Architec Tradure

Category: architecture

  • 03Aprperformative constructions



    short cut Images Elmgreen & Dragset, courtesy Galleria Massimo De Carlo – Short Cut was commissioned by the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi

    I am a big fan of the big picture outside the box: when pieces from an artist are put together in an ensemble. A catalog, a museum brochure or a web site. The nature of the work to be experienced is missing for sure, but some intellectual participation is taking place. I like to understand and connect with the artist maybe more than the piece itself.

    I think that the art pieces don’t need to be obvious, but they need to give you hints, and like a detective the viewer carefully inspects a site and experiences.

    I found that to be especially the case with the work of Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset. Their web site presents visuals that communicate with the viewer very efficiently. I like their site-specific famous Prada Marfa, Public Art Project in Marfa, Texas, USA in 2005. A Prada sculpture-store installed in Texas in replacement of a Gas Station. Apparently the Prada Marfa building was made biodegradable to slowly melt back into the landscape …



    Prada Marfa

    I love their powerless structures series. These artists seem to always challenge the conventional structural space.



    Powerless Structures (kunsthall / temporary art) (2001), Installation view, Istanbul Biennial 2001


  • 27MarThe beautiful people

    The American Look (1958) discovered at paper lily.

    America lifestyle in the 50’s with an *idealistic* sense for design. A must see for any designer.

    In France, we have Mon Oncle made in 1958 by Jacques Tati who portrays magnificently a materialistic lifestyle contrasted with a Mr. Hulot who struggles with postwar France’s mindless obsession with modernity and American-style consumerism. I recommend anyone to watch any of Jacques Tati’s movie. Delight for sure. A must see for anybody!

    The following is an extract from Playtime



    Mon oncle

    I’d like to finish by a welcome into modernity by Jacques Tati. Awesome.


  • 02MarRobotic furniture design

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    Woojuin



    Woojuin magazine table

    Designer Victor Vetterlein works on robotic furniture. His Woojuin (2007) is a light fixture inspired by pod architecture & robotics. In the Woojuin magazine table, the reference to robotic is clear, and proposes a critique on automated lives in a digital age.

    More pictures on Moco Loco and Archinect


  • 10JanPure Nomade

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    Since I work with a pure nomad Yas, I revisit my assumptions about my moving around furniture and stuff. Today I found on the internet this interior design modular system for an aestheticized nomadic life …

    The “Hotel” box concept is a brand new product to the market. It is neither a box, nor a piece of furniture, but all in between. Through years the industrial designer: Lilian Adler stuffed all her latest treasures of shoes, as we all do, in randomly shaped boxes and, again as we all do, into the far-end corner of the closet. Hard to manage, tough to stack. As time passed by and the space became even more tight, she just had to come up with something smarter. A shoebox which could be towed away when not in use, and put at display when requested

    More on Pure Nomade


  • 27OctVolume and Light

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    Three states

    This semester I follow a sculpture class taught by Helen Mirra at Harvard University, VES.

    I am a big fan of light, from perceptive to illusory, such as in the work of James Turell. For my second assignment I integrated the playful intervention of light within my sculpture. It also integrates the three numbers that define my volume as stated in the assignment.

    scenario





    I calculated my volume to determine the number of boxes and shadows.



    I installed light boxes made out of brown paper in a cubic room. I controlled the direction of the light sources to build consistent shadows around the boxes and bring the light in and out of the boxes.

    Out of the three boxes, the third box moves to create different cubic light patterns on the walls, e.g. from three to two patterns.



    Material: brown paper, wooden sticks, strings.

    In volume, light and sculpture


  • 27OctVolume and Light

    If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest Architectradure’s articles in your reader or via email. Thanks for visiting!



    Three states

    This semester I follow a sculpture class taught by Helen Mirra at Harvard University, VES.

    I am a big fan of light, from perceptive to illusory, such as in the work of James Turell. For my second assignment I integrated the playful intervention of light within my sculpture. It also integrates the three numbers that define my volume as stated in the assignment.

    scenario





    I calculated my volume to determine the number of boxes and shadows.



    I installed light boxes made out of brown paper in a cubic room. I controlled the direction of the light sources to build consistent shadows around the boxes and bring the light in and out of the boxes.

    Out of the three boxes, the third box moves to create different cubic light patterns on the walls, e.g. from three to two patterns.



    Material: brown paper, wooden sticks, strings.

    In volume, light and sculpture


  • 06JunThe Texture of Light at Siggraph 2006

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    My research poster The Texture of Light has been accepted at Siggraph 2006. The reviews are very encouraging and I have been recommended to suggest it to a Emergency Technology session . It will be part of the Art and Design tools category.

    Abstract : The Texture of Light is research on lighting principles and the exploration of life feed video metamorphosis in the public space using reflection of light on transparent materials. The Texture of Light is an attempt to fight the boredom of everyday life. This project employs the simple use of chemistry, Plexiglas, and plastic patterns to form a reconstruction of reality, giving it a texture and expressive form. The transformation of life feed video comes from physical, plastic circles that act as different masks of reality. These masks can be moved around and swapped by the public, enabling collective expression. This metamorphosis of the public space is presented in real time as a moving painting and is projected on city walls. The public can record video clips of their ‘moving painting’ and project them back on different city locations.

    I plan to develop it on a larger scale such as building-size panels the public could mechanically control using remote devices. Each panel will be pattern and transparent material specific. Two Plexiglas sheets could embed a water-fall, or viscous transparent material the user could distribute along his/her selected point of view. The software will allow media distribution among cities so that the outcomes of the public performances could be exposed on the panels of other cities …

    More about the project by Regine Debatty.

    In tangible video in the public space


  • 06JunThe Texture of Light at Siggraph 2006

    If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed to receive the latest Architectradure’s articles in your reader or via email. Thanks for visiting!

    My research poster The Texture of Light has been accepted at Siggraph 2006. The reviews are very encouraging and I have been recommended to suggest it to a Emergency Technology session . It will be part of the Art and Design tools category.

    Abstract : The Texture of Light is research on lighting principles and the exploration of life feed video metamorphosis in the public space using reflection of light on transparent materials. The Texture of Light is an attempt to fight the boredom of everyday life. This project employs the simple use of chemistry, Plexiglas, and plastic patterns to form a reconstruction of reality, giving it a texture and expressive form. The transformation of life feed video comes from physical, plastic circles that act as different masks of reality. These masks can be moved around and swapped by the public, enabling collective expression. This metamorphosis of the public space is presented in real time as a moving painting and is projected on city walls. The public can record video clips of their ‘moving painting’ and project them back on different city locations.

    I plan to develop it on a larger scale such as building-size panels the public could mechanically control using remote devices. Each panel will be pattern and transparent material specific. Two Plexiglas sheets could embed a water-fall, or viscous transparent material the user could distribute along his/her selected point of view. The software will allow media distribution among cities so that the outcomes of the public performances could be exposed on the panels of other cities …

    More about the project by Regine Debatty.

    In tangible video in the public space


  • 11MayKendall Roses

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    Leonardo Bonanni and I were finalists in the Kendall interactive design competition with Kendall Roses. The competition Kendall Square Interactive Design competition was organized by Lyme Properties.Based on my previous research Passing Glances (2002-2004), the Kendall Roses are designed to be an autonomous art installation that brings added value to the Kendall Square community. Bright, inexpensive daytime displays on two towers and the ground fulfill the role of the roses to provide compass directions to local attractions through graphics and text on billboards and the ground.

    Data to the Roses is entirely wireless: SMS, internet and a local database are streamed to a wireless server inside each tower from local hotels, businesses, residents and the World Wide Web. In addition to useful information about local businesses, sports and attractions, the Kendall Roses offer opportunities for families and children to play on an interactive ground display that can project a variety of games. After an initial investment and potential partnership with local businesses and telcos for promoting SMS messaging, the towers will generate income primarily through advertisement for local businesses and as a tax credit for displaying public service announcements relevant to the community.

    Some screenshots of the Kendall Roses interaction movie:







    Details of the architecture

    Plans of the Kendall Roses site

    A movie of our entry

    If it does not appear above, clic here

    In personal work


  • 20JanThe Breathing Wall

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    The Breathing Wall is a Kinetic Installation that shows a wall reacting to the public space. Made out of architectural objects that work independently or dependently of one another, it deploys and retracts soft fabric

    This picture shows the mechanics and electronics of our Breathing Wall piece.

    On this picture I create shadows on the light sensors to have the Breathing Wall react to my presence.

    During our conceptual phase, we thought of an assembly of cloth cubes that would form partial transparency. When densely packed, they form a privacy cloud or mist enclosure. When they retract they close the view they were enhancing. The idea is to use these kind of elements to define more diffuse borders in architecture. Soft edges resembling the spatial limits one finds in nature and in the landscape.

    Our concept


    Inspiring research

    We would like to think of it on a scale of a huge wall, where the experience an outsider has of the activities going on inside is shifting constantly by the affordances of the changing architectural surface.

    Process of implementation
    First round



    Second round


    I have created this kinetic piece with Ana Aleman. It is our final assignment for the Kinetic Architecture class taught by Dr Kostas Terzidis.

    Review process summary

    For the first assignment of this class I had designed a Memento Box as an attractive passage from door to space. The door leads to your souvenirs and is always slightly opened. A bright light shines in the back of the box clarifying a few objects and pictures around it. However, whenever your hand tries to grab what captures the eye, the door closes onto your hand in front of you and all is dark again. Whenever you go away for a tiny bit, the door opens up and more lights shine into some parts of your souvenirs and you can travel though them from far away …


    Picture of the Memento Box

    For the second assignment of this class I had designed the Ambient Peacock/Chameleon explorer with Philip Vriend as a serie of mobile units connected to a headquarter that display environmental visual on each of their shell. Real time connecting to the headquarter allow the head to ask for specific data gathering and collection of the environment. This project was blogged by Pasta and Vinegar.


    Picture of the ‘air’ mobile unit

    By Cati in kinetic architecture