Archive of Forgotten Propositions

ar c h iv e o f fo rg o t ten proposi ti ons Jeffrey Blewett

The Ar c hive f o r F o r g o tte n p r oposi ti ons i s about di splaci ng of the bod y in to a s e q ue n c e o f colli si ons between materi al l o g ic s an d imm ate r ial f l uid ity, confi guri ng a desi re dri v en m ob il ity b e tw e e n s ubj e c t an d object. T ex tural transi ti ons an d l aye r s in the ar c hite c tur e play wi th th e ov erwh elmi ng e f f e c ts of the imm e d iate e n v i ronment, submergi ng th e vis ito r in to an e xp an s ive , unconv i nced and ulti mately in ac c e s s ibl e r e al ity.

The ove r al l ar c hite c tur al g e sture ai ms to deepen th e in te r we avin g o f the abs tr ac t i ntangi ble elements of th e s ite w ith the s e n s ib il ity of materi al logi cs to create a p l ac e w hic h e m b od ie s a zon e of i ntensi ty and i mmedi acy - r e f e r e n tial to the f l e e tin g nature of h i story, memory, r e p r e s e n tatio n an d tim e .

At the mos t f un d am e n tal l e ve l , th i s project ai ms to rev eal s o m e thin g about what it m e ans work as an arch i tect to the vis ito r , r e c og n is in g that much of wh at arch i tects do r e main s as p ur e p o te n tial ity r epresented th ough drawi ngs an d m od e l s . My mus e um f ixates upon on th ese artefacts an d f r ag m e n ts , w hic h in both a ph ysi cal and cultural sense ar e f al l in g f r o m e xis te n c e as time passes.

The d e s ig n p r o p os al e n g ag e s wi th th ese ri ch yet forgotten f r ag me n ts o f un r e al is e d ar c hitecture by passi ng beneath the s ur f ac e to f o r m a p l ac e of e x ch ange between: dev eloped an d un d e ve l o p e d , m ate r ial a nd i mmateri al, bui lt and r e p r e s e n tatio n al .

3 3 . 8 6 7 9 3 째S + 151.21239째E. Temperate coastal climate.

Summer, circa 25 deg C with cooling on-shore breezes.

Winter circa 18 deg C with lows of 12 deg C. Sandstone soil.

Concrete existence

Site

Fluid existence

The the matic f r am e wor k in vo l ves geology, materi als and th e imm e d iate o f the e n vir on m e n t. E ssenti ally, th e bui ldi ng as a w ho l e is a r e s p on s e to p ar ts th at are already th ere: T h e te xtur e of the s to n e , the s ite condi ti on and ev oluti on and s p atial his to r y o f the s ur r oun di ng bui ldi ngs. It also ex plores a s e n s e of w hat it is to w or k wi th sandstone and land, wh i ch is e xtr e me l y s ol id , ag e ’ s s l ow l y th rough ti me and h as a great thic kn e s s to wor k with as a constructi on materi al.

Si te Locati on

S y d ney Ba s i n G eo lo g i c al Sur ve y San d s to n e an d s h ale Tr ias s ic | Me s o zoi c land Q uar tz San d s ton e wi th some sh ale J ur as s ic | Me s ozoi c land

The al l ur e o f s to n e s te ms f r om i ts tech ni cal and aesth eti c q ual ity of j un c tion s . En or m ous masses of slabs are h eld to g e the r b y the ir ow n grav i tati onal wei gh t.

The han d m ad e ob j e c t c an n e ver be repeated ex actly, yet whe n tw o han d c ut b l o c ks ar e placed togeth er, an ex treme r e s o n an c e e me r g e s . Te xtur e an d gaps i n between set up th e p ar ts f or a s tr on g materi al wh ole

Re c as tin g the r e l ation s hip be tween arch i tecture and land.

The ar c hive e m e r g e s a p oin t a departure from i ts i mmedi ate ur b an c ontex t.

The p as s ag e of time b l un tin g th e sh arp edges of th e stone us e d to c r e ate s ton e s tr uc tur es forms a strong aesth eti c im p ac t. I t is the c o m b in atio n of th e wei gh t of th e materi al with the c r ump l e d e d g e s that hav e th e potenti al to create a m e mor ab l e space.

D evel oped

Ins i de

Organi c

Form

Cont rol

Undeveloped

O u t s i de

I n o r g an i c

Matter

Chaos

S t abi l i t y

M o ve me n t

A rchi t ect u re

L a n ds ca p e

Li ght

Darkness

Bu i l t

R e p r e s e n t at i o n al

I n ve s tin g in the i n-between.

B l u r i n g the l in e s of d is tin c tion b e tw e e n th e duali sms of: control and ch aos, f o rm a nd matte r , ar c hite c tur e an d l an d s cape to create a h i gh ly ch arged space.

“Al l thin g s o r ig in ate from one anoth er, an d van is h in to one anoth er ac c or d in g to necessi ty... in c on f or m ity with the order of ti me.�

- AN AX I MAN D ER , On Nature

P a ra m etr ic e xp l o r ation s w e r e c on d uc te d to i nvesti gate th e erosi ve temporali ty a c t i n g up on the s ite s top og r ap hy. An in tr usi ve ex cav ati on i nto th e groundscape t r i g g er s the o utp ut of a mor p ho l o g ic al c ollapse of th e land’ s strati fi ed layers, g en er a tin g a g r ad ie n t of un iq ue te xtural spaces, emergi ng from ph ysi cs g en er a tor s un d e r an e xp o n e n tial tr aj e c tory and di versi fi ed by th e vari able data o f t h e to p og r ap hy. Exp e r ie n tial l y an d arch i tecturally, th e outputs descri be a c o m p o sition o f s p ac e s m ad e up o f var io us tex tural densi ti es and coeffi ci ents of f o r c e d r if tin g d ow n w ar d s , f ol d in g and unfoldi ng out of ex i stence.

Sc he ma: Sim ul atin g the erosi ve forces of the l an d un d e r the wei gh t of ti me

1.

e ^ (-x /25)

0.8

0.6

0.4 e ^ (-x /5)

0.2

e ^ (-x )

0 0

e ^ ( -5 x )

1

e^( -25x )

2

3

4

5

M as s un d e r g o in g e xp o n e n tial e r o si on. Larger erosi ve i nputs make th e quan tity van is h muc h m or e r ap idly. T h e di agrams i llustrate erosi on c on s tan t ( 位) o f 25, 5, 1, 1/ 5, an d 1/2 5 for x (number of poi nts) from 0 to 5 .

e ^( - 5x )

e ^( - 25x )

e ^( - x )

e ^( - x/5 )

e ^( - x/ 2 5 )

T h e des ig n imp l ic atio n of the s c he ma d ir e ctly corresponds to curati on strategi es w i t h i n the mus e um . T h e p r o p o s a l fo r e g r o u n d s a n d u t i l i s e s t h e o p e r a t i o n a l fo r c e o f t i m e a n d g r a v i t y, e x h i b i t i n g l o s t a n d fo r g o t t e n f r a g m e n t s o f u n r e a l i s e d a rch itecture t h rough a tempora l curator ia l system, wh ich systemat ica lly ex h ibit s a rch itectu ra l a r tefact s suspended at va r iable dept hs – dependent o n t i m e a n d w e i g h t . Eac h p o in t r e p r e s e n ts a fragment or arch i tectural artefact s us p e n d e d to a d e p th d e p e n d ent on th e objects wei gh t.

I n itial Exp l od e d A x onometri c

I n itial Se c tion al E x plorati on

Par ti: Co l l ap s e o f U rban Wei gh t

Par ti: Re s p o n s e to contex t

T h e ur ban c o n te xtual r e s p o n s e is ab out a carvi ng i nto th e landscape, abstracti ng t h e e x p e r ie n c e of the g r oun d s c ap e thr ough a strong planar ex pressi on on t h e l a nd . The p r oc e s s io n thr o ug h the bui ldi ng begi ns at an understated yet ex p re s s ive in te r ve n tio n of the f o r m e r g atekeepers bui ldi ng engagi ng wi th th e s t r ee t as the e xis tin g d oor w ay is d e c on s tr ucted and ex truded towards th e street, p r o n o un c in g the e xis te n c e of the ar c hive and offeri ng a curi ous i nv i tati on for t h e p u b l ic to e n te r . A l on g an d n ar r o w p ath subtly ri ses from th e ground li nki ng t h e f o rm al ity of Mac q uar ie Str e e t an d th e ci ty wi th th e i nformali ty of Domai n, t h e A r t Gal l e r y o f N SW an d its p r o p os e d SA NA A ex tensi ons establi sh i ng a row o f mus e um s is ar ticulated i n plan.

S p a t i a l c o n tin uum p r o c e e d s in both the plan and secti on of th e bui di ng as th e h e i g h t of the c ity s tr e e ts c ap e is r e tain e d and recorded as th e path way arti culates a da t um l in e e m e r g in g as a c o n s tan t over th e slowly depreci ati ng landscape b e f o re d r op p in g the o c c up an t in to s e r ie s of long steps, reach i ng underneath A rt G a l l er y Ro ad f o r m in g the un d e r g r o un d e ntrance to th e museum. A bov e ground c i rc ul a r s kyl ig hts ac t as a p ar t that s p e ak s of th e museum as a wh ole, wh i le th e t o p f a ce of s tr uc tur al be ams s kims the surface of ground, establi sh i ng path s t o w a r ds the p ub l ic c on te xt. Within the p assage, th e ci rcular skyli gh ts act as th e o n l y s o ur c e of l ig ht, l in kin g the in te r ior a nd ex teri or and spaced progressi v ely c l o s e r as the y l e ad tow ar d s the ar c hive . A sense of suspense i s i nsti lled upon p a t ro n s in p r e p ar atio n of the s p atiote m p oral i ntensi ty of th e arch i ve’ s i nteri or.

A c i rc ul ar vo id is c ar ve d in to the l an d s c ape formi ng an i nteri or made only of e x c a v a te d s to n e , bl ur r in g the d is tin c tio n between arch i tecture and th e land w h i l e s imul tan e o us l y g e n e r atin g a te n s ion between setti ng and ti me. T h e mass e x c a v a tio n an d un c o ve r in g o f the l an d ’ s ex i sti ng strati fi ed layers i s i nsti gated b y t h e pr o p os al , f or m in g a m or p ho l o g ic al poi nt of departure from i ts i mmedi ate ur b a n c o n te xt. The p as s ag e of time s l owly plays out as th e tech ni cal and a e s t h e tic q ual ity of the e xp o s e d s an d s to ne i s revealed. T h e sh arp edges of th e c l e a n exc avatio n w il l s l o w l y bl un t an d c rumble, referenci ng i tself as i mpri nts an d l in e s on the s to n e s o f t en, fade and di sappear.

T h e a r chive s in ks in to the l an d an d l ie s under th e long sh adow of i ts surrounds, a t ra n sie n t an d p e r m e abl e e xis te n c e c ut to contai n th e fragmented v esti ges o f un re al is e d p r op os ition s . A s l ow c o l l ecti on of artefacts are suspended at g r o un d l e ve l s l o w l y d r if tin g in to the s how of th e voi d. A s artefacts are added t o t h e ar c hive , s mal l c han g e s ar e r e al is e d ov er ti me as th e system si nks under t h e w eig ht o f the mod e l s the m s e l ve s . A nalysi ng th e effect of ti me on th e a r c h i v e - d if f e r e n t c ur ato r ial s tr uc tur e s form as th e suspended models i mply a ‘ n a tur al ’ c ur atio n - a ve r tic al c ar tograph y of models and drawi ngs th at t en ds t o c r e as e an d f ol d in to tr an s ito r y clusters marki ng di fferent systems of c l a s s i f i c ation an d r e ad in g s of ar c hite c ture, only to sh i ft, move and fall away.

Gr o u nd F l o o r P l a n | 1 : 2 5 0

E astern E levati on | 1 :2 5 0

Lower Floor Plan | 1:250

Lower Floor Secti on | 1 :2 5 0

Ar ch iv e P l a n | 1 : 2 5 0

A rch i ve Secti on | 1 :2 5 0

T h e p ro p os e d c on s tr uc tio n s ys te m d e m onstrates a deeper i nv esti gati on i nto m a t er i a l l og ic s as a way of f ac il itatin g i mmateri al presence, translati ng th e c o n c ep tual e xp l o r ation s in to a hig hl y r esolved mani festati on. T h e force and p r ef o rmativity of g r avity is c e l e br ate d wi th th e dramati c i mplementati on of a c a n t i l e ve r e d s tr uc tur al b e am s ys te m, wi th onto wh i ch th e curatori al system a n d s t a ir is s up p or te d . C u r i o s i t y a n d d i s b e l i e f i s e n s u r e d a s t h e s u s p e n d e d st r uctu re seem i ngly f loat s, yet is i mpercept ibly i nsu red st r uctu ra l ly a s a s t o n e ar c ho r s in ks in to the l an d s c ap e , a cti vati ng a cable i n tensi on to pull do w n o n the b e am to p r e ve n t it f r om tip pi ng ov er at th e opposi te corner. T h e s t e e l b eam has a te n d e n c y to d e f l e c t up wards i n th e mi ddle were th e steel tube p us h es o n it, w hil e the s to n e w al l s it s i ts on act i n compressi on. T h e cable i s o v e r te n s ion e d to e n s ur e it wil l n o t slacken due to th ermal ex pansi on or as ymm e tr ic al l ive loadi ng.

Co un te r w e ig ht Detai l 1 :1 0

T h e do w n war d l y r e p e atin g s tair f o r m s a s q uare i n plan to establi sh a constant rh yth m i n c i rc ul a t i o n amon g s t the f l uid ity of the e xhibi ti on. T h e detai li ng of th e stai r desi gn h as b e e n p a i re d bac k to the abs o l ute m in im um , wi th out compromi si ng proporti on and scale.

T h e b a l u s tr ad e is m ad e to van is h in to the o verall composi ti on of th e arch i v e, pri vli dgi ng the wor k on di splay.

T h e b ui l di n g f ab r ic r e c or d s the p hys ic al r esponse of i ts i nh abi tants. B rass h as been s el e c t ed a s a m ate r ial f or the s tair s an d p l atforms for i ts capaci ty to record th e body o v e r t i m e an d c o m p l e m e n t the s an d s ton e . Through use, th e stai rs and platforms become p a l l e t s o f e xp e r ie n c e w he r e the vis ito r s w i ll collecti v ely and accumulati vely leave a m a r k s o n the s tr uc tur e . Exp o s ur e an d w e ath eri ng of th e metal results i n ox i di z ati on, re i n f o r c i n g the s ub s e r vie n t ad mis s ion to the erosi ve forces of nature at play. Its subtle c o l o u r a t i on b l e n d s with the n atur al p al e tte of th e sandstone - an arch i tecture gesture re v e a l e d i n te r m itte n tl y, d e p e n d e n t on the intensi ty of th e sunli gh t cast i nto th e fi bre op tic cables.

U p o n en te r in g the a r c h i v e , vis ito r s imm edi ately become aware of th e apparent l i g h t n es s an d f r ag il ity o f the p l atf o r m an d stai rs th ey stand upon. T h e processi on do w n i n to the ar c hive is s l ow , c o n s id e r e d and gentle as one becomes i ncapable o f i g n o r in g the viol e n t ve r tic al ity o f the space. T h e seemi ngly endless fli gh t of s t a i rs h o ve r s within the c ir c ul ar void , ap peari ng to fall i nto th e darkness of th e un de r gr o un d , l it p ur e l y b y the c ur ato r ial flow ci rcli ng th e voi d. One begi ns to de t a c h the m f r o m the o uts id e wor l d as the only v oi ce present i s th e structure s o f tl y moan in g under li ve force.

P ro c ee d in g in to the d e p ths of the ar c hive, th e curatori al system speaks of th e p re s e n t e xp l ic itl y as the f l uid s ys te m e n l i v ens a beauti ful sense of uncertai nty a n d i n dis c e r n ib il ity, s us tain in g a d e s ir e dri v en mobi li ty between subject and o b j e c t . The e xp e r ie n c e of the e xhibitio n becomes a flui d process of defi ni ti on, r ec l a s s if ic ation an d d e c on s tr uc tio n as models and drawi ngs are not presented t o b e dir e c tl y l e g ib l e . Rathe r , a s l ow l y c o llapsi ng landscape of li nes and poi nts b ec o m e s the e xhibitio n , s hif tin g in , o ut and between each oth er - foregroundi ng an d man ip ul atin g the operati on of ti me.

T h e c o n tin ue d s e c tion al e xp e r ie n c e of th e arch i tecture perceptually becomes a b s t r a ct in its p r o g r e s s io n , as the d e p th and darkness of th e space becomes m o r e a n d mor e e n ve l o p in g w ith e ac h s tep. T h e stai r and adjoi ni ng platforms m a k e no e f f o r t to or ie n tate or f r am e an y one parti cular fragment, proposi ng a dec o n s tr uc te d c ur ato r ial p r ac tic e , whic h seemi ngly falls and v ani sh es accordi ng t o t h e d e p th o f its s e l f we ig ht. The l ig htness of th e stai rcase i ncapaci tates th e ur g e t o move an y c l o s e r to the d is p l ay w i th out th e fear of overturni ng i nto th e da rk n es s , as kin g the vis itor to p aus e an d absorb th e ti me embodi ed wi th i n th e f r ag me n te d ve s tig es before th em.

A s a n i n s tr um e n t that r e c ite s the n atur a l env i ronment i n i ts i llumi nati on and e x h i b i t or y f un c tion , the r e ar e m om e n ts wi th i n th e arch i ve wh en th ere i s no c l e a r l y d is c e r n ab l e p l ac e to tr e ad g r e ate r th an th e nex t few steps one i s about t o c o m mit to, s il e n c in g the vis ual n ois e of th e arch i tecture and pronounci ng th e p re f o rmativity of the d is p l ay. Lig ht in te rmi ttently descends pi erci ng th rough t h e f r a ctur e d g l as s c e il in g , ac tin g as m ateri al parts th at faci li tate th e ex ch ange t o w a rds ar c hite c tur al w ho l e . I n vis ib l e , opaque and sh adowy, th e arch i tecture i s def i n e d by its d is tin c t in d is c e r n ib il ity a s envi ronment forces, ceaselessly and v a r i a b l y f l o w thr o ug h the g l as s c e il in g o f th e v oi d, sh api ng and arti culati ng th e n ar r ative o f th e i nteri or.

“Sp ac e b y its e l f , an d time b y itself, are doomed to fade away in to m e r e s had ow s , an d o n l y a k i nd of uni on of th e two wi ll p r e s e r ve an in d e p endent reali ty.�

H . Min kowski

Jeffrey Blewett | SID - 312152671 Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning - The University of Sydney Architectural Studio 3B, 2015 Design Tutor - Raffaello Rosselli Lecturers - Catherine Lassen & Dr Rizal Muslimin