blog update: work until now

Here is a small compilation of process material that has been important in the development of the project thus far. There will be several updates following this that will close the gap between blog entries up until now.

Here is the SEM image collection of the crab shell I've chosen to study















Here is an autopsy drawing that shows the development of the module up until this point















There is a strong scripting focus behind this work. The augmentation of the modules that will eventually function as the structural network for the piece of architecture is currently (and will eventually be) written and drawn via a script. The thickening of the modules allows them to adhere to the porosity gradient Ryan (my partner) and I have established as an area of study for the school models (see next image). By coding in a method of adjusting modules based on various parameters at various points due to various factors and forces, the process of generating a template for lase scoring is automated rather than manually drawn.

Here is the drawing my partner and I have done based on our analysis of the school models.

Thoughts on Site

Ryan and I took some concept photos during our visit to the site. I took particular notice of the distance the local infrastructure, places of business, and people had placed between themselves and nature. This was further exemplified by the architectural remains left on the site.

The educational model I'm studying is based on the pedagogical indications of Rudolf Steiner. The school approach is one of interaction and discovery. This process of discovery and growth comes from the student's close interaction with nature and the living world. The site seemed to be removed from nature. Though the concrete footprint is surrounded on two sides by grass, there was an awkward tension between what I thought would be a close relationship between the landscape and the previous building. The following photos can perhaps speak on this:






























The image on the left suggests that nature existed only on the other side of some large concrete barrier. Even now a picnic table, something that was designed to exist in a natural setting, rests on concrete slab that seems to have landed on the site from somewhere foreign. The structures in the left image seem to have landed on or near the site as well.


































The site is blocked off from the neighborhood by a large, black fence. The fence Is unnecessary as far as security is concerned: facades keep people out of buildings, fences keep buildings out of neighborhoods. The fence seemed like a barrier between the site and the neighborhood.

Here are some other images that I thought were interesting in terms of composition.


























































I was interested in the small building at the end of the driveway on N. 7th street. There was information shared on the possibility of reanimating this building into something that could be used in conjunction with the site.

The following are some sample images of my Friday afternoon microscope session. I found interesting things out about my radish that have helped me to rethink my approach to the current segment of the project.

SEM phase 1 research

This is a thumbnail of the layout from our first pinup.

Ryan and I were thinking in tandem, and have decided to have similar modular approaches to our structural derivations. While I think in terms of a more volumetric, expanding module, he will think in terms of a more tectonic, arrayed module.