Michael Hull - Architecture Portfolio 2022-2023

PORTFOLIO

SELECTED WORKS 2022-2023

MICHAEL HULL

TOUCH SCREEN

THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS, ONE MUST EXPERIMENT WITH NEW MATERIALS AND CREATE DIFFERENT WAYS TO UTILIZE THEM. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT ONE MUST FIND INTERESTING IDEAS TO EMULATE AND, OVER TIME, BEGIN TO DEVELOP A REIMAGINED IDEA COMBINING THE PREVIOUS EXPLORED CONCEPTS.

FIRSTLY, ONE MUST BEGIN TO DEVELOP MODELS THAT DISPLAY THE CONCEPTS RESEARCHED IN THE BEGINNING. THROUGH THE CREATION OF THESE MODELS, THE INDIVIDUAL WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING ON THE FEASABILITY AND STRUCTURAL STABILITY OF THE DESIGNS. THE PERSON WILL LEARN WHAT DESIGNS BEST WORK AND WHICH ONES NEED ADJUSTMENTS.

MOVING FORWARD, THE INDIVIDUAL WILL COMBINE IDEAS TO FORM UNIQUE AND INTERESTING DESIGNS. THESE DESIGNS WILL BE A COMBINATION OF TWO IDEAS WHICH DEMONSTRATE A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL.

NEXT, INDIVIDUALS WILL CREATE SEVERAL MODELS WHICH DEMONSTRATE A VERY COMPLEX UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL AND SHOW THEIR ABILITY TO MANIPULATE IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS. THESE MODELS WILL BE MUCH MORE ARCHITECTURAL AND HIGHLIGHT THE POSSIBLE REAL LIFE USE OF THESE MATERIALS.

LASTLY, PEOPLE WILL DEVELOP A FINAL MODEL THAT CAPITALIZES ON THE MATERIAL AND CAN POSSIBLY BE IMPLEMENTED INTO A BUILDING.

ANALYSIS

BEFORE THIS PROJECT, THE CLASS WAS ASSIGNED A TASK OF EXAMINING THE DETAILS IN BUILDINGS. ALONG WITH EXAMINING BUILDINGS, WE NEEDED TO DEVELOP OUR OWN DEFINITION OF DETAIL. THIS DEFINITION THEN LEAD US TO FIND CERTAIN DETAILS THAT INTERESTED US. WE WORKED TO FIND UNIQUE ASPECTS THAT OFTEN GO UNNOTICED IN BUILDINGS THAT WE COMMONLY SEE IN OUR DAY TO DAY LIVES. FROM THIS, WE DEVELOPED DESIGNS AND EXPLORED NEW AREAS OF ARCHITECTURE.

AT THE END OF THE PROJECT, I DISCOVERED GHOST ARCHITECTURE. THIS STYLE COMMONLY USES CHICKEN WIRE TO CREATE HOLOGRAPHIC BUILDINGS THAT UTILIZE LIGHT IN DARKNESS TO CREATE A VERY INTERESTING LOOK. THE BUILDINGS CREATED FROM THIS ARE MOST OFTEN BUILDINGS WITH OLD-FASHIONED STYLES WHICH AREN’T COMMONLY USED TODAY. BY USING THESE CERTAIN STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE, IT NOT ONLY PRESENTS A UNIQUE LOOK BUT ALSO FEELINGS TO THE BUILDING. IT MAKES AN INDIVIDUAL FEEL ISOLATED ALONG WITH MANY OTHER EMOTIONS.

AFTER FINISHING THAT, I DECIDED TO BRANCH OUT INTO MORE MODERN ARCHITECTURE AND REALLY SEE HOW PLANTS INTERACTED WITH ARCHITECTURE. THIS REALLY INTERSTED ME SINCE ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SOMETHING THAT I HAVE FOUND INTERESTING. IN ORDER TO CREATE A MORE DIVERSE ARRAY OF IDEAS, I INCLUDED SEVERAL OTHER PRECEDENTS SO I COULD EXPAND THE IDEA INTO MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS, INSTEAD OF BEING TIED TO ONE SINGULAR DESIGN. THIS WOULD ALLOW ME TO EXPERIMENT WITH MANY STYLES AND POSSIBLY CREATE SOMETHING INCREDIBLY UNIQUE.

WHEN CHOOSING THE PRECEDENTS, I WANTED ELEGENT DESIGNS WHICH WERE SEEMLESS AND GUIDED THE VIEWERS EYES. I DECIDED TO FIND IDEAS WHICH DIDN’T HAVE SO MANY SHARP ANGLES BUT APPEARED TO ACCENT THE SPACES WITHOUT TAKING AWAY FROM THE EXISTING DESIGN. WHEN EXPLORING FOR THESE TYPES OF IDEAS, I ALSO BECAME INTERESTED IN THE MORE GEOMETRIC DESIGNS THAT COMPLEMENTED THE SPACE. KNOWING THIS, I USED THESE IDEAS AS I PROGRESSED THROUGH THE PROJECT.

PRECEDENTS

PAPER EXPERIMENTATION

PAPER CAN BE BENT IN DIFFFERENT WAYS.

PAPER CAN CREATE LAYERS OF WAVES ON A SURFACE.

PAPER CAN BE USED TO CREATE HOLLOW GEOMETRIC SHAPES.

PAPER CAN CREATE MULTIPLE OBJECTS AND MAKE A COLLECTIVE DESIGN.

PAPER CAN CREATE ARCHED SHAPES.

TRANSLUCENT SHEETS CAN CREATE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF OPAQUENESS

PAPER CAN CREATE A POP OUT EFFECT.

PAPER CAN CREATE A LAYERED WALL AROUND AN OBJECT.

TRANSLUCENT PAPER HAS A LIMIT ON THE DISTANCE TO ARC RATIO.

PRECEDENTS

MOSS EXPERIMENTATION

MOSS CAN MAKE OBJECTS APPEAR TO FLOAT.

MOSS MATERIAL CAN BE APPLIED TO PAPER.

MOSS MATERIAL ACCENTS PALE COLORS.

TOO MUCH MOSS MATERIAL BECOMES OVERBEARING.

PAPER CAN CREATE A LAYERED WALL AROUND AN OBJECT.

MOSS MATERIAL GOES WELL TO ACCENT GEOMETRIC SHAPES.

MOSS CAN BE USED TO CREATE AN ORGANIC PLATFORM.

MOSS CAN IMPROVE THE LOOK OF A BLANK WALL.

PRECEDENTS

PLASTER EXPERIMENTATION

SOIL CAN BE MIXED WITH PLASTER.

DISSOLVED FOAM CAN CREATE AN ORGANIC SHAPE WITH PLASTER.

DISSOLVED FOAM CAN ADD ORGANIC ELEMENTS TO A PLASTER OBJECT.

PLASTER CAN CREATE A SOLID GEOMETRIC OBJECT.

PLASTER CAN BE SHAPED INTO A VARIETY OF DESIGNS.

DISSOLVED FOAM CAN REINFORCE WEAK PLASTER CAST AREAS.

PLASTER CANNOT BE FORMED INTO SMALL OBJECTS WITHOUT RISKING STRUCTURAL BREAKDOWN.

DISSOLVED FOAM CAN CREATE UNIQUE SHAPES IN PLASTER CASTS.

PRECEDENTS

STYROFOAM EXPERIMENTATION

FOAM CAN BE MOLDED TO CREATE TERRAIN.

FOAM CAN BE MANIPULATED TO CREATE ORGANIC OBJECTS.

FOAM CAN BE USED TO CREATE ORGANIC DESIGNS.

FOAM CAN BE MOLDED INTO ORGANIC STRUCTURES.

FOAM CAN BE USED TO JOIN TWO OBJECTS TOGETHER.

FLOATING ISLAND

THIS MODEL AIMED AT USING FOAM TO CREATE FREESTANDING STRUCTURES IN COMBINATION WITH A DYED RESIN. THE RESIN IS USED AS A BASE FOR THE DESIGN WHILE ALSO SERVING AS A DESIGN ELEMENT TO COMPLEMENT THE FOAM STRUCTURE.

GEOMETRIC POT

THIS MODEL WAS MADE TO BE AN ACCENT PIECE TO AN AREA WITH PLANT LIFE INSIDE OF IT. THE OBJECT IS DESIGNED TO BE AN ARTIFICIAL STRUCTURE THAT COOPERATES WITH NATURE IN A UNIQUE FASHION. THE GEOMETRIC DESIGN WAS CREATED FOR ITS UNIQUE BUT STRUCTURALLY STABLE APPEARANCE.

INFECTED CITY

THIS MODEL STARTED WITH THE CASTING OF TWO DIFFERENT SIZED PLASTER BLOCKS AND WERE CONNECTED THROUGH DISSOLVED STYROFOAM. THE STYROFOAM HAS AN INCREDIBLY ORGANIC LOOK AFTER IT IS DISSOLVED AND IT APPEARS ALMOST ALIEN. WHEN COMBINING IT WITH SIMPLISTIC, MODERN STRUCTURES A UNIQUE DESIGN CAN BE ACHIEVED.

RITUAL

APPROACHING THIS PROJECT, THE CLASS WAS TASKED TO FIND RITUALS THAT WERE SIGNIFICANT TO THEM. THIS COULD BE SITTING AT THE DINNER TABLE WITH THE FAMILY OR A MEMORABLE VACATION THAT HAS REMAINED SIGNIFICANT TO THE INDIVIDUAL. KNOWING THIS, WE WERE REQUIRED TO CHOOSE A PERSONAL RITUAL WE CONDUCTED BY OURSELVES. NEXT, WE HAD TO PICK A COLLECTIVE RITUAL THAT INVOLVED A GROUP OF PEOPLE ALONGSIDE OURSELVES.

GIVEN THESE PARAMETERS, I DECIDED TO LOOK AT WHAT HAS SHAPED MY PERSONALITY AND INTERESTS THROUGHOUT MY CAREER IN HIGHER EDUCATION. IN MY FREE TIME, I CAN OFTEN BE FOUND READING AN ONLINE BOOK. THESE ONLINE BOOKS ARE UNPROFESSIONAL WORKS OF WRITING THAT CAN BE ACCESSED FROM NUMEROUS SOURCES. THESE ONLINE BOOKS COVER THE BASIC GENRES OF WRITING AND OFTEN CONTAIN MISTAKES NEVER SEEN IN PROFESSIONALLY PUBLISHED BOOKS. THESE ONLINE BOOKS ARE NOT JUST UNPROFESSIONAL WORKS BUT AN INDIVIDUALS PASSION FOR WRITING DEMONSTRATED ON THE SCREEN WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE ARDUOUS PROCESS OF GETTING IT PUBLISHED. THESE PUBLICATIONS, WHILE IMPERFECT, ARE A PERSON’S PERSONALITY AND INTERESTS DEMONSTRATED ON A PUBLIC PLATFORM. THESE PUBLIC WORKS ARE A SYMBOL OF AUTHENTICITY AND THE CREATIVE PASSION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH A HOBBY FOR IMAGINATIVE THINKING.

MOVING ON FROM THE PREVIOUS RITUAL, I DECIDED TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING MUCH MORE PERSONAL. NOW THAT I AM IN COLLEGE HEADING HOME FOR THE SUMMER HAS BECOME A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REUNITE WITH OLD FRIENDS. BEING ALMOST SIX HOURS AWAY FROM HOME DURING MY COLLEGE EDUCATION, VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS IS A NECESSITY IF I WANT TO KEEP IN CONTACT. AFTER THE LONG RIDE HOME, NOTHING IS BETTER THAN CATCHING UP WITH FAMILY MEMBERS AND GETTING TO SEE FRIENDS IN PERSON. WHEN I HANGOUT WITH OLD FRIENDS I HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF TRUST THAT I CAN BE MYSELF AND ALSO TALK TO THEM ABOUT ANY ISSUES. EVERY TIME I GET BACK HOME, THE NEED TO HANGOUT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY BECOMES MORE SIGNIFICANT SINCE I AM QUICKLY GETTING THROWN INTO THE REAL WORLD. KNOWING THIS, ME AND MY FRIENDS OFTEN PLAN OUT FULL DAY HANGOUTS WHICH ARE FILLED WITH GROUP ACTIVITIES. WE RECOGNIZE THAT THE FRIENDSHIP WE HAVE BUILT OVER THE MANY YEARS IS INCREDIBLY RARE AND ARE DETERMINED TO KEEP SOCIALIZING WITH ONE ANOTHER WHEN AVAILABLE.

Ames Arboretum

Sight

Five Senses of the Site

Surrounded by greenery, the individual is bombarded with trees and a lush landscape with large areas of grass. Ever so often flowers will sprout and decorate the landscape with color.

Taste

Carried through the breeze, the smell of the sap from trees and the faint smell of grass influence the taste of the air around the person.

Smell

The smell of the trees in the area and and grass beneath the feet ever so often brushes past your figure from the frequent breeze passing by.

Touch Sound

The individual roaming the site can experience the soft grass coupled with the sturdy ground beneath their feet. Along with that sensation is the irregular figures of the branches reaching out towards oneself.

Site Data

The sounds of birds chirping and occasional conversation between individuals is frequently present in the space.

Current Usage: Commonly used for recreational activities and relaxation

Total sqft: 1,394,979 ft² (129,597.79 sqm)

Address: 2910 Arbor St, Ames, IA 50014, USA

Experimentation

Collective Ritual

Personal Ritual

Final Documentation

PROGRAMS USED: RHINO

PROGRAMS USED: RHINO