JP JUST I NE POULIN
JUST I NE PO UL I N DESIGN
PORTFOLIO
POULIN.JUSTINE@GMAIL.COM 213-820-1825
Justine Poulin is a French-Candian artist and designer based in Los Angeles that positions herself at the convergence of architecture, storytelling, and emerging technologies. She is strongly interested by narratives and the layering of different mediums or realities. From the short films to the VR or projection experiences, her work attempts to exploits the potential of emerging technologies and blur the line between traditional mediums. She recently graduated with distinction from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) where her thesis,
Rabbit Hole, won the 2020 Gehry price award for the best graduate thesis project. Before joining the M.Arch 2 program at SCIArc, she obtained her B.SC in Architecture from McGill University. Together with her architecture degree, she pursued a minor in mathematics where she got introduced to scripting and computer science. She is now looking to integrate this knowledge in new projects where she can continue to push the architectural discourse outside of its traditional realm.
RABBIT HOLE SCI-A RC TH ESIS, SU M M ER 2020
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LA BELLE EPOQUE SCI-A RC EL ECTIV E, F A L L 2019
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À TABLE SCI-A RC EL ECTIV E, W IN TER 2019
THE MEAL SCI-A RC EL ECTIV E, F A L L 2019
UPCYCLING SCI-A RC DESIGN STU DIO, F A L L 2019
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MARCH 19
SCI-A RC DESIGN STU DIO, W IN TER 2020
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R A B BI T ADVISOR HERNAN DIAZ ALONZO THEORY ADVISOR JOHN COOPER
HOLE SCI-ARC THESIS, GEHRY PRIZE WINNER SUMMER 2020
RABBIT HOLE is a short film that explores how multiple versions of the same reality can coexist within one space. It is interested by the layering of realities and mediums.
the rabbit hole means to enter a space where the distinction between the original, the copy, the real and the fake slowly disappears. It means to simultaneously explore variants of the real and the fictional to the point where nothing can be trusted. Down the rabbit hole, nothing can be trusted: everyone has to curate and protect their own version of the real.
RABBIT HOLE uses the technique of the mise en abyme to embed, reflect or repeat a space within itself, creating copies that are not always faithful to the original. To travel down Tools and Software: Professional lighitng and filming equipment, 3ds Max, Vray, Nuke, After Effects
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p.6 Render: conceptual image representing the intent of the short film p.8-9 Animation: extracted frames from RABBIT HOLE showing the gradual unfolding of the interior space
The mise en abyme is a “reflective
meaning is lost or corrupted. At this
strategy where the content of a
stage, nothing can be trusted. Copies
medium is reflected in the medium
merge with originals and compelling
itself.” As
expected
fictions compete with facts. There is
to faithfully repeat or reflect its
no other choice than to come up with
container, but like a copy of a copy,
your own narrative and formulate your
the replicas can lose resolution or
own “truth”. But careful, searching for
start to formulate their own truth,
truths might, very well lead you, to an
reaching the point where the original
infinite rabbit hole.
such,
it
is
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p.10-11 Animation: extracted frames from RABBIT HOLE hilighting the reflective and repetitive underlying structure of the movie. Reflection, repetition and symmetry are used to compose each shots, but also determine the sequencing and unfolding of the story line.
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p.12 Animation: extracted frames from RABBIT HOLE exploiting the concept of the mise en abyme and the mix of different medias p. 13 -14 Animation: extracted frames from RABBIT HOLE presenting the ever-expending potential of the mise en abyme
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LA BELLE EPOQUE INSTRUCTOR ALEXEY MARFIN PARTNERS INA CHEN, FATEMEH GHASEMI, GREGORY KOKKOTIS, JONATHAN WARNER
LA BELLE EPOQUE is a VR experience inspired by the movie The favorite. The project proposes a fully immersive experience that highlights the main themes of the movie.
SCI-ARC ELECTIVE FALL 2019
the most recognizable environment of the movie: the queen’s room. Beyond the simple reproduction. the project merges together key moments of the movie in a singular experience. Sound effects and subtle animations are designed to support and reinforce the mood of the movie. A special attention was put on the choice of materials, furniture and lighting devices to respect the ambiance and the period of the story.
The favorite is an American-IrlandoBritish movie produced by Yórgos Lánthimos in 2018. The movie takes place in the early 18th century, when England is at war with France. LA BELLE EPOQUE reinterprets one of Tools and Software: 3ds Max, Vray, After Effects
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p.16 - 18 Photograph: final VR exhibiton (credit: Alexey Marfin, Xin Liu) p.18 - 20 Renderings: selected views of the VR scene
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Tools and Software: 3ds Max, Vray, After Effects
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TA B L E
PROFESSORS DAMJAN JOVANOVIC, ANGELICA LORENZI
SCIARC ELECTIVE WINTER 2019
À TABLE is a collection of 100 screenshots, all produced in less than 10 minutes using a reel time rendering engine. None of the images were modified or post-produced after the given 10 minutes design window. What you see is what you get.
or architect has two possibilities: fight the digital or follow the trend. By producing more than a thousand screenshots over the course of the semester, À TABLE embraced its time while adding, not without irony, to the enormous amount of food related content already present on social medias. These low-resolution images explore the new wave of visual content, where quantity dominates over quality and meaning.
In our contemporary world, an impressive number of images is produced every second. Facing this new reality, the contemporary artist Tools and Software: Unity, Sandbox Platform
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p. 22 Screenshot: Experimentation with animated materials p.24 Booklet: Collection of the best 100 screenshot produced during the semester p.25 -28 Screenshot: Selection of the best screenshots of the semester
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The screenshots were created through a digital platform (sandbox) that allowed the used of a restricted number of objects and set of operations. Each composition was producing
within a window of 10 minutes, and did not allow any post processing. The platform was thus at the same time the modeling and rendering engine.
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Through a progression of screenshots, À TABLE deconstructs food arangements and challenge the appearance of commun aliments. By playing with textures, materials and composition, À
TABLE critiques the idea, mainly developped through social medias, that food should always look perfect and prestine.
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THE
ME A L
INSTRUCTOR PETER TESTA PARTNERS DUTRA BROWN, CHRISTINA GRIGGS,JONATHAN WARNER
SCI-ARC ELECTIVE FALL 2019
THE MEAL is a collection of three animated scenes and a VR scene that speculates on the future of online cooking recipes. The project proposes an immersive and playful platform where the user can learn at its own pace the necessary steps for the making of a specific meal.
objects and renderings are assembled to create a VR experience where different steps of the making are simultaneously showed. THE MEAL attempts to challenges the present means of representation by going beyond a purely digital, high resolution result. By mixing resolutions it also speculates on how emergent technologies, still waiting to be perfected, such as 360 volumetric capture, could successfully be integrated to current projects.
Like a recipe, the project mixes together different elements and techniques to obtain a surprising and flavourful results. Real footage, 360 video captures, photogrammetried Tools and Software: Multicamera sensing and scanning rig, 6 axsis Staubli robots, Maya, Vray, After Effects
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p.24 Animated scenes of the making process: dought making and pasta station p.25 Animated scenes of the making process: cooking the tomatoe sauce p.26 Animated scenes of the making process: plating of the lasagna p.27 Renderings: selected views of the VR scene
As a proof of concept the team focused on one meal: the lasagna. Not dissimilar to the VR platform, the beauty redients. The act of cooking one is, in fact, similar to the act of designing — layering of different elements to the creation of one harmonious whole.
Like the rest of the platform, the lasagna presented on the VR scene is made of a mix of elements. Some ingredients are traditional and comestible while others are referencing the construction and building tradition.
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UP
CYCLING
PROFESSOR PETER TESTA PARTNER JULIA PIKE
SCI-ARC DESIGN STUDIO F2019
UP CYCLING is a series of investigations that uses graphics, animations and projections as a catalyst for design.
through three main investigations where the conclusion of each phase is used as the starting point of the following. Each investigation use 2d animated graphics a way to flatten original massing and create a new connections between its parts. Each phase is concerned with a specific issue, bringing us closer to a final result where there is no more delineation between the old and the new, the 2d and the 3d, the digital and the physical.
To upcycle means to recycle something in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item. With that in mind, the project attempts to upcycle some of LeCorbusier’s most iconic massing by creating a new set of relationship between the masses. The workflow can be understood Tools and Software: 3d printer, color projector, 6 axsis Staubli robots, Rhino, After Effects
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p.38 Sampling (Investigation 1) : new connections were made by sampling outdated masses from Le Corbusier and using them as silhouettes in a set of 2d abstract animation.
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p.39 Remixing (Investigation 2) : By overlapping the results obtained in the Sampling phase to physical models inspired by Le Corbusier’s work, this investigation intents to blur the line between the physical and the digital. Graphics are used to disrupt the physical and highlight new organizing structures.
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p.40 Remixing (Investigation 2) : Further investigations using layered 2d drawings and projections. Once again, the graphics are used break apart initial organizational systems and inform the next phase of investigations.
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p.41 Recomposing (Investigation 3): Graphics are used to consolidate the new massing and speculate on its interior organization.
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p. 42-43 RECOMPOSING (behind the scenes in SCI-Arc’s robot house): cluster of objects from the REMIXING catalogue were moved by robotic arms and projected on to speculate on interior organization.
MA R C H
PROFESSORS HERNAN DIAZ ALONZO, RACHAEL MCCALL
March 19 is a shot film that uses humor and absurdity to speculate on the potential repercussions of the spread of COVID-19 in California.
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SCI-ARC DESIGN STUDIO WINTER 2020
to prevent the spreading of diseases. But how far should we go into people’s privacy to ensure public health? MARCH 19 is a reflection on the omnipresence of surveillance in our modern society. With humor and absurdity, MARCH 19 attempts to address fundamental issues concerning heath, privacy and individuality. By adapting acu-puncture techniques and principles to an alternative fiction, MARCH 19 presents a scenario that could become, in theory, part of our new normal.
On March 19, California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, declared a stay at home order, due to the risks associated with the coronavirus. In this unprecedented crisis, questions about surveillance and privacy have been raised. In a world where global health is a major concern, surveillance and monitoring devices have become potential tools
Tools and Software: Zbrush, Rhino, Maya, Arnold, After Effetcts
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p. 46-47 Rendering: initial 3d concept, acupuncture on rambutans p. 44, 48 - 51 Animation: extracted frames from MARCH 19 presenting the ramboutan trees as a surveillance device in the city of Los Angeles and the pods as an emergency shelter for people infected by COVID-19.
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POULIN.JUSTINE@GMAIL.COM 213-820-1825