Æsthe/tech:Tonik
Building | Beauty | Consuming | ImageTech v. Touch 01: Delinquent Vernacular
As it is easy to regularly be consumed by digital practice and technique, I would like to (re)introduce one of hopefully many discussions on Tech v. Touch, that is, techniques that are specific to digital proliferation compared to those who employ the analog as a primary vehicle for exploration.
The goal then, is not to pit one against the other, but simply to bring to light how valuable each can be in informing the other; notably through craft, narrative and methodology.
In that spirit Clark Thenhaus of Endemic Architecture has used drawing and the narrative of “Alien Marlboro” as a means to explore the possibilities in the ad hoc nature of the vernacular coupled with the non-conformity of delinquency, best described by the artist himself.
Delinquency in the city exists as one of many unintended outcomes from cultural, political, and economic (trade) conventions and regulations. Gangs, slums, criminal acts, hackers, protests, union strikes, and corruption proliferate along culturally elastic boundaries between localized populations and national policies and rules. When removed from the city, delinquency exists not as ‘problem’ populations seen somehow as non-conforming, but rather as rogue and transient micro-cultures that freely linger and migrate along the margins of agraria. Latent in these margins… the residues of culture, politics, economies, and ecologies…at the interstice between agrarianism and urbanism authenticities in tectonics, trade, migration, and ecologies emerge and over generations evolve geo-conditional patterns embedded with the ability to reprogram, or recode, accepted norms and conventions through the direct, and perhaps unknowing, undermining of established and deterministic, lobbied, and hierarchical codes.
The typical notion of ‘Vernacular’ assumes an internalized set of rules based primarily on utility. Utility, however, we recognize as ambiguous and largely inconsequential with regard to tectonic evolution when seen not from a standpoint of norms and conventions. Likewise assuming the vernacular is built from internalized and concentrated rule sets (totalities) is to assume the vernacular, both tectonically and socially, is introverted and without ability to emerge new models across social boundaries through the direct transience of feral populations. Rather, the vernacular is much more an open source network of transient persons mobilizing resources and initiating new rules through notions of exteriority (assemblages) tailored to specific geographic conditions. This is to say, that rogue agrarian cultures are transient, populated with nomadic persons who move at varying rates, bringing with them “foreign” materials, tools, and techniques that are re-deployed and transmitted across various ecologies, which over time instantiate new rules and tectonic coding not through introverted and closed-loop cycles, but through open-source networks and transient evolutions to and within ordering systems. These evolutions may be a temporary occurrence within a permanent system, or conversely a permanent evolution within a temporary system…such as harvesting versus a barn raising.
It is this migration of both delinquency and vernacular where Alien Marlboro existed. Alien Marlboro left behind many drawings, most found buried, that foster a new agrarian tectonic. His Spindle Houses were built on stems equal to the width of the modern furrow to eliminate the disconnect between production and homestead (governmentally promoted). Other drawings, such as Carthage Kansas were built high into the sky to launch TNT into the atmosphere. Science of the day claimed that “Air Blasting” created and brought together clouds and increased rainfall for increased agrarian production. Alien Marlboro imagined a free zone of agrarian production, roamed by grazing harvesters operating not under direct governmental quotas and tracking, but as a collective of nomadic infrastructures integrated within the larger transportation networks.
http://www.endemicarchitecture.com
MS
Opportunity
It has been argued that “Capital A” architecture’s position within the industry is being progressively marginalized to smaller and smaller portions of the built environment and maybe even within buildings themselves. This can be attributed to any number of factors, if you believe this to be fact; economy, perceived value, schedule, cost – the suspects are always the same. The stalwart few who refuse to go unheard have found outlets where those factors play less of a role in producing a quality product that our lives deserve.
I actually don’t put much weight in this argument, rather, I think what we (or maybe just me) are seeing is perhaps a maturity, or better yet, an acuity, amongst designers to find where they can have to most significant, and immediate impact in buildings. We’ll call it, for lack of a better term “opportunity”. The distillation of an idea, client enterprise, program, cultural precept, etc, into one moment of a built environment that can be exquisitely controlled and fed to other, less impactful portions of a project is something that designers have begun to recognize as a way of finding architectural agency in a sea of constraints.
Curtain walls have become one major vehicle for the materialization of this notion for a variety of reasons. They offer the best, and sometimes only way of interfacing with the majority of people who come in contact with the building. They are easily consumed as a billboard for a project. They also offer quantifiable data we can point to specifically, relative to energy and performance. By their very nature, they exist in the realm of 2.5D and they offer a means of formal investigation that coincides with academic and technologically driven ideas about surface.
Princeton Architectural Press has a book entitled Contemporary Curtain Wall Architecture which catalogues this unspoken discussion within our profession. In it, each project is documented through detailed drawings, color photography, and insightful descriptions of the aesthetic and technical considerations that make these projects best-case examples of curtain wall technology. The best aspects of the book, in my opinion, are the drawings that provoke as well as demystify what is, for most, the most complex aspect of the project. The descriptions are matter-of-fact, and the book focuses on what we like most: pictures and drawings.
The book is written by Scott Murray, an architect and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he teaches graduate seminars on innovations in building envelope design.
MS
Nature by Numbers
A very interesting movie by Etérea Studios illustrating the connection between nature and it’s mathematical underpinnings (Fibonacci, Golden Ratio, Voronoi, Delaunay, etc.).
Fans of Donald in Mathmagic Land, rejoice.
MS
Wordle
Thought everyone would find this amusing. A website that turns your text into a data graphic, based on frequency of use.
MS
Mother’s Milk
via dezeen
So for the coming of age designer who has traded in long nights in the studio for long nights tending to newborns, check this self heating bottle by Karim Rashid. As a father myself, I can tell you that a portable, energy conscious method of heating bottles (not through your car) would be of tremendous value, especially with breast milk that needs refrigerated.
iiamo go is a self-heating feeding bottle that gives parents on the go the ability to serve body temperature milk to their baby anywhere anytime without the use of electricity. iiamo go is the only bottle in the world with this unique combination of a portable, non-electrical, throw-away organic heating cartridges (iiamo warm) and a patented heating technology that is integrated into the bottle itself. The process is very simple. Pour the mother’s milk, formula or milk powder in the bottle; insert the cartridge in the bottom of the bottle and then just push, wait a few minutes and serve the milk.
I would encourage all to read the article and comments, as Karim defends his design, and if you are like me, you might appreciate something else besides cynicism and negativity.
MS
Pulp
If you like supermodels, the desert, and old-ass pictures, your train has finally come in…
PULP ART BOOK is a collaboration between supermodel Joni Harbeck and photographer Neil Krug, and if you have $250 burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy a piece of cool.
MS
Tron Legacy
For those that didn’t have the pleasure of growing up when the original movie, Tron, was one of the most visually ambitious movies to date, you will absolutely have the pleasure of enjoying a follow-up film with an equally ambitious style, the original set of actors, and a film-maker who has his roots in architecture. It is set for release in 2010.
While this might be old news to those that frequent Comic Con, I still think it’s relevant in the design community, mostly because I love to see how worlds get (re)interpreted and crafted within their respective media. This film specifically for me always ran style parallel to substance, thus Kosinski was a very compelling choice to helm the project. Kosinski was once half of KDLab, and has worked in varying capacities with Nike, Chevy, Lincoln, and Hummer amongst others. His style is refined, beautifully desaturated, and overtly architectural. If you’ve thought it might be a good idea to buy a Lincoln after you saw this commercial, you can thank Kosinski.
In any event, talking about the nuances of the actual film will remain pure speculation at this point, and I would run the risk of aggravating a much nerdier crowd than I with mis-hits about the history, plot, or specificities relative to character development. So for now I would say, enjoy the trailer and visuals. Be inspired.
http://www.josephkosinski.com/
MS
Negligence
Negligence is the rust of the soul, that corrodes through all her best resolves.
Owen Felltham
I will post again…fear not. Thanks for your patience.
MS
Visual Acoustics
A new film about the life and efficacy of Julius Shulman.
http://www.juliusshulmanfilm.com/
MS
