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“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness” -Frank Gehry

_textures_

Textures appear in both movies and architecture. Instead of focusing on the visuals of the scene, I decided to create models that represent the textures one would feel as they move through the space. It is easy to think about design choices in a manner of simply visual, but I wanted to think about it on a deeper, more interesting scale. This scene in Blade Runner 2049 is telling of the emotions and traits of everyone in this scene. Joi is clearly a computer program and K is trying to find an ounce of humanity in everything he does. I wanted to focus on the more architectural elements of the scenes, so I took major aspects and included them in the first model. I added textures on the left part of the model, while trying to keep the right side more architectural and related to the scene. The second model I constructed dealt more with how the emotions of the scene played off each character and shows balance in a representational aspect. The middle section represents a prison cell that seems to divide the two lovers. Altogether, each model chooses to portray themselves in different ways.  Each telling a different aspect of the story, yet allowing the viewer to create their own narrative.

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(all drawings are cropped and edited in the PDF on canvas.)

Film Exercise: Blade Runner 2049

“More human than humans.”

Sequence_001:

“You can now go anywhere you want in the world, where are you going first?”

Pan to the exterior. The only lights that seem to illuminate are the ones from other windows in the city.

Sequence_002:

*intense music and inaudible mumbling*

Outside his place of residence. Looking over the balcony. K is realizing how unhuman everything is.

Sequence_003:

*more music and inaudible mumbling*

Joi emerges from the interior of his apartment. Stares at the surroundings; taking in everything she hasn’t seen before.

Sequence_004:

 *inaudible voices become clearer* “…human…”

Joi walks out into the rain.

Sequence_005:

*voices become silent*

She stares at herself.

Sequence_006:

*blank music and voices reappear*

Joi’s hand lights up as the rain hits it.

Sequence_007:

*More blank music*

K realizes that the freer(and more human) Joi becomes, the more it appears that he loves her.

Sequence_008:

*music slight laughter from Joi*

Joi starts enoying the rain

Sequence_009: 

*music changes to flirty vibes*

Joi starts walking over to K.

Sequence_010:

She reaches for him for the first time.

Joi and K are finally on the same field.

        In this scene, the movie is addressing the age old question “can a relationship to an AI be meaningful?” The stage is set by K when he (tries) to being humanity into their relationship by telling Joi “It’s our anniversary,” and giving her an extended range of motion. Joi is then able to interact with the enviornment around her more than she ever was before. The closer to human she becomes, the more she interacts with the world around her in a human way. Since she is then free of the track that was originally set for her in the apartment, Joi decides that the first experience she wants to have is the rain. K moves to the balcony of his house and looks out over the city, where the main thing lighting up his face and balcony are the lights from the surrounding buildings. Joi slowly moves her way outside, touching every texture in his home on her way out. The hesitation in her movement is undeniable; she reacts almost like a child seeing a giant lollipop when she finally reaches the outside. As she slowly moves into the rainy night, she becomes more and more aware that she isn’t human because of the voices around her as well as the slight glitch that the rain causes to her hand. As K watches her, one becomes more and more aware of their humanity and feels sorry for K.  Joi starts to be aware that K is looking at her and realizes the city around. The scene ends by K staring lovingly at Joi.

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Reviewing Reviews: Subject_004

“… a boundary itself is an abstract concept...”

adam smith, “borderline architecture”

In the same way that watching a first-year’s review, looking at a thesis project is always humbling. It’s sad to think that in a few years, I too will be working on my thesis. This is the last hoorah, the last bang. Each student has worked their whole school career to be put into this gallery for design awards. It is a dream to be acknowledged on such a level and yet it is somehow bitter-sweet because it marks the end of a time you’ll never get back. Adam Smith focused his thesis project on borders and how they create a space. The climax to Smith’s design career is sitting on this wall, it’s a strange thing to think about. The way he displays each image as if it were a polaroid picture is telling. It’s not only the main part of the project that intimidates me, but also how each T-pin is in the wall at the exact same angle and distance out of the wall; each picture the same distance apart. I aspire to be this oriented towards details. Each model constructed for this exhibit is near perfect; something that I am still striving for in my models. It’s scary to think that I am expected to achieve this level of work in a few short years. I admire and have always admired the forth and fifth year students because of how amazing their projects always look. Smith’s project is just one example of how the design work that each student does is supposed to come together into a large exhibit at the end of their student career. Terrifying if you ask me.

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Reviewing reviews: Subject_003

“…studies of how light interacts with a space..”

david lang, “cheating, lying, stealing” david matthews 172

This studio focused heavily on the light qualities that a patterned roof can bring to a space. This student wanted to bring in feelings and emotions into this project (hence the name, “cheating, lying, stealing,”) To me, it is always fascinating to see what first-years are doing now versus what I did first-year. I have never been more intrigued with a first-year project than this one. The concept of how light interacts with a space is a concept that we learned in second year through the first and second technology sequences so it’s interesting to see how the first-years are already being introduced to them. Designing light apertures are a beautiful form of architecture that is normally not delved into until later years of the architecture path. The beautiful pictures that renders the light in a certain way really grabs the attention of the audience. Each project captures a different form of the light, making it elegant in their own way. The jurors seem to be simply fascinated with the way David L showed off the light throughout his design. Although the façade looks completely different from the interior, the outside façade is beautiful. Each circle placed carefully over the intentional line drawings beneath them allows for a unique experience on the interior and exterior of the design; a hard thing to accomplish for a majority of the first years that I knew going through first year.  Watching first-year reviews always puts into perspective how much our class has to bring it in order to make a reputation for ourselves the way they are.

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Reviewing Reviews: Subject_002

“The Power Strip extends across the length of the bowl to supply students with different types of power.”

michelle blackwell, “cascading origin”, marleen davis 272

Marleen Davis’s studio focused on the redevelopment of Madison Bowl at the University of Virginia. Unlike Professor Ambroziak’s section, this section was much more direct and obviously architecture to the non-architect eye. It is easy to see what the main goal of the studio was, since it was drawing heavy. Michelle’s project focused on the public and private spaces of Madison Bowl. She created elegant stages that became a sort of procession for anyone who visited the site, while also including very useful elements such as the “Power Strip” for students to sit back and recharge. Her well-spoken and unique presentation was a great start to the review. She brought power and creativity to a site that is hard to design in comparison to an urban context. Having attended both of her other reviews, Michelle peaked at this one. Her project was impeccable, and she hadn’t been nearly as passionate about the other two. It is interesting to see people become more and more invested in their designs. Because I am a student of Marleen Davis, it is easy to understand how much it is important to her that students become passionate about what they are designing. If her students aren’t passionate about their work, they must not be having enough one on one time with her, because she is just as (if not more) passionate about their designs as they are. I have never learned so much in one semester about not only architecture, but people as well, and a lot of it goes back to her.

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Reviewing Reviews: Subject_001

“…predator prey relationship…”

katherine hill “predator prey,” brian ambroziak 272

From an architectural stand point, this project has confused me from the start. Whether it be the “axonometric drawings” or the comic book that went along with the project, I never quite understood the importance of this project, until this review. Overall, second year has been experience after experience shaping the way I view architecture, whether it be “the door handle is the handshake to the building,” or the actual definition of architecture, it as all changed.  This project is another one of those turning points for me. I really appreciated(and still appreciate) the definition of architecture that Professor Ambroziak brings to the table(literally). He starts off with introducing the second project which was the meal around a table that his studio designed and finishes off by introducing his new project set. While the project was oddly architectural in an abstract sense, adding the wall section to the mix forces it to be almost too architectural. Instead of leaving things up to the imagination, which is what is supposed to happen with this sort of project. The boards were overall very cohesive; however, it is still unclear what the projects main objective is by just looking at the boards. The professor made the students add a prosthetic to the table to work as their model for the final project.  Having attended both the second and third review for this project, the second review seemed to flow much better and made more sense to the theme than the third review. Altogether, this is perhaps one of the most interesting reviews I have ever attended.

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Photo creds:

001: http://christojeanneclaude.net/mobile/projects?p=wrapped-coast

002: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/04/17/paris-to-get-vertical-village-by-sou-fujimoto-nicolas-laisne-and-dimitri-roussel/

 With brutalism being the new favorite thing amongst architects, it is refreshing to see something dainty. In the most recent years, architecture has become less and less about pushing the limits and more and more about the program that resides inside. Architects today are too scared of losing their clients to do things that are put of their comfort zone. I’m not looking forward to coming into a field full of “yes-men”. That’s what drew me to this project. It gives me hope that not all creativity is dead once I reach the professional level of my career. The first year of architecture, you are allowed to be as creative as you want. It seems as the years wear on, the architecture becomes more serious and less about creativity. This building looks like a first-year concept on steroids. Most first year projects are much to ambitious to be build, and at first glance, this is too.

This project is unique and interesting in ways that other projects of recent times aren’t. Creating a structure that is just so dainty yet intricate normally happens as an accident, but in this case its much more intentional. The layers upon layers of building makes it almost look as if it is an apartment without walls. The “Vertical village” seems to be the building inverse of “Wrapped Coast” by Cristo and Jeanne Claude. After seeing this building, you will now see all other buildings as wrapped in a façade. I find this way of thinking refreshing.

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Photo credits: http://idolza.com/qz/3a1s864/wikipedia-pallasmaa/hh9468/

Although hard to understand at times, Juhani Pallasmaa made some very interesting points in his lecture. The twelve most influential things in his career were not nearly as poetic as the way he spoke. I was happy to hear that he thinks about things besides architecture, such as the human experience and how emotions affect people. I appreciate that he encourages his students to obtain friends that are not an architecture major. His inclusion of time and touch in his lecture is great because I think about these things as well. When thinking of a building that I’m designing, I always think of how the experience will be and how the building will be enveloped by the environment around it.

Being an architecture major and having all architecture classes can make someone go a little stir crazy. A lot of professors encourage only thinking of architecture while others will encourage things that do not pertain to it. I am very thankful to know that it’s okay not to think about my major 24/7. What I took away from Pallasmaa’s lecture was much different than anyone else I spoke to. Since I want to teach architecture at a high school someday, I picked up on how he teaches his students and what life lessons he brings into his curriculum. I have always remembered the teachers that related things to the real world versus the ones that just simply expect the world out of you. I am thankful that I went to the lecture because it has shown me that it is okay to have hobbies and not be obsessed with architecture.

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One of the most fascinating forms of architecture that has always personally interested me has been architecture on the miniature scale. The tiny, intricate details are much harder to achieve on the smaller scale, while ever-so enticing. When it comes to Claymation movies such as this one, it is always surprising how much work goes into a movie like this. Having to capture every frame individually to make a series of images that are stitched flawlessly together seems like an impossible, tedious task that only a crazy person, such as Wes Anderson, would do. Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen took inspiration form Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The film combines multiple settings, one of which (Trash Island) reminds me of the children’s book Look-Alikes. To think that all the elements of these buildings are made of clay is incredible. Every piece of trash is hand designed; every window, every light; every aspect of every set is almost completely designed to meet to specifications of the production designer. As a child, I always watched Wallace and Gromit because my dad “Loved the art-style” and I couldn’t fully appreciate what he meant until college. Becoming an architect shapes your artistic conscience while also shaping your attention to detail. Until recently, I wouldn’t have ever been able to appreciate such a film from West Anderson.

Photo creds:  https://www.dezeen.com/2018/03/28/wes-anderson-isle-of-dogs-sets-metabolist-architecture-paul-harrod-interview/

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https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2018/03/520-west-28th-street-zaha-hadid-architects-new-york-city-high-line-usa_dezeen_2364_hero.jpg

Dear Zaha Hadid,

Thank you. Thank you for being one of the first women in the engineering field to get national recognition. After reading about your recent condo that has been completed, I am reminded about how lucky I am to be an aspiring architect growing up in an era that women can be appreciated for their work. From the most recent building that was completed, to the art gallery in Cincinnati, I have truly been inspired by your work. It’s because of you that I don’t have to worry about coming into a world that I won’t be respected in. You have been a pioneer in your field for years, and I am forever grateful. A lot of days I forget why I’m putting myself through my education, but when I look at your eye for design (evident in the above building), I remember why I do what I do and what I’m aspiring to be. Thank you for continuing to be my inspiration.

                               Sincerely,

                                            A second year architecture student

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[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Memorial

[2] https://www.tripsavvy.com/the-pentagon-memorial-information-for-visitors-1640329

 This semester has been one of the leading semesters for me learning about architecture. I have taken time to ensure that everything I place my name on is something I’m proud of. Julie Beckman was a leading part of that. After her lecture in the beginning of the semester (in conjunction with my first precedent project), I have started to understand that architectural beauty seems to be completely planned instead of happy accidents.  Things are beautiful because of how planned they are. While next to impossible to identify each program that will occur in each area, a good architect can plan most them. That’s what Julie Beckman taught me.

Through her design, she mentioned how every detail was completely planned out, from the (mere) amount of materials, to the direction the benches are oriented. The way she spoke about her design inspired me to pay careful attention to every single detail that not only I make, but also other architects from around the globe. Her inclusion of names on the end of benches and family members name under the benches just proves how much thought her and her husband really put into their design. Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole design is how passionate she still feels about it. At points of the lecture, it was clear that she was getting choked up about how impactful it was on the families she designed it for. While her emotions were interesting, when she showed the video of her son interacting with the memorial, it was honestly cool to see how someone who isn’t aware of the importance of what they’re walking on. It is hard to design for such things.  Bringing all of these things to a design (including their son) is telling. People don’t realize how much effort and thought is put into designing until they study design.

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In relation to the last post, architecture is formed by the culture surrounding it. Swimming pools have become more and more innovative in the most recent years. From infinity pools to the latest and greatest terrifying edition of the pool, it is becoming evident that pools are a signature of wealth. Starting from the ancient times, architects have used small, personal bodies of water to signify wealth. For example, the Maritime theater at Hadrian’s Villa is one of the examples of it. Using different elements of the environment allows people to show wealth and power in separate ways. Now, architects are taking their obsession with water to a whole new level by placing a pool over the edge of a building. In first world countries, water elements are worked more into architecture than of course a less-established country. Altogether, water is and will most likely forever be a large signifier that there is money present.

Photo creds: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/23/anaha-skyscraper-glass-bottomed-swimming-pool-honolulu-hawaii-solomon-cordwell-buenz/

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Throughout time, design issues have varied in need. Beginning in the ancient times, humans started designing to fit the needs of survival, for example, humans would design to block out the wind from a fire. As time has worn on, the purpose of design has changed from needs to wants as well. Architecture serves many purposes, but one of its main purpose is to show the culture of the time and what is important to humankind in that specific time period.

It is evident that each piece of architecture has shown the importance of a piece of culture. When the phone became popular in the early 20th century, the phone booth was created as a place for people to make a phone call in almost any area. Soon after, public phones were incorporated into architecture. When sports became important to culture, it also became evident in the architecture. Although originally widely considered a hunting commodity, dogs have become a huge companion to humans, therefore fronting a wide array of architecture inspired by dogs.

New stylish ways to promote companionship have become a leading thing for architects to design for. It isn’t hard to tell that things change with the time, but one of the main reasons that architecture becomes so prevalent is because of its direct correlation to culture. While architecture started out (it its most basic form) as a form of designing the best shelter, it has since become the leading piece of proof of humans history and important milestones.

Photo creds: [1] http://magazine.uc.edu/editors_picks/recent_features/uc-allstar.html

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

[3] http://meinkatz.tumblr.com/post/167410113239/heads-or-tails-by-nendo-heres-a-gift-for-you

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Photo Creds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA-dsomgvoY

 1/19/18_Cycle_001

Beauty, snow, simplicity

Reflection on box reflects scenery,

Mountains,

Warm, cozy,

Wooden,

Open, yet private,

Secluded

   01/19/18_Cycle_002

Snohetta,

Grass,

Wood, Warmth,

Low Clouds,

Moose,

Community,

Structure,

Sculpture,

Vast landscape,

Perception

 01/22/18_Cycle_003

Mountains,

People,

Buffalo,

Reindeer Pavillion?,

Clouds low in the sky,

Rocks,

Moss,

Rocky path,

Reflection,

Fireplace,

Reflected to blend in with environment,

Open area

  02/01/18_Cycle_004

Architecture firm Snohetta,

Local culture important to firm,

Animals,

Culture,

Rocks,

Close up of landscape,

Reflection of surroundings onto building,

Camouflage

02/05/18_Cycle_005

Mountains,

Moving Sky,

Blue hues,

Red train, blue house,

Snohetta sign,

Buffalo,

Wooden bench with organic shape,

Warm, welcoming,

Open air room,

Rocks,

Reflections

 02/07/18_Cycle_006

Snohetta,

Snowy mountains,

Boarding train,

Roaming buffalo,

Beautiful greenery,

Tall mountains stretching to the clouds,

Room immersed in environment,

Waterfall shaped benches,

Open landscape,

Fire place,

How the architecture is inhabited by the people

                           02/16/18_Cycle_007

Mountains Protrude above the surrounding landscape as the clouds flow over them,

The buffalo inhibits the landscape like people do,

The wooden structure seems to be the main support of the overall building,

The glass of the exterior is made to reflect the land scape so the animals aren’t intimidated by the man-made structure,

Serene noises are used in this video to emphasize the architecture,

The floor of the building is also used to reflect the sky to further include the inhabitants into the landscape

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This semester in architecture school has come to mean more than any other semester I’ve experienced thus far. Zumthor’s quote about the beauty of the little things in architecture is what I’ve experienced this semester embodied into words. I have never enjoyed doing something as much as I have architecture this semester. The emotion in architecture isn’t always on the surface. Sometimes it takes a deep precedent study to completely understand and appreciate architecture. When visiting Chicago, Brian Ambroziak explained to a group of us students how visiting the Robie House shaped his perspective of architecture and drove him to create beautiful things.  For me, that was a precedent study on Toshiko Mori’s visitor center in Buffalo, New York. Before researching this building, I thought the majority of architecture were just happy accidents instead of beautiful intentions.  Zumthor’s quote just exemplifies my experience into understanding and appreciating architecture.

  Gulf Shores used to be a common vacation spot for my family. The architecture of the area was created by the hotels and condominiums surrounding the area for which one inhabited the beach. I personally enjoyed walking next to all of the different types of buildings. Perhaps the best part was the grand space that the surrounding buildings created. The beach was and will always be the focus of the area, not the shelters around the area. It’s a beautiful place. There are few other places in the world that people gather to enjoy the environment. Although people visit cities, it is the buildings that make a city, not anything else. The beach brings a whole new outlook on architecture.  Sure, the buildings are important, but they will never be as important as the landscape.  It’s interesting to see how architects find ways to inhabit various environments

Image Credit #1:http://www.tmarch.com/projects/featured/darwin-d-martin-house-visitor-center

Image Credit #2:https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/new-orleans/things-to-do-in-gulf-shores-alabama

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Valdrada is a city that exist is two seemingly similar universes. The way Khan describes the city is much different than the way the narrator describes it. Both show the city as a placeholder for something deeper. To some, the water shows a reflection; to others it shows darkness.  It depends on the viewer. Each who visits the city has a different perspective, much like architecture.  The “mirror” of the city increases and decreases the value of the things that occur in the city. Not only does the mirror heighten the experience, it also takes away from the experience. This section seemed much more poetic than the others in this collection. Polo describes the events in the city by stating that the events that happen in the city contain a special dignity that people who reside here know they obtain. Anything rotten or wrong will destroy the image in the mirror. Altogether, this piece of Calvino’s overall work contains many metaphors that can directly correlate to any perspective on architecture. 

Image Credit: http://bieniohabitabilidad.tumblr.com/page/11

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Calvino’s quote, “‘Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it. Or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little,’” is one of the most powerful of this section.  It is interesting to think of how versatile the descriptions of are. Every time Polo describes a city in a different way, one can see a specific city; the ideal city. The cities described in these series of prose works can relate back to any city one visits.  Each city is made up of its ideals. In this case, the city of Melania is used as a descriptor to Khan to show the brutality of cities. By bringing in stories of the soldiers, it can add a personal aspect to the mix. When Calvino describes one aspect of the city, it can often bring more description than describing the city overall; and to Polo in this case, the descriptions of this city are of the people that inhabit the space. Cities can be described in several ways; through their people, culture, or simply the layout. Calvino successfully creates an atmosphere throughout these stories that allow for the readers interpretations. The architecture of a city doesn’t solely rely on buildings. A lot of times, the buildings contained within a city are only as good as those who inhabit them. In a different way, the culture of a city can heavily rely on its architecture more than its people.

Image Credit: http://www.cittainvisibili.com/en/portfolio/melania-watercolor.html