Section Perspectives...

Corolla Borealis?

(important diagrams!)

I think the name is a bit of a stretch on relating to a concept but light is what got me thinking of it in the first place so consider this a bit of a shout out. I'm sure you noticed the northern lights reference but "corolla" refers to the collective petals of a flower. Petals fall into the category of a type of pixel and their repetitive nature helps the decision. I didn't want to use aurora but I wanted to keep the way it in which the phrase rolled of a person's tongue. I'm at a loss for words and honestly it just sounded good but potentially lame the more I think of or say it. It can change and it probably will but for now I've got other things to work on.

Working Model Status

The steel rods have added another dimension to the working model. With this additional option the pieces are no longer limited to connecting at such a close proximity with each other. With varying rod lengths and insert placements I've even started to manipulate the directions in which the pieces can connect by slightly turning/twisting them. On to the perspectives...more to come.

Design in Section

Design in section. A wonderful rule to go by from 101 Things I in Architecture School. With a preliminary understanding that there would be multiple split level areas with different materials, lighting, color, and architectural forms, I sketched out a section. There is no hierarchy and I think its even possible for someone to have a seizure if they stared at it long enough. Instead of perspectives, I plan on doing section perspectives (Edgar!). I've become fascinated with the cut through the store as this will be an excellent way to convey my conceptual ideas and to help me design. Enjoy the fire works....

Saturday's mixed media olympic trials...

These are the results in my attempts to recreate what happened earlier this week. I think, conceptually and process wise, these are highly successful drawings. I'm satisfied with what was produced and I have some new tricks up my sleeve graphically. Unfortunately, the drawings just didn't move me as much as the first one did emotionally. Looking at the new drawings they seem more complicated and erratic in comparison to the first one. The original had spatial qualities that are not represented here. I should have known this would happen, I was trying to cram everything I could into one piece of paper. I don't know why I did that...hm. Regardless, between these, my on going model study, precedents and store studies I've got a titanic's worth of information, both programmatic and conceptual, to start translating these ideas into spatial relationships in the volume of the store.

Should have posted this a few weeks ago

These sketches were my initial thoughts on some of the ways in which people would interact with the gaming terminals [single person, group, public, private, etc] and what that experience might look like. As of late, cubism has also been a reoccurring idea brought to my attention by some of the work I've done so far. I'd like my plans and sections to be first and foremost legible, but I am leaning towards a cubist style of portrayal with a touch of Hadid. Sections and plans can be so boring. Why not make them works of art at the same time? I also did some experimenting yesterday with mixed media [markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, water color, pen ink] in an attempt to replicate the process that was successful in a previous perspective. I've got "it" on paper and whatever "it" is, "it" looks crazy. Now I just need to scan it and see what it looks like after I touch it up in photoshop. That will be on the next post.The sketches were also what got me started on the models I've built so far. I must say its really helped to think about the volume of the store with something that most people would consider a toy (myyyy blocks!). The blocks have grooves on the sides and on the top, holes in the sides and top for steel rods, and today I'm going to start cutting 1/2 planes of plywood at varying lengths to act as connectors between the blocks as well. I think that puts the number of types of connections at a possible 6 (if you use the planes vertically and horizontally). I will probably focus more on the details of the store and less on the model now that I feel I've reached a good point of study.

We have lift off!

So my perspectives were not much to look at (2 two of them anyway). They were more representative of conceptual perspective diagrams which is what I was shooting for. My third perspective haphazardly occurred in the background as a product of my rendering the first two perspectives. The marker bled through the paper into the sheet underneath and after noticing this I quickly (right before our group meeting) began to draw over the random forms that were created as a biproduct of my previous renderings, creating what I like to call a "Zaha Hadid Style" perspective. I scanned the drawings after class and brought them into photoshop for a little touch up. I didn't expect the first two to excite me but the third was a different story. The manipulated image that I saw sent my mind and eyes into ecstasy. I'm quite proud of having found a new way of mixing media and it amazes me that this whole process has coincided with my concept. The change of medium changed the life of the work. Is it bad that I want to frame it?

The Goods.

The experiment turned out quite spectacular although unfortunately it did have its set backs. The jig I used was not completely perpendicular to the blocks when I was cutting the grooves which resulted in things not lining up exactly. Regardless, I am pleased with the output and that I still have my digits attached (there was a bit of a scare for a moment). I will probably go back and attempt to fix the problems tomorrow during class (charette permitting). As you can see I've started to drill holes for the rods I plan to use. The strength of the plywood is suprising, especially in the 2nd and 3rd pictures. The striations both represented by the grooves and the grain of the plywood are definately singing conceptually.
And theres more where that came from.

Leaning tower of pixels...[Refractive Pixels in Metastasis]

I am working more with models in this project to see if incorporating them into my usual black hole of a process nets any interesting results. Model building is not a strong skill of mine and if I need to show my ideas physically and conceptually, it needs to improve. So, the only way you get better is if you practice, right? What better opportunity is there to practice then with a studio project? I'm enjoying myself so far but I think it has more to do with the tools (shop), materials (plywood) and scale I'm working at. In the past I've noticed that there is a severe decline in the dexterity of my hands once I get working with fairly small objects. For example, I can't shuffle cards, play the guitar or any other instrument for that matter. My fingers just don't get it. Perhaps there is some disconnect between the nerves in my fingers and the synapses firing in my brain. This disadvantage always translates itself into poorly made models for projects. I think a time for change is appropriate. I laminated scraps of plywood together, smoothed out the faces, and cut grooves on 4 sides of the piece with a 1/2" dado pack on the radial arm saw.
The "pixel" is a two dimensional or three dimensional manifestation of information. In this model study I've chosen to use the square and cube as a starting form for that manifestation. It is not pictured here but the entire mass is cut into varying lengths, all of which can be interlocked on any of the 4 sides with grooves. The parts can be manipulated to create different "pixel" masses. I see this as the first stage in what is to be the abstraction of the form and how the new forms speak to the possibility of new types of connections that might occur between those masses. Stay tuned, the process continues...

Vision Quests: Reality and the Mind

Reflection in fall. It was a beautiful weekend.

Brother, mother, girlfriend and Blue, our dog (hidden in front of my brother)...on our way to the bark park (country park).

I suppose I hadn't noticed the leaves changing outside until this weekend.

I believe this little outing falls into the category of a vision quest although I didn't realize at the time what I was actually experiencing it. [fresh air, nature, and family] Even though these having nothing to do with my project, I find getting away from the work to reflect on other aspects of my life just as helpful and refreshing.

The leaves did get me thinking about the "pixel" again. They certainly qualify under my previous interpretation...the leaves as a whole having the duty of soaking up the sun's energy and the carbon dioxide in the tree's process of photosynthesis. To go further a tree could be a larger pixel (or construct of smaller pixels to create the larger one) in the greater context of the environment...examples perhaps of the assignment of tasks to pixels at different scales?

Sketch model in the making! To be continue...