A few hours later than I would have hoped, but I am done. DONE DONE DONE DONE.
Sent to the plotter and all.
I'll pick them up tomorrow.
They even look good.
4.30.2010
4.29.2010
5:15 pm
This is yet another psuedo-blog post - tweet:
on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the most, how much like dying do i feel like right now?
8.
on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the most, how much like dying do i feel like right now?
8.
1:00 pm
5.5 hours to go. I 'gave up' around 7:30 this morning and went home for 2 hours to nap and shower.
Back at it, and I've just about finished one section.
Back at it, and I've just about finished one section.
6:00 am
New goals. I have 12 hours to be finished with everything.
2 hr - South Section
2 hr - East Section
2 hr - South Elevation
2 hr - East Elevation
2 hr - Street view rendering and/or monk cell rendering
1 hr - Change trees on plans
1 hr - touch up diagrams
Plot.
2 hr - South Section
2 hr - East Section
2 hr - South Elevation
2 hr - East Elevation
2 hr - Street view rendering and/or monk cell rendering
1 hr - Change trees on plans
1 hr - touch up diagrams
Plot.
4 am reflections
I know this is a little crazy, but as this is the last all nighter of my architectural degree, I am reveling in it... every freaking minute.
Sick of Gaga, Britney, and Justin because I've listened too long.... seen every episode of House, Glee, and Bewitched on Hulu.... teapot in hand, stacks of chip and food wrappers littering my desk.
We are going to Starbucks in an hour... a good stopping point. I would like to have my plans finished (new trees and whatever else) by then.
I finished the little last bits of my model that needed fixing.
It's a good night.
Sick of Gaga, Britney, and Justin because I've listened too long.... seen every episode of House, Glee, and Bewitched on Hulu.... teapot in hand, stacks of chip and food wrappers littering my desk.
We are going to Starbucks in an hour... a good stopping point. I would like to have my plans finished (new trees and whatever else) by then.
I finished the little last bits of my model that needed fixing.
It's a good night.
3:30 am
Chant Hall render complete... with yogis.
Despite it's seeming simplicity, remember that it is built entirely in photoshop, with only the lines gathered from a -screenshot- in rhino... not even a base rendering.
Just to impress you with my photoshopping skills. haha.
Despite it's seeming simplicity, remember that it is built entirely in photoshop, with only the lines gathered from a -screenshot- in rhino... not even a base rendering.
Just to impress you with my photoshopping skills. haha.
4.28.2010
4:30
Starbucks --- cappuccino and cheese danish. yum.
perspectiving.
Linework for the side street view:
perspectiving.
Linework for the side street view:
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Moderate panic mode. Trying to find better perspective locations in my very unfinished 3d model. \
The interior perspective I'm tracing and working out
The interior perspective I'm tracing and working out
10 am - 12 pm
After leaving crown at 4:30, I slept for a bit and went to lasercut at 9:30.
Model is now almost nearly done (I need adjacent buildings) but I am going to pound out some drawings.
Hehehe. I have monks!
I also managed to get in an argument with the people cleaning out crown. They are ripping out all of the desks surrounding our studio, and I just wanted them to leave a few more of the desks so we could work. But no.
I'm tired, so I cried. Haha.
A yogi
Walking through the study space
Gathering space
Chant hall
Space.
Model is now almost nearly done (I need adjacent buildings) but I am going to pound out some drawings.
Hehehe. I have monks!
I also managed to get in an argument with the people cleaning out crown. They are ripping out all of the desks surrounding our studio, and I just wanted them to leave a few more of the desks so we could work. But no.
I'm tired, so I cried. Haha.
A yogi
Walking through the study space
Gathering space
Chant hall
Space.
3:30 am
Though not done, I'm tired.
I've got a list for tomorrow : adjacent buildings, recut 2 roof pieces, finish pagan chapel, cut and install people, trees?
aaaaand... all drawings.
I've started my drawings again tonight. Making the edits from the model.
I think I'll go home at 4 and come back in the morning.
I've got a list for tomorrow : adjacent buildings, recut 2 roof pieces, finish pagan chapel, cut and install people, trees?
aaaaand... all drawings.
I've started my drawings again tonight. Making the edits from the model.
I think I'll go home at 4 and come back in the morning.
4.27.2010
Hour by Hour state of disarray
As a sort of time keeper, or a sort of slow time lapse, I will be posting a photo of the state of my work every hour until I'm done. (that's the plan)
I wanted to finish my model this morning. That obviously hasn't happened.
6:30 pm
I wanted to finish my model this morning. That obviously hasn't happened.
6:30 pm
4.20.2010
historic parametrics
I picket up a "A System of Architectural Ornament" by Sullivan last week, and have just gotten around to flipping through it, and I am struck by the diagrammatic progression of his ornamentation.
Hand parametrics.
And it feels so much -nicer- than our system of parametrics because it accepts that it is art, poetry, and humanely derived without relying on the "rationality of mathematics" [which most architectural parametrics are only loosely based on].
Also... I mostly love that he uses the words "phantasmagoriam obscurantism" to describe our preconceptions of what man is.
Hand parametrics.
And it feels so much -nicer- than our system of parametrics because it accepts that it is art, poetry, and humanely derived without relying on the "rationality of mathematics" [which most architectural parametrics are only loosely based on].
Also... I mostly love that he uses the words "phantasmagoriam obscurantism" to describe our preconceptions of what man is.
4.19.2010
Project Statement
---Written for my arch. writing class this morning, but helpful in 'straightening out' my thinking---
SANCT: an Urban Interfaith Monastery.
Interfaith is difficult to define; comprised of people seeking spiritual reconciliation, these communities are made up of believers and non-believers alike: Christians, Jews, Pagans, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Protestants, Muslims... Interfaith is about conversation between historically contradictory groups of people. Interfaith communities are fluid, flexible, adaptable. Often meeting in coffee shops, convention centers, other churches, an interfaith "church" is simply a relationship: the development of spiritual understanding through connection with others.
The task I set myself at the beginning of the project was to define and understand “interfaith” as a spiritual community and to explore the creation of meaningful, spiritual space without a reliance on icon or symbolic form.
Through my research and involvement in a local interfaith community, I have come to understand interfaith as the most intensely individualistic pursuit of truth; it attracts people who are "spiritual but not religious," confused, uncertain, or dissatisfied with organized religion. Testimony, not Testament, drives discussion. Beliefs are based on instinct, not prescription. Self-understanding is as crucial as community candidness. The purpose of Interfaith is the development of self through reflection and discussion. While this may not seem far off from most spiritual pursuits, interfaith communities are unique in their
emphasis on an individual’s definition of truth, equality of differing beliefs, and non-hierarchical inclusion.
So I began through program, compiling small spatial ideals of the places I personally felt most open, and sought unity amongst their contradictions and juxtapositions. At times the meaning of the program overcame the formal composition; at times the formal composition sacrificed programmatic clarity. But this struggle between meaning and image became symbolic of the larger discussion: what is non-iconic spiritual space?
Around midterm, I initiated a large-group discussion between members of a Pagan and Christian interfaith group to better understand the characteristics of pure spiritual space. Were there spaces or places that inspire your spirituality? Why? Was it light? Materials? Shadow? Nature? Ritual? Familiar symbolism? My findings were overwhelmingly in favor of my original instincts: a quiet garden, a grand light space with high windows, ceremonial procession, soft floors, and all the “creature comforts” of small homey space.
My proposal mimics the beauty and the oddities of interfaith as a concept: self reflective, yet supremely conscious of external conditions. Interfaith is both introverted (individuals seeking clarity in their own befuddled beliefs) and extroverted (sharing faith with others). But it is personally rigorous; individuals are self responsible for their involvement, understanding that interfaith cannot be fully experienced with closed heart, with a closed mind.
Over the course of the semester, my interest in the program became more and more self-obsessed and eventually morphed into the most contradictory program possible: an urban interfaith monastery. Providing a place for truth seekers to meet, rest, and explore their beliefs in diverse community, the monastery provides a temporary retreat and emphasizes both the individual and communal aspects of interfaith.
Shielded from the main road, one must enter through the garden on the side street. The first floor is public, open, the most programmatically inviting and uninvolved. The ground floor provides a holistic summary of an interfaith center: garden, sanctuary, gallery, dining, and gathering spaces.
Progression into the rest of the building, where the spiritual spaces lie, is intentional. A ceremonial staircase (the so-called “stairway to heaven”), is visible from the entry and framed with light, offering the primary point of access to the second and third floors.
The second floor, at first contradictorily, is the most private and the only floor with continuous circulation. While the “stairway to heaven” continues immediately to the top floor, traversing the second floor prepares the heart and mind: study space leads to private prayer cells, which leads to the chapel for collective prayer. The Chapel (Chant Hall) opens back onto the study space. Visitors (the Monks) may continue to circulate through these preparatory spaces until their desired path is decided upon and they are ready to continue.
From the second floor two paths (paths to enlightenment?) are made available: group or individual. The Stairway to Heaven continues into the large gathering hall, a brilliantly lit, tall space. The Heaven Hall functions as a large ceremonial space: while not the most overtly spiritual, it is the gathering place for meetings and functions of all sizes.
The secondary stack nestled between quiet study space and private monk cells leads instead to the next steps in individual spiritual development: counseling and yoga / meditation.
SANCT: an Urban Interfaith Monastery.
Interfaith is difficult to define; comprised of people seeking spiritual reconciliation, these communities are made up of believers and non-believers alike: Christians, Jews, Pagans, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Protestants, Muslims... Interfaith is about conversation between historically contradictory groups of people. Interfaith communities are fluid, flexible, adaptable. Often meeting in coffee shops, convention centers, other churches, an interfaith "church" is simply a relationship: the development of spiritual understanding through connection with others.
The task I set myself at the beginning of the project was to define and understand “interfaith” as a spiritual community and to explore the creation of meaningful, spiritual space without a reliance on icon or symbolic form.
Through my research and involvement in a local interfaith community, I have come to understand interfaith as the most intensely individualistic pursuit of truth; it attracts people who are "spiritual but not religious," confused, uncertain, or dissatisfied with organized religion. Testimony, not Testament, drives discussion. Beliefs are based on instinct, not prescription. Self-understanding is as crucial as community candidness. The purpose of Interfaith is the development of self through reflection and discussion. While this may not seem far off from most spiritual pursuits, interfaith communities are unique in their
emphasis on an individual’s definition of truth, equality of differing beliefs, and non-hierarchical inclusion.
So I began through program, compiling small spatial ideals of the places I personally felt most open, and sought unity amongst their contradictions and juxtapositions. At times the meaning of the program overcame the formal composition; at times the formal composition sacrificed programmatic clarity. But this struggle between meaning and image became symbolic of the larger discussion: what is non-iconic spiritual space?
Around midterm, I initiated a large-group discussion between members of a Pagan and Christian interfaith group to better understand the characteristics of pure spiritual space. Were there spaces or places that inspire your spirituality? Why? Was it light? Materials? Shadow? Nature? Ritual? Familiar symbolism? My findings were overwhelmingly in favor of my original instincts: a quiet garden, a grand light space with high windows, ceremonial procession, soft floors, and all the “creature comforts” of small homey space.
My proposal mimics the beauty and the oddities of interfaith as a concept: self reflective, yet supremely conscious of external conditions. Interfaith is both introverted (individuals seeking clarity in their own befuddled beliefs) and extroverted (sharing faith with others). But it is personally rigorous; individuals are self responsible for their involvement, understanding that interfaith cannot be fully experienced with closed heart, with a closed mind.
Over the course of the semester, my interest in the program became more and more self-obsessed and eventually morphed into the most contradictory program possible: an urban interfaith monastery. Providing a place for truth seekers to meet, rest, and explore their beliefs in diverse community, the monastery provides a temporary retreat and emphasizes both the individual and communal aspects of interfaith.
Shielded from the main road, one must enter through the garden on the side street. The first floor is public, open, the most programmatically inviting and uninvolved. The ground floor provides a holistic summary of an interfaith center: garden, sanctuary, gallery, dining, and gathering spaces.
Progression into the rest of the building, where the spiritual spaces lie, is intentional. A ceremonial staircase (the so-called “stairway to heaven”), is visible from the entry and framed with light, offering the primary point of access to the second and third floors.
The second floor, at first contradictorily, is the most private and the only floor with continuous circulation. While the “stairway to heaven” continues immediately to the top floor, traversing the second floor prepares the heart and mind: study space leads to private prayer cells, which leads to the chapel for collective prayer. The Chapel (Chant Hall) opens back onto the study space. Visitors (the Monks) may continue to circulate through these preparatory spaces until their desired path is decided upon and they are ready to continue.
From the second floor two paths (paths to enlightenment?) are made available: group or individual. The Stairway to Heaven continues into the large gathering hall, a brilliantly lit, tall space. The Heaven Hall functions as a large ceremonial space: while not the most overtly spiritual, it is the gathering place for meetings and functions of all sizes.
The secondary stack nestled between quiet study space and private monk cells leads instead to the next steps in individual spiritual development: counseling and yoga / meditation.
4.17.2010
Naming the project
This has been a really odd semester for me.
A very thoughtless semeseter, I should say.
I am faced now, as I lay out my final boards, with naming my project. Typically, this is a completely organic, unforced process. A name would have revealed itself at some point in the semester through my writing on the project.
But I have not been writing. I have not been thinking, reflecting, or sketching. My sketchbook is hardly half full [I normally go through at least a full book, sometimes two].
And I have the creeping feeling that this semester was an utter waste of lost potential. What could have been so meaningful, so good has just died. It is a wreckage of undefined formal decisions, careless decisions, un-researched assumptions.
I may not have learned anything about architecture, but I have learned about myself: that this process does not work for me. I do not like this kind of architecture. I must trust myself and what I know to be good, what I find interesting, and push forward into the things that interest me.
It feels a little late to have learned this lesson... one that I have been aware of but never had to truly struggle through.
I do not despise my project any more, but I do not love it. I wish I had another 6 weeks to develop it, now that I know what I should have known at midterm.
I don't want to blame anyone else, but it did take a long time to figure out how to deal with my professors. Conflicting personalities trying to be productive. I understand the nuances better now. I understand what to take and what to leave of their criticism (mostly leave).
So anyways... I have to write about my project for Monday, name my project, and put my boards together in a way that tells the story of what I hoped to achieve. If I were fully honest, I would say it was not a success. I would say the project is weak, but that I understand myself much better. I would point out the good parts and say I would like to develop these ideas. I would like to confess failure.
But, as anyone in architecture knows, this is not acceptable. You must always stand up for yourself, spin the weaknesses into disregard-able pieces, to pump up and emphasize the good parts.
It is the business of selling yourself, of selling garbage, of white lies. It is absolutely necessary in a culture that judges worth and responsibility on the success of every endeavor.
If I were to suggest I wasn't satisfied with the project, there is a chance I would have to keep working on it over summer until it was "done." Krueck has been known to give incompletes until the work met some illusive standard.
Well anyways... I need to write about my project.
A very thoughtless semeseter, I should say.
I am faced now, as I lay out my final boards, with naming my project. Typically, this is a completely organic, unforced process. A name would have revealed itself at some point in the semester through my writing on the project.
But I have not been writing. I have not been thinking, reflecting, or sketching. My sketchbook is hardly half full [I normally go through at least a full book, sometimes two].
And I have the creeping feeling that this semester was an utter waste of lost potential. What could have been so meaningful, so good has just died. It is a wreckage of undefined formal decisions, careless decisions, un-researched assumptions.
I may not have learned anything about architecture, but I have learned about myself: that this process does not work for me. I do not like this kind of architecture. I must trust myself and what I know to be good, what I find interesting, and push forward into the things that interest me.
It feels a little late to have learned this lesson... one that I have been aware of but never had to truly struggle through.
I do not despise my project any more, but I do not love it. I wish I had another 6 weeks to develop it, now that I know what I should have known at midterm.
I don't want to blame anyone else, but it did take a long time to figure out how to deal with my professors. Conflicting personalities trying to be productive. I understand the nuances better now. I understand what to take and what to leave of their criticism (mostly leave).
So anyways... I have to write about my project for Monday, name my project, and put my boards together in a way that tells the story of what I hoped to achieve. If I were fully honest, I would say it was not a success. I would say the project is weak, but that I understand myself much better. I would point out the good parts and say I would like to develop these ideas. I would like to confess failure.
But, as anyone in architecture knows, this is not acceptable. You must always stand up for yourself, spin the weaknesses into disregard-able pieces, to pump up and emphasize the good parts.
It is the business of selling yourself, of selling garbage, of white lies. It is absolutely necessary in a culture that judges worth and responsibility on the success of every endeavor.
If I were to suggest I wasn't satisfied with the project, there is a chance I would have to keep working on it over summer until it was "done." Krueck has been known to give incompletes until the work met some illusive standard.
Well anyways... I need to write about my project.
Final Model Materials
Because this studio final is not about creative thought but perfect production, we have to make large, realistic final models.
These are the materials I will be using for my final model.
I also have an insane schedule of finishing one drawing a day for the next week to give myself 4 days of model making time (cutting it close!!). Prayers for productive efficiency being accepted now.
The thin stone stuff is corian I shaved really closely so light filters through (to mimic alabaster) and then lasercut with a really simple "parametric" circle pattern.
Frit on the glazing is achieved by applying several layers of transfer paper dots.
The dark wood will either be stained bass (like in the model) or oiled walnut (which looks better, but is more difficult).
Sand blasted acrylic with a larger scale circle pattern will cover large sections of my facade.
These are the materials I will be using for my final model.
I also have an insane schedule of finishing one drawing a day for the next week to give myself 4 days of model making time (cutting it close!!). Prayers for productive efficiency being accepted now.
The thin stone stuff is corian I shaved really closely so light filters through (to mimic alabaster) and then lasercut with a really simple "parametric" circle pattern.
Frit on the glazing is achieved by applying several layers of transfer paper dots.
The dark wood will either be stained bass (like in the model) or oiled walnut (which looks better, but is more difficult).
Sand blasted acrylic with a larger scale circle pattern will cover large sections of my facade.
4.14.2010
Yeah!
I know I have been terrible about posting about studio this semester. This is largely because my professors have encouraged us against thinking too much... and just DOING. So, I've been producing a lot, then stressing about it not being meaningful.
Though I knew this before, I am now very very certain that this is not my ideal way of working: I need a LOT of time to think.
But with two weeks left in the semester, and hopefully my last modifications to the building completed last night/ this morning, I have started on the final images and model.
I have materials, they are gorgeous, and I'm incredibly excited about the model looking fantastic.
I am shaving Corian down to about 1/32" thickness, so light filters through (mimicking alabaster)... and then lasercutting a simple parametric circle pattern over it. The effect is lovely. It looks like a thin sheet of stone lace.
I'll post photos tonight... But anyways. Our review is Friday the 30th. We have to submit everything by Thursday at 6pm... so I have 15 days to complete everything. Time is ticking!!
***note... I am getting into the finals week high of delicious sleepless delirium. I love the intensity this time of year!***
Though I knew this before, I am now very very certain that this is not my ideal way of working: I need a LOT of time to think.
But with two weeks left in the semester, and hopefully my last modifications to the building completed last night/ this morning, I have started on the final images and model.
I have materials, they are gorgeous, and I'm incredibly excited about the model looking fantastic.
I am shaving Corian down to about 1/32" thickness, so light filters through (mimicking alabaster)... and then lasercutting a simple parametric circle pattern over it. The effect is lovely. It looks like a thin sheet of stone lace.
I'll post photos tonight... But anyways. Our review is Friday the 30th. We have to submit everything by Thursday at 6pm... so I have 15 days to complete everything. Time is ticking!!
***note... I am getting into the finals week high of delicious sleepless delirium. I love the intensity this time of year!***
4.11.2010
Beirut or Turkey or both?
I am struggling to rewrite my essay for the Martin Roche traveling fellowship (due tomorrow!!) about where I would like to travel and what I would like to study.
The more I research Lebanon, the more interested I am in the response of the built environment to its political instability. There is an obsession among the AUB faculty with post-war reconstruction, yet the city itself is still volatile and unpredictable.
This flirtation with disaster, daily living on the edge, gives the city an intensity of life and vibrancy entirely unexpected.
There may not be much exciting architecture happening, but the city is a living precedent for the contemporary discourse's obsession with post-apocalyptic continually-volatile societies.
While I wrote my manifesto against such discourse, it is a fascinating relationship, providing inspiration for change. Continuing joyfully, confidently, hellbent on progress, perhaps these are the most hopeful people, the most hopeful buildings?
But I cannot stop my love affair with ancient spiritual space, and I feel it would be a great loss to not visit the Hagia Sophia while in the Mid East.
But how do I tie in these two contradictory themes?
One, ancient spiritual space, and its ability to inspire and strike our souls, thousands of years after completion. As the cradle of civilization, home to some of the oldest cultures in existence, both cities offer prime examples of ancient structures that remain relevant through centuries of evolution and use; as home to the best surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, I would especially like to explore the mosques and cathedrals throughout Istanbul.
Secondly: Both countries act as gateways between East and West; Turkey, which has remained relatively isolated and peaceful, has had the opportunity to develop a flourishing cultural mash-up of contemporary forms and heritage pieces. Lebanon, while dedicated to western modernization, is politically volatile and subject to instability. This contradictory position provides insight into the pervasion of contemporary American culture; from the extreme juxtaposition of old and new, I hope to better understand the key influences of our society and discover potential avenues for the development of an equally hopeful neo-vernacular of our own.
The more I research Lebanon, the more interested I am in the response of the built environment to its political instability. There is an obsession among the AUB faculty with post-war reconstruction, yet the city itself is still volatile and unpredictable.
This flirtation with disaster, daily living on the edge, gives the city an intensity of life and vibrancy entirely unexpected.
There may not be much exciting architecture happening, but the city is a living precedent for the contemporary discourse's obsession with post-apocalyptic continually-volatile societies.
While I wrote my manifesto against such discourse, it is a fascinating relationship, providing inspiration for change. Continuing joyfully, confidently, hellbent on progress, perhaps these are the most hopeful people, the most hopeful buildings?
But I cannot stop my love affair with ancient spiritual space, and I feel it would be a great loss to not visit the Hagia Sophia while in the Mid East.
But how do I tie in these two contradictory themes?
One, ancient spiritual space, and its ability to inspire and strike our souls, thousands of years after completion. As the cradle of civilization, home to some of the oldest cultures in existence, both cities offer prime examples of ancient structures that remain relevant through centuries of evolution and use; as home to the best surviving examples of Byzantine architecture, I would especially like to explore the mosques and cathedrals throughout Istanbul.
Secondly: Both countries act as gateways between East and West; Turkey, which has remained relatively isolated and peaceful, has had the opportunity to develop a flourishing cultural mash-up of contemporary forms and heritage pieces. Lebanon, while dedicated to western modernization, is politically volatile and subject to instability. This contradictory position provides insight into the pervasion of contemporary American culture; from the extreme juxtaposition of old and new, I hope to better understand the key influences of our society and discover potential avenues for the development of an equally hopeful neo-vernacular of our own.
4.02.2010
4.01.2010
Painterly Comics
Great lecture by Jeff Kipnis last night titled "Why Bother?" - a hilarious attack on rival-critic Robert Somol and their differing interests in graphic novels as influence and inspiration on architecture.
A few of my more favorite quotes and things to think about from the evening:
"critics, as they grow older, do one of two things. They either become bitter, like Frampton, or insane in the utter ridiculous conjectures on architecture. I'm not bitter, so I guess I'm insane."
"yellow is the key to cartoon architecture"
"it is absolutely essential to get with people who share your interest in doing positive misbehavior"
"[Gehry's "giant turd" tower] is happy in a sort of anal period sense..."
"our job as teachers it to take works of genius, turn them into pedagogy so students regurgitate it mediocrit-ally... in hopes that it inspires new works of genius"
"if you do theoretical work, it should make you go back and rethink your old work"
A few of my more favorite quotes and things to think about from the evening:
"critics, as they grow older, do one of two things. They either become bitter, like Frampton, or insane in the utter ridiculous conjectures on architecture. I'm not bitter, so I guess I'm insane."
"yellow is the key to cartoon architecture"
"it is absolutely essential to get with people who share your interest in doing positive misbehavior"
"[Gehry's "giant turd" tower] is happy in a sort of anal period sense..."
"our job as teachers it to take works of genius, turn them into pedagogy so students regurgitate it mediocrit-ally... in hopes that it inspires new works of genius"
"if you do theoretical work, it should make you go back and rethink your old work"
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