SMUGGLERS & SKINS
MASKING & UNMASKING TIMES SQUARES FACES
It’s one o’clock in the morning again, and this is the city, and these are the lights...
SMUGGLERS & SKINS
Masking & Un-Masking Times Square’s Faces A Masking and Un-Masking in Manhattan, New York’s, Times Square MArch Achitecture Part II Design Report May 2020 Eireann Iannetta-Mackay
REDRESSING AN ILLUMINATED SPECTACLE Skins & Smugglers: Masking & Un-Masking Times Square’s Faces
Smugglers & Skins articulates a landscape that reconfigures Times Square’s iconic trademark – the neon signage on great billboards and poster frames. This condition is articulated through a redressing of the LED masks by scraping, feathering, creasing and folding to create a skin that provides space between the digital language of Times Square and the existing facades to allow another world of inhabiting to happen between the thicknesses. This double-skin structure houses spaces for performance on and within the new landscape. As this digital carpet-like structure hangs into the public space, it faces off a siege-like tower that trundles along an El Rail-esque walkway raised above the ground. It occasionally stops and opens up its armature to enact a performance of its own, projecting onto the existing buildings facades and protruding disruptions in the skins surface. With the iconic Statue of Liberty watching over the city as the Mother of Exile, this project not only creates a new face for Times Square but also smuggles architectures into the shells of the existing buildings of the square, giving houses for performers and creatives who are exiled from their own. These smuggled structures incorporate performing arts communities housed at Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts and reimagines them in a contemporary way. An archipelago of performance spaces housed within a finely calibrated edge condition in a reimagined Times Square; reinterpreting the notion of an illuminated spectacle given over to the pleasure of consumption and the consumption of pleasure.
the Characters
Times Square
Theatre District
ACT II
INTERLUDE
Glossary
Broadway
44th St
42nd Street Reading the Theatrics
43rd St
42nd St
ACT I
Edges I
Smugglers I
Directors I
Skins II
INTERLUDE
1-30
43-82
41-168
31-40
FRAMING THE PERFORMANCE
Skins I
Burns I
One Times Square
NYE Ball Drop
the Great Depression
a Tower and its Dock 89-114
83-88
SCENE I 43nd & Broadway SCENE II 44th & Broadway
Skins III
Burns II
Smugglers II
Edges II
Burns III
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
Skins V Smugglers V
169-184
165-168
Spills
CREDITS
the Tower and a Viewing Tower Re-Dressing the Studio A Strange Time in Times Square
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
48th Street
Burns IV
Skins IV
ACT III
Walks I
INTERLUDE
Edges III
SCENE IV 46th & Broadway Smugglers IV
INTERLUDE
INTERLUDE
Smugglers III
141-164
SCENE III 45th & Broadway
135-140
121-134
115-120
CONTENTS
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
E
TH GH
HI GE
ID
BR
46th St
45th St
44th St
LO CK
G&
LN
CO
IN
LIN
ES
TIM
RE
NT
E
SQ UA R
SE
OU
’S H
OE
-P
CE
M
EF AR
TH
- PA CK
TT OM
MO UN
42ND & BROADWAY
G
IN
PA CK
UN
ACT I WI
LL
SB UR GB
IAM
RID
GE
The Story of the Report on the Design Thesis, an inherently theatrical and performative architectural landscape, follows the narrative structure of a play. It is divided into two Acts and four Scenes. There are Architectural and Urban Characters with architectural and urban characteristics, framed through a series of scales for enquiry. The Characters inhabit the landscape of the work as Skins, Smuggled artefacts, Edge conditions and Folds and they include amongst their number, a Tower that moves along a Rail, a Curtain and a Screen, a Cellist, a Chair, a Workshop, a Director and a Cameraman. They house, hold, move, animate and illuminate the Thesis in various ways along the length of the Great White Way [Broadway] from 43rd to 47th Street. The Scales at which they operate range from the Milieu – the scale of the terrain and the environment – to the Man – the human scale of inhabitation – to the scale of the Mollusc – the detail. Act I situates the Thesis in Manhattan and her histories, locating the prompts. Act II narrates the journey from 43rd Street in the South to 47th Street in the North. The performance of the Design Report is punctuated by Interludes. Each Interlude foregrounds an architectural event in the evolution of the Thesis across the 2 years of investigation and development. An Interlude in the narrative enacts a pause when the director/author reflects upon the nature of her practice: the role of craft and construction, marking and quarrying, of drawing and un-drawing and stories and storytelling as a generative tool for design.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Act III brings the proposal to a point of reflection, both as a pinnacle character in the proposal and in the designing and shaping of the thesis, under the current environmental conditions.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
READING THE THEATRICS
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
READING THE THEATRICS
4
MILIEU
[geology]
MANTLE / MANTEL [2]
MAISON
[noun]
a construction framing the opening of a fireplace and visually covering part of the chimney breast in a more or less decorative way
MANTLE [3]
MONSTER
[ornithology] a birds back, scapular and inner plumage, especially when of the same colour and distinct from other plumage
MANTLE [4]
MAN
[noun]
a loose sleeveless cloak, cape or shall
MANTLE [5]
MOLLUSC
[zoology]
(in molluscs) a single or paired outgrowth of the body wall that lines the inner surface of the valves of the shell in molluscs and brachiopods
MANTLE [6]
[noun]
44th St
43rd St
an important role or responsibility that has been passed on from one person to another
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
3. the Director
MANTLE [1]
the portion of the earth, about 1800 miles (2900km) thick, between the crust and the core
42nd St
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
MANTLES
GLOSSARY
GENERAL TERMS
SCAPELAND
[book extract]
In his essay Scapeland (1989) Jean-François Lyotard suggests that: ‘there would appear to be a landscape whenever the mind is transported from one sensible matter to another, but retains the sensorial organization appropriate to the first, or at least a memory of it. The earth seen from the moon for a terrestrial, the countryside for the townsman; the city for a farmer. ESTRANGEMENT (dépaysment) would appear to be a precondition for landscape.’
SKIN
[noun] the thin layer of tissue forming the natural outer covering of the body of a person or animal [or thing] any outer coating, covering or surface layer
SMUGGLE
[verb]
convey (someone or something) somewhere secretly and illicitly
EDGE [condition]
[noun]
the outside limit of an object, area or surface
FOLD [1]
[verb]
a line or crease produced in paper or cloth as the result of folding it.
FOLD [2]
[noun]
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47th St
46th St
45th St
a slight hill or hollow in the ground.
6
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
THE CHARACTERS
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
36. the Bar
30. the Skin
35. the Actor
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
28. the Stage
23. the Barre
27. the Wardrobe
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
20. the Stand
16. the Mantle
19. the Window
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
12. the Cellist
9. the Operatist
11. the Composer
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
4. the Time Keeper
2. the Sign Keeper
3. the Director
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MILIEU MONSTER
FRAMING THE PERFORMANCE
SCENE I 43nd & Broadway
SCENE II 44th & Broadway
SCENE III 45th & Broadway
SCENE IV 46th & Broadway
CREDITS 47th & Broadway
1.
1.
3.
2.
the Sign Keeper
1.
the Tower
1.
the Tower
the Director
3.
the Director
3.
the Viewing Tower
6.
the Rail
the Tower
the Director
2.
the Sign Keeper
3.
the Director
4.
the Time Keeper
3.
3.
the Director
6.
the Rail
6.
the Rail
13. the Performer
4.
the Time Keeper
9.
the Operatist
9.
the Musician
14. the Tailor
5.
the Dock
10. the Screenwriter
10. the Cellist
21. the Bar
6.
the Rail
17. the Curtain
19. the Stand
22. the Catwalk
16. the Mantle
18. the Screen
20. the Dias
25. the Rehearsal Room
21. the Sign
25. the Rehearsal Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
6.
the Rail
15. the Dancer
7.
the Chair
16. the Actor
8.
the Plinth
21. the Sign
21. the Sign
23. the Barre
28. the Stage
24. the Workshop
30. the Skin
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
32. the Viewing Tower 34. the Lights
26. the Dressing Room
26. the Dressing Room
28. the Stage
34. the Lights
27. the Warbrobe
28. the Stage
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
28. the Stage
29. the Smuggler
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
30. the Skin
30. the Skin
31. the Cameraman
37. the Freezer
38. the Musician
47th St
30. the Skin
26. the Dressing Room 29. the Smuggler 30. the Skin 35. the Actor 34. the Lights
48th St
the Tower
46th St
45th St
THE CHARACTERS
8
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS I
10
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
Times Square sits at the crossroads of John Randel Jr’s grid - the Commissioners Plan of 1811 - and Broadway. It is famously nicknamed ‘the crossroads of the world’ and Dos Passos refers to it as ‘the centre of things’ in his book Manhattan Transfer. The section of Broadway that runs through Times Square & the Theatre District is also named The Great White Way because it was one of the first streets in the US to be lit with electric lights.1 This became Broadway and, primarily, Times Square’s iconic trademark. The faces of the buildings decorated with neon signage on great billboards and poster frames, masking and redressing them as scaffolds for LED illuminations.
Times Square aerial showing the glow of the theatre district & times square from above Times Square [from the live camera looking south] The signs make up to be some of the most expensive advertising real estate in the world. It became crucial for all the buildings in the square to adhere to this image and there is now a zoning law that requires all buildings within the square to have at least one illuminated sign of a certain size.2 With 350,000 people crossing through the square on average each day, it is one of the most watched spaces of our time.
44th St
43rd St
1. the New York Post, ‘How Broadway got the nickname “The Great White Way” in 1880,’ last accessed May 10 2020, https://nypost. com/2018/07/06/how-broadway-got-the-nickname-the-great-whiteway-in-1880/ 2. Gizmodo, ‘How Times Square Works,’ last accessed May 12 2020, https://gizmodo.com/how-times-square-works-1582269710.
42nd St
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
TIMES SQUARE’S ILLUMINATION’S
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
TIMES SQUARE
12
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
THEATRE DISTRICT
NEW YORK THEATRE DISTRICT
Times Square sits at the heart of the Theatre District in Midtown, which runs from West 40th St to West 54th St and Eighth Avenue to Sixth Avenue. This encapsulates Times Square and a large stretch of Broadway - this section being the Great White Way. Following the opening of 42nd St in1836, the mayor of the city stated: “move up town, and enjoy the fresh, clean air”.3 Once the Metropolitan Opera Moved to West 39th & Broadway in 1883, more and more theatres moved to the district and began to establish the Theatre District and Broadway Theatre as we know it today. Popularity continued to grow as the first trolley line was installed in 1899 and, not long after, the New York Subway, granting transportation to those who lived beyond reach of Midtown. The rise of the advertising industry in the 1900’s led to money pouring into the square to advertise the theatre shows but also to advertise products. As it was such a readily busy space it was a hub for reaching as large a market as possible.4 The signs began as modest billboards and street lamps were the only lights initially. But the signs became more elaborate over time, becoming illuminated, 3 dimensional and in some cases theatrical themselves, such as the famous Camel billboard - a tobacco advertisement - which billowed smoke.5 3. Spotlight on Broadway, ‘Broadway History,’ last accessed May 3, 2020, http://www.spotlightonbroadway.com/broadway-history. 4. Spotlight on Broadway, ‘Broadway History.’ 5. Signs, ‘Times Square Signage through the Years,’ last accessed May 10, 2020, https://www.signs.com/blog/times-square-signage-through-the-years/.
47th St
46th St
45th St
Camel Tobacco Sign Billowing Smoke 1940
48th St
Hagstrom’s Map of New York’s Theatre District & Times Square
14
BRO ADW AY BROADWAY | THE GREAT WHITE WAY
It was previously the Wickquasgeck trail, a route that wound the length of the island when it was a swampy and rocky landscape. When the Dutch arrived to the city, they widened the street and renamed it Heeren Wegh - also known as Gentleman’s Way, or ‘High Street’.6 Broadway is embedded into the grain of the city. Edgar Allan Poe travelled up and down Broadway every day from his home in the Bronx to his work in the printing press on Nassau Street in Lower Manhattan. This was the street we mapped out on the walkings drawing of Edgar Allan Poe’s wanderings. Broadway acts as an iconographic prompt for multiple situations throughout the thesis and is embodied as the axis for the project as the skins are set off from either side of the rail running up the street from the south to the north through a dip in the gully of the screens.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
6. Spotlight on Broadway, ‘Broadway History.’
AV E
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
7th
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BROADWAY
16
One Times Square (1TS) is a vessel that represents the culture of the crossroads of the world. It embodies all the characteristics that depict the famous Square as it is seen today. It was built to house The New York Times (NYT) newspaper headquarters, relocating from their Nassau St residence in 1904. The structure was one of the tallest in the city at its time. The square was originally known at Longacre Square, and this new resident spurred the renaming of the square. Adolph S. Ochs, the owner of New York Times, was the instigator of the Times Square and One Times Square tradition of the NYE Ball Drop - where the square is filled with swarms of people coming to celebrate and bring in the New Year. The Times outgrew the building after only 10 short years and moved to a new residence a block away. After their move, 1TS fell into disrepair and neglect. Midtown was changing and a gritty truth emerged. The Great Depression lead to many of the theatres closing, being replaced by seedy bars, brothel’s and peep shows. Times Square grew a reputation of crime and pornography and this continued for many decades.
7. Google Books, ‘One Times Square: a Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World,’ last accessed April 15, 2020, https://books.google.com.mt/ books?id=S1FfFwpp5Z4C&pg=PT10#v=onepage&q&f=false. 8. Ibid.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
One Times Square During Construction
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
THE TIMES IN TIMES SQUARE
ONE TIMES SQUARE
The seedy nature of the square symbolised the city’s rapid decline from previously being recognised for its grandeur. 1TS was sold on and eventually fell into the hands of Allied Chemical in 1963. They greatly modified the building, stripping off the original facade. It underwent further alterations to the facade to allow its faces to be used for advertising. The building has been largely unoccupied for most of its existence. Walgreen’s occupies the bottom 3 floors and the rest of the tower is left empty. The revenue the owners make off the advertising on the building alone covers the costs of the tower and makes a generous profit, thus there was never a need to fill the floors.9 The building - previously brimming with the buzz of stories and people - exists merely as a billboard for advertising; a once treasured building stripped of its purpose and left to exist merely as a scaffold for a digital surface.
9. Google Books, ‘One Times Square: a Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World.’
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
One Times Square Renovations Allied Chemical, 1963
18
1TS & Times Square fell into disrepair and neglect during the 1940’s. The Great Depression lead to a lot of the theatres closing and 42nd St was rife with crime, drugs, murder and prostitution, repelling visitors from the once thriving neighbourhood. Midtown had changed and no longer felt safe for the public to visit and enjoy.10 This history of midtown was captured by Weegee - the famous black and white street photographer and journalist of the 1940’s in Manhattan. He focused his work on the capturing the gritty truth of the city - deaths, murders, crime, prostitution, drunks, fights; but also the weird and the wonderful. “I caught the New Yorkers with their masks off...” - Weegee, Naked City, 11. His photography was documented in a book called ‘Naked City’ which influenced the visual style and title of the 1948 Jules Dassin film noir, The Naked City - filmed and based in New York City - which became a key prompt for our investigation.
Weegee [Arthur Fellig] The Joy of Living 1940
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
10. MCNY, ‘Dazzling Dirty and Back Again: A Brief History of Times Square,’ last accessed May 2, 2020, https://www.mcny.org/story/dazzling-dirtyand-back-again-brief-history-times-square.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
Fernando Natalici 70’s Times Square, New York 1970’s
20
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Below the El Rail Weegee
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
ELEVATED RAILS
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
New York’s El Rail Bowery
22
The Ball drop is a yearly tradition where an illuminated ball made up of 800 lights is dropped down a flag pole atop the 1TS building in the run up to midnight in a minute countdown to the bells. It was first organised by Adolph Ochs as a successor to the fireworks display he first employed for the opening of the headquarters at One Times Square.11 The ball drop brings in millions of people to the square every year to enjoy the festivities, packing the square to the brim. It encapsulates the unity of the community of such a dense island, coming together for one night in the ‘centre of the world’.
11. Google Books, ‘One Times Square: a Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World.’
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Ball
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
NYE BALL DROP
NYE BALL DROP
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
Times Square on New Years Eve
24
The Tower character is a siege-like tower that trundles along a rail going up Broadway from the south end to the North. The rail mimics the old El-Rail railway tracks of the city. They were elevated railway lines that ran across the city. The el rail’s were heavily criticised for being loud and slow and their mechanism and structure was outdated and high-maintenance and so they were taken down in the 1950’s. The rail utilises the raised iconographic structure of the old el rails but a much more refined version to create a structure that is thin and delicate. The slender steel columns curve into the square, allowing the walkway to hover without a heavy structure below it and it is tensioned back to counteract the weight of the tower that is suspended off the east side of the walkway, travelling up and down the length of it. The Tower’s armature opening up at intervals causes additional strain and tension on the structure, however the tension cables and piles for the column give enough stability to counteract this impact.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
As the tower opens up its armature, 16mm film is emitted, projecting up onto the existing buildings of the square, captured on the unmasked areas of the facade. Part of this projection gets caught on the skin of the director’s houses which are protruding from the digital skin surface.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
1. the Tower
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
THE TOWER & ITS DOCK
26
The tower’s opening armature is restricted along the way by its neighbouring skin, only allowing it to take on certain formations at certian points along its journey.
44th St
43rd St
The tower is utilised within the report to act as a measuring device - a rail of which to scale against and to position yourself within the dense landscape of the story.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
The tower’s function is not solely to transport the tower through the square, it also has a wooden deck that the public can walk along, allowing a different vision of the square and a new platform for performance and observation. This walkway is the main point of access to the tower when it has dislodged from the dock.
42nd St
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
1. the Tower (and its walkway)
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
THE TOWER & ITS DOCK
28
The 1TS building is the original vessel of inspiration for the project - the empty shell being transformed into a scaffold for advertising and consumerism and one of the most iconic building in New York and a vision for the greatest event of the year, New Years Eve. The projects intervention occupies the lower 3 floors, making a small incision to the edge of the building and carving out a hollow that houses a workshop and dock for the tower. The Dock is shifted back from the rail and nestled into the 1TS smuggler.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The ground floor has a kitchen for the staff to make their food and folding plywood seating to eat at. The rest of the space is scaffold decks that provide access to the tower at multiple levels for maintenance and occupation. The 1TS building is then lightly wrapped in digital signage, spaced off from the existing skin and exposing glimpses and blocks of facade intermittently.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
5. the Dock
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
THE TOWER & ITS DOCK
30
INTERLUDE A HEAVY CASE [fondly known as Norma]
Ben Hair, Rosemary Milne and I crafted A Heavy Case and a Field - Packing and Unpacking, Mantling and Dismantling a Naked City.
The film The Naked City circulated around a murder trial - referred to as ‘A Heavy Case’. It features detectives, suspects and a villian scattered across the city, with the cameras jumping across the island in a switchboard manner to follow the trails of the story. It comes to a head, crescending into a final scene on the Williamsburg bridge with the city in the distance, framed in view, as the villian volunerably dangles from the edge of the structure trying to flee the detectives. The Heavy Case became a key reference for our plane table - a Heavy Case that captured the city in all its scales and views into one vessel that packed and unpacked. When packed, the content and mappings of walkings, frames, reels and their tools are concealed from view, waiting to spill out in the unpacking. The Plane Table became this Heavy Case and was fondly named Norma, after a photograph by Weegee. Norma housed a set of tools that were used to scrape, cut, feather, draw, ink and scratch the surface and rework a set of mappings. These tools, and others we adapted to our own individual locks in later projects, became crucial apertures for choreographing a thesis.
The Heavy Case’s Tools
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The Heavy Case ‘Norma’
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
A HEAVY CASE | Fondly known as Norma
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS I
xxx
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Un-Ravelling Poe on Mount Tom | Manhattan, NYC
The Plane Table packed and unpacked, mantled and dismantled a heavy case, capturing the framed views of the city of New York from the film, mappings of the walk of Edgar Allan Poe, artefacts of each of the prompts and maps of the switchboard motion of the production of the film.
During our site visit to the city, we unpacked the Poe drawing on Mount Tom - a popular site of Poe’s to read and write on, not far from where his dwelling had been on 83rd St.
Folding and Unfolding the Poe Drawing
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
36
Manhattan is famous for its water and fire. The floods of Hurricane Sandy shaped the way that the city is looking to its future, with flooding and rising water levels now an imminent threat. The city also has an iconic notion of the movement of water within its urban footprint; the water is pulled upwards into water towers perched on rooftops - a very absurd and abnormal motion for water to flow in. Both prompts, Poe and the Naked City, had a significant interaction with water. Both were poised to see the city from a crossing of water. The pinnacle point of the Naked City is the villain trying to escape the island across Williamsburg bridge and Poe’s journey home means a crossing of the water, marking the end of the journey through the island, and a looking back on the dense landscape. Fire is also one of the key factors that shaped the image of the city. From the Great fires in 1776, 1835 and 1845 to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911. The use of fire escapes hanging off the edge of buildings became an iconic staple of the New York architecture. Weegee captured numerous fires and the scenes of the crowds of survivors who managed to escape, and the bodies of those who didn’t. This thesis was shaped through the treatment of fire and water in concept and in testing. We flooded the island and utilised Norma’s tools to shape the movement of the water spilling in and the stains it left on the landscape. We burned the island, starting from the points of great fires past and scenes of interest from the prompts. These burns and spills fed a new landscape and became the Field Drawing, a heavy drawing with multiple layers combined as a single construct that is “fiction grounded in fact.”
44th St
43rd St
The Field Drawing
42nd St
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
BURNS & SPILLS I
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
38
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
40
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
ACT II
46th St
45th St
44th St
43RD - 46TH & BROADWAY
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
SCENE I
46th St
45th St
44th St
43RD & BROADWAY
The purpose is to keep the inherent theatrical illumination of the square by having the digital signage act as a skin within the vessel but also to allow it to redress the buildings allowing the interior spaces to have natural ventilation and light, creating a space between the digital skin and the existing facade, making them habitable again, whilst folding and resurfacing the ground of the square articulating a playground-esque landscape - a deck for the public to move through, on, under and within. This skin acts as our first key component to the thesis.
44th St
43rd St
One Times Square Building Digital Signs
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
With the commitment to advertising in the square preventing the 1TS building from being used as anything more than a scaffold for the signs and the NYE Ball Drop, the project began to articulate a language of addressing the relationship of building and skin by peeling, folding, unmasking and masking the faรงades of the square.
42nd St
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
SKINS
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS I
46
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS I
48
The Paramount Theatre is an iconic building in the Square, being built in 1927. It was a premier showcase theatre and hosted musical acts, including the New York hero Frank Sinatra and the ‘King’ Elvis Presley.12 The theatre was modelled based on the Paris Opera House, with marble columns, balustrades and finishings, a grand staircase and red velvet drapes. Wall nooks held Greek statues bursting out of them and a grand chandelier hung into the double height lobby. 13 The theatre was demolishes in 1966 and renovated into office and retail, where it temporarily housed the NYT before they moved to their new office on 42nd St.14
12. Cinema Treasures, ‘Paramount Theatre,’ last accessed May8, 2020, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/548. 13. Ibid 14. Ibid.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Crowds gathering for Elvis at the Paramount Theatre
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
THE PARAMOUNT BUILDING | PARAMOUNT THEATRE
SKINS I
Paramount Building Montage This Photomontage and versions of it were a permanent feature in the 7-8 Chambers St Studio
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
Authors own work
50
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
The Skin exists ‘on the edge’ where it doesn’t interfere with the existing building but hangs on the edge, creating a dialogue with the space it drapes into and the buildings it appears to cling from. This is based on illusion as the skin doesn’t actually cling to the building but is held up by a delicate steel structure, which secures itself in the ground beneath the Square. This then creates a scaffold and a skin, the first two components, and the key instigators, to the thesis. The scaffold not only supports the digital skin but also creates a space between the new digital skin and the existing facade that can be inhabited as an architectural construct in its own right. It houses a series of micro architectural programmes of a furniture nature. From sign keepers to maintain the digital skin, dressing rooms for the performers of the theatres in the existing buildings to use, ticket booths for these theatres or simple balconies for the users of the existing building to break out of the confines of their office or workspace and utilise the space between. Some of these programmes bridge into the existing, by resting on window sills, diminishing boundaries by creating spaces that bring the outside in and the inside out - offerings of escaping architectures both in and out of the building as it stands today.
44th St
43rd St
Paramount Theatre Skin Projected Room
42nd St
MILIEU
MONSTER
EDGE CONDITIONS I
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
EDGE CONDITIONS I
52
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
The Film Reel Freezer was inspired by the ‘morgue’ of the NYT - their clippings archive. The archive is housed in the basement of their building and overseen by one caretaker. The store is made up of repetitive identical filing cabinets and most of the collection only exists as paper copies as they are too fragile to be exposed to the scanner bed. The Film Reel store is reminiscent of the morgue but it is tailored specifically to house 16mm film reel, which must be kept at -10ºC to preserve the colours and inks and must be kept away from water, heat fumes and sunlight, therefore they are contained under a skin to mask them from the elements. This skin is spaced off by structural steel that subsequently holds a walnut wood creased skin that provides seating for a cinema. The Tower that moves along the rail walkway in the square uses the 16mm reel to project onto the existing buildings. The inhabited space between the existing and digital skin therefore act as the Back of House (BoH) to the square’s theatrics, which are the performing spaces. This establishes the digital skins as the stage to the square, existing as a theatrical performance in its own right.
Film Stills The freezer capturing the essence of the NYT Morgue
Authors own work
44th St
43rd St
Projected Room Drawing Freezer Detail, Paramount Building Skin
42nd St
MILIEU
MONSTER
37. the Film Reel Freezer
Timber Ballustrade and Foot Rest Walnut Ballustrade 3mm Copper Cap Timber Battons 6mm Steel Bracket ø50mm Galvanised Steel Down Pipe
48th St
47th St
20x350mm Structural Sheet Steel Frame LED Module Panel Steel Bracket & Pin 6mm Structural steel plate 150mm Heavy duty Equal Angle Steel Section 246x15mm 35mm Film Reels Ø20mm Circular Profile Copper Handrail Precast Concrete Reel Trays 50mm Steel Grate 100x100 H Steel Section 100x50mm Timber Batton 50x50mm Timber Batton Precast Concrete Ø30mm Copper Refrigerant Pipes 25mm Perforated Metal Cladding 75mm Air Cavity 100mm Insulation 6mm steel bracket support 100x100mm H Beam 25mm Perforated Metal Cladding 150x150mm Heavy duty Reinforced Steel L Bracket Ø30mm Bolts
46th St
45th St
FREEZER & DECK
EDGE CONDITIONS I
54
This section render encapsulates the build up of the 4 components that make up the proposal for each building and the relationship of the finely articulated edge conditions of all of the components and their neighbours. The director sits at the top of the scaffold, behind the skin - resonating an attic like condition nestled into the space between the skin and the existing facade with its limbs fall beyond the rigid line of the existing and muddle the boundary of existing and proposed. Moving down, the scaffold holds a series of mini architectural programmes understood to be the carefully articulated edge condition, all the way down to the cellar which houses a freezer store, specifically storing 16mm film reel. The film reel is used by the projection tower that travels along the rail, projecting the analogue film onto the exposed parts of the facade of the existing building and the protruding skin associated with the directors houses nuzzled into the digital skin. At the existing ground level of the square, the lower two of the paramount hotel has been re-inhabited by the smuggler of the skin. A performance theatre, dedicated to Hotel Pro Forma sits on the floor plates of the existing theatre and scoops up into a seating and stage vessel.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Down into the ground, the skin and all its parts are sitting on a deck which separates the underworld of New York from the streets cape - the subways. These run along the length of Times Square and small fissures in the deck allow the underbellies rumble and flickering light to break beyond its confide and seep into the square.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
A SKIN, A SCAFFOLD, A SMUGGLER & IT’S DIRECTOR
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
EDGE CONDITIONS I
56
The proposal is made up of 4 parts - a skin, its scaffolds, a director and a smuggler. With the iconic Statue of Liberty watching over the city as a the Mother of Exile, this project not only creates a new face for Times Square through the skin and scaffold, but also smuggles architectures into the shells of the existing buildings of the square to give a home to performers and creative’s who are exiled from their own country and home. These smuggled structures have adopted the residential performing arts communities based at Lincoln Centre of Performing Arts as characters to re-imagine them in a contemporary way. The smugglers are points of refuge - of safety and belonging to those who perhaps feel unsafe now in their own homes due to their expression of politics and culture through their art and performance medium. These smugglers are personified through architectures nestled into the existing shells of the buildings of the square, concealed from view behind the digital skins.
“this is a great big beautiful city, just try and find me” -
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- Jules Dassin’s ‘The Naked City’, 1948
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38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
THE MOTHER OF EXILE the statue of liberty & her smugglers
SMUGGLERS I
A Helping Hand for Miss Liberty During the night the torch began to spark and a civilian worker climbed up the 85ft ladder to resecure the torch. Weegee, 1944, Times Square
A plastic statue of liberty was erected in Times Square on 30th November 1944 for the Sixth War Loan Drive
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Weegee, 1944, Times Square
58
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
LOUIS ARMSTRONG | JAZZ at LINCOLN CENTRE Louis Armstrong was a jazz musician in the 1920’s and a key contributor to propelling Jazz music to popularity in this time. During this time, over 60 communities across the US enacted laws prohibiting the performance of Jazz in public dance halls, understood to be due to Jazz’s African-American roots but also because of the free nature of the music believed to encourage liberal action. Although Armstrong was welcomed into the white society both on and off stage, he received backlash from musicians for playing in front of segregated audiences and not taking a strong enough stand in the American Civil Rights Movement.
VEDRAN SMAILOVIĆ | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
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Vedran Smailović - also known as the Cellist of Sarajevo. During the siege of Sarajevo, he played in ruined buildings and, often under the threat of snipers, during funerals. He caught the imagination of people around the world for playing his cello for 22 days in the ruined square of a downtown Sarajevo marketplace after a mortar round had killed 22 people waiting for food there. He managed to flee Sarajevo in the second year of the siege in 1993 and now lives in Northern Ireland and is a composer, conductor and performer.
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2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
42nd St
She was officially banned from her home country in 1996 for the political content of her work.
BOWTIE BUILDING 44th St
15. Lincoln Centre, ‘About Lincoln Centre,’ last accessed March 12, 2020, http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/about. 16. Ibid
SHIRIN NESHAT | FILM at LINCOLN CENTRE Shirin Neshat is a New York based artist and Filmmaker. The contemporary Iranian visual artist is best known for her work in photography, video and film, and her work explores the relationship between women and the religious and cultural value system of Islam. She hopes her viewers “take away with them not some heavy political statement, but something that really touched them on the most emotional level.”
PLAYSTATION THEATRE 44th St
Damrosch Park, an outdoor pavilion historically used for the New York Fashion Week’s seasonal events, Film at Lincoln Centre, a film presentation organisation, the Jazz Organisation, who host visiting musicians and educational programs, Lincoln Centre Theatre, who manage and direct theatre performance and education, the New York City Ballet, one of the foremost dance companies in the world, New York Philharmonic, one of the ‘Big 5’ American orchestras, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Juilliard school of Music, Drama and Dance - a private performing arts conservatory and world leader in performing arts education.16
Hotel Pro Forma is a Danish theatre company, an international production house and a meeting place for cross-disciplinary artistic work. Recognised for their genre-wide and innovative works, which transcend the boundaries between visual arts, text, music, theatre, installations and architecture. They work with themes of a universal nature in conceptual, visual and musical settings with the application of the latest technology and artistic innovation. Their work, Neoarctic, hopes to draw attention to the climatic, geological, political and aesthetic changes affecting our World.
ABC NEWS BUILDING 43rd St
Lincoln centre for the Performing Arts is a complex situated between 62nd-65th West & Eighth Ave. made up of a range of indoor and outdoor performance, rehearsal and recording spaces. Lincoln Centre houses, within its complex, 11 resident organisations.15 Of these organisations, 8 were chosen as figures to mimic as contemporary counterparts down in the Times Square. These organisations are:
HOTEL PRO FORMA | METROPOLITAN OPERA
PARAMOUNT BUILDING 43rd St
LINCOLN CENTRE’S CONTEMPORARY COUNTERPARTS
SMUGGLERS I
MARRIOT HOTEL 45th St
PUSSYRIOT | JUILLIARD SCHOOL OF MUSIC, DRAMA AND DANCE Pussyriot is a Russian Feminist protest punk rock band based in Moscow. The group stages unauthorised provocative guerrilla performances in public places. Their themes include feminist, LGBT rights and political statements, typically against Russian President Vladimir Putin and also US President Donald Trump. Members of the group were arrested and sentenced to 2 years in jail for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred after performances inside a Moscow church where they performed a protest against the Orthodox church leaders support of Putin during his election campaign. There was considerable attention and controversy in the West over the trial and conviction but very little sympathy within the Russian public.
MAC STORE 45th St
LOUIS RÉARD | NEW YORK FASHION WEEK Louis Réard is a French clothing designer who designed and introduced the modern two-piece bikini in July 1946. The bikini was and remains a very controversial two-piece swimsuit due to it being the first piece of clothing to have the navel exposed. It was initially banned in many countries in Europe, such as France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Australia and is still banned in the Middle East as it is believed to be indecent. When Réard first aired the bikini, no model would wear it for the debut presentation and so he hired a nude dancer from a French Casino to model the garment.
AMERICAN EAGLE STORE 46th St
ALICIA ALONSO | AMERICAN SCHOOL OF BALLET Alicia Alonso was a Cuban ballet dancer and choreographer. The dancer was awarded a prima Ballerina assoluta for being one of the most notable female ballet dancers. One of her key roles leading her to fame was playing Giselle in New York. Following the Cuban revolution, Alonso returned to Havana and committed herself to the revolutionary movement. Alonso was asked by Fidel Castro, ruler of Cuba at the time, to head the ballet company and she is now recognised as the founder of socialist ballet in Cuba. Her company built powers and achievements in Eastern and Western Europe and these contacts outside of Europe meant the Cuban government monitored communication through phone cables and letters. Castro did not allow Cubans to perform in the US, however he allowed Alicia to perform in the US again in 1975 and 1976.
Václav Havel was a Czech statesman, writer and former dissident. He served as the last President of Czechoslovakia from 1989, and then as the first President of the Czech Republic from 1993-2003.
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He first rose to prominence as a playwright, where he used an absurdist style to criticise communism. After participating in Prague Spring and being blacklisted after the invasion of Czechoslovakia, he became politically active and helped found several dissident initiatives, including Chapter 77 and the committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Prosecuted. His plays made it to New York, establishing his reputation in the US and they continued to produce his plays for years following. After 1968, Havel’s plays were banned from the theatre world in his own country and he was unable to leave Czechoslovakia to see any foreign performances of his work. His political activities landed him multiple stays in prison and constant government surveillance.
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PALACE THEATRE 46h St
VACLAV HAVEL | LINCOLN CENTRE THEATRE
60
The Paramount Smuggler brings you in from the digital carpet through a tear in the skin where the scaffold leads you in. The wooden decking picks you up from the carpet and carries you into the hotel, hovering over the existing marble floor slabs. The public are greeted by a ticket booth, then carried through as the decking curves around the sunken performance space and seating and into the bar - a vessel for drinking, socialising. The Bar is a common point of refuge during performances, where the public gather to relax and refresh and it is often the mingling pot at the beginning, middle and end of the night. The entrance is carried through with a curtain along the right breadth of the decking, which eventually parts and wraps around into the sunken performance space.
ABC NEWS BUILDING SMUGGLER
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The ABC News building’s shell is only partly inhabited by the smuggler. It takes the form of a walkway and a room, allowing the entrance and bar to sit on the edge of the building and the screen folds into a burn in the plan of the proposal. The public are taken up a set of stairs to the 2nd floor of the ABC News building and into a screening chamber, with wooden seats on an raised platform, where a projector room is elevated behind.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
PARAMOUNT SMUGGLER
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SMUGGLERS I
62
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43rd ST PARAMOUNT THEATRE
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SMUGGLERS I
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43rd ST ABC NEWS BUILDING 64
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MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
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SMUGGLERS I
66
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42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
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SMUGGLERS I
68
Drawing the sections became an extremely useful tool to feather the edges of the architectural conditions. It gave a sense of the humanity behind the screen, being sympathetic to the existing whilst designing highly detailed constructs that exist within the scaffold. It also allowed me to understand how the people using the spaces could interact with the skins and feather the LED modules as though they are windows that could be opened and closed, pivoting them and creating tiny faults in the unified image on the digital skin seen from the square.
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The section captures the scooping language of the smuggler as it comes into the structure from the ground floor and pulls up to create the seating and stage structures, lightly sitting their feet on the existing floor plates.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
43rd ST SECTION
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SMUGGLERS I
70
The Directors Houses are nested into the attic of the scaffold, between the skin of the existing and the digital skin, smuggled behind the mask and hanging on the edge. They cling to the scaffold and their structure breaks the surface of the digital skins to articulate a change behind the screen. The skin is protruded and, in doing this, catches the analogue projection of 16mm film from the trundling Tower on the walkway rail cutting across Broadway. This counters against the LED digital signage that the skins are made up of, creating a dialogue of the analogue vs the digital - the Tower vs the digital skin. Each directors house is carefully designed to match the characteristics required by each of its inhabitants. The ABC News Buildings Directors House holds Shirin Neshat and creates a shaded and shielded dwelling for her to test and curate her films and art. Similarly, Hotel Pro Forma are smuggled into the Paramount Theatre, they have a Directors House to hang their curtain-like skins that are projected onto during their performance. The wardrobe is double height to hold their specific screens. There is also a desk and chair where they can work and create.
ABC News Building Directors House Shirin Nechat’s Editing Studio
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Paramount Theatre Director’s House Hotel Pro Forma Screen Wardrobe
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
DIRECTOR’S HOUSES
DIRECTORS I
American Eagle Store Director’s House Alicia Alonso Choreography Studio
Palace Theatre Director’s House Vaclav Havel’s Playwrighting Studio
Marriott Hotel Director’s House Pussyriot’s Performance Studio
MAC Store Director’s House NYFW Tailoring Studio
Playstation Theatre Director’s House Midnight Moment’s Choreography Studio
Bowtie Building Director’s House Smailovic’s Composing Studio
Paramount Theatre Director’s House Hotel Pro Forma Screen Wardrobe
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ABC News Building Director’s House Shirin Neshat’s Editing Studio
72
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HOTEL PRO FORMA’S SCREEN WARDROBE
The Director’s House is modelled at 1:75, capturing the furnishings of the structure and the fragiility of a house clinging to a light scaffold between two skins.
The model feeds back into the existing buildings shell whilst also embodying elements of the Gnomon - a model construct of multiple scales to refine the relationship of existing, proposed, ground, dwelling and performance
Film Still
Hotel Pro Forma’s NeoArctic 1:75 Drector’s House Model
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
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DIRECTORS I
74
The Directors Houses steal the artefacts of the studio I have been working in, using its furnishings and finishings to articulate a set of spaces for working, dwelling and dressing. The chair, plinth, rail, table and net of the wall are taken by each director to recreate a studio condition of intense focused work. The Paramount director stole the folded plywood chair and the folded plywood plinth from the studio. The chair was perched on the sill of the window - from which you could over see the happenings on the street in reference to the scene in Naked City where the narrator talks of the detective:
“there’s your city Halloran, take a good look,”
as he looks out of the window. The marriage of the plinth and the chair was designed to reminisce another scene from the Naked City where the detective Muldoon sat in his office, with his back to the window - framing the city in the background - with the clues to the ‘heavy case’ splayed out for him to investigate. This is how I imagined the studio to feel at the end of the 2 year long investigation into the city, its histories and stories and the proposal for redressing Times Square.
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The plinth was to hold this document, so that you could read the design report with the artefacts of the thesis scattered in front of you, allowing you to be guided through the dense landscape of work.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
7. the Chair & 8. the Plinth
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DIRECTORS I
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MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
DIRECTORS I
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27. the Wardrobe
78
Playing off of photographer Weegee’s image of snow fall, the skin is designed to create surfaces that allow snowfall to gather and heap into mounts on its surface. With this skin structure acting as large undulating surfaces, it lends itself to snow gathering within the creases and crevices of the surface, becoming a playground and new landscape in the changing weather conditions. The snow becomes a mask in its own right, concealing the image on the digital skins until it has thawed and melted away. Snow’s glistening characteristic makes what is exposed of the digital skin glow even greater as it reflects off the white snow. After the snow has fallen, there is a choreographed thaw, where the snow melts and flows across the skin surface, down the guttering systems masked by the skins and furnishings within and into water collection tanks.
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Weegee Car Covered in Snow
38. the Musician
36. the Freezer 37. Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
WINTER IN NEW YORK
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SKINS II
80
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MILIEU
38. the Musician
36. the Freezer 37. Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
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BURNS I
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INTERLUDE MIDNIGHT MOMENTS
times square art installation
‘Midnight Moments’ is a live art installation which features every night in Times Square in the lead up to midnight. It is the largest and longest running live installation in the world, synchronising a series of digital screens within the square to show one unified performance film.17 Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests project, 1964-66, was first shown on the digital screens in 2015. It was made up of slow motion portraits of famous artists and celebrities and over the span of the 3 years, he made over 500 16mm film reels of these portraits.18 This form of art became a strong influence in the designing process and curation of the thesis. Using a patchwork style the digital signage adorns the buildings, creating a display of a coherent and unified image. This led to the consideration of the possibility of a single screen that fills the vessel that can be used for advertising and art. The intensity of the bright and flashing light emitted from the screens is often criticised for leaving an afterimage on the eye and mind. The project aims to overthrow this intensity at moments throughout the day - in a similar fashion to the midnight moments - with a singular unified image that fights the flashing, bright, showy dazzle of the signs and imparts an image that glows and flows, instilling a moment of calm across the square.
Andy Warhol Screen Tests, 2015
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17. Widewalls, ‘The Most Memorable Midnight Moments of Times Square Arts,’ last accessed May 10, 2020, https://www.widewalls.ch/times-squarearts-midnight-moments/. 18. Ibid
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MIDNIGHT MOMENT | TIMES SQUARE
INTERLUDE
Folding and Unfolding the Poe Drawing
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
Pipilotti Rist Open my Glade, 2017
86
Taking clips of the Dean River in Edinburgh, the blue haze and gentle ripples of water counteracts the flashes of pinks, reds and greens and unifies a carpet that stretches the entirety of the canyon of the square.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
This model was my first attempt at capturing the glow of the screens, with a projector emitting the water ripples down onto a thin paper as a moment of still within a city that never sleeps. This skin is held by a thin copper scaffold and is sat on a deck, holding the dance movements of the Paramount Theatre as burns into the deck’s surface - all of which is sitting upon a rail that runs along the route of the subway’s below the square.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
CAPTURING THE GLOW
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
88
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
SCENE II
46th St
45th St
44th St
44TH & BROADWAY
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
Times Square, being an iconic landmark of Manhattan, has live 24 hour cameras online where you can watch the happenings of the square as they unfold. A set of 3 key cameras are positioned at different locations across the square, one looking south towards the 1TS building, one looking South East from the corner of 46th St and one on the roof of the Playstation Theatre, which pivots, looking South to North.19 Through projecting the live footage of the square onto the walls of the studio, I managed to bring Times Square to the studio in Edinburgh, and similar to the tools of the Heavy Case - the tools packed and unpacked from Norma - I created a new set of tools that could articulate this surface. These tools consists of a lens, a mirror, a plane of glass and a prism, which bleed, reflect, refract and displace Times Square from the confides of the frame of the screen, allowing it to spill beyond its edges.
19. EarthCam, ‘Times Square Cams,’ last accessed May 12 2020, https://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/?cam=tstwo_hd.
Live Times Square in the Studio 7-8 Chambers St
44th St
43rd St
Tools Lens, Mirror, Glass & Prism
42nd St
MILIEU
MONSTER
TIMES SQUARE FINDS ITSELF CAUGHT ON CHAMBERS ST
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS III
92
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS II
94
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
DANCING IN THE SQUARE
The Camera’s positions in the square were used as anchor points for the project. The camera shifts, rotates and zooms in and out, altering the view of the square and the frame in which it is captured. These points became the anchors for which the houses of the smugglers dance around, leaving their own burns as markings on the ground of the square. This marked out how they would spill out beyond their edge, escaping the rigid condition they exists within today.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS II
96
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The plans of the existing buildings dance in the square as they move with the live 24hour camera twitches. Times Square has been carved and scraped, creased and folded and the lasting marks are engrained in the landscape of the island. The buildings take on the characters of Lincoln Centre - the Paramount Hotel doubling as the Metropolitan Opera House, the Marriott Marquis Hotel as the Juilliard School of Music, Dance & Drama, the American Eagle Building as the American School of Ballet. These characters are inhabited by a set of artists and performers that suffer from exile and controversy. Where the Metropolitan Opera inhabits the Paramount Hotel, Hotel Pro Forma, a Danish theatre company, a meeting place for cross-disciplinary artistic work, is smuggled within the existing walls of the Paramount Hotel.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
ANCHOR, PIVOT, SPILL, BURN
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS II
98
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The scars and burns of the dances of the square are tidied away to allow the smuggled architectures to come to the forefront. The smugglers, enacted as stages for dancers, platforms for performance - each with its own carefully tailored skin for each smuggled character. The ABC News building houses the Film character and features a folded skin wrapping around the entrance walkway and down into the screening room. The Playstation Theatre becomes the Jazz Society’s Club Room, where the decking takes you from the external digital screen, into the bar and folds up into a raised stage for Jazz performers to perform on.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
SMUGGLERS IN THEIR SHELLS
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS II
100
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
44th ST PLAYSTATION THEATRE
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SMUGGLERS II
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
44th ST BOWTIE BUILDING
102
The Playstation Theatre smuggler is the one of the more modest. Taking on the form of a singular stage in a black box style performance space, no bigger than someone’s living room, the smuggler is a jazz club where Jazz musicians can come to perform solo or as a small group to a very intimate audience. There is a small bar and ticket booth, and it all resides on one level, with the stage folding up slightly and half of the audiences seating raised slightly.
BOWTIE BUILDING SMUGGLER
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The philharmonic is smuggled into the Bowtie building, on 44th West where a wooden deck breaks through the digital skin, pulling the skin back. The shuttering style deck transitions into an exquisite walnut deck, taking you into the bar and up into the upper gallery, where you face a set of 3 stages, each holding a different sized orchestra. The first stage is for a larger group, a maximum of 10 performers, a Decet. The second stage would fit a Quintet and the third stage is a single seat, for a lone performer, specifically designed with the character Vedran Smailović, the Cellist of Sarajevo, in mind.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
PLAYSTATION THEATRE SMUGGLER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SMUGGLERS II
104
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SMUGGLERS II
106
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SMUGGLERS II
THE CELLIST’S CHAIR
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
The smuggler holds a set of different stages for different sized groups of musicians to perform in. The main stage is only big enough for a singular performer as the smuggler is tailored to hold the cellist of Sarajevo, who famously performed solo at the ruins during the siege of Sarajevo. This chair is a folded surface that is held up by steel ribs that allow the surface to fold down and into a chair, where it is caught by another steel rib attached to the stage floor. There is a foot rest for the musicians feet to free up the stage space allowing the cello to come down and touch the ground.
108
The Playstation Theatre’s Director’s House has two agendas - it houses the director who choreographs the Times Square’s ‘midnight moments’ installation and also encapsulates the studio space as this director house is designed based on the studio of 7-8 Chambers St. The studio was the base of the choreography of the thesis and so it seemed fitting for it to be rehoused and displaced in the same way that Times Square was rehoused and displaced into the studio for the live projections. I envisioned the ‘midnight moments’ director to be an embodiment of myself choreographing the thesis. The space holds all the artefacts of the exhibition - a gnomon, a seat and plinth with a window behind, the models, a net drawing folding into the creases of the wall and a rail - which is the main focus of the house. The Rail holds a miniature model of the square for the director to project onto, aiding the designing process of the late night art installation.
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The lower deck is a dwelling space with a rehearsal room that spills into the theatre’s ceiling height atrium space. The rehearsal room is for a musician, perhaps for a Jazz musician from the smuggler, or perhaps for the midnight moments director to practise their own musical instrument - perhaps a set of bagpipes.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
PLAYSTATION THEATRE DIRECTOR’S HOUSE MIDNIGHT MOMENT’S CHOREOGRAPHY STUDIO
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
DIRECTORS II
110
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
FRAYING THE EDGE
In this Directors House detail, we can see how the LED modules are feathered, pivoting within their frame to allow the occupier to define the light coming into the interior space. The rail sits directly behind the LED screens so that you can look out into the square and see the miniature square in front of you whilst also being able to relate the two glowing vessels.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
EDGE CONDITIONS II
112
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS III
114
INTERLUDE A COMPLEX DOCKING
The lock was an intervention and study that allowed me to build a historic and cultural understanding of the island and its habits. From the previously established mappings and context through the previous 2 moves and the site visit in Semester 1, the lock became a bridging between the language of the Plane Table and the Field Drawing. The lock utilises the tools, inkings, burnings rotations, unfolding, folding and hanging language and translates it into a series of PACKING & UNPACKING movements. Located at the Chelsea Piers on the East River, the Freight Carrier is manifested as a barge. It arrives at the port and docks itself into the lock that has strayed away from dock edge. The lock is sealed and the barge is lifted up to the unpacking station at the top where the trays of packaged ink pigment is unloaded from the barge by crane armatures. They are lowered into carts which trolley the packages to the dock edge for sorting.
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
The Complex Docking is where the carts cross the boundary line onto the land, and are convoyed from the rails to the packing area - a sunken pit holding trays of powder and bottles for containing the end product. The bags of powder are cut open, the powder pours out into trays and the workers scrape the powder into bottles. These bottled pigments are then pulled along a rail back to the main freight line to be distributed around the city.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
A HEAVY CASE: PACKING AND UNPACKING A COMPLEX DOCKING AND THE FREIGHT CARRIER
48th St
46th St
45th St
44th St
INTERLUDE
118
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
Clouds from Bottles of Paint Pigment
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
120
43rd St
42nd St
41st St
SCENE III
46th St
45th St
44th St
45TH & BROADWAY
The skin pulls forward into the square and reveals a crack into the existing shell where a deck protrudes and stretches out bridging the new skin and building. The deck folds down into a sunken vessel, pulling the public down into a bar. The other side of the deck looks down to a stage in a sunken vessel. The seating is accessed by a spiralling staircase - a remnant of the existing building stolen by the smuggler. The stage is made up of wooden panels and is a sprung dance floor so that all performers of the Juilliard school are welcome. The Back of House (BoH) amenities consist of a costume wardrobe, dressing rooms and make-up and hair stations. MAC STORE SMUGGLER NYFW TAILORING WORKSHOP
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
The Tailor’s workshop is snuggled into a room deep into the plan of the 45th Street Building. It is nestled into a room where a mirror folds around the wall and down into the floor creating a catwalk to display the garments that are crafted in an enveloping room where the tailor sits alone at a desk sewing. Mannequins stand raised on a creased deck behind them to temporarily hold the garments. The catwalk breaks through the skin wall and extends to the front of the building and out onto the digital screens.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MARRIOTT HOTEL SMUGGLER PUSSYRIOT’S PERFORMING ARTS HALL
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SMUGGLERS III
124
44th St
43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SMUGGLERS III
BORROWED ARTEFACTS
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
As the smugglers settle into the voids in the existing shells, they borrow artefacts they find in their space. In the Marriott Hotel, a spiral staircase hovers on the edge of the open ceiling height atrium space - where the smuggler resides. The smuggler borrows this staircase, building around it to incorporate it into the function of the performance space as access to the upper seating. Similarly, the entrance walkway follows the line of the existing columns and uses them as a barrier between the Front of House spaces and the performance spaces.
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The cities installation of a subway system connects the 4 districts of NYC together. The trains run under the surface of the city, along a series of networks and on a series of levels. This sketch describes the relationship of the build up of the public transport systems in the 20th Century, included the afore mentioned El Rails, the trolley cars (removed after the installation of the subways) and the subways under the deck of the ‘ground’. The proposal frays the barrier of the decks between ground and underground and allows the rumbles and light of the subways passing under foot to seep up into the new landscape of decks. The proposal utilises the space between the ground as it is seen today and the upper deck of the subway to be inhabited as more than just a void between the upper and under ground, transforming it into a series of performance and rehearsal spaces, as seen in the MAC Store’s NYFW Catwalk.
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New York Transportation Routes
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
LIFE BELOW THE SURFACE | NEW YORK SUBWAY’S
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46th St
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EDGE CONDITIONS III
128
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2. the Sign Keeper
The sign keeper maintains the LED modules that make up the digital screens. Each module is 980x980mm with a steel fame bracing them together. The keeper of the signs can move across the vertical skin on this scaffold construct, which grips onto the framework and slides along the length of the skin.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
EDGE CONDITIONS III
130
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22. the Catwalk
The Catwalk explores the relationship of exterior and interior performance. It stretches from being a smuggled artefact, standing on the surface of the existing building, and reaches out across the scaffold and out onto the skin. The skin folds up to catch the end of the catwalk. Where the skin folds up and out into the square, it creates a habitable space below the surface, between the skin and the upper deck of the subway. This folding skin becomes a new performance space for displaying fashion collections - one in the underbelly of the buzzing landscape above.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
WALKS I
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AN INKY FIELD
This inky drawing features in every Scene of Act II, capturing the burns and spills, projections and screens, skins and smugglers, directors and towers, dances and footings along the length of the thesis and packs and unpacks a dense landscape into a heavy drawing
MILIEU
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS IV
134
INTERLUDE GNOMON
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42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
INTERLUDE
138
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42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SKINS I
GNOMON A singular construct that compresses a series of scales to hold a tower, a skin, a scaffold, a rail, a scapeland, a miniature field, copper, cork, steel, wood, burns spills, cuts, scores and folds. The Tower clings to the rail, that runs below the scapeland, that holds a set of miniature skins. This scapeland, which is a jesmonite cast, is inset to a folded steel plinth that is tensioned back with metal rope cables. There is a a burned steel skin on one side, holding the theatrics of the thesis, and a folded plywood skin on the other that folds down to the ground, mimicking the language of the skins seen in the sections.
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
It is an archipelago of dressing and re-dressing, masking and unmasking Times Square
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SCENE IV
46th St
45th St
44th St
46TH & BROADWAY
The American School of Ballet is housed in the 46th St fashion outlet American Eagle, previously inhabited by the Globe Theatre and the Gotham Theatre. The mesh deck bridges the skin to the existing building shell and brings you into an internal performance space tailored for classical ballet. Along the edge of the stage there is a Barre training room, for rehearsals, with copper railing, wooden sprung floor and a mirrored wall. The adjacent wall is glass to allow the rehearsals to be overseen by the public. PALACE THEATRE VACLAV HAVEL THEATRE The palace plan extends from beyond 46th St and up to 47th St. The skin folds and envelopes around to create an inhabitable gap between the two layers. This allows a set of material skins to fold in and around the external digital skin to bring people in. There are public amenities, a small coffee stand, seating, make up stations. A set of stairs takes you to the lower deck, where you can access the I Miller Stage - a performance space sat adjacent to the I Miller Building - a cobbler shop from the theatre district’s past that sits alongside the Palace Theatre. The stage is preceded by a ticket booth and wardrobe for hanging cloaks and coats. There is also access to an external performance space where a small number of people can gather and sit to watch a performance - theatrical or political.
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Beyond the skin envelope, a prop workshop sits inside where the props for the I Miller stage, the Vaclav Havel Theatre and the Palace Theatre are made and maintained. The Vaclav Havel Theatre sits in the shell of the Palace Theatre and has a screen wall which can open up or close off the proposed Theatre to the Palace Theatre. When it is open, the Vaclav Havel creates a viewing platform for overseeing the performances of the Palace.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
AMERICAN EAGLE STORE SMUGGLER ALICIA ALONSO BALLET SCHOOL
48th St
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SMUGGLERS IV
144
As the smugglers settle into the shell of the existing, they create new moments of intervention that not only coexist with the existing in physical relation, such as the Vaclav Havel theatre having a balcony that you can stand on and look down into the existing Palace Theatre stage, but they also aid in the existing buildings function. The edges of the existing on 46th and 47th St are frayed to open up a passage for deliveries to come in for stage sets and props. Here lorries can come in and drop off goods at a concrete deck where they can be tranferred to either the existing stages or the proposed smugglers.
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46th ST AMERICAN EAGLE STORE
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
BACK OF HOUSE
SMUGGLERS IV
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46th ST PALACE THEATRE
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42nd St
1:250 MODEL
This model uses folded paper as a ground, with the skin folding up out of the paper, where the mask has been laid out, into the digital skin. The smuggler was modelled in veneer, copper, card, oak and mesh and nestles itself into the hollow in the existing building awaiting its arrival.
The paper was a tool used throughout the project’s development, as it captured folds and creases and had a slight translucent opacity. Each drawing on the paper was folded and stored like an archive within the studio space.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SMUGGLERS IV
148
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23. the Barre
This small study captures the Alicia Alonso Ballet School’s Rehearsal Studio and Ballet Barre and displays the build up of the sprung dance floor that the ballet dancers rehearse on and the relationship between the mirror, barre and floor.
Film Still 1:500 Model and Alicia Alonso
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SMUGGLERS IV
150
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42nd St
FOLDS III
Experimentation with folding paper and card led to this model - a 3D printed set of skins that sit on a quarried landscape. The base was made of Jesmonite and etched to have the burns of the marks of the square. The skins were 3D printed 0.8mm thick models that folded under and over themselves allowing them to support themselves and create enveloping interior spaces.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS IV
152
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42nd St
WATER COLLECTION
As mentioned earlier, water has been a key prompt for the shaping of the thesis - from flooding, crossing and collecting.
As the skins fold and crease into a landscape, they now act like funnels, pulling the water into the lowest fold or score in the skin. This water then be channelled through drains attached to the skin that catch the water fall or snow thaw and drain it into water collection tanks hidden under the surface on the deck between the subway and the upper deck.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SPILLS I
154
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42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS I
156
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42nd St
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SKINS V
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
Film Still 1:250 Model and Alicia Alonso
158
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42nd St
MASKING AND UNMASKING THE SQUARE
The skin is made up of one continuous surface that is folded, creased and scored to become the digital landscape that masks the existing facades and falls into the vessel of the crossroads. This skin is unfolded onto the plan of the square and marked out the dress cuts for the skin. Here, the part of the skin used for 46th St is unfurled onto the ground, picking up the new marks of the plan when it is folded back into the digital skin, which later informed incisions into the surface.
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
SKINS V
160
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42nd St
The skin folds up out of the plan drawing and into a skin, concealing the smuggled artefact behind
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
SKINS V
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
The skin catches the projection of the ‘midnight moments’ water ripples
162
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43rd St
42nd St
MILIEU
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
48th St
47th St
46th St
45th St
BURNS V
164
INTERLUDE DEVICE
A micro-landscape that rescales a damaged surface condition for investigation. The Device is designed to rescale a crack in a surface - magnifying the vertical micro-landscape. Metal and brass arms hold the device in place, creating a rail that allows the lens to roll across the face of the wall and magnify the cracks. The arms reach to cling to other fissures in the stone surface. As the lens moves to read the surface, the reel of material turns, as does the fingers of the dismantled clock, pressing the material into the ink bed below it and marking the poem.
44th St
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42nd St
As the device is housed on Candlemaker Row, a wynd that leads from Greyfriar’s Bobby to Cowgate in the Old Town of Edinburgh, the poem is one of Norman MacCaig’s - a Scottish poet - and wax is dripped onto the material to coat and protect it. The ink only becomes absorbed onto the material where there has been no wax applied to it.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
A CRACK IN THE SURFACE
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45th St
INTERLUDE
168
43rd St
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41st St
46th St
45th St
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ACT III CREDITS
The Viewing Tower is a structure inspired by the notion of umpire’s chair that clings to the walkway rail and is housed at the Northern end of the square. It is the moment of reflection looking back on the proposal in its entirety; a space for a singular individual to exist within.
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The Viewing Tower is a combination of both the structural fragility of a pinnacle seat hovering above the landscape and also the personification of the work environment I was exiled to during the COVID-19 pandemic break out. The rehousing of my work, my practise and myself led to the project developing in a different tone that initially imagined. The reshaping and redressing of a set of working architectural conditions changed the result of the designed architectural proposition. The interior condition of the viewing tower is to feel outside whilst inside, dense yet quiet, chaotic but organised, surrounded by a dense body of artefacts of the project, scattered from their abrupt arrival into my new workspace.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
32. THE VIEWING TOWER
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THE VIEWING TOWER
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MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
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THE VIEWING TOWER
174
As the digital skins of the square are redressing the existing buildings, the exhibition was intended to redress the 7-8 Chamber St studio. The proposed installation featured a net like drawing that clung into the creases of the corners of the room, folding over and up the walls, spilling onto the existing wall leaving footprints of the spills.
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A series of models depicting the proposal at a series of scales were housed on a rail that ran north to south, positioned as Broadway would be. A set of drawing tables sat; one perched on the edge of an existing radiator, to read a portfolio on with the conventional drawings of the sections and plan in front of you. Another, a Plinth to hold this document, that pivoted from the rail and towards a window where a singular plywood folded chair perched, allowing the reader to sit and read the design report against the dense landscape of work laid out for investigation.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
RE-DRESSING THE STUDIO
RE-DRESSING THE STUDIO
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The Studio with the artefacts of the thesis packed and unpacked; a dense landscape
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Studio Montage
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
RE-DRESSING THE STUDIO
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FROM ONE STUDIO
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...TO ANOTHER (OF SORTS)
MILIEU
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MONSTER
A STRANGE TIME IN TIMES SQUARE
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Studio Montage
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With 350,000 people visiting the square every day, the crossroads rarely sits in silence.
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This undulation in density became dramatised by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The country is under lock-down and people are ordered to stay in their homes rather than travel, work, socialise or mingle. This left the square deserted and the only foot traffic is the rare key worker and lone person collecting their groceries - an unusual sight for the once buzzing vessel. Although foot traffic is sparse, the illumination is still present and advertising prevails.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
Through the live footage of Times Square, I have observed the density of the square and the population’s peaks and troughs; the buzz and busyness of the evening under the luminous glow of the screens and the quiet, slow mornings before rush hour begins.
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MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
MOLLUSC
A STRANGE TIME IN TIMES SQUARE
A STRANGE TIME IN TIMES SQUARE
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Film Still Live Times Square under lockdown during the pandemic
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Unless listed, all images are the author’s own work 12. New York City Aerial, https://www.dezeen.com/2015/01/14/vincent-laforet-new-york-city-night-aerial-photographs-skyscrapers-street-grid/ 13. Camel Blowing Smoke sign, https://www.signs.com/blog/times-square-signage-through-the-years/. 14. Hagstroms Map of the Theatre District, https://www.art.com/products/p17108161595/product.htm?RFID=990319. 17. One Times Square Building, https://www.businessinsider.com/new-years-eve-ball-at-one-times-square-2014-12?r=US&IR=T. 18. One Times Square Allied Chemical, https://www.skyscraper.org/EXHIBITIONS/TIMES_SQUARE/nw_times.php. 19. Weegee, https://www.icp.org/search-results/weegee/all/all/relevant/0. 20. Times Square XXX, https://www.signs.com/blog/times-square-signage-through-the-years/. 21. Weegee, https://www.icp.org/search-results/weegee/all/all/relevant/0. 22. El Rail, https://www.alamy.com/a-steam-train-on-the-third-avenue-el-over-the-bowery-in-1896-image260519208.html. 23. NYE Ball Drop, https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/a-ball-of-a-time-a-history-of-the-new-years-eve-ball-drop. 24. NYE Ball Drop, https://www.innewyork.com/listings/new-years-eve-ball-drop. 47. One Times Square Building, https://www.businessinsider.com/new-years-eve-ball-at-one-times-square-2014-12?r=US&IR=T. 49. Elvis at the Paramount Theatre, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/548. 50. Paramount Theatre, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/548.. 58. Weegee, https://www.icp.org/search-results/weegee/all/all/relevant/0. 79. Weegee, https://www.icp.org/search-results/weegee/all/all/relevant/0. 85. Midnight Moments, https://www.widewalls.ch/times-square-arts-midnight-moments/. 86. Midnight Moments, https://www.widewalls.ch/times-square-arts-midnight-moments/. 127. New York Subwy, https://www.stolenhistory.org/threads/new-york-development-or-apocalypse.1051/.
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Back Cover: Weegee, https://www.icp.org/search-results/weegee/all/all/relevant/0.
38. the Musician
37. the Freezer
36. the Bar
35. the Actor
34. the Lights
33. the Studio
32. the Viewing Tower
31. the Cameraman
30. the Skin
29. the Smuggler
28. the Stage
27. the Wardrobe
26. the Dressing Room
25. the Rehearsal Room
24. the Workshop
23. the Barre
22. the Catwalk
21. the Sign
20. the Stand
19. the Window
18. the Screen
17. the Curtain
16. the Mantle
15. the Dancer
14. the Tailor
13. the Performer
12. the Cellist
11. the Composer
10. the Screenwriter
9. the Operatist
8. the Plinth
7. the Chair
6. the Rail
5. the Dock
4. the Time Keeper
3. the Director
2. the Sign Keeper
1. the Tower
MOLLUSC
MAN
MAISON
MILIEU
MONSTER
IMAGE REFERENCES
SKINS I
RESOURCES
Brevda, William. ‘How do I get to Broadway? Reading Dos Passos’s Manhattan Transfer Sign.’ Texas Studies in Literature and Language. Vol 38, No1. Representative Paradoxes. Spring 1996. 79-114. Cinema Treasures, ‘Paramount Theatre,’ last accessed May8, 2020, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/548. EarthCam, ‘Times Square Cams,’ last accessed May 12 2020, https://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/?cam=tstwo_hd. Gizmodo, ‘How Times Square Works,’ last accessed May 12 2020, https://gizmodo.com/how-times-square-works-1582269710. Google Books, ‘One Times Square: a Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World,’ last accessed April 15, 2020, https://books.google.com.mt/ books?id=S1FfFwpp5Z4C&pg=PT10#v=onepage&q&f=false. Lincoln Centre, ‘About Lincoln Centre,’ last accessed March 12, 2020, http://lincolncenter.org/lincoln-center-at-home/about. MCNY, ‘Dazzling Dirty and Back Again: A Brief History of Times Square,’ last accessed May 2, 2020, https://www.mcny.org/story/dazzling-dirty-and-backagain-brief-history-times-square. The Naked City. Film. Directed by Jules Dassin. Universal Productions, New York. 1948. The New York Post, ‘How Broadway got the nickname “The Great White Way” in 1880,’ last accessed May 10 2020, https://nypost.com/2018/07/06/howbroadway-got-the-nickname-the-great-white-way-in-1880/ Signs, ‘Times Square Signage through the Years,’ last accessed May 10, 2020, https://www.signs.com/blog/times-square-signage-through-the-years/. Spotlight on Broadway, ‘Broadway History,’ last accessed May 3, 2020, http://www.spotlightonbroadway.com/broadway-history.
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Widewalls, ‘The Most Memorable Midnight Moments of Times Square Arts,’ last accessed May 10, 2020, https://www.widewalls.ch/times-square-artsmidnight-moments/.
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Weegee, 1955