thesis abstract version_draft

harnessing energy through building landscapes

Utilizing building landscapes to harness energy and/or to explore social interaction and culture between landscape and spectatorship in sport. 

Lebbeus Woods defines building landscapes as simply the possibilities of fusing buildings and landscape. Thom Mayne has coined the term hybrid landscapes to define this. In any way you define this idea, the underlying intent of the idea is quite superficial. How can building landscapes create both an utilitarian understanding of the program of architecture and the ability to create/recycle energy? I seek to explore the greater extent of utilizing landscape to promote ecological unity as well as an opportunity to harness energy for use or distribution. I also have the idea to play out the culture of spectatorship in sport and how that could be influenced by the landscape and the possibilities of conflicting or harmonious relationships between the two.

The initial idea is broad, however it combines the three passions I have in regards to architecture. I do not know if the three will create a solid thesis nor do I care to force the three together unless they are naturally willing to formulate a solid foundation for thesis. My overall interests lies in an understanding of how the discipline can utilize the surface of the earth itself to define program for our current culture as well as the adaption of future cultures. However, this idea could take on another role in understanding how the formation of building landscapes seek to form the program of occupied space instead of the typical role of defining the occupied space and then forming the landscape around it. The idea of sport may contradict this idea, however the thesis may choose to explore just the social interaction with people, landscape, and program as well. 

The process of developing the thesis will yield multiple artifacts. Making objects has always played a vital role in the exploration and solution of any creative challenge that is presented. Through various mediums and techniques, the artifacts will assist in understanding the thesis at scale unreachable through words. Investigating the materials and the process of excavation of various materials that compose layers of the earth in building landscapes as well as multiple explorations of energy and composition of energy.

hybrid landscapes

lebbeus woods recently blogged on hybrid landscapes and their intent to provide a sensible approach to architecture and it's relationship to the site. the approach takes a rather simple minded and almost historic view towards unifying site and building rather then fulfilling ridiculous and stringent rules identifying a building as "sustainable." 

"contemporary urban world, with its aggregates of buildings that become in themselves artificial landscapes and contexts—entirely displacing the natural—the architectʼs role would seem to inevitably expand beyond designing built single objects."

"hybrid landscapes...approach indicates a sensibility that could lead in that direction...manifests a different attitude toward architecture, one that plays down a heroic conquest of nature and looks for modes of coexistence with it."

"coexistence, neither presence is sacrificed at the expense of the other; rather, each impacts the other in creating—hopefully—a balance, even a new form of harmony."

proceeding forward with the intent to coexist, the building and the site provide a different set of parameters. parameters that seek different roles of behavior and interaction with the program of the artifact seeking to use the site, or earth, as a living extension of itself. the repetition of this strategy should begin to yield a different product of culture and how people will choose to interface with this new typology.

demo set

.record

the conversation was better then anticipated. honestly, i did not fully grasp the direction i was intending or even seeking. the ideas and criticism that was brought up presented various ideas for the thesis as house as well as future considerations for my interests pertaining to my thesis. i did not have any preconceived thoughts on how i wanted the discussion to be lead, however the conversation yielded enough information to process and respond.

through the presentation of the trekker's house, i left out key information that would have been helpful to give a clear and complete anaology of the project due to the limited amount of time of presentation. however, the drawings and diagrams on my boards prompted the questions and allowed me to explain the correct history of the project that allowed the discussion to be fruitful.

the location maps received a lot of attention because they lacked information that potentially would allow for a clearer understanding of the historical significance of specific decisions in the project. some of the other diagrams that illustrate the extension of the trekker's body and the response of the plug-in living unit prompted further questions that sought response and induced discussion. overall, i believe the drawings were quite clear and allowed the reviewers to understand the project without verbal cues describing every instance of the project.

.analyze

the method of design took on a simple approach to a rather simplistic problem. however, i did apply specific interests that i challenged the design to take on. ecology, materiality, modularity, technology, and assembly provoked the overall design to respond to a quote from mark wigley in his article recycling recycling. 

"The argument starts with crude mechanical hands and ends with the subtle control of machines through body electricity. To accessorize and extend the body is not to simply attach a prosthetic limb or place the body within some prosthetic apparatus. It also means passing that apparatus right into the internal nervous system, letting the machinery of the body interact with the machinery that is outside it to produce a new kind of body. The limit between interior and exterior, organic and technological, gives way."

this design process was not revolutionary and was not intended to create a new process of design. a simple problem highlighted by specific interests yielded the solution and prompted discussion for additional investigations to commence thinking for thesis.

.call out / circle

red text in images

.evaluate

blue text in images

.reflection

the discussion generated a variety of thoughts to explore the different interests i presented including materiality, assembly, modularity, technology, and ecology. i remain vested in the overall attempt to pursue the extension of the human body represented through the aforementioned interests.

the lack of energy and motivation hindered the project from the beginning. i needed to push and force the ideas to develop earlier which would have yielded a greater discussion. an opportunity was missed to profoundly engage in the beginning of my thesis.

however, it was an awakening to interests and motives that i did not necessarily think about or explore. this project, thesis as a house, projects new opportunities and inspires me to dive in.

trekker's house

A group of trekkers has a predetermined location to stay the night to prepare themselves for another arduous journey through the beautiful volcanic deserts and tundra oases scattered throughout the highlands of iceland. Typically, trekker’s have the opportunity to send drift boxes through the mail to a city along the way that contains further supplies or any additional equipment. This proposal intends to incorporate that idea as well as integrate comprehensive diagnostics system that the “house” can optimally prepare and store to educate the trekker at a stop along the journey. The proposal provides a unique modular system that is flexible and adaptable. The intent was to engage an interesting excerpt from mark wigley’s recycling recycling.  

“The argument starts with crude mechanical hands and ends with the subtle control of machines through body electricity. To accessorize and extend the body is not to simply attach a prosthetic limb or place the body within some prosthetic apparatus. It also means passing that apparatus right into the internal nervous system, letting the machinery of the body interact with the machinery that is outside it to produce a new kind of body. The limit between interior and exterior, organic and technological, gives way.“

Allowing the “house” to become an extension of the trekker’s typical routine provides a habitable environment that provides information and care, to expedite the reenergizing process of the body for the next leg of the journey. The trekker will wear a diagnostic device on their skin that is wireless transmitted both to a handheld device and to the plug-in unit. The unit receives the data, compiles it, and then provides onscreen recommendations inside the unit itself. Once the trekker reaches the plug-in unit, the unit takes over and starts to accommodate the trekker in any health related task. The idea is to allow the trekker to be “hands off” and accept and receive this care from their unit. The plug-in unit serves as an extension of the trekker’s brain and immune system providing detailed information and care to a weary trekker.

synthetic biology

an immersive, interactive environment that moves and breathes around its viewers...next-generation artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and interactive technology create an environment that is nearly alive.

suspended geotextile that gradually accumulates hybrid soil from ingredients drawn from its surroundings.

a project by phillip beesley, hylozoic ground, is composed of living geotextiles that double as soil-producing landscapes which create their own biomass. 

"akin to the functions of a living system, embedded machine intelligence allows human interaction to trigger breathing, caressing, and swallowing motions and hybrid metabolic exchanges. these empathic motions ripple out from hives of kinetic valves and pores in peristaltic waves, creating a diffuse pumping that pulls air, moisture and stray organic matter through the filtering hylozoic membranes. "living" chemical exchanges are conceived as the first stages of self-renewing functions that might take root within this architecture."

 .reaction
an interesting investigation of synthetic biology to re-create a natural process for future uses. i desire to explore synthetic processes that mimic natural ones and that can push the connection of nature, technology, and human interaction. i am not quite sure how i want to utilize different nodes of biomimicry and synthetic biology to provoke my interests in thesis, however i do intend to employ these devices throughout the duration of my thesis exploration.

vocabulary updated

topic definitions

descriptive/active definitions

smithson.a tour of the monuments of passaic, new jersey

the author, robert smithson, records a journey to the desolate and allegorical panorama of passaic, new jersey. his meticulous and metaphorical documentation of monuments he encounters riding, walking, and photographing through the industrial landscape of various ruins allows for a moment of comprehension to occur. the insensate paralytic machines seized by the earth lack the necessities that define futurity. in this instant a utopian place originates and becomes a ground that contains a stratum of forgotten or misplaced meanings. these monuments display an ever changing landscape that smithson desires to create a moment of history through the lens of his instamatic camera as well as his words. 


"these holes in a sense are the monumental vacancies that define, without trying, the memory-traces of an abandoned set of futures."


his successful attempt to portray the new construction with the old and the machines with the earth, allows for a limpid understanding of his desires to frame the american industrial landscape as problematic from an environmental harmful view. humans have drastically changed the landscape of the earth seeking to create futures. however, smithson determines to pause our intentions for futurity to reveal the destruction of our tools. 




this particular chronicle of smithson's does not necessarily intrigue or influence a defined direction of interest for thesis. however, through further exploration of smithson and his interests to preserve and utilize the american industrial landscape as his medium for provocation, he provides the following quotes as an influential beginning to thesis.


"how we see things and places is not a secondary concern, but primary." 


"(t)he farmer's, miner's, or the artist's treatment of the land depends on how aware he is of himself as nature"

both of these quotes provide an awakening. they display an acute sense of awareness that requires an immediate gateway to a further understanding of the earth as a site for architecture.

this is now a goal.

serena II

this clonic earth

see-saw she is blurred in sleep
she is fat half dead the rest is free-wheelinf
part the black shag the pelt
is ashen woad
snarl and howl in the wood wake all the birds
hound the harlots out of the ferns
this damfool twilight threshing in the brake
bleating to be bloodied
this crapulent hush
tear its heart out


in her dreams she trembles again
way back in the dark old days panting
in the claws of the Pins in the stress of her hour
the bag writhes she thinks she is dying
the light fails it is time to lie down
Clew Bay vat of xanthic flowers
Croagh Patrick waned Hindu to spite a pilgrim
she is ready she has laid down above all the islands of glory
straining now this Sabbath evening of garlands
with a yo-heave-ho of able-bodied swans
out from the doomed land their reefs of tresses
in a hag she drops her young
the wales in Blacksod Bay are dancing
the asphodels come running the flags after
she thinks she is dying she is ashamed


she took me up on to a watershed
whence like the rubrics of a childhood
behold Meath shining through a chink in the hills
posses of larches there is no going back on
a rout of tracks and streams fleeing to the sea
kindergartens of steeples and then the harbour
like a woman making to cover her breasts
and left me


with whatever trust of panic we went out
with so much shall we return
there shall be no loss of panic between a man and his dog
bitch though he be


sodden pair of Churchman
muzzling the cairn
it is worse than dream
the light randy slut can't be easy
this clonic earth
all these phantoms shuddering out of focus
it is useless to close the eyes
all the chords of the earth bloken like a woman pianist's
the toads abroad again on their rounds
sidling up to their snares
the fairy-tales of Meath ended
so say your prayers now and go to bed
your prayers before the lamps start to sing behind the larches
here at these knees of stone
then to bye-bye on the bone


samuel beckett
echo's bones
1935