REAL R E ND E RI N G S Photo g r ap h in g A rc h i t e c t u ra l M od el s 2 0 1 7 A I A S o u t h D a ko t a E n r i c h m e n t A w a r d
Student Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian Faculty Advisor Federico Garcia Lammers, Assoc . AIA
Content 2 Proposal Personal Background 3 Learning Plan Goals 4 Schedule Budget 5 Resume 6-10 Por tfolio
PROPOSAL
The design and documentation of contemporary architecture is heavily defined by its photogenic character. Real Renderings is about using digital photography to inhabit and explore the detailed construction of large-scale physical architectural models. Carefully crafted photographs of completed buildings are submitted for design award consideration, while computer generated images or renderings are made and distributed in equal measure. Renderings have become one of the most common forms of communication between architects and their clients and an important means to pursue new work. In an age of high-resolution images and rapid consumption of renderings how can physical models be photographed and used as both tools for communication and ideation? Since the 1990s, Kenneth Frampton, an architect and professor at Columbia University has taught a course titled “Studies in Tectonic Culture”. This course asks students to make architectural models that embody the architectural tectonics of seminal 20th century buildings. In February of 2017 many of these models were photographed by photographer James Ewing for an exhibit called “Stagecraft: Models and Photos.”(Fig1-2). This AIA SD Enrichment Award proposal combines my interest in history, model-making, and photography with the tradition of the work produced in James Ewing’s Exhibit. My proposal was developed in collaboration with DoArch faculty Federico Garcia Lammers. His expertise in the material practices of the late Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste and his experience teaching, “Light, Camera, Action”; a building shop focused on the digital documentation of physical models have been important to the development of my proposal.
Figure 1: Stagecraft Exhibit at Columbia University. Model of Saint Benedict Chapel, Peter Zumthor.
Figure 2: Stagecraft Exhibit at Columbia University. Model of Bagsvaerd Church, Jorn Utzon. Digital print in background.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND
In conjunction with model-making, I have begun to experiment with photographic techniques to express my design intentions and reveal the most compelling instances of my projects. These are techniques I would like to continue to explore in my proposal.
My name is Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian and I am a fourth-year Mexican architecture student in the Department of Architecture at South Dakota State University. My interest in architecture is focused on work that overlaps architectural history, model-making, photographic experimentation, and tectonic culture. I want to learn how to conduct research that is relevant to these categories. The interest behind my proposal started in my history classes during my first years of architectural study at SDSU. The history of Renaissance and Baroque architecture grabbed my attention and peaked my curiosity for architectural history. My passion for architectural history has been evolving, and I am now interested in how history is linked to contemporary architectural practice. This link is most evident in my interest in Latin American structural innovators of the 20th century. In my last three studio projects, I’ve been experimenting with physical model-making to generate ideas and express the final stage of my design work. This strategy has been very important to my current student work.
As an example, in my last studio project, I built a crosssectional model, which is shown on page 4 of my portfolio. Once the model was done, I used it to generate an animation and a series of images which allowed me to emphasize the most important aspects of the design. In addition to studio, my interest in history and tectonic culture is present in my work in building shop classes and as a research assistant. I was part of the first building shop class based on Eladio Dieste’s ruled surface wall design. In this class we explored the material implications of Dieste’s work through the description and construction of double-curvature brick wall. I have been working with Federico Garcia Lammers as his research assistant for over a year. My work has been to assist in the preparation of academic papers through the collection of information regarding the political, social, and cultural implications of Dieste’s work.
Real Renderings / Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian / 2017 AIA SD Enrichment Award
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LEARNING PLAN How can the photographic explorations of physical models reveal the most compelling tectonic aspects of architecture? In order to explore this question I will focus my proposal on the reinforced masonry work of Eladio Dieste, a Uruguayan engineer/architect whose work is strongly linked to the relationship between architecture and construction - or tectonic culture. The subject I will use to test the photographic method I have described is Dieste’s incomplete Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Montevideo, Uruguay. The church was designed in 1961 as the largest public work ever projected by Dieste’s office. Construction began in 1965, but because of economic conditions and the unexpected death of Father Freire the church was never completed. Its impressive curved brick altar tower stands as the only marker of its ambition (Fig 3.). In 1996, the Archdiocese of San Juan de Avila in Madrid, Spain commissioned Dieste to build a new church. After 30 years of abandoning the construction of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Dieste proposed that the Church in Spain be constructed using the same design as his plans for the church in Uruguay (Fig 4-5). Through my research I want to figuratively contribute to finishing an unfinished building. To perform this work I will not be traveling. I will be using model-making and photography as a way to travel and engage a building that is in a distant place. I will use my research to connect three distinct places: South Dakota, Uruguay, and Spain. Process: 1. Collecting and Making: The process will start with the collection of documents to facilitate the construction of a detailed section model of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. The model will focus on a portion of ruled surface brick wall, double-curvature vault and altar tower. 2. Testing and Analyzing: In order to simulate the construction of Dieste’s Church, the physical model fabrication will consist of exploring tolerances and capabilities of materials such as clay, wood, and steel. Photographic explorations will start since the very beginning of model making process.
3. Photographing and Experimenting: Once the model is finished I will use digital photography to inhabit the model. This testing process will consist of the use of lighting techniques, background images, and digital postproduction effects. As a part of these tests I will be producing large-scale high quality prints focused on revealing the most compelling effects of Dieste’s architecture. These prints will highlight the relationship between model-making and the role of making images in contemporary architecture. GOALS The goals outlined below are not mutually exclusive, but they allow me to focus my work into distinct areas. Models are real, they occupy physical space and constitute a different way of developing architectural projects than computer generated images or renderings. The goals I have described are directed at understanding the “real” effects of physical models.
Figure 3: Our Lady of Lourdes, unfinished church in Uruguay. Existing church in foreground unfinished brick altar in background.
A. Exploring Tectonic Culture: Study the role of historic architecture figures whose work focuses on structural and material innovations. B. Testing Physical Model-making: Study the role of physical models as tools for communication in contemporary architecture. C. Experimenting with Photographic Techniques: Develop and catalogue digital techniques that will allow the clearest method of transmitting design intentions. D. Curating Photo and Model Exhibit: Select the most compelling photographic explorations for an exhibition hosted in the SDSU DoArch space. E. Publishing and cataloging work: Publication of a set of images with text about the subject.
Figure 4-5: Church of San Juan de Avila in Madrid, Spain. Finished version of Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. Exterior and interior photos.
Real Renderings / Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian / 2017 AIA SD Enrichment Award
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BUDGET This particular aspect of the proposal is directly impacted by the material explorations, high quality prints and its testing, and finally the publication of the research project.
S. Dakota
A great advantage is the accessibility to a well equipped photographic studio lab located in the South Dakota State University DoArch space, which owns many different sets of lighting equipment, making the documentation and photographic exploration processes a reality.
Mexico Uruguay Spain
SCHEDULE A tentative scheduled is provided below. This schedule takes in consideration an estimate duration of time to complete each step or goal previously mentioned. A. Exploring Tectonic Culture: May 15th - May 28th. B. Testing Physical Model-making: May 29th - July 23th.
Material The testing of their physical properties, how they reflect and absorb light for documentation purposes, structural capacities, and closest resemblance are the most important aspects of the selection criteria. Total of $600 - An aproximate for clay, wood (in its different varieties), concrete, museum board, powder, tools, adhesive materials, etc. Photographic prints The final goal for this project is the exhibition of high quality prints which will allow people to traveled through them without physically visiting the place. To achieve such quality, the testing process becomes an essential part of it.
July 24th - August 13th.
Total of $800 - Each 36 x 48 mounted print is about $50 dollars each. With the intention of housing an exhibition of the project, there is a need of having 10 to 12 prints to showcase. In addition, a variation in printing settings needs to be tested, analyzing the most successful method.
D. Curating Photo and Model Exhibit:
Publication
C. Experimenting with Photographic Techniques:
August 14th - September 1st. E. Publishing and cataloging work: This particular phase of the project has no time limit. It will not be part of the summer process. It is specifically intended to be work on after the 2017 AIA South Dakota Conference in September.
By the end of the project, after the presentation in the 2017 AIA South Dakota Conference, tha plan is to further study structural innovators of the 20th century, paired with the model-making and photographic exploration. Total of $700 - Publication expenses. TOTAL BUDGET = $2,100 dollars.
Real Renderings / Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian / 2017 AIA SD Enrichment Award
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RESUME Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian
Leadership
2013
2016 - present
Golf Personal Instructor - Members of Yucatan Golf Club, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
guillermo.gonzalezcebrian@gmail.com
President of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) SDSU Chapter. Its mission is to champion diversity within the design professions by promoting the excellence, community engagement, and profesional development.
www.guillermogonzalezcebrian.com
2014 - present
(605)6905061
President of DoArch International Group (DIG). Its mission is to present different cultures brought by international students to all South Dakota State University architecture students, by the organization of events that involve different traditions, food, etc.
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico - 04/01/1994 100 Medary ave s, Brookings, SD, United States
Architecture 2016 TSP & DoArch Scholarship Award for portfolio submittal. Earned highest scholarship - South Dakota. Assisted with AIA South Dakota Merit Design Award winner project - Mobridge, SD Drawing Set. Porto Academy Summer School at the Faculty of Architecture at University of Porto (FAUP) - Portugal. Presented SDSU Public Works at the Precast Concrete Institution National Conference - Nashville TN.
Golf
Music - Guitar and Piano.
#1 Ranked player of the peninsula region. (5 states) Ranked inside the top 20 amateur Mexican players in my category.
2016 Undergraduate Teacher Assistant - Public Works Collaborative Studio ARCH 351.
2011 Instituto Cumbres Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. (High School)
Software - Rhinoceros, Grasshoper, Revit, AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
2013
South Dakota State University
Tecnologico de Monterrey Campus Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. (High School)
Skills
Drawing - Sketching, Drafting, 3D Models, Architectural drawings.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture - expected Fall 2017.
2012
English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
NCAA Division l Student Athlete at South Dakota State University.
Employment
Instituto Cumbres Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. (High School)
Languages
Fabrication - Lassercutter, MakerBot 3D Printer, Powder 3D printer, Model Making.
2014 - present
2013
Golf Personal Instructor - Members of Campestre de Saltillo Golf Club, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.
2014 - 2016
Education
Current GPA - 3.32
2012
Travel USA, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Canada, Portugal, Spain.
Precast Concrete Project Assistant. Part of the project design team and city council connection builder - Volga, South Dakota. 2016 - present Undergraduate Research Assistant - Professor Federico Garcia Lammers, DoArch Faculty member. Social, Political and Cultural impact of the work of Eladio Dieste in Uruguay and Spain.
Real Renderings / Guillermo Gonzalez Cebrian / 2017 AIA SD Enrichment Award
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THE REYNER BANHAM ARCHIVE OF LOS ANGELES Instructor: Charles MacBride
Class: Architectural Studio I - Spring 2016
The project consisted of an archive for the educator and architectural historian Reyner Banham. The archive was designed as a cantilevered structure over the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles. Reyner Banham (1922-88) was a prolific English writer and architectural critic, trained under the noted historian Nikolaus Pevsner at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. He befriended the unfluential British Independent Group, was a strict modernist who rejected historicism of any kind, and drew lessons from the machine age spirit in modern architecture. The proposal needed to house a gallery and active repository for Banham’s works. The project started by researching about the different stages of Banham’s career, since he had different scopes of interest throughout his career, which can be clearly seen on his writings. After going through his writings, the field that interested me the most was his very first book, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, in which he discusses about Modernism, its development, and most influential exponents.This field of study defined my “ecology”, of equal interest for me as for Professor Banham, which drove and supported my vision for the archive building. My ecology was based on the First Machine Age, mainly on the first years of the 20th century. With that said, the works of architects such as Walter Groupius, Peter Behrens, Bruno Taut, Hermann Muthesius, as well as the work by the Deutscher Werkbund and The Bauhaus, served as inspiration for this project. The project used their precedents, not only for the visual aspects of the design, but also for the selection of material. Concrete, black steel and glass became the most important materials of the project. The archive was conceived as a place occupied by four characters: The Scholar, a visitor, uses the archive as a place for writing and study, and has a fantasy with the past. The Craftsman (also an artist), who, in Los Angeles, is concerned with “finishing in high style”. The Tourist, or consumer, is interested in casually inspecting the building and the city. The Caretaker, also an archivist, lives in, tends to, and curates the archive.
Santa Monica Freeway
Gallery
SECTION 04
SECTION 03
SECTION 05
Scholar
Open
SECTION 02
Craftsman
SECTION 01
SECTION 05
SECTION 04
SECTION 03
SECTION 02
SECTION 01
Residential
0ft
12ft
24ft
48ft
Left: Elevation and Cross-sections of the Archive . A b o v e : P i c t u r e s o f t h e A r c h i v e P hy s i c a l M o d e l w i t h f r e e w ay.
DOWNTOWN BROOKINGS SURREALIST ART GALLERY Instructor: Brian K. Lee
Class: Architectural Studio lll - Spring 2017
The studio started with a study of the concept of “site” and its multiple factors or implications, describing physical and non-physical elements. Each one of us had to come up with our own definition of site, mine being: “Quantifiable space with infinite possibilities shaped by its constraints.” After that, I questioned myself using many comparisons and metaphors, carrying a particular one through the design process: the spatial comparison between the representation of site in the way we experience it in reality (through our senses), and in our dreams (through our mind). This comparison later evolved to a relationship between literature and architecture. There are three main building programs: A cafe at the basement level, following a reading or library level which is mainly focused on literature, fiction and poetry collections, and at the top, a gallery space housing surrealist or metaphysical artworks. The intention behind the programmatic arrangement was the concept of having a sequential progression, feeding the body first (cafe), the mind second (book collections), properly arriving to the dream-like experience at the top level. The inspiration for the gable roof came from a functional point of view and from a philosophical perspective. The functional is simple. Lighting became an important issue, since the condition of the site is “infill”, two buildings on the sides, and also from the need of indirect light for the artworks. The philosophical one comes from the representation of houses or buildings in many of the most famous surreal works (with a gable roof), presenting a familiar image in an unfamiliar way. Artists such as Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte,Vladimir Kush, Jacek Yerka, and many others played an influential role in the project.
0 4ft 8ft
16ft
Left: “Dream and Reality” representation through s e c t i o n a l a x o n o m e t r i c d r aw i n g s . B e l o w : P i c t u r e s o f t h e S e c t i o n a l P hy s i c a l M o d e l
ELADIO DIESTE RULED SURFACE CURVED WALLS Instructor:Federico Garcia Lammers
Class: Building Shops - Spring 2016 and 2017
“Every material has its own distinct and specific personality, and every shape imposes a different stress phenomenon. The optimum natural solution to a problem – art with no artifice – implies the merging of art, technique, ingenuity, and study.” -Eduardo Torroja, The Philosophy of Structures. The Dieste Wall Building Shop explores the construction of ruled surface (doubly curved) walls using brick masonry technology.This material exploration is focused on the work of the late Uruguayan engineer Eladio Dieste. Explorations through hand-drawing methods and computational processes were used in order to understand the implications of constructing doubly curved geometries. The goal of the current building shop is to build two ruled surface brick walls. In order to design the construction of these walls students will analyze the structure of the wall built in the previous version of this course in the Spring 2016. As a part of the analysis process, we demolished and cataloged the bricks, intact or damaged, from the wall built in the spring of 2016. These bricks will be used to construct the two new walls. The aim of this process is to analyze and understand the implications of lowering the construction precision of geometrically complex forms.