This initiative for adaptive reuse of artist housing strives to examine the experiences of immigrant artists in urban environments, contextualized within historical narratives of displacement. By intertwining this exploration with the historical narrative of the building, the project aims to develop a comprehensive typological framework specifically tailored to meet the diverse needs of displaced musicians.
Concepts designed to explore music through diverse perspectives and unique tangents. This innovative space is intended to foster connections among music artists, providing a platform for them to collaborate with each other, reflect on their work, and engage in experimental production and learning. We intend to bring artists from the surrounding communities into Westbeth, opening up this space to new faces and ideas.
The space is constructed with the concept of box within a box and dividing these spaces into individual boxes supporting different programs the typology of this space is
LOBBY/EXHIBIT PERFORMATIVE PRODUCTION
The framework facilitating program integration, comprised of spatially constructed grids, embodies elements reminiscent of the sophisticated technological apparatuses utilized by Bell Labs and Western Electric, alongside live music transmission equipment. These components collectively delineate the interconnected network of programmatic compartments within our project. The modular system boasts facile assembly and disassembly, featuring mobile components and storage capabilities. Lobby/Exhibit
LOBBY/EXHIBIT
LOBBY/EXHIBIT
The reflective materiality of the space is inspired by concept of the object taking the shape of the program it showcases
An adaptable environment, it facilitates diurnal workshops and collaborative group practices. During evening hours, it undergoes a transformative shift, characterized by the prominence of live musical performances and vibrant illumination accentuating both the festive programming and the material essence of the venue.
Diurnal Utilization of LIVE SPACE
The recording area, along with the adjacent anechoic chamber, are specialized acoustic isolation enclosures featuring multiple layers designed to optimize the reflection, amplification, and resonance of music sounds, thereby striving for superior audio quality. FULL SOUND ISOLATION
RF ABSORBENT ACOUSTIC MATERIAL NO REFLECTING WAVES
To mitigate sound wave reflections, conical extrusions crafted from highly absorptive foam materials are employed to effectively suppress external noises.
Where the acoustic walls, made by Made with 80% recycled cotton fibers. Such panels tuned the interior and define the lighting system in it
A reverberation room is engineered to optimize the reflection of sound waves through the strategic incorporation of platinum plates, facilitating a multidimensional auditory ambiance
This space harmoniously blends audio and visual elements, offering a unique synergy that gives music a 3D presence. It serves as a platform for individuals to reflect upon and comprehend their work from an entirely different dimension.
This research explores how urban environments influence grief expression in the post-COVID-19 era. Grieving rituals, deeply rooted in history, are often linked to specific spaces or objects. However, contemporary settings struggle to accommodate deep emotions like grief, prompting individuals to seek makeshift spaces. The study examines the spatial dynamics of mourning and the integration of augmented reality to enhance the longevity of remembrance, with a precedent of Hindu sites like Varanasi to understand their psychological impact and how they shape emotional landscapes.
How does a place become an integral part of the grieving journey, and what are the unique experiences tied to the spatial aspects of mourning?
I am exploring Varanasi’s research through the lens of its rich cultural identity, which presents the city as existing outside traditional notions of beginnings and endings. It serves as a liminal space that allows individuals to navigate their experiences of grief, providing both social and private moments for reflection. This unique perspective on life and death shapes the city's character and significantly influences its tourism, impacting the social, political, and communal dynamics of Varanasi.
A grieving body goes through spatial stages of individual or bodily understanding, wherein the body undergoes a process of absorption and contemplation to find the expression of emotion. These spatial settings, juxtaposed with water and natural elements, provide individual solace devoid of confinement within the expansive openness of the landscape, focusing on bodily needs revolving around texture and materiality.
Bodily needs of curling up, wrapped around by softness
Through this landscape, AR navigates you to different destinations and processes in the experiences.
The second stage of grief involves communal expression through workshops where weaving accompanies storytelling. Woven pieces become a living memorial, with clothes from COVID victims forming a canopy. The project gives grief a physical form, addressing psychological and spatial needs through repetitive actions.
Communal weaving spots
Designed for workshops and therapy sessions that allow for the social expression and processing of grief.
Memory Symphony: Audio generative installation walk through
Overlaying Memories 3rd Stage
In the final stage of the grieving process, individuals reach a point of acceptance where they are comfortable dwelling in memories and revisiting them as acts of remembrance. This pivotal stage culminates in the archival process within the program, enhanced by augmented reality (AR) technology. AR introduces a subtle yet profound layer to the landscape, allowing participants to overlay memories in an audiogenerative installation where an audio pattern adapts, transforms, and grows from heartfelt audio messages left in memory of loved ones lost to COVID. This immersive encounter empowers users to imbue the landscape with their memories and messages, fostering a sense of collective mourning and reassurance in the journey of loss. Though concealed, this additional layer remains palpably present within the landscape, offering solace and solidarity amidst the grieving process.
Living Memorial
Layer to the landscape, allowing participants to overlay memories, Auditory experience.
The main objective of the project is to create a customized typology aimed at enhancing knowledge sharing and fostering a sense of community through the various pickling activities conducted within this environment.
Pickling has been an important practice for preserving food in many cultures, particularly before the advent of refrigeration. In Indian culture, pickles hold significant value and are often offered to guests as a symbol of warm hospitality, expressing the host’s appreciation for their guests and desire for their satisfaction. The preparation of pickles is not only social but also a bonding experience, bringing families together to celebrate the winter season. The process involves a collective effort to produce a sufficient amount of "Achaar" for the entire year.
SITE: Indian Row/Curry Lane was established by Mahir Ahmed just for the passion of food, but during immigration, a lot of immigrants came from the South Asian countries and started from scratch. "The restaurants were cooperatives, sharing the cost of imported spices, buying rice jointly by the carload, lending chefs to one another, and exchanging waiters. Interestingly, although the street came to be known as "Little India,"
Union Square Market
A community around food and food waste, created by domestic residential audience.
Analysis of individuals across various age cohorts engaged in outdoor activities during distinct seasons, encompassing diurnal and nocturnal periods. The examination also encompasses the temporal allocation of outdoor engagement by diverse age groups in various activities.
Activity and Time Spent Outdoors Chart
Developing relations with the farmer market participants around food scraps
Join a cultural pickling event where you can bring your own fruits and vegetables, interact with individuals from diverse backgrounds, and both learn and share your knowledge.
This space serves as a platform for sharing and discovering diverse cultures collectively. its typology that fosters a sense of community and establishes a direct connection with users, enabling them to engage with the facade directly. By engaging in pickling, an activity that molds the facade’s structure through its byproduct, the space also leaves a lasting impression that reminds people of the event.
Rediscover the food scraps you've contributed and witness them transform into electricity, symbolizing your meaningful role in community-building.
Users can exchange food scraps generated during pickle making in a barter system, offering scraps to receive a jar. These collected scraps are subsequently fermented to generate unit pickle batteries, harnessing their power to illuminate optic fiber installations during nighttime, as illustrated in the following mechanism.
