Haozhou Zeng
SCI-Arc
2020 SPRING
Behind The Collection - INVISIBLE SYSTEM - COLLECTION - CHARACTERS - OBJECTS - REPRESENTATION - INTERACTION - MATERIALISM
INSTRUCTOR DAMJAN JOVANOVIC
About Grad Thesis Prep
HAOZHOU ZENG
Thesis Prep 1
SCI-Arc Spring 2020
Grad Thesis Prep
Contents
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Haozhou Zeng
Statements
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Invisible System
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Serious Objects & Playful Objects
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Composition
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Forms
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Material
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Interaction
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Possible Forms
Contents
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Grad Thesis Prep
SCI-Arc Spring 2020
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Haozhou Zeng
Grad Thesis Prep
The collection of multiple characters
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Statements When physical objects are digitally represented, and realistic representation combines digital abstraction within in a mixed-reality platform, a novel representation of architectural objects collection will redefine the place where we live. This thesis project will develop a potential futurism garden, which is based on the 3D digital environment (like computation silmulation, machine vision) and collection of new objects. It will explore how post-digital interface and new representation of objects will make a difference for the futurism architecture.
Haozhou Zeng
primarily composed of processes and effects operating above the level of specific objects. It not only elevates individual objects to constructions much grander than their own existence, but precisely balances the moment between non-hierarchical arrangement and specific delicate sense.
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Statements
Collection is a game of whole and parts in specific context or interface, which exploits part to part relationships, formal tensions, and character explorations. It begins with two case studies: Victims, the drawing by John Hejduk, depicts a collection of novel tyWhat is a garden? Garden is a platform for pological forms, and in the Still Life by Giorpeople to touch nature. Many precedent gargio Morandi, matter gravitates towards evden projects were populated by multiple cus- eryday objects and explores the mysterious tomized objects like sculptures, stones, pool ambiguity to objects’ arrangement and silent and plants. Thus the garden is a form that quality. Those cases both generate subtle composes of public activity, personal expres- sense, which is unclear but can be felt. Some sion, and imaginary creativity. And many cas- questions arise based on these cases: what es like The Continuous Monument by Superif new digital technique and interface are studio is an exploration of the futurism nature introduced? Does it matter if the interface world. On the base of that, by remixing the creates multiple compositions? How can the physical reality and digital interface, garden material quality influence the representation could be the place where people can specuof collection? How can the invisible system late the potential for new visual regimes to re- work if a collection appears both in a digital veal novel form representation of post-digital and a physical interface? aesthetic. Futurism garden can be redefined in new interface and the novel collection of Out of this fundamental situation, the project personal objects. will develop a new computation simulation of invisible systems to play with the combinaBehind every collection of objects, an invistion of objects in the futurism garden place. ible organization system can develop a way With a focus on mixed reality that combines to play and gather objects in a composition digital simulation, photogrammetry or AR as of new constructions. In the framework of flat medium, the collection game will be presentontology, objects differ amongst one another ed in a novel representation of post-digital by having their own properties and qualities, and physical aesthetic, while still precisely but they are no less objects for this reason. balancing the relationship among objects. It Flat ontology was developed to avoid the mo- will consider the typological, morphological, ment of undermining and over mining objects, and modernist aesthetic elements, and operthat is, respectively, by arguing for a primary ate as a new interface for people to customreality operating beneath the scale of the ized their own combination by this invisible perceived objects, or by arguing for a reality system.
Grad Thesis Prep
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ABOVE:Giorgio Morandi: Still Life
Main features and characteristics of Giorgio Morandi’s still lilfe painting.
“Morandi’s subject matter gravitated towards everyday objects that could be found in any kitchen.”
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Haozhou Zeng
the shelves of your own cupboard. The objects are placed on a nondescript tabletop, grouped together in various arrangements. The key factor is that these domestic objects are utterly unremarkable. They are not loud and ostentious. They do not demand our attention. These are not the objects of the rich and famous. Instead, they are silently humble. They represent a reality that is not dressed to impress. By focusing on objects that are commonplace, he shines a light on the functional objects we use everyday that are often overlooked and taken for granted. -Form-
-ObjectsMorandi’s subject matter gravitated towards everyday objects that could be found in any kitchen - such as jars, ceramic bowls and vases, bottles, pitchers, jugs and boxes. These objects are familiar, yet they are purposely stripped of any identifying marks such as labels. This lends the objects a sense of anonymity and universality - these objects could easily come from anyone’s kitchen. They could even be found on
The objects have a matte (almost dull) surface appearance, lacking reflections or any other shine. Many of them are painted with the absolute minimal amount of shading and highlights. Morandi takes subtle gradations of greys to new levels, at times only hinting of 3-dimensionality while still retaining a monumental presence. Take a look at the painting on the right to see what I mean! -ColorsMorandi uses a muted color palette for his still life paintings, often working in a range of whites and greys, occasionally foraying into other equally somber colors. His deliberate use of pale color creates inward-looking paintings that are sensitive to the objects portrayed. Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings
-CompositionAlthough the composition of Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings look deceptively simple, he would spend weeks obsessively shuffling the objects around to get just the right placement. He would experiment with different combinations of objects overlapping and placed next to each other in a variety of ways, looking for the right medley of forms. The perspective of his still life paintings is always looking straight on at them, or looking down at them. There is a certain mysterious ambiguity to the location of Morandi’s still life set-ups. Because it’s impossible to pinpoint a specific location or identify the owners of the objects, the paintings enjoy an anonymous, silent quality.
From”Art-is-fun.com” 9
Still Life
Morandi paints his still life objects to have a weighty, chunky appearance. They seem solid and sturdy - at times appearing almost architectural in form. This style resonates with the functionality of these objects - these objects were designed to be used often, rather than admired.
employ a careful balance of subdued colors and subtle tones. As mentioned earlier in reference to how he builds (or rather, hints) at form, he stylistically works in a limited tonal range. Tone refers to how light or dark a color is. Therefore, a light tone can be used to indicate a highlight, and a dark tone can indicate a shadow. In the above painting, notice how the objects almost appear flat, because of their lack of a wide tonal range. The white vases only carry a slight hint of grey at the sides, demarking 3-dimensionality.
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LEFT:Giorgio Morandi: Still Life RIGHT:Ceramic Vases Inspired by Giorgio Morandi Still Life Paintings
ABOVE:Common Odd Things By Wang & soderstrom
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Haozhou Zeng
Still Life ABOVE:Table Of Contents By Wang & Soderstrom
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Invisible System
ABOVE:Amazon Warehouse
How algorithems run Amazon’s warehouse
“The pickers are not meant to have to think too long about what they’re retrieving.”
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Haozhou Zeng Founded at the dawn of the web in 1994, Amazon is now reportedly worth $247bn (£157bn). But the company is not, in fact, hugely profitable. What keeps Amazon afloat? As for any business with tight margins, efficiency is key
A recent New York Times investigation revealed that the corporate culture inside Amazon is highly driven by data: personal performance, for example, is continually checked with a software system called the Anytime Feedback Tool that allows employees to share praise or criticism about their colleagues.
“Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History.” So reads a sign above the entrance to Amazon’s newest UK “fulfilment centre” (or warehouse) in Hemel Hempstead. Inside lies more than 40,000 sq m of shelving, packing lines and millions of products. One area where larger products are stored is known as “pallet land” and adjacent, at another end of the space sits “the tower”, where several floors of shelving are stacked on top of each other. Pickers constantly, and more or less silently, walk up and down the tower’s lengthy aisles, pushing carts into which they deposit items purchased by someone, somewhere online.
One of the first things that strikes you about the Amazon fulfilment centres is that the products aren’t organised logically – or at least in the kind of fashion that a human would use. For instance, products on shelves are not organised by category. Instead, they are placed on shelves as if by random. An HDMI cable lies near to five copies of some Harry Potter sheet music. A brand of baby’s bottle is across the aisle from a drain water diverter. But there is method to this apparent madness. “Imagine picking one model of HDMI cable from a shelf of hundreds of them,” says Low. The pickers are not meant to have to think too long about what they’re retrieving – the whole process is designed to be as streamlined as humanly possible.
Even so, the human element is arguably the weak link in the efficiency chain, and new computer-based systems that promise to automate Amazon’s operations even further might one day take over the ferrying of products themselves. Kiva Systems is a little-known Amazon subsidiary which develops hi-tech warehouse robotics. Instead of human pickers going to and from shelves in a large space, the shelves themselves are mobile and travel on wheels to stationary pickers who simply lift off the required item. Dutifully, the robot shelves then return to their place.
From BBC FUTURE
When an item is collected by hand, the 13
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At the company’s warehouses, the workers are also guided and monitored by software, but in a much more direct way. When you order an item online, the Amazon system quickly works out where the item sits in its inventory, and dispatches a human picker to go fetch it. “It’s not about learning where things are, in your head, or having to memorise,” explains general manager Henry Low. “We make the task as simple as possible.”
picker scans it with a handheld device to ensure that the correct object has been taken. And every item’s progress throughout the warehouse is constantly monitored thanks to a series of points at which it is scanned again – for example at the moment of being labelled with the customer’s name and address. “We are able to track where the item is at any one time at the fulfilment centre,” says Low, who is both confident and clearly proud of the attention to detail.
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Serious Objects
ABOVE: The 5th and final Tech Plan By Clark Thenhaus
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Playful Objects
Serious Objects Playful Objects ABOVE: Video Games Urbanism By Luke Pearson
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ABOVE: Bust Of Medusa By Andrew Kovacs
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Composition stuff is searched
stuff is chopped
stuff is leveled
stuff is hunted
stuff is clad
stuff is arranged
stuff is discoverd
stuff is subtracted
stuff is gathered
stuff is painted
stuff is added
stuff is anticipated
stuff is stained
stuff is replaced
stuff is negotiated
stuff is patched
stuff is glued
stuff is designed
stuff is overlaid
stuff is adjusted
stuff is accumulated
stuff is sorted
stuff is built
stuff is organized
stuff is sliced
stuff is lifted
staff is categorized
stuff is sized
stuff is tbc...
Composition
stuff is stacked
This model was produced for an exhibition in Los Angeles called BUST at Jai & Jai Gallery and curated and organized by Liam O’Brien Jr. The model is a speculation for a densely compacted development. The model is made from a range of found objects that were acquired as both wholes and in pieces. Both wholes and pieces of found objects are valued equally as parts in service of the assemblage of the new totality. These parts are compacted and composed in a contiguous manner to produce a vertical conglomerate that speculates on the a new possibility for human habitation. 17
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Composition ABOVE: Playful Objects By Haozhou Zeng LEFT: Personal Place By Haozhou Zeng
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Composition 21
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New Cadavre Exquis
ABOVE: New Cadvre Exquis By Nemestudio
By Nemestudio
New Cadavre Exquis speculates on architecture’s materiality in the context of digital accumulation. The project consists of four architectural assemblies, which are created via a sampling process of digital readymades ranging from everyday objects, building elements, primitive forms and natural features from the 3D Warehouse—an online open source digital library of more than 2 million 3D models. While depicting the formation of an architectural project from the accumulation of digital excess from the 3D Warehouse to the building material debris, the project positions 22
architectural materiality within a time span from construction, maintenance, ruination, demolition, and waste. Critically reflecting on our culture’s addiction to accumulation, New Cadavre Exquis re-stages the making of digital images as part of architecture’s materiality. It builds alternative linkages between architecture, digital media, and materiality, and opens up a range of aesthetic and political concerns for architectural and public imagination.
Haozhou Zeng
LEFT: Our Junk, Their Ruin By Nemestudio
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Composition
DOWN: Manual of Instructions By Nemestudio
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Forms ABOVE: 48 Characters By The LADG
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LEFT: Other Masks Facades & Faces By WOJR
ABOVE: Object By Ken Price
ABOVE: Rocks By Adam Fure
ABOVE: Rocks By Adam Fure
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ABOVE: Seven By WOJR
ABOVE: Object By NorellRodhe Erratic Models
Forms
LEFT: Cast of Civic Characters By Joseph Altshuler
ABOVE: Other Masks Facades & Faces By WOJR
ABOVE: Object by Ken Price
LEFT: Études Objects By WOJR
ABOVE: Post-Rock By T+E+A+M
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ABOVE: Late Entries To The Chicago Public LIbrary Competition By Design With Company
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Haozhou Zeng
Forms ABOVE: Late Entries To The Chicago Public LIbrary Competition By Design With Company
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Materials
LEFT: Sderstrm_Iittala_ By Wang & Soderstrom
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Haozhou Zeng
ABOVE: Sderstrm_Iittala_ By Wang & Soderstrom
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Materials
ABOVE: Sderstrm_Iittala_ By Wang & Soderstrom
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Materials FOR ALL: Phygital Materialism By Bastiaan de Nennie
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iheartbolb: Amphibious Habitats Augmented Reality Interactive Game
Interaction 32
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Interaction 33
SCI-Arc Spring 2020
Peep Pop City Peep Pop City is an endless multi-player city building game contained within a mirrored cabinet. It is comprised of over 500 3d-printed game pieces sourced from the past, present and future of London’s urban morphology. It seeks to engage audiences with the logics of city planning, whether young or old.
Grad Thesis Prep
Inspired by Archizoom’s ‘No Stop City’, the game uses the mirrored faces to allow the players to propose a city which could go on forever. Player 1 acts as the ‘Administrator’, pulling cards at random each with a different objective for the city, peeping into the cabinet to instruct Player 2 who acts as the Architect, following these instructions and popping down city fragments in various configurations. Curious onlookers are invited to peep in to the cabinet and participate.
Peep Pop City You+Pea 34
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Interaction
This game has also been developed into the design for an interactive booth where visitors can play the game, produce their own skyscraprs, and use the app to print their own glossy posters, uploading these onlne. This was also designed to be accompanied by physical models of the skyscraper elements for people to compose alongside the video game. London Developers Toolkit You+Pea
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Possible Forms
Grad Thesis Prep
Garden
ABOVE: Tenshin-En Japanese Garden
What is a garden? Garden is a platform for people to touch nature. Many precedent garden projects were populated by multiple customized objects like sculptures, stones, pool and plants. Thus the garden is a form that composes of public activity, personal expression, and imaginary creativity.
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Possible Form ABOVE: The Garden Of Earthly Delights
ABOVE: Universal Studio
Garden is the accumulation of themes, metaphor, playful objects and senses of happiness.
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Futurnism Garden
These purely theoretical drawings from The Continuous Monument series illustrate Superstudio’s conviction that by extending a single piece of architecture over the entire world they could “put cosmic order on earth.” The white, gridded, monolithic structures span the natural landscape and assert rational order upon it. Superstudio saw this singular unifying act, unlike many modern utopian schemes, as nurturing rather than obliterating the natural world. (Via MOMA) ABOVE: The Continuous Monument By Superstudio
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Possible Form ABOVE: Objects Design by SuperDesign
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ABOVE: Chicago Biennial ‘17 By UrbanLab
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Possible Form
“Everyone can reach for different grades in development of his possibilities, beginning from equare starting points .”
UrbanLab presented the Re-Encampment project in the second Chicago Biennial curated by Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee. The project investigates a seminal project from the ‘70s to find new possibilities for today. In the photo-collage “Fundamental Acts, Life” from Superstudio’s Supersurface – The Encampment project of 1971, mountains frame a grid to produce a valley-scaled ‘interior’ room. Our “Re-Encampment” in the Chicago Biennial in the Room of Plinths re-interprets and re-examines the meaning underlying this canonical image. We deploy Superstudio’s technique of extension and multiplication – of grids across the landscape – to create “a space infinitely reflected.” Looking into and through these cubes, one sees spaces infinitely reflected. For Superstudio, these types of spaces symbolize benign environments: looking up one sees sky, looking down one sees a continuous gridded infrastructure. Emerging from the infrastructure plane, one sees a series of life-supporting atmospheres like air, heat, and water. This endless environment is divested of all but a few essential elements in order to re-examine, as Superstudio did, what is the essence of architecture and the environment.
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Post-Digital Representation
ABOVE: Render for abnormal_story By @Alessiograncini
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Possible Form ABOVE: Dichtelust Project By @abnormal_story
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“Visual concept around the fluidity of current social and technological realities and constructed nature.�
Infolve Sphere W300 This trend world represents virtual and social trends. Domestic and nomadic human made fragments are suspended in a spatial grid that network-like connects all spaces at once. The relations between those individual micro-spaces is fluid and dynamic, the materials and elements interpolate a trajectory of current technology into the future.
ABOVE: Infolve Sphere W300 By Foam Studio
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Possible Form ABOVE: Develop Process By Foam Studio
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Whole and Parts
ABOVE: The Shining Film Buildings
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Possible Form ABOVE: Isolated architectural surface
Every interior story of the Shinning happens in the hotel. From the audiens’s perspective, every interior rooms should located in this hotel like it should be in real world. However, the camera shooting happens in several different studios. Each stage is isolated in different building in real world and organized as a whole architecture in digital technology for people. In this case, architecture elements like facade, interior room, even a wall could be isolated in physical world and work as a whole in digital representaion. We look at each architectural element at once, which is part of flat onthology. This utilization redefine the way we interact with architecture. Architecture is no more fundamentally a single unit, but becomes digital collection of isolated scenes in physical world. 47
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Materials ABOVE: Katy Perry’s Daisies TV Show By XR Studio
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Possible Form 51
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