Designing for the Fourth Dimension: Architecture of Overlapping Narratives by Preston Smith

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Bachelor of Architecture Degree, Auburn University College of Architecture, Design, and Construction ARCH 5010 Studio VII Spring 2020 Il Kim

architecture of overlapping narratives

Preston Smith

DESIGNING FOR THE FOURTH DIMENSION

Designing for the Fourth Dimension: Architecture of Overlapping Narratives

To design for the fourth dimension is not to design a container for program, but to contrive distinct manners of movement/sequence, which when stacked or intersected, generate an architecture of overlapping narratives.

INTRODUCTION concept films

3 5

ANALYZATION Metropolis 2001: A Space Odyssey Stranger Than Paradise Russian Ark Wings of Desire

11 25 39 51 67

APPLICATION notes on process a media archive in Tokyo

75 77

CONCLUSION closing statement thanks sources

111 113 115

INTRODUCTION

This thesis focuses on how space is experienced through films, and the possibility of the translation of these experiences into the medium of architecture. Contrary to the experience of a building (or the greater concept of space as a whole), a film is an intrinsically linear experience; the sequence painstakingly constructed and purposeful. The curation of each momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s placement within the narrative is paramount to achieving the desired perception. Not only are films constrained to a linear timeline, but the story is held within a frame. Withholding sound, there is no gray area when it comes to what is shown in a scene. Things are either in frame, or they are not. The aggregation of each of these constructed moments amounts to a narrative greater than the sum of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parts, with any given shot not able to be fully appreciated without the understanding of its context within the story. The study is comprised of two elements: analyzation and application. To analyze, the following five (5) films are watched, dissected, and diagrammed.* To apply, the newly compiled diagrammatic methods are reinterpreted into an architectural space, and placed on the timeline of a new narrative within the proposed project. *Wings of Desire is not diagrammed, the narrative in totality serves as a single diagram and stance on spatial organization

Preston Smith

introduction

concept

(1927)* Metropolis

(1968) 2001: A Space Odyssey

Fritz Lang

Stanley Kubrick

why?

-no dialogue, visual storytelling -perception of space dependent on differing quotidian conditions -spaces only understood in perspective -if Piranesi made a movie...

-visceral journey to new reality -true subversion of familiar experience -saturation of the artificial -addresses fourth dimension

*this thesis studies the reconstructed edition by Georgio Moroder (1984)

Preston Smith

(2002) Russian Ark

Jim Jarmusch

Alexander Sokurov

why?

-subtle discomfort -framing of environment -personal space -lack of direction/plan (meandering)

-one shot; no cuts -moving through historic architectural space -a blurring of architectural vs. cinematic -non-linear storylines

introduction

films

(1984) Stranger Than Paradise

(1987) Wings of Desire Wim Wenders

why? -gaze -subject/observer -prospect -the desire of something other than now -disorienting immensity

Preston Smith

introduction

films (cont.)

ANALYZATION

(1927)* METROPOLIS

Fritz Lang

*this thesis studies the reconstructed edition by Giorgio Moroder (1984)

00:02:09 - 00:02:34

see “UNDERGROUND CITY”

Bombardment of machines. The Inner workings of the city layered on top of one another visually while an audible metal clanging provides cadence.

00:04:05

00:06:36 - 00:07:04

The underground city is a grouping of building within an enclosed space. The ‘sky’ is a built ceiling plane. In turn, the ceiling of one social class is the floor for another. The sun is replaced by artificial office lights.

This scene is a clue to the illusion of a natural ‘garden’: it is enclosed by shiny metal walls and doors. The sky in this world is a commodity. All romance, happiness, bliss happens on a stage set. “Look, these are out brothers and sisters.” The difference in classes has become so great that the meeting of the two resembles a discovery of a hidden tribe or a new species.

00:12:15

00:20:38

Famous shot of the city. Instead of conventional urban fabric which can be understood in plan, the world has progressed to more resemble a Piranesi drawing (which is only understood in perspective).

A simple old house (more familiar to us than the radical city) becomes quite remarkable because of its stark contrast with the context. Its age comes with an association of a magical lore/aura that has helped it survive the progression which surrounds it.

Preston Smith

00:03:01 - 00:03:18

00:10:35

The workers are synchronized with the rhythm of the machines. They have been dehumanized and become part of the machines themselves.

Just as the workers are dehumanized, the machines are personified and the workers are sacrificed to them.

00:22:38

00:27:03

Even in such an advanced society, the complete merging between man and machine is troubling/disturbing.

The shot frames the subjects between light and dark thresholds. They have left the light and are moving to the dark. The space they are in is an interstitial moment between these two extremes.

analyzation

00:08:47

lang

This transition between shifts is presented as a diptych with the frame split down the middle. The start of one thing means the end of another. The two shifts must pass by one another moving as individual bodies.

00:29:27 - 00:30:48

see “A SERIES OF VESTIBULES”

00:36:30 - 00:36:35

A spotlight acts as a physically recognizable gaze. It can grab someone from a distance away. Surroundings dissipate and the edges of the space are removed. In this instance, darkness becomes solace. Light becomes an extension of the wielders arm.

00:49:40

The seduction of a thing is heightened by being veiled behind a translucent screen. The shape is still readable but obscured by mesh and backlit. The thing is more desirable if there is a layer between it and observer. A sense of unattainability.

see “CENTRALITY”

see “SPOTLIGHT”

Too often the minds which plan are completely disparate from the hands that build. This condition creates tension.

00:40:52 - 00:40:

A series of vestibules. As sequence with each door quence is forced and exp nerving. It is one of the o added are a direct reflect the instance of the doors

01:01:41 - 01:03:26

Preston Smith

00:32:57 - 00:33:02

00:47:12

s one door opens another closes. This is a forced r located obliquely from the other. When seperienced as a series of sealed rooms, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unonly sequences of the movie where sound effects tion of what is happening on screen to emphasize s sealing themselves.

Interstitial space is the overlap between two or more other spaces. This time that overlap is shown visually with color. The meeting of the underground world with the elite class which lives above the surface.

01:05:10 - 01:10:48

The pervasion of water (both physically and audibly) where it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t supposed to be changes the space into a place that is no longer inhabitable. What were previously familiar city streets and homes now belong to this element. It is a primal-y understood unstoppable force. The people that were displaced by the water now act as a flood moving through surface world. They act as a singular fluid body when grouped.

analyzation

:55

lang

The vantage point of observation allows the viewer to remain anonymous. The subject is being violated but is unaware. His actions are candid.

The underground city is a grouping of buildings within an enclosed space. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a built ceiling plane. In turn, the ceiling of one social class is the floor for another. The sun is replaced by artificial office lights. The surface world sits on top of the underground condition unknowingly. Instead of conventional urban fabric which can be understood in plan, this world has progressed to more resemble a Piranesi drawing (which is only understood in perspective). The relationship between these two conditions is difficult to represent with only orthogonal drawings. The key to understanding the complexity of this space is attempting to pull apart the layers which construct the space. The layering of mega-structure, structure, infrastructure, circulation, and people creates these chaotic and malevolent urban conditions.

UNDERGROUND CIT Preston Smith

lang analyzation rooms/buildings within rooms, ceiling becomes sky, layers of chaos 17

A spotlight acts as a physically recognizable gaze. It can grab someone from a distance away. Light becomes an extension of the wielders arm. The wielder could have an active presence (person) or a passive presence (building). The figures to the left represent possible spotlight conditions. The conditions (thus, effects) of the spotlight depend greater on the lighting of the surroundings than the spotlight itself. The top figure shows a condition more closely resembling the one in the film, where the space around the light is black, without light, causing the surroundings to dissipate and the edges of the space to be inscrutable. In this instance, darkness becomes solace. The bottom figure shows a condition in which the room itself has ample enough light for the edges of the space to still be perceptible, the architectural moves and motives still having an influence on the spatial condition. The spotlight here is a highlighter, bringing attention to something within an existing environment.

SPOTLIGHT Preston Smith

lang analyzation light personified, darkness as solace, disappearance of edges 19

This scene takes place as a series of vestibules. As one door opens another closes. This is a forced sequence with each door located obliquely from the other. When sequence is forced and experienced as a series of sealed rooms, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unnerving. It is one of the only sequences of the movie where sound effects added are a direct reflection of what is happening on screen to emphasize the instance of the doors sealing themselves. This sequential condition can be traced to its more benevolent application in picturesque theory. Instead of sealed rooms, the visitor experiences the space in frames set up by path orientation, vegetation, and structures revealing or concealing specific views. As one meanders along a picturesque path, to go forward, pause for reprieve, or turn back is up to the will of the visitor. The scene displays the removal of this free will, making the subject vulnerable to the will of the path.

2 1 3

A SERIES OF VESTIBU Preston Smith

lang analyzation

ULES

forced sequence, one threshold at a time 21

The centrality of any given object or space is defined by the orientation/organization of its surroundings. In this case the object is surrounded by thresholds that lead to different unseen interiors. The central object (in this case a bell) has the ability to unite these separate spaces through sound. Centrality is not only defined by the surrounding objects/buildings, but is also created by the paths around these objects. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;central-nessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the bell in this scene would stand as valid even if the buildings were removed (given the paths were defined with a difference in material, pattern, finish, grade, etc.) In this instance, there is no hierarchy between objects, paths or thresholds, but it is possible to implement one. The hierarchy around a central space may be formed radially, along an axis, or according to a grid. The formation of a hierarchy is greatly affected by the purpose of the central space. Is the central space meant for an object? Meant to be a void? Is it the primary organizing factor or the resultant of the arrangement of its surroundings?

CENTRALITY Preston Smith

lang analyzation paths both through and around objects, layers, residual space created by object placement 23

(1968) 2001: A SPACE ODYS

SSEY

Stanley Kubrick

see “SCALE JUXTAPOSITION”

00:13:08

00:27:07

The first monolith to appear. The apes understand this “thing” to be foreign to the natural world. Its flat surface and even black coloring amidst the rocks and vegetation is disturbing/alarming.

The warped grid of the ceiling and floor implies first, the mastery of grids and straight lines (a stark contrast to the apes); second, the mastery of the controlled curving/warping of these edges. The overlay of both of these geometries at once is significant.

00:47:45 - 00:49:30

00:51:51

The scene goes from a wash of light and sounds compacted into an intimate space to a juxtaposition of the ship placed within the infinite and silent vacuum of space.

The excavation of the moo as an intervention of man’ The datum is the surface o the intersection only appe datum.

01:07:39 - 01:07:53

01:11:25

This scene establishes HAL as a living entity that speaks, listens, and looks. Seeing the space from ‘his’ point of view gives sentience.

Relative to the viewer, they a from a static space to a dyna Relative to the characters, th are currently in is always sta

Preston Smith

The wash of red light is so strong it acts as pint. Anything that enters the room gets painted red. The slow lowering of the ship shows the transition from beyond the threshold of the red room (where its color is ‘normal’) to being engulfed by the blanket of red.

Every vertical surface that encloses the room is a plane of emitting light. In a conference room this is strange, as every person would be backlit and difficult to see. A direct contradiction to the function of the space.

are moving amic space. he space they atic.

00:56:30 - 00:56:58

As he runs around the circular space, at any given instance the tangent point that was once his floor becomes the wall and eventually the ceiling. The space is perpetually fluid and dynamic.

01:12:09

01:12:11

The characters in the scene are watching the transmission, but the viewer is drawn to look at HAL because of the spotlight on him and the knowledge of his sentience. His gaze is palpable and perpetual.

The combination of scale, perspective lines, and rings exaggerate the depth of the space, the character blocking the terminus of the perspective gives the illusion that the space goes on indefinitely.

analyzation

on is displayed ’s technology. of the moon with earing below that

kubrick

00:42:45

see “FLUID SPACE”

00:40:31

01:25:02 - 01:27:05

see “FAMILIAR / UNFAMILIAR”

see “JOURNEY TO THE UNCANNY”

Using the same technique of revealing HAL’s point of view, we can see he is indeed watching their lips to determine what they are saying. In this moment we see the computer become aware of the humans’ plots against him.

02:03:30 - 02:11:27

The journey to another dimension. This scene is meant to display what is incomprehensible to humans. It is shown as a bombardment of color and patterns, an overwhelming sensory overload. It eventually turns into what seem to be familiar landscapes but posterized with vivid unnatural tones. What starts as a completely unfamiliar experience turns more two dimensional. The color and sound are the only things tweaked.

02:12:47 - 02:18:30

The final scene acts as a disturbing artificial human habitat seemingly created by the aliens. It is a space which is an incorrect attempt at replicating French architecture. The space is just familiar enough to be profoundly uncanny.

Preston Smith

01:51:32 - 01:52:34

analyzation

kubrick

Every surface (not just â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;wallsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as there is no distinction between wall, floor and ceiling in zero gravity) holds or displays objects/information. Spatial conventions are blurred by the oversaturation and aggregation of these objects. The room becomes what it holds.

This is a transitional scene in which the protagonists are traveling in a space ship to their next mission point. This scene takes place at two vastly different scales, jumping from one to the other multiple times. Each scale utilizes the juxtaposition of saturation/vacuum of sensorial qualities to orient and disorient. The smaller scale takes place from inside of the ship. With the subjects having casual human conversations about the mission. A relaxed tone permeates the scene, with a background of rustling of objects, footsteps, the chewing of ham sandwiches, the ambient noise of a fan or vent system, and the beeping of ship controls. The saturated soundscape is also paired with a wash of deep blue and red light, which clearly could only be emitted from something created by man, furthering the sense of human-ness. The scale jarringly shifts to large, a shot of the ship, which is now appearing as a small insignificant vessel, floating through the vacuum of space. The lack of sound is perceived more powerfully than the sounds from inside the ship, which only become apparent in retrospect. The only sound now is a low voice ambience, not even the hum of the ship is present.

UN SO

SCALE JUXTAPOSITI Preston Smith

FRAME

LIG

SPACE

analyzation

SPACE

ION

kubrick

FRAME

pervasion of light and sound vs. the vacuum of space, intimate vs. distant 31

The scene shows the protagonist jogging in a larger ship (the ship in which the majority of the plot takes place). This scene employs a perversion of the audience’s orientation plane in two distinct ways. The first occurs in a wider angle shot, establishing the extent of the ‘room’ in which the scene takes place. As it is a cylindrical space, he is running in a circle; relative to the audience, he is running on the walls. This shot is necessary to have the earthly understanding of gravity thrown away, and to perceive the space as a whole. The next shot serves as an inverse to the first. The camera is now locked onto the protagonist, meaning as he runs, he does not move but rather the space around him does. The vantage point from which the character is seen is more familiar, however the immediate surrounding environment is constantly/ instantaneously distorted. By virtue of the circle shape, there is only a single point where his environment is ‘accessible’ from the audience’s understanding of planar space. He is tangent to the earthly ground plane only at one point. The moment he passes by what is understood as ‘benches, chairs, and tables’, they immediately shift into ‘wall’ and ‘ceiling’; losing their concrete meaning and becoming an abstract object within the space. Throughout the scene, the sound of footsteps and breathing adds a temporal rhythm that the audience can grasp onto, isolating the spatial phenomena.

FLUID SPACE Preston Smith

kubrick

FLOOR

analyzation

L WA L L L WA

wall becomes floor, floor becomes wall, wall becomes ceiling 33

This scene is another transition scene, this one representing the interstitial passage from one dimension to the other. This scene is the most rudimentary altering of perception, though the most apparent and potent. The vantage point is of the protagonist, the subject being a zoomed in shot of his blinking eye, the setting representing a journey to a new state of consciousness and ‘being’. The journey is facilitated by more intelligent beings that exist without form, only energy. Thus, the first shot is meant to abstractly represent the start of the journey, a display of knowledge and information that that is incomprehensible to mortal humans. Next, a series of flyover shots of seemingly familiar and earthly landscapes. The only thing altered is the color. Each shot is posterized and filtered using unnatural, vibrantly saturated colors, abstracting the instantly recognizable. This abstraction only holds a narrative because of the subject matter. The landscapes are innately understandable, yet the simple one dimensional distortion of them through color makes them uncannily hostile. The sequence prompts the viewer to question the magnitude their sense of sight holds in their sensorial understanding of their environment. The scene shouts “You think you know this place… but you don’t! How does this feel?”

JOURNEY TO THE UN Preston Smith

NCANNY

kubrick analyzation

PERCEPTION / RESPONSE

+ -

FAMILIARITY

distortion of convention, adjustment of sensory perceptions (one or multiple) 35

The previous scene transitions into this final scene. When the eye of the protagonist shifts back to its “natural” colorway, it signals arrival. The setting at first is a conventional French baroque interior, but a distilled, distorted version. The space is so recognizable, so powerfully altered, it is acutely and profoundly disturbing. The only light source is the entire ground plane emitting a diffuse, ambient light. This subtle adjustment puts light in the one place it would never come from otherwise, which pervasively subverts the concrete, primal understanding of light. The pairing of this inhuman light source and (almost) human architecture shell creates a severely warped phenomenological perception of the room. The space feels like an attempt to recreate a human environment by something non-human. The pairing of the enclosed and inescapable husk with the eerie stage set of supposedly familiar furniture props floating within the primally ‘incorrect’ atmosphere of light generates a space which feels like a prison or (more accurately) like a zoo.

FAMILIAR / UNFAMIL Preston Smith

LIAR

kubrick analyzation unexpected light sources, pairing of baroque furniture/ornament with modern grid 37

(1984) STRANGER THAN PA

ARADISE

Jim Jarmusch

Everything becomes a surface in the domestic. Few things above datum of table height. Aside from one or two trinkets on the wall. The apartment is purely functionalist.

00:24:24

see “CROPPING OF FRAMES” & “DOMESTIC DATUM”

see “DOMESTIC DATUM”

00:06:06

00:07:52 - 00:12:30

00:28:03 - 00:28:22

“You should dress like people dress here.” She tries on the unfamiliar style over her sweater. Clothing is our first layer of protection. It acts as a second skin. It’s scary to have both an unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar clothing.

This unfamiliarity brought a vibrancy to an otherwise plain, grimy, and empty space. Until now, the size of the apartment was inscrutable. Each function or programmatic element was framed as its own room. Because of the frame and vantage point, an apartment with no walls became one divided.

00:49:00

01:08:40

By simply shuffling what would be a normal seating arrangement (people sitting next to those they know) it makes the entire experience unbearable for some individuals. Even though they would not otherwise speak during a movie, being unwillingly placed next to a stranger is unsettling.

The three people in the motel room are all sleeping on something that isn’t a bed. A room with a singular purpose does not have the appropriate (or preconceived notion of appropriate) furniture.

Preston Smith

00:21:31

00:33:27

00:43:10

The vantage point emphasizes their nervousness. It was as if they were under surveillance. Being a three-way intersection with only two people to ‘defend’ it makes them vulnerable.

Just as the girl was a stranger in the man’s home, his friend is a stranger in his grandmother’s home. As the stranger/intruder, he must eat whatever is in front of him. The idea of being rude is too terrifying to have free will.

jarmusch

The first moment the strangers become amicable, the space gains depth. Before, they were constrained to living in 2-dimensional space. Now, there’s room to breathe.

analyzation

The sound of the TV provides a security blanket to both people. It acts as a mutual friend uniting strangers. No one can refuse to watch it when it is on (even someone who doesn’t understand the show or program) because it is better than the alternative of the pressure to interact with the other person.

see “FLATNESS / DEPTH”

see “CROPPING OF FRAMES” see “VANTAGE POINT”

00:16:12

The first moment the strangers become amicable, the space gains depth. Before, they were constrained to living in 2-dimensional space. Now, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room to breathe. This depth was always there, it just wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shown to the viewer until this specific moment. The way a space is framed/shown is the way it is experienced.

FOREGROUND

FLATNESS / DEPTH Preston Smith

jarmusch

BACKGROUND

FOREGROUND

analyzation

MIDDLEGROUND

spatial depth determined by frame, occurs according to sequence 43

The vantage point in this scene emphasizes their nervousness. This feeling is then passed on to the observer. It is as if they are under surveillance. Being a three-way intersection with only two people to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;defendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; it makes them vulnerable. The path from which they came is the brightest, conversely leaving the unexplored routes to be dark. The decision of which way to go is not an educated one, but a guess. They must rely on senses other than vision to give clues to what lies in each direction.

VANTAGE POINT Preston Smith

jarmusch analyzation vulnerability at an intersection of paths, obliviousness 45

The duality between ‘visitor’ and ‘native’ is displayed with an implied line down the middle of the shot dividing the two. Despite being in the same space, it feels like there are two separate frames put together. Two very different people are forced to be close to each other. The shallowness of the depth of field makes the space seem cramped. The sound of the TV provides a security blanket to both people. It acts as a mutual friend uniting strangers. No one can refuse to watch it when it is on (even someone who doesn’t understand the show or program) because it is better than the alternative of the pressure to interact with the other person.

CROPPING OF FRAM Preston Smith

MES

jarmusch analyzation diptych condition, redrawing of plan through cropping 47

Everything becomes a surface in this domestic setting. Few things exist above datum of table height. Aside from one or two trinkets on the wall. The apartment is purely functionalist. The top surface of one object becomes the table for another. Things are stacked vertically, rather than arranged horizontally. In a space for residing, the ceiling height becomes inconsequential to the way the space functions. Spatially, one room can be vastly different than another, but if the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that are interacted with remain the same, so does the purpose. A room can be defined by what objects are within it.

DOMESTIC DATUM Preston Smith

jarmusch analyzation objects as surfaces, stacking/layering, accessible heights 49

(2002) RUSSIAN ARK

Alexander Sokurov

see “SCALE OF CIRCULATION”

00:09:10

00:12:39 - 00:13:08

It is eerie for such an extravagant performance with a live orchestra to only be viewed by a few people scattered across an auditorium (no individual seats, just rows of bench seating).

00:19:55 - 00:20:51

see “FORMAL vs. PLANAR”

The vantage point slowly moves from perceiving the whole space (where the aggregation of all the works takes over/makes the space), to zooming in on individual elements of an individual piece. The perception of works is not constrained to any scale. They perform differently depending on vantage point.

00:25:38 - 00:27:21

In rooms where natural light is the only thing lighting the space, material choice provides what the light interacts with, thus defining the qualities of the space. Darker rooms use white blue and gray monochrome materials, paired with the sumptuous forms of the sculptures to create a feeling of melancholy. The lighter rooms use bright, warm materials paired with the vibrant and colorful paintings. Depending on what types of work is to be displayed determines the materials chosen. The rooms with paintings focus on 2-dimensional, planar vibrancy. The rooms with sculptures let the light bounce off the forms with a more subdued application of color.

The and vis of t thr and

Preston Smith

sokurov

A single simple plane with unremarkable doors is the only division/transition to the grandeur of the gilded ‘hallway’. Each salon connected to the space is of equal opulence and importance. There is no sense of hierarchy.

00:17:57 - 00:22:51

This transition juxtaposes the warm, bustling space filled with the hum of muffled voices to the cold and empty space where a singular voice echoes throughout.

0:40:42

00:44:18

e doors go from floor to (nearly) ceiling d are operable by a single person. The sitor directly interacts with the scale the scene/room. Normally all cuts and resholds at this scale are predetermined d not operable.

The threshold to another space is literally spilling light onto the floor of this large and dark space. In this instance light becomes a material that signals the presence of a different space.

analyzation

see “CORRIDOR THRESHOLDS” see “FORMAL vs. PLANAR”

00:15:29 - 00:15:48

00:47:44 - 00:47:51

A subtle moment where the subject is blocked by over-scaled object within space.

00:53:56 - 00:54:57

Subjects being followed suddenly speed up, fading into the distance. It leaves a feeling of wondering what the rest of their story will be, but a closure in the decision made at that moment to not follow them anymore. Once can decide to speed up to arrive with them, or turn to choose a different path and follow another narrative.

01:11:15 - 01:13:17

01:21:13 - 01

After going through the public domain and public program of the palace it seems intrusive to watch an intimate family dinner. We broke from the single vantage point of the narrator to now gazing. This transition is marked by fluttering giggling fairies running down the hallway. We chased them, and left our story/ narrative to view others.

The auditory sequ of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happeni the group clappin about the event. W single footsteps t dancing people. T

Preston Smith

Wandering into somewhere one shouldn’t be… storage, mechanical, things strewn about, not to be seen. The ugly inner workings of a palace. Everything is a stage set!

Small human scale domestic objects are scattered in a non-human scale space. Makes the objects, and thus the space, feel unusable.

00:57:09 - 00:57:22

A crowd of people pushed to the edges of a large space in orderly lines. What options does a new arriver have? Squeeze past them to find a spot in line or move to another space. All of the people are looking toward the empty space in the middle of the room. This organization forces these awkward encounters.

1:27:18

uence of this scene alone would tell the story ing without visuals. The orchestra playing, to ng, to the ambient hum of collective debriefing We went from hearing the echoes and creaks of to hearing not a single step from a room full of The only sound is the orchestra.

analyzation

sokurov

00:52:03

see “OCCUPATION OF THE EDGES”

00:49:26

see â&#x20AC;&#x153;SCALE OF CIRCULATIONâ&#x20AC;?

01:29:45 - 01:30:55

What began with a staircase ends with a staircase that contrast each other in every way. This sequence, instead of a dark, suffocating space is a wide open breathable space with intense perspective of a destination clearly in view. The exit transition is a wide thoroughfare with even places to step aside for respite.

Preston Smith

analyzation

The last shot ends the movie with a return to the awe of natural phenomena. A lengthy sequence of artificial luxury, stage sets, hierarchies, systems, scalesâ&#x20AC;Ś all trumped by a horizon line. Unquestionably more powerful. Destroys validity of narrative that was just built.

sokurov

01:32:49 - 01:33:16

The film starts with a sequence of moving up a tight stair well with purposefully denied views other than the landing of the current run. What is known: whether one is going up or down, how the people in front react to turning the corner. What is not known: the destination, or how many more steps there are. People are not likely to quit once theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve started. In fact, the longer it goes on, the less likely they are to turn back. The space is dark while the creakiness of each step provides an auditory influence on the speed at which people move. A creaky stair makes people move slower because it adds a precariousness. What began with a staircase ends with a staircase that contrast each other in every way. This sequence, instead of a dark, suffocating space is a wide open breathable space with intense perspective of a destination clearly in view. The exit transition is a wide thoroughfare with even places to step aside for respite.

SCALE OF CIRCULAT Preston Smith

TION

sokurov analyzation sounds, touch, light, views, sense of commencement and climax 59

A single simple plane with unremarkable doors is the only division/transition to the grandeur of the gilded â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hallwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Each salon connected to the space is of equal opulence and importance. There is no sense of hierarchy. The figure to the left shows the scale of the transition from vestibule to hallway. The view is terminated by the unassuming doors yet the view corridor which is revealed deepens the depth of field at least five fold. The planar division means this jarring change in depth happens instantaneously; there is no transitional period, no corner to turn, no stairs to climb or descend, etc. The lack of hierarchy means any space connected perpendicularly to the hallway is free to be arranged in whatever order is most effective in achieving conditions outside of the reach of the hallway. This space is a junction able to connect asymmetrical parts to a whole. A platform from which there can be departures heading in any direction. What is yet to be determined is a breadth of methods used to achieve a motivation of a non-hierarchical axis. The terminus is either of enough importance or it is not.

CORRIDOR THRESH Preston Smith

HOLDS

sokurov analyzation instantaneous, lack of transition, an axis with no terminus or hierarchy 61

This scene juxtaposes the warm, bustling space filled with the hum of muffled voices to the cold and empty space where a singular voice echoes throughout. In rooms where natural light is the only thing lighting the space, material choice provides what the light interacts with, thus defining the qualities of the space. Darker rooms use white blue and gray monochrome materials, paired with the sumptuous forms of the sculptures to create a feeling of melancholy. The lighter rooms use bright, warm materials paired with the vibrant and colorful paintings. Depending on what types of work is to be displayed determines the materials chosen. The rooms with paintings focus on 2-dimensional, planar vibrancy. The rooms with sculptures let the light bounce off the forms with a more subdued application of color. Each of these types of work also inherently encourages a certain method of circulation to view them, which is shown in the figures to the right. Two-dimensional work that is hung tends to be viewed sequentially, with viewers moving from one to the next around the edges of the space. Conversely, sculptures (or works with some kind of form) are viewed with less serially, with viewers meandering through/around the work.

FORMAL vs. PLANAR Preston Smith

sokurov analyzation interaction of material and light, temperature & vibrancy, hardness vs. softness 63

This scene shows a crowd of people pushed to the edges of a large space in orderly lines. What options does a new arriver have? Squeeze past them to find a spot in line or move to another space. All of the people are looking toward the empty space in the middle of the room. This organization forces these awkward encounters. The gazes of all observers becomes palpable as soon as something to observe enters the space. Unlike the grand hallway shown previously, this space has a strong terminus at the end of its axis that implies a direction for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to move. It is the movement towards the terminus that is the show. The space behaves like a catwalk at a fashion show.

OCCUPATION OF THE Preston Smith

E EDGES

sokurov analyzation structured arrangement of observers, strong hierarchy along axis 65

(1987) WINGS OF DESIRE

Wim Wenders

00:02:36 - 00:02:52

00:05:43

Point of view from above the city; sense of watchfulness and overseeing. This gives power to the observer. It is yet to be shown whether this power is benevolent or malevolent.

This power/responsibility co price of the possibility to be The radio tower emitting all o casts layered on top of one a

00:18:23 - 00:20:36

When an ‘observer’ is inattentive or neglecting the ‘subjects’ it is noticed by his fellow observers and, even though they cannot see him, the ‘subjects’ feel his absence. His role as an ‘observer’ is considered a duty, not something he can choose to participate in. He is beginning to challenge what the society of fellow ‘observers’ expects of him.

00:25:02 - 00:25:40

00:35:06 - 00:35:5

Swinging above the dirt of the ground would make one feel free; as if the air space belongs to them, that their personal space has grown and they now have the power that comes with vantage point. However, there is always someone watching, always someone with a higher vantage point. The ‘observers’ can be voyeurs.

“To be close to the colors. Th ‘Subjects’ experience the wo more vibrancy, more stimuli; ‘subject’ displays what the ‘o except the mundane world h er’ wants to experience the j black and white (or shades o

Preston Smith

“When the child was a child, it was the time of these questions: Why am I me, and why not you? Why am I here, and why not there? When did time begin, and where does space end? Isn’t life under the sun just a dream? Isn’t what I see and hear and smell just an illusion of a world in front of the world?” The ‘observer’ has many opportunities for introspection. Eventually he will try to relate what he observes to his own psyche. He wonders what his true purpose is.

Two ‘observers’ listing/recalling events to one another. These events are listed with unequal/juxtaposing importance between one another (or it would appear that way to the ‘subjects’). Because of the power they possess, the ‘observers’ have a database of all that has occurred since the beginning of time. To them, no one moment is of greater value than another; they reject emotion. Their knowledge is strictly quantitative.

00:37:15

he colors. Neon lights in the evening sky… the red-and-yellow train.” orld in color, a world they aren’t happy in. They want more color, ; the current amount is never enough. The internal dialogue of the observer’ is feeling as well. However, color to him means anything he sees now. ‘Subjects’ want more highs and less lows. The ‘observjourney of both. His current world of observance and impartiality is of gray, depending on how you look at it).

The ‘observer’ has a vast understanding of what the world of color consists of. He lists all its qualities in an effort to remind a ‘subject’ why the world of color is worth living for (none of which he has ever experienced for himself). This strengthens his desire to reject his role and duty.

wenders

00:11:24

analyzation

omes at the overwhelmed. of its broadanother.

00:09:19

00:42:31 - 00:56:53

While the ‘observers’ are bombarded with content, at the end of the day, it is their choice what they watch. One chooses to go to the circus, the other follows a man reminiscing the days of Germany before the war and destruction.

01:09:53 - 01:10:11

Sensory overload. Even the most capable ‘observer’, one who has not questioned his existential placement into the role, is overwhelmed. Proves an over-saturation of content can overwhelm anyone.

01:33:32 - 01:33:34

“When the child was a child, it lived on apples and bread, and that was enough, and it’s still that way. When the child was a child, berries filled its hand as only berries do, and it’s still the same today. […] Atop every mountain it longed for a higher mountain… and in every city it longed for a larger city… and it still does.” The ‘observer’ is born again as a child (a ‘subject’) first experiencing the world of color. Having experienced all of ‘time’ up to this point, the concrete understanding of ‘time’ only becomes apparent now that he has senses. How could he have had the duty of observing yet be so ignorant to what life is actually like for the ‘subjects’? As he came to desire more than his current state, how long until he desires more than the world of color, like the other ‘subjects’?

Preston Smith

01:01:29

Similar to the swing, it is uncomfortable to see someone unknowingly observed so closely while they are dancing. It is unsettling to see someone so unaware and oblivious while in a vulnerable state. The ‘observer’ is continuing to overstep bounds and invade the privacy of the ‘subject’.

01:41:10 - 01:41:16

Only when one experiences life as both ‘observer’ and ‘subject’ can they fully understand what it means to ‘be’. Both of these vantage points frame life in different ways.

analyzation

01:24:10

wenders

Remembering the “time before”. Before there were humans there was just the natural world. There was nothing to observe, this was the closest that the ‘observers’ got to ‘being’ in the world.

APPLICATION

There is an inherent disconnect between how to represent space two-dimensionally and the qualities it would possess in our three four-dimensional existence. The research has been taken through multiple filters at this point; once in storyboard deconstruction, and once more through diagramming. The next step is to apply this compilation of methods to a coherent spatial construction. Through this process of filtering, the similarities from the films to the final proposal sometimes become abstracted and the source inscrutable (other times not). The purity of the exercise is tainted by instinctive formal and compositional decisions in order to create a cohesive ‘building’ or ‘thing’. However, the spaces are mostly the result of a rigorous aggregation of the moments diagrammed previously into a new architectural context.

Preston Smith

application

notes on process

The project designed is a media archive building sited in Tokyo’s Omotesandō area. This area is heavily saturated with high fashion retail boutiques and similarly to the rest of Tokyo, a plastering of signage and billboard advertisements. The choice of a media archive as the proposed program is a sort of tongue-in-cheek statement on the current pervasion of image based media perpetually flashed at Tokyo’s population, providing an opportunity to reflect on notable past media of merit (photographs, records, newspapers, film). Simultaneously, the program itself of a media archive is an allegorical representation of the parti diagram of the building, that of the relationship between ‘subject’ and ‘observer’ as illustrated in Wings of Desire. Through one lens, the media is the ‘subject’ and the visitor the ‘observer’; while through a deeper lens, the characters of one narrative are put on display as the ‘subjects’, while the characters of a different narrative are positioned to be ‘observers’. The narratives in this case are told simply through modes of circulation, each mode representing different speeds or ‘tempos’ of moving through the project. The slowest mode (ramps) are placed on the edge of the building servicing the main program masses, then moderate (stairs) placed as interstitial interjections between the program masses, and finally elevator and egress cores placed centrally to access all levels of the building quickly. The concept is that each

tempo of circulation chosen presents a different and unique narrative, orchestrating both the sequence and saturation of sensory perceptions of the space. The slowest tempo provides time to establish a present-mindedness of these

characters which become purely ‘subjects’ to the other visitors. The moderate tempo leads characters around masses and through the central space, making them simultaneously ‘subject’ and ‘observer’. The fastest tempo shoots through the central space, passing by/through each program, providing shots of every character in the building. This tempo invokes an overwhelming absent-mindedness; a desire to slow down and experience narratives more saturated than the presently shallow.

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

slow/saturated

medium/interstitial

TEMPO OF SEQUENC Preston Smith

a media archive in tokyo application

fast/desirous

(or, narratives 1, 2, and 3)

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

fast/desirous

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fastest tempo shoots through the central space, passing by/through each program, providing shots of every character in the building. This tempo invokes an overwhelming absent-mindedness; a desire to slow down and experience narratives more saturated than the presently shallow.â&#x20AC;?

Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

individual study

exhibition

archive system

forum

STAGE SETS Preston Smith

application

a media archive in tokyo

individual study ceiling becomes sky, layers of chaos, darkness as solace, flatness/depth, vantage point, cropping of frames, scale of circulation, occupation of the edges,

archive system rooms within rooms, ceiling becomes sky, forced sequence, scale juxtaposition, fluid space, journey to the uncanny, familiar/unfamiliar, cropping of frames, scale of circulation, corridor threshold, an axis with no terminus or hierarchy, formal vs. planar, interaction of material and light,

Preston Smith

forum spotlight, light personified, centrality, scale juxtaposition, pervasion of light and sound vs. the vacuum of space, vantage point, instantaneous, lack of transition,

application

centrality, paths both through and around objects, layers, intimate vs. distant, flatness/depth, vantage point, sense of commencement and climax, formal vs. planar, occupation of the edges, structured arrangement of observers,

a media archive in tokyo

exhibition

10 9 1

8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Preston Smith

open entry/reception

a media archive in tokyo

archive

application

10 9 8 7 6 2

5 4 3 2

Preston Smith

individual study

forum

application

archive

a media archive in tokyo

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Preston Smith

archive

forum

a media archive in tokyo

archive

application

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Preston Smith

study

archive

study study

101

application

a media archive in tokyo

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Preston Smith

application

individual study

103

a media archive in tokyo

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Preston Smith

exhibition

application

a media archive in tokyo

exhibition

105

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107

application

a media archive in tokyo

CONCLUSION

This project is a result of spatial and narrative based perceptions taken from films and applied to architecture. As it stands it is an attempt to create a temporal architecture which acknowledges the fourth dimension in the sense that it controls the tempo, sequence, and stimuli experienced by each visitor or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;characterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It is worth noting that this project is solely focused on the experience of the visitor, rather than how time affects the materials of construction. The project is imagined to exist as a set for a scene exists in a film: ephemerally. The project takes this stance: to design for the fourth dimension is not to design a container for program, but to contrive distinct manners of movement/sequence, which when stacked or intersected, generate an architecture of overlapping narratives. The methods to achieve this have been filtered and reapplied from the source material a total of three (3) times. This process can go on indefinitely, proceeding steps creating something unrecognizable from the preceding. What is presented in this thesis is simply an experiment. It is but just a thing that was done. The merit or value in regard to the greater disciplines of either film or architecture is yet to be determined. Fun was had.

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conclusion

Thank you to professor Il Kim for helping shape this project into what it became. You pushed the ideas further than they wouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve otherwise been taken, and your comments and suggestions never failed to shine light on how to conceptually improve anything presented.

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thanks

2001: A Space Odyssey. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. 1968. United Kingdom, United States. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Film Metropolis. Directed by Fritz Lang. 1927. Germany. Parufamet, Film* Russian Ark. Directed Alexander Sokurov. 2002. Russia, Germany, Canada, Finland. Wellspring Media, Film Stranger Than Paradise. Directed by Jim Jarmusch. 1984. United States, Germany. The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Film Wings of Desire. Directed by Wim Wenders. 1987. Germany, France. Basis-Film-Verleih GmbH (Germany), Argos Films (France), Film *this thesis studies the 1984 reconstructed edition by Giorgio Moroder

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conclusion

sources