A4001: CORE I studio: assignment ii_ backpack purification

A4001: CORE 1

our second studio assignment deals with the scale of the body, water, air, edges and boundaries.

WHO estimates the number of people without access to clean drinking water at 1.3 billion. everywhere from the deserts of africa, to the himalayan mountains.

CHARGE: the backpack is a water purification system able to supply purified water from most non-saline water sources. water can be drawn from ponds, rivers, lakes or standing water that may contain chemical and biological contamination.

THESIS: a central task of architecture is to create enclosure, separating a within form an outside. the relationship between outside and within is evident through the use of section: a 2D tool, invented about 500 years ago to give determinacy to the relationship between inside, outside and also the tectonic transition of the two. one of the central tasks of this tectonic articulation is to keep the weather out: water and air. Water is especially tricky to keep out since it is in constant search for it gravity bound horizontality.

LOCATION: bhulbhule, lamjung province, nepal.

REFLECTION: the incredible potential in the sun's rays is amplified through a dramatic shift in elevation [mountains]. bhulbhule provided a unique case study: isolated [broken transportation networks], lacking of basic needs, natural hazards [water table pollution], difficult topography [extreme cyclical weather patterns], a culture of carrying [sherpas]. these conditions mean that many are left with running water 1 in 4 days, susceptible to 16 hour power cuts. regular and recurring transportation strikes leave people stranded on the road, lacking food, without clean drinking water.

so, if you're stranded in the mountains, on the muddy roads, or caught in a himalayan monsoon, fill up your pack and let the sun help you purify while you sojourn... or your nomadic migration.

EDITORIAL NOTE: after all that... i realize my section is missing [stated in my thesis]. well, missing from this post [it's not worth sharing yet - YIKES]. should give me something to work on for a bit. keep you posted.

frustration

after reading this article i was expecting to see BP's stock plummet. to my amazement it's only dropped about $1. wtf?! why would anyone still be on board with this tycoon of corner cutting?

since 2007 BP has been trying to revamp their image. casting themselves as exemplars of safety. but, as this nytimes has reported in a pointed article, this has clearly not been the case after a series of catastrophes and blatantly ignoring warning signs. the company is destroying the natural ecologies of north america; an explosion in texas, shoddy construction on a mega-platform in the gulf, spills in alaska, and the most notorious - the deep water horizon explosion in the gulf last april.

and after all this, our government is still allowing BP to run headlong into more risky operations, jumping through loopholes and ravaging our natural ecologies. responsibility has been shifted all around for the last 3 months, and we still don't have a solution. oil is still gushing into gulf waters. the monster is still loose. i can't believe it.

for an abbreviated overview check out the time line. it frustrates me to no end. BP has the capability, capital and resources to do things right, yet they're hypnotized by the all mighty bottom line. where are the values?!

we need to curb our addiction. if these events don't offer us the opportunity to seriously reconsider our energy options and shift to more sustainable, alternative forms i fear loosing hope.

"the problem with technology...

... is that everyone has it."

bruce mau's incomplete manifesto for growth

"Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying Bruce Mau’s beliefs, strategies and motivations. Collectively, they are how we approach every project."

some highlights:

well, you get the picture. they're all great insights. i encourage browsing the entire list of 43.

5 student films_ re: design

hooray! thanks to spirit of space, each of the groups participating the mp3: forecasting mke for the urban age now have video 'cuts.' these short clips help explain the five projects a little more clearly, cogently and succinctly than if you were to ask any of us point blank. all five are embedded below, please do some clicking.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

feedback loop

out now on lulu:

"Feedback Loop is an introduction to the ideas underlying recent experimentation with complexity in architecture. it presents key concepts such as prototyping, non-linear order, emergence, bottom-up thinking, parametric thinking, generative scripting and biomorphism, and it does so in plain language for students of architecture and others who seek an entry point into the discussion of recent design work. many of these ideas, which arose in other fields of study, are interpreted architecturally, in order to help designers leverage them in the creative act. by showing how the key concepts work together to define a coherent view of architecture, Feedback Loop supports the conclusion that the pursuit of complexity is poised to expand beyond the avant-garde to become a broad-scoped, long-term architectural movement."

kyle talbott

you can check out more of the ongoing studio work on the microcosm blog.

product_sculpture

this post is long over due, but only recently caught a chance to snap some photos.
for those interested; dimensions are roughly 6' x 8'. it weighs more than you'd care to know, but i've got it up on casters.

i've repurposed some found shipping pallets from a nearby residence doing some remodeling. ripped them down. and integrated a set of 36 plaster tiles i cast from clay, coated in 2 part rubber, and filled with plaster. more on the process.

the piece is rough, raw, and simple connections all honor the same inherent qualities of the palettes. i was interested in using repetition as a visual quality and complement the warm, raw nature of the wood with the white, smooth qualities exhibited by the plaster.

for now. enjoy the photos.

side.01

[plaster]

[full view]

[lighting effects]

[context]

[tile details]

side.02

[wood]

[full view]

[lighting effects]

[latent beauty]

[shadow detail]

comments appreciated...

essay imagery

i've been fascinated by these word clouds for years. it struck me to make some of my own. these two word clouds were made from two essays i wrote for my graduate admissions...

work + process

i've been back in school working towards completing a sculpture minor as a supplement to the architectural design degree we three have [or are working towards]. i'd like to share some photos of the work in progress.













'tiles' made from a plaster cast
[clay tile + two part rubber + plaster]













modification for connection













structure + surface













variation_complexity through repetition


the work complete and illuminated to follow shortly.

2A_eM; marcus prize participant

as this semester winds down, and anticipation of upcoming events begin to take hold of my mind, i'd like to give a short update [more to follow] regarding upcoming endeavors.



next semester i will be participating in the marcus prize studio, with distinguished architect alejandro aravena. this prestigious studio will begin an exciting experiment in collaboration. not only will we be learning from an internationally acclaimed architect, but will be collaborating across campus and disciplines. this studio, though small, will incorporate students from the arts, as well as city planning in addition to traditional architecture students.

never before have i had this experience during my architectural education, and now that i'm on the arts side [more on that later], it should make for some great, innovative, provocative works.

midway furniture project

as i alluded to in a previous post. russell mahoney is a recent graduate of the frank lloyd wright school of architecture. it's has been a long standing tradition for the apprentices to design and build structures to live in down in the desert. taking that mentality into midway's failing silo structure, he has designed a series of platform based on the principles of tinker toys. over-designed components allow platforms to be interchanged and elaborated as the need arises.





russell has been sympathetic to the historical fabric/enclosure that is the silo. light filters in through the clerestory windows near the top of the structure and filters down through layers of platforms creating a soft, pleasant and comfortable atmosphere for studying, reading and sleeping.



to elaborate on the education post by jessie [see below]. i feel like this is an excellent exercise for students to really engage in designing and building; something lacking, at least, in the education at uwm.

[ Photos copyright 2009 Russell Mahoney + Eric Oxendorf ]

On Education

Nick's post on his first visit to Taliesin has given me a reminder about the thoughts I've been developing on Architectural education and my misgivings. While it was Nick's first visit, I've been a staple guest over the past few years. I've attended lectures, know the students and fellows as friends and have participated in the community there many times more than I can discern from memory. One thing that strikes me as positive in their cirriculum is the immense intamacy they have with their environment. In any architectural school, there is a tendency to over-stay your welcome in regards to your health, social life and sleep schedule, and a connection with the people and place you all share is close and taken for granted. But the very roof under which the students at FLLW School is a lesson-- and I mean that not as it was constructed by FLLW, but because they acutally have to help rebuild it. The buildings on the estate are part of the laboratory of the school. It is not necessarily my place to go into the details of politics and problems this may bring up amongst the broader community of people and the preservation-minded and musuem-minded who want things fixed quickly and definitvely, but it is my opinion that the experimentation and lessons the students learn by working on their own place of life has been something missing from an education like my own, for instance.

On a broader level, the idea of learning should very rarley be associated with a museum-like quality. One cannot simply look at ideas under a glass case, nor should one be asked to understand things 'later' or without tactile input. Most career-oriented programs in higher education require some sort of internship, apprenticeship or mentorship program. Architectural school tend to pretend they have this covered with studio work, IDP, and the insistance of learning from work. But non of these have any weight in the physical realm. Architecture needs to actively insist on buidling. Turning out idea-makers does not mean we can not turn out craftsmen. Some have this ability, but it needs to be common. Structure classes cannot be simply statics and codes and politics and the age-old "look it up in your construction companion text." It needs to be classes in wood, in steel, in concrete, in alternative and non-traditional materials. And objects, shelters and stand-up construction should happen. I feel robbed of this, and I only now see that I will have to take it into my own hands to learn the tools of these crafts. No wonder the post-modern world is full of office buildings of post and beam and manufacturer-standed components. Money is the easy answer, but I contest it is the quality of thought and practice of our recent past. We don't know how to build anymore, and builders who are craftsmen or engineers who are passionate are rarely asked to use their whole skill or knowledge, and no one seems to ask them (or are educated in how to ask them) what alternatives and solutions there are to join two things together or make things stand up. We simply don't know. That is a problem.