Culmination Portfolio by Sébastien Thierry Simonnet

ACADEMIC PORTFOLIO [SÃ&#x2030;BASTIEN THIERRY SIMONNET]

EXPLORED•••••[44] INHABITED ••••• [11]

PART 07 [ C U L M I N AT I O N ]

After studying The Whole Earth Catalogue (WEC) published by the Portola institute between 1968 and 1972 the goal of the studio was to produce three projects for a randomly assigned earth biome. Assignment 1 (with one partner Greg Hauck) was to create a printed, contemporary version of the whole earth catalogue to go along with a digital platform. We created a series of 69 cards documenting animals, vegetation, cultural groups, government policies etc.. The cards were organized based on our polar diagram of tundra as a biome bordered by ice sheet at the north pole and south of it. We chose to overlook the few islands near Antarctica classified as within tundra to focus on the large belt that stretches from Canada through Greenland,Scandinavia, Russia and finally back through Alaska to Canada. The back side of each card echoed the connections we noticed within the WEC from panel to panel so that on the back of our cards the top card was the next closely related card and then two slightly less related cards. The digital platform as a similar system where one could click infinitely going from card link to card link and sometimes to large scheme diagrams. The goal was to accentuate how everything in tundra biome was connected and related even if not directly. Assignment 2 (3 weeks with the same partner and Hangar Wang) was to create a working machine to solve a problem we discovered in our biome research in Assignment 1. It is believed that permafrost contains around 14% of the earths carbon. Our machine was an inflatable device that collected some of the methane gas which is escaping from the below ground in tundra biome. Tundra biome is defined as everywhere on the globe where there is permafrost ice below a thin layer of subsoil. Permafrost is ice below ground that is at least two feet thick and has been frozen for at least two years up to hundreds of thousands of years. This layer of permafrost has for thousands of years acted as a carbon sink for the world absorbing and holding in carbons which are now escaping with global climate change-warming. This is generally releasing methane gas further excelling the rate of climate change. Our goal was to collect this methane to prevent it from re-feeding in to climate change and to harness it as energy as methane make up 85% of natural gas. Assignment 3 (6 weeks individual) was to create a research center at any location within the biome which had to be designed taking into account the results of Assignment 1 & 2. Understanding that picking one location in a biome which covers 105 of the earths surface was not possible. Canadian Inuit hamlets are resupplied by plane via local airstrips and by annual shipments by water as most are on the coast. I decided to put my research center on a ship so that it could be reproduced and service all of Inuit hamlets as supply ships already do. The research ship would go around collecting the balloon mahcines while conducting research on making liquefied natural gas and using it as fuel which large energy companies are already doing. I opted to use Shell as any major mobilisation of this sort would have to be by a major company ready to invest billions in order to make trillions.

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

The Whole Tundra Catalogue :: Cards

Receding Ice

Ocean Surface Temperatures

Coastal Erosion

Albedo

Cryoturbation

Inuit

Permafrost

Sedges

Receding extent of arctic seasonal ice

Average arctic ocean surface temperature

Receding or coastal shelves

Warming cycle

Pressure forming ice

North American cultural group

Ice frozen for at least two years

Looks a lot like grass

The measurement of how much ice has receded in the arctic ocean and predictions into the future at our current rate of global temperature change due to climate change.

Rising ocean surface temperatures are part of the feedback loop that is causing arctic ice to melt and recede due to climate change.

The Inuit inhabit regions from Greenland to Alaska with a total population of around 120000. The inuit are more hunters and ¿shermen rather than herders only keep dogs with them as they travel nomadically across tundra.

By definition everywhere where there is permafrost under the ground is considered tundra biome. Permafrost is ice below the subsurface of soil that has been frozen for at least two years and sometimes up to hundred of thousands of years. Permafrost can either be in huge continues deep sheets or small pockets.

“Arctic sea ice extent for December was the ninth lowest in the satellite record. Through 2014, the linear rate of decline for December extent over the satellite record is 3.4% per decade.” -National Snow and Ice Data Center http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

“The last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. Contrary to all the theories that they are expounding, there should have been warming over the last 15 years. It hasn’t happened,” -Ted Cruz

Erosion of coastal land due to the melting and thawing of subterranean permafrost that has been frozen for at least two years and up to hundreds of thousands of years.

“Year round and summer residents expressed concerns over the location of the project: some claim that the project will ruin scenic views from people’s private property as well as views from public property such as beaches, as the turbines will be only 4.8 miles from the shore” Controversy over Wind Turbines near Nantucket

“Over a long enough time line everyone’s survival rate drops to zero” -Chuck Palahnuk, Fight Club

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Wind

Cryoturbation is the process of mixing of soils from various horizons of the solid form the surface down to bedrock due to the freeze thaw cycles of tundra. The pressure of permafrost ice at various subterranean levels melting and freezing are at the core of this process. “Its like dirt soup!” -Greg

“The Inuit cosmos is ruled by no one. There are no divine mother and father ¿gures. There are no wind gods and solar creators. There are no eternal punishments in the hereafter, as there are no punishments for children or adults in the here and now.” -Inuit writer Rachel Attituq Qitsualik

Sedges are very similar looking to grass but belong to a different family of vegetation. Sedges are Àower like herbs that thrive in wetlands which is exactly what tundra becomes during the summer months. Sedges are a main source of food for all herbivores in tundra biome. Sedge steams have edges while grasses have round edges.

“In 2012, Russian researchers have proved that permafrost can serve as a natural depository for ancient life forms by the reviving of Silene stenophylla from a tissue as the oldest plant ever to be generated from a burrow in the Siberian permafrost for over 30,000 years.”

Plants have to grow rapidly and produce seeds in the short summers that climb above 10 degrees celcius.

www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/21/russians-revive-ice-age-flower-frozen-burrow.html

Summer Tundra Marshlands or bust

Winter Tundra

Arctic Council

Mining Camps

Snow covered tundra

Governing bureaucracy over arctic + tundra affairs

Movable Mine Trains

During the summer seasons a lot of the snow and ice above the top soil melts and can create depressions and shallow marsh like conditions in tundra biome.

The seasonal melting of snow and ice is essential for vegitation cycles and the mixings of the different soils.

Arctic tundra is vast and snow covered throughout winter as temperatures average around í28 °C (í18 °F), sometimes falling as low as í50 °C (í58 °F). Winters are very dark short days with at least one day per year of twenty four hours of straight darkness on the December solstice. “While some Alaskans embrace winter, others cope by exposing themselves to bright-light therapy, which doctors say can be effective. Others take antidepressants. Some medicate with drugs or alcohol. And there are those who Àee the state.” http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/ national/18alaska.html?_r=0

High level governing body that oversees and addresses all issues concerning the indigenous people and other life in arctic and tundra biome and climate regions. Only countries with claimed land within the arctic are actual voting members of the council; the following are members: Canada, Denmark, United States of America, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. The iconic arctic fox is one of the greater commodities from the Tundra for it’s fur.

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

With melting permafrost ores deep underground will become more and more attainable. However with the ever unpredictable stability of the ground in tundra biome mobility and protection from the wind will be key.

“Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.” -Henry Ford

2015

Arctic Sea Transit

Permafrost Erosion

Global Permafrost

Wind Patterns

Rainfall

Sea routes that could come into permanent use

Erosion of coast due to melting/tawing of permafrost

Arctic’s permafrosts range

Winter arctic wind trajectories

Average annual precipitation

If the seasonal ice around the north pole continues to recede there will be an opening up of permanent shipping lanes which would allow higher levels of traffic.

Permafrost pockets along shore lines lead to the erosion of shore lines as these pockets thaw and melt due to warmer average ocean and air temperatures.

“The Northwest Passage crossing Canada’s Arctic Ocean could become usable on a regular basis by 2020, lessening maritime shipping distances substantially. The maritime journey between East Asia and Western Europe would take about 13,600 km using the Northwest Passage, while taking 24,000 km using the Panama Canal..” https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch1en/conc1en/polarroutes.html

If the average temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius in the summer, erosion accelerates by 1.2 metres annually,” - AWI geographer Frank Gunther

Permafrost is believed to be under 245 of the earths exposed land and about 0.022% of the earths water. A global rise of the earth’s temperature of as little as 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) would be enough to begin the thawing of permafrost that has been frozen for hundreds of thousands of years. As ice melts, it stops acting as an insulator for the soil.

https://dublinsmickdotcom.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/thawing-permafrost-the-speed-of-coastal-erosion-in-eastern-siberia-hasnearly-doubled-arctic-methane-released-at-blinding-speed-climate-change-core-of-earth-heats-up/

Tundra tends to be very dry and windy throughout the year with no tree lines or much else to protect life from the frigid winds. The wind combined with the cold are one of the main reasons there has been very little human activity in tundra. “The air is forced to move around the obstacle, [which] causes these accelerations of the wind.” -Kent Moore of the University of Toronto, explaining increased winds due to climate change http://www.livescience.com/7215-greenland-mysterious-winds-tied-global-climate.html

The annual precipitation throughout tundra biome is low which compounds the dif¿culty for life forms to live and grow in tundra. With climate change it is expected that annual precipitation values will rise causing biological instability in the biome. Loosestrife can be damaging to the primary consumers that are used to eating different plants, and might get unwell or die. Loosestrife is not poisonous but is an aggressive invader. http://arctictundraecologyinfo.weebly.com/symbiosis-work-on-the-arctic-tundra.html

Winter Tundra Snow covered tundra

[GASSED UP]

Nenets

Nganasan

Russian cultural group

Sami

Inuit

Scandinavian cultural group

North American cultural group

There are some 165000 Sami people spread across the scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The most organized and cultural westernized of the tundra cultural groups the Sami have their own parliament to handle inter cultural issues. The Sami traditionally hunted reindeer and ¿shed for food, however today living more western lives only celebrating old cultural customs.

There are about 45000 Nenet people living in Russia today. The Russian government has forced most of these people to assimilate and send their children to boarding schools. The Nenets are Caribou herders who however suffer with the increase in oil and mining prospects on or around their grazing lands.

It is believed there are as little as 1000 Nganasan people in Russian tundra. The Nganasan are less and less nomadic with pressures from the Russian government to assimilate the children and teach the Russian language to the Nganasan people. The Nganasan are nomadic hunters following caribou for resources.

Russian industry is limiting the amount of land to herd reindeer, food.

Used to have to pay tribute to the current Czar with furs.

In Finland, the Sami language act of 1991 granted Sami people the right to use the Sami languages for all government services

Arctic Fox

Arctic Dogs

Polar Bears

Sly Àuffy beasts

Indigenous’ best friend

King of the tundra

Snowy Owl Yellow eyed, black beaks

Ranging from 52–71 cm (20–28 in) in length snowy owls have a wingspan of 125–150 cm (49–59 in). They weight from 1.6 to 3 kg (3.5 to 6.6 lb), hunting small rodents and other smaller birds. Males defend the nest by standing guard nearby while the female incubates the eggs and broods the young. Both sexes attack approaching predators, dive-bombing them and engaging in distraction displays to draw the predator away from a nest.

Ranging in size from 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 in), arctic foxes prey on small rodent like animals mainly Lemmings. An arctic fox can resist shivering down to temperatures as low as í70 °C (í94 °F) thanks to its fur. Artcic foxes do not hibernate through the winters.

Arctic dogs have served the indigenous people of tundra for centuries as the offsprings of once wild wolves with thick fur coats to protect them from the cold. Eventually these wolves were tamed and breed to be trained to pull sleds and herd caribou. There are about a dozen sled dog breeds.

An adult male polar bear can weigh around 350–700 kg (770–1,540 lb) with a female being about half the size. Polar bears feed mostly on pinniped, spending most of their time at sea only coming to land to breed.

Has been known to feed off of polar bear’s left overs.

Worth more than thier weight in gold.

Polar Bears tend to forage for food on land when starved. This has caused multiple encounters with humans over trash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_owl

Lemmings

Arctic Hare

Tundra’s misunderstood mammal

Polar rabbits

Lemmings are small rodent like animals are 7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) long and weigh from 30 to 110 g (1 to 4 oz). Lemmings tend to reproduce quickly which cause chaotic variations in their populations. Lemmings do not hibernate during the winter providing a food source for carnivores.

Able to run up to 60 kilometers per hour (40 mph) the arctic hare is hunted by the arctic fox, snowy owl, arctic dogs/wolves and local indigenous people. They measure 43 to 70 cm (17 to 28 in) long excluding their tails and weigh between 2.5–7 kg (6–15 lb). They have been shown not to live well in captivity.

Second only to the rat, for most used animal discripter in politics.

Their eyes are placed in such a way, that they have a full 360 degree view without having to turn thier head.

Caribou

Musk-ox

Pinniped

The deer of the north

Musky smelling mammals

Seals and ¿nned sea mammals

As the main food, fur, and resource for indigenous people in tundra, Caribou are deer like herbivores. Caribou have a thick fur to protect them form the cold and help them Àoat so they can swim. They are able to run up to 60–80 km/h (37–50 mph).

Musk-ox gain their name from the smell the males omit during mating seasons to attract females. Both males and females have horns. Musk-ox are 1.1 to 1.5 m (4 to 5 ft) tall with females measuring from 135 to 200 cm (4.4 to 6.6 ft) in length, and the larger males measuring 200 to 250 cm (6.6 to 8.2 ft).

Many tribes use caribou to pull sleds, and save thier dogs to herd the rest.

Evidence wass found that placed Musk-Ox as south as Kanses during the Ice-Age. As the tundra receded, so did populations.

Hunted by the polar bear there are many diverse sub species that fall in the pinniped category that can range in size from 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and 45 kg (99 lb) to 5 m (16 ft) and 3,200 kg (7,100 lb). Seals are relatively slower than dolphins in the water but however more agile and Àexible. Several species are known to migrate vast distances because of extreme climate change or changes in ice coverage. Riedman, p. 99.Forcada, J. “Distribution”, pp. 316–21 in Perrin, Würsig and Thewissen (2009)

Lichens

Fungus

Mosses

Grasses

Sedges

Shrubs

Flaky crust on trees

Yeasts, molds and mushrooms

Tundra’s aqautic plant

Meadows of grasses

Looks a lot like grass

The largest tundra plant

Lichens are spawn off of algae like vegetation who live in companionship with fungus. They come in many forms and colors acting as a large food source in tundra for small rodents and larger herbivores. They do not need soil to grow, and can grow on rock, which makes tundra ideal for them.

Another important source of food for tundra herbivores is fungi in the arctic. There are over 4,350 known fungi species in the arctic. Fungi in the arctic tend to exist around dead or dying matter that is not absorbed by the soil due to permafrost and have been allowed to Àourish due to the limited amount of shrubs.

Moss in tundra can grow either on dry land in the shallow summer formed waters. Like other tundra plants it grows short to protect itself from the harsh wind and cold. Moss is an important food source during the winter months for tundra herbivores.

Tundra being very tree and large plant barren allows for there to be a large variety of grasses and Àowers to Àourish during summer months and provide for food buried under thin layers for snow for herbivores during the winter months.

Shrubs, which in tundra usually remain short, are now growing taller with global climate change. Once more of a scarcity in tundra the growth in size and population of shrubs in tundra biome can have drastic effects on the food chain of tundra forcing out other important vegetations.

“How is he going to ¿nd quotes for this crap?” -Sebastien

Nature abhors a vacuum

Many species of mosses continue to grow after being dried out for multiple years.

Better than watching paint dry.

Plants have to grow rapidly and produce seeds in the short summers that climb above 10 degrees celcius.

Invasive vegitation is cutting off the growth of certain species of berry plants within Alaska.

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

2015

Solar Radiation

Releasing of Methane

Albedo Warming cycle

Albedo is the measure of the reflectiveness of the arctic pole due to the white ice and snow. As the snow and ice melt less of the sun’s heat is reflected back from the earth causing more heat to be absorbed creating a feedback loop accelerating climate change in the tundra biome “Year round and summer residents expressed concerns over the location of the project: some claim that the project will ruin scenic views from people’s private property as well as views from public property such as beaches, as the turbines will be only 4.8 miles from the shore” Controversy over Wind Turbines near Nantucket http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Wind

[GASSED UP]

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

2015

1. Identify soft ground area around spring thaw pools 2. Penetrate funnel piece into ground 3. Mound excavated dirt around funnel filtration system 4. Install excess penetrating gas dome and valves 5. Wedge sealed valves 6. Attach balloons to tubes 7. Stake reinforced cables and attach tubes to valves 8. Penetrate thawing permafrost to attain Methane pocket(s) 9. Collect and replace balloons as neededÂŹ

[GASSED UP]

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

2015

[GASSED UP]

BLIMP STRUCTURE

METHANE BLIMP

TENSION CABLES - BLIMP STABILIZERS

MACHINE

DECK CABIN WALL WINDOWS

LIFEBOAT

DECK CABIN WALLS

DECK

LNG TANK (Liquid Natural Gas)

EXPANDABLE MACHINE LOADING CRANES CABINS

ENGINE VERTICAL HULL STRUCTURE

GHOSTED CABINS CATWALK CIRCULATION

CABINS HORIZONTAL HULL STRUCTURE CABINS

HULL

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE OCEAN OCEAN

2015

[GASSED UP]

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

2015

[GASSED UP]

CATALOGUE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE AGE

2015

[GASSED UP]

A two part project the initial phase was to study residential typologies in a two week idea generating workshop based on the universities bid to the solar decathlon. The idea was to look at passive energy systems based on our future site analysis and come up with potential plan layouts for module units in the next phase. The second phase directive was to design a one hundred and thirty apartment tower in Brooklyn New York with the principal that the variety of studios, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments would be modules constructed off site. In phase one we as a team of three developed mechanically operable louvers that could be adjusted to control air and light penetration into the main common living spaces. The solar decathlon home was strategically placed on site to cater to the summer and winter winds. What the louvers also gave us was a degree of privacy which could be achieved while still being rather porous in other areas where privacy was not desired. The louvers operate on a spinal cord system with ribs in which the ribs can exist in one of two angles, zero and ninety. The draped fabric around these ribs then adapts to the control points of these ribs created smooth flow surfaces that allow for controlled light and air penetration. In phase two as a team of two we strategically formed the shape of the building to fit into the existing urban macro climate and fabric while balancing the single individual micro climate of a single module unit and the desired comforts of any individual. Taking into account the variability of comfort among groups of individuals the louver system can be control from each unit so that each tenant can live within their own comfort environment. In addition we aimed to give each unit as much transparency to the surrounding views of Manhattan and Brooklyn while the louvers can still allow for a tenant to control their own privacy. It was important to create individuality among the units considering they were all of the same to efficiently streamline the modular construction process. The tower is located on church land where the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rectory once stood. We replaced the rectory by placing it still behind the church but moving the even space to its side and up above the sidewalk level. What this echoes is the stoop level of the brownstones of the neighbourhood while keeping open all important view corridors to the church. The project was nominated among two others for the annual King&King architectural firm award.

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

Tower S Studio Section

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

Tower S 1 Bedroom Section

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

Tower S 2 Bedroom Section

Scale: 1/4” = 1’-0”

[MICRO AND MACRO]

BUILDING DETAIL SECTION

+328 ft

+319 ft ROOF 1 2

+316 ft

TYPICAL MODULE CEILING

+314 ft

EPDM MOISTURE BARRIER LAYER RIGID INSULATION CONCRETE STEEL FORM LIGHT GAGE STEEL FRAMING

8 9 10

BATT INSULATION 8 1/2” HSS SECTION TWO LAYERS OF 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD MECHANICAL ROLL UP SHADE STEEL TIE BACKS

TYPICAL MODULE EXTERIOR WALL

11 11 12

13 14 12

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

FABRIC ROTATING MECHANICAL LOUVER TRIPLE GLAZED CENTER PIVOT OR 3” OPENING WINDOWS OPERABLE WINDOW FLANGES LOUVER STEEL CONNECTION POLISHED METAL PANEL VENEER RIGID INSULATION MOISTURE BARRIER 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD LIGHT GAGE STEEL FRAME BATT INSULATION FACADE PANEL SLIDE/BOLT IN CONNECTION MODULE TO MODULE HSS BOLT IN CONNECTION PLATE

TYPICAL MODULE FLOOR 23 24 25

+304 ft

15 21

29 30

+302 ft

13 16

27 14

18 20 19

WINDOW CONVECTOR UNIT CONCRETE SLAB FLOOR BASE RADIANT HEATING AND COOLING IN CONCRETE FLOOR FLOOR TO BE POLISED OR FINIHSED AS DESIRED RIGID INSULATION LIGHT GAGE STEEL FRAME BATT INSULATION STEEL FORM DECK AND MINERAL WOOL FIRESTOP

+292 ft

+290 ft

+40 ft

+38 ft

+28 ft 33

+26 ft

MODULE STACKING BASE

32 34

32 33 36

34 35 36

37 38 39 40 41 42 43

0’-3” CONCRETE SLAB ON METAL DECK MOISTURE BARRIER RIGID INSULATION 0’-5” CONCRETE SLAB TWO LAYERS OF 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD CONCRETE COLUMN

FABRIC ROTATING MECHANICAL LOUVER BALCONY RAILING LOUVER TO EXTAND DOWN INTO CAVITY/REVEAL WATER COLLECTION AND DRAINAGE POLISHED BALCONY SLAB MOISTURE BARRIER RIGID INSULATION CONCRETE LOAD BEARING STRUCTURE

+16 ft

39 40

+14 ft

43 44

+4 ft (CHURCH ENTRY)

+2 ft

0 ft (SIDEWALK)

-7 ft (COURTYARD) -14 ft (FLOOR OF EVENT SPACE)

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

LIGHT BREEZE

2016

[MICRO AND MACRO]

Tanda is a project complete within a group of three for an potential alternative to the historical bullfighting ring in Sevilla Spain. The studio presented the question of what could become of bullfighting rings in Spain if the sport was to be bad nationally. Inspired by the diverse history and culture of bullfighting, Sevilla and Spain, we were inspired to breakdown the power struggle between the matador and the bull within a fight to then use as sources of flow. Applying a meteorological color spectrum to this power struggle we then let it flow out from the center of the stadium around and within the existing walls of the stadium. The resulting floor plans and their colorful spectrums were then literally used to inform divisions of four staple cultural programs we determined: Dance, Theater, Film, and Painting. We chose these four modes of cultural artist expression for how they have also been used to personify the power struggle scene between a matador and bull during a bullfight. We extruded the plans and then draped the tops. We conserved intersections to allow for divisions between spaces. Finally we implemented a systems of slicing, puncturing, and pinching to create openings and thresholds for light and circulation. We recognized that our intervention could be seen as a new programmatic strategy to activate the bullfighting ring during its offseason, or a sort of tabula rasa reconstruction of a cultural hub that is in fact incredibly tied in shape and form to its historical predecessor. Tanda is defined as a series of passes between the bull and the toredo. The studio was directed so that each groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final product would be an 8-10 minute film and so it is strongly encouraged that the reader follow the link below to access the video we made as a group of three for our project. For only in the film can one see the real life flow test and flow animations we produced. https://youtu.be/leQ5OQz6mps

TANDA

2016

[BULLFIGHTING RING]

TANDA

2016

[BULLFIGHTING RING]

TANDA

2016

[BULLFIGHTING RING]

TANDA

2016

[BULLFIGHTING RING]

TANDA

2016

[BULLFIGHTING RING]

A two part project the initial phase was to study residential typologies in a two week idea generating workshop based on the universities bid to the solar decathlon. The idea was to look at passive energy systems based on our future site analysis and come up with potential plan layouts for module units in the next phase. The second phase directive was to design a one hundred and thirty apartment tower in Brooklyn New York with the principal that the variety of studios, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments would be modules constructed off site. In phase one we as a team of three developed mechanically operable louvers that could be adjusted to control air and light penetration into the main common living spaces. The solar decathlon home was strategically placed on site to cater to the summer and winter winds. What the louvers also gave us was a degree of privacy which could be achieved while still being rather porous in other areas where privacy was not desired. The louvers operate on a spinal cord system with ribs in which the ribs can exist in one of two angles, zero and ninety. The draped fabric around these ribs then adapts to the control points of these ribs created smooth flow surfaces that allow for controlled light and air penetration. In phase two as a team of two we strategically formed the shape of the building to fit into the existing urban macro climate and fabric while balancing the single individual micro climate of a single module unit and the desired comforts of any individual. Taking into account the variability of comfort among groups of individuals the louver system can be control from each unit so that each tenant can live within their own comfort environment. In addition we aimed to give each unit as much transparency to the surrounding views of Manhattan and Brooklyn while the louvers can still allow for a tenant to control their own privacy. It was important to create individuality among the units considering they were all of the same to efficiently streamline the modular construction process. The tower is located on church land where the churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rectory once stood. We replaced the rectory by placing it still behind the church but moving the even space to its side and up above the sidewalk level. What this echoes is the stoop level of the brownstones of the neighbourhood while keeping open all important view corridors to the church. The project was exhibited in the 2017 Shenzhen and Hong Kong architectural biennale.

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

HIGHER LEVEL

2017

[SHENZHEN URBAN VILLAGE]

The Archgraphy of Babel speculates on the finity of architecture however infinite is appears. That there could exist an archive of all architecture that has ever been and all architecture which ever will be. The Mathematics of Unoriginality would be the means to quantify architecture through a set of limits which will lead to architecture’s finite maximum number of total possible projects beginning by cataloging unoriginality – all architecture that already is or has been. In other words the architecture that has been done in the way that if it were done again the latter would be a copy of the first. This quantification is done through the archiving of the unoriginality of architecture through documents, denominated archgraphy. While it is recognized that arch- as a prefix means ruler and graphy- drawing or writing, archgraphy would then be the ruler of drawing and writing. Yet this definition is much too literal and that of archgraphy’s is more in a suggestive sense that the archgraphy itself is the state of being in control of all drawings that are within the archive. Archgraphy : Library :: Archgrapher : Librarian The platform for this situation is Jorge Luis Borges’ short The Library of Babel which describes a library of all possible books within hexagons with 4 sides with 5 shelves each, 32 books per shelf, 410 pages per book, 40 lines per page, and 80 characters per line. These limits allow the quantification of the total number of books in the library with the knowledge that the library holds every possible combination using 25 orthographic symbols – (Borges’ 23 characters of the alphabet, the space, the comma and the period). The Archgraphy of Babel seeks to do similar but for architecture. The ambition is however to understand if architecture can be the vessel for the archive of books can architecture be the vessel for the archive of documents of architecture? The evaluation of this situation is the design of the environment for the storage and archiving of the documentation of architecture. An archive consisting of all the iterations of architecture we have done so far in the form of documents (i.e. drawings, representations, images, treatises, etc.). Considering that there is not the space in the known universe for The Library of Babel, the archgraphy of architecture will also itself be its own universe with its own but still familiar laws of physics.

THE ARCHGRAPHY OF BABEL