aren edwards architecture + landscape portfolio
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distributive agriculture merelogical futures | 2020
between parts urban densities | 2019
framework performance + public health | 2020
the chinese hoax a post-truth investigation | 20__
landscapes_ landscape architecture 2017-2018
fabric built // fabricated work | 2016-Current
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mereological futures 2020
distributive agriculture
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In coming years, the question of food sourcing will increasingly become a spatial issue. The current economic discrepancies between rural and urban land have acted as hurdle for the implementation of urban farming. The romatic view of vertical farming as agricultural towers within city centers lacks viability when comparing the economic returns of agriculture to that of rentable urban space. This project looks to understand how this economic barrier can not only be overcome but can moreover generate revenue and improve quality of life by inserting urban farming practices into the inhabitable urban condition.
cost per square meter of arable farmland-usda.gov
cost per square meter of inhabitable urban land-usda.gov
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$2,160,0 return
00 $540,0 rn net retu rs o id rr co 0,000 $1,08 rn tu net re s
estimated net revenue for inhabitable / agricultural space
e garag
g lots
parkin
(farmer or consumer)
clt panel
core
Creating affordable and adaptable spaces was imperative when looking to viably implement this project as a new urban typology. This process began by looking to timber as a constraint, ultimately investigating the building core as a space for mechanical occupation. The core’s ability to distribute necessities among urban spaces opened up a reinterpretation of the core as a space for autonomous farming actions to occur. Through material, spatial, and computational studies, the project reimagines both the function and identity of the core, allowing inhabitable spaces to occur between elements of automous urban farming. The spaces focus on the prefab nature of timber, and act as modules that generate revenue as both rentable and agricultural spaces. When rearranged, these modules create endless spatial variabilities that fit into any urban context, and ultimately establish new economic and spatial identities within the city. 11
universal constructability
spatial studies
continuous circulation
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core as a module
spatial studies
spatial variability studies
computational packages
final modules
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autonomous circulation inhabitable vs automated space
large scale connections
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxV-ZnbqxYM The module’s design was driven by first understanding the importance of interaction within a co-housing development. Circulation embedded into the form not only allowed for this moment of interaction to occur, it also enabled the form to be exercised through multiple computations, resulting in an endless amount of variation among forms. The forms, when animated were able to expand and contract, creating both public and private spatial conditions within the same profile. *follow link for animations
alley (market) application
corridor application
floor plate (plaza) application
courtyard (housing) application
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affordability & adaptability The intent to create a vertical farming condition that would be economicaly viable was imperative when implementing these practices into the urban condition. Focusing on spaces that were both affordable and adaptable would allow farming to be integrated into any urban condition. On a smaller scale, this adaptability was explored by looking at how connections between the modules could be made and executed through computational modeling. By using scripting and prefab constraints, this movement of both people and machines through the space could be understood in a way that allowed the spaces to be both affordable and extremely adaptable to their urban condition.
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inhabitable farming condition private - semi private package
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inhabitable farming condition public package
spatial connectivity figure a_horizontal and vertical layering of panels allow for human spatial connections while also promoting privacy and the movement of automation through the spaces. figure b_farming cores that embody both traditional and progressive farming practices. the connectivity of these farming modules also create unique public spatial conditions.
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corridor >> market application
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Connections between the core modules were intended to promote spatial variability. These allowed me to understand how they could be adaptable to various urban sites while maintaining the economic feasibility. The connections here form a market type space that would adapt to a urban corridor or alley spatial condition.
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courtyard >> housing application
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between the computationally formed connections, aggregated spaces begin to form . Here, the core modules are used to re-establish an urban grayfield site. The site’s economic viability is transformed through a communial housing typology that focuses on varied interiors and active exterior spaces.
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lot >> plaza application
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Rather than positioning these modules act around a void, the modules could also aggregate to form the communal space. In this scenario, the core modules aggregate to form retail on the lower level and a large plaza type space on the upper level. This mereology occupies a typical parking lot condition, creating both a sustainable and economic benefit within the urban dead zone.
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garage >> multi-use application
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The plaza application then became spplicable as floor-plates , stacking to create a dense urban condition. Economic value is distributed as a piece of real estate, while the slabs between inhabitable spaces create their own economic model. Agricultural cores are distributed throughout the building, ultimately improving the quality of life and value of the typical urban high rise.
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urban densities 2019
between parts
shared density austin,tx With 150 new people moving to Austin daily, the city is forced to look at new ways to promote this growth while maintaining the character of the city. This project imagines a new housing typology that looks to continue the inherent variability of the typical Austin neighborhood and natural growth of the South Austin park spaces into a vertical structure. This process began by examining the Space Block project in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kojima uses a cube modular system that compounds and arranges in a way that allows for maximum variability on both the interior and exterior spaces. Additionally, the gaps created by these arrangements allow for constant passive cooling to naturally integrate into the complex. Furthermore, constant interaction between residents was something that I wanted to pursue when developing the housing typology further, with the intention of applying the nuances of the neighborhood vertically.
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green belt
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site
downtown austin
vulnerable conditions When first developing a housing typolgoy to pursue, I looked towards vulnerable when faced with the exponential growth Austin is currently undergoing. A site was chosen at the tail end of Austin’s greenbelt, a nine mile trail of natural growth along the southern edge of downtown. Additionally, the current transit line running along South Congress has already promoted, and continues to suggest growth within that area at a rapid rate. I intended to continue the character of the green belt upwards into this growing urban condition. With the programmatic situations scattered throughout the tower, parks and public space find themselves interwoven with individual housing units, allowing the project to act in a manner similar to the current housing condition of South Austin but through a scope of a much denser city. 35
Traditional high rises have a very defined envelope. One that, in its current typology, does not allow for sustainable optimization or any passive cooling beyond the ground floors. By looking at examples such as the Space Block project in Hanoi, Vietnamn, we can begin to understand how a modulated system allows for not only variability within the building’s interior and exterior spaces, but also allows us to create openings above the ground floor, and promote passive qualities throughout the building. 36
space block hanoi airflow simulation
sustainability through modulation
space block modules
proposed computated modules 37
modulations & field variations When looking to accomplish both variability and constant airflow, I began to consider a module that had both of these elements integrated into the module’s profile. Initally, variabilities were stifled by creating separate circulation spaces, but by integrating circulation into the structure of the module, two potentials arose. One being the constant interaction of the neighbors with one another, the other being the ability for the modules to expand and condense to create a seemingly endless amount of variability within the interior and exterior conditions of the building. Consequently, this process drove the programmatic development. When these modules were fully expanded, they created more of public condition, with park spaces emerging among the openness of this particular potential, with private conditions resulting from a condensed version of the module.
studio airflow
studio 1br
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3br
shading
2br
4br
public
public
private garden
4br 1br
studio
public terrace
2br
airflow
private garden
cafe
public ecological potentials
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https://youtu.be/wjraqVQAy38 The module’s design was driven by first understanding the importance of interaction within a co-housing development. Circulation embedded into the form not only allowed for this moment of interaction to occur, it also enabled the form to be exercised through multiple computations, resulting in an endless amount of variation among forms. The forms, when animated were able to expand and contract, creating both public and private spatial conditions within the same profile. In a world where customization is becoming increasingly integral to our daily lives, the ability to form a variable forms from pre-modulated elements was crucial. The spatial complexity of the varied modules allows for the nuances of a neighborhood to exist within an urban highrise. *follow link for animations
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private residence
shared space
semi-private zones
This sectional condition is an example of a multi-bedroom private residence. I found it important to allow these types of residential spaces to not only have variability on the interiors, but also when considering adjacent properties. This intends to encourage neighbors of mixed incomes to interact with one another.
Within these interactions, we find shared spaces. These spaces are found throughout the high rise. Within these spaces, we could find simple interactions between neighbors or imagine the potential for public spaces to interact with the housing modules. This would allow for public interaction with the building to define its own network of paths and spaces.
Semi-Private zones might exist solely between neighbors or be the spaces found between the private and public zones. These conditions are the most unique to the traditional high-rise.
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modules
fields
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(a+)
(b)
(b+)
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(b)
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fragment from final building composition
When considering a denser future for Austin, or any modern city, we first have to consider why people would resist this inevitability. Owning a unique space within an unique community quickly stood out as imperitave when designing a housing development for a denser city. Through thoughtful design methods and computational tools, individualized spaces were created. Additionally these methods opened up new potentials and ideas for passive sustainability practices to be integrated into this type complex.
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performance + public health_2020
framework
faust Framework looks at live performance through the lens of the 2020 global pandemic. Most conditions for live performance act as a prompt for public gathering are in question. Bodies packed on a dance floor, shared armrests in a theater, congested entries and exits all act as potential public health hazards. In this way, architecture plays a crucial role in the future of performance. Adaptability and porosity are explored as a way of addressing these immediate changes while also considering future potentials within performative spaces. First, we looked at Anne Imhof’s Faust as a way of understanding both typical and atypical types of interaction.
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keyframes were used to study the body as an architectural element. Performers in faust were scattered and fractured through transparent ledges, floors, and walls. This transparency made it very aware to the audience that they were watching someone without the performers needing to distinguish themselves through their interactions.
blurring the space between performance and daily life seemed integral when addressing the future of performance. Performers could begin to act on daily life, and the presence inherent in a theater could begin to work within the nuances of an urban infrastructural project.
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faust was used as a jumping off point for understanding future performance potentials. This mapping shows the interactions between performers and the audience over a five hour window. These interactions were dictated by a digital network and fractured by physical layers of transparency.
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mapping of performances along with the development of a rail type system allowed for customization defined by individual interactions. These interactions were enabled by a framework of three discrete elements. Within these elements lied different intelligences. At times, they act as building blocks, while others encourage movement, light, etc...
performance mappings
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spatial frame
90 °
30 °
iteration a
iteration b
iteration c
iteration d
iteration e
iteration f
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growth As diversity and creativity naturally move out of the downtown area, so will the daily lives of those living in Austin. The highland station marks one of the first catalysts for infrastructural change within the rapidly evolving city. We looked to transit as a way of bringing different speeds of life together and allowing the performances to interrogate and act upon daily life. Discrete elements for types of performance were intended to be constantly adaptable and changing depending on the performance and the level of activity at the transit hub. Masses marked more permanent spaces, working as transit and performance elements that would be defined by the framework of the discrete.
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stage 1 (communitiy)
stage 2 (bridging)
stage 3 (transition)
stage 4 (performance)
discrete elements were used in different ways to approach different spatial activities. Moments of aggregation evoked communal interactions, while porosity allowed for airflow and the flow of performance to move throughout the more routine and the more specified spaces.
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massings were designed to work along the discrete framework and work in a similar way. The masses form both enclosure and staging elements. Similar masses were configured to form the transit spaces as well, further blurring the line between performance and routine.
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performance configurations
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view of performance spaces
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view from train
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a post-truth investigation
chinese hoax
territory The Spratly Islands have been a widely contested territory over the last couple of years. They draw eyes as both a political and economic spectacle. They are a piece of international waters, while also situated among the worlds largest trading route. Recently, China has begun building their own domain along these reefs, with no clear intentions. The only American view of these islands is through satellite imagery or through Philippine journalism. Each reef claims a natural resource boundary of 12 nautical miles. This lays claim to any potential oil reserve or any supposed trading route that is running through the territory. This site found me through its positioning of boundary as not only a physical line, but rather an artificial claim. The site is an architectural statement in itself, balancing digital and artificial borders with physical trajectories.
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vietnam// natural resource
china // natural resource
malaysia // natural resource
philippines // natural resource
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island building eco__logical The artificial islands currently being built in the South China Sea are both unsustainable from economic and ecological points of view. The Chinese government has failed to comply with the UN law, by building their islands artificially. My proposal is to take back economic zones for the Phillipines and other countries throughout the region through a more natural displacement of the reefs. The coral would be taken from beneath Thitu Island which is a Phillipine territory, then dredge the coral out along high points in the reefs to eventually grow and create new economic zones. This would not only create an economic advantage for the other countries in the sea, but it would also add economic value to the reefs, something that has been lost. 76
Article 121 // Regime of Islands 1.
An island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide.
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Except as provided for in paragraph 3, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of an island are determined in ac cordance with the provisions of this Convention applicable to other land territory.
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Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. 77
eco_digital camoflauge
Agl >>
regional displacement
coral >>
micro // architectures Themes of post truth culture tend to revolve around the larger impact of smaller moments. That same phenomenon is the driving force behind the conflict of the South China Sea. The islands themselves only quantify small habitable areas, but their economic impacts are felt much further due to the impact of potential oil and trading routes. The architecture proposed plays along with these micro_architectures in hopes of pushing their impact in a way that is more economically valuable for the land and the coral itself, while still maintaining a bit of secrecy due to the hostility of the region. Cloud seeding was seen as a way of creating an atmospheric ambiguity of what the project was doing, while the beneath the surface of the water, coral can be mined and displaced with the hopes of not only adding economic value to the reefs, but also the nations competing with China’s actions in the sea.
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atmospheric drone 1.0
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oceanic drone 2.0
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speed horiz. The Land Channel 01 __ The first channel moves at the speed of
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natural growth. This is the channel where territory is created and boundaries are created. This is a transactional speed, creating new economic and political territory.
The Machine Channel 02 __ The second channel works at the speed of the drone and the information which it processes. Submarine cables run along Thitu towards Subi, opening potential access points for digital territory.
The Worker Channel 03 __ The worker addresses the architecture at the speed of the vehicle. A channel formed under the tide continues the secrecy of such a disputed site. 84
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Digital The building works as a both a planned and a sectional system, moving through microarchitectures. The micro-architectures are present from a satellite view in the screen in which they are viewed, considering the effect that physical spaces may have on our digital (only) perception.
Mechanical The mechanical moments within the building are arguably the most important to the function of the space. Falling somewhere between fiction and science, these spaces work on their own to form real world implications that have human interaction and impact.
Ecological The coral and the land beneath the architecture is displaced to not only form a more economic territory for the countries in the South China Sea, but this sort of displacement also adds to the value of the coral reefs, something that our global culture has long ignored for humanitarian reasons.
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landscape architecture 2017-2018
landscapes
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community vanderbilt university | 2018 The objective for the landscapes at Vanderbilt was to continue the language of modernity present within the west neighborhood of the campus, while still acknowledging the history of the site. Our efforts have been present through both our reimagined master-plan and the details of the landscapes. The first objective was to revamp the run-down fraternity houses and residential areas. This involved grade changes and planting that would help buffer them from the main axis, and draw attention towards the more historic areas. Our team worked closely with architects, as well as faculty from the university to gain an understanding of what it means to design for the future, and how to do that effectively with a campus set in a thriving downtown area. The project looks to envelope the tradition of the past, project future ideas, while upholding the timeless nature of the present. 93
historic reference Vanderbilt’s West Neighborhood lacks the collegiate prominence of the East Campus. Through modern designs, and lack of planning, the two lack the cohesiveness sought after by the campus. Our intent was to match the contemporary language of the West Neighborhood while blending in with the older part of the campus, through simple design moves such as nooks for pedestrian activity and more modern fixtures. We also manipulated the grades to draw attention to the main axises of the historic campus.
existing path
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grade manipulation
planting boundary
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manipulated landscapes The West Neighborhood of the campus consists of three main axises, all of which lead back into the historic part of the campus. The challenge for us was using these main pathways, while breaking up the minor ones into residential halls. This was done through manipulating the grades, creating public space without having it intrude on private areas.
secondary
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primary
proposed
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madison square Madison is a neighborhood within Davidson County that is hoping to grow at the pace of Nashville in a sustainable way. We were contracted to design and present a master-plan to the community. This project involved looking at adaptive reuse potentials within the site, as well as looking at what the community might need to transition into a more urban environment. In our proposal, the old town center transitions into a space full of public amenities and spaces with private residential floors above.
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Madison Square was a thriving area of Nashville over 20 years ago, but due to the decline in large scale retail over the past few years, the growth has shifted towards downtown. Our master plan involved taking these once populated instances and recreating those on an urban scale through adaptive reuse and reimagined landscaping. The existing retail spaces will be transformed through subtle architectural moves such as removing parts of the interior spaces to create new public plazas, as well as revealing more natural light into the spaces. Hopefully through these urban strategies, Madison can grow towards an urban scale similar to the rest of Nashville, while maintaining its affordability.
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nashville, tn This project is a commercial project set within downtown Nashville, overlooking the Cumberland River. The goal for the landscape was to transition people from the business of the evergrowing streetscape, and towards the riverfront. This was done through topological moves and identifying the densities of planting within the space. Moves were made within the hardscape as well with the intent of naturally pulling one from the urban environment into one that felt more natural and serene.
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fraternity row
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built and fabricated works
fabric
This project explores modern preservation techniques such as point cloud processing and 3d scanning to understand and restore historic projects within central texas. Terrestrial photogrammetry was used to capture architectural details that begin to tell a story about the history of the projects studied. Two main sites were chosen and documented over the course of 5 weeks using over 3000 total photos. From there, this images were processed using point cloud software, then examined and presented through various representational techniques.
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Pb192tAjHyk
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tie points_mission espada
densified point cloud_mission espada
3d mesh_mission espada
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densified point cloud_facade detail
tie points_water detail
densified point cloud_water detail
3d mesh_water detail
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floating points Through parametric modeling, this project explores how an object’s motions can begin to transform its texture, material, density, and overall spatial identity. In addition, this bottom-up thinking allowed me to look beyond the interior conditions of the object and understand their relationships to one another. Though abstract, through filmic actions and explorations, these objects begin to tell a story.
https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=16IK_ dqWueU&t=8s
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regional frequencies The culture of a post truth society is driven more by ranges than by instances. The cause of the 2010 United States Flash Crash was a mystery until four years later, with the cause remaining ambiguous. Rather than there being a definite instance of guilt, the event shed light on a fractured system run by the acceleration of technology. The construction of a digital infrastructure has inherently formed a network dependent on the connectedness of the physical world. With the ability to access any piece of information, the pace at which these materials are procured becomes imperative.
cnc milled foam clouds
3d printed fixtures
16 guage steel box
cnc milled ply.
cold rolled steel
The router and the server are interesting through their ability to create circulation that translates across both the digital and analog domains. We become frustrated when detached from either of these elements. Meanwhile, new spatial considerations are informed by the protection of these wired boxes as it becomes a calculated centerpiece.
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veiled manipulations The progression of film in the early 20th century is said to have followed a timeline similar to the architectural theories of the time. There was a present simultaneity in which the two fields nurtured eachothers’ progression. During this time, film makers were able to manipulate spaces in ways that architects never could through their use of narrative as a subject rather than the actual spatial conditions. Manipulation of information and images has always been conveyed as a ficticious effort, yet in the modern age, the frequency of these manipulated moments has turned these potentials into realities This overabundance of information has seemingly created a shroud of distrust. Consequently the 21st century news cycle has become intertwined with the public discourse. This model begins to map and understand this interconnection between sponsored and social platforms and the cultural elements that arise from those moments. .
rubber webbing
wired interface
plexi-glass frame
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obscured territories A panoramic view of the world can be updated every six months. This sort of global intrusion condenses surface areas and gives the world an image unlike its 1972 self portrait. Wherein that image, the earth seemed still and everything seemed to be in one place at one time. Now the world revolves around the dialogue between cartesian and hertzian spaces, only the hertzian self portrait allows for zoom and street viewed invasions. The post-modern man is connected at the hip. This allows for these invasive moments. Devices have shed borders and created a transparency that is found through shared memories, locations, and opinions. The culture spreads politicized safety nets call for further surveillance. It seems the only form of privacy comes through obscuring or avoiding a digital presence that summarizes one’s physicality. This model looks to spatially convey these layers of obfuscation, leaving the viewer with an ambiguous form.
white / clear plexi layers
steel frame
camoflauge backing
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super digital // ultra physical The above project was an attempt to translate several different techniques across both physical and digital platforms. The piece was first made using grasshopper and monolith softwares to produce the splint form. Then new grasshopper techniques were performed on the same geometries to create new physical potentials. The geometries were then put through multiple material environments, such as wood, steel, and even rubber bands. This material environment required a type of procedure that effectively required both digital and physical platforms. 122
splinted outer shell
dispatched frame
attractor point field
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cnc foam
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cnc milled profile
vacuum form profile into splint
cnc vacuum formed piece
waterjet steel
copper and rubberband binding
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steel plating
plywood splint
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scripted mapping
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