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University of Nebraska at Lincoln
ACSA / AIA Exhibition of School Work | |
An exhibition of school work @ UNL
It will be on display at both the ACSA Annual Meeting in Houston (March 27-30 2008) and AIA Boston (May 15-17 2008).
UNL 2007-2008 Lecture Series | |
University of Nebraska at Lincoln Lecture Series 2007-2008
Dwelling
07 Sept. 2007
Jonathan Segal
Jonathan Segal Architecture + Development, San Diego CA
www.jonathansegalarchitect.com
04 Oct 2007
Bruce Mau
Bruce Mau Design, Toronto Ontario
www.brucemaudesign.com
05 Oct 2007
Winka Dubbeldam
Archi-Tectonics, New York NY
www.archi-tectonics.com
17 Oct 2007
Vincent James
Vincent James Associates Architects, Minneapolis MN
www.vjaa.com
26 Oct 2007
Carolyn Torma
American Planning Association, Chicago IL
www.planning.org
02 Nov 2007
Randy Brown
Randy Brown Architects, Omaha NE
www.randybrownarchitects.com
16 Nov 2007
Marlon Blackwell
Marlon Blackwell Architect, Fayetteville AK
www.marlonblackwell.com
01 Feb 2008
Ghislaine Vias
Ghislaine Vias Interior Design, New York NY
www.gvinteriors.com
08 Feb 2008
Erla Dgg Ingjaldsdttir
MINARC Architects, Santa Monica CA
www.minarc.com
28 Mar 2008
Doug Jackson
Jones, Partners: Architecture, El Segundo CA & 2007-2008 Hyde Chair
www.jonespartners.com
17 Apr 2008
Thom Mayne
Morphosis, Santa Monica CA
www.morphosis.net
Design Thesis Final [exhale] | |
I just finished presenting my design thesis project. The last two months went something like this for me: mid-critique|baby|sell house|job interview|travel|present thesis|document thesis|present again for award|graduate. Here's the final product.
It's been a great year....let me credit the contributors.
Design Thesis Mentor
Chris Ford
Design Thesis Critics
Jeff Day
Martin Despang
Hyun Tae Jung
Keith Sawyers
Guest Critics
Lori Brown
Doug Jackson
Bonus:
I was in my Viticulture and Oenology class when the paparazzi found me. Great class...I sampled 8-12 wines a class and received 3 credit hours for it. In all fairness...it was a tough class.
I am now entering the final stages of my design thesis project. I'm currently working on assembling all the information obtained last semester and am focusing on the architecture.
Under the guise of my premise: -giving equal weight to sites that appears on the macro + micro scale (see the matrix). I extracted from the matrix three specifications: Packaging, The Sublime, and Scalar Oscillation. The specifications will guide the architectural solution.
Packaging: refers to the superfluous materials encasing the machines. This packaging attaches to the structures and plays an aesthetic roll and a division between human and machine.
The Sublime: (this is a heated word that has been debated for century's and even in archinect threads) I've defined The Sublime as danger without fear The sublime is powerful; The architecture will not be a literal interpretation, but a manifestation of the idea of sublime.
Scalar Oscillation: The far ends of the macro and micro scope and removing their scale. In Quantum theory, it would be entanglement- two things existing at the same time regardless of size.
Here are some first steps diving in to the much anticipated formal architecture phase.
-AJ
Besides working, family, home/auto neglected repair, and fianc attention, I built a new PC. For those of you that have an interest in computer building will understand; those that dont bear with me. My (now ancient) Dell 8500 Laptop just isnt cutting it for 3D modeling and Adobe applications. Ive been scraping by year after year as new software updates tax my computer more and more. Sorry 85 (computers kickname); times are a-changin. I firmly believe computers are only a tool for architecture, but when a tool is subpar, its necessary to upgrade.
I started my college career in computer programming; until I realized its pretty dull and Im not as enthusiastic about staying on one-side of the computer screen. Plus, I just wouldnt enjoy all the extra time and money afforded by a computer science degree *sarcasm*. Its been a while since Ive built a computer, and with some Christmas fundage, it is time. For those who are inexperience with pc building, it is actually easy( video). Everything fits together beautifully; all cables in only one place.
With a magnetic screwdriver and a glass of Dewars, the build begins. The hermetic packages burst open with the smell of a sterile world far away. The parts are fresh; no screws are strippedyet. Its always a gamble on whether everything will work together on first boot. The case is easily cracked open with only one screw. Drive bays slide out like Russian dolls; the designers of this case are conscious of the amateur/novice computer builder. Power supply attached, HDD and DVD drive attached; the pinnacle moment of the installation is the CPU. The chip is packaged very carefully in its container. I carefully remove the temporary shipping apparatus and turn over the chip to reveal its vitals. I cradle the processor and make sure it doesnt receive any static shock. One rogue static arc could end this install quickly. The processor sits in the mobo pin-to-pin and is securely clamped. The CPU fan is always awkward. It sits atop the processor and needs a good amount of force (an uneasy, almost breaking force) to secure it to the chip. Once this step is completed, the ram is installed and the computer is buttoned back together. The computer is completetime for the lengthy Windows install; at least it runs on its own.
... here's whats under my hood:
Intel C2D E6300
Asus P5L-MX
2GB (2x1gb) Mushkin Enhanced RAM
In-win case
Seagate SATA 160gb Hd
It is up to fate now. the 6th year terminal projects are under review by selected faculty members. It's an interesting process.
1. The student gets a 6'x8' presentation space to display a semester's worth of research. No verbal presentation, just boards to explain your project to people often unfamiliar. One 8.5"x11" Arial 14pt font explaining your project.
2. After I pin it up, three faculty members at random review it and decide whether the student is in schematic design phase for next semester.
3. The jury will throw a flag if the student is questionable.
4. The student flagged has a chance to present their project to the entire faculty. Concluding the 15 min. presentation, the faculty takes a silent vote to whether the student is able to continue into the last half of their terminal project.
5. If the student is chosen not to continue, they are placed in vertical studio.
The flagged students find out tomorrow if they need to present. I am confident in my project but non-the-less, this could be interesting.
Three specifications for the final one architecture solution next semester
*bonus photo: This was taken right next to architecture all on campus. It was around 11:00pm and a fellow student runs into the studio..."Is there any reason why the sunken gardens are on fire?". Of coarse I grab my camera and run out side and start shooting (after calling 911). Interestingly, no one was around (except for architecture students) so we just casually strolled around the fire and photographed, very surreal. The building you see in the background is Philip Johnson's Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery.
no Philip Johnson buildings were harmed in this photo.
“Vehr ist the money Lebowski?“ The critique was both inspiring and tangential. What to do? take on pure formalism or functional based architecture? Before I go into this my critics were:
Keith Sawyers
Jeff Day
Martin Despang
Hyun Tae Jung
Chris Ford
In summary, I have been exploring my site (roughly 56 city blocks) on a macro and micro level. In other words, zooming way out to a global scale and zooming in to the products that Kawasaki manufactures along with various agricultural equipment. These are all welded into a matrix that lines up the components on an equal benchmark. The matrix protects against a hierarchy that usually exists in an architectural project. The question is what do I do with the information? My critics were split, some wanted the studies I did of the interior program to be rearranged and begin to influence the new R + D attachment and others wanted the aesthetic and form of the machine to be the propellant. I believe that both can happen. The OMA side of me enjoys stacking, rearranging, and wrapping the program in a skin; the other has an appreciation with the machine aesthetic like Wes Jones Partners. Which brings me to another point; When did I start aligning myself with other architects? I've never believed in using precedents for my projects. Not because I think I need to invent something new, but I'd rather find my own way to a solution with out the influence of something built. I'd much rather reference an image of a baseball pitcher in mid-throw or a river hitting its equilibrium profile and flooding its banks to reset itself then another piece of architecture. Moving on... I believe a marriage of the form and function will work because the two, by association share these traits.
In the end, the terminal project has to be a piece of architecture to facilitate at a human scale, therefore, the program layering and stacking prepares me for a well working creation. The packaging (Heidegger's definition) can take advantage of the aesthetics of the machine. Mental imagery produced by the word “machine” might indicate a very explicit and overly complex moving part; however this is too literal and archaic of an interpretation. Technology has evolved from mere dynamic parts. Using the latest technology is what it wants.
AJ
I am researching metal surfaces for Materials class and I've stumbled upon a topic I've always been interested in. What is it about the sci-fi architecture that makes it so appealing? Either it's over expressed with mechanical ducts/lines/grates EVERYWHERE (Twelve Monkeys, Aliens, Brazil, The Matrix) or its stark white room with anamorphic furniture. But what is actually so futuristic about these pieces. Look at this for example a rendering from the movie Serenity.
This shot - the planet Miranda- was filmed at the Diamond Ranch High School by Morphosis but look at the building to the middle right...similar to the Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin? And the tower in the upper middle resembles Piano's New Caledonia Center. Is corrugated metal the choice building material in 2300's? This begs the question: these things exist now, so are there movies that express architecture in a realistic projected future? One might say that Star Wars did a good job of this, but I would love to see a movie that I have to ask, “What is that made off?” Well, I'd enjoy seeing a study of how we think of the far future and it's relation to architecture.
I'm about 8 weeks into my 6th year terminal project. Thus far it's been mostly nose-in-the-books and hassling people for information, however, this is not an atypical process. Instead of looking at just the Macro site ( the level we employ typical architectural conventions), I am focusing on the micro sites as well. Before I dive into this, let me break in with the overall terminal progect thesis statement (or question)....”What if Kawasaki Motors wanted to get into the Agriculture market?” Lincoln, NE houses one of the largest Kawasaki plants in the U.S. (In fact, the N.Y. rail cars are made here.)
Kawasaki makes everything except Agriculture equipment (aerospace, tunnel borers, wind farms...yep ton's of possibilities) . So I am proposing a Research and Development facility to help them answer this question. The end result is not as important as the process I am choosing to use to get there.
I've been collecting Kawasaki engine parts as well as farm-hopping for agriculture products (which has been liberating, although I am from Nebraska I am a city kid that wears cowboy boots, but just for the sake of fashion.) With all these parts in hand, I've started to dissect them and the Macro site on the same matrix. The matrix lines up all the sites on an equal hierarchy so there is no variance in prestige (i.e. the left cylinder head from an ATV is as important as the proposed building site) This methodology is closely paralleled by the Eames's Power of Ten I'm sure most of you saw in physics or architecture classes. The micro sites offer suggestions on what Kawasaki manufactures and what currently exist in the agricultural realm.
Literature:
Darden, Douglas. “Condemned Building”
Kelly, Kevin, “Out of Control”
Pamphlet Architecture 12 - “Building Machines.”
Lim, CJ “Devices a Manual of Architectural + Spacial Machines”
Borden, Iain “ Skateboarding, Space and the City”
Farm Tractors from 1855 -1995, a compilation of Tractors tested at the UNL
Benham - “Theory and Design in the First Machine Age.”
Artists:
Lissitzky, El.
ParkeHarrison, Robert (The Architect's Brother, really good!)
Tinguely, Jean
Hughes, Aidan “Brute.” (KMFDM Album Art)
Movies:
Vertov, Dziga - “Man with a Movie Camera.”
Gilliam, Terry “Brazil” (1985)
Eames - “Power of Ten.”
“Aliens 3” - Lebbeus Woods's Involvement
If I haven't proved it yet, I am a gear head. I am interested in the Machine Aesthetic, not the utility, not the function, but the aesthetic. The modernists used the idea of the “machine” as an aesthetic also; however this was beauty in appearance and simplicity. This mistake led to shiny metals and simple machine looking objects, i.e. the ridged metallic teapot at the time resembled skyscrapers. The problem with this is the lead into pure appearance and function. A machine is motion; it cannot sit still. If the machine is to have an architectural motive, it must reject utility and economic drive. This is evident by the “packaging” -as Heidegger referred to it - which envelopes the machine for an economic aesthetic propelled by formal notions of beauty. The motorcycles and ATV's that Kawasaki produces have succumbed to this. While the machine housed within the molded plastic skin may be upgraded the “body” or color of the packaging is the most susceptible to annual model updates. The Ninja's sleek design looks “fast” therefore to entice the potential buyer. The skin is the information layer of the machine.
Soon I'll post the results from my halfway critique. Now back to my Dane Cook break.
-AJ
Graphic from the inside of a John Deere Combine
Autman Taylor Steam Tractor I found, I was facinated by the mechanical expression
The Matrix due to be finished soon. A visual catalog of all my research components
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