JOHN LIN ARCH 132 | WINTER ‘15 PROF. HUMBERTO NORMAN CAL POLY SLO
I believe that all events are predetermined. Every decision of our lives has been mapped out and are therefore inevitable. What ever we believe we have chosen due to our free will has been mapped out. Thus, no matter how much enjoyment we find in our lives, in the end, in the larger context, our lives are meaningless.
CONTENTS SLIPCASE SLOSCOPE PARASITE PERSONAL WORKS
SLIPCASE THE HORNET’S NEST
Through an exploration of the cultural uses of a book and physical experimentation on its materiality, an unnatural book is born. Because a book yearns to be opened, the obvious first move was to make it as uncomfortable as possible. The texture of the book becomes rougher. Locking mechanisms make the book harder to open. Grips cause the book to become unbalanced. Folding and crumpling techniques make the book bulge grotesquely. Instead of continuing this theme, the book is juxtaposed against smooth wood. Through the process of layering different types of wood, the book gets encased in this modular structure. A length of piano wire runs up the structure and pokes in the book at a right angle. A single point of tension that resonates with the book’s want to be opened. As the locks slide out of the place, the tension becomes greater and greater until the book snaps open and reveals its contents. Though the materiality book and wood are thoroughly explored, the main concern was the structural integrity of the Grip+Slip. An exploration of joiner techniques should have been a priority since the conception of the modular design. Due to the incomplete study, this model became more detailed and complicated than was necessary. Although the idea to cantilever the Conjoin portion of this model was sucessfully accomplished, it also created many problems with the balance of the entire structure. The incorporation of tensile movement further complicated the balance of the structure.
SLOSCOPE DISTRICT 96 SALON + BLACKHORSE ESPRESSO & BAKERY
Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in which we attempt to understand an environment. There are five primary senses, but our bodies take it one step further. Our body also has physiological senses such as the ability to sense balance and place itself in relation to the environment. In order to challenge our perception of space, I played with balance as opposed to one of the primary senses. Our eyes, ears, and proprioception are responsible for our equilibrioception. In order to disturb our normal sense of balance, the user will engage with the site by flipping upside down. Through the flipping motion, the user ends up facing down with a neck brace forcing the user to look downward. The restriction of the user’s ability to change his/her view also inhibits equilibrioception. The user ends up in an uncomfortable confrontation with him/herself. Due to the unusual nature of this “periscope”, there should have been more elaboration on the connections throughout the device. I focused a majority on the concept of the device as opposed to the function of it. In addition, the model was very bare. It could’ve been more designed and finetuned. I enjoyed the emphasis on the process of thinking and the display of it as opposed to pure cleanliness and exactitude. It gave us a balance of calculation and improvisation.
PARASITE SITE 200
In order for one to be a good architect one must be able to notice the nuances of a space. A good architect is able to respond to his site without damaging the existing integrity of the site. In our transition to becoming a true designer, we must learn how to respond to the space around us. ParaSite was intended for this exact purpose. Even without analysis it was obvious Group 200 was a unique site - it was one of the few stair landing locations. Through thorough analysis, we noticed many site specific qualities: the verticality of the space, the juxtaposition between the garden and the building, and the interaction between the people and the steps. The multitude of safety codes only made it harder to design a response. Ultimately we decided on a design based around manipulating the verticality of the space. The grand scale of our design was the root of a majority of the problems we encountered. There was always an uncertainty creating connections to support the weight of the wood and the tension of the paracord. In addition we carried the brunt of Site 300’s parasite’s weight. The design for our connections had to go through many phases of change in order for us to get it to the most practical - yet related to our design - form. We couldn’t achieve everything we wanted in our design but we were able to achieve this symbiosis between design and practicality. Ultimately the bane of our parasite were the minor details that we hadn’t calculated: the paracord was messily tied, some pieces were slightly uncentered, and metal connections could have been cleaner. I’m proud that my group was able to have pioneered such an immense collaboration between three groups - especially Group 300. The end product was a beautiful response to the verticality of our locations.
PERSONAL WORKS MUJI RECYCLED PAPER NOTE DOUBLE RING DARK GREY A5 SKETCHBOOK
This quarter was the quarter that would determine everything. This quarter was going to define us. This quarter was going to put us on the map. Last quarter we were nothing. We were unknowledgeable novices. But this quarter we were expected to showcase our abilities, our worth. “This project is critical to your development!” This pressure was unnerving, yet it became the focal point of my mentality. It was what pushed me through this quarter. I had to prove myself, not only to everyone watching but my own self. I thought bigger. I wanted to push myself. This wasn’t the time to stay in the safe zone and work with what I liked. Ultimately this led to the most successful and unsuccessful ten weeks of my life. Following Humberto’s advice, I failed. I failed happily.