Attraction // Reappropriation for the Spectacle

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NICOLAS PAPPAS ARCHITECTURE THESIS 2011-2012 CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO KAREN LANGE, ADVISOR STUDIO 400

INTRO RESEARCH SITE ABSTRACT ISSUE

ATTRACTION BILBAO 2 MoMA PS1 4 M&A

10 18 24 30

HISTORY GALLERY ROW 24-HOUR STUDY FASHION DISTRICT

38 42 50 60

VELLUM PROVOCATIONS PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION ESSAY

I SITE 68 II LIGHT 70 III SKIN

76 78 WRITTEN 80 GRAPHIC

84 86

ABSTRACT In general, attraction brings one object toward another. It is a fascination, an enticement that lures us closer. It draws us in, sparks our interest, and brings us together. Attraction acts on many levels, affecting our behavior in various ways. A particular tourist attraction may bring us to a new city, a performance can bring crowds into a theatre, and a smile can draw us across a room.

My thesis will investigate this force and seek to understand its role within architecture. My research will focus in Downtown Los Angeles with the goal of attracting new people, ideas, and creative energy to revitalize the area. The downtown area is already experiencing many improvements in the form of new construction, programs, and initiatives to clean up the city and give it new life. Cities rely on their residents to thrive, and those individuals own behavior is affected by attraction. How then can identifying and tapping into those attractions work to rejuvenate a city?

Within Downtown Los Angeles, I will be looking more specifically at a site within or between the Gallery Row and the Fashion District.

These two districts overlap and the area contains several parking lots that could potentially serve as sites.

The two districts both reflect the spirit of revitalization, each developing recent programs to transform the image of their neighborhood.

The Gallery Row has undergone dramatic change over the last decade, distinguishing itself as a district in 2003. There has been a growing attraction to the area, which is reshaping the city both economically and culturally. What was till recently a rather undesirable portion of the Historic Core is quickly evoking interest as a thriving, culturally rich, artistic epicenter.

Much of this attraction has been fostered by a monthly event called the Downtown L.A. Art Walk. This public, self-guided art tour continues to draw more and more people to the area, transforming the image of Los Angeles. The role that the event plays in the life of a city

and its power of attraction is also a point of interest. Architecture and event can support one another and redefine notions of attraction within a city.

The Fashion District has also undergone dramatic improvements seen since the creation of the “Building Improvement District� in 1996. What since 1930 was the Garment District, a grimy area known for knock-off merchandise and homelessness, was rebranded to become the Fashion District. Collecting additional fees from property owners and creating teams to clean up the neighborhood have proven successful so far. The Fashion District has also recently become incorporated within the Art Walk to keep the forces of progress in motion.

Within this context is where I hope to intervene and manipulate the powers of attraction. Working within the art and fashion realms of Los Angeles, my thesis will work toward defining an architecture of attraction, drawing in creative ideas to invigorate a city.

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ISSUE I will be investigating the issue of attraction within architecture - how to draw people both to individual events and to become visitors to the city on a more regular basis. Attraction is the force that sparks our interest and draws us in. Attraction brings us together and promotes interactions with others. I am interested in studying the forces of attraction from various perspectives while analyzing how architecture can be used to tap into that force.

I will try to understand how and why people come together, what attracts us, and how architecture contributes to this process.

My research will focus on the areas of the Gallery Row and Fashion District in downtown Los Angeles. I am interested in the overlap of these districts, and believe that there is potential for architectural intervention. A growing site of attraction, the Gallery Row was formed in 2003 to promote a vibrant, culturally rich, arts district within the downtown area. Beginning with just three art galleries, the area

has experienced rapid growth over the last eight years with the birth of over forty new galleries. The Gallery Row project has been phenomenally successful in revitalizing a neighborhood and promoting an epicenter for artistic thought. The district has been popularized by a monthly event, the Downtown L.A. Art Walk, which brings together the various galleries, art-lovers, and community members to celebrate art. The relationship between architecture, art, culture and the event is an area of personal interest.

The Fashion District was created in 1996 as part of a revitalization program for the Garment District.

The renaming of the district signified a strong effort to create a new image for the area, putting to rest the characterization as a place for knock-off merchandise and the homeless. The Fashion District has recently involved itself in the Art Walk as well, linking the worlds of art and fashion to benefit one another.

I will conduct much of my research through a hands-on approach. I highly value the “learning through

making approach� to study. At various scales I will continue to experiment through making. Exploring new techniques, materials, and modes of fabrication will be crucial to my research process.

I will research methods of creative fabrication explored by Los Angeles based architects and artists.

Research must be conducted outside of ones own making and I will seek out knowledge in the works of others. I will analyze projects done by Ball-Nogues Studio, Atelier Manfedini, Emergent, Patterns, Morphosis and others of similar interest for potential case studies. I am interested in correlations concerning methods of fabrication, ideas of modulation, and the creation of event space.

I will read. Although not my preferred method of study, research cannot exist without reading. I plan to read Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s Learning From Las Vegas prior to my site visit to help develop a methodology about site research, observation, and documentation. I also hope to draw an understanding of image and form

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within architecture in regards to attraction. I will look at Bernard Tschumi’s Event-Cities for an interpretation on the role of the event within the city and the relationship between architecture and event.

The notion of the city and the event are critical to my research, and I hope this book will shine some light on that topic. I will study the works of Archigram in reference to “Happenings” and theories surrounding the role of an “instant city.” I will look at relationships between people and architecture as facilitated by the event. I will continue to read about the role of the digital tools and processes within architecture through readings of Greg Lynn, Neil Leach and several others. I will try to keep current with innovations and trends within the digital realm of architecture through various websites, blogs, and publications. I will continue to follow the work coming out of other architecture programs engaged in experimentation such as Sci Arc, UCLA, Columbia, AA, and more. My research will be focused on work that utilizes digital tools in the realm of fabrication and space making, and will try to stay away from digital

work that remains inside the computer.

I will investigate current culture in relation to art and music in a digital age. I will look into music and art festivals as the examples of attractions that draw crowds together.

Festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival showcase this behavior of attraction that I will study.

The issue of attraction will drive my research, exploring technology and fabrication to create an architecture that draws us together.

I will listen. Architecture in the context of architecture can become an isolated endeavor, detached from the people it is intended to affect. I feel it is important to always integrate a non-architectural matter into the design process. Inspiration must come from places outside the realm of traditional architectural thought. I plan to listen to electronic music throughout my design process as a form of external inspiration. I will continue to seek out links between the music and my studies through digital creation processes, cultural identity, technological realizations, and the potential for attracting.

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RESEARCH ATTRACTION BILBAO EFFECT MoMA PS1 M&A

10 18 24 30

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ATTRACTION THEORIES The true science and nature of attraction may never be fully understood by man, however many attempts to understand its basic principles have been made from various fields including biology, psychology, and sociology. Why attraction exists and how it affects our lives are questions that have followed man throughout time. Attraction can form the basis for how we evolved, and continue to exist as a species. Its value in our personal lives as well as our existence appears vital. In the words of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, “The final aim of all love intrigues, be they comic or tragic, is really of more importance than all other ends in human life. What it all turns upon is nothing less than the composition of the next generation…. It is not the weal or woe of any one individual, but that of the human race to come, which is here at stake.” Arguably a bit dramatic, but nonetheless highlighting the role that attraction plays in the procreation of mankind. Attraction governs our lives in so many per-

ceived and undetected ways, yet largely remains a mystery as to how it truly operates.

Looking back to early man, we can study the socializing effects of attraction that led mankind toward civilization. It has been argued that “The convergence of social significance, context, and role with biological sex drive among largerbrained hominids resulted in the emergence of sexual attraction” (Kauth). It is likely that the first social contact with the opposite sex developed out of erotic attraction.

As hominids began to live in an increasingly socially constructed world, notions of sexual attraction developed from the socialization of biological sex drive. In this sense, “attraction is an adaptation because it facilitated female-male sexual contact and increased the likelihood of producing offspring who would survive to a reproductive age.” This theory argues for attraction as necessary factor of human evolution, a piece in the puzzle of natural selection. Although the need to pass on genes to the next generation might not feel as apparent today, the biological ramifica-

tions carry through and continue to govern much of our behavior.

Despite many claims to the contrary, people do judge a book by its cover. Notions of physical attractiveness control many aspects of human behavior. As a society we tend to believe “what is beautiful is good,” as this association subconsciously impacts much of our judgment. For example, studies have indicated, “communicator physical attractiveness does have an effect on persuasive communication effectiveness” (Patzer). We tend to believe, trust, follow, and generally prefer people who exhibit physical attractiveness. Patzer argues that “for society and the human race in general, understanding of physical attractiveness is mandatory.”

This understanding appears to be innate as research shows that people closely agree on the physical attractiveness level of a person. Physical attractiveness is ultimately a subjective evaluation, and there is not yet a tool to measure its value, but there does seem to be fairly collective agreement upon its presence. Most research currently uses the truth-of-consensus

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method to measure physical attractiveness. Ultimately it boils down to stating, “if a significant number of judges designate a person as physically attractive, then that person is defined as physically attractive” (Berscheid & Walster, 1974, p.181). Consensus of perception is the best method we have of evaluating physical attractiveness, but the method has returned surprisingly consistent results about our perceptions of beauty. Beauty may ultimately be in the eye of the beholder, but research has shown that our eyes seem to judge quite similarly.

Even if we can agree upon what we find attractive, what ultimately is it that causes us to feel this sense of attraction and how does it arise?

There currently exists three primary models for understanding interpersonal attraction form a psychological perspective: the learning model, exchange theory, and balance theory. To understand what is meant by attraction, researchers have come to generally define it as “a positive attitude toward a particular person” (Huston, 1974). We can apply this by looking for three

components that are said to apply to attraction: “thus if P is attracted to O, P will think O is a good person, P will feel a liking for O, and P will be predisposed to want to do things with O” (Aron).

The learning model of attraction was most heavily promoted by social psychologist Donn Erwin Byrne. The learning model is rooted in the idea that people ultimately seek pleasure and avoid pain. With this mission, we learn to associate external causes with our feelings of pleasure and pain.

As the early modern philosopher Baruch Spinoza explained, “Love is nothing else but pleasure accompanied by the idea of an external cause; Hate is nothing else but pain accompanied by the idea of an external cause.” On our quest to learn these external causes, we become attracted to the stimuli that cause us pleasure. Byrne’s research focused heavily on the idea of similarity, and its role in attraction. Bryne found that “attitude and personality similarity strongly influence attraction”(Bryne, 1969).

The notion of similarity is believed to elicit a positive response in most

individuals because they basically like and accept themselves. We therefore learn to search for characteristics that we perceive to be similar to ourselves. Byrne argued, “everyone endeavors, as far as possible, to cause others to love what he himself loves, and to hate what he himself hates.” We are therefore drawn toward the perception of similarity in personality, demographics, attitudes and vales.

What Byrne concluded in his studies is that “attraction increases in direct proportion to increases in similarity between participants and strangers (Byrne & Nelson, 1965).

Where Byrne’s model dealt with attraction from the perspective of an individual towards a stranger, the exchange theory looks at attraction between members of a dyad.

Exchange theory can be classified as a reinforcement/reward theory in which we are conditioned to be attracted to relationships that are thought to be rewarding. Any behavior on the part of a person that provides a measure of need satisfaction to another person is said to be rewarding for the latter person.

What reinforcement theory ulti-

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mately tells us is that “we like those who like us, and reject those who dislike us” (Homans). The conclusions of the learning model and exchange theory are very alike; they merely differ on the focus of their subjects. Byrne supports the reinforcement/reward theory in stating “The overall attraction towards another is a function of the relative number of rewards and punishments associated with him” (Bryne, 1969). Exchange theory also supports beliefs of attraction by similarity concluding that “Persons are mutually attracted to each other when they reciprocally gratify each others need for consensual validation of beliefs, values, and attitudes by virtue of the similarities of these variables between them” (Centers).

Finally, balance theory, proposed

by Fritz Heider, focuses on a different source of attraction between people and things. Balance theory follows the belief that life is simpler and attraction is greater when things and people are in harmony.

Imbalance is said to create stress, while balance exists without any perceived stress in a relationship.

Based on this theory, we are ultimately attracted to relationships that are balanced, or free from stress. To explain what is meant by this idea of balance, take for example a Person(P) and an Other(O).

If P likes O and O like P, then the product of both positive feelings is positive creating psychological balance. If dislike occurs on either occurs on either end of the relationship, then a negative product results creating imbalance and stress. This can be extended so that if P like O and O likes some object X, P will tend to like X as well to achieve balance. The results ultimately are quite similar to the conclusions of prior theories, but it is the causation of this attraction that is viewed differently.

It is impossible to say for certain what will attract us, but we can begin to find commonalities in the way that it affects our behavior, and better understand its causes.

Forces of attraction have shaped human behavior since early man, serving a vital role in the evolutionary process. We have since continued to study this behavior and have found common threads to ex-

plain its origins. Attraction seems to rely heavily on perceptions of similarity whether they are learned by individuals, exchanged through interactions, or achieved through balance. We seek pleasure, gratification, and harmony, gravitating towards their sources, as we understand them. We want validation for ourselves, and pursue avenues for this feedback. There is no shortage of the affect of attraction on our lives, trying to understand it can begin to explain why we do the things we do and what motivates our behavior.

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BILBAO EFFECT

like anything people had ever seen before.

Architecture has the ability to transform the attraction of a city. In rare cases a single building can recreate the image of a city, drawing in visitors and activity. The effect that a new building will have is difficult to predict, but when executed correctly, a major revitalizing impact can be made. One of the best examples of this phenomenon is the effect that Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum had on the city of Bilbao, Spain. Its sudden iconic status and ability to draw tourists coined the term known as the “Bilbao Effect.”

However, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was not the first modern architectural icon; it was preceded by Jorn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House by about a quarter of a century. The Sydney Opera House became an international icon upon completion in 1973, with its stunning sail like forms alongside the water. According to Frank Gehry, his Basque clients wanted the Guggenheim “to do for Bilbao what the Sydney Opera House did for Australia.” Gehry’s museum delivered more than was expected, attracting millions of visitors to the once unknown city.

Typically, a building only becomes an icon when it is well recognized as a symbol of something larger than itself, such as the White House or the Eiffel Tower. The public traditionally anoints an architectural icon sometime long after it is built. The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao has flipped these notions, becoming an instant icon when it opened in 1997. The swirling, twisting forms clad in shinny titanium were shockingly original, un-

The impact of the museum on the city of Bilbao has proven to be drastic, attracting people who would otherwise not come. In its first ten years of operation, it has drawn over nine million visitors with a monthly average of over 80,000.

More importantly, about 80% of these visitors are from outside the country, generating great revenue for the city. Furthermore, a visitor survey revealed that 82% came

to the city of Bilbao solely to see the museum or had extended their stay in the city expressly to visit it.

According to the Financial Times, in the museum’s first three years, it helped produce about $500 million in economic activity and about $100 million in new taxes. The economic activity created represents the equivalent of 4,415 jobs, quite a feat for a piece of architecture.

This effect was not accidental, but rather part of a holistic plan to address a number of serious problems. The city had been suffering from extremely high unemployment, separatist violence, pollution, poor transportation, and urban deterioration. The city created new subway lines, drainage, water and air clean-up systems, and a new airport to help alleviate these issues. The Guggenheim Museum was the centerpiece of cultural investments to promote art and tourism for Bilbao. It was the first step to redevelop the former trade and warehouse district along the south bank of the Nervion River, and formed the center of a cultural triangle formed by the Museo de Bellas Artes, the University, and

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the Old Town Hall. The city undertook a series of other architecturally significant projects to help revitalize the area: a foot bridge by Santiago Calatrava, metro stations

by Sir Norman Foster, a transportation hub by Michael Wilford and Partners, an airport terminal by Calatrava, and a master plan of the city’s business district by Cesar Pelli. The primary aim for Bilbao’s transformation was to improve the quality of life for its citizens, which it did beyond expectations.

Despite the success of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the Bilbao Effect has not been easy to replicate. Not even Frank Gehry himself has been able to repeat the effect with later projects. His Experience Music Project was intended to do for Seattle what the Guggenheim did for Bilbao. However, this was not the result and attendance has been poor despite its unusual architecture. Gehry’s addition to the MIT campus, the Stata Center was intended to be a landmark. The iconic effect however was overshadowed by public furor concerning budget over-runs and functional failings.

Additionally,

Daniel Libeskind who successfully created a signature attraction for Berlin with his Jewish Museum, fell short on his crystalline addition to the Denver Art Museum. The Denver Art Museum has failed to attract the expected visitors, and his similar extension to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has also made little significance.

It appears as though much of the attracting power of architecture lies in its originality. The Bilbao Effect can be understood as patterninterruption architecture, resulting when the mind stumbles across the unfamiliar. We are awakened by surprises, and drawn to the new and unseen. Projects following the Guggenheim Museum in similar style and appearance have not created the same effect, for they were no longer original, no longer new, and lacked the shocking effect of the unfamiliar. An instant icon can be created, but not repeated.

Great architecture should be the centerpiece of urban space, and when conceived with originality and inventiveness can provide an attraction point for an entire city.

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MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution in Long Island City, New York. It is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit contemporary art institutions in the country. It is an exhibition space that displays some of the most experimental art in the world. It was founded in 1971 by Alanna Heiss, as the Institute for Art and Urban Resources Inc. At that time, the organization sought to organize exhibitions in abandoned spaces across New York.

Five years later, in 1976 it opened at its permanent location in Long Island City. Later in 2000, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center became an affiliate of The Museum of Modern Art in order to become MoMA PS1.

MoMA PS1 currently stands as a redbrick building amongst row houses, offices, and small stores overlooking Manhattan from across the river. The building has become an icon for adaptive reuse within the New York art and architecture world. The building really was a public school for many years,

hence the name “Public School 1.” The building underwent major renovation in 1997, but preserved much of the original architecture as well as most of its unique classroom galleries. For its opening Exhibition Rooms, artists were invited to turn each of the gallery spaces into site-specific art. The tradition of site-specific art has remained integral to the MoMA PS1 agenda through the Young Architects Program.

The Young Architects Program, now in its twelfth year, challenges emerging architects to design a temporary outdoor installation for the MoMA PS1 courtyard. With a budget of $80,000 designers are asked to re-imagine the 10,000 square-foot triangular court-yard.

These innovative designs provide shade, seating, and water to summer crowds. The inaugural project in 1998 was an installation titled “Percutaneous Delights” by the Austrian artist collective Gelatin.

The installation transformed the hot outdoor gallery into an inviting hang-out complete with pools, sprinklers, sunbathing platforms, saunas, and even a refrigerated

room. The MoMA Phillip Johnson Chief Curator, Barry Bergdoll, comments how “with a few gestures they transform parts of the city to achieve new temporary atmospheres and attract new participants.” Part of this attraction is due to the “Warm Up” concert series that takes place in conjunction with the summer installations.

The Warm Up series has been taking place every Saturday during the summer season for the past fourteen years. It presents experimental live music, sound performance, and DJ’s from various genres to anticipating audiences. Music and art come together to create a new and unusual environment for the public. Stepping into the concrete courtyard, participants are removed from the city and enter a surreal atmosphere created by the synthesis of the arts. The installations provide the setting and the music fills the air of this summer wonderland.

The visual and the performing arts have a way of enhancing one another to create a richer atmosphere to attract and entertain the public.

Fostering

experimentation

and

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keeping current have always been important goals of MoMA PS1.

Barry Bergdoll claims “every year we’re looking for a surprise, for something that’s new, unusual, and fresh.” The young architects are challenged to reflect the trends and technological advancements of the moment (Raskin). For several years, interest in computer-numerically-controlled cutting dominated the proposals. Beginning with SHoP’s Dunescape installation in 2000 there is a strong pattern of digital fabrication interest.

Following installations from EMERGENT, Xefirotarch, Ball-Nogues, and others carried this fascination with exploring the possibilities of these new tools. Eventually in 2008, WORK Architecture Company revealed a new direction, with their Public Farm One, offering a low-tech solution geared toward sustainability. Bergdoll remarks that it “was a refreshing change, that really hit the spirit of the moment beautifully.” The 2010 winner SO-IL included a complimentary IPhone app with their installation Pole Dance reflecting the technology of the time.

As an artistic laboratory MoMA

PS1 has worked to bring new artistic thought into the public realm.

Through the Young Architects Program and the Warm Up concert series MoMA PS1 has been able to synthesize art, architecture and music into a unified attracting force.

New creative ideas are tested and shared, bringing people together in educational and entertaining environments. The institution supports emerging talent by providing a venue to realize fresh ideas within the design world. Sometimes all it takes is an empty courtyard to give birth to some of the most innovative ideas in the field of art and architecture

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M&A Materials & Applications (M&A) is a research and exhibition center focused on advancing new ideas in art, architecture and landscape. It is run by a non-profit organization that produces two installations a year and hosts public events such as discussions, workshops, and performances. It is a 25-by-40 foot outdoor exhibition space, just off of Los Angeles’s Silver Lake Boulevard. It was opened in 2002 by collaborators and spouses Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess, who literally gave up their front yard. They have “taken their front lawn at Materials & Applications and done just about anything the coteries of brilliant young architects they attract can do to a front yard” (Berardini).

M&A was created as a way to experiment with public space at a community scale, with a goal of increasing public participation in the built environment.

This modest space has made a serious impact on the community, highlighting the power of vision and creativity. It is “a space that

can be understood, worked with, and reconfigured” in order to “inspire interest in visitors with their surroundings” (Materials & Applications). A fairly large mission for a mere front yard, but the limited space has certainly not limited any ideas about how to transform it. The gravel yard has become a “24/7 laboratory for experimental architecture, a place where innovative and emerging artists and designers could collaborate on new ideas for public space” (Zieger).

According to Jenna Didier, “Architects seemed to understand its purpose intrinsically and began right away to propose ideas.” The once simple space now “surprises passersby with amazing contraptions and experiments that play with issues important to contemporary architecture” (Berardini). The space has manifested the wonderful possibilities of the built environment to engage the public and attract creativity.

One of the first architects to transform the space back in 2003 was Los Angeles based architect Marcelo Spina with his firm PATTERNS. Spina’s installation entitled Land.

Tiles consisted of 140 concrete cast blocks contoured across an articulated topography. The units were manufactured through a process of CNC milling and vacuum formed plastic to create molds.

Spina describes Los Angeles to have a “Lack of architectural history and conventions that would inhibit these new forms of making,” and believes that “the city could be more open to embracing those possibilities.” M&A has become a vital venue for young architects and designers to test these possibilities. It provides a space where new ideas, materials, forms, technologies, and methods can be tested physically at full scale.

In describing the Los Angeles architectural culture, Greg Lynn remarks “they make stuff out here.”

This notion of making, of fabrication, is fundamental to the city’s design, culture, and spaces such as M&A provide the possibilities for its realization. It is becoming clear that “fabrication has begun to replace another route to success for the young architect: competitions and journals” (Timbero). With the rise of digital technology, new

30

methods of fabrication have become “a feasible way not just to channel creative energy, but to build a career” (Timbero). M&A provides a channel to test the viability of these digital visions into a structural reality. Oliver Hess describes how “software-based design tools allow for such diverse creative and technical pursuits, but they often remove the depth of process.” He continues to state that “by returning to the meaning of these processes it allows for greater perspective on the design process.” In opening M&A, Hess has assisted in adding meaning to the exploration of these new technologies. Many of the architects showcased at M&A spend much of their time working on the computer; M&A provides an opportunity to take the ideas out of the screen and into the built environment.

Materials & Applications in physical form is not much more than an average suburban front yard. However, the space has become an attractor point for creative energy, new ideas, and community engagement. Serving as a testing ground for young architects, the space

participates actively in the community. It connects people and ideas, creating a place for gathering, exchange, and progress. Sometimes all that is needed is a blank canvas and inspired vision to attract new life to an area.

32

Berardini, Andrew. “Los Angeles Best

Spring 2007. Materials & Ap

magazine.com/archi

Front Yard for Experimental

plications. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

tects/materials--applications.

Architecture - Materials & Appli

Smith, Dakota. “Morning After: Materials &

aspx?printerfriendly=true>.

cations - Best Of Los Angeles

Applications Party in Silver

- LA Weekly.” Los Angeles News,

Lake - Curbed LA.” Curbed LA

Events, Restaurants, Music

: The Los Angeles Neighbor

LA Weekly. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.

hoods and Real Estate Blog.

<http://www.laweekly.com/

14 Apr. 2008. Web. 18

bestof/2011/award/best-

Nov. 2011. <http://la.curbed.com/

front-yard-for-experimental-archi

archives/2008/04/morning_

tecture-1513460/>.

after_m.php>.

“Materials & Applications : Curbed LA.”

Timbero, Scott. “Retooling Form and Fun-

Curbed LA : The Los Angeles

citon.” Los Angeles Times 19 Mar. 2006:

Neighborhoods and Real Estate

E38. Print.

Blog. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://

Zeiger, Mimi. “Materials & Applications -

la.curbed.com/tags/materials-

Architect Magazine.” Architect

applications>.

Magazine: Architectural

“Materials & Applications.” Www.emanate.

Design | Architect Online: A

org. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. <http://

Premier Site for Architecture

www.emanate.org/ma-info.htm>.

Industry News & Build

Nelson, Steffie. “Hand-Eye Coordination.”

ing Resources. Web. 18 Nov.

The New York Times Style Magazine

2011. <http://www.architect

34

SITE HISTORY GALLERY ROW 24-HOUR STUDY FASHION DISTRICT

38 42 50 60

36

HISTORY The makeup and image of Downtown Los Angeles have changed dynamically, responding to the ebb and flow of cultural tides. Events such as the popularization of the automobile and World War II have shaped and defined the physical and societal composition of Downtown. Economies cycle, people migrate, and new life is born around moving points of attraction.

Looking at the Historic Core at the end of the nineteenth century, we see a transition from a primarily residential neighborhood into a financial district centered around Spring Street. Banks, insurance companies, office buildings, and hotels for businessmen began to line the streets creating a “Wall Street of the West” (Herman). This was prior to the creation of the freeways and the rise of the automobile. At this time, people would travel downtown by rail. Getting downtown by the inter-urban trains and streetcars was convenient and inexpensive, a notion hard to believe today.

Dramatic change came around the 1920’s as real estate developers saw the potential of the automobile to bring people to more distant parts of the city. New subdivisions rose outside of the city center, complete with stores, hotels, office buildings and theaters. This encouraged people to purchase automobiles and sparked a migration away from the city out to the suburbs.

By 1950 the 101 Freeway was built through Los Angeles clearing out blocks of stores and offices from its path. Parking lots began to fill the voids, turning much of the area into a social vacuum. Following suburbanization, the development of the freeways, and increased automobile ownership, attention was turned away from Downtown.

World War II also left its effect on the city, as a post-war decline led financial institutions to leave the area. Furthermore, a noticeable decrease of residents in the area damaged the viability of street front businesses to attract pedestrians and customers. Downtown became a “drive-in-drive-out” destination where people would come for a particular need and leave im-

mediately after (Herman).

Through the 1950’s, the Historic Core became the center of Latino entertainment in the city. Many of the stores began to cater to the Latino immigrant working class as the demographics of the city experienced a shift. At this time, in 1955 the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles undertook the Bunker Hill Redevelopment Project to lure businesses back to Downtown. The massive clearance project leveled homes and cleared land for future commercial skyscraper development.

Although efforts to revitalize were underway, it would take time before any real improvement would be seen.

Conditions of Downtown continued to worsen through the 1960s.

At this time prostitution and drug dealing reached an epidemic in the area. Street gang problems grew which hurt commercial activity in the area. Since the end World War II, Main Street had become plagued with minor vices.

A reminder of where the center of town used to be was now home to

38

burlesque houses, all-night movie theaters, greasy-spoon joints, xrated stores, and cheap hotels and bars. The homeless of Skid Row began to find shelter along Main Street as well. In 1961 the last inter-urban train was cancelled leaving the neighborhood to die.

Completely neglected, many of the old burlesque houses and gaudy stores closed down leaving behind an urban desert of parking lots. By the 1970â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, the financial institutions that had left Spring Street were moving west toward Bunker Hill.

The spirit of revitalization has continued to transform Downtown Los Angeles through till today. The downtown area is still struggling to define itself as a true city center, but we can see major steps of improvement being taken at various levels. Many districts have taken initiatives to clean up their neighborhood, and multiple development projects have been undertaken to bring people back to the city. Residential conversions have turned old abandoned buildings into desirable lofts, and the L.A. Live project has worked to bring entertainment back to the city center. Growing arts dis-

tricts have altered the makeup of the city, bringing new ideas and creative energy to the surface. It will take time, but the engines are in motion, and architecture will play a vital role in bringing attraction back to the city.

Herman, Robert D., and Maria Gorsuch.

Downtown Los Angeles: a Walk

ing Guide. Claremont, CA: City

Vista, 1997. Print.

Nadeau, Remi A. City-makers: [the Story of

Southern Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First

Boom, 1868-76]. Corona Del

Mar, CA: Trans-Anglo, 1977.

Print.

Sitton, Tom, and William Francis. Deverell.

Avila, Eric. Popular Culture in the Age of

Metropolis in the Making: Los

White Flight: Fear and Fantasy

Angeles in the 1920s. Berkeley:

in Suburban Los Angeles. Berke

University of California, 2001.

ley: University of California,

Print.

2004. Print.

Starr, Kevin. California: a History. New

Banham, Reyner. Los Angeles; the

York: Modern Library, 2005.

Architecture of Four Ecologies.

Print.

New York: Harper & Row, 1971.

Print.

40

GALL ERY ROW 42

GALLERY ROW NP: Hey have you heard of this LA Artwalk thing before?

TB: Yeah! I’ve gone several times before it’s a lot of fun NP: It’s coming up this Thursday, I was thinking of checking it out, would you want to go together?

TB: Let’s do it!

In a clear opposition to my usual weeknight routine, I now found myself driving toward downtown Los Angeles rather than away. Talk amongst my new co-workers intrigued me to discover for myself what this event really had to offer.

“I like art” I thought to myself, “this could be fun.” I eventually made my way off of the 110 and penetrated the city toward 7th and Spring.

I had lived near Los Angeles my entire life, but I had never remembered seeing it quite like this. After I finally found a spot to drop off my car, I was ready to explore and soak up the experience first-hand.

As I started making my way down the sidewalk it quickly struck me that something was different; there were people. There were lots of people, all over the place, filling the sidewalks and crowding the intersections. I had seen activity like this before, but never here, never in Downtown Los Angeles.

It was if the city had transformed, it had become an attraction, drawing in life from all around. There were sounds, sights, and motion all around; my senses were unfamiliar with the stimulation. So why were all these people here, and what was this thing they everyone was calling “Artwalk.”

As promoted by their website, “The Downtown LA Artwalk is a monthly showcase and celebration of the best galleries, artists, photography, restaurants, bars, shops, and businesses located in Downtown Los Angeles.” A bit of a broad generalization, but it sheds some light on the collective nature of the event.

It is the synthesis of multiple forces and activities that make the Artwalk special and unique to every participant. Whether it is about visiting your favorite gallery, tasting the lat-

est food truck, or meeting new people, the Artwalk attracts energy and activity to a once dreary setting.

The LA Artwalk is centered in the Gallery Row district of Los Angeles, contained between the streets of Main and Spring, from 2nd to 9th.

It is a newly formed district with a bold agenda. “In 2003, downtown Los Angeles’ historic core was experiencing a resurgence of urban activity when artists Nic Cha Kim and Kjell Hagen approached their neighborhood council with an unusual request” (Lubell). They wanted to officially designate this neighborhood as Gallery Row, which “wouldn’t have been remarkable if there were art galleries in the area. But there were none” (Lubell) Hagen recounts. With their vision for potential, the city complied and installed signs at the four corners of the newly designated district.

The big picture here was “to help in the revitalization of Downtown and showcase premier art happenings to the existing and potential art patrons” (Taub).

The birth of the new Gallery Row district quickly gave rise to the

44

Artwalk event. When the LA Artwalk “was founded in 2004 by Bert Green of Bert Green Fine Art, the streetscape was a less-thandesirable place to stroll at night.

Drug dealers and homeless people roamed the area” (Villarreal). The hope was that the monthly event would “become an economic engine to keep the revitalization momentum alive and thriving.” The event has become a major success story with a steady increase in popularity over the years. “The first Artwalk only attracted seventyfive people. Current attendance averages five thousand visitors per month with some events boasting as many as ten thousand” (Watkins). This growing attraction for Los Angeles has started to form a culturally vibrant artistic center for the city.

So here I am in the midst of it all, some five thousand people around me, all enjoying the scene created by the fusion of event and city. Culture, life, and energy are flowing down the streets, and it is a lot to take in. Overwhelmed by the experience, I allowed my friend to guide me through the craziness. We took

a look inside The Hive Gallery for a mind-bending detour from reality.

The influence of mind-altering substances draped the walls, as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. I was drawn toward the back by emerging sounds of progressive electro music being mixed by the DJ. A cup of white wine finished off the visit and we continued to explore the festivities. A few more galleries with various contemporary art caught our attention as we made our way toward the infamous food trucks.

I’ve heard that you are not a true Angelino until you’ve eaten from a food truck. Somehow twenty-one years had gone by and this would be my first time. Two entire parking lots had been converted into a feeding frenzy. Crowds swarmed the various trucks parked throughout with lines that rivaled top Hollywood nightclubs. Was I going to wait two hours for the best grilled cheese I ever tasted? Not tonight, too much else to see. The decision was not easy but I eventually landed up at a Mexi-terranean fusion truck, after all the night was about new experiences. My lamb burrito

tantalized my taste buds in an unfamiliar fashion. With full stomachs we were ready to continue our adventure.

A walk by Robert Reynolds gallery caught my attention as a glowing installation hung in the window.

We took a peek inside to find what I could only describe as a canoe covered in umbrellas. The gallery was a bit more my speed; larger scaled unique installation pieces loosely filled the space. I was then taken for a trip back in time as we descended down the stairs of The Edison. A retrofitted boiler room adorned with generators and 1920’s flare. The old Edison light bulbs guided our journey down the floating staircase into a different world. Art, food, drinks, and socializing starts to describe the atmosphere created by this attraction.

As our night began to wind down, one thing awoke in my mind; this was Los Angeles, in a way that I had never seen it before. Whatever it was that brought people here, even if it was only once a month, people came together. Art and culture came together through a event

46

to transform the image of a city. I can only imagine that as this district and event continue to grow and to attract, Downtown Los Angeles will morph into a vibrant and culturally rich space.

“Art Revitalizing Downtown Los Angeles.”

Times - California, National

Atlaschi+Associates Architects.

and World News - Latimes.com.

11 Mar. 2009. Web. 24 Oct.

8 Feb. 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.

2011. <http://www.a3la.com/

<http://www.latimes.com/enter

blog/?cat=10>.

tainment/la-ca-artwalk8-

Lubell, Sam. “The Birth of Cool.” The

2009feb08,0,1951221.story>.

Architects Newspaper, 21 Feb.

Watkins, Annie-Marie. “Downtown LA Art

2007. Web. <http://www.niche.

Walk: Yes, There Is Culture in

la/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/

Cali.” Slamscene. Web. 24

Architects_Newspaper_Feb2007

Oct. 2011. <http://www.slam

scene.com/?do=cat>.

Taub, Lindsey. “Art Weekend Launches

in Downtown LA.” Pamela’s

Punch — Covering People,

Places, and Events in Washing

ton, D.C. and Los Angeles.

Punch Pacific, 26 Jan. 2011.

Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.

pamelaspunch.com/art-week

end-launches-in-downtown-la/>.

Villarreal, Yvonne. “Downtown Los Angeles

Art Walk Draws Gallery Hoppers

- Latimes.com.” Los Angeles

48

43 43 58 53 91 85

94 71 52

40

43 28

84

36

39

24-HOUR STUDY For my 24-hour site experiment, I sought to investigate the current attraction levels existing within the Gallery Row District of Los Angeles. For the experiment I viewed attraction as any force that brought people to an area. What I chose to study therefore was the distribution of people throughout the district. I wanted to understand what parts of the district currently “attracted” the most and least people, whatever the reason may be.

To study this condition, I developed a simple process of counting and mapping people surrounding my site. I confined my area of data collection to the fifteen intersections that define the Gallery Row. From each intersection I recorded the amount of pedestrians that I observed in one minute times. I mapped my findings at each intersection, creating a log of pedestrian activity throughout the district.

The study was conducted with a limited amount of controls, allowing for equal opportunity causation of

various factors. The controls that were set governed the amount of time at each location and the method of collecting data. I did not judge any causation factors, instead simply recorded what I observed within each interval. The result is non-biased data, allowing conditional variability to affect each observation equally.

What the data shows is a high concentration of people toward the center of the district along 5th and 6th streets. Moving away from the center in either direction reveals a fading population at either end.

Furthermore, the Spring Street side showed greater activity than the Main Street side in all but one case.

The most “attractive” intersection appears to be at 6th and Spring Street with a count of 94 people within one minute. Conversely, the lowest population count occurred at 8th and Main Street, recording only 28 people.

These findings supported my selection of a building site within the area. One of the main goals for my project will be to increase attraction and draw to an area through

the intervention of architecture. I want a site that is currently lacking in attraction, but shows potential for improvement. For this reason, I am looking away from the already populated district center toward the less occupied edges. The site I decided upon is a parking lot along Main Street between 8th and 9th.

The lot occupies the block, which my experiment showed to currently have the lowest level of attraction.

This location marks a primary entrance to the district and is the convergence point of Spring and Main Streets, which define the Gallery Row. I believe that there is great potential to intervene at this site to create a new point of attraction that will bring people and activity into the city.

50

24-HOUR DATA

43 43 58 53 91 85

94 71 52

40

43 28

84

36

39

52

EMPTY LOTS

54

SITE

56

58

FASH ION DIST RICT

60

FASHION DISTRICT The Fashion District has and continues to be a vital component in the make-up of downtown Los Angeles. It is a rapidly growing district, which currently consists of 94 blocks in the southeast quadrant of downtown (Powers). The boundaries are roughly 6th Street to the north, the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10) to the south, Main Street to the west and San Pedro Street to the east, with a growing expansion east (Powers). The district functions as the creative center for the Los Angeles apparel industry, housing 41% of LA County’s apparel and accessory businesses (LA Fashion District). A Business Improvement District (BID) was formed in 1996 to revitalize the area. Since the inception of the BID, the district has expanded from its prior 56 blocks and continues to experience improvements in economics, aesthetics, and safety (LA Fashion District). The area used to be known as the garment district and was characterized by knockoff merchandise, homelessness, and filth (Powers). With the creation

of the BID, the area was renamed the “Fashion District” and has been working to create a new image.

A BID is an official district, within which property owners pay a regular special assessment that is used to hire a staff and carry out the desires of the property owners (Crumpley). Since the formation of the BID, real estate values have more than tripled in the district as vast measures have been taken to clean up the area (LA Fashion District). A “Clean and Safe” team was formed through the BID who patrols the area around the clock to maintain order and create a positive environment (Power). Clad in yellow, the team removes graffiti, picks up trash, and deals with disorderly conduct on the streets. In the winter quarter of 2011, the team removed 1,864 graffiti tags, collected 52,553 bags of trash, and resolved 990 instances of disorderly behavior (LA Fashion District Business Improvement District). The neighborhood is serious about cleaning up its image, and has proven successful with their efforts so far. The area is now much more inviting and has become a safer place to live,

work, and visit.

The district has also recently involved itself with the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk to further vitalize the area. In June of 2011, the Art Walk expanded south beyond 7th street along Main and Los Angeles streets to include portions of the Fashion District (LA Fashion District). The Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk is a monthly event showcasing and celebrating art every second Thursday of the month. It brings together the various galleries in the area through self-guided tours including food, drinks, and music. The event started in 2004 by efforts from Bert Green with the hope that “the monthly event would become an economic engine to keep the revitalization momentum alive and thriving” (Villarreal). The event has become a major success, continually growing in popularity and transforming the image of the city. The Fashion District is located “adjacent to other areas in Los Angeles that are undergoing a ‘renaissance’ including the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, an area that experiencing pedestrian traffic to art galleries, restau-

62

rants, and retail stores” (AECOM).

Kent Smith, the L.A. Fashion District BID Executive Director, saw “an opportunity for the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk to showcase the local artists in the fashion world.” The inclusion of fashion into the Art Walk should be a mutually beneficial relationship for the Art Walk, the Fashion District, and Downtown Los Angeles in general.

“Art and fashion have always influenced each other. Bringing them together during Art Walk is an exciting and unique experience that demonstrates our goal of featuring all of the art forms in Downtown Los Angeles,” said Joe Moller, Executive Director of the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk.

Currently, the area contains three major landmarks: The Marts, the LA Flower Market and Santee Alley. The Marts are comprised of the California Market Center, the Cooper Design Space, and the New Mart, which form the public façade of the Los Angeles fashion industry (Powers). The Marts house many clothing designers, sellers, and buyers, as well as showrooms for displays. The LA Flower Market is

the premiere wholesale flower market for the Los Angeles area (Los Angeles Flower District). Santee Alley is one of the most popular shopping areas in Los Angeles. A literal alley, it is known for its festival-like atmosphere and great bargains with over 150 shops selling everything form clothing, to jewelry, to toys (Welcome to Santee Alley).

Also in the area is the Otis College of Art and Design and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, which contributes to the creative makeup of the district. The area is home to over 12,000 students between the various design programs (LA Fashion District).

The Fashion District plays a culturally and economically significant role in the urban fabric of Los Angeles. Making up twenty percent of the city’s downtown, it serves as a vital economic engine for the region (AECOM). The area has shown dramatic improvements in recent years, and still has great potential in contributing to the revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles. The district is committed to its continuous progress, and is well on path to creating an image of glamour for

the downtown area. Trying to move beyond it old unsavory image of the “garment district,” the Fashion District demonstrates great opportunity for architectural intervention in the re-imaging of a city.

64

AECOM. Fashion Your District: Market

Flower Markets Serve Retail

Analysis of the Los Angeles

Florists, Event Planners and

Fashion District. Rep. Print.

Decorators with Their Fresh Cut

Crumpley, Charles. “Neighborhoods Mea

Flowers, Greens and Floral

Business.” Los Angeles Business

Supplies. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.

Journal (2011).

<http://www.laflowerdistrict.

LA Fashion District. Art Walk Fashionably

com/>.

South of 7th Street. 7 June 2011.

Powers, Kemp. “Neighborhood Project:

Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.

Fashion District: LAist.” LAist:

fashiondistrict.org

Los Angeles News, Food, Arts &

content/?c=58>.

Events. LAist, 26 July

LA Fashion District Business Improve

2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.

ment District. BID Clean and

<http://laist.com/2007/07/26/

Safe Team. BIDLines. Nov. 2011.

neighborhood_pr_6.php>.

Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <www.

Welcome to The Santee Alley. Web. 16

fashiondistrict.org>.

Nov. 2011. <http://thesanteealley.

LA Fashion District. LA Fashion District

com/>.

Expands as Business and Cre

ative Hub of the Apparel Industry.

22 June 2007. Web. 15 Nov.

2011.

Los Angeles Flower District - Los Angeles

66

VELLUM DOCUMENTATION ESSAY

68 70

68

VELLUM The 8th annual Vellum/CAED Furniture Exhibition proved itself to be a challenge and a valuable learning experience. It was an opportunity to translate designs from paper and computer into a physical built reality. This is the side of architecture that you often do not get much of in school, and was an eye-opening way to kick off of the final year and begin thesis. It allowed me to experience many of the difficulties and obstacles inherent in construction at a small and manageable scale.

The process was long and often felt treacherous, with many twists and turns along the way. As ideas about my thesis changed, and I came to realize the constraints imposed due to increasing costs and a lack of flexibility with the materials I had originally selected, this required me to change my designs even further. At the beginning I was interested in designing a wine rack.

I had intended for it to be a gift for my brother, and at the time was investigating the concepts of modu-

larity and the ephemeral in my research. I had designed a modular system based around quick and easy assembly and disassembly.

Much of the design process was done digitally, and I had felt pretty good about my design at that early stage. Once I had prototyped out a scale model I began to question my design. The twisted form that I had desired did not seem to show as clearly when I saw the physical object. I quickly became dissatisfied with the design and was back to the drawing board.

Becoming frustrated with my wine rack designs, I shifted my focus to designing a new coffee table for my parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; living room. I was still interested in investigating the twisted form and continued the design process through sketching and digital modeling. However, my excitement with my new design direction was also short lived. After producing a schematic model that I was happy with, it was over to Home Depot to start deciding how this table would take shape outside of my computer. Running through several different ideas about construction, I was not finding a solu-

tion that was compatible with both my design and budget. I was no longer able to justify my design at that cost of material and construction, and was once again back to square one.

This time I moved toward designing a lighting fixture. I had reasoned that the material requirements and scale would bring the cost down, making it a more feasible way to get at my formal interests. I knew that my parents wanted something to replace the boring track light that they have in their dining area.

I saw this as an opportunity, and decided to design something that would work better for that space. I eventually chose to leave the existing track light in place, and design a shade of sorts that would conceal the lamps and accentuate the lighting.

By this point in time, my thesis ideas had shifted away from modularity and ephemerality and were exploring the notion of attraction.

This idea of attraction would then become the guiding concept for designing my lamp entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;a[track] tion.â&#x20AC;? The form was modeled

70

digitally though several iterations focusing on concealment and supple curvature. A major goal for the project was to control the filtration of light based around three points of attraction. The track light contained three bulbs; one focused on the dining table, the other two on pieces of art on opposite walls. It was these three points that served as attractors for the room and desired light. I sought to create a perforation pattern that attracted light at these points, and diffused light as it moved away. A pattern of circular cuts was designed with Grasshopper to attract high porosity around the three points. Moving away from the attractor points, the cuts became smaller to create a denser surface.

The final lamp was laser cut out of 1/8th inch clear acrylic. The pieces then received different treatments based on their location. Pieces were either left clear, hand sanded to a frosted finish, or painted white.

The various treatments were determined based on a gradient scale, creating a dense center and gradually fading out to clear around both ends. The hope was to add another

layer of visual complexity and effect as your eye moves down the piece.

The intent was to visually ground a stable center, with light wings that vanished off to either side. Unfortunately the physical form lacked some of this logic. The pieces in the center were designed slim and elegant, but in the end proved to be too thin. Pieces toward the center began to crack, as they were not designed thick enough to support the stresses and weight of the two ends. In hindsight I should have used a thicker material, or at least designed the pieces thicker in the center. Although I was disappointed with the cracked pieces, I think the imperfections stood out a lot clearer to me than to others.

Overall the piece communicated many of the goals of my design and taught me a great deal along the way about what happens when it is time to move outside of the computer and into the physically constructed world.

72

PROVOCATIONS I SITE II LIGHT III SKIN

76 78 80

74

I. SITE Provocation I explored the idea of attraction through the issue of site. Understanding the site as a cleared site, my provocation began from a blank slate. A single sheet of oriented strand board (OSB) became the lot for my intervention.

The many pieces of the OSB began to represent the many particles that I intend to attract toward one another. The strands of curved basswood indicate the motion of various points coming together.

Separate particles attract, meet, and unite as one. This first making starts to choreograph the dance of attraction as I began to construct the ideas of site.

76

II. LIGHT Provocation II tested out interests in the patterning of light along twisted surfaces. A fascination with twists led me to step away from the paper and the computer screen in order to understand the physical form.

Through a process of laser cutting basswood I constructed a small scale twisted â&#x20AC;&#x153;wallâ&#x20AC;? with a pattern of openings. I was interested in experiencing the form in its physical reality, and began to see the effects of openings and light. Light helped to accentuate the form and reveal the process of contoured construction. The play of light and shadow breathed new life into the void and started to analyze the potential of light within my design.

78

III. SKIN Provocation III sought to expand the notion of skin by looking outside the realm of building and into the world of fashion. With my sight located in the Fashion district of Los Angeles, I decided to explore skin in the context of fashion. Both fashion and architecture shelter the human body, protecting us from external elements. They both provide an external image and act as a source of identity. I was interested in looking at how we provide an additional layer of skin to the body through the use of clothing.

Building skins are at times challenged to create a sealed surface along complex geometry. The idea of skinning complicated forms has recently become far more manageable through the use of digital tools and fabrication methods. The challenges of skinning curved surfaces have been tackled by fashion designers and tailors for centuries.

The way in which we skin complex geometry with flat material is a vital area of inquiry for both the fashion and architecture industries.

The curves of the human body are arguably more of challenge to navigate than some of the most unusual forms seen in architecture.

Clothing also deals with issues of movement and must answer questions of how to skin a kinetic form.

While most buildings remain at rest, the human body is constantly in motion, and our clothes must adjust, adapt, and allow for this unpredicted movement. Trying to understand first hand the relationship between the body and material proved very difficult, and certainly requires more than one attempt at clothing design to comprehend.

Clothing also deals fundamentally with notions of interpersonal attraction. The way we dress is often driven by our desire to attract. It is an external skin with which we choose what to reveal or conceal.

What we choose to reveal is instrumental in how and what we attract.

Clothingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with the body is a medium through which we design attraction.

The womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top that I designed focuses on the idea of revealing and concealing based on attrac-

tor points of the body. A pattern of circular cuts flows across the shirt varying in porosity in response to the body. Points of density are placed to conceal the breasts and midriff. Moving away form these points, the cuts increase in size to reveal the body. The body is exposed strategically to enhance the potential for attraction.

The top was made through a mixture of digital fabrication and handcraft. After determining by hand how the material would fall along the body, points of interest were marked and translated digitally.

Though a Grasshopper script, cuts were designed to respond to these attractor points with changing density. The lycra fabric was then laser cut to create the perforations. The cut fabric was then used to create the top and was sewn together into its final form.

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PROGRAM WRITTEN GRAPHIC

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PROGRAM

The project will function as a contemporary events center for Downtown Los Angeles. The focus will be toward artistic events including music, fashion, and installation art.

Flexible exposition space can transform from a fashion show one night into a DJ performance the next.

Dynamic gallery space will showcase new and experimental art of various scale and media. Both events and art will extend beyond the walls into an outdoor plaza with rotating installations. Large outdoor installations will attract traffic, as more intimate window displays will intrigue pedestrians with artistic glimpses. Also included in the program is a hotel function to serve the needs of overnight guests attending an event. Whether visiting for business or pleasure, the hotel will provide convenient and safe accommodations for on-site attendees. The project will be housed within 100,000 square feet distributed across four stories with a 30,000 square foot building footprint.

lot - 42,000 sqft. footprint - 30,000 sqft. plaza - 12,000 sqft.

4 stories - 2 stories of event space - 2 stories of hotel 20% circulation 10% mechanical main floor - 30,000 sqft.

- 3,000 person capacity - 4,000 capacity with plaza - 2,000 sqft. lobby - 18,000 sqft. open dancefloor - 3 full bars - 4 sets of bathrooms 2nd floor mezzanine - 20,000 sqft.

- 2 full bars - 2 sets of bathrooms - 4,000 gallery space - 4,000 lounge space 3rd floor hotel - 26,000 sqft.

- 40 standard rooms - 400 sqft./ room - 2,000 hotel staff 4th floor hotel - 24,000 sqft.

- 10 junior suites @ 600 sqft.

- 6 suites @ 800 sqft.

- 4 penthouse @ 1,000 sqft.

- 2,000 sqft. roof patio

The following spread shows a graphic representation of the program shown from the perspective of twelve potential different users of the space. The perspectives include: an artist, student, architect, intern, raver, passerby, fashion designer, model, pedestrian, merchant, DJ, and a bartender. Each graphic is focused around the assumed primary attraction for each user to the space. The graphics are to be understood as an abstracted plan view, showing the relationships between activities and spaces as they relate to the particular user.

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Nicolas Pappas Thesis Book Part II Karen Lange Studio 400 Winter 2012

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HOTEL

EVENT HALL

THEATER

CAFE

PARKING

LOBBY

PROGRAM MASSING

In this iteration of program massing models, I studied the event hall and hotel as primary program nodes with supporting spaces for a theater, café, lobby and parking. The architectural parti took the form of an elevated mass supported by multiple room-sized mega-columns. Stemming from early ideas of the “piloti” to free the ground plan, this placed the activity of the building above ground, leaving a public plaza below. Placing the events above ground level was an attempt to bring spectacle into long-range view. By putting to focus point of the building overhead it can be seen from a distance in order to draw attention from its surroundings. The program was designed to crate attraction through spectacle, drawing in crowds from afar to witness and participate in the new events of the city center.

The café, lobby, and theater were positioned at ground level to provide public amenities to encourage pedestrian use of the plaza. The

plaza serves not just as recreational space, but also as an exhibition spot for rotating temporary installations to be designed by various artists and architects. The ground level plaza takes on characteristics of the MoMA PS1 courtyard or the Materials & Applications front yard in displaying experimental contemporary art to the city. Infused with art, the plaza becomes its own event space for receptions or outdoor performances.

Above sits the main event hall, which supports the bulk of activity within the program. The 30,000 square foot clear span space allows for a variety of concerts, shows, and performances. Separated by a central void, the hotel aspect of the program is situated across from the event hall, provided overnight accommodations for the event goers. The void cuts through the entire thickness of the building, bringing light down into the plaza below.

The void also serves to isolate the hotel rooms from the activity of the event hall. The hotel is broken up into two distinct bars to allow for exterior windows in all the rooms.

These basic massing decisions informed a series of form studies,

which explored the potential results of these arrangements.

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CONCEPT SKETCHES

Initial sketches show formal responses to early massing decisions. A pierced horizontal mass lying across three supporting structures served as the template for my design explorations. Upon that foundation, intuitive gestures were developed as sketches began to inform one another. Aesthetics of automobiles and spacecraft were fused into the architecture from early on. Horizontality, motion, speed, and technology all made there way into the design vision, displaying a desire to propel the present into the future. As a contemporary events center focused on experimental art, people are invited to envision the future and uncover the possibilities of what is ahead of us.

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STUDY MODELS

Physical study models were used to test different ideas about form in a three dimensional format. The elevated horizontal mass served as the basis for various models seeking out options within that parti. Certain models began to focus more closely on the ground plane to understand the relationship between above and below ground.

Access to the underground parking pierces through the plaza as the primary mega-columns begin to emerge from the deformed landscape. The cut, pushed, and pulled ground plane gives shape to outdoor seating and gathering spaces. Placing the physical models into the site context model gave scale and reference to the design.

It was important to understand how the building would sit on the site and its relationship to the surrounding buildings. The projects height does not exceed its context, emphasizing its horizontality as it stretches over its neighbor and cantilevers out into the street. By designing the event hall to jut out

beyond the confines of the city block, it dramatically increases its presence and visibility with the city.

Reaching out from its confined lot, the building calls attention to itself by literally displaying its contents out over the street.

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STRUCTURAL MODEL

The final model of this design focused on the building as a structural object. Through constructing a structural skeleton of the project, I was able to communicate the desired form and major program elements while developing my understanding of the constructability of the project. I forced myself to construct the model entirely out of linear members in order to learn how I could potentially develop the structural system for the building.

After having difficulty with determining the structure of my project, this model helped me to think of my form in structural terms. This model developed the mechanics of the project while maintaining the conceptual gestures. The project enticed visions of a spacecraft taking off from the site, flashing as a beacon from above, drawing in those around it, captivated by its light, taking its guests to a place they have never been.

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CONCEPT

Artistic attraction. Flashing Beacon. Installed Experience.

These six words defined my architectural concept for this phase of the project. The goal for my architecture was to draw people into downtown Los Angeles in order to cultivate the creative energy into a revitalization of the city life. I began to sense a conflict between my thesis goals and the building that was resulting. I was interested in increasing the pedestrian-life, the nightlife, and street-life in a city that desperately lacks all of the above.

I was interested in developing public space that would attract people to gather, share and experience new ideas. As my design developed I began to question how any of this could be achieved through the building I was designing. How could I hope to increase street-life by drawing people up and off of the streets? I felt as though the building I was designing was the wrong format to carry out my intentions.

I decided at this point to step back

and make a few major changes to my design. The first issue was the site, I was interested in the area and the context, but the lot itself was stifling. My project did not work sitting within the city block.

Set behind the sidewalk on a typical lot on a typical block encased by other buildings was not the proper site to execute my goals. Furthermore, the program needed some re-thinking, my intended project is about the event, the experience, the moment of the gathering; it was not about hotels and multiple theaters. My building needed to be stripped down of its excess baggage and get back to the root of what I was trying to accomplish.

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SITE

At this stage my project underwent an extensive re-design, going back to the fundamental goals of my thesis to re-think what I was developing with my architecture. Phase two began with a shifting of the site. I moved out from the confined lot out literally onto the streets.

The interest of my site was at the convergence of Spring Street and Main Street, not in the lot behind the sidewalk. The convergence of the two streets marks a focal point for the area, defining the tip of the Gallery Row district. It is this point of intersection that I want to become the attractor node for the project. My project seeks then to transform this space in a way that makes it an inhabitable and inviting public realm. The site poses interesting problems as it lies outside the traditional understanding of constructible space, but has serious potential given its prominent presence within the city grid.

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PROGRAM

The program was re-thought to better address the goals of my thesis.

The goal is to create public gathering space that is fueled by art to create spectacle and events, which attract pedestrian life into the city center. The site becomes a public plaza focused around an outdoor stage and surrounded by vender market space in order to create a vivid street life. The small cafĂŠ that currently exists at the tip of the block will be redeveloped into the curatorial headquarters of the project. The plaza will become an exhibition of art on various levels.

Temporary installations will be constructed for the plaza by up-coming local artists and architects selected through a competition every sixmonths. Underground workshop space below the stage provides artists with the fabrication facilities necessary to construct their installations on site. Concerts and performances from local musicians and artists will take place regularly on the stage to entertain crowds.

The plaza is lined with craft-fair

style markets allowing artists to display and sell their work to the public. The headquarters manages these interests in order to maintain an artistic attraction for the city.

In addition to office and reception space, the building serves as a gallery space by day and a loungestyle bar by night. The bar is positioned on the top level, extending out onto adjacent roofs. This creates the possibility for a rooftop lounge, which provides a more intimate setting, still engaged within the spectacle.

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CIRCULATION

Circulation on the site proposed unique challenges, which heavily defined the direction of the project. The question of how to create a pedestrian friendly plaza on what is currently the intersection of two heavily trafficked roads drove much of the design thus far. The major design decision was redirect the roads underground and construct the plaza at ground level above the vehicle traffic. This creates a safe separation between the flow of cars and the gathering of people while questioning how we create public space. I propose to give the â&#x20AC;&#x153;primeâ&#x20AC;? center real estate back to the pedestrian while diverting vehicles underground. It places people back at the center, where we currently allow transportation to rule. As the road disappears, people emerge. Central space of this nature encourages people to come together and gather rather than be confined to the perimeters and forced to follow a stream of motion.

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MECHANICAL

Mechanical systems have been integrated into the thickness of the floor space. Pipes and ducts run through the open web steel trusses that support the poured concrete and steel floor plates.

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SUSTAINABLE CONCEPT

Along the southern faรงade of the curatorial headquarters is a double skin faรงade with an external screen to shade the interior. The external skin is designed as a series of curved louvers whose transparency is dependent on a series of attractor nodes that concentrate the density to desired locations.

The changing density of the screen provides unique visual effects both inside and out. The play of light and space add a layer of interest to the project while using the architecture help control the environment. Shading the primary faรงade from the strong southern sun is an important consideration for the hot Los Angeles weather, the will help to maintain comfortable internal temperatures without the over use of mechanical systems.

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PLAN & SECTION

The plan shows the major elements of the project within their proposed context. The outdoor stage becomes the central focus of the design, attracting crowds toward its spectacle. The curatorial headquarters sits in line at the tip of the block, overlooking the plaza that it manages. Vendor and artist markets flank the edges, defining a sense of place and purpose for the project. The roads are diverted below ground, making the plaza essentially a bridge, which connects the city blocks at ground level.

The section describes the relationship between the above and below ground spaces of the design.

Ground level becomes a pedestrian friendly plaza, drawing the public to gather in the experience of art. The roads are pushed below the plaza safely isolating transportation from the event. Also underground is an artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop that provides fabrication space to designers working on installations for the plaza. The workshop allows the projects to be

constructed on site while not interfering with the event space. Views into the workshop allow the public to witness the creation process of art as it happens. A large elevator lift between the workshop and the ground level allows easy transportation of the finished pieces up to the site. The gallery and offices overlook the plaza, while the lounge sits perched above with views of the spectacle.

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