g e o r g i a
w i l l i a m s
G e o r g i a W i l li a m s M. Arch I candidate, 2012 Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
Immobilization Modest Intervention
Light Space Urban Operation Exploration of a City Pocket Found Object Art
Place and People
I M M O B I L I Z A T I O N
I didn’t realize I wanted to be an architect until my final semester as an undergrad at Barnard Col-
lege when I took Introduction to Architecture. We were asked to explore the human hand, to find a way to immobilize it, to paralyze its power. I began by exploring the basic properties and characteristics of hands, to discover their tendencies. By creating a device to stymie the power of the hand, I came to understand not only the physiology of the hand, but the way it gathers strength as it moves through space. Understanding the power and grace of the human body shapes the way I think about architecture.
Severity of cut and burn pain over time graphite on vellum
Two-point tactile perception: fingertips vs. palm graphite on vellum
isolation and immobilization
strength and force
grip and hold
Immobilizing Device Basswood and trace paper
abstraction
an inhabitable space.
MODEST INTERVENTION
The summer after I graduated from Barnard, I spent five weeks in the summer architecture program at the Uni-
versity of Texas in Austin. There we explored architectural interventions and discussed how they might preserve the natural world even as they reshape it. To that end, we were asked to design a gallery space in a plot of green space nestled between a parking lot and a power plant. We were asked to preserve the vitality of this rare green space while making it a useful gallery and gathering spot for students and visitors. In order to preserve and react to the existing conditions of the space, I spent hours at the intersection, observing and mapping.
Light patterns on site: trees’ shadows (daytime light patterns) and light posts (nighttime light patterns) graphite on vellum
Traffic patterns on intersecting streets of site: each line represents a unit of car (dark), bicycle (medium) or pedestrian ( light) traffic passing the site during an hour window of 7 pm - 8 pm graphite on bristol
noise concentrations sidewalks level ground tree canopies creek energy plant
{Unity between site and intervention} I wanted the geometry of the gallery to mirror the more organic elements of the site, so I measured the locations and points between the site’s trees and used these measurements to outline the shapes that form the gallery’s skin.
erior light int
URBAN
OPERATION
Time is so scarce that it seems a community is maintained in part by how people connect while in tran-
sit. In the bicycle community of Austin there is a strong sense of identity among biking commuters, but no place for them to gather. I designed a community center for downtown bicyclists that promotes bicycle use, while also providing a space for commuters to connect as they travel to their next destination.
Trips made in United States
Trips made in the Netherlands
†
†
†
bicycle walking public transit car
25% of trips made in the Netherlands in 2006 were by bicycle*
vs. 1% of trips in the U.S. *
*statistics taken from theJournal of Physical Activity and Health © 2008
In a country where bicycle usage is almost non-existent, facilities must be created to welcome the everyday use of this transportation
form; this project proposes a
home for bicycles in Austin, Texas, and a refuge
for cyclists that is integrated into
the existing urban environment, to ensure that the bicycle community will flourish .
.
bike l
anes
Standing traffic
Noise concentrations
{Austin’s urban landscape}: existing conditions and locations of movement, traffic and noise at proposed site at 24th and Guadalupe in downtown Austin. Photo taken from Google Maps.
Moving traffic
kin et
t ing shape shif s , c i
stry du
{turning forms + bicycle materiality}
ure of bike text in
f ic wi traf th o
hreshold nic t s a g r
ured nucleu nct s u p
munity com a of
{community entrance + bicycle circulation}
Occupied on foot Occupied on bike
Bicycle movement
{Bicycle circulation} About half of the ground floor square footage is occupied by those on bicycle. The first floor is bifurcated by a bicycle path containing two lanes for directional traffic, a space for bicycle movement. These lanes allow a rolling but organized bicycle circulation into the community center, an intimate continuation of the street.
L I G H T
S P A C E
Before we created a multi-person, multi-use intervention, our first project at the Summer Academy asked us to ex-
plore one space for one person doing one activity. Each morning in college, I woke up with the sun to read over a giant cup of fresh coffee. For my space, I created a small and simple reading room that utilizes natural light patterns of the morning sun to minimize direct sunlight but maximize soft natural light for a serene experience of the sun’s first light.
{A place for light} The reading room opens from one side to allow varying levels of light to enter from the setting sun without receiving direct sunlight. The skin also glows inward during the day with natural light and outward at night with internal light.
EXPLORATION OF A
CITY POCKET
I spent my whole life in Houston before moving to New York for college. I keenly remember the final stretch of my road
trip to the city: we drove up 2nd Avenue and double-parked to grab a coffee in the crisp morning air. The streets of the Lower East Side represent the beginning of my exploration of unfamiliar territory, moving through a space that I am conscious of because its layout is not engrained in me. During the last months of my senior year of college, I returned to these streets that, for me, represent my beginning in New York. I spent hours wandering and observing the streets of the Lower East Side; this journey resulted in an analysis of the neighborhood’s pocket possessions and urban dwellers.
{signs of vitality--benches of street fruit--
turn to marks of dereliction}
{Interactions with daily street objects}
reach in to read, wait to walk, drop in to send.
{Changing owners}
debris fits into the pockets of the streets.
{The journey of street objects}
F O U N D
O B J E C T
A R T
Since high school, I have kept a box full of found things--ripped paper, pieces of plastic and met-
al and wood, negatives, postcards, fabric, thread, magazine scraps, notes from friends. My mother always tried to throw it out because she thought it was trash. The box was in fact full of bits of life, scraps I would encounter that only needed to be rediscovered to be made meaningful again.
Windows 4” x 8” 2010
Twenty-One 3.5” x 3” 2010
Dance Class 5” x 9” 2010
Shadow 3” x 7” 2010
P L A C E
A N D
P E O P L E
I have taken portraits since middle school. Through the mediums of photography, video and drawing I have
been fascinated by the attempts to capture individuality. One can learn wonders about a person through a simple portrait. The same is true for a city; and this is why I carry my camera and my sketchbook with me to every unfamiliar place, city, country. It is through these visual explorations that I learn about the personality of place.
statue de Denis Diderot, boulevard Saint-Germain
art markers and pen on vellum
rue de l’UniversitÊ
art markers and pen on vellum
sur le pont de la Concorde pen and watercolor on paper
place de la Contrescarpe graphite on paper
le PanthĂŠon
graphite sticks on paper
Pont des Arts / l’Institut de France art markers and pen on vellum
l’eglise Saint-Germain-des-PrÊs graphite on paper
rue Lhomond
art markers and pen on vellum
Spiegelrei Canal Bruges, Belgium 2011
Pont des Arts Paris, France 2011
The Provincial Court in Market Square Bruges, Belgium 2011
On Augustijnenrei and Spanjaardstraat Bruges, Belgium 2011
Near Wevershof Bruges, Belgium 2011
Looking West on the Seine Paris, France 2011
Ludlow Street, Lower East Side New York, NY 2011
Christ Episcopal Church Graveyard Cooperstown, New York 2010
Frozen Lake Otsego Cooperstown, New York 2010
Pont des Arts Paris, France 2011
Eugene RC print on fiber paper 16� x 20� 2008
Ersie RC print on fiber paper 16� x 20� 2009
Bree RC print on fiber paper 16” x 20” 2009
Wiley RC print on fiber paper 16” x 20” 2009
Two Dragons RC print on fiber paper 8� x 10� 2008
Altarpiece RC print on fiber paper 8� x 10� 2008
According to onlineschools.org, 57% of people talk more online than they do in real life. On average, 250 million photos are uploaded to Facebook each day. Technology and all its modes of communication profoundly shape our interactions. My best friend studied abroad in Gulu, Uganda our junior year of college. On days when she could find internet access, she would tell me stories of how difficult day-to-day life was in Uganda. So on her birthday in May, I compiled a video of messages from her friends living all over the United States to remind her that even though she was thousands of miles away, she could still be surrounded by familiar faces. Technology has dramatically shifted the way people interact. By becoming more connected, we have ironically lost the one-on-one closeness we once had. Still, messages like the one sent to my friend from thousands of miles away, have created a new “electronic� connection that allows intimacy to flourish in our new world order.
Thank you for reviewing this portfolio.