THE LABORATORY OF THE SPECULATIVE REAL
An Exploration of Architectural Storytelling
J Stanton smith SELECTED WORKS // 2009-2015
STORYTELLING n. the telling or writing of stories. 1709, from story (n.1) + present participle of tell (v.). Related: Storyteller (1709).
CONTENTS CH 01
ARCHITECTURE
4
CH 02
CULTURAL PROSTHETICS
32
CH 03
VISUALIZATION RESEARCH
42
CH 04
CONTACT
56
AR -E CH 01
ARCHITECTURE
RcCt Ballrooms of Mars
06
BiFocal
14
ParkCap 101
16
Sanctuarium
20
UnBoxed
26
Sci-Arc Redux
28
BALLROOMS OF MARS // Published Harvard Platform 8 // Site // Mars as Ballroom Program // Terraforming Buildings
On the surface of Mars
// Advisors // Mack Scogin
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Architecture
9
10
Ballrooms of Mars
//
Joshua Smith
Ballrooms of Mars
//
Joshua Smith
11
DE-ALIENIFICATION THROUGH HABITATION A group of many DAVEs and many SARAs are glide across the surface of Mars. Dancing on the inside while dancing on the outside. Fleshy Sci-Fi Baroque creatures flittering lightly. Muscle like appendages straining under the pace. A standard styled waltz at a 3 month tempo, or perhaps a spicy Latin number with two month steps. Stealing one out of Neil Armstrong’s playbook, DAVE and SARA leave their footprints behind on Martian soil, a series of holes left to claim Mars for mankind. Fantastical creatures existing in the realm of magical realism.
age the terror of death by providing life with meaning. Could this be why we leave tracks wherever we go? Solidify our existence and leave a trace for future generations. 2035 is the next time Mars moves in to close enough orbit to make a 6 month trip possible. Elon Musk’s Space -X, Boeing, NASA, and Mars One; are all planning their visit within this time window. It is in this journey that we need to dig deep into what is human. Habitation by humanification on an alien planet.
As we move into space; with the intention to prolong all that is human; with the hope to insure our species survival; we must find a way to imprint our humaness. Is not that what we do as a species? We are imprinters.
Welcome to the Ballroom of Mars. Intent on leaving our mark behind on the surface of Mars we first need to terraform the Martian atmosphere. One of the most plausible means of terraforming mars is through a forced global warming that melts mars’ polar ice caps. And thankfully, the technique of creating greenhouse gases is something we have recently mastered.
Mars, the red planet. Is this the future home of humanity? What will it cost? It is not a question of monetary costs, but rather a question of, “is the cost of our humanity worth it?” As we reach into the stars, the constant questioning of our humanity must remain of the upmost importance.
Meet DAVE and SARA. Both clad in Mars grown victimless leather. DAVE Drills. SARA processes. It is a match made in heaven. DAVE, or the De-Aerification and Ventalation Excavator, digs mo-holes down over a mile into the Martian crust. These holes act as vents for heat trapped within the planet as well as excavate regolith for Sara to process. SARA, or the Soil atomizer and Regolith accumulator, is responsible for processing the loose regolith and through an alloy sintering process, creates a perflourocarbide. A greenhouse gas 1000 times more effective at global warming than carbon dioxide. DAVE doesn’t mind SARA being gassy.
Ballrooms of Mars takes place in the world of design fictions. It is an architecture of the past’s laws, the present’s dreams, and the future’s possible realities. It does not claim to be a solution to a problem,and it understands its place as an alibi intending only to explore the consequences of emerging technologies, perverse realities, and unbuilt urbanisms. Once upon a time… We came together as a nation. Our hopes, our dreams, our collective nationalisms were focused on the stars. We stood together, one country, on the back of Apollo 11 and on July 20th, 1969 - Neil Armstrong sunk his boot into the lunar soil. This is unarguably one of mankind’s greatest achievements. An achievement that will always be remembered by the boot prints left in the soil and the American flag now waving blank due to cosmic radiation.
Each DAVE and SARA is home to a team of engineers and scientists as well as their families. In addition to imprinting a trace of holes across the Martian surface to announce its claiming for mankind, DAVE and SARA process and amplify the carbon footprint of the city held within them. DAVE and SARA are proud to be Anti-LEED buildings. Housed within each of the dancing cities, are ballroom dance facilities. Located in the floating ball – room directly in the center of each building. Ballroom dance is popular across the country in engineering and science rich communities. For those who have trouble socializing, ballroom dance is the perfect activity. It provides a codified means of human interaction. Comfort through codification. What is more human than ballroom dance.
There is something at the root of what it means to be human in leaving behind an imprint. Is it man flexing his power over nature? Or is it something more sinister? Something at the heart of us. Terror management theory proposes a basic psychological conflict that results from having a desire to live but realizing that death is inevitable. This conflict produces terror, and is believed to be unique to human beings. Moreover, the solution to the conflict is also generally unique to humans: culture. According to Terror management theory, cultures are symbolic systems that act to provide life with meaning and value. Cultural values therefore serve to man-
12
Ballrooms of Mars
The eternal marking of an alien world. De-Alienification through habitation. Dancing Across the Ballrooms of Mars
//
Joshua Smith
// Detail Renders of Flesh Skin System // // Footprints Left Across the Surface //
Ballrooms of Mars
//
Joshua Smith
13
BIFOCAL Site // Design Miami Competition Program // Art Installation Status // Unbuilt // Collaborators // Michael Charters Michael Johnson Ranjit Korah
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BIFOCAL
//
Joshua Smith
BIFOCAL explores the boundary between image and experience by embodying both. Bifocal transitions from an aggregated mass on approach to a tactile and immersive environment from within.
visitor approaches the pavilion, revealing the Design Miami sign and framing the perfect selfi e moment. Conceptualized as prepared dimensional lumber, the verticals are organized into a gridded fi eld elegantly displaced by a circular forecourt at the heart of the pavilion. The forecourt, defined by an increased density of verticals, creates a void for congregation. The perimeter of the forecourt reads as a fuzzy cylinder from outside the pavilion, blurring the boundaries between solid and void, inviting further investigation by the visitor. The forecourt is lined by a circular bench, inviting guests to stay and have intimate conversation.
The pavilion imagines a field of verticals that produce a playful environment for the visitor while serving as an armature onto which the fair’s brand is displayed. Through the technique of anamorphosis, a billboard scale Design Miami/ insignia is read from the vantage of the visitor approaching the pavilion from the neighboring convention center. The sign is produced by digitally routing an intricate pattern, inspired by the Harvard Graduate School of Design logo, into a fi eld of wood verticals at precise locations. The reliefs, painted a highly visible color, fall into alignment as the
BIFOCAL
//
Joshua Smith
15
16
// Aerial Render //
PARKCAP 101 // Published Onramp 4.0 // Site // Hollywood, CA Program // Mixed Use // Advisor // Eric Owen Moss // Collaborators // Joseph Yu Gustav Kragh-Jacobsen
// Architecture //
17
A NEW MODEL FOR HOLLYWOOD ParkCap 101 proposes to reconnect what was once a continuous Los Angeles. What was once a city born out of the dreams of the automobile has become a city struggling to connect with itself. The endless sprawl of Los Angeles county is only made worse by the many, weblike divides created by its freeway system. What was once the vein of commerse is now the barrier for community togetherness.
Aiming to create a model for change in Los Angeles, we found a comfortable balance between the existing car culture and those who have to live in its midst. ParkCap 101 sutures the existing scar created by the 101 freeway through the Hollywood area. This hopeful future is created by introducing a network of rooftop parks that bridge over the freeway and the existing city grid. ParkCap 101 harnesses the abundant empty lots and excessive big box parking lots in the Hollywood area. By moving from freeways to parks and from empty lots to community oriented programming, ParkCap 101 will change the way Los Angelinos use their city.
// Bridge Generation // 1
Capped for Pedestrians
2
3
$EDQGRQHG 6SDFHV ,GHQWL頭HG
Points of Opportunity
4
5
'LVWULFWV ,GHQWL頭HG
Bridge Created
// Ponte Vecchio Generation //
101 FWY
Existing condition
101 FWY
101 FWY
101 FWY
101 FWY
Ponte Vecchio
Lifted Ponte Vecchio
Connection with ground plane
Carving out mass
-Bridge with programs on top
-Program and park cap engage context
-Bridge pilons contain programs -Pilons creates parking opportunities -Existing parking lots become entrances
-Building opens for roads and view connect
// Section A // Museum
Apartments
Theatres
N. Gover St.
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Climbing Wall
Shopping Mall
Office Tower
Water Facilities
Conference Hall
La Baigne Ave.
ParkCap101
//
Church
101 Freeway
Joshua Smith
Apartments
N. Van Ness Ave.
Taft Ave.
Taft Ave.
N. Van Ness
Canyon Dr.
Carlos Ave.
Shopping Center/ Theatre
A
N. Bronson Ave.
A
Hotel La Baig Ave.
Market
Hollywood Blvd.
Metro Connection to Hollywood/Vine
Carlton Way N. Wiltern Pl.
Carlton Way
Harold Way
Sunset Blvd.
Harold Way
B
Sunset Blvd.
N. Serrano Ave.
Fountain Ave.
La Mirada Ave.
Lexington Ave.
N. Western Ave.
N. Wiltern Pl.
Fountain Ave.
Fernwood Ave.
Virginia Ave.
La Mirada Ave.
Lexington Ave.
New Walkway
Residential Towers
Virginia Ave.
Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica Blvd. N. Ardmore Ave.
B
N. Western Ave.
New Bernstein High School
N. Serrano Ave.
Stadium/ Sports Park
N. Kingsley Dr.
Romain St.
N. Serrano Ave.
N. Western Ave.
// Site Plan //
N. Oxford Ave.
Community Greenhouses
Farmers Market
Romain St.
N 20 50
100
200ft
// Section B // Performance Hall
Train Station
High School Classrooms
High School Library
Student Housing
N. Van Ness Ave.
Cafeteria
Student Housing
101 Freeway
ParkCap101
//
Joshua Smith
Auditorium
Sports Club
N. St. Andrews Pl.
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Sanctuarium // Thesis Merit Award // // Selection All School Show // Site // Pripyat, Ukraine Program // DNA Storage Facility
// Flying Through the Clouds //
// Advisors // Michael Rotondi Dora Epstein Jones Jerey Kipnis Devyn Weiser
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CLICK FOR VIDEO
// Architecture //
21
ACT ONE An architecture that looms. It disconnects itself from the ground plane through a proximity relationship. Through scale, form, and materiality it distances itself from the radioactive ruins of Chernobyl.
AN ACT OF DISENGAGEMENT On April 26, 1986 a routine stress test set off a chain of events that led to one of the most horrific civil nuclear accidents our world has seen. Thousands of families were instantly displaced by the melt down of reactor #4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
plane. Not only physically but politically as well. There have been attempts to make architecture seem weightless through the use of pilotis and plate glass, attempts to make architecture fly via cantilever, and even attempts to completely displace the ground plane through render and miracles of technology. This thesis aims to explore the latter. It exists within a world where architecture and flight become one in the same leading to new questions about the meaning of ground plane, form, displacement, and existence.
25 years later Pripyat, Ukraine is a desolate, post apocalyptic terrain that is still seething in radioactivity. This dystopic reality creates a place where the politics of the past are interfaced with the present and the utopian ideals of the former Soviet Union are exposed within the radioactive ruins. This leads to Chernobyl existing somewhere in between two realities. It has become a ritual space that exists independent of time and a breeding ground for the exploration of an architecture of time. Wolf Prix stated, ‘’The architecture of the future will fly.’’ This is not an empty statement, it is a challenge. Since the beginning of architecture we have been tied to the ground
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Sanctuarium
//
Joshua Smith
ACT TWO A complete disengagement manifests once within the Sanctuarium. This leads to the earth becoming nothing but a memory experienced through the lenses of the elements held within the DNA banks.
Sanctuarium
//
Joshua Smith
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(19) (12)
(54)
US 20110253746 A1
United States Patent Application Publication
(10)
SMITH et al.
(43)
MICRO NUCLEAR BUILDING BATTERY
Pub. No.: Pub. Date:
US 2011/5879415 A1 Apr, 27th, 2012 ABSTRACT
(57)
A Micro Nuclear Battery that utilizes liquid sodium as a coolant system instead of the traditional water cooling method. This battery is scalable and modular and is intended to meet all buildings needs from the single-family home to the most ambitious towers of our worlds cities. It is self contained and was designed with no moving parts. This prevents the battery from ever going “critical�. It has a 30 year lifespan built into it based upon the time it takes the battery to consume its internal resources. It is hot swappable via a helicopter or a truck to allow for easy battery replacement.
Steam Generator Cask
Electromagnetic Pump
Radial Shield
Reflector Control Reactor Core
// Fictitious Patent Applications //
(19) (12)
(54)
US 220115879415A1
United States Patent Application Publication
(10)
SMITH et al.
(43)
RADIATION RESISTANT FUNGUS SKIN SYSTEM
(57)
Pub. No.: Pub. Date:
US 2011/5879415 A1 Apr, 27th, 2012 ABSTRACT
A living skin system that takes advantage of radio-tropic fungus to create a barrier from a radioactive environment. It consists of a double skin system to allow for: (1) a thin fungus membrane that wraps the building (2) a layer that shields the fungus membrane from all environmental impacts besides radiation. The fungus membrane is composed of multiple trays that are accessible from the exterior of the building for periodic maintenance and harvesting.The nature of radio-tropic fungus facilitates the conversion of gamma radiation into malanin. The fungus does not become radioactive in this metabolic process thus it can be used for energy creation as well as a protective membrane.
shielding layer
radiotropic fungus trays
// Fictitious Patent Applications // aluminum frame
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Sanctuarium
//
Joshua Smith
Radioactive Air Outlet Raw Material Loading Bay
Radiotropic Fungus Skin System
Helium Bladder
Radioactive Air Filtration Pumps
Helium Compressors
Material Decon Chamber DNA Cold Storage
Radioactive Air Inlet
Helium Bladder
Control Deck
Access to Biosphere
Research Bay Living
Living Micro Nuclear Building Battery
Bath
Radiotropic Fungus Skin System
Decon Chambers
ACT THREE A flittering reconnection is made between ones memory and ones reality. Through this one can find beauty in destruction as well as in disengagement. It is in this relationship that an architecture of time exists within the past’s laws, the present’s rules, and the futures ideas.
// Building Section //
Sanctuarium
//
Joshua Smith
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UNBOXED Site // New York, NY Program // Art Museum // Advisor // Lise Anne Couture // Collaborator // Travis Vliet
// Exterior Render //
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Unboxed
//
Joshua Smith
// Moire effect exploration - 3D//
The importance of proximity and distance become crucial. Each moire set needs a datum layer of evenly spaced strands and one layer of altered strands. Reiser and Umemoto relate this to Deleuze’s description of the exact and inexact geometries. When the two are positioned in close proximity to each other they create the moire effect.
MOIRE
AND
The section through the joined layers allows for the elevation to be perceived as a horizontal element. Perception becomes deceiving by reacting as a light structural form from one vantage point and a densely populated field of moire conditions from another.
SUPERIMPOSITION
Explorations into unBOXED begin with the examination of optical art by Bridget Riley. The emphasis is on a set of patterns that trick the eye into seeing movement. This leads to a primary focus on the reoccurring appearance of the moire effect and the illusion of a third dimension. This effect, the moire effect, tricks our brains to perceive movement when there is none. Moire is created when a pattern folds in on itself producing darker areas where density builds up and thinner areas of an expanding pattern.
bridget riley moire effect
reiser + umemoto superimposition
Reiser and Umemoto developed the system of superimposition above which we use to produce the moire effect in unBOXED in a three dimensional environment.
The problem of converting a two dimensional piece into a third dimension is the point of departure for the creation of an architectural system. This requires the two dimensional lines on the paper to be manifested into a third dimensional environment.
Unboxed
= ?
+
unBOXED is a look into the architectural experience that is in a constant state of flux created by spacial deformations combined with the velocity of the viewer.
//
Joshua Smith
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// Entrance Rendering //
SCIARC REDUX Site //Los Angeles, Ca Program // Mixed Use / School // Advisors // John Enright HsinMing Fung // Collaborators // Joseph Yu & Gustav Kragh-Jacobsen
// Architecture //
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School’s New Building New Housing Development
Student Housing Conversion
// Site Plan//
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SCI-Arc Redux
//
Joshua Smith
A NEW SCIARC CAMPUS The Southern California Institute of Architecture is located in the Art District of Downtown Los Angeles. The school currently sits on end of the site with a parking lot and vacant lot adjacent to it. SCIArc Redux redesigns the school taking advantage of all three of these lots. It assumes a relationship to be created between the School and a developer interested in revitalizing the Artist district.
By bringing student housing and a hip new community apartment complex into proximity with Sci Arc’s new school’s open gallery lot, we hope to foster an unprecedented relationship between the residents of Los Angeles’ famed arts district and one of America’s top design schools.
// Diagram of Formal Logic //
New Housing Development interior corridor
opening is created through the center of the building
cuts created in the building mass to allow light/circulation to reach the central corridor
interior corridor
inset within historical building facade to create exterior circulation
a zig zag between exterior / interior circulation connects the site and Santa Fe Street
Student Housing Conversion
School’s New Building existing condition
wrap towards center to create courtyard and eliminate bar typology
reduced footprint and extend upwards
// Long Section Through School and Development//
SCI-Arc Redux
//
Joshua Smith
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CU -r CH 02
Cultural prosthetics Cultural:[1] Of or relating to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society. [2] Of or relating to the arts and to intellectual achievements.
Prosthetics:[1] Specialty concerned with the design, construction, and fitting of artificial devices - prostheses - to replace or augment missing or impaired parts of the body. [2] Pieces of flexible material applied to actors’ faces to transform their appearance.
ULoS Medictate
34
Eternal Echo
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Profess | Confess
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The Feed
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medictate
CLICK FOR VIDEO
Program // Architecture of Cultural Prosthetics // Advisors // Krzysztof Wodiczko & Anne Liu
// Model Photos //
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Medictate
//
Joshua Smith
A HUG
FOR
Medictate is a look into our cultures addiction to prescription Xanax and other anti-anxiety pills.
YOUR HEAD
The inside of the helmet is lined with sound proofing material to create a personal, portable, anechoic chamber. A video screen, speakers and microphone are mounted inside the helmet. On the outside of the helmet there is a camera as well as speakers for the user to talk through. Driving the users connection from inside the helmet to people on the outside is an EEG machine that measures and monitors the users brainwaves. As long as the user remains calm, the connection to the outside world remains open. When the user becomes over excited, the helmet starts a cooldown period that consists of a disconnect from the outside world as well as a 45 second forced meditation cooldown cycle.
In Contemporary society our every day stressors are a bit less extreme , but collectively we are running out of ways to blow off the extra steam in a world that has become a breeding ground for over stimulation. Medictate is a helmet that monitors your brainwaves to make sure you stay under control.
spacer
air barrier
head rest
camera
4” screen
VRXQG SURRƬQJ
microphone
electronics compartment
// Device Section //
Medictate
//
Joshua Smith
35
// Composite Photo //
Eternal Echo
CLICK FOR VIDEO
Program // Architecture of Cultural Prosthetics // Advisors // Krzysztof Wodiczko & Anne Liu
YOUR DIGITAL REMAINS ARE IMPORTANT TOO! Eternal Echo questions the importance of our digital artifacts after death. It also attempts to redesign the rituals surrounding the after death care industry.
physical bits and their digital bytes. Within the unit, visitors can have an interactive conversation with loved ones who have passed away. All the data to construct the digital likeness of oneself is mined from social media pages, computer files and mobile device hard drives.
Companies are currently scrambling to redefine how digital data is handled in estates and trusts after individuals pass away. Some states have adopted laws regarding the after death handling of digital data while others remain oblivious to the importance of the issue. The virtual headstone makes a connection between ones
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Eternal Echo
//
Joshua Smith
// Material Detail Photo //
// Interior Rendering //
Eternal Echo
//
Joshua Smith
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// Photo of Helmets in use //
PROFESS|CONFESS Program // Architecture of Cultural Prosthetics // Advisors // Krzysztof Wodiczko & Anne Liu // Collaborator // Chrisoula Kapelonis
WHO NEEDS FRIENDS, CONFESS
TO A
STRANGER TODAY!
The workshop investigated the notion of becoming a “projector� and invited the participants to think of new forms of physical interfaces between the body, the projector and the projection screen, to enhance the performative aspect of projections in public spaces.
This project consisted of two helmets, one of which was a live confessional that was transmitted to a corresponding helmet that displayed the confession. The helmets provided a platform for strangers to interact and tell secrets without jeapordizing their anononymity.
Profess | Confess explores ideas connected to privacy with our mobile devices. While in public we feel as if we can say anything on our cell phones without others eavesdropping. This phenomenon, private conversations in public spaces, is fueled by our disassociation of our physical and our digital selves.
The helmets are driven by pico mini projectors and built in iphone docks running skype video and audio through the attached speakers.
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Profess|Confess
//
Joshua Smith
STEP ONE.
STEP TWO.
Place the confessor over your head
Turn on the device and start talking.
STEP THREE.
THE LOOP.
Your confession will be broadcasted by the professor to another person. // Usage Diagrams //
// Photos of the Loop //
Profess|Confess
//
Joshua Smith
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// Photo of Helmets in use //
The Feed Program // Architecture of Cultural Prosthetics // Advisors // Krzysztof Wodiczko & Anne Liu
WANT TO PROTEST? BUT HAVE NOTHING TO SAY? The Feed is a prosthetic intended for those who want to be involved with social protest, but are not sure exactly what they should say. We live in a complicated world and sometimes, people just want to follow along. Designed with the average American in mind, the Feed provides a direct link to an individual who can be trusted( trustworthiness verified by internet experts) and is publishing a statement via a connection to the wireless cellphone network. Any time and anywhere, a group can assemble and, through the amplified speakers on the front of the prosthetic, their voices will be heard in unison.
// Interior of Helmet //
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The Feed
//
Joshua Smith
The Feed
//
Joshua Smith Microphone Amp
Speaker Amp
Front Mounted Speakers
Indictator Light
// Composite Photo //
// Model Photo//
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VIS -IZ CH 03
VISUALIZATION
An exploration of Architectural Visualization, Animation and new techniques of representation.
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SZA Risky Habit[at]
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Protean Dream
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Draw-0-matic
48
The Dripper
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Arch Viz
50
43
Risky habit[at]
CLICK FOR VIDEO
// Global Art Affairs Foundation best exhibition at Venice Biennale// // Published // Arch Daily , “Venice Biennale 2014” , Karissa Rosenfield Architectural Record, “Exhibition Review: Time, Space, Existence”, Did Cohn Texas Architect - March/April p7. , “Learning Through Making”, Andrew Vrana Venice Biennale Exhibition Catalog - p180-189, “Time Space Existence”, GAAF Houston Chronicle, “UH College of Architecture makes ... Splash”, Shelby Hodge Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, “2014 Venice Architecture Biennale” Site // Buffalo Bayou, Houston, Texas // Collaborators // Peter Zweig & Michael Rotondi & The University of Houston
Aptly termed the Bayou City, the Buffalo Bayou is Houston’s “Mother Bayou.” Deeply meaningful as the origin of the economic and sociopolitical culture of the city, it has the potential to become Houston’s beating heart. As the top shipping port in the nation, the river was at the forefront of Houston’s prosperity and development, however accompanying the city’s economic flourishing and rapid growth were darker consequences. Suburbanization, the celebration of automobile culture, heavy industrialization, and large numbers of factories and refineries resulted in high levels of pollution, and complicated the issue of crafting a sense of identity. Historically in constant flux, Houston has undergone many distinctive personalities and characterizations defined by its shipping and railway industry, the transformative discovery of oil, and the Johnson Space Center. In truth, it is defined by all of these things, and more.
The bruised violet-blue clouds rolling across the endless Houston summer skies reflect off the waters of the Bayou beneath the Rosemont Bridge. A mere half-hour earlier, bright summer sunlight had washed the city in heat. The weather in Houston is tempestuous, intense and fickle, an unpredictable element, much like the explosive growth and development of the fourth largest city in the US. The Buffalo Bayou, however, a slow-moving river winding serenely through the city, is one constant in the historical, cultural, and geographic landscape of the city. Further west, the stream transforms into an industrial waterway, a habitat suffering from the effects of urbanization, pollution, loss of wildlife, and aging infrastructure. But downtown, the Bayou provides refreshing contact with nature in a highly urban environment. A few droplets of water, threatening deluge, glance off the nearby stainless steel frame of a ten-foot tall statue of a kneeling man, part of artist Jaume Plensa’s Tolerance installation: seven silent sentinels of Harmony Walk and the Rosemont Bridge watching the city beyond and the waters below.
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Risky Habit[at]
//
Joshua Smith
// Storm Surge Sequence//
// Tornado Sequence //
Risky Habit[at]
//
Joshua Smith
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protean dream
CLICK FOR GAME
// Advisors // Eric de Broche & Chad Oppenheim
Protean Dream is a video game created using Unity 3D. The projects aims to find immersive ways to explore the landscape. Protean Dream’s premise stemmed from investigating Native American culture and specifically how different Native American tribes approached the existence of the four seasons.
The gameplay of Protean Dream centers around the user’s experience of the environment. Similar to the Medicine Wheel, Protean Dream represents the Four Seasons, The Four Stages of Life and The Four Times of Day. The player can observe nature and switch between seasons by pressing
In traditional Native American cultures, the cycle of the seasons was—and often still is—a sacred passing of time that is recognized and celebrated with ceremonies. For human beings to exist prosperiously, they must be in tune with the continually changing world around them. These ceremonies are a way of obtaining and maintaining harmony with the natural world.
U-I-O-P
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Protean Dream
A set of custom scripts keeps the player and camera persistant while the player roams around the landscape. This allows one to view an individual object in all Four Seasons.
//
Joshua Smith
THE YELLOW SOUTH One sees a sun that is strongest when facing this direction. The Yellow South, like its representative bird, the golden eagle, stands for the peak of life, warmth, understanding and ability. In the south their is a reconnection to the earth. It is where youth is in its full swing.
THE RED EAST A place where peace, light and new life rise up each day. Blood and birth are from the east. The spotted eagle, being all these things, represents this direction and its feathers are said to bring insight and visions. East is the manifestation of spring and of fire. Where there is death, there is new life. The east is home to the children.
THE WHITE NORTH A cleansing, purifying and strengthening power. Operating as winter does when it cleans the earth of the weak, the white north sends tests and teaches the courage, endurance and wisdom that comes with the trials of life. The white eagle is associated with this direction, and it is said that those who have a vision of the white eagle become healers. The North lends itself to the elders.
THE BLACK WEST The place where the rain originates, and the place that represents the end, or finality. As things done in the dark are final things. People with an aďŹƒnity for the west may become heyoka, or sacred clown that does everything backwards or in a contrary manner. The west is home to the parents and is seen as the place of water.
THE UKNOWN The symbolic fifth direction is the central hole that connects the earth to the cosmos. In some communities it is known as an empty center that acts as a black hole for the other directions.
Protean Dream
//
Joshua Smith
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Draw-0-matic
CLICK FOR VIDEO
// Advisor // Andrew Atwood // Collaborators // Paul Andrzejczak & Francisco Barron & Cristen Dawson & Linda Mejia
// Photo of Draw-0-Matic in use //
The SCI-Arc robot lab is a research facility located within the Southern California Institute of architecture. It serves as a laboratory that opens up a platform for experimenting with the relationship between traditional architectural techniques and robotic fabrication techniques. The drawing apparatus explores the rotational extents of a Staubli robot. We are interested in exploiting the moments when the robot reaches its maximum rotational angle and has to reset to its null. A series of prototypes were developed and fabricated throughout the semester.
// Drawings //
DRAW-0-MATIC 4000
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Draw-0-Matic
//
Joshua Smith
CLICK FOR VIDEO
The dripper // Advisor // Andrew Atwood // Collaborators // Paul Andrzejczak // Francisco Barron // Cristen Dawson // Linda Mejia
// Dripped Wax Detail //
The dripping apparatus is intended to explore the possibilities that arise when applying a non accurate material using a precise path. Wax is first melted and then is dripped onto a series of dierent surface while attached to the end of a Staubli robot. This process exposes the duality of chaos and control present in all materials.
The Dripper
//
Joshua Smith
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Arch Viz
// morphosis - shenzen //
Images completed while working at Luxigon.
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// Vizualization //
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// OMA - Maccoc //
// Gensler - DC //
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Arch Viz
//
Joshua Smith
// Morphosis - Shenzen //
// Patkau - Whistler //
Arch Viz
//
Joshua Smith
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// LEFT - Beirut //
// SOM - Chengdu //
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Arch Viz
//
Joshua Smith
// NBBJ - Taiwan //
// NBBJ - Taiwan //
Arch Viz
//
Joshua Smith
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CO CH 04
Contact
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OCT Email
Phone
jstantonsmith@gmail.com (661) 341-8116
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All things have a story to tell. These are the stories that define us. The stories that drive us. They are the stories that slap us in the face and bring us to metacognition.
Joshua Smith // 2009-2015