And i told them i invented helvetica

And I Told Them I Invented Helvetica

KEVIN FINCH

Southern California Institute of Architecture Master of Architecture I Graduate Thesis 2017

And I Told Them I Invented Helvetica A Thesis By

Kevin Finch Thesis Prep Advisor

Anna Neimark Additional Advisors

Todd Gannon Marion Weiss A.1.5 Ability to use representational media appropriate for the profession A.1.6 Ability to use representational media appropriate for the general public

GT2017

1 6 13 27 45 49 51

table of contents

thesis statement historical references original diagrams thesis experiments program + site conclusions bibliography

thesis statement Place making in Los Angeles is a curious thing. Depending on one’s scale of reference, or perhaps speed of travel, one may reference one’s location based on the freeway exit they’re passing or the interchange through which they have just merged. Conversely, one may forego these pseudo Cartesian coordinates and describe their location based on what building they are next to or who’s Walk of Fame Star by which they are drinking coffee. Los Angeles’ penchant for super-graphic locales is referenced by Claes Oldenburg’s City as Alphabet. He imagines a city where the map of Los Angeles resembles recognizable Roman letters in plan; where buildings are made of one to many letters, or perhaps words. A parallel can be drawn between a building spelling out its function in English, and Robert Venturi’s analysis of ducks and decorated sheds in Learning From Las Vegas. However, what architectural arguments can be explored if a building’s program and envelope are not explicit through visual cues?

In cataloging architectural examples of buildings that look like things, there is an opportunity to explore those without anthropomorphic features. By defining another category of buildings/things that look like buildings/things, objects that resemble archetypal architectural form that are not specifically made for habitation is an area studied by Andrew Kovacs in Architectural Affinities. Kovacs catalogues fetish-scale objects of architectural landmarks and presents them in a way that questions the scale of the original object.

By scaling these miniatures to a habitable size, part to whole relationships shift drastically. The tectonics of a giant building with no parts is a major consideration for this thesis.

The creation of these giant buildings will reference German and Anglo-Saxon letterforms, and through a process of architecturalization by which these letters are represented through well-understood architectural diagrams such as the 9 square grid, to create volume and architectural massing. The formal qualities and supergraphic-like massing of these buildings will fulfill this thesis’ hypothesis of architecture having the capacity for place-making. By contradicting the Modernist argument of explicit form and placelessness, and the Post-Modern idea of context-sensitive interventions, this thesis will experiment with several Los Angeles locales by harnessing a particular object’s ability to define the identity and culture of those who live nearby.

A.1.1 Ability to write effectively for the profession A.1.3 Ability to speak effectively for the profession

public statement This thesis references typeface letterforms, twodimensional graphics that were not intended to create space, and re-presents them in an architectural format. The 9 square grid is a widely used and welldocumented architectural diagram that can be found in many buildings today. Through a regimented geometric process, any of these two-dimensional graphics can be described in three dimensions, and therefore have the capacity to house building program.

Those who are native to Los Angeles know the feeling of locating oneself within the city based on certain freeway exits or particular local landmarks. This thesis aims to explore whether a building can be design specifically for placemaking and generate its own myths and culture, rather than an identity being placed onto the structure after construction.

There are four qualities that buildings generated from this thesis must have in order to fulfill the hypothesis that buildings do have the capacity for placemaking in Los Angeles. The first is whether it has gained enough volume in the geometric process to actually house an architectural program. The second is the physical size of the building and whether it is big enough to be considered a monolithic supergraphic. The third is the buildings location. In the volumetric process, the figure/ground relationship shifts from plan view to elevation view, and this allows for slopes and hillsides to be considered for a potential building site. The final quality these buildings must possess is whether it can be seen from afar. Each building site will have a prescribed visibility radius for locals to reference as a physical sphere of influence.

A.1.2 Ability to write effectively for the general public A.1.4 Ability to speak effectively for the general public

2

Kiyoshi Awazu - Nibankan Building

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

supergraphics

definitions

[soo-per-graf-iks] noun, used with a singular or plural verb

1. large-scale painted or applied decorative art in bold colors and typically in geometric or typographic designs, used over walls and sometimes floors and ceilings to create an illusion of expanded or altered space.

locality [loh-kal-i-tee] noun, plural

1. a place, spot, or district, with or without reference to things or persons in it or to occurrences there: They moved to another locality.

2. The state or fact of being local or having a location: The locality that every material object must have.

abstraction [ab-strak-shuh n] noun

1. an abstract or general idea or term.

2. the act of considering something as a general quality or characteristic, apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances.

3. an impractical idea; something visionary and unrealistic.

4. Fine Art a. the abstract qualities of characteristics of a work of art. b. a work of art, especially a nonrepresentational one, stressing formal relationships.

4

1

2

3

9

8 4

5

6

7

10

11

12

What are the qualities of local landmarks that have the capacity for placemaking?

13

14

15

Do the qualities of these things contribute to a local culture or identity?

16

17

Does Los Angeles’ penchant for placemaking super-graphics contribute to the post-modern idea of contextual abstraction?

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

18

1 - Los Angeles City Hall 2 - Watt’s Towers 3 - Randy’s Donuts 4 - Hollywood Bowl 5 - Queen Mary, Long Beach 6 - Hollywood Sign 7 - Getty Gardens 8 - Wells Fargo Tower, Covina 9 - Claremont Packing House

10 - Fry’s, Burbank 11 - Northwood’s Inn, Covina 12 - Yeti Street Art, Venice 13 - Senegal Village Well 14 - Indian Step Well 15 - Hollywood Walk of Fame 16 - Claes Oldenburg, City as Alphabet 17 - Hollywood Sign 18 - Los Angeles Freeway Interchange

historical references Sitting in a car and watching letters silhouetted against the sky has always seemed to me the basic Los Angeles experience. Some of these letters are colossal – the “M” and the “T” on Pico Boulevard. Another source of the association of letters and landscape is the map of the area one has to consult. I imagine the coordinates, for example, constructed to cover the territory the fill on the map; or, a colossal alphabet spilled haphazardly over the basin – an effect like an earthquake. The characters become landmarks of community: one may say, “I live down by the “L” you know, you can spot it from the freeway.” It may ease the sense of loss at the removal of the verbal element from telephone changes.

A city is all words – a newspaper, and alphabet.

It would allay the strain on the imaginations of architects and their clients if a law were passed requiring all new buildings to have the shape of a letter or several letters, or a word. Seen from below, like the unfinished freeway connection ending abruptly against the sky, the result would be modern and traditional, elementary, graceful and informative.

-Claes Oldenburg: City As Alphabet

6

“Figure” and “Ground” relationships of typical Los Angeles Landmarks

A.2.1 Questions, Interpretations, Points of View and Conclusions. Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse point of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions.

Romain du Roi Capital Letters

Romain du Roi Lower-Case Letters

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

8

abstraction/representation

things that look like buildings

buildings that look like buildings

sculpture

architecture

things that look like things

buildings that look like things

anthropomorphism

A.3.1 Ability to gather, assess, record, and comparatively evaluate relevant information and performance.

In the ‘buildings that look like things’ category, there is an opportunity to explore those that do not have anthropomorphic features.

10

We think of letters composing words and sentences. We often never see individual letters in their intended contexts. By architecturalizing letterforms, new spatial relationships can be created while an architectural diagram is formed.

Yousuke Ozawa - Satellite Fonts

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

12

9 Square Alphabet

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

original diagrams

16 Square Alphabet

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

14

25 Square Alphabet

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

Mixed Alphabet - Minimum legibility

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

16

Rather than re-tracing a 9, 16, or 25 square diagram with linear-type plans, I have started with an architecturalized diagram [in this case the letter “H� described by a 9 square] and then used that as a means of reproducing an assemblage of archetypal building plans.

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

Andrew Kovacs - 9 Square Plan

Arrangement of Building Plans Into Letter Diagram A.2.1 Questions, Interpretations, Points of View and Conclusions. Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse point of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions.

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

18

CCTV - OMA

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

Folding of building plans to produce volume

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

20

Folded letter diagrams

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

9 Square Intersected Volumes

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

22

16 Square Intersected Volumes

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

25 Square Intersected Volumes

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

24

The 4 values of architecture Neil Denari describes all architecture as having 4 values or qualities by which we can measure a projects meaning or effectiveness. These values can exist in a multitude of ways, but will always be present in any project, whether the architect is aware of it or not. Just as Neil has described these values, this thesis will have comparable metrics for measuring the effectiveness of all possible experiements and interventions.

A.2.1 Questions, Interpretations, Points of View and Conclusions. Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse point of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions.

function

what does the building do? related to program

exchange

what is the building worth?

I built it for “x” and can sell it for “y”

symbolic

what does the building mean on a political/social level?

Gift Economy

sign

what does the building signify when compared to similar building types?

A Chevy and a Ferrari do the same thing

volumetric

has the 2 dimensional letterform gained enough usable volume in the 3 dimensional process to house building program?

big

if the building is to be a landmark or have qualities of iconicity, it must fit a certain way into its context, or be physically large.

location

does the expression of the building reflect local or popular culture colors, patterns, or textures? This must be directly related to the building’s part-to-whole relationships.

orientation

is this building visible from afar? Further experimentation will define a particular site’s appropriate visibility radius, but this will vary from site to site. An altered figure/ground relationship will also re-orient the building and affect its farreaching visibility.

26

E

+ German Letterforms combined with Los Angeles popular culture

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

experiment 1 What happens when we take the Germanic/Anglo Saxon letterforms of our common spoken language, and mash them together with Los Angeles popular culture? The aforementioned methodologies on producing volume and spatial arrangements from letterforms produce a coherent architectural massing from which a building can be produced. By situating these masses across Los Angeles and allowing local myths, cultures, and identities to express themselves onto these masses, this experiment aims to satisfy the questions of locality and recognizability put forth by this thesis.

A.2.2 Alternative Outcomes. Ability to test alternative outcomes against relevant criteria and standards.

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

28

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

30

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

32

Steven Holl - Spatial Retaining Bars

Folding of building plans to produce volume

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

experiment 2

kitbashing or model bashing is a practice whereby a new scale model is created by taking pieces out of commercial kits. These pieces may be added to a custom project or to another kit. For professional modelmakers, kitbashing is popular to create concept models for detailing movie special effects.

A.2.2 Alternative Outcomes. Ability to test alternative outcomes against relevant criteria and standards.

34

Architectural Kitbashing Deathstroke - Dionysus Cho, Daniel Nguyen, Anne Ma Yale School of Architecture

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

1

4

2

3

5

1 - Andrew Kovacs, Architectural Affinities 2 - Tectonic Difference, Material Similarity 3 - Tectonic and Material Similarity 4 - Kris Kuski, Recycled Toy Sculptures 5 - Detail of Sagrada Familia

A.6.1 Ability to examine and comprehend the fundamental principles present in relevant precedents

36

Extrusion of architectural parts

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

Intersection of architectural parts

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

38

+ Simulated melting through physical or digital means

experiment 3 Many times in the process of creating physical artifacts, we sometimes misinterpret or otherwise fail to execute a certain manner of production. It is through these failed processes that often produce interesting yet nonreproducible results. One such method is the improper casting of molten metals into a plaster form. While the removal of the cast part may result in unpredictable outcomes, the physical effect is akin to that of melting a detailed plastic print or assemblage. By taking experiment 2 and simply melting the model [either physically or digitally] a complex methodology for abstraction is achieved – allowing for a deeper narrative of form finding.

Maya mesh smoothing

A.2.2 Alternative Outcomes. Ability to test alternative outcomes against relevant criteria and standards.

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

40

Articulated ABS 3D print before metal casting

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

Resultant aluminum cast from a mismanaged mold-making process

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

42

photography

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

3D scanning/rendering

orthographic projection

vaccu-forming

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

44

project massing The project massing begins with a legible square diagram of individual letters. That diagram is then bent, twisted, or otherwise manipulated so that each part of the diagram may be projected onto itself.

The result is a massing that resembles one part of the diagram from one view, another part of the diagram from another view, and something completely other from axonometric views.

process diagram of proposed building massing strategies

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

program + site program

The references from this thesis draw upon office buildings and housing projects. This project could occupy any number of scales, however the supergraphic quality of the massing, and its proposed location of Los Angeles lend this project to serve as a mixed used office/retail/living building.

office housing retail program diagram of the proposed thesis intervention

A.6.3 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

46

Reconfiguration of the figure/ground relationships between plan and elevation/oblique

A.6.2 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Architecture

site

Based on this thesis’ exploration of supergraphics and popular culture, the projects generated from this thesis must be located in Los Angeles. Several considerations will have to be made in order to locate a specific location for any of these experiments. Based on the value assessments previously mentioned, the site must contribute to an intervention’s visibility, iconicity, and legibility.

Depending on the desired legibility of a particular mass and the chosen figure/ ground relationship, a sloped or hillside site may also be considered.

A.6.4 Make informed choices about the incorporation of such principles into Urban Design Studies

48

In order to orient this thesis within the larger context of architectural work, this diagram takes each experiment carried out thus far and aligns itself with similar work done in the field of architecture. The thesis has positioned itself in such a way as to have a minimum of 4 criteria upon which to measure all possible outcomes of the processes put forth. The subsequent experiments are then grouped and re-iterated for clarity.

A.2.1 Questions, Interpretations, Points of View and Conclusions. Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse point of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions.

A.3.2 Support conclusions related to a specific project or assignment.

thesis

having the 4 qualities deemed necessary for a valid output -volumetric -big -location -orientation

conclusions experiment 1 large, supergraphic volume oriented in the city or on a hillside -Oldenburg, City as Alphabet -Los Angeles Freeway signage -Kiyoshi Awazu, Nibankan Building

experiment 2

kitbashing, assemblage of architectural parts into volumetric letters -Steven Holl, Spatial Retaining Bars -Andrew Kovacs, 9 square plan -Mark Foster Gage, Helsinki

experiment 3

physical or digital melting of architectural or totemic assemblages -Kevin Finch, Iztaccihuatl -Vaccu-formed Groot

50

books Foucault, Michel, and Paul Rabinow. The Foucault Reader. New York: Pantheon, 2010. Print.

Harman, Graham. Immaterialism: Objects and Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity, 2016. Print.

Holl, Steven. “Edge of a City.” Minneapolis: Center, 1991. Print.

Jencks, Charles. “The Modes of Architectural Communication.” The Language of Post-modern Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 1991. Print.

Kovacs, Andrew. Architectural Affinities. Chicago, IL: Graham Foundation, 2015. Print.

Ockman, Joan. Architecture Culture 1943-1968: A Documentary Anthology.

New York: Rizzoli, 2007. 446-49. Print.

Rattenbury, Kester, and Samantha Hardingham. Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown: Learning from Las Vegas. Abingdon: Routledge, 2007. Print.

Salle, David. How to See: Looking, Talking, and Thinking about Art. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016. Print.

Venturi, Robert, and Vincent Scully. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. 1966. 22-45. Print.

Weschler, Lawrence. Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: Over Thirty Years of Conversations with Robert Irwin. CA: U of California, 2009. Print.

bibliography essays Gannon, Todd and Zago, Andrew. “Tabloid Transparency, or, Looking Through Legibility, Abstraction, and the Discipline of Architecture.”

Krauss, Rosalind. “Sculpture in the Expanded Field.” October 8 (1979): 30-44. Web.

lectures Denari, Neil M. Neil M. Denari. SCI-Arc, Los Angeles, CA. 15 Mar. 2017.

Lecture.

Zizek, Slavoj, and Graham Harman. “Duel + Duet: Slavoj Zizek and Grahan Harman.” Duel + Duet: Slavoj Zizek and Grahan Harman. SCIArc, Los Angeles, CA. 1 Mar. 2017. Lecture.

52

thanks.