we individually engineered a machine that from start to finish, transferred water 4 different times. Between each transfer the water had to be moved in the x,y, and z axis. The transfers as a whole, demonstrated the load propagation present in a previously studied iconic building. (prior intuitive structural analysis..etc.)

The final product was a stop motion film of the water transfers from beginning to end. From this - further spatial observations were made, referencing positive and negative space changes over select time intervals.

that was a good one I won't soon forget.

Analyzed Blue Velvet, drew up diagrams analyzing 10 seconds (or so, can't remember) - camera movement, lighting, etc., etc., built spatial studies based on our findings, then moved onto Fire, Walk With Me (Twin Peaks), did the same with larger, more 'real' spaces.

Then we video taped the site however we wanted, in small teams. Then did the same analysis on our videos. From there we designed the building (first building in school, this was Design 4, end of second year).

Amazing studio, transformed my schooling, process and ability. The class, as a studio, did amazing work (M. Gooden's classes had little sleep and not social life, but the results were obvious).

I was asked to design a building once.

The most interesting / rewarding studios for me had nothing to do with the actual project and had everything to do with the instructors that taught the best methods for approaching a project.

A project designed by Joseph Krupczynski, where I was asked to reverse engineer and thoroughly document a simple machine, a stapler. Then an analysis of the inventors objectives and the underlying motivations for the machine regarding why it has attained success in the market and society.

I advanced the idea that the complex series of simple reactions that take place in the stapler that are concealed by a plastic sheath, activated by a primitive slam of the fist are similar to need-triggered actions in society such as eating at a restaurant or putting gas into a car which are simple catalysts that are sheathed by convention which cause complex reactions to take place in the economic system.

This brought me back to the stapler which is a great icon of capitalism. It's basic function is to organize information as effectively as possible. By taking two sheets of data and collating them the product is endowed with meaning quickly and efficiently, by the means of a simple slam of the fist.

I created a sculptural response that would go on to influence much of my work, an object of poetic terrorism inspired by Hakim Bey's Temporary Autonomous Zone. The response is a cage for the stapler that counteracts the efficiency which makes the stapler such a workplace staple. I imagine an infomercial where the armature is advertised as a christmas gift for the person who has everything.



I then calculated the theoretical loss of efficiency that the stapler armature would have on industry in the same way that statisticians calculate the gain in productivity from changes in the workplace. The time it takes to take the stapler out of its home and place it back in, an average of once a day, several seconds a week to gaze admiringly, conversations that take place based on the armature once a month multiplied by a 100,000 unit sales figure and came out with a figure in the hundreds of millions in lost efficiency based on an average office employee salary in the US.

The design process here was then applied to various projects throughout the semester with great results, I still use these same principles to generate ideas today!

year 2001....

we had to take this supplemental theory class to the studio in which we discussed Delueze and Nietzsche,etc...another guy and I who had decent philosophy backgrounds couldn't connect the two - existentialism and the eternal return to studio, which added to the intensity of the studio.

my partner in studio, was a very skilled model builder and we were allowed to spend up to $150 reimbursed before spending our own cash. the model when done, brass and plexi - was about $500. my partner and i were 'vision' guys and never saw any need to build a zillion study models, especially when we were modeling stuff in 3dMAX and working it out in autoCAD.

i wrote scripts in QBASIC and imported stuff into 3dMAX. in the end though we took an image the prof handed us, which essentially translated to rotating floor plates in our skyscraper (yes we did this way before calatrava and MAD), maybe they saw our work in one of our profs publications. I was even looking at sound waves at the time for mathematical inspiriaton.

either way...the battle was against 'versioning' people who saw a correlation between Delueze and architecture and us 'vision' people who left philsophy to life. we nearly were kicked out of studio, especially me for constantly telling the prof Delueze and architecture together was bullshit...even when i finished my 72 hour straight 3dmax modeling session the prof did not understand the final product...but when my partner took the 40 floor plates of the building that were meticously sanded and finished and stacked them onto the core, the prof saw the final model and gave us both 'A' s. the model now sits in his house I believe.

it was satifying - to continually argue with someone guarenteeing your vision, and when done they were so overwhelmed that they agreed, the vision was right.

we even designed every last detail to this tower such as structural glazing, before the model was done, we incorporated the solar chimney, etc...

long story short - that studio made my point - if you have vision there is no need to do multiple versions of an idea, because a vision is not an idea, it is a final solution.

loremipsum....i even qouted Hakim Bey that year in the supplemental theory class to studio...i wrote this 'symphony' of qouted thought...ending with a qoute from Jean Baudrilliard from 'illusion of the end' as the CODA of my symphony...

my favorite project was fall semester of my 4th year, which was last fall. our critic assigned us to a rather large site and we weren't told the program or any specific location for the project on the site. the initial site visit was spent taking photographs. essentially, we were documenting the phenomenal properties we encountered. materials, light, sequencing, spaces, sounds, etc. our site was a park wedged between the potomac river and the c&c canal. there's lots of fishing there as well as a boat rental facility.

we then made a photo collage that was 24"x24" that captured one of those phenomenal properties we were inspired by, and then chose two or three materials we documented. further investigation was made of their properties and application. i chose wood and glass. my inspiration was the transient qualities of the reflections on the water's surface.

we still didn't know the program and the next phase was to simply make things using our selected materials. the goal was to use an operational logic in making these things according to the concept of our phenomenal quality. using the logic of cut, slice, and stack, i layered 8 sheets of plexiglass that were cut out and etched in order to emulate the flickering and transient qualities of the water's surface. i made multiple iterations using those parameters as my control. using photography as an aid, i documented the properties of light, color, and reflection in my models to find how to manipulate those qualities.

i then tried to find the same qualities in a different materials. the plexiglass was about transparency and reflection. my next move was to use a wire mesh, i chose to work with drywall sandpaper, and used the same logic of cut, slice, and stack. this time with fewer layers. the results were even better in that i really found the flickering quality i was looking for. now i was using a feasible building material.

the next step was to take those things we made and the logic employed to make them and apply it the scale of a building. 4 weeks into the project we were told the program, a boathouse. our critic didn't even know what kind of building we would be designing probably until the 3rd week! it was a challenge to find the right way to apply those things alien to any scale or practical use and then apply them to a building. it was an exercise in learning how to think about approaching design from the top-down as opposed to bottom-up. i loved that we were able to design real details and facades, when a lot of times those things don't get fleshed out in time because you are racing to finish the project.

it was also a formulating studio for me in that i was designing with real meaning and intention. the emphasis was on the function of ornament and having true inspiration from the site.

sorry for the long ramble, i just found it hard to stop once i got started...