One and Three Studio 19 The Architectural Assembly Archive Document by Mitchell Su

T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S S E M B LY ONE AND THREE . MAT THEW L AW . NANCY MA . MITCHELL SU

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AND HOW TO CREATE INTERVENTIONS OF CONTENT ONTO THE ARBITRARY

iii

THE ARCHITECTURAL A S S E M B LY

STUDIO LEADER Ben Waters

The University of Melbourne Melbourne School of Design AUTHORS

Masters of Architecture Studio D ABPL90143 2016/2 One and Three Architectures

Matthew Law h.law1@student.unimelb.edu.au Nancy Ma n.ma3@student.unimelb.edu.au Mitchell Su m.su@student.unimelb.edu.au

ABOUT First Edition. November 2016. Printed in Melbourne. Australia. ÂŠ Mitchell Su 2016. All rights reserved. All materials in this book may not be reproduced, printed, transmitted or distributed in any form without the written consent of the author.

Special mention to AlICe laboratory. Faculty of Architecture La CambreHorta of the UniversitĂŠ libre de Bruxelles for supplying the House X 3D model.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION The Architectural Assembly Conceptual Strategy Reproduction as Process Contextual Mapping

3 5 9 13

CASE STUDIES Introduction Maison Domino Barcelona Pavilion Villa Savoye Seagram Building House VI House XI Parc De La Villette Sendai Mediatheque KAIT Workshop Serpentine Pavilion Case Study Distribution

15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37

CONTEXT X Introduction Island Overview Site Analysis Site Mapping

39 43 47 53

CURATORIAL APPROACH Rationale Archive Taxonomy

57 59

ARCHIVE SPACE Updated Island Overview Process Logic Plan Oblique Illustration Section Illustration Detail Illustrations

65 67 75 77 79

ASSEMBLAGE 1. 2.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; The action of fitting together the component parts of a machine or other object. A unit consisting of components that have been fitted together. â&#x20AC;?

TEMPL ATE 2.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; 1. Something that serves as a model for others to copy. A preset format for a document or file, used so that the format does not have to be recreated each time it is used. â&#x20AC;?

T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S S E M B LY A DISCUSSION ON WHAT MAKES A TEMPL ATE

What is the architectural assembly? Is it the assembly of its parts? The toolkit that can be combined and rearranged at will? Or is it simply the consistency of a structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aesthetic appearance? From the physical, to the more intangible, the assembly has the potential to take on many forms\. However, it is important to look into what is an assembly and what has connoted a template.

based on context based parameters. One could extrapolate that the use of rules could be the basis of what constitutes a template within the notions of combination. The use of rules or an instruction set provide a consistent guidance as to what could potentially form a template. A template should not be so rigid as to limit or control the configuration of a design this offering

An assembly can be the combination of parts to create a whole, or the way in which it is combined to make a whole. However, this is not to say the parts are not wholes in themselves. They also manifest themselves as discretized objects within a field. The assembly however can be the combination of a range of syntaxes, i.e. a standardrized toolkit of objects, a range of different bespoke objects or even a combination of both.

a degree of flexibility, but also be detailed enough as to offer guidance as to how an assembly forms in order to maintain a degree of consistency between what is and isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possible (potentially a design language). This balance is difficult to achieve as flexibility is not an aspect in architecture that is often found in terms of structure and composition. For the purposes of this study into the

Combinations can also take on their own syntactical rules that lead to differing outcomes with the same toolkit. The rules can take form of a strict instruction set that relies on a linear sequence of instructions, a set of instructions that can eventually split off into differing branches of instructions or potentially also as a set of instructions that dictate placement or arrangement

architectural assembly, the focus of the following explorations will investigate the role of the grid as a template in producing what is the architectual assembly. The grid has often taken many forms in multiple disciplines of design, and offers a degree of flexibility as well as consistency not offered in many other templates.

CONCEPTUAL STRATEGY THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE GRID

The grid as the architectural template to inform and create an assembly of components has changed rapidly since the end of the 19th century. Many technological breakthroughs, political and historical events as well as social upheavals have occurred since, greatly informing the shape in which architecture has taken form. The grid serves as the basis in which to organize and discretize elements within a configuration and plays a key role in guiding formal composition within many design disciplines.

had taken a form not too dissimilar to what could be considered a geometric grid. This syntactical methodology was also used to analyze the geometric qualities of architecture. Not too far in the future would this methodology be used again by Peter Eisenmann in his own research which would eventually lead to his work on the Case Study House series.

Despite its ubiquity within the field of design, the grid in itself has taken multiple manifestations and representations since the medieval ages. One of the earliest uses of the grid lies within printing press and the Villard Diagram. The Villard Diagram relied on the Golden Ratio which in itself is a subset of a rule which can be used to drive composition. This created a syntax in which visual compositions in press production could be guided and assembled.

Prior to the advent of Eisenman’s works into the Case Study House series was Le Corbusier’s Maison Domino. Formed during the advent of World War I and before World War II, the Maison Domino greatly informed the structural underpinnings of modernist architecture. Modernism as not only an architectural movement but also a fundemental change in socialogical thinking, changed the psychological conditions of humanity. Technological changes such as the second industrial revolution prior to World War I as well as the economic and physical aftermath of the war greatly.

Continuing this trend, Andrea Palladio’s ‘The Four Books of Architecture’ recognize the use of regulating lines to guide formal composition, expanding this through the use of symmetry and rectilinear geometric envelopes. Over time, this

With most of Eastern Europe in particular being ravaged by World War I, reconstruction was a difficult and arduous process with efficiency becoming a particular focus for those concerned with reconstruction efforts. Le Corbusier’s

contribution to this was his work into the Maison Domino. The structure was a simple modular system that only became possible with the widespread introduction of reinforced concrete - essentially changing what was feasible in buildings in terms of structural composition. More importantly, the composition of the Maison Domino was limited mainly to columns to create vertical supports, and a thin slab to create horizontal support. This grid based structural typology would come to inform Modernist structures for a considerable amount of time.

Van Der Roheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works was the Seagram Building - a distillation of the Maison Domino and his concept of the free plan, but expanded into the vertical typology, resulting in the quintessential Modernist skyscraper composition. However, with the advent of globalism and the end of the Cold War, perceptions of Modernism changed and discourse into the fundementals of the architectural movement gained criticality. Ornament, wit and reference which were once opposed to the formal composition of Modernism became mainstream as efficiency in architecture was no longer the modus operandi in society due to a stablizing global society and economic growth. From this change in perceptions to Modernism, the grid changed from being a regimented guidance into architectural composition, to a base that was reproduced, superimposed and/or abstracted through process. A notable example of this was Peter Eisenmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Case Study Houses

Extending from the Maison Domino were the works of Mies Van der Rohe which relied on additional technological innovations driven by the innovations discovered during World War II. Mass fabrication of float glass and industrial steel made it possible to define enclosure by the most minimal of frameworks and highlight the structural composition of the structure. This culminated in the conception of free plan architecture. However, much of this was an extension of Maison Domino and Le Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Five Points of Architecture that was afforded by technological changes in society.

The Case Study Houses materialize the act of reproduction through trace as overlaid through the presence of an implicit grid that does not exist explicitly in the physical realm but rather through traces of this reproductive process. As trace is an act of analogue reproduction, imperfections

The more tantamount breakthrough in Mies

and variations appear over time as through any human-driven method by means of human error. It is these subtle variations within tracing that over time do the emergence and variation in space and enclosure develop to create the architectural form whilst leaving the suggestion of a grid in its wake. A key structural variation from Modernist architecture is the presence of structural redundancy and the frequent use of reference and sign. Rather than focused on structural efficiency and optimization, this act of trace recalls the use of walls as structural massing and tectonics. Trace as through its imperfections led to a duplicity in structure wherein physical features such as walls and columns were not interchangable between structural and aesthetic.

i.e. the grid can be seen in many forms within reference to tectonics, but at the same time is not physically there in a number of manners. Persuing this agenda into the high tech was the use of the digital plane the advent of augmented reality. As the semiconductor increases in terms of overall processing power and software has become more sophisticated, the possibilities pertaining to the use of digital materials and program then overlaid or superimposed onto architectural forms through the use of augmented reality becomes increasingly feasible. The grid as a consequence becomes the main orientating factor in which to plot and represent information in the digital realm through X, Y and Z coordinates on the Cartesian Plane - yet another manifestation of the grid.

Deviating on this duplicity of structural elements came from Japanese architects such as Toyo Ito and Sou Fujimoto which seek to expand on the presence and condition of the ground plane through manipulation and extension. Afforded by the advent of high tech architecture which reconciled more decorative forms of Postmodernism and the efficencies of computer aided design. In this manner, the grid has become more of an ethereal representation such that the grid is referenced to a minimum physically -

However, with this comes the phenomena that not only affects architecture, but also design as a discipline. As the physical objects reaches an ever more platonic from through iterations in design and software becomes more powerful, the physical object becomes increasingly differential to the digital. Ultimately, the richness of the design only then comes only through flourishes in the digital as projected or superimposed from the form.

REPRODUCTION AS PROCESS FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL

Reproduction as an act has existed in many forms but has been relatively limtied in its scope due to limitations pertaining to human error as well as technological limitations of the day. Reproduction as an act of transmitting or transferring infromation has its roots within the concept of cultural reproduction and education as an agent.

painting - methods of transmission which had the tendency to be limited by the technical skill of the individual reproducing this information. From these limitations, representations with a significant amount of inaccurate representations occurred, hence the use of the term facsimile rather than reproduction. Another limitation of this method lied in its difficulty in replicability as producing more than one copy was an arduous and time consuming task, leaving the reproduction of information and culture to the echelons of the upper class.

The need to preserve, transmit and archive information is an age old issue since the advent of human society. Information has been often seen as the basis of a representation of a societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture, value and traditions. In the world of art and design, this has inexpicably been the case. However, information in the process of being conveyed through imagery or aural means has been compressed in some form or another due to scale of economies. With this compression, the reproduction is often transformed into a facsimile rather than a true reproduction.

However, other methods of reproduction to convey information existed at the time but were not as widely used - trace and imprint. Imprint creared reliefs, or nrgatives of the physical object being copied, allowing for a somewhat accurate reproduction of an objectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s form but did not necessarily transfer information over such as color and pattern. Likewise, imprint was less labor intensive and easier to replicate than sketch or painting, but lacked the same level of fidelity when the latter two were performed well.

Analogue reproductions of ten possess this issue as a result of human error and the inherent difficulty in recreating information perfectly. Within the classical era of Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, reproduction in terms of cultural works of art often occurred through means of sketching and

The second act of analogue production, trace, was an extension of increasing the replicability of sketching and painting by creating overlays

in which reproductions of information can occur. Whilst there is a high degree of fidelity through trace, this degree of accuracy decreases through every iteration by means of human error, creating the possibility of the emergence of new information or a mutation of the original information that is removed from it.

methods to convey information. The key consideration with digital reproduction are fidelity and efficiency. Fidelity has increasingly become a reduced concern as accuracy is only limited by limitations within data storage and processing capabilities in regards to computers. Additionally, efficiency is an issue that is relegated to terms of processor clock speeds as well as the consequent output speeds.

Subsequently with the invention of the printing press, the act of transfers as a method of reproduction became possible. Transfer was essentially the nexus of both imprint and trace. A negative relief was used to create an outline of an image that could be used in succession to create near identical copies of the same information for mass dissemination within society.

Morse Code as one of the first means of digital representation within the advent of digital information transmission represents information as differing patterns within the contexts of sound. Information communicated as language would be converted into this code based langauage and transmitted over long distances whilst increasing the efficiency in which this information was transmitted. The main limitation for this means of reproduction was the difficulty in which imagery was conveyed, leaving its effectiveness mainly limited to the dissemination of language as information.

More importantly at this point within the constraints of technology, reproduction could occur with a high degree of fidelity in a reliable manner. With this use of reproduction, colors and detail were still limited due to material and technological limitations even though the information replicated deviated further from being a facsimile.

Evolving from this digital representation was the digital syntax of bits and binary code. Within binary code, information could exist as a true or false state, with combinations of these states being

With the introduction of basic electric based technologies came the use of digital reproduction

indicative of various forms of information. Binary overcomes the limitations of Morse Code and information reproduction by taking advantage of the scalability of computer processors and the ability for computer to better intepret the range of combinations offered by binary code.

is represented digitally. Pixels represent a single fragment of information at any time that when put together in a larger congregations relays visual information in a high fidelity manner not offered in analogue reproductions. The principle limitation again for this method lies within storage capacities and processing capabilities, whilst visual accuracy is limited by the grain size of the pixels of otherwise known as DPI (Dots Per Inch).

In order to store these binary codes, bits are the subsequent means of storage to archive this infromation in a non-destructive state in computation. Bits represent the fixed parallel to binary code that is capable of storing multiple combinations of binary code at once. Whereas binary becomes the syntax in which information is communicated, bits are the way in which this information stored given the ephemerality of digital media.

In spite of these changes and increasing accuracy or information reproduction, the challenge remains in bridging the divide between digital and analogue due to their inherently differing natures and characteristics. It is often difficult to represent digital information in a more physical, analogue form as information becomes distorted and lost, while in a more intrinsic sense, analogue information tends to lose certain qualities when transferred to digital representations.

To add to this synactical representations of information, visual representations of information within the context of digital reproductions exist within differing contexts of those of analogue reproduction. Whereas analogue reproductions rely on relative positioning and abstract quantifications, digital representations make use of specific coordinates or states that are strongly related to each other. To combat this issue, pixels are the principle domain for which visual information

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION PRE-1840 SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1870-1914 THE BELLE EPOQUE 1871-1914 MEIJI RESTORATION 1868-1912

WORLD WAR I 1914 G

SOVIET U HISTORICAL EVENTS SOCIALISM 1820-1980

COMMUNISM 19 FACISM 1914-1945 CAPITALISM 1820-

POLITICAL MOVEMENTS PREFABRICATED SYSTEMS 1851

GRIDSHELLS 1896 SPACEFRAMES 1896

TECHNOLOGIES PL ATE GL ASS 1848 REINFORCED CONCRETE 1853 PLASTICS 1856

L AMINATED GL ASS 1903 FIBER REINFORCED PLAST

MATERIALS

PRAIRIE SCHOOL 1871-1911 MODERNISM ART NOUVEAU 1890-1910 ART DECO 1905-1929 EXPRESSIONISM 1905-1930 FUTURISM 1909-1940 CONSTRUCTI BAUHAUS 19

ARCHITECTURAL MOVEMENTS CRYSTAL PAL ACE 1851

BUILDINGS

1850

1860

1870

MONADNOCK BUILDING 1893 PRUDENTIAL BUILDING 1896

1880

1890

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MAISON DOMINO 1 B

1920

4-1918 GREAT DEPRESSION 1929-1939 WORLD WAR II 1939-1945 NEW DEAL 1933-1938 UNION 1922-1991 COLD WAR 1947-1991 SPACE RACE 1955-1991

917-1991 5

THE INTERNET 1980THE MAC 1984 GFC 2007-2009

GLOBALISM 1970SOCIAL DEMOCRACY 1945-1990 NEOLIBERALISM 1980DIGITAL FABRICATION 1940 CAD 1970 INTERNET 1980 INTERNET OF THINGS 1999 COMPUTERS 1941 BIM 1977 MICROPROCESSORS 1969 VIRTUAL REALITY 1985 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 1984 NANOTECHNOLOGY 1985 L I Q U I D C R Y S TA L D I S P L AY S 1 970 O L E D D I S P L AY S 1 9 8 3 FLOAT GL ASS 1957 FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE 1960

ICS 1909 GLASS WOOL 1933 FIBER GLASS 1936 CARBON FIBERS 1958

CARBON NANOTUBES 1991 NANOMATERIALS 1981

M 1920-1965 POST MODERNISM 1970-1990 INTERNATIONAL ST YLE 1930-1972 MID CENTURY MODERN 1933-1965 HIGH TECH 1970BRUTALISM 1949-1985 DECONSTRUCTIVISM 1970IVISIM 1919-1932 919-1933

1914 B A R C E LO N A PAV I L I O N 1 9 2 9 V I L L A S AVOY E 1 9 3 1

NEOFUTURISM 2007

SENDAI MEDIA. 2001 KAIT 2013 SERPENTIN PARC DE L A VILET TE 1987 JUSSIEU LIBRARY 1992

SEAGRAM BUILDING 1958 HOUSE VI 1972 HOUSE X 1982 30

1940

1950

1960

1970

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2020

CASE STUDY WORKS A SELECTION OF ARCHITECTURAL PIECES

MAISON DOMINO LE CORBUSIER . 1914

The Maison Domino by Le Corbusier is a theoretical open floor design first conceived in 1914. Much like Henry Fordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Model T, the Maison Domino was intended to form the basis of an open and flexible architecture for all that could expand and change over time. The structure imposes strict rules on the notion of point, line and plane as expressed in the relationship between the slab and column. This reduction of the structure to near pure geometry is curious, as its planeness is strictly expressed only through the slab and remains unbroken such that the stairs are always on the side as if one is to enter each plane rather than puncture it. Consequently, this strong correlation to the horizontal datum that reflects a quality that is inherent to modernism - where the structure becomes self referential to the environment and more of a peer than a determinant to it. The only sign of this condition is from Maison Dominoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slab as it parallels the ground. Through this, Maison Domino represents an extreme clarification of Le Corbusierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Five Points of Architecture. Firstly, pilotis remove the need for structural walls and is the basis of its form. Second, the absence of walls creates near complete flexibility in customization. Third, the facade is independent of the structure and can be changed accordingly. Fourth, the openness of the vertical plane allows for light to penetrate through the structure and fifth, the highest plane, no matter the situation is an open space. At its very essence, the Maison Domino serves as the basis for a mass produced structure - a template in which architecture can form around it and contextualize itself.

BARCELONA PAVILION M I E S VA N D E R R O H E . 1 9 2 9 . B A R C E LO N A . 4 1 ° 2 3 ′ N 2 ° 1 1 ′ E

If the Maison Domino was the structural precedent for the early stages of the Modernist architectural movement, then the Barcelona Pavilion is the aesthetic precdent for this. As part of the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, the Barcelona Pavilion was the face of a Germany ravaged by war and in the motions of a profound change. Much like the Bauhaus, which saught to recognize and reconcile its tumultuous past with the technological innovations of the present, the Barcelona Pavilion served as a self portrait of what Weimar Germany sought to be from this. These representations of the self portrait entailed a sense of openness - a concept best expressed by Mies Van Der Rohe’s ‘Free Plan’ and ‘Floating Roof ’. These two combined together only became possible with the advent of the kind of structural syntax offered by Le Corbusier’s Maison Domino. The structure is held up by eight slender columns that have been arranged to a regimented grid, allowing it to elevate a single slab or plane as to provide the illusion of floatation. This regimented grid also creates a system in which to arrange the decorative walls that exist within the space of the pavilion. As a result of being structurally independent of the enclosure of the pavilion, the walls act as a compositional element with materiality being allowed to dominate the aesthetic considerations of the walls. Not only do the walls lend themselves to aid and guide eyes towards framed views to the exterior environment, but also make particular note of the patina of the materials clad onto these walls - i.e. although not practical structurally, the walls appear to be carved of a singular stone massing and is made possible by the structural innovations introduced at the time. This allows the Barcelona Pavilion to further extend this referencing to the horizontal plane present on the outside of the structure, creating a picturesque frame of the landscape.

VILL A SAVOYE LE CORBUSIER . 1931 . POISSY . 48°55′46″N 2°02′44″E

As Le Corbusier once stated, ‘the house is a machine for living in’, not simply because the home was the analogical assembly line for the daily functions of the individual, but also because technological changes in manufacturing and science were driving towards innovations that led to efficiencies in not only design, but also living. From this train of thought, Le Corbusier moved towards his ‘Five Points of Architecture’ as aforementioned in his work into the Maison Domino. As the practical application of these ‘Five Points of Architecture’, the Villa Savoye also serves as a reaction to the implications of these five points. The main composition of the Villa Savoye consists of a four by four square cell grid with pilotis positioned at the intersections of lines within this grid. Extending into this are the floor slabs that sit upon the pilotis such that the walls, windows and other decorative and non-structural elements can be positioned freely with minimal consideration to the house’s structural integrity. More importantly, the positioning of enclosure, plane and fenestration promote the act meandering - meandering from space to space with fluidity and between interplays of public and private space. This interplay of spaces is expressed through tectonics and materality with walled in spaces expressing privacy and more exposed, or visually exposed spaces expressing privacy. Within the duality of these two categories of spaces, Le Corbusier used public spaces, or spaces of congregation as points of spatial organization. In contrast to this, the exterior form of Villa Savoye seeks not to integrate itself into the environment and the self referencing nature of the plame. but rather juxtapose itself as an artificial construct - pure in geometry, but also unapologetically artificial in aesthetic as compared to the landscape around it.

SEAGRAM BUILDING M I E S VA N D E R R O H E . 1 9 5 8 . N E W YO R K . 4 0 °4 2 ′ 4 6 ″ N 74 ° 0 0 ′ 2 1 ″ W

A quintissential product of modern Capitalism and the International Style aesthetic, the Seagram Building by Mies Van Der Rohe highlights a minimal and honest expression of materials, setting the template for in which the contemporary skyscraper is designed. The basic structural composition of the Seagram Building’s structure is the vertical extrapolation of Le Corbusier’s Maison Domino, allowing for an open flexible space that could be expanded and reconfigured internally as needed by the users of the space. The form of the Seagram Building, whilst quite regular, is distinctive and further enhanced by the materiality of the facade. The structure repetitively stacks the slab-column syntax of the Maison Domino, expanding outwards as well as upwards. However, a key structural difference to this was the use of steel beams embedded into the concrete in tandem with conventional reinforced concrete. The combination of these two permitted larger spans between columns and hence a more ‘open space’, expanding upon Mies’ concept of the ‘Free Plan’. The structural implications were the result of his architectural intent, but were only possible with the advances in fabrication introduced after World War II. Aesthetically speaking, the verticality and parallel referencing of the slabs to the ground plane are explicitly expressed by the facade - an aesthetic element intended to express structure even if it was non-structural. Vertical elements along the skin of the facade were not only used to brace and stiffen it, but also to further articulate the vertical typology of the Seagram Building. However at the same time, the Seagram Building continues this juxtaposition against the environment through the use of dark contrasting materials like darkened bronze and grey topaz glass on the exterior, materials with aesthetic qualities quite different from the granite used on the ground level plaza.

HOUSE VI PETER EISENMAN . 1972 . CORNWALL . 41°50′43″N 73°19′53″W

House VI serves as a discourse into the traditional Modernist thought of circulation and composition in architecture. Rather than following the notion of ‘form follows function’ or having a succinct design intent from the onset, the design has emerged and developed from a conceptual process, seldom deviating from it. The basis of this has occurred through trace as an analogue means of reproduction. As analogue reproduction creates perceptible differences over time through iteration as a result of human error, these differences develop into different forms and spaces, creating an architecture that is driven through process rather than from a clear initial architectural intent. As architecture is a composition of the visual elements, it is also a plethora of signs waiting to be signified in a particular manner. As much as the horizontal slab creates a sign that references and recalls the ground relative to the sky, a column is indicative of structure and verticality in the Modernist sense. At the same time, a wall can be of the same signifier within the context of a visual syntax. However, by combining these two aspects together in House VI, Eisenman has created a sense of redundancy between these two elements without a clear delineation between the two. As a result of these mixing of signs and agnostic approach to signifiers, the architecture pushes away from being centric to the intention, but rather the intention is shaped by the architecture. This occurs through the delibrate omission of elements or what could be seen as ‘inconvenient’ placing of spaces. However, the spaces were not placed per se in the conventional sense, but rather came as a result of trace and a systematic manipulation of the grid. Additionally, the tectonic elements of the structure lack purpose in the Modernist sense such that these elements are not strictly representative of their function, but instead appear as fragments of it.

HOUSE X PETER EISENMAN . 1975 . MICHIGAN . 44.3148° N, 85.6024° W

Where architecture in buildings from a circulation and organizational standpoint often relies on a central nexus in which to start upon, House X applies process recording on a grid whilst ignoring the center origin point as the organizational element in the the building’s circulation and composition. As a further exploration into the diminishing and reinterpretation of signs within architectural elements, House X seeks to develop a building with an architecture that delibrately deviates from conventional wisdom in how circulation works within buildings. It is often seen that most buildings rely on a central point, much like a living organism, whether it be expressed though a staircase, a courtyard, a fireplace or of the like. With this, there appears to be a large concern for the centrality of the architecture of a building. By removing the center as the organizational point of House X, the composition of the structure whilst still aligned to a basic cartesian grid on paper, becomes more complex and unstable. This takes away from the ‘wholeness’ of the structure. Instead, the intersection of planes and columns much like in Eisenman’s previous Case Study Houses creates traces of this absent center with a composition of what is essentially four cubical volumes that are arranged around a barycentric point within the grid. However, and also more importantly, there is a clear distortion of the preferred referencing of the ground plane via the ground slab and the roof slab. Furthermore, linear elements such as columns and beams are disguised within planes, eschewing yet another Modernist condition wherein truth in the materials and structure is paramount to further emphasize the interrelations between intersecting planes. Credits to AlICe laboratory. Faculty of Architecture La Cambre-Horta of the Université libre de Bruxelles for supplying the House X 3D Model.

PARC DE L A VILLET TE BERNARD TSCHUMI . 1987 . PARIS . 48°51′24″N 2°21′03″E

The superimposition of the grid arbitrarily across an environment offers many opportunities as to how to treat the grid as a context giving organizational element. Using the basic elements of point, line and, plane, the assemblage of elements can become guiding elements that often sit in contrast with the existing environment. In Bernard Tschumiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Parc De La Villette, an uneasy juxtaposition between the idealistic park landscape and of the artificial creates points of interest along an entire expanse. The Parc De La Villette stands as a wide expanse of parkland that is impossible for the individual to orientate themselves within single-handedly. To counter this issue, Tschumi has used a single sumperimpositioned grid across the entire landscape to create an orientating factor across it. At these intersection points lie uniquely designed follies - points of recognition and interest that allow visitors to orientate themselves across the park each time they run into one. These follies serve as points of reorientation - signposts in their barest essence whilst still allowing the park to appear freeflowing and open with the intention of the park being a place of exploration, movement and interaction. In terms of the grid, the follies allow for a not so explicit representation of the grid, with the points being their demarcations and traces of this grid orientating process whilst not being physically present in the final physical construct of the Parc De La Villette. Whilst this methodology of superimposition and demarction is repetitive in use across the park, as stated earlier, these follies are all uniquely designed, creating differing points of reference for differing zones within the park such that each follow invokes or connotes a different section of the park within the mind of the visitor, creating a subconcious directory and reference of the grid.

SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE TOYO ITO . 2001 . SENDAI . 38°16′N 140°52′E

As technologies improve, manufacturing techniques change and so does the quality and precision available. The Sendai Mediatheque uses the Maison Domino as template through the free plan, and extends upon the notion of the referencing the ground plane, with the consequence that each floor slab in the structure appears to be floating in space, only to be constrained by the skin of the structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s envelope. The key change in the Sendai Mediatheque relative to the Maison Domino is how technology has altered the way in which the main structural elements have been elevated by technology while still remaining true to a rigid and uniform grid in which the composition is organized. The slab is treated more as a plate - a highly engineered plane that eschews the conventional reinforced slab and instead is replaced with a steel honeycomb structure to increase the strength, whilst decreasing the depth of each plate. At the same time, the columns have been replaced by nine gridshell tubes that support the entire building. These tubes appear thin and delicate, distorting their visbility from the outside and giving the impression of floatation between each level. Many of these changes, while not impossible, would have been exceedingly difficult without the introduction of CAD and CAM, allowing for a fine grain approach to elements such as the gridshell tubes wherein every member would likely be unique and require specific fabrication dimensions. Additionally, the thinness of each plate would not be possible without optimization through software-based analysis. Overall the Sendai Mediatheque highlights the enduring nature of the regimented grid as well the syntax first promoted by the Maison Domino, but at the same time how technological changes can drive innovations that distort and disrupt the the components of the syntax.

KAIT WORKSHOP J U N YA I S H I G A M I . 2 0 1 0 . K A N AG AWA . 3 5 ° 2 6 ′ 5 1.0 3 ″ N 1 3 9 ° 3 8 ′ 3 2 .4 4 ″ E

The concept of the open plan floorspace has been one of much curiosity for many architects. This question was initially answered by Le Corbusier as the Maison Domino through the slab-column construction syntax which aimed to separate the aesthetics apart from the structural in order to create independence from each other. Over time through technological changes and changes in how architecture is percieved has altered the basic syntax introduced by the Maison Domino, and in turn the way in which the grid is percieved and used. In the case of Junya Ishigamiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s KAIT Workshop, the grid has been used as a basic organization tool that through rigor and a systematic process, has been abstracted and altered to create a singular space that appears to be the result of a randomized process. While ambiguous and random appearing internally, each column is uniquely proportioned and rotated at an angle that is highly deliberate as to not only convey a specific purpose in terms of structure, but to also emulate the poetics of a forest of trees. The spacing and arrangement of the columns create the impression of space and enclosure through a change in density of columns throughout the space. By changing the density of these columns and creating an implied sense of space, the boundaries between each space is blurred, leaving perception to define the space and hence a sense of low definition and informal planning within the enclosure. To further highlight the expanse nature of the space, the KAIT Workshop features a thin steel framed roof to highlight the delicate appearance of the columns, whilst structural glass is used to enclose the structure. This further extends upon the notion of extending the ground plane through referencing and signs. However, at the same time, the starkness of the structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s composition contrasts with the environment outside.

SERPENTINE PAVILION SOU FUJIMOTO . 2014 . LONDON . 51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W

The idea of ‘borrowed scenery’ is strongly steeped in Japanese culture and art and seeks to introduce the landscape in specific moments within the architecture of a building. The placement of thesesought to incorporate the landscape as a background into the architecture, placing the building poetically into the landscape much like a painting. In Sou Fujimoto’s Serpentine Pavilion, this has been done to the effect that the grid is used in a range of configurations to create an implied volume through density and concentration that only appears to be solid. A three dimensional grid space has been used to coordinate the placement of beams within the implied volume. Walls, floors and ceilings have been expressed through a greater concentration of beams in a particular area, creating a thicker and more ‘present’ grid frame structure as desired. The depth created by the grid frame distorts and obscures views to the outside to create this perception of being inside an enclosure even though the structure is open air by nature. At the same time, the furniture as well as the building become one single integrated entity such that furniture is expressed as ledges and steps created by the composition of beams. The Serpentine Pavilion eschews the traditional slab-column syntax to instead contrast between a closed rectilinear exterior and the cavernous interior volume that makes use of the concept of ‘borrowed scenery’. Rather than creating a constant reference to the ground plane of the environment, the structure seeks to change in appearance, with particular angles of focus being highlighted through ‘borrowed scenery’. The implicit nature of the the grid’s volume and percieved ‘solidity’ changes based on the angle in which the structure is seen wherein the plan view appears to be a circle whilst elevations appear to be cloud like in form.

WORLD WAR I 1914 SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1870-1914

SOVIET U

SOCIALISM 1820-1980

COMMUNISM 19 CAPITALISM 1820-

PREFABRICATED SYSTEMS 1851

PL ATE GL ASS 1848 REINFORCED CONCRETE 1853 PLASTICS 1856

GRIDSHELLS 1896 SPACEFRAMES 1896

L AMINATED GL ASS 1903

MODERNISM

BAUHAUS 19

MAISON DOMINO 1 B

4-1918

WORLD WAR II 1939-1945 NEW DEAL 1933-1938 UNION 1922-1991 COLD WAR 1947-1991 SPACE RACE 1955-1991

917-1991 GLOBALISM 1970SOCIAL DEMOCRACY 1945-1990

DIGITAL FABRICATION 1940 CAD 1970 COMPUTERS 1941 BIM 1977 MICROPROCESSORS 1969

FLOAT GL ASS 1957 FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE 1960

M 1920-1965 INTERNATIONAL ST YLE 1930-1972

POST MODERNISM 1970-1990 HIGH TECH 1970DECONSTRUCTIVISM 1970NEOFUTURISM 2007

19-1933

914 B A R C E LO N A PAV I L I O N 1 9 2 9 V I L L A S AVOY E 1 9 3 1

SENDAI MEDIA. 2001 KAIT 2013 PARC DE L A VILET TE 1987 JUSSIEU LIBRARY 1992

SEAGRAM BUILDING 1958 HOUSE VI 1972 HOUSE X 1982

CONTEXT X AN ISLAND OF ARCHIVES

The Island of Context X is based off of Naoshima Island which is unique for its many contemporary art museums scatter across the island. Naoshima Island is situated in the Seto Inland Sea and forms part of the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. The idea of the island being a collection of art museums first began in 1985 with two individuals, Chikatsugu Miyake and Tetsuhiko Fukutake who imagined a unified vision of art, architecture and nature in place worn down by industrialization in Japan. Tetsuhiko Fukutake was the owner of Benesse Corporation, previously known as Fukutake Publishing Co. He came to Naoshima Island when he first purchased large quantities of on the island with the intention of this unifying vision. A few years later, Tetsuhiko passes away and his son, Soichiro, comes to realize his vision with the first piece of work, ‘The Frog and the Cat’ by Karel Appel. However, it is not until the addition of a structure that is solely purposed as a museum that Naoshima Island is realized as an island of art museums. In 1995, Tadao Ando was invited to design the Benesse House Oval as the first art museum structure within the island. This set off a precedent for a number of art museums that were constructed in the concurrent years after that. However, progress was slow for nearly a decade whierein, Tadao Ando constructed yet another art museum on the island in a separate location - a 200 year old traditional Japanese wooden house filled with concrete. A more notable building on the island by Ando - the Chichū Art Museum - in 2004 becomes catalytical in nature to Naoshima Island’s celebrity status as an island of art museums. More importantly, the museums designed by Ando are not a similar continuation of projects across the island, but rather,

are their own individual structures across the island that have been designed in a bespoke manner. However, not to be constrained by the envelope of the buildings themselves, the artworks spill out of these galleries into the environment surrounding them, with some artworks even being found on the coastline of the island. Naoshima Island offers an opportunity to apply principles of a site as a collection of art galleries into the context of a system of archives across Context X. Naoshima Island shows that the placement of projects across the island is crucial and offers a richness across each area that encourages visitors to view every part of the island rather than one particular focal point. The main concept for the program of Context X is a collection of archives of human culture, with a particular focus on media and architecture. These archives are intended to be representative of a particular concept - in this case, ‘The Architectural Assembly’ - and both their content and architecture representing this as such. The positioning of these archives are to be based on the nature of their concept with particular landscape or siting features being complementary to certain projects. It is intended that the collection of these archives works in the same way as the art museums scattered across Naoshima Island - to encourage exploration and to shape movement across the island by offering a richness of experiences. The following segments discussing Context X look into the qualities of the site as well as the locations and content of other proposed projects being positioned along the island as well the context specific response to ‘The Architectural Assembly’.

T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S S E M B LY

2. NEW HIERARCHY 3. THE TERRITORY 4 . RECEIVING CREATIONS 5. ARCHIVE FOR FILMIC FOLDS 6. INTERSTITIAL NATURE

(including social, technological, architectural, environmental, political and economic context), which results in architectural ideas, forms and tectonics. Some trends are seen in research. In the future, a new architectural strategy responds to these trends. The concept of new hierarchy is to seek a balance between humans, the environment and architecture. This kind of balance is flexible, instead of unchanging, and decided by specific requirements. This project shows how one can apply the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;new hierarchyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in specific conditions.

1. The Architectural Assembly What does it mean to be a template? What does it mean to create an assembly? Through the explorations of case study projects, the Architectural Assembly explores the role of the grid as an organizational element within architecture over a range of projects. The grid is infinite, pure and, arbitrary in nature, its scale only determined in relative scales set by an individual. Because of this arbitrariness, the grid lacks meaning and purpose. Only with the intervention of content and elements such as object, shapes, media, and of the like does the grid come to have richness and meaning. The Architectural Assembly makes use of the grid as the basis and template for composing architecture, using a rigorous multistep logic to drive a composition within space. This compositional generation in turn drives circulation, implying the richness and traces of intervention imposed onto the grid.

3. The Territory A digitally constructed entity has animate potential, the introduction of the temporal dimension necessitates a perceptural shift from object to event, from space to time. How does the human body mediate with these two systems? How do they combine with technology and reflect a social code, and hence create a human-based performance and experience?

2. New Hierarchy Taking the 21st Century Museum as departure point, research is done on spatial hierarchy trend of Japanese architecture. The spatial hierarchy is reflection of the surrounding context of the project

4. Receiving Creations Mediating the transition of information through architecture.

throughout the site, forming from the landscape through peeling, cutting and folding. These inbetween spaces have been extracted from either a landscape based – forming between certain elements of the landscape – or as the transition between other group projects. Stripped rubber acts as the pathway that surfaces at the point of interstitial and fades back into the landscape. The archive space challenges the traditional notion of storing objects, with each of the locations having an emphasis on a different form of display related to specific learning styles. They serve as a representation in a variety of means, including physical volumes of shape, spatial organization, imagery, text, sound, and materiality. Relating further to the main idea of interstitial nature, content is expressed by way of creating in-between moments of connection between the user and the information. The archived material is represented not as a complete whole, yet at the same time is not nothing, rather it is in an in-between state of transition - a state left open for user interpretation.

5. Archive for Filmic Folds How can architecture and film work simultaneously to propel us into a new interpretation of ‘what is space’ and how architecture can be used to enhance film in the future? The Archive for Filmic Folds examines the use of screen as space, projections, architecture as the films experience and future prospects for film technology. While the overriding concept of folding is seen not as a physically aesthetic, but through the pathway and process that directs our architecture. the unwinding of a film reel, unpacking the film through all senses and a series of experiences with the occupants of this project as the director themselves. Our project hopes to push these filmic notions further, unpack and explore the idea of ‘the fold’ as a new form of cinema, the fold is not accessed through ‘a physical fold’ however it is unpacked as the building and cinematic experience morph together becoming the real of film itself while aspects of the film are unpacked and digested architecturally with the occupant making the discoveries. 6. Interstitial Nature Interstitial

moments

play

are

located

ARCHIVE NETWORKING MAP

INFORMATION DENSIT Y MAP OF CONTEX T X

The positioning of the sites along Context X Island possess a specificity to them that is deliberate and planned as part of the island as a whole body of work. In terms of relationships between the archives, the archives are linked together through the use of the archives placed across the island as part of the ‘Interstitial Nature’ group who’s works function as a media of the inbetween.

experience of archives across the island as the entry point is positioned here. However, it is even more critical to note how restrictive this positioning of archives relative to the circulation between them is. Whilst it is possible to move between the archives as points positioned along Context X, it is not a particularly important, nor clearly stated option. The topography lends to this restricted flow with elevations also suggesting a particular movement through the island.

This notion of the inbetween allows a network of circulation to run through Context X that indiciates a clear and deliberate indication of procession throughout the island. Most notable about this movement of circulation is the focus on longtitudinal movements as compared to latitudinal movements. This creates an east-west axis of focus across the entire island.

As the Architectural Assembly serves as the initial experience of Context X as an island of archives, it was imperative to design this archive to be summation of experiences whether one stays within the archive or explores beyond it. The main use of the Architectural Assembly as an archive is to be a boat pier terminal that both introduces the island and also includes a point of departure as an experience from the island.

In addition to the presence of this east-west axis, the island’s archives are focused more on the eastern end of the island as a result of the dominant landmass of the island having formed there. This creates a density of information, archives and experiences as compared to the western end of Context X. At the same time, this creates a gradient of experience from superficially immersive to highly immersive. The isthmus of Context X serves as the starting point for this

As an aspect of intervention upon Context X Island, a grid was overlaid to map all the archives proposed on the island in order to align them with the Architectural Assembly which is sited along the isthmus of the island. To further influence

this intervention, the pier terminal was imagined to be a north-south axial intervention across the island in order to create a clear point of arrival and departure to move in and out of Context X.

experience an abbreviated version of these experiences latitudinally. This addresses the issue inherent as the arrival and departure ends of the terminal are intended to be equidistant from the isthmus of Context X.

As arrival and departure are two key dichotomies in the Architectural Assembly as a pier terminal, archive content has been arrange such that their positioning is an abstraction of the positioning of other archiving projects within the island. Ten projects based on previous content analysis concerning the grid have been chosen to construct these archives with content. Additionally, these ten projects have been grouped into three categories - regimented, process and implicit - reflecting their particular uses and implementations of the grid as compared to other projects within the archive. This also allows the programmatic arrangement of the archive to be experienced in a number of ways. Taking reference from OMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entry into the Parc De La Villette Competition, the pier terminal offers a number of experience both latitudinally and longtitudinally. While it is possible to experience one single stream of archives using these archive groupings, it is also possible to

ARCHIVE CONTENT MAPPING

JUSSIEU LIBRARY

PARC DE L A VILLET TE

KAIT WORKSHOP

B A R C E LO N A PAV I L I O N

V I L L A S AVOY E

HOUSE VI

HOUSE X

SEAGRAM BUILDING SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE

MAISON DOMINO

CURATORIAL APPROACH CONTENT IN THE ARCHIVE

RATIONALE A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING

The content of the archive proposed aims to create a discussion into the grid in relation to the Architectural Assembly. A key aspect of the archive is the use of architectural projects as the principle means of archiving content rather than through categorizing by medium or media. This offers a more holistic curation of the each architectural project as well as offering a multiplicity of representations of a single project.

the north-south axial intervention proposed by the pier terminal. In addition to this, the ends of this path of circulation are intended to represent arrival and departures as dichotomies of the pier terminal. Within the archive points themselves in the pier terminal, each grouping of projects - regimented, process, and implicit - are intended to have differing kinds of media as content based on the intentions and uses of the grid in their respective projects.

The projects themselves are to be arranged in loose clusters based on a principle project as identified in the case study examples. In addition to this, the positioning of content within the island is to be loosely based on the positioning of other content across Context X Island.

The regimented grid as the classical cartesian grid with strict spacing and the initial progenitor of Modernist architecture, features fragment models of critical projects that informed the modernist architecture as well as the manifestos and accompanying text of Modernist architects and designers.

Site analysis of Context X Island offered an insight as to how to drive the programmatic distribution of media and content across the pier terminal. It was noted that one side of the island was more information dense than the other and that each of these points led themselves to a circulation that followed an east-west axial pattern.

The implicit and process grids as extensions of the regimented grid feature more image and text based content to reflect their more academic nature. Furthermore, these groupings reflect their changing takes on how the grid is use as a contrast to the more literal operation of the grid presented by the regimented grid grouping.

To address this, a path of circulation as previously extrapolated from site mapping was flipped and rotated, representing a path of circulation along

JUSSIEU LIBRARY

PARC DE L A VILLET TE

KAIT WORKSHOP

B A R C E LO N A PAV I L I O N

HOUSE VI

V I L L A S AVOY E

HOUSE X

SEAGRAM BUILDING SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE

MAISON DOMINO

‘Tracing Eisenman’ (2010), ‘Supercritical’ (2006),

1. Barcelona Pavilion

‘Peter Eisenman : diagram diaries’ (1999), ‘The “God is in the Details”

formal basis of modern architecture’ (2006)

‘Mies van der Rohe : a critical biography’ (2010),

4. House X

‘Mies and modern living’ (2008), Drawings from Bauhaus Period, Orthogonal Sketches, Sketches

“The more centralised the power, the less

of Skyscraper Concepts, Exploded Orthogonal

compromises need to be made in architecture”

Drawings, Physical Scale Models ‘Ten Canonical Buildings’ (1995-2000), ‘From Formalism to Weak Form: The Architecture and

2. Villa Savoye

Philosophy of Peter Eisenman’ (2015), Process “A House is a machine for living in”

sketches of House X, Axonometric Projection Models

“The home should be the treasure chest of living” 5. Sendai Mediatheque ‘Towards an Architecture’ (1923), ‘Modulor’ (1948), ‘The Radiant City’ (1935), Orthogonal

“You cannot simply put something new into a

Drawings,

place. You have to absorb what you see around

Axonometric

Models,

Sketches,

you, what exists on the land and then use that

Fragment Models

knowledge along with contemporary thinking to 3. House VI

interpret what you see”

“I don’t design houses with the nuclear family idea

‘Toyo Ito: Forces of Nature’, ‘Toyo Ito: The New

because I don’t believe in it as a concept”

“Real” in Architecture’ (2006)

“Architects Design Houses. I live in a home”

‘Delirious New York’(1978), ‘S, M, XL’ (1995),

6. Seagram Building

‘Junkspace (2002), Orthogonal Drawings “In 1912, when I was working in The Hague, I first saw a drawing by Louis Sullivan of one of his buildings. It interested me”

9. Parc De La Villette “I think architects are often at their best when

Drawings from Bauhaus Period, Orthogonal Sketches, Sketches of Skyscraper Concepts, Exploded Orthogonal Drawings, Physical Scale Models

faced with restraints” ‘Architecture Concepts: Red is Not a Color’ (2012), ‘Origin of Geometry: An Introduction’ (1962), ‘Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse

7. Maison Domino

of the Human Sciences’ (1966), Pavilion models

“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep”

10. KAIT Workshop “In our era we don’t have a specific purpose to make a building, for we understand that there

‘Towards an Architecture’ (1923), ‘Modulor’ (1948), ‘The Radiant City’ (1935), Orthogonal Drawings, Axonometric Models, Sketches, Fragment Models

should be a variation of purposes for each person, for each user” Orthogonal

drawings,

‘Another

Scale

Architecture’ (2011), ‘Japan-ness in Architecture’

8. Jussieu Library

(2011) “The Grid makes the history of architecture and all previous lessons of urbanism irrelevant. The Grid’s 2-dimensional discipline also creates undreamt-of freedom for 3-dimensional anarchy”

ARCHIVE SPACE A P I E R T E R M I N A L F O R T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S S E M B LY

NEW HIERA

INTERSTITIAL NATURE

T H E A R C H I T E C T U R A L A S S E M B LY

INTERSTITIAL NATURE

ARCHIVE FOR FILMIC FOLDS

INTERSTITIAL NATURE

THE TERRITORY

ARCHY

INTERSTITIAL NATURE

INTERSTITIAL NATURE RECIEVING CREATIONS

1. 4MÃ&#x2014;4M GRID

2. ZONING STRIPS

3. ARCHIVE POINTS

4. PROGRAM POINTS

5. PROGRAM ENVELOPES

6. RIBBON SLABS

The island pier forms a multipurpose spline that traverses the thinnest point of the island. Spanning 208 meters, the pier visually splits the island in two, creating a physical smpact across the island much like physical intervention created on a grid in order to create contextual richness. By applying analogue reproduction as well as a specific and rigorous set of logic to this process, a consistent and pragmatic form developed in order to convey the parameters of the pier and the content it holds. The archive space within the pier also considers the concept of the architectural assembly relative to the grid as well as what it means to be a template. With the grid as a basis and these processes of analogue reproduction applied, the space is the combination multiple envelopes within a three dimensional grid. The envelopes themselves form differing programs for depending on their positioning relative to the archive spaces in the pier. As an archive relative to the concept of arrival and departure, archive activity is focused mainly on the arrival side of the pier as a means of summarizing the history of the grid as well as being a representation of archives of the island. Ribbons of circulation split and merge across the pier to offer a multitude of experiences depending on the path taken, with some paths being more straightforward than others in some respects. One can choose to stay solely within the pier or deviate towards the rest of the island. Where the arrival and departure points are within the pier, the ribbon slabs merge together to create a unified starting and finishing point. The ribbon slabs split and merge all across the pier not only to create a multitude of experiences but also to integrate with the east-west axis that has been implied by the isthmus of the island. Wide open spaces formed by merges offer momentary breaks of circulation in the pier.

The process in which the form was generated follows as such, a 4m by 4m grid space serves a template across the pier and acts as a base to conduct interventions within a defined volumetric boundary. It is fine grained enough to be detailed but not too big to be unwieldy, offering a degree of flexibility. Next, the grid is then split into five strips running the length of it that are 4 meters wide. These strips create an interface at the edges of the pier with the rest of the island so as to create an experience both along the latitude and longtitude of the pier. Next, points have been plotted in the 3D gridspace that signify the positioning of the archives based on the contextual site analysis. Additionally, based on positioning of the archives as well as the zoning strips, points of programming have been placed to compliment these two factors along the 3D gridspace. These points reflect the various uses of the zoning strips and archives. Afterwards, in order to create physical constructs of the program points and archive spaces, the points have been replaced with program envelopes that represent the maximum extents of their location within the 3D gridspace. To connect all these program envelopes placed in 3D gridspace, the zoning strips have been pulled in various orientations and split in differing locations to create circulation along the pier.

Merges allow circulation to occur

latitudinally along the pier. Once this basic form is realized, structure and detailing is added to the envelopes and ribbon slabs. Thin whispy columns at the centers of each grid imply the presence of the grid without explictly representing it. Each of the program envelopes have been developed in finer detail to represent their programming and use.