Drawing Architecture / A Conversation with Perry Kulper

If you haven't read this post by AWI Architecture Think Tank, then you should.

Basically, WAI discussed with Perry Kulper the concept, intention, and potential of drawing architecture. Click on the image to go to the article.

Translating Scales

We'll be brief with this one.

These projects were about imagining a new Philadelphia after the collapse of the American Empire, and the subsequent redefinition of the sacred by new society in the ruins of the old. The project follows a continuous reduction in scale.

call it

bullshit

image courtesy of IaN+

The Delaware Power Plant

By Jordan Sheftel:

           Built in 1917 by Philadelphia architect John T. Windrim PECO’s Delaware power station has sat idle since the 1980’s. Windrim, whose work includes numerous commissions from PECO and Bell Telephone as well as the Franklin Institute and the Lincoln-Liberty building was recognized as Philadelphia’s premier architect for classical-revival and Beaux-arts style in his time.

The building sits adjacent to Penn Treaty Park on the Delaware River waterfront and is currently owned by PECO. There has been talk of redevelopment including everything from a museum to an apartment complex. But with no sure-fire plans and difficulty securing Historic protection its future remains uncertain.     

           

Translating Creations

 

01. Full Scale Catalog

Architecture as a means of producing: Architecture should be though about and explored as a process. A series of creations that lead to the next. The process of developing an idea through a series of physical manifestations. In this case starting with research and a series of exploratory drawings to develop an idea and  representing it.

 02. Site Model

The development of the project's process was intended to be cyclical rather than linear. The process became a means of looking into the nature of various aspects of an idea including the conceptual, physical, material, and character of an idea - not only with abstract thoughts, but with concrete representations.

 03. Material Explorations

The making of a text, drawing, or model, should allow the observer and maker to read into the artifacts in various ways to allow for a creative visual and spoken dialog between all viewers of the work.

Translating Data

The accumulation of data as a foundation for design requires keen appropriation. Data allows for opportunistic design potentials when organized and articulated appropriately. The gathering of data should never limit or constrict a design; it should also never hold dogmatic relations over the result. When organizing acquired data, the opportunity arises to articulate a design which is fully justified resulting in an outcome which is both grounded in fact and inspired by a data driven process yet is not mutually exclusive to the initial numbers and research compiled. The data should lead to a direction through its organization and provide a clear, interesting and poetic method to express itself. A reinvention of the representation of data and facts welcomes the bridge to a design strategy which roots itself in its process. Design innovation emerges through the challenging of convention.

 The image above is composed of data regaurding crime associated with 24hour laundry mats; the information is orgainized not through a conventional chart or graph but through a process of mapping which forms moments and connections within itself which then relate to spatial conditions used to inspire the design shown below.

Sentimentality

Sentimentality may not be derived from a single meeting, but rather a series of visitations and resulting mood that favored surfaces, and materials may apply to a memory. Recurring meetings post initial contact may be facilitated through the act of recollection, in this way reinforcing the mood attached to the most prevalent moments of the experience. Compilation of these moments coerces a particular image whose applied meanings and moods are applied to and similarly born of.

Student Thesis: The Ordinary Phenomenon

NOTE, THIS POST IS EDITED BY NEITHER THE AUTHOR OF THIS THESIS PROJECT NOR ANYBODY OF MERIT WHATSOEVER, AND THIS WRITER WILL THEREFORE USE IT AS YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO FLAUNT HIS SELF-PROCLAIMED RIGHTEOUS ANGER AND CYNICISM. HERE FOR THE FULL THESIS AS INTENDED BY THE STUDENT (SANS BELLIGERENT CRITICISM). 

-BRANDED CONSUMER

 

Ah, suburbia. Designs here respond mainly to one thing alone: "curb appeal": How 'nice' does this home appear from all the folks driving their SUVs on the street? The homes rarely respond to anything beyond this.

It's Our World - Now What Can We Do? (Part 3 of 3)

PLEASE NOTE, THE AUTHOR INTENDS TO PUBLISH THIS ARTICLE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. ALL DISCUSSION, COMMENTS, AND CRITICISM WILL BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED BEFORE THE WRITING GOES INTO PRINT. IDEALLY, THE GOAL IS TO REACH OUT TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS AND SPARK INSIGHTFUL, INTELLECTUAL DEBATE.                                                                                                                                                                                                       -KUHLEKTIV 

Now,

what can we do?

My dear architecture student, you are in the most powerful position of all! For you see, buildings (the objects of our all-nighters and caffeine addictions) consume nearly three quarters of all electricity produced in the United States! Embarrassingly, 76% of all the coal, oil and gas burned is used simply for the operation of our country’s buildings; globally, this number is even bigger.

The USA is the world's largest producer of CO₂ emissions (per capita). In our country, buildings produce nearly half of all CO₂ emissions surpassing both the transportation and industry sectors.[1]

It's Our World - The Cold Hard Facts (Part 2 of 3)

Please note, the author intends to publish this article in the near future. All discussion, comments, and criticism will be carefully considered before the writing goes into print. Ideally, the goal is to reach out to the larger community of students and spark insightful, intellectual debate.                                                                                                                                                                                                       -kuhlektiv 

Here are some numbers:

2.0 - (0.8 + 0.8) = 0.4

2.0

That’s the number of degrees Celsius the earth's average temperature can be raised in order for life as we know it to 

continue. (Read: water and food in stable supply for SOME nations, inescapable sci-fi-like conditions for others)

It's Our World (Part 1 of 3)

Please note, the author intends to publish this article in the near future. All discussion, comments, and criticism will be carefully considered before the writing goes into print. Ideally, the goal is to reach out to the larger community of students and spark insightful, intellectual debate.                                                                                                                                                                                                       -kuhlektiv 

Students:

Lend me your attention, your easily divided and hard won attention, for I have a plea. I have a bone to pick with the institutions that have shaped the world in which we are about to emerge. For 22 years I have been taught that my teachers know best, that mom and dad's ways of life were to be emulated, and that with age come wisdom. In the world of our parents and teachers, we are nothing of value without this hard won wisdom; 

"Children should be seen and not heard."

But here's the thing:

Cardboard Bike!

All architects know we can do things with cardboard that most people can't even imagine, but this beats any model I've ever made! see grist.org for more info

Suburban Station - A Place of Residence

All photographs displayed in this post are the work of photographer, Shan Cerrone. To view the photoset in it's entirety   and other work produced by Cerrone feel free to check out his website here. 

Student Work: Cargo Hotel

"....As far back as he could remember, Joey never followed the crowd and always had his own agenda. Rather than participating in the usual school activities, he could typically be found exploring the local train yards. As time passed and Joey grew older he never lost his fascination with alternative life styles. The original passion slowly developed into an exploration of adaptive reuse.

Using recycled shipping containers and old industrial building supply as his main construction materials significantly reduced the start up money required for Joey to put his plan into action. At the same time, the visceral attitude expressed by such deteriorated supplies could potentially allow Joey to make two very bold statements. On the one hand, the containers could be completely remodeled and used to show what bright, luxurious spaces they could be transformed into. On the other hand, container cities could be built out of almost untouched containers, forcing passersby to experience and reflect upon a waste that they indirectly created. "

FAKE Architecture

Ai Weiwei: designer of the "Birds Nest" Stadium for the Beijing Olympics, creator of the Sunflower exhibit at the Tate, political and human rights actvist...

  

In the past few years Ai Weiwei's controversial artwork has earned him a huge following in the art world, while simultaneously undermining the many shortcomings of the Chinese government. Upset by the lack of truthful information provided by officials, Ai has decided to take matters into his own hands to do what he knows must be done. 

Ignoring warnings from friends, family, and other artists alike Ai Weiwei refuses to back down. Despite being detained by police, placed under house arrest, paying millions of dollars in fines, and having his studio demolished he truly believes that China can be slowly changed into a more democratic nation if people are willing to work together. Though Chinese firewalls and extremely stiff censorship laws constantly prevent Ai from getting his message across by himself, it cannot stop others from spreading the word for him.

Watching and reading various talks, lectures, videos, and articles about Ai Weiwei, this artist makes very clear the stance he takes in regards to modern technology. Simply put, "An individual can make an effort and an individual can make an impact..." (Weiwei). In order to do this Weiwei encourages people to seize the power of the internet. With the rapid advancements technology is making it is extremely easy to utilize websites, blogs, and social media sites to remain informed and find the truth. Not the truth in the words of government officials and mass media outlets, but a raw uncensored truth only possible when people communicate with one another. By spreading information online it is possible to leave behind the world where freedom of speech is not allowed and spread the truth as it should be told.

 

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry OFFICIAL TRAILER from Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry on Vimeo.

Student work : Sustainable Excess

Sustainable architecture is often criticized as having been reduced to "greenwashing".

Pictured is "Antilla", excessively expensive and fundamentally capitalistic, the building justifies itself because of how "green" it is (read "Capitalism: A Ghost Story here). The fundamental motives behind many sustainable design strategies are their non-sustainable contemporaries: luxury, excess, privacy, and denial of mortality. The only difference is a few extra zeroes in the price and a friendly green appearance for the public. Here is one student's response to sustainability:

In defining radicals, punks, and anarchists as the main audience for this piece of sustainability, the project attempts to shed this notion of sustainable excess in favor of something not as pretty but perhaps more apt to shake the foundations of unsustainable design.

The anarchist hotel stretches toward the sun, a precise angle which keeps out the Sun's scorching summer rays while harvesting its fleeting winter warmth. The resemblance to an outstretched middle finger toward the capitalist center of the city may or may not be intentional.

The desired effect of the building promotes non-excessive communal living among urban radicals and flaunts it in the face of the city in a not so status-quo fashion, while shamelessly harvesting its neighbor's waste food and water.

Can the capitalist's definition of luxury exist in a sustainable world? It seems unlikely to this branded consumer. This project by an early architecture student tries to reimagine what luxury might look like - a simple reverence for the sun and the elements along with a deep sense of communal living. Would it actually work in present day Philadelphia? Hell no.

Who Needs a Car Anyways?

Commonly referred to as the number one bicycle-friendly city in the world, 36% of all Copenhagen citizens utilize bikes as their main mode of transportation. The bicycle boom originally began during WWII when the use of petroleum was severely restricted. At present, cyclists currently enjoy approximately 370km (roughly 230 miles) of bikeable roads, but there are concrete plans to dramatically increase the amount of bike only streets.

As of April this year, Copenhagen officials have been working hard to create a network of bicycle super-highways. This network of bikeways, or Supercykelstiers as they are called in Denmark, will consist of 500km of new bike only terrain. When finished the entire bicycle network in Copenhagen is planned to consist of nearly 540 miles of cycling friendly streets. That's 319 more miles than the current bike routes in Philadelphia!

Ed Bacon Competition entries

To put it simply, students entering this competition were asked to reimagine Interstate 95, as it runs along the east shore of Philadelphia next to the Delaware River, effectively cutting off the public from the River and its surroundings and creating countless other problems.  Here is how some Temple students responded.


Plug - In

This group, winning the competition's sustainability category, imagines the highway as a source of energy:

Plug-In redesignes I-95 as a generator of electrical energy to nearby homes, businesses and vehicles by harnassing wind, elctro-kinetic, and piezolectric power.

The new I-95 will supply electricity to the parks and walking districts above it, as well as cover 50% of the elctric cost to those who wat to build on the vacant/underused lots of the area.

- by Melhissa Carmona, Noelle Charles, Amanda Mazid.

The Death and Life of Great American Highways

Here's a group who proposed leaving the Highway to rot:

Historical studies reveal a pattern of death and life - pavement taking over forest, retail rising out of industry, highways emerging out of railroad ruins... the pattern will continue ad infinitum. The highway typology will see its imminent death with the decline of oil production. Any infrastructure linked to the highway and oil use will die off: parking lots will become increasingly vacant, big box retail will decline as importing becomes scarcer, and also areas of the city will be swallowed by the rising waters of the Delaware. The city will soon search for a new way of living in the ashes of the obsolete past.

Various magnitudes of 'cracks' exist in the area. Our proposals will strengthen and expand these cracks, allowing natural forces and multifunctional elements to seep through, thus revitalizing dead infrastructure with diversity of function.



A new I-95 will be obsolete in as little as 40 years, and is therefore a waste of the city's funds. The current I-95 will be repaired as it is, with minor adjustments that will urge the highway to decay gracefully. As traffic volum decreases, natural elements (trees, streams, wetlands) will appear in cracked areas.

Differing sections of the decayed I-95 will include: freshwater reservoir, wetlands (providing water filtration). young and old forests, farmlands, hills, recreational areas, and shelters for the environmentally displaced.

- by Carolina Giraldo, Ian Sauls, Brandon Youndt.



are we out of touch?

http://grist.org/urban-agriculture/2011-02-08-on-eco-architecture-and-urban-farming-are-you-kidding-me-with-yo/

I can't really say anything more insightful than the author of this article, which even though it is a year old, still seems relevant. These questions are always rolling around my head when I am sitting in studio making abstract models of cardboard, far removed from any real life place or situation: is our role to come up with the most imaginative far reaching designs, to erase and then efficiently rearrange plans from above, is it simply to find the possibilities in the everyday? how can we apply our pie-in-the-sky creative abilities to pragmatic improvements in our lives? and is intervention even necessary in some cases, or are the people who are living in the "problematic" situation more qualified than we are to know what's best?

Architecture In The Digital Age

Submission by Marc Krawitz_Temple University Thesis Student

As architecture dives deeper and deeper into the digital revolution, and falls farther into ‘explorations’ in digital modeling and fabrication, at some point we as architects must look back on what we are doing, and the mode of working that we are engaging in.  It seems that this notion is being increasingly forgotten - that architecture and design is a product of process.  This stated does not simply refer to the figurative sense, but the literal one, regarding the idea that the way in which one works (material, technique, resources, philosophies, pedagogies, etc) directly guides how one makes and thinks about designing architecture.  It seems that research in scripting, 3D modeling, and parametric design processes (coupled with digital fabrication) are more often than not attempting to remove the hand of the designer from the results of the work through computational logic.  It, however, goes without saying that these designers will still emphatically claim not only ownership but also intellectual property over a disembodied design process.  This means in certain terms that the idea of a computational logic is kind-of bundled up within the constructed notion that architecture must rest on certain methodological or "inspirational" foundations - that architecture came from somewhere we did not invent. Be this from the 'natural' [architecture from nature], to the computational - or these days - the parametric, architecture has been removed from its origin as a divine work of human hands into a speculative array of process and production that rejects capricious ideas for the sake of argument.  An architect no longer says “good, this [thing] satisfies the divine order of the gods” but rather nowadays: "good, none of this is arbitrary," or "look how the logic of this thing comes from somewhere else."  One must question in this moment if we are really saying in aesthetic appeal: "look how many times I hit the random button until the computer produced something that I thought looked nice.”  It is appropriate to say that this argument isn't touching upon either the aesthetic or anti-aesthetic notions of form.  Merely, it states that we as designers must be fervent in how we structure these modes in which we design.  One cannot, with certainty, look back on their past and argue for why they chose to do this, rather than just saying that comes from a higher place; a deep love and passion for the making of things. It is in this way that architecture, or perhaps just design, can be understood as an arbitrary decision in and of itself.  It is therefore wholly unfair to judge the arbitrary position of architecture in the vacuum of a design process, since the quest for the arbitrary is fundamentally a structuralist quest for the origins of the work, which, if for this moment we can trust deconstruction, is an abysmal search in its simplest form.  It was one thing to employ the technology that we have invented in the means of figuring out or discovering new ways to build and new methods of thinking, but entirely another to support the production of building that utilizes a 3^rd party computational approach. To add to this issue, the production of these architectures often falls on the laser-cutter and cnc router to simply fulfill the crutch of people who don't actually know how to make or craft what they have produced on the computer.  In simple terms, if architects would like to continue to stand behind their work as "Architects" then they should be able to demonstrate beyond their capacity to simply be highly adept computer programmers.

It's not the nostalgic idea of the architect-craftsman that necessarily drives this argument, but rather a recognition that technology should be understood in its capacity to assist [as a tool], and not in its capacity to invent as a demiurge. I am not necessarily calling for a specific theoretical camp to overtake architecture.  Rather, I would like to call upon the people conducting this digital research to tell me at what point the computer stopped making their decisions for them and when they themselves started designing their buildings.

How to turn off a billboard:

Step 1: Approach the billboard.
Step 2: Locate the circuit breaker. It will usually be at ground level in an easy to access location.
Step 3: Open the circuit breaker. In some cases this may require tools, such as a flathead screwdriver or a pair of wire cutters.
Step 4: Flip the circuit breaker’s switch. The lights will now be off.
Step 5 (Optional): If you wish, you may now smash the circuit breaker or vandalize the billboard with spraypaint or fire or whatever. Be careful not to get yourself killed or arrested in the process.