        Salazar, Matthew : AssignmentsIntro to Industrial DesignThe third and final lecture, given by Abir Mullick, covered the field of Industrial Design. By first defining what ID is, Abir gave a great overview of the rest of the presentation. He also talked about what kind of objects ID professionals designs and for what reasons. His coverage of the ID program here at Tech dealt mainly with the drive behind students’ work and the goals they work towards, though curriculum and job expectations were briefly discussed as well. He concluded the presentation by showcasing several design projects. ICSID – An acronym standing for the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. It is a group of international organizations specializing in industrial design that was founded in 1957. With nearly 150 member organizations, the council represents 150,000 designers worldwide. One Laptop per Child – A non-profit association set up to oversee the design and construction of the “$100 laptop”. The laptops are meant for use in developing countries where educational resources are limited. The current design is labeled as the XO-1 and there have been nearly one million confirmed orders of the laptop. Conceptualization – The process of conceptualizing an object, idea, or opinion to the point of fully understanding it. Involved in conceptualization are creativity, originality, and a good sense of what is needed and wanted. Conceptualization is key to Industrial Design. The different disciplines of ID obviously deal with the design of different classes of objects. How does the pay scale vary among these different disciplines? Does someone who designs cars make more than someone who designs office supplies? What kind of doctorate opportunites are available for ID graduates already in the world of work? Are they more beneficial than the amount of work missed to gain them? To what extent does Georgia Tech helps students realize their aspirations of specialization? Does the program here encourage students exploring only the disciplines in which they have interest, or are classes in which the student has no interest forced into the curriculum? Intro to Building Construction In the second lecture, Dr. Kangari discussed building construction. He started out by describing the various phases in the process of constructing a building, starting at the beginning and moving towards the end. He used this to compare the lifecycle of a building to its various stakeholders. He talked about AEC Integration as well, a concept that had already been covered in a previous lecture, and vehemently supported it. He even went into depth about different types of buildings and gave several examples for each. Much detail was given on the program here at Georgia Tech, starting at the freshman year and moving to the senior year. Employment opportunities and field were mentioned as well. HVAC – An acronym that stands for “Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning”. Usually, these systems are integrated to a point. They are especially important in taller buildings where such systems are essential to the habitability of higher floors. They are sometimes referred to as “Building Services” instead. Laggard – A person, group, or party that significantly falls behind the norm set by the greater majority. Oftentimes in culture, society, and systems the laggard party is look at with disapproval, but in rare cases the laggard comes out being the wiser. In general, however, being a laggard is not usually wanted. General Contractor – A person or organization that contracts with another organization for the construction of a building or the development of a development. They are always the signatory of a construction contract for the project in question. If they work for a government agency, they are instead referred to as “Prime Contractors”. Is there a specific discipline of BC that deals with high-rise architecture? To what extent are BC graduates involved in such projects after graduation, depending on the firm they work for? Why do you think that there is such a high job offer rate for BC graduates when they become professionals? Do you think that this rate might change if AEC Integration ever occurs? What kind of diversity of fields does the Georgia Tech BC program educate its students on? To what extent does it let the students explore those fields further through classes and outside work? Intro to Architecture The first lecture, given by Ellen Dunham-Jones, dealt with the profession of Architecture and the Architecture Program here at Georgia Tech. She began the presentation by defining what is and what is not architecture. She then went on to show various implementations of architecture, covering a wide variety of uses and time periods. Very key to her presentation, she gave a detailed account of what students can expect in their architecture-related careers and the various routes they can take to get there. She even gave examples of several famous designers and described how they got to where they are and conditions they now choose to work in. She ended her very nice lecture by describing the program here at Tech and what students can expect when they graduate. Building Ecology – The implementation of ecological building practices in design and construction. These practices are meant to sustain and create a symbiosis between a building or development and its surrounding “ecology”, or setting. BeltLine – A currently proposed project to create a literal ring of mass transit and green space surrounding the city of Atlanta. In addition to buying up existing rail lines and creating either a light rail or street car line, the project also aims to expand existing parks and create many new parks as well, one of which, Westside Park, will be larger even than Piedmont Park when done. Kendeda House – A very similar project to the Solar Decathlon, the goal of this endeavour was to create a sustainable house that was relatively affordable. While the budget of the Solar Decathlon house was several hundred thousand dollars, the Kendeda Home was designed to be equal to or less than $125,000. Does pay scale differ noticeably between different disciplines in Architecture? For instance, does an architect who designs mainly in green spaces earn more or less than an architect who designs hotels for a living? What discipline would you say stands the chance of making the greater amount of money in the next few years? Professionally, do you think it is wiser to stay in school for a doctorate before several years of work, or is it better to find a firm to work for anywhere from 10-20 years before achieving a Ph.D.? Do you think it wiser to stay with one school for your undergrad, masters, and doctorate education, or to move around to different cities and schools? It was mentioned that we would have the opportunity to take various options studios classes as seniors. At what point in our architecture education should we have a good idea of what specialization or discipline we wish to go into greater detail with in these options classes? Bibliography GIL Bergal, Jenni. City Adrift: New Orleans Before and After Katrina. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007. Brunsma, David L., ed. The Sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a Modern Catastrophe. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. Clark, Joshua. Heart Like Water: Surviving Katrina and Life in its Disaster Zone. New York: Free Press, 2007. Palser, Barb. Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath of Disaster. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2007. Robinson, Sharon P., ed. The Children Hurricane Katrina Left Behind: Schooling Context, Professional Preparation, and Community Politics. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. Sothern, Billy. Down in New Orleans: Reflections from a Drowned City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Tidwell, Mike. The Ravaging Tide. New York: Free Press, 2006. Torres, John Albert. Hurricane Katrina and the Devastation of New Orleans. Hockessin, Del.: Mitchell Lane, 2006. Waugh Jr., William L., ed. Shelter from the Storm: Repairing the National Emergency Management System after Hurricane Katrina. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2006. Avery Campanella, Thomas J. “Urban resilience and the recovery of New Orleans.” Journal of the American Planning Association 72, 2 (2006): 141-146 Lubell, Sam. “New Orleans does not look as bad as you think – it’s worse.” Architectural record 194, 1 (2006): 51[52,54] Kennedy, Shawn. “Remaking New Orleans, without losing its past.” Architectural record 195, 6 (2007): 85-88,226 Monday, Jacquelyn L. “After disaster … building a sustainable community.” Journal of green building 1, 2 (2006): 86-97 McDonald, Martha. “Picking up the pieces: post-Katrina recovery.” Clem Labine’s traditional building 19, 2 (2006): 16-20 ProQuest Garza, Cynthia Leonor. “Six months after Katrina, evacuees weigh future against past.” Knight Ridder Tribune, March 1, 2007, Business News Gewertz, Catherine. “Divided New Orleans Board Debates Reopening Schools.” Education Week 25, 5 (2005): 15 Golub, Robert M. “New Orleans, Katrina, and the Death and Life of Cities.” JAMA 298, 9 (2007): 1062 Russel, Gordon. “Katrina rewrites N.O. politics; Mayor’s race reduced to question mark.” Times – Picayune, October 23, 2005 Weems, Carl F. “The psychosocial impact of Hurricane Katrina: Contextual differences in psychological symptoms, social support, and discrimination.” Behaviour Research and Therapy 45, 10 (2007): 2295 Whoriskey, Peter. “Hurricane Katrina Exacts Another Toll: Enduring Depression; Health Officials Cite Stresses of Rebuilding.” The Washington Post, September 23, 2007, Section A LexisNexis Campo-Flores, Arian. “Katrina’s Latest Damage; Crime is up. Schools are overcrowded. Hospitals are jammed. Houston welcomed a flood of hurricane evacuees with open arms. But now the city is suffering from a case of ‘compassion fatigue.’” Newsweek, March 13, 2006, National Affairs Section Fleischer, Joe. “Weather the Storm; How one center weathered Hurricane Katrina on behalf of its clients.” Call Center Magazine, December 1, 2006 Gunnion, Stephen. “Ripple effects of Katrina hit SA insurers.” Business Day, November 29, 2005. Johnson, Jim. “Much work remains in Katrina cleanup.” Waste News, September 11, 2006, Cover Story Johnson, Jim. “Sites start to see influx of storm debris.” Waste News, October 24, 2005, News Section Mouawad, Jad. “Fixing up offshore U.S. oil rigs; In Katrina’s wake, work still goes on.” The International Herald Tribune, March 2, 2006, Finance Section Sullivan, John A. “Gulf Industry Braces for Coming Storms; Platforms May Go Higher.” Natural Gas Week, April 16, 2007, Feature Stories Section Other Borger, Julian. “Mayor issues SOS as chaos tightens its grip.” The Guardian, September 2, 2005 Dwyer, Jim. “Fear Exceeded Crime’s Reality in New Orleans.” The New York Times, September 29, 2005. Ripley, Amanda. “The Gangs of New Orleans.” Time, May 14, 2006 Palladio In the third and final presentation, Sonit Bafna discussed the architectural workings and ideals of Andrea Palladio, an Italian architect whose influences are still seen to this day. Bafna used examples of Palladio’s architecture to display his unique style and methods, as well as his preferred location of buildings. He even went over many of the technicalities and how they are still used today, such as window size and placement. Andrea Palladio – An Italian architect, born in 1508, whose work and buildings during the Renaissance sparked an entire style of architecture. There are some who consider him the greatest architect of all time. He became especially famous for his villas spread across the northwestern Italian countryside, which have all become World Heritage Sites because of their historical and cultural significant. He died in 1580. Palladian architecture – A European style of architecture that is rooted in the workings of Andrea Palladio. Palladio’s style was in turn rooted in classical Roman architecture rather than some other styles during the Renaissance. Thomas Jefferson was a big fan of Palladian style and used it in designing and building the University of Virginia and his home Monticello. La Rotonda – Quite possibly one of the most inspirational villas every built, Villa Capra, or La Rotonda, is a house in Vincenza, Italy that is widely considered to be the magnum opus of Andrea Palladio. Originally built for a retired Vatican priest, it is built to work seamlessly with the surrounding landscape, and thus affords astounding views of the Italian countryside. Palladio did not live to see it finished. You mentioned that there are several shelves in the architecture library devoted to Palladio. Is there enough information on and backing of his work for many more such books to be written? Do you foresee a day when no more can be written about him? Is there enough such information about Palladio for an architect to become fluent in designing with the Palladian style? To what extent do other professions study Palladio? Examples would be designers and builders. In keeping with the second question, is the Palladian style in high enough demand today? Do you believe a resurgence of Palladian architecture will come some day? Atlantic Station The second presentation was lead by Ruth Dusseault, who discussed mainly the demolition of Atlantic Steel in Atlanta and its long reconstruction into Atlantic Station. She touched on the idea behind urban utopia projects of the past and compared them to the urban renewal projects like Atlantic Station of the present. As well, she shared her personal experience in documenting and photographing the last weeks of Atlantic Steels century-long life and the many years of construction of Atlantic Station. Modernism – In her speech, Dusseault defined it as “sweeping away the existing world and building something perceived to be better”. After some research, I found that her definition was, in practice, pretty much spot on. Modernism is really just a movement that emphasizes human beings’ power to change and improve their environment. It is the underlying theme to most urban renewal projects like Atlantic Station. Utopia – From my experience, a utopia is a perfect society in which there are no quarrels or problems dealing with humanly concerns – economics, politics, religion, etc. In most cases, utopias are regarded as fictitious and unattainable in the modern world. However, in the past, many have planned out utopian societies and some have come near success. Dusseault talked briefly about utopian ideals and their effect on urban renewal projects. Futurama – An exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. It was meant to show what the world would be like in 20 years. It has been noted for its relatively realistic predictions about a highways and suburbs. The man who designed it, Norman Bel Geddes, was a chief proponent of the idea of an automated highway system, an idea that is still tossed around to this date. Where are there models to study the effects of an urban renewal project like Atlantic Station? Is a lot of the research that led to its creation purely speculative? To what extent are architects involved in the planning of Atlantic Station and other urban renewal projects? City planners? What kind of new jobs did Atlantic Station bring to Atlanta that had not been offered previously, both in development and in completion? In what ways did the government of Atlanta cooperate with city planners and architects to ensure that Atlantic Station would give the most it could back to the city? Culture and Behavior In the first lecture, Craig Zimring talked about the relationship between a person’s physical and mental health and their architectural surroundings. Specifically, he addressed the effect of a building’s architecture on its inhabitants and employees in terms of their performance at work and their physical well-being, such as how a stairway’s location and decoration relates to its use. He also addressed how architecture can affect the psychological condition of patients in a hospital, such as in the design of the room, the view from a window, or the level of noise. Dr. Zimring set up the presentation well by explaining the current state of health and physical activity in the United States and how new architectural practices are being used to alter it. BMI – Though I had run into this term before, I decided to look further into it. Body Mass Index is simply a number calculated using a person’s height and weight. It is commonly used by people as a way of referring to how healthy they are. However, after further research, I found that it was never intended for this purpose and was just meant to tell people their bodily condition. Many people take their BMI for granted though and take it to tell them all they need to know about their health, as do some doctors. Studying BMI’s can show some interesting relationships between regions/buildings/activities and peoples’ health. MRSA – Since I had no idea what this was, I decided to research it. Apparently, it is a disease-causing bacteria that is resistant to all penicillins and that is traditionally associated with being caught while in a hospital. The number of reported cases of MRSA infection in a hospital can help tell the hospital how effective they are at keeping their building clean and unintentional infections at a minimum. It can also tell the same such statistics for architecture. BRFSS – Once again, an acronym I was unfamiliar with. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a national survey that investigates risk factors associated with personal behavior in subjects. It is actually operated by the CDC, headquartered in Atlanta, via telephone (the largest such survey in the world). The survey is a good way of correlating health statistics with regions and vice versa. To fully be realized as a master of health and wellness oriented architecture, is it necessary for a student to take courses in psychology, aesthetics, or wellness? How does each discipline involved in the process of creating health-friendly architecture and design work with each other towards a common goal? Examples would include architects, construction workers, materials researchers, and survey operators. Can an architect specialize in designing hospitals and patient care facilities to the point where they become highly familiar with health-friendly architecture practices? Or is it merely a matter of personal and company research into such matters with the hiring of a random architect? Economically, are the current practices for making hospitals more architecturally health-friendly cheaper than the usual practices used? If so, then what in the health sector do you see as holding back the instigation of such practices on a national scale? GIS In the final lecture, Dr. Steven French discussed GIS and especially the Center for GIS at Georgia Tech. He gave a brief and colorful presentation that explained what GIS is and how the Center is doing research using it. He related the use of GIS and its research to city and regional planning and also to architecture and design. He brought up and defined terms such as land suitability, impervious surfaces, and regression. He also delved into 3D visualization. GIS – An acronym that stands for Geography Information Systems. It is the joining together of data and maps in order to create comprehensive research material. It is very often used in presentations to show correlation between one or more sets of data and locations on a map, such as that between poverty and crime. Heavily used by the government and developers. Land Suitability – A term that most likely refers to the ability of land to sustain development. This could refer to its environmental ability to sustain the development, such as whether or not it floods or what the soil condition is like. It could also refer to its economic ability to sustain development, such as its market area viability, its proximity to regional locations, and its land value/desirability. Social Vulnerability – This is probably the ability of social systems in cities/regions/countries to maintain social order and facilities (hospitals, police, etc.) in times of mass panic, destruction, or catastrophe. This is hard to predict, though many try with various tools like GIS and statistics. The true vulnerability of a society only becomes evident after disasters, such as in New Orleans following the strike of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Is a well-developed of geography and geology highly recommended for people wanting to do research involving GIS? What about sociology? In what ways can GIS research be done when working for the government or for a private research company? How does it differ from that at a public research university? Do architects use a fair amount of GIS in their design process, or are such jobs usually handled by a city or regional planner? The way GIS is set up now, there is a lot of data held by many different organizations. Though most of this is published for other researchers to see, it is not always made public. Do you foresee a day when massive amounts of GIS information will be made public and easily accessible, such as on the internet? AEC Integration In the second lecture the construction industry was discussed. A general overview of the industry in terms of statistics was given, showing its importance in the economy. Characteristics of the industry were also given to familiarize students with its mechanisms and inner workings. A brief history lesson was followed by the central point of the presentation which covered integration and how it should be implemented in the construction industry. Integration – Possibly the joining together of components of a large entity in order to form a more organized and efficient entity. Businesses often integrate their departments in order to accomplish more with less. There are different types of integration, one such type being vertical integration, seen often in supply/demand cycles. Construction Industry – Predictably the conglomerated companies, firms, businesses, people, etc. that are in some way involved in construction. According to some, it should instead be referred to as a sector of the economy, in which case it would be the second largest behind healthcare and certainly one of the most important. Technocrat – Doubtlessly any person who is highly skilled at their job which involves some form of technology. It could also possibly be someone who is generally skilled with all forms of technology and specializes in teaching specialization. Technocracies are organizations where leaders are chosen for their skills and craft. From what other industries can construction learn good integration habits? What other industries could use integration just as much as construction? For what construction specialties would it be easier to attain complete integration? Residential? Commercial? Civil? You jokingly mentioned a new job – the Integrator. If construction were to integrate, would it not be almost essential to have such a job in order to mediate the integration? With the way the industry is set up today, would it be possible for complete integration to take place but the companies to still remain separate and keep their identities/reputations? CATEA In the first lecture, Dr. Stephen Sprigle gave a presentation covering disability research as it is accomplished through multiple fields. He discussed the use of assistive technology and the process through with it is designed. He also presented disability-related statistics regarding the United States and went on to explain the goals, purposes, and projects of CATEA, the research center he is the director of. AT – An acronym standing for assistive technology. It is most likely any piece of technology that assists someone with a common task. Things that would fall under this category would be wheelchairs, ladders, canes, etc. Anything that helps a person accomplish a task, especially a person with disabilities, would be assistive technology, assumedly. Disability – Presumably a condition, injury, or health issue that causes difficulty or complete impairment of people trying to complete a common task. A very common disability is myopia, for which people wear glasses or contact lenses. There is also another definition of disability used by the government that is helpful in identifying allocation of money and in designing buildings and products, wherein some disabilities are omitted. Universal Design – Assuredly it is any product whose design and construction must meet certain universal regulations within its industry. This helps to make things disability-accessible and to make things much easier to produce. It might also refer to the actual design and construction of the universe itself and most likely other universes like it. This could be literal, but is probably figurative of something religious or something abstract in development. What kind of research does CATEA get money to conduct? What research is being conducted right now? Can architects specialize wholly in designing homes for people with disabilities, or are all architects expected to do such to a small degree in all their work? When doing research into disabilities and assistive technology, do you use the government’s definition of such things, or do you instead use your own? Or might you define them as you go? In the industry, are their construction companies that specialize in the installation of more advanced disability-access systems in buildings and open spaces? Are there construction suppliers that specialize in producing such things? CADCAM In the third and final presentation, a former Tech undergraduate student discussed Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CADCAM). His presentation displayed some of the various installations that have existed at the Architecture Building or still currently exist there and other installations in other locations. He then proceeded to show the processes and steps that were taken digitally to design and aid in manufacturing for each of the installations. He showed with great intent the correlations between the computer design world and the final product in the real world. CAM – An acronym that stands for Computer Aided Manufacturing. It is the use of computers in the processes involved in manufacturing an item. This includes but is not limited to the instructions for robots and machines and the prediction of material properties. Feedback Loop – A system in CADCAM-based designing. The process starts with Conception by a Designer and moves to actual Development by an Architect. Afterwards, it is Simulated so that Prototypes can be produced. If the prototype proves to be unsuccessful in the eyes of the consumer or designer, then the process loops and starts over with Development. It is a trial-and-error method of approaching design. How does a designer make the jump from the traditional and more limited paper-and-pencil approach to one that is almost strictly done a computer? Is it easier or harder to deal with, countering in the differences in application? Do design professions in the world of work frequently look for people with experience in CADCAM or is the traditional approach still favored? In what specific design fields is CADCAM preferred to the traditional approach? In these fields, does the design process take longer or shorter? Solar Decathlon In the second lecture, the international Solar Decathlon competition was discussed by a student working on Georgia Tech’s entry into the competition in 2007. The competition is an architectural and engineering challenge for various participating colleges and universities around the world to construct a solar-powered home that is highly efficient in its handling of energy, water, and heating/cooling. All entries will be set up on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in October for the 3-week long competition. Entries are judged on 10 different categories, ranging from their external architectural styling to their interior comfort. Photovoltaics – A technology in which solar cells are used to convert light from the sun directly into energy. It can also refer to the study of photovoltaic cells. Their feasibility as a highly renewable source of energy is still being researched heavily and in fact some power plants using them have already come into use. Aerogel – A low-density, transparent material made by removing the liquid component from a gel and replacing it with air. It has proven very efficient as an insulator. Because of its hazy appearance, it has been nicknamed “frozen smoke”. Is it a viable profession in the modern world to be involved chiefly with photovoltaics, or is such a thing merely a specialization in a broader field? Currently the Solar Decathlon is merely a side-project as you pursue an education. However, if the contest were to become something more such as in the construction or the real estate markets, would you consider leading a full-time career in the program? What kind of additional research/learning is needed to understand “green” architecture and highly-efficient ways of handling waste, water, and energy? Classical Architecture In the first lecture, on August 29th, the new Masters Degree program in Classical Design was discussed by its current students. Each student presented, briefly, their background and reasons for choosing the program. They then showed pictures and talked about various work in Classical Design they had done in the studio and in the real world. Often, this work contrasted with the favor towards Modern Design and each student played on this idea for a while during his or her presentation. They used terms such as Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) and Classical Architecture to accentuate their presentations. TND – An acronym that stands for Traditional Neighborhood Development. A TND is a neighborhood, community, or town that uses traditional ideas of city and town planning. These developments usually include a wide range of housing units as well as public amenities, green space, and shopping/retail, all on a system of easily transversed streets and sidewalks. New Urbanism – A movement that stresses the building of neighborhoods and towns which exhibit a wide variety of housing with jobs and retail dispersed in a highly walkable setting. New Urbanism developments are similar to TNDs, but different in the fact that they involve a wide range of planning from the regional level all the way down to the building level. Is it difficult to develop an eye and appreciation for classical/traditional design and architecture after having an architectural education this is for the most part centered on modern architectural design principles? Did you, in a sense, have to forget what you have learned? In the modern architectural world of work, does it prove a harder task to find work in classical/traditional design that doesn’t tailor merely to suburban home design or the design of federal and public buildings? Are there any opportunities for commercial or high-rise design? How do classical and traditional architecture differ from each other in the world of design and, especially, the world of work? Which one is more closely related to current trends and modern design thought? Installation One The first installation is the one located directly in front of the Architecture West building’s south façade. It is made of a mostly transparent polycarbonate (plastic) that appears to be fairly easy to shape and mold with the correct application of heat and pressure. Structurally, it consists of many plastic sheets that are much longer than they are wide. The sheets are not the length of the installation, but are instead divided up into sections. In places, they seem to be connected to each other through a system of rivets and bolts. However, it other place they are hooked together by grooves or slots so that they simple “snap” together in place and stay there. In terms of detail on the sheets, there is very little. There are places where one sheet ends and another begins in which there may be an elaborate, detailed hooking mechanism, but otherwise they appear to be featureless. The thin sheets are arranged at the “tail” of the structure (base of the structure at its eastern end) to lie on top of each other in an almost uniform stack. However, this flat beginning soon turns into an explosion of curves and bends as the installation moves westward. The sheets start to move apart from each other for brief spans, after which they come back together and “kiss” for a bit, then return to the same pattern of joining and rejoining. This forms a patchwork of openings and closings that are angled slightly to the ground. All the while, the installation is growing wider and forming close to a forty-five degree angle with the ground. After it winds around a large column, it is then floating in the air until it reaches upward and westward enough to encounter a horizontal concrete beam. There, it spills slightly over the edge and then seems to simply die. There almost seems to be a pattern to it, but it is so beautiful in its randomness that it defies patterns. Parts of it, however, do resemble a net or even a helix. As it moves, it evolves. There are so many different angled surfaces on this installation, it would be impossible to tell all the ways in which it amplifies or reflects sound and light. However, it does seem to reflect light from the sun in bands that move along the curved contours of its south face. It is not uniform in the least and changes greatly depending on the perspective of the onlooker, but it is a pattern nonetheless. Because the installation is made of plastic, it is fairly resistant to temperature changes and especially to any compression or expansion from temperature exposure. Also, because it is transparent, it shows dirt easily and in fact feels grimy in spots from accumulated filth. However, in clean spots it is very smooth and cool to the touch. The installation is very complex and was most likely designed as a whole on CAD or some similar application. It would be nearly impossible to design on paper, though models of certain sections would be possible. It is even expected that many tests were done into the material to see how it could be shaped and molded to achieve the desired effect. This effect appears to be a study into the evolution of flat into bold, slabs into curves, and how it affects the lighting, backdrop, and perspective of the site. The key word here is “evolution” and in fact that is what the installation’s name should be. It starts out at a flat tail, a slow start of sorts, and then explodes, just like life has in the past, to become this multi-surfaced, many-lined array of curves and surfaces that life today can be equated to. It even in some places, though admittedly maybe not intentionally, resembles the helix and even the double-helix, a shape that has become near synonymous with DNA, the building block of life and evolution. The installation also tells the end of life, as it rises above the column that is meant to represent the peak of evolution, then it dies, as all life will one day. That is the essence of this installation. It evolves. It dies. Installation Two The second installation is first and foremost a bench for people to sit on. It is made of a lightly-colored wood and divided into two main sections. The first section, at the bottom, is the actual bench portion. It consists of thick, curved boards of wood that are fastened together to create a surface on which to sit. The bottom is anchored to the ground in the front by a leg of sorts that extends the length of the bench. The back of the bench is three stories tall and made up of many thin beams of wood that are secured to the back of the bench and anchored in the ground and in a curved portion on the third floor. The beams are mostly independent of each other, but in certain places there are metal rods with nuts that bind several beams together or simply skew them to great gently-bent gaps in the onslaught of beams. The beams themselves are layered pieces of wood, which can be seen from a side view of them. Other than this layered side, the entire installation is very smooth and polished. The whole thing was probably made from the ground up, with beams installed one by one, story by story. The anchor on the third floor was presumably installed last. The bench portion at the bottom is shaped like a single-curve chair, while the back supporting beams of wood are shaped like a waterfall of sorts. As the beams rise into the air, they twist over the railing of the second floor and get closer to the main exterior wall of the atrium. They then rise even higher to the third floor setback in the atrium, where they twist completely over it and end in an anchor on the third floor. The entire installation is nearly three stories tall. The bench and the beams are very expansive in width, with the bench able to seat many people at once. However, the depth of the bench is only a few feet, while the depth of the beams is less than a foot. This depth is never an issue though, and even serves the chair’s design well as the thin boards move up and twist gracefully with the floor setbacks. There are little opportunities for long, cast shadows because of the installation’s location in the atrium of a building, but also because it faces a south window where a direct source of light from the sun is a rarity. However, on the second and third floors, after the curved setbacks of the wooden beams, there is enough sunlight to cast some very deep and lasting shadows. Since the installation is constructed of wood, it probably expands and contracts some with temperature changes, though it is in an enclosed atrium so this change in physics is relatively nominal or perhaps even negligible. Since it is wood it responds a lot to moisture though, so even though it may be treated to resist warping and splitting, it would still be unadvisable to expose the installation to high levels of moisture in the air. Wood also has the ability to absorb sound relatively well, so the installation probably dampens some sound in the atrium. The principal motivation for designing and constructing this installation was most likely the need for a good seating area in the atrium. However, it seems equally likely that it was motivated by the empty space in the west side of the atrium that would have previously existed. Its wooden beams’ motion upward is set to and inspired by the setbacks of the second and third story platforms. It might also be motivated by the need to balance the atrium. On the east side of the atrium is a large, multi-story staircase, while on the west side there is nothing. In existing, it serves to make the atrium less lopsided. The shape of the installation seems partially inspired by the movement of air and water. The creators probably experimented with the flow of fluids heavily in designing this installation, as well as with different types of wood to find one that was easy enough to bend and shape for the vertical beams, yet strong and sturdy enough for the bench portion. Their choices make this installation denote a strong sense of flow, such as that of a waterfall or air current. However, it would be incorrect to call it one of these as these suggest an entity that flows in only one direction. The installation seems to ascend upwards and cascade downwards at the same time. It should therefore be called the “Cascading Ascension” to better show its multi-directional flow. Because of this dual motion, the installation wants nothing more than to reach the heavens and the ground below. It is divided though and seems unable to reach either, so it contents at staying in an atrium and allowing people to sit on it. Link to this Page
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