ximeng luo 2018-2020 works
contents
01 prologue: an observation research: the Market as Alternative Public Space in Kigali, Rwanda
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02.1 the collective choreographed by space a. urban housing : Sunflower Apartments b. thermal baths: Mirror Flower, Water Moon c. analysis: Ritual + Space at San Miniato al Monte
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02.2 the collective choreographed by time public library: Field Library
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03 the collective freed competition: La Nouvelle Vague
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04 the limbo research: Between Myth and Utopia
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05 the individual and the other competition: You and I will always Collide
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06 the individual and information research+concept design: Electrinity
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07 appendix: models 3d representation
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A space with a boundary of somekind. Set and furnished, awaiting for the actors to arrive. Only nobody is certain of when will the arrival take place, who will come, how would events unwind, and what the impact would be.
Though always the protagonist of design, space is essentially created by the people. No program is set for one single "correct use," even deliberately furnished spaces. My study of the overloaded word space started with the various misuses of exisitng spaces, designed or simply voids between those that are designed. Users cause the space to morph and mutate, unpredictable, independent-minded, a little assertive and sometimes rebellious. The portfolio presents a series of human-centered explorations and experiments of architecture.
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01 prologue: an observation
research: the Market as Alternative Public Space in Kigali, Rwanda summer 2019. Kigali, Rwanda
Markets in agricultural societies serve the crucial role of bringing people together periodically, offering a platform for the exchange of goods and information. People come to sell, to buy, to exhibit their harvest or their crafts, as well as to gossip, to play, to meet new people. It is a space which can be used in multiple different ways at the same time, may it be for work or for leisure. Consequently, going to the market can be an act of necessity or recreation. It constitutes an active part of Rwandan’s lives.
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morning on which we visited, and the female traders listened quietly to him while sorting their fabric. Likewise, the openess of market space also allows occupants to easily break from any ongoing activity. With the preaching as background noise, other traders were either talking to each other or trying to lure passersby to stop at their stand.
Figure.6 Kimisagara Market, Plan and Section
In markets, not all activities happen simultaneously. Certain activities take place in specific time slots, either to avoid crowd, or to attract more people. Lifestock auctions are events that are planned to take place during the In Kigali,hours theofmarket is loud, colorful, confusing. not space able with to go operating the market. The fourth level ofand Kimisagara market,Customers for example, isare an open straight tooccupying their desired they must goother. around pilesauctions of tomatoes, cassava shoes traders one half,products; and an auction stage on the Lifestock happen occationally, and by then people would in the market, temporarily transforming it into a place assembly. the leaves, bananas, andgather sometimes shoes and fabric, while making surefornot to runOninto contrary, loading unloading of products, preparing andon cleaning of thewho stands happen in early hours helpersthe who are and carrying loads of goods or step children are playing around.
Some traders are peeling beans and chatting, some move with the customers trying to get their attention. The elderly gathers on periphery rows, looking relaxed. Sewers sit with their machines along narrow walkways, making it almost impossible to pass without hitting a few of the crafts hanging in mid-air.
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Choreographing Activities: The Market as Alternative Public Space in Kigali, Rwanda In Kigali, the market is highly post-modern. It is loud, colorful, and confusing. Customers are not able to go straight to their desired products; they must go around piles of tomatoes, cassava leaves, bananas, and sometimes shoes and fabric, while making sure not to run into helpers who are carrying loads of goods or step on children who are playing around. Some traders are peeling beans and chatting, some move with the customers trying to get their attention. The elderly gathers on periphery rows, looking relaxed. Sewers sit with their machines along narrow walkways, making it almost impossible to pass without hitting a few of the crafts hanging in mid-air.
Figure.1 Activities in Markets during Day Time activities in markets during day time
These large retail markets emerge from farmer’s markets. Markets in agricultural societies serve the crucial role of bringing people together periodically, offering a platform for the exchange of goods and information. People come to sell, to buy, to exhibit their harvest or their crafts, as well as to gossip, to play, to meet new people. It is a space which can be used in multiple different ways at the same time, may it be for work or for leisure. Consequently, going to the market can be a necessity or a recreation. It constitutes an active part of Rwandan’s lives. Markets are often the liveliest place in a neighborhood. The post-genocide Rwandan society is under the control of a government is constantly warysimultanously of political oppositions. RPF government has been Tracing thethat activities happening in differentThe sections of the market. exercising a “delft authoritarianism” for the efficiency reconstruction, restrictions on The marketplace defined by solid wallsofispost-trauma not only used for trading, with but also as 1 workplace for sewers, playground for children, trackway for loading helpers, and living political parties, media, and civil society. As a result, civic spaces are eliminated, and citizens are deprived of gossiping women. These misuses the marketof is armed fascinating; the users arebecome the 2 Markets the right to useroom openforurban spaces as these are under theofsurveillance guards. iteratively redefining the space, giving it ephemeral meanings. alternative. There are no guards at entrance points, nor security checks. Under the disguise of work, chatting and gossiping are more relaxed.
Straus, Scott. “Introduction,” from Remaking Rwanda: State Building and Human Rights after Mass Violence. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011. 2 Lefebvre, Henri, “The Right to the City,” in Writings on Cities, selected and translated by Kofman, E. and Lebas, E. (New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 1996), 147-159. 1
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operating hours of the market. The fourth level of Kimisagara market, for example, is an open space with shoes traders occupying one half, and an auction stage on the other. Lifestock auctions happen occationally, and by then people would gather in the market, temporarily transforming it into a place for assembly. On the contrary, the loading and unloading of products, preparing and cleaning of the stands happen in early hours
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for food shoppers, a consumer space for fabric shoppers, a work place for sewers, and a running track for kids.
temporal differences in events Figure.7 Side Activities Figure.9 Kimironko Market, Plan and Section
Despite spatial simultaneity, some of importance, such asand livestock auctions, The space in Kimironko market, like others, is a events combination of movement stillness, yet the scale of happen regularly in a specific timeslot, cutting through the multiplicity of activities Kimironko market effects focus of thisinmultiplicity: this market space tolerates variety and amplifies forming a the temporary the marketplace. Other periphery events,asuch as of activities and events, making theand market a place for almost move at a fastseparation pace withhas helpers following loading cleaning, happen in earlyeveryone. hours and Buyers after hours. Temporal to be applied to keep the market space organized, the kids people orient themselves them to carry purchases, traders hunting for possible customers,and a few running along the long table stalls; women sit and accordingly. chat in narrow walks, and sewers work quietly in front of their machines. The consequence is an overlap in activities, and an overlap in speed.
overlapping activities and speed, vegetable and fabric sections Figure.10 Overlapping Activities and Speed, Vegetable and Fabric Section
The flow of people broughttolerates by markets encourage surrounding to develop. Diners restaurants, The market a variety of activities and areas events. Buyers move at and a fast pace with helpers following them to carry purchases, traders hunting for possible banks, hair salons, and taxi stops can be found near markets. Some large markets stand next to bus terminals, customers, a fewand kidsNyabugogo running along the long table astalls; women and chat in hub. This for example Kimironko market market, forming shopping andsit transportation narrow walks, and sewers work quietly in front of their machines. The consequence is comes with traffic problems, for a large of in people, an overlap in activities, andamount an overlap speed.motors, and cars often cluster at these areas. With the traffic problem on the one hand, and the conditions of existing historical markets—dirty, unpaved interiors, not enough water nor storage, no electricity—on the other hand, the Kigali City government has a
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abandoned marketplace in nyamirambo district, kigali
Observations made at the different marketplaces in Kigali informed my later studies of spaces and their users. Actors, by collective and by individual, their purposes, time, and the space itself continued to be key elements in the projects to follow.
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A crowd. Some remain individuals, some form groups. Now the field adapts to simultaneous moving bodies.
Architecture is not only the background infrastructure that hosts events and banal activities of its actors. Spaces themselves should be considered as actors in the network of relationships as well. Through the design of material spaces, people's behavioral patterns are predicted - though always with exceptions. The following projects discuss activities of users as groups, organized through designed spaces. These interconnecting spaces at times halt the visitors from proceeding, while sometimes lure them to come forward. Some imposes purpose upon its guests, some kindly hints them.
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02.1.a the collective choreographed by space
urban housing : Sunflower Apartments collaborator: Yihan Yang fall 2019. Chelsea, NYC
The conventional nuclear family mode, with its fixed elements and compacted units, is becoming increasingly outdated as people adapt to new urban lifestyles that are no longer family based. The nuclear family model isolates each family into its own unit, and fixed programs frequently results in an excess of space in homes. Looking into the isolated domestic sphere, we seek a way to connect the fast-paced urban life to the domestic which is usually considered the most intimate space out of all.
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We propose a new living space in which conventional home elements are broken into individual units and scattered horizontally and vertically, attached to an interior urban walkway. The residents, depending on their distinct perception of privacy, can design personalized ways of living through purchasing or renting different units.
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The site is in Chelsea, New York, located among numerous art galleries. Using art as a trigger to engage residents in the apartment, community activities and encounters between residents and visitors are created in the shared complementary spaces. Inspired by the tight relationship between galleries and their signed artists and the small community they tend to form, the project, with shared spaces surrounded by living units, encourages the formation of 10-12 people communities.
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Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
Unit Split & Reassembly
“Nuclear family” was the mould for typical housing organizations. However, today, there are too many different types of co-living relationships need to be addressed in an apartment, which are challenging the previous model. And, for residents, each of them may have different demands for spaces, programs, community cultures, etc. Splitting the typical programs in the “nuclear family” model and reassembling them by residents themselves for a more efficient use will be an opportunity to live in an dynamic way.
Living Room
Bathroom
Bedroom
Today there are many different types of co-living relationships in an urban partitions that go beyond the traditional nuclear family model. Each individual environment may different demands for spaces, programs, community culture, and they The have public accessible platforms have either physical or visual access to the domestic life of the residents. A variety of materials used to the typical programs in a home and form distinctive collectives. The projectaresplits define the boundary between the two.
glass brick concrete with vertical apertures
glass mesh
Fragmented home elements are attached to one or more shared spaces. Getting to the bathroom involves going up and down, passing through several individual or shared spaces. The residents design their “custom privacy” through rearranging the space between home elements.
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1/8’’=1’-0’’ plan 5
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+102 m
general plan 1
+72 m
plan 2
plan 3
plan 4
ganeral plan 2
entrance level
+7.5 m
section AA’
plan 1
section BB’
the High Line
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typical plans
section section AA’ 0
1
2
4m 1:100 m
The public spaces are elevated urban spaces accessible to the general visitor. Through these spaces some parts of everyday living are exposed. Similar to visiting art institutions, visitors can see part of the residents' lives in the building instead of artworks. Platforms in the middle of the building will be the hub created for vertical movements. When people walk in the apartment, they are like walking in the city vertically.
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whole building model
The project is supported by a facade truss system embedded in the void between two skin layers, on the exterior a semi-transparent polycarbonate panel skin, and on the interior a solid white concrete wall that thermally separates the living spaces from the exterior. Solid walls are removed from public spaces marked in pink, so the people on the highline can see a blurry pink hue connecting the ground floor and the roof.
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cluster model
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02.1.b the collective choreographed by space
thermal baths: Mirror Flower, Water Moon collaborator: Shihui Zhu & Luying Peng spring 2021. Fort Tilden Recreation Area, NY
The project, Mirror Flower Water Moon, derives from an Asian idiom describing things that can be seen but cannot be touched, like flowers in a mirror and moon reflected on water's surface; things that are beautiful but unattainable. The project aims to create this sense of space-time displacement for guests as they explore the different programs and immersive themselves in theatre-like scenes created by alternating materiality and transparency of the spaces.
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The site of the project is on Fort tilden, a former U.S. army installation on Rockaway peninsula, now converted into a national recreation area. People are able to access the site through bridges and ferry lines from Manhattan.
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WxW WindW XIMENG LUO SHIHUI ZHU
MIRROR FLOWER, WATER MOON
FORT TILDEN
PROJECT INFORMATION
LUYING PENG
CONSULTANTS Structural: Steve Zuo Environmental: Nari Yoon
SHEET INFORMATION Date Project Number Drawn by
SHEET NAME
Site
SHEET NUMBER
G The studio works with preexisting construction 220, a previous machine gun battery made of thick concrete. It is located in between the moving dunes on the beach to the south and the restricted area to the north that used to be a missile launching field. A road passes in front of the bunker. We operate within the red dotted frame.
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WxW WindWash XIMENG LUO SHIHUI ZHU
MIRROR FLOWER, WATER MOON
FORT TILDEN GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BREEZY POINT, NY 11697
PROJECT INFORMATION
LUYING PENG
CONSULTANTS Structural: Steve Zuo Environmental: Nari Yoon
SHEET INFORMATION Date
The people now come for beach retreats, yet the remaining constructions of the past, half covered by earth and trees, pop out every now and then. Going through construction 220, a relic from a long-term preparation of a military operation that never happened, is like falling through a metaphorical rabbit hole which sends visitors to a mysterious landscape blurred by water vapor from the hot steam baths. As visitors float through spaces, they are constantly moving between different levels of lighting, sound, and enclosure, and at certain moments, through apertures on the facade, get a glimpse of the exterior “reality”. these moments of visual connectivity between the exterior and interior act as moments of reveal, as if peaking into the backstage of a theater.
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05/26/2021
Project Number
ARC 409 Ximeng Luo
Drawn by
SHEET NAME
Timeline
SHEET NUMBER
G003
XIMENG LUO
FORT TILDEN GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BREEZY POINT, NY 11697
WxW WindWash
SHIHUI ZHU
LUYING PENG
CONSULTANTS
Structural: Steve Zuo
Environmental: Nari Yoon
SHEET INFORMATION
Date
Project Number
Drawn by
SHEET NAME
MIRROR FLOWER, WATER MOON
ARC 409
05/26/2021
Ximeng Luo
After falling through the rabbit hole, water and water vapor is the mediator of the project. The steam of hot water baths flows throughout the project, simultaneously hides and reveals. At times visitors can see reflections of themselves through glass or water, see people wander through different walk ways and submerge into different pools, and at moments sneak a peak at the exterior through intentionally placed windows. Experience Diagram
G007
SHEET NUMBER
PROJECT INFORMATION
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site isometric
Visitors would approach the project with the guidance of a forest of timber decorative frames. On the south side, construction 220 pokes out from the project, lookig at an outdoor pool and beach recreational area. On the north side, people can see a remaining barb wire framing the restricted missile launch site as a hint to the past of the site.
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massing development
The project uses the two major corridors of construction 220 as connection between different programs. We first attach two volumes to each entrance/exit of the existing structure, and on top of that incorporated a cylindrical volume as thermal baths area.
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structural systems
Juxtaposition of two timber structure systems allows visitors to wander from one space to another realizing the atmosphere and the importance of these spaces is shifting. While the left and right wings are supported by grand timber compound columns, the thermal baths “drum” is supported by a forest of thin columns.
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tree structure isometric
The tree structure is the major vertical support for the dry areas: the office volume and the locker rooms. It carries load from a horizontal timber grid that supports floor slabs, and serves as the false ceiling in which pipes and lighting fixtures are embedded. People in the dry areas can see water passing through semi-transparent pipes between timber members.
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ground floor egress plan
ground floor plan
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third floor plan
second floor plan
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serial sections - west wing locker rooms, pool, restaurant
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serial sections - east wing gym, office, cafe, garden lounge, side entrance
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exterior renders
from the north towards the beach. from the south, main entrance.
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interior renders
from the thermal baths drum looking up with a water slide in red paint. the exterior infinity pool.
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02.1.c the collective choreographed by space
analysis: Ritual + Space at San Miniato al Monte spring 2020. Florence, Italy
Myths and beliefs are translated into rituals, behavioral practices that are performed repeatedly and passed down in time. "The interpretation of ritual was incoded into the physical organization of the place."* Roman architecture, especially religious ones, was designed for rituals, and in turn defined rituals. As centuries pass, the Catholic religion had evolved, and the rituals of Catholicism changed accodingly. The people found new ways to adapt to pre-exisiting spaces, using them as agents to formalize the transformed rituals, building new behavioral patterns. *Pier Paolo Tamburelli, "Rituals, Obstacles, Architecture."
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In Roman Catholicism, communion is celebrated in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. During the ritual, bread and wine is first consecrated by the priest, then distributed to the mass. Catholicism believes in Transubstantiation which, when prayer is said by the people during communion, the whole substance of the bread changes into the Body of Christ, the wine into the Blood of Christ. San Miniato al Monte, a Tuscan Romanesque basilica built in the 11th century, is one of the early basilicas that has its altar oriented towards the east, suggesting that during the ritual, the priest would be facing the cross, with his back to the people. The ritual in its early stages is relatively private, for the audience could not see the priest performing it from the back. In San Miniato, this separation between the secular and the sacred is further reinforced by a height difference between the nave and the chancel. With the Council of Trent in the Sixteenth Century, the church called for the participation of the entire congregation in the previously priestly service. The priest turned around to face the audience. In San Miniato today, daily communion is performed in the crypt instead of the larger, more ceremonial space of the nave. Though in the crypt a screen separates the pulpit from the seating for the congregation, the priest comes out of the screen and interacts with his audience.
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city scale 1:1500 / 1:2200 San Miniato sits on the "holy hill", looking at the city of Florence from across the L'arno river from outside of the city wall. Going to the basilica involves a winding sequence that goes through bidges and gates, up the hill and finally the grand stairs in front of the basilica.
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building scale 1:400 San Miniato al Monte has an elevated altar that separates the sacred from the secular. With the Council of Trent, the ritual of communion has become more intimate as the priest would face the people and come down to serve them with bread and wine. Today, due to a decrease in the number of people who observe these rituals, the basilica uses the smaller crypt space for daily communion service.
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building scale 1:400 Previously, the elevated height separates the priest from the people. Two sets of grand stairs made of beautiful carrara marble in the nave exaggerate the visual and psychological distance between the two parties. A change of place from the nave into the crypt breaks the boundary. A space that was not designed for ritual adapts to renewed needs.
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A crowd. Some come earlier, some arrive later. If we lapse time, the crowd would run into itself. Now the field hosts multiple events layered across time.
Sometimes there is not enough space to accomodate the desired useage of all groups. Architecture could operate on the fourth dimension. Set a schedule and let the space do one thing at a time.
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02.2 the collective choreographed by time
public library: Field Library collaborator: Luis M. Lopez spring 2020. Florence, Italy
The library is perceived as an enclosed field of information within the urban fabric. The field operates like an organism, like a cell within whose membrane various organelle, serving distinct functions, float and exchange information. Navigating through the organelle, moving them around and finding the desired piece of knowledge becomes the ritual of the library. Movements of the organelle, along with movements of the cell itself, allow the same site to be used in several ways over different time periods, preserving its previous state as a flexible and lively urban space.
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field library
sant'ambrogio market
university of florence school of architecture
The project is to design a library for the University of Florence School of Architecture. The site is a piazza next to the old building of the school. Across from the street is Sant'Ambrogio Market whose vendor carts often wander off the market onto the surrounding urban spaces. The piazza is currently a multi-function space, used as a parking lot, an outdoor seating space for adjacent restaurants, and a weekend vintage market.
initial status
object movements
Shelves and functional objects (individual reading rooms, study nooks, return desks, etc) float in the field which is regulated by a grid. They can move freely within the container or through specific cuts on the container and wander off to the piazza.
end product
When a person or a group of people occupies the object, climbs on top of it and starts talking, this specific object becomes a podium. It would temporarily serve as the focus of the field, and a small congregation may be formed around it. Other objects would be pushed aside, bookshelves adjusted, to create a void in the field. After the people leave, the particularity of the object disappears, the focus is eliminated. The people and the objects go back to their floating state.
reset
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shell
container
field library
The library is consisted of three layers, the exterior, light metal-framed shell half covered with opaque acrylic panels, the solid, concrete container, and inside the container, the library in which shelves and moving furniture objects float in a column grid. Apertures on the container allow the moving objects be pushed on to the piazza, becoming part of the urban fabric, forming a conversation with the vendor carts at the market across the street. The container is also a movable element, nested on a platform supported by a grid of hydraulic elevators. At night and on weekends, the container, or the library, will sink underground, leaving the piazza as it was, so that it can be used for temporary markets, or act as a performance space.
sunken container
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movable objects
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movable objects
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temporal organization
The library operate by hours, days of week, and season to best benefit the students, faculty, and the residents who used to enjoy the piazza. When the library sinks underground, the piazza is back to its empty state with a freestanding, light, weather-proof shell. The underground library can still be accessed from the university, providing the students and faculty with 24/7 service.
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roof plan
2nd floor plan
ground floor plan
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short sections, at different time
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A crowd. Individuals remain as individuals. They are loosely connected and can wander off anytime. They think for themselves and decide their own actions.
Individuals always preserve individuality within a group. Each is a respective subject, each thinks and operates independently. Even within a collectively occupied space, people can still break off from any group. "I don't know what is real, but I know what I like."*
*Ursula K. Le Guin.
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03 the collective freed
competition: La Nouvelle Vague by NewMarket: Ximeng Luo + Shihui Zhu summer 2020. Chengdu, China
La Nouvelle Vague movement, while rejecting conventional definitions and ways of doing things, emphasized on individualized, personal experiences and attempted to understand reality through subjective perspectives. We interpret The New Wave as a wide shot of a film. While the camera proceeds smoothly, actors come and go in the scene, each a piece of information that constitutes the whole image. Free movements of individuals render the invalidity of a collective meaning, yet preserve meanings truth to each respective individual.
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la nouvelle vague
The public seating is a flexible ring-net. The rolling surface of the net echoes the surface of the nearby lake. When a person sits down, the net bends and forms a shallow hole under the influence of the person’s gravity. The vibration caused by the added weight spreads like ripples from the new person to people who are already sitting, sending out the message of a newcomer. Each individual’s perception of the net is based on the hole formed by their own gravity, yet each are able to receive information about others through the net.
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material + joint
The net is 3D-knitted, made of artificial polymers, supported by cross-shaped steel columns of different heights. Gravity sensors embedded in the net are triggered when a person sits down, and the speakers in the supporting columns releases a simple electronic synthesizer note. Each note is seemingly meaningless, yet when people get on and off, the notes create a melody unique to the moment.
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Varing heights and widths of the net encourages any kind of "misuse" of the seating. Wider sections of the net allow two adults to lie side by side, narrower areas are better for sitting; children can go under higher sections, and the parts that are closer to the ground can be jumped over. The void in the middle could be completely meaningless, or can be converted into a temporary point of focus when actions such as discussions or performances take place inside.
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A misty field. Are we going to paradise or hell? Are we forming a collective or remaining alone?
Perhaps in most of the situations, there is a mixture of individual users and goups. Some spaces are designated to be the ambiguous area that witness the formation and collapse of a collective.
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04 the limbo
research: Between Myth & Utopia collaborator: Shihui Zhu summer 2019. The Balkans
The bridge, conventionally perceived as a means of transportation,a passage that spans overa physical obstacle, is interpreted in this research as a metaphor of media that simultaneously connect and separate spaces and experiences. Expanding from the common imagery of the bridge’s physical linearity, a metaphorical bridge can be an overpass, a corridor, or a tunnel, overthrowing the directionality of traditional bridges. This narrow space blurs the boundary between two substances that generate different spatial and emotional experiences, connecting beginnings to ends, ends to beginnings. The research gathers photographic information on these bridges in selective spots across Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Macedonia, looking into the original design purpose and current use. It aims to archive the collective memory of former Yugoslavia through the exploration of these functional, banal spaces, and as a result glimpse at how a society reacts to architecture that carries strong ideological imaginations when the ideology left.
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The Yugoslavian socialist imagination of society relies on the concept of the collective, a unit in which individuals share, if not create, a collective identity. Instead of pursuing material success as the Soviet Union eagerly did, Tito’s goal was more spiritual. He aimed for the creation of a Yugoslavian identity that goes beyond ethnic and national boundaries and that serves as a bond to tie his people together, and from which the material aspects of socialism can be realized. Tito proposed a less rigid socialism, one that is “soft” and is able to adjust itself to specific conditions across the territory of the republic.* The regime lays emphasis on a unified collective psychology that derives from interactions between individuals in a collective - trivial interactions, conscious or not, that happens in banal connecting spaces. *Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, Socialist Architecture: the Reappearing Act(The Green Box, June 1, 2017 ), 5.
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Branching off from socialism, Titoism tries to unite people of different ethnicities with an utopian concept that Tito introduces as Yugoslavism. It is a national identity set aside from ethnicity and culture that would “certainly mitigate existing national differences.”* Architecture is used as an infrastructure to stabilize this national identity by encouraging public encounters that then creates bonds between individuals, as the sense of unity of a collective is “in many ways constructed and communicated through their experience of place.”** * Jasna Dragovic-Soso, Rethinking Yugoslavia: Serbian Intellectuals and the “National Question” in Historical Perspective(London: Goldsmiths, University of London, May 2004), 177. ** Pollyanna Ruiz, “Identity, Place and Politics: From Picket Lines to Occupation,” in Taking the Square: Mediated Dissent and Occupations of Public Space, edited by Rovisco, M. and Ong, J. C. (London, New York: Rowman Littlefield International, 2016), 18.
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Planners and designers, aware of the importance of public encounters under a socialist regime, designed ample public spaces for architectural and urban projects. Passageways, which this research refers to as metaphorical bridges, are not the most prominent public space, yet due to their functional purpose of connecting two destinations, might be the most active. Corridors in New Belgrade’s housing blocks. The dark, narrow space connects private units to stairs and elevators, sometimes a shared storage or balcony. The residents inevitably run into each other when waiting for the elevator, checking mailboxes, taking out the trash and et cetera. This communal lifestyle creates a rather intimate neighboring relationship through the residents’ sharing of a particular space, which constructs the community’s consciousness. “The reason members of a group remain united, even after scattering and finding nothing in their new physical surroundings to recall the home they have left, is that they think of the old home and its layout…”* *Maurice Halbwachs, “on collective memory” in Memory, from Documents of Contemporary Art, edited by Ian Farr (Whitechapel: the MIT Press, 2012), 48.
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Corridors in Socialist seaside resorts is a bridge between the private and public realm, always leading to a certain destination, or destinations. Unlike their counterparts in housing blocks where familiar faces meet, corridors in hotels are places for unexpected encounters between strangers from different parts of the republic. Most of the corridors observed in the abandoned structures do not have visual access to the exterior unless at the ends, for the private sector within a collective holiday resort was not as valued as the public spaces. Long, closed corridors in renovated resorts are often lightened by large windows, or opened to interior courtyards, just to keep the space bright and pleasant, as in the Hotel Adriatic. The corridor is an extension of public realm, though narrow and unpleasant at times, carries the function of extending newly established relationships in a more intimate setting.
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The threshold is a transitional process, a moment that connects two different experiences. In this chapter, it is interpreted as a piece of physical space which serves as the signifier of the introduction of a new space. The threshold can be a space with thickness or simply a critical line, a door.
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Thresholds in Socialist seaside resorts of the former Republic of Yugoslavia are structures that open to a unique collective experience. The republic considers free time as part of the production cycle, therefore should be planned and potentially controlled. State and labor union owned resorts grew out of the tourist tradition along the Croatian Adriatic coast as the government encouraged the population to travel, to experience the geographical context of the state and from which establish a shared identity based on relaxing, delightful physical experiences. Resorts were used as an infrastructure that “mediate between the collective and personal spheres.” The threshold between the exterior natural environment to the welldecorated interior of seaside resorts is equivalent to the entrance of a special collective education where people of different ethnicities mingle. The entrance of Hotel Haludovo separates the natural exterior from the constructed environment. Passing through this corridor indicates entering a social space with restrictions and, to some extent, surveillance.
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A path is a space that loosely connects point A to point B, though the two points may not be the destination of the route: people are in direct contact with the ambient and can easily wander off from the path. In conventional perception, the path is simply a walkway, usually narrow and linear. This research expands the definition of the path, extending to free spaces within the city with public access. The path is hence a functional, active social space that bridges different modules of a city. Under the Yugoslavian regime, paths connects not only residential areas and cultural spaces, but commercial zones as well. Kenzo Tange planned the city as an organism that constanly regenerates itself, and the paths serve as a tissue that knits the urban fabric together.
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A place that is very much like our contemporary metropolis. Layers of urban constructions, layers of roads and connections. People are always present, heading somewhere.
The individual is in constant contact with others, the artificial environment, and the natural environment. In a society, the image of an individual is a projection, a projection of his/ her appearances, relationships, and others' impressions. While being perceived and projected, the individual is simultaneously constructing the projected image of others that form their respective reality. Can architecture translate that projection into a spatial language?
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05 the individual and the other
competiton: You and I will Always Collide by NewMarket: Yuting Hu, Ximeng Luo, Yuanting Peng, Shihui Zhu winter 2019. Shanghai, China
The postmodern society presents fragmented understanding of reality and of death. Emotions are highly personal, and the burying of loved ones, though often performed as a group practice, is simultaneously an intimate experience. Postmodernity decomposes families into individuals, universal values into personal values, and the thorough image of any specific individual is constructed through images projected by others. The multiplicity of the memories of the deceased, possessed by different living individuals, is correspondingly different. A cemetery shall be the architectural translation of these diverse relationships and memories, where little or countless fragmented information piece up the image of a deceased individual.
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New Market presents a new model of processing the body and preserving the memories linked to the deceased. The body is processed through alkaline hydrolysis, sent into a pressured vessel and decomposed into a liquid and potassium hydroxide—a white powder. This powder is then sent to green spaces on site. Memories of the deceased is collected and digitized, translated into information and stored in flash drives. Once the living plugs their flash drives into the central tower of the cemetery, New Market algorithm processes the content and generates different sensational signals. The sensors and projectors embedded in the thick walls of the project will produce spatial modifications, including various interior material textures, different light spots and waves, smell, and more subtle changes such as temperature and humidity differences. No directly comprehensible information is presented in the project, but the living will be surrounded with familiar sensations related to the deceased. Individual experiences of reminiscing past people and past times are each independent and highly personalized.
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2 Friends and loved ones followed the deceased to the plant. After parking the car, staff from the “plan” lead them to the underground bio-cremation room. Husband E whispered a few last words to his love. The staff explains the chemical decomposing process to E and D, then pushes the body into a pressured vessel.
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D passed away last week. After the funeral, his body was sent to the “plant” — the last stop of his life.
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4 Once the living plugs their flash drives into the central tower of the cemetery, NewMarket algorithm processes the content and generates different sensational signals. The sensors and projectors embedded in the thick walls of the project will produce spatial modifications.
E was then taken to the Collection Room, where the most cherished memories about D are extracted through an electroencephalography monitor. One can also choose to upload information—texts, images, audios, etc. directly into a flash drive.
6 E walked into the “temperature space.” The people were dispersed in different areas of the space. Warm and cold air blew in different directions. Inside a small pocket, he entered #33671 on the electronic screen. A sharp blow of wind revokes his memory of their first date: The icy breeze in the Swiss Alps when they were skiing down from the peak.
7 In the corridor, blinks of light from each individual flash drive penetrated through a thin film that protects the “Tower.” On the opposite side, flowers were inserted inside intentionally designed slits on the wall. E saw a small girl gently placed her teddy bear next to a large bunch of osteospermum flowers. He thought about his own daughter—she must have plugged her flash drive in as well; but he will never know how she thinks of her other father, D. Recollections are personal.
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d E the flash drive. It is small, cladded with shiny aluminum, y half a thumb in size, and with a serial number “33671” on it. and smooth, a digitized version of D. This small disk carries E’s of D, a considerate partner, loving father, has a bit of temper but ves a kind heart. His laughter still echoes. ones carried the flash drive to the “tower” where countless flash quickly. Currents of information provided by the flash drives circle plant”, waiting for their owners. 71 is now plugged.”
Light spots and soft luminaires lit up the room like stars, and thousands of halos descended from the roof and stopped at E's feet. The rather dark space is a perfect metaphor of the vast universe, where the reflection of floating lights casted ghostly luminescence. E could see dust in the air, lit by mysterious light sources, that somehow reminded him of the day D proposed. Light from the beacon shines on the coastline, and D’s shadow was pulled infinitely long on soft white sand. D’s face was blurry, but E could never forget that moment: heart swelling with happiness, and dust dancing swiftly in mid-air, reflecting the beacon’s light. “yes, yes I do.”
9 The “smell space” seemed chaotic at first with different smells blending together. E wandered around, and suddenly he was able to define a familiar hint of white must, blended with a soft, juicy smell of juniper berries: the smell of the perfume that D loves to wear, because it “always reminds him of journeys on the ocean.” E had smelt it on the day they first met, in their first kiss, on the wedding, and now, right here. In the “texture space” E tried to lie down. The area that drew him was soft like fabric, something finely stitched with thin needles, probably the tie that he got for D on his birthday, or the scarf that was one year’s new year gift from D.
11 E passed away last week. After the funeral, his body was sent to the “plant” — the last stop of his life. He is now eternally alive as pieces of information, projected by the living who chooses to “bury” him in the tower. Of course, if his family continues to pay the fee.
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When it was E’s turn to be on a hospital bed surrounded by his friends and loved ones, he tried to look for the “plant” from his bedside window. D is there, somewhere, digitized, labelled #33671, and he will always be there. Whatever we are, you and I will collide again.
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temperature + air The space designated for temperature and air are small pockets with rather thick walls. Walls are embedded with air outlets, and breeze modifies the temperature in these small spaces. A perforated filter, together with mechanics, strictly controls various air qualities throughout the project.
light Projectors and lights hidden in walls and ceilings of light spaces provide various lighting conditions in the project. Reflection panels adjust to individual visitors and generate specific lighting effects.
sound Sound spaces are large, curvy volumes with smooth surfaces. Their thick walls are good at blocking disrupting noises, and embedded speakers emit sound and vibrations to visitors. Small scales on the interior are operable according to specific needs to produce certain sounds. Multiple people can be sharing the same space, but only information that matters—that is, relating to the one being remembered, will trigger responses from visitors.
texture + humidity Texture spaces are playful and highly sensational with their diverse interior surfaces. These surfaces can be soft or hard, curvy or sharp. Visitors would have to climb through certain areas, and moments from the experience will, unexpectedly, remind them of past episodes with their deceased loved ones.
texture + humidity These spaces are tight and linear, providing a much more intimate experience. Input information determines the odor released by the tunnel, and the fabric-like film controls the concentration. The five spaces are separated and easily recognizable by their forms. At moments where different spaces merge, a chaotic area is present as an indicator of the blending of spaces. Depending on the position in the “plant,” some of the spaces have access to the exterior.
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A place that is very much like our contemporary metropolis, only much more advanced. Screens and portable charger stations can be found everywhere. People are always present, heading somewhere.
Though able to form a collective, people must be individually informed. They receive information and process it with their individual minds. In a idealistic sense, individuals always remain their independence through a subjective gaze. The relationship between the individual and information is invariably mediated by both parties. How does architecture respond to, or merely appear in, this relationship between a living being and lifeless data?
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06 the individual and information
research+design: Electrinity collaborator: Yuting Hu, Luying Peng, Yuanting Peng, Shihui Zhu fall 2020. Beijing, China
In a world where digital media is extremely developed, humans rely on electronic devices to obtain information, coordinate work and arrange life. Electrinity is a phenomenon in which the matrix, device, and body are closely connected . The people are under the control of the matrix through its codes and algorithms that create and filter information. The economy is driving the Electrinity World. Media effectively disseminate information that stimulates consumption and contributes to the carnival of capitalism and consumerism.
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holy trinity 圣三一
电三一
Electrinity, deriving from the Holy Trinity, is a phenomena where matrix, device, and body form an entity that constantly filters, receives, and processes information. The world of data and information has its own language, and Electrinity is a situation in which this data language start to colonize our human language. Individuals are equal in front of data, and consequently they are abstracted and dehumanized by data.
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Electrinity reconstructs a symbol which is absent - a symbol that represents the matrix, the system that controls information. The symbol can be any object, so long as it has been given the symbolic meaning. Just like girls would purchase lipstick beacuse the color is said to be a "must have of this winter" on the Internet, the people would incurably believe in the given meaning, and be swept by a consumerist euphoria that redefines reality.
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the divine comedy The three projects reflect the Electrinity world in different perspectives and echo the three chapters of "Purgatory," "Paradise," and "Hell" in Dante's Divine Comedy. As people navigate through cities and the suburbs in the electronic divine comedy, digital media connects everything in the data-network, and in return controls every aspect of life.
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purgatory To run o’er better electricity hoists its transmit The little studio of my genius now, That leaves behind itself a truth so cruel; And of that second SCREEN will I sing Wherein the human spirit doth purge itself, And to ascend to program becometh worthy. But let dead story here rise again, O holy screen, since that I am yours, And here Elec-trinity somewhat ascend, My TV accompanying that illusion, Of which the miserable facts felt The fiction so great, that they despaired of pardon. Sweet colour of the intriguing screen, That was upgathered in the truthless aspect Of the pure cyber, as far as the first circle,
炼狱篇 为了传输在较为高速的电流上， 我的智慧影棚扬起风帆， 它把苦恼的真实撇在自己后面。 我将把这第二个荧屏吟诵讴歌， 在那里人类的灵魂洗净了， 使他有登上节目的资格。 但在这里，吟诵负面的故事应当改变， 哦，神圣的电子屏啊，我早已委身于您， 在这里，电三一也须略展才能。 用它那屏幕映着我的虚幻， 正是这虚幻，曾使那些真实遭到当头棒喝， 使其不再有希望占据人类心灵。 引人入胜的屏幕的柔和光彩 , 汇集在不实的空间之中， 其乐融融，一直延申到第一屏。
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the film studio In a world where people rely on electronic devices and the digital network, the experience of physical space is also transplanted to the virtual space in the screen while architecture gradually becomes an infrastructure, losing its meaning due to the absence of physical interactions. The film studio provides physical actions through the screen, and the reality in the Electrinity world is hence defined by the camera and the screen of electronic devices.
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structure & frame
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The film studio's structure is consisted of a crude structure that supports various boxes with film sets, allows installation and removal of boxes. mechanics, electricity, pipes, etc. White boxes are different film sets that can be easily assembled into the studio infrastructure. once the filming is finished, they can be quickly removed from the site and be replaced by new sets/boxes.
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redefining reality The film studio produces thousands of quick clips, videos, images, livestream programs each day; it spreads information and stimulates what the people desire to see: to produce an alternative reality. Behind the camera, everything might be modified, even the human body, through props, sets, and CG techniques.
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07 appendix: models
3d representation 2018-2020 Handmade models in wood, chipboard, casted rockite, resin, and metal.
iteration studies: wood, museum board, soap
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cast rockite, museum board, foam board, plexi glass, wood sticks
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landscape studies: aluminum foil, mesh, soda cans, pins, chipboard, museum board
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