You were talking very artistically and philosophically - Smithson piece - reflection
Memory of that reflection is more monumental than stone
Refugee is dealing with reflection
Build model of site - look to studies - philosophically- and take from that
First gesture: steel beam
Second gesture: roof (protection from rain and from sun)
Weather- the architecture will be challenged and formed from your previous research
Does the capturing of wind have anything to do with that the orphans are feeling?
How are you treating your structure - towards the elements or feelings
Does wind catcher make sound?
Talk about origins of your ideas
Emotional - materials are too rigid and stiff for emotional quality of the program
Wind catcher - so many images and emotions come to mind
interpretations of ideas
Doing something "post modern" taking pieces from elsewhere and putting them together - your project won't look like an orphanage then
Tie in specifics of orphanage and background - describe program of the space
Orphanage should be part of thesis statement - very important
More sensorial - wind catching - catching the voices of the children
'kirkider' (sp?) sculptor/painter - rigid yet flexible as if modeling with clay
Maybe using clay and molding would be good for you
Keep playing - turn wind catcher on side to become passageway in plan
** Environment for kids - Playful and Fun
continuation and underside of wind catcher
Sand could be your metaphor for your project (mountain one day - gone the next)
Also children love sand
Monday, February 04, 2008
liz's notes
-profound thesis. 1st one about expression.
-the maze, to look into, gives ultimate power. to be inside, gives excitement.
-human conditions, 1st is my value, 2nd is artifacts, reevaluate how I question my work.
-maybe supermarket needs a new defination. I am playing with what's already there.
-material not enough for synaesthetic.
-quality, content is the fruit. now you relate to the object. wont mind whole building being mesh. how does your body engage it? to look down?
-piece bottom up
-think if point structure (column) goes with the idea of the maze, or line structure (load bearing walls)
-the maze, to look into, gives ultimate power. to be inside, gives excitement.
-human conditions, 1st is my value, 2nd is artifacts, reevaluate how I question my work.
-maybe supermarket needs a new defination. I am playing with what's already there.
-material not enough for synaesthetic.
-quality, content is the fruit. now you relate to the object. wont mind whole building being mesh. how does your body engage it? to look down?
-piece bottom up
-think if point structure (column) goes with the idea of the maze, or line structure (load bearing walls)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
If you are standing outside a bakery with the smell of fresh bread in the air
Dear Liz:
While reading the NYT today I came upon this article and the study it refers to, and thought of your project and the discussion we had last Thursday.Check it out!
This story has implications for a topic that came up last semmester regarding the desire present in several of your booklets proposing the posibility of architectural experience as a means to improve human moral behavior. Do you all remember that discussion? Let's talk about it briefly on Monday.
from: New York Times Feb 3, 2008 The Book Review
"Morality Studies- As scientists take to explaining right or wrong, Kwame Anthony Appiah examines what this means for philosophy."
review of book: "Experiments in Ethics" by Kwame Anthony Appiah
"Many philosophers, for example , argue that doing good, and living the good life, consists of possesing virtues like honesty and kindness, and that a good society should aspire to cultivate these virtues in its citizens. But a large body of evidence suggests that these enduring character traits, to the extent that they even exist, may not play much of a role in moral action. Instead, our behavior is determined to a surprising extent by the situation.
Appiah points out that we are usually not conscious that this is happening. If you are standing outside a bakery with the smell of fresh bread in the air, one study showed, you are morer likely to help a stranger than if you are standing outside a "neutral-smelling dry good store". ......"This has implications for how we think of moral responsibility...."
While reading the NYT today I came upon this article and the study it refers to, and thought of your project and the discussion we had last Thursday.Check it out!
This story has implications for a topic that came up last semmester regarding the desire present in several of your booklets proposing the posibility of architectural experience as a means to improve human moral behavior. Do you all remember that discussion? Let's talk about it briefly on Monday.
from: New York Times Feb 3, 2008 The Book Review
"Morality Studies- As scientists take to explaining right or wrong, Kwame Anthony Appiah examines what this means for philosophy."
review of book: "Experiments in Ethics" by Kwame Anthony Appiah
"Many philosophers, for example , argue that doing good, and living the good life, consists of possesing virtues like honesty and kindness, and that a good society should aspire to cultivate these virtues in its citizens. But a large body of evidence suggests that these enduring character traits, to the extent that they even exist, may not play much of a role in moral action. Instead, our behavior is determined to a surprising extent by the situation.
Appiah points out that we are usually not conscious that this is happening. If you are standing outside a bakery with the smell of fresh bread in the air, one study showed, you are morer likely to help a stranger than if you are standing outside a "neutral-smelling dry good store". ......"This has implications for how we think of moral responsibility...."
Notes from review
dematerializing the glass
triple height- but can't get to the outside
hinges upon wellbeing- peace & harmony
social, physical, image, harmony-- of self
What is wellbeing, mental healing, spiritual, physical
etched surfaces, this creates that to qualify that.
it worked or not?
work on the scratched surface- interesting,
take the model outside and film it
experience with it.
how can it relate to wellbeing?
What is on the other side of the mirror?
triple height- but can't get to the outside
hinges upon wellbeing- peace & harmony
social, physical, image, harmony-- of self
What is wellbeing, mental healing, spiritual, physical
etched surfaces, this creates that to qualify that.
it worked or not?
work on the scratched surface- interesting,
take the model outside and film it
experience with it.
how can it relate to wellbeing?
What is on the other side of the mirror?
Saturday, February 02, 2008
new schedule
here is my new schedule, however it will undergo another revision once i have a clearer idea of waht needs to be completed for the rest of the semester. I'm changing my metaphor to science is religion for the purpose of clarity. also i will be revising my thesis book to include new research and filter the research that no longer applies to my project. please check my schedule and comment on the items that are in it. thank you
-Ahmed
-Ahmed
Notes from the review
Sketch Problem: A Synaesthetic Construction
Message from Mark and Dan
All of you should finish the models and drawings. Publish on the blog notes
from the review.
ALL of you should yet again focus on the synaesthetic qualities implied in your model. Write a short paragraph outlining that and publish on the blog.
On Monday we will discuss next steps in your projects.
These are some notes I took from the review.
Toste:
Draw section and plan identifying existing conditions, new construction aand
Datums, that is a reference system indicating canal water level changes, and surface and rain water collection. Finish the model!
Leslie:
Research lighting technology systematically. Types of light (wide beam/narrow
Spot, diffuses etc. and develop a typology of light sourses and qualities of light)
See Dan’s notes on the blog re theater lighting aimed at Mat and Ahmed)
Robin
Develop a park planning strategy (a narrative ) of your program (market and sport viewing). Make a topographical site plan aand cut sections. Do that in words and site plan sketches as well as describe and vary the section and roof shape of your unit model as contingent on what happens front and back.
Liz:
Energize the design by closely considering the bodily experience of picking food, smelling keeping them wet , cool and bright (lighting), (synaesthetic qualities)
THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE !!!!
Lex suggested Kapro “The blurring of Boundaries.
Ahmed
Dan (the guest criticJ “the different architectural qualities of the two spaces are not sufficiently articulated”, that is not complex and different enough. DEVELOP typology of sensorial and spatial qualities “they could be the same spase that changes at certain times.”
Matt:
Develop a schematic plan and section for the front/back façade of the theater.
Develop a diagrammatic plan of an entry sequence into the theater through the
“back stage fly tower mechanism”. Research such a mechanism in theater literature. Conceptually consider the relationship between outside and inside,
the narrative of the play and the façade.
Alanna:
Test the model for actual sound transmission- Sound is air waves-
Dan the (visiting critic) “consider conceptually transmission of all
Wave phenomena –sound, light etc.”
Noorah:
Refocus on the sensorial qualities (synaestesia) of your architecture
particularly sound (in the wind catcher), water and temperature (hot, cool)
Develop the program and site landscaping strategy next.
KJ.
Balance attention to the seniors use of the space. Develop narrative of how the two sides of the wall and return to an emphasis of shadow. Phogtograpg the model with that in mind.
Joyce
Photograph and video the model to achieve reflections like your film. Scratch
the back wall.
Dionysus
Write a short and clear program story. Develop both the living space and the collection space. Develop systematic typology of ways of collecting types of objects- develop a list of kinds of objects.
Message from Mark and Dan
All of you should finish the models and drawings. Publish on the blog notes
from the review.
ALL of you should yet again focus on the synaesthetic qualities implied in your model. Write a short paragraph outlining that and publish on the blog.
On Monday we will discuss next steps in your projects.
These are some notes I took from the review.
Toste:
Draw section and plan identifying existing conditions, new construction aand
Datums, that is a reference system indicating canal water level changes, and surface and rain water collection. Finish the model!
Leslie:
Research lighting technology systematically. Types of light (wide beam/narrow
Spot, diffuses etc. and develop a typology of light sourses and qualities of light)
See Dan’s notes on the blog re theater lighting aimed at Mat and Ahmed)
Robin
Develop a park planning strategy (a narrative ) of your program (market and sport viewing). Make a topographical site plan aand cut sections. Do that in words and site plan sketches as well as describe and vary the section and roof shape of your unit model as contingent on what happens front and back.
Liz:
Energize the design by closely considering the bodily experience of picking food, smelling keeping them wet , cool and bright (lighting), (synaesthetic qualities)
THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE !!!!
Lex suggested Kapro “The blurring of Boundaries.
Ahmed
Dan (the guest criticJ “the different architectural qualities of the two spaces are not sufficiently articulated”, that is not complex and different enough. DEVELOP typology of sensorial and spatial qualities “they could be the same spase that changes at certain times.”
Matt:
Develop a schematic plan and section for the front/back façade of the theater.
Develop a diagrammatic plan of an entry sequence into the theater through the
“back stage fly tower mechanism”. Research such a mechanism in theater literature. Conceptually consider the relationship between outside and inside,
the narrative of the play and the façade.
Alanna:
Test the model for actual sound transmission- Sound is air waves-
Dan the (visiting critic) “consider conceptually transmission of all
Wave phenomena –sound, light etc.”
Noorah:
Refocus on the sensorial qualities (synaestesia) of your architecture
particularly sound (in the wind catcher), water and temperature (hot, cool)
Develop the program and site landscaping strategy next.
KJ.
Balance attention to the seniors use of the space. Develop narrative of how the two sides of the wall and return to an emphasis of shadow. Phogtograpg the model with that in mind.
Joyce
Photograph and video the model to achieve reflections like your film. Scratch
the back wall.
Dionysus
Write a short and clear program story. Develop both the living space and the collection space. Develop systematic typology of ways of collecting types of objects- develop a list of kinds of objects.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
from LEX
Dear All:
This is from Lex who is thinking of you all:
Dan
another for your synesthesia class?
particularly thinking of the girl who's doing the Chelsea waterfront originating with a reflected facade, all students whom focus on perception, reflections, shadow and light.
anyhow.....
pleased to tell, one of your students is in my drawing class
Lex
e-Announcement
See what you See, 2007
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
180 x 235 cm. // Ed. 6
Ola Kolehmainen
until 1st March 2008
Galería Senda
Consell de cent, 337 . 08007 Barcelona - Spain
Tel.: +34 (0)93 . 4876759
Fax: +34 (0)93 . 4882199
info@galeriasenda.com
www.galeriasenda.com
Tue-Sat 10:30am - 2pm + 4:30 - 8:30pm
Golden Wall (No. 3)
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 257 cm., Ed. 6
158 x 200 cm., Ed. 3
Architecture is the subject matter of Ola Kolehmainen's photographs; however, these are not photographs that document architecture. The building is a source of inspiration. The artist is fascinated by the building's structural compositions, focusing on their details and sequences. This type of architecture abandons the building's three-dimensional quality and transforms it into an abstract object. As well, the facades show reflections, providing a metaphoric meaning that questions the notion of presence and absence. Kolehmainen's photographs are always done on a large scale, allowing them to move beyond their visible parameters, to the point where the eye can no longer see and the imagination takes over.
Composition of Collected Reflections
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 263 cm., Ed. 6
145 x 185 cm., Ed. 3
Ola Kolehmainen, one of the most prominent artists of the Helsinki School," graduated in 1999 from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki (TaiK). His work centers on the exploration of contemporary architecture. Concentrating on the basic structure of architectural façades and interiors, and the strict geometrical order of serial forms, Kolehmainen creates nearly abstract images whose aesthetics are rooted in Minimalism. Disturbing details, called "visual noise" by the photographer, are eliminated, yet there always appear to be elements that undermine the concept of a clear, orderly structure, such as tree branches covering a section of a façade or mirrored façades reflecting a fragmented view of the world outside.
White, Pink, Yellow and Green
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 256 cm. // Ed. 6
This is from Lex who is thinking of you all:
Dan
another for your synesthesia class?
particularly thinking of the girl who's doing the Chelsea waterfront originating with a reflected facade, all students whom focus on perception, reflections, shadow and light.
anyhow.....
pleased to tell, one of your students is in my drawing class
Lex
e-Announcement
See what you See, 2007
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
180 x 235 cm. // Ed. 6
Ola Kolehmainen
until 1st March 2008
Galería Senda
Consell de cent, 337 . 08007 Barcelona - Spain
Tel.: +34 (0)93 . 4876759
Fax: +34 (0)93 . 4882199
info@galeriasenda.com
www.galeriasenda.com
Tue-Sat 10:30am - 2pm + 4:30 - 8:30pm
Golden Wall (No. 3)
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 257 cm., Ed. 6
158 x 200 cm., Ed. 3
Architecture is the subject matter of Ola Kolehmainen's photographs; however, these are not photographs that document architecture. The building is a source of inspiration. The artist is fascinated by the building's structural compositions, focusing on their details and sequences. This type of architecture abandons the building's three-dimensional quality and transforms it into an abstract object. As well, the facades show reflections, providing a metaphoric meaning that questions the notion of presence and absence. Kolehmainen's photographs are always done on a large scale, allowing them to move beyond their visible parameters, to the point where the eye can no longer see and the imagination takes over.
Composition of Collected Reflections
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 263 cm., Ed. 6
145 x 185 cm., Ed. 3
Ola Kolehmainen, one of the most prominent artists of the Helsinki School," graduated in 1999 from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki (TaiK). His work centers on the exploration of contemporary architecture. Concentrating on the basic structure of architectural façades and interiors, and the strict geometrical order of serial forms, Kolehmainen creates nearly abstract images whose aesthetics are rooted in Minimalism. Disturbing details, called "visual noise" by the photographer, are eliminated, yet there always appear to be elements that undermine the concept of a clear, orderly structure, such as tree branches covering a section of a façade or mirrored façades reflecting a fragmented view of the world outside.
White, Pink, Yellow and Green
C-print, Diasec (silicon mounted between Plexiglas and Reynobond)
203 x 256 cm. // Ed. 6
Model to Build
here are sketches of the model I will build.
(Marc, I was assuming that you left, but if you did come back, I'm sorry I wasn't there at the moment. I had to step out for a while)
the sketch is what I propose as "Light Shafts" The Shafts would be a shaft of structural glass with mesh in the inside. much is quite the same (in terms of the use of the mesh) as the model I had today except that the glass is structural and forms 4 sides to make a "room". these shafts-rooms according to size would become storage area, rest area for workers, or maybe even a dressing room if the glass works like the bathrooms in Bar 89 ( I don't think there is a name for the system.
the "Light Shelfs" will slide in/out to control the light into the shaft. (similar to the study model)
I will make 2 shafts to hold the roof(ceiling) and will make the floor,ceiling big enough so that the lit
shafts could be contrast with the rest of the shadowed space.
I will study and put more detail in the connections. (floor to glass to ceiling)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Some notes at mid point.
Sketch Problem: A Synaesthetic Construction
Some notes at mid point.
Dear All:
Based on my observations in class last Thursday, I sense a bit of confusion and anxiety in several of you about the following issues:
1. What is the meaning of “you are to imagine a ‘small part’ in your project that can be build (with construction details and represented in the sketch model” due next Thursday.
When we issued the sketch project I said that “it may appear ‘counter intuitive’ that we are asking for you to design in great detail a “small part’ of your future project-like putting the cart before the horse. That was a cautionary note!
It seems evident that several of you are struggling to design the whole before the part. While I understand that tendency (it is not wrong in general) it is not possible in this short sketch exercise we have given. It is possible to focus on a small part without knowing the whole. It is a matter of mind discipline and a clear understanding of the pedagogical goal of the exercise. Many of you are doing it well.
In several cases the scale of the model has changed –therefore changing the nature of representing the materials and construction details possible at a smaller scale model (1 ½” scale). That also depends on your program for the construction……will explain that a bit later.
2. What is the meaning of being asked to make construction drawings? Are they the samde as Construction Documents? No. They should be Design Development Drawings that help you to build a Design Development model at a relatively large scale (3”=1’-0” or 1 1/2 “ =1’-0”)
3. We owe you a clarification on this request. Yes, we want you to understand what you are making and how to build it- that means materials and details. But we are in a Design Development mode not Construction Documents. That means you have to understand the design iplications of your material choices
particularly as they impact the synaesthetic experience of your design (i.e. touch. sound, etc)
I had one more suggestion that might be helpful in your work right now. That is what prompted me to write this now. You are about two thirds into the project. Take a moment to consider and restate clearly in words and a small sketch of what you will have by Thursday. That is always helpful, particularly in a case like this where the scope and size of the small project changes. In words state as briefly as you can the local specific program of your model (I will give examples below. Your sketch should also only show what you are building (not the whole complex around it which you may or mey not have in mind now)
Dionysous:
Program: a room for a elderly person above grade with a vault storage space below grade. Details of furniture in the room and storage below ground.
Several of you are designing (almost as an industrial design
project) a common wall between to different program spaces.
(Alanna, KJ, Derick and others)
Alanna:
A wall between two rooms ( quiet typing by a journalist and a loud room in the printing press room or something like that). That wall has a dual program of attenuating sound and transmitting some specific sound) The wall becomes an instrument made out of metal studs…etc..I hope I am stating it clearly.
Derick:
Similarly you are dealing with a wall between the manufacturing of cameras and the retail shelving of those cameras. The theme of lenses and magnifying became a possible way of designing that wall inbetween. Your interest in seeing very small movement in the wires of a bridge can be made possible by a magnifying lense that blows up the small vibration of a hanging wire of a shelf when a customer picks up a product fro a shelf. Just a thought for you !! I hope I am stating it as we discussed it.
This general tendency to design for multiple conditions of use or program is built into the required mode of operation across many senses of experience.
I would suggest that all of you post on the blog a brief description of what you are doing. That would help clarify all of the issues above and help Mark and I guide you more productively on Monday.
Dan
Some notes at mid point.
Dear All:
Based on my observations in class last Thursday, I sense a bit of confusion and anxiety in several of you about the following issues:
1. What is the meaning of “you are to imagine a ‘small part’ in your project that can be build (with construction details and represented in the sketch model” due next Thursday.
When we issued the sketch project I said that “it may appear ‘counter intuitive’ that we are asking for you to design in great detail a “small part’ of your future project-like putting the cart before the horse. That was a cautionary note!
It seems evident that several of you are struggling to design the whole before the part. While I understand that tendency (it is not wrong in general) it is not possible in this short sketch exercise we have given. It is possible to focus on a small part without knowing the whole. It is a matter of mind discipline and a clear understanding of the pedagogical goal of the exercise. Many of you are doing it well.
In several cases the scale of the model has changed –therefore changing the nature of representing the materials and construction details possible at a smaller scale model (1 ½” scale). That also depends on your program for the construction……will explain that a bit later.
2. What is the meaning of being asked to make construction drawings? Are they the samde as Construction Documents? No. They should be Design Development Drawings that help you to build a Design Development model at a relatively large scale (3”=1’-0” or 1 1/2 “ =1’-0”)
3. We owe you a clarification on this request. Yes, we want you to understand what you are making and how to build it- that means materials and details. But we are in a Design Development mode not Construction Documents. That means you have to understand the design iplications of your material choices
particularly as they impact the synaesthetic experience of your design (i.e. touch. sound, etc)
I had one more suggestion that might be helpful in your work right now. That is what prompted me to write this now. You are about two thirds into the project. Take a moment to consider and restate clearly in words and a small sketch of what you will have by Thursday. That is always helpful, particularly in a case like this where the scope and size of the small project changes. In words state as briefly as you can the local specific program of your model (I will give examples below. Your sketch should also only show what you are building (not the whole complex around it which you may or mey not have in mind now)
Dionysous:
Program: a room for a elderly person above grade with a vault storage space below grade. Details of furniture in the room and storage below ground.
Several of you are designing (almost as an industrial design
project) a common wall between to different program spaces.
(Alanna, KJ, Derick and others)
Alanna:
A wall between two rooms ( quiet typing by a journalist and a loud room in the printing press room or something like that). That wall has a dual program of attenuating sound and transmitting some specific sound) The wall becomes an instrument made out of metal studs…etc..I hope I am stating it clearly.
Derick:
Similarly you are dealing with a wall between the manufacturing of cameras and the retail shelving of those cameras. The theme of lenses and magnifying became a possible way of designing that wall inbetween. Your interest in seeing very small movement in the wires of a bridge can be made possible by a magnifying lense that blows up the small vibration of a hanging wire of a shelf when a customer picks up a product fro a shelf. Just a thought for you !! I hope I am stating it as we discussed it.
This general tendency to design for multiple conditions of use or program is built into the required mode of operation across many senses of experience.
I would suggest that all of you post on the blog a brief description of what you are doing. That would help clarify all of the issues above and help Mark and I guide you more productively on Monday.
Dan
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
large scale detail
i printed my construction documents out at 3"=1'-0 and the size is 4'. if i go half that scale, it will be 2'. im not sure which way to go.
program (to Marc and Dan)
after the discussion with Marc yesterday, I like the idea of the program being specific to one brand, instead of a mall. there would be layers of different sensitivity of seeing a glimpse of the product, seeing(display, or gallery), hearing, touching(trying) and viewing the manufacturing(background), touring the manufacturing (present experience), and confined space (worker's room etc.)
I began to be interested in this product being a "sensitive mechanics" which the process of making is appreciated and intentionally exposed; the sensitivity of perception of manufacturing would be controlled. The product I have in mind is the CAMERA. a Leica specifically. they are famous for the delicate handcraft, elaborate manufacturing to produce best quality cameras (cameras which are used for capturing motionless memories). I found that there is a factory that has tours in Germany.
I will continue with the mesh+glass+... systems to control lighting, sensitivity of perception (lighting will control which side of the glass has vision to the other side.)
please let me know your thoughts.
I began to be interested in this product being a "sensitive mechanics" which the process of making is appreciated and intentionally exposed; the sensitivity of perception of manufacturing would be controlled. The product I have in mind is the CAMERA. a Leica specifically. they are famous for the delicate handcraft, elaborate manufacturing to produce best quality cameras (cameras which are used for capturing motionless memories). I found that there is a factory that has tours in Germany.
I will continue with the mesh+glass+... systems to control lighting, sensitivity of perception (lighting will control which side of the glass has vision to the other side.)
please let me know your thoughts.
Monday, January 21, 2008
semester schedule
Jan 24: have site plan drawn out – double check with dimensions/measurements- drawings for Synaesthetic Construction exercise with model to scale
Jan 28: have site model completed – models of sketch problem and drawings – write on readings/work so far
January 31: REVIEW – present Synaesthetic Construction and progress up to date
Feb 4: Move from the detail to the overall program - Begin to define location of specific programs of building and relationship to each other
Feb 7: Focus on zoning within built complex and materials - drawings
Feb 11: Focus on method and form of circulation (and the above)– write on work so far.
Feb 14: Drawings and models
Feb 18: Consider ventilation, filtration (sketch drawings, models)
Feb 21: Start on plans sections elevations – sketch models with filming? With material representation – diagram of sounds – tactile qualities throughout program – write regarding goals
Feb 28: work on model and drawings – film with sound and materials to be used as well
March 3: drawings and sketch models
March 6: models – perspectives of details and main thresholds
March 10: Write on progress and ideas up to date – drawings and models
March 13: MIDTERM
March 24: Plans, sections, and elevations
March 27: decide on scale of models to be presented- start models
March 31: Detail model - drawings
April 3: Begin to finalize drawings
April 7: (3D model? Progression through?)
April 10: Begin work on final models within site context
April 14: drawings – models – all in presentation form (Decide on presentation layout)
April18: drawings – models – (videos?)
April 21: drawings – models –perspective drawings – if time permits
April 28(?): FINAL PRESENTATION
Jan 28: have site model completed – models of sketch problem and drawings – write on readings/work so far
January 31: REVIEW – present Synaesthetic Construction and progress up to date
Feb 4: Move from the detail to the overall program - Begin to define location of specific programs of building and relationship to each other
Feb 7: Focus on zoning within built complex and materials - drawings
Feb 11: Focus on method and form of circulation (and the above)– write on work so far.
Feb 14: Drawings and models
Feb 18: Consider ventilation, filtration (sketch drawings, models)
Feb 21: Start on plans sections elevations – sketch models with filming? With material representation – diagram of sounds – tactile qualities throughout program – write regarding goals
Feb 28: work on model and drawings – film with sound and materials to be used as well
March 3: drawings and sketch models
March 6: models – perspectives of details and main thresholds
March 10: Write on progress and ideas up to date – drawings and models
March 13: MIDTERM
March 24: Plans, sections, and elevations
March 27: decide on scale of models to be presented- start models
March 31: Detail model - drawings
April 3: Begin to finalize drawings
April 7: (3D model? Progression through?)
April 10: Begin work on final models within site context
April 14: drawings – models – all in presentation form (Decide on presentation layout)
April18: drawings – models – (videos?)
April 21: drawings – models –perspective drawings – if time permits
April 28(?): FINAL PRESENTATION
Sunday, January 20, 2008
dyonisus
read serial position, age and change
p53 in shape of time...(kubler)
read preamble and first chapter prior...
p53 in shape of time...(kubler)
read preamble and first chapter prior...
reading (esp robin, joyce,ahmed)
i assume most of you have the book...
studies in tectonic culture by kenneth frampton...
we should have a copy available in studio...
in particular
robin...
please check out page 113 (wright section)
and
p 270...jorn utzon scheme for shopping center
and read about the systems...
joyce
p 178
check out the material pallete...
read
ahmed
maybe get familiar with salk institute
check out section model p 237...
read
studies in tectonic culture by kenneth frampton...
we should have a copy available in studio...
in particular
robin...
please check out page 113 (wright section)
and
p 270...jorn utzon scheme for shopping center
and read about the systems...
joyce
p 178
check out the material pallete...
read
ahmed
maybe get familiar with salk institute
check out section model p 237...
read
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Notes for Matt and Ahmed:
Matt and Ahmed:
While your projects are completely different they do have in comon the use of theatrical technology. I strongly suggest that both of you visit the Pratt library which has some good books on the subject (see my email to you).
I found this about lighting on the internet. Without getting too technical the startegies of lighting a stage could be employed in your projects.
Dan
http://www.mts.net/~william5/sld/sld-200.htm
Stage Lighting Design
Edition 2.d - Copyright (c) 1997-1999 by Bill Williams
2.) VISIBILITY VS MOOD
The first and most important principle of stage lighting is still considered to be VISIBILITY. This was probably also true for early lighting designers, using candles, oil lamps, gas lighting and electric arcs.
Usually the designer will light the actor first for visibility and then for mood and atmosphere second. There are times however when MOOD may wish to overpower visibility (at least temporarily). Today many concert designers may light a stage first for mood and impact and then second for visibility. In this respect, much of the general lighting might consist of strong colors, projections, or moving effects. Using the followspot or the automated lighting fixture, the designer can 'cut' through the mood lighting and add controlled, precise lighting to performers, any where on the stage.
3.) EVOLUTION OF METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
Most lighting methods have evolved from light source and fixture technology. Spotlight fixtures today provide the designer with narrow beam spreads of about 10-40 degrees. This was not always the case. Less than 100 years ago, most lighting consisted only of flood lighting, as the narrow spot did not exist. With the development of the spotlight (lime light, electric arc, then incandescent), lighting methods changed. It now became possible to precisely place and localize light, anywhere on stage. As equipment continues to develop, so will lighting methods. With the new generation of automated fixtures, new lighting looks never before seen - are now possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.02 - SINGLE SOURCE METHODS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) SINGLE SOURCE METHODS
A designer may wish to light an entire stage with a single source of light as the sun or moon lights the earth, causing strongly motivated directional lighting, with a single shadow. This is seldom practical however for a number of reasons.
First, there are very few high-power lighting fixtures that are capable of lighting an entire stage. Typically a fixture of 10,000 watts or more would be required to provide the lighting to a small stage area.
Second, a single large fixture would be quite uncontrollable and would not only illuminate the acting area, but also the surrounding stage, wings and perhaps even some of the audience.
Third, for true single (point) source lighting to 'work', the source must be a great distance away. This is seldom possible in most theatre facilities.
In nature the point source of light is a great distance away. Assume the sun to be a lighting fixture and move say 25 feet 'away'. The drop-off of light is not noticeable. You have hardly moved away from the source at all. Now imagine a single stage lighting fixture, say 100 feet from the stage. An actor might move back 25 from the source. He has now moved a much greater distance in relationship to the source and the drop-off of light will be very noticeable. This is due to the inverse square law nature of light. The further the distance from the source, the more rapidly lighting levels drop. It is generally not possible to find appropriate mounting locations in most theatres for single source lighting and as a result, multi-fixture techniques are typically used instead.
There is also an important lighting concept that relates the size of a source to the sharpness of it's shadow. In general, the smaller the source, the harder the shadow. Conversely, the larger the source, the softer the shadow. For example, at the same distance a lighting fixture with a 6 inch diameter lens will produce a harder shadow than a fixture with a 36 inch source diameter (such as a: scoop, light box or box flood). Also as the distance to the source is made to increase, the hardness of the shadow will increase.
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2.03 - POINT SOURCE METHODS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) POINT SOURCE LIGHTING
Most stage lighting fixtures perform as 'point' sources. In this respect they produce a single shadow and they provide a light output that follows the inverse square law. For example, A lighting fixture 50 feet away might provide 100 footcandles. If the distance is doubled to 100 feet, only 25 footcandles are provided (one quarter).
Point source lighting forms the fundamental basis of all stage lighting design. The basic ingredients of all lighting design include the FRONT, BACK, DOWN, DIAGONAL, SIDE and UP light (and everything in between). The designer will sometimes use these basic single sources alone but most often they will be combined. Nothing is more dramatic than a modern dance piece lighted only with a series of isolated down lights or a single diagonal backlight, against an illuminated cyclorama. Nothing is more tiring and boring than watching a drama illuminated only with a series of tight pools of light.
The student designer must get to know the FRONT, BACK, DOWN, DIAGONAL, SIDE and UP light very well. He should experiment in an actual theatre with different types of equipment mounted in these positions. He should try different angles and should light different backgrounds, scenery and even actors. When the basic single sources have been mastered, two or more lighting angles should be combined on a single area. This is a very important exercise and forms the basis of all lighting design.
There are also a number of lighting books that contain photographic lighting studies of the basic sources (front, back, side, etc.) lighting a mannequin or an actor. One of the better studies is by Jean Rosenthal in her book 'The Magic of Light'. This photographic essay shown a number of lighting fixtures mounted in typical theatre lighting locations. The study contains excellent photographs, renderings and drawings of many different examples. There is also a light plot included showing the type and layout of all the equipment used.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.04 - MULTI-SOURCE METHODS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) MULTI-FIXTURE LIGHTING
Today most stage and entertainment lighting design uses multi-fixture lighting methods as opposed to single or point source methods. This allows the designer to have full control over the lighting, anywhere on stage, in respect to intensity, direction, distribution, color and movement.
Multi-fixture methods use a wide range of fixture types and a wide variety of lighting techniques. Today, most fixtures use the 'dimmable' tungsten-halogen lamp as a source. Increasingly however new H.I.D, (high intensity discharge) sources are finding their way into stage lighting applications. It is common today to integrate both conventional lighting fixtures with the new generation of automated fixtures, resulting in both a sophistication and simplicity of lighting design, never before possible.
Conventional lighting fixtures are always hung on 18 inch centers (or more). A typical 30 foot long pipe will accommodate 20 fixtures total.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.05 - MCCANDLESS METHOD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) MCCANDLESS METHOD
Although there may be no 'one' method of lighting design, there is however a systematic approach that was proposed by Stanley McCandless (Yale University School of Drama 1925-1964). It is this approach that is the foundation for modern stage lighting design today.
2.) ACTING AREA LIGHTING
McCandless proposed that the stage setting be broken up into a number of ACTING AREAS, each with two (2) fixtures. The fixtures were to be positioned overhead as front lights at approximately 90 degrees to the area. Further the fixtures were to be located approximately 45 degrees horizontally. Next McCandless proposed that each lamp have a different color filter, a 'warm' from one side, a 'cool' from the other. Each area was also (ideally) given individual dimmer control.
An 'open' stage would be typically broken into 9 areas (more or less as required), each having an 8-12 foot diameter. Areas might be arranged; 3 downstage, 3 center stage and 3 upstage.
The two fixtures provided VISIBILITY to the actor. The dimmer controls allowed areas to darken or brighten as needed, providing SELECTIVE FOCUS, COMPOSITION and MOOD to the overall stage picture. The position of the two fixtures, allowed an actor to 'play' to either his right or to his left, and still be in a KEY light. The angle between the fixtures provides excellent plasticity and form to the human face. The opposing warm and cool colors assist in providing interest, contrast and naturalistic lighting.
3.) BLENDING and TONING
Light the actors first for visibility, then light the surroundings separately for mood and atmosphere, was the McCandless's approach. Sometimes no additional lighting is required, letting the 'flare' from the acting areas illuminate the walls of a set. Alternately, scenery may need WASH or FLOOD lighting to help integrate and blend it into the entire lighting picture.
4.) BACKGROUNDS and BACKDROPS
Backgrounds, backings, backdrops and cycloramas should all be illuminated separately from the actor and from the scenery.
5.) EMPHASIS and SPECIALS
McCandless recommended additional fixtures (if needed);
(a) to provide 'acting area specials' (entrances, furniture, etc).
(b) to provide motivation (sunlight, moonlight, firelight).
(c) to provide projection or effects.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.06 - AREA LIGHTING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) AREA LIGHTING
Typically all stage lighting has to do with the lighting of a performer (dancer, actor, musician, etc.). Performers tend to work in AREAS. This is a good thing, because most stage lighting spotlights tend to provide localized areas or pools light.
Usually the first element of lighting design, is the ACTING AREA LIGHTING. Sometimes referred to as 'key' lighting, this lighting provides visibility to the performer - on an area by area basis. Area lighting when used with dimmer control, also provides a valuable method of isolating or accentuating a performer in any area on the stage. In addition, properly designed area lighting can also contribute to the overall, mood, atmosphere and composition of the stage picture.
It is important for the designer to be able to visualize the performance space, in the form of invisible three dimensional lighting areas. These areas should relate to the architecture and geometry of the stage or stage setting. Alternately, these areas should relate to the activities and blocking of the performers.
2.) ACTING AREA - FIXTURES
The ellipsoidal reflector and the fresnel spotlight are two luminaires particularly suited to the needs of area lighting. These fixtures provide beam spreads of from 10 - 50 degrees and are typically available in wattages of 500 to 2000 watts.
3.) ACTING AREA - METHODS
Typically the stage is broken down into a number of areas, across the front, across mid-stage and across upstage. Typically 3 x 3 or 9 areas total might be provided for a small box set. As many as 9 areas wide x 5 areas deep, might be provided for a large opera or musical. A large arena show may have over 100 areas.
Note that an uneven number of areas (3-5-7-9 etc) across the front of the stage is particularly useful. This system always provides an area on the center line - most often where half the show will take place.
Areas of 8-12 feet across seem to be most useful for theatre area lighting applications. Large arena type productions might however be better provided with areas of 12-20 feet across (or more).
Areas may be illuminated with one or more lighting fixtures. Typically, an area might be provided with a front light, a downlight, and a back light - depending on the needs of the production. Areas may also be illuminated with two (2) fixtures from the front and at 90 degrees to each other (after McCandless). The principle objective of area lighting should be to light the actor and avoid lighting the background. In this respect the lighting designer must carefully select both the angle and direction of all area lighting.
Although McCandless recommended that fixtures be mounted at 45 degrees above the horizontal, modern lighting practice tends to use angles of 45-60 degrees (or more) for front area lighting. Generally the higher the angle the more 'shadowy' and dramatic will be the lighting. Higher angles are good to prevent spill light upstage. Lower lighting angles are good for lighting the eyes and for lighting under hats.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.07 - TONING & BLENDING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) TONING & BLENDING
After lighting the actor with AREA LIGHTING, it may or may not be necessary to provide additional light to the surrounding scenery. Usually lighting specifically used to light the scenery is referred to as 'toning and blending' lighting - as it helps tone the scenery and blend with the acting area lighting.
Sometimes, for example when lighting a drama, in a box set, only area lighting may be required. No additional lighting is needed to light the set. This is due to the fact that reflection from the area lighting may bounce off the floor and illuminate the walls in a most naturalistic and appropriate way.
Alternately, however, if the production is a comedy, the set may feel a bit dark and dreary. No matter how the lighting designer tries to boost the acting area lights, the set still looks dark in comparison. In this case, additional lighting of the upper walls of the box set would probably provide an appropriate visual lift.
2.) TONING & BLENDING - FIXTURES
Toning and blending lighting, tend to use different fixture types, depending on the exact lighting application. Spotlights, floodlights and striplights all have their place.
3.) TONING & BLENDING - METHODS
Often toning and blending lighting is provided by soft flood type of fixtures. Both strip lights and box floods are suitable for this application.
Alternately spotlights may provide a more dramatic form of toning and blending. I personally like to use ellipsoidal reflectors with soft focus break-up templates to provide a textured toning and blending light to each wall of a set. These fixtures are usually located at a fairly low angle (box booms), and gently 'wash' and tone the scenery as needed.
During the early 1900's and until about 1960, toning and blending lighting was often provided from a series of three (3) or four (4) color strip lights, mounted above the stage. Strips (also called X-RAYS) ran from stage left to stage right, and were often used; downstage, center stage and upstage. Some theatres might have as many as five (5) sets of strip lights, permanently installed. Strip lights typically would be colored with glass or plastic filters in; red, green, blue and amber. Musicals, operas and variety shows, found strip lighting particularly useful in providing color washes. One moment the stage could be completely bathed in a night blue, the next in daytime amber. The red, green, blue, primary filters allowed just about any color to be mixed to provide an instant color wash to the stage, or the scenery below.
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2.08 - BACKGROUND LIGHTING
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1.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING
After lighting the actor with AREA LIGHTING, and after lighting the set with TONING & BLENDING LIGHTING the designer will separately light all backgrounds. Backgrounds are generally taken to mean - backdrops or background cloths. The painted backdrop has been used for hundreds of years in theatre, opera and dance. A properly painted backdrop can sometimes convey a sense of depth unrivaled by 3-dimensional scenery.
Backgrounds lighting also includes the lighting of large cycloramas to small patches of a painted drop, peaking through the window of a box set. A stylized opera or ballet might be performed on an open stage with only a 30' x 60' cyclorama as a background. Other productions might use 10 or more painted backdrops. Sometimes backgrounds may be realistic. At other times they may be abstract, surrealistic, impressionistic, or highly stylized.
2.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING - FIXTURES
Typically, backdrops are illuminated with striplight fixtures - sometimes called X-Rays, borderlights or battens. The striplight fixture consists of a linear lighting strip (usually 6-9 ft. long), with 9-12 individual lamp compartments. The compartments are wired in 3 or 4 circuits, with each circuit, colored as required with plastic filters. Sometimes the three (3) primary colors are used (red, green & blue), so that the designer can mix almost any color.
Striplights have developed essentially, as lamp technology has developed, using first oil and candles, then gas then the electric filament lamp, with a crude reflector. Some modern units use 'R' or 'PAR' lamps. A miniature striplight using the MR16 lamp was developed in the 1980's and is sometimes referred to as the 'Zip-strip'. Although compact and efficient, this product is not without problems. Lamps are wired in series with (typically) 10 x 12 volt lamps on each circuit. This means if one lamp 'blows', the entire circuit turns off. In addition the maximum wattage lamp available is the 75 watt, MR16 lamps. These 75 watt lamps typically burn at a temperature sufficiently hot to cause damage to most lamp sockets, after a period of time. If the designer wants reliability, he is forced to use a lower wattage lamp (ie 42 or 50 watts).
The asymmetrical box flood provides an alternate to the striplight fixture. This fixture has an asymmetrical reflector to 'push' more light towards to bottom of the drop. These fixtures are also available in compartment type fixtures of 1, 2, 3, and 4 compartments each.
3.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING - METHODS
Usually, the designer is trying to achieve a soft, even and smooth illumination across the entire backdrop. The backdrop may be illuminated only from the top, only from the bottom, or from both top and bottom at the same time. A cyclorama is often illuminated with three (3) color lighting from both the top and bottom. In this respect it is possible to provide a wide range of dynamic sky effects, using different colors from the top and bottom.
Backgrounds can also be illuminated by either front or rear screen projection. Sometimes backgrounds are illuminated with moving clouds with gobos, or with streaks, slashes or other symmetrical or asymmetrical effects.
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2.09 - FEATURES AND SPECIALS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) FEATURE LIGHTING
Feature lighting (or specials) are lighting fixtures used for very specific applications - other than acting area and background lighting. Typically they are used to supplement the general area lighting or to provide specific lighting effects.
A 'special' might consist of a tightly focused fixture on the face of a clock or on a painting hung on stage. This can allow the designer to reduce the general lighting and 'feature' or draw attention to any object or part of the stage. (A cheap trick, but effective!)
This also works with actors. If three actors, seated at a table are each lighted with a tightly focused 'special', it will be possible to visually shift attention from one actor to another, or balance all three equally. The use of specials for actors also guarantees they will be properly illuminated when needed, for dramatic reasons.
2.) FEATURE LIGHTING - FIXTURES
The ellipsoidal reflector is usually the fixture of choice for features and specials. Typically narrow angle E.R. fixtures are used with beam spreads of 5-20 degrees. These fixtures are often used with framing shutters, irises, or with other beam shaping devices - to put the light only where needed. The beam edge may be adjusted from 'hard' to 'soft' depending on the design objectives.
Sometimes beam projectors and PAR type 'pin spots' are also suitable for use as specials. These narrow angle fixtures can only provide a soft edge beam, usually with a slightly oval shape.
When the designer uses tight specials for performers, sufficient time must be given during lighting rehearsals to allow the actor to properly 'find his light' and be confident that he can be 'on the mark' each time. An actor that is out of his isolated special generally makes everyone look bad, so spend the extra time to make specials work.
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2.10 - THE SECRET METHOD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) THE SECRET METHOD OF LIGHTING DESIGN
There may be no one method of lighting the stage or there may be no 'rules' of lighting design - there is however 'the secret' of good lighting design. The secret is: KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, EXPERIENCE and PROFICIENCY. Many lighting designers may take the 'experimental' approach, and just try things, with no real method or concept of what they are trying to achieve. Sometimes this method gives brilliant and exceptional results. More than often it does not. Experimentation is very important for the lighting designer and all designers should try new things whenever possible. It is only through a systematic approach however that the lighting designer will be able to provide predictable and consistent result in any number of different situations.
The designer must know what he is lighting and how he wants the production to look. The designer must be very familiar with the script and all lighting requirements of the production. He must use the qualities of light and objectives of stage lighting to allow him to fully visualize, verbalize and define his design concept and intentions.
The designer must have a complete understanding of the many different types of luminaires, used in different lighting positions (both alone and in combination). He must know what the FRONT LIGHT, SIDE LIGHT, DOWNLIGHT, BACKLIGHT, UPLIGHT and DIAGONAL lighting positions produce - in any combination. These are the building blocks of lighting design and the designer must instinctively know what fixtures to use and from direction. This comes only from experience.
The designer must also know how to PRACTICALLY realize his design in an actual theatre or performance space. The designer must know the venue and have details of all lighting positions. He must know what equipment is needed to realize his visual image of the production and where to use it. He must know the many available design methods, (point source, single source, multi-source, etc.) and he must chose methods that will meet both his design criteria - and the budget.
Lighting design is not a solitary art. The designer must learn to collaborate with many other members of the production, design team and crew. In this respect the designer's 'human skills' can make or break the entire lighting design. The professional lighting designer must be concerned with PROCEDURE however he must also be concerned with RESULTS - and know how to get it.
While your projects are completely different they do have in comon the use of theatrical technology. I strongly suggest that both of you visit the Pratt library which has some good books on the subject (see my email to you).
I found this about lighting on the internet. Without getting too technical the startegies of lighting a stage could be employed in your projects.
Dan
http://www.mts.net/~william5/sld/sld-200.htm
Stage Lighting Design
Edition 2.d - Copyright (c) 1997-1999 by Bill Williams
2.) VISIBILITY VS MOOD
The first and most important principle of stage lighting is still considered to be VISIBILITY. This was probably also true for early lighting designers, using candles, oil lamps, gas lighting and electric arcs.
Usually the designer will light the actor first for visibility and then for mood and atmosphere second. There are times however when MOOD may wish to overpower visibility (at least temporarily). Today many concert designers may light a stage first for mood and impact and then second for visibility. In this respect, much of the general lighting might consist of strong colors, projections, or moving effects. Using the followspot or the automated lighting fixture, the designer can 'cut' through the mood lighting and add controlled, precise lighting to performers, any where on the stage.
3.) EVOLUTION OF METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
Most lighting methods have evolved from light source and fixture technology. Spotlight fixtures today provide the designer with narrow beam spreads of about 10-40 degrees. This was not always the case. Less than 100 years ago, most lighting consisted only of flood lighting, as the narrow spot did not exist. With the development of the spotlight (lime light, electric arc, then incandescent), lighting methods changed. It now became possible to precisely place and localize light, anywhere on stage. As equipment continues to develop, so will lighting methods. With the new generation of automated fixtures, new lighting looks never before seen - are now possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.02 - SINGLE SOURCE METHODS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) SINGLE SOURCE METHODS
A designer may wish to light an entire stage with a single source of light as the sun or moon lights the earth, causing strongly motivated directional lighting, with a single shadow. This is seldom practical however for a number of reasons.
First, there are very few high-power lighting fixtures that are capable of lighting an entire stage. Typically a fixture of 10,000 watts or more would be required to provide the lighting to a small stage area.
Second, a single large fixture would be quite uncontrollable and would not only illuminate the acting area, but also the surrounding stage, wings and perhaps even some of the audience.
Third, for true single (point) source lighting to 'work', the source must be a great distance away. This is seldom possible in most theatre facilities.
In nature the point source of light is a great distance away. Assume the sun to be a lighting fixture and move say 25 feet 'away'. The drop-off of light is not noticeable. You have hardly moved away from the source at all. Now imagine a single stage lighting fixture, say 100 feet from the stage. An actor might move back 25 from the source. He has now moved a much greater distance in relationship to the source and the drop-off of light will be very noticeable. This is due to the inverse square law nature of light. The further the distance from the source, the more rapidly lighting levels drop. It is generally not possible to find appropriate mounting locations in most theatres for single source lighting and as a result, multi-fixture techniques are typically used instead.
There is also an important lighting concept that relates the size of a source to the sharpness of it's shadow. In general, the smaller the source, the harder the shadow. Conversely, the larger the source, the softer the shadow. For example, at the same distance a lighting fixture with a 6 inch diameter lens will produce a harder shadow than a fixture with a 36 inch source diameter (such as a: scoop, light box or box flood). Also as the distance to the source is made to increase, the hardness of the shadow will increase.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.03 - POINT SOURCE METHODS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) POINT SOURCE LIGHTING
Most stage lighting fixtures perform as 'point' sources. In this respect they produce a single shadow and they provide a light output that follows the inverse square law. For example, A lighting fixture 50 feet away might provide 100 footcandles. If the distance is doubled to 100 feet, only 25 footcandles are provided (one quarter).
Point source lighting forms the fundamental basis of all stage lighting design. The basic ingredients of all lighting design include the FRONT, BACK, DOWN, DIAGONAL, SIDE and UP light (and everything in between). The designer will sometimes use these basic single sources alone but most often they will be combined. Nothing is more dramatic than a modern dance piece lighted only with a series of isolated down lights or a single diagonal backlight, against an illuminated cyclorama. Nothing is more tiring and boring than watching a drama illuminated only with a series of tight pools of light.
The student designer must get to know the FRONT, BACK, DOWN, DIAGONAL, SIDE and UP light very well. He should experiment in an actual theatre with different types of equipment mounted in these positions. He should try different angles and should light different backgrounds, scenery and even actors. When the basic single sources have been mastered, two or more lighting angles should be combined on a single area. This is a very important exercise and forms the basis of all lighting design.
There are also a number of lighting books that contain photographic lighting studies of the basic sources (front, back, side, etc.) lighting a mannequin or an actor. One of the better studies is by Jean Rosenthal in her book 'The Magic of Light'. This photographic essay shown a number of lighting fixtures mounted in typical theatre lighting locations. The study contains excellent photographs, renderings and drawings of many different examples. There is also a light plot included showing the type and layout of all the equipment used.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.04 - MULTI-SOURCE METHODS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) MULTI-FIXTURE LIGHTING
Today most stage and entertainment lighting design uses multi-fixture lighting methods as opposed to single or point source methods. This allows the designer to have full control over the lighting, anywhere on stage, in respect to intensity, direction, distribution, color and movement.
Multi-fixture methods use a wide range of fixture types and a wide variety of lighting techniques. Today, most fixtures use the 'dimmable' tungsten-halogen lamp as a source. Increasingly however new H.I.D, (high intensity discharge) sources are finding their way into stage lighting applications. It is common today to integrate both conventional lighting fixtures with the new generation of automated fixtures, resulting in both a sophistication and simplicity of lighting design, never before possible.
Conventional lighting fixtures are always hung on 18 inch centers (or more). A typical 30 foot long pipe will accommodate 20 fixtures total.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.05 - MCCANDLESS METHOD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) MCCANDLESS METHOD
Although there may be no 'one' method of lighting design, there is however a systematic approach that was proposed by Stanley McCandless (Yale University School of Drama 1925-1964). It is this approach that is the foundation for modern stage lighting design today.
2.) ACTING AREA LIGHTING
McCandless proposed that the stage setting be broken up into a number of ACTING AREAS, each with two (2) fixtures. The fixtures were to be positioned overhead as front lights at approximately 90 degrees to the area. Further the fixtures were to be located approximately 45 degrees horizontally. Next McCandless proposed that each lamp have a different color filter, a 'warm' from one side, a 'cool' from the other. Each area was also (ideally) given individual dimmer control.
An 'open' stage would be typically broken into 9 areas (more or less as required), each having an 8-12 foot diameter. Areas might be arranged; 3 downstage, 3 center stage and 3 upstage.
The two fixtures provided VISIBILITY to the actor. The dimmer controls allowed areas to darken or brighten as needed, providing SELECTIVE FOCUS, COMPOSITION and MOOD to the overall stage picture. The position of the two fixtures, allowed an actor to 'play' to either his right or to his left, and still be in a KEY light. The angle between the fixtures provides excellent plasticity and form to the human face. The opposing warm and cool colors assist in providing interest, contrast and naturalistic lighting.
3.) BLENDING and TONING
Light the actors first for visibility, then light the surroundings separately for mood and atmosphere, was the McCandless's approach. Sometimes no additional lighting is required, letting the 'flare' from the acting areas illuminate the walls of a set. Alternately, scenery may need WASH or FLOOD lighting to help integrate and blend it into the entire lighting picture.
4.) BACKGROUNDS and BACKDROPS
Backgrounds, backings, backdrops and cycloramas should all be illuminated separately from the actor and from the scenery.
5.) EMPHASIS and SPECIALS
McCandless recommended additional fixtures (if needed);
(a) to provide 'acting area specials' (entrances, furniture, etc).
(b) to provide motivation (sunlight, moonlight, firelight).
(c) to provide projection or effects.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.06 - AREA LIGHTING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) AREA LIGHTING
Typically all stage lighting has to do with the lighting of a performer (dancer, actor, musician, etc.). Performers tend to work in AREAS. This is a good thing, because most stage lighting spotlights tend to provide localized areas or pools light.
Usually the first element of lighting design, is the ACTING AREA LIGHTING. Sometimes referred to as 'key' lighting, this lighting provides visibility to the performer - on an area by area basis. Area lighting when used with dimmer control, also provides a valuable method of isolating or accentuating a performer in any area on the stage. In addition, properly designed area lighting can also contribute to the overall, mood, atmosphere and composition of the stage picture.
It is important for the designer to be able to visualize the performance space, in the form of invisible three dimensional lighting areas. These areas should relate to the architecture and geometry of the stage or stage setting. Alternately, these areas should relate to the activities and blocking of the performers.
2.) ACTING AREA - FIXTURES
The ellipsoidal reflector and the fresnel spotlight are two luminaires particularly suited to the needs of area lighting. These fixtures provide beam spreads of from 10 - 50 degrees and are typically available in wattages of 500 to 2000 watts.
3.) ACTING AREA - METHODS
Typically the stage is broken down into a number of areas, across the front, across mid-stage and across upstage. Typically 3 x 3 or 9 areas total might be provided for a small box set. As many as 9 areas wide x 5 areas deep, might be provided for a large opera or musical. A large arena show may have over 100 areas.
Note that an uneven number of areas (3-5-7-9 etc) across the front of the stage is particularly useful. This system always provides an area on the center line - most often where half the show will take place.
Areas of 8-12 feet across seem to be most useful for theatre area lighting applications. Large arena type productions might however be better provided with areas of 12-20 feet across (or more).
Areas may be illuminated with one or more lighting fixtures. Typically, an area might be provided with a front light, a downlight, and a back light - depending on the needs of the production. Areas may also be illuminated with two (2) fixtures from the front and at 90 degrees to each other (after McCandless). The principle objective of area lighting should be to light the actor and avoid lighting the background. In this respect the lighting designer must carefully select both the angle and direction of all area lighting.
Although McCandless recommended that fixtures be mounted at 45 degrees above the horizontal, modern lighting practice tends to use angles of 45-60 degrees (or more) for front area lighting. Generally the higher the angle the more 'shadowy' and dramatic will be the lighting. Higher angles are good to prevent spill light upstage. Lower lighting angles are good for lighting the eyes and for lighting under hats.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.07 - TONING & BLENDING
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.) TONING & BLENDING
After lighting the actor with AREA LIGHTING, it may or may not be necessary to provide additional light to the surrounding scenery. Usually lighting specifically used to light the scenery is referred to as 'toning and blending' lighting - as it helps tone the scenery and blend with the acting area lighting.
Sometimes, for example when lighting a drama, in a box set, only area lighting may be required. No additional lighting is needed to light the set. This is due to the fact that reflection from the area lighting may bounce off the floor and illuminate the walls in a most naturalistic and appropriate way.
Alternately, however, if the production is a comedy, the set may feel a bit dark and dreary. No matter how the lighting designer tries to boost the acting area lights, the set still looks dark in comparison. In this case, additional lighting of the upper walls of the box set would probably provide an appropriate visual lift.
2.) TONING & BLENDING - FIXTURES
Toning and blending lighting, tend to use different fixture types, depending on the exact lighting application. Spotlights, floodlights and striplights all have their place.
3.) TONING & BLENDING - METHODS
Often toning and blending lighting is provided by soft flood type of fixtures. Both strip lights and box floods are suitable for this application.
Alternately spotlights may provide a more dramatic form of toning and blending. I personally like to use ellipsoidal reflectors with soft focus break-up templates to provide a textured toning and blending light to each wall of a set. These fixtures are usually located at a fairly low angle (box booms), and gently 'wash' and tone the scenery as needed.
During the early 1900's and until about 1960, toning and blending lighting was often provided from a series of three (3) or four (4) color strip lights, mounted above the stage. Strips (also called X-RAYS) ran from stage left to stage right, and were often used; downstage, center stage and upstage. Some theatres might have as many as five (5) sets of strip lights, permanently installed. Strip lights typically would be colored with glass or plastic filters in; red, green, blue and amber. Musicals, operas and variety shows, found strip lighting particularly useful in providing color washes. One moment the stage could be completely bathed in a night blue, the next in daytime amber. The red, green, blue, primary filters allowed just about any color to be mixed to provide an instant color wash to the stage, or the scenery below.
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2.08 - BACKGROUND LIGHTING
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1.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING
After lighting the actor with AREA LIGHTING, and after lighting the set with TONING & BLENDING LIGHTING the designer will separately light all backgrounds. Backgrounds are generally taken to mean - backdrops or background cloths. The painted backdrop has been used for hundreds of years in theatre, opera and dance. A properly painted backdrop can sometimes convey a sense of depth unrivaled by 3-dimensional scenery.
Backgrounds lighting also includes the lighting of large cycloramas to small patches of a painted drop, peaking through the window of a box set. A stylized opera or ballet might be performed on an open stage with only a 30' x 60' cyclorama as a background. Other productions might use 10 or more painted backdrops. Sometimes backgrounds may be realistic. At other times they may be abstract, surrealistic, impressionistic, or highly stylized.
2.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING - FIXTURES
Typically, backdrops are illuminated with striplight fixtures - sometimes called X-Rays, borderlights or battens. The striplight fixture consists of a linear lighting strip (usually 6-9 ft. long), with 9-12 individual lamp compartments. The compartments are wired in 3 or 4 circuits, with each circuit, colored as required with plastic filters. Sometimes the three (3) primary colors are used (red, green & blue), so that the designer can mix almost any color.
Striplights have developed essentially, as lamp technology has developed, using first oil and candles, then gas then the electric filament lamp, with a crude reflector. Some modern units use 'R' or 'PAR' lamps. A miniature striplight using the MR16 lamp was developed in the 1980's and is sometimes referred to as the 'Zip-strip'. Although compact and efficient, this product is not without problems. Lamps are wired in series with (typically) 10 x 12 volt lamps on each circuit. This means if one lamp 'blows', the entire circuit turns off. In addition the maximum wattage lamp available is the 75 watt, MR16 lamps. These 75 watt lamps typically burn at a temperature sufficiently hot to cause damage to most lamp sockets, after a period of time. If the designer wants reliability, he is forced to use a lower wattage lamp (ie 42 or 50 watts).
The asymmetrical box flood provides an alternate to the striplight fixture. This fixture has an asymmetrical reflector to 'push' more light towards to bottom of the drop. These fixtures are also available in compartment type fixtures of 1, 2, 3, and 4 compartments each.
3.) BACKGROUND LIGHTING - METHODS
Usually, the designer is trying to achieve a soft, even and smooth illumination across the entire backdrop. The backdrop may be illuminated only from the top, only from the bottom, or from both top and bottom at the same time. A cyclorama is often illuminated with three (3) color lighting from both the top and bottom. In this respect it is possible to provide a wide range of dynamic sky effects, using different colors from the top and bottom.
Backgrounds can also be illuminated by either front or rear screen projection. Sometimes backgrounds are illuminated with moving clouds with gobos, or with streaks, slashes or other symmetrical or asymmetrical effects.
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2.09 - FEATURES AND SPECIALS
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1.) FEATURE LIGHTING
Feature lighting (or specials) are lighting fixtures used for very specific applications - other than acting area and background lighting. Typically they are used to supplement the general area lighting or to provide specific lighting effects.
A 'special' might consist of a tightly focused fixture on the face of a clock or on a painting hung on stage. This can allow the designer to reduce the general lighting and 'feature' or draw attention to any object or part of the stage. (A cheap trick, but effective!)
This also works with actors. If three actors, seated at a table are each lighted with a tightly focused 'special', it will be possible to visually shift attention from one actor to another, or balance all three equally. The use of specials for actors also guarantees they will be properly illuminated when needed, for dramatic reasons.
2.) FEATURE LIGHTING - FIXTURES
The ellipsoidal reflector is usually the fixture of choice for features and specials. Typically narrow angle E.R. fixtures are used with beam spreads of 5-20 degrees. These fixtures are often used with framing shutters, irises, or with other beam shaping devices - to put the light only where needed. The beam edge may be adjusted from 'hard' to 'soft' depending on the design objectives.
Sometimes beam projectors and PAR type 'pin spots' are also suitable for use as specials. These narrow angle fixtures can only provide a soft edge beam, usually with a slightly oval shape.
When the designer uses tight specials for performers, sufficient time must be given during lighting rehearsals to allow the actor to properly 'find his light' and be confident that he can be 'on the mark' each time. An actor that is out of his isolated special generally makes everyone look bad, so spend the extra time to make specials work.
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2.10 - THE SECRET METHOD
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1.) THE SECRET METHOD OF LIGHTING DESIGN
There may be no one method of lighting the stage or there may be no 'rules' of lighting design - there is however 'the secret' of good lighting design. The secret is: KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING, EXPERIENCE and PROFICIENCY. Many lighting designers may take the 'experimental' approach, and just try things, with no real method or concept of what they are trying to achieve. Sometimes this method gives brilliant and exceptional results. More than often it does not. Experimentation is very important for the lighting designer and all designers should try new things whenever possible. It is only through a systematic approach however that the lighting designer will be able to provide predictable and consistent result in any number of different situations.
The designer must know what he is lighting and how he wants the production to look. The designer must be very familiar with the script and all lighting requirements of the production. He must use the qualities of light and objectives of stage lighting to allow him to fully visualize, verbalize and define his design concept and intentions.
The designer must have a complete understanding of the many different types of luminaires, used in different lighting positions (both alone and in combination). He must know what the FRONT LIGHT, SIDE LIGHT, DOWNLIGHT, BACKLIGHT, UPLIGHT and DIAGONAL lighting positions produce - in any combination. These are the building blocks of lighting design and the designer must instinctively know what fixtures to use and from direction. This comes only from experience.
The designer must also know how to PRACTICALLY realize his design in an actual theatre or performance space. The designer must know the venue and have details of all lighting positions. He must know what equipment is needed to realize his visual image of the production and where to use it. He must know the many available design methods, (point source, single source, multi-source, etc.) and he must chose methods that will meet both his design criteria - and the budget.
Lighting design is not a solitary art. The designer must learn to collaborate with many other members of the production, design team and crew. In this respect the designer's 'human skills' can make or break the entire lighting design. The professional lighting designer must be concerned with PROCEDURE however he must also be concerned with RESULTS - and know how to get it.
Friday, January 18, 2008
notes for Dyonisus and others
General advice:
First, at the risk of reapeating myself, I would like to remind us all the the title of the two weks sketch problem is "A Synaesthetic Construction"- you must involve and specify cross modal sensorial experience.
Second; look back at your art installation and your movie for inspiration. For all practical purposes, whaqt you are constructing now is an art installation....
Notes for Dionysus
Louise Bourgeois, American Artist
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_work_lg_21_1.html
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/bourgeois/index.html#
Pierre Chareau, French Architect look up books about him at Pratt Library
and his house Maison de Verre but look at his furniture storage boxes etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_de_Verre
(check the links)
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424724798/1078/pierre-chareau-exceptionnel-coffre-a-chemises-en-sycomore-et-fer-patine-noir.html
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425327151/116623/pierre-chareau-desk-and-stool-models-mb-405-and-sn-3.html
Will Maclean, Scottish Artist
http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=27276DA326EE02864D0C95D78DDEEE16
Joseph Cornell, Ametican Artist Surealist, lived on Utopia Parkway
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/cornell.paul-virginia.jpg
http://www.warhol.org/ru/images/joseph-cornell.cockatoo-cor.jpg
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=69981&rendTypeId=4
http://mocoloco.com/art/upload/2007/02/the_joseph_corn/books_cornellbox_feb_07.jpg
there are other artists tthat did collection boxes or cupboard furniture/armoire/closets type of sculptures.
All are ways to store personal objects. You should find them, printe them out and put them on the wall at your desk. I hope you do that in the studio so we can look at your research and help you be inspired by them.
Dan
First, at the risk of reapeating myself, I would like to remind us all the the title of the two weks sketch problem is "A Synaesthetic Construction"- you must involve and specify cross modal sensorial experience.
Second; look back at your art installation and your movie for inspiration. For all practical purposes, whaqt you are constructing now is an art installation....
Notes for Dionysus
Louise Bourgeois, American Artist
http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_work_lg_21_1.html
http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/bourgeois/index.html#
Pierre Chareau, French Architect look up books about him at Pratt Library
and his house Maison de Verre but look at his furniture storage boxes etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_de_Verre
(check the links)
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424724798/1078/pierre-chareau-exceptionnel-coffre-a-chemises-en-sycomore-et-fer-patine-noir.html
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425327151/116623/pierre-chareau-desk-and-stool-models-mb-405-and-sn-3.html
Will Maclean, Scottish Artist
http://www.artnet.com/Artists/LotDetailPage.aspx?lot_id=27276DA326EE02864D0C95D78DDEEE16
Joseph Cornell, Ametican Artist Surealist, lived on Utopia Parkway
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/cornell.paul-virginia.jpg
http://www.warhol.org/ru/images/joseph-cornell.cockatoo-cor.jpg
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=69981&rendTypeId=4
http://mocoloco.com/art/upload/2007/02/the_joseph_corn/books_cornellbox_feb_07.jpg
there are other artists tthat did collection boxes or cupboard furniture/armoire/closets type of sculptures.
All are ways to store personal objects. You should find them, printe them out and put them on the wall at your desk. I hope you do that in the studio so we can look at your research and help you be inspired by them.
Dan
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Notes From Derik
Alanna:
-Ribs & Cantilever.
-when material splits, bass wood stick out.
Matt-
-Hexagon Structural/ 4 sides
Marc:
-Bass wood armature, Punctures, Assumes 4th cut out
-butt joints. Why?
-box is almost explicit, if 2 spaces are not actually touching
-its an idea, Graphic, Conceptual
-what's the geometry giving?
-Not about Shape or geometry.
-How does light come in?
Dan
-need to provide instrument to sound. not diagramtic
-stage: 2 scenes. seperate in time, or both at the same time
-carpet. metal, two floor material, sliding? wall?
-Ribs & Cantilever.
-when material splits, bass wood stick out.
Matt-
-Hexagon Structural/ 4 sides
Marc:
-Bass wood armature, Punctures, Assumes 4th cut out
-butt joints. Why?
-box is almost explicit, if 2 spaces are not actually touching
-its an idea, Graphic, Conceptual
-what's the geometry giving?
-Not about Shape or geometry.
-How does light come in?
Dan
-need to provide instrument to sound. not diagramtic
-stage: 2 scenes. seperate in time, or both at the same time
-carpet. metal, two floor material, sliding? wall?
Refusing the spotlight, Peter Zumthor designs quiet buildings that still attract devotees
you should all be reading and looking at zumthors work a bit...
this project especially for leslie? ahmed?
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0801kolumba-2.asp
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0801kolumba-1.asp
this project especially for leslie? ahmed?
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0801kolumba-2.asp
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0801kolumba-1.asp
today
please have your drawings pinned up by 2...
we will meet with the other sections first and then look at your drawings and models briefly as a group ...then desk crits...
we will meet with the other sections first and then look at your drawings and models briefly as a group ...then desk crits...
Derik (Dae Wook) - schedule
( f ) - forte, ( p ) - piano
03 - 01.31 - Half Scale Model/Drawings
04 - 02.07 - Mass Model of Building ( f ) ; Material Study ( p)
05 - 02.14 - start Site Model ( f ) ; Material Study ( p)
06 - 02.21 - Plan/Section Study of "Unit"(main circulation+window display+retail+manufacturing)
07 - 02.28 - Site Model ( f ) ; Circulation Study + Plan/Section Study of Building
08 - 03.06 - Direct Experience Film ( p)
09 - 03.13 - MID REVIEW ; Exterior Detail ( p)
10 - 03.20 - Exterior Detail intrigate into Massing ( f+p) ; Plan/Section Modify ( f+p)
11 - 03.27 - Digital 3d Modelling ( f ) ; Motionless Memory Drawings (Perspective Drawing) ( f )
12 - 04.03 - Digital 3d Modelling ( p) ; Imaginative Motion Drawing + Intrigate into
Direct Experience Film ( p)
13 - 04.10 - Small Scale Model for Stie Model ; start Final Model
14 - 04.17 - Digital 3d Rendering ; Final Model ; Plan/Sections
15 - 04.25 ; Final Review
03 - 01.31 - Half Scale Model/Drawings
04 - 02.07 - Mass Model of Building ( f ) ; Material Study ( p)
05 - 02.14 - start Site Model ( f ) ; Material Study ( p)
06 - 02.21 - Plan/Section Study of "Unit"(main circulation+window display+retail+manufacturing)
07 - 02.28 - Site Model ( f ) ; Circulation Study + Plan/Section Study of Building
08 - 03.06 - Direct Experience Film ( p)
09 - 03.13 - MID REVIEW ; Exterior Detail ( p)
10 - 03.20 - Exterior Detail intrigate into Massing ( f+p) ; Plan/Section Modify ( f+p)
11 - 03.27 - Digital 3d Modelling ( f ) ; Motionless Memory Drawings (Perspective Drawing) ( f )
12 - 04.03 - Digital 3d Modelling ( p) ; Imaginative Motion Drawing + Intrigate into
Direct Experience Film ( p)
13 - 04.10 - Small Scale Model for Stie Model ; start Final Model
14 - 04.17 - Digital 3d Rendering ; Final Model ; Plan/Sections
15 - 04.25 ; Final Review
Semester Schedule
January 31-Half scale model/drawings
Now till Feb. 4 - Site Model/Drawings (Both will be done with a kind of collage technique, combining elements of the site model, video.)
Feb. 7-11 - Massing study model/drawings (Including Program Allocation, sq.ft, etc.)
Feb. 11-14 - Material study: experimenting and creating details based upon thesis research: effects of water upon materials
Feb. 18-21 - Documentation of material studies with video, sound, etc.
Feb. 25-28 - integration of material studies into massing: locate details and phenomena on the site and "build out."
March 3-10 (Mid-review): Plans and sections through proposed building, incorporating details.
March 13-20 - Small scale model of proposed building, to fit into site.
April 3-24 - Production of final model, plans, sections, and presentation.
Now till Feb. 4 - Site Model/Drawings (Both will be done with a kind of collage technique, combining elements of the site model, video.)
Feb. 7-11 - Massing study model/drawings (Including Program Allocation, sq.ft, etc.)
Feb. 11-14 - Material study: experimenting and creating details based upon thesis research: effects of water upon materials
Feb. 18-21 - Documentation of material studies with video, sound, etc.
Feb. 25-28 - integration of material studies into massing: locate details and phenomena on the site and "build out."
March 3-10 (Mid-review): Plans and sections through proposed building, incorporating details.
March 13-20 - Small scale model of proposed building, to fit into site.
April 3-24 - Production of final model, plans, sections, and presentation.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
KKim Spring 08
jan 17- Sketch Model
jan 24- Drawings Sketch Model
jan 28- Model
jan 31- Preliminary Review
Feb 02- Construction Drawing
Feb 07- Conceptual Design
Feb 11- Conceptual Design Site
Feb 14- Conceptual Design Digram Dimention
Feb 18- Conceptual Design Digram Dimention
Feb 21- Preliminary Review
Feb 25- Drawing
Feb 28- Film
Mar 03- Film
Mar 06- Film Diagram Model
Mar 10- Mid term Presentation
Mar 13- Model
Mar 17- Model Drawing
Mar 20- Drawing
Mar 24- Drawing
Mar 27- Film
Mar 31- Film Drawing
Apr 03- Drawing
Apr 07- Drawing
Apr 10- Model
Apr 14- Model
Apr 18- Model Drawing
Apr 21- Film Model
Apr 24- Film Model
Apr 25- Final Presentation
Apr 26- Final Presentation
jan 24- Drawings Sketch Model
jan 28- Model
jan 31- Preliminary Review
Feb 02- Construction Drawing
Feb 07- Conceptual Design
Feb 11- Conceptual Design Site
Feb 14- Conceptual Design Digram Dimention
Feb 18- Conceptual Design Digram Dimention
Feb 21- Preliminary Review
Feb 25- Drawing
Feb 28- Film
Mar 03- Film
Mar 06- Film Diagram Model
Mar 10- Mid term Presentation
Mar 13- Model
Mar 17- Model Drawing
Mar 20- Drawing
Mar 24- Drawing
Mar 27- Film
Mar 31- Film Drawing
Apr 03- Drawing
Apr 07- Drawing
Apr 10- Model
Apr 14- Model
Apr 18- Model Drawing
Apr 21- Film Model
Apr 24- Film Model
Apr 25- Final Presentation
Apr 26- Final Presentation
17/01- Construction drawings for model
21/01- building model
24/01- building model
28/01- Perspective drawings
31/01- Review
2/02- Program more detailed, where does everything go?
begining of diagrammatic pans
7/02- Plans + starting drawings for site model
11/02- Plans and Sections + working on building site model
14/02- Study Model + site model done
18/02- Fixing already made drawings and doing some writing
21/02- Review
28/02- Rconsider critics and what needs to be changed
3/03- Facade
6/03- Facade + perspective drawings
10/03- Review
13/03- Continuing to design plans, sections + elevations
17/03- Continuing to design plans, sections + elevations + model
20/03- Perspective drawings with more details
24/03_ model
........................
21/01- building model
24/01- building model
28/01- Perspective drawings
31/01- Review
2/02- Program more detailed, where does everything go?
begining of diagrammatic pans
7/02- Plans + starting drawings for site model
11/02- Plans and Sections + working on building site model
14/02- Study Model + site model done
18/02- Fixing already made drawings and doing some writing
21/02- Review
28/02- Rconsider critics and what needs to be changed
3/03- Facade
6/03- Facade + perspective drawings
10/03- Review
13/03- Continuing to design plans, sections + elevations
17/03- Continuing to design plans, sections + elevations + model
20/03- Perspective drawings with more details
24/03_ model
........................
Leslie's Schedule
Week
1 Drawings and sketch model of detail, research Carlo Scarpa and Louis Kahn for detail
2 Construction Documents for project and Build Model
3 Perspective Drawings, sun diagrams
4 Sun diagrams and studies of site, preliminary site sketches
5 Begin site model, Work on plans and sections of preliminary design
6 Build model
7 Plans, sections
8 Model
9 Perspective drawings
MIDTERM
10 write about project and crit, make changes to design from crit, sketches, diagramming
11 study models
12 more light studies, drawings
13 work on details in project, materials
14 begin building model
15 work on final drawings/models
16 finishing touches for presentation
FINAL
1 Drawings and sketch model of detail, research Carlo Scarpa and Louis Kahn for detail
2 Construction Documents for project and Build Model
3 Perspective Drawings, sun diagrams
4 Sun diagrams and studies of site, preliminary site sketches
5 Begin site model, Work on plans and sections of preliminary design
6 Build model
7 Plans, sections
8 Model
9 Perspective drawings
MIDTERM
10 write about project and crit, make changes to design from crit, sketches, diagramming
11 study models
12 more light studies, drawings
13 work on details in project, materials
14 begin building model
15 work on final drawings/models
16 finishing touches for presentation
FINAL
Robin's general schedule
First Review: sketch problem
part model
prototype drawings
Mid Review: site model
prototype configured to site design
according drawings
Final Review: earthworks elements
final models
detail drawings
With three weeks between each review that allows for roughly one week on each part but emphasis will change in the course of designing.
part model
prototype drawings
Mid Review: site model
prototype configured to site design
according drawings
Final Review: earthworks elements
final models
detail drawings
With three weeks between each review that allows for roughly one week on each part but emphasis will change in the course of designing.
Dionysios Thesis Scheduale
I will be seeking to explore any number of medians and performative techniques simultaneously throughout the semester. I want to continually translate and transform the information of various techniques into a concise thesis project. I will follow the noted dates of reviews as the framework to introducing certain themes, theories or concepts during the semester. The design process will act as a transformation or morhpology to these various themes introduced into the thesis. Below is the beginning thought process of when certain concepts and precedent will introduce thesmelves into this process.
The ever evolving TO DO list
To do:
1. Drawing over printed site to capture experiential qualities at two key durations: Morning rush and weekend evenings.
2. Layered drawing, possibly over site but maybe placed over site after drawing is completed, connecting/colliding the anatomy of a theater to reestablish the relationships of theater spaces.
3. There have been a number of material approaches under consideration and I have yet to decide which to choose.
4. Site Model – Building the existing area that will remain physically unaffected out of chipboard or wood.
5. A layered model that is then carved into revealing unexpected configurations at different levels.
• Layered chipboard
• Layered wax
• Layered plaster
• Layered oil paint
This could be both a drawing and a model.
I will put together a schedule when I can clearly see which means of working will be the most successful.
As far as the schedule for the detail, I am drawing a few ideas and will have a plan of action and time schedule by Thursday. Since I have a tendency to try to do too many things at once I am going to go for the smallest scale model and make a couple of different configurations. At least the first detail will be small. If I feel that it will be more beneficial at full scale and want to build that one joint, I will do it full scale. I want to have this determined by the end of class on Thursday so that I can have to weekend to get materials, prepare space and build.
1. Drawing over printed site to capture experiential qualities at two key durations: Morning rush and weekend evenings.
2. Layered drawing, possibly over site but maybe placed over site after drawing is completed, connecting/colliding the anatomy of a theater to reestablish the relationships of theater spaces.
3. There have been a number of material approaches under consideration and I have yet to decide which to choose.
4. Site Model – Building the existing area that will remain physically unaffected out of chipboard or wood.
5. A layered model that is then carved into revealing unexpected configurations at different levels.
• Layered chipboard
• Layered wax
• Layered plaster
• Layered oil paint
This could be both a drawing and a model.
I will put together a schedule when I can clearly see which means of working will be the most successful.
As far as the schedule for the detail, I am drawing a few ideas and will have a plan of action and time schedule by Thursday. Since I have a tendency to try to do too many things at once I am going to go for the smallest scale model and make a couple of different configurations. At least the first detail will be small. If I feel that it will be more beneficial at full scale and want to build that one joint, I will do it full scale. I want to have this determined by the end of class on Thursday so that I can have to weekend to get materials, prepare space and build.
Monday, January 14, 2008
I'm still waiting on notes from others
Critics:
Andrew Lyons – Yale Architecture, Art History undergraduate. Worked on Summer 2007 PS 1 exhibit. Works for KPF
John Mati – Director of Pratt freshman sculptor department
Michael Eng
David
Brian Jones
Zach Joslow
Lex Braes
• Stronger reason for sight
• Use a sight that has a folly of history
• Go theatrical by going to a place that is open to theatrics
• Stock exchange makes it ridiculous
• Mary Miss to Historical prepschool to theater
• Loosey goosey connections
• Look at how movie sets are put together and how they recreate reality. Dichotomy. White box to be deconstructed and reprogrammed. Every site needs to be recreated
• The White Box system
• Use carcass of theater to build into
• Must go beyond
• Bertol Brecht
• Look at tech side of theater. How does it behave
• Mechanically
• Rooms inside other rooms
• Gordon Matta-Clarke
• Cuts dictate reprogramming
• Diderot: Encyclopedia
• Theater ruin on Flatbush past its crossing Washington
• Bam Harvey
• Possibly below decks. Go back in history
• To know the guy is moving the wall but you don’t see him. 15th century theater in the south of Switzerland
• Tighten program
• Review theater history. Lacking its own analysis
• Brecht criticized theater – used alienation techniques
• Address cultural issues through the theater building. “Discipline and Punishment” by Foucault links theater to school
• 18th century operas is about being seen. Theater was a side show. Investigate theater
• Progrit Schere[sp]: Nazi architect. Built with anticipation of destruction
• Leave reification behind. Would lead to a critique on Marxism
• Conceal to reveal in film was good – Marc Schaut
• Research Appia – stair design an architectural element proposal
Andrew Lyons – Yale Architecture, Art History undergraduate. Worked on Summer 2007 PS 1 exhibit. Works for KPF
John Mati – Director of Pratt freshman sculptor department
Michael Eng
David
Brian Jones
Zach Joslow
Lex Braes
• Stronger reason for sight
• Use a sight that has a folly of history
• Go theatrical by going to a place that is open to theatrics
• Stock exchange makes it ridiculous
• Mary Miss to Historical prepschool to theater
• Loosey goosey connections
• Look at how movie sets are put together and how they recreate reality. Dichotomy. White box to be deconstructed and reprogrammed. Every site needs to be recreated
• The White Box system
• Use carcass of theater to build into
• Must go beyond
• Bertol Brecht
• Look at tech side of theater. How does it behave
• Mechanically
• Rooms inside other rooms
• Gordon Matta-Clarke
• Cuts dictate reprogramming
• Diderot: Encyclopedia
• Theater ruin on Flatbush past its crossing Washington
• Bam Harvey
• Possibly below decks. Go back in history
• To know the guy is moving the wall but you don’t see him. 15th century theater in the south of Switzerland
• Tighten program
• Review theater history. Lacking its own analysis
• Brecht criticized theater – used alienation techniques
• Address cultural issues through the theater building. “Discipline and Punishment” by Foucault links theater to school
• 18th century operas is about being seen. Theater was a side show. Investigate theater
• Progrit Schere[sp]: Nazi architect. Built with anticipation of destruction
• Leave reification behind. Would lead to a critique on Marxism
• Conceal to reveal in film was good – Marc Schaut
• Research Appia – stair design an architectural element proposal
Sunday, January 13, 2008
moneo for noorah
you know this project?
murcia city hall, spain
rafael moneo...
you should look at siza too...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Final Crit Comments
I forgot my final crtitique notes in Brooklyn but I do remember most of the comments given to me so I'll just post them here for the time being. This is how I best remember the comments:
Why this site in particular?
Surprising that the forms you have now look more western
Start to do drawings that have more depth - not so flat
With respect to site analysis - branch out - look at surrounding formation of the roads, very strong gesture - (the 'rings' that pan out) - study the site in depth - label the surrounding structures
Pay attention to the act of calligraphy - different strokes, different pressures of the tools
The use of a brush or a softer material could help loosen up and move away from the hard edges
Look at earthworks, landscaping, the act of bringing water in and having it interact with the land/sand - how do you begin to use water to carve out the earth - the act of erosion.
'Red ink' Middle Eastern - as mentioned by Lex [I think what Lex was referring to here might be henna- but I'm not entirely sure. It is primarily used as body and hair dye but is also used as dye for fabric and leather].
Islamic geometric shapes
Why this site in particular?
Surprising that the forms you have now look more western
Start to do drawings that have more depth - not so flat
With respect to site analysis - branch out - look at surrounding formation of the roads, very strong gesture - (the 'rings' that pan out) - study the site in depth - label the surrounding structures
Pay attention to the act of calligraphy - different strokes, different pressures of the tools
The use of a brush or a softer material could help loosen up and move away from the hard edges
Look at earthworks, landscaping, the act of bringing water in and having it interact with the land/sand - how do you begin to use water to carve out the earth - the act of erosion.
'Red ink' Middle Eastern - as mentioned by Lex [I think what Lex was referring to here might be henna- but I'm not entirely sure. It is primarily used as body and hair dye but is also used as dye for fabric and leather].
Islamic geometric shapes
Friday, January 11, 2008
notes from final review.
sorry for the very late posting
Final Critique
Comments:
Made a lot of progress – is home depot the model?
Chart with forte and piano – if you could zoom in on them and give specific examples that would help – also shift in scale
Images at the end – playing with fore and background
Take the program and take the chart and tools and go through systematically and say this is what I achieve in the end and document and record your outcomings
Build 30 models of each individual outcome/system
Video – fantastic, very effective
Figure out the body to relation to the other
Very clear connection illustrated – certain logic to it – add sound to it
Instead of using chart use material practice
What is the intention of department store?
It’s highly choreographed
There’s domesticity embedded there
B&H example- there the merchandise is brought to you mechanically
MTV – ESPN – Times Square location – mass consumer culture – what do you want to accomplish? Figure out relation between consumer and the commercial merchandise
What is your store?
Perhaps critique the mall within the city.
Final Critique
Comments:
Made a lot of progress – is home depot the model?
Chart with forte and piano – if you could zoom in on them and give specific examples that would help – also shift in scale
Images at the end – playing with fore and background
Take the program and take the chart and tools and go through systematically and say this is what I achieve in the end and document and record your outcomings
Build 30 models of each individual outcome/system
Video – fantastic, very effective
Figure out the body to relation to the other
Very clear connection illustrated – certain logic to it – add sound to it
Instead of using chart use material practice
What is the intention of department store?
It’s highly choreographed
There’s domesticity embedded there
B&H example- there the merchandise is brought to you mechanically
MTV – ESPN – Times Square location – mass consumer culture – what do you want to accomplish? Figure out relation between consumer and the commercial merchandise
What is your store?
Perhaps critique the mall within the city.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Notes from Final crit
How did you arrive at the shapes you cut out of the wood in you intervention? They’re all specific to that viewpoint – It’s the quality of light that’s going to determine the atmosphere.
Look at the film as a way of studying the site – the film of the site is very suggestive – lots of interesting details
How do you enter the site and film it? When you limit things we start to pay attention
What are you after in the site? Perhaps look back to Hitchcock and refer to his filming techniques
Peeping tom idea
Opportunity to draw someone in through thresholds, bringing them in - inside versus outside
Light studies nice and effective
You’ve got an empty site - how are views and apertures to be used/intended for the site
What does the window do to the spaces on either side of it?
Active open and closing of something –ex of bathroom with transparent stalls that turn opaque when you close the door
Allowing access to what’s happening on the other side
A lot happening in the presentation you’ve got a lot of potential
Panoptic device
Soho – hugely commercial space
You’re doing a lot simultaneously
They’re even a little perverse – male gaze, voyeurism
What does this have to do with the program? Do you want to relate it to the program?
You’ve got a real organization – that’s extremely helpful and could be insightful
Art and crafts movement – art is an attitude and is also voyeuristic
Film showed most potential for how you want the project to be
How do you allow light into the building – perhaps play with summer solstice idea…etc
If you’re after exposure you can use the peeping tom subvertly
This could be an intention to go after – soho is great for this because everything is on display
Do you see this as a sanctuary?
Broken kilometer – W Broadway
Wasn’t art for the longest time in service to religion?
Pinhole cameras worth looking at Your project has a poetic interest
Lose the rear window argument - focus on lighting studies instead
If now you drop the whole rear window aspect are you looking at the window now as a camera shutter?Different views from opposite sides of the window – At night from inside you look out the window and see black, from outside looking at windows you see them lit up (during the day is the opposite
Look at the film as a way of studying the site – the film of the site is very suggestive – lots of interesting details
How do you enter the site and film it? When you limit things we start to pay attention
What are you after in the site? Perhaps look back to Hitchcock and refer to his filming techniques
Peeping tom idea
Opportunity to draw someone in through thresholds, bringing them in - inside versus outside
Light studies nice and effective
You’ve got an empty site - how are views and apertures to be used/intended for the site
What does the window do to the spaces on either side of it?
Active open and closing of something –ex of bathroom with transparent stalls that turn opaque when you close the door
Allowing access to what’s happening on the other side
A lot happening in the presentation you’ve got a lot of potential
Panoptic device
Soho – hugely commercial space
You’re doing a lot simultaneously
They’re even a little perverse – male gaze, voyeurism
What does this have to do with the program? Do you want to relate it to the program?
You’ve got a real organization – that’s extremely helpful and could be insightful
Art and crafts movement – art is an attitude and is also voyeuristic
Film showed most potential for how you want the project to be
How do you allow light into the building – perhaps play with summer solstice idea…etc
If you’re after exposure you can use the peeping tom subvertly
This could be an intention to go after – soho is great for this because everything is on display
Do you see this as a sanctuary?
Broken kilometer – W Broadway
Wasn’t art for the longest time in service to religion?
Pinhole cameras worth looking at Your project has a poetic interest
Lose the rear window argument - focus on lighting studies instead
If now you drop the whole rear window aspect are you looking at the window now as a camera shutter?Different views from opposite sides of the window – At night from inside you look out the window and see black, from outside looking at windows you see them lit up (during the day is the opposite
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Final Notes
Like perception- doesn't need direct association
Hotel w/ art is too manipulates, needs to be more neutral
This analysis if Tarkovsky followed by your film gives the notion of still
Intriguing site-manufactured nature
What is it?
does a hotel out on the pier make sense?
Be more honest to the site
Flat not volumetric,
enough to reflect the city
notion of still- positional pins- overlay of reflectivity- use of still in moving picture-
What does the site want to become because of the materials I have?
Reflection- facade- even one wall- illusionistic space
material- maybe it's the sound that reveal subtleness of reflectivity
Take note of manufactured elements-use of technique
Programs in exile - outside of city freeway- not to make it banal- whether it should be a tourist thing.
may need to invent something- perhaps program criterias is that it touches water
What does it mean for you?
What does the mirror do?- ariculate?
is reflection mirroring?
What have I been doing?
disemboding agent- disembodied sensibilities- intrigued by film
Play through distances- how are you going to talk about reflection?
elements of reflection but thinking metaphorically
Installation where sound is amplified-
across different disciplines, all sensations of site
Not to restrict vision
Using skills to reveal synaesthesia.
Hotel w/ art is too manipulates, needs to be more neutral
This analysis if Tarkovsky followed by your film gives the notion of still
Intriguing site-manufactured nature
What is it?
does a hotel out on the pier make sense?
Be more honest to the site
Flat not volumetric,
enough to reflect the city
notion of still- positional pins- overlay of reflectivity- use of still in moving picture-
What does the site want to become because of the materials I have?
Reflection- facade- even one wall- illusionistic space
material- maybe it's the sound that reveal subtleness of reflectivity
Take note of manufactured elements-use of technique
Programs in exile - outside of city freeway- not to make it banal- whether it should be a tourist thing.
may need to invent something- perhaps program criterias is that it touches water
What does it mean for you?
What does the mirror do?- ariculate?
is reflection mirroring?
What have I been doing?
disemboding agent- disembodied sensibilities- intrigued by film
Play through distances- how are you going to talk about reflection?
elements of reflection but thinking metaphorically
Installation where sound is amplified-
across different disciplines, all sensations of site
Not to restrict vision
Using skills to reveal synaesthesia.
Monday, December 31, 2007
notes ?
did anyone take notes for me during my final presentation? If any of you recall, Marc explicitly told me not to take notes, and had asked someone from the class to take them for me. I would like my notes posted on blogger before the start of the new year so that I can have enough time before the start of the semi to continue my research.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
READ THIS
For those of you that received a failing (incomplete) grade:
Please check your email (the one you registered with the blog) for further instruction.
Marc and Dan
Please check your email (the one you registered with the blog) for further instruction.
Marc and Dan
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
notes from the final critique
site is already mazelike
maybe too dense?
Open space vs. dense space or open vs closed
the drama of the open space to the tight closed space fo the maze
ex. Brooklyn whole foods
question of site location?
NJ subdivision? acts like it landed from outerspace (Red Hook IKEA)
openess as seen in Aycock's project
a connection of the program to different elements (restaurants, bars, pastry shops, etc.)
codification of maze techniques
what is the blurred edge?
so far it is only graphic quality. what is the materiality? play with transparencies
Bejing Library wall example, filling in the wall changes the space
Glass Blocks
Japanese shades
light vs. dark
Patterns of Arrangement - Foucault
Borges - how things are grouped
Benjamin - department store and arcades
critique of the market, look more critically
diagram how the maze works, different techniques and how they work in the supermarket. diagram different layouts (ex. gondolas, aisles)
Path and Deadend
Pepe LaMoco (movie) of Morrocan bazaar (John Gabanza actor in it)
purpose of maze
systemized
grows from inside out
project goes in two directions
1. history
2. idea of maze / supermarket
maze looks at light, texture, and the time (it takes to walk through)
should do a hedge maze
maybe too dense?
Open space vs. dense space or open vs closed
the drama of the open space to the tight closed space fo the maze
ex. Brooklyn whole foods
question of site location?
NJ subdivision? acts like it landed from outerspace (Red Hook IKEA)
openess as seen in Aycock's project
a connection of the program to different elements (restaurants, bars, pastry shops, etc.)
codification of maze techniques
what is the blurred edge?
so far it is only graphic quality. what is the materiality? play with transparencies
Bejing Library wall example, filling in the wall changes the space
Glass Blocks
Japanese shades
light vs. dark
Patterns of Arrangement - Foucault
Borges - how things are grouped
Benjamin - department store and arcades
critique of the market, look more critically
diagram how the maze works, different techniques and how they work in the supermarket. diagram different layouts (ex. gondolas, aisles)
Path and Deadend
Pepe LaMoco (movie) of Morrocan bazaar (John Gabanza actor in it)
purpose of maze
systemized
grows from inside out
project goes in two directions
1. history
2. idea of maze / supermarket
maze looks at light, texture, and the time (it takes to walk through)
should do a hedge maze
what day is our final critique?
i was trying to figure out the schedule, but i need to know the ending. i think want to start with the smaller pieces of furniture/joint and work my way up. a maze is a complex and a complex is a group thats composed of smaller similar elements. ill post more on my thoughts, notes, and schedule later tonight.
i was trying to figure out the schedule, but i need to know the ending. i think want to start with the smaller pieces of furniture/joint and work my way up. a maze is a complex and a complex is a group thats composed of smaller similar elements. ill post more on my thoughts, notes, and schedule later tonight.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
on seminar and own position after crit
i would like to take the time to write what i have to say about my own work and a kind of suggestion for next year's thesis seminar by the end so please read on.
as for the booklet, i have not received any comments from anyone though Dan B. did mention to me that i should include my thoughts on Plato's Allegory of the Cave in my precis.
i'm actually very worried to a certain degree now that i really think of it. not because of handing in a final booklet based on what i think is missing in the thesis, but quite honestly, i agree very much so with the critics from yesterday: what i say and what i've written in my booklet are all a given. as aspiring architects, it is simply the vision to become responsible in all of what i find a concern - even sustainable or green design. at this rate, i don't have a thesis - it isn't one to be maintained against any objection and it certainly doesn't bring in a new dimension of meaning. what i have done are all essays. at this point, i don't even see my work passing by the thesis assessment committee for approval.
having said that, i find myself caught in what i think personally, is a good situation for my learning and really narrowing down into a thesis for good research that can carry to what i think i can have a good project by the end of next semester with enough investment of time into my work, upon hearing someone really tell me at face-value, that this is all a given which is why i was quite upset at midterm knowing what i got out of it was something more like, that i have a good film.
sure i may have a statement in my midterm film. the power of light and darkness over our unconscious and the shadow to reveal our position in space to allow us to ponder about ourselves for self-awareness.
now i find myself really looking into what it means to live in the absence of light - even more specific, considering what it really is to be living in manhattan with all those skyscrapers and tall buildings and how they affect people's lives - looking into day light studies in nyc and zoning laws - urban issues.
this can come from ideas of looking at what it is about shadows that are perceived differently in many cultures around the world as an example that marc had mentioned - in reading Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows - considering i have lived in japan all my life before coming here for college, i understand exactly what he is talking about and it makes me think of the regulations that are set in the city of kyoto on heights of buildings in the small towns with old temples so that the emphasis of these older shelters and their richness are not to be lost in the shadows of the taller and newer buildings as an example.
i had chosen the mixing of programs to allow me the flexibility for exploration of shadow techniques and areas where i can learn to understand the positions of light and form in space or light as form by being sensitive to shadows. the mixing of programs is also my critique on our cultural values in our social living conditions where the elders are always left behind and shoved out of society even by our own families because there are others who will do the job to take care of them. but who am i to be saying what is right or wrong in this kind of context? like one of the critics mentioned, that i am targetting at our sympathy for these values, these are all decisions i should make in my design and not to be brought to attention as thesis. i had a gut feeling about this from the beginning of the semester. my ambitious drive for what i find will be a long long future into the practice of architecture for the long run is to constantly critique my own ability to find if space can be moral than to take the given that it is not, and obviously no matter how hard i work in this one year to explore shapes and materials and their qualities of the senses and how we live and inhabit in them to create what i find to be good values, it doesn't give me a thesis because in the end, all of this is subjective.
at this point i find that perhaps i should have brought some provocative ideas to both of you prior to taking thesis or at the beginning where i could have interjected what i wanted to do from exploring what would be considered a performative technique in one that i have a good understanding of and can perform. i had this very idea of taking the turntable device and through the new art of music and technique employed in music of deejaying by scratching the needle onto the record, i could explore the notations of scratching onto an already notated and designed layering of digitized and natural sounds as music. these drawings would be generative because for one, there are no notes of a musical scale to scratching meaning all is done to rhythm and what intuitively sounds good like poetry which is interesting because what is being produced then is constantly something new and can't be traced into notes but mere pitches, volumes, etc and secondly, i have been practicing this art of music since i was 13 years old and am pretty competent in it knowing i have been in competitions of this type of music. it is further more interesting, because i would be exploring the relationship between sound, music, space, and the turntable as an instrument much like (Matt finds the piano) and really using the instrument to be generative of my ideas. now having said this, i find it a missed opportunity on my part to have not brought this to attention.
but this is my one critique to the seminar and having thesis as a class guided with a performative technique coming out of our research and sketch problem. but i stuck to it, and made a film and even have gained a broader knowledge to an area i have never explored and most certainly, the film is a great technique but i find the area of researching into a film and the installation was way too dominate in playing the role as thesis when really, some students don't even find much interest in. i found what a lot of students including myself to be drawn to this seminar specifically was the idea of synaesthesia and looking at installations because it employs the real experience of being in space. this is probably why many of the projects lean towards memory than anything else because designing from inside out requires that kind of understanding and being aware to the memory rather than building great facades or things from the outside to inside by techniques that students especially in first and second year are much better at. i won't go into what my colleagues and i find on a critique of our education here at Pratt or any of that kind, but i am saying that there are reasons why we had chosen the two of you professors as our guides knowing we find the two of you to be very knowledgeable and both demanding and understanding. but mainly we had taken it thinking we would be building and making and the first part of watching film and installation and making a film as a kind of first exercise to be apple to employ the film as another way to show an intention as gaining another ability for performing. but this kind of undermines the creativeness and skills that students already have and have been practicing whether in college or prior to it. what i am saying is we should play to our strengths and apply the film as the technique to further demonstrate the strength of skills to become generative for a thesis. for example, i for one cannot draw well but with enough practice or investing time into it, i can definitely make something well. therefore, i liked the idea of the film because it leaned more towards cutting and editing much like i have always been doing with my own music in deejaying through scratching.
having said this, i find it to be an appropriate time to be bringing this up to the both of you since guiding a class is always experimental in the first place but perhaps my suggestion can be of use from a student's point of view. thus, i found some students who wanted to raise a voice during our class time through the semester about desk critiques and so on to be very important. there are always those that have had ideas prior to coming to thesis as a seminar and haven't said anything about their ideas. for one, i hadn't mentioned it because at some point during the beginning of the thesis, i began to think that what i was exploring into was something way too big of a scale which i was worried about, but then now that i am able to look back, i find that i really would have had more research than anything else which was the main critique that was coming out of every presentation - where is the STUFF? the one line during mike toste's critique said it best, “where is the bucket of water? and cracked pipes in frozen water. “
the class needs to be about material and having taken Prof.Bucsescu for summer design, i have to say i thought it was maybe this investigation into the joint with materials i did in his class that may be carried into a building of an installation but found that what we had done was make film. obviously it was further emphasized that we must make drawings constantly, but even that needs to be considered because seriously, how would we draw anything to experience if we don't even know where to bring about our sources from besides our memory and reading of experience. what i am saying is that, if we had just explored hands-on, we could really have put something back into the film where we can really intervene into the sites.
i will end here by saying that at this point, my vision of anything i have covered is something i will carry onto next semester so that in the end, i will have a film to show which will be about an experience. but in terms of the research, i just had to tell you from a first experience of being in this seminar as i find it appropriate now on what i hope the seminar can address next year. the synaesthesia is great. but it is only a statement. And lastly, I write on this blog the very thing students find it difficult or sometimes timid to express their ideas.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Really good description of synaesthesia
Dan and Marc, I just found this video last night: It is a TED lecture by Vilayanur Ramachandran that was recently posted on their website, and I thought that what he was talking about was exactly related to our studio. Vilayanur is the author of "Phantoms in the Brain," which I have been reading at the recommendation of Dan Silver. The last section of the lecture is about synaesthesia, and how it relates to metaphor and creativity. If you get a chance to watch it before tomorrow morning (I know this is short notice), I thought maybe it could be played as a forward to the class. It is short and succinct and very interesting. Here is the link:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/184
In any event, I'll see you guys tomorrow.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/184
In any event, I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
PRESENTATION FORMAT FOR FINAL REVIEW
Dec 9, 2007
Dear All:
This is in response to the question about PP in your final review. We have a little more time than we had at midterm review because the review will take the whole day. That does not mean that we have too much time. Each of you should figure that you have about +/- 15 minutes (rehearse your verbal presentation). Half of it should be dedicated to the new work since the midterm. That is your Program and Site as well as any “original drawings and /or analytical diagrams” related to your project done the entire semester. These should be on the wall in the room.
The new work done since the midterm should be 50% of your presentation. That means that the bulk of the discussion should be about your definition of the degree project which you will be doing next semester. Your presentation should trigger such a discussion and be helpful to your ability to focus and define your goals for the degree project. This is the point of Marc’s dissertation entry to the blog.
On the other hand the other 50% of your presentation should give the sources of your particular ideas about architectural experience (synaestesia) and strategies (preformative techniques= method) of architectural design as informed by the whole semester research into art installations and film preformative techniques.
So, the (1)PP presentation(the early precedent research)the first (2) 2 min film you did and your (3) 2 min site film) sould take about 6 o 8 minutes. The other 8 minutes should be dedicated to presenting your project, program and site and end with questions you might have.
Allow me to say the same thing again, repeating the dissertation definition in other words: each degree project student must organize their work in such a way that it combines (1)the general theoretical frame of the studio (you know it), as delivered through the particular readings and lectures given by the studio faculty, (2) with your own research and (art installation and film techniques) and your (3) selection of a program and site.
It is your task to weave these three lines of thought into an architectural design that represents these theoretical and methodological strategies.
Dear All:
This is in response to the question about PP in your final review. We have a little more time than we had at midterm review because the review will take the whole day. That does not mean that we have too much time. Each of you should figure that you have about +/- 15 minutes (rehearse your verbal presentation). Half of it should be dedicated to the new work since the midterm. That is your Program and Site as well as any “original drawings and /or analytical diagrams” related to your project done the entire semester. These should be on the wall in the room.
The new work done since the midterm should be 50% of your presentation. That means that the bulk of the discussion should be about your definition of the degree project which you will be doing next semester. Your presentation should trigger such a discussion and be helpful to your ability to focus and define your goals for the degree project. This is the point of Marc’s dissertation entry to the blog.
On the other hand the other 50% of your presentation should give the sources of your particular ideas about architectural experience (synaestesia) and strategies (preformative techniques= method) of architectural design as informed by the whole semester research into art installations and film preformative techniques.
So, the (1)PP presentation(the early precedent research)the first (2) 2 min film you did and your (3) 2 min site film) sould take about 6 o 8 minutes. The other 8 minutes should be dedicated to presenting your project, program and site and end with questions you might have.
Allow me to say the same thing again, repeating the dissertation definition in other words: each degree project student must organize their work in such a way that it combines (1)the general theoretical frame of the studio (you know it), as delivered through the particular readings and lectures given by the studio faculty, (2) with your own research and (art installation and film techniques) and your (3) selection of a program and site.
It is your task to weave these three lines of thought into an architectural design that represents these theoretical and methodological strategies.
thesis
dissertation: a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
for kwang mi, but others should have a look too
quote from...
http://www2.uiah.fi/esittely/historia/e_ident.htm
"In his Notebooks of'Malte Laurids Brigge', Rainer Maria Rilke gives a powerful description of the marks of intimacy, the lives in a house that had already been demolished but which could still he seen in traces left on the wall of its neighbouring building. These traces of life enabled Brigge to recreate his own past. Rilke describes with staggering force how life penetrates dead matter; the history of life can he traced in the minutest fragment of the dwelling.
"But the walls themselves were the most unforgettable. The stubborn life of these rooms had not allowed itself to be trampled out. It was still there; it clung to the nails that had been left in the walls; it found a resting-place on the remaining handbreadth of flooring; it squatted beneath the corner beams where a little bit of space remained. One could see it in the colours which it had slowly changed, year by year: blue into a mouldy green, green into grey, and yellow into a stale, drab, weary white. But it was also in the places that had kept fresher, behind the mirrors, the pictures, and the wardrobes; for it bad outlined their contours over and over again, and had been with cobwebs and dust even in these hidden retreats that now lay uncovered. It was in every bare, flayed streak of surface, it was in the blisters the dampness had raised at the edges of the wallpapers; it floated in the torn-off shreds, and sweated out of the long-standing spots of filth. And from these walls once blue, and green and yellow, framed by the tracks of the disturbed partitions, the breath of these lives came forth - the clammy, stuggish, fusty breath, which no wind had yet scattered. There were the midday meals and the sicknesses and the exhalations and the smoke of years, and the stale breath of mouths, and the oily odour of perspiring feet. There were the pungent tang of urine and the stench of burning soot and the grey reek on potatoes, and the heavy, sickly fumes of rancid grease. The sweetish, lingering smell of neglected infants was there, and the smell of frightened children who go to school, and the stuffiness of the beds of nubile youths. 13"
http://www2.uiah.fi/esittely/historia/e_ident.htm
"In his Notebooks of'Malte Laurids Brigge', Rainer Maria Rilke gives a powerful description of the marks of intimacy, the lives in a house that had already been demolished but which could still he seen in traces left on the wall of its neighbouring building. These traces of life enabled Brigge to recreate his own past. Rilke describes with staggering force how life penetrates dead matter; the history of life can he traced in the minutest fragment of the dwelling.
"But the walls themselves were the most unforgettable. The stubborn life of these rooms had not allowed itself to be trampled out. It was still there; it clung to the nails that had been left in the walls; it found a resting-place on the remaining handbreadth of flooring; it squatted beneath the corner beams where a little bit of space remained. One could see it in the colours which it had slowly changed, year by year: blue into a mouldy green, green into grey, and yellow into a stale, drab, weary white. But it was also in the places that had kept fresher, behind the mirrors, the pictures, and the wardrobes; for it bad outlined their contours over and over again, and had been with cobwebs and dust even in these hidden retreats that now lay uncovered. It was in every bare, flayed streak of surface, it was in the blisters the dampness had raised at the edges of the wallpapers; it floated in the torn-off shreds, and sweated out of the long-standing spots of filth. And from these walls once blue, and green and yellow, framed by the tracks of the disturbed partitions, the breath of these lives came forth - the clammy, stuggish, fusty breath, which no wind had yet scattered. There were the midday meals and the sicknesses and the exhalations and the smoke of years, and the stale breath of mouths, and the oily odour of perspiring feet. There were the pungent tang of urine and the stench of burning soot and the grey reek on potatoes, and the heavy, sickly fumes of rancid grease. The sweetish, lingering smell of neglected infants was there, and the smell of frightened children who go to school, and the stuffiness of the beds of nubile youths. 13"
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
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