advantage of color, our inspiration is the above painting by Carlos Cruz-Diez.
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MAGIC HOUR David Batchelor, London 2001
FIREFLIES ON THE WATER Yayoi Kusama, Phoenix 2012
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6.2 PRECEDENTS
Magic Hour
To achieve Magic Hour, David Batchelor uses various monochromatic
The materials and technology used in this installation include mirrors
color panels at the opening of boxes of different sizes. The boxes are then
made with polished black granite, black Plexiglas, and 250 LED lights. The
stacked, connected, and spaced away from each other. What this creates is
mirrors are used to give space to the room, the black granite is installed
a multicolored halo effect on the wall. Additionally, the boxes themselves
onto the ceiling for maximum reflectivity, and the LED lights are hung
give the installation a figural aspect. To the viewer this makes it appear as
from the top to produce the effect. With this, the installation clearly takes
if the multicolored halo is radiating from the figure itself.
advantage of reflectivity in order to distort a viewer’s understanding of
The materials and technology used in this installation include light boxes
finite space.
and monochromatic panels. The light boxes, initially used as signs for various components, are placed inside black boxes with one side open. The open side is fitted with the monochromatic panel. However, the
Light diffusion
James Turrell’s Light Diffusion focused on the artists explorations of
panel needs to be translucent enough to allow th light to escape from its
the perception of light, color and space. This installation recasts the
enclosure. This is a clear application of color, filter and screening that lets
Guggenheim rotunda as an enormous volume filled with shifting artificial
the viewer experience a flattening of figure and multicolored luminance.
and natural light. The light explores seven immersive environments, ranging from Turrell’s
Fireflies on the water
first projections of his previous series. Immersed in the installation the
Situated in a 2500 sq ft room, Fireflies of the Water is a light installation
viewer becomes aware of the function of our own senses and of light as
that manipulates the viewer’s perception of space. By plating the walls of
a tangible substance. These perceptual concerns are coupled with a deep
the room in mirrors and using several LED lights on the ceiling, an illusion
commitment to the natural world and an interest in orienting his work
is created by making the room seem infinite.
around celestial events.
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6.3 deLightful EFFECT
Crucial to the successful projection of the colored moire are the transparent
Diez, Carlos Cruz.”Collection Addition Chromatique.” COLLECTION. Cruz- Diez Foundation, n. d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016
colored acrylic boxes within the mirrored planes. The boxes are aligned in
Gabrielyan, Emin. “THE BASICS OF LINE MOIRE PATTERNS AND OPTICAL SPEEDUP.” (2006): n. pag. Arxiv.
such a way so that certain areas of each box overlap with other boxes, in
org. Cornell University. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
all elevation views. However, there are also moments in which none of the
“Fireflies on the Water.” Whitney Museum of American Art: Yayoi Kusama:. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016. <http://collection.
boxes overlap with each other in elevation, This is speculated to achieve
whitney.org/object/19436>.
two effects: 1) when light passes through areas of overlap it is filtered twice, by two
“Aten Reign.” James Turrell Exhibition Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://web.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/turrell/>. “3D Works.” David Batchelor Portfolio. N.p. , n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www.davidbatchelor.co.uk/works/3D/<.
separate colors, which blends the resultant projection so projected boxes appear nested within each other, and 2) the moments where light passes though one box project a consistent, non-blended registration of color on the wall. Due to this the effect is layered, rather than a simply lit wall. In sum, we achieved the desired effect of the object that we were exploring. What led to this was the specific calibration of each of the individual pieces in relation to each other. The crucial aspects of this process were the sizes of the individual clear slats of acrylic, how far deep they recede into the base, and the spacing in between them. In addition, the positioning of the colored acrylic boxes and their dimensions allowed us to achieve a much more full range of color as opposed to them simply blending into each other. The location of the object in a tight area also allowed the effect to be much more visually appealing.
TOP VIEW DeLightful Effect
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MODEL MAKING IMAGE #1
MODEL MAKING IMAGE #2
MODEL MAKING IMAGE #3
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PERSPECTIVE VIEW PASSIVE STATE
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FRONT VIEW ACTIVE STATE
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DIGITAL
PROJECT
D I G ITA L P R O J E CT
POWER COPY DP THE SOFTWARE
In
7.1 PC CREATION
T
his has been an elective class for me that substituted the program of structure. Surprisingly "Digital Project" class open me a world in terms of knowledge of software and how the real architecture is created post
academic formation. Kerenza Harris is a component of the main project team in Morphosi Studio in Los Angeles and she is used to introduce the utilization of this software to Sciarc students.
digital project
Ste
This software comes from Catia, the software of Ghery Technologies and is based on same criteria. I felt strongly motivated to attend this class, such a pity that design studio leaves no room for other Intense classes. Talking about the software I found it an half way between what is the current parametric application in Grasshopper and what is the categorization of components in Revit or Archicad. I felt me so lucky
Paneling
to have attended this class and probably I will push the knowledge of this program in a second moment. The first exercise required was the creation of the Power Copy.
The power copy is a unit that is repeated in an architectural structure with many wariables controlled from the software. Instantiation on a plan Rule.
On the right my personal power copy where is simulated an surfaces with many variables activated from one simple
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Exploded Dra
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State AB
nput A
State AA Input B
State AC State AD
Line frame
eel frame
awing
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D I G I T A L P R O J E close C T panels
7.2 BLOOM
Bloom
is the name of the second Power copy creation and it has been
10 0째
The problem faced during the construction of this power copy was the
create with a team project rather than an individual exercise.
expansion of the module in z-x-y direction. Building a facade and deal
Is the next level of the instantiation where actually exist an hypothesis
with a third direction is definitely a next level project . Here explained why.
of application. Our case of study was our university, Sciarc, and our
Digital project has a great quality, every geometry inserted in the space is
assignment was the creation half openof an external skin that regulate the
recorded in a diagram . This diagram has to be clear as much as possible,
relationship between light and facade. panels
some little mistake can let fail all the project. Differently from grasshoper
Fundamentally this exercise was assigned in order to deal with the scale
, DP tends to be more real because there are not sum of components but
of the power copy and the concept of instantiation in relation with one
every geometric component is considered an individual brick of the project
rule or more.
and has to be the right one. No way.
Power copies can be more than one. Big scale project arrive until 20-30
Shortly, considering a third direction implies a generation of detailed
power copies but everything in order to optimize architectural component
information that bring the structure dea with it. Informations related to
of the next generation.
a third direction are hard to insert in the list diagram given that a free
I really appreciated that Kerenza during the classes was used to show us
geometry in the spaces make the power copy stretch and in that moment
real example opening original Morphosis DP files. Thanks to this example
a further analysis of paneling optimization comes out, not suggested in
I cathed the complexity that this program is able to reach and the many
our shoes. 300 째
opportunities this application can bring to an architectural team.
During the classes many guests from Morphois came to help us with our
Taking into account "Bloom", it starts from a popular origami sequence in
project and we decided after some reviews to exclude a optimization
architecture, but will be converted to make it possible to build.
process because too much amount of work in short time.
15%
15%
open panels
25%
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
25%
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0째
close panels
10 0째
half open panels 15%
15%
30 0째
open panels
25%
25%
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
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xxxxxx Diagram
close panels
half open panels
30 째 a
open panels I personally liked dealing with this software because even if a simple exercitation it seemed totally real from the beginning to the end. Working in team and meet students with a different background, considering the time factor knowing that the software does not allow any fake academic structure, meet important personalities belonging to the real world of the architecture strongly motivated me. Here comes the final strategy that we adopted for Bloom. We created three different power copies, everyone of them was representing a possible state of a unique power copy that theoretically is able to open and close without three fised state but with a full control on any degree of functioning. Then we thought about a structure that supported the expansion of this module. Instead the "wow effect" of this module is the expansion and this condition o instability makes interesting the module.
xxxxxx Diagram
Bloom is able to gain around 30% more of the initial extension.
A spider structure is supporting the power copy in the sliding frame. Part of the power copy is made of fabric, so in the state one the association of more
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south elevation panels close
south elevation panels half open
south elevation panels open
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7.3 Light AND
PANELS
Just in a second moment when the power copy was at its final state and
During the final presentation many components of the Morphosis jury told
a further analysys of lighting approach was possible, we understood that
us that there are many ways to better control our skin facade and that
our forewords about the regulation of sun light were pretty pretty realistic.
usually in their studio when they have to start to think to a similar problem
Indeed, the fabric makes possible a gradual increasing of light in the
there are between 50-60 possible configurations to take into account.
interior spaces.
Thanks to these critics I understood once again the potential of this
We also realize a more detailed video with after effect and some frame are
software and the methodology used from one of the best architectural
visible in the next page. However on the right page we see three moments,
studio in US.
everyone related with the state of the powercopy or to be more specific,
The relation between the software and the real expectation is pretty
every 3D section represent the perception of light in the interior spaces
real, however I have to remark that Digital Project is not the solution to
according to the powercopy covering the Sciarc facade.
every problem. Often the design process include any kind of sofware like
Talking about the Digital Project utilization in order to make this
Rhinoceros, Grasshopper and Revit.
powercopies work, I can say that the module can move thanks to the
What is relevant about this software is the language that makes it unique.
expanding structure behind of it. Spider support expland themselves like
Power copies,Instantiation, Families, Rules, Parameter are just some of the
a tripode and the bars related to the spider shift in X direction.
words belonging to the terminology used in the software and I found it
We preferred divided the full facade and apply groups of powercopy
really fascinating and intuitive.
looking at the dimension of the openings.
The possibility to explore the activation of the module through Rules
In this way the state one makes appear this second generation skin divide,
written with codes and istantiated with Excell workfiles is just one think
state three show that the part of the facade left uncovered can be covered
that made me think that
if the power copies are fully activated.
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architecture has no limits.
LIGHT AND SHADOW STUDY
D I G ITA L P R O J E CT
south elevation panels close
south elevation panels half open
south elevation panels open
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VIDEO FRAMES STATES
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VIDEO FRAMES OPERATIONS
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CULTURAL STUDIES
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Centuries
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The "Shinto"
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The "Torii"
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The Reflection model
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Conclusion
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Work Cites
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8.1 CENTURIES
G
enerally
when
mentions
In fact we need to remember that the concept of the
himself
Japan architecture completely differs from the one
to a religious complex and not to the
persevered from the Western culture so far. The age-old
"Itsukushima Shinto Shrine" that is a little
Japanese concept of "durability found in flexibility" is a
"Itsukushima
someone
Shrine"
refers
component of the same sanctuary.
basic information we need to assume before to absorb
Japan terminology is absolutely one of
any other discovery of the essay.
2
Since always during
the widest and difficult in the world, and if we relate
the first approach with the Asian culture in architecture
terminology to religion, some interpretation become still
we find the "Pagoda" that is this tiered tower with more
harder given that there are many ambiguous definitions
protruding roofs to remark the different floors. If we want
in the field of the religion.
to provide a superficial analysis of the structure we could
First, we have to clarify the relation between religion and
say that the reason why of this architectural composition
architecture that is existing between
is to avoid the break of the tower in presence of
these two elements quoted in the previous statement
earthquake. But another question arises, why they should
and then we can start with a further analysis that will bring to light different question solved in the
build so high-towers continuously when the presence of
making of the essay.
earthquake struggles to end ?
The "Itsukushima Shrine" is a wide religious
Now, given
that
architecture, religion
and
human
complex in one of the Island of Itsukushima, in the city
ambitions are related in the western culture and together
of Hatsukaichi in the Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. To
bring to a general development of human abilities, we
be less geographical, everything we are treating in this
could think that Asian culture has a own architectural
essay is located in the south of Japan, and around the
evolution. Here comes the break between Western and
world this place is best known as "Miyajima" for touristic
Eastern culture. Pagodas are an example of Asian architecture
reason. Indeed
the
floating
gate
we
are
going
to deeply analyze in the essay is listed as UNESCO
typology that has been replicated for centuries, Shinto Shrines follow the same destiny .
1
World Heritage Site and recognized by the Japanese
This little concept unveil the tendency of the eastern
government like one of the most important National
culture to avoid dynamicity in the field of architecture
Treasures in the site of the city of Miyajima.
and to keep some values that are fundamental for some
The composition of the essay will be based
spiritual reason rather than provide the usal layer of
on two different layer of information. The first layer
evolution that we find in most of the Western history of
related to the architecture itself with a self-referential
architecture.
description, the second one strictly connected with the religion and more historical values that will explain some unsolved question in the architecture analysis. 1
164
Official UNESCO, World Heritage list of monuments, Asia and Pacific section
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
2
Takahiro Iwasaki’s Reflection model (Itsukushima), 2013–14 reviewed by Wayne Crothers , 28 Nov 14, National Gallery of Victoria Website
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NOH STAGE AT THE ITSUKUSHIMA SHRINE Mori Motonari 1497-1551
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8.2 THE "SHINTO"
A
"Shinto" is basically a sanctuary where
• The "Haiden" that is the body-core and we find it on our
more religious functions are located. To
way walking through the gang way. It's where happens
have an unreal western comparison we
the real worship of the gods inside of the sanctuary.
could think about the structure of the first
• The "Honded" that comes after the "Haiden" and is
Western Basilicas where the name was not just related
considered the main hall where the function becomes
to a only one structure but more functions like a little
less related to the worship of gods and more about
religious town. Let's think about cloisters or monasteries.
gathering people and communicate information.
In the image on the right we see a complete "Shinto Shrine"
There are many other bodies that we don't
where clearly are existing more
take in consideration to don't excess about information
architecture components with different functions. The
related to what is around the Torii but the previous
use of the color is really important and is pretty realistic
section of the sanctuary are the most important in order
even if the drawing itself is more representative. In fact
to understand the sequence of spaces opened by the
the white color is the only one underlining the presence
"Torii".
of the gate or "Torii" that thanks to his popularity often is erroneously called directly "Shinto Shrine". Being aware that the western translation of
all the site is that the sanctuary is generating an effective 3
"Shinto Shrine" is "the place where gods are leaving"
landscape architecture between water and land.
we are not saying that everything in the religious site
Nonetheless the architecture is always pretty light
is about religion. Indeed there are many functions that
because of the continuous alternated gangways and the
make us think about an administration of the site on
distributed volume rather than a big one collecting all
different levels of program like safety or welcome guests.
the functions together, the extension of the site is
Looking at the image we can recognize :
remarkable and takes more than 1000 square
• The "Torii" or the gate we will take in consideration in
foot.
the remaining part of the essay • The "Sando" or the gangway connecting the entrance with the core of the spiritual complex.
3
Shinto in History, Ways of the Kami, by John Breen and Mark Teeuween , University of Hawaii Press, 2000
166
What emerges in architecture looking at the previous simplified description and the related image of
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
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PERSPECTIVE PICTURE OF ITSUKUSHIMA SHIRNE Title : A perspective picture of Itsukushima Shrine Created : Utagawa, Toyoharu, 1735-1814, Sources : Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
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NEAP TIDE Tsukushima Shrine Detail neap tide and flood tide Created : 2009 By Paul Knight, Diplograph archive
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
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FLOOD TIDE Tsukushima Shrine Detail neap tide and flood tide Created : 2009 By Paul Knight, Diplograph archive
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8.3 THE "TORII"
A
s described in the previous section the
An architectural analysis of the "Torii" is not apart at all
"Torii" is just a little part of the "Shinto
from the previous one. The most interesting feature of
Shrine", but probably one of the most
this gate is its relation with the water and also with the
interesting ones from many point of view.
landscape in general.
There are more than 80.000 Shirnes in Japan, and all
the two opposite conditions due to the high tide and
that this gate describes the architecture of the rest of
ebb tide and taking some photos of the phenomenon
the site, we could think about it as a samples or unit of
associating some interesting description.
all the rest of the architecture features we find in the
walking along the coast where is located the site of
"temple". Using the word "temple" in this situation can
Miyajima sanctuary you can perceive a total different
actually disorient any reader. Being raised with a Western
landscape from the morning to the afternoon due to the
oriented culture, Indirectly I am comparing two different
water behavior. Looking at the photos it looks really true
cultures and the risk to use an inappropriate definition is
because the water level makes the land visible and not
high. This passage deserve a little bit more of attention.
visible. The presence of the water is a value added to
5
He says that
Basically when we think about temples,
the site because of the reflection of the landscape but
we are used to think about an architectural plan where
also for the temporary feeling to don't know at all what is
every subdivision of the space is created to make more
holding up all the site. The floating quality is emphasized
important the space that actually will be reserved to
in the gate that is located out of the gangway so it looks
worshiping activities. Usually there is a clear hierarchy
like he doesn't have connection with any other body. Its
where the different spaces negotiate between each other
view from a long distance is the one we have with a object
accepting their roles. In a Shinto the hierarchy is not so
that is out of any other context.
crucial. It's not a case that a gangway is the connection
To make a current comparison of this feeling,
between all the spaces and all the spaces are at the same
when we see that building, is so different from the rest
level of height in section differently from the Greek
of the city that makes us feel looking at something that
acropolis where the higher level is the more important.
doesn't belong to the contest around of it. I personally
Looking at the "Torii"
before from a total
religious point of view to end with a pure architecture
felt this when I saw in Porto (Portugal) the "Casa da Musica" by Rem Koolaash.
analysis we can say that the gate is the literal connection
The "Torii" is not easy to describe from a pure
between gods and humans and is located on the water
architectural point of view because of the wide variety
not casually. The instable condition of the water is
of these in Japan with slight differences. To make it
meaning of instable
more clear, every sanctuary in Japan has the small scale
connection between gods and humans. Its position as a
personal "Torii" like most common souvenir for tourists.
"welcome door" aligned to the more spiritual units of the
However there are some common lines that every "Torii"
complex is oriented to give some coordinates to the gods
share and that casually are related to the architecture
that are visiting the site.
used in the units composing the whole Shinto sanctuary.
Also, the position out of the land frame indirectly all
It looks like the building continuously "rescale" the
the island and makes think that the entrance is not just
"Torii" based on the situation.Briefly describing it we can
related to the spiritual site but in a larger scale we could
remember three main components.
see the sanctuary or "Shinto" like a spiritual entrance for
• The Kasagi or the superior beam
all the Island where is located. The gangways of the site
• The Nuki or the lower beam
work like a brief walk to see the landscape of the island,
• The Hashira or the column that puts together these
to make the gods recognize the nature of the land like a
previous element with the ground.
illustrative introduction.
Shinto in History, Ways of the Kami, by John Breen and Mark Teeuween , University of Hawaii Press, 2000 5
6
7
4
4
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Paul Knight focus on the contrast between
of them the gate is not missing. What is important is
"The high and ebb tide" By Paul Knight, Diplograph archives 2009
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
6
A sign depicting the prices of the Torii, section tourism, lifeinthelandoftherisingsun. com, 2012/10/01 7
T. Fukuyama: Nihon kenchikushi kenkyū [Research on the history of Japanese architecture] (Tokyo, 1968)
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8.4 THE "REFLECTION MODEL"
F
or sure, the most important exhibition related
words, a paradise sensation describing one particular
to this building so far is the one by Takiro
place. In this case of study the floating quality is the
Iwasaki is one of the youngest between the
architectural move to activate a feeling that brings us to
new generation of artist belonging to Japan
think that what we
and he is recognized because of the great philosopical
are looking at belongs to another dimension.
content is his detailed models. I decided to bring this
This feeling is absolutely not something
example in the essay to talk about the history of the
related to the past. The "Nirvana" taste is frequently
building in an unconventional way.
inserted
in
the
contemporary
architecture,
as
we
We understood from the first chapter that
provided the example of the "Casa da Musica" by Rem
the difference between the Western and the Eastern
Koolash where the architect is isolating the building from
architecture is the continuous remaking of building
the urban context on purpose.
without any apparent technical evolution. This exhibition
In this case the complex of the Shinto is not
of some years ago is a new example of the concept
isolating itself from the landscape because actually is
remarked at the beginning of the essay.
connecting water and land, but some elements like the Torii looks like belong to another dimension that we can
‘I have been waiting for a time when my artistic process had matured and ripened to a suitable
level before embarking on such a massive and important project’.
perceive but not fully interpret. If we remember one of the first picture we provided in the essay by Utagawa
8
Toyoharu representing the site we see that the color of the gate is different from the color of the site even if the
In the words of Takiro Iwasaki definitely
architecture is pretty similar.
emerges what is called Japanese Philosophy because
The different color, indicating a different
of the remark to the concept of waiting and maturity in
material
is
order to accomplish an analysis.
dimension we quoted above with the word "Nirvana".
representing
The Shrine complex has been built around the year 593
However building the model the artist confirm that the
and then expanded in what is the current configuration in
gate can be recognized like a module that is repeated
1168 Taira no Kiyomori. After zzalmost one thousand year
along the different units that assembled made the
this artist made a eight meters "reflection" model every
sanctuary.
detail of the building in a smaller scale in order to get
interpretation that can be crucial and can bring us to
more answers from one of the more relevant architecture
some conclusion regarding the spiritual and architectural
of all the history in Japan.
nature of the gate.
So, we
find
the
concept
ourselves
of
facing
different
a
double
Is astonishing how the research in architecture
On one hand the "Torii" is related to the
never ends in the centuries and how many new hints
"Shinto" because of unit of the whole general sctructure
we can get from the past. Here comes the concept of
and the floating quality. On the other one, being not
"Nirvana" to still explain the relation between the Torii
connected physically with the gangways and the other
9
and the sanctuary and we find another confirmation with
units of the sanctuary and being accessible just when
the concept of "Nirvana" regarding the self-referential
there is the ebb tide, it manifest some unknown qualities
nature of the gate. Is recognized in the discipline of the
that still today we cannot architecturally explain. This
architecture that we find some features that cannot be
element needs definitely further developments in his
described as elements but most likely as archetypes.
related research.
The "Nirvana" conception is one of them."Nirvana" is a word used in the eastern culture to describe a balanced state of grace or putted in state of grace or putted in other 8
Takahiro Iwasaki, during the exhibition, 4 February 2014, Gallery of Victoria Press
9
Wayne Crothers describing Iwasaki's reflection model, 28 November 2014, National Gallery of Victoria
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8.5 CONCLUSIONS
D
uring the development of the essay I tried to describe the nature of the "Torii" from more point of view looking at more references with different goals. Some of them aimed to
described the gate without any personal interpretation, in other cases I saw approaches that contributed giving a personal configuration of the facts in relation to information gathered previously, that's the last case of the Japanese artist. However,
would
be
reductive
taking
a
position to describe this architectural element. These investigations called the attention of the western culture in the last century and how I specified in the introduction, there are many things should be analyzed also from a religious point of view that can help to solve some issues. Since always, believes in Japan are more than one and if we reduce our analysis to speak about one practiced religion
would
be
totally
an
altered
and
limited
description. For example, "Shinto" during our analysis has been synonymous of God and divine presence but actually had been used for centuries in Japan to merely refer to the supernatural or mysterious. The worship adopted in the structure analyzed was first of "Kami" nature and then "Buddhism" nature, and currently the whole "building" , if we can refer to it like building , guests the two believes together.
10
What is interesting is that in both the religion is denoted the presence of a "way" that connect the human world to the divine one. This "way" is intended as a physical road to travel from the beginning to the end and if we take a look at the gangways of the "Shinto" looks like the perfect architecture to guest this kind of believe. In the end, we can say that is really hard to give a real rational explanation to the presence of this architectural, or categorize some components of it.
10
Rather, in connection to the religion we could nominate this Japan architecture as "animist architecture" where the goal of the architects in the centuries has been keeping the secret of the initial configuration avoiding to unveil it and denying the next more advanced architectural component. 10
Matsumae Takeshi and Janet Goodwin, The cambridge History of Japan, Cambridge History press 2008.
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VIEW FROM INTERIOR Title : View from interior of Itsukushima Shrine Created : Mid 16th C; First shrines may have dated from the 6th C; first record of funding in 1168 ,Image: 09 December 2011 Sources : By Daderot (Daderot)
REFLECTION MODEL Title : Tsukushima Shrine / Created : 2013-2014 Sources : National Gallery of Victoria Takahiro Iwasaki’s Reflection model (Itsukushima), 2013–14
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WORKCITES
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N. Asano, ed.: Hihō, x of Itsukushima [The treasure of Itsukushima] (Tokyo, 1967) T. Fukuyama: Nihon kenchikushi kenkyū [Research on the history of Japanese architecture] (Tokyo, 1968) E. Inagaki: Nihon kenchikushi kiso shiryō shūsei [Collection of the basic materials in Japanese architectural history], ii (Tokyo, 1971), pp. 60–68, 125–40 M. Miura: ‘The Main Shrines of the Itsukushima Jinja, Hiroshima Prefecture’, Kenchiku Shigaku, iv (1985), pp. 46–68 Matsumae Takeshi and Janet Goodwin, The cambridge History of Japan, Cambridge History press 2008. Chapter 1- Chapter 6 Wayne Crothers describing Iwasaki's reflection model, 28 November 2014, National Gallery of Victoria Takahiro Iwasaki, during the exhibition, 4 February 2014, Gallery of Victoria Press A sign depicting the prices of the Torii, section tourism, lifeinthelandoftherisingsun.com, 2012/10/01 T. Fukuyama: Nihon kenchikushi kenkyū [Research on the history of Japanese architecture] (Tokyo, 1968) "The high and ebb tide" By Paul Knight, Diplograph archives 2009 Official UNESCO ,World Heritage list of monuments, Asia and Pacific section Takahiro Iwasaki’s Reflection model (Itsukushima), 2013–14 reviewed by Wayne Crothers , 28 Nov 14, National Gallery of Victoria Website Shinto in History, Ways of the Kami, by John Breen and Mark Teeuween , University of Hawaii Press, 2000
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LETTEROGRAPHY VISUAL STUDIES PATTERNS
9.1 OLD LETTERS
V
isual studies class during this second semester focused on the
So, talking in terms of Alghorythms, nothing changes between an architectural
composition of letters. Gradually, we start to understand the geometric
application or a graphic work. Sometimes a graphic project van be complex as much
scheme that is used to create a particular font and than we start to deal
as an architecture facade.
with the same geometry in the 3D space. Many topics have been inserted in this second unit of visual studies as for example
I personally find really interesting this mix between graphic art and architecture
some reflections about color and control of color. Every assignment was based on
a continuous research and an attempt to push different method to do architecture.
a personalization of one Grasshopper alghorythm made in the beginning from the
The presence of a professionist like Matthew Au in this class it has been crucial,
professor.
his way to deal with Grasshopper is unconventional and I have never experienced
This class opened me many horizons looking at the graphic design and some
something similar before in my past experience with parametric plug-in/software.
techniques to make bulletproof drawings beyond a strong project.
The theoretic lessons of Anna Neimark was balancing the utilization of the software
The fact that pixels can be controlled and we can create an image decomponing it
giving us some hints coming from the past.
and reassemble it with different pattern is absolutely a powerful tool that has not
Thanks to this class has been introduced in Design Studio the concept of Beaux
to be underestimated. Moreover during this class has been analyzed the passage
Art renders. During this semester we were used to print in a large format with
between 2D representation and 3D and with this the relationship between this two
similReinassance colors.
methodologies.
Even if colors in representation is not my favourite way to explain my ideas, I can't
The generation of patterns cover always more an important role in architecture.
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that is a part of the spirit I am used to breathe in Sciarc. In someway our classes are
deny that a wide studio about colors is absolutely essential for designers.
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9.2 FROM 2D TO 3D
A
s I said in the previous chapter, a compelling moment in this class was
Looking at the next pages, the pattern is a mix of more layers, to be precise 6 layers
when we transform our 2D letter in a 3D body through projections.
of ellipse are giustapposed together with different colors that go from Yellow to
Strongly related with Design Studio, instructors wanted to transform
Gray.
our 2D drawings in a new 3D body keeping some qualities of the initial state. On the right the basic
Beaux arts render where I tried to introduce the light on the
The final result is striking becaue are created patterns in patterns, and from a really far distance the initial shape is clearly recognizable. This one was the goal of the
mass. This render is the result of some previous tries where I was looking to relation
class and being honest took me a while to understand how to create a compelling
with the ground and shadows.
effect. Most of the time dealing with an "automatic" process makes really hard to
This render will be the basic image that will make possible the last exercise of
include transparency in the drawing.
parametric patterns of colors.
In the end I found my personal strategy that was the addiction of one component
My letter case was "K" and the combination through projection was obtained with
able to rescale the pattern composition. Every layer is scaled differently, so it looks
a normal "K" and a "distorder K" , the shape coming out from the interaction of
like they all are gradually moving in many directions.
the two 2D images was pretty interesting. Indeed, it slightly remembers the initial letter but leaves rooms for several interpretations.
During a review the drawing it has been compared to a dancing couple of bodies.
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extra
contents
S LAY
10.1 Slay
installation in LOS ANGELES The necessity to build an installation comes from the class of "Tectonics of
this installatione leaves room for further studies. For example in a first
material" with Pavel Getov during the first semester.
moment we thought to asociate a mechanic device or a configuration of
Watching at many project where an imporvement was required in order
lights in it, unfortunately the time was not enough to pursue our studies at
to align the architecture with the contemporary style and technology, me
all but they will hopefully continue during the next academic year.
and some other classmates , Jackson Luckas and Key Whung Yang, thought
Slay has strong theoretic meaning, is the "negation" of the concept of
to take an element of the architectue of the past and remake it according
door, it occupies a long space but actually without any massing.
new criteria.
From an architectural and technology point of view there is still much work
Our case of study is the "Slay" or "Strombatura" that basically is the
to do. However it creates a great interest between people in the location
repetition of arches with a differend scale, from the biggest to the smallest
we decided to assemble it.
in order to hide the monumental walls of the ghotic or romanic cathedrals. This technique offten was associated to church entrances or for "esedre" in some "Mercati Romani". So, we decided in a first moment to bring this Idea in the 3D space and create some modules that could be repeated. In a second moment we decided dimensions of this modules and how to create the slay effect with simple frames. During this chapter are esposed some photos of the experiment and clearly
Another important point is the velocity of the assembage process. It takes around 10 minutes to put all the pieces together and this allowed us to bring this installation in private beuatiful spaces where these kind of activities are not allowed and run away before than the Los Angeles police came to say something. I am really positive about this project and I hope that the next year we will have more opportunities to show it and reinforce it.
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S LAY
ASSEMBLING #1 TRY IN THE SCIARC PARKING LOT
TRANSPARENT JOINT CONNECTION BETWEEN ARCHES
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S LAY
ASSEMBLING #2 GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY 800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027,United States
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
11.1
Parasite Pavilion MILAN EXPO 2015 I decided to include this project in this Portfolio because is the only one
In Sciarc. Looking at the next pages the full description of project with
project that can be aligned at the rest of works done so far, looking at the
technical details and more overview renders. I saw personally the EXPO
undergraduate studies.
2015 in Milan, more than once and I can be satisfied of the work done in
In this project are included many steps that in a conventional study's path
this studio.
we can find separated, academically speaking. To put this in other words, I
A pavilion project deals with many goals that has to be accomplished. For
did many project during my first years approaching architecture but never
example, during the EXPO 2015 the main topic was the food, greenlife,
like the one I am introducing I took care about so many issues.
sustainable architecture etc. So in this project I tried to mix the idea of the
This Pavilion represent the nation of India. Basically plays on the contrast
old architecture that cn absorbed from a parasite construction aiming to
beteween WHAT WAS AND WHAT IT WILL BE.
improve performances and low the costs of energy.
Translated in architecture, the new architecture against the low cost and
The idea is pretty simple and is a full application of solar panel in a urban
prefabricated ones that are prevalent in India.
contest as could be a road between different buildings of different heights.
Going beyond the ideal that made the concept a stable element in the
So this pavilion wants to give a great suggestion to the next architecture
project, I can say that the most interesting part of the class in POLITECNICO
that are also finding new conventional way to save energy beyond the solar
DI MILANO by Ingrid Paoletti, was the creation of the canopy through
panel technique.
the utilization of Grasshopper. For me this project it has been the first
It's really important that we find method to save energy that can be easily
approach with the contemporary architecture method; using many
applied to a urban scale to enlarge the quality rather than isolate some
software, exploring components, creating shapes, more or less what I did
parts of the city and rate them as less useful in terms of energy production.
E X P O 15 P A V I L I O N
1
1 Iron cap
2
2 Nut and plassc gasket
3
3 Joint device
4
4 Fatstener 5
Detail hook device solar panel 1:20
5 Plassc gasket
Detail hook device solar panel 1:10
se beam 1:10 3 2
1
se beam 1:10 5
1 Iron CROWN 2 Snap hook 3 Iron cable joint
4
4 Pillar Explose pipe upper structure 1:10
1
1 Joint device 2
2 Tubular coupling
4
3 But pipe
3
4 Tubular coupling lower structure 5 Bolt
1
2
Detail foundasons 1:10
8
3 4
1 Pillar 2 Pillar welded basement
5
3 Ground bolt 4 Waterproof membrane
6
5 Reinforced bar 6 Reinforced Plinth
2
7 Conc Concrete 7
3 10
8 Ground collector
1 9
4 5 6 7 8
Detail hook promenade 1:10
1
1 IPN 220 beam 2 Iron Cable 3 Tie joint 4 Parapet 5 Concrete
2
6 Insulator 7 Reinforced concrete 8 Corrugated sheet 9 IPN 500 beam
3
Explose solar panel upper structure 1:10 1 Screwing cap 2 Solar panel 3 Joint device
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Detail pillar 1:20
Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
!
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0.00 m
0.00 m
6.50 m
5.00 m Co f c Room
5.00 m
0.00 m
4.00 m
Surfaces roof mq 0
775
0
790
0
160 500
1000 1000
Electric energy Kwh/year
Acq
h
f c
0
118 500
6.50 m R c ptio OямГc ( oof)
200 000 200 000
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B Chapter 11, EXTRA CONTENTS,
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easy to apply, good resistance, provide energy and power
2,7 53
kg
0,25 2,7 2,5 low durable, easy to apply, resistance, good relaaonship with a steel framework
30 2,5 0,9 high clear, low cost, transparent, good aestheac
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Alessio Grancini, M.Arch 1, Southern California Institute of Architecture
E X P E R I E N C E
experience 2012-2015 2011-2012 2014-2015
PC Skills
POLITECNICO DI MILANO, first degree in Science of Architecture [Class taught in English]
Accademia delle Belle Arti di Bologna , Product Design
17 NOV 2014 -11 FEB 2015 Internship with LzPR MILANO
AutoCAD, Rhinceros, Grasshopper, Digital Project, Archicad, Excel, Final Cut, Illustrator, Indesign, Lightroom, Photoshop, Logic pro
Languages
Italian, English (95 TOEFL), Spanish (basic)
UG thesis
"Guggenheim Helsinki Design competition : a Parametric analysis."
It includes the pubblication on Archdaily by Federico Ranieri from LzPR architects MILANO where I collaborated during my internship.
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A LE S S I O G R A N C I N I M.Arch 1 Candidate Southern California Institute of Architecture 08 19 1992 512 S St Louis 90033 Los Angeles California
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.ART. DESIGN. ARCHITECTURE