Alan D'Amore | Architecture + Design

Alan Vallada D’Amore Architecture + Design

CONTENTS Architecture + Design

2

Matrix & field architecture | urban | landscape

Create - Live architecture | residential | urban

Co-existing systems architecture | addition | detail

design 1 | fall 2006 | UF

design 6 | spring 2010 | FIU

design 10 | spring 2012 | FIU

54

36

Campus gleanings architecture | public

Cucumber effect architecture | mixed use | landscape

design 2 | spring 2007 | UF

design 7 | summer 2010 | FIU

50

16

Up above architecture | mixed use | infrastructure

In-between | Affordable housing regionalism | residential | sustainable

design 4 | spring 2008 | UF

design 9 | spring 2011 | FIU

46

32

The temporal - marking the ground architecture | public | desert

Le quattro ville architecture | mixed use | detail

design 4 | spring 2008 | UF

comprehensive design | summer 2011 | FIU

42

22

Carving the ground architecture | residential | landscape

Investigations on tectonics architecture | landscape | detail

design 5 | fall 2009 | FIU

design 10 | fall 2011 | FIU

28

Pu Public

07

58

Re

Mu

Fa

Residential

Mixed use

Fabrication

(left)

ordinary beauty AIA photography competition best in show

ADDITION TO THE GOETZ GALLERY CO-EXISTING SYSTEMS Goetz Art Gallery, Munich - Germany

EXISTING PROGRAM: Gallery collection of photos, paintings and drawings.

Pu

PROBLEM: Addition requires space to display heavy artifacts. The structure of the existing building does not provide for such heavy loads.

CO-EXISTING SYSTEMS

11

PROPOSAL: Design an additional gallery space for the display of heavy objects as well as a workshop, both supported by a steel structured system.

year

spring 2012 | D10

instructor

Elizabeth Cardona

institution

Florida International University

project

Goetz Art Gallery

heavy raised many design questions to how relationships between the two should be organized

location

Munich, Germany

and displayed. Herzog & De Meuron were highly sensitive towards choice of materials,

architects

Herzog & De Meuron

connections, form/context relationships and the unification of systems - because of such great

client

Ingvild Goetz

care and careful approach to the architecture and context, this project attempts to follow similar

The contrast between existing program and addition generated the initial conceptual ideas, being that a gallery for all that is light (existing building) juxtaposed with the gallery for all that is

concerns.

5

ANALYSIS OF EXISTING AND CONCEPTULIZING FORM

Timber structure supports the roof and makes up the construction of the floor on the 2nd level.

1ST FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR BASEMENT

Concrete c-channels support the entire 2nd floor. furthermore both the c-channels and the second floor rest on top of the retention wall that makes up the perimeter for the basement.

Moment of engaging interior with exterior order.

The order and scale of the structural elements along with how the vertical division of space is sequenced reinforces the building's ambiguous character - materiality and the constructed relationships between the later and the exterior composition ties the ambiguity of language together in unison.

6

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.

Existing.

2.

Duplicated and spun on a hinge.

3.

The

boundary

of

the

duplicated

rectangle is folded by two points paralel to each other, latching the extended faces onto the middle portion of the existing building.

4.

Form constructs a quality of space necessary to generate public and intimate courtyards.

7

DETAILED SECTION

8

a.

b.

e.

f.

c.

d.

g.

h.

b.

d.

a.

c.

A section cut through the main gallery space reveals the light condition desired for the display of art (space above) and the maximizing of light entering the space for the workshop located below the gallery.

e.

f.

g.

h.

9

BUILDING’S SYSTEMS

Exterior cladding and elevator doors birch wood and metal structure

Concrete walls

Steel Structure

Stairs - birch wood Concrete floors

Steel plate walls Steel C-channel embedded in curtain wall Curtain wall - opaque glass

Exterior walls - birch wood cladding Upper glass band - opaque glass Retention wall - reinforced concrete Interior walls - plaster finish Concrete C-channels - mid structure Ground level glass band - opaque glass Timber structure - second level

10

2. Some of the walls on the second floor of existing building are to be replaced by steel plates, others are to be demolished and replaced by marks made up of steel inlays on concrete floor.

1. Timber comulmns are to be paired up with steel columns where existing and addition connect. Timber beams were replaced by steel girders at connection point.

Aerial view of gathering space at the North side of the site.

The ordering of systems in relationship to the existing building is well balanced and holds the space within in an inviting manner for all guests to appreciate the architecture and the surrounding area.

11

BOK TOWER SPA CUCUMBER EFFECT Bok Tower Gardens - Lake Wales, FL

Pu CUCUMBER EFFECT year

summer 2010 | D7

instructor

Camilo Rosales

institution

Florida International University

08

The garden’s unique topography affords the opportunity to design on a slopping site, a rarity in south florida. Site design issues such as contour modification, cut, fill, and drainage were part of the studio effort. The aesthetic and phenomenological aspects of designing on a garden setting were also explored.

The program lends itself to study natural light as a mood changing agent. Daylighting techniques both digital and analog were thoroughly examined.

13

The spa is a place of quiet and tranquility. Natural light, water and secluded garden vistas create relaxing and contemplative atmospheres designed to refresh mind and body. The garden’s board of regents envisioned a spacious modern day retreat of refined elegance and discrete perfection. The new facilities were seamlessly integrated with the garden’s slope and took maximum advantage of sunlight and garden views. The project anchors its most prominent framed views to the garden's treasure, the bok tower. By carving into the ground the spa camouflages itself amongst the large oak trees and existing vegetation, whereas at other moments the building seems to flow above the slope of the landscape, capturing a long panoramic view of the garden.

3.

Bok Tower Gardens - Lake Wales, FL

14

1.

The spa will cater to garden members and non-members for half-day and full-day sessions.

The garden’s relative isolation and its original design philosophy of being a place created as a contemplative setting, enhances the spa’s mission of focusing on psychological and physical well-being.

1: Digital montage of southeast corner of spa, looking out to one of the framed views of the Bok Tower. 2: Interior shot - digital montage of the spa’s southeast corner. 3: Diagram of project chiseled out from a piece of cedar.

2.

15

-2 LEVEL B

A

GROUND LEVEL

a b

(above)

16

Section drawing Aa.

-3 LEVEL

-4 LEVEL

(right)

Section drawing Bb.

17

C. G. TRAINING FACILITY LE QUATTRO VILLE 15759 Captiva Dr. - Captiva, FL 33924

Mu LE QUATTRO VILLE year

spring 2011 | Comprehensive Studio

instructor

Jason Chandler | Nikolay Nedev

institution

Florida International University

09

The studio required to produce a schematic design drawing set. It was necessary to respect the Florida building code, and account for structure, mechanical ventilation, plumbing and electrical distribution. The site is long and both ends are near water – the east edge touches the intercostal and reaches further into it by the use of a private dock. The west edge meets the street but is abruptly pancaked with sand followed by the coastal waters. Due to location, the design asks for the project to be elevated one floor higher, utilizing the ground floor for parking. Program is divided in fours – administrative offices, dormitories, service/amenities, and a dock that follows the same form of the three before it. Each villa gained its own identity according to the type of program it fosters, addressing through design its essential needs and necessary structuring of interior and exterior order.

19

2

2

2 5

5

5

5

1

DN

16 UP

LEVEL 3 | SCALE: 3/32” = 1’

20

ALAN VALLADA D’AMORE JASON CHANDLER

Y ::

C ::

SUMMER 2011 SOA | FIU

COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN STUDIO

L ::

6

16

6 DN

6. DORM BATHROOMS

10. COLLECTIVE DINING TERRACE

14. DRY BOAT STORAGE

3. CONFERENCE ROOM

7. PUBLIC RESTROOMS

11. COVERED DINING TERRACE

15. DOCK MASTER OFFICE

4. MEETING ROOM

8. LOCKER ROOM

12. KITCHEN

16. MECHANICAL AREAS

08.08.11

2. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES

T ::

13. TRUCK STORAGE

COAST GUARD TRAINING FACILITY

9. GYM

P ::

5. DORM ROOMS

FLOOR PLANS

1. LOBBY

T ::

UP

D/B ::

Prof ::

NIKOLAY NEDEV

9

A1.2 21

NORTH-WEST BLOCK 1-CMU-BUSINESS

SOUTH-EAST BLOCK 1-CMU-BUSINESS

22

NORTH-WEST BLOCK 2-WOOD-LIVING

SOUTH-EAST BLOCK 2-WOOD-LIVING

NORTH-WEST BLOCK 3-GLASS-WATER/ACTIVITIES

SOUTH-EAST BLOCK 3-GLASS-WATER/ACTIVITIES

SOUTH-EAST BLOCK 4-OPEN-DOCK

STEEL SUSPENSION ROD

E

GALVANIZED-STEEL-GRATE CATWALK

F

CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB WITH POLISHED FINISHING

G

SUSPENDED CEILIING

08.08.11

D

T ::

LAMINATED ACID-ETCHED SAFETY GLASS

COAST GUARD TRAINING FACILITY

EXTRUDED-ALUMINUM STACK JOINT ANCHORED TO STEEL TUBE

C

P ::

SCALE AT 1/4”=1’

SANDBLASTED LOW-IRON CHANNEL GLASS WITH TRANSLUCENT INSULATION

B

COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN STUDIO

WALL DETAIL 1

A

C ::

SCALE AT 1/2”=1’

WALL SECTION DETAIL

WALL DETAIL 2

T ::

F

ALAN VALLADA D’AMORE JASON CHANDLER

C

SUMMER 2011 SOA | FIU

D

Y ::

B G

L ::

A

D/B ::

Prof ::

NIKOLAY NEDEV

E

A3.2 23

CARVING THE GROUND TECTONIC LANDSCAPE

A

Re CARVING THE GROUND

a

year

fall 2008 / D5

instructor

Malik Benjamin

institution

Florida International University

05

The project explored the relationships of context and architecture always sensitive to site's orientation, control of natural lighting to specific programme and sloped site condition. The focus of the studio was to create a sequence of private and public spaces that dealt with circulation (ascent/descent) within space in relationship to context.

25

26

1. (left) Section Aa, looking West.

2. (above) Photograph of physical model constructred from basswood, chipboard, museum board and plaster.

View of the Southwest side of the project.

27

AFFORDABLE HOUSING THE IN-BETWEEN SW 62nd Terrace Miami, FL 33143

Re CREATE-LIVE year

spring 2011 | D9

instructor

Camilo Rosales | Brett Moss

institution

Florida International University

07

The project’s main focus was to combine regional architectural qualities of South Miami and greater Miami with methods for designing a scenario that would generate high levels of social activity within the category of affordable housing. Furthermore the project aimed to avoid eclecticism and strived to combine elements from the local vernacular, Mediterranean, and modern styles. Incorporating modern/affordable housing with sustainability, aspired to educate the public and the user, enabling people to afford something modern and beautiful. This house becomes an example for the neighborhood and generates the opportunity for the public to embrace and learn more about sustainability in architecture and as a way of life.

29

PLAN VIEW

Ambiguity between levels of privacy are designed by manipulating the essence of fence, roof, and porch. The in-between spaces occupying such boundaries are responsible for the gradual gain of consciousness between what is public and what is private. The layering of spaces occurs within the very public (the street) to the very private (the entry of the home). Instead of an abrupt change in experience, one is led from one end of the spectrum to the other by means of sequential moments of pause.

Herman Hetzberge values this kind of space due to the rich level of interaction it generates between the built environment and the user along its multiple levels of intimacy.

30

East Facade

7

6 5

4

3 2

1

31

INFILL HOUSING CREATE-LIVE

Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Re CREATE-LIVE year

spring 2010 | D6

instructor

Elizabeth Cardona

institution

Florida International University

06

The design 6 studio sought to examine housing - a comprehensive housing project in an urban context. The studio focused on the organizations and studied adjacencies of living. The concept of living and the providing of its meaningful shelter were explored as a seamless event that included many scales: from the scale of the city down to the scale of furniture. The studio visited the city of Savannah, Georgia. The city of Savannah was used as precedence for understanding this expansive ideal of living. As the preeminent American model city, the studio focused on its remarkable urban infill housing.

South entry from the commercial steet, Lincoln Road.

33

One of the project's criteria was to work closely in designing an approach for each individual unit where program is subdivided and coordinated according to levels of intimacy. Images 1-3 describe such exercise. Image 1 shows the moment of entry to the filmmaker's home. At the oppositite side of the unit, image 2 highlights a space where the occupant can be at home and distanced from the entry door. image 3 depicts the bedroom and most intimate space located on the second floor.

1.

2.

34

3.

North entry

35

ARCH ITECT The project houses an architect, a sculptor, a dancer, a filmmaker, and a painter. The residents create in their private quarters and display their work along the walls and floor of the courtyard. The open ground level sustains a flow between its commercial side (Lincoln Rd.) and the alleyway. The inviting atmosphere allows for the heavy pedestrian traffic to engage with occurring events and displayed art scattered along the courtyard.

R LPTO SCU

LERY GAL

fourth floor

LINCOLN RD.

36

Longitudinal section cut from North to South end of the project.

PAIN

TER

A section cut from the North to the South end of the project highlights the inviting quality of the ground floor, an unrestricted access from both ends of the building. it also frames the possible moments of interaction between the residents themselves and the public below.

R CE

N DA

FIMLMAKER

ALLEY

37

Plan view.

Pencil on Vellum

DESERT PROJECT

THE TEMPORAL - MARKING THE GROUND Black Rock Desert, NV

Pu TEMPORAL MARKINGS year

spring 2008 | D4

instructor

Donna Cohen

institution

University of Florida

04

The studio explored perhaps the most fundamental part of the design process: understanding of, and sympathy with the "natural site". The project took inspiration and conceptual direction from the phenomenological and physical understanding of the specific site. the students were encouraged to connect individual investigations to larger ideas and cultural themes in areas such as art, literature and popular culture. Those lines of inquiry challenged assumptions of the site presented, the conventions of architecture, and personal beliefs.

39

40 47’03,85” N 119 12’43,83” W ELEVATION = 3907 ft

REVEAL

MARKS

ASSEMBLE

z

40

z

z

z

WATER

ARRIVAL

ACTIVITY

SLEEP

BURNING MAN EVENT/DEPARTURE

DISMANTLE

RESIDUE

THE PERMANENT

1-4: Photographs of final physical model.

3. Photo of sectional elevation cutting thorough Northwest / Southeast ends of the project.

4. Photo of South elevation.

1.

4.

2.

3.

41

9.

2.

8.

1.

3.

7.

THE TOWER PROJECT UP ABOVE

Parque do Ibirapuera area - Sao Paulo, SP Brazil

10.

5.

Mu 03

UP ABOVE 4.

6.

year

spring 2008 | D4

instructor

Donna Cohen

institution

University of Florida

The tower project introduced an open-ended thinking field based on the combination of infrastructures. The development process overlaps urban approaches and various programme into integral markers within the city grid.

Each structure is capable of sustaining essential local needs for a larger portion of the grid it operates in, simultaneously assisting in the city’s long term obstacles such as transportation and pollution - two sensitive topics in a city such as Sao Paulo, Brazil. The tower becomes an extension of the ground level until it is drastically separated and suspended above the city line. The freed space in-between the two masses act as a joint to the existing surrounding vertical city made up of skyrises and the new mega structures, all interconnected via membranes floating high above ground. A new order takes hold of the air space above the old chaotic city grid.

43

1.

2.

4.

Images 1-6: Photographs of physical model.

44

3.

5.

Photograph of physical model, highlighting the elevated mass suspended above the city line.

6.

45

CAMPUS GLEANINGS RESTRUCTURING THE EXISTING SW 13th St, University of Florida - Gainesville, FL

Re CAMPUS GLEANINGS year

spring 2007 | D2

instructor

Lavent Kara

institution

University of Florida

02

The project was an intervention dealing with sectional ribbons not plan patterns. Based on an existing fabric, the studio’s focus was to comprehend the language of the standing structure so to reconfigure, add, and adapt into a new entity.

47

(above)

48

1.

2.

3.

4.

4.

5.

6.

7.

1-8: Multiple opportunities within campus for the unfolding of the project.

5. Image of chosen nook utilized as project’s context.

Existing structure chosen for site analysis and subsequently integrating installation onto it.

49

MATRIX / FIELD A SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS

Re A SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS year

fall 2006 | D1

instructor

Nancy Sanders

institution

University of Florida

01

An anterior project, the CUBE, is situated in a dynamic field and unfolds itself in a process of organizational transformation. An analysis of selected images - and the derived poetic definitions of them - drove the construction of a matric composed of the harvested images and selected moment details of the CUBE. The Mondrian painting, “Broadway Boogie Woogie�, and its precise measured grid structure, provided an additional proportional framework. When intersected with the systems of the CUBE, this juxtaposition gave birth to anew spatial network.

INTENT: To introduce an open-ended thinking field based on cartesian space, yet transcends the finite boundaries explored in the cube project - a familiar, platonic volume that served as a neutral three-dimensional universe in which dynamic spatial relationships, as well as fundamental design vocabularies, are studied.

To understand and organize space, time and materiality.

To train the ability to perceive and model/draw fundamental spatial orders.

51

(below)

Images 1-4 inform of the three interwiding systems that construct the project.

1.

52

Massing diagram.

2.

Circulation diagram.

3.

Program diagram.

4.

53

Alan Vallada D’Amore Furniture + Design

Wharton Esherick case study

J.S. photo frame

L.W. photo frame

R.H. photo frame

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

72

80

84

86

C.E. photo frame

B.B. photo frame

E.P. photo frame

Heli-cool bicycle mount

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

92

96

100

104

Layer that light table

What’s it for desk

Banqueta chair

A chair for a chair chair

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2012 | FIU

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

110

116

122

126

My favorite mistakes chair

Crafty pallet chair

Palletcraft exhibition

Furniture by architects exhibition

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

132

138

MAA Presentation exhibition

The Archive exhibition

MAA | spring 2013 | FIU

MAA | fall 2013 | FIU

154

146

150

158

Fa Fabrication

Ex Exhibit

Cs Case Study

MAKING AS A METHOD Rediscovering the Essential Nature of Familiar Things How much transformation or distancing from the original existing fabric is enough to compose new meaning without losing fundamental connectivity, allowing us to recognize the remaining traces of its origin? At what point can we accept the re-composed identity as new?

In observing our existing physical environment, things tend to lose their meaning because we have grown overly familiar with them. We tend to disengage from our surroundings, forgetting the essential beauty in what we perceive. This research aims to utilize the making process as a means for rediscovering the essential nature of these neglected things. The act of making or modifying a mundane object can serve as a means for revealing what has been hidden by too much familiarity. In the process of making, designing, and carefully observing an ordinary object, familiar meanings disappear and are replaced by a deeper understanding of the relationship between component parts, maker and object, user and object, and object and its environment. The meanings associated with such commonplace objects are transformed, producing a rich understanding of their essential qualities.

The problem at hand is a two part negotiation: How much transformation or distancing from the original existing fabric is enough to

compose new meaning, without losing fundamental connectivity and allowing us to recognize the remaining traces of its origin? At what point can we accept the re-composed identity as new?

The photograph of the building of the school of architecture (image 1), and both photos portraying the essence of a paperclip (images 2 & 3) are examples of this search for balance between existing and adapted systems. The SOA building is the simplest product of this exploration. The exercise is successful in creating something new and exciting by seamlessly bridging the discoveries made during the process of making. The new understanding of the re-configured systems does not completely neglect their origins, but continue to reference them throughout their transformation. The exercises related to the paperclip are similar to that of the SOA building, until it reaches a point of acknowledging which generated relationships between new and original are successful. In the process of constructing a new understanding, the manipulated systems utilized in the second exercise are distorted to a point at which recognition of the original system is near obliteration. These relationships are explored in a four part process. OBSERVING is the initial phase in which an existing body of systems and patterns activate interest in the observer – instinctively, an analyses of such

familiar relationships begins. In observing and imagining possible re-configurations within the existing systems, the next phase of this process is DESIGNING. In the design phase, re-structuring the order or its adaptations dictates levels of disengagement and connectivity with its origin. A flexible framework is initially necessary to entertain a variety of opportunities that are further investigated in the MAKING phase, where the final push to refining the balance between elements takes place. In making, the intellectual negotiations are turned down and the process takes up on a more visceral approach to problem solving.

During the process of making, the combination of a flexible but orderly framework along with an intuitive means of producing, allows for a highly engaged mode of operation.

While in this phase the first glimpses into the final redefined system are revealed. And finally, the last phase of this process is the comparing and contrasting of the original existing fabric to that of the newly developed one. How successful is the end result in projecting the essence of the original without being literal or too vague?

In examining all produced projects during this research, a vibrant layer of patterns and systems emerges, highlighting an integration between all artifacts. When all projects are combined under one umbrella, each provokes a small discovery towards a path for greater

In examining all produced projects during this research, a vibrant layer of patterns and systems emerges, highlighting an integration between all artifacts. When all projects are combined under one umbrella, each provokes a small discovery towards a path for greater and more meaningful conversations. These projects make up a network that receives constant feedback during and after the process of making, which continuously raises the question of how two pieces come together. Most importantly, their potential role in generating new meaningful ideas provide structured models that may be explored in site-specific projects within the field of architecture.

The research became a constant exploration of the process of making and the refinement of a policy. A policy is an organized manifestation of contemporary structures used to critically generate engagement with issues at hand. The founding structures forming this policy constitutes a particular process of making, designing, and careful studying of our physical environment. Energy is focused on how to replace familiar meanings with a deeper understanding of the relationship between component parts, maker and object, and object and its environment.

The idea behind the development of a policy is to create ground rules that can be tested

and manipulated within the realms of architecture and furniture, simultaneously. For example, a unit of architecture - a small room or a pod - can be designed and fabricated to house a furniture piece and initiate a dialogue between context and existing systems in a small scale production. To elaborate on both scales simultaneously is to consider both human and city needs. The infused furniture piece is much a part of the whole order as any other element constructing the measurable and immeasurable qualities of the architecture.

Furthermore, the policy is efficient exactly because of its highly intuitive approach. It allows me to have at least three attempts to test and learn how to solve the design problem. One: the first design is driven by logical patterns and reactions to the design problem. Two: utilizing the first design as its point of departure, the second design derives from an instinct for recognizing the existing patterns and systems. In collaboration with instinct, the power of intuition takes charge of generating and/or organizing the relationships that bond those structures. With so much beauty produced from intuitively driven moments, it may be fair to say intuition is not a farfetched concept and it ought to be practiced more often during every design process - more than any other sense. Three: the physical expression of a third design is

often absent because within the realms of my mind I instigate and reflect on the process of making and revisit the decisions taken by the intuitive approach. Gained from testing is the assemblage of knowledge that makes up the third design, the recognition of potentially meaningful ideas that will continue to shape the design, and the opportunity to infuse a higher level of significant complexity in the structure of the design.

58

SCALE/PERCEPTION

PEELING

TRACES

BRUTE/DELICATE

PINCH/PRESSURE

REFLECTION/COPY

COMPRESSION/EXPANSSION

LAYERS

LIGHT CONDITION

DEPTH

3

1

2

59

61

63

Cs WHARTON ESHERICK 00 year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Case study on furniture designer Wharton Esherick’s process of making and his famous Farmhouse Dining Table.

65

WHARTON ESHERICK A keen observer and a master of adapting the existing to make his own The farmhouse dining set, finished in 1928 with the help of John Schmidt, is Wharton Esherick’s most important furniture design. All four chairs possess a unique identity.

Although asymmetry reins over the overall language, Wharton ingeniously balances the composition with other systems. Throughout the years of Wharton’s development as an artist and a person, these systems of patterns have been re-adapted various times but they construct nonetheless the rich and powerful pallet that makes up his furniture designs.

Tracing back to his initial experience with furniture making, Wharton designed his first piece in 1923 – a plate rack – inspired by the neo-gothic furniture from the nearby Arts and Crafts community of Rose Valley. Within that familiar style, he would also buy and fix broken furniture worth restoring. In the process of observing, experimenting, and adapting to the neo-gothic furniture, he acquired some of its language – reiterations of such systems are apparent in the Farmhouse Dining Set. In furniture, the neo-gothic style consists of the “ … handmade nature of their work through heavy, medieval carved designs, often with richly tooled surface textures” . Also the use of simple pegged joints, the rounding of edges, and a thick and heavy appearance.

The dining set also displays its form with emphasis on an angular geometry, reconfiguring an existing system similar to the Europe-

an Modernism of the time. Rudolf Steiner is a great example. The Austrian philosopher and architect heavily influenced Wharton’s way of thinking and design language hence the traces of angular geometrical gestures generated for the design of the dining set.

woodcutting and sculpting. One may still see where the parts connect to each other, however it is the way Wharton subtracted from the object – most likely after all the parts had been glued – that gave way to such interpretation. Intuitively, he shaped the object with that illusion of wholeness in mind, Aside from the angular geometrical composi- as if applying a final finish – a thin veil that tion of the set, the asymmetry and irregularity softened the edges and molded all the parts between the individual pieces creates a together. dynamic effect Wharton had been familiar with. In painting, woodcutting, and sculpting, Yet another eminent feature in the Farmhouse movement was a constant source of inspira- dining set is the cutouts from the back of the tion and exploration. The recurring theme was chairs. Adapting techniques acquired from his safe house for designing without the early transitory years of his development constraints while having fun. When this explo- as an artist – each cutout, completely different ration would occur, Wharton begins to devel- from one another, embodies an identity of its op the piece as a sculpted object, elaborating own. Closely observing the contrast between more on what it felt than what it ought to negative and positive, it becomes difficult to have looked like. He was especially attentive ignore these cutouts as abstracted figures to the subtle changes in form that accentu- because of their proportion and composition. ates the strong expressive character of his In painting he learned how to precisely read work. and depict a subject’s body language. Years passed until Wharton transitioned into woodThe transition from sculpting into furniture cutting and became an expert at applying the making helped Wharton solve the relation- same sensitivity and portraying one’s expresship between the connecting of parts and the sive character into his prints. When abstractobject as a whole. The sculptures created by ing the subject’s geometry to compose his Wharton carried a monolithic character in the woodcuts, he knew exactly which lines should sense that their design are continuous and its be kept and which to distort in order continue parts (if more than one) read as a whole the expressive identity of the subject. sculpted block. In furniture, being that every object is constructed of many parts, he The Farmhouse Dining Set was originally successfully created the illusion of wholeness designed for personal use, to accommodate at by utilizing the various techniques learned in the time his wife and two daughters. The

cutouts from the back of the chairs could have very well been a representation of his family.

Three arguments can be made to reinforce this idea. Over the transitions in his career and experimentations with other mediums Wharton became capable of using geometrical shapes to abstract any desired subject.

With simple complexities he would balance the degree of abstraction to a form, extending the observation period necessary to momentarily engage recognition. An example of this manipulation of form (and his humorous ways) can be seen in the Outhouse door detail where Wharton carved an expressionist depiction of aroused male genitalia – a combination of vent and pull. Secondly, if the cutouts are taken as abstracted figures of each family member, one may begin to notice subtle gestures expressing body language.

Two patterns make up this system that when in contrast with one another, builds a relationship between the character of an adult and that of a child – based on their “face” expression and “body” language. Lastly, due to the nature of the table (five sides), there is a certain control in how the chairs are oriented around it. The two shorter sides at opposite ends of the table are designated for each of the chairs that resemble the parent figures.

The pair of chairs where the children would sit takes up the longest side of the table, sandwiched between the shorter sides and most likely facing a wall behind it. His experiences as a father must had largely influenced the level of precision in not only how the

chairs are oriented around the table but also how the table itself sits within the space, acknowledging the constraints of the room – a secondary level of control a parent with young children would surely benefit from.

Wharton was constantly working and re-working a system of patterns that contrasted the consistencies and inconsistencies in his work. On account of the different family of objects, it is especially interesting to observe this language in the Farmhouse Dining Set. He exploits the system of consistency utilizing the irregular and often asymmetrical patterns.

It evolves into an inconsistency when an anomaly is introduced to the system creating a point of reference or sometimes when within the same pattern the governing rules are slightly modified. Wharton applies this sort of reading to different scales within the set – from the butterfly joint details to the overall reading of all the objects together. The tabletop is made up of four long walnut slabs and one plank perpendicular to the rest.

Wharton could have used butterfly joints to tie all the planks together but he had a different design in mind. He opted to expand the language of anomalies and inconsistencies, doing so in two ways. One being that the planks running longitudinally are locked in place by the perpendicular slab, in a dovetail format, discarding the necessity for butterfly joints. Also, by excluding the use of the butterfly joints on the tabletop, Wharton could spare that “tool” in order to inject it as an anomaly

somewhere else he would see fit. The tabletop and its consistent system of irregular patterns now display an anomaly, embedded in the language of parts and its method of construction. Similarly, Wharton uses the chairs to stipulate a sense of disruption. Three of the four chairs are composed of the same number of parts (aside from the ebony inlays which are a separate pattern in another scale): four parts that make up the back rest, one part for the seat, and four legs holding up the chair. One chair however is built with a few less parts: three pieces for the back rest, one for the seat, and three legs. The three legged chair is the anomaly within the family of chairs and once again he unbalances a continuous reading in the system of patterns. Wharton enhances the dynamic beauty in his work by unfolding the complexities of many systems at a time without overwhelming visual perception. Also he adapts and develops new relationships between parts and the whole, establishing a language uniquely his, and most of all articulating simple underlying concepts that become anything but boring literal translations.

67

68

69

70

71

Fa 01

J.S. FRAME year

fall 2012 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Steel Glass Brass hardware

73

74

75

Fa 02

L.W. FRAME year

fall 2012 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Glass Maple dowels Paper clips

77

78

79

Fa R.H. FRAME

03

year

fall 2012 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Stainless steel rods Pallet wood Glass Red clamps

81

82

83

Fa 04

C.E. FRAME year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Reclaimed brazilian Cedar Plexi glass White oak dowels Stainless steel hardware

85

86

87

Fa 05

B.B. FRAME year

fall 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Finishing nails White oak dowels Plexiglass

89

90

91

Fa 06

E.P. FRAME year

fall 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Reclaimed bamboo chopsticks Finishing nails Plexiglass

93

94

95

Fa BICYCLE MOUNT

07

year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Plywood Plexi glass Steel Stainless steel hardware

97

98

99

100

101

Fa LIGHT TABLE

08

year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Plywood Plexi glass Steel Stainless steel hardware

103

104

105

106

107

Fa WHAT’S IT FOR

09

year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Reclaimed brazilian cedar Pallet wood Steel Leather

109

110

111

112

113

Fa 10

BANQUETA year

fall 2012 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Mahogany Maple Steel

115

116

117

Fa A CHAIR FOR A CHAIR year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Reclaimed brazilian cedar Maple Steel rods Stainless steel hardware

11

119

120

The CHAIR FOR A CHAIR project was a re-adaptation of an existing experiment. It begun with a design that already had the backing and the seat assembled. However, the legs were in discordance with the rest of the chair so the project continued without the existing backing and seat (those parts were eventually put to use in the CRAFTY PALLET project). The design issue consisted in creating an addition for the existing context. The approach was to juxtapose the top and bottom identities and simultaneously marry the two systems - the dynamic industrial feel of the legs to the warm sculptural character for the seat and backing.

Pallet wood / Reclaimed Brazilian Cedar / Maple / Steel rods / Stainless steel hardware

121

122

123

Fa MY FAVORITE MISTAKES year

spring 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Reclaimed brazilian cedar Maple Steel rods White oak dowels

12

125

126

127

128

129

Fa CRAFTY PALLET

13

year

fall 2013 | MAA

instructor

Eric Peterson

institution

Florida International University

Pallet wood Nails Resin

131

132

The CRAFTY PALLET chair was pat of the Coral Gables Museum exhibit "Palletcraft", curated by Eric Peterson. The project started as an experiment to test curvature and joinery utilizing only the wood acquired from shipping pallets. After the process of dismantling the pallets, the wood was then sized according to the design and joined together by the interlocking of the evenly spaced members that construct each part.

As an additional reinforcement and finishing treatment, certain surface areas and small gaps were filled with coats of an amber colored resin.

Pallet wood / 16 GA nails / Amber color resin

133

134

135

136

137

Ex PALLETCRAFT year

fall 2013

curator

Eric Peterson

institution

Coral Gables Museum

CRAFTY PALLET A CHAIR FOR A CHAIR A BANQUETA MY FAVORITE MISTAKES WHAT’S IT FOR

01

139

140

141

Ex FURNITURE BY ARCHITECTS year

fall 2013

curator

Nikolay Nedev

institution

Florida International University

CRAFTY PALLET WHAT’S IT FOR

02

143

144

145

Ex MAA PRESENTATION

03

year

spring 2013

curator

Nikolay Nedev

institution

Florida International University

LIGHT TABLE A BANQUETA A CHAIR FOR A CHAIR MY FAVORITE MISTAKES

147

148

149

Ex THE ARCHIVE year

spring 2013

curator/owner

Anamari Portuondo

1559 1/2 Sunset Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33143

A CHAIR FOR A CHAIR MY FAVORITE MISTAKES

04

151

152

153

- Aê Gabriel, você ta mudando as tuas musicas?

- Não, to musicando as minhas mudanças...

- Aê Gabriel, are you changing your songs?

- No, I’m singing my changes...

Gabriel O Pensador, Masturbação Mental.

As Casas onde Morei Nas casas onde morei, Posso ver o que deixei.

No eco que reverbera, Na imagem que carrega, Do telhado ao porão, Tem a minha mão.

Silhueta circunscrita Na casa dos poetas, Dos músicos, das melodias, Das costureiras , das fantasias, Aguςada manifesta, Bagagem que navega Retratada Em uma moldura dourada.

Ana D'Amore November 10, 2012

Alan D’Amore, M.Arch. + MAA Architecture + Design Selectec Works 2013 - 2006