Siramon Suvichanvorasin_Project at Pratt institute : Subterranean

SUBTERRANEAN OBJECT Siramon Suvichanvorasin

Contents INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER01 - Objects and Contexts...............................................................................3 CHAPTER02 - Exquisite Architectural Bodies..............................................................15 CHAPTER03 - Parasite Inside......................................................................................25 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................39

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Introduction Context is the most important thing to architectural design. Without context the design is nothing but meaningless object. Since architecture is more than geometry design, there are functions, users, spaces and technology aspects within the design. It is not always that the object has to be the same as the context, sometimes it can break the context but still need each other to build new environment. In this book, I had experienced ways to approach contexts in term of design cognitives, figure-ground, positive-negative, and harmony-contrast and integrated digital media and also handcraft to explore design’s affects. As an initial of design processes, I started from digital media processes to create an initial substrate as an object that eventually I developed it in Post-Digital way.

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Chapter 01

Objects and Contexts We live in the world that is comprised of so many different things, creatures, environments, and societies. Recently, there is a new interest in describing how these objects co-exist and inflect each other : theoriests such as Graham Harman suggest they affect each other aesthetically They are all have their own identity and self-expression. Whatever happens in the same context, it creates a relationship between itself and context in clearly way or just hidden expression. It is inevitable that the relationship between them s an evolving dynamic.

CHAPTER 01

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Exploring Context

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According to the importance of contexts, the idea of this project is to make a relationship between all elements which they are all different from each other by using some elements to tie them together.

The first project is Embed Object and Context I. The objects developed from combining small objects together. The subtracted parts will show first and then eventually reveal the outer outline. The following project was developed from paired-objects which have the same shape. They left their orientated footprints in different sizes on a context. For the context, it showed the identity and breaked the objects’ traces by grid line, while the color of the grid lines is almost similar to the object. Although they have different shapes which are common grid line and alien shapes, they can go along together by the same color.

CHAPTER 01

Embed Object and Context I

Embed Object and Context I

Embed Object and Context II

Embed Object and Context II

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After that, to develop them into 3-dimensioned in Embed Object and Context III, the objects were generated into different forms which are sphereed, a common geometry form and alien sharp form. The space between them connects these two together. The context which wraped them has a grid pattern and connected the objects by color and lines which penetrate in the objects. It is Embed Object and Context IV. Objects were developed from the first and second projects. Groups of different objects which share the same space show plan and section drawings in 2 and 3 dimensions. The dimensions connect by the square shapes which appear in both drawing and models as a conceptual bonds between them. Two different materials on addition and subtraction forms are connected by the material’s pattern which are lines and then continue to the drawing. Color saturation also helps the connection and blend everything together.

Embed Object and Context III

Embed Object and Context III

Embed Object and Context IV

Embed Object and Context IV

Exploring Context

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CHAPTER 01

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Approaching context by harmonizing it with object could merge both become one, leaving object’s footprints and using same color make them interact to each other. Apart from just context and object, there could be features merge them together such as the grid line or conceptual sphere space.

Exploring Context

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Sculpture’s Expression “Objects are deeper than their appearance to the human mind but also deeper than their relations to one another”1 - Graham Harman There are many ways to define an object to understand its properties.

According to Graham Harman, it seems that he described three types of tables which he referenced from Eddington. The first is table of everyday life which explain its appearance or use. The second as a collection of atoms, breaking down the table to its molecular level. These two interact with human. The third is the idea of real a table. He introduced “Triple-O” - “Object-Oriented Ontology”. Ontology is the study of being alive and existing which I think Harman tried to explain how human and environment are related by using term of “actors”. They both have roles to be both subject and/or object. It seems that the tools he mentioned relates to this theory describing a real or third table.

The author states that “There is no reality to any tool, only a momentary effect - a surface or mask”2 which I think it is only show what it is look like by appearance but not how it is play the role inside (A. Betsky par.4). In my opinion he introduced the tools as everything that designer can use to design and Triple-O is one of the theories which not only look deep inside of the tools (the first and second the table) like how to create organic form but also tries to find their roles which interact to each other (the third table).

1 Graham Harman, “The Third Table” In Katrin Sauerländer (ed.), Documenta: 100 Notes-100 Thoughts. Documenta (2012). 4 2 Aaron Betsky, “The Triple O Play : The Ghost of Martin Heidegger Wafts Through The Halls of Architecture” In The Jouranl of American Institute of Architects. October 18, 2017. www.architectmaga-

zine.com.

CHAPTER 01

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Exploring Context

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PLA Printing and Casting Model

CHAPTER 02

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Uncanny Object

The Estranged Object

“The uncanny arose from the transformation of something that once seemed homely into something decidedly not so, from heimlich to unheimlich.”1 - Anthony Vidler -

“It can also produce an allure, a strangeness that draws one in, rather than alienates.”3

There are several ways to approach a context in

As well as “The Estranged Object” by Micheal

architectural design and “Architectural Uncanny”

Young and Kutan Ayata, they gave an example

is one of them that approach by blending with it

of photographers which work by using real image

yet has a strong identity. According to the reading,

then distort it with abstract feature. We expect

“Architectural Uncanny” by Anthony Vidler, I think

photograph should represent real thing which

the reason why he defines uncanny as “unhomely”

shot by camera but for these photographers, they

because the architecture which we already saw or

montage the photo, situated abstract into reality.

expected that it would be like this was possessed by

In my opinion, uncanny or estranged design makes

alien feature. This is make it is not look like things we

me question about construction and function in

can see in normal life and make us feel anxious. The

term of architectural design, they looks interesting

feature distorted several aspects which involve the

yet mysterious because I start to question about

architecture such as history, society and politic. Most

inside of it.

- M. Young & K. Ayata -

of them look surreal and transcendence especially avant-garde style. ¹ Anthony Vidler. “The Architectural Uncanny: Essays in the Modern Unhomely”. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, (1992). 3-14

3 Kutan Ayata, Micheal Young. “The Estranged Obect”. Graham Foundation, (2015). 29-31

Exquisite Architectural Bodies

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CHAPTER 02

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Capturing the Object How to make design become reasonable through the processes?

A design cannot come from nothing, there are always reasons to support the design or information to process it; however, when designers get resources to design, it sometimes mislead or distort the resources themselves. According to “Common Errors to Avoid” in “Atlas of Novel Tectonics”, Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto, the authors point some regular misunderstanding to use the resources which are linking between data and graphic, map/territory confusion, historic and political used, diagram representation, and using different time and effect in one information.1 For my project, I studied artifacts from fabrication design which are materials study, casting, robotic milling and texture mapping that provide architectural design qualities. The resources and information I could use must show the best affection of each product in order to integrate these to the design, started by 3D modeling, physical model making, graphic presentation, and intervention onto site, as heterarchy process. Nevertheless, sometimes I could not decide which information is better if I would not start using it in the process and see how it is going. So, before I knew the most appropriate information to use with my design, there were many artifact studies I have done.

¹ Jesse Reiser, Nanako Umemoto. “Common Errors to Avoid” In Atlas of Novel Tectonics. Princeton Architectural Press (2006). 216-227

Exquisite Architectural Bodies

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Composite Drawing : Casting model and Rendering image

CHAPTER 02

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Chapter 02

Exquisite Architectural Bodies The studio takes a material approach to the post-digital project in current architectural discourse. It sacribes design intelligence to both, the (building) material itself and the universal (fabrication) machine that acts upon it - the robot. The studio encourage deep material explorations in search of organizational and aesthetic principles ; and it encourages the full participation of machine in the design process. Robots here are not reduced to only manufaturing laborers, but they, along with their evolving drivers and routines, are invited to enter into ‘creative’ dialogue with the human and material. The studio will allow for moments of poetic immersion into this relationship. Using digital documentary, for example, photogrammetry,and texture mapping to enhance the moment from frabication.

Exquisite Architectural Bodies

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Positive and Negative of Geometry Diagram

Geometry created by rought and finish toolpath line patterns

CHAPTER 02

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Geometries and Toolpaths To explore a geometry, first is to find profiles inside the object in order to create a relationship between positive and negative parts of the object. The profiles are used to expose conceptual of the interiority on the negative part. The positive part creates profiles from the part that positive and negative part touch.

The geometry that is created by a machine (robotic fabrication) has fabrication artifact. The line patterns shape the geometry form are created by milling path of the machine. Different direction of the lines seperate positive and negative parts of the geometry and exagerate the profiles between them.

Exquisite Architectural Bodies

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CHAPTER 02

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Materials Materials artifacts from casting which I chose to develop are resin, rockite and liquid plastic with blue dyed color. An affect from liquid plastic with dyed color makes the material heat up and bubbled, then it tried to float inside resin and rockite to interupt sharp layers between them.

Blue color with wave line creates an affect of movement between materials. They show quality of cavity by both color and bubbles inside liquid plastic with dyed color material. I exagerated the quality by digital methods that are collage and photogrammetry base on my casting models.

Texture Mapping Photogrammetry

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CHAPTER 02

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Materials and Inscribed Geometries The geometry and material affect show quality of cavity to expose relationship between exterior and interior, positive and negative. The cavity loose a boundary of what is inside and outsied and make them continuely connect an as architectural affect which could look through inside-out and outside-in.

Apart from the relationship between geometry itself, a context is parasited by the object which embed through the inside, does not just stand on it.

Exquisite Architectural Bodies

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CHAPTER 03

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Chapter 03

Parasite Inside To integrate the artifact studies into the context(existing building : 154 West 14th Street, Manhattan), interiority study of the object created is needed in order to decide which affects could emphasize for the invention. The interiority study is only of the object but also the existing building to not damage crucial part of the context; for example, historical facade, main circulation and structure. As well as when the object itself approach by parasite into the existing building, it should not less express itself and blend too much. They are both unique, yet support each other.

Parasite Inside

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Parasite “Simmons Hall, Cambridge, MA ,1999” - Steven Holl A designer want to “design a new a dormitory for the school they had one goal in sight: that the spaces around and within the building would stir up interaction among students”(Simmons Hall at MIT/ Steven Holl par.1). As well as building’s fuction which is domitory. The building’s parasite spaces inside are lighting parasite form which go throught from open space above. Holl refers these spaces as “lungs” of the building that they bring natural daylight and ventilation.1 ¹Adelyn Perez. “Simmons Hall at MIT/Steven Holl”. In Archdaily. September 15, 2018. www.archdaily.com.

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Simmons Hall at MIT/Steven Holl. Accessed Septmber 15, 2018. www.archdaily.com.

Apart from the space section, the windows in each floor are exaggerate number. They devide into 6 panels per floor and make this building looks like a high rise building but in reality it is just 10-storey building.

Simmons Hall Residence. Accessed Septmber 15, 2018. www.en.wikiarquitectura.com.

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The Parasite and the Building Envelope How facade represents architecture?

Facade is one of significant elements that represents architecture’s appearance and it could straighten or distort main structure showing.

According to Alejandro Zaera-Polo and Jeffrey S. Anderson, authors of The Ecologies of The Building Envelope : A Material History and Theory of Architectural Surface explain that what make facade evolves from time to time are technology, environment, economy and world revolution which all involve with materials aspects. Each material has its own properties and the way their represent itself is unique when it covers the architectural structure. It is like wearing a fashion costume that always changed depends on what is up to at that time and sometimes it is not follow the body structure inside because of contexts. For example, the appearance of brick masonry construction in Mario Botta’s 1985 San Francisco MOMA is actually a thin veneer of brick embedded in precast concrete panels hung from a steel structure since the architecture has to follow local seismic regulations.1 This shows that the material could expose in many ways, depends on the way to design to compose on/into the other elements/materials that affect its act and behavior. It seems that what the first impression and perception from architecture is the facade which is the most outstanding elements, it might different or follow the structure. However, the reason why the facade is needed may because of contexts.

¹ Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Jeffrey Anderson. “The Ecologies of the Building Envelope : A Material history

and Theory of Architectural surfaces”. 11-21

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Materials Cavity The first interiority affect was the casting from materials study that show quality of cavity and interiority created by heat chemical between liquid plastic and dyed color which produce bubbles inside during it becomes solid. It shows how the spaces flow naturally as organic forms. After that, texture mapping study by using photogrammetry software make an artifact from the casting and geometry to introduce architectural affect.

Mixing between organic affect as a structure and geometry artifact as surfaces, yet represent conceptual context from casting and texture mapping artifact

Photogrammetry collage Materials casting

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Virtual Cavity “Kissing interrupts how faces and facades communicate, substituting affect and force for representation and meaning”1 - Sylvia Lavin Sylvia Lavin describes how Pipilotti Rist “kisses” Yoshio Taniguchi’s work, the Museum of Modern Art, by her installation, “Pour Your Body Out”, that she showed a new way to discuss the architecture she does not like in gentle way as kissing. The kiss offers ephemerality and consilience to architecture to not be framed in only one discipline and it is also a way to “say goodbye” to an old unsuccessful architecture and to welcome a new vocabulary for the character of contemporary culture that there is no bodies involve but impersonality.2 It seems that Rist’s installation kisses Taniguchi by media embracing which changes the space of the atrium yet the space is still the same structure.

According to my materials study, the photogrammetry represents the texture and material, precessing from digital and virtual cavity, creating by imperfect matches of the pictures combining process from the program. It seems that the digital process “kisses” the physical model, distorting normal perception to another unexpecting outcome.

1 Sylvia Lavin. “Kissing Architecture” Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, (2011). 14 2 Ibid, 11-23

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Underground Stacks “We are inside the stack and it is inside of us”1 - Benjamin H. Bratton Layers show how complicate of an information, it is overlayed by multiple source then represent into one. According to The Stack by Benjamin Bratton, he suggests six subjects - earth, cloud, city, address, interface, and user related to each other in conceptual stack organizes a megastructure by technologies for both human and non-human.

According to my project, focusing on underground layer, it represents relationship between below and above ground levels by stacking floors and structure and connecting to the infrastructure - subway station. Human scale also shows how the sculpture intervention relate to people and environment through the section. In my opinion, compare to the qualities of architectural design representing in section, it seems that The Stack’s organization is a conceptual vertical section of a megastructure showing what people normally cannot perceive directly. According to “Manual of Section” by Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki and David J. Lewis, the authors represent five different types of section - extrusion, stack, shape, shear, hole, incline, and nest - affecting relationship between exterior, interior, context, and materialism through a building’s mass and space which people cannot perceive directly.2 As well as, The Stack introduces a conceptual section representing relationship between the six subjects in vertical direction that explains how they are organized.

Moreover, I think the qualities of stacking in term of architectural design is to increase gross area in a limited area by stacking floors. Perhaps, it is the same idea as The Stack by Bratton that want to exploit the area where human live - the earth, by stack of human and non-human that does not only limit on ground but also underground. The underground stacks represent shaped section and quality of cavity providing spaces, covered by all solid wall which can perceive only in section drawing that the environment was built for people.

1 Benjamin Bratton. “The Stack : On Software and Sovereignty” (2016). 1

2 David J. Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, Paul Lewis. “Manual of Section” (2016). 6-10

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Subterranean Sculpture “Adapting man’s body to any environment he may choose”1 - M. Clynes and N. Kline Human have driven the world and also influenced environment by their intelligence in order to remain their existences even in posthuman era.

According to “Architectural Theories of The Environment : Posthuman Territory”,edited by Ariane Lourie Harrison, states that the Anthropocene represents environment affected by human and technology. She added that “the posthuman challenges the long-standing conception of the building as an object autonomous from its environment and governed by disciplinary interiority”2.

In my opinion, human play an important role to change the world environment since they cannot live without it, while the environment is independent. To remain their existences, human build their own environment which is architecture and develop it to meet their needs which it has never been fulfilled. It seems that architecture is part of human because it always represents an existence of human living there.

Thus, this design project I represent “environment within environment”, by remaining the existing building and parasiting the object inside. These two environments connect by interiority that show relationship between the intervention and human existence inside, represented through functional program, and human scale.

1 Ariane L. Harrison. “Architectural Theories of the Environment : Posthuman Territory” New York Routledge, (2012). 5 2 Ibid, 3

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The Intervention Inside two existing contexts - the building, and subway station - are connected by the parasite object, that smoothly invades from the pit and continue grows to the top of the building. The connection creates new program and approach to both contexts, while remains most of the existing environment. Continuing to underground, the object reveals some part of it above the ground to build a curiousness what happen below.

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Conclusion Human plays a significant role to develop environment in order to satisfy themselves by using political, economy, and humanity aspect, representing by architecture since it footprints of human existences. The intervention shows how environment is generated within environment, but in term of both things are non-natural. Because people already intervened most of the natural environment by building their own environment, called architecture, the resources have reduced. So this introduces the way to create new environment to develop existing environment by parasite approaching. After I have worked through the design projects, post-digital processes gave me a lot of unexpected affects from fabrication and casting that helped me develop the projects

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Works Cited Anderson, Jeffrey. Zaera-Polo, Alejandro. “The Ecologies of The Building Envelope : A Material History and Theory of Architectural Surfaces”.

Ayata, Kutan. Young, Micheal. “The Estranged Object”. Graham Foundation (2015).

Betsky, Aaron. “The Triple O Play”. Accessed September 26, 2018. www. architectmagazine.com.

Bratton, Benjamin. “The Stack”. Cambridge. Mass: MIT Press (2016).

Harman, Graham. “The Third Table”. In Katrin Sauerländer (ed.), Documenta: 100 Notes-100 Thoughts. Documenta (2012).

Harrison, Ariane. “Architectural Theories of the Environment : Posthuman Territory”. New York Routledge (2012).

Lavin, Sylvia. “Kissing Architecture”. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press (2011).

Lewis, David. Lewis, Paul. Tsurumaki, Marc. “Manual of Section”.

Princeton Architectural Press.

Perez, Adelyn. “Simmons Hall at MIT/Steven Holl”. In Archdaily (2010).

Accessed September 26, 2018. www.archdaily.com.

Reiser, Jesse. Umemoto, Nanako. “Common Errors to Avoid”. In Atlas of Novel Tectonics. Princeton Architectural Press (2006).

Vidler, Anthony. “The Architectural Uncanny”. Cambridge. Mass: MIT Press (1992).