Props to Dominic Leong of PARA for this insightful article that basically surmises what we deal with every day, without being overly academic (aka big words.)

The Game of Architecture via CORE.FORM-ULA

MS

For the love of flesh and bone, or part to whole relationships, an interactive spatial investigation of anatomy is available for free via the visible body. One is able to hide or ghost different body systems in layers down to highly specific arteries, bones or organs.

Note: The ability exists to use OpenGL vs. DirectX depending on your graphics card.

Pretty amazing.

http://www.visiblebody.com

MS

“Pollock’s finest paintings… reveal that his all-over line does not give rise to positive or negative areas: we are not made to feel that one part of the canvas demands to be read as figure, whether abstract or representational, against another part of the canvas read as ground. There is not inside or outside to Pollock’s line or the space through which it moves…. Pollock has managed to free line not only from its function of representing objects in the world, but also from its task of describing or bounding shapes or figures, whether abstract or representational, on the surface of the canvas.”

Pollock’s paintings were not paintings like people knew paintings. Hey considered them events, and his immersion in them was key to their success. They were liberations from aesthetic values. Ironically, they in turn, created a unique aesthetic one that polarized its critics.

And now, you too can paint like Jackson! I stumbled upon this site the other day. The mouse path has a function related to speed of movement and thickness of dribble. Clicking changes colors. Have a looksee.

http://www.jacksonpollock.org

A continuation of the last exercise - this time taking the module in the z dimension…

Image copyright NBBJ, LLC  2007

MS

Here is an image of a screen system I have been developing (rendered with a little 50’s newspaper panache) for a project that I have had the pleasure of helping out on. Pretty straight forward, I think the image speaks for itself, but simply put, the screen tries to achieve depth on a flat façade.

The ultimate goal is to accommodate the multiple scales and gradients of its locale (suburban Moscow) through the use of a panelized screen that can be manipulated to achieve varied effects textually and materially that may respond to program elements of the office behind it. As cost can never be overlooked the screen uses only one panel size, and the effect is achieved simply by spacing the panels differently on vertical struts that run the height of the curtain wall.

The buildings abut end-to-end such that the surface condition can both wrap the corner, and translate across from building to building.

I think all too often we associate “random paneling” with “interesting”, in lieu of actually taking advantage of inherent relationships.

All images copyright NBBJ, LLC 2007

On the tail of the Republic Square competition, another *small* project competition emerged in the heart of Almaty’s financial district that was simple in the challenge it set forth; a speculative office complex 160,000 sm, consisting of four buildings, 2 large (flanking the site), and 2 smaller (in the middle). Our team, since having won the competition, is finding in the midst of its development, that the project has grown considerably in size, scope, and complexity. I will try to document this ongoing effort, to bring to light design issues put on the table, challenges faced, and what it might mean for the client, city, and occupants…

Concept.

The client’s interest for the project is one which predicates a desire to create a formidable presence in a burgeoning financial district at the southeast corner of the city. The Kazak culture as a whole has strong ties to the landscape, which for centuries was the enabler of their nomadic lifestyle. They were a people who farmed the steppe between the lowlands, and the southern mountain ranges. It is this affinity for their environs, coupled with a desire to participate in a dialogue with western society that led them to the development of this project.At its rudiments, the buildings of the Al Farabi Business Center have the advantage of being the third project in an on-going collaborative between NBBJ, E/Ye Design, and TS Engineering (TSE). TSE is the client, developer, and shared user of the complex. As stated above, the formal nature of these investigations resonated highest with the client because of their simultaneous addressing of both the desire to create buildings which become part of, and speak to, a larger landscape, as well as situating themselves in a contemporary discussion with the richness and technology of western architecture. The goal of the project is synergistic with this ideal; to create place beyond the realm of speculative office (the parameters of which were dictated by the client to be four buildings of a specific size and location), which amplifies this discussion. Thusly, an attitude held by the project at its inception was to accommodate the programmatic, ecological and metric requirements of the speculative typology by pushing the Architecture to both the perimeter and interstitial space between the buildings, leaving the interior potential to be a flexible as possible for the future tenants.

Differentiation of these spaces is evoked through a shared formal relationship with the building and ground-plane through manipulated splines, to create an abstracted relationship to the life of the landscape and landforms of the steppe in opposition to the imposed gridded geometry of the city and its gardens (as residual from Soviet occupation). These geometries are subverted, however, described only by rigorous deployment of linear construction methodologies, speaking to a degree of machined western refinement, and adapt to certain situations afforded by the site.

All images Copyright NBBJ, LLC 2007

Despite popular belief, this blog still lives, but has been temporarily neglected due to a project which will no doubt be seen here soon. Stay tuned…

In the mean time check out 40Bond, by H&deM that is nearing completion.

Architecture and its subsequent production are entering a new phase in the processes of its making. It is nothing new that architecture is always a few steps behind the other related design fields, simply because of its cost and multiplicities of coordination, as well as its direct degree of physical influence. Although I don’t think we would have it any other way, other art forms can provide a window into oblique directions we may find ourselves confronting in the years to come.

Commonwealth is an upstart firm based in NYC whose principals, Zoë Coombes and F. David Boira, have recently found themselves extending their expertise gleaned from an architectural based background into the realm of product design-as-art. Having carved for themselves a distinct working studio in Williamsburg, they have begun staging exhibitions which explore the possibilities that occur at the intersection of different design fields. This ongoing investigation goes beyond simply implementing qualities from the respective fields, but rather takes the expertise and stylistic dispositions of the participants and fuses them into a singular project that creates an experience beyond the capacity of what either party might produce individually.

Tropism: Commonwealth vs. Joshua Davis is the most recent installment in these investigations. It is curated by Maxalot, and is currently on view at Espeis Gallery until July 22^nd. A more in depth description of the show can be found here, but as an overview, Commonwealth contributed a vase design that moved from a 3D digital model in Maya, output and rapid-prototyped in SLA plastics to a positive resin form, and then cast and refined in porcelain. Graphic designer Joshua Davis, the shows second participant, wrote programs for generative graphics to uniquely conform to the vase’s topology. Moving from a vector file to a paint sheet, Davis’s graphics were output as ceramic paint and fired onto the digital-porcelain vases. Davis also generated new print work to serve as a backdrop for the vase installation.

The beauty in these works is partly a product of their process. Commonwealth has used the strides in digital manufacturing beyond just making possible the impossible, but have absorbed the inherencies within the media (specifically MEL scripts and Stereolithography) to make art which exploits those potentials. The result is truly a craftsmanship that exudes a degree of control and precision that I think we as designers are constantly searching for. It is a testament to what rigorous process can bring to form, style and material.

Have a gander.

Product Design | www.commonwealth.nu
Graphic Design | www.joshuadavis.com
Curation | www.maxalot.com
Gallery | www.espeis.nu

Flickr Sets | Commonwealth
Flickr Sets | Joshua Davis

MS

I think anywhere you go you will find someone with an opinion of Hadid and the projects that come out of her studio. For whatever reason, we find her consistently interesting to talk about, and her projects seem to generate a considerable buzz, if not her persona. Some are interested in the work, and some aren’t, but all in all we will still talk about it. I think it harks back to the initial feelings that are invoked by the projects. They don’t require a lot of over-intellectualization to get into the images, representations or diagrams. That is not to say that there is no intellect behind the projects themselves (many would argue differently as simply form making), but either way I don’t think it matters. The projects are engaging. They push boundaries visually, and are evocative both inside and outside in that realm. Add to that many types of innovation that preclude the projects to being built, as well as ways of literally developing those ideas conceptually, and I think you have something that stands up fairly well against a more “cerebral” approach.

I hate to see projects get marginalized because they supposedly offer nothing other than being seductive. Seduction insinuates an immediate satisfaction with little long term value, which I think tends to not be the case. Furthermore, there is considerable effort made, and thought that goes into the achievement of that goal - it doesn’t simply spew out of a computer. It also I think is a testament to the people that work on these projects to produce consistently beautiful drawings, renderings, documents (I had a chance to look at the KSA’s book series on the BMW building), and diagrams.This is not a Zaha praise session (I don’t think she needs any additional back-pats), but more a thought that applies to any project or firm that may seek a similar outcome.

Recently I came across a proposal for the Buiness Bay area of Dubai. This is from World Architecture News‘ project write up.

The Opus project will be fringed by the Burj Dubai development. It will be neighbors with the Dubai International Financial Center and the World Trade and Convention Center, giving it a prestigious location with excellent access to the city. The Opus will appear to hover from the ground. Constructed of three separate towers the building will appear as a singular unified whole, with a distinctive void. The interiors of which will be clad with a fully engineered curved class curtain wall to allow for eye-catching views into the void. Reflexive fritting patterns in the form of pixelated striations will be applied onto the glass facade to provide a degree of reflectivity and materiality to the cube while assisting in the reduction of solar grains inside the building. Within the Opus there will be a retail podium across the ground, first and second floor. The uppermost floor will feature a tranquility zone, a beach deck with a reflective pool and shaded roof terrace, a media zone and a gym. The building boasts an AAA-class rating and has 87 per cent space efficiency.

Make of it what you will.

MS

Have a look at this amazing collection of sites by Jonathan Harris which, in some form or another, act as a listening post on the web, filtering text, imagery and information that deals with feelings, love, hate, and a general world state. The amazing thing about this work is the idea that we can capture an unfathomable (and seemingly chaotic) amount of information, and put it into a package that illicits a kind of visual simplicity that shapes a new way we can think about the information presented. It reorganizes the data into something we can easily understand quickly, and operates the way good graphics always do. It is no easy task to represent a “feeling”, but Harris’ subtle use of color goes a long way.

From the Metropolis article here.

Harris’ work defines a profound new kind of information design: it whittles down the world’s 70 million Web sites and blogs into a framed image of humanity. And it does it live, continuously, and autonomously. Architects and designers have experimented with computational design, letting a computer run through a spectrum of possibilities within a given set of parameters. But Harris’s creations are different: rather than static buildings, magazine covers, or shopping bags, they are constantly changing artistic responses to a constantly changing world. By using the Web as both site and material, they offer a way of seeing rather than merely being a sight…material of experience has changed. The old rituals of memory—photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, letters—have moved onto the Web, opening them up for a new kind of analysis.

Wordcount

Love-Lines

We Feel Fine

Phylotaxis