Structural mutation arises from the networking of the load distribution. Traditionally this evolved into the evenly balanced and symmetrical forms found in cathedral architecture. The arches sustain vaulting heights with the device of the pointed arch, so as to accommodate differing spans of the geometries of the church plan. From the roman barrel vault, mass is replaced as a load-bearing agent in ribbed domes that allow for a floating tent-like affect, performing as a system of frame and infill. This was done with great panache in the high gothic cathedrals, displaying a full array the intricacies of the networking shown in stellar vaulting.
The epitome of load efficiency was achieved in Gaudi's Sagrada Familia where a catenary system of weights informed the eventual form. It is however in Michelangelo's St Peter's dome that we see the play in destabilizing tension and compression forces, where by the ribbed arches are so tightly constricted at the base with the double column-pilasters that the oculus threatened to burst apart. He had to introduce the heavy lantern at the crown to cap off and weigh down the explosive force that was generated.
I seek to fabricate a system whereby different gravities in space act upon the structure to test the mutations of the cell, also in doing so, that the affect of extreme build up and tension be produced.
1 comment:
Raina,
Your midterm work has yielded you with a wonderful collection of raw material to take your project beyond the lab and into the ecosystem of architecture.
Start by reorganizing your massing. bring the clusters together into one connected mass. This will provide the need to provide the connective tissue between the different clusters which could be a good opportunity to test several mutations of the skin/muscle cells. I think that your scale is working well, now it is time to articulate the cells to provide a rhythm of scales from the intimate (touch) to the Awful (in the sense of being full of awe). micro scale mutations in the cells can produce decoration and affect.
The landscaping techniques you are using are working well. You should spend some time analyzing and redeploying them more strategically while reorganizing the mass. Use the landscape as a scale of interconnection and communication of the cell clusters.
Deliteralize your use of color, color can be much more complex and nuanced than just simply denoting different elements. consider the material properties of the elements, if the skin is white, then is it also transparent, how much, how much color bleeds into the skin, how much light is trapped, changing the color. bone has a white to yellowish color, but in an organism it never exists alone. Bone is covered by muscle, the interior produces our blood, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, flesh, and skin all attach to or encounter the bone. blurring the boundary of separated color producing a rich mix.
Clarify the gap between the aggressive, almost violent behavior of the cells in their individual search for life and their much more tame and gentle appearance in the accumulated form.
"I seek to fabricate a system whereby different gravities in space act upon the structure to test the mutations of the cell, also in doing so, that the affect of extreme build up and tension be produced."
please rework this statement. write it in your voice, be more specific about the mutations that you will test, what the multiple gravities (forces) will be, what is the build up/tension, does it come from the form, geometry, density, rhythm, structure, forces? this is a bit of a trick question as these elements are all related and all necessary for the evolution of your species into architecture. understanding the balance and interaction among them is very important to the clarity of your goal. Also, i do not think that the work "fabricate" is saying
what you want, in the sense of design it is wither a method of production or coming dangerously close to contrived composition.
Robert
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