architecture thesis book by iva grcic

i n te r ac ti ve _ M E DI A::s ca[pe

interactive_MEDIA::scape

M A T T HE W S G O O D WIN

SOMA District_San Francisco Bay

MATTHEW S. GOODWIN

A R C HIT E CT U R E SE N IO R T HE SI S

ARCHITECTURAL THESIS: 2007_2008 BACHELORS OF ARCHITECURE CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY SAN LUIS OBISPO KAREN LANGE, ADVISOR

hello moto

interactive_MEDIA::scape SOMA District_San Francisco Bay

MATTHEW S. GOODWIN ARCHITECTURAL THESIS: 2007_2008 BACHELORS OF ARCHITECURE CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY SAN LUIS OBISPO KAREN LANGE, ADVISOR

I would like to say thank you to my professor Karen Lange for being architecturally quirky and making funny noises to get me and the rest of studio 40008â&#x20AC;&#x2122; through thesis, DJ Flo for keeping the Danish music pumping, and to my parents for their love and support throughout college. Cheers...

danke schon

C O NT E N T S +

site research

hr site study

106

program

114

concept design

124

design development

134

final design

140

rebar table

196

bibliography

202

manifesto 01

manifesto [intent]

issues issue 01 critical positions

Le Corbusier_Karl Chu critical research

Processed Form: FOA case studies

01_Eyebeam

02_Landesgartenschau [Zaha Hadid]

Museum [diller+scofidio]

experiments 38 40 42 44 46 50 52 56

01_Film

+ Media 02_Mobius Strip 03_Moire Pattern 04_Fiber Optic Wall 05_Fiber Optic Table 06_[e]mergent form 07_Musical [e]mergence 01 08_Musical [e]mergence 02 experiment analysis

experiment analysis

d o

y o u

r e m e m b e r

t i m e

w h e n

t h e

c i t y

w a s . . .

manifesto

[intent]

While there are many ways to spark social interaction and events, two such mediums stick out as primary catalysts. Music and film are creative fields that not only produce creative interaction and discovery between creators, but also from their audiences as well. Music and film 1 2

FOA. Phylogensis foa’s ark. p. 23 Tschumi, Bernard. Event-Cities 2. p. 13

ANIFESTO[intent

Implementing new forces to the existing makeup of an area will in turn instigate new life, social culture, events, spaces, interaction and development. Means of achieving these elements come by analyzing and mapping the underlying factors and forces of an area; i.e. demographics, history, culture, circulation, transportation, climate, context, voids, solids, noise, views, movements and uses. These forces are considered the genetic makeup of the area and produce physical and social environments.1 The elements combined produce the area itself as a manifestation of their own genetics. I see this approach to analyzing a site as a way to plot areas that may be regenerated, or in this instance, instigated to create new events that breed social interaction. As program is inserted into the analyzation of site, another arrangement to fuel social interaction can come through cross programming and indeterminate use [event space].2 As each of the instigation sites are realized, programmatic placement will lead to unpredictable social interactions. The architectural form becomes a generative process of cross-programmatic layout and genetic manipulation of the site. Therefore the physical and social architecture is an evolution manifestation of these inputs and parameters.

bring together a vast mix of people ranging from identical to polar opposites. Bringing this vast mix of people together in various levels of interaction can regenerate a creative culture and social aspect to any site, but in an even greater degree in the density of urban spaces.

Whether we realize it or not, architecture creates cultural and social changes, spaces and events. Where spaces lack these elements, a human cultural and social void is present. Urban cities that have been created with an industrial mindset tend to face this dilemma. Workers come in during the morning, work all day, and then leave the area by night. The area is only activated during the work hours and left as dead space during the night. Cities are now trying to redevelop these postindustrial areas into centers of life and culture. Architecture has the ability to spur this new sense of life in areas via social instigative architecture. Leading to this instigative effect through rigorous research of how an area’s social, cultural, historical, and physical systems work can allow mapping an urban area’s points of intensity. Where points of intensity are greatest the area is stable and full of life. Where points of intensity are lowest there is the need to regenerate and instigate. By mapping these areas we can start pulling, pushing and growing these intensity points. From points that are deemed necessary to regeneration the architecture can begin to influence and instigate this change.

m a n i f e s t o [ i n t e n t ]

manifesto [intent]

So why the need for social interaction and instigation? They are a way to “generate ideas, illusions, emotions, associations and other mental

ANIFESTO[intent

In this thesis I aim first define the underlying the forces of the site’s genetic makeup, research techniques to augment these forces, map them, in order to implement music and film as a catalyst to instigate new social interaction and life.

UN Studio. “Manifesto #17.” ICON Magazine. p.81

m a n i f e s t o [ i n t e n t ]

constructs.”3 These generated products of social interaction are what push our culture to keep developing. They breed our culture and lifestyles. They are what bring people together or keep them apart. Human interaction is an absolute basis to life. The introduction of music and film to fuel this interaction is a response of how the two mediums bring people together. They are essential to our modern culture because they create inspiration, memories, and produce relaxation or energy. Music moves the mind, body and soul. It can be used to respond to our emotions. It can bring us together and push us apart. Film also brings us together, but can transport us into a fantasy realm that produces the ‘suspension of disbelief.’ The creators can begin to blend with the users and create a relationship that feeds off each other. For example, the Eyebeam Museum competition entry won by Diller and Scofidio brought together the users and creators of new media technology. The relationship of how the two interacted reversed. Creators investigated the reactions of users first hand by seeing them interact with their work, and at the same time users learned how creators worked. A deeper look into the functional relationships between user and creator are presented later in this book. The integration of music and film is an effective way to instigate social interactions in an area that begs for it.

research

ISSUE ONE thesis [IDEA]

a camcorder filming a projector project an image of what the camcorder is filming. created a cyclical function that made an image that went into infinity due to the cycle of the camcorder filming the projector project itself. Also led to a discovery of time lapse in real time and led to the discovery of a 4d space.

How can intense site studies and programmatic research instigate an architecture that creates a new lively and social downtown atmosphere in the SOMA district of San Francisco, California that engages the public and creates interactions with themselves and their surroundings.

taking two black plastic meshes and overlapping them, then shifting the top surface at a slight angle in both the x and z directions. led to a pattern known as the moire pattern that comes from two typical paths or patterns, but when crossed or shifted creates a new pattern or field. stemmed from the idea of Tschumi’s ‘event-fields’

research [INVESTIGATE]

film+media

completed

in progress

simple paper studies of taking one surface with a plane on top and another plane on the bottom, then twisting the paper according to the mobius form, creating a continuous surface. labeling the sides A & B I could see the flow and interaction between the two planes.

moire patterns

experiments

mobius strip

Eyebeam [d+s]

Yokohama Terminal case studies UN Studio

Bernard Tschumi Other

culture / society context circulation / transportation

connections

interactive fibre optic

site studies [SOMA] san francisco

an 15”x18” wall mount piece for the abstract show that interacted with passersby. the top 9” was a mirrored surface and the bottom 9” was black board. on each surface was an 8x8 grid of fibre optic cables.. the mirror surface cables were the input and the black surface was the output. a spotlight aimed at the mirrored surface activated the fibre optics by inputting light to the top half, then emitting light on the bottom half. a user would stand in front of the mirror, see themselves, then notice a silhoutte of themselves moving in the grid of lights on the bottom half. this installation was an experiment on how one might interact with light, technology and space. it made the user question how it worked and could inform if their curiousity insisted.

new media center for research and exhibition. diller+scofidio took two programs and interwove them to create an interactive, voyeuristic experience between the researcher and the exhibitor. want to see how they effectively brought the public into a new realm through architecture. FOA used data and studies to sculpt a land that flows perfectly with circulation and function to create a dynamic building that incorportates the user and the landscape. investigating the use of studies to generate form and how they created a great functional and public space.

United Net Studio incorporates design models to achieve their ‘architecture’. Their “deep planning” principle allows them to design spaces that are based on exhausted research and studies of a sites conditions. want to understand their analytical approach to form generation and ability to engage users with the architecture on an artistic and information based level. His “event-space” theory that you can bring two not necessarily related paths and intertwine them to create an “event field” that yields new discoveries and interactions. I want to see how we can bring together different users of an urban setting and create new spaces and interactions. How can architecture engage its surroundings i.e. space and people. Looking at effective public spaces to see how they work. Frank E. Mahan’s thesis work and his ideas of creating indeterminate space that is flexible to numerous users in an urban setting. Zaha Hadid’s ideas of connections and engagement of space and its surroundings. Any example of where architecture instigated or engaged multiple users of an urban setting.

what is the nightlife, daylife, mornings, evenings, afternoons like in the SOMA district. then what about during a sports event, or a convention show. there is a massive flux of people, how does it affect the region. investigate the slippage effect of the businessman to the nightman. new lofts, restaurants, shopping, development. existing building uses and their activity rates. time -program analysis of these spaces and their effect on the area. how does the area fluctuate, move. how often are cabs, city buses, the metro lines, nearby train stations. How does this mass transit affect an urban downtown area like San Francisco. How do people move around and through the site.

demographics

what range of people live in the area. what is their cullture they bring with and their professions. what can be learned from the residents and their lifestyles and views towards the area they live. what can engage them and outside residents to instigate a more lively ‘downtown’ area.

critical positions

C R I T I C A L _ P O S I T I O N

Architecture within the last one hundred years has changed dramatically with the advent of computers. The architect of the early 20th century determined architecture is influenced by space, time and movement and creates the relationship between them. Architects of the 21st century are delving into the biological sciences and how architecture may grow organically by its own means. While both architects create space, the means to achieve this space has significantly changed. Le Corbusier of the early 1900s believed the human and their environment was the ultimate element of architecture. The architecture was a response to how people used and interacted with their environments. On the contrary, the contemporary architect, Karl Chu writes in his manifesto Genetic Space that we are at a turning point in architecture; where architecture will grow from itself using the convergence of genetic information and computation.

1. Karl Chu, Genetic Space Le Corbusier, Villa Savoye 3. Le Corbusier, Carpenter Center

“The goal is to engineer a new species from scratch.”1 Karl Chu presents a radical idea that through the convergence of genetics and computation we are at a threshold of a new civilization where everything will spawn from the intrinsic properties that make up physical universe, like mathematics, physics, philosophy and metaphysics.2 He cites that we have the ability to transform genetic make-ups and create 1 2

Chu, Karl. “Genetic Space” Karl Chu’s profile on Columbia’s website

RITICAL_POSITIO

The following is a reaction to Kenneth Frampton’s discussion of Le Corbusier in “Le Corbusier and ‘l’Esprit Nouveau’,” from his book Oppositions: Le Corbusier 1905-1933 and Karl Chu’s manifesto “Genetic Space” which Karen Lange provided us.

new biological species. He re-conceptualizes the architectural process and believes the new design process must grow from itself like an organic system. He believes it will become a generative process that will be derived from the vast matrices of information our world thrives on, and the realization of biogenetics.3 This architecture will grow organically from its own internal and metaphysical forces. There would be no influence from the past, because the architecture would be growing with the forces that affect it at the exact time it is growing. Karl Chu’s re-conception of architecture sharply contrasts Le Corbusier’s work of the early 1900s. Corbusier believed architecture is developed to accommodate the human body, where Chu believes architecture needs to be a replication of how the human body’s biology develops. Le Corbusier set up a system for architecture that he titled the “Five Points of Architecture.” They included the following; pilotis, a free plan, open facades, ribbon windows and roof gardens. The pilotis elevated the building mass off the ground, the free plan opened up spaces, the free facades were the vertical sibling to the openness of the free plan, the ribbon windows exploited the free façade, and the roof garden brought the green space occupied by the building on the ground level up to the roof level.4 At Villa Savoye Le Corbusier lifted the home above the ground level on pilotis, thereby freeing the ground floor for workspace and car parking. The second level then became the living floor with a living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and an outdoor 3 4

Chu, Karl Frampton, Kenneth. Oppositions

C R I T I C A L _ P O S I T I O N

Critical Position [Corbusier_Chu]

Frampton, Kenneth

RITICAL_POSITIO

1. Carpenter Center diagram showing circulation path intersection 2. Exploded view of Parc de la Villete’s program, field and movement diagram 3. Parc de la Villete, Bernard Tschumi

Furthering Corbusier’s ideas of people movement through space and time we can look at the Carpenter Center at Harvard University. The site of the building was an existing open space that was a major diagonal circulation thoroughfare for students and faculty. The center was programmed for the department of Visual and Environmental Studies, as well as the Harvard Film Archive. Corbusier took this opportunity of existing movement and incorporated it into the program for the center. He designed a ramping walkway that fed from the existing circulation path, and made a diagonal cut up and through the second level of the building. This ramping walkway brought students and faculty into a building that they would not necessarily access. As they pass through the building, they encounter the visual arts facility and people getting ready for performances or studying the arts. This instigated a new relationship and

awareness for students and faculty in different disciplines. Again we can see Corbusier’s work as a dynamic catalyst for people movement through space. Bernard Tschumi also later examined this notion of indeterminate interaction amongst users in his work on event space.

Bernard Tschumi invented the term event-space; space where events occur as an indeterminate set of unexpected outcomes. Tschumi presents the example of how event space can be achieved, “one may combine or assemble programmed activities so that they charge a spatial configuration in such a way that, by mixing otherwise common or predictable programmatic items, they generate uncommon or unpredictable events.”6 He has also coined this configuration of spaces the in-between areas. Unpredictable events can include the movement, mixture and dispersal of a crowd, the crossing of paths of two different and discovery of new spaces and views. What remains important is these unpredictable events, are unpredictable, and a seemingly infinite amount of different events may occur in the space. One might ask, what makes the unpredictable events architecturally interesting and stimulating? These events spur interaction between people and space which may lead to new social interactions, relationships, possibilities and discoveries of the architecture and the site itself that, had the determinate programs been established, might have never occurred.

C R I T I C A L _ P O S I T I O N

courtyard. A ramp then connected the second floor to the third floor that led to a rooftop garden. His inspiration came from his interest in the monk’s residences at Charterhouse of Ema. At the Charterhouse, the working space was located on the first floor, with living and praying space on the second floor. This separation inspired Corbusier to experiment with his new housing type.5 By lifting the home and setting it on thin columns, using ribbon winds to wrap the second level, and thin walls, he gave the home a light, floating appearance. The movement from an open free plan on the ground level, to an outdoor/indoor space on the main level, and eventually ending in a procession up to the roof level creates a dynamic experience through the space.

The associated design elements and ideas of Corbusier’s work are what initially inspire me for my senior thesis. Through developing circulation spaces that moved up, across, around and through space, Le Corbusier was able to create not only a 6

Tschumi, Event-Cities 2

RITICAL_POSITIO

In my surface mapping and emergent experiments, 14

which are discussed later in the book, I began to touch on Karl Chu’s ideas. A code was set up that contained underlying information, similar to a genetic code, when the code’s information was exposed and computed, a form was produced that inherited the code’s information. Like Karl Chu’s philosophy of forms generated from the convergence of underlying genetic information and computational techniques, the experiment drove to map an area through the areas underlying information, then write a code that could produce a form that was not initially apparent. Only through analyzing the given information parameters, was the underlying form given life. This can fuel into my thesis by way of mapping the site and its inherit information. The application of these principles is described in more detail in my experiment reflection dialogue. Reading these two articles instigated me to investigate other examples of current works and how I can begin to produce and research experiments that implement these design philosophies. Corbusier’s movement through space combined with Chu’s organic architecture can produce an architecture that grows from its site and creates a dynamic experience for its users and surroundings.

C R I T I C A L _ P O S I T I O N

1. Event Space Field diagram; AB417 Society Think Tank 2. Karl Chu’s dance center. Derived from analytic information of dance 3. Rendering of generative information surface mapping experiment

dynamic experience but a interactive one as well. Tschumi’s works on creating in between spaces that instigate events are also an inspiration. In my thesis project I want to create and instigate these interactions in places that would not typically exist. Through site and programmatic research I will implement spaces, which by my determination, will spark new interactions and social spaces between users not typically brought together. Circulation spaces will bring together all types of people in all different fields and link the different instigation sites. Corbusier and Tschumi’s ideas of space and movement will be fused with current and future methods to conduct site research, and to determine how form can be generated and be the generator of these spaces and events. They will take into account programmatic relationships, spatial relationships, structure, mechanical, and other essential architectural ingredients. I will, however, also implement issues Karl Chu has been examining. The idea of organically growing and generating an architecture that responds to internal information will help me grow my instigation sites. The sites will be generated from their internal forces as well as their external forces such as location, demographics, culture, existing circulation, transportation, context, climate, access and views. However much I do agree with Karl Chu and his forward thinking processes, I must add that I still believe there must be a human element to spatial definition and creation in this organically grown architecture. Millions of iterations can be run through computer models to produce the most efficient and spatially intriguing form, but it must be tweaked and molded by the human hand to remain good architecture.

critical research

Processed Form: FOA’s Open Diagrammatic Design

C R I T I C A L _ R E S E A R C H

“A diagram prescribes performance so at anyone time you are making a number of decisions. It describes a relationship across a number of parameters, but it is not metric. You can add other parameters to it; you can stretch it. You revisit it constantly and analyze it. You make decisions constantly while allowing for reevaluation and evolution.” – Farshid Moussavi

1. FOA”s Architectural Surface ‘families’ and their general characteristics. 2. FOA’s Classification System [taxonomy] of their projects 3. A taxonomy example of animals

An interest in a temporal based architecture that involved discovery and experimentation rather than the production or perfecting of what they already knew, Farshid Moussavi and Zaela Polo of Foreign Office Architects (FOA) use the open, flexible nature of the diagram and its ability to prescribe performance and continually develop, as well as the increasing power of the computer to analyze complex systems of information, to create an architectural language that would be open to the specifics of each project, while maintaining an overall design model that could be applied to any context. After almost a decade after they opened their office, FOA was commissioned to do a series of shows around the world that displayed their work over the past ten years. This gave FOA an opportunity to produce a fresh view of their work. Concerned with the ideas of an architectural language and authorship, they wanted to research whether or not their use of the diagram and their open/flexible approach to the specifics of each project produced a series of common traits.

RITICAL_RESEARC

The following is a research paper I wrote in an attempt to understand FOA’s design techniques through the use of an open-diagram and intense computer modeling that enfolds all internal and external factors of a project into a design tool.

What resulted was a classification system of their projects, similar to ones found in plant and animal biology, that listed a series of 7 families whom of which described a set of traits that could be found in each project. Each project was then labeled a species, as each project built on top of each other, inheriting these architectural traits that evolved over the ten years they had been practicing. This immediately put FOA into the contemporary wave of an interest in the biological sciences. What remains important is their interest in the use of an open-diagram that can include the specifics of each project, but remain an open-ended design tool for a wide variety of projects. I will critically analyze FOA’s biologically influenced project classification system, as well as the accompanying rhetoric and reasoning, and finally explain why the use of the diagram is a successful and intriguing performance-driven architectural design tool.

In biology, classification systems are set up to include a family, then individual species within that family. The key to this is the activity of reproduction, where species of the same group reproduce with one another and produce offspring, who will inevitably inherit the traits of its parents. The offspring’s traits go through a morphogenetic process where the traits they received from their parents, evolve into a new set of altered traits. These new traits are a result of the species adaptation to its environment and its specific needs. This process is known as evolution, where the species is changing over time to better adapt to its environment, or in other terms improve its performance. This system produces an information feedback loop, where the traits are constantly evolving and checking themselves in their environments to see what works best thereby improving performance. The species is the carrier

C R I T I C A L _ R E S E A R C H

Critical Research [FOA]

RITICAL_RESEARC

1. FOA;s Yokohama Port Terminal. 2. Detail of timber construction. 3. Detail of stone paver construction.

FOA used these principles as a metaphor to classify their projects, and better understand the common traits that each project, or species, exhibited. They could not do this until they had a population of projects to classify and gather each project’s respective traits. This was a powerful move for the firm as they moved away from describing their projects as types, and into labeling them as species. FOA argued the use of types (e.g. residential, civic, commercial) was too static and did not properly describe their work. Species, on the other hand, “are sets of morphological relations that vary across time and space, and therefore offer a much more effective tool to operate within a constantly shifting environment,” (Moussavi, Phylogenesis). These traits are diagrams of architectural surfaces that each exhibits different behavior and characteristics. Each of these architectural surfaces diagrams is grouped into 7 separate families, which are function, faciality, balance, discontinuity, orientation, geometry, and diversification. Within each family, there are several differentiated types of their respective surface diagram. For example, under the function family, there is the “ground” surface and the “envelope” surface. The ground is a flat surface diagram whose primary function is the construction of a connected ground. The envelope is a tube surface diagram whose function is to enclose space or surfaces. The projects, or species, are then products of these surface diagrams. As FOA created the classification system, they created their own information feedback loop by testing the projects traits, and seeing how they interact with their environment, program, users, structure and material. If one

succeeds, then it might be carried to another project. For instance, in their Yokohama Port Terminal project they used timber to create a massive public landscape that would be used by hundreds of different types of users from skateboarders to picnickers. In a later project in Barcelona that called for another massive public space, they decided to use large interlocking pavers because they had learned from the previous project that timber could not withstand the abuse of a large public space where people would be walking, running, biking and skating over. Through the use of a new performance driven material they created morphology of their architectural surface diagram. Setting up a system of classification where they map lineages through each project, they are successfully able to develop a way to see what works and doesn’t, as well as identifying possibilities they have not yet explored.

But why use the rhetoric of architectural families, species, and growing. The immediate assimilation is to biology, which also happens to be a major contemporary topic in architectural discourse. Over the past thirty years architectural discourse has looked at biology and the computer’s ability to simulate biological processes. Architects could create models that would incorporate spatial, temporal, programmatic, structural, environmental, social, cultural and economic factors. As soon as this was the topic of the time, firms across the world began to relate their work to that of biology. We see firms like Emergent, Patterns, Zaha Hadid, Xerofirotarch; amongst others discussing and producing work and creating names that resemble what we see in the natural world. These firms are well known because of their names and what they are searching for, but even more so because of the popularity and interest we

C R I T I C A L _ R E S E A R C H

of this information, to test what works and what doesn’t.

In projects on large urban scales where the public is a major factor, and the need to control space, flows, materials and users, is there a way to produce an architecture that responds to these mass amounts of factors, and within this process what can be done to work efficiently with all this information to produce a space that maximizes

RITICAL_RESEARC

1. Yokohama Port Terminal’s “no-return” diagram.

use as well as creates a process that evolves over time to produce this efficiency. Diagrams are able to incorporate flows of people, programmatic and spatial considerations, environmental factors, material characteristics and structural systems, all of which respond to each other and begin to create a system that is constantly changing and evolving at each point of the diagram. This inherently involves temporal strategies to deal with the change of these factors over time. Architecture does not literally spring from a diagram, so it must not be construed that a vector line on a computer will be the floor plane of a building, or that the diagram will produce the structural and material system. But rather, it will be where an architectural surface will correspond with a programmatic concern, which will connect with a circulation use, and then the architect can add material to accommodate the program and the circulation, and finally a structural and mechanical system that fits these parameters. If the program or the material changes, then the diagram can be consulted to adjust these parameters. FOA describes this process as a bottom up logic of parametric design while consulting construction techniques from a top down approach. They critically used the diagram in their Yokohama Port Terminal Project where they created a “noreturn” diagram. Where program, and circulation were the main driving factors for the layout of the diagram. At each point of the diagram, they placed an architectural surface like I previously highlighted that related to the local parameter of the program, circulation, material, structure and environment. These points of the diagram start to include ergonomic and functional information that determine the scale and geometry of the surface’s deformations, as well as the technical information of the structures’ load bearing capacities. Once

C R I T I C A L _ R E S E A R C H

see in the current architectural discourse. Along with a biological obsession, there is the obsession with the ability of the computer to produce models where the architect can input information and begin to script a project. Through a series design models, firms like U.N. Studio and FOA can take a specific design model that might fit the parameters of a certain project. Aside from the architect’s personal interests and ambitions in architecture, the rhetoric contemporary architects use, is aiming at a need to authorize their work, and in our capitalist society, sell it. It stems from the internal needs to create organization, coherence and signature within a firm, as well as external needs to market, sell, and control a firm’s work, and if possible, the contemporary architectural discourse. In FOA’s case, the classification of their projects into families and species, however metaphorical it might be, adds a signature to their work that captures the current biological discourse, and sets them apart from other firms using the design model technique. Another trick FOA uses besides their design models, and biological rhetoric, is in their own name. As they describe themselves as “a medium to augment a site’s forces,” (Moussavi, ICON) we see their name as Foreign Office Architects. Being foreign to their project-species they create, they remove culpability of their work. They are still responsible, but they begin to remove themselves and let their projects and process take the spotlight.

RITICAL_RESEARC

1. Theater Dimension Diagrams 2. Skateboard Ramp Dimension Diagrams

C R I T I C A L _ R E S E A R C H

all the information is set in place, the diagram can start to become a constructible-dimensioned drawing. The other major benefit of the diagram is its ability for openness. One, in the specifics of a project where it can evolve over the course of the project, and two, its ability to work over any scale of projects. This will lead to a coherence, and increased performance of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architectural design over time. Diagrammatic design in architecture is not a new tool, but with the use of the computer and its ability to process infinite layers of information, we are able to produce a more effective and performance driven architecture that enfolds all aspects of a projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; site and program, rather than shunning the site and looking to repeat a successful prototype. The diagram can be used as a prototype that adjust itself to the specific parameters of each project, and can be used as design tool that evolves itself over time. In the search for a performance driven architecture that can interpret all aspects of any given project, the use of the diagram and the computer-model has proved successful for firms like Foreign Office Architects.

case studies

new york city//manhattan

A Virtual Experience Novella Cross-Programming and Folding Interactive Event-Space Media Technology Interactivity

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

In Diller Scofidio’s winning competition entry for the Eyebeam Museum in New York City, they altered the idea of what a ‘museum’ should be. Through the practice of integration they brought together the fields of exhibition and production in to one continuous space. I want to see how in an urban setting, they brought the public into this space, and created events that would typically never occur between the researchers and the public.

To begin this case study I think we should take a walk through of the Eyebeam Museum of New Media Art to gain a better understanding of how Diller and Scofidio executed such an innovative architectural and social plan. A Virtual Experience Novella Approaching the building from the street you notice a scrolling text and moving images on the concrete surface that is displaying current events at the museum. Entering the lobby doors you immediately see the interior glazing to your left that gives a frame to the sub-level theatre and live performance space. As you keep moving you are confronted with the option to take the stairs to your right which lead down to the theatre, head straight ahead to the media library, take the public elevator also to the right, or take the gently sloping ramp to the left which takes you into the rest of the building. The ramp looks intriguing as you notice

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s

EyeBeam Museum [diller+scofidio]

people socializing in a glass rectangle box. You move into the space next to the cocktail bar and become shocked by what you thought was a mere circulation space, has been transformed into an extension of the lobby as a social mingling zone for the researchers, fashionistas and digerati alike. You finish off your cocktail and continue towards what you see is the mediateque. Inside the mediateque you rest in one of the comfy chairs, which at first glance is a standard modern piece, but once activated, transforms into a digital field of screens, headphones, plug ins, control devices, which all link into the museums servers and allow you access to all of the work that is currently and previously created in the space your in. You get your fill and head up the stairs out of the space, but while heading upstairs you notice to your left researchers/designers in a room studying archived work. You question if you were supposed to see that but continue upwards into the next exhibition space. You are confronted by a large moving image that looks like it has been half-toned dotted in Photoshop, but it is moving and adapting to your position as you move through the room. As you move pass the exhibition something catches your eye, a classroom with researchers attending a lecture. The only separation is glass that is mildly transparent, but has moving images on it, and what appears to be the topic of the lecture. You stop for a second, and realize, the image is the one you just walked through and is the one that adapted to you. You begin to realize this is not your typical museum. The creators of what you experienced, are studying your reactions and the project’s reactions in real time, several feet from where you are. This unexpected interaction

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

01_case study:

From analyzation of diagrams, images, plans, sections, and writings from Mitnick. Diller Scofidio Eyebeam Museum

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s

1. entry lobby w/ fiber optic flooring 2. presentation space with adjacent production space 3. entry lobby

Cross Programming and Folding Going back to the idea of bringing together two separate fields and seeing how they could possibly interact was a major part of D+S’s design philosophy on the project. As we understand museums, they are a place where one enters a space and experiences a piece in its finished form, thereby avoiding the process of seeing its physical or digital manifestation. The designer’s process of producing the piece is removed from the public’s eye. With media art, the public is the end user who ultimately

interacts with it; therefore, during manifestation they are integral to how the piece is designed and functions. It is here that D+S wanted to blur this relationship between designer and exhibitor.

In the Eyebeam Museum they accomplished this diagrammatically by creating a single plane ribbon, with one side being the production/research side, and the other the exhibition/public side. Folding this ribbon upon itself led to a series of levels that alternate between exhibition and production. The cross programming manifests itself when they sheared the ribbon and began to shift the levels next to one another, thereby bringing a production level, up next to a exhibition level, and an exhibition level next to a production level. They coined this process of folding and crossing the program into one another, terming it “controlled contamination.”12 Interactive Event-Space This idea of “controlled contamination” between exhibitors and researchers stems from Diller Scofidios earlier research about voyeurism and theater. The exhibitor or researcher, is an actor within the building who at moments is on display for others and the building itself. By mixing the program, and adding circulation elements that transverse upwards through the central areas of the building, set up points or fields of possible interaction between exhibit and production areas. At these points where the programmed spaces slip next to, above, or below each other, these actors can view one another performing their activities. This occurrence of one user watching another user interacting with an exhibited piece,

Mitnick. p.14

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

intrigues you and you continue upwards. Many more of these interactions occur as you climb through the building until you reach the rooftop terrace and finish your night with a French, digital experimental art film on the rooftop outdoor cinema. You sip on a few more drinks and tinker with ahi tar tar while you contemplate the experience you just went through. The interactivity of the museum, if you can still call it a museum, inspires you with your own work, and you jot down notes in your sketchbook while taking in the New York City skyline.1

4. interaction diagram between researchers and visitors 5. projected keypad on liquid crystal glass ‘party wall’ 6. wearable device 7. technology lounge chair in mediateque

In the mediateque the lounge chairs are equipped with flat screens, flexible lap keypads and headphone jacks which all connect into the Eyebeam Museum’s media server and the Internet. Visitors and researchers alike can interact with this system for research or pure entertainment. Along with chairs, Diller Scofidio created a device that goes over your shoulders and responds to the artwork you are presently looking at. It houses information and comments from the curator, and the artists themselves, then allows you to provide your input and response to the art piece. This furthers the interaction between visitor and designer.5

The glazing systems, or “smart party walls” as they coin them, are used throughout almost all of the building. These systems include a layer of liquid crystal between transparent conductive film and laminated glass. At the top and bottom of 3

About Signage. Mitnick. p.42

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

Media Technology Interactivity Diller and Scofidio take the idea of interactivity beyond the theoretical sense of social and pedagogical interaction, and incorporate it in the use of media technology throughout the building, which in this case, is a viable necessity to the program of the building. At ground level where the users enter the building, the ground is illuminated with text and moving images through the use of fiber optic cable gridding. Fiber optic cables work when at one end, light enters the cable, then at the other end, light is emitted from the cable. The [in]put of the fiber optics in this case was a grid of LED lights that can read images and text from a computer. These images and text in turn are [out]put through the other end of the cable, which end at the surface of the concrete. This is a very innovative idea and creates this questionable floor of concrete, and also adds a dynamic dimension to its typically static materiality. 3

the glazing, is an electrical current that controls the opacity, transparency and translucency of the wall. The top is a positive current and the bottom is a negative current. They created this system so where there are areas that change in light sensitivity is a necessity, they can control the characteristics of the glass in a flash. The glazing is also engraved with a touch sensitive menu that is tied into a virtual projection and can allow visitors to access researchers work, or for information and events to be posted. It is a 2D poster that ultimately becomes 4D because it interacts with its users and changes over time but stays in the same matter.4

4 5

About Smart Party Walls. Mitnick. p.37 About Interactive Self-Media. Mitnick. p.34

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

or producing a piece, questions the relationship of the researcher and visitor. Are the researchers producing the material the museum in themselves, is the public interacting with the pieces the museum, who and what is exactly on display? This blurring between users and their functions, along with the different programmed spaces folding into and out of each other further exemplify the ability of Diller and Scofidios to create an interactive event-space.

8. sectional program diagram 9. facade / cut view

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s

34 35

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

CASE STUDY 01 EyeBeam [d+s] 36

10. exploded axonometric circulation diagram 11. sectional circulation diagram

12. exploded axonometric circulation diagram 13. sectional circulation diagram 37

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

CASE STUDY 01 EyeBeam [d+s] 38

14. section of [production] and [exhibiton] spaces 39

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

CASE STUDY 01 EyeBeam [d+s] 40

15. mechanical/data diagram 16. section detailing exhibition space with support tech room 17. fiber optic flooring 18. entry lobby bar and ramp 19. performing arts theatre

CASE STUDY_01 EyeBeam [d+s]

CASE STUDY 01 EyeBeam [d+s] 42

20. computer animated study models

Weil Am Rhein, Germany

“The suggested structure does not sit in the landscape as an isolated object, but emerges from the fluid geometry of the surrounding network of paths.”1

CASE STUDY_02 Landesgartenscaau

In 1999 the Landesgartenschau (state flower exhibition) was built to serve as an event and exhibition space for the garden festival in Weil am Rhein during that summer. The form was generated by external site conditions and program implementation. Site conditions like circulation paths, site views and local climate began to sculpt the building as if it apparently grew from the site. Three existing paths generated three forms that continued these paths and rose over, cut through and around the building. From these dominating forms, programmatic spaces were inserted along the routes. Circulation paths were therefore not interrupted; rather they were exemplified as they grew above, around and through the building. The Landesgartenschau became an extension of the landscape. All types of visitors were offered new ways to experience the site and an invitation to the exhibition space.

1. ramping ways that go up and over the building 2. interior open pathways cut through the building.

The existing site conditions are external forces that contain hard data about the Weil Am Rhein site location. The data used in the Landesgartenschau, along with Zaha Hadid’s architectural aesthetics, drove the form of the building. Existing circulation studies led to the sweeping path forms and views and climate conditions led to the specific placement of programmatic spaces.

Hadid, Zaha. “Landesgartenschau” Part of a packet received while touring Zaha Hadid’s office in London.

CASESTUDY_02Landesgartens

Landesgartenschau [zaha hadid]

Incorporating existing circulation paths through the building not only produces a wonderful architectural form, but also creates a series of event spaces. Imagine the building having no circulation paths that cut through around or over the building, the visitors, whether attending the exhibition or simply experiencing the park, would be forced to walk around the building to experience the site or the building itself. In this instance, the walkway paths are inclusive in the building as they are simply an extension of the site’s existing pathways. Visitors using the park might walk on the ramping pathway over the building and discover the outdoor terrace and decide to stay for a cup of coffee. Another visitor might cut diagonally through the building and happen to notice an interesting display in one of the galleries, thereby sparking their interest to enter the building and see what other discoveries they can make. Indeterminate action is a social instigator and architecture has the ability to produce spaces that produce spaces that have the cause and effect relationship of these actions.

CASE STUDY_02 Landesgartenscaau

02_case study:

experiments

The film+media experiment began through my interest in film, media and the idea of surveillance. Inspiration was derived from Diller and Scofidios works on voyeurism and video surveillance experiments.

EXPERIMENT_01

[Film+Media]

First, a video project was placed on a table and aimed at a white wall. Secondly, a video camera was placed 2’ behind the projector and propped up on several thick books, so the height of the camera was equal to the top of the projector. The video camera was also aimed at the white wall surface. The camera was then hooked up into the projector and both turned on. The resulting display was an image of the video projector, projecting itself. Video projectors are typically used to project other images or film. They are the worker who creates the end product, and are usually in the back scenes. In this experiment, this relationship between end product and worker is inversed. The worker, is displaying itself as the end product. What becomes hidden in the image is the video camera, they are now the worker almost taking over the position of the video projector. 1. video frame grabs of film time loop experiment

The video camera is ultimately spying on itself from the back, creating a somewhat out of body experience for the video projector. Recent work has been done to create out of body experiences for humans. A video camera was hooked up to a person’s upper body, and aimed facing their head and beyond. The camera’s video was hooked into goggles that the user wore. A third person view

EXPERIMENT 01 [Film + Media]

Self Surveillance / Voyeurism Discovery: Infinite Continuim

of the users body became apparent, like we see in third person video games. The people said they were uneasy walking around because of their distorted perception. This distorted perception is what was achieved through this experiment.

Aside from the my initial investigations and hopes for the experiment, a new element that I did not foresee came into play. Because the way the setup of the video camera and projector was positioned, the image resulted in frames that gradually got smaller and went into infinity.These images that stretched into inifinity were also tied to time. As each frame stepped back and got smaller, there was a time delay. It became apparent when waving my hand, or seeing the time code on the video camera roll through time. It created this fourth dimension on the image. Not only was the continuous process of the video camera filming the projector project itself, there was infinite continuim in the image itself. It was a very interesting discovery in both aspects through the use of film and media

[Film+Media]

Film + Media

EXPERIMENT_01

01_experiment:

Mobius Strip Continuous Plane Diagrammatic Event Space

EXPERIMENT 02 [Mobius Strip]

02_experiment:

1. twisted ribbon paper that forms a continuous surface [mobius strip]

The mobius strip was inspired by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mobius Houseâ&#x20AC;? by UN Studio in the Netherlands. In the house they took the same approach to the mobius strip by looking at it diagrammatically, and how they could interpret that into a new architecture for the house. In the house they brought together two families and their daily lives by doing event-time studies of a normal day in the families life, and where possible connections could occur. It was a very provacative project and furthered the idea of indeterminate architecture or event space.

EXPERIMENT_02 [Mobius

Strip]

Starting with a single ribbon of paper, with two respective sides, I looped and then twisted the ribbon so each end connected and created a surface that linked both planes. Drawing on one side of the plane and leaving the other blank showed this ultimate continuity that is possible through the diagrammatic aspect of the mobius strip. While each side maintains their own properties, they now are connected and linked into a new form.

Strip]

The mobius strip is a complex mathematical model that explains a surface that is continuous, or goes on for inifinity. When looked at it in a diagrammatical sense, it has the ability to bring together several programs that would unseemingly go together, and see what type of reactions can be made possible. The idea of continuity or smooth surfaces can be linked to the idea of folded architecture or indeterminate actions through programs.

Moire Patterns Event Fields

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A moire pattern is an interference pattern created, for example, when two grids are overlaid at an angle or when they have slightly different mesh sizesâ&#x20AC;? (Wikipedia.org].

EXPERIMENT 03 [MoirePatterns]

03_experiment:

1. folded plastic mesh altered in photoshop to discover Moire Pattern

This experiment brought out the idea of two separate entities coming together to form a new product. It too ties into folded architecture and event space. Putting it into the architecture realm, it could be used or seen when placing several programs together, intertwined, or overlapped and seeing what new event, space, or interaction can occur from such a combination. The indeterminancy of the outcome can be seen here in these simple moire patterns. Two pieces of mesh with a structured grid, but when brought together in a random way, produce a pattern that could not finitely be calculated before.

EXPERIMENT_03[MoirePatterns]

In this experiment I wanted to look at how two separate fields, when brought together, can create a new event. In this case, I used two square pieces of plastic mesh and started by overlapping them, shifting their angles, and tilting them up from one another. You can see the resultant patterns to the left. When I folded a single piece of mesh, it created a much more dramatic moire pattern.

Fibre Optic Wall Interactive Architecture

XPERIMENT 04 [FibreOpticWall

04_experiment:

EXPERIMENT_05[Fibre Optic Wall]

A 18”x36” piece was conceived with the top 18”x18” being made of mirrored styrene and the bottom out of black illustrator board. A 10x10 grid of holes was on each 18”x18” square. From one hole at the top, to the corresponding hole at the bottom, a fiber optic cable would run. A spot light was then fixed about 8’ from the wall, and shone directly on the upper square surface. The light hitting the upper square would infiltrate into the fiber optic cable, and would be emitted from the end of the cable, on the bottom half. The process is illustrated in the diagram to the left.

1. user interacting with wall at abstract show fall 2007 2. fibre optic system on back of wall

It was an exhibit for the 5th Year Abstract show and was going to be a wall mounted piece that was centered at just below eyeline. The mirror would grab the users attention because everyone is intrigued to see their reflection, while they were seeing themselves in the mirror, they would look below, and recognize a shadowed imprint of their head in a grid of lights below. This intrigue of how their shadow could possibly be below would intrigue the user to move themselves and notice the changing shapes in the light. Once the user began to interact with it, they would question the process and approach the back side of the piece, to discover the vast grid of fiber optic cables.

EXPERIMENT_05[Fibre Optic Wall]

The fiber optic wall was the next step to the film+media experiment, only this time engaging the user on a different level. I wanted a piece that would grab the users attention, make them question how they are perceiving it, begin to interact with it, then look further into how the piece is working. The fiber optic wall was the solution to this process.

re::ACTIVE table Techno / Human Interactivity Physical Manifestation

[fiber optic table]

XPERIMENT 05 [FiberOpticTabl

05_experiment / vellum:

1. user waving hand and created shadow effect on opposite side of table

The table, constructed out of steel, plexiglass, plywood and 340â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of fiber optic cables, is an experiment in how a simple looking piece of furniture can engage its user beyond the simple use of being a table. Stemming from the experiment of the fiber optic wall, the re::ACTIVE table used a system of 14x14 grids that rested under a piece of frosted plexiglass. The grid is not apparent from above while it rests in seclusion under the frosted plexi, but when light is introduced via video project or light source, the table comes alive with one half of the table flooded with light, and the other half glowing in a 14x14 blurred grid of lights. Add the element of a video projector or fluctuating light source and the table comes alive as the emitted light dances around the grid and outputs the light values that are being inputted from the light source.

EXPERIMENT_05[Fibre Optic Table]

A table in its purest form with a technological twist, the re::ACTIVE table creates an interactive experience with itself and the user. The table no longer functions as a stratic inanimate object, rather it takes on a dynamic experience generated from the user and their activities whether with light, video projections, or objets placed on the table. A series of underlying fiber optic grids receive light [input] from one end and emit [output] it from the opposite side of the table.

Introduce the human element and this is where the interactivity begins. If you look to the left you can see an example of a user interacting with the table, 56

XPERIMENT 05 [FiberOpticTabl

1. initial sketch of program combination 2. users interacting with table at vellum show 3. music in itunes and its visualizer function, along with a video projector create a moving surface

The construction of the table was a great learning experience in itself. First modeling it in the computer let me take advantage of precise measurements, cuts and welds. I created a frame from tube steel and plate steel, and welded all the connections. Once done welding I grinded the welds down to make smooth surfaces for future connections to the plexiglass and for aesthetic reasons. Then came the fiber optic gridding. To achieve a surface that would be emit enough light to receive the shadow effects, I implemented a 14x14 grid. 196 strands were used at 21” a piece, resulting in the use of 340’ of cables. I drilled the holes at 9/64” to allow the fiber cable and its jacket to fit snug in each hole and therefore defeat any need for adhesives. The plywood sheet of grid was then wired with all 196 cables, stretching from one side to the next. After the cables were wired I placed the sheet on supports within the frame of the table then placed the sanded piece of plexi on top. The supports I made for the plexi and plywood were inset deep enough to create a flush surface with the plate steel. I connected the plexi to the steel with a clear silicone adhesive, similar to glass to glass connections. The table was presented at the Vellum Furniture competition and well received. Users interacted with it as I intended and proved it successful.

EXPERIMENT_05 [Fibre Optic Table]

by waving his hand under the light, and realizing his shadow created on the opposite side of the table. The table’s surface is moving with his movement. Add a glass or a magazine, once they move around, their shadow moves around as well. The table is intended to be an enhancer to the activities of the table. If two people were conversing at the table having a drink, it would only add to the conversation.

[e]mergent form Interpretive Computer

> >

Generative Form Physical Manifestation

XPERIMENT 06 [emergentform

06_experiment:

EXPERIMENT_06[emergent form]

Starting with the letters A, B and C, I created a string of letters, then arranged them in a random order through a mathematical algorithm. These letters were then assigned values; A=+1, B=0, C=-1. The random order was broken into sets of 3 and each set was mapped to a point on a 4x4 gridded surface in the computer. At these points, the set was related to the X, Y, & Z vertices. For example, the set [BAC} would relate by B=x, A=y, C=z. Once they were assigned, each point could be manipulated in the x, y & z directions according to their sets values. After going through each point, the 2d surface was now altered into a 3d distorted surface. This modeling was done in Rhino Modeling Software.

1. 4x4 surface mapped with points generated through random order 2. points distorted according to assigned values at each coordinate 3. 3 Dimensional display of [e]mergent form

Once I was done modeling the form, I unfolded the surface and was able to print it, then physically construct the form by cutting out the individual facetted pieces. I also built a structural frame to support the form. Being able to use information, an indeterminate algorithmic generated pattern, and computer modeling software was a great process to examine a way to generate form.

EXPERIMENT_06[emergent form]

This experiment was inspired by work from Michael Hansmeyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work on visualizing L-Systems through surface mapping [mh-portfolio.com/indexl.html]. I took his work as a case study to how I can generate a form through the input of information, or data. I also wanted to examine the process of data, to computer, to form, to physical manifestation.

musical [e]mergence Generative Form through Music

XPERIMENT 07 [musical emer

07_experiment:

The first piece I chose was Radiohead’s new album “In Rainbows” made in 2007 and under the genre of electronic. Secondly I chose Death From Above 1979’s “You’re A Woman I’m A Machine” produced in 2004 and under the eccentric “electronic dance punk.” Third and last I chose the classic Bob Dylan album “Highway 61 Revisited” from 1965 and under the Rock genre.

After establishing the albums for the experiment I assigned each album a letter and a value [+1,0,-1], that corresponded to their production year. Radiohead was given the letter [A] and the value of [+1] because it was the most recent album. DFAB 1979 was given the letter [B] and the value of [0] because it was in the middle of both albums in the dimension of time. Lastly, Dylan was given the letter [C] and the value of [-1] because it was the oldest of the three albums.

E XP E R IM E N T_ 0 7 [ mu s ic a l e m erg en c e]

Stemming from the [e]mergent form experiment, I wanted to create a form that was generated from another medium, such as music, using a randomization program to generate a form. I knew that in iTunes Shuffle feature, they use an algorithmic code to produce a random shuffle of music. Having my appropriate randomization method, I then chose three different albums, that were in three different genres, as well as time periods.

From this process so far, I had several elements working into what was going to become a form. Music, time, different programs [genres], and all of those combined the [in]put of information. 62

Year 2007 2004 1965

I then created a playlist in iTunes and arranged the albums from most recent to least recent. Radiohead was at the top and Dylan was at the bottom. This established a layering of time through the playlist. Once they were arranged chronologically, I shuffled the playlist and created a completely random pattern. From that pattern I listed the songs according to their letter and generated the string of letters:

Genre Electronic Electronic Dance Punk Rock A B A B A C B C C A B C B C A C B B C A A A B B C C A B A

[ABABACBCCABCBCACBBCAAABBCCABAABABACBCCABCBCABCBB]

I broke the sequence into sets of [3] and [4] rows.

1. initial iTunes playlist 2. shuffled iTunes playlist

[ABA][BAC][BCC][ABC]

[BCA][CBB][CAA][ABB]

[CCA][BAA][BAB][ACB]

[CCA][BCB][CAB][CBB]

E XP E R IM E N T_ 0 7 [ mu s ic a l e m erg en c e]

This set of numbers was then mapped to a 4x4 gridded surface and each set was related to the [x,y,z] geometric components of each point, and also related to the positive and negative directions of each axis. (+)X = A (+)Y = A (+)Z = A

(-)X = C (-)Y = C (-)Z = C

XYZ = 0 = B

Each point on the mapped surface was distorted in the [x,y,z] directions according to each letter’s value. This created a 3 Dimensional topological form.

1. physical models

The album art from “In Rainbows” “You’re A Woman I’m A Machine” and “Highway 61 Revisted” were applied to the initial 4x4 2d surface, layered according to most recent year on top, then each layers opacity altered according to the frequency the album played in the playlist. Once the points shifted the surface distorted, thereby distorting the image with the form.

The form generated was through a system of music, information and time through analyzation and a mathematical algorithm to generate indeterminancy within given parameters. 64

XPERIMENT 07 [musical emer

A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B B B B B B C C C C C C C C C

Album In Rainbows You’re A Woman I’m A Machine Highway 61 Revisited

E XP E R IM E N T_ 0 7 [ mu s ic a l e m erg en c e]

Artist A Radiohead B Death From Above 1979 C Bob Dylan

08_experiment:

musical [e]mergence 2

Music Spatial Fields

A further investigation into the musical [e]mergence experiments led me to apply a similar process to the surface image in the same way I approached the form.

Breaking it down, if all the albums were at one point, they would each have a radius of [+1] and an opacity of 33%. If an album had 3 values at one point, then it would have a radius of [+3].

1. computer model 2. physical model

XPERIMENT

EXPERIMENT_08[musical emergence02]

[AAB] - At this point, the album A, Radiohead’s “In Rainbows,” was more frequent, therefore a circular point color with a radius of [+2] would be applied. [+2] was chosen to span the albums value in each direction of the surface, and lead to the possible mixture and overlap between nearby points.

EXPERIMENT_08[musical emergence02]

In this experiment I set up the same surface map structure with the same music, values, and letter sets. However, the surface reacted to the densities of the value sets at each point on the surface. At each point I looked at what album was more prevalant, and from that information created a gradient color point that related to its album color, and frequency of play at that point. For example:

This distribution of frequency points when distorted began to stretch across their respective fields and interact with other points. If this was at a larger scale, it would be a topological form with speakers at each point playing the album with the most freqeuncy at that point, thereby creating an array of musical spatial fields..

experiment analysis

film+media and fiber optic wall set up

Film + Media In the first experiment, Film + Media, my initial intention was to create a voyeuristic view of a projector and distort its function or relationship to what it projects. The basis of the idea was to see how the worker [projector] can display itself, or show itself and how it works, thereby adding a pedagogical effect to its function. Instead of it projecting images, and leaving the process of projecting the image or who the projector is vague, the projector is now displaying itself working. The idea grew from case studies on Diller and Scofidioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eyebeam museum where researchers were set on display as part of the museum, so as to inform the museum goers who are producing the work they are viewing. What came from this experiment was beyond what I ever anticipated. The projector, with the video camera, did indeed project itself, but not just once, it projected an infinite amount of images.

X P E R I M E N T A N A LY S I S

EX PER IM EN T

A NA LYSIS

My experiments helped my thesis much more than I ever anticipated. There was a need to research how to perform, achieve, construct, and realize each experiment. During this research I studied topics that pertained to my thesis and helped me grow not only my experiments, but also my architectural ideas. Each experiment also led to the next one, and it became a process of growth and development. For example, the fiber optic wall led to the fiber optic table, or the emergent form led to the musical emergence. What came from the experiments were understandings on how different elements may be combined and what that net reaction or end result is.

There was a continuum of images in the projection that went on to infinity. Because the camera faced the wall and the back of the projector, and the projector was projecting onto that wall, the resulting image was a continuous loop of footage that as each image dropped further back, a time lapse occurred. This effect was amazing because it set up these spaces in between each frame that had their own time zone, if you will. As the camera time code would role, you could see the change of time as it hit every frame until it went out of sight in the depth of the repeated image. If you waved your hand in front of the camera it was as if a million hands were waving one after another into infinity. Fiber Optic Wall This discovery furthered my interest of interactivity with technology, such as film and media. It led me to my next interactive experiment, the fiber optic wall. In my winter quarter of third year at Cal Poly a fellow student named Nathan Smith worked with fiber optic cables, and sparked my interest in how light feeds into and out of the cables. I knew you could have a cable bent or twisted in any direction, and light would feed in from one side and still emit from the other. Combining this knowledge I previously had, along with some research on interactive walls, I created the fiber optic wall. I imagined it from the beginning as a wall fixture that would react with users as they passed by, and as they reacted with it and became intrigued, would stop and look behind the piece to see how it works. The idea of intriguing then informing has always been a major push for me. At our fifth year Abstract Show I set up the piece and it worked exactly how I imagined it. Tom DiSanto commented he was thrilled to see how it worked after he interacted with the piece. Intriguing the user beyond a pieces surface value was another look at

A NA LYSIS

Film+Media thru Musical [e]mergence

EX PER IM EN T

Experiment Analysis

1. fiber optic table set to engage users at vellum 2. surface map information transformed

At the Vellum Furniture Show 2007 I had a video projector playing the iTunes visualizer

Information/Surface Mapping Setting aside the interactive experiments I wanted to explore emergence through different elements. In this case, it was through information and surface mapping. Michael Hansmeyer (mh-portfolio.com) and his work in exploring interpretive and generative processes was the inspiration for this investigation. He generated a series of letters that all had assigned values and were in a random pattern. These letters were arranged in sets of three and mapped to a 2 dimensional surface and ultimately transformed according to x, y and z positions into a 3 dimensional form. The random iterations inspired me because it drew on the idea of indeterminacy. Taking a set of elements grouped together in their typical fashion, then applying a randomization to them to create new, unexpected interactions is an architecturally intriguing idea. Input of information and mapping a surface created information fields. Those fields began to leak into on another when the outputted form became distorted. Musical Emergence This led to creating musical emergence. Virtually the same experiment, this time the information was from three albums placed in an iTunes playlist and randomly shuffled. From the random shuffled playlist a random pattern of music was created, and the playlist was

A NA LYSIS

Fiber Optic Table The verticality of the wall took a horizontal shift and became the basis for my vellum piece, the fiber optic table. When exploring coffee tables that ranged from simple elegant forms to complex structures, they were quite static when used by people. An idea for creating a coffee table that reacted with how it was used, whether it is having a drink, reading a magazine, or a conversation with someone was conceived. The surface of coffee tables is the key part to the table because it allows these functions. The surface in the fiber optic table wanted to interact with these actions. The table inherited the technology of the wall using a video projector to animate the surface.

X P E R I M E N T A N A LY S I S

EX PER IM EN T

A NA LYSIS

I discovered several elements through this experiment, fiber optic technology, implementing the technology, user interaction and the reality of how interactive and informative ‘interactive architecture’ can be. Our society has become quite a fast past consuming machine, and where stimulation is everywhere it is hard to keep the attention of anyone. In this experiment, it was able to attract users for a brief moment. That brief moment could engage the user and provoke them to experience the space and its surroundings in a way they previously had not. It could become a place that sparks social interaction amongst its users, or a social viewing place, whatever the user prefers, it could lead to a more vibrant, dynamic space.

along with speakers playing music within the table. The table’s surface was on one half displaying the projected image, and the other a grid of changing colors and light. Users noticed this relationship between the projected image and the grid and became intrigued. They would wave their hand under the projection and notice their hand’s shadow moving across the grid. They would then peer under the surface to see the vast array of cables. Like, the fiber optic wall, the process of interaction, intrigue and then provoking the user was executed.

EX PER IM EN T

engaging the user.

X P E R I M E N T A N A LY S I S

1. mobius strip mathematical study 2. moire pattern discovered

Mobius Two other experiments I also performed looked at form and the possibility of indeterminacy within them. The Mobius strip was a diagrammatic approach to bringing together two separate elements, in this case, two sides of a paper, and seeing how they can become a continuous surface, while still retaining their individual characteristics. The idea of the fold played into this experiment and became more apparent as our discussions in ARCH 492 on Greg Lynn’s article became more detailed. I also looked at the Mobius strip after it was used in UN Studios Mobius House. While literally the house is not entwined in a mobius strip, but diagrammatically the way they set up the program of the house creates the metaphorical effect. The spaces interact with one another on a level that would not typically be seen. I understood their process and was very intrigued by the intertwining of program and the indeterminate events that occurred from them. This was an example of form as the creator of events and indeterminate actions. Moire “A figural effect resulting from the superposition of two regular fields.”1 Cal Poly alumni Frank Mahan describing a Moire Pattern. The moiré pattern experiment was similar to the Mobius strip in its 1

Mahan, Frank E. Indeterminate Use 2002. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

A NA LYSIS

Musical Emergence was another way to map an area, or surface, through information, and see how the inputted information sets up fields that interact with one another. However, it explored how randomization effects and indeterminacy of fields can result in new interactions. The iTunes playlist feature created a system of information that was linear and grouped each album into its own set. These linear sets when mapped on a surface interacted within their own fields and the interaction was determinate because the placement was fixed. Using the shuffle feature in iTunes created a system that randomly grouped the albums into mixed sets. The resulting field at each point contained an assortment of all three albums. As they were distorted the fields morphed into, grew apart or slide against one another. As these fields interacted, they created random occurrences, or indeterminate events. From information analyzation, mapping and randomizing, events can occur that spawn new

events and interactions that were previously unforeseen. On a side note, I also learned how to go from information, into the computer, produce a form, export that to the physical realm, and then construct it. It was a slight version of the CAD to CAM construction process.

EX PER IM EN T

A NA LYSIS

broken up into sets of three. Each album was labeled a letter, Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” was A, Death From Above 1979’s “You’re A Woman I’m A Machine” was B, and Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisted” was C. Values corresponding to the album’s production date on a scale of +1 to -1 were assigned to the letters with A=+1, B=0 and C=-1. When I mapped the random sets of songs to the points on a surface, it set up musical fields. Each set that was mapped related to the x, y and z positions at that point. For example, the set [A,C,B] would relate as A=x, C=y and B=z. Each point was then transformed in the x, y and z directions according to the sets values. When the points were distorted it was interesting to see how the musical fields spread into or veered away from one another.

1. interactive experience with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;aperature wallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

The product of each experiment resulted in a web of interconnected ideas and reactions. The overlying ideas of interaction and indeterminacy played a huge role in the experimental processes. Ideas that are a major part of my thesis, because they deal with engaging many different users and programs at the same time. These experiments will aid in creating architectural form that can generate interactive and indeterminate events between

A NA LYSIS

X P E R I M E N T A N A LY S I S

EX PER IM EN T

A NA LYSIS

Interactive Architecture The interactive process, which is created by the cause and effect relationship to a piece and its user, is a very architecturally stimulating idea. Buildings have a basic stasis to them. They are structured to some form of ground and remain the same over many years. How then does architecture continue to engage its users beyond the initial interactions with space? Integrating installations such as these interactive pieces can provoke new life to dead spaces. They can engage the space and its surroundings over time as it continually changes with events and users.

programs and users, and the ability to map a city through information analysis and implementation.

EX PER IM EN T

attempt to diagrammatically see what new connections or events could occur. It was an attempt to see what can be produced from two separate entities, where the end result could not previously be seen in the entities making the product. I thought of this experiment relating to program where several programs each with their own individual characteristics and spatial fields come together, but where they begin to intersect or overlap creates a new series of events and fields that were previously not recognizable, therefore being indeterminate.

site research

site

[x10]

DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO, CA

[x100]

[x1]

SOMA DISTRICT_DT SF

[x10]

site

INTERACTIVE_MEDIA::SCAPE_DT SF

[x1]

site

Em ba rc ad er o

Sp ea r St

n St

al e St

em on t St

i ss

1s t St re

d St re

2n et

s ol

n so

y Br

n an

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T

E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T

E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S SS S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T TT T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T

E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S EE S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S E S