BARAKA AL-RAMAH (KEKO) ARCHITECTURE AND ART PORTFOLIO SELECTED ACADEMIC WORK
TABLE OF CONTENTS ARCHITECTURE
AS A MATTER OF FACT AND FICTION - USC SPRING 2017 MATERIAL MUSING - USC SPRING 2017 IMAGINARY FORMS - USC FALL 2016 IMAGINARY HOME - USC FALL 2016 GROTTO - USC SPRING 2016
OTHER
PAPER - USC FALL 2015 FEATHERS & LIGHTS - USC FALL 2015 DESIGN VILLAGE - WVC SPRING 2013
AS A MATTER OF FACT AND FICTION
AXON - ORIGINAL HOUSE
 SWAY HOUSE - ATELIER BOW-WOW
THIS PROJECT INTRODUCED THE NOTION AND POSSIBILITIES OF VARIAS BUILDING MATERIALS. THROUGH THE USAGE OF A PRECEDENT, SWAY HOUSE BY ATELIER BOW-WOW, THREE METHODS OF BUILDING WERE EXPLORED: STEREOTOMIC, TECTONIC, AND MONOCOQUE. USC - DESIGN STUDIO - SPRING 2017
ANALYTICAL AXON STEREOTOMIC - SWAY HOUSE
LOOKING AT THE SWAY HOUSE THROUGH ITS SECTION AND ITS OCCUPIABLE SPACES; THE SHAPE OF THE STEREOTOMIC PART SHOWS CORRELATION TO THE ORIGINAL HOUSE USING CLEAR MATERIAL TO REPRESENT THE LIGHT GOING THROUGH INTO THE HOUSE, AND WHITE CANDLE WAX TO REPRESENT THE OPEN SPACES OF THE ORIGINAL PRECEDENT
QUALITATIVE AXON STEREOTOMIC SWAY HOUSE
ANALYTICAL AXON
 TECTONIC SWAY HOUSE
FROM THE STEREOTOMIC CONCEPT; FOCUSING ON CAPTURING MAXIMUM LIGHT THIS NOTION OF EXAGGERATED BY TAKING THE PATH OF THE SUN IN THREE DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR AND TURNED IT INTO “RAYS” OR INTERSECTING LINES TO SHOW HOW THE LIGHT COLLIDES WITH THE INTERIOR SPACES QUALITATIVE AXON TECTONIC SWAY HOUSE
USING CLEAR ACRYLIC STICKS TO REPRESENT THE INTERIOR SPACES, AND SPRAY PAINT- ED CLEAR ACRYLIC STICKS TO REPRESENT THE SUN RAYS
ANALYTICAL AXON
 MONOCOQUE SWAY HOUSE
QUALITATIVE AXON
 MONOCOQUE SWAY HOUSE
AFTER THE TECTONIC STUDY, THE EXPLORATION OF THE MONOCOQUE STARTS WITH THE CONCEPT OF LIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS. THIS TIME, THE INTERSECTION POINTS OF THE TECTONIC MODEL ARE USED TO GENERATE A MODULE THAT HAS A CONE-LIKE QUALITIES. THE CONE HAS REFLECTED SURFACES ON ITS INSIDE. THESE SURFACES REFLECT WHAT THE OCCUPANTS OF THE SWAY HOUSE SEE WHILE INSIDE, THEREFORE IT ACTS AS LENSE FROM THE INSIDE TO THE OUTSIDE.
MATERIAL MUSING - DESK SHELL FOCUSING ON SPECULAR AND OPTICAL IDEA OF LIGHT AND REFLECTION, THE STRUCTURE WAS DESIGNED TO ALLOW FOR CLOSURE OR OPENNESS FOR THE USER. USING A RAIN DROP SHAPED MODULE AGGREGATED SYSTEM TO GENERATE THE FINAL FORM THAT IS CURVED AROUND THE DESK. THE CURVE SHAPE ALLOWS FOR THE PRIVACY THE PROJECT IS AIMING FOR, AND ALSO THE VOLUMATIC SPACE IT GENERATES. USC - DESIGN STUDIO - SPRING 2017
PHASE 1 - DESK
PHASE 2 - DESK + SHELL
PHASE 3 - DETACHABLE/WEARABLE
PHASE 4 - WEARABLE
THE RAIN DROP SHELL ALSO ADDRESSES THE MICRO-MOVABLE ENVIRONMENT BY ALLOWING THE USER TO DETACH THE MIDDLE PART OF THE STRUCTURE AND WEAR IT BY WRAPPING AROUND THE HUMAN BODY AND MOVE IT TO THE NEXT WORK STATION/DESK. ANALYTICAL AXON VIEW
SHEARED PLAN VIEW
IMAGINARY FORMS WITH THE FOCUS OF NO SIZE OR SPACE IN MIND, ANALYTICAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL DRAWINGS WERE PRODUCED TO STUDY A FERAL FORM (IN THIS CASE, A CURVED PUBLIC RESTROOM STRUCTURE) FOUND IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES. THE FOUND FORM HAD WHAT APPEARED TO BE A “BAD SPLINE”. WHILE STUDYING THE BAD SPLINE, THIS PROJECT WAS TREATED AS ONLY TWO DIMENSIONAL EXERCISE. PRODUCING THE DRAWINGS MANUALLY, FIRST THE RADII OF THE SPLINE AND PROJECT LINES FROM WALLS WERE DRAWN. THEN, TESE RADII AND PROJECTION LINES CUT THROUGH THE AXON DRAWING OF THE ORIGINAL CURVED STRUCTURE AND THREE MAIN FORMS EMERGED; THE IMAGINARY FORMS. IN THE TRANSFORMATIONAL DRAWING, WHAT APPEARS THREE DIMENSIONAL IS ONLY TWO DIMENSIONAL AND ONLY EXIST ON PAPER. ALL THREE DIMENSIONAL FORMS ARE FICTION. USC - DESIGN STUDIO - FALL 2016
ANALYTICAL AXON OF ORIGINAL-FOUND OBJECT
ANALYTICAL AXON OF TRANSFORMED SHAPES
TRANSFORMATIONAL AXON
ENLARGED PLAN
IMAGINARY HOME THE IMAGINARY FORMS TRANSFORMED INTO THE IMAGINARY HOME (LIVABLE ENVIRONMENT). ON THE TRAFFIC ROUNDABOUT FOUND AT THE INTERSECTION OF 26TH STREET AND WASHINGTON AVE IN SANTA MONICA, TWO FORMS OUT OF THE THREE FORMS WERE TURNED INTO A “HOME”. THE GEOMETRY LINES THAT FORMS THE SHAPE OF THE IMAGINARY FORMS WERE USED AS SPACE DIVIDERS (INTERIOR WALLS). TO ACCESS ONE SPACE FROM ANOTHER, THE OCCUPANT ISTO CRAWL, CLIMBE, WALK USING THE DIFFERENT OPENINGS FOUND IN THE WALLS OR FLOORS.
USC - DESIGN STUDIO - FALL 2016
ENLARGED ANALYTICAL AXON
SECTION
GROTTO NAVIGATING THROUGH PRIMITIVE ARCHITECTURE EXAMPLES, THIS EXERCISE WAS TO EXPLORE THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF INTRODUCING VOIDS INSIDE A SOLID TO PRODUC A GROTTO. USC - DESIGN STUDIO - SPRING 2016
DIAGRAM 1
CUT PLAN
WORM’S EYE VIEW
THIS GROTTO STARTED WITH SIMPLE 3’X3’X3’ SOLID CUBES, TO THEN CREATE THIS COMPLEX REBELLIOUS PILE OF CUBES. THE VOIDS IN THIS GROTTO WERE CREATED VIA THE ADDITION OF MORE SOLID CUBES. EVERY THREE CUBS WERE CLUSTERED TOGETHER AND THEN THREE OF THESE CLUSTERS WERE ATTACHED TO CREATE A BASE LAYER.
THE BASE LAYER WAS MIRRORED AND ROTATED MULTIPLE TIMES. EVERY NE LAYER MOVED ABOVE THE PREVIOUS LAYER TO CREATE THE STACK OF CUBES. A SUBTRACTION AND CHISELING OF THE STACKED CUBES ALLOWED FOR MORE OPENINGS FOR CIRCULATION AND A MORE PLAYFUL SPACES CONNECTING THE OUTSIDE WITH THE INSIDE.
DIAGRAM 2
PAPER USING ONLY PAPER, THIS SCULPTURE WAS TO SHOWCASE THE POSSIBILITIES OF MANIPULATING ONE MUNDANE MATERIAL INTO ART. BY AGGREGATING A MODULE SYSTEM, I WAS ABLE TO PRODUCE A CROWN-LIKE PART THAT ALSO ACTS AS A VIEL BY DRAPING OVER A BSE MADE OF CARDBOARD TRIANGLES. THE FINAL PRODUCT WAS TO BE THE SIZE OF THE HUMAN BODY. USC - SCULPTURE COURSE - FALL 2015
FEATHERS AND LIGHTS FOR THIS ART EXERCISE, WE WERE TO ONLY USE THREE MATERIALS TO PRODUCE A SCULPTURE THAT WOULD ACTIVATE A SPACE. USING WHITE FEATHERS, LIGHTS, AND FISHING WIRE, I WAS ABLE TO ACTIVATE AN OUTDOOR CONCRETE “CHAPLE” SPACE. THE SPACE WAS NORMALLY DARK AND ON THE BACK OF THE ART SCHOOL AT USC, THE LIGHTS ALLOWED TO ILLUMINATE THE SPACE MAKING VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE AND THE HANGING SOFT FEATHERS JUXTAPOSED THE RIGID CONCRETE. USC - SCULPTURE COURSE - FALL 2015
BLUE NAUTILUS
DESIGN VILLAGE - DESIGN COMPETITION DESIGN HABITABLE STRUCTURES TAHT MUST BE HAND-CARRIED INTO A CANYON, UP A MILE-LONG GRAVLE ROAD. BLUE NAUTILUS WAS DESIGNED TO BE ADAPTABLE TO BOTH CHANGE IN GRADE AND CHANGE IN WEATHER. THE SIX WINGS ALLOW FOR A MULTITUDE OF COMBINATIONS. THEME AND CONCEPT: MAKE, MOVE, PLAY PRIZE: FIRST PLACE - PLAY CATEGORY SPRING 2013
BARAKA AL-RAMAH (KEKO) UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA B.ARCH 2020 408.340.3663 KEKO.ALRAMAH@GMAIL.COM