Spencer Scherer - Selected Works

SPENCER SCHERER +1.913.416.0332 spencer.scherer (at) icloud.com

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE PLANNING & DESIGN

CESKÉ VYSOKÉ UCENÍ TECHNICKÉ V PRAZE FAKULTA ARCHITEKTURY

SELECTED WORKS 2014 - 2016

SPENCER SCHERER +1.913.416.0332 spencer.scherer (at) icloud.com

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE PLANNING & DESIGN

EDUCATION

Kansas State University - Architecture Planning & Design

CESKÉ VYSOKÉ UCENÍ TECHNICKÉ V PRAZE FAKULTA ARCHITEKTURY

NAAB Accredited Masters of Architecture August 2011 - May 2016

Ceské Vysoké Ucení Technické v Praze - Fakulta Architektury

ARCHITECTURAL EXPERIENCE

CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE

International Exchange February 2015 - June 2015

Munn Architecture - Granby, Colorado

Architectural Intern - Worked on a variety of projects, including residential remodel, new residential (2000 - 6000+ sq.ft.), commercial remodel, & city master-planning. As well as a variety of phases of design from concept, schematic, and on through design development, while picking up red-lines on CD’s. Also worked as a part of the design team focused on the City of Grand Lake Masterplan, involving community interaction and outreach as well as design charettes.

June 2014 - August 2014

Scherer Construction - Basehor, Kansas

Craftsman - Worked on residential projects ranging from tri-plex townhouses, duplexes, and single family residential from. Work involved all phases of construction, including insulation, interior paint, interior trim, interior tile. While working for Scherer Construction I was also able to work for several sub-contractors, listed below, for shorter periods of time, gaining experience in their respective fields.

May 2010 - August 2015

Smith Excavating - Basehor, Kansas

Assistant Operator - Worked on a variety of jobs within the realm of earthwork, from rough and finish grades, using skid-steers and track loaders, to final hydro-seeding, and residential sprinkler installation and maintenance.

May 2013 - August 2013

Brame Carpentry - Kansas City, Kansas

Assistant Carpenter - Member of five man framing crew, working on residential duplexes. Gained skills in typical residential stick framing, from start through rough in, including floors, walls, & roofs.

May 2012 - August 2012

SKILLS - DIGITAL

InDesign CS6 Illustrator CS6 Photoshop CS6 Rhinoceros 5

SKILLS - HAND

Scale Models

Revit AutoCAD 3DS Max Sketchup

Laser Cutter Watercolor Rendering FABRICATION

Woodworking & Cabinetry Residential Construction - Concrete Flatwork, Framing, Interior Trim, Interior Paint, Interior Tile

Kansas State University Visiting Professor Jay Siebenmorgen Graduate Studio in Architecture Fall 2015 & Spring 2016 “What are the limits of possibility in New York City urbanism? Land and building prices continue to rise to unprecedented levels, with each year proving it has the stamina to raise beyond expectations. It would seem a tipping point is inevitable. As we learned from the 2008 economic crash, the housing market can be volatile, and can also prove to not be the answer to all development in the city. In 2012, as New York was finding its way back to some level or normalcy, hurricane Sandy moved in to reveal our weaknesses in infrastructure and resiliency to historical storm surges. New York is still a city designed for immediacy, but now we push towards forward-thinking resilient architecture.

Gowanus Canal presents an opportunity to challenge the notion of what it means to program and build in New York City. Its history as a polluted waterway has kept it off of the radar of most developers, and therefore is an area in the city somewhat lost in time. With the recent rezoning proposals and Superfund designation it now faces considerable development pressure. The attributes of Gowanus are significant – anchored to the east and west by affluent neighborhoods; a restored waterway will offer opportunity to connect to the NYC water taxi system; zoning has limited the height of buildings equating to better access to light and air.

The aspiration of all cities is to develop a framework to promote a healthy, happy and fulfilling lifestyle. Many developed cities around the world are implementing smart growth programs focused on the design of streets and buildings to not only promote healthier lifestyles, but also foster new program potentials for human experience. The programs you define for Gowanus Canal can cultivate an innovative framework that will mold the city for the future - your projects will propose a catalyst for change.�

Input Output The

Positive

Void

This

Page

:

Conceptual

Visualizations

Opposite

:

Site

Axonometric

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Diagram

UP

UP UP DN

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Ground

Floor

Plan

UP

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UP

UP DN

DN UP DN

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UP

Second

DN

Floor

Plan

UP

DN

X.2

DN UP

DN

UP

DN

Circulation

Diagram

Structural

Assembly

Diagram

Studio

Birdseye

One

Bedroom

Birdseye

Two

Bedroom

Birdseye

Longitudinal

Section

&

Elevation

Café

Birdseye

Transient

Housing

Birdseye

Transverse

Section

&

Elevation

Exterior

View

From

Across

The

Street

Axonometric

Section

-

Aquaponic

Farm

Axonometric

Section

-

Residential

View

From

Interior

Courtyard

Site

Model

-

Plywood,

Maple,

Acrylic

-

8’x21’

To gain a better understanding of the context of our sites, the class built a large scale site model, showing the entire Gowanus Canal at a 1:30 scale. The model featured removable plugs for each individuals respective site, so that projects could be plugged into the model to see how they interacted with the context, as well as other students projects. The model itself, is 8 feet across at it’s widest, and over 21 feet long. It also contains over 970 buildings that make up the neighborhood of Gowanus. The base of the model was created on a large scale CNC, while the buildings were cut and glued together from solid maple.

Physical

Iterations

The large scale site model, proved to be an incredibly useful tool in the design process, allowing physical iterative models to be placed within the context to observe their relationship with their surroundings. Having this asset at the studios disposal, resulted in many iterative models, whose usefulness wouldn’t have been fully realized without it.

This design process also forces you to think about the construction and layering of the building. Although it is only a model and isn’t being built the same way a building would be, it does force you to stop and think about what it is you’re actually creating and how it might really come together.

OUTPUT Output Thesis Book Vol. One 204 pages This book is a compilation of the study, research and work, completed in the second of two semesters in The Positive Void: Investigations into the Resilient Hybrid, a year long graduate level design studio taught by Professor Jay Siebenmorgen, Regnier Visiting Chair at Kansas State University’s, College of Architecture Planning and Design.

The studio’s aim, to examine and program a “rebirth” of the Gowanus Canal, comes at a time when world populations are rapidly growing and previously uninhabitable or undesirable areas are be reconsidered and redeveloped to house this growing population. In order to better understand this, the studio began by breaking into teams, to examine various international cities that have dealt with similar conditions, including relations to water and existing city, connections into and within the area, as well as program and zoning.

After this the groups began to examine and map the various scales of the project site, seeking the same information, beginning at the scale of New York City, and zooming in, first to Brooklyn, then to the neighborhoods around the Gowanus Canal, and finally to the canal itself.

Upon completion and compilation of this body of research, the teams were disbanded and the individuals were pressed with the task of creating a vision for Gowanus. After an initial proposal and site selection, the design studio took a trip to New York to study the canal and the surrounding area, and refine site selection, as well as examine buildings of architectural relevance.

To aid in the refinement of the proposal, each individual created a set of “urban rules” which were set in place to govern not only the area of Gowanus as a whole, but also guide each individuals master-planning and project proposals. These proposals dealt with common issues such as response to flooding, revitalization of the area, and the health of the Gowanus Canal, as well as issues that each individual took an interest in.

To reach a level of clarity in preparation for the second semester, which focuses on developing the program, the remainder of the semester was spent researching precedent, refining the program, developing the master-plan, and beginning conceptual massing.

INPUT Input Thesis Book Vol. Two 156 pages This book is a compilation of the study, research and work, completed in the second of two semesters in The Positive Void: Investigations into the Resilient Hybrid, a year long graduate level design studio taught by Professor Jay Siebenmorgen, Regnier Visiting Chair at Kansas State University’s, College of Architecture Planning and Design.

The studio’s aim, to examine and program a “rebirth” of the Gowanus Canal, comes at a time when world populations are rapidly growing and previously uninhabitable or undesirable areas are be reconsidered and redeveloped to house this growing population.

After spending the first semester researching New York, Brooklyn, Gowanus, the chosen site, and creating a programmatic proposal for the area, the second semester focused on taking that concept and developing further into an architectural proposal.

To gain a better understanding of the area surrounding the canal, the studio built a large 21 foot site model, showcasing the entire length of the canal, as well as nearly 1,000 buildings making up the immediate context. This model allowed for a greater sense of understanding of scale and character of the neighborhood in relation to the project, through the use of small models created throughout the design process.

Moving from conceptual ideas and program into a more refined and solidified thesis proposal, became the next four months of investigation. This process involved many iterations through multiple stages of design and pinups, paired with architectural writings, which evoke a response on both a tectonic level as well as on a poetic level, helping to further the project by combining the technical side of architecture with the experiential side.

The culmination of both semesters work is contained within Input Output volumes one and two, the first leaning heavily towards research and goals, while the second contains the architectural proposal which hopes to be the catalyst that ignites these changes within the community.

Kansas State University Professor Aaron Schump Graduate Seminar In Architecture Fall 2014 “Architecture might be described as a sort of alchemy, creating meaning through an assembly of disparate parts. Making something, out of nothing. This seminar will be an exploration of architectural theory and constructions focused on issues of TIME and SPACE. We will search for how architects manufacture meaning through an articulation of DEEP SURFACE. Our true goal will be discovering processes that might intensify our fabrications with deeper layers of meaning.

The class will begin by investigating theoretical texts and projects at the macro scale of site and cosmological alignments to the micro scale of individual spaces and details.

Parallel to this research, participants will create their own proposal for a construction illustrating a critical position in relation to our exploration. Individuals will develop a methodology for discovering and developing a conceptual framework. Various techniques will be discussed and implemented, including analysis of texts, modeling, and delineation. We will be looking for a lever to change our embedded understanding of what architecture might be.

Successful completion of course projects and assignments will provide students with the following: The ability to form a conceptual framework and reinforce ones position through construction.

The ability to develop a working methodology for conceptual discovery. As well as the ability to make informed spatial choices, particularly as such decisions manifest design intentions.�

Time Spaces Searching

For

Deep

Surface

Chat ; mining by-product, consisting of gravel coated in heavy metals ; ; ; ;

gravel - non-toxic - no related health issues cadmium - toxic - lung cancer. osteomalacia. proteinuria. lead - toxic - anemia. encephalopathy. foot drop/wrist drop. nephropathy. zinc - toxic in large quantities - zinc toxicity. anosmia.

; uses - pre-1983 - recreation. sandboxes. sanding icy roads. fill for playgrounds. ; uses - post-1983 - aggregate in asphalt. aggregate in concrete. industrial processes.

s

ow

p

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Sl

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1918 | City Of Picher Incorporated

1926 | 14,252 Persons

Site

Mapping

-

Digital

1947 | End Peak Mining 1948 | Mining Declines

1917 | Begin Peak Mining

Pre-1913 Mining Beginning In Tri-State Area 1913 | Mining Begins Around Picher

Rap

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Exp

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In

Min

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Lea

ds

To

Mas

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s O f

Was

te

(Ch

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1920 | 9,726 Persons

&

Hand

Rendering

Tar Creek Superfund Site - Picher, OK

36°58'48.2"N

94°50'40.5"W 0’

16’

N

Picher

Cardin

Quapaw Commerce Tar Creek

Chat Piles Reach Peak,Until Remidiation Begins

1983 | Tar Creek Area Is Designated A Superfund Site

1967 | Tar Creek Area

Reaches Peak Chat Levels - 75,000,000 Tons

diat

ion,

Wind

Eros

ion,

And

Wate

r Er osi

on C hat

Pile

s De cli

ne S low

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2009 | City Of Picher Is Unincorporated

To R emi

1996 | Study Shows 34% Of Picher Children Have Lead Poisoning

Due

2000 | 1,640 Persons

2010 | 20 Persons

Present | 1 Person

1967 Mining Ceases

1960 | 2,553 Persons

History The large mountains that surround what was once the town of Picher might not seem out of place, until you learn that they lie in Oklahoma, and that they’re toxic. These large mountains are actually heaps of mining waste called chat, which is gravel that is coated in various heavy metals. This toxicity stems from mining operations in what is currently the most polluted place in the United States, with an astronomical Super- fund budget to match. The area became so polluted that the government bought everyone out of their homes and unincorporated the town, which now sits as a ghost town, that is ever so slowly and ineffectively being remediated, however a small portion of the Superfund budget has been secured to create a pilot program that is seeking to use natural methods to remove the toxic heavy metals from the soil and the water in this desolate reminder of American Industrialism.

Site

Casting

-

Carved

Plaster

-

18�

x

24�

Block

Massing

-

Wood

-

6”x4”x9”

The water found on site from both the aquifer and surface water from the river are severely contaminated with the heavy metals cadmium, lead, and zinc. To begin the remediation effort the water from these two sources is pumped into the top of the filter station and begins a gravity based descent through the natural filtration process. The first stage that the water encounters is the natural wetland that filters out some of the more common pollutants found in the water as well as large particulate matter. From there the water flows through a series of mollusk beds, that house a variety of mollusks, which filter out the heavy metals from the water, due to their natural ability to absorb these toxic elements. The freshly filtered water is then sent on to it’s next purpose in the greenhouse portion of the building .

Tectonic

Massing

-

Plaster,

Wood,

Brass

-

9�x9�x9�

The purified water from the previous step is used to help mitigate the heavy metals found in the large piles of chat that encompass the site.

Sunflowers are grown in this toxic soil of sorts, and are able to absorb the toxic heavy metals in a similar fashion to the mollusks, and it is the water from the previous step that is used to water them and promote their growth indoors, before they are transplanted to the chat.

The planting of the sunflowers also creates ground cover and a system of roots which helps prevent dust from the chat piles from becoming airborne which poses significant risks to the publics health. After a period of time however the sunflowers must be harvested and burned to allow for fresh new plants to take their place. The burning of these plants is used to power the pumps and other electrical needs of the facility.

Remediation

Plant

Transverse

Section

1.1

1.2 28’

hydroponic growth system

aquifer pump system

Remediation

Plant

Annotated

Section

2

26’

2.1

2.2 42’

120’

100’

90’

80’ natural filter

50’

20’

0’

mollusk tank

0

3

6

12

24

Ceske Vysoke Uceni Technicke v Praze Professors Vladimir Kratky & Luis Marques Atelier - Fakulta Architektury Spring 2015 A new country, a different system of measurements, a different way of thinking, a different way of designing.

Most if not all of these are thoughts that run through ones head the first time they walk into an architecture studio in a different country.

Through these difficulties come new opportunities, gaining a larger world view, understanding what other people value and hold dear. How these things change the way they design, to make it more personalized for them and their way of life.

The following spreads document my studio project during my semester in the Czech Republic, and reflect the things I learned both in and out of the studio, and as much as I gained inside of the university, I gained a hundred fold more outside, being immersed in the culture, and trying to bring this understanding back into my own designs, and views.

Dablicky Hrbitov A Delirious Take

On

Death

Proposed

Existing

Cemetery

Expansion

Dablice

Cemetery

Expansion

Dablice cemetery, located in Dablice a northern district of Prague is a typical Czech cemetery with many monumental graves, green-spaces, trees, and organic flowing paths. Adjoining the cemetery to the west is a parcel of unused land that could be adopted as an expansion of the existing cemetery when more space is needed in the future. With the rising interest in cremation as an option after death it is also conceivable that a crematory might be placed on the site to facilitate this need. The proposed site for the expansion currently serves as a nursery, and when viewing an aerial image one can see the grid of plantings that emerges. Taking this idea and combining it with ideas and concepts on how to arrange a city set forth in Rem Koolhaus’s “Delirious New York�, creates a grid that orders the entire site from placement buildings and graves, to circulation and plantings.

Block

Placement

Tapestry

Site

Applied

Programmed

Grid

Applied

“Broadway”

Folly

Applied

Locations

Skyspace

Folly Ash

Field

Reflection

Folly

Crematorium

Site

Plan

The expansion of the cemetery is based upon the Manhattan grid, where each block is exactly the same, irregardless of topography. The sizing of each block uses the building block as a standard, and creates a uniform grid with paths connecting all the plots and buildings together. There are four entrances into the new portion of the cemetery, three from the existing portion, and one new one that allows access to the crematorium without having to pass through the existing cemetery. Aside from the standard paths the grid creates there are also two major paths in the cemetery, that border the edges of the ash garden. The ash garden is to this cemetery what central park is to the island of Manhattan, in that it breaks the mold and in this instance creates a new axial path that bisects the grid similar to Broadway in Manhattan. In addition to the crematorium, there are two other structural interventions on the site, used for contemplation and as a columbarium, in the form of garden follys, each with their own unique character.

Reflection

Folly

The first of the garden follys proposed for the site is a larger space, that allows in ample light, while still retaining privacy for small gatherings, as well as solitary contemplation while viewing the reflecting pool. This space derives it’s aesthetic style, and concept from Mies’s Barcelona Pavilion, utilizing a uniform roof plane that hovers over a plinth, supported by a pinwheeling set of walls that bisect space, and create spaces and moments within sized for varying numbers of individuals to reflect.

Skyspace

Folly

The second of the proposed follys is the skyscape, which is composed of two monolithic cubes of black marble. One is a columbarium, while the other is open on the inside with a hole in the roof that allows for a perfectly framed view of the sky. The conceptual driver for this folly comes from the work of artist James Turrell, and his powerful Skypaces which frame the sky with their razor pointed roof planes, creating an unmatchable way of considering the cosmos above, perfect for reflecting on how fleeting life can be, and coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.

Lightwell

Casket Plinth & Elevator Entombment Vault Directors Office Ceremonial Hall

Casket Elevator Refrigerators

Cremation Furnaces “Broadway�

Vestibule Preperation Area

Top

:

Exploded

Axonometric

Left

:

Ground

Floor

Plan

Right

:

Basement

Plan

Crematory

Chapel

The crematorium stands as the tallest object on the site, peeking out from the trees with it’s tall black marble mass. Housed inside the mass are spaces for entombment, as well as service functions of the building. By putting the services inside of this wall the interior of the space is able to be free from distraction and clutter, with a spectacular view to the ash garden and cemetery through the wrapping curtain wall that hangs below the cantilevered roof. The main floor of the building houses the ceremonial hall with its vestibule space, while the basement is home to the core of the operation with cremation machines and the associated equipment. With the lower level and the large marble mass containing nearly everything in the building, the ceremonial hall is free to engage on a deeper level with the site, and creates a connection between the stages of death allowing one to look forward.

Looking

Up

“Broadway”

Kansas State University Professor Chris Fein Graduate Seminar In Architecture Spring 2016 “Architects have historically been interested in the design of furniture. The study and design of furniture is of a scale that architects can test and refine the ideas of craft, proportion, materiality and detail through numerous full-scale prototypes and mock-ups not usually available for architectural projects.

The aim of this seminar to closely study historical precedent in modern furniture design by looking into material properties, connections/details, scale, proportion and use. Design is a discipline and as such the greater our knowledge of historical precedent the easier it becomes to produce designs of lasting quality and beauty. The class’s critical examination of type will be executed through presentations, readings, precedent studies and hands on design build exercises. The intent of the seminar is not to produce a finished piece of furniture nor is it to teach you how to use the tools of the shop, but it is to better your knowledge of historical precedent in furniture design and how to conceive detail and refine objects at the scale of furniture.�

20Furniture Century Design th

Survey

of

Architectural

Theory

Exploration

-

Laser

Cut

Museum

Board

-

14�x14�

The issued challenge for this course was simple, experiment and push the boundaries of what can be done with wood. By combining an interest with the Eames Dimple Table, and the technology of a laser cutter, the idea of compound curving plywood was born. By adapting a laser cut pattern found on line for use in this application, bending ply was then cut, and two layers laser cut with the pattern. After creating foam form work, the layers were glued up and then placed in a vacuum bag, and left to dry for several hours.

Iteration

One

-

Bending

Ply

-

12�x12�

The first iteration sought to create a shallow dimple in the wood before having it return to its normal state. After pulling the layers from the vacuum bag after several hours, it was clear that the overall process had been a success, although there is room for improvement, such as a more carefully constructed foam mold, and the cleaner application of glue.

Iteration

Two

-

Bending

Ply

-

12�x12�

With the first iteration completed and successful, the second sought to push the boundaries of the material. The foam mold for this iteration created a much taller bump with far less circumference than the dimple, which meant the wood had to reach higher and return to normal in a much smaller area than the first iteration. While not a complete success, this iteration created a far more interesting form, and showed that with some further experimentation, more extreme curvatures could be possible.

Kansas State University Professor Aaron Schump Graduate Seminar In Architecture Fall 2016 “Architecture can be imagined simply as constructed thoughts. This seminar will be an exploration of contemporary theory to broaden our understanding of such thoughts, positions, and arguments in order to enrich our built spaces with deeper layers of meaning.

Theory lies within the discipline of Architecture.

It is not a history or a practice, though it overlaps both. Theory is the discourse that describes and/ or challenges the production of Architecture. While investigating the past as well as the present, theory looks ahead to future possibilities.

With such an expansive field of possible content, the seminar intends to navigate via the themes of Space, Time, and Memory. Students will explore conceptions and relationships among the themes from selected texts and thinkers while formulating positions of their own.

Some of the texts/thinkers lie with-in the discipline of Architecture and some may lie beyond. The multidiscipline nature is intended to reflect the diversity within the realm of architectural theory since the mid1960’s.

Students will be required to read, consider, and take a position on the texts. These will be accomplished through writing and discussion/debate.

The ultimate goal of the seminar will be to locate a processes of critical thinking regarding Architectural theory. It will propose methods of comprehension and analysis. And it will attempt to demonstrate why theory is necessity in the production of Architecture.”

Space Time Memory Survey

of

Architectural

Theory

In Northern Berlin, along a boulevard called RykestraĂ&#x;e, complete with trees lining either side of the street and perfect building scale, sits a couple in steel patio chairs, under the canopy of amber leaves, sipping espresso macchiatos, and shooting the breeze.

As they converse people bustle by, as if carried by the wind, some at a leisurely stroll, others in a late for work rush, while some fly past, propelled by a hurricane force gale . . . and a bicycle. I was, however, caught up in a turbulent patch, and then, like a grocery bag in a crosswind, blown into the cafe.

This cafe?

Why this cafe?

There are two more on this street, and another seven within a two minute walk. Was it the coffee, the cakes, the cute barista behind the counter who smiles at me and draws hearts in my cappuccino.

No.

While these are all important, the statement “there is no joy in shit coffee” being particularly relevant here, there is a more substantial reason. The carefully curated bric-abrac, which lines the shelves and populates the tables along with publications of every variety serving as coasters, and occasionally, reading material. The way the light brushes across the walls, sinks into the leather arm chairs, and reflects off of the shimmering chrome La Marzocco, perched, front and center, upon the counter. The people who sit about, some undoubtedly working on their screenplay, a few reading the paper, and a select bunch simply enjoying the presence of others. A shot of espresso being pulled, the sound of milk being steamed, the dull hum of peoples voices, as the wind sings outside the window. All these elements coming together, overlapping, and interacting, are what create the atmosphere. The reason to come, the reason to stay, and finally the reason to go.

These moments of the café were certainly not designed together, if they were designed at all.

How then, can we hope to achieve such a satisfying and complete space in our own design? The building itself was certainly designed, allowing us at least one brief opportunity to get it right. There is more than that though, we can’t design the people, the conversations they have, the “air” of life they bring, or the random assortment of junk that is sure to flutter into the shop, again courtesy of the people who come, who stay, who work, who inhabit.

Design is for people, it is a people centric pursuit.

We design in order to serve some function we deem necessary, important, critical. At the bare minimum it should be functional, it should serve its purpose in some capacity. As an ideal, it should do more than that it should facilitate more than the function, it should be an experience, a memory, a thing of beauty. When we divorce these and design something that is beautiful yet lacking in essential function we have failed, we have created an airless showpiece that we cannot use or interact with. That is not to say that things of beauty are irrelevant, paintings, sculptures, and music are beautiful for beauties sake.

Conversely having a building that is purely functional also presents an issue, it lacks life. A space without life isn’t really a space, it is too soon forgotten, avoided, abandoned, and torn down. What is this moment then? This force that people bring to a space, from conception, through growth, and on to maturity?

The breeze.

This is what people bring to a design, a home, a park, a café, the breeze is what makes it special, what makes it worth going and retuning to.

The breeze is not something that can be easily defined, controlled, or anticipated. It is a force that has it’s own unique ebb and flow, a unique identity, a profound effect on everything it touches.

We must define it though, like many great theories before, definition allows understanding, and eventually, if correct, acceptance as truth. To begin, the breeze comes with people, so human beings must be present for it to exist. They must also be allowed to exercise freedom in this space, able to be themselves, make changes, and ultimately they have to have chosen to be there. So for our purposes, i.e, defining the undefinable, we can summarize what we think about the breeze, how it moves, what it is, into a fairly simple definition.

The Breeze; A modification, unique or universal, to a space, minute or mammoth, by it’s users, inhabitants, and visitors, to make them comfortable and content.

Ideal design focuses on crafting an space, a locale, a platform, that accommodates the breeze. It allows people to design, long after the design is complete. It allows users of a space to modify it for their own personal use, moving furniture, drawing the shades, tilting the monitor, sliding the coffee mug 3 inches to the left. This not only allows for greater workability and efficiency, but creates a more personal environment for each user. We can see the breeze at work anytime there is movable seating, the chair was probably in an okay location beforehand, but picking it up and moving it six inches to the left and rotating it slightly made it their own, and made them feel more comfortable.

Beauty is their purpose.

In all likelihood, they will have scooted it back to it’s original position before they finish their coffee.

While scooting your chair about is all well and good to make you feel comfortable and in control, what about bigger changes made by people, appropriating spaces once their original purpose is defunct. The Beijing Olympic Stadium, affectionately referred to as the Birds Nest, is a unique example that poses a great question, what do we do with “one time use” or “throwaway” buildings, when their time is up?

To create this framework for the breeze to blow through, Price studied all aspects of human activity and interaction, what might happen in this space, what would happen next to that, what if X got moved to Y, how about if X and Y were combined and the result was Z? He even began to study how his own inputs into the project were effecting the project, a very dangerous undertaking, that could lead to a continuous loop, slowly spiraling into oblivion.

In the case of the Birds Nest, not much, until it snows, and the infield is turned into a winter wonderland, with sledding and ski slopes, a brief moment of reuse and creativity. The stadium still sits empty most of the year, a testament to what once was, an uneasy reminder of what was used and forgotten. On the upshot however, these brief interludes enacted by people and the breeze they bring with them, show what could be, what can be, and perhaps, what should be.

Note however that he was interested in what could happen here, and how design could accommodate that, he was not interested in which form looked best when viewed from the top of the second highest point in the city, at 3pm on every third Thursday, when there was slight cloud cover and a low breeze. He instead focused on how it would look, work, and feel when people interacted with and enacted their desires upon the space.

As I sit, peering out the window, a heavy drizzle has begun, pushed to the side by the ever-present wind.

Crown Hall; A space created with unbreakable rules, for ultimate flexibility.

There is no breeze here.

Accommodating for the breeze, can be done in much the same way as Allen discusses in his theory Field Conditions. Beginning with a bottom up architecture that is influenced by small local scale conditions, that in turn produce the greater whole. It is the labyrinth that we inhabit, we can’t see or understand every decision that was made, only those that apply to us, those that affect us, those things we care about, the things we wish to modify.

It is much harder for us to see the pyramid, the holistic top down way of creating. It creates an almost fascist set of rules and regulations to abide by, throughout the life of the building, from design, to construction, throughout habitation, until it reaches its death.

The ultimate in this field of local conditions and flexibility with intent is Cedric Prices Fun Palace, a project that never reached actualization, and still sits, in the from of drawings, texts, and models, in storage, awaiting, ever patiently, for someone to notice it’s potential for the breeze. The project was conceived as a time-based urban intervention that invited user participation and interaction. The only fixed points in the project were to be the structural grid, with all other programmatic elements movable based upon the whim of the users, or as we have defined, by the breeze.

The sharp click of stilettos? Yes. The scratch of graphite on trace? Most definitely.

Praise from an architectural critic? Unlikely, but possible.

But no breeze.

Why then, in this supremely flexible space, is there no breeze? The open plan, the vast quantities of sunlight, the movable furniture and partitions that culminate in the freedom of a luminous airy interior. The difference here is the intent of the space, while the Fun Palace was designed to allow for the breeze, Crown Hall was a master work by Mies, and because of that it has to follow Mies principles.

The drafting desks don’t tilt up, that would ruin the lines of the building. The freshman are stuck in the basement, they dress poorly and tend to make a mess. In the afternoons the sunlight can be brutal, but window blinds would just destroy the simplicity. The space is designed to look flexible, like a slight breeze could blow through at any moment, that anything could happen at any time. Though really the only air that would ever move in the space is from a desk fan, should Mies allow one.

As I sip the last of my cappuccino, the rain begins to waver and slow, finally settling on a light mist, just enough to be refreshing and not burdensome, as a familiar movement pushes me out the door and onto the street, but what have I left behind?

The days paper crisply refolded on the table, next to several new coffee rings from my mug, and my chair, pushed back, and tilted ever so slightly to the left, awaiting someone new to blow by.

Hand Rendering Deliniation

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Ronchamp

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HL23