Month: November 2015

These are just four of the many photos taken of the ground and mass combined. They were professionally shot then inserted in photoshop to replace the background and clean up the lines and intersections.

The many perspectives prominently display the interaction between the massing and the ground. There are many points where they intersect and other points where there is a substantial gap.

The figure of my indexical diagram  became my physical massing and the field became my ground. In my diagram the spaces in between the irregular forms were just as important as the forms themselves. I therefore exaggerated the spaces in between the bars, often creating hovering interstitial space. The ground, like my grids in the indexical, had very regular orthogonal lines, while the mass provided the irregular grid with curving lines, creating this contrast of grids.

The solid-void relationship was not only seen in the interstitial spaces created but also in how the ends of the bars were resolved. Each bar was either closed off or open, demonstrated by the white or brown chipboard. The figure-ground relationship was defined by the intersection of bars with the ground or the hovering and spaces created between the mass and the ground.

 

Project: J-House

Architect(s): AEDS Architects

Year: 2011-Present

Location: New Orleans, LA

This project was approached as limitless and as an opportunity to study the possibilities, as opposed to restrictions. It was designed to be ten feet of the ground  in a restricted lot size. The lifting of the structure was a practical measure. Due to New Orleans frequent flooding, this house would be ineffective.

This  project still under construction features two 10x20x80 feet tubes. Each tube is rotated 90 degrees from one end to the other. The  allows for structural support with a minimum support from the foundation. The twisting and combination of tubes generates a space under the house that allows for views through the site. On the roof level the twisting generates a diagonal skylight.

While this house was generated to explore possibilities and innovative techniques of design it is also rooted in the culture of New Orleans. The J‐House was inspired by the shot‐gun house typically seen in a New Orleans home.

The house is made out of steel structure that is prefabricated and assembled on site. The exterior skin composed of charred cedar planks.

I chose this house because it exemplified the dynamism seen in my own model. Although it only consist of two intersecting bars, where mine has six, it still portrays what I was envisioning for the interior of my home. The J-house is not constructed of linear bars that would create a static structure, but of twisting and distorted bars much like mine. It also sits a top the ground above a void which is also similar to my modeled ground.

Overall I think this is a fantastic project that compromises aesthetic and design with functionality in New Orleans.

The ground was also made using the same technical skill as the Mass. I used chip board as well as tacky glue to create a three-demential ground that the Mass rests on.

There are three levels to the ground: raised, flat-ground, and sub-ground. The raised ground, sitting atop the flat-ground, is built of rectangular bars scored into triangular facets. The flat ground acts as a transition space between the raised and the sub-ground. There are two sub-ground voids that create depth. These triangular voids are attached to the raised and flat-ground by receding walls.

I also made sure that the ground, like the field  in the indexical, had very regular orthogonal lines.