ORGANIZED CHAOS Chaos of straight lines
Spatial Fabrication III Kamal Kaur CONTENT Abstract 3 Context 5 Introduction 9 Film analysis 10 Research Context 12 Playtime Modernism Intention Perception in cinema 14 Method Output
Referece List
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Abstract
ORGANIZED CHAOS Chaos of straight lines
Organized chaos of straight lines proposes to explore the semi-permanent architecture to activate public space on Fort Lane by creating perceptual spaces, that will allow inhabitants to play with their perception in viewing cinema and eliminating the subsequent repression and alienation of individuals in constructed and controlled space of Fort Lane. This project takes inspiration from the film Playtime by Jaques Tati and his portrayal of modernism in the film. This film projects how we aimlessly yet hopefully wander through impersonal cities, it perfectly portrays and makes us question the cities we inhabit.(Tati, 1967) Fort Lane is inhabited as merely or shortcut by the public, or used by the bourgeoisie who occupy the luxurious restaurants and cafes on Fort lane, generating as poor space for social interactions. As a result creating separation and dislocation between public and space, which needs to be transformed into an enlivening space. ‘Chaos of straight lines’ is a simple programmatic response to identifying the problem, and solving it by creating an inhabitable public space off the street. It is a way to engage with the public in a unique and less controlled way as the design consists of a modular and flexible elements that can be changed into various forms and arrangement, allowing a new functionality to the public space of Fort Lane. The aim is to create cinematic space that will integrate with the facade of my design, simultaneously enhancing and challenging how we all perceive public space and cinema. The cinematic aspect of this design will be activated every evening, to be visible and perceived from different vantages of Fort Lane.
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4 Site illustration : Fort Lane
CONTEXT Architecture is much more beyond physical materiality. (Hornstein, 2011) As Forte Lane is beyond the physical site itself, it is a construction of our mental, emotional and physical space that we should be able to relate to. It is interesting to find out how our bodies react to different spaces. Spaces can influence how we feel both mentally and spiritually. (Bencivengo, 2012) “Architecture is the biggest unwritten document of history” (Daniel Libeskind) as when I first visited the site, I saw Forte Lane as the type of place in the city that told me the things I didn’t know and reminded me of things that I have forgotten. Forte Lane holds so much of rich history of Auckland that many of us were unaware of it. That is why I want to imagine Forte Lane into a more creative space and an extraordinary experience even if it is only used as a shortcut because life is too short to walk through a dull and dreary lane. Even though the site may seem very plain with only concrete facade but this concrete alley had many interesting textures and layers on the walls. These patterns emerged over time due to the aging of the exterior. Textures can be hard to notice for daily commuters but they play an important role to separate Fort Lane from rest of the city. It seems like we are so emerging into our daily 9 am to 5 pm routine that “we have lost sight of what it means to be in place, to experience, to know the physicality of a place” (Hornstein, 2011) We can understand the character of a site through its textures to get a deep understanding of the spaces. It is important to see how the site is connected to the raw material rather than just focusing on the surface or skin of the site. We must view how the materiality or the characteristics of the site communicate through a form of specific materials in the process of design. (Wiberg, 2011) From my site visit, I discovered how even though the site may seem very plain with the concrete facade. But the concrete alley had many interesting patterns on the walls. These patterns emerged over time due to the aging of the exterior. Textures are usually hard to notice due to the very nature of textures. It can be hard to separate an object or material from the rest of the world without understanding it through its texture. That is why I felt that its most important for me to understand the textures, materiality, and characteristic in order get a deep understanding of our site. But It is hard to discover textures of the material in terms of how it is connected to the raw material without just focusing on the surface or the skin of an object. So in order to discover textures, it was important to see how the material of the site communicated through the form that a certain material or collections of material have been given through the process of design. So in order to discover textures we need to understand what textures are? So I think that texture is something that brings together appearance, feels and consistency of the material. Texture can be defined as the pattern. Texture can be a material property and how property is communicated through textures
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surface models2
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surface models constructed in response to the site I am interested in how the layering could create or change the surfaces. The use of different materials to create different surfaces was to represent how Fort Lane has changed over time. As the use of resin represents the initial water mass from the site as it was originally foreshore of Auckland. The use of concrete is demonstrating the ground landscape. The use of plaster represents the refined land and current state of the site.
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Introduction
How can I create a digital experience that allows inhabitants of Fort Lane to influence the narrative of Playtime? How does ‘organized chaos’ help change the process of storytelling in cinema? I want to create a space that can have a direct interaction with my design, without being on the exact location of my structure. The name of my project ‘Organized chaos of straight lines’, is influenced by the struggle of minimal and modernist space, that the main character of the film Playtime had to go through. My aims to renovate the abandoned space between Citigroup center building and car park building on Fort Lane. I want to reimagine the way we perceive cinema, allowing inhabitants to have a social function on Fort Lane, instead of it being used as a passing lane.
Sensation of being a spectator and spectacle In my design, I want to deal with the notion of the blurry line between the spectators and the spectacle. Cinema is a space where we watch, yet we are being watched, As generally arriving at the cinema, we are the spectators, expecting to watch something, not to be watched by others. (Das, 2017) But by including the modernist aspect from the film Playtime, particularly from the scene of television like windows. (fig 1). I want to show that the pleasure of watching does not only rely upon a regular constructive range of vision but by being able to see things from different perception invokes our creative power as an audience. The interactive construction of cinematic space is designed in cubical manners with stairs and ramps that give inhabitants the freedom of movement and interaction with cinema, allowing them to choose a perception to see through, also creating a disorientation of character position. The fabricated screen around the cubes allows the audience a full view from the windows of surrounding buildings. That also gives the opportunity to view films though, it is directly not visible for them, Therefore becomes a modern shared space, that has the ability to gather a community of strangers to inhabit the public intimacy.
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-Jaques Tati
ARCHITECTURE - symmetry -repetition -modernist -machine -grey -illusory -fragile STRUCTURE -maze -lost -cubicles -geometry -grid -squares -lines -boundries -borders -form -exterior WINDOWS -glass -overlapping -shattering -isolation -saperation -clear -illusion -mirrors -reflections TECHNOLOGY -mall -consumerism -convenience -elegance
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Brainstrom/Movie Analysis
PLAYTIME
Fort Lane site plan
Playtime Playtime by Jacques Tati perfectly showcases an activated public space. Tati illustrates how modernism plays an important role that impacted the way interact with each other. The first half of the film begins with focusing on how inhabitants are forced into moving in straight lines. Tati proposes delightful ways to re-engage with public spaces, providing new ways to find connections between the disconnected streets and spaces. (Tati, 1967) In the second half of the film, the characters become less controlled by its environment as to where they are supposed to sit or stand, it takes a break from straight line movements, where actions of people were planned and forced by architecture as shown in first half of the film. As the time passes by in the film, the socially constructed physical world slowly tears apart and starts becoming powerless and more malleable, also making the boundaries between social classes blur and fade away. By the end of the film, the environment takes on a utopian glow of shared pleasure as the transformation of the color pallet occurs, as the film becomes brighter with sharper hues. The finale of the film remodels the city transforming from straight lines into curves. (Tati, 1967) Rather than portraying modernism as a dystopian concept, Tati instead showcases how ridiculous it is by suggesting how change and new spaces can impact and defuse their power to surprise and confuse others.
Modernism in Playtime Jaquez Tati aims to capture the transition from classical provincial French lifestyle to modern France of 1950s and 60s. The architectural style of modernism began to express the new style of art such as abstract, expressionism, cubism and surrealism. There are three design objectives, rational materials, no ornamental design and open structure that combines on doors and outdoor spaces. (North, 2008) In this film, the architecture was simple, cold without any connections to its site. The spaces created in the film conveys the frustrations and confusion of modernism. He displayed the characteristics of impersonality and standard conformity of modern architecture by directing all scenes with identical architecture. (Leong, 2017) The most interesting aspect of modernism in the film was a maze-like cubical, carbon-copy of all offices. (Fig 2) The top shot of the scene allows the viewers to witness and perceive actions from a different perception. In this scene, two of the workers are pacing up and down speaking to each other on the phone, at one moment they even cross path with each other, but returned back to their cubicle and continued to finish the conversation on the phone. This is one of the scenes that shows how the architecture and space around us can increase lack of interaction between the public. Even though the lack of interaction caused by modernism was recognized almost 50 years ago, but it is an issue that we are still grappling with today. The architecture in playtime controlled characters movement through space, space constantly forced the users to move in an unnatural way. Even though modern architecture was formed on the principles of making rational and efficient choices in design, as it was lacking in earlier years. However, he managed to demonstrate how ridiculous and twisted this ideal movement have ended up becoming. Through this film, I was able to understand that architecture has a huge influence on human behavior. (Tati, 1967) 12
1: Jaques Tati (1967). Television windows scene 1
In this scene Hulot, the main character is insisted to visit a flat of his friend. Which is resembling geometric block-like apartment building made of plate glass windows. In this scene were are shown four different apartments at the same time containing individual cells that resemble one another. The color palette is dull and monochromatic, furnishing is minimal and contains almost no ornamental elements, creating a visual trick makes it seem as though it is happening all at one location and creates an illusion that we are are looking at the television screen from view of the street. The notion of watching television adds an interesting complexity to the situation. This scene has an interesting combination of a regular street for bypassers and also to be used as a platform as a spectators space because the apartment windows create a phenomenon of a television screen with multiple channels of bourgeoisie daily routine happening for watchers. It is almost like the live version of 60’s ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. However this scene makes me realize that we are also living in the same situation as the television gazing apartment dwellers, It allowed me to understand and recognize how obvious these patterns of inhabitants of the city as an audience. It shows different layers of hidden meanings of such spaces. (Fig 1)
2: Jaques Tati (1967). Television windows scene 2
This is a scene of two of the four neighboring apartments, conveying how little privacy the inhabitants have due to their glass fronts. The composition in this scene create an illusion of interaction between the neighbors as the physical space contains a sense of harmony and repetition and the activities of inhabitants in the apartments are reiterated creating difficulties of differentiating that they are two separate locations. It shows how conformed the inhabitants are in modern architecture and capitalist society. (Fig 2) 13
Perception in Cinema The film play continuously questions the power of perspective of its characters. While watching Playtime as the audience, we are challenged to identify, follow and locate. “demande une toute autre forme d’attention de la part du spectateur” “Requires a whole other kind of attention from the viewer” -Tati. (Leong, 2017) Unlike other films, where films are constructed with a choreography of humans and object but remaining with an only single focal point for the spectator’s attention, creating an active manipulation of audience perception. Instead in Playtime creates many ways to destabilize the relationship between the spectator and spectacle. By creating situations and confusions instituted by the basic principles of modern architecture and repetitive characteristics are consumer culture. (Leong, 2017) Organised chaos is situated on Fort Lane, activated as a modernist cinematic space. It expresses luminosity by the art of projection on the facade of cubical forms of the structure. I wanted to showcase that a cinema can also join the city as sociable space which can be arranged and changed by light. As the spaces and films, both are dwellings that are significantly perceived and absorbed or changed as we inhabit them. Through this structure, I want to showcase my interest in architecture and how art can interact in urban environments. The cubical form of this design was developed from the images that I created after I watched Playtime for the first time. But unlike the first half of the film, where everything is organized systematically. I chose to have variation in the arrangement of my design by not following the basic grid of modernist architecture. (North, 2008) I was particularly inspired by these two scenes in the film, the cubical scene (fig 3) and television window scene (fig 1). That is why I chose to combine the architectural and cinematic aspects from both scenes. The functionality of my design was inspired by television window scene (fig 1). This scene made me play with the idea of perception, just like how Tati played with the perception of its audience in this scene, I also wanted to make sure to evoke the creativeness of the audience depending on where they perceive my structure from. The exterior surfaces of the cubes will be used as screens to project films, which will be visible from the surrounding buildings of Fort Lane and commerce street. I specifically chose the location between Citi center building and Car Park building on Fort Lane, So It allowed me to use the surrounding buildings of the structure to work with the different perceptions. The screens will aim to create holographic view from all surroundings, just like the film, the windows and void spaces from surrounding buildings create a different perception for the audience. I want to use the aspect of broken and unsystematic view metaphorically to show how the main character ‘M. Hultoy, in playtime, doesn’t fit into the new imposed ways of urban modernization. I am interested in playing with the idea to free my design spaces from the constraints of practical functions. I want my space to work as an artistic advantage for fort lane rather than an actual architectural piece. It undeniable that my design has been majorly influenced by Jaques Tati, It aims as have an artistic side to cinema by shifting the perception and location of the film.
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3: Jaques Tati (1967). cubicals scene 2
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Cut I am inspired by Lefebvre’s core understanding of humanism in which he critiques the conditions of alienation in our everyday life. Where we follow a same soul-destroying routine of popular culture and consumer culture every day. (Lefebvre, 1991) I also agree with his theory that an urban space is more than just capitalism because the public inhabiting the urban space has much more value. That is why I would like to consider aspects of everyday life and the surroundings of the public as an important factor for urban space. I feel that even though we are the inhabitants of this city and are growing up in this city but we never feel entirely part of it because the memories of this city keep getting hidden under this pressures of our lives. That is why I am interested in creating a memory lane on Forte Lane. It can be occupied as an open air museum. I don’t want to take away the aesthetics of the location because it reminds me of ruin or of past existence of others. The layers and cracks represent the existence of others who occupied the place before we did. It is as though this lane is growing old as time passes and the oldness represent the ancestors of this city. I want to enhance the existing beauty of the lane. I want to let these walls capture our memories. As it already holds memories of many who have moved on. This lane plays an important place for everyday bypassers. I want to reinterpret this lane as a memory lane capturing the moments of bypassers.
imagined space
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Fort Lane sectional cut
11: K.Kaur (2017). Fort Lane site plan
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abstract play with lines to create negative spaces
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Method Other than Jaques Tati, my inspiration for visual
graphics comes from artists such as Doug Aitken, A2 + P/A and Forbes Messie. I began this project with creating surface models, which allowed me to explore the site through a framed perspective. I later applied the models into onto lane by making a ‘cut’ onto Fort Lane. This process allowed to identify a focal position on Fort Lane that could be transformed into public space. Lastly, for ‘script’ I explored the materiality, atmosphere, and compositions that I wanted to achieve. Though I understood Fort Lane, through site analysis and contextual research, But I was more interested in learning, how and why our public has become alienated and what role did architecture play in this issue. That is why I came across the film Playtime. It helped me understand how architecture not only plays a role in how we inhabit space and also shape the way we perceive the world around us. I was later able to use this concept to develop my design. As the project continued to develop, my views on publicness also constantly changed. Over time I decided that the public space does not need to be only activated by reaching a specific location or with a crowd. That is why I wanted to create a space that can be activated by being at different locations. That is why my design people can view the cinema from the Imperial lane, the carpark building, Citi center and various location for Commerce lane.
Windows In this project, I aim to explore the perspective through windows in architecture and how it creates a frame of the threshold to observe. Windows are used as an important tool in cinema, as cinema heavily relies on indulging and observing others. This project is all about the visual connection and perception, therefore in order to create transitional space other than surrounding buildings, I decided to add multiple stairs and ramps, which will also work for the functionality of the design, but can also be occupied by the inhabitants.
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script The aim of my project was to create a space on Fort Lane that eleminates mechanism of Individuals from constructive and controlled space of Fort Lane.The name of my project ‘Organized chaos of straight lines’ is influenced by the struggle of minimal and modernist spaces, that the main character of the film PLAYTIME by Jaques Tati, had to go through.This film projects how we aimlessly yet hopefully wander through impersonal cities, This movie perfectly portrays and makes us question the cities we inhabit. Fort Lane is currently generating as a poor space for social interactions. It is inhabited as shortcut by the public or used by the people who occupy the expensive cafes and resturants. As a result creating a saperation and dislocation between public and space. Organised chaos is situated on Fort Lane between Citi group tower and Car park building., activating as a modernist cinematic space.It expresses luminosity by the art of projection on the facade of cubical forms of the structure. I wanted to showcase that a cinema can also join the city as sociable space. As the spaces and films, both are dwellings that as we inhabit them. Through this structure, I how art can interact in urban environments. The images that I created after I watched Playtime where everything is organized systematically.
are significantly perceived and absorbed or changed want to showcase my interest in architecture and cubical form of this design was developed from the for the first time, inspired by first half of the film,
Fig.5: of Kamal Kaur (2017). cut section of Fort Lane 1 specIn my design, I want to deal with the notion the blurry line between the spectators and the tacle. As generally arriving at the cinema, we are the spectators, expecting to watch something, not to be watched by others. But by including the modernist aspect from the film Playtime, particularly from the scene of television like windows. I want to show that the pleasure of watching does not only rely upon a regular constructive range of vision but by being able to see things from different perception invokes our creative power as an audience.
The interactive construction of cinematic space is designed in cubical manners with stairs and ramps that give inhabitants the freedom of movement and interaction with cinema, allowing them to choose a perception to see through, also creating a disorientation of character position. The fabricated screen around the cubes allows the audience a full view from the windows of surrounding buildings. This project is all about visual connection and perception, that is why I wanted to consider the spaces around my design, creating a balance between negative and positive space. Engaging audeince in such way that it becomes more than a 2 dimentional experience.Therefore becomes a modern shared space, that has the ability to gather a community of strangers to inhabit the public intimacy. In this project, I aim to explore the perspective through windows in architecture and how it creates a frame of the threshold to observe. Windows are used as an important tool in cinema, as cinema heavily relies on indulging and observing others.
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playtime inspired sketch2
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draft drawings of spaces
WINDOW SCREEN spectator’s space
Chaos of straight lines proposes to explore the semi-permanent architecture to activate public space on Fort Lane by creating perceptual spaces, that will allow inhabitants to play with their perception in viewing cinema and eliminating the subsequent repression and alienation of individuals in constructed and controlled space of Fort Lane. This project takes inspiration form the film Playtime by Jaquez Tati and his clumsy portrayal for modernism in the film. This film projects how we aimlessly yet hopefully wander through impersonal cities, it perfectly portrays and makes us question the cities we inhabit.Fort Lane is inhabited as merely or shortcut by public, or used by the bourgeoisie who occupy the luxurious restaurants and cafes on Fort lane, generating as poor space for social interactions. As a result creating separation and dislocation between pubic and space, which needs to be transformed into an enlivening space. ‘Chaos of straight lines’ is a simple programmatic response to identifying the problem, and solving it by creating an inhabitable public space off the street. It is a way to engage with the public in a unique and less controlled way as the design consists of a modular and flexible elements that can be changed into various forms and arrangement, allowing a new functionality to the public space of Fort Lane. The aim create cinematic space that will integrate with the facade of my design, simultaneously enhancing and challenging how we all perceive public space and cinema. The cinematic aspect of this design will be activated every evening, to be visible and perceived from different vantages of Fort Lane. In conclusion I was able to learn that how abrasive, unforgiving and inflexible architecture can be, architecture is a base of social interactions. However if it is not designed for people, it leaves no space for deviation wheather its for work spaces, homes orpublic spaces. But we can adapt other art forms in architecure such as cinema, performances or plays because I think that as humans we still have the propensity to socialize. (Jacobson, 2005)
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VAST NETWORK OF CUBICLES repetition and banality
FRONT FACADE OF FORT LANE 1:100
TELEVISION ILLUSION
Perspective from Imperial Lane
N Public space Public space + Transport access Nature Water Sun Visibility
sunrise
sunset
SITE ANALYSIS FORT LANE 1:500
FORT LANE SECTION 1:100
WIND SCREEN
viewer’s construction of space from carpark
SUN SCREEN utopian glow
Tati, J. (1967). Playtime. French comedy.
Filmography References
Das, D. (2017). The Perceptual Theatre. The Rookies. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from http://www.therookies.co/projects/architecture/the-perceptual-theatre/ Ebert, R. (2017). Playtime Movie Reviews (1967) | Roger Ebert. Rogerebert. com. Retrieved 12 October 2017, from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews great-movie-playtime-1967 Hilliker, L. (2009). In the Modernist Mirror: Jaques Tati and the Parisian Landscape. University of Kanas. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from http://www.people.ku.edu/~jeshellh/teaching/Schimming_playtime_process.pdf Jacobson, B. (2005). Constructions of Cinematic space: Spatial Practice at the intersection of Film and Theory. Massachussetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 9 October 2017, from http://cmsw.mit.edu/wp/wp-content/ uploads/2016/10/146381067-Brian-Jacobson-Constructions-of-CinematicSpace-Spatial-Practice-at-the-Intersection-of-Film-and-Theory.pdf?x43162 Leong, A. (2017). Jaques Tati’s Playtime and the outcome of urban renewal and architectural modernism. bluefish.net. Retrieved 12 October 2017, from http://bleufish.net/ndxz-studio/site/words/essay_cinema2.pdf North, D. (2008). Jacques Tati’s Playtime: Modern Life is Noisy. Spectacular Attractions. Retrieved 13 October 2017, from https://drnorth.wordpress. com/2008/11/12/jacques-tatis-playtime-modern-life-is-noisy/
Images UNATTRIBUTED FIGURES BELONG TO THE AUTHOR Figure 1: Jaques Tati (1967). Television windows scene 1 (film screenshot) Figure 2: Jaques Tati (1967). Television windows scene 2 (film screenshot) Figure 3: Jaques Tati (1967). Cubicle scene (film screenshot)
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SPATIAL FABRICATION III surface, cut, script