Jordan Sheftel's Thesis (May 2014)

Pieces of 2216 Herman Ln. ARCH 4791 Temple University, Tyler School of Art - Architecture department 2014

Jordan Sheftel

No 1

Pieces of 2216 Herman Ln.

This project begins with a man stumbling upon an abandoned farmstead. It picks up after he has settled there with the intention of converting it into his home and workspace. He combs the site in search of left behind artifacts that give insight into the site’s previous occupation. The insight gained and the artifacts themselves are used by the man as references from which to draw inspiration in the way of form, material, construction, and embedded memory. With this information the man is able to conceive, design, and construct spaces that facilitate his life and work as an inventor, maker and hoarder. By piecing together the physical fragments and incomplete layers of past use, the man and, ultimately this thesis, creates a setting for discovery as it explores architecture’s ability to tell the story of its life as an ever-evolving construct.

16. site drawing / collage showing transportive qualities of artifacts

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17. site drawing / collage showing artifacts ability to record site activity

18. site drawing showing transformative qualities of artifacts

19. site treatment sketches

cross country ski

fact sheet

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PA licence plate from 1932

fact sheet

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cast aluminum weather vane

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correspondence and momento hall collage

CORRESPONDENCE / MEMENTO HALL

Throughout the years as he has come to know people with similar passions the man has amassed a collection of mementos from times he has shared.

These mementos along with large flags detailing his travels hang in a long hall as reminders of these experiences.

He enters the space via a long plank balanced about a stool at the end of the hall. The stool sits in front of his writing desk where letters from his peers await him. The desk is mounted to a large window with shutters that allow for small glimpses of his reflection among his assorted mementos. The rotation of the path through the constant movement of flags and mementos serve as symbols of fleeting memeories preserved for a moment through his correspondece.

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root cellar shelf with nails

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collage relating root cellar to artifact

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STUDY

The constant production of new ideas requires a space thats allows for the contiunted work of new ideas and storage of old ones.

The study is composed of a large hollow core that is suspended into the ground from the floor of the study. As projects reach completion the resulting drawings are placed into the core counter balanced by the resulting products. Over the course of a year as new project drawings are added to the top and the core moves down the counter balanced products rise to the study. The completed cycle of project completion, deep storage, and annual resurrection allows for a clear minded reflection on past work.

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Baugh’s brand fertilizer sack

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bedroom collage

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HOME / TOMB

Unlike the previous spaces where the architecture places specific objects for the man to interact with, his house is designed to turn his interactions inward towards himself.

The house is organized in a sequnce of three spaces. The first is a large closet where he removes his belongings. The second is a bath positioned over a well where he cleanses before he enters the final space, his bedroom. His bedroom is empty save for his bed and a small nightstand. His bed is positioned along the axis of the house and underneath a large sky facing window. This process of stripping and cleansing before entering his sparse bedroom is akin to the inability to keep possesions after death.

Upon his death his body will be wrapped in the tent that provided him shelter. His closet doors will be reassembled into the bath tub where he will be creamated before being placed into a tomb in the front of the house. In the years following his death the more fragile pieces of his house with succumb to nature and deteriorate while the heartier portions will remain as markings of his legacy on the land.

It is the hope of this man that someone will stumble upon his work, find inspiration and create their own work from it.

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PERSONAL DESK

To undestand the man’s motivation one must look at his process. His compulsion is to hoard, to examine, and to make. He is not as concerend with the product as he is with the process he uses to get to it. So long as his hands and mind are compelled into motion he is content.

The following desk is a piece of furniture custom built by the man to aid in his workflow and organization. It acts as both an active workspace and a catalogue of his previous and/or concurrent endeavors.

Drafting surface with desk drawing in progress, from this position his past work remains in plain view for reference.

The original site survey and the detail drawing of the desk are positioned opposite each other on either side of the drafting board.

The techincal execution and pysical proximity of both drawings is used to refer to their respective subjects (the farm and the desk) as a type of site. The inside of the desk is adorned with site photographs, fact sheets, drafting and surverying tools.

The left half of the cabinet is designed to hold information about the site. The upper left section fits sketch books, notes, and survey measurements.

The lower left drawer holds a growing collection of site photographs. A stocked liqour cabinet on the right keeps things running smoothly.

Working drawings are organized by subject and date and are hung by specialized hangeres that allow for easy accessibility. The hangers enable the drawings to be hung on the wall or attached to the drafting rail for further drawing.

Stacked shelves contain various tools, artifacts and mementos used in the design and construction of the artifacts and spaces.

The aforementioned tools, artifacts and mementos housed in the stacked shelves.

The long shelf is reserved as a site for the models. Each model is displayed in half allowing for the procession through and use of each space to be more clearly recognized.

The desk in it’s entirety.

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As presented on Saturday April 26, 2014.