Glitching Ritual

GLITCH ING RITUAL Instigating Computational Glitch Aggregations Towards Adaptations of Narrative Space

G L I TC H I N G R I TUA L Instigating Computational Glitch Aggregations Towards Adaptations of Narrative Space

Alexandria Bo-Weong Chan

Supervisor Robert B. Trempe Jr. Spring 2018 Arkitektskolen Aarhus Denmark

UNDERSTANDING GLITCH what was {glitch}

RELATIONAL REDEFINITION

what is {glitching ritual}

DESIGN PIPELINE glitching ritual

IMPLICIT ARCHITECTURES

<exploring possibilities for architectural glitch>

<glitch + ritual â&#x2030;&#x2C6;

architecture>

<tool-process testing & output evaluation>

<adapting an existing narrative space>

<data bits & narrative pieces>

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Preface

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Exploration I

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definitions mapping i

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Exploration II

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mapping ii relationships

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glitch practicing

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registration processing fabrication

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Exploration III

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registration processing design pipeline

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aggregation

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Afterword Endnotes References

Architecture is a process of continuous and multi-faceted development, that fundamentally relies on what we observe, how we learn, and what we do with that knowledge.

Architecture has largely and stubbornly refused to acknowledge the influences that digitally-produced virtual environments (and their respective modes of production) have on societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collective physical realities as it is a drastic, albeit initially invisible, departure from the more physically-rooted principles that have defined architecture for centuries. There is a fear of engagement, of starting again, that stems from the expected and necessary reevaluation of long established architectural design methods that accompany the integration of the completely and relatively alien medium of the digital. This desperate, tightening grip onto the security of the known only serves to further plunge architectural practice into a diminishing relevance in a world where software dominates and dictates architectures that are removed from the very things that define and differentiate it from merely being dressed up productions of functional buildings. This voluntary surrender of design agency results in the absence of spatial qualities that resonate with the human body and spirit, and prevents architecture from evolving and leading critical thought on exactly how we manage digital technologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on both theory and practice. Architects are faced with tools whose workings are not so easily understood, digital images that have no physical counterparts that can be examined with all of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senses, and a work flow that is directed by software publishers who want you to buy into their entire software ecosystem. But before architects can refocus contemporary architectural design towards fulfilling and realizing the intangible qualities that distinguish architecture from other disciplines, designers must first observe, wrestle with, listen to, and understand the digital just as it has done with historically established traditional media.

p r e fa c e

now

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G LI T C H noun, informal1 1. A sudden usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment.

2. An unexpected setback. verb, informal 1. Suffer a sudden malfunction or fault.

etymology2 Probably from Yiddish ‫( שטילג‬glitsh), from dialectal German glitschig (“slippy”), from glitsch (“slide, glide, slip”) + -ig (“-y”). Related to gleiten (“glide”). Cognate with French glisser (“to slip, to slide, to skid”). origin 1960s (originally US): of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘a sudden surge of current’, hence ‘malfunction, hitch’ in astronautical slang.

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Each medium has its own set of unique characteristics and therefore, a highly specific way in which it can be shaped. And so, the investigation is built on layers of conceptually-derived and process-driven frameworks that fundamentally stem from the establishment of a position that defines the “digital” as a creative medium. This framing of the digital opens up the research to the employment of long established and methodical architectural methods of testing within a design pipeline. Testing with both the old and new will reveal the potentialities of the digital to inspire space and atmosphere. The results of these tests will produce architectures that are irrefutably a reflection of modern culture through being a product of techniques, approaches, and materials that have not yet been critically explored.

Three defining conceptual elements guide the development of this process of exploration: “glitch”, “ritual”, and “aggregation”.

“Glitch” is the digitally specific phenomena that reveals the potentiality of the digital to inspire architectural space, while the maintenance of a “ritual” throughout this processing roots each output in the human experience of the physical. “Aggregation” acts as the underlying mechanism that pushes the findings towards a more collectively cohesive body of conclusions. The redefinition of these terms for the purposes of the investigation’s development both informs and evolves with the development of the design pipeline, and finally, aims to more concisely frame the investigation's point of entry, paths of exploration, and its exit.

Each step of this process hinges on a research-based scientific approach using my knowledge as an architect as the foundation for decision-making. I position myself as an observer, a researcher, a designer in pursuit of narrative spaces and atmospheres, and most importantly, an explorer, during the development of a process establishing a digitally-centric design pipeline.

Exploration is guided by a curiosity towards discovering the possibilities of the hidden to inspire. This approach allows the explorer to always see the strange and unfamiliar with an open

about the word3 It should be stated at the outset that the parentage of glitch is not assured, something we should not hold against so useful a word. Merriam-Webster states (as do many other dictionaries) that the word is ‘perhaps from

Yiddish ‘glitsh,’ a word that means ‘slippery place.’

The first known print use of the word is from 1940, when it was reported as being used in the slang of radio announcers, referring to an egregious mispronunciation.

mind, and motivates the scientist to dynamically decrypt and understand the new and mysterious. Firmly positioning myself as an explorer throughout the investigation ensures that the paths taken stay true to continuously being led by subject matter that fascinates and inspires the imagination. Each of these paths will incorporate the use of a digital tool, tools that are digital in the way they perceive, record, read, and output information back for human reception. These tools include: laser scanning, photogrammetry, 3D printing, and their respective software.

r itua l noun4 1. A series of actions or type of behavior regularly and invariably followed by someone.

It is crucial to the purpose of this investigation that the virtual nature of the digital, the core defining intangibility of digital media, is made physically real. Through establishing new connections and causal relationships between the virtual and the physical, the investigation will reveal the possibilities of both their individual and comprehensive enrichment in relation to the human experience, experiences that result as a culmination of multiple moments of intersection and collision.

p r e fa c e

This approach towards experimentation will also prove the efficacies and inefficacies of a design pipeline that is non-linear, and is a fluid and flexible iterative design process that reinforces itself and its output through constant evolution at multiple scales and with multiple media. As this testing is quite dependent on a process of trial-and-error, the investigation involves varying degrees of indirect and direct feedback loops that occur at multiple levels of analyses within the pipeline. Each step is informed by the collective results of a number of previous experiments and is taken in pursuance of increasing the investigation's engagement with the unknown. To guide these explorations towards inspiring built form, the design pipeline will follow a general three-step organization of Registration, Processing, and Fabrication that centers the investigation's development on a process whose essential aim is always towards the fabrication of a physical construction.

ag g reg ation noun5 1. The formation of a number of things into a cluster.

2. A cluster of things that have come or been brought together. (on the internet) to the collection of related items of content so that they can be displayed or linked to.

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U N D E R S TA N D I N G G LITCH Glitch Art is typically defined by an aesthetic that signifies the disruption of source material towards an image that questions the viewer's understanding of the original source material and what conclusively results from the act of disruption.

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The Past-Forward series shows the "glitching" of a photograph of a man's face. In each image, the evidence of digital manipulation is apparent in a range of varying degrees and visual codes. The tool's influence on the image distorts the source material to the extent that the viewer's reading of the man's face and facial expressions change in seemingly subtle yet significant ways.

The tool digitally distorts the object with a loose precision, creating space for multiple interpretations of the source material. The tool's influence on the image causes the viewer to question what is being represented and the author's original intent in an image that presents something beyond what is initially perceived. "Glitching" creates multiple distorted, but still cohesive, versions of the same source material, or source narrative. It reveals the existence of alternative and parallel narratives through the aggregation of digitally produced visual distortions.

Fig.1, Mathieu St. Pierre, Past-Forward series, 2015.

w h a t w a s { g li t c h } ?

noun6 1. a statement of the meaning of a word or word group or a sign or symbol 2. a statement expressing the essential nature of something

All expeditions begin with a general charting of the known aspects of unexplored regions. These first maps are always sparse, but contain important key points of reference that remain throughout the development of more thorough maps as new territories are discovered and defined. These referential key points serve as crucial anchors and starting points that assist in orienting and reorienting the explorer.

The investigation begins by developing a thorough grasp on how â&#x20AC;&#x153;glitchâ&#x20AC;? is currently being explored in art, critical theory, philosophy, and architecture.

These findings become the foundation for the development of a specific set of definitions, terms, and approaches that direct and focus the investigation towards a higher degree of specificity and precision towards the development of the design pipeline.

e x p l o r at i o n i : D e f i n i t i o n s

d ef i n i ti ons

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e x i s t i n g g li t c h u n d e r s t a n di n g s

figure 2

These “posts” are then individually analyzed through a series of rapid sketches, each taking no longer than one minute to draw, that graphically summarized the “post”. A graphic glossary results, and each image is accompanied by a companion text describing personal analyses of each individual “post” content.

The sketched figures are then collaged into one large mapping, scaled according to conceptual importance, and then located in relation to other figures.

These mappings serve as an aggregated body of references for providing points of departure, guidance, and inspiration for the rest of the exploration.

e x p l o r at i o n i : d e f i n i t i o n s

Glitch, as being the first subject of exploration, is the first word to be researched. The process begins with a compilation of images and texts related to the application of, definitions, or theoretical understandings of glitch.

This compilation starts as a simple organization of “posts” that are first grouped together around a specific subject, then are connected to contentrelated regions.

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c h a r t i n g t h e k n o w n o f g li t c h

E x p l o r at i o n I : m a p p i n g i

MAPPING I

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glitch figures

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iterative processes in sequence subversion 23

the nature of glitch iterative processes in sequence

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glitch understandings

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1 An exercise in connection.

Draw randomly placed points, then try to connect each one.

If you miss (intentionally or unintentionally), draw a new point where you land, then continue to connect to the next point. Wash, rinse and repeat 2 Flow in and out of the River, no beginnings or ends, only entry and exit points 3 Flow in and out of the River, into and out of other Rivers, so you’re always in some sort of River, wider or narrower, stronger and weaker flows, flow from one flow to another 4 Is this how the internet might look like? Network maps, connecting ideas that are of a wider range of conceptual proximities, connecting to more than one node, all simultaneously.

Rhizome-conceptual framework from A Thousand Plateaus 5 A Thousand Plateaus, connected by rivers of flow 6 Network map connect to the construction of similar ideas; aggregation/amalgamation networks 7 Interpretation of Wiki image of Rhizome-Fractals and facets within each crystalline structure that are all variations of a manysided polygon, changing scale but always fitting together 8 Processing-generated GIF animation that visually resembles network maps/node networks 9 Glitch is the disruption in the line 10 The aesthetic of glitch art appeals to me as a direct contradiction to photorealism, the purely digitally produced renders and the shiny slick qualities that is one of the more dominant aesthetics of technology. There is a loss of materiality and of texture, of any error or mistake that reveals the inside flesh of an image or a material. There is little room for accidents.

11 Thousand plateaus that are planes of maximum energy, the glitch occurs when they are provoked, tipped, unbalanced, broken and spilled.

12 Glitching is like fishing, attach the bait, and cast the line. Sit and wait until something bites and the invisible line begins to tug, something you cannot see but only feel within the light hold of your grasp.

13 Point cloud data integrating and aggregating to become form, then disintegrating to become dust once more.

14 The re- de-materialization of an object is facilitated by the immateriality and capability of formlessness of the digital point cloud.

15 SNAFU-“situation normal all fucked up” What happens when the inherent but forgotten original meaning of an expression is rediscovered by directed and intentional action? There is a rediscovery, and a reloading of meaning, a sudden fissure created straight down the middle of the conventional 16 “True Randomness”-infinite configurations that all have the same basic defining elements.

The glitch is truly random but can also still be generally identifiable by basic defining and linking elements. Permutations?

17 The glitch is a crack in the screen, the tear in the smooth blank face of the sheet of paper that shows you what’s behind and reminds you of it’s reality and physical existence.

18 Different methods of glitch art production illustrated by series of differently assembled lines.

19 Glitch is a disruption in flow, but can also create its own flow on a perpendicular or parallel 20 Glitch breaks open new ways of seeing…breaks the smooth surface of expected reality to spill out all the raw emotion behind the façades 21 Glitch has texture, creates layers of different and other real textures 22 Glitch index! Glitches occurring as a result of different functions, diagrams serve as glitch bar codes 23 Glitch is what comes through the broken cracks 24 Glitch is in between the fully formed, the sublime, the pristine form or image and the completely broken where form is unrecognizable. Otherwise is it a glitch?

25 Purlin noise randomness algorithm. Diagrams of image pixel noise and auditory noise.

How to understand or produce “truly random” glitch?

26 The moment of glitch occurs when personal instigation occurs between the “Aha!” moment of discovery and the “OH SHIT!”

glitch thoughts

realization of one’s own agency in the recognition, identification and occurrence of glitch.

27 “Hello world!” in Brainfuck coding language. Reference to Esolang (esoteric programming languages) that are designed to make the goal as hard to achieve as possible but also allows space for the artist/coder’s creativity and exercising of technique towards execution. Room is made for a kind of artistry or poeticism by creating the most difficult path from point A to point B. 28 Post-New-Postpost-NewerNewerer-commentary on the relative uselessness and futility of “New-“ art movements and that as a community creating post-everything culture today, it is only a way of trying to make some sort of pseudo permanent mark of one’s own efforts to move beyond current modes of creation. Keep the irony in everything, the post-everything culture is a culture of self-irony and freeing irreverence.

29 Tumblr tag post cloud of subject key words that itself creates another type of idea/ conceptual research mapping 30 ESOLANG examples-all different lines of code in various esolang’s to output “Hello world!” onto the computer screen.

31 Diagram of how one Esolang works. It is a process of going two steps forward, one step back, and it being a rule for movement. The resulting path diagram shows looping and crossing paths of variations of resulting output. Output that is completely determined by ordered movement sequences.

32 Glitch is when the bits of code distort and lengthen, becoming something entirely different.

33 Laser scan of London cityscape with hacked LiDAR scanners produced data distortions. A new environment that is produced from a manipulated tool.

34 Computer-vision snapshotthe view of London as conveyed through a laser scanner as point clouds.

35 Subvert and destroy the concept of “programming spaces with boxes” or making spaces and architecture from program boxes with cubic meters of space per person or function. Get out of it.

36 VR cave as a new Plato’s

Allegory of the Cave. New ways of spatial representation.

37 New words come from mistakes, “typos” mistyped becomes another animal, at first wrong then at second glance, a new word of its very own with no meaning beyond its disruption of expectation 38 Interfaith room in the United Nations Meditation Room in New York is defined by a monolithic block of stone and an abstract painting in the corner. Is glitched space capable of embracing and encouraging a similarly undefined and culturally detached space?

39 Slit-scan photography as a physical manipulation of a tool in a production process leads to a “glitched” image revealing the process behind the production of said image 40 Sequential interpretations and abstractions of a shape occurs through a series of formation processes 41 Static trapped in the brainstatic trapped in the mouthdigital mediation 42 Drawing of photo “Crowd trying to enter Vassileostrovskaya metro station during the collapse of the Sovient Union” 1992 by Alexey Titarenko.

The photo shows where the manipulation and understanding of the tool creates a new visual interpretation of an event that gives another atmosphere that is transient, degradatory and in some sense revealing of other emotions of the event. It is an undulating landscape of ghostly movements of solid and voluminous materiality.

43 Glitch occurs every which way, between many different established conditions.

44 Interfaith room in the United Nations Mediation Room in New York-where the original calculations of the architect as to the direction of prayer for Muslims is disputed by the users, who rely on their own apparatuses for calculation, such as IPhone apps which also can be error prone. There is no definite answer, no single truth, no “right” answer.

45 Laser scanner is used to document the 17th century frescoes of Jean François Niceron and the spatial qualities of the church of Santissima Trinita dei

Monti in Rome implications of documentation (V 46 Aesthetic of i displays origin an own identifier in Metathinking fo metatimes.

47 Comparison digital processin being used for argument that th produces visual Instagram filters The individual w the mechanism filters and wor understanding is 48 Rapid protot of observing the differenc material and d through an itera process. How object transform processing?

49 The mind software that perspective tha new visual repr to the mind. T tool designed b has inevitable perception of rea 50 Object sculp LiDAR detectio spaces that ar LiDAR scanning of the tool allows of a physical ob to be dominate instructed by t Glitch can also b this manner.

51 Materializing dimensional f structural imp immediately cr from glitch proce dimensional realm 52 Technology seamless hybri old meanings/ create “new” technology enab remixing of imag 53 Photogram used to create virtual reality th impossible to rec reality. Allows expansive and understanding o through the unf “impossible” pers of panoramic vie 54 The g

of validity of the ng tools that are “glitching”. The he individual who glitch through is not glitching. who understands m behind such rks within this s glitching. typing is a way and producing ces between digital materials ative production does the same m through this

programs the creates a new at projects this resentation back Technology is a by humans that impact on our ality. pted to disrupt on and create re invisible to g. Understanding s for the creation bject that refuses ed but is also tool knowledge. be materialized in

glitch in threeform, spatial/ plications are reated even if essing on a twom y can create ids that meld /symbology to amalgamations, bles undetectable ges mmetry being new view in hat are optically create in physical for a more d simultaneous of the space(s) folding of these spectives, a series ews glitch appears

spontaneously, without prediction, wildly in the wild 55 The glitch is the wmaterialization of things that are invisible, the things that make the world function, the underpinnings made whole 56 Columns being produced by a series of folds, only one fold in the face of a cube but compound the infinite variety of folds that are able to be made produce complex structures and geometries. These process sequences are repeated and manipulated until something whole and cohesive emerges.

57 Uncanny Valley-where the resemblance of a robot is close enough to a human being but there exists a minute misplacement or discontinuity or irregularity in the image that jars you into remembering what it really is, a synthesized machine 58 Uncanny Valley-glitch understood through a frame of perception, that glitch is that moment of jarring, the reminder of the machinations behind what makes up what is immediately perceived. It is a reminder that it is a production.

59 The glitch transforms the narrative of what is occurring in the melding of human limb and disintegration of it into the background of the scene. It suggests an action that occurs between what could be fully presented and what is assumed to be the narrative of the previous image. The glitch signifies the existence of the past “original” image, and an alternate narrative all at once.

60 Construction of a twodimensional glitch, the pipe rail is constructed with no consideration for the implications behind the fabrication of glitch in a three-dimensional space, and what lays beyond its signification on a two-dimensional plane 61 The initial glitchy Tumblr theme overlaid info and delivered a constant stream of posts. This overlaying was confusing, interesting, sometimes frustrating to read but ultimately was the beginning of an intent towards drawing connections between the various research content collected.

62 Randomness generator-a visual of a tool used to create “true randomness” via an algorithm 63 Glitch production as an

erosion of a known image, or the previously established understanding/definition of the object/idea 64 Glitch as a narrative tends to occupy itself with the erosion of an object, abandonment, decay. There is something attractive about this tendency as it speaks to the restoration of form to something simpler, more base, and ready for rebirth, regeneration and growth into new forms 65 Glitch is the wild animal you encounter as you traverse an unknown terrain, that you want to piss off so that it rears its ugly pixelated discombobulated head and chases you down, fangs bared and dripping with the possibilities of complete systemic disruption 66 An assemblage of various parts found on 3D modeling repositories 67 Drawing of one of Sabato Visconti’s works-artist uses glitch towards an intended narrative, the use of glitching tools is used to create new images that begin to loosen themselves from the tool of production and the concept of glitch in general to become part of an intended narrative 68 Drawing of Habbakuk-a ship made from ice blocks that is an example of questioning classical architectural relations between form and function, where each member is active in questioning its part and the nature in these relations 69 Glitch occurs in limbo, in between, in the liminal space. It is not glitch if it exists outside of this.

70 Process as a narrative, there is no intention and the narrative is solely based on the process of enablement, of the artist arming the tree with paintbrushes and allowing the unique identification and physicality of the tree interact with the wind to produce visual graphics of these interactions 71 Internet archaeology is a reminder the internet and technology is a tool that must be handled and directed, both simulation and something that we stand outside of.

72 The materialization of an image is used in coordination with a distorted vocal whose

clarity fades in and out with the dispersion of the bits and pieces that materialize into a neversolid image of a person reading from a book. Glitching is used as a way of transforming the visual and auditory narrative.

73 Glitch is materialized physically to signify a car wreck, but a wreck that is made of whole pieces and whose entirety conveys something unbroken.

74 Technology democratizes the ability of everyone to “create” through the ease of tool use and GUI’s. Everyone can make an “artistic” collage of symbols and images found on the internet, but all collages will probably look the same in their chopped up and roughly assembled natures. Glitch can occur within the collage as a seamlessly camouflaged element of the collage.

75 The artist is the individual who brings attention to the things that break, the plane’s silhouette as it moves through Google’s camera view shows the reality of the image’s origins and production.

76 Glitch in two-dimensions is being used to question signifier and signified 77 Twodimensional glitch materialized architecturally is ineffective and ignorant of spatial potential of glitch directly addressing and created in three-dimensions 78 How to Catch a Glitch-if it is truly random, must always keep an eye out for it, and there is no agency in its existence or materialization except in its identification 79 Philosophers as glue-play it loose and fast with the philosophical framework that has dominated the research discussion as some may be easier to work with than others.

Dismantle the frameworks that fail to contain.

E x p l o r at i o n I : m a p p i n g i

e. What are the such means of VR tours)? internet graphics nd has become its n modern culture. or metadata for

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R E L AT I O N A L REDEFINITION While conventional mapping is typically used as a rote tool of documentary registration, the act of mapping can also be used to reframe and reshape one's perception and experience of a place.

The second phase of exploration begins with a second series of mappings that build upon the knowledge acquired through conducting Mapping I. Mapping II focuses on the invention of new terms, the establishment of conceptual and operative relationships, and more concisely defining the investigation's driving keywords.

This second iteration of mappings will define the framework in which the investigation will evaluate and evolve glitch's potential towards inspiring narrative spaces and architectural atmospheres.

This last phase of conceptual development occurs parallel to the realworld testing of initial explorations with the tools and processes proposed.

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The establishment of this first feedback loop between written reflection, diagrammatic conceptual development, and real-world testing of the design pipeline creates a more tightly interwoven development process, one where physical testing grounds the conceptual and where the conceptual conversely questions and informs physical testing.

fig. 5, elements of architecture i

w h a t i s { g li t c h i n g r i t u a l } ?

n e w d e f i n i t i ons E x p l o r at i o n II : m a p p i n g i i

MAPPING II

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G LI TC H

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22 An action that occurs as a result of collisions between two or more systems revealing alternate and parallel narratives.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : m a p p i n g i i

r i tua l

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23 A defined sequence of events involving interactions within a physical environment that transforms the participantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of seeing and being.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e l at i o n s h i p s

RELATIONSHIPS

In order to define the second major keyword “ritual”, “ritual” is analyzed and distilled to a basic understanding that focuses on its operative definition as a fundamental driver for the determination of an architecture that derives meaning and purpose from its narrative-driven use.

This conceptual mapping series leads to the development of a collection of relational diagrams which break down the individual elements of “ritual”, defines the nature of how “ritual” is enacted, and explains how and why it is a critical component of a narrativedriven architecture.

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elements of architecture ii

Architecture is defined as requiring three main elements: a Physical Stage or Frame, Narrative, and Ritual. The relationsh mainly as a set of instructions for the performance of Ritual, as well as contributing to imbuing the physical construction environment to human experience and understanding. Narrative and its related conceptual offspring Ritual, are crucial e Ritual-defining sequential experiences as memory. Architecture defined in this way explains how human imagination (in transformation of a physical environment into an architecture of personal meaning and connection.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e l at i o n s h i p s required for

organizes

gives

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hips between each element give architectural "purpose" or significance to a physical construct. Narrative functions n with a significance that goes beyond the more basic functionalities of architecture and connects the physical elements that enliven architecture through its connection to lived experience and the resulting accumulation of the n the form of Narrative) in conjunction with intentional physical actions (Sequence of Events) is fundamental for the

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Ritual is defined as a sequence of performed events within a physical frame. The diagram explores how a lived Experienc participant). The Narrative is based on an adaptation of someone's lived Experience, which then instructs and defines a S Ritual results in a transformation of the participant. The sequence is given a defined Entry, Sequence steps, Exit, and an o the tangible realization of the Narrative's intangible qualities. Performance connects human imagination to human physi within the physical environment outside of the defined space of Ritual.

figure 9

ce becomes Ritual through the vehicle of Narrative (that can occur as a simple story that is communicated to the Sequence of Events with a defined order and establishment of a beginning and end. The completion of the Sequence and order as to how the prescribed Events must be performed. The Physical Frame is the physical entity that is required for icality, and this new physically lived Experience of Ritual results in the transformation of human perception or existence

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While the alteration of any component within Ritual will affect the participant's experience, the thesis focuses on how "g of performance affects the spatial experience of the Sequence and therefore the path and order of the Sequence itself. The Entry and Exit are moved as a result of the shift in physical boundary that defined the former Ritual's sequence space.

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glitching" the Physical Frame affects Ritual. The alteration of the defining physical boundaries that designate the region e diagram highlights the significant difference that an altered physical boundary has when Sequence key points such as

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NN AA RR RR AA TT II VV EE

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of the system are revealed upon its interruption.

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wls, sledgehammers, nintendo entertainment

citly, a world with which we were entangled

oken hammer and break some more hammers.

A thousand broken hammers.

Briz in Sabotage! â&#x20AC;¨glitch politix Man[ual/ifesto], 20157

No tool can be understood and directed until tested. In order to ascertain each moving part's role and latent potential towards manifesting computational glitch, tools are repeatedly used, abused, and manipulated. The output after each step is evaluated towards the development of an iteration of the design pipeline that is in accordance with the investigation's trajectories as outlined in Mappings I and II. The testing of the tools and processes within the proposed design pipeline is the investigation's primary mode of exploration.

This next path of production-oriented exploration is directed towards increasing an understanding of the tools and processes in order to familiarize the investigation with the types of glitch each tool is capable of and how they can be further choreographed.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : G l i t c h P r a c t i c i n g

GLITCH PRACTICING

35

Fig 12. FDM Steps, 2018.

Fig 11. Airborne Laserscanning, Filtered Point Cloud of Austrian Alps, 2016.

36

8 A set of data points in some coordinate system. In a threedimensional coordinate system, these points are usually defined

by X, Y, and Z coordinates, and often are intended to represent the external surface of an object.8 (See Fig. 11)

9 A 3D printing process that uses a continuous filament of a thermoplastic material. This is fed from a large coil, through a moving, heated printer extruder head. Molten material is forced out of the print head's nozzle and is deposited on the growing workpiece.9 (See Fig. 12)

10 A biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch (in the United States and Canada), cassava roots, chips or starch (mostly in Asia), or sugarcane (in the rest of the world).10

tools of inq uiry

FARO Focus3D S120

laser scanner Using a range-finding laser and an internal color camera, the tool assigns both XYZ coordinates and an RGB color value to points where it registers solid surfaces. The tool stores this information digitally as a point cloud8.

PROCESSING software FARO SCENE 7.1.1.81

Processes and prepares point cloud data for use in other software.

McNeel Rhinoceros 6 Grasshopper

3D modeling CAD software

CURA 3.3.1

Ultimaker proprietary software for 3D printing simulation and minor file alteration tools for 3D printing preparation.

A parametric-based plug-in for Rhinoceros 6 that extends the softwareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to create complex geometries.

FABRICATION Ultimaker 2+

3D printer Fused Deposit Modeling9 (FDM) Polylactic Acid10 (PLA) filament

e x p l o r at i o n i i : G l i t c h P r a c t i c i n g

REGISTRATION

37

isolation reduction

REGISTRATION

38

d e s i g n p i p e li n e m a p i The diagram portrays the general steps for the translation that the thesis takes to give form and fabricate the computational registration data gathered with the laser scanner (point cloud).

PRO

encode

CESSING FABRICATION

e x p l o r at i o n i i : G l i t c h P r a c t i c i n g

3D print

figure 13

39

figure 14 subject: interior of kaløgade studio time: 10:00-17:00 weather: cloudy blue skies with some sun description: 6 scans performed wit h checkered targets room is sq uare in plan, has windows on two opposing walls

40

Laser scanning (See Fig. 14) is the first digital registration tool to be examined.

The scan was performed following a standard laser scanning surveying method, performing numerous scans and placing the scanner in regular distance intervals on site.

Fig 15. Faro Focus 3D Laser Scanning Diagram, 2012.

Due to the manner in which the tool operates, certain natural phenomena relating to varying light emissions, reflections, and the passage of the sun over the several hour duration of the scanning process, results in the registration of "objects" that do not exist within the boundaries of the physical site. These misreadings, resulting from the conflict between what the tool understands and the information it receives, compose the first set of "glitches" for analysis and fabrication.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e g i s t r at i o n

REGISTRATION

41

The physical “real” space of the author’s studio is the small colored rectangle in the center.

The virtual “unreal” is everything else.

The radial nature of the virtual-specific geometries occur at the extent of the laser scanner's registration range and also conveys how the laser scanner performs a scan.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e g i s t r at i o n

figure 16

43

the unreal extents of a common space

A series of projected fragmented reflections of a building faรงade exist as a result of a conflict between the two recording systems used by the laser scanner: a range-finding laser, and HDR photography. The precise materialization is indeterminable and non-reproducible.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e g i s t r at i o n

figure 17

45

disintegrating multiples

The selection of points was selected for fabrication because the cluster is an instance of computational glitch that depicts a critical material threshold point where the formation of points both signifies a recognizable element from physical reality and its immateriality as a product of the varying degrees of point densification.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : R e g i s t r at i o n

figure 18

47

isolated disappearances of a window and a wall

Fig 19. JPEG Compressed Color Image Showing Blocking Artifacts in the Right Image Portion, 2015.

11 Involves encoding information using fewer bits (basic unit of information used in computing and digital communications) than the original representation.11

Fig 20. Dolphin Triangle Mesh, 2018.

48

12 A polygon mesh is a collection of vertices, edges and faces that defines the shape of a polyhedral object in 3D computer graphics and solid modelling. The faces usually consist of triangles (triangle mesh), quadrilaterals, or other simple convex polygons, since this simplifies rendering, but may also be composed of more general concave polygons, or polygons with holes.12

e x p l o r at i o n i i : p r o c e s s i n g

PROCESSING

In order to prepare the point cloud data for physical fabrication with a 3D printer, the existing information requires a process of data compression.11 Specifically, the data needs to be encoded with a representational and reproducible three-dimensional geometry.

Two approaches are tested: one where minimal instruction is given to a meshing12 software, and one where the required geometry is completely determined by myself. The overall geometry is scaled down to fit the extents of the 3D printer's build dimensions with both approaches.

49

1. Set mesh settings to maximum smoothness13 and watertightness14.

2. Run software.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : p r o c e s s i n g

figure 21

51

lossy versions: smooth erasure

52

figure 22

13 Changing a mesh's smoothness requires increasing the number of polygons in order to produce a smoother surface.

14 A watertight mesh is a completely closed geometry with no gaps or holes in its surface. Watertight geometries are required for proper 3D printing.

1. Assign a sphere to each point in the point cloud.15 2. Join overlapping geometries.

3. Simplify geometries (convert to and reduce meshes).

e x p l o r at i o n i i : p r o c e s s i n g

figure 23

55

encode versions: keeping everything high-res

56

figure 24

15 Spheres are selected as the geometry of point representation as it is the closest approximation to how a point cloud looks in digital space.

1. Assign a sphere to each point in the point cloud.

2. Join overlapping geometries.

3. Simplify geometries (convert to and reduce meshes).

4. Connect separate geometries with a structural member.16 5. Identify and add structure for vertical support where needed.17

e x p l o r at i o n i i : p r o c e s s i n g

figure 25

59

encode versions: selective connections

60

figure 26

16 Connective support structure was added in order to enable the removal of all 3D printer added support structure, which is added with the sole intent of supporting every overhanging volume resulting in geometric redundancies.

17 The goal of added "legs" and "feet" were to retain the positions and heights of the disconnected pieces of the original point cloud. The retention of this information through to fabrication reminds the viewer of its original form as a vertical facade element.

62

Fig 27. Ultimaker 2+, 2018.

3D printing is becoming more commonly used in architectural design as a more accurate and time-efficient way of producing models. While the most common use is typically towards the production of small-scale site models, massing, and formal model studies, the thesis explores its more overlooked and potentially inspiring products. Despite the tool's high level of accuracy and precision, it also has its own set of physically materialized glitches that add a new layer of potential inspiration for spatial relationships, architectural concepts, and methods of physically establishing atmosphere.

The main 3D printer of research is the Ultimaker 2+ (See Fig. 27) which operates with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and uses thermoplastics as its primary material. The combination of the tool's specific way of processing data, printing, and its output material properties creates glitches that add their own textures, identity, and language to the original source material.

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FABRICATION

63

figure 28

Undulations and ripples occurring on its surface creates a wide range of textures that articulate as more defined particulate geometries in some areas, and smoother and more subtle layers of grain in others. Multiple forces are conveyed, a sucking in of surface, chaotic pilings of oversaturation, and more gentle gradual stepping of paper-thin layers.

By simply changing how different degrees of data aggregation are conveyed through one (initially) liquid material, the amorphous can be made solid, a range of resolution creating simultaneous transformations put on pause.

The blending of one shape into another conveys forces of rapid accumulation slowly melting.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : f a b r i c at i o n

The print is a result of each possible decision being determined by automatic software processes.

Final product of the software process Lossy Versions: Smooth Erasure. (See Fig. 21)

65

glitch versions: NO AGENCY

figure 29

Volume and mass can occur from the single act of flattening. The process of flattening a defined shape can determine the boundaries of one layer of a volume. The buildup of these layers then produce an overall form that is a result of the original geometry's position (in relation to other layers) and volume. Through flattening, one form's defining qualities can translate into a different form with a completely different logic and physical quality.

66

degrees of flattening

figure 30

Structure is a series of layered envelopes that communicates its own direction of movement and connection. Upward motion is signified by a truncated linearity at its base and a dramatically different language of particulate forms collecting in small clusters of top layers.

The rigidly linear serves as base and support for thin layers of small directing punctuations.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : f a b r i c at i o n

Most of the designated geometry has become buried within and behind the mandatory software-generated support structure resulting in only the top layer of each "column" to be evident. The intended form becomes inconsequential in relation to the volume of support structure, and the fraying quality of its production becomes a signifier of upward movement and connection.

Final product of the software process Encode Versions: Keeping Everything High-Res. (See Fig.23)

69

glitch versions: structural loss

figure 31

The lines of material that run across the central void of the print are a result of remnant material not properly terminated by the tool that follow the tool's travel path.

The physical materialization of these tool paths create a network of connection lines between source-destination "nodes". These lines are irregular in thickness, thinning out to points along its main travel path. The accumulation of these paths at certain "centers" blends source-destination with forms that result from the amassing of these connections at large intersections. Space can be created from the boundaries of accumulated intersections, from the large collision that occurs when everything and everyone runs into each other at the same exact destination, a stopover on one long circuitous frenetic path.

Top view of Glitch Versions: Structural Loss.

(See Fig. 30)

70

thorn networks

In order to reveal the initially intended point cloud geometry, support structure had to be carefully removed. Support structure remained where it was important to preserve the geometry it was attached to. The grid pattern of the support structure is also revealed after structured removal.

An atmosphere of wreckage and floating fragmented remnants is created by the necessary force required to "clean" and reveal the intended geometry. The ruins of structure are revealed through the disruption of the structure's linearity and perceivable grid, through rectangular roughly-sliced voids.

e x p l o r at i o n i i : f a b r i c at i o n

figure 32

After the removal of support structure from Glitch Versions: Structural Loss. (See Fig. 30)

73

the grid is a dangling wreck

figure 33

There is a distant skyline of vertical clusters of rectangular forms. Their supporting and instructive cores are horizontal roofs of little pinnacles. The top level of each cluster of stunted towers is where everything happens.

The towers are only the only way to get to the top.

74

rectangular suspensions

figure 34

An architecture in motion is created by thin layered slices of blurring. Each layer shows evidence of smudging of definition, and the blending of one layer with another creates places of connection between layers. Missing layers create space that can also be inhabited, but are informed by the blurring of positive forms.

Space is created between layers of irregular choppy waves, where the choppiness is never sharp and instead falls into and shapes the next wave.

76

a jagged blurring of edges

figures 35, 36

Porosity of program is heightened by surrounding each focal point with rings of connective structural tissue. Connective structure that is formed to define centers of program become their own circulatory routes of spatial communication. The void between boundaries of program and these new structural connections remain empty, separating foci from connection.

78

solid circumferences of space

DESIGN PIPELINE

The design pipeline is redesigned towards adapting the existing narrative space of Grafarkirkja Hรณfsos, Iceland, the oldest Christian turf church in Iceland, constructed in the 1670's.

While Grafarkirkja has its own historically significant and religiouslyrooted ritual narratives, the site is selected for its ability to evoke a strong atmosphere with a generally simple construction and spatial composition.

The site is small and has an immediately obvious path for experiencing the site. the fjord is behind, as I see black and white speckled mountains. in front, a barely visible crooked line, worn out and winding through a field of yellow grass. at its end, is a small dark brown gabled building, with a small dark brown gabled gate in a stone circle wall, all covered in yellow grass.

82

With this next iteration of the design pipeline, the investigation looks at each ouput produced beyond the 1:1 production that guided the first series of iterations in Exploration II. The knowledge gained of the way each tool operates and produces, the design pipeline is tuned for the instigation of tool- and process-based glitches towards instructing new sequentially-directed narrative spaces.

g li t c h i n g r i t u a l

fig. 37, a church surrounded by a sharp fog

Fig 39. Cubic Structure and Floor Depth Map with Front and Back Delimitation, 2011.

19 An image or image channel that contains information relating to the distance of the surfaces of scene objects from a viewpoint. 14

18 The science of making measurements from photographs, especially for recovering the exact positions of surface points.13

84

Fig 38. Photogrammetric Orientation: X,Y, Z coordinates determined from intersecting rays, 2015.

tools of inq uiry

Ricoh GRII

digital camera The main tool required to facilitate a photogrammetric18 scan. The quality of the resulting digital model is reliant on the surveyor's positioning, sequence of photography, quantity of photographs, and specific camera settings.

PROCESSING software 3DF Zephyr Pro 3.702

Processes digital photographs into a point cloud based on depth-mapping19 technology

McNeel Rhinoceros 6 Grasshopper

3D modelling CAD software

CURA 3.3.1

Ultimaker proprietary software for 3D printing simulation and minor file alteration tools for 3D printing preparation.

A parametric-based plug-in for Rhinoceros 6 that extends the softwareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to create complex geometries.

FABRICATION Ultimaker 2+

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : g l i t c h i n g r i t u a l

REGISTRATION

3D printer Fused Deposit Modeling9 (FDM) Polylactic Acid10 (PLA) filament

85

REGISTRATION TESTING 601 photos 66 mispoitioned

isolated glitch geometry

SOURCE S CAN

encode

GLITCH V.0

PROCESSING

66 photos 3 mispoitioned

ANALYS

DRAW IN

G

S

GLITCH V.1

3 photos CANNOT COMPUTE

in seq uence

G

86

compil e

TIVE ERA N E

f i g . 4 0 , d e s i g n p i p e li n e m a p i i

compression

sorted

proximity

ex

AGGREGATION

R E P E A T

FABRICATION

REGISTRATION

SIS

tweaking towards arc h i et c t ru al glitch

h gl i t c m ro g rit u a l f n i aw

repeat cycle

compile

dr

sketch xtraction

COMPILATION

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : g l i t c h i n g r i t u a l

GLITCH V.xx

PROCESSING

AGGREGATED PROPOSAL

87 GLITCH V.xx

PROPOSAL

Ritual is examined within the framework of the investigation's established definition (See Fig. 7): A defined sequence of events involving interactions within a physical environment that transforms the participant's way of seeing and being.

The ritual to be processed is one of my subjective experience of site exploration.

This exploration's sequence occurs as a result of my desire to properly register the site, and my own path of discovery, which was influenced and led by the site's natural textures, the building's design characteristics, its placement at the center of a circular stone boundary, and its stark relation to its dramatically grandiose natural surroundings. My specific path of experiential registration determines the content of and sequence in which the photogrammetric source data is captured.

As the consistency and accuracy of a photogrammetric scan is highly dependent on the relationships the software reads between photos and other capture metadata (such as its position in the total photo sequence), the relationships I immediately register and establish through how and where I take each photo, translate directly into the final processed 3D model.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

REGISTRATION

91

CHURCH

mispositioned cameras

cor

rec

t p osi tio n

â&#x2020;&#x2019;

WALL

92

g li t c h c l o u d s a n d o t h e r a r t i fa c t s 2 0 subject: Grafarkirkja, turf church in HĂłfsos, Iceland time: 9:00-11:00 weather: grey cloudy skies

description: overall exterior survey in a zigzag pattern circling t he overall site panoramic photos taken at each step of approach, encounter, and exit of the site

figure 41

glitch objects

GATE

e disco v

e

ry

ov

a er

ll

s

v ur

ey

EXIT ENTRY

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

sit

camera placement

i n c o r r e c t t e x t u r e - m a p p i n g 21 from mispositioned camera

20 In information science, any undesired or unintended alteration in data introduced in a digital process by an involved technique and/or technology.15

21 A method for defining high frequency detail, surface texture, or color information on a computer-generated graphic or 3D model.16

93

The map shows the resulting mesh model and camera positions of the photogrammetric scan of Grafarkirkja. Glitches appear as floating shards with the source photo's imagery mapped on. These glitches are the first spatially-affecting glitches and are used to identify mispositioned cameras in order to further explore the cause of these glitches.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

figure 42

95

map of mispositions

96

Point clusters that did not correspond to the physical site are isolated to form a reduced point cloud for further Registration processing.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

figure 43

97

glitch v.0

98

The mispositioned cameras from the original photogrammetry scan are isolated and reprocessed to make a second Glitch Version of the site.

This version provides the base information for continuation to the next step of design pipeline Processing.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

figure 44

99

glitch v.1

figure 45

After processing Glitch V.1, three cameras have been mispositioned in the scan. These three photos are again isolated in order to process another Glitch Version of the site.

The three photos are unable to be processed by the software.

100

something went wrong. please run the processing again.

101

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : r e g i s t r at i o n

PROCESSING

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

m a p p i n g f r o m g li t c h

In order to discover a process-specific method of architectural representation, a series of generative line mappings were conducted with the point cloud information from Glitch V.0.

These series of mappings establish a drawing language and set of visual codes derived from the software's interpretation of the registration data.

They act as mappings that guide more conventional architectural design parameters such as program zoning, thresholds, and circulation.

103

s m u d g e s o f d e ns i t y figure 46

t ra c i n g r e l a t i ons One continuous line connects through each point, which has been sorted in ascending order along the X-axis.

The blurring that occurs from data density begins to delineate zones in decreasing gradients. These boundaries are established in decreasing order, representing areas of spatial anchoring or more loosely defined zones.

figure 47

One continuous line connects through each point in the order given during photogrammetric scan processing.

Relationships established through how the software has sequenced the registration data can direct series of movements from one spatial anchor to another. The accumulation of these straight connections also designate a fan-like spread of circulation that radiate from element to element.

s c ra t c h i n g i n figure 48

Five lines connect each point to its five closest neighboring points.

While this drawing is the closest in identifying how the accumulated glitching has distorted and fragmented the original elements of the site, the point of interest is in how the surrounding linear artifacts create barriers of short interruptions and direct a circulation of their own.

The three mappings are compiled in an effort to develop further an architectural site plan.

The drawing includes hand drawings that emphasize information from Fig. 48 that are relevant to determining more concrete elements such as the location of walls, soft and hard boundaries, and visual relationships between physical elements of the site.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

figure 49

107

glitch v.0 site plan

figure 50

site plan v.1

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

r i g h t e l e v a t i on v . 1 figure 51

Another iteration of designing from Glitch V.1 begins with manipulating and reordering the source point cloud data.

The point cloud is scaled to the human figure with the churchyard entrance gate as the datum for the placement and resizing of the other site fragments.

The church and site fragments create a series of frames and thresholds that introduce a more open and variable sequence of experience.

109

l a t h e r r i ns e r e p e a t

The final design pipeline test operates from Glitch V.1 as its base Registration data. The process follows the steps shown in Design Pipeline II (See Fig. 40), and with the primary feedback loop occurring between the registration of each successive 3D print, and the sequence of drawing analyses performed from data extracted from each new physical iteration.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : d e s i g n p i p e l i n e

DESIGN PIPELINE

111

version 1 figure 52

112

version 2 At its finest resolution and closest approximation to the virtual representation of the point cloud, the meshing process has already begun to create swirling patterns to define flat areas, and a smooth bumpy grit for vertical and angled surfaces.

An architecture of disintegration/ integration signals movement in either and both directions simultaneously. The pattern in which a single unit is amassed and organized determines whether there is a space for traversal, a space for confrontation and encounter, or simply evidence of what creates those spaces. Walls and other vertical spatial boundaries can be prismatically transparent through the spacing and accumulation of the single unit.

figure 53

Dividers and spatial delineations are formed by overlapping outlined "lines" of information. The extents of the territory are clearly limited by the absence of material, as elements have begun to meld into one single object.

Overlapping routes of communication (verbal or otherwise) make small twists and turns towards their destinations.

These parallel circulatory routes only connect to each other at moment when the throughput becomes dense enough to overflow into another tunnel. Tunnels kink and curl into themselves to create concentrated spirals of circulatory towers. There is only respite when you come to the end of the flow.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

PROCESS hair types

kinks & curls version 3 figure 54

The language of densification is further strengthened and emboldened from the previous Version. Another pattern of visual code emerges in more subtle matches of density in areas void of strong linear overlap.

Territories are defined by gradient flakes of activity, and are surrounded and connected by more solid strings that knot at busier intersections. Kinking and curling qualities of the most dense linear overlaps is heightened where there is an increase in data accumulation.

These stronger knots create the perception of pinnacles and height, as curls become routes to ascendant routes to reach them.

The predominant quality of "kinking" and subsequent "curling" appears and strengthens in Versions 2 and 3.

Kinking becomes the product of an increase in curling within a small area.

Curling tightens until a force-threshold is reached, which then results in a kink.

Kinks and the gradual relaxation of curls that extend from them determine regional boundaries of varying definition. Kinks also become areas of focused intersection or program activity.

113

114

version 1

version 2

figure 55

figure 56

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

matted frizz

version 3 figure 57

What begins as a more detailed depiction of connections between points in plan view, of an arc and a thick bundle of rays that refract between two lenses and into three small flows, this transforms over the three Version as layers become matted and entangled into thicker bundles of vectors.

115

116

version 1

version 2

figure 58

figure 59

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

smooth & silky version 3 figure 60

An architecture of blurring gradients can be applied towards how territories are merged with the next, and that overlapping elements shifting and slipping past the other create levels of blended regions of transparencies.

117

118

version 1

version 2

figure 61

figure 62

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : p r o c e s s i n g

dreadlocks Fragmentation transforms from sharp and minuscule pieces in Version 1 to the rounder, rougher and more continuous shapes in Version 2 and 3.

version 3 figure 63

Fragmentation of spaces can be applied in a similar way where different spatial qualities can be amassed and placed in ways that define the space's boundaries as a whole, but reduce the amount of detail in which those qualities are perceived.

119

version 1: spiky figure 64

120

version 2: woolly The first print most closely resembles the original point cloud geometry. Resolution is at its highest and particulates are evident throughout the material.

Delicate geometries are pushed up, sharp edges result from finer geometries. An atmosphere of perforated punching with long and thin needles construct the landscape that floats above the more melted platforms beneath.

figure 65

The large step down in resolution is visible through the formal blending of the previously defined spheres of Version 1. Clumping begins to blend these geometries together.

Atmospheric qualities arise from the change in texture and mass.

Forms are regularly irregular and begin to take on the natural aesthetic of earth and mud.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : f a b r i c at i o n

FABRICATION fiber types

version 3: wispy figure 66

This final fabrication sees the continued piling up of geometries, creating heavier and larger masses.

The major glitch occurs as a result of the production tool not being able to normally process the information given, and thus circled the overall geometry with an improperly terminated filament.

Three languages of formal construction occur as vertical linear columns, knob mounds, and a fine wrapping of web-like material. The combination of these three forms layered on top of the other, create an enshrouded form of emerging volumes.

Qualities of texture, mass, volume, and formal languages speak strongly towards guiding spatial atmospheres. While a 3D printer has a clearly identifiable material language and recognizable scale, the larger formed masses depict textures that "melt" together the registration data, the method of software processing, and how the fabrication tool understands (or misunderstands) that information.

121

figure 67

exclusive compression e x p l o r at i o n i i i : f a b r i c at i o n

G L I T C H V. 1

123

124

figure 68

matted hardlines

126

figure 69

a web of peaks

127

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figure 70

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G L I T C H V. 2

129

roots wrapping around a cliffside

130

figure 71

thin stretching across heavy smooth

132

figure 72

spinning deposits

figure 73

glitch slipping e x p l o r at i o n i i i : f a b r i c at i o n

G L I T C H V. 3

135

136

figure 74

spinning silk

138

figure 75

layers of emergence

139

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : f a b r i c at i o n

noun5 1. a group, body, or mass composed of many distinct parts or individuals 2. the collecting of units or parts into a mass or whole

Each output "piece" is examined for qualities and logics that can be integrated into the design of an architecture that conveys the concepts of fragmentation, fluid densities, gradients of visual perception, and indirect approaches to and around the church.

The major formal and material qualities selected is that of kinking and curling.

Kinking increases density, creating vertical thickness and obscuring vision.

These kinks uncurl to release the visitor towards the periphery and guide a path around the church. These paths in combination with the placement of kinks and curls, provides a gradient of distorted and blurred views whose resolution increases the closer one gets to the church.

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : a g g r e g at i o n

AGGREGATION

141

e x p l o r at i o n i i i : a g g r e g at i o n

143

site plan s o u t h e l e v a t i on

figure 76 figure 77

This investigation's primary focus is on process, the establishment, development, and analysis of one that operates in the realms of the digital. The inquiry looks beyond generating a specific type of functional architectural design, and uses each output as a consequence of the levers pulled and the gears changed within the design pipeline. Products such as drawings, diagrams, and models, are ways of evaluating the efficacy and potential next steps for the choices made. To put it simply, there is no "final" product, as the final aggregated design proposal itself is another piece that can be fed back into the pipeline to further develop the design or to generate something else entirely.

The investigation advocates for the elimination of a standard design approach of beginning with a predetermined result from the outset, an overarching "creative vision" that stunts and intimidates the idea's growth and adaptation to the unknown and inevitable factors that become obstacles on a rigid path of design development and realization. Repositioning oneself in a design process as a choreographer or curator, harnessing and directing existing strengths and weakness towards a collective and greater design purpose, results in a final result that is more than a sum of its parts, and far more inspiring than anything one individual could’ve initially imagined. Specifically, allowing each participating “member” of this process, whether it be the tool, material tendencies, or a software’s visual interpretation of information, to “speak” in varying degrees has produced spaces, architectural relationships, and atmospheric qualities that could not have been created or designed any other way.

afterword

later

149

At another level, the investigation suggests that practicing architects should perceive the digital as a medium with its own inclinations, its own â&#x20AC;&#x153;grainâ&#x20AC;?. Going against the grain of a material will typically result in a longer and more difficult path towards a desired output. Going with the grain will typically result in an acknowledgement of the nature of the material, and thus allows for a curated heightening or exposition of the qualities that align themselves with the architect's design intent. By shifting current perception of the digital to one where architects are more readily able to apply and adapt individual techniques and design methodologies to the digital as a medium, the architectural community can finally begin to disarm and dismantle the more intimidating aspects of the digital to more fully realize the prolific possibilities that come from its holistic and well coordinated integration.

In addition, no tool can be mastered without first-hand testing and experimentation. As with every medium, each tool also has its own inclinations and quirks. And the only way to truly maneuver the tool and its corresponding media beyond what is readily apparent, is to test towards discovering and understanding its strengths and weaknesses. Through testing, familiarity increases with knowledge gained, and this only further encourages the designer to be inspired, rather than controlled, by the tool.

The investigation tests every tool to a certain breaking point at multiple scales, from the 3D printer, to drawing conventions, to software, and down to the very process that the design pipeline has evolved into. A multi-scalar approach reveals that the strongest sources of inspiration and evolution arise from agile shifts and respositionings, and jumping between different scales of process and output understandings. Greater potentials are uncovered when tools and outputs are examined beyond the 1:1, when form, procedures, and visual languages become conceptual drivers, tools for organization, and methods of affecting perception. Pushing each element to its breaking point brings out their uniquely unexpected functions and qualities. While these glitches are generally perceived as negative, their place in the investigation becomes one of added richness, depth, and character due to glitch's unknown and spontaneously-occurring nature. The unknown and the pursuit of its understanding has

150

been the investigation's strongest driver, and this determined pursuit is the key towards discovering and designing the new.

The collective output and their perceived implications represents only a minuscule fraction of the possibilities that can be achieved through these methods and approaches. There remains the rest of this ever-expanding and vastly unexplored territory to be discovered, one that is filled with an infinite amount of hidden potential for inspiring culturally relevant, spatially engaging, and creatively inspiring architectures that can truly bring about a rethinking and re-energization of architectural thought and practice today.

afterword

Lastly, the investigation proves two things about the developed design pipeline: that each step of the design pipeline can be used as a strong departure point for a design, and that the explored line of architectural design articulation is only one of the many paths that can be taken from the "main" winding road of the established pipeline. The greatest strength of working with a design pipeline is that its manner of accumulating tangible output means that it can be frozen at any moment during the process and used to develop a very different type of architecture from one that is developed from another step. A design, or at least the strong driver for one, exists at every step, not only at the very end of a long schematic process when "final" drawings have been produced. The design pipeline shows that architecture can be quite quickly constructed from even the most rudimentary of experiments, and still have a solid grounding in the framework of the design pipeline itself. The continued evolution of a design pipeline only further increases the level of depth, resolution, and multiplicity of these architectures.

151

1

"Definition of 'Glitch' in English", Oxford University Press, en.oxforddictionaries.com, (February 5, 2018)

2

"Glitch", Wiktionary: The Free Dictionary, en.wiktionary.org, (February 6, 2018)

3

"English Words from Yiddish: Our Little List is Not the Whole Megalith But It Ain't Bubkes", MerriamWebster, Incorporated, www.merriam-webster.com, (February 5, 2018)

4

"Definition of 'Ritual' in English", Oxford University Press, en.oxforddictionaries.com, (February 5, 2018)

5

"Definition of 'Aggregation' in English", Oxford University Press, en.oxforddictionaries.com, (February 5, 2018)

6

"Definition", Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, www. merriam-webster.com, (May 28, 2018)

7

Curt Cloninger and Nick Briz, "Sabotage! glitch politix Man[ual/ifesto]", Books From the Future, booksfromthefuture.tumblr.com, (May 28, 2018)

8

"Point Cloud", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (February 6, 2018)

9

"Fused Filament Fabrication", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

10

"Polylactic Acid", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

11

"Data Compression", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

12

"Polygon Mesh", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

13

"Photogrammetry", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

14

"Depth Map", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

15

"Digital Artifact", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

16

"Texture Mapping", Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, wikipedia.org, (June 1, 2018)

e n d n otes

ENDNOTES

153

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Vienna, Austria. Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation.

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2

Alves, Dominic. Cubic Structure and Floor Depth Map with Front and Back

Delimitation. In Wikimedia Commons. January 24, 2011.

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