A graphic patterning study in illustrator…

MS

Simon C Page has made some stellar geometric retina wallpapers for your iPad (or other tablet…get off my back) and he has been gracious enough to give them away for free on his website.

They are all based in one form or another on the above shape. Grab them here and here and ditch that photo of Mr. Whiskers.

MS

Check out Nike’s newest concept shoe slated to be worn this year at the Olympics by marathon runners. The shoe implements completely new fabrication machinery, software and technology to create a shoe that is crafted to work like a sock.

The video is provocative as well.

MS

A recent presentation on the value that I believe intuition holds as a design tool in contemporary processes, which have become increasingly more tech-driven. This discussion was given to a small group of designers and architects of varying ages and demographics.

This is in no way a presentation seeking nostalgia, but more identifying where the human variable exists in the design world we are operating in today.

Presentation Link

MS

For those familiar with the annual Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition, check out this years Best in Show. All show both the breadth and depth of architectural visualization, and the extents to which it has evolved. I think there is something in here for everyone.

These are some that caught my eye. The entire list of winners and finalists can be seen at the competition website.

Enjoy

MS

http://www.krobarch.com

This project via Archinect this morning by Yaohua Wang for best thesis 2010 at Sci Arc. Occassionally one comes across imagery that represents a project unlike something seen before (personally) – this is one of those times.

These are compact, and efficient images that seem to convey the object as a physical model rather than a a moody experience. Well crafted and nuanced.

Neil Denari is smiling somewhere.

MS

Some incredibly inspired work by Atelier Olschinsky. Sometimes visual, sometimes spatial, always mesmerizing. Enjoy.

“Founded in 2002 (Atelier Olschinsky) is a small creative studio based in Vienna, Austria. Peter Olschinsky and Verena Weiss are operating in various fields such as graphic design, illustration, photography and art direction. 

In addition to their jobs for clients they also run several independent projects, always trying to develop and refine their work.”

http://www.olschinsky.at/

MS

The question of representation for me has always been one of great interest in its relevance to architecture. This topic has been exhausted in most instances with methods and techniques of representation ranging from technical drawing, digital rendering, watercolor, photography, or all of the above. We can, however, draw a line in the sand between those works which use a representational technique simply as illustrative of an idea, and a means to communicate the dimension and material of the architecture, versus those works who employ representation as implicit in part or whole of the concept. In the former, the art form and craft of the representational technique is distinct from the idea conveyed in the architecture, whereas in the latter the two are synthetic.

Historically, projects and architects who engage in this discussion are too numerous name – some recent / not-so-recent standouts for me are representations of projects from Morphosis and Wes Jones, to Ali Rahim and Hernan Diaz Alonso. All have a common thread, and are able to create compelling and communicative representation while still maintaining the semblance of a larger message and atmosphere.

Most recently, as architecture always seems to be the slowest to adopt lessons from other media, there has been a surge in what could be called amplified representation. This technique, rather than use reality as an unattainable benchmark, uses reality as a backdrop to amplify the subject (or visa versa), and a way to ground the absurd in something familiar. In effect, this tends to heighten the affect of both – as one registers each one against the other.

Three examples that come to mind may be familiar. The Amazing World of Gumball on the Cartoon Network has to be one of the most visually compelling pieces of TV I have seen in a while – not because of the content (although cute), but because of the visuals, which for me, steal the show. Here, cartoon characters are not just overlaid onto real backdrops, they are embedded in them. Materials reflect and characters cast shadows. The visual mood of the scene is translated to the characters through light and camera effects, all of which creates a surreal and incredibly compelling environment. Even the characters themselves begin to take on a vintage visual undertone which I never tire of.

While I don’t fancy myself an expert on comic art (read: nerds don’t kill me), I have always had an incredible appreciation for the methods and conventions of the craft. What comics lack is motion, and as such, they rely on the distortion and amplification of the subjects through representation to convey movement, action and atmosphere. Again, artists use familiarity to underscore the exaggerated, super-human characteristics of the subjects.

For instance, we know what our own legs look like, and we also know that they don’t ever appear backlit, menacingly bent, with a superfluous amount of muscles. Put together these are illustrative the subject, but are also synthetic to the very core idea of the comic – making still pictures move.

300, a movie out for long while now, also employs a different technique to achieve a similar end. Having begun as a comic, the director made painstaking steps to recreate scenes in the comic. However, as the comic was rooted in reality, but did not adhere to it’s rules, we find that making that leap required significant shaping of atmosphere, mood, physique, and physical environment by Zack Snyder.

Here, color is altered, contrast is elevated, action is subject to time changes – all in service of elevating or amplifying the subject to convey the aggression and moodiness of the story. Interestingly enough, the movie actually tried to slow the action in scenes to capture the still imagery conveyed by the comic.

While just a few examples it will be interesting moving forward to see how this type of technique will continue to trickle into architecture more convincingly than a SketchUp model Photoshopped into a street photo, as a way to underscore an larger concept.

MS

So I had a dumb-ass idea for a t-shirt and I decided to follow it through by submitting it to Threadless. Now I am shamelessly plugging it. Vote if you likey (or if you don’t) – Be nice:

Whale Tail

Stay tuned for a post regarding architectural representation.

Happy Wednesday,

MS

Are you a sucker for geometry? Me too. Check out some of these amazing still life photographs from Carl Kleiner. Compelling in a number of ways, these work at the compositional level, but are also incredibly well crafted – so much so, that they are barely discernable as photographs.

MS

http://www.carlkleiner.com/

GOLDEN RATIO & FRIENDS / ICOSAHEDRON V.1

THE BÆRTLING WANNABE (1&2)