monograph_one[forward] by Emmanuel Gee, AIA, LEED AP, CPHD

MONOGRAPH ONE [1] SELECTED ACADEMIC PROJECTS BY EMMANUEL PIERRE JORDAN GEE

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

SUBSTANCE AND TRUTH IN ARCHITECTURE:

C R I T I C :

JOHN HUBERT

S T U D I O :

ARCH

P H A S E S :

THIS STUDIO HAD THREE DESIGN PHASES INCLUDING SEVERAL CHARRETTES AND A RESEARCH AND WRITING PHASE TO DEVELOP A PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT ON DESIGN. PROJECT 1: THE PAVILION OF LIMPID SOLITUDE, PROJECT 2: THE WRITER’S POST, PROJECT 3: THE WRITER’S COMPOUND

C O U R S E DESCRIPTION:

THIS STUDIO STUDIED THE RELATIONSHIPS OF PROGRAM TO SPACE AND LANGUAGE AS A TOOL FOR DEFINING MOMENTS IN ARCHITECTURE. WE WERE TO USE THE WRITER AS A BASIS FOR DESIGN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COHERENT LANGUAGE OF SPACE.

PROGRAM:

THE PROGRAM FOR THESE PROJECTS VARY AS WE HAD SEVERAL DESIGN CHARRETTES. WE BEGAN BY DESIGNING A PAVILION FOR A WRITER OR ARTIST. SEVERAL MASSING STUDIES FOLLOWED, RESEARCHING LANGUAGE AND FRAMEWORK. THEN, A DESIGN FOR A WRITER’S POST FOLLOWED USING THE MASSING STUDIES AS A BASIS FOR DESIGN. WE THEN COMBINED THESE PROJECTS INTO A WRITER’S COMPOUND CONSISTING OF FIVE WRITER’S POSTS, HABITABLE AREAS, LOUNGES, AND A LIBRARY. THE LIBRARY BECAME THE FOCAL POINT AND UNDERLYING LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT THE COMPOUND BY DESIGN THE STACKS OF BOOKS AS A CONTINUOUS THREAD THROUGHOUT ALL THE PROGRAMMATIC SPACES .

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION:

“ARCHITECTURE AIMS TO REINSTATE THE TERM FUNCTION AND, MORE PARTICULARLY, TO RE-INSCRIBE THE MOVEMENT OF BODIES IN SPACE…” -BERNARD TSCHUMI: ARCHITECTURE AND DISJUNCTION

THEORETICAL STUDIES OF THE DEFINITION OF SPACES THROUGH WRITING

131

FALL

2003

IN AN EFFORT TO DICTATE AN UNDERSTANDING OF ARCHITECTURE, MY STUDIES BEGAN BY RESEARCHING THE MEANING AND DEFINITION OF SPACE AND THE IDEA OF A “CONTAINER” THROUGH BOUNDARIES. WHEN SPEAKING OF BOUNDARIES, MY INTENT IS TO UNDERSTAND THE POSSIBILITIES OF WHAT SPACE CAN BE AND BE DEFINED AS. THE NOTION OF ARCHITECTURE AND SPACE CAN BE VIEWED AS PARALLEL PARADOXES. THE FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM ARE NEVER FINITE. THEY ARE IN CONSTANT FLUX, AND ONE COULD STATE THAT THEY ARE UNSTABLE UNTIL A FORM OF LANGUAGE IS DERIVED. WITH RESPECT TO THIS PARODY, THIS INSTABILITY CAN ALLOW SPACE TO FORM INTO

DESIGN, AND ALLOW FOR ARCHITECTURE TO DERIVE MEANING. THIS IDEA TO MAKE SPACE DISTINCT AND TO STATE ITS PRECISE NATURE IS THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT BEHIND ARCHITECTURE. IT THEN BECOMES THE COVER AND BINDING THAT CONTAINS SPACE. LIKE A BOOK IT CREATES THE FRAMEWORK AND LANGUAGE TO EXPLAIN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SPACE. THEN, IF SPACE IS AN INFINITE CONCEPT, IT CAN ONLY BE DEFINED THROUGH THIS FRAMEWORK. SPACE WITHOUT ARCHITECTURE BECOMES EVERYTHING AND NOTHING CONTAINED. BY CONTAINING SPACE THROUGH A DESIGN FRAMEWORK WE ATTEMPT TO MAKE SPACE EVIDENTLY READABLE AND DEFINED. CONCEPTION…MEANING…UNDERSTANDING…THIS IS A PROCESS TO ACHIEVE ORDER WITHIN SPACE. SPACE IS CONSTITUTED BY MANY INTERPRETATIONS. IT IS CONTINGENT WITHIN TIME, BUT TIME IS UNDERSTOOD IN PAST, PRESENT, AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF FUTURE. TIME, ALTHOUGH EPHEMERALICALLY GRASPED WITHIN A DAILY ENVIRONMENT, CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD WITHIN THE IDEAL REALM OF INFINITY. WHERE DOES TIME BEGIN AND WHERE DOES IT END? SPACE IS SIMILAR TO TIME, IT CAN BE READ WITHIN A CONTEXT OF ENCLOSURE, BUT UNDERSTOOD AS TACTILE BOUNDARIES OF TIME. SPACE IN THIS CONTEXT, REVEALS IT’S ONLY RESTRICTION. AS HUMAN EVOLUTION PROGRESSES, MAN HAS BEEN ATTEMPTING TO EXPLORE THE ASPECTS OF CREATING SPACE WITHIN SPACE. SPACE IS THE INFINITE WHOLE OF LIFE AND THE VOLUMES IMPOSING WITHIN IT. “THE PARADOX IS NOT ABOUT THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERCEIVING BOTH ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT AND REAL SPACE AT THE SAME TIME BUT ABOUT THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF QUESTIONING THE NATURE OF SPACE AND AT THE SAME TIME MAKING OR EXPERIENCING A REAL SPACE”. THROUGH ARCHITECTURE, MAN HAS OCCUPIED THE “PHENOMENOLOGICAL SPACE”, AND CONTAINED IT WITHIN THE EDGES OF ITS PURPOSE. THIS IDEA OF DEFINING SPACE THROUGH THE ARTICULATION OF FORM WITH MEANING IS WHAT ARCHITECTURE STRIVES TO BE. IT ATTEMPTS TO CREATE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPACES THROUGH A LANGUAGE OF DESIGN READABLE BY ALL OBSERVERS. ARCHITECTURE HAS DEVELOPED INTO A MODERN MYSTICAL SUBJECTIVITY THAT STRIVES FOR “SUBSTANCE AND TRUTH”. IF SPACE IS CONSIDERED AS THE WHOLE OF LIFE (MEANING EVERYTHING AROUND LIFE), AND IS SUBJECTED TO THE FINITE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARTH, THE CONCEPT OF SPACE BECOMES INFLUENCED BY THE CONTEXT AND PLACEMENT ON IT’S SITE. SPACE OBSERVED THROUGH ARCHITECTURE, IS THEN ALSO ANALYZED AND READ THROUGH TIES LINKED TO HISTORY, CULTURE, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICAL IDEOLOGY. HERE, ANOTHER TYPE OF LANGUAGE IS CREATED TO BIND RELATIONSHIPS OF MEANING TO CONTEXT. THE JUXTAPOSITION OF SPACE, ITS PROGRAM, LANGUAGE, AND CONTEXT, THROUGH PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEORETICAL MEANING CONVEYS THE QUALITIES AND ATTRIBUTES OF “ARCHITECTURE” [CITY, SITE, CLIENT, AND OBSERVER], SO THAT IT CAN BE READ WITH BOTH OBJECTIVITY AND SUBJECTIVITY.

PROJECT 2: THE WRITER’S POST

PROJECT 1: PAVILION OF LIMPID SOLITUDE

PROJECT 3: THE WRITER’S COMPOUND THIS PAGE - PRELIMINARY DESIGNS ADJACENT PAGE - FINAL DESIGN

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

THE URBAN l THE CULTURE l THE THEATRE

C R I T I C :

VERA PARLAC

S T U D I O :

ARCH 231

P H A S E S :

THIS STUDIO’S PRELIMINARY PHASE WAS TO STUDY THE URBAN CONTEXT WITH RESPECT TO THE CONDITION OF SITING. THERE WERE PARALLEL STUDIES ON THE DESIGNS AND DEFINITIONS OF “PERFORMANCE SPACES.” THE SECONDARY PHASE WAS TO DEVELOP AN URBAN THEATRE.

C O U R S E DESCRIPTION:

THIS STUDIO WILL STUDY THE URBAN CONDITION, SPECIFICALLY WITH RESPECT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROJECT WITHIN STRICT CITY LIMITATIONS. THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY AND UNDERSTAND THE THEATRE AS A “PERFORMANCE SPACE” WITHIN AN URBAN CONTEXT AND TO DESIGN A THEATRE FITTING TO THE SURROUNDING SITE CONDITIONS.

PROGRAM:

THE PROGRAM FOR THIS PROJECT IS A 300 PERSON CAPACITY URBAN THEATRE. THE THEATRE WILL COMPOSE OF THE FOLLOWING: A MAIN PERFORMANCE SPACE, A SUB-STAGE ROOM, PRODUCTION MANAGER OFFICE, STAGE PRODUCTION MANAGER OFFICE, MEDIA ROOM, STAGE LIGHTING ROOM, TECHNICAL DIRECTORS OFFICE, FLY SPACE, GREEN ROOM, REHEARSAL SPACE, PROP STORAGE, FITTING ROOMS, ACTORS LOUNGE, OUTDOOR LOUNGE, CAFE / LOUNGE, GALLERY AND EXHIBITION SPACE, THEATRE AND EXHIBITION SHOP, MAIN LOBBY, AND ALL STANDARD BUILDING SERVICES.

THIS PROJECT’S SITE IS COMPRISED OF THREE INDIVIDUAL LOTS FORMING A LARGE T-SHAPED SITE. THE SITE FACES THREE DIFFERENT STREET EDGES [CHESTNUT, 20TH, AND SANSOM STREET], AND CAN BE LOCATED AT 1924-28 CHESTNUT STREET / 1927 SANSOM STREET / 107 S. 20TH STREET.

P R O J E C T SUMMARY:

TRANSITION : ADAPTATION : URBAN THEATRE SPACE IN AN URBAN CONTEXT CONDITIONS OCCUR WITHIN THE NETWORK GRID, CREATING OR IMPLYING RELATIONSHIPS THAT NEED AN UNDERSTANDING. IN MY INVESTIGATION INTO AN URBAN THEATRE DESIGN, I EXPLORED THE CONDITIONS OF A SITE LOCATED IN A DENSE URBAN CITY CLUSTER, CONTAINED BY THREE HIGH RISE APARTMENTS AND AN ABANDONED CINEMA. IN EXPLORING THE CONDITIONS I FOUND A REPETITIVE URBAN FRAMEWORK, A CONGESTION OF SPACE LAYER UPON ONE ANOTHER. AS REM KOOLHAAS SAID, THE METROPOLIS IS A CITY WITHIN A CITY; CONTAINED ENVIRONMENTS LAYERED WITHIN A FABRIC OF SPACE. THIS SITE, COMPRESSED BY THE URBAN FRAMEWORK HAS MOMENTS ILLUSTRATING SHEARS WITHIN THE SITE. THESE SHEARS IMPLY AN OPENING WITHIN THE URBAN CONGESTION, WHICH I USE AS A BASIS FOR DESIGN.

THEATRE

THE

FALL 2004

ABSURD:

URBAN

CONGESTION_ FOLDED

SPACE

PROJECT 1

SURFACE STRATEGY : SECTION STUDIES OF SHEARING FORCE

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

THE SHIFTING GROUND : SHEARING FABRIC

C R I T I C :

VERA PARLAC

S T U D I O :

ARCH 231

P H A S E S :

THE STUDIO HAD TWO PHASES. THE FIRST PHASE WAS A CONCEPTUAL PHASE IN WHICH THE INTERVENTION STRATEGY WAS ARTICULATED. THE EMPHASIS OF THE SECOND PHASE WAS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE INITIAL STRATEGY, PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS, AND IMMEDIATE SITE CONDITIONS.

C O U R S E DESCRIPTION:

IN THIS STUDIO WE EXPLORED THE IDEA OF BUILDING WITH AND WITHIN A LANDSCAPE. IMPORTANT FOR THE PROJECT WAS THE AWARENESS THAT THE “NATURAL” SITE REQUIRES A DIFFERENT SET OF CONSIDERATIONS. IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, DYNAMICS OF TRANSFORMATIONS AND EMERGENCES ARE SOMETIMES SUBTLE AND SOMETIMES VIOLENT AND LESS CONTROLLABLE. AWARENESS OF SUCH FORCES ALTERS THE WAY WE CONCEIVE OF THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (STRATEGIES). THE CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, THROUGH NATURAL PROCESSES, CAN BE PROPELLED, THROUGH THE ACT OF DESIGN, INTO A WAY OF ENGAGING THE GROUND ITSELF. - PARLAC

PROGRAM:

THE CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT WAS A SCHOLARS’ RETREAT FOR MORRIS ARBORETUM. THE PROGRAM CALLED FOR AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT FOR FIVE SCHOLARS WITH PRIVATE ROOMS AND PUBLIC AREAS ACCESSIBLE TO THE USERS OF THE ARBORETUM. ORGANIZED AROUND TWO ASPECTS, PRIVATE AND PUBLIC, THE CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN AS TO HOW TO MEDIATE THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, AND OUTSIDE AND INSIDE. - PARLAC

THIS PROJECT WAS LOCATED IN THE MORRIS ARBOREATUM OF THE UNIVERSITY IF PENNSLYVANIA. THE ARBORETUM IS FOUND AT 100 E. NORTHWESTERN AVENUE IN PHILADELPHIA, PA ALONG THE WISSAHICKON VALLEY.

A W A R D S :

THIS PROJECT RECIEVED AN HONORABLE MENTION IN THE BIANNUAL ARCHITECTURAL STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION, “VITTETA: BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST.” THIS IS A FACULTY CHOSEN STUDENT COMPETITION FEATURING THE FOUR ACCREDITED DESIGN SCHOOLS LOCATED IN PHILADLEPHIA, PENNSLYVANIA.

SCHOLARS

RETREAT

FALL 2004

WITHIN

THE

MORRIS

ARBOREATUM

PROJECT 2

IN THIS PROJECT WEBEGAN BY EXPLORING SURFACE TRANSFORMATIONS, THROUGH A SERIES OF PLASTER TABLETS, WHERE EACH NEW TABLET WAS A SNAPSHOT OF THE DECISIVE MOMENT IN THE CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE CLAY SURFACE. THE ARTICULATION OF THE INTENTION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT WAS UNDERSTOOD AS THE ARTICULATION OF THE PERCEPTION OF THE SITE. THE CLAY TABLETS WERE WAYS TO ENGAGE THOSE PERCEPTIONS, AND GENERATE THE SURFACE STRATEGY BASED ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITE. IN THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT THE EXPLORATION OF THE SURFACE FORMATION GENERATED THE “PULSE” OF THE TRANSFORMATION THAT HELPED THE STUDENT TO EFFECTIVELY DEVELOP THE SPACE OF THE INTERVENTION. THE IDEA OF SHEAR, DERIVED FROM AN ANALYSIS OF A ROCK OUTCROPPING (IMMEDIATE SITE CONDITIONS), REVEALED THE AXIS THAT EFFECTIVELY ENGAGED THE PROGRAMMATIC ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT. THE “PULSE” WORKED THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND TO GENERATE FOLDS WITHIN THE FABRIC OF THE ARBORETUM. THE SHEARING BEGAN TO SHIFT THE LANDSCAPE AND DEVELOP THE THRESHOLDS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. - PARLAC

PERCEPTION OF THE SITE : SHEARING FORCE [CLAY TABLET STUDIES]

SURFACE STRATEGY : SECTION STUDIES OF SHEARING FORCE

SECTION PULSE : PHASE 1 SECTION PULSE : PHASE 2 SECTION PULSE : PHASE 3

INTEGRATED PULSE : SPACE OF INTERVENTION

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

URBAN [RE]VITALIZATION: AN ADAPTATION OF THE GRETZ BREWERY [INTERLACING, PARASITIC, AND PROSTHETIC SPACE]

C R I T I C :

ANTHONY TSIRANTONAKIS

S T U D I O :

ARCH 232

P H A S E S :

2 DESIGN AND RESEARCH PHASES

SPRING 2005 [URBAN DESIGN STUDIO]

[DETAILED ANALYTICAL URBAN ANALYSIS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED-USE UNITS]

C O U R S E DESCRIPTION:

THIS STUDIO WAS AN EXPLORATION INTO THE NATURE OF THE CITY, URBAN LIFE, DESIGN, AND HABITATION BY FOCUSING ON A SPECIFIC SITE IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA: THE NOW-ABANDONED GRETZ BREWERY. THE NEIGHBORHOOD SURROUNDING THE SITE WAS ONCE A REGIONAL HUB FOR EARLY AMERICA’S INDUSTRY, ONE DESIGNED FOR MASS-PRODUCTION. OUR DESIGN METHOD WAS TO BUILD BY ACCRETION THROUGH LINKED ALTERNATING URBAN ANALYSIS AND RESIDENTIAL DESIGN ASSIGNMENTS, WHICH ALLOWED US TO DEVELOP A HISTORICAL URBAN RESEARCH PHASE AND A DESIGN VOCABULARY FOR THE FINAL RESIDENTIAL / URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

PROGRAM:

THE PROGRAM FOR THIS PROJECT WAS TO FIRST DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH STUDY ON THE EXISTING SITE AND IT’S HISTORICAL IMPLICATION ON COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOODS. WE THEN DESIGNED A [RE]DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL FOR THE GRETZ BREWERY SITE, WITH 40 NEW LIVING UNITS, COMMERCIAL SPACE, A COMMUNITY LOBBY, THE “GRETZ ATRIUM” - BAR AND CAFE, LOUNGE / READING ROOMS, COMMUNITY MEETING HALL, EXERCISE ROOM, AND GREEN ROOF GARDEN.

THE PROJECT’S SITE IS LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF OXFORD STREET, 4TH STREET , AND GERMANTOWN AVENUE IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA. THE PROJECT WAS TO INCORPORATE THE GRETZ BREWERY AND ANY SURROUNDING SITES WHICH WE DEEMED APPLICABLE.

P R O J E C T SUMMARY:

THE DEPARTURE POINT FOR THIS PROJECT WAS A TWO PART RESEARCH PHASE INVOLVING [1] HISTORICAL TIES TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE EFFECTS OF DERELICT SPACE WITHIN THE EXISTING URBAN FABRIC & [2] A “deconTEXTURALIZED” FACADE STUDY WHICH SEPARATED BUILDING ELEMENTS INTO THREE-DIMENSIONAL LAYERED TEXTURES, IN AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND DEPTH AND CHARACTER. THESE STUDIES THEN INFORMED A PHILOSOPHY AND PROCESS TO DESIGN FOR, WHICH STRIVED TO [RE]VITALIZE THE GRETZ BREWERY INTO AN ADAPTED ARTIFACT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND [RE]ACTIVATE THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS.

THE DIALECTIC OF THE NEW HEGEL GRASPED THAT THE NEW IS ALWAYS CONSUMING ITS IMMEDIATE PRECURSOR AS ITS DEFINING OPPOSITE, MAINTAINING AND CARRYING IT ALONG LIKE A SHADOW. AND THIS SHADOW CARRIES A FURTHER SHADOW ETC., SO THAT A CULTURAL INNOVATION CAN ONLY BE IDENTIFIED AND APPRECIATED BY THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO PLACE IT WITHIN THE WHOLE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION. SUCH APPRECIATION THEREFORE BECOMES A RELATIVE, GRADED AND ULTIMATELY INFINITE ACT. “AND IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE CULTURE OF ARCHITECTURE TO INSIST THAT A NEW ARCHITECTURAL POSITION CAN NOT BE REDUCED TO AN ISOLATED FORM OR GESTURE, BUT - LIKE A SCIENTIFIC IDEA INVOLVES A WHOLE NETWORK OF HISTORICALLY CUMULATIVE ASSUMPTIONS AND AMBITIONS.” [FRIEDRICH HEGEL] PATRIK SCHUMACHER 2000 FROM “IN DEFENCE OF RADICALISM - ON THE WORK OF ZAHA HADID,” PUBLISHED IN: CITY VISIONARIES, VENICE BIENNALE OF ARCHITECTURE, CATALOG FOR THE BRITISH PAVILION, CORNERHOUSE PUBLICATIONS, MANCHESTER

THESE DIAGRAMS ARE STUDIES OF THE GRETZ BREWERY DECONSTRUCTED OF ITS TEXTURAL ELEMENTS AND [RE]COMPOSED INTO A THREE DIMENSIONAL DEPTH & DETAIL STUDY. THE [RE]COMPOSED IMAGE IS SEEN HERE FLATTENED, BUT WAS ORIGINALLY A SERIES OF ACETATE PRINTS LAYERED IN SHEETS OF PLEXIGLAS. WHAT IS INTERESTING IS THE COMPOSITION OF ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS AND THEIR DEPTHS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR HISTORICAL PERIOD. THE BREWERY WAS COMPOSED OF SEVERAL BUILDINGS BUILT THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY AND EACH PERIOD HAS LEFT AN IMPRINT OR ARTIFACT OF IT’S DESIGN METHODOLOGY, AND HAS CREATED A THREE DIMENSIONAL COLLAGE OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY IN WHICH TO BE ADDED UPON. THEREFOR AN APPROACH WAS DECIDED THROUGH THIS STUDY WHICH WAS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DESIGNERS OF PAST PERIODS AND CONTINUE THIS TIME-LINE OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY, WHILE IMPRINTING THE CONTEMPORARY IDEAS OF TODAY.

[C]

[B] [A]

FIGURE [A] IS AN INITIAL ANALYSIS MODEL LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY, TRAFFIC PATTERNS, AND [RE]STRUCTURING POSSIBILITIES. FIGURE [B], [C], AND [D] ARE DETAIL IMAGES OF A LARGE MASSING MODEL, DERIVED FROM THE ANALYSIS AND FOCUSING ON THE GRETZ SITE SPECIFICALLY. THIS LARGE MASSING MODEL WAS THE DEPARTURE POINT FOR THE ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE AND ELEMENTS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE DESIGN PHASE. FIGURE [E] IS A CONCEPT SECTION / HYBRID OF BOTH THE EXISTING GRETZ SITE AND THE MASSING MODEL

[D]

[E]

Interlocking Condition

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Contemporary Program 1,2, and 3 Bedroom Units (Rowhome Image)

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Hosting Condition

parasitic space

re-vitalized program 2 and 3 story altered row homes (existing, family oriented) street faĂ§ade re-habilitated existing interior program w/ modified rear extension the â&#x20AC;&#x153;private houseâ&#x20AC;? hosts public space and circulation - (dispersion of private control to network system)

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Hybrid Condition

prosthetic space

re-interpreted \ re-constructed program existing brewery conditions eternalizedâ&#x20AC;Śin ruin - for display carved program for cafĂŠ and lounges circulating through machines east faĂ§ade re-vitalized and plugged with main circulation hub and commercial space non-active facades demolished for interlacing units loft spaces w/ 1,2,3, and 4 person bedrooms

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Existing Urban Fabric

diagramming[movement]: the body’s sequence

unfolded linear space

parti[interpretation]: conceptual “web of habitation”

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

THE LIVING BOX:

C R I T I C :

VERA PARLAC

S T U D I O :

ARCH 331/431 FALL 2005

C L I E N T :

VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA [ACADEMIC]

P H A S E S :

3 DESIGN AND RESEARCH PHASES [BODY, TECHNOLOGY, SITE/SOCIO-CULTURAL

INDIVIDUALLY CUSTOMIZED MOBILE UNITS

AN INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION FOR A PREFABRICATED LIVING UNIT

[PROJECT 1 _ NINE WEEKS]

CONTEXT]

CONCEPT:

“ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IS NOT SOMETHING GIVEN, ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IS FOUND. IT IS CARVED OUT THROUGH ACTIVITY AND MOVEMENT, AND IN RESPONSE TO ITS CONTEXT [SITE]. BODY AT WORK, IN MOVEMENT, OR AT REST...ACTIVATES SPACE AND WEAVES AN INVISIBLE WEB OF HABITATION. THESE ELEMENTS FORM THE TERRITORY OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE AND USES THE CONSTANT SHIFTING OF LIFE TO FORM THE POSSIBILITIES FOR OCCUPYING SPACE AND MATERIALIZING THIS OCCUPATION.” - PARLAC

PROGRAM:

AS SPECIFIED BY COMPETITION GUIDELINES THE PROGRAM IS FOR A LIVING UNIT CONSTRUCTED AS A PRE-ASSEMBLED BLOCK WITHIN THE DIMENSIONS OF A STANDARD SHIPPING CONTAINER AND MADE DISPENSABLE BY ROADS, RAILS, OR BY AIR.

THIS UNIT CAN BE MODIFIED FOR ANY SUITABLE SITE, BUT IT IS DESIGNED FOR A FIELD INSTALLATION AS A MASS NETWORK OF EMERGENCY HOUSING.

FOCUSES:

TO CREATE A SYSTEM OF PARTS WHICH WILL ALLOW AN INDIVIDUAL USER TO DICTATE HOW THE FUNCTIONS OF A LIVING SPACE WILL BE DETERMINED FOR HIS OR HER AESTHETIC REQUIREMENTS, WHILE DESIGNING A UNIT WHICH CAN BE FABRICATED AND SHIPPED IN MASS QUANTITIES FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING.

P R O J E C T SUMMARY:

THIS PRE-FAB LIVING UNIT IS DESIGNED TO ALLOW A MULTITUDE OF OPTIONS IN WHICH THE USER CAN DICTATE THE SHAPE AND FORM OF THE ENVELOPE WHILE ASSIGNING PROGRAMMATIC ELEMENTS WITHIN THE LIVING SPACE. AS INDIVIDUAL RIBS ARE ADJUSTED INTO SUBJECTIVE POSITIONS FOR THEIR INTERIOR PROGRAMMATIC USES, THE ENVELOPE BECOMES [RE]DEFINED.

hurricane katrina [victims]: a sudden mass of displaced environmental refugees

“Living doesn’t only mean “being on earth” but also "being under the sky””

M. Heidegger

INTRODUCTION

LIVING BOX

Inseparable relations link man to his space; but what does space represent and what turns a simple space into a “place”? Heidegger says “To live” the age we live in, compels man to face a series of social and cultural changing that let him rediscover the “multiplicity” of dimensions that characterizes his living. Fast transformations and incessant social-cultural flows of contemporary ages let, then, the formulation of a new concept of “living” being necessary: a new thought on man and “spaces” he wants to live in. Concept of “House” itself is no more connectable to traditional models synonymous of permanence and stability. Contemporary house can easily result into a “temporary” home, emblem of mobility that characterizes our age.

The “Living Box” shall overcome the contrast between “stable” and “temporary,” as underlined by Le Corbusier - the great master of the Modern Movement, but mostly a punctual studious of new ways of living - necessarily emerges from temporary living. It will, then, answer to the need for an easy and fast change, being able at the same time, to state the presence of a man in a context. Subject of competition is the design of a prefabricated living unit for housing, transportable on wheel vehicle or by air, which can be used even as permanent house and which can be able to comply with contemporary lifestyle in terms of living comfort and architectural language. Dimensions can be related (but it’s not compulsory) to standard dimensions of containers for commercial transportations that automatically comply with transportability problems and don’t need special vehicles. Final unit might be obtained by a single block or by assembling and connecting more than one block.

PHASE 1:

BODY AND THE INVISIBLE WEB OF HABITATION

“ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IS NOT SOMETHING GIVEN, ARCHITECTURAL SPACE IS FOUND. IT IS CARVED OUT THROUGH ACTIVITY AND MOVMENT, AND IN RESPONSE TO ITS CONTEXT [SITE]. BODY AT WORK, IN MOVEMENT, OR AT REST...ACTIVATES SPACE AND WEAVES AN INVISIBLE WEB OF HABITATION. THESE ELEMENTS FORM THE TERRITORY OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE AND USES THE CONSTANT SHIFTING OF LIFE TO FORM THE POSSIBILITIES FOR OCCUPYING SPACE AND MATERIALIZING THIS OCCUPATION. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL FORM OF SPACE [STANDARD ROOM] AND THE EVENTS THAT OCCUR IN THAT SPACE? THIS RELATIONSHIP IS OFTEN EPHEMERAL AND IMPRECISE. MOVEMENT TRAJECTORIES OF DAILY ACTIVITY COULD BE EASILY MAPPED BUT THE BOUNDARIES AND SURFACES DELINEATED BY MOVING BODIES ARE IMPRECISE, AND THIER VARIABILITY ESCAPES STANDARD MEASURING.” - PARLAC THE DEPARTURE POINT FOR THIS PROJECT WAS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM OF MEASURMENT, WHERE YOU COULD MAP THE TRAJECTORY OF MOVEMENT, IT’S BOUNDARIES, AND THE SURFACES OF THOSE ACTIVITIES. THE INFORMATION GATHERED WAS THEN INTERPRETED INTO A SERIES OF SEQUENCE STUDIES.

Étienne - Jules

Marey

”Pelican

Flight,”

1882;

“Cinematographic

Analysis

the

March,”

1880

activity mapping[cooking]: the maneuvering of joints and muscles through film and notation

diagramming[movement]: the body’s sequence

unfolded linear space

parti[interpretation]: conceptual “web of habitation”

transformation[study#1]: translating â&#x20AC;&#x153;web of habitationâ&#x20AC;? studies into [micro] & [macro] programs

transformation[study#2]: preliminary conceptual sequencing developing a user activated envelope with integrated programs for the body

PHASE 2:

TECHNOLOGY & THE DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY AND TOOL

“AS TECHNOLOGY IS PROFOUNDLY SHAPING THE WAY WE RELATE TO THE WORLD, AN ARCHITECTS SENSIBILITY IS CHANGING WITH IT. WE BEGIN TO SEE A WORLD AS A MULTIPLICITY OF INTERCONNECTED FIELDS AND NON-HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND AS OUR VISION EXPANDS, THE PURITY OF A HIGH TECH AESTHETIC BECOMES INCREASINGLY COMPROMISED. NEW MATERIALS AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES SUGGEST NEW POSSIBILITIES. THIS PHASE IS THE CONTINUATION OF PHASE 1, WHILE EXPLORING MATERIALS AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES IN ORDER TO ADDRESS A DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY AND A TOOL, (AN INTERFACE BETWEEN BODY AND TECHNOLOGY” - PARLAC PHASE 2 BEGINS WITH TRANSFORMING THE SEQUENCE & TRANSFORMATION STUDIES INTO A SYSTEM OF TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH SHAPES THE SPACE, FUNCTIONS, & PROGRAMS FOR THE USER. PRODUCTION STUDIES OF HIGH DENSITY POLY-CARBONATE INJECTION MOLDING, LATEX SKINS, PHOTOVOLTAICS, & JOINT SYSTEMS WERE REFERENCED AND INTEGRATED DURING THIS PHASE.

development stage[study#1]: container mechanics & user activated envelope study In this stage the development of the envelope began with the sequencing of independent ribs, which could be modified by users as a way to define moments where the body could inhabit space. This sketch study investigated the standard shipping container and the mechanics for a complete pre-fabricated element which could unfold on site by the user. Investigations into hydraulics and hinge systems were a focus.

development stage[study#2]: model study of interconnected ribs and an elastic envelope

development stage[study#3]: container mechanics & user activated envelope study This is a second sketch study investigating user activated programs developed through the placement of the folding ribs. The ribs here begin to show a system of 25 modules which would interlock to formulate each individual rib. The ribs are inter-connected by a dual layer latex membrane as an insulated elastic envelope. In addition, a sub-flooring compartment un-folds to create a work / sleep environment and reveals a draining system for the shower.

steel and/or photovoltaic weathering plate poly-carbonate injection molded rib module

steel locking pin

poly-carbonate injection molded end module

steel locking plate for track system

mechanical[detail#1]: poly-carbonate injection molded rib modules

16’ - 6” 12’ - 11”

7’ - 4”

technical[plan studies]: roof plan with rib modulation diagram & interior program component plan This deployable living unit is consisted of a standard corrugated steel shipping container, which is modified to retract a floor system. The floor system is primarily made of a structural poly-carbonate shell with translucent resin panels, a track system for the user activated envelope, and a floor rib system with a sub compartment for the shower drainage. Attached to the main “container” are the primary facilities of the unit, including a toilet and kitchen system. All drainage and electrical lines are routed through a main utility line within the sub flooring of the main “container.” The utility line is the only pre-installed infrastructure, allowing each individual unit to be “plugged-in” and ready to go.

shower pan hydraulic arm translucent resin panels mechanical track system floor panels [bed / table] utility lines home facilities & components -mini refrigerator -oven -8 cabinet drawers -sink & toilet

mechanical[detail#2]: folding arm sequence - extract and install user activated envelope

interior floor rib [floor bed table] system

steel locking plate for track system

steel track system for all mechanical ribs

mechanical[detail#3]: interior floor rib and track system

concept[sketch]: deployed ribs

mechanical[detail#4]: retractable shower system

PHASE 3:

SITE / SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT

“AS LIVES BECOME MORE TRANSIENT, THE CONCIOUS LONGING FOR PLACE SHARPENS. MANY FACTORS OF MODERN LIFE HAVE TRANSFORMED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE “SITE” OF ARCHITECTURE. FAST PACE OF CONTEMPORARY LIVING, TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIO-CULTURAL FLOWS CHALLENGE THE TRADITIONAL MODE OF LIVING. STABILITY AND PERMANENCE THAT GROUND THE “HOUSE” AND PROVIDES A SENSE OF SECURITY ARE SHIFTING. SWIFTLY MOVING WORK FORCE FURTHER CHALLENGES THESE NOTIONS. A CHANGE, AN EXCHANGE, A FLOW ARE BECOMING MODES OF OPERATION. IN THIS COMPLEX CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT THE EMPHASIS IS ON A “PLACE,” AS IT IS IN ITS DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD.” - PARLAC PHASE 3 WAS A CONTINUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT PHASE 2, WITH THE INTEGRATION OF SITE AND SOCIETY. DUE TO THE EXTEREME NATURE OF NATURAL DISASTERS AND THE UNFORTUNATE OCCURENCES DURING HURRICANE KATRINA, THIS PROJECTS MAIN CONCEPT AND PHILOSOPHY HAD SITE AND ITS SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT IN MIND THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPMENTAL PHASES. THE USER OR ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES WERE DISPLACED INDIVIDUALS IN THE THOUSANDS WHO WERE A CONSTANT FACTOR AND DESIGN PROBLEM TO INTEGRATE WITHIN THE PROGRAMMATIC RESPONSES THE UNIT HAD. AS THE NEED FOR TEMPORARY HOUSING INCREASED, SITE LOST ITS FUNDAMENTAL IDEA OF “PLACE” WITHIN THE LARGER CONTEXT AND BECAME THE ELEMENT OF “PLACE AS HOME.” HOW EACH USER DEFINED HIS OR HER SPACE, ALLOWED FOR A CONTROLLED UNIQUE PERSONAL ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE PRE-FABRICATED MODULAR HOUSING UNIT. SITING THEN BECAME A TEMPORAL CONDITION, WHERE AVAILABLE LAND COULD BE TRANSFORMED INTO A TEMPORARY HOUSING FIELDS.

12’-0”

PANEL 1 80% OPACITY

A A B

D C

[A] - INDUSTRIAL GLASS FACINGS [B] - NOMEX RESIN COATED HONEYCOMB FIBER [C] - MECHANICAL STEEL TRACK SYSTEM [D] - FACINGS + HONEYCOMB SHEETS + MECHANICAL SYSTEM = [MECHANICALLY INSULATED APERATURE SKIN SYSTEM]

PANEL 2 50% OPACITY

PANEL 3 10% OPACITY

PANEL 2 60% OPACITY

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

APERTURE: skin systems as communication

C R I T I C :

RASHIDA NG

S T U D I O :

ARCH

C L I E N T :

digiFAD laboratory

P H A S E S :

331/431

FALL

2006

3 DESIGN AND RESEARCH PHASES [MATERIAL

SITE

RESEARCH,

TECHNOLOGY,

DESIGN

DEVELOPMENT]

C O U R S E DESCRIPTION:

THIS STUDIO WAS AN INVESTIGATION INTO DESIGN AS A PROCESS THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE CONCEPTION OF AN INITIAL IDEA. IT DEVELOPED AN INITIAL SCHEME INTO A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY THAT DEMONSTRATES THE RESPONSE TO SITE CONDITIONS, THE MATERIAL NATURE OF THE ENCLOSURE AND ITS ASSEMBLY, THE SUSTAINABLE RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS, LIFE-SAFETY REGULATIONS, AND ACCESSIBILITY. THIS PROJECT WAS A SIMULTANEOUS INVESTIGATION INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SPECIFIC MATERIAL AS A TECTONIC ASSEMBLY, WHILE ENGAGING IN THE BROADER GOAL OF AN ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION. THE DESIGN WAS FOR A DIGITAL FABRICATION AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN LABORATORY, SPECIALIZING IN CUSTOMIZED ARCHITECTURAL BUILDING PRODUCT DESIGN AND DIGITAL FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIES. WE WERE ASKED TO DEVELOP THIS PROJECT IN FULL WITH A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF BUILDING MATERIALS AND METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION, STRUCTURAL DESIGN, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS PER NAAB CRITERIA. - NG

PROGRAM:

THE PROGRAM FOR THIS PROJECT WAS TO FOCUS & DEVELOP A SYSTEM THROUGH THE USE OF A SPECIFIC MATERIAL, WHILE DESIGNING A COMPLETE WORKSHOP/LABORATORY. THE PROGRAM INCLUDES A LOBBY, EXHIBITION GALLERY, WORK STUDIOS, MOCK-UP SPACE, TESTING LAB, MATERIALS LIBRARY, PROTOTYPING SHOP, FABRICATION SHOP, AND ALL TYPICAL COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS.

THIS PROJECT’S SITE IS LOCATED IN MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA AT MAIN STREET AND LEVERINGTON AVENUE BETWEEN THE SCHUYKILL RIVER AND THE MANAYUNK CANAL.

FOCUSES:

THE FOCUS FOR THIS PROJECT WAS DESIGNING A SKIN SYSTEM WHICH ALTERED THE APERTURE OF THE BUILDINGS FACADE USING HONEYCOMB RESIN FIBER SHEETS.

A W A R D S :

THIS PROJECT WAS NOMINATED BY FACULTY FOR THREE STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITIONS. IT RECIEVED A 2ND PLACE AWARD IN RECOGNITION OF OUTSTANDING DESIGN AND PRESINTATION SKILLS FROM THE “AIA WEST NEW JERSEY STUDENT DESIGN AWARDS” IN 2007. IT ALSO RECIEVED AN HONORABLE MENTION FROM “VITTETA: BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST BI-ANNUAL ARCHITECTURAL STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION”. THE THIRD AWARD SUBMISSION WAS TO AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION CALLED “INPUT/OUTPUT”.

Separation Map

digiFAD LABORATORY IS AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND FABRICATION FIRM LOCATED IN MANAYUNK, PHILADELPHIA [ACADEMIC]. THE SITE IS LOCATED ON VENICE ISLAND, AN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED ISLAND CENTERED BETWEEN THE SCHUYLKILL RIVER AND THE MANAYUNK CANAL. THIS LOCATION HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN AN AREA OF EXTREME FLOODING AND IS FOUND ISOLATED FROM THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY DUE TO A WEB OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC. IN AN ATTEMPT TO RE-INTEGRATE THIS MAN MADE ISLAND TO THE COMMUNITY, IT IS THE INTENSION OF THIS LAB TO ACT AS A COMMUNICATOR BETWEEN “THE BUILDING, THE PRODUCT, THE FABRICATOR, AND THE COMMUNITY.” THE INITIAL GOAL IS TO CREATE AN ADAPTIVE AND MODULATING SKIN, WHICH COULD REFLECT THE PROGRAMMATIC CONDITIONS AND LEVEL OF PRODUCTION WITHIN, WHILE MAINTAINING THE LEVEL OF PRIVACY NEEDED FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.

Built Surfaces Manayunk Canal

LOADING DOCK & STORAGE

Vehicular Movement

MECHANICAL ROOM

Rail Movement

Schuylkill River

N Water Density

Venice Island and Surrounding Densities: 2006

[Each Solid Block Represents 10,000 sqft]

Void and Nature

void - 1,978,187,620

roads - 850,324,047

water - 848,016,158

built - 570,092,444

train - 372,496,151

digiFAD ’S EXTERIOR CLADDING IS A MECHANICAL SKIN SYSTEM MADE FROM HONEYCOMB FIBER SHEETS. THESE HONEYCOMB SHEETS ACT AS SCREENS TO ADJUST VISIBILITY WITHIN. THE APERTURE OF THE BUILDING’S SKIN CHANGES BY THE EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION OF MULTIPLE SCREENS MECHANICALLY INDEPENDENT FROM EACH OTHER, BUT STILL CONFORMED TO A SINGLE SYSTEM, EACH INDIVIDUAL LAB/WORKSTATION WILL BE ABLE TO WORK ON VARIOUS SETS OF PRODUCTS AT MULTIPLE STAGES OF RESEARCH, DESIGN, & DEVELOPMENT. THIS SHIFT OF VISIBILITY WITHIN THE BUILDINGS INTERIOR ALTERS ITS IMAGE IN RESPONSE TO THE PROGRAMMATIC CONDITIONS OCCURRING WITHIN, AS WELL AS COMMUNICATING ITS FUNCTION THROUGH SUBLIMINAL PUBLICITY.

d i g i F A D L A B O R A T O R Y

S DIO STU RK WO BY

LOB

Y LER

GAL

AT RIC

SHO ION

Second Floor Plan

Scale: 1” = 50’

FAB

SPA

KMOC

RK WO

B U I L D I N G

TES

TING

STU

S DIO

LS ERIA MAT RARY LIB

LAB

Third Floor Plan Scale: 1” = 50’

SPA

KMOC

TING

[1]

MEE

TING

[2]

MEE

P L A N S

IN YPE TOT PRO SHOP

Fourth Floor Plan Scale: 1” = 50’

12’-0”

A A B

D C

[A] [B] [C] [D]

INDUSTRIAL GLASS FACINGS NOMEX RESIN COATED HONEYCOMB FIBER MECHANICAL STEEL TRACK SYSTEM FACINGS + HONEYCOMB SHEETS + MECHANICAL SYSTEM = [MECHANICALLY INSULATED APERATURE SKIN SYSTEM]

THIS DIAGRAM REPRESENTS SOME POSSIBLE VARIATIONS WHICH THE MODULATING SKIN CAN PERFORM TO ADJUST THE APERTURE OR “STATE OF PRIVACY” WITHIN THE BUILDING’S INTERIOR. THE INDIVIDUAL PANELS HAVE AUTONOMOUS MECHANICAL MANUVERABILITY, WHILE STILL BEING AN INTER-DEPENDENT SKIN SYSTEM; AS ONE PANEL SHIFTS THE SUBSEQUENT PANELS WILL ADJUST THIER APERATURE CHANGING THE VISIBILITY OF THE BUILDINGS SKIN

SINGLE HONEYCOMB SHEET INSIDE FACADE SKIN SYSTEM PANEL 1 80% OPACITY

PANEL 2 50% OPACITY

PANEL 3 10% OPACITY

PANEL 2 60% OPACITY

HONEYCOMB PANELS WITH APERTURE VARIATIONS

Wall Section Scale: 1’ = 20’

M E C H A N I C A L

Ground Floor Plan

& S T R U C T U R A L

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

P L A N S

Fourth Floor / Roof Plan

Detail Section_2 Scale: 1/2” = 1’

Detail Section_1 Scale: 1/4” = 1’

P R O J E C T T I T L E :

[com_modifying urban activation]

C R I T I C :

BOB TREMPE [THESIS ADVISER]

S T U D I O :

ARCH

U S E R :

THE TYPICAL URBANITE IN WAITING

P H A S E S :

---- -- - - - - - ----- -- - ----- - -- - -- -- -- - - - - -- - - --- -- - --- ----- - - -- -- - --- --- - - -- - --- - -- -- - --- --- - --- - - --- --- -

442/432

FALL

2006[DOCUMENT]

SPRING

2007[PROJECT]

4 DESIGN AND RESEARCH PHASES [DOCUMENT TRANSLATION, PARAMETRIC RESEARCH, MAPPING & MATERIALS , DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY]

CONCEPT:

THIS PROJECT IS A PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION AND MANIFESTATION OF THE RESEARCH AND FINDINGS OF MY WRITTEN DOCUMENT. IT IS A RESPONSE TO A SOCIAL CONDITION ARISING WITHIN THE URBAN FABRIC, WHERE INDIVIDUALS ARE LOSING THE PHYSICAL AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL INTERACTION WITH “THE CITY” [HUMAN & EDIFICE]. THIS THESIS INVESTIGATES THE CONDITION CREATED BY “MEDIA APPENDAGES,” AND DEVELOPS A SERIES OF PROGRAMS AND RESPONSES WHICH DON’T IGNORE OR REMOVE MEDIA, BUT ADOPTS AND ADAPTS TO FORMULATE A NEW FACILITATOR OF INTERACTIONS.

PROGRAM:

THE PRIMARY PROGRAM FOR THIS PROJECT WAS TO DESIGN A SYSTEM OF SKINS WHICH COULD MANIFEST AND INSTIGATE A NEW POINT OF INTERACTION WITHIN THE CITY. THERE IS A SECONDARY PROGRAM FACILITATING AN ARCHITECTURAL RESPONSE, BY DESIGNING A DISTRIBUTION HUB FOR A NETWORK OF AUTOMATED COFFEE DISPENSING UNITS. THIS INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL UNITS, WAITING STATIONS, AND THE DISTRIBUTION HUB / LOUNGE. ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM USED THE “FACILITATOR” OR “SKIN SYSTEM” AS THE PRIMARY ELEMENT.

THIS PROJECT RESEARCHED AND INVESTIGATED THE URBANITE AND THEIR ACTIVITIES TO FORMULATE AREAS OR NODES WHICH WOULD BE USED FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE DISPENSING UNITS. THE PRIMARY STUDIES WERE TO FIND URBAN VOIDS TO USE AS TEMPORARY & ROTATING SITES DURING DAILY CONSUMPTION. THE DISTRIBUTION HUB WAS LOCATED AT AN URBAN VOID ON THE CORNER OF VAN PELT STREET AND WALNUT STREET JUST OFF OF 21ST STREET IN PHILADELPHIA, PA.

FOCUSES:

TO DESIGN A PROTOTYPE WALL ASSEMBLY FOR HUMAN INTERACTION, THROUGH THE USES OF MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES. INVESTIGATIONS INTO RESINS, SILICONES, AND LIGHT TRANSLUCENCY AS WELL AS FABRICATING PROCESSES WERE A FOCUS.

A W A R D S :

GRADUATING THESIS AWARD, “THE DA VINCI PRIZE: AWARDED IN RECOGNITION OF HIS THESIS PROJECT, JUDGED BY THE FACULTY TO DEMONSTRATE THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND INVENTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PROJECT’S THEORETICAL AND AESTHETIC EXPRESSION.”

PHASE ONE:

[MEDIA APPENDAGES AND THE RESPONSIVE EDIFICE] :A CONTEMPORARY MECHANISM OF SOCIAL REPRESENTATION AND ACTIVATION:

PHASE ONE OF THE PROJECT WAS TO INTERPRET THE WRITTEN THESIS INTO A COMPOSITION OF SELECTED RESEARCH POINTS AS A MEANS OF DEPARTURE. THE POINTS OF RESEARCH DEVELOPED DURING THE DOCUMENTATION PHASE ARE THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES FOR WHICH THE DESIGN PROJECT FOLLOWS. THE WRITTEN DOCUMENT BECAME A SYSTEM OF SPECIFIED VARIABLES DEFINING A CODE OF DESIGN. IT IS A NETWORK IN ITS SELF, A GRAPHIC LAYERING OF INFORMATION WHICH BOUND THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AS A GUIDELINE FOR THE ENSUING PROJECT. FOR THIS PROJECT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE HUMAN BODY IN MULTIPLE SCALES AND AS A SYSTEM OF INTERCONNECTED PARTS. THE MEDIA APPENDAGES ARE THE INITIAL CATALYST FOR THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE EDIFICE, BUT ARE ADAPTED AS A MEANS FOR INTEGRATION AND INTERACTION. THESE SERIES OF RESEARCH AND GRAPHIC INTERPRETATIONS ARE WAYS TO INVESTIGATE HOW TO USE THE BODY AND MEDIA AS A SYSTEM TO RE-ACTIVATE THE USER WITH THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

Christobal Balenciaga - “Bride in White Gazar,” 1967; Lynn Hershman - “Phantom Limbs,” 1980; Spencer Tunick - “Times Squarete, 1997”

Today’s consumer society is heavily blended with popular com-modifying culture. It has consumed the individual, becoming the fabric of our represented landscape. is Society has provided succumbed Com-modifying a service for tothe consumer capitalism affected by design, publicity, and market urbanite. is athe catalogue information altered research. These factors Ithave power ofof manipulating who and tuned to provide interaction we are and attempt to suggest what society should points. be. Yet It communicates activities urban fabric, imagine what would society be withoutwithin mass the media? This tension, between contemporary society’s desire relaying information from one zoneto toconsume another. and the exploitation of this desire through personalized media It is the satisfaction of adapting to commercial and marketing propaganda imagery, willandbe integrating investigatedourselves in this into thesis. the developing consumer environment. It is the Cities of mass urban congestion, such as New York, London, having commodity good and Tokyo, aresimple in a pleasure perpetualofshift withtheresponse to of media coffeeThe available. and consumerism. urban environment is effected by this response, and in reaction to this continuous flux, the city is slowly being secluded urban from the urbanite while architecture continues to activation grow in consumer propaganda. The ever expanding development of media in the consumerist age is re-adapting our lifestyle, What does this mean? It is first and foremost and incorporating marketing strategies and product design as definition to of the usercity. groups. It is interactions a study of a key cognitivea connection The daily individuals…urbanites, classified by within public spaces are in a process of transformation design and a range of isage types [17In – the individual’s parameters attention to with its surroundings fluctuating. response to these of the of city a 35]. characteristics, the urbanitesthearepresence the activators could find it’s system self removed from theand individual and embedded therefore of services networks separating the role of architecture from the public and the by street. within the city. Urbanites are defined their animation within a city’s boundaries, which This media driven “rainforest” which has emerged within theis why students + young between professionals urban fabric, brings cause for [17-24] a re-investigation the [25-35] analytical role of the urbanite and thebecome ephemeralthecity. primary Studies between [the urbanite and media] for and design [architecture and media] Within will framework considerations. develop the conditions, specifications, and parameters design Philadelphia, the student populationto exceeds for. These parameters found through of research, 95.000,00 betweenthe mapping 11 colleges and can potentially imply a new code for design and a re-activation universities. It also retains twice as many between the urbanite, the street, and architecture. This attempt any through other region, to adopt media graduates and translatethan program consumercomposing culture, 30% of center city’s population [26.400,00]. is a prototype for creating a facilitator of interaction within the what activation this begins to user surface a layering urban fabric. The by the fromis the street willof integrate and become adaptive and specific thebehaviors andresponsive habits, mechanism formulating to re-define andactivation re-instate the physical and phenomenological hot-spots. interaction between architecture and the urbanite.

----- rivers

----- square/free_space

----- urban_growth

----- distribution_centers

----- temp_kiosk

----- urban_voids

----- no_build ZONE

[temporary fillers]_programming voids

the Matriarchal lineage _ [the human body] - analyzation\deconstruction\re-construction - site and communication development

The control of the human body is referenced as a collection of movements and gestures translated as one mechanism and not a series of independent parts. This is important to apply within this project, because it integrates the three design programs as one mechanical body working in unison. These design programs have individual qualities [retail], but become communicative as a whole. The project is then modified simultaneously by human bodies…working as a mechanism. “…scale of the control: it was question not of treating the body, en masse, ‘wholesale’, as if it were an in dissociable unity, but of working it ‘retail,’ individually; of exercising upon a subtle coercion, of obtaining holds upon it at the level of the mechanism itself – movements, gestures, attitudes, rapidity: an infinitesimal power over the active body.” (Foucault)

the Patriarchal lineage _ [consumer media] - interaction\activation\habitation - skin and programmatic development We…the individual…the human body, within the realm of our physical and phenomenological interaction to urbanity, are becoming deactivated machines. point B

“We are “desiring-machines,” man and nature combined as one system of relationships, and that these influences are a cycle with which we share in nature.” (Deleuze & Guattari) This idea of a homogenous cycle is a very important variable in this design code. The presence of consumer media is not a factor that can be removed from society, and in turn should be incorporated with design as an adapted mode of thinking. They are creating point A new anti-social/personalized environments within the psyche and are re-formulating the presence of the urban environment upon our senses. What happens when urban public space is filled with an infinite amount of private existing_ environments?

modified

interpretation[diagrams]: The first diagram focuses on media as an inhibitor and source for information, communication, and entertainment. It focuses at how information can be shared and transferred through the distribution units. Working within a network users can access live feed and events from other units located throughout the city. The second diagram is “the bubble effect” which represents how urbanites are experiencing the city and how that condition can be modified by inserting elements. The modification of the transient “bubble” through the deployment of outposts as communication and instigation environments will allow for the un-privatization of environments.

existing_

modified_

module_f

module_a

PHASE TWO: [PARAMETRIC RESEARCH] PHASE TWO IS THE RESEARCH AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE USER & CITY IN AN EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION INTO HOW URBANITES MOVE, USE, OCCUPY, INTERACT, AND ACTIVATE THE CITY. THIS WAS THE PRIMARY ANALYSIS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE USER AND HOW PLACE, TIME, AND LEVEL OF OCCUPATION COULD TRANSLATE INTO A CODE FOR POTENTIAL SITING, AS WELL AS FORMULATING A METHOD OF DESIGN. BOTH DESIGN PRINCIPALS WILL ANALYZE AND INTERPRET THE DATA COLLECTED IN ORDER TO BEST INFORM ON HOW TO TRANSLATE THE INFORMATION INTO A DESIGN METHODOLOGY. THE INFORMATION COLLECTED SHOWED VERY STRONG USER ACTIVATION ALONG A CENTRALIZED CORRIDOR THROUGH THREE MAIN SECTORS OF PHILADELPHIA. THIS INFORMED A POTENTIAL PRIMARY SITE IN SECTOR z-1, DUE TO ITS CENTRALIZED LOCATION AND LOCATED THE MOST USER ACTIVATED ZONES FOR THE DEPLOYMENT OF MOBILE UNITS. THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE MOBILE UNITS THROUGHOUT THE CITY’S UNDERLYING NETWORK ALLOWS FOR A SERIES OF PROGRAMMATIC INSTALLATIONS TO GROW AND BECOME MODIFIED BY A CONTINUOUS LEVEL OF USER INTERACTION.

[s h

]

[d i

[w o

]

[urban buffers]_deconstructing user activity

center city statistics_ population per square mile age distribution

88,000 14,667 15-19 yrs = 5% 20-24 yrs = 9% 25-44 yrs = 39%

retail stores retail under construction retail occupancy

- 2,146 - 48 - 90%

average annual expenditures food away from home apparel and services entertainment

$40,986 $2,232 $2,106 $2,031

46,490 40,714 16,348 19,983 2,518 600 565

university city statistics_ population students drexel university university of penn. u. of sciences - phila. lincoln u. urban center the resturant school retail stores

- 3.2%

dining, food, + spirits entertainment arts

- 97 - 16 - 20

old city statistics_ population per square mile levels of education: associate degree bachelors degree graduate degree

- 8,588 - 6,689 - 268 - 2,561 - 2,465

0.1

1700 block of walnut

retail stores dining, food + spirits

- 106 - 92

0.2

1600 block of chestnut

annual expenditures - above average food away from home - 40% apparel and services - 47% entertainment - 47%

0.3

0100 block of s.18th

week_1...08.19.2007.M

pedestrian street activation [daily average_2006]

week_4...09.09.2007.M

[networks]_user activity & transportation

z-1 z-1 z

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

z-2

" -0

' 20

3 R1

z-7

0" '-

0 64 R2 " -0

0' 96

R3 " -0

R5 "

-0

R6 "

-0

D3776'-0"

D1834'-0"

D12051'-3"

1000'-0"

D5829'-8"

D16266'-7"

1 inch

D4657'-6"

D3976'-4"

_broad street + ridge express subway _market + frankford El _patco train _regional rail

z-6 z-6 z-

_activation zones - [retail + commercial + residential] _bus routes _lucy green shuttle _lucy gold shuttle _surface trolleys _phlash bus

D0000'-0"

z -1

z-3 z 3

z -2

_university city activation boundary

z -3

_old city activation boundary

z -4

_society hill activation boundary

z -5

_south street activation boundary

z -6

_chinatown activation boundary

z -7

_cc residents association activation boundary

D2009'-0"

z-4 z-5 5

_center city activation boundary

D3381'-0"

_user activity [retail 1999-2006] _user activity [dining / sidewalk cafes / bars] _user activity [residential +] _user activity [residential -] _user activity [office and institutional] _user activity [services / arts / entertainment]

D6251'-8"

D7990'-0"

D5137'-0"

D3761'-0"

D1963'-0"

D0000'-0"

_user activity [existing coffee distribution]

[networks]_urban voids & activity sectors

z -2

z -1

G 60

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

-0

D12051'-3"

D5829'-8"

1000'-0"

E D1834'-0"

D3776'-0"

D16266'-7"

1 inch

D4657'-6"

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 A

D3976'-4"

B C D E F G

z -3 X

O M

J 3

P J

D0000'-0"

N 4

D2009'-0"

O P

Q R 5

_urban

voids

large

_concentration sectors

[primary

_urban

voids

small

_communication streams

[information & networking pathways]

_distribution

[central activation & displacement hub]

[market

_corridor

_activated

zones]

walnut]

zones

[center city + old city + university city]

markers

[distancing of proposed appendages]

J D7990'-0"

D5137'-0"

chestnut

D3761'-0"

D1963'-0"

congestion

D0000'-0"

_radiating

zone

displacement

D3381'-0"

X 6

D6251'-8"

Y [a-y] _ activity sector [1-15] _ void cycle

2 4

2 2

3 4

2 3

2 4 4

3 3

2 2

z-1

activity saturation[existing layering]

4 4

2 2

3 2

1 2

4 3

2 4

2 3

2 2

3 2

RGB_saturation[retail/cafe]

4 2

2 4

4 3

1 2

activity saturation[hybrid mosaic] 4

2 1

1 4

2 4

z-1

RGB_saturation[on + off the clock]

RGB_saturation[residential +/-]

PHASE THREE: [PARAMETRIC MAPPING & MATERIALS ] PHASE THREE BEGINS WITH USING PARAMETRIC MAPPING AS A MEANS TO INTERPRET THE DATA COLLECTED INTO A DESIGN FORMULA. IT TOOK THE LEVELS OF SATURATION WITHIN THE AREAS OF INTEREST AND TRANSFORMED IT INTO A SERIES OF THREE DIMENSIONAL MAPPING STUDIES [PLASTER, SILICONE & RESIN]. THE PROPERTIES AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED AND RESEARCHED THROUGH THESE STUDIES BEGAN THE DEVELOPMENT INTO HOW THE BODY AND MATERIALS TOGETHER DEFINED THE DESIGN PROCESS. THE EXISTING ACTIVITY DATA MAP IS THE DEPARTURE POINT FOR CREATING A PHYSICAL DESIGN CONNECTION. THE COLOR CODED INFORMATION WAS “DILUTED” AND “SATURATED” THROUGH A PROGRAM FILTER TO ANALYZE THE MOST ACTIVATED CITY PROGRAMS. THE Z-1 SECTOR WAS THEN FOCUSED ON DUE TO IS CENTRAL LOCATION THROUGH THE CITY’S ACTIVATION CORRIDORS. THIS INFORMATION WAS THEN SEPARATED INTO RGB COLOR GROUPS AND ANALYZED AGAIN THROUGH LEVELS OF INTENSITY. WHAT THIS DOES IS CREATE A LEVEL OF INFORMATION THAT CAN BE PLUGGED INTO A THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELING STUDY. THE DATA USED HAD FOUR LEVELS OF SATURATION INTENSITY WITHIN EACH COLOR GROUP, AND THEN WERE ASSIGNED HEIGHT MAXIMUMS FOR THE USE OF THREE DIMENSIONAL MAPPING.

2 inch

1-3/4 inch

pure

1-1/2 inch

1-1/4 inch

[saturation] intensity map

diluted

parametric[mapping] These three dimensional mapping studies are parametric models created using the intensity data as variables for curvature manipulation. The data collected was represented by nails and inserted as a physical variable for the RGB levels analyzed in the saturation maps. Once the three individual boards were created, a process involving the properties of plaster and fabric formed the parametric data through the use of weight, density, and elasticity. The liquid plaster was poured onto a fixed elastic fabric, which then shaped the spacial environment and presented the conceptual framework for the skin system [habitation dents]. These materials represented how the body and skin could conceptually form space through weight and mass.

RGB_saturation[parametric studies]

habitation_dents[parametric point locations]

RGB_saturation[parametric studies - resin prep]

RGB_saturation[parametric studies - inverted]

habitation_dents[parametric studies - details]

habitation_dents[material studies] Resin and Silicone casted parametric models which continued the study of space and form, as well as investigating light, translucency, and elasticity.

PHASE FOUR:

[TECHNOLOGY AND MECHANICS] :CREATING AN INTERACTIVE AND RESPONSIVE SKIN SYSTEM:

PHASE FOUR IS THE REALIZATION OF THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND MATERIAL INVESTIGATIONS STUDIED THROUGHOUT ALL THE PREVIOUS DESIGN PHASES. IT BEGINS BY DIGITALLY RECREATING THE PARAMETRIC MODELS TO FURTHER STUDY THE POINTS OF INTENSITY. THESE MOMENTS I CALL “HABITATION DENTS,” BECOME THE PRIMARY DESIGN FOCUS AS AREAS IN WHICH A PERSON CAN ALTER AN EXISTING STATE BY MANIPULATING THE SURFACE AND CREATING A USER SPECIFIC DEFINED SPACE. THIS ALLOWS FOR A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE WHERE THE HUMAN BODY CAN DICTATE THE SPACE IN WHICH IT INHABITS. HOW A PERSON APPLES WEIGHT AND PRESSURE IN COMBINATION WITH THEIR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, DEFINES THE VARIABLES WHICH WILL ACTIVATE AND FORM THE “SKIN SYSTEM.” IN ADDITION, AS MORE PEOPLE INTERACT WITH A SINGLE “SKIN SYSTEM” THE PROPERTIES OF THE MATERIALS FLUCTUATE TO ADAPT TO MULTIPLE USERS. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT IN INSTIGATING AN INTERACTION BETWEEN MULTIPLE USERS AS THEIR PERSONALIZED SPACE BECOME ALTERED DUE TO THE ADDITION OF NEW PARAMETRIC PROPERTIES AND THEREFORE CHANGING THE ENVIRONMENT ONE IS EXPERIENCING. THIS “SKIN SYSTEM IS TESTED IN A WALL ASSEMBLY AND A FLOOR ASSEMBLY [LOUNGE]. THE WALL ASSEMBLIES ARE INTENDED TO BE MOBILE AND USED WITH THE AUTOMATED DISTRIBUTION MODULES AS WAITING STATIONS. THE FLOOR ASSEMBLY IS LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION HUB AS AN INTERACTION NODE AND LOUNGE. THE DISTRIBUTION HUB IS ALSO COMPRISED OF A MODULATING “SKIN SYSTEM” THAT IS DEFINED AND FORMED BY THE PLUGGING AND UN-PLUGGING OF DISTRIBUTION MODULES. THIS SYSTEM WORKS WITH THE SAME PRINCIPALS OF THE BODY / SKIN SYSTEM, BUT USES THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE DISTRIBUTION MODULES AS THE VARIABLES TO ALTER THE SHAPE OF THE SKIN. AS THE MODULES DISPERSE OR RE-CHARGE THE INTERIOR SKIN BECOMES MANIPULATED BY THE INDIVIDUAL MODULES AND ALTERS THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT WITHIN THE HUB. MATERIALS THAT WERE FOCUSED ON PREVIOUSLY ARE NOW GIVEN SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE PROPERTIES. RESIN BECOMES THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE FOR ALL THE INSTALLATION MODULES AND A TRANSLUCENT SILICONE IS USED FOR THE “SKIN.” ADDITIONAL MATERIALS SUCH AS ALUMINUM RODS, STEEL SPRING COMPONENTS, AND HYDRAULICS WERE USED AS THE MECHANICAL SYSTEM. SEVERAL WALL PROTOTYPES WERE CREATED: A DUAL SKIN_HAND PROTOTYPE AND A FULL SCALE WALL SYSTEM.

skin_surface-4 [negative]

skin_surface-4 [positive]

skin_surface-3 [negative]

skin_surface-3 [positive]

skin_surface-2 [negative]

skin_surface-2 [positive]

skin_surface-1 [positive/negative

dent fields[intensity_markers]

pure

diluted

dent fields[surface_manipulation - cross legged]

human pressure deformation

field activation map

dent field spot plan & rendering

dent fields[surface_manipulation - lounged]

human pressure deformation

field activation map

dent field spot plan & rendering

dent fields[surface_manipulation]

human pressure deformation

field activation map

dent field spot plan & rendering

prototype_one[material studies] This initial prototype was a study in creating a responsive mechanical system while benefitting from material properties such as translucency.

injection molded poly-carbonate structural frame

7’-6”

habitation dent

steel springboard system

translucent silicone skin

lighting bay

docking bay

5’

waiting station[factory_unit]

waiting station[factory_settings]

scale: 11/32”=1’ surface habitation[defining the dent]

7’-6”

conceptual diagram[dual_skin]

2’

10’

waiting station[factory_unit]

2’

activation[user specific]

scale: 11/32”=1’

activation[random_response]

prototype_two[mechanial development] This dual-skin hand prototype tested the mechanical components of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;skin systemâ&#x20AC;? for the waiting staions and lounges.

user programs[individualized space v-1]

user programs[individualized space v-2]

user programs[hybridized provocation]

Storage & Restrooms

Areas of Responsive Interaction [lounges]

Docking Bays Interior Responsive Skin System

3 4

5 distribution_hub[responsive field map]

6 7 un-plugging[facade re-configuration]

modulating roof system removable coffee brewing & dispensing unit

removable stocking containers [coffee beans, water, cream, & sugar]

modulating aluminum rod mechanism

7'- 0"

aluminum rod & locking clamp mechanism 2'

injection molded poly-carbonate structural frame

modulating silicone skin

5'0"

distribution units[factory_settings]

scale: 1/2â&#x20AC;?=1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

modulating roof system

removable stocking containers [coffee beans, water, cream, & sugar]

modulating alluminum rod mechanism

removable coffee brewing & dispencing unit compartment aluminum rod & locking clamp mechanism

injection molded poly-carbonate structural frame

dual-modulating silicone skin system

distribution units[un-plugged section studies]

scale: 1/2â&#x20AC;?=1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

distribution hub docking frame

modulating silicone skin

distribution units[factory_settings] - not to scale

mobile dispensing unit and/or waiting station

distribution hub docking station

distribution units[docking & deformation diagram]

scale: 1/2â&#x20AC;?=1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;