review_3/23/2010_rhythm and atmosphere

the concept has not changed, my introduction to the project has remained the same, intentions/ambitions/inspirations/motivations continue to drive the project in an upward direction. i find my self reading the same paragraph to explain the project, as a way to ensure all information necessary to understand the project is heard, and comprehended.

"The overall idea for the project is to investigate the potential within a construction site and to establish a sense of inhabitability. The concepts of finished and unfinished are an attempt to exploit the current "overconstructed" situation of williamsburg, brooklyn, by creating an installation which visually appears to be an unfinished construction site, but in reality is a finished occupy-able space, potentially becoming a breeding ground for cultural activity. In addition, the notion of the terrain vague is considered to be an important element to my project, and i will quote Ignasi de Sola Morales Rubio, author of "terrain vague," "Unincorporated margins, interior islands void of activity, oversights, these areas are simply un-inhabited, un-safe, un-productive. In short, they are foreign to the urban system, mentally exterior in the physical interior of the city, its negative image, as much as a critique of a possible alternative."

to begin to simplify the intensity of my project i have narrowed my focus to two strong elements, one being rhythm, the second being atmosphere. for rhythm, the warehouse facade nextdoor to the sliver site presents itself with an ordered system in the window arrangement, but my intention is to create a new rhythm from the current situation to aggregate/agitate that wall in two directions resulting in a canpoy of rhythmic order over top the sliver site. the pattern extrusions and notation for light have been overlayed on the site to begin creating new relationships.

top left: three renditions of rhythmic patterning created on warehouse facade, pattern_1 (top illustration) was the chosen pattern to further investigate. top right: notation for light, sources sit in the middle and the stream of light emitted off is embodied by the straight lines flying off the page. bottom: birds eye view of the sliver site with light notation overlayed within the site, and the end conditions of the volumes extruded and derived from the warehouse facade patterning.

this review consisted of additional new "drawings" helping to illustrate dramatic interior and exterior perspectives. having been working within rhinoceros and the digital world, i started making drawings through using extreme camera lens lengths in order to distort the image presented and create a sense of vertigo within the project. these drawings have been etched onto museum board using the laser cutter, to gather a precise and quasi-accurate representation. these drawings amongst others have been great tools to providing insight into the project and helping figure out the project as a cohesive whole.

post-midreview evaluation

here is a list of bulletins regarding my mid-review critique:

• syntactical thinking/investigation
• a priori formal vocabulary
• suppresses authorship
• eschews criticism
• anticipation of animation
• define where/how the sneeze works: what gets sneezed is not formal
• drawing idea: what might get sneezed in, let the sneeze create the form
• what is the marble? people, sneeze, exhibits
• spectrum developed from the sneeze
• 2 problems with syntactical thinking: resistances and when to stop
• constantly rethinking/remaking itself (cedric prices' fun palace)

in addition, thanks to chelsea i got an abundant of notes too!

• syntactical thinking is formalism in eisenman's world: belief that analysis will provide design strategy, formal vocabulary established prior
• suppresses forms of authorship: similar to parametric modeling...inserted parameters and out comes form, when really you choose the form
• representations: what if the house did what representations did?
• assuming formal a priori...look at animation...sneeze sliver site/site accepts sneeze
• what is the marble being replaced with?
• amy kulper: marble should be what gets sneezed, what gets sneezed should not be formal, what gets sneezed from where?
• meredith miller: how desires of different occupants transform sneeze, marble as other non-people things
• Exert authorship by virtue of these things (sneeze)
• Marc Wigley - constants new babylon: shadows of people finding new desires

mid-review presentation

my project for the semester builds upon results and investigations developed in our very first exercise, the marble container; where i created an object which was not willing to share its marbles and acted parasitic by literally poking its neighbors in order to make a connection. as a result, a diagram of the whole infrastructure was developed where i began to focus on the spatial qualities of the entire system, creating my boundaries based on those who shared marbles/wanted to share, and those who had nothing to do with sharing marbles.

investigation of spaces created within an existing infrastructure. black planes separate those who had nothing to do with sharing the marbles, red volumes are those who did share or wanted to share.

investigation of designing the site into three programmatic zones: art gallery, film center, music venue.

interested in the idea of spatial qualities and spaces created within an already existing infrastructure, i began studying my site with a lack of regard for the surrounding context. these three material/spatial diagrams were the first attempts to break my sliver site into separate spaces with specific program in mind (an art gallery, music venue, and film center). it’s small, its intimate, it’s for those who are interested in what’s happening, they want to be there. i had to step back and take a look at the entire block, and really understand the situation at hand.

top: zoomed out site plan showing the slenderness of my site in red, in comparison to its surroundings. middle: section cut through three street blocks, illustrating the endlessness in the vertical direction of the site. bottom: site photographs taken by me in williamsburg, brooklyn

the overall idea for the project is to investigate the potential within a construction site and to establish a sense of inhabitability. the concepts of finished and unfinished are an attempt to exploit the current “overconstructed” situation of williamsburg, brooklyn, by creating an installation which visually appears to be an unfinished constructions site, but in reality is a finished occupy-able space, potentially becoming a breeding ground for cultural activity (as initially proposed in the spatial diagrams). in addition, the notion of the terrain vague which includes, and i will quote ignasi de sola-morales rubio, author of terrain vague, “unincorporated margins, interior islands void of activity, oversights, these areas are simply un-inhabited, un-safe, un-productive. in short, they are foreign to the urban system, mentally exterior in the physical interior of the city, its negative image, as much as a critique of a possible alternative.”

i want to embody the strangeness of the site and its immediate surroundings by exploring and possessing an enthusiasm for its current vacancy. i am beginning to blur the boundaries of what is my site and what is my neighbor’s space through an “architectural sneeze,” which is binding the site to its context. formally the language is a result of the surroundings; balconies are extruded, windows are punctured, and crawl spaces are designed to create a moment of strangeness within the site. every move is the result of a controlled chaotic order, created between buildings, and their relationships to one another in a logistical and pragmatic manner.

top: drawing of the volumes floating in "free space" a clearer version of the hand drawn volumes, representing them as proposed buildings (i.e. plan and elevation drawings along bottom). bottom: diagrams illustrating the moments of origin for the volume drawing, to understand where and how these volumes are forming and by what nature they occur.

given the drawing of the volumes, as well as planes, i am starting to interact with my surroundings similarly to my ambitions of the marble exercise. my project is acting more parasitic, and latching on to its neighbors to become an “active member of the community,” or rather to expose even more so the effect overconstruction has on currently occupied spaces, or even the emotional integrity of the neighborhood from the start.

spatial reasoning part_one

i have come to a conclusion on which site i will be working with the remainder of the semester; 87 north 4th street, between wythe avenue and berry street, williamsburg brooklyn. i call it the sliver site! during the post billyburg thought process the studio began the energy draws. a new way of reading the site and its surroundings; we are producing and establishing our stance on the situation, while developing our concepts and understanding of infrastructure.

the initial jump was an ambitious one. i began focusing solely on my site, although with strong intentions of then backtracking and relating it to its context. my mission for the energy draw is to focus on spaces created, so i began spatial diagramming.

what is presented below are the first three attempts to break my sliver site into separate spaces with the program in mind of an art gallery, music venue, and film center. its small, its intimate, its for those who are interested in whats happening, they want to be there.

the "third" is strongly present in these first three trials, in both a rhythmic and programmatic sense, but the problem remains: i need to focus on its relationship to the whole block and develop an"architectural sneeze." understanding the entire context will allow me to create more of a formal language and comprehension of my manipulations to the spaces created. i am in the process now of developing a new drawing, one to speak to the immediate context, a warehouse, a condo, an independent business and the sliver. a relationship between all of them and to the current situation will be addressed and established in due time, but for now, its a slow investigation into the unknown.

a post-billyburg thought

after some time to digest the onset of stalled construction/development of the williamsburg, brooklyn area a few thoughts began brewing. given the current situation one would conclude that housing is a necessity for this area; majority of the sites visited were intended for this type of development. in the mind of a developer/business man the profit will make a presence in this form, not through what i may refer to as the urban cultural revitalization, which is strongly supported by some, but will not be sought after. my intention for the semester is to investigate this urban cultural revitalization idea and produce a positive impact for an area which could potentially thrive off of increased cultural activity. through readings on the current situation, ideas further developed, at least in my head, and keywords highlighting the situation found to be inspirational are presented as follows:

• "band aids" on a gun shot wound
• "st. marks in the 70's"
• "shooting gallery"
• the nebulously creative post-graduate
• ominous disposition
• fever dream
• postindustrial moonscape
• outdoor cinema
• flea market
• art
• music

the cry for cultural revitalization is present, and it is my ambition to help plant the seeds and watch it flourish, whether realistically, metaphorically, or theoretically, but of course pragmatically. the city should be shaped by the people, and given the current status of cultural intervention, or lack thereof, this would provide an opportunity to make a profit in terms of humanitarian/cultural action as opposed to monetary gain, as well as establishing a sense of place within williamsburg's mode of placelessness.

williamsburg, brooklyn_photodocumentation

between 11th + 12th streets_bedford ave. + driggs ave.

10th street between driggs ave. + roebling ave.

10th street between driggs ave. + roebling ave.

overhead of 10th street btwn driggs ave. + roebling ave.

4th street between wyhte ave. + berry street
7th street between driggs ave. + roebling ave.
7th street between driggs ave. + robeling ave.
images of posts adhered to construction sites_some political_some comical

studioblock_diagram city

so to finish up the studioblock exercise, not the lessons learned just the work involved, we were to create a diagram focusing on the block as a whole; "choose an element of interest regarding the entire assemblage to carry through as a discussion for each unit and the workings of the entirety." my ambition, drawing upon my initiatives from the start, was to investigate spatial relationships based on who designed for direct passage of the marble and who did not. dark black planes were used and extended beyond the unit to emphasize the areas of self-containment, the ones who were not concerned with passing a marble. the red volumes are the areas with strong connection points and intentionally pass the marble from point a to point b. after this the nickname ivan eisenman was established, i am really hoping i do not have to live up to this name all semester long, that could be quite a challenge!

studioblock_aka the parasite

the first exercise of the semester was designed as an introduction to understanding infrastructure, in all its complexities. the exercise was called studioblock, a block 8" x 8" x 4" with 12 varying geometric volumes all containing ruled surfaces, was developed by catie in rhino3d and distributed democratically throughout the studio.

the mission was to develop an infrastructural language within our own piece to then attach to the larger block, these attachments were to be negotiated between neighbors and fellow community followers. the infrastructure we were to develop had a single stipulation involved, a marble had to either be contained within your system, or had to travel through yours and into a neighbors; somewhere, somehow, marbles were to move from place to place and experience the infrastructural changes and degradations.

for my project, playing with marbles reminded me a childhood favorite, kerplunk. a game consisting of a clear chamber with plastic sticks running throughout creating a base where as you pull the sticks out of the chamber the marbles begin to fall through. this idea was carried through into my parasite. i call it a parasite, cause thats exactly what it is. my take for the assignment was to keep all my marbles in my basket, no one gets out, no one gets in. for some of my neighbors this was a saddening moment, for they would not be able to implement their motives for marble passages/movement, for me this was a success!

i used eight marbles, all of which were captured within the basswood sticks as though they were in their own pods. in order to make a connection to my neighbors, 3 sides, vaughn, john, and chris all got stabbed by me, no joints were created, no locking mechanism invented, simply put, i shoved some of the sticks protruding out of my model into me fellow studioblockers. in this regard i am the parasite, i am the one who wants to intrude into the other spaces, but not negotiate, leave no room for talk, no room for motion, nothing. there is no give nor take in this game for me, i latch on and enjoy the ride!

near the end of the exercise i began to think of this project as an inhabitable space, pavilion like, sculptural, interactive, yet static. i wondered what it might be like to crawl through the criss-crossing sprawl found within the system, and to meander in and out of the structural members planted firmly in the ground beneath our feet, like weaving through pylons outside on rollerblades, it could be quite something if planned appropriately for the human scale.

overconstruction_catie newell_wallenberg studio winter 2010

the wallenberg studios for the winter 2010 semester will focus on architecture as infrastructure. each studio instructor has taken a varying stance/position on this architectural issue and have challenged the ug4's to a semester of investigation, production, and insight towards a solution, or rather an interpretation of architecture as infrastructure through a "mini thesis."

for catie, the interest lies within "overconstruction," in other words, stalled construction sites. the goal for the semester is to inquire what else could take place within a stalled site, issues of temporality, program, culture, civic space are all on the table for us to endeavor. we will venture to brooklyn, new york, January 28 - January 31, to examine and create a site analysis of what will eventually become the homestead for our wallenberg studio projects. in addition, we will be introduced to architects and architectural projects alike, as a first hand precedent study, to gather a stronger sense of what architecture as infrastructure means.

more on brooklyn and my findings when i return sunday evening.