g e o r g i a w i l l i a m s

G e o r g i a W i l li a m s

M. Arch I candidate, 2012Columbia UniversityGraduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

I m m o b i l i z a t i o n

M o d e s t I n t e r v e n t i o n

E x p l o r a t i o n o f a C i t y P o c k e t

U r b a n O p e r a t i o n

P l a c e a n d P e o p l e

F o u n d O b j e c t A r t

L i g h t S p a c e

I M M O B I L I Z A T I O NI didn’t realize I wanted to be an architect until my final semester as an undergrad at Barnard Col-lege when I took Introduction to Architecture. We were asked to explore the human hand, to find a way to immobilize it, to paralyze its power. I began by exploring the basic properties and characteris-tics of hands, to discover their tendencies. By creating a device to stymie the power of the hand, I came to understand not only the physiology of the hand, but the way it gathers strength as it moves through space. Understanding the power and grace of the human body shapes the way I think about architecture.

Severity of cut and burn pain over timegraphite on vellum

Two-point tactile perception: fingertips vs. palm graphite on vellum

strength and force

grip and hold

isolation and immobilization

Immobilizing Device Basswood and trace paper

abstraction

an inhabitable space.

M O D E S T I N T E R V E N T I O N

The summer after I graduated from Barnard, I spent five weeks in the summer architecture program at the Uni-versity of Texas in Austin. There we explored architectural interventions and discussed how they might pre-serve the natural world even as they reshape it. To that end, we were asked to design a gallery space in a plot of green space nestled between a parking lot and a power plant. We were asked to preserve the vitality of this rare green space while making it a useful gallery and gathering spot for students and visitors. In order to pre-serve and react to the existing conditions of the space, I spent hours at the intersection, observing and mapping.

Light patterns on site: trees’ shadows (daytime light patterns) and light posts (nighttime light patterns)graphite on vellum

Traffic patterns on intersecting streets of site: each line represents a unit of car (dark), bicycle (medium) or pedestrian ( light) traffic passing the site during an hour window of 7 pm - 8 pm

graphite on bristol

noise concentrations

sidewalks

level ground

tree canopies

creek

energy plant

{Unity between site and intervention} I wanted the geometry of the gallery to mirror the more organic elements of the site, so I measured the locations and points between the site’s trees and used these measurements to outline the shapes that form the gallery’s skin.

interior light

U R B A N O P E R A T I O N

Time is so scarce that it seems a community is maintained in part by how people connect while in tran-sit. In the bicycle community of Austin there is a strong sense of identity among biking commuters, but no place for them to gather. I designed a community center for downtown bicyclists that promotes bi-cycle use, while also providing a space for commuters to connect as they travel to their next destination.

25% of trips made in the Netherlands in 2006 were by bicycle*

1% of trips in the U.S. *

vs.

*statistics taken from theJournal of Physical Activity and Health © 2008

bicycle

walking

public transit

car

†

† †

Trips made in the Netherlands

Trips made in United States

In a country where bicycle usage is almost

non-existent, facilities must be created to

welcome the everyday use of this trans-

portation form; this project proposes a

home for bicycles in Austin, Texas, and a

refuge for cyclists that is integrated into

the existing urban environment, to ensure

that the bicycle community will flourish. .

bike lanes

Noise concentrations

{Austin’s urban landscape}: existing conditions and locations of movement, traffic and noise at proposed site at 24th and Guadalupe in downtown Aus-tin. Photo taken from Google Maps.

Standing traffic

Moving traffic

kineti

c, shift ing shapes

texture of bike industry

{turning forms + bicycle materiality}

pu

nctu

red

nucle

us of a community

tra

ffi c w

ith or

ganic thresholds

{community entrance + bicycle circulation}

{Bicycle circulation} About half of the ground floor square footage is occupied by those on bicycle. The first floor is bifurcated by a bicycle path containing two lanes for directional traffic, a space for bicycle movement. These lanes allow a rolling but organized bicycle circulation into the community center, an intimate continuation of the street.

Occupied on foot

Occupied on bike

Bicycle movement

L I G H T S P A C EBefore we created a multi-person, multi-use intervention, our first project at the Summer Academy asked us to ex-plore one space for one person doing one activity. Each morning in college, I woke up with the sun to read over a giant cup of fresh coffee. For my space, I created a small and simple reading room that utilizes natural light patterns of the morning sun to minimize direct sunlight but maximize soft natural light for a serene experience of the sun’s first light.

{A place for light} The reading room opens from one side to allow varying levels of light to enter from the setting sun without receiving direct sunlight. The skin also glows inward during the day with natural light and outward at night with internal light.

E X P L O R A T I O N O F A C I T Y P O C K E T

I spent my whole life in Houston before moving to New York for college. I keenly remember the final stretch of my road trip to the city: we drove up 2nd Avenue and double-parked to grab a coffee in the crisp morning air. The streets of the Lower East Side represent the beginning of my exploration of unfamiliar territory, moving through a space that I am conscious of because its layout is not engrained in me. During the last months of my senior year of college, I returned to these streets that, for me, represent my beginning in New York. I spent hours wandering and observing the streets of the Lower East Side; this journey resulted in an analysis of the neighborhood’s pocket possessions and urban dwellers.

{signs of vitality--benches of street fruit--

turn to marks of dereliction}

{Interactions with daily street objects}

reach in to read, wait to walk, drop in to send.

{Changing owners}

debris fits into the pockets of the streets.

{The journey of street objects}

F O U N D O B J E C T A R TSince high school, I have kept a box full of found things--ripped paper, pieces of plastic and met-al and wood, negatives, postcards, fabric, thread, magazine scraps, notes from friends. My moth-er always tried to throw it out because she thought it was trash. The box was in fact full of bits of life, scraps I would encounter that only needed to be rediscovered to be made meaningful again.

Windows4” x 8”2010

Twenty-One 3.5” x 3”

2010

Dance Class5” x 9”2010

Shadow 3” x 7”

2010

P L A C E A N D P E O P L EI have taken portraits since middle school. Through the mediums of photography, video and drawing I have been fascinated by the attempts to capture individuality. One can learn wonders about a person through a sim-ple portrait. The same is true for a city; and this is why I carry my camera and my sketchbook with me to every unfamiliar place, city, country. It is through these visual explorations that I learn about the personality of place.

statue de Denis Diderot, boulevard Saint-Germainart markers and pen on vellum

rue de l’Universitéart markers and pen on vellum

place de la Contrescarpegraphite on paper

sur le pont de la Concordepen and watercolor on paper

Pont des Arts / l’Institut de Franceart markers and pen on vellum

le Panthéongraphite sticks on paper

l’eglise Saint-Germain-des-Présgraphite on paper

rue Lhomondart markers and pen on vellum

Spiegelrei CanalBruges, Belgium2011

Pont des ArtsParis, France

2011

The Provincial Court in Market Square Bruges, Belgium2011

On Augustijnenrei and SpanjaardstraatBruges, Belgium

2011

Near WevershofBruges, Belgium2011

Looking West on the SeineParis, France

2011

Ludlow Street, Lower East SideNew York, NY2011

Christ Episcopal Church Graveyard Cooperstown, New York

2010

Frozen Lake OtsegoCooperstown, New York2010

Pont des ArtsParis, France

2011

EugeneRC print on fiber paper16” x 20”2008

ErsieRC print on fiber paper

16” x 20”2009

BreeRC print on fiber paper16” x 20”2009

WileyRC print on fiber paper

16” x 20”2009

Two DragonsRC print on fiber paper8” x 10”2008

AltarpieceRC print on fiber paper

8” x 10”2008

According to onlineschools.org, 57% of people talk more online than they do in real life. On average, 250 million photos are uploaded to Facebook each day. Technology and all its modes of communication profoundly shape our interactions.

My best friend studied abroad in Gulu, Uganda our junior year of col-lege. On days when she could find internet access, she would tell me stories of how difficult day-to-day life was in Uganda. So on her birth-day in May, I compiled a video of messages from her friends living all over the United States to remind her that even though she was thousands of miles away, she could still be surrounded by familiar faces.

Technology has dramatically shifted the way people interact. By becoming more connected, we have ironically lost the one-on-one closeness we once had. Still, messages like the one sent to my friend from thousands of miles away, have created a new “electron-ic” connection that allows intimacy to flourish in our new world order.

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