Scarpa Studio | The UT BarberMcMurry Professorship

ARCH 586 LOS ANGELES LAWRENCE SCARPA 2014

INTRO | BARBERMCMURRY ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP 3 LOS ANGELES STUDY TOUR 4-5 18TH STREET ARTS CENTER 6-7 CHAPTER 1 | FAÇADE STUDIES OVERVIEW 8-9 FINAL PROJECTS 10-39 CHAPTER 2 | MASTER PLAN + DESIGN OVERVIEW 40-41 FINAL PROJECTS 42-66 WORKSHOP INTRO 67 FINAL PROJECTS 68-87

THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

BARBERMcMURRY ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP The College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, named Lawrence Scarpa, an internationally celebrated architect, as its BarberMcMurry Professor, the first endowed professorship in the college’s history.

Scarpa, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), taught the design studio and seminar during the 2014 spring semester.

The BarberMcMurry Professorship was established to promote design excellence through teaching by an internationally recognized practicing architect. It is the result of two gifts—a bequest from Charles I. Barber, one of Knoxville’s most respected architects, and another from his firm, BarberMcMurry architects. In 2011, the firm’s leaders, Kelly Headden and Charles Griffin, UT architecture alumni, matched the Barber gift to produce the one million dollar endowment.

The position is also part of Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek’s vision to create more endowed chairs and professorships across the UT campus.

In the last two decades, Scarpa has taught at several universities. He currently is a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California, where he was named the John Jerde Distinguished Professor in 2011. In 2012, he was a visiting professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

The first professorship was a resounding success.

INAUGURAL STUDIO\ 03

As the design principal in charge, Scarpa leads an architectural practice that has received more than 50 major design awards. They include the National Firm Award from the AIA in 2010, and five AIA Committee on the Environment-Top Ten Green Building Project Awards. Scarpa also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Interior Design Magazine in 2009, and the 2014 Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Award in Architecture

THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

LOS ANGELES STUDY TOUR Undergraduate and graduate students visited Los Angeles, California in January 2014. Larry Scarpa provided the students the opportunities to become familiar with the city, its design, and firms who help shape it. Students stayed in Santa Monica, and were able to visit notable practices, such as Morphosis, Ehrlich Architects, and Lorcan O’Herlihy.

The studio project site, selected was the 18th Street Arts Center, in Santa Monica. Students visited the center to get a hands on knowledge of the needs and opportunities of the site. They were also priveledged to meet with the center’s director to learn more about the history and influence of the work taking place there. The depth of the semester’s final projects are a direct result of this unique opportunity.

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SANTA MONICA, CA

18TH STREET ARTS CENTER “18th Street Arts Center is an artists’ residency program that provokes public dialogue through contemporary art-making. [18th Street] values artmaking as an essential part of a vibrant, just and healthy society. Through artist residencies [18th Street] is a contemporary art hub that fosters intercultural collaboration and dialogue. 18th Street’s residencies, exhibitions, public events, talks, and publications encourage, showcase and support the creation of cutting-edge contemporary art and foster collaboration and interaction between artists locally, nationally and internationally.”1

-18TH STEET ARTS CENTER

Studio Professor Lawrence Scarpa has a long-running relationship with the Arts Center. His firm, Brooks + Scarpa has worked alongside the administration and artists of the 18th Street Arts Center for the past 10 years to create long-term developement plans and updated architectural proposals for funding.

Scarpa was able to use his hands-on knowledge of the site and cultural needs to create a unique design problem for the studio project. Students were asked to create a new masterplan that responded to a quickly changing and growing context.

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PURSUING CONFIGURATION

FAร ADE STUDY PROJECT This project challenges the student designer to not limit themselves by strict programatic concerns, but to explore the relationship between unique materials, compositions, and the spatial experience.

Incorporating of aspects human scale, user experience, program portrayal, texture, innovation, and identity create a unique design problem, as well as guidelines to a unique solution. These concepts postulate a different approach to the design of a building, a process of constant dialogue and equality between interior and exterior.

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CELLULAR ARRAY

VERNACULAR RE-USE

UNDULATING Faรงade

Similar to standard running bond masonry, this stacking of the circle creates a stable geometric grid.

A series of tactile and textural arrangements to produce a relevant and modern composition.

A genesis of undulating surfaces, this faรงade was directly inspired by material studies of chainlink metal fencing.

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INTERACTIVE CURTAIN WALL

LED INTERACTIVE Façade

REBAR SCREEN

FRAME SEGMENT

The interactive curtain wall is a façade system that creates a connection between man and nature.

The LED wall is sculpture, advertisement, and a source of interaction between artist and pedestrian.

The “Rebar Façade” developed through a dialogue with the adjacent industrial factories, a need for maximum shading, and public/private programming.

To portray pragmatics of its enclosure, a set of modulars are created to exhibit the variety of all medias of art.

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01

02

03

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CELLULAR ARRAY

CIRCULAR GEOMETRIES

02

PANEL VARIABILITY

03

PANEL SYSTEM

Similar to standard running bond masonry this stacking of the circle creates a stable geometric grid. Due to the rigor of the standard dimension of 1, 2, 3, and 4 unit diameters, prefabricated panels can be created that interlock with each other. The four different panel types can connect with each other in any arrangement creating limitless combinations, allowing for a seemingly random pattern.

The panel system is meant to be a rain screen providing the first layer of protection from the elements. Each circle is an aperture allowing reflected, diffused light to enter the building as opposed to strong direct light. The various aperture diameters allow for a different amount of light to enter or create unique interaction opportunities with the interior. Operable windows, seating, covered spaces, and furniture are all opportunities of such interaction as the apertures extend into the building.

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01

a - interaction

b - screen section

c - connection 04

ELEVATION

SECTION

DETAILS 04

FULL ELEVATION

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CELLULAR ARRAY

AXON

ambient light

direct light

OVERALL Faรงade APPLICATION

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LIGHT STUDY

01

02 03

04

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VERNACULAR RE-USE

The batch waste block façade study derives its conceptual premise from the area’s industrial context and project site proximity to an existing concrete production plant. These two criteria are woven together for the proposed buildings in the 18th Street Arts Center District. Sustainable materiality and local sourcing mean that energy and resources are not wasted in this derivative. Also, the inherent thermal qualities of the almost 2’ thick concrete block provides a measure of passive heating and cooling . Various schemes explore layering modularity and texture with intentional punched openings. The reclaimed concrete blocks are supplemented at times with precast, concrete panels perforated, and layered so that a dynamic effect of light and movement may be achieved inside and out at various vantage points.

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ADJACENCY TO VERNACULAR MATERIAL

MATERIAL RECLAMATION

LOCKING ASSEMBLY

RESULTING AXONOMETRIC

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VERNACULAR RE-USE

03

FIGURE GROUND

04

TEXTURE VARIATION

01

RESULTING COMPOSITION

RESULTING SECTION

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05

ENVIRONMENTAL: PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING + COOLING

01

02

iii UNDULATING SURFACE

source of undulation 01

void of material

UNDULATION COMPOSITION

MATERIAL MANIPULATION

The genesis of this undulating surface faรงade was directly inspired by material studies of chain-link metal fencing. The material can be cut, pinched, and expanded in a perpendicular direction from the original surface face.

This manipulation of the surface allows the material to lengthen. These sections of manipulation can be pushed from or pulled toward the structure. This process multiplied across the faรงade creates an undulating effect resulting in void spaces. This process requires a secondary structure to extend from the building to pull or push these cut sections of chain-link fence.

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02

source of subtraction

01

ELEVATION

SECTION

01

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM

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VARIATION STUDY

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AXON

01

02

03

01 WIND INTERACTION 02 HINGE POINT 03 HUMAN INTERACTION

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02 ROOF

01 3RD LEVEL

2ND LEVEL

SECTION

ELEVATION

PARAPET

GUARD RAIL Façade FLITCH BEAM

L.W...... CONC

L.W. CONC

ROOF

3RD LEVEL HINGE Façade FLITCH BEAM

DETAILS

STEEL BEAM PULLEY SYSTEM

STEEL BEAM Façade SUPPORT

Façade STOP

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COUNTER WEIGHT

The interactive curtain wall is a façade system that creates a connection between man and nature. While man moves the curtain wall to enter the building, natural wind forces provide the façade with fluid movement. This interaction between man and nature becomes a medium of inspiration to evoke awareness of sustainability and the impact we have on our world. The wind in combination with sunlight creates movement of light and shadow; together, man and nature can create something beautiful without sacrificing one or the other.

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01

Faรงade MOVEMENT

AXON

A

B PARTIAL 1:1 MOCKUP

iv INTERACTIVE CURTAIN WALL

ROOF ASSEMBLY

PARAPET Façade STOP Façade SUPPORT

GUARD RAIL

Façade SUPPORTS Façade FLITCH GUARD RAIL

BUILDING ENVELOPE

Façade SUPPORT FRAME

ASSEMBLY AXON

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Façade STOP

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LED INTERACTIVE Faรงade

01

Façade Framing 7’ x 16’ & 3’ x 16’

DIAGRAM ANALYSIS

Hierarchical Movement The darker the higher

Red dots represent the sensors for the LEDs

Pixel patterning

The LED wall is sculpture, advertisement, and a source of interaction between artist and pedestrian. The sculpture itself shades the wall, as well as functions as the building’s exterior skin. It is also intriguing pedestrians and people riding by on a new transit line currently under construction adjacent to the site. Thin copper pipes protrude from the glass wall, each with a solar-powered LED attached at one end. Each pipe, therefore, becomes a “pixel”—it is an individual object but each pixel combines to make a larger image. The copper pipes undulate, as well, lending a sense of movement and vitality to the façade, while the LED’s can be changed and interacted with, either by the pedestrian or the artist. The artist has the opportunity to make an image out of the pixels, while the pedestrian, using sensors on the ground floor, can turn portions of the wall on or off, or change the color of the pixels. The LED wall is a tectonic sculpture, as well as a functioning façade that changes the experience of both the interior and the sidewalk.

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Structural Framing 10’ x 8’

ELEVATION

SECTION

PROCESS

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LED INTERACTIVE Faรงade

1” = 1’ MODEL STUDY

06

FULL SCALE MODEL STUDY

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05

01

02

03

vi REBAR SCREEN

DENSITY LAYERS

A B C

01

1

2

3

PANEL SYSTEM 3 2 1

SUN DIFFUSION AND SHADING

03

CIRCULATION

The “Rebar Façade” directly responds to the adjacent industrial factories, a need for maximum shading, and public/private programing. The chosen material, rebar, inherently reflects industry. Rebar’s standard nature allows the pieces to be configured into standardized panels of two different densities. These panels can be selectively added or subtracted to create three unique screening layers, woven together to compose the entire screening system. The composition’s density creates relief, circulation paths, and indicates public and private zones. The resulting form is both raw and pristine, as well as solid and transparent.

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02

04

SCREEN ELEVATION

Faรงade ELEVATION

SECTION

04

FULL ELEVATION

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a. steel connection DETAILS

b. concrete connection

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EXPLODED AXON

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FRAME FRAGMENT

SECTION | ELEVATION |SECTION

Designing with the intent of innovating a faรงade to portray pragmatics of its enclosure. A set of modules, created to portray varius art media, are accommodated for and framed out onto the faรงade. This allows the building to create an identity that, given the special manipulative moments, can change with time. This creates an interaction with the community, giving the user outside the enclosure a direct interpretation of the functions being performed inside.

With the frames proportionally increasing in sizes, the variable faรงade of intriguing aesthetics creates a depth that doubles for a shading feature and answers the calls of both function and design.

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DIAGRAMS | ELEVATION COMPONENTS

YEAR SUN STUDIES

DETAIL | EXPLODED AXON | SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

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FRAME FRAGMENT

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MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

18TH STREET ARTS CENTER The project revolves around the 18th Street Art Center in Santa Monica. Working with Executive Director Jan Williamson, the studio has created new master plan options for the complex utilizing most of the existing structures, but replaced some existing site and incorporating a new gallery building, a café, and mixed-use buildings containing artist studios and artist live/work housing. Students also developed smaller areas of the complex in detail, focusing on the investigation of new material uses such as those from the earlier façade studies.

PROGRAM 2 ACRE COMPLEX MASTERPLAN EXISTING BUILDINGS UPDATES NEW ~3000 SQ. FT. GALLERY WITH ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES NEW ~1200 SQ. FT. PUBLIC CAFÉ NEW ~8,000 SQ. FT. ARTIST LIVE/WORK NEW ~8,000 SQ. FT. ARTIST STUDIO SPACES NEW ENTRY, LOBBY TO HIGHWAYS PERFORMANCE THEATRE NEW CENTRAL ENTRY TO COMPLEX MULTI-USE PUBLIC PLAZA OR EVENT SPACE PARKING

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SITE ANALYSIS

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

COMMON SPACE Hannah Daniel KK Loy

The Artists’ Community at the 18th Street Arts Center takes a unique approach on live/work housing. Rather than creating medium-sized living spaces, artists live in smaller units adjacent to their shared studio space. The combined studios have generous floor-to-ceiling heights, and allow artists a more inspiring place in which to work. The artists’ units are comprised of four, twenty-foot shipping containers.

The Artists’ Community focuses on private versus public space. The gallery and first floor are for public use, units are private, and studio spaces are semi-private. Shared studios allow for events the public to view artists’ work in their studios.

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PROGRAM

CIRCULATION CORES

LIVE/WORK UNITS

LIVE

WORK

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PARTI

18TH STREET VIEW

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

18TH STREET Faรงade

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2ND FLOOR PLAN

TYPICAL LIVE/WORK UNIT

18TH STREET ELEVATION

1ST FLOOR

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2ND FLOOR

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE Cameron Bolin Geneva Hill

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The site of 18th Street is located in an older industrial sector of Santa Monica. Employing a nearby concrete plant in the sector, concrete batch waste block was chosen as a form generator, as well as a structural base.

Materiality played a key role in the qualitative and formal evolution of the project. The project became one of a massing wall study infilled by a second lighter system of steel and glass. The result became one of space exuding tactility and monumentality in its character. Conceptual intentions drove the project to consider proposing an evolution of this industrial base in an intervention of “landscape as building� and dedicated public space, both connecting and linking the current campus.

VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE

EVENT OVERLAPPING

GREEN WAYFINDING

PLANE VARIATIONS/OVERLAPPING

AXIS

NEW MASTERPLAN

SITE CIRCULATION

BLOCK ASSEMBLY

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PARTI

ROOF VIEW TOWARDS LIVE/WORK

LIVE/WORK

LIVE/WORK

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VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE

LIVE 17’

WORK

53’

16’

= 805 SF TYPICAL UNIT

1ST FLOOR PLAN

LOGITUDINAL SECTION

LIVEWORK

ROOF

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TYPICAL LIVE/WORK UNIT

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

FRAMED FRAGMENTATION Matt Barnett Thomas Agee

The concept, derived by the faรงade study, creates flexibility for display of varius media. This is accomplished by extruding and protruding portions of the faรงade and landscape. These accomodate necessary programmatic and experiential needs such as light, shading, space, varying occupancies, and a display platform for resident artists.

The tower typology allows for maximum space utilization of a highly valued real-estate. It separates the artist from the public in lofted apartments with plentiful space and maximized views provided by the central structural core. The landscape follows similar guidelines of modularity and places the art gallery and cafe below ground, maximizing green space to accompany the new rail line audience.

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FRAMED FRAGMENTATION

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VIEW OF PLAZA

VIEW FROM PLAZA

COMMUNITY GREEN SPACE

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VIEW FROM 18TH STREET

FRAMED FRAGMENTATION

FLOOR PLANS

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

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EXPLODED AXONMETRIC

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

INTEGRATED REFLECTION Catherine Felton Chris Owens

The 18th Street Arts Center is currently a cluster of buildings difficult for visitors to navigate. The primary goal for this design is to open up the campus for easier public access. The central concept for achieving that goal was to insert a large courtyard at the forefront of the campus.

The courtyard reorganizes the campus so that all buildings, new and existing, are appropriately accessible to the public. The gallery and Highways Theatre now share one primary entrance centered upon the public courtyard.

Public and private circulation culminate along a walkway that leads to a garden atop the gallery.

The rooftop garden is the pinnacle of repose along the journey through the campus. Two layers of shingled glass panels act as the faรงade along the back wall of the courtyard reflecting and emphasizing the green open space created.

iv INTEGRATED REFLECTION

EXISTING SITE

FLOOR PLAN

ELEVATION

18TH ST. ARTS CENTER\ 55

PROPOSED SITE CONDITIONS

SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

VIEW OF PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE

VIEW FROM 18TH STREET

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UPDATED HIGHWAYS Faรงade

SECTIONAL Faรงade CONSTRUCTION

LIVE/WORK

Faรงade ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM reflective glass panels_site

circulation through faรงade

public site circulation residential site circulation

underground parking

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structural framework

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

LAYERED LANDSCAPE Bud Archer Ryan Stechman

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Conceived as a continuous series of connected public spaces, this project weaves a journey throughout the complex allowing the viewer to see art pieces and art-making in process.

The entry plaza links the various activity spaces together. It extends downward into the main gallery space, one level below grade, creates a new entry for the existing Highways Performance Space, and travels upward through a series of live/work studios and a rooftop performance space. At the culmination of the journey is a multi-functional theater and garden that takes advantage of views of the mountains to the north, the ocean to the southwest, and downtown to the east. Along the path to the roof space is a series of live/work studios that open up to the visitor, providing a more intimate opportunity for experiencing active gallery spaces.

PUBLIC SPACE

CIRCULATION

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC

LIVE/WORK CONNECTIONS

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PROCESS

VIEW OF CAFE AND LIVE-WORK

VIEW ROOFTOP THEATRE

INTERIOR GALLERY VIEW

VIEW FROM 18TH STREET

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ROOF PLAN

18TH STREET ELEVATION

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FIRST FLOOR PLAN

MASTERPLAN + DESIGN

UNIFYING SCREEN Whitney Manahan Jared Wilkins

The rigor and modularity of the shade screen was translated into the footprints of the new offices, work/live apartments, cafe, and gallery.

First, a longitudinal axis was drawn to form a central spine and reorient the site around a new public space acting as a gathering space and circulation zone. Next, mass was removed at the ends of the spine, granting a sense of balance and destination. The units placed around the spine were derived from similar geometries, while the gallery adaptively reuse an existing structure. A paving pattern was applied at all levels, and articulates the location of the spine while reverberating the geometries.

These decisions not only contributed an overall organization, but the resulting niches will return the visitor and tenant to the prior collage aesthetic of 18th Street. This new design will provide more room for events, living and working, in addition to augmenting the current inter-cultural collaboration and dialogue.

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CONNECTION DETAIL

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SUN SHADING

GALLERY PERSPECTIVE

ADMINISTRATION VIEW

ADMINISTRATION VIEW

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CONTEXT AXON

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

SEMINAR PROJECT This class predicated on the belief that an exploration of materials and the experience of making can inspire architectural forms. The experience of making touches your senses and leaves memories whether or not a place exists. Of particular interest is the idea of transcending traditional craft and elevating humble materials without trying to make them into something other than what they really are. It should be an attempt to find meaning through making and experience.

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Students were asked to look at their surroundings for unexplored needs of the city. Students designed interventions to ignite a dialogue among Knoxvillians about these needs. Students researched, designed, built, and then analyzed the public response to thier projects.

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

ARTIST ALLEY Bud Archer Cameron Bolin Geneva Hill

This temporary urban intervention represents an attempt to heighten awareness of the unseen; to try and witness the potential in our everyday surroundings. At first glance, what looks like a common alley, can/has actually become the literal canvas to talented artists of Knoxville and beyond.

The artist alley.

The intervention takes form through highlighting underground and often unnoticed urban street art in downtown Knoxville. A service alley located between the public corridors of Market Square and Gay Street is primarily used for restaurants or business “back of house,” storage/delivery, and trash bins.

Yet, the alley’s two sides are scattered with murals, street tags, paintings, even large marker drawings.

The space’s function has been augmented into an impromptu “urban art” gallery. Many of the works are unmarked but others have signatures of the artists and how to contact them. Every week hundreds, if not thousands of people, walk by the alley to Market Square or Gay Street and never notice what is there.

Having others notice the unnoticed is precisely what inspires this project. The resulting goal is to intervene in the space to have it perform as a public urban art gallery.

ARTIST ALLEY

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major public space art alley

[process: design] Conceptual sketches and digital rendering allowed visualization of how this intervention within the alley may take shape and define the space as something more.

Data gathering and conceptual diagramming allowed for a more informed and solid base of proposal and action for the work.

[process: fabrication] The fabrication of components was kept frugal through the use of various modeling materials such as chip, task board, and foam for the frames, title tags, and “entry� signage to the urban art gallery installation. Many art pieces were measured in the field to correctly dimension each frame and disperse the highlighting of art evenly.

Blue painter’s tape was applied to the raw chip board frames for both water proofing and a comment on the raw nature of the popup art scene.

ARTIST ALLEY

[installation] The installation post fabrication took place around 5:30 am with little company except a few homeless that were interested in what we were doing. Our double sided adhesive was strong and after testing was shown to not harm any of the work.

[analysis]

[conclusion] The goal of the Artist Alley Project was to highlight the typically unseen pedestrian art scene of downtown Knoxville. Much of the work there is quite beautiful and intricate and to have them free to the public is a gem in an urban setting. The public responded with increased interest, while the local art group responded with a bit of irritation, yet, action to claim ownership of the space which was quite welcomed. The final portion of the intervention will be to install a permanent sign in the alley correctly crediting the artist group and our intentions, so that the space can continually have the opportunity for favorable display and work.

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Within the day a site visit was made to document the response of the installation.

Generally, many noticed the work more and chose to stroll through the alley to observe the newly highlighted pieces. Others took it upon themselves to correct any errors we made with work titles and artists. Finally, a local artist group themselves left their own signage directly above the one installed correctly claiming ownership and explanation of the art alley’s derivative

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

CRACK DOWN Catherine Felton Chris Owens Amy Stewart

The Old City is a popular and eventful neighborhood in Knoxville. Originally built in the latter half of the 19th Century, the neighborhood’s proximity to the rail line was home to wholesalers who built large warehouses. Adjacent saloons and restaurants quickly followed, but during much of the 20th Century the neighborhood was declining, industrial, and crime-ridden with visibly worn infrastructure.

In the 1980’s and 90’s the Old City began to revitalize with the addition of several unique restaurants, bars, clubs and shops. Many of the buildings in the area began the restoration process to preserve a pivotal and flourishing time in Knoxville history. During that time, the majority of sidewalks were replaced and new parking lots were introduced. Unfortunately, a few sections of sidewalks were either not replaced or have been in disrepair for many years. With the frequency of pedestrian traffic throughout the Old City, continual sidewalk repair is vital to the neighborhood’s vibrancy and economy.

Through Old City: Crack Down, we aim to shed light on the necessity of sidewalk upkeep in such a pedestrian-oriented area of Knoxville that holds great importance to the city and its inhabitants.

CRACK DOWN

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[locate] Old City area Parking Lots Pedestrian Axis

After analyzing the main pedestrian axis leading into the Old City, we located three significant areas of sidewalk disrepair.

Addressed Crack Locations

[prepare] We chose Plaster of Paris to fill the inconsistencies in the sidewalks after testing various materials, because it disintegrates over time and accepted the addition of color.

The signs were created with wooden dowels, corrugated plastic, and spray paint and included a message that was playful, direct and allowed for passersby to interact.

[install] Early in the morning, we mixed and poured the plaster on-site and posted the signs before the streets filled with people.

CRACK DOWN

[observe] Periodically in the days following the installment, we observed pedestrians interact with the signs such as stopping to read them, removing band aids containing city contact information, occasionally relocating the sign about the site.

[interact]

[conclusion] The goal of Old City: Crack Down was to create awareness that the public can have an impact on what sidewalks are repaired by the city.

Our eye-catching sidewalk infill paired with the signage clearly and successfully conveyed our message along the main pedestrian entrances into the neighborhood.

“Such a beautiful, cultural neighborhood deserves great sidewalks. I’m glad to see that someone is doing something to improve them.”

- Knoxville visitor

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During our observation, we struck up conversations with passersby to inquire about the installation and their thoughts on disrepairs in the Old City as a whole.

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

INTERACTIVE CANVAS Hannah Daniel KK Loy

The goal of INTERACTIVE CANVAS was to get college students and the public to express their emotions and interact with the project. The context offered people a physical way to express and release their feelings.

“There once was a boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven thirty-seven nails into the fence. As the boy learned to control his anger, the number of nails he hammered dwindled. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive the nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father, and his father told the boy, “Now pull out one nail for each day you control your anger.” The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that he had removed all of the nails. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence.

The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar, just like these scars in the fence. If you put a knife in a man and draw it out, it won’t matter how many times you say “I am sorry,” the wound will still be there. ”

INTERACTIVE CANVAS

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[process] The project is created by joining the top edges of two 24” x 40” pieces of plywood to create a “sandwich board” that is sturdy enough to withstand hammering. One side is the “Nail Me” side, into which participants were asked to hammer nails if they were feeling angry. The opposite side instructed participants to “Unnail Me;” nails were in the board that could be removed if one felt calm.

The boards were heavier than a standard sandwich board, but additional wooden blocks were added between the boards to support the weight.

However, some participants removed the supports.

Additionally, the boards were chained to a light pole on campus for public display; a hammer and a box of nails were hung and placed near the boards.

Because the chain was locked with a padlock, the board stayed up for awhile.

INTERACTIVE CANVAS

[observation] We watched the reactions of people as they saw the board and either passed by or engaged with it.

The board became an expression not only of peoples’ serenity or angst, but of their curiosity, their embarrassment, or their fervor.

[conclusion] Interestingly, many people persuaded others to participate. More than one group lingered by the board for over an hour, recruiting others to nail the board. Why? Perhaps because it is rare that people have the opportunity to nail things, to use their hands. It seemed the groups enjoyed the camaraderie convincing others to participate.

We predicted more people would graffiti the board, or otherwise try to destroy it. At different points we saw flyers on the board, and even, and one point, a sausage nailed to it. Overall, however, people seemed to use the board for its intended purpose. Unfortunately, the board was taken down, probably by campus facilities services.

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The board gave people a rare opportunity to engage in a physical act that was symbolic, but satisfying.

Watching participants, it was clear that many relished the simple act of hammering a nail into wood.

Whether they nailed out of anger or else some other emotion or motivation, the end result was a piece of splintered wood.

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

PALLET STOP Thomas Agee Matt Barnett

Necessity. With the dramatic variations in Eastern Tennessee’s weather patterns, combined with the heavy use of the Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) transit system, it would make sense to protect users from harsh sun, rain, snow, or hail while waiting on a bus. On the contrary, the amount of sheltered bus checkpoints are minimal in the downtown area, as well as throughout the extents of KAT’s transit outreach.

Practical. The opportunities within the confines of these nodes are severely underutilized. Combined with the poor execution of existing pieces, the interactive and beneficial possibilities, we begin to find a way to make the construction of these shelters aesthetically pleasing and more economical.

PALLET STOP

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[construction] The aimless leisure time spent at a bus stop seems like a prime opportunity to provide an intriguing contemplation among users. Subsequently, advertising could make use of this space, as well as the opportunity for shared knowledge and ideas.

[installation] A conversation piece. In the digitally-enclosed life of today, society is becoming less and less social when away from an electronic device. When given the object of a conversation starter, discussions amongst strangers becomes more comfortable.

PALLET STOP

[response] “That’s somebody’s artistic inclination to put up a bus stop.”

“They’re provoked.”

“What happens when it rains?”

“I reckon you’re outta luck.”

“I just can’t believe that’s actually a bus stop, but that’s what it is, ain’t it?”

“I could be standing waiting on a bus, or I could be sitting waiting on a bus.”

“We need to go and check and see if they have a building permitt.”

“I can discern...that’s done by an engineer or maybe a student, that’s trying to invent and connect in a way with life, that I’m a baby boomer...”

“It looks like a bunch of skids with some tires put up in front of it.”

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“It’s a new kinda bus stop. It could be worth millions.”

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

[an installation to inspire change]

OVERSERVED

The goal of OVER-SERVED? was to inform the people of Knoxville about the fatalities that occurred in 2012 related to drinking and driving.

This installation was an exploration in creating awareness to the mass public about important issues through the use of symbolic installation.

The individual beer cans used represented each traffic-related death due to drunk driving that occurred in Tennessee.

Ryan Stechman Jack Whimstat Laura Kneebone

This installation was created to evoke personal reflection on our own actions and encourage more responsible choices after one has been drinking. Originally, it was designed to be hung by a parking structure to cause personal analysis of ones intoxication level before getting behind the wheel and to hopefully inspire future change.

OVER-SERVED

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[site] A high-volume parking garage near a prominent nightlife area within Knoxville’s downtown core was chosen for an appropriate installation space.

The Market Square Garage is consistently full during day and night hours. It is the garage of choice for many downtown nightlife seekers, and therefore is the optimal location to inform the target bar-going audience.

Knoxville downtown nightlife zones

[design] 8 beer cans were hung by fishing line in 37 rows, minus one can, displaying 295 cans.

The 295 beer cans represent the number of traffic related fatalities in Tennessee that were the result of drinking and driving in 2012.

OVER-SERVED

[process] A wood framed structure was designed to hug the existing railing system, ensuring a stable installation. Hung beer cans were designed to move with the breeze.

[installation] Difficulties in obtaining permissions resulted in forgoing the initial installation location. Two other installation locations resulted: the Art and Architecture Building on campus and a temporarily covered sidewalk on Gay Street. The installation was removed from Gay Street by a third party without consent after a single day on display.

[reactions] Viewers would pause to read the statistic.

Some viewers even started to interact with the installation.

All learned.

[conclusion] The goal of OVER-SERVED was to inform the people of Knoxville about the fatalities that occurred in 2012 related to drinking and driving. It was an installation to evoke deeper thought about our own actions concerning alcohol and inspire responsible decisions. Viewers of the installation took note and continued about their way, talking on the topic amongst themselves. The project team hopes a seed was planted.

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Some were seen counting to find out the number of total beer cans to find out the fatality total.

EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

LOST KNOX Whitney Manahan Jared Wilkins

The goal of LOST KNOX is to document the changes downtown has seen over the years in an attempt to help educate Knoxville’s residents and visitors on the important role our historic buildings have played in downtown’s rebirth.

At the turn of the century, the tightly knit urban fabric began dissolving to accommodate the automobile. Over time historic buildings were demolished, in large part, to provide wider streets and more parking.

As evidenced through the redevelopment of Market Square, Gay Street, the Old City, and the 100 block of Gay Street, the areas of downtown with the greatest urban density were the first to come back.

Historic character and charm are a large part of what makes Downtown Knoxville unique. What has been lost in quality and character may never be replaced, but new buildings can and should be built.

LOST KNOX promotes the idea of preserving what we have while filling in the gaps rather than tearing down more historic buildings.

LOST KNOX

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[process] A tumblr website was created to document and track the project as well as to create a digitally interactive forum.

An interactive map was created using google maps.

With the click of a mouse of the tap of a finger, images of the historic buildings appear in place of what are now surface parking lots and parking structures.

[process] A series of viewports were created and placed on site to illustrate what once occupied the current parking lots.

High proflie sites were chosen to create as much exposure for the project and its message as possible.

LOST KNOX

[process] With the use of any smartphone, the website and map could be accessed and the phone itself could become an on-site viewport for all of the downtown locations on the map.

[analysis] Google analytics was used to track the website interaction.

KNOXVILLE: 102 UNIQUE VISITS

One month of data from google analytics reveals information such as the geographical reach, number of visits, how long visitors interacted with a page and what websites the traffic orginated from.

6 COUNTRIES 15 STATES 26 CITIES

Through google analytics and social media such as facebook and tumblr, the digital interaction was visible through likes, shares, notes, comments etc.

NEW VISITS

[conclusion] Physical interaction was visible as well. Some of the viewports disapeared over night and some are still up weeks later. Theories on the missing signs include removal by property owners and removal as keepsakes. As some of the signs are still in place it is not assumed that they have been removed by the city.

In a short amount of time, many people have taken a great deal of interest in this project. It is on the radar of a local historic preservation society and will likely become a presentation at Knoxville’s next pecha kucha as well as a potential exhibit to help spread the message of historic preservation in Knoxville.

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RETURN VISITS

A SPECIAL

THANK YOU

The students of the first innagural endowed studio would like to thank Barber McMurry Professor, Lawrence Scarpa, and studio coprofessor, Brandon Pace, for their contributions to our education.

We would also like to thank BarberMcMurry Architects for their donations and dedication to continuously improving the education and opportunities of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design.

Thomas Agee Bud Archer Mathew Barnett Cameron Bolin Hannah Daniel Catherine Felton Geneva Hill KK Loy Whitney Manahan Chris Owens Ryan Stechman Jack Whimstat Jared Wilkins