Graduate Portfolio - Tony Gonzalez

FOLIO

ima ge content meduim 2015-2017 Tony Gonzalez

B O DY

OF

WORK

Because architecture is either too big or too complex for architects to work on directly, architectural representation is needed to abstract buildings and sites into workable terms. The process by which this happens is the primary subject of my work. This process happens in three modes. In flatwork, architectural ideation works on the problem of flatness in three acts. The second mode of thought, objects, flatness as a subject of architectural thought flickers between flatness and object-ness, inverting the relationships between geometries and the objects that they describe. Finally, in institutions thought is executed in building form, once as an academic project, and once as a professional one. All projects, no matter their output, are joined by a shared interest in representation. Ultimately, it is the goal of this portfolio to archive and index the capacities of architectural representation.

the goods

clo ud w at chi n g p . 14

ob j e c t s

st rat h mรกs p. 22

i n v e r te d m o ti f p. 6

ins t i t ut i o n s

h o r i zo n p. 54

p ar t y p . 40

monument p . 30

Recognizable shapes are often used as a means to convey symbolic meaning. They are usually deployed by means of geometric orders: we recognize the forms and the simplicity of their arrangements.

OBJECT No.1 inverted motif ANN ARBOR, MI

Critic: Thom Moran with Courtney Krause, Karin Neubauer, and Jon Yates

spring 2016

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OBJECT No. 1

^^ a pi neapple motif, as used in a wallpaper << a recognizable shape, constructed architecturally

The Motif is a well known tactic in architecture. A recognizable shape is repeated in some geometric or organic pattern so as to create some sense of harmony or rhythm. In this way, a motif can do the work of symbology, by which an audience understands the meaning of a motif based on what that particular shape symbolizes.

The pineapple is a classic example of such a motif: the presence of a pineapple symbolizes the idea of welcoming guests. In the case of the wallpaper shown, a hexpattern orders the pineapples and provides a sense of rhythm.

Inverted Motif seeks to disrupt the standard relationship between a graphical motif and the geometry which orders it. A 4’ 6” pineapple was constructed out of aluminum sheeting. The hex pattern was made intrinsic 9

to the recognizable form: it became the organizing principle for the construction of the large pineapple, rather than the extrinsic organizer of multiple forms.

The form was conceived of in two parts - the upper ‘crown’ and the lower ‘fruit’. The leaves of the crown were integrated into the structural patterning which negotiates the surface. The hex pattern which subdivides the surface also determines the placement of leaves and the polygons which make up the base.

The softness of the material created for randomly angled petals. The integration of the hex pattern into the design of the component parts are neither structural or ornamental, but both simultaneously. Rather than the

OBJECT No. 1

ST R U C T U R E O F SY MB OL S

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OBJECT No. 1

OBJECT No. 1

^^ the perfection of the designed form was not carried forward to the resultant object << the resultant object was quite large, and required multiple people to transport

than seeking a geometrically perfect copy of the design, the resultant object embraces the imprecision of the material.

Aluminum sheets are neither rigid nor fabric, but take on whatever shape they are given.

triangles, as is achieved by digital mesh modeling.

The crown was designed by constructing geometrically perfect ellipses and subdividing them into the hex pattern. The leaves meet the pattern at their base, thereby serving as the connection system between individual parts. The articulation of the leaves was achieved by breaking down their forms into

On the next page, the component pieces are shown exploded in plan and elevation - the hex pattern, carried throughout, becomes a wedge system. In plan oblique, the connection between the crown and the fruit component can be understood as the negotiating of two different rhythms of patterning.

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The advantage of triangular mesh geometry is that it can be used to approximate almost any form.

OBJECT No. 1

^^ exploded plan drawing << panel assembly system >> exploded plan-isometric drawing

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OBJECT No. 1

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The problem of the brick is a classic one: objects with geometrically self-similar faces can be stacked on top of one another, and in doing so, produce architectural surfaces. Contemporary digital fabrication techniques allow for new part-to-part relationships, bound not necessarily by the geometric similarity, but by compositional and formal relationships.

OBJECT No.2 cloud watching ANN ARBOR, MI

critic: Asa Peller with Karin Neubauer and Jonathan Yates

spring 2016

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OBJECT No. 2

^^ vari ous components were created each with a mirrored copy << detail of assembled cloud connection

The phenomenon of Pareidolia describes the brainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tendency to see patterns in forms whether or not they were intentionally placed there. It is the phenomenon which makes Cloud Watching a creative endeavor. Of course, no cloud ever set out to take the form of a, say, an elephant, but nonetheless, we see it there. The spontaneity and flexibility of these readings is so often absent from digital-design techniques in architecture: parts designed digitally fit together in precisely one way, producing one possible formal conclusion.

The process of steam-bending wood was introduced to the discipline of architecture by means of Bauhaus furniture design. Wood components are soaked in water overnight, and in the morning, blasted with 17

steam and bent along some type of rigid form. When they are released, the fibers in the wood hold their new curvaceous shape.

The depth of the resulting curve is limited by the fibrous tension in the wood: if the curve is too deep, the wood will snap.

For Cloud Watching, steam bent components were constructed, each with a mirrored duplicate.

Slits cut along the length of the individual members relieve stress in the form, and in doing so provide a system of connection.

The resultant parts can ben configured and reconfigured in endless ways. Because each component is mirrored, the resultant compositions suggest a variety of zoological forms and postures. The project postulates on the capacity for the structure

OBJECT No. 2

R I G I D C U M U L O N IMB U S

OBJECT No. 2

<< a simple, variable jig yields multiplicities of form

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^^ one possible configuration of a connection detail

of architectural form to take on new part-to-part relationships.

form allows and audience to map any number of referents.

Only two jigs were needed to form the different components constructed. A ‘U’ shaped jig was used for the tightest components, and an ‘L’ shaped jig was used for the remainder. Clamps were simply moved along the jigs in order to generate different shapes and curve radii.

On the next page, four possible configurations are shown. Different postures can convey different emotional communications. As with one’s own body, posturing can convey a wide spectrum of emotions, from relaxed, low postures to tall, aggressive postures, to contraposto, quizzical postures, it is possible to encode form with the subjective, rather than only objective relationships.

Unlike traditional bricks, interlocking components accept adjacencies based on approximate, not exact geometric similarity. In this way, formal complexity is generated by a minimal number of connections.

Individually, components can be read as proto-zoological forms.

Recalling oceanic or aviary bone structures, the vagueness of their 19

It is possible to project the project of subjective relationships onto the urban: rather than imaging architecture as primarily the seat of objective relationships, buildings may be able to relate to one another by means of subjectivities.

OBJECT No. 2

PILE ‘EM ON

OBJECT No. 2

<< different assemblies yield varying musculatures and postures >> symmetrical assemblies allow for biophilic forms to emerge

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OBJECT No. 2

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It seems like Architecture is hopelessly bound to representation. There may be a way to conflate aesthetic techniques with political values such that form can generate real change.

OBJECT No.3 strathmás

US / MEXICO BORDER “Walls of Inclusion” Competition 1st Place with Gidon Schwartzman

fall 2015

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OBJECT No. 2

^^ a photo of a pho to of a model of a large model << repetition, distortion, pixilation, and the tools of the construction of an image

Submitted with model photos: A ten yard roll of Strathmore four hundred Drawing Series Paper can be ordered from blick. com for sixteen dollars and eighty eight cents (+shipping and delivery) and includes a total of one hundred and five square feet of paper. An eighty foot tall, two thousand mile long wall has five billion, two hundred and fifty four million, nine hundred and seventy six thousand, three hundred and three square feet of surface along its elevation.

The top of the wall would need to be capped with another one billion nine hundred and seventy million, six hundred and sixteen thousand, one hundred and thirteen square feet of surface.

A gallon of HP 02 Black printer ink costs four thousand and two hundred ninety four dollars 25

and fifty eight cents, and could cover one hundred and seventy thousand, four hundred and fifty four square feet of paper in a repeating concrete pattern.

This wall, made of single-ply ink jet printed paper would cost approximately forty four billion, nine hundred and forty nine million, four hundred and four thousand, eight hundred and thirty two dollars and twenty one cents for paper, and an additional two hundred and eighty eight billion, eight hundred twenty four million, six hundred forty four thousand, five hundred twenty dollars and thirty seven cents for HP 02 Black printer ink.

In total, the wall would cost three hundred and thirty three billion, eight hundred and thirty one million, eight hundred and sixty

OBJECT No. 2

B A D P E R S P E C TIV ES

OBJECT No. 2

The images included with the written document that you are now holding do not refer to a representation of a concrete wall.

They refer to the representation of a paper wall. The wall appears to stretch into infinity. The wall is literally constructed in perspective. The back of the model is smaller than the front of the model. People in the background can easily cross over the wall. Donald Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wall, obviously, should not ever be built. Soon after he announced that he was proposing to build a wall along the US / Mexico border, design students and the University of Michigan began to propose ways

in which we could take a stand against intolerance. Working with Gideon Schwartzman, we developed an approach to architecture which would provide a deadpan design of a wall which would reveal the absurdity of the problem.

Paper, in particular Strathmore brand drawing paper, is the tool of the architect. It is a primary tool for producing models and drawings of architecture, but nonetheless cannot be relied upon to produce actual architecture. Obviously, it cannot support weight or shed water in any meaningful way. At the same time, paper remains a relatively cheap material and one that is 26

OBJECT No. 2

incredibly easy to work with.

We found that, nonetheless, it would be absurdly expensive to building Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wall out of paper. The wall would cost several times more than he has publicly quoted, and would not fulfill the function that he desires it to, at all.

The model constructed to illustrate this point was done so in a dead-pan way. The model was detailed in such a way as to confess its materiality. The scale of the environment presented is annotated by rocks and cacti, but they admit to their paper construction immediately.

Small plastic people populate the model. At the front of 27

the model, they are dwarfed by their surroundings. Cacti, rocks, and indeed the Wall tower over them. As they move back into space, however, their surroundings shrink. The Wall is very tall when viewed from one, privileged perspective. Viewed from any other point, however, it is clear that he Wall is not capable of dividing space entirely, as it is easily overcome. The plastic people are generic - their race and gender is unspecified.

Moreover, the model itself makes no implication as to what side is the United States and what side is Mexico.

For us, the project was about staging.

OBJECT No. 2

A formal reading of the project might reveal close allegiances with Teatro Olimpico or Scala Regia. In either of those examples, the perceived distance between two points is manipulated by means of artificial diminution. When the space has tremendous political charge, and the distance between two figures has diplomatic, political, and moral implications, optical effects mingle with political argument.

On the left, the cutsheet used to produce the model is shown.

When the base of the model is unfolded on a flat surface, it seems to project back in space.

Ultimately, this technique serves as an essay on the potential for architecture to serve as a vehicle for political action.

Indeed, the question of autonomous practices in architecture traditionally produce a-political novel form.

It may be possible, however, to posture a project in such a way as to provoke new relationships between traditional materials, such that novel effects are produced. Rather than a purely formal or aesthetic result, StrathmĂĄs mines architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own disciplinary practices for tactics which can generate tremendous affects outside of the discipline.

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^^ here, the effect collapses, and the Wall is easily overcome >> cut-out pieces for the model, some assembly required

OBJECT No. 2

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It seems like Architecture is hopelessly bound to representation. Buildings are too big and too complicated for architects to work on directly, and it is so easy to forget the biases and pressures that our tools exert on us. It may be possible to conceive of an architecture in which components relate to each other based on techniques proper to their methods of representation.

INSTITUTION No.1 monument.skp WASHINGTON, DC Critic: J. M. Tate

fall 2015

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INSTITUTION No. 1

^^ it would seem that different people have different ideas about the form of the monument << how could all of these readings be collected into some kind of democratic whole?

If you search the phrase “Washington Monument” in the google 3D warehouse, you’ll find that different people have highly differing ideas about what the monument actually looks like. While almost all of the models found there are at least reminiscent of the obelisk-form, they vary greatly in proportion, height, and girth. It is important to remember that the google 3D warehouse does not have any editing process in place anyone who has signed up for a free account with google is able to upload a model of anything and call it whatever they like.

In this way, the warehouse is purely democratic - no one is 33

ever denied representation, and everyone has exactly the same amount of voice.

It would, of course, be absurd to try to download these models: the Washington Monument is almost childishly easy to model digitally: a pyramid with an extruded base requires only two commands in most modeling software, three if you wish to flare the base out at the bottom.

Conceptually, the idea of a digital monument is a strange idea: it would certainly not be permanent, as it would easily be replaced with a new design.

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M O N U M E N T V AL L EY

INSTITUTION No. 2

LINE T H EM U P Above, the democratic models from the google 3d warehouse are drawn once at their original heights, and once again at the same height, showing the drastic difference in height and width between each individual instantiation.

near the top of the monument, generating small spaces to tuck stairs, bathrooms, and other utilities.

Below, the original plans of the Washington Monument are shown. The structure is heavy, and relies on a cast-in-place concrete core in order to support the ashlar stacked around it. The concrete takes the form of fins

This project proposes a new monument: one which displays representations of George Washington that were made after his death. The form of the building is in rigorous reference to the original, in plan an section.

It is important to note that the original monument is organized into a nine square grid system.

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^^ models from the 3d warehouse, drawn at there actual scale, and again at the same heights

^^ the project is located within walking distance of the original Washington Monument

INSTITUTION No. 2

FIG U R ES W I T H A P L A N In plan, intersecting obelisks form reference to the original Washington Monument. Fins which provide structural support to the original become spatial dividers and display surfaces.

The original Washington Monument has a 9-square plan with round columns. Each booleaned obelisk, as shown in the plan to the right, projects a grid system onto the floor it encloses, and the grid is at times accepted or denied based on its adjacent forms.

The project allies itself with the figurative assemblages of Mike Kelley, the graphic compositions of James Rosenquist and Manfred Mohr.

^^ reference plans showing the first, fifth, and ninth floors

Ultimately, the project proposes a pop-architecture, one in which the autonomous formal manipulation and the politics of democratic symbologies are made to mingle.

>> the main gallery floor plan, showing intersecting grid logics

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D EM O C R ACY I N SE C T I O N In section, the project harkens back to the original in a couple of key ways. The original, being constructed of stacked stone ashlar, offers only tight space for circulation and inhabitance.

Sketchup models are hollow, and in being so, offer ample room for circulation and the display of artifacts.

Rooms are formed by the inclusion of small, 1 dimensionally scaled obelisks.

Sometimes obelisks team-up to form large spaces, sometimes

large spaces are formed by one large obelisk.

The walls are treated with an ashlar-graphic pattern which changes in scale to group obelisks together to form rooms as well as obscure the reading of scale of other obelisks.

Stairs are formed by the slow and repetitious dragging of obelisks through spaces, such that their intersections create treads and risers.

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^^ reference sections >> in section, graphic patterns manipulate perceptions of scale

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Before the digital turn, architects deployed discrete artifacts of representation in order to circumnavigate the design of an object they would never touch directly. After the digital turn, architects seem to have a far more complex relationship with representation.

INSTITUTION No.2 house party

A PROPOSITION FOR HOUSING IN DETROIT Advisor: Lars Graebner + Christina Hansen

fall 2017

INSTITUTION No. 2

CO LO RF U L E A S T E R N M A R K E T Located in the vibrant Eastern Market neighborhood of Detroit, MI, House Party is a mixed-use apartment complex that integrates affordable multifamily housing into a set of three bar-buildings.

Single-family villas are sprinkled throughout the site, offering more private, quieter lifestyles for new families.

The campus is located on the historic Dequindre Cut, a greenway created by a derelict rail line running through the city of Detroit. The Cut is fast becoming a locus of development in the neighborhood.

that thin pre-cast panels with exposed rebar are lowered into place, utilities like hvac ductwork and radiant heating coils are laid in place, and a topping slab is poured on top.

The top two floors of the barbuildings feature a switchback system which converts the building from a centrally-located circulation cores to a singleloaded corridore. This system also allows for these upper units to be cross-ventilated, drastically lowering their mechanical cooling load.

House Party utilizes a typical concrete frame, with a custom green-brick facade. The floor slabs are constrcuted using a lostformwork technique, meaning 42

^^ Eastern Market is known for its colorful murals >> the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brokenbarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; massing generates small semi-private gardens for residents.

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SWIT C H BACK - HY B R I D P A R T I Michigan building code stipulates that any residential structure more than three stories tall will offer two means of egress to all units. That being the case, the code restricts a housing scheme to a doubleloaded corridor. In response, the building exists as two schemes packages into one.

The bottom three floors are organized with two units served by one circulation core. The

upper units convert to a doubleloaded corridor, with doubleheight units modeled after UnitĂŠ dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Habitation. This scheme affords a number of advantages, especially the wide variety of unit types that are produced. The extra level affords each doubleheight unit an extra bedroom, which makes them especially attractive to expanding families.

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^^ physical model >> rendering of digital model, after Thomas Demand

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gray face-brick sheathing steel gutter gray face-bric flashing

LEVEL 07 60’ - 6” gray face-brick air cavity 1 1/2” polystyrene foam board concrete masonry unit cast-in-place concrete fill

INSTITUTION No. 2

steel reinforcing bar

LEVEL 06 49’ - 6” pre-cast concrete balcony Schock Isokorb structural thermal barrier structural tie permanent formwork semi-precast slab steel reinforcing bar 2x4 mtl. stud batt insulation 3/4” gwb interior finish 1-1/2” hex nut cmu lintel triple pane window

LEVEL 04 27’ - 6”

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LEVEL 04 27’ - 6”

air cavity 1 1/2” polystyrene foam board aluminum flashing steel angle concrete foundation wall

LEVEL 01 0’ - 0”

LEVEL P1 -11’ - 0”

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LEVEL 02 5’ - 6”

Before the digital turn, architects deployed discrete artifacts of representation in order to circumnavigate the design of an object they would never touch directly. After the digital turn, architects seem to have a far more complex relationship with representation.

INSTITUTION No.3 thesis: anxious horizon

A PROPOSITION FOR A POST DIGITAL ARCHTIECTURE spring 2017 Advisor: Cyrus Penarroyo

INSTITUTION No. 3

FOR M AT S AN D C O N T E N T S The differentiation between the model, render, and drawing collapses when they are subjected to digital regimes of practice. Bruno Latour argues that the digital as ‘digits’ (discrete sets of 1s and 0s) is so not as a domain but as a set of practices best understood as an inscription device for capturing, or re-mediating, practice. That being said, the digital resembles the structure of an iceberg, with only a very small component actually visible, through the use of the GUI. As the digital is brought to bear on architectural representation, I want to argue that it begins to erode the categories of representation (reduced broadly to Render, Model, Orthographic Drawing) On erosion: when architecture is subsumed by the digital, it is

flattened. categorical notions of Notes on the Arrested Image: Robin Evans’ diagram describes the relationship between representation, architecture, and the subject. In this way, it constructs avenues by which subject-object relations can be understood.

This project investigates this collapse as it occurs in three different modes of representation, Model, Drawing, Rendering, by using each to reveal the construction of the other. In this way, the project seeks to manipulate the space between different modes of representation, such that the space becomes the site of the architectural act.

DRAWING:

SCALE

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^^ physical model >> rendering of digital model, after Thomas Demand

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^^ elements turn and slide in plan << mirrored surfaces smear the elevation

In plan, we can see a number of elements, their organization resists understanding by adjacency: rather giving order to architectural objects by orienting them along the same grid, order comes from affinity. Material choice, shape, and scale provide the layers of organizational logic that disciplines the project.

Moreover, the use of reflective surfaces and scaled graphics imbues the plan with a complex notion of depth.

The project approximates the funcitonal necessities of an office. Desks, tables, and chairs of various kinds 59

are strewn throughout, in a loose reference to Burolandschaft notions of the late 20th century.

Later plan-oblique drawings show how the system of affitinies can scale, and how the relatent objects in plan take on bilogical form. Furniture and architectural components are arranged as a neo-campo-marzio plan, in which negative space is carefully considered and composed into independently operating programmatic zones. Or, rather, representations of them. In this way, the project suggest oppurtunities for misreading to generate possability.

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^^ the hands of the architect move elements of the model << the model app roximates a different model, ironically possessing more reality than its referent.

As the digital subsumes different forms of representation, their unique qualities collapse.

Here, we see how printed paper is used to approximate texture-wrapping protocols.

Interestingly, paper fails when its dimension doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meet that of its support material. In these cases, it wrinkles, and in doing so, confesses its existence. In the digital model, when an images dimension does not match that of the form it is mapped to, the image is automatically stretched and torqued, and this differentiation often cannot be distinguished as readily.

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Paper, itself having material qualities, cannot be said to have any more or less reality than any other element of the physical model, yet it provides a logic of scale which suggests the model has a particular size.

In the rendering, the ambition was to show the project as having two precise scalar logics, that of the model and that of the architecture to which the model points. It was important to show multiple elements that construct the image, such as scene lighting and powertools, as a way to further reinforce this scale.

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