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I am an architecture and art history student, I am a designer, I am a researcher, I am a writer and a poet, I am an artist, I am a museum-goer, and I am an avid world traveler. My multi-national background and my many opportunities to travel have lent me a deep appreciation for the arts and culture. This appreciation, along with my innate sense of curiosity and my unending desire to create has fueled my ambitions to immerse myself further into the world of art museums. I am passionate, inquisitive, thorough, inventive, and willing to go above and beyond to pass on my appreciation for the arts and culture to others.
402.613.4383 jessicalarsen4@yahoo.com
I believe that art is the only form of activity in which man as man shows himself to be a true individual. Only in art is he capable of going beyond the animal state, because art is an outlet toward regions which are not ruled by time and space.
marcel duchamp
CHIAROSCURO
10
POST-NOVIS
14
PUBLISHING
18
WRITING SAMPLES
22
ULTRALIGHT: SOLD
26
KANDINSKY’S COURTYARD
42
PARK-ING DAY DESIGN BUILD
52
THINKER’S COLLECTIVE
56
HOLLAND PRIZE COMPETITION
68
PROFESSIONAL LOGO DESIGN
70
ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY
72
WATERCOLORS
76
ARCHITECTURAL
6
MISC.
LO-RES
CURATORIAL
CONTENTS
6
C U R AT I O N & E X H I B I T I O N D E S I G N
L O - R E S spring 2019. ben friesen, marwa al ka’abi, tyler koraleski.
The “valuable” image is exclusive, curated, has high resolution, and is transferred carefully in order to maintain that resolution. Based on Hito Steyerl’s piece “In Defense of the Poor Image”, this exhibition challenges that measure of value and presents another: a measure that imparts value based on an image’s velocity which includes its speed of transfer, the multiplicity of its authors, and the accumulation of contributing voices that contrasts the traditional value system of tastemakers and gallerists. The works of these artists are unified by their purposeful use of high-velocity images that exist unconcerned with resolution and unattached to the monetization of authorship. Many of the works have adopted low resolution as a part of its aesthetic. These images are worn down, they are overused, and because of this, they have value.
8
The works were curated in a way that keeps them detached from the wall and therefore detached from tradition. The physical pieces hang from the ceiling and the videos are projected from one end of the room to the other so that the visitor’s presence inherently affects the images in the same way that they would have an on affect the images online. Since the images become a lower resolution (and therefore more valuable) the more people come into contact with them on the internet, the works were displayed so that this interaction is not only encouraged but nearly inevitable. The theme of the exhibition began to expand as artists were located. It became clear that many artists today have adopted an aesthetic that looks low resolution, so these types of works were also included for display. The works range from subjectless pixelated skies to disourse arousing instagram
FOLD GALLERY
memes to dreamlike videos of computer desktops. Nevertheless, these works are united by their
ROOM 233 FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2018 5:30PM
ARCHITECTURE HALL UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN
LO-RES
appearance as lo-res, both physical and conceptual.
RYAN SCAVNICKY ZARRIN KARIMI JOHN ROUND DREW DOYLE
EXHIBITION OPENING
LO-RES
W ORKS DI SPLAY ED
10
C U R AT I O N & E X H I B I T I O N D E S I G N
C H I A R O S C U R O spring 2018. adrian silva, andres villegas.
Since the beginning of human history, people have been fascinated by the phenomenal qualities of light. Light has the ability to reveal the tactility of materials by stimulating the senses beyond acute sight. Light brings things into being. Captured here are ephemeral moments where light contrasts with dark —moments the artists felt were worth immortalizing. Contrast between light and shade is demonstrated throughout a number of different subjects, exploring the condition of chiaroscuro.
12
This exhibition explores the human fascination with the condition of light and shade, the contrast between them, and the many forms in which it takes. Works were chosen based on a pool of 900 brought together by the students in the seminar—all the works are by students at UNL and many are works by the curators themselves. The pieces were sized and laid out in a purposeful heirarchy and the space was divided in a way that encouraged circulation through the space.
CHIAROSCURO
photos by Arthur Luke
14
C U R AT I O N & E X H I B I T I O N D E S I G N
P O S T - N O V I S spring 2019. luis othoniel rosa, holly craig, hilary wiese, post-novis collective
In 1919, Kazimir Malevich founded UNOVIS, one of the first experiments of collective cultural production,
to
develop
a
collective
idea
of
architecture and search for ways to transform the world. POST-NOVIS is a narrative architecture collaboration which reveals a hidden archive of ongoing and unfinished projects carried out after the initial dissolution of UNOVIS. POST-NOVIS reveals an alternative project of architectural education and practice, especially against the commodification of knowledge, the indifference of form, and normative constructions and social preconceptions.
16
Architectons carrying the critical manifestoes of generations to come await within a tropical forest, rooms unfold the untold stories, plans and utopias of the unsung heroines of the avant-garde, and schemes reveal the (until now secret) plans for a series of alternative architectural institutions around the world (the so-called Intergalactic Schools). Luis Othoniel Rosa, an English professor at UNL wrote for the exhibition a fictional syllabus for one of these schools.
POST-NOVIS
I ND IV ID UAL MANI FES T O
This architecton is a representation of the Wall, which is a symbol of the deliberate exclusion of the less privileged by the more privileged. The Wall, in the case of this architecton, is also a subtle reference to
Malevich’s
Black
Square.
When
Malevich
moved into three dimensional mediums, such as the architecton, he cited the reason to be that he felt painting was exclusionary and reserved for the bourgeoisie. Therefore, the Wall in this architecton acts both as a separator of the classes and as a symbolic paint canvas from which the figures on each side emerge into three dimensional space.
18
I MPER MANENT C O LLEC T IO N B O O K
The POST-NOVIS Collective hand-crafted several copies of this book which contains the outlines of the syllabus, strategies, and plans of the collaborative production
of
worldmaking
of
the
Tobacco
Intergalactic School, a fictional school created by the Collective and others. This compilation of drawings and writings is formed from the POST-NOVIS exhibition. Each book is signed by the members of the Collective. The books were on display at the Impermanent Collection at A+D in Los Angeles and subsequently sold out to the members of the public.
P U B L I S H I N G
20
Fold
presents
The
02
Polemic
Image
The polemic image challenges the implicit contradictions of the constructions and documentations of history.
The polemic image questions the scale, function and form of architecture.
The polemic image surveys idealized representations, the realm of utopia and constructions of identity.
The polemic image questions the art of deceptive visibility in the society of consumerism, where architecture becomes advertisement, and advertisement architecture.
The polemic image is an Avatar, online accounts and user names masking forms, identities, experiences and spaces.
The polemic image makes us question the representation of power and power as representation.
The more powerful the image, the more powerful the song. After all, an image is worth a thousand words. We see and interact with and consume images on a daily basis. Images give us a glimpse of a possible future and, just as stated in Guy Debord’s book ‘Society of the Spectacle’, the culture of consumption holds this future to be accurate and indisputable.
Image The
Polemic
ISSUE TWO
Images are captivating. They hold a power that no other entity can attain. They pull us willingly into their realm. They whisper a siren song in our ear as they lead us into their clutches.
THE POLEMIC IMAGE FOLD is a curatorial and publishing platform formed by graduate students of the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. FOLD brings in an experimental setting cultural production of serious gravitas. FOLD presents positions and discourses on contemporary architecture, popular culture and art. The platform borrows its name from the print industry expression ‘above the fold’ in order to highlight critical concepts through the works of international architects, writers and artists. FOLD Issue 01. Editorial and Design Team: WAI Architecture Think Tank (Nathalie Frankowski, Cruz Garcia), Holly Craig, Aaron Culliton, Charles Dowd, Jaiji Li, Ryan Miller, Paris Mood. First Published in Spring 2018. First Published in Spring 2018 by FOLD and WAI Think Tank seminar at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
ISSUE TWO
THE POLEMIC IMAGE
F
O
Andrew Kovacs | Archive of Affinities Andrew Kovacs is a lecturer at UCLA Architecture & Urban Design. Kovacs Studied architecture at Syracuse University, the Architecture Association in London, and Princeton University. From 2012 to 2013, Kovacs was the inaugural UCLA Teaching Fellow for which he produced GOODS USED: AN ARCHITECTURAL YARD SALE at Jai and Jai Gallery in Los Angeles. Kovacs’ work on architecture and urbanism has been published widely in publications such as Pidgin, Project, Perspecta, Manifest, Metropolis, Clog, Domus, and Fulcrum. Kovacs is the creator and curator of Archive of Affinities, a website devoted to the collection and display of architectural b sides. His recent design work includes a proposal for a dog park in downtown Los Angeles and the Renovation of an Air-stream trailer into a mobile retail store that travels the Pacific Coast Highway. Website: andrew-kovacs.com Ada Sokol | Nendo Digital Ada Sokol sums up her work with two words: “innovation, sleekness”. A chance encounter with the Paris-based, Polish-born artist and 3D designer’s work quickly had us hooked and digging deep into her portfolio rich with commissioned and personal projects. With a flair for 3D rendering which is so photo-realistic, it left us wondering where the constructed ended and the real began, Ada is a future talent destined for great things. Website: adasokol.com Beata Wilczek | Nendo Digital Beata Wilczek is a Berlin based artist and lecturer. Her academic and artistic practice revolve around fashion and material cultures. She currently teaches on MA Sustainability in Fashion at AMD Berlin and Ba Design at School of Form in Poznan and recently gave guest talks at the shenkar in Tel Aviv, RCA London, MUCA Roma in Mexico City. Website: beatawilczek.com
Brian Kelly | Copy Right Brian M. Kelly, RA, NCARB is an NCARB certified, licensed Architect in the State of Nebraska and an Associate Professor of Architecture in the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to joining the faculty at UNL, Brian was lead designer in the office of Randy Brown Architects, designing several award-winning projects of various types and scales. His previous teaching experience includes Drury University’s Hammons School of Architecture in Springfield, MO and California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Brian’s teaching focus is in the areas of beginning design, design thinking, architectural representation theory, and the threshold between making and marking. His students’ work has been featured in academic journals and his professional work has been published internationally. Additionally, Brian serves as a board member for design alliance Omaha (daOMA). Website: www.instagram.com/_brianmkelly/
Davide Trabucco | Confomi Davide Trabucco (b. 1987) is an Artist and Architecture Student from Bologna, Italy. “Conformi (conformi.tumblr.com) is an archive of images created to manage my wealth of visual references. Like the museum, which originates from voracity and robbery, and has as its ultimate end the abundance, this project arises from the difficulty of storing images and from their use, often inattentive, that occurs through the media, especially the web and social networks. Conformi works with the methods and rules of the archive. The taxonomic principle on which it is based is that of creating a single image, always of a square format, in which two distinct images merge and share a formal structure of any kind. The starting images are always stolen from the web, with the will and the conscience of not producing more images, but of reusing the quantity of images in which we are submerged, giving those new clothes, through a process, both critical and physical, that transforms the original document into a single new document. Some images have no value in themselves, but they acquire it because in a conceptual relationship with the others. The construction of the new image has the main purpose of being immediately communicative even to a non-specialist audience, stimulating the visual sensitivity of non-experts: not knowing originals, anyone can understand the image even without the use of captions and textural equipment. The
Oliver Haidutschek | Stay Hydrated Oliver Haidutschek creates ‘meta-objects,’ works that appear to be photos of physical objects that are neither paintings nor sculptures, but rather biomorphic forms digitally created in direct relation to contemporary culture’s habit of instant consumption. Living in Beijing, Haidutschek’s work challenges the traditional manner in which the meaning of an artwork is shaped and how the context of its presentation informs its significance by exploiting the proliferation of images across social media. Website: www.saatchiart.com/haidutschek
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Andrew Kovacs Advertisement for Architecture / 150
Matteo Ghidoni Teatrino Salottobuono - e-flux TEATRINO for ArchWeek 2018
A
B
06
Jason Mena (Print)
C
LaTurbo Avedon Club Rothko
Bruna Canepa Casa Fluxo
Sebastian Alonso Bessonart Chullachaqui Pedro Bandeira + 18:25ED Paraiso
Matteo Ghidoni Photo Louis De Belle
Ada Sokol, Beata Wilczek, M.E.S.H. Nendo Digital
B
Traumnovelle Image 2_LADIES’ SITTING ROOM
Oliver Haidutschek Stay Hydrated
03
Davide Trabucco Conformi
Beatriz - STAR strategies + architecture O’Mighty Green
05
Olalekan Jeyifous Lagos / Makoko Canal
L
D
computer is the place of beginning and the end of life of these images, In fact, they are born from the web and on the web they return to be archived. The moment I acquire a right over the images of others, stealing them, I lose it, because I return them, transformed, to the web.” - Davide Trabucco Website: www.davidetrabucco.it/cv/cv
M.E.S.H. | Nendo Digital (Audio) Under the name M.E.S.H., American-born, Berlin-based producer James Whipple produces hard-edged club music that pushes the jagged beats of grime into the realm of abstract sound design. Originally based in Souther California and previously known by the moniker Ghosthunt, Whipple moved to Berlin after he graduated college, and eventually started an eclectic night club called Janus along with similarly minded producer Lotic. Website: hesaitix.net
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C SEZIONE A-A
SEZIONE B-B
SEZIONE C-C 7.74
8.26
7.74 0.20
0.40 0.50
2.20
0.50
3.40 0.50 0.50 1.00
1.00 1.00
0.00
0.75
0.75
1.50 0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.75
0.36 11.00 10.00 Ø5.00
Juanito Olivarria - LUXIGON Ministry of Self Indulgence
0.36
04
a
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(Switzerland) Issue Architecture” n
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“On (2016) Venida Devenida | Potentia Guadendi Venida Devenida is an art and architecture team formed in 0214 by Ana Olmedo and Elena Aguila. Their practice focuses on analyzing the hegemonic discourse from a critical and feminist point of view. They generate sweet activisms through everyday objects and references in popular culture, aiming to empower the minority subcultures. Their work has been exhibited at CO.Exhibition, organized during the International Conference in Architectural Communication 2017: MediActions in Madrid and at A Fine Line: Scenarios for Bordering Conditions during the International Architecture Biennial in San Se-
27
b Pierre Jean Giloux | Metabolism # Invisible Cities # Part 1 The work of Pierre Jean Giloux is positioned in the convergence of several practices: the space/volume and the images. His videos are the results of associations and hybridizations. He develops by means of the digital techniques one Work of Collage, editing. His visual and sound compositions sometimes include sequences in 2D and 3D animation. Modifying the perception of reality creates “reconstructed worlds” He also shows his movies as mono band projection within the framework of festivals videos and of digital arts. Website: irentete.com
29
Alessandro Piangiamore Belvedere Kyle Miller Logic Board
The previous cartographies of queer urban spaces are now transformed by the digital era, but they have not ceased to exist. Nowadays, queer encounters within the urban space can be triggered by smart-phone apps, where satellites, servers, interface, software… are tools in the making of the digital visualization of sexual urbanism, one that highly defines the features of queer bodies rather than the characteristics of queer spaces.
Olalekan Jeyifous | Shanty Mega-Structures | Architecture of Abandoned Housing | Deconstructure. Olalekan Jeyifous is a Nigerian-born, Brooklyn-based artist and designer. In May 2000 he received a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Cornell University, where his primary focus was experimenting with the application of various computer software in the creation of art, design and architecture. After graduating, he enjoyed a 4 year tenure as a senior designer at the inimitable box before continuing on to pursue creative compulsions full-time. Since then he has been fortunate enough to exhibit my artwork in venues throughout the world as well as create beautiful visuals for a variety of amazing clients. Website: traumnovelle.eu
Umberto Napolitano Fine Metal Ostrich Egg
Brendan Cornier Manchu Horse-hoof Shoes / 19th Century, China
We consider this approach as an open-ended process that can be translated through different channels. For example, in our project Fem·Insurgentes we developed an approach to fashion as a political tool in the production of new imaginaries. We created five fictitious gangs through the design of five jackets. Each garment represents a fictitious community that lives consciously outside the conventions of mainstream society. They arose from collecting and combining materials from different ideologies such as ecology, squatting, fat feminism, etc., and then incorporating them into a process of production of garments. In this project, fashion is the point of contact between a political idea and
u
in
Like in many other binary systems and its boundaries, from our perspective, there isn’t a clear line that separates the urban from the digital space. Like “fictions” that structure our “reality”, we need to think about the digital space as something intrinsic to the physical space.
Issue 2016)
(Brazil)
Leonardo Finotti São Paulo
30
Alejandra Celedón “Chile-In-Minature: Magic World”
Luca Molinari The Grey Room
Architecture is Everything, Everything is Architecture’ continues the discussion initiated in previous FOLD exhibitions with works by Ada Sokol, Jason Mena, Brian Kelly, STAR, Olalekan Jeyifous, Andrew Kovacs, Conformi, Traumnovelle, Luxigon, Venida Devenida, Wolff Architects, Salottobuono. What topics will be forgotten with the displacement of queer urban space, that are being displaced by digital space. Do you think these spaces need to be preserved?
2013) (2017)
(Portugal)
WAI Architecture Think Tank The Tale of the Black Switch
In the acousticophilia the sexual pleasure it is derived from sounds like music, poems or a conversation in a foreign language. Its practitioners often have a very specific interest. I
I This device consists of several feather fans with springs that allow its movement when the tickling fetishists cross. I. Feathers II. Metal structure
II
WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? Participants get sexual pleasure from tickling or being tickled. The tickling game is the experience of gaining sexual pleasure by tickling. This fetishism can cause arousal just seeing other people being tickled. Frequent points to tickle are the bare feet (the most popular), navel, breasts, nipples, armpits, ribs, sides of the body, belly and genitals.
Making non-requested phone calls using obscene language for sexual pleasure is known as "telephone scatologia" and it is classified as a way of exhibitionism.
Venida De Venida Perverse Device / Tickling Fetish
· TELEPHONE SCATOLOGIA | ACOUSTICOPHILIA ·
07
Sebastian Alonso Bessonart | Chullachaqui This film is based on a search through the Amazon Jungle for the mythical, shape shifting, creature, Chullachaqui. If you get lost and are lucky enough, he might find you and help you escape...
Pedro Bandeira + 18:25 ED | Paraiso Paradise is a project by Pedro Bandeira, Luca Martinucci and Filipe Alves (18:25 Empreiteiros Digitais) presented in the collective exhibition Utopia/Dystopia at MAAT (Lisbon), curated by Pedro Gadanho, Joao Laia and Susana Ventura. Participating Artists Include: Alexander Brodsky & Ilya Utkin, Mathis Altmann, Filipe Alves, Andreas Angelidakis, Archigram, Archizoom, Timo Arnall, ayr, Kader Attia, Pedro Bandeira, Pedro Parateiro, Olivo Barbieri, James Beckett, Berdaguer & Pejus, Alain Bublex, Jordi Colomer, Rover Darroll, Ines Dantas, Tacita Dean DIS Collective, Diogo Envangelista, Inci Eviner, Didier Faustino, Cao Fei, Angela Ferreira, Yona Friedman, Cyprien Gaillard, Pierrejean Giloux, Clara Ianni, Renaud Jerez, Goncalo Mabunda, Michael MacCarry, Luca Martinucci, Offic in collaboration with Dogma, Olalekan Jeyifous, OMA, Miguel Palma, Pedro Portugal, Willioam Powhida, Tabor Robak, Andre Romao, Aldo Rossi, Jonas Staal, Beniamino Servino, Miachael E. Smith, Superstudio, Ryan Trecartin, Nasan Tur, WAI Think Tank, Wolfgang Tillmans, Lebbeus Woods. MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology Av. Brasilia, Central Tejo 1300-598 Lisbon, Portugal Vistas da exposicao Utopia/Distopia, MAAT - Museum de Arte, Arquiteturea e Tecnologia, Liboa, 2017. Fotografia: Bruno Lopes. Cortesia: Fundacao EDP. Website: www.maat.pt Website: www.pedrobandeira.info
LaTurbo Avedon | Club Rothko Club Rothko is a virtual intersection of two worlds - online and the real world. LaTurbo Avedon is a digital manifestation of a person that has never existed outside of a computer. Avedon’s digital sculptures and environments disregard the lack of physicality, and instead emphasize the practice of virtual authorship. LaTurbo curates and designs through Panther Modern, a file-based exhibition space that encourages artists to create site-specific installations for the internet. LaTurbo is in residence at the Somerset House Studios, exploring how nonphysical creators interface and exchange within studio community. Additionally, sharing 3D modeling and virtual world generating skill set. Website: www.turboavedon.com
Venida De Venida Perverse Device / Balloon Fetish
09
I. Speaker II. Booth III. Erotic answering machine
This mechanism enables interaction without contact between the practitioners of telephone scatologia —designing telephone booths where they can make calls between two users or a user and an answering machine— and acousticophilics —connecting the speakers to the booths allowing for playing back calls without being in the same space—.
II
III
Juanito Olivarria - LUXIGON | Ministry of Indulgence Ministry of Indulgence is a project of speculation about the celebrity cult and its impact on people’s life. The ‘Ministry of Indulgence” is a design thesis project that speculates on celebrity culture and the societal changes in the way we manage relationships between intimate and public life. In a society of cult celebrity influence we are immersed in a deviant behavior excessively, so that the ‘shock value’ of the escalating behavior leaves us desensitized. Our culture ‘absorbs the dysfunction’ and the identity of the norm changes. Ministry of Indulgence, questions the nature of ‘taboo’ and ‘elevates it to the status of celebrity’. Ministry of Indulgence is High rise of gratification for the masses in thin towers that proliferate across the Los Angeles desert landscape offering understanding as to the change in culture’s influence on society and the context of the city. Website: www.luxigon.com
Sebastian Alonso is an artist working in various mediums - ceramics, drawing, photography, video, texts, and installations. His work looks at the constant relationships between the art-political binomial, visual culture, institutionalism, agency as a form of institutional infiltration, production in context, architecture, territory, capital and pedagogical topics. In recent years his work has focused on curation as a narrative process, utilizing writing, documentation and collective management. He is a professor in public education at the University of the Republic, National School Institute of Fine Arts. Head of the Extension Unit and Parallel Workshop of Free Pedagogical Aesthetic: Orientation of the Technique in Photographic Image Technologies. He was Professor of the course “Laboratory of Critical Production” of the Faculty of Architecture [2008 - 2011]. Member of the group “Research Nucleus in Visual Culture, Education and Identity” [IENBACSIC-UDELAR] [2004 - Present]. Member of the alonso + craciun collective since [2004 - Present]. He has participated and developed CSIC research projects in his I+D modality, currently directs “Modes of collective making in Uruguayan art”. Coordinator of the CasaMario Project [2013 - Present]. Founding member of the project “The collective eye”. Website: www.sebastianalonso.com Collective production: alonso + craciun: www.alonso-craciun.net CasaMario Project: www.facebook.com/proyectocasamario?fref=ts Nucleo en Cultura Visual: www.nucleodeculturavisual.com
The Return of the Reading Room (Publications)
Minimaforms Glass Sphere
In Collaboration with CAMPO, the exhibition reflects on Hans Hollein text ‘Everything is Architecture’ (1968) with contributions by Alejandra Celedon, Alessandro Piangiamonre, Brendan Cormier, WAI Architecture Think Tank, ecoLogicStudio ,Kyle Miller, Luca Molinari, Matteo Cainer, Miraj Ahmed, Leonardo Finotti, Minimaforms, Umberto Napolitano. The exhibition includes works produced at CAMPO’s workshop by Tomás Barberá Ramallo, Alice Cavicchi and Francesca Olivieri, Simon Storey, Noah Gotlib, Philipp Bünger, Frixos Petrou, Andreea Vasilcin, Olimpia Presutti and Ryan Mujung Chiu, Selenia Marinelli. The aim of our work is to subvert existing objects in order to make them susceptible to the politics of bodies and identities. The idea is to develop a design practice that exists beyond the product making. In order to do that, we pervert references from popular culture as an act of resistance against the norm, being able to represent other identities.
(UK) (Summer
(USA) (USA)
(2016) Traumnovelle | The Candy Shop Traumnovelle is a militant faction founded by three Belgian architects: Leone Drapeaud, Manuel Leon Fanjul and Johnny Leya. Traumnovelle uses architecture and fiction as analytical, critical and subversive tools to emphasize contemporary issues and dissect their resolutions. Traumnovelle alternates between cynicism and enthusiasm all the while advocating for critical thinking in architecture. Traumnovelle champions a multidisciplinary approach with architecture at the crossroads. Traumnovelle distances itself from current forms of naive architecture and refuses to glorify the mundane. Traumnovelle sides with those who have not sacrificed ambition and criticism. Website: Traumnovelle.eu
What strategies do you use to represent complex identities through different mediums such as fashion?
P
CARTHA Relations Beatriz - STAR strategies + architecture | O’Mighty Green pre-STAR Beatriz Ramo (1979, Spain) graduated from the Technical School of Architecture in Valencia - ETSAV, in Spain. In 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Technische Universiteit in Eindhoven, moving to the Netherlands, where she has lived ever since. During 2003 and 2004 Beatriz Ramo worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture - OMA - in Rotterdam where she participated in - among other projects - the CCTV - China Central Television Headquarters and TVCC - Television Cultural Centre in Beijing, the Wyly Theatre in Dallas, the Invited Competitions for the urban plans of “Mercati Generali” in Rome, and the Railway station area in Logrono, Spain In 2006 she founded STAR strategies + architecture in Rotterdam. STAR is a practice dealing with architecture in all its forms. STAR is interested in all topics directly or indirectly related to architecture, working on projects and doing research in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and landscape design. Several prizes in International Competitions for architecture and urban planning in France, the Netherlands, China, Iceland, Lebanon, Norway, and Spain have gained STAR international recognition. Website: st-ar.nl
The active appropriation of objects and spaces that changes the purpose for which they were initially created can be understood as a tool for activism. We like to think about this way of working as “sweet activism”, because it acts smoothly within the dominant culture producing a rupture from the inside.
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CRIOLLO Furniture “Toilet”
STIL
-
(September Opacity”
Fire
“Tropical
-
Type Ipsum”
4.5
We think that our work operates in the opposite direction. The study of the politics of bodies and how they act within space has made possible to develop projects related to sensory devices for pleasure. For example, in Potentia Gaudendi non-normative forms of sexual interaction are translated into spatial devices in an attempt to show how dissident sexual environments can decentralise the focus of pleasure and move it to other body parts. In our working process, we first analyse dissident forms of sexuality and address this topic through a sensory project.
2017) We are both trained architects, but we’ve also received a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. This has definitely helped us to blur the boundaries between disciplines. Through our work we think how design can be unfixed, in flux and constantly changing. We see users not as mere spectators, but actors who can construct and perform their own rules according to their needs and desires. In order to do that, it’s essential to look for alternatives to the extended belief that design is all about production and materialization, and to find out other mediums that stay closer to this idea.
2014) (China) (Netherlands)
(Autumn
How does working with different mediums allow you to use design as a tool for activism?
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(UK)
(2017)
(Italy)
2017)
(USA) “ROBOLOG” (Winter 40 - (Spring/Summer 2017)
Urbanism”
(Spring (September
PLACEMENT
-
REVIEW
3,4,5
-
(2018) the wrong 2016/2017)
(Netherlands)
How does working on sensory projects allows you to address topics on the body and its surroundings?
· TICKLING FETISH ·
Wolff Architects Elevation
Beauty” ROCCO
-
the public.
The Return of the Reading Room
Work “Utopia is (Winter
CLOG (USA) Issue “Guggenheim” - (2014)
Dirty 3/6
3
“Lorem DOLCE
Issue
Friendly
Issue
Gratuitous
Issue
Log
Issue 2016),
36 Issue
“Small MONU
Issue
No.10 “Pure
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That N/A
00 13 PRODUCT
Issue
REAL
Issues
SAN
Issue
WASH
Issue word”
Works
Issue
ecoLogicStudio SuperTree
Rodchenko Objects will be understood, will become people’s friends and comrades, and people will begin to know how to laugh and enjoy and converse with things.
-Aleksandr
Following Aleksandr Rodchenko’s intent with his design for the Workers Club in 1925, The Reading Room creates an environment to reflect on the relationship between people and the objects, spaces and images that constitute architecture.
The Reading Room is simultaneously a bibliographic archive, exhibition space, discourse platform and performance arena. Presenting photography, and film by Zora Murff, Lena Tsibizoba, Olga Rodina, Anastasia Soboleva, Toby Lee, and Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga, and furniture designed by the designers-curators of Fold, the exhibition opens with a discussion with Jason Griffiths and Emily Wiethorn and closes with a match played on a chess set designed for the event in commemoration of Rodchenko’s original plan for the World Expo in Paris.
The Reading Room presents diverse encounters with architecture through alternative publications that include Friendly Fire, Log, CARTHA, Dirty Furniture, CLOG, Gratuitous Type, San Rocco, MONU, Real Review, Dolce Stil Criollo, Wash and Product Placement.
10 SWEET ACTIVISM: A CONVERSATION WITH VENIDA DEVENIDA
PUBLISHING
bastian. In 2016, They received the Injuve Design Grant for the development of the project Fem-Insurgentes. Website: hesaitix.net
Iren Tete | Untitled (light / Untitled (shadow) Iren Tete is an MFA Candidate in Studio Art with an emphasis in Ceramics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Iren attended the college of William and Mary where she received a BS in Kinesiology. She equally call Sofia, Bulgaria and Washington, D.C. home. Iren has completed multiple residencies, including at the Zentrum for Keramik in Berlin, Germany the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN and the University of Cincinnati. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Website: irentete.com
Josh Puppe | Fun Palace Joshua Puppe is a 6th year graduate thesis student who has become passionate about design through the creative use of both still and moving image. He is currently working on a thesis project which explores issues within the city and its dynamic narratives through the lens of Rem Koolhaas’ Exodus: The voluntary Prisoners, and Cedric Price’s Fun Palace. Both projects critique the way humans interact with design and inhabiting of spaces and the spaces themselves, while questioning themes of authorship, ownership, habitation, impermanence, social condensers, and flickering tones of utopia and dystopia. Through the use of film and animation, Josh is looking to explore the narrative potential of a representation in motion able to keep up with the rapid pace of today’s changing world filled with, design, technology, and narrative potential. The hope is that through the use of these precedent projects, a new projective public system of built environment may begin to ask more of public space while imagining new possibilities of urban conditions within the city, while questioning what is and what could be Website: jpuppe.com
08
‘ARCHITECTURE IS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS ARCHITECTURE.’
Miraj Ahmed The Thin Black Slab
Matteo Cainer Brutal Beauty
28
F O L D C U R A T O R I A L P U B L I C A T I O N - G R A P H I C D E SIGN
22
INT RO - M ARC EL D U C H A M P A N D T H E R E D E F I N I T I O N O F T H E A R T I S T
Famously, Marcel Duchamp once said, “I don’t believe in art, I believe in the artist.” Though
these words have often been taken by contemporary artists as simple words of affirmation, the quote itself becomes much more complex when uncovering Duchamp’s stance about the role and definition of “art.” Because of Duchamp’s tendency not to believe in absolutes, he questioned whether one could even “make works which are not works of art.” With this in mind, it becomes incredibly clear why Duchamp did not believe in art - because he believed that everything is or can be art.
Although Marcel Duchamp’s first ready-mades received a fair amount of ridicule at the time
of their creation, his artistic work was inarguably crucial in the early 20th century redefinition of the role of the artist. Moreover, his artistic practices in the realm of ready-mades have been seminal in the contemporary practices of artists today, such as in the case of Richard Prince and others. Early in his career, as Duchamp attempted to escape the traditionalist idea of taste and instead embraced the idea of aesthetic indifference, his art quickly became detached from the traditional artistic sense of “god-like creation and mere visual pleasure.” This approach towards art not only leaks into the practices of contemporary ready-made and appropriation artists, but in fact, also finds its way into contemporary artistic aesthetics as a whole. If, as according to Duchamp, art is anything, then the case becomes an issue of distinguishing an artist from a non-artist in contemporary society. If anyone can make art, then can everyone be an artist or are there certain artistic practices which set some artists apart from others?
Studying Duchamp’s artistic work, writing, and interviews can give us an idea of how his
presence in the art world in the early 20th century has given more agency to artists in contemporary society. Furthermore, just as Duchamp redefined the role of art and the artist in his time, contemporary ready-made and appropriation artists are continuing to redefine the role of art and the artist in ours. Assuming that Duchamp’s work has been critical in giving contemporary artists more creative agency, it is also likely that contemporary artists are either intentionally or unintentionally giving future artists more creative agency as well. Looking at the contemporary work of Richard Prince and others allows us to understand the ways in which modern day artists are redefining the role of the artist for the future. Additionally, as issues of copyright plague the art world and questions of ready-made intent pervade art discourse, it is becoming increasingly unclear the distinction between art/non-art and artist/non-artist. With this in mind, the question then becomes: do we need to be making this distinction or is art better off without it?
WRITING
S A M P L E S EXCE RP T - U T O P IE RADIC A LI: N O N - O B J E C T I V E P A R T I C I P A T I O N W I T H I D E A
Spatially, the exhibition is introduced in the first room with a series of architectural plates
created by ceramicist designer Remo Buti in 1978, arranged in a line down a long table, their arrangement a metaphor for the Florentine Radical value of collectiveness through activity and discourse surrounding meals and the sharing of ideas. It is important for the viewer to approach the exhibition with the framed view of collectivism, since collectivism is still considered to be a radical idea in Western society today. It does, however, seem a tame curatorial approach relative to the progressive ideals of the Radicals and implies these dissidents might uncharacteristically come together in a “last supper”-esque manner. The curatorial decision to put emphasis on iconoclastic works framed by Italian Radical ideologies is an appropriate and emphatic introduction. The choice to display the works in such an institutional format detracts from the very radicalism it seeks to portray – most of the works in the exhibition are displayed in a shockingly institutional language (hung orderly on a wall, set centralized on a pedestal, etc.). The objects are often displayed as just that: objects. The work of the Italian Radical movement was never about the objects, rather it was about ideas and the discourse stirred by the objects, so it would seem more fitting for the curation of these objects to reflect their purpose.
Perhaps in this instance it is fitting to consider two exhibitions as historical precedents of
iconoclastic exhibitions, although anachronistic in time and place, relevant in terms of subject matter. Architect Theo Crosby, who conceived the exhibition This is Tomorrow, wrote that “the discussions ... are really the point of the collaboration”. This attitude towards the production of the work for the exhibition is akin to the Florentine Radicals’ attitude towards the production of the objects, films, and photomontages on display at the CCA. Although different from the curation of architectural drawings, products, and process, it is worthwhile to consider the merits of production merely for display, at least in this case, for the fact that the objects in question were created as a means to stir discourse, similar to the work of the Italian Radicals. Kazimir Malevich’s seminal 1915 exhibition, 0.10, is another exemplary case for non-objective curation, which is likely a fitting approach for the Utopie Radicali exhibition. 0.10 “posed fundamental questions concerning the nature of art itself, undermining traditional notions of painting and sculpture” in the same way that the Italian Radicals aimed to undermine the traditional notions of architecture. The works in 0.10 were displayed in a manner that stripped the paintings of their status as objects, and rather brought them together into a cohesive whole that demonstrated the ideas of suprematist experimentations with art. This approach to curation feels more sensitive to the works of the Italian Radicals and could have perhaps been a way to contextualize the Utopie Radicali exhibition in a broader sense. An objective view of these radical works lends them an artifactual status, therefore lending them a sense of value and ownership. Imposing a sense of ownership on these works creates a subtle, yet dishonest illusion relative to the perspective of Italian Radical ideologies of collectivism and nomadism. for full text, see here.
24
EX C E R P T - H O L L ’ S E X T E N D E D M A K I N G
Holl is well-known for centrally integrating watercolor drawings into his New York based
firm’s conceptual design process. His deliberate focus on conceptual sketches in design process began in the late 70’s. These took the form of black and white graphite drawings rather than the watercolors he’s known for today. Shortly thereafter he began to shift. This was due to the fact that using watercolor as a medium, he notes, enables the “catching intuition and first thoughts” for a project in ways that move beyond the limitations of normative sketching. By 1979, Holl would carry a spiral bound notebook everywhere and completed a watercolor drawing every morning. He continues this practices today but in more or less regular intervals as time in his schedule permits.
He refers to this morning practice as “writing in water.” Sitting at his studio desk shortly
after his wakes up, he opens his notebook of cold-pressed watercolor paper. He tries to disallow any thought or worry regarding his daily responsibilities before he has the chance to complete a drawing, no matter its usefulness or quality. Upon turning to a blank page of 5”x7”watercolor paper, Holl’s struggle is one of creative possibilities. To offer impetus to his making, he pulls from the history of architecture, site conditions, cultural stories or metaphors. Sometimes he even sifts through his old drawings if he is feeling uninspired. These drawings from old projects may have been dead ends, he says, but they could be rekindled as new ideas in a current or future project.
He opens the paint set he discovered at a shop on 29th Street in Manhattan. Though the set
is full of rich hues, Holl is often content with the blacks and the greys, as they allow him to quickly shape a volume or cast a shadow in a matter of seconds. Color is used sparingly and to deliberate effect. In fact, the reason Holl first picked up watercolor paints decades ago was that they enabled him to expedite his drawing process from hours when he used graphite to mere minutes. Following his paints, Holl holds in his fingers a black watercolor paint brush which bears a golden ferrule and is covered in dried paint from yesterday’s work. He dips the thin brush quickly, moving between paint and water and back again, to capture the correct feel for a volume of paint. Brushing the page volumes, shadows, light and a design features appears upon the notebook’s paper.
WRI T I N G S A M P L E S
EX C ERP T - WH A T I S P H E N O M E N O L O G Y ?
Phenomenology appeared as part of philosophical discussion in the early 20th century and
is considered to be a part of the Continental Philosophy movement, which took place in Europe in response to the analytic movement. Continental philosophies generally reject the idea that the natural sciences are the only way to accurately understand the world and its natural occurrences. Specifically, phenomenology is based on the premise that reality is made up of events (“phenomena”) which are perceived and interpreted by the human consciousness. Phenomenology tends not to talk about things, but rather the appearance of things or the way that things manifest themselves and human perception of these appearances or manifestations. The study asks questions about the features of an appearance or whether a manifestation contains an essence – phenomenologists are not interested in what appears, but rather how it appears.
Appearance of phenomena can almost never occur without human consciousness, in fact
a phenomena must have something to appear to, and most often, it appears to consciousness. Phenomenology cannot talk about all phenomena and how they are received by consciousness, however it can undertake an exhaustive study of the various ways in which phenomena are received. It is commonly accepted that each person receives phenomena differently, simply because of varying perspectives and biases, therefore it is nearly impossible to make general conclusions about phenomena as a whole.
Distorted perception of phenomena is arguably the largest controversy in the discourse of
phenomenology. Many philosophers question whether or not phenomena can exist in consciousness absolutely due to inherent human bias and varying human perspectives. “Phenomena” are things as they appear, while “noumena” are things as they are. Some philosophers, such as Nietzsche, argue that there is no conceivable way that phenomena could exist unconditionally, that humans are incapable of receiving noumena, and that phenomena and phenomenology are simply manifestations of arbitrary opinion. Immanuel Kant offers us a solution to this complication by exploring the ways in which a subjective experience can be more than just subjective, and can rather give others access to the experience of an enduring object. He worked to define the necessary structures of the phenomenon and the nature of experience so that the study of phenomenology was no longer based on arbitrary “opinion”, making phenomenology into more of an empirical study. Kant studied and defined what an “experience” must involve in order to be considered an experience, such as certain necessary conditions of the subject. Thanks to Kant, phenomenology has a rigorous concept of the phenomenon. for full text, see here.
26
U LT R A L I G H T:
S O L D fall 2018. ellen donnelly. studio: collaborate. arch 410. twelve weeks. emily tetschner, adrian silva, ben friesen, savannah scoville
The ultralight lifestyle finds its place as a contemporary minimalism by hailing its opposition to capitalism, yet the system has adopted the aesthetic of minimalist principles in order to sell products to those who find them attractive. Superstudio famously offered critique on social issues via demonstration by absurdity; they used their place inside of architectural discourse to produce theoretical projects that addressed societal issues and pushed them to an absurd, albeit logical conclusion. In the same manner, this project aims to address the issues of the ultralight by providing its most hypocritical manifestation with the perfect home. It demystifies the underlying claims of the movement by revealing its promise of escape for what it is: a product of the problem masquerading as a solution that is only available to those who can afford it.
28
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
D ÉRIV E
HISTORY OF THE ULTRALIGHT
A 3 hour, 5.5 mile dérive was conducted as a means
A comprehensive history of ultralight living, from
to understand the idea of “situations” in an urban
Spartan warriors to Henry David Thoreau to tiny
setting. Based on the dérive, a conceptual model was
homes.
created.
30
A MI NIMALI ST NIRV ANA
Historically, the ultralight has been a means of achieving a minimalist nirvana via the stripping of material items and the deliberate separation from capitalist society. As this lifestyle has gained popularity, capitalism has ironically found an opportunity in snagging consumers via the promise of enlightenment through minimalist living. This only offers the illusion of the escape from capitalism.
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
GRAPHIC MANIFESTO
The project manifesto states that the pod promises enlightenment via the stripping of material objects, although ultimately, this lifestyle is only an illusion since complete escape from capitalism is futile. SECTIONS
A series of drawings depicting influencers living out of their pod on the streets and endorsing products by integrating them into their minimalist lifestyle.
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MATE R I ALI T Y SOCI AL ME DIA V O Y EU RISM
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
PHYSICAL MODEL
34
DY NAMICS O F T H E P O D view full gi f h e re PLANS
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
USER-OBJECT RELATIONSHIPS
The pod offers complete freedom in its spatial configuration. Because the default size of the pod is 7 feet by 7 feet and since every person’s needs and desires are different, the pod offers complete autonomy when it comes to spatial needs. There is a direct correlation between space and userobject relationships because the more the pod is manipulated to create storage for objects, the more it invades the user’s space. This discourages a large accumulation of objects. The pod does not offer the same amenities as a house; it has no running water, no toilet, no shower. These functions have been outsourced to the city in true ultralight fashion. S ECTIO N PER SPE CT IV E PHYSICAL MODEL
36
PHY SICAL M O DEL
The 3’x3’x5’ model depicts an urban scene in which the pods act as advertising and have invaded the most occupied portions of the city. The influencer endorsement is so pervasive that it cannot be escaped even in day to day activites. R ENDER ING S
In a similar manner to Superstudio, the renderings employ metonymy as a way to expose the hypocrisy of ultralight commandments.
A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE
RESCUE MISSION
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
ULTRALIGHT COMMANDMENTS
After the extensive research phase in which our team studied both historic ultralight figures such as Henry David Thoreau and contemporary ultralight practices, we established six commandments, or rules of thumb, for ultralight living. - Treat nature as home. - A place for everything and everything in its place. - Rely only on yourself. - Live simply and deliberately. - Allow spiritual and emotional growth. - Escape consumerism. These
six
commandments
were
then
used
for the design of the pod. Additionally, these commandments were used as a way to expose the hypocrisy of contemporary ultralight living via satirical renderings of the pod interacting with urban settings. Often, the pod is painfully unaware of the context in which it resides.
38
UR BAN, SU B U RB A N, A ND R UR AL CO NT EX T S
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
40
LIVE SIMPLY AND DELIBERATELY
SELLI NG MIN IM ALISM
Overall, the projects aims to question the genuineness
genuineness. Influencers integrate products into
of the contemporary ultralight movement by offering
their lives, which makes the product more desirable.
an absurd conclusion based on extensive research on
Therefore, when consumers desire a product, what
the practices. Minimalism says it will solve anyone’s
they are really desiring is a lifestyle. Minimalism
problems, though it requires you to quite literally
influencers are not selling products, rather they are
buy into it. The pod is a symbol of the current
selling a lifestyle and that lifestyle is to be achieved
way of advertising, especially on instagram where
through certain products. The pod reflects the
influencers endorse certain products by feigning
ultimate experience of consuming minimalist life.
U LT R A L I G H T : S O L D
42
KANDINSKY’S
C O U R T Y A R D fall 2017. wai think tank. studio: organize. arch 310. fifteen weeks.
Led by Wai Architecture Think Tank, this studio focused on the study of the theory of Hardcorism the practice of architecture as pure, geometric form. Each student in the studio was assigned an archetype shape, with this project being the Courtyard. The first four weeks of the studio was spent, through historical research, creating an ontology of courtyards. Following the choosing of one precedent, Wassily Kandinsky’s “Circles in a Circle”, and the assignment of programmatic, formal, and spatial requirements, the subsequent eight weeks were spent in the design of a sculptural exhibition space. The last three weeks of the studio were spent collaborating with the other students in the studio in the design of a cohesive college campus.
u house t o y o it o
b o rd er crossi ng office kg d v s
l a tourette le c o r b us ier
nati onal g al l ery of g reenl and BIG
44
fo rt b o yard l oui s xi v
s q u are, c irc le, triang le sol l ewi t t
m o nza s an roc c o al do rossi
s c u ola elem entare al do rossi
sol o h ouse pe zo v on e llr i ch sha u sen
ci rcl es in a cir cl e wa ss ily k a n d in sk y
HAR DCOR IS T C O U RT Y ARD
formal study. The objects were stripped of their context
The ontology consisted of more than 150 examples of a
and materiality and collaged into foreign landscapes.
courtyard, which included examples from architecture,
Models made with varying materals were also constructed.
film, painting, sculpture, and literature. For the sake of this
When the historical research concluded, one example was
research, the definition of a courtyard became simply: a
chosen to move forward with for the design of a sculptural
void within a mass. Ten examples were chosen for further
exhibition space: a painting by Wassily Kandinsky.
K ANDIN S K Y ’ S C O U R T Y A R D
W A S S I L Y K A N D I NSKY “ C I R C L E S I N A C I RCL E”
46
A X ONOMET R IC I N T E R I O R E X H I BIT ION SP ACE TWO-DIMEN SIO NA L LA NGU A GE
was revisited throughout the design process and was
Wassily Kandinsky’s “Circles in a Circle” was
applied in various ways throughout the design with
extensively studied and diagrammed in an effort to
the language of the painting in mind. For example,
understand its two-dimensional properties for the
where circles
sake of its conversion into a three-dimensional piece
“courtyard”, emerges. Lines create skylights for
of architecture. The design of the building relies
controlled natural light in the exhibition spaces
heavily on the understanding of the painting’s colors
and lecture hall, axes inform circulation, and large
and overlap of colors, lineweights, and spatial and
background components inform the formal qualities
axial relationships. The definition of the Courtyard
of outdoor spaces.
and colors meet, a new space, or
K ANDIN S K Y ’ S C O U R T Y A R D
48
K ANDIN S K Y ’ S C O U R T Y A R D
IN V ERT ED AXONOMET RIC
Where
2-D
components
COURTYARDS AS POCKETS
overlap,
architectral
The programmatic needs of the building often
qualities emerge. Primary circulation cuts through
informed the way the definiton of the courtyard
the center, allowing indoor and outdoor spaces to
was applied. Using the language of the painting,
mesh. Circles meet and new programs occur.
parts of the exterior space are raised and lowered to
EXTER IOR EXHI BITI O N SP AC E
The exhibition space offers several gathering spaces, or courtyards, which are both interior and exterior and of varying sizes.
create pockets of space for exhibition and gathering. Circulation occurs primarily through an axis in the painting, while circulation to the upper level occurs on a ramp in the large circle at the perimeter.
50
SI TE MODE L DET AIL E XTE R I OR C O LLAGE
K ANDIN S K Y ’ S C O U R T Y A R D
THE CAMPUS OF E ASY P A RT S
In opposition to Robert Venturi’s argument for
to within the design. The most important point of
the “difficult whole”, the Campus of Easy Parts
the campus is the equal treatment of the three parts:
explores how simple form can address complex
Recreation, Contemplation, and Production. These
program. Following the completion of this address
three parts contained their respective building
in each building, the eleven studio projects came
programs as well as supplementary outdoor programs
together for the design of a masterplan of a utopian
such as parks, fields, farming, water features, and
college campus. Loenidov’s Magnitogorsk, Wright’s
sculpture gardens, all of which were designed as
Broadacre City, and Koolhaas’ Parc de la Villette
one cohesive whole with careful consideration for
were a few of many historic masterplans studied for
circulation, self-sufficiency, and foot traffic.
the sake of understanding the characteristics of and the thinking behind a successful masterplan.
S I T E M O D E L - 6 ’X 9 ’
The Campus of Easy Parts began with a utopian
The site model contains massing models of each of
manifesto of ten points of the campus, written as a
the buildings and is made from exclusively found
collective - these ten points were persistently adhered
materials, in a similar fashion to Koolhaas’.
52
DESIGN BUILD
P A R K ( I N G )
D A Y
fall 2016. dr. peter olshavsky. studio: representation. arch 210. five weeks. ashley glesinger, arthur nguyen, faith choat
PARK(ing) Day is an annual open source global event in which designers, artists, and activists temporarily transform parking spaces into public spaces. This design-build was conducted in a short five weeks, with the first three weeks consisting of design iterations and the last two consisting of construction. The final build was transported from its construction site to the parking spot for one whole day for the general public to sit in and interact with in any which way they pleased. This project was then selected out of several installations, to be displayed in the lobby of a local architecture firm for several weeks.
54
plug diagram
axonomentric assembly diagram
ASSEMBLY DIA GRA M SCALE STU DY M O DEL
elevation one
section AA’
PARK(ING) DAY
56
THINKER’S
C O L L E C T I V E spring 2018. matt knutson. studio: situate. arch 311. six weeks.
The Thinker’s Collective is a multi-disciplinary think tank which was designed in an rural, topographic site in order to study how the site would affect the form, programmatic layout, experiential qualities, and tectonics of the building. Working from an initial conceptual program model and site visit, it was concluded that this specific program on an undulating site such as this one called for a poetic interpretation of the relationship between building and site. Narrative was employed as a design tool - more specifically, a love story between nature and the manmade. Set in the Sandhills of rural Nebraska, 10 miles west of the village of Spalding, this structure embraces a natural sandhill in an act of love for its counterpart.
58
NA RRA T IV E
As you approach the place, the ground grips the soles of your shoes and pushes you forward in the trek towards the entry. You notice a piece held high above the ground as if welcoming you to its domain. You have complete freedom in your direction, though you are not inclined to stray. You know where you are meant to go as the place beckons for your compliance when its walls curve inward towards a small door which you impatiently enter. You have been received. Upon your entry, the honeysweet light of the earth pushes past you as it offers the building a taste, as a gift. The building tosses the golden honey back and forth with enthusiasm and gratefulness. You are allowed the pleasure of a taste as well, but know it is only because the earth has a sense of hospitality for guests. You lick your lips and continue. The floor tilts upward slightly, taking you higher and higher towards the sky from where the golden light was sent. The wall opens up next to your feet, where you notice that the floor follows the pace of the earth exactly, a perpetual act of love. The affection the building offers the earth makes you feel as if you are intruding, but you realize right then that this moment has been exposed for the building to show you the meaning of devotion. You find yourself in the piece of the building which you previously observed was held high. Below you, the floor is open and you see passersby with their books and tools and loungers enjoying their luncheon on the grass. You realize now that this part of the building is not raised for the guests to witness, but rather for the building to witness the guests. In the next piece of the building, you realize that the space holds a very different ambience - a pensive and solemn atmosphere as compared to the last two. It becomes clear that the building does not simply hold an affair with the earth, but it maintains a complex relationship with itself between its varying pieces as well. You wander back towards the ground and notice an opening in the wall where the earth is exposed on the other side. You step through the door and you find yourself walking on plain earth, though the building embraces the earth in every direction you look. When you make your way towards the center, it quickly becomes apparent that you are allowed to occupy only a portion of this court. The other pieces of the court support other functions in which you cannot take part. You reach the edge of your designated piece and feel a sense of longing as you look onto the large void separating you and the other pieces. It becomes clear to you that though as harmonious the relationship the earth and the building have, they will never be satisfied.
T H INK E R ’ S C O L L E C T I V E
SEC. 14
NE-91
SITE PHOTOS
SITE PLAN
60
T H INK E R ’ S C O L L E C T I V E
SITE CONTEXT
Considering site context, Willa Cather novels and Pawnee Tribe legends were studied for writing techniques. Willa Cather often employs personification of the landscape. The Pawnee apocalyptic legend states that the stars will fall to the earth and become humans, and humans will rise to the sky and become stars - a sort of transposition of man and nature. The program of the building contains creative activity that might be seen as completely unstoppable, so the form of the building was treated as if it were growing upon the site unstoppably. The site was treated as an anchor for the building; this symbiotic relationship was a major design influencer. Throughout the design process, the site and the building were not treated as inanimate objects. Each was treated as if it contained emotions both for the other and for its occupants. They were treated as living things with motives, desires, impulses, and incentives.
APPROACH
Since the Sandhills landscape is incredibly vast, the design of the approach became critical. Parking lies behind the other side of the hill, so visitors will first see the portion of the building which floats above the ground. The entry of the building causes a forced perspective, pulling visitors in. The light during golden hour became the most important type of light to consider. The rammed earth was used as a way to engance the golden hues of the light at sunset.
62
FLOOR PL A N SECTIONS
T H INK E R ’ S C O L L E C T I V E
M AIN GALLERY
64
AR E A OF LO NGING
T H REE P AR T S OF ONE W
The open courtyard is comprised of three pieces, each of which can only be accessed
Diagrammed is the three pa
by the corresponding piece from the interior. Where the three pieces meet, there is
The public spaces lie just
an inaccessible void. This is meant to represent the space between desire and desiree.
collective) lie just beyond. T
T H INK E R ’ S C O L L E C T I V E
COLLABORATION
PUBLIC
SOLITARY
RAMP
W H OL E
arts to the whole: the private, the public, and the solitary. inside the main entrance and the private spaces (for the
The solitary spaces reside underground.
STRUCTURE
66
T H INK E R ’ S C O L L E C T I V E
Using narrative as a tool seemed convoluted at first, though once the technique was grasped, it made design decisions expedited and straightforward. Moving back and forth between the architecture and the writing throughout the process gave the design an infinite number of possibilities, but those possibilities were always painless to nail down due to the nature of the process. The occupation of a building on a site does not need to be concrete and objective, but rather, factual and quantitative information can be gathered and reorganized into a qualitative understanding of the experience. Narrative became an invaluable tool in this understanding, as it allowed the phenomenal and experiential qualities of the human occupation of the building and the site to be explored qualities that could not otherwise be understood through technical drawings, models, graphics, etc.
68
HOLLAND PRIZE
C O M P E T I T I O N The
Leicester
B.
Holland
Prize is an annual competition hosted by the National Parks Service as a way to increase awareness of
local
and
appreciation
historic
collaboration
with
sites.
In
Ashley
Peterson, this sheet was put together for the competition. The sheet is comprised of several
extensive
drawings
based on the Rudge Memorial Chapel in Lincoln, NE. These drawings required multiple site visits, field notes, discussions with licensed architects, and references to original drawings to complete.
70
PR OCESS SK ET C H ES FINAL DES IGN U SED IN SO C IA L M EDI A B R A N D I N G
PROFESSIONAL
L O G O
F IN AL DE SIGN F IN AL DE SIGN USE D IN WEB SIT E
D E S I G N
72
ARCHITECTURAL
P H O T O G R A P H Y
74
A RC H IT EC T U R A L P H O T O G R A P H Y
76
WAT E R
C O L O R S
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WATERCOLORS
Art always opts for the original, the concrete; art is not platonic.
jorge luis borges
THANK YOU.