MEGAN YORK M.Arch Candidate | University of Pennsylvania Architecture Design Portfolio 2017-2019
MEGAN YORK M.Arch Candidate University of Pennsylvania | e: mayork@design.upenn.edu | m: 317-753-8458 | ig: @megan__york
EDUCATION 2021 Master of Architecture University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA GPA: 4.00/4.00 2018 Bachelor of Science in Architecture with Honors (Summa Cum Laude) Ball State University | Muncie, IN Concentrations: Honors Program, Minor in Historic Preservation GPA: 3.99/4.00
EMPLOYMENT 2018-2019 2018 2018 2017 2016 2016
Graduate & Research Assistant for ARCH535 Structures I & ARCH536 Structures II | University of Pennsylvania DKGR | Summer Architectural Design Intern Architecture Department Design Assistant | Ball State University, Janice Shimizu Rowland Design | Summer & Winter Architectural Design Intern Research Assistant for Environmental Systems Proposal | Ball State University, Dr. Thomas Collins Cripe | Summer Architectural Design Intern
INVOLVEMENT
2018 PennDesign Women in Architecture Professional Development Sub-Committee Member 2018 Babble, student-run architecture publication, Editorial Team Member 2015-2018 American Institute of Architecture Students President (2017-2018) | Member (2015-2018) 2014-2018 Honors College Student 2017 AIA Indiana Student Director | Member of AIA Indiana Education Committee 2017-2018 ASHRAE Student Chapter Vice President 2014-2018 Glue, student-run architecture publication Editor-in-Chief (2017-2018) | Submissions Chair (2016-2017) | Promotions Chair (2014-2016)
ACADEMIC HONORS 2018-2021 2018-2019 2014-2018 2014-2018 2017 2017
PennDesign Merit Scholarship Indiana Architectural Foundation Scholarship & Jack Spohn Scholarship Ball State University Presidential Scholarship Dean’s List (8/8 semesters) | Ball State University Tricia LeVangie Sustainability Design Scholarship Center for Energy Research/Education/Science Design Scholarship
EXHIBITIONS 2018 PennDesign Chamber Exhibition, Penn Museum “Belly of the Beast” | Top ten chambers projects selected for display 2018 PennDesign Archive Exhibition, Penn Museum “Artificial Topologies” | Top project from each studio selected for display 2017 “Year in Review” at Muncie Makes Lab [Ball State University] | “Object Destroyed”
PUBLICATIONS [2019] 2019 2019 2018 2018
PennDesign’s Pressing Matters 8 | ARCH501 Studio Project “Artificial Topologies” suckerPUNCH Daily Website and Instagram Feature for “Artificial Topologies” Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings Thirteenth Edition | ARCH301 Studio Project “Resurgence” Glue | ARCH402 Studio Project “Typological Distortions” Ball State University Honors College Journal Odyssey | Undergraduate Honors Thesis “Topological Inversions”
3D Modeling Graphics Fabrication
Rhinoceros 6 + Grasshopper, ZBrush 4R7, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Revit, Audodesk SketchUp, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk 3ds Max V-Ray with Rhinoceros 6, KeyShot 6.1 Pro, Arnold Renderer with Maya, V-Ray with Autodesk 3ds Max, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects Laser Cutting, 3D-Printing (MakerBot, ZCorp, ProJet, Form 2), CNC Milling, Vacuum Forming
PROFICIENCIES
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SELECTED WORK
ARTIFICIAL TOPOLOGIES: _04 A Symbiotic Relationship Between the Artificial & the Natural
Belly of the beast: _14 Installation Critiquing the Value of Museum Artifacts
Voxel 568: _18 Aggregative Methodology in MoMA PS1 Competition
Typological Distortions: _22 Speculative Design in Androgynous Architecture & Hyper-Reality
Resurgence: _30 Redefining Design Techniques Deployed Through Biophilic Patterns
TOPOLOGICAL INVERSIONS: _38 Thesis Experimenting with Pattern Reactions & Form Manipulations
The Influencer’s Tale: _48 Blank Space Fairy Tale Competition on Social Media Influencers
INDEPENDENT STUDIES: _50 Geometric Explorations in Aprocedural Operations & Nonconformity
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ARTIFICIAL TOPOLOGIES A Symbiotic Relationship Between the Artificial & the Natural
Critic: Cory Henry | ARCH501 [Fall 2018] Location: Philadelphia, PA Awards: Selected for Pressing Matters 8, Selected for Penn Museum Exhibition, Published by suckerPUNCH daily Two forces on the brink of collision are moments away from touching. One is not overpowering the other, but yet gravitating towards its presence. But what is to come when the two forces meet. Or better yet, do they ever meet? The natural and the artificial are two elements that are in a perpetual state of emergence; but yet one never truly touches the other. Infrastructure has emerged as an element that has begun to overcome the presence of the Penn Museum; technologies are advancing, transportation methodologies are increasing, and the museum is being overshadowed by new superstructures in pursuit of projecting towards the world of tomorrow. But what is to become of the archives? As the artificiality of technology continues to expand in innovations, the museum has become a program that ceases to adapt to a growing infrastructure. Projected in a hyper-realistic future, the addition to the Penn Museum archives embraces the two forces of the natural and the artificial, the visible and the invisible, through a symbiotic relationship. Computer servers and databases create the core of the design with its intricate surfaces that are able to input and output information in relation to the archives and programmatic space. The overall cavernous form, therefore, is dictated by the intricacies and power of the new archival technologies. Volumes are manifested by existing typologies of the museum and textures are explored throughout the entirety of the surface’s skin. The project becomes a critique into the theory behind the blurring of systems, from the visible to the invisible, the natural and the artificial.
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Exploded Axonometric
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Exploded Chunk 01
Exploded Chunk 02
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North E
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Elevation
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1. East Lobby 2. Exhibition Space 3. West Lobby 4. Elevator Shaft
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5. Stairs to Upper Level 6. Computer Server 7. Digital Archives 8. Restrooms
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First Flo
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oor Plan
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9. Reading Room 10. Conference Rooms 11. Circulation to Main Gallery 12. Circulation to Existing Archives
13. Physical Archives 14. Exhibition Space 15. Mechanical Room
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90
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Choisy Axonometric
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Belly of the Beast Installation Critiquing the Value of Museum Artifacts
Critic: Cory Henry | ARCH501 [Fall 2018] Location: Philadelphia, PA Collaboration: Amber Farrow, Dekang Liang, & Joe Mathews Awards: Selected for Penn Museum Exhibition
The act of tying together a significant artifact back to its culture is inherent in museum philosophy; but it is far from the reality. Artifacts’ identities have been displaced. Museums have evolved into beasts. And our understanding of the artifacts’ stories become superficial. “Belly of the Beast” is a speculative design that critiques the way museums hoard the artifacts after removing them from their native site. These artifacts that were once bound to their culture, have been unbound and then rebound again into a fragmented form, thus this design starts to question the authenticity of the artifact as it has been stripped of its identity. We start to rip open the belly of the beast, where disintegrating elements of the artifacts are lost in the structure, transforming the object into its new misshapen identity. We start to aggregate the mesh forms through the identity and profiles of the vessels and their origins and fleeting glimpses, where shadows let the viewer know of their presence. The objective of the beast is to hide, manipulate, corrupt and decay the area around it, distorting the artifacts’ true nature.
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Section A-A
Section B-B
Section C-C
Plan View
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1-3: Material Studies 4-6: Fabrication Processes of Final Model 7-9: On Display at the Penn Museum Exhibition
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VOXEL 568 Aggregative Methodology in MoMA PS1 Competition
Critic: Danielle Willems & Ezio Blasetti | [Summer 2018] Location: Brooklyn, NY In computational design and modeling, voxels inhabit space through a series of parts to whole relationships. A single voxel inevitably contributes to the entirety of a digital object. Similarly, the site of the MoMA PS1 introduced the potential of inhabiting a spatial pavilion by exploring geometric complexities through a series of procedural operations, duplicating components to translate the perimeter of the site into a morphology of physical - rather than digital - voxels. The aggregation originated by locating the three primary circulation nodes within the site as well as analyzing the geometries of the exterior courtyard. From those nodes, the voxels were duplicated and manipulated in order to fill the space of the triangulated site. Single components were subtracted from the overall voxel aggregation to allow a gradual flow of circulation from one programmatic space to the next. Voxels were strategically placed to accommodate programmatic needs of the site, including sitting, standing, and partying areas throughout the entirety of the pavilion. A total of five hundred and sixty-eight voxels morph into the overall pavilion design, providing the MoMA PS1 with a geometrically complex form to accommodate its users as well as its existing conditions of the site.
Site Plan
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Exploded Voxel Axonometric 1. East Entrance 2. North Entrance 3. West Entrance 4. DJ Station 5. Entrance to VOXEL 568 6. Pockets of Space for Socializing 7. Party Area (10’ x 10’ x 10’) 8. Protruding Voxels Give a Sneak Peek to Passersby
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Aggregative Operations A. primitive form B. booleaned and capped edges C. secondary reflections and primary connector D. series of rotational iterations
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TYPOLOGICAL DISTORTIONS Speculative Design in Androgynous Architecture
Critic: James Kerestes | ARCH402 [Spring 2018] Location: London, UK The theory behind hyper-reality critiques the way that people view the world today, proposing the idea of exploring a new form of reality for the future rather than the one people continue to accept. Design theories and philosophies manifested the idea behind the states of blending and blurring between the existing and the new conditions, or androgynous architecture. Androgyny in architecture was first explored through the research of the fashion industry. Burberry has recently released a line of androgynous apparel, reevaluating the way fashion is associated to the formation of the body. The speculative design is located in the fashion district of London; Regent Street is composed of nineteenth century Victorian styled facades that evolve into a repetitious storefront. Similar to androgynous fashion shaping the way people view the body and clothing, the site acts as a platform of a new form of architectural design shaping the way we view existing conditions. Extracting datum and reference lines associated with primary design elements of the existing structure, dynamic curves were generated in order to explore the relationship between existing stagnant elements of the object and its potential latency of a new form. The dynamic curves reacted to the boundaries of the structure, such as floor plates and columns, generating a series of seamless folds that begin to interact with existing conditions. After several operations and iterative design studies experimenting with the folded surfaces, the form was further manipulated in order to expand past the six floors of the site, creating a continuous design language that originates from the base of the structure and continues throughout the entirety of the new form. The overall legibility between the existing and the evolving is blurred; generating spaces that are undefined by program and critique the way objects and forms are evaluated in a codependent and interdependent relationship.
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Chunk Model 01
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Chunk Model 02
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resurgence Redefining Design Techniques Deployed Through Biophilic Patterns
Critic: Robert Koester | ARCH302 [Spring 2017] Location: Brooklyn, NY
The term sustainability encompasses a broad range of any environmentally conscious design technique and methodology that potentially leads to a greater emphasis on the design rather than the integration of the architecture and the user. It is one thing to say that we as designers practice sustainability to make the building more suitable for the environment, but what about the users, time, space, and the overall experience and connection between the community and its structure? Located on an abandoned Brooklyn pier, the Biophilic Institute orchestrates the use of a series of regenerative design techniques while simultaneously integrating a research center for the community to interact with the resurgence of the built and natural environments. The skin is fabricated to critique common environmental problems associated with urban environments, such as carbon emissions and pollution. Interaction among the user and the site is explored through the application of a perforated skin tectonic (apertures vary in size and are dependent on natural surroundings), program, native northeastern plant-life, and the behavioral relation of the modular form and its structural dependency to the existing conditions of the site in order to stress built and natural environmental views. The form of the structure acts as a threshold between the interiors and the exteriors, enhancing a material study to inform users between moments of stimulation and requiescence.
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BROOKLYN PIER SITE PLAN BROOKLYN PIER SITE PLAN (1)(1) entry (4) biophilic library (7)(7) biophilic laboratories (1)entry entry (4) administrative offices (7)(7) living quarters (4)library biophilic library biophilic laboratories (1) entry (4) administrative offices living quartersrooms (10) dining hall (1) entry (4) biophilic (7) biophilic laboratories (1) entry (4) administrative offices (7) living quarters (2) exhibition space (5) administrative offices (8) living quarters water structure hard-scape (2) exhibition space (5) immersive learning classrooms (8) mechanical water structure hard-scape (2) exhibition space (5) administrative offices (8) living quarters (11) exterior exhibition space water structure hard-scape (2) biophilia exhibition spaceimmersive (5)offices immersive learning (8) dining mechanical rooms (2) (2) exhibition space (5) library administrative (8)classrooms living(8)quarters water hard-scape exhibition space (5) learning classrooms mechanical rooms water waterstructure structure structure hard-scapehard-scape (3) arboretum (6) immersive learning classrooms (9) mechanical rooms (3) (6) biophilia laboratories (9) hall and kitchen (3) arboretum (6) immersive learning classrooms (9) mechanical rooms (12) community gardens biophilia (6)laboratories biophilia laboratories (9) hall and kitchen (3) (3) arboretum (6) library immersive learning classrooms (9) mechanical biophilia(3)library (6) biophilia (9) diningrooms halldining and kitchen [32]
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PIER #2 SITE PLAN
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01_primitive form: for manipulation
02_slope roof: for water runoff
sloped white concrete roof with photovoltaic panels
exterior skin: eco-cement system supporting exterior perforated skin tectonic
interior native northeastern plant-life creating the arboretum
18� cavity space for plant maintenance and aeration
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03_angle roof: for solar panels
04_angle walls: for movement+circulation
05_integrate glazing: for views + daylighting
06_apply skin tectonic: for biophilia application
angled glazing panels
structural diagrid support system 10” hollow section titanium steel tube 5’-0” o.c.
structural steel tension rods to support staircase
raised flooring system above open web steel joists spaced 18’-0” o.c.
18” cavity space for vapor barriers, insulation, and steel structure
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A
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perforation for plants and vegetation: allows community interaction through the use of vegetation walls and absorbs carbon dioxide and pollutants produced from urban fabric
perforation for air filtration and ventilation systems: carbon dioxide is absorbed through the medium-sized screened perforations and filtered through the wall paneling system
perforated skin tectonic
perforation for sun fenestration: larger perforations are located in areas where program requires more natural daylighting, such as in the public spaces of lobbies, galleries, and arboretums
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topological inversions Critic: Sean F. Burns | ARCH498 [Spring 2018] Undergraduate Honors Thesis
[Procedural Analysis Statement] “Variable practices also operate according to this numerical model of time, but in addition, they regard themselves as momentary configurations that transform over time. Their shapes, forms and organization change as they reinvent themselves and their techniques in response to shifting contexts” - Ali Rahim, The Architecture of Variation The thesis theorized and critiqued the ideology behind the current stagnation of architectural design. Both architecture and patterns rarely reflect movement or evolution. But what were to happen if architectural forms started to generate a language that reflected existing conditions towards exploring its latent potential? How can architectural design evolve to embrace transition as part of a reactionary process? What were to happen if a design was to begin to respond to its context, essentially reinventing itself and manifesting inversions of its original state? Through a series of operations that analyzed the latency of a form and the evolvability of movement to the environment, the ideology of a reactionary architecture was explored. For the purpose of this thesis, the following terms are defined: - form: a design element that acknowledges and responds to the presence of existing conditions - object: a stagnant design element that does not react to existing conditions - simulation: the process of a form reacting in response to an object - animation: a series of key frames “Topological Inversions” formulated as a critique which was a response to stationary contemporary architectural examples seen today: stagnant structures that do not react to the environment. Buildings are oftentimes inserted within an environment without any transitional state between the existing conditions and the new. “Topological Inversions” explored the ideology behind introducing a new form that could react to a set of existing conditions, analyzing performance patterns in relation to depth, interstitial spaces, and latent potentials. Initial research influenced the design process for this thesis: How can one design an architectural language or form that critiques the present idea of stagnancy? How can a form begin to incorporate existing conditions? The design for this thesis involved a series of operations involving animation in architectural and gaming softwares. Certain softwares - such as Revit, SketchUp, AutoCAD, etc. - are rooted in objects; or elements that do not move or reflect existing conditions. However, using processes generated in gaming softwares - such as Maya - that are rooted in animation, allows designers
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to simulate a form that can reflect conditions in key frames, therefore, allowing the designer to analyze step by step movements of a form and its reaction. Similar to the critique on forms, can patterns also incorporate the existing conditions as well? What is the evolutionary process when a form is applied with a pattern? The application of patterns provides an alternative method of analysis, focusing on the form’s overall structure and reaction to existing conditions. Iterations of the design process used operations to explore a multitude of elements: evolutions, elasticity, latency, reactions, inversions, and moments of performance of the form and the patterns that were applied. Architectural theorist and critic Sanford Kwinter’s terminology of the object and the form were considered for this process; the object acts as a stagnant element, while the form is a reactionary element to existing conditions. The experimentation of animation is also a relatively new introduction to the field of architecture. As forms are generated for a structure, designers rarely explore the architecture potentials of animation; forms are typically manipulated using polygonal softwares; however, the designers are the ones dictating the placement of the form and not necessarily the form itself. In other words, “Topological Inversions” experimented with the form reacting by itself to a set of existing conditions manipulated by the designer post-process (after the form itself explores a series of design discoveries). Originating with an object, a primitive pattern of grids was studied and analyzed with the ad of a simulation software. From here, operations were constructed to promote the latency of the object through the manipulation of obstacles or an applied force of gravity. The entirety of the thesis was driven by the personal design philosophy of establishing not what things are, but what they might be. I am interested in observing and analyzing the process of the form rather than the beginning or the end result. “Topological Inversions” is a thesis devoted to the personal exploration into the process and evolution of reactionary architectural design.
[Application of Patterns] “In fact, the relationship between patterns and architecture hasn’t been addressed in 30 years. So why the silence on patterns? There are a number of reasons: first, dissatisfaction with previous architectural conceptions of them; second, their everyday association with superficiality and planned obsolescence; third, the ambiguity of the term pattern; and fourth, the uncritical and one-dimensional use of them in design.” - Anderson & Salomon, The Architecture of Patterns Like architecture, patterns are also known to be stagnant, or, as Andersen and Salomon state, are “uncritical and onedimensional” (Andersen, Salomon 42). Oftentimes, patterns
are applied to a single surface that does not react to its environment, inevitably producing a series of patterns that are also stagnant or frozen in space. But what were to happen when an unmoving and stationary pattern is applied to a transformative, evolving, reactionary form? How does the form and the applied impression of patterns begin to react to one another? Can the application of patterns breed a new way of viewing the architectural evolution of a form? Throughout the studies involved in “Topological Inversions,” patterns were applied to a surface. However, the surface is reactionary, weaving, inverting, morphing, transforming, and contorting in relation to existing conditions. The intent of the application of patterns onto a moving and transformative form was to determine whether or not the patterns would undergo significant losses in their original and pure aesthetic identity. What were to happen if the pattern began to invert on itself ? What happens to the legibility of the pattern? In what ways does the form ultimately relate or respond to the presence of a pattern? The application of patterns on a form evolves into an interdependent and symbiotic relationship. Both the form and the pattern benefit from one another’s presence and performance; the pattern whether twisted, stretched, contorted, or transformed from its original state to an alternative latent potential, and the form has the ability to express unforeseen moments that could not be seen without the influence of the applied pattern (i.e. a stretch in the fabric, an inversion of the fabric folding in on itself, etc.). Primitive patterns were of particular interest throughout the iterational studies and design operations of the thesis, such as patterns that generate grids, lines, or points. The primitive and simplistic nature of the patterns (such as a grid) allows us to view areas of densities or moments of inversions throughout a form and the generation of an animation over time. While the form is in its early stages in the animation a pattern is still present; but what were to happen to the pattern when the form reacts to a boundary or constraint - such as an object as earlier stated - over time? What happens to the legibility of the pattern? Is the pattern damaged? Is the pattern merely informative to the form, or simply reactionary to the form’s manipulation? Pattern performances also allow the form to display a certain structure; not only does the presence of a pattern better display the form’s reactions and design discoveries, while interacting with the object, but it also displays a better understanding of the areas of densification of the form. Areas that display high densities could inform design solutions in regards to the form’s overall structure. The depths of the form are also highlighted with the application of a pattern. There is a certain diversification in the design results; as the form is manipulated by the object, so too is the pattern. As the object changes, both the form along with the applied pattern react, creating a series of adaptive and reactionary iterations. In The Architecture of Patterns, Andersen and Salomon argue
that all designs begin with the formulation of a pattern: “There are two equally relevant (if seemingly paradoxical) ways to take advantage of patterns’ multi functional capabilities: begin a design project with a chosen pattern and adapt it to meet certain goals, or identify patterns native to the problem at hand and use them as diagrams for design. In either case, design begins with patterns. Instead of form following function, patterns produce performances” (Andersen, Salomon 33). The thesis analyzes both of these ways to take advantage of a pattern’s multi-functional capabilities defined by Andersen and Salomon. Throughout the design operations in “Topological Inversions,” a chosen pattern was adapted to a set of existing conditions, while simultaneously being analyzed to inform its architectural language and its overall design performance.
[Constraints & Boundaries] “The formless may be referred to as the replacement of direct manipulation of geometry with an aprocedural design process, in which the designer does not look for a single formal solution but instead reimagines the design as the current state of an evolving system of constraints, working through design discoveries made within this dynamic system” - Axel Killian, “Finding the Formless” Before proceeding with the series of design operations and iterations, various constraints and boundaries integrated within the thesis must be explored. A form is only successful if it is exposed to a set of existing conditions (since a form must be reactionary). An existing condition can be defined as an element of design that is already present for a form to react to or originate from; existing conditions include environments, landscapes, structural systems, floor plates, columns, etc. - as long as they provide a shape to allow the form to react to over time. Constraints, boundaries, and existing conditions are necessary throughout the series of design iterations as they inevitably determine the overall performance, evolvability, and morphology of the new form. Constraints and boundaries are influential forces that allow a form to not only react to the existing conditions, but also allow a form to morph from its original state to something new or unpredictable. It is predictable that the form will somehow react to its environment; however, it is not predictable how the form will morph, nor is it determined what the exact outcome and performance will be. As the form is in its original state, it begins to transform and evolve into a new morphological design language that would not be present without the existence of the constraints. There becomes an interdependent relation between the existing and the new; the new – or, according to Kwinter, the “form” – could not be explored without the presence of the existing conditions, or the “object.” Evolvability is a process explored throughout the thesis as well. The form begins to evolve from the existing conditions,
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therefore allowing the injection of a new form to encompass a set of the existing conditions; there becomes a relation between existing elements now that the form is a single entity that reacts to a series of constraints. According to architectural design critic and theorist Axel Killian, constraints and boundaries allow the form to explore a space through design discoveries (Killian 127). The form becomes reactionary in the sense that it is identifying and reflecting moves in reaction to the existing conditions. The form evolves into an intuitive state, transforming, stretching, inverting, and contorting to morph around the existing conditions and obstacles. In other terms, the constraints and boundaries present in this thesis act as constants, and therefore, the forms are variables. Within the design operations and iterations of this thesis, the controlled constraints include simplistic elements of gravity and boxed conditions, better displaying the fluidity of the form that reacts in an unpredictable response to primitive objects.
[Design Operations] Deviating from the ideology of Sanford Kwinter, Paul Andersen, David Salomon, and Axel Killian, this thesis originated by exploring a series of forces that were applied to a form in reaction to an object. Pattern applications, lighting conditions, coloration, inversions, depths of interstitial spaces, and latent potentials were all explored throughout the design operations as well, experimenting with the different performance patterns of a form in relation to a set of existing conditions. Initial studies explored the relationship between the form and the object. Originating with a primitive box (the object) and creating a planar surface with the materiality and properties of a fabric (the form), an animation was generated. In the software Autodesk Maya, a combination of boundaries, the box and gravity, were introduced in addition to the fabric. Assigning the form the properties of a “fabric” allowed it to be pliable and, therefore, reactionary to the environmental forces while displaying properties of elasticity, resiliency, and latency. The fabric was allowed to stretch, contort, and distort itself as it responds to the boundary of the box. The box’s properties in the software were generated into a “passive collider,” or in other terms, a stationary object that remained stagnant in its movement capabilities throughout the simulation of the animation. In this study, the two boundaries of the box with the inclusion of gravity allowed the form to react with a generated morphic design language. The form progressively morphed and molded itself in response to its introduced obstacles through a series of design trials and discoveries, an architectural theory and philosophy similar to the ideas of Axel Killian. The form kept its resiliency as a plane, while simultaneously displaying properties that started to address the object; an outline of the box is present on the surface of the
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form is as it is folding itself around the obstacle. This observation proved that the presence of a form both displayed latent potential in its morphological language, while also displaying traits of its original state of design and addressing a set of existing conditions, a codependence between object and form. Within the first few frames of the animation (Frames: 58 - 124), the shape and evolution of the form was predictable. Since it was a fabric, it began to mold or morph in reaction to the object. It stretched until the moment where its resiliency was distorted to its maximum potential, therefore attempting to return to a state that does not have to morph to an object. Seen in the last few key frames of the animation (Frames: 182 - 246), the form attempted to resist the object; interestingly, even though the form had transformed itself from its object through a series of design discoveries, the form continued to have the presence of the outline of the box on the surface of the fabric, similar to an imprint. The form displayed both the characteristics of a fabric in its resiliency and morphology of a new aesthetic, as well as displayed characteristics of the original object due to its reaction to the set of existing conditions. Further studies began to address the application of a primitive grid pattern in relation to an animated notion of time. As presented by architectural theorists and critics Paul Andersen and David Salomon, the presence of patterns “foreground the sensual while shaping matter and behavior by stealth” (The Architecture of Patterns 14). The application of a pattern further helped to analyze the performance of the form through alternative methods. The patterns applied to the fabric in Maya have the ability to stretch, contort, invert, and mold itself in relation to the object, similar to the properties as the resiliency of the fabric of the form. A primitive pattern of a grid overlay was applied to the fabric in order to view the form’s hyper-densities and morphological evolution over time throughout the animations and series of iterations. Once generated, gravitational forces along with the constraint of the box began to distort the pattern of the grid at particular moments along the animation. These particular key frames and moments showed the inversion of the pattern on the form, producing an overlay of reactionary and transitory performance patterns in relation to interstitial space. Throughout the series of key frames, there was a presence of relationships between the grid patterns and the molds of the form. The legibility of the pattern was oftentimes lost in certain moments (Frames: 96-168). This loss of legibility of the grid frame reflected that the properties of the pattern are not necessarily being broken or damaged, but rather they are being manipulated in a way due to the constraints of gravity and the box. In Sanford Kwinter’s Architectures of Time, he critiqued the theory behind a primitive object morphing into a transitional state that begins to dissipate, only to result in a form take the place and reemerge and transcend as a result of a force over time, inevitably generating forms that “... vanish and reemerge into the chaotic flux of unstable aggregates and events”
(Kwinter 36). Extracting theories from Kwinter, the simulations in relation to the form and the applied patterns presented similar properties of reemergence and chaotic flux. The introduction of glossy textures onto the applied patterns weakened the legibility of the form, providing moments where the form seems to disappear and later reemerge throughout the generation of the simulation. Individual frames and interior moments within the form were further explored; areas of lost legibility and distortion of the pattern were of particular interest; these moments were further analyzed (Frames: 620-1080). As the simulation progressed, the pattern and form was no longer read as its pure planar surface; this was due to the presence of the object and the reaction of the form and pattern. Additionally, there were moments throughout the simulation when the form began to invert on itself or began to interact with its own surface, reflecting and contorting to its own reactions with the object of the box. The moments of inversion were further studied due to their unpredictability; could such inversions begin to reflect program or structure within a space? How could the depth and distortion of the interstitial space begin to inform architectural performance? To further understand the relationship between the object, the form, the pattern, the reaction and architectural design, coloration and light placement within the simulation was also explored throughout various design iterations. Two colored lights were introduced to the animated model. In the first study, gold lighting was applied in addition to a white lighting (Frames: 620, 840, and 1080). The areas of interest were circled in the frames, where there were moments of inversion due to the contortion of the form, the obstacle, and the lighting, thus strengthening the loss of legibility of the form and pattern in response to its surroundings. Another study incorporated with the placement of violet lighting, applied in addition to a white lighting. The white light highlighted the intensity of the sharp contrasting shadows, while the gold and violet light was incorporated in order to better acknowledge the transformation of layers. In the first series of key frames of the simulation (Frames: 240-620), the colored light began to interact with the white light, displaying a few overlapping layers. The applied force, along with the stagnant obstacle of the box, allowed the form to proceed through a series of design discoveries. As the force progressed within the simulation, coloration in light began to become more apparent as the layers inverted on one another; the white light, produced contrasting shadows to the gold light, provided the analysis of the interstitial space and overall depth of the form. The wider the variation in contrasting shadows of the gold and violet light coloration, the pattern became more manipulated in layering and inverting on itself. Following the iterative experimentation of color and light, the exploration of lines was analyzed, particularly with respect to the relationships of the structure of the vectored line (the wireframe line work) and its interaction with different depths of the pattern. The series of key frames on the preceding pages
(Frames:240-1120) explored the interrelations between the overall depth of the form and overlapping architectural components such as points, lines, and planes (in this instance, the applied primitive grid pattern acts as the plane). In Animate Form, architectural theorist Greg Lynn critiqued the way in which animation is utilized in the field of architecture, in terms of analyzing vectored geometries while generating a reactionary form: “Force is an initial condition, the cause of both motion and the particular inflections of a form. For example, in what is called inverse kinematic animation, the motion and shape of a form is defined by multiple interacting vectors that unfold in time perpetually and openly” (Lynn 11). In addition to analyzing coloration, lighting, and reflection, the latency and evolvability in terms of the form’s vector and lines were studied. Lynn reviewed the method in which a form’s lines are manipulated throughout a simulation, stating that all forms evolve form vectors (Lynn 11). The lines of the patterns were further analyzed, with particular interests given to the moments of inversion where the form began to react to the object of the box by going in on itself in an attempt to escape from the constraint of the box. When analyzing the linework, there were certain moments among the key frames where the form’s patterns began to interlock and inverse in high irregularities, thus creating impenetrable areas of hyperdensities (or areas that had multiple high intensity of activity, where lines intersected at a rate of high frequency). Similar to the reaction of the form to the object of the box, the linework and vectors displayed characteristics and properties of both its latent potential and its outline of the mold to the original object. In the initial key frames (Frames: 240 and 620), there was the presence of the original grid pattern in the center background, due to the boundary and constraint of the box. Further in the simulation, when the form began its resistance to the object, the vectors of the pattern started to lose the original legibility of the grid. The series of final studies analyzed the application and method of layering key frames on top of one another, to explore the relationship from one moment of the animation to the next. Of particular interest were the high density areas as well as the moments where the grid was in the process of transforming from its original state to its evolving state. In the images above and on the following pages, the overlaying of the series of the frames displayed these moments of high intensity, where the pattern appeared to blur and blend between the one layer of the key frame to the next. The most interesting moments of the simulation were actually the frames in which the form was transitioning from its existing state into its latent potential, rather than merely focusing on the end result. The beginning of the original state of the pattern and the end results of the form manifested a set of unique properties that occurred while in the process of the animation: there is a transitional state from existing to evolving. In these particular studies, the object and boundaries were
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not defined by the application of a box in Maya, but instead the constraints were the applications of time and gravity, both key elements in the presence and process of architectural design. As the form progressed in reaction to gravity, its shape manipulated in response similar to the earlier studies with the object of the box, creating the blurring and blending of lines and regions that were exposed in the application of the pattern. In this case, the form had more freedom in its design discoveries, twisting, contorting, and reacting only to itself, gravity, and time. The last study of “Topological Inversions” experimented with time and gravity as a set of existing conditions to which the form reacted around. In reference to The Architecture of Patterns, it was the process of the form, its design discoveries, and the performance of the patterns in response to a series of existing conditions that generated a personal theory into the ideology of reactionary architecture.
[Conclusions] “Nothing - no function, no object - can remain isolated; everything is involved in a continuous process of transformation; everything is necessarily opened up and leaking away. Such ‘liquid’ architecture is not about nice, pleasing or sculptural forms; since form is action and action is form, there is always a certain risk involved. This includes the risk of form being swallowed up in the abyss of the formless, and without this risk, the act of architecture seems utterly pointless.” - Lars Spuybroek The Architecture of Continuity The theories and philosophies that encompass the field of architecture have evolved substantially in an effort to critique the way that we view design today. One of the criticisms that was personally posed throughout this thesis is in relation to the stagnancy of design. How can a designer break the boundary of unresponsive architecture? Several conclusions and ideas were manifested during the process of “Topological Inversions,” including theories behind object and form, relationships and interdependencies, pattern performances, and the transitory blending and blurring states of a form between the existing design and the evolving design. Related to the argument by Spuybroek, architecture is about taking risks; architecture is not about accepting the conditions and copying what has worked in the past, but rather generating ways to critique what has already been done. The execution of this thesis experimented with the opportunity of pursuing variational methods in which a form can begin to display characteristics and qualities associated with a new vision of architectural and reactionary design. By introducing a new form into a set of existing conditions - and viewing and analyzing the performance of the form’s response to such conditions - it provided an alternative view of a reactionary architecture and progressive type of topology rather than the present state of stagnancy in design. Many designers today produce standard buildings that
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act as an object - according to architectural theorists like Greg Lynn and Sanford Kwinter - without the presence of a dynamic and reactionary form. But the exploration into the animation software provided opportunities to experiment with the properties of the introduction of an architectural form, manifesting ideas behind resiliency, latency, and morphology in reaction to existing conditions. The light, coloration, and texture studies strengthened the concepts related to reactions: the response of the form to the object allowed the application of the pattern to react as well. The inclusion of colored lighting to the simulation displayed areas among the form as it began to distort or invert, thus the reaction of the form would not be as prominent had it not been for the application of a pattern. Architectural theorist and University of Pennsylvania Professor, Ferda Kolatan, stated in a lecture that “Architecture is not about the mere feasibility of a structure. It is about assigning a set of boundaries, and strategically breaking through [those boundaries]” (“Fleeting Morphologies”). From the series of operations resulting in the form’s reaction to an object, the morphological language became a byproduct of the design response and discoveries. Every response and reaction to the object, or the set of existing conditions, was due to the presence of an object. The morphological language of the form and the pattern became more critical in the simulation in comparison to the mere presence of a stationary object - a design philosophy that many critics, such as Kolatan and Kwinter, are beginning to view in terms of existing conditions. The entirety of “Topological Inversions” was driven by a personal desire to address and question a design philosophy of establishing not what things are, but what they might be - a critique on escaping from the stagnancy in design and evolve into a new reactionary and responsive architectural language.
[Works Cited] Andersen, Paul, and David L. Salomon. The Architecture of Patterns. W.W. Norton & Co., 2010. Print. Kepes, Gyorgy. The New Landscape in Art and Science. Paul Theobald and Co., 1985. Print. Killian, Axel. “The Bus Stop: Finding the Formless Between Formal Exuberance and Systematic Simplicity.” Manifesto Series , vol. 01, no. Formless, pp. 119–129. Kolatan, Ferda. “Fleeting Morphologies.” Institute of Urban Design, University of Innsbruck. March 15, 2013. Kwinter, Sanford. Architectures of Time: Toward a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture. MIT Press, 2003. Lynn, Greg. Animate Form. Princeton Architectural Press, 2011. Spuybroek, Lars. The Architecture of Variation. Thames & Hudson, 2009. Spuybroek, Lars. The Architecture of Continuity: Essays and Conversations. V2_Publishing, 2008. Print.
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The Influencer’s Tale
Blank Space Fairy Tale Competition on Social Media In Collaboration with Paul McCoy [Winter 2018]
“The word ‘influencer’ is interesting to me because it’s like we’re influencing people to do what, right? A lot of people call themselves ‘social media influencers’ but you’re influencing people to do what? I have a question for all influencers ... when people come to your page do they walk away better or worse?” -Prince Ea at the 2018 Black Enterprise’s Black Tech Awards Unlike most fairy tales, the following story takes place not in the distant past of “once upon a time,” but rather in a near future that is rapidly becoming a reality. We come to you to tell the tale of the power of influence and its ability to be used for good or for evil. It is up to you to determine the ultimate fate of an influencer -something that remains safe in a fictional tale or something that presents itself as a dangerous issue in your reality. “In a hyper-realistic future, in a not so far away land, there exists the Influencer. His power is that of technology and corruption perpetually rotting the prosperity of a once beautiful land. He lives to aid in the metamorphosis of young children –creating spawn that will continue his mission. The Influencer stands among the shadows lurking, waiting for his chance to innovate another untouched and untainted soul.
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The little girl sits under the tree, running her hands over the bark while quietly watching the battling cables of the artificial trees. The black cables swing hypnotically, enticingly, all while the Influencer watches from afar –he has found the latest edition to the growing number of boys and girls who find his power, his influence, to be as enticing as those free, black cables. The girl leaves her sanctuary out of curiosity to meet the man amongst the cables –she has seen him before, but only now dares to venture closer now that she is alone. Once she reaches the land in between the beautiful, natural earth that she had grown up on and the novel, dark terrain on which she was willingly eager, but hesitant to embark upon, she began to develop a small bit of doubt. However, the cables pulled her in faster than she could think. She saw the man. His cloak. The Influencer. He took her hand, and led her deeper into the forest, and deeper into the darkness, but nothing was said. She heard whispers as she walked, but convinced herself that it was merely the breeze that made the cables brush against her skin and wrap around her like the cloak wrapped around her newlyadopted mentor. Throughout her time upon the artificial land, the Influencer teaches her of media, technology, and materiality, exposing her to the evils that society is so willing to shun. Because they do not understand. They do not see the world in the same light
– and choose to justify themselves for using their own versions of technology and becoming dependent on such mechanical objects. And once again, the Influencer takes the hands of the nowmatured, hardened protégé and they venture into the heart of the forest they have chosen to call home. The Influencer’s cloak no longer repulses her as the cables act as his life source, they restrict his movement, but she has become envious –wanting a similar cloak of her own. The Influencer suddenly stops, and grasps her hand harder and she understands wordlessly. Trust. The foundation of their relationship –innovation and trust. The girl looks out onto the horizon to see the blatant juxtaposition of the land of the past and the future. The Influencer’s power has grown and caused the growth of the forest as well. The servers slowly leak towards the land whichs he once called home, and she finally began to see its beauty. Sooner than she would like to, the cables begin to retract resulting in their declination from the sky. Once they reach the ground, the girl looks toward the Influencer and reflects upon all of which that he has taught her. That natural land needs to be no longer, that due to media and power and innovation, everyone and everything will be healed. That due to his and her influence together they can create an everlasting utopia of innovation.
The cable brushes against her skin, but she does not jump in fear. She knows what is about to happen. So long she has waited for this moment to be seen to an equal –to be able to spread her own influence. The cable begins to grow taller becoming the cloak that she was envious of, but it is not the same as her mentor. No. It is her cloak. She holds her own power to influence, and she is able to spread it however far she needs to because she is now an influencer. And for the last time, she stares at her mentor in appreciation before she turns to approach her own protégé. She walks through her kingdom to the land that she once called home, the cables now walking with her rather than fighting and slicing her skin. At the edge of the servers, she now looks forward at the tree where the Influencer first found her. A little boy sits at the tree curiously watching the encroaching servers on his family’s land, and as he reaches out to touch on of the cables he sees the woman. Her cloak. The Influencer.” It is up to you to continue telling this tale in order to prevent the effects of materialistic desires and innovation. To an extent, we will need to innovate to provide for our growing society, but we must remember of this tale to aid in the knowledge of future generations as well. I implore you, at all costs, to avoid the Influencers.
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Critic: James Kerestes | Independent Studies Exploration in form through aprocedural and geometric operations
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Critic: Maya Alam | ARCH502 [Spring 2019] Everyday Render Series exploring materiality through skewed site photogrammetry methodologies
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