Archinect - Birmingham City University (Carys)

VIRTUAL / REAL ARCHITECTURE - Aston Moratorium HUB (Zahid Khan)

2010-06-09T10:52:17-04:00

T H E S I S S T A T E M E N T
The project began with a main character, used as a vehicle to explore the meaning of virtual life; a young man who has travelled to the UK after growing up in Pakistan. The “virtual life” does not refer to the computer age idea of virtuality, but to Marcel Proust’s definition of what is constant in the past and the present. Therefore, although the character has moved on in life physically over time; his virtual life (or perception of his identity) has become a blur of past memories and new experiences. It was understood that the world which the character lives in is not the real world but the virtual (as in Plato's theory of forms, the shadow of the real and not the real itself). This virtual life also, according to Deleuze's theory, exists as a principle; as opposed to the actual, or hard facts - that is an understanding of actual events but shaped and influenced by memories and personal perceptions.

The project explored the meaning of the virtua...

Kowloon walled city v2.0 ( Sam Man Fung LUI)

2010-06-07T18:30:42-04:00

Thesis statement
The image of Hong Kong has always been the traditional image
of the island city and its impressive skyline overlooking a natural
harbor with the Peak looming behind it. However what is the
real Hong Kong? What is the Hong Kong people think and what
the culture are like?

Research
In the course of a few decades, Hong Kong’s architects have been developing multistory mini-cities, the majority of HK people content with living in close proximity to their neighbours. Today high density housing schemes offer a Clubhouses that include gym, swimming pool, public library, school and all integrated under one roof, unless the tenants work elsewhere, they don’t need to leave their compound. Even then, in HK we have underground MTR links, meaning that we are increasingly rear to have to suffer non air conditioned environments.

Site
Kowloon walled city was a densely populated place on Earth before it was destroyed in 1993 and turned into park. Due to...

Ruins of Governmentality (Peter Jenkins)

2010-06-07T08:54:28-04:00

Mass-Surveillance Information Processing, Storage and Feedback Facility

Thesis Statement

My thesis is a metaphorical architectural exploration of power and control in society, based largely on the later writings of Michel Foucault, from where the term governmentality appears.

Research

The studio theme pointed towards issues of control in society from the outset. From initial broader reading of Neitzsche's Will to Power, Plato's Republic and the Genesis account of the fall of man, the project quickly converged on the connection between the control of the self and control in society; such as Foucault speaks specifically about.

Contextual Fiction

The first point of departure was to create a graphic novel which, informed by analytical diagramming of relevant philosophical ideas, generated a plausible context wherein surveillance could be taken to the extreme, thereby facilitating the maximum implementation of governmentality, or institutional discipline. It was intentional to avoid th...

PRODUCTIVE CHAOS (Abubakar Kumshe)

2010-06-06T12:47:44-04:00

Productive Chaos

Thesis Statement

The thesis will demonstrate an alternative scenario where it exaggerate the existing conditions of productive chaos created by the specific conditions of Lagosian Highways, in order to explore the possibilities of developing a Lagosian, market-based urbanism.

Thesis idea / Research

Lagos, one of the fastest growing cities in the world with population of 10.9 million in 2007, and is expected to rise to 17 million by 2015 which is an increase of 36% in just 8yrs. It's fascinating the unplanned nature of this growth, and the ability of the city to cope with the influx of people without visible mechanisms to deal with the outcome of the growth.

Most employment / trading areas are informal and not structured, and its 85% of total employment force.

This informal economy usually happens on Lagos's traffic ridden 'chaotic' highways. These highways are not like the usual western highways, but rather its highway come market, come shelter / residenti...

Truss Script (Peter Jenkins)

2010-03-11T17:38:39-05:00

I had one person who was interested in my automatic trussing script from the previous post, so I'll post it below.

It's for Rhino, so the language is pretty much VisualBasic. Please not that, in my experience, copying and pasting code from blogs often results in syntax errors, particularly with punctuation characters (e.g. quotation marks get all messed up). This script definitely works, so if it doesn't work, it'll be simple character fixes rather than real code flaws.

Option Explicit
'Base triangulation script written by www.supermanoeuvre.com
'Edited for 2 surfaces, cross-trussing and changeable U & V values by Peter Jenkins

Call srfPanelsTriangles()

Sub srfPanelsTriangles()

'------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' USER INPUT
Dim strSrf1 : strSrf1 = Rhino.GetObject("First surface object please", 8)
If IsNull(strSrf1) Then Exit Sub

Dim strSrf2 : strSrf2 = Rhino.GetObject("Second one please", 8)
If...

Brain Library, Coventry Cathedral Ruins (Peter Jenkins)

2010-03-09T03:24:10-05:00

An overdue update on what has been happening with my thesis. The theme generally is "control" in society, in this case implemented through the control of knowledge, with the design for a brain library.

First of all, here's a few images of the "graphic novel" developed using puppet photography and photoshopping into scenes:

For the design, then, so far I've been working from the inside out. I wanted the brains to have some kind of autonomy, rather than be trapped in an array of pipes and wires. Heres version #1 of the Cerebot:

After criticism of this version being too meccano, and after learning more in Rhino, it involved into version #2:

The home for these critters is based on the structure of a wasps nest I found in my loft and it ends up looking a bit like this from the outside, the patchwork effect caused by the stitching together of various slices of reclaimed flesh:

Some physical models I made in the generation of this form. I wanted the unpredictability of analogue proces...

Progress update / graphic novel / models etc (Rob Tadman)

2010-03-08T17:26:19-05:00

Ok, a quick round up of what ive been up to since way back in November!
I finished writing and designing a graphic novel with the brief synopsis of creating a virtual gaming environment for lost souls.

The arrangement involves people physically connecting to a living organism in order to experience a completely parallel world whilst in suspended animation as an escape from their daily lives or problems.

This idea stems from my initial films of capturing a soul without a body and vice versa. This also combines with how fractured and disparate people are becoming socially, spending more time in confined spaces, communicating at distance and experiencing more feelings through synthetic and anonymous means.

I have found a particularly relevant site in my hometown of Bristol, UK where the privileged and deprived rub shoulders, gentrification is chased away and derelict buildings form key social and political hubs to peoples' everyday lives.

Below is a stream of various early work ...

First Thesis Crit (Carys)

2009-12-04T08:33:06-05:00

Meaning and Place within Architecture.

The theory behind my thesis began with the exploration of meaning and place within architecture, the criticism of lack of meaning and absence of ‘place’ in architecture being a result of the modernist architectural movement.

What is meaningful architecture? Is it iconic? Iconic architecture is the perfect expression of a new global society devoid of intellectual investment and short on time. Today it is rarely created with people in mind. The term ‘iconic’ has changed over time, it used to recognise architecture that was beautiful in form, served a useful purpose and created a sense of place by contributing to the public realm. In today’s world to be iconic it needs to be new, but how to make the new when even the new is old?

Globalization and modernism facilitated the creation of meaningless places. Our world has become centred around mass production.

‘Modernist architecture just as the positivism that formed its foundation was as single ...

HELP please

2009-11-19T09:11:00-05:00

Hello everyone, below is the mission statement of my project:

The community of the Niger-Delta have witnessed the slow poisoning of their waters and destruction of vegetation and agricultural land by oil spills which occur during petroleum operations. There has been less concern and effective effort on the part of the government, let alone the oil companies to control the environmental problems with their operations.

All people have the right to self-determination, by virtue of that right they freely can pursue their economic, social and cultural development, create their own energy with their natural resources run by the people, ‘A community of self generators’.

I NEED HELP ON HOW BEST TO REPRESENT NIGERIA, BE IT ABSTRACT, ARTEFACT, INSTALLATION OR ARCHITECTURAL.

Any comment welcomed.

Abu

The Perfect society (Zahid Khan)

2009-11-07T19:27:16-05:00

continued from my previous idea about the external services not being as perfect as they should. I have started to read Slavoj Zizek's "Cyberspace, or, the Unbearable Closure of Being". Below is a paragrpah from the Article and my interpretation and also a diagram explaing my version.

What is a symptom? (Zizek's version)

When one is dealing with a universal structuring principle, one always automatically assumes that - in principle, precisely - it is possible to apply this principle to all its potential elements, so that the principle's empirical non-realization is merely a matter of contingent ircumstances. A symptom, however, is an element which - although the non-realization of the universal principle in it appears to hinge on contingent circumstances has to remain an exception, that is, the point of suspension of the universal principle: if the universal principle were to apply also to this point, the universal system itself would disintegrate.

What is a symptom? (my version)...

Is the representation more definitive than the thing itself? (Images)

2009-11-03T16:24:45-05:00

Symphony of Destruction (Peter Jenkins)

2009-11-02T05:10:41-05:00

“Just like the pied piper,
Led rats through the streets,
We dance like marionettes,
Swaying to the symphony,
Of destruction...”
Dave Mustaine, Symphony of Destruction

We exist in a society consisting of interlocked and conflicting systemic control structures. Revolutionaries rise in every generation creating counter-cultures whose adherents inevitably discover that the “freedom” their heroes preach simply does not exist; they have only switched to a new puppet master.

Bigger Version
[Image from previous PG Dip work on same theme which served to inform my thesis]

Sketches
[Album of other early sketches, including a storyboard setting the scene of a controlled society]

But who is the puppet master of puppet masters? Who controls the ones whom we inveigh against?

“My idea is that every specific body strives to become master over all space and to extend its force (its will to power) and to thrust back all that resists its extension. But it continually encounters similar efforts o...

Is the representation more definitive than the thing itself?

2009-11-01T09:31:00-05:00

What troubles me? What troubles me in architecture?

Representation being more definitive than the thing, event or experience itself is a growing problem in the digital world. What happens to meaning when the simulation or copy becomes more prevalent and understood than the source?

Fashion, physical appearance and image (body) can often be portrayed as being more important than process or the social benefits that define architecture (soul).

Is architecture purely advertising, revenue and PR or can it make a difference to peoples lives and enhance the way we interact?

My thesis will explore these themes and also compare the digital world (primarily single sensory) with the analogue world (haptic and multi-sensory).

So how do I show this? The following are a series of animations to get my initial thoughts out there. Without something to talk about I have nothing to improve and refine so here goes:

http://www.youtube.com/user/d7forlife#p/u/4/eJuYQER8c5o

Mirages are not hallucinations, th...

The perfect society

2009-10-31T20:33:46-04:00

We have been brought up in a society where, everything has a system. This system we refer to also has various rules regarding providing a perfect service. Every day we deal with people who provide external services for us (e.g buying goods, dealing with public services etc). However, over the years these rules have been ignored and the quality of external services has declined compared to what we require and expect.

My thesis will explore the world of "not perfect" service providers, and will look deep into who is responsible and why they are responsible for this reduction in the quality of service being provided. The project will start with; understanding the different types of services within the city of Birmingham there will be a diagram through the city where every service will be mapped against different wards, in order to establish the location where there are most "not perfect" service(s) providers. The diagram as well as providing a location, will also zoom into the researc...

Introduction

2009-10-29T13:30:10-04:00

This blog is set up on behalf of the D7 Thesis Unit - The Elegance of Non-Engagment. The students involved in this unit are:

Carys Fisher
Peter Jenkins
James Clayton
Rob Tadman
Zahid Khan
Paul Welch
Abu Kumshe
Riyaz Nilar
Sam Lui

We will all be posting our progress on our individual projects within this unit and hope to receive as much feedback as possible from the school blog readers.

To start off with here is our tutor's thoughts on the direction of this unit:

The Architecture of Deceit
E. McIntosh, tutor

Setting the scene
The Law of (-1)

There is sometimes a minuscule flame burning inside people who do Architecture. The feeling in the back of their brain that something is terribly wrong with the world. A “splinter in their minds”. For many this feeling of wrong-ness, dissatisfaction and helplessness can never be explained, for its nature is concealed by what we will call in this studio, The Law of (-1).

We need to understand that life is war, that we all are d...