Mid-tern Learning Portfolio

Alex Still

Architectural Design Studio 101, Spring 2014 Instructor: Jerry Lum

Occupying Space

•  Assignment 1: •  To create a three dimensional design based on Kazimir

Malevich’s Suprematist Composition No. 2.

•  Examine the given copy of the two dimensional print, make necessary decisions to create a three dimensional model.

•  No larger than 8 ½” x 11” x 6”

Iteration No. 1 Balsa wood model

Iteration No. 1, cont. Balsa wood model

Iteration No. 1 Challenges

•  What material will hold its shape, could curve without breaking, and has a clean, even finish? I decided on balsa wood, and soon realized I needed a glue that would its edges together and dry quickly. The craft glue I had did not work well, and I was soon seeking the advice of more advanced students in our program regarding their preference for materials for models.

•  How to choose how the constituent parts of the original print interacted with each other in three dimensions? What do the bottom layers of the parts look like? Are they individual forms? Or connected underneath the surface of the print?

Iteration No. 1, cont. Critique

•  I decided to include both curvilinear and rectilinear elements due to the somewhat challenging overlaps of Malevich’s print. In order for the edges of my model to accurately reflect those in the original, I included arches. In order to avoid a model made entirely of solid cubic forms, I made the long, rectangular form that runs obliquely through the bottom part of the print into three parallel planes set vertically into the floor at a 90 degree angle. These planes then overlapped the other large rectangular from, though there was a distinct space for the rectangle to pass through.

•  I learned that if a feature occurs once in your model, it’s best to allow it to occur at least once more. This creates continuity and pattern, as well as giving the viewer something to look for, not just at. The perception of intention is attractive.

Iteration No. 1, cont. Questions

•  Why are the three planes parallel? How would the piece change if they were perpendicular to each other? Or oblique? What is the emotion attached to parallel lines of equal length?

•  How does the field interact with the form? How does the height we imbibed into the original 2D image affect the emotional resonance?

Iteration No. 2 Chipboard model

Iteration No. 2 Chipboard Model

Iteration No. 2 Critique

•  In moving from the first iteration to the second, I examined the aspects of my first model that I felt worked, namely the gap between the top of the rectangular structure and the bottom of the three planes that surrounding it, the separation of solids into constituent planes, and the repetition of three like objects. •  The second iteration included a space above the rectangular solid and

the three intersecting planes that was equal to the distance between the planes themselves.

•  I broke down the sightline from the perspective of elevation of what had been a rectangular solid into three parallel, horizontal planes in order for the original three planes to have a related occurrence elsewhere in the piece.

•  I included two occurrences of three parallel planes, in addition to three rectangular solids of descending size, and three arches of similar descending size

Iteration No. 2 Questions

•  What is attractive? What is inspirational?

•  What creates the illusion of collision, or tension of motion?

•  Why does each element exist? What is the organizational logic? What are the proportions? The ratios? Are their multi-layered intentions? Are they readable?

•  How do you design to illicit wonder and emotion in the viewer?

Iteration No. 3 Chipboard Model

Iteration No. 3 Chipboard Model

Iteration No. 3 Critique

•  For this iteration, we created a new model, and wrote directions for how to build it. In class, we exchanged directions and built someone else’s model. This experience was challenging, and I found it difficult to write my design process on paper. I realized how sequentially I work when I’m building, and how it’s difficult to write down that line of thought. However, my partner was successful in building from my directions, especially considering I forgot to include the inclusion of the top planes in my directions.

Iteration No. 3 Partner’s version of my work (L), as compared to my model (R)

Iteration No. 3 My partner’s original (L), as compared to my version (R)

Iteration No. 3 Questions

•  What made writing directions difficult? What made building from directions difficult?

•  How do we find value and inspiration in the intimate knowledge of others’ work?

Emotional Resonance of Design

•  Assignment: •  Begin to explore gesture drawings as a method to express

physical manifestations of emotional states

•  Choose three adjectives to work with. I chose commanding, graceful, and intricate

•  Find real world examples of these emotional states found in design

•  Trace the images of these objects in order to better understand what physical aspects hold emotional resonance

Gesture Drawings Iteration1: Exploring Charcoal

“Commanding”

Gesture Drawings Iteration 1: Exploring Charcoal

“Commanding”

Emotionally Resonant Objects Concrete examples of “commanding” objects

The samurai and their body armor are commanding in their stature and presence. Looking closer, I discovered the repetition of long, slightly curving horizontal lines in the clothing, while short, stacked vertical lines created the bones of the armor itself. It’s almost as if the vertical lines are there to intimidate, while the horizontal are there to protect.

Emotionally Resonant Objects Concrete examples of “graceful” objects

Both the ballet dancer and the bonsai tree have a central, balanced, curvilinear structure at their core. Similarly, they share a wider base (a pot, or the legs in a wide lunge), not only to provide physical support, but to allow for vertical growth of the limbs. The gentle curves, reducing in diameter as they rise away from the base, give the illusion of movement and of floating. This combination of grounding and movement away from the center create a state of grace in the forms.

Emotionally Resonant Objects Concrete examples of “intricate” objects

large plane. Each part of the ceiling of the art museum fits into the next, just as each curve in the rope itself fits perfectly into the others. And just as the two sides large inverted arch, and small arch come together to form the atrium of the museum, each turn of the knot complements the net to form an intricate, complicated knot.

The intricacies of the Milwaukee Art Museum and this woven knot are shown through the repetition of matching shapes and lines, which come together to form a

Gesture Drawings Iteration 2: Pencil

“Commanding & Graceful”

Taking inspiration from the concrete objects we

examined, create gesture drawings including the

tectonic shapes, forms, and patterns we observed.

Gesture Drawings Iteration 3: Charcoal

“Commanding & Graceful”

Gesture Drawings Iteration 3: Full page

Incorporate all three emotional states into one gesture drawing, using the concepts of layered design. The first adjective, commanding, becomes the primary aspect. It is a large, bold, simple, and a closed form. The second,

graceful, becomes secondary. It is smaller than the primary, more detailed, with a greater sense of order, and an emerging pattern. The third, intricate,

becomes tertiary. It is even smaller, even more detailed, with a definite sense of order and pattern. It is an open form, and highly articulated.

Gesture Drawings Iteration 4: Pencil

As we continued to incorporate multi-layered aspects into gesture drawings, it became an easier process. I knew that working reductively from one thumbnail to the next was helpful for me, and my ability to complete a line of thought on

the paper was improving.

Gesture Drawings Reflection

•  I found gesture drawings to be quite difficult initially. I find it challenging to put 3D ideas onto a 2D sheet of paper, as I was initially trying to do, and quickly became frustrated and intimidated by gesture drawings.

•  As we progressed, however, I found that reductive thinking helped by preventing me from trying to portray too much in one thumbnail, and help reduce my gesture drawings to the simplest forms that would hold the emotions intended.

•  I began to develop a more progressive method, making each thumbnail relate in some way to the one prior. I found this took the pressure off my mind to try to create something completely new in every thumbnail. I felt much more inspired and was able to create more, and better, gesture drawings.

Expressive Tectonic Language

•  Assignment •  Using the information gathered in our gesture drawings, create a

3D model that invokes your chosen emotional qualities

•  Use frame expression

•  Develop a narrative for your model; what are the kit of parts “saying” to each other? How do they interact?

Iteration No. 1 Charcoal

The primary form in this gesture drawing is the large, curvilinear shape in the center of the space, while the secondary, though complementary form is the oblique angle to the right. The placement of the arc of the curve is intended to suggest depth, while the proportions suggest movement. Only one curve is present (in contrast to a number of repeating oscillations) in order to enhance the feeling of movement away from the smaller, oblique angle, which tethers it to the surface. While the curve is graceful, the anchoring angle is commanding, as it controls the movement, direction, and length of the curve.

Iteration No. 2 Chipboard Model & Integration of Personal Narrative

Iteration No. 2, cont. Chipboard Model & Integration of Personal Narrative

My struggle through extreme illness, the confines of diagnosis and medical treatment, as well as my hopes and plans for the future are the emotional narrative of this iteration. With the vertical representing my vitality, and horizontal representing my hopes for the future, the curved lines, intersections of horizontal and vertical, and the degeneration and regeneration of the height of the vertical create the story of my plans changing due to illness, and their ultimate regrowth following my recovery.

Iteration No. 3 Chipboard Model

Iteration No. 3, cont. Chipboard Model

In this iteration, I used a more evolved tectonic language which allowed for more complexity in the shapes used. Instead of a single, flowing piece, I intentionally juxtaposed the curvilinear pattern of consecutive arches, representing health, with the folded, sharp, rectilinear shapes representing illness. I feel, however, that this iteration became too disjointed, and I began to work on finding a way to connect the beginning with the end, to find a more balanced shape, as in the first iteration. This balance would more accurately portray the balance and direction my life currently has, in opposition with the confusion and frustration of Lyme disease.

Iteration No. 4 Chipboard Model

Iteration No. 4, cont. Chipboard Model

The most recent iteration delves deeper into the time of my treatment of and recovery from Lyme disease. The inverted arches, overlapping and un-aligned, represent the world of thought and emotional examination I embraced during the times when my health was poorest. It felt like everything I tried to accomplish came back around and ran straight into the barrier of illness, just like the arches soar far only to be grounded yet again to the plane of illness. I find, for my next iteration, the possibility of extending this inverted world to hold more than frustration, as it was out of this cocooned place that much inspiration and hope came to be.

Conclusion The first half of the semester has been filled with discovery and inspiration. In an environment where insatiable curiosity is the ultimate goal, as well as the means by which to realize that goal, there is always more to be found, examined, understood, or pondered. We have, however, begun to learn how to work hard, and how to invest in what we care about. Of course, time management is a large proportion of the lessons learned thus far, but also the determination not to submit, give up on, or stop caring about a project until we have completed it fully and comprehensively, leaving no stone unturned. Such dedication is not often required in other classes, but this realization that it is our work that will be our voice is inspiration enough for complete dedication. I want my work to be representative of my nature and character, and I know that with much hard work, perhaps I will one day achieve that. So far, the explorations we’ve undergone throughout the creative process have been reward enough.