+ 28 January 2012

16 | A little levity

My friends at school produced this video that has started to go viral. It's pretty accurate!

+ 17 January 2012

15 | Final Europe Post

So here's the official end of the study abroad blog! Tomorrow I turn in my portfolio for my last graded component of the semester. I've posted it for the time being as a gallery of images. You can click here to see it or click on "Europe '11" in the top navigation bar.

Meanwhile, here are some images of the hard copies, which printed really nicely as 6'' x 6' cards.

And there she is, all boxed up and ready for delivery! It feels good to have completed the semester fully, but before I sign off I'd like to thank you if you took the time to follow the travel blog. It was a pretty interesting chronicle of the past six months of my life!

Anyway, cheers, folks!

Chris

+ 27 December 2011

15 | Sketchbook Portfolio

In three weeks my sketchbook portfolio is due to my professors as the last assignment from my Europe program. I'll update this blog with a link to download when the time comes, but until then here are a few images that are going to be in it! Hope everyone is having / has had a good holiday.

+ 3 December 2011

14 | Final Studio Project

A few entries back I outlined the basic parameters of our six week studio project we had during our stay in Paris. We worked in groups of four (two Americans and two French students) to resolve an unused chunk of land sited beneath a metro overpass in north-east Paris. There were many approaches by the dozen teams, but our strategy was unique as a result of our synergetic group chemistry.

We began with a diagnosis of the site:

After we identified the problems with the site, we knew we had to create a unified sequence of experiences that was both light and designed for the pedestrian. By engaging the pedestrian we could return life to the desolate, un-activated area. After several iterations, we each independently proposed projects that were developed to compliment the projects of our teammates. The resulting master plan looked something like this:

Programmatically, we were directed to choose between designing baths or a dojo facility. Some groups chose both. We chose to focus on the program of bathing, but we were a little more loose with how we defined bathing, and devised a series of programs with the intent to cleanse . Arthur (pink) designed the actual bathing facility to cleanse the body. Alex (orange) devised a series of "pause nests" which were individual, egg shaped chambers suspended off of a catwalk around a prominent rotunda building. These were intended to create a private, meditational experience designed to cleanse the mind. Côme (green) created a modular, additive grid of smaller structures that would offer services for the native homeless population in a display of sensitivity to the local area - a "societal" cleansing, if you will. Lastly, I had the task of formally linking the individual projects together. You can see my project in red.

My project aimed to create a very public, sculptural experience. I settled on a series of transparent, glass boxes containing oxygen bars nesteled in a sprawling "forest" of glass rods varying in height and density.

The forest would serve as a visual link between the multiple projects and would bring a whimsical and playful attitude to the formerly barren infrastructure driven area. The oxygen bar, at risk of being a cliché, is a small, versatile program that could engage the public's curiosity without leaving too much of a footprint. Not only could it serve as an experiential novelty, but it would also satisfy the cleansing motif by literally cleansing the lungs in the typically polluted environment.

The forest itself would ebb, flow, gain density, and lose height in areas, creating a wide variety of spatial environments. There would be semi-private areas for groups, more enclosed areas for those with  voyeuristic tendencies, etc. But because of the entire project's transparency, there would only be visual distortion and reflection to suggest, not necessarily guarantee, privacy. Inhabitants are always aware of being surrounded by others. This is especially true with the oxygen bars. I chose to simplify instead of over-design the boxes; they are simply 2m x 2m x 2m glass cubes inserted into the rods in specific areas. The trapped rods would become both seats and the actual vessels that would deliver oxygen (as pictured above). The mechanics of the oxygen bar would be hidden underground. The occupant would only see the rods themselves as the means for oxygen delivery.

In plan, the project is almost painfully simple. But you can begin to see the varying conditions the boxes and rods present in elevation:

Another important aspect to the project is the complimentary relationship between my forest and Alex's pause nests. Because the majority of my proposal occupies the same area that Alex occupies, we worked closely to ensure that no toes were stepped on, and the result is a new pedestrian plaza that is exciting and encourages exploration. Alex's project is structurally complex, as it involves suspension of elements that cannot rely on the existing bridge's structure.

The egg-shaped chambers are the pause nests themselves, while everything else is devoted to getting people in and out of them. The structure is designed to fit neatly under the existing bridge, and the suspended catwalk seems to hover over the transparent forest below. These sections show the relationship of the two projects:

And here's a look at two views of Alex's project with and without my project inserted:

At the final review, our critics appreciated our motives, unified approach, and our universal and individual design proposals. We were lucky to work well as a group, and the project taught me a lot about how other people design, something that I haven't really been exposed to so far in my education at Texas. Intent is everything, and the hours spent hashing and rehashing our direction were hardly wasted. At the end of the day we presented four individually strong projects that were only strengthened when combined. That's a success, in my book.

+ 13 November 2011

13 | London

Just got back from two days in London, which wasn't nearly enough time. It's a busy time in studio at the moment, with Friday being our final review, so here is a really brief London update pared down to my favorite bits.

There will probably be three more entries in this journal after this one. One will be a summary of my final studio presentation, one will be a collection of sketches from the first month of travel, and one will be an overdue photography update.

The trip's end is just about a week away, which seems both too-soon and overdue. I'll miss my cozy apartment in Paris, but I'm excited to get back home to the states. Here are the pictures from London:

A panorama in front of Buckingham Palace starring my friend Dan, looking fierce.

An unexpected but awesome run-in with a scale model of the un-built Russian constructivist Tatlin Tower. I've developed a fetish for constructivism in general over the past year or two, so seeing this randomly was really great. Plus, it gave me a chance to give Dan a history lesson. He politely entertained me.

The London Eye...right on the Thames across from Parliament. Let's get on it!

The view from below is pretty nice.

But seriously, the scale of this structure is huge. Look at these pin-joints!

It took me a bit to understand how the capsules stayed in their proper orientation, but you can see that they aren't fastened with rigid connections. They meet the wheel on two rolling tracks, so they are constantly rotating as the structure rotates. In hindsight it should be obvious, but the wheel rotates so slowly that it's difficult to notice at first.

Inside the capsule. The capsule behind us had three executives being served wine and cheese. We had an unruly toddler and three people with head colds. The views more than made up for it.

Here you can see the capsules oriented at their maximum altitude. Very cool.

The view from the top: Parliament and Big Ben. Okay, good break. Back to studio!