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Week 11 Index

QCQ #3: Structural Tension #

A Structure Within a Structure: Research #

A Structure Within a Structure: Final #

A Structure Within a Structure: Materials in the World #

Negative Fragments #

QCQ #4: Concrete Blonde #

Negative Fragments: 25lbs # # # #

Positive Fragments: Research #

Positive Fragments: Final #

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Imitating Bricks

Imitating Bricks

Spring (2023)

Dimensions: 3’ X 2’ X 2’

Mediums: Plaster, toothpicks, legos, table, bottle

I casted a set of bricks, two cars and a set of wheels from clay and plaster. I simply pressed down two cars and a lego brick repeatedly onto the clay to make a series of molds. Once applying the plaster and sanding off the excess, I had a set ready to build.

I glues the bricks together to make a rudimentary house with one opening and a thin wooden slab as a roof. I think glued dots on the top of the roof to make it match the lego brick esthetic.

For one of the cars, I drilled holes into one and then holes in four wheels. I then use toothpicks for axels and attached the wheels on. Now it can roll like a toy car.

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Mold and Casting

Video links:

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My attempt with molding and casting was with lego bricks and cars to emulate the manufacturing process. Though not perfect, it can still be built to mimic the original products. The imperfections can be taken as the details lost in translation

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QCQ 4

“Foucault claims that the modern era is characterized by the impossibility of knowing the world through representation, that representation has become entirely self-referential, with its own history and laws, and is not related to the world we experience at all. By considering how House represents architectural space I shall propose that a meaningful form of representation is still possible - a representation that is critical in questioning accepted assumptions, and imaginative

in suggesting alternate possibilities.” -Concrete Blonde- A Probe into Negative Space Where Mysteries are Created

From what I can surmise, representation can be difficult to understand towards those that have not experienced a given subject. How can you understand something if you don’t know what it is? It’s like trying to learn advanced calculus before studying basic multiplication and division. The mathematical formulas necessary would go right through your head as you have no point of reference.

That’s not to say it’s impossible though. All it takes is to study the basics as you approach the field. Pace yourself familiarizing the subject, and you’ll eventually get the hang of it.

So my question is, do you feel lost or disoriented trying something new? And does that feeling go away once you find a point of reference to stem from?

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Importance of Weight Distribution

Importance of Weight Distribution (Spring 2023)

Dimensions: 5′ X 5′ X 5′

Mediums: Metal, rope, rocks, and a straw

For this project I created a crude scale with three pallets. One pallet with rocks, another with metal pieces, and the third on the floor with a straw. The whole set minus the third pallet is set to hang in the ceiling with rope.

A structure has to follow the rules in architecture in order to stand on its own. Weight and balance are two key elements to keep in mind when building such a structure. Many structures appear odd or even defy the laws of physics, but in actuality don’t. Rather they bend the rules. This sculpture simulates the importance of following the rules as an example of “What not to do” with flaws that could cause the structure to fall apart, such as using weak materials that breaks if it can’t hold the weight of a straw. The straw itself if a metaphor going pass the limit “The straw that broke the camel’s back.”

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Scrap and Recycling Visit

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Welding Ideas

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QCQ 3

“Today, many architects seem less interested in buildings that appear alarmingly close to succumbing to gravity than in those that defy it entirely —whether in the form of spectacular gestures like the cantilever of Rem Koolhaas’s CCTV tower in Beijing or in the fad for structures that just look so complicated or chaotic that one loses all sense of how they perform the job of keeping themselves upright. But this trend is still essentially a visual game. If deconstruction was an attack on structural function and much contemporary architecture is based on the suppression of structure, both continue to operate within a symbolic language of structural expression, in the shadow of Semper’s tectonics.” -Structural Tension: The Art of Oscar Tuazon

The way I hear it, it sounds like there’s an argument between form and function. Some may design to be outstanding and seemingly defy the laws of gravity. Others would build based on the simple yet tried and true method of structure. Yet either way, they still have to follow the rules for structural stability in order to stay standing in the long run.

When people think of a building, most will likely think of a tall box like structure. Most buildings are designed like that, to make the interior straight and organized. Boxed like rooms inside box like buildings. This boxy formation is the simplest way of following structural rules to stay standing, takes in account for space and weight distribution. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong with branching out to other structures. So long as the structure follows the rules, it will stay standing. It’s only when they don’t follow is when they collapse under their own weight.

Question: Do you feel confident in experimenting with other structural forms?

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Week 6 Index

1. Wall Frame: Process

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2. Wall Frame: Prop

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3. Wall Frame: One Minute Structure

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4. QCQ #1: Dependent Participation

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5. A Room: Research

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6. A Room: Final

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7. QCQ #2: Anarchitecture

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8. Anarchitecture: Research

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9. Anarchitecture: Final

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Panel AVE Apartment

Panel AVE Apartment (Spring 2023)

Dimensions: 25″ X 20.5″ X 14″

Mediums: Wood, plexiglass, metal wire, clay

For my project I decided to make a set piece detailing an act of violence. Using 2 x 4 and plywood I constructed an five story apartment building. Each story comprises of five rooms and a stair well. In one of each floor shows scenes of an ant going on. The top floor starts with an intruder bashing into the room with the resident surprised. The next three floors show the two figures fighting. And then the bottom floor has the two figures laying on the ground while two other figures in blue examine them.

This setup is my way of depicting violence. It can happen anywhere at anytime. In the end, we ask questions and wonder why or how it happened, often with unresolved or unsatisfied conclusions

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QCQ 2

“The first thing one notices is that violence has been done. Then the violence turns to visual order and hopefully, then to a sense of heightened awareness” - Gordon Matta-Clark’s Anarchitecture

To break this up, I think I understand what he means. We pretty much all know violence happens, it can happen anywhere at anytime. But when it happens we all know it’s bad, so it’s not just casually accepted. When violence occurs, many of us would try to rationalize it, we ask questions. What happened? How did this happen? Why did it happed? And possibly the biggest question, how could it be prevented?

By acknowledging what has occurred, and by piecing together the information, we create an awareness of the given situation, in the hopes it could be resolved. Or if not, prevent a similar situation in the future.

So my question, if you witness or hear about tragic events, do you try to rationalize it?

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Toy World (Spring 2023)

Dimensions: 8’ x 8’ x 4’

Mediums: Legos and cardboard within a wooden room

For this project I wanted to play around with scale and the use of toys to mimic real life. I like the idea of using toys as a medium to simulate scenarios. I started by bringing some of my official lego building sets and a collection of loose pieces, placing the buildings on a makeshift table, then scattering the pieces everywhere on the floor. A cardboard road then goes from the tiny town, down to a chair, and then down to a big box to the floor. To further present the idea of scale, I filmed the first half going around the small room, looking around the chaotic mess and over the town. Then half way I lower the camera and adjust the view to the floor, then go up the road into the lively town. This creates the feeling of transitioning from a small cramped space into a large world

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QCQ 1

Quote/Comment/Question

“Participation in Nauman's environments emerges as an oppressive concept that is at the expense of the viewer” -Dependent Participation: Bruce Nauman’s Environments

I feel like there’s some truth to that line. Participation in any medium comes at the cost of the audiences’ time and energy. If you wish to take part, you have to give up your own autonomy to follow along. Now of course you could break away at anytime. But in doing so, you’re no longer participating. Thus, you don’t get the same experience.

Video games have been considered as interactive art mediums, that involve the player’s own participation. That player has to follow the rules in order to progress in the game. They can break away from the narrative, but they still can’t progress. Some games have even experimented with the player’s choice, by offering branching paths and side quests. Should the player break away from the narrative or take a different path, they get a different outcome. Some examples include Undertale, The Stanley Parable, and most open world games.

Now the examples I’ve posted are from video games which are a controlled environment. But have you experienced something similar in the real world? Something that you had to give up control in order to progress?

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