TIME

Architecture Portfolio 2008

2008-12-08T11:13:00.001-08:00

Infill Proposal

2007-07-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Case Studies

2007-07-09T23:23:00.000-07:00

Santa Maria Del Mar Cathedral
The visual weight of Santa Maria Del Mar is immediately apparent upon entering, becoming a testament of time. The repetition of ribbed vaulting throughout the cathedral define the architecture.

Shadehouse
The Shadehouse is interesting because of its varying layers of context between the superstructure, and the trees inside. A figure offers a perspective of the visual impact from within. Sunlight and visibility become key elements in this study.

Barcelona Pavilion
This case study is focused on the impact of simple rectilinear elements combined with varying opacities in any given space. One begins to analyze the degree of openness versus enclosure, and to what extent walls are needed to satisfy that objective.

Park Guell
Antonio Gaudi was known for imitating forms from nature and imposing them into his architecture. This study draws from elements in the park that have distinct similarities in form, trying to gather an understanding of his construction technique, and in turn, rationalizing such modes.

Solar Molecules

2006-12-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

Through the process of studying solar energy, its absorption and irradiance on the earth’s surface as a formal investigation, I’ve begun to define global areas for which to make architectural propositions. In the beginning phase of mapping this invisible condition, I gathered base maps from which to interpret data. This information was then put into a 3D modeling program to explore the limits that such a condition could create. Surfaces were created from both solar absorption and irradiated energy, now giving form to the map in three dimensions. I kept my focus on the belt of energy flowing through the equator, and noticed a contrast developing between the two surfaces from which I created new sites to develop on that I call transmission archipelagos.
I chose to address the issue of energy conservation and sustainability. Moving forward with this idea I’ve chosen to use the new transmission archipelagos I’ve created to act as Megastations for gathering and converting solar energy and transmitting that energy to specific locations across the globe.
My research has shown me that energy consumption is predominant (compared to the rest of the world) in the United States, China, and other areas throughout Europe. Through my mapping I’ve noticed that a lot of the sun’s energy coming into our atmosphere lands in areas where little energy is being consumed, therefore I propose distributing energy collected in these areas to areas where large consumption is taking place. The final solar mapping image displays this information for us visually.
After defining the site I moved forward to investigate ways to effectively define my proposal and even the context that it would occupy. I first thought of forms able to be occupied in the water in areas located within the transmission archipelagos, but the idea seemed to deviate from the research I had done. I then chose to take the archipelagos I created and move them upward into the sky, allowing them to be suspended high in the air in the clouds, and further. Based on some of the research I had reviewed on projects such as Buckminister Fuller’s Cloud nine and the Matrioshka Brain, I became intrigued with suspended and free-floating architecture. Fuller’s floating geodesic domes act as large hot-air balloons, being suspended in the air and tethered to an area on the ground. He calculated that the structure on the outside would weigh approximately one thousandth the amount of air trapped inside the dome. As the temperature inside is raised, it creates a lifting effect that makes the form buoyant. Another article I reviewed discusses harnessing wind power by tossing blimp-like structures in the air, or tethered windmills in the jet stream. These become intriguing to me because it brings rise to the complexity of air streams and the various possibilities of occupying our atmosphere.
Moving forward with the design of my proposal, I envisioned the archipelagos as a multitude of objects defining the entire form of the transmission archipelagos from the inside out, like a point cloud. These objects I now form are spherical in shape move around freely within the transmission archipelagos, continuously moving.

Since the objects are constantly moving, the surfaces remain in constant contact with the sun’s rays. Photovoltaic technology will benefit from this and the surface of the newly formed solar molecules will be covered with photovoltaic panels, becoming Mega photovoltaic farms. Energy gathered from the surfaces will be directed to its core, where it will be converted into microwaves and transmitted to microwave stations on the earth’s surface, where it will then be converted back into usable electricity.

The spherical form takes advantage of the energy both absorbed and irradiated back into the atmosphere in the site. The “solar molecules” appear as cloud-like forms across the sky, continuing its language across the earth. Being that the solar molecules are not bounded by a mesh or type of netting, I imagine them having magnetic properties, maintaining an attraction that keeps them grouped.

all original illustrations and models

image progess

2006-12-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am focusing my efforts on models and images now. I've been able to define the space of the transmission clouds within the interior almost as a point cloud. Now, instead of an object with only the exterior surface defined, the form is created from the inside-out. These free-floating objects react as molecules do and move around inside the cloud undisturbed. Each spherical object is clad with solar panels, creating the solar farms as its skin.

inside trasmission archipelago

Detail
Scaled against a Boeing 767

Reaching for the Sun

2006-11-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Proposal

My research on solar activity on the earth's surface which also correllates with the atmospheric temperature, health issues such as skin conditions, and land surface conditions around the globe. My research has led me to develop new land formations which I call Transmission Archipelagos. I propose that these new typologies respond to energy conservation as well as provide some type of shade for areas where heat can be unbearable and land is dry. In order for these new typologies to maximize their efficiency and not collide with other programs in existing cities and countries, they will occupy the vertical atmospheric environment.

Since these archipelagos will be floating, I have to take into account the size of their shadow created according to their height above the earth's surface, making sure that sunlight is still able to reach the earth's surface in ways to feed the vegetation.

Program

1. Photovoltaic farms
2. Transmit and receive
3. Sun shade device

The new forms created will use warm air streams to help stay aloft, like hot air balloons. The skin of these forms will be animated in such a way that it responds to the angle of the sun and follows its path as the day moves from morning to night- a hyperbody constantly changing. The skin, I propose, will utilize photovoltaic technology to gather the sun's energy and convert it into usuable electricity. Once converted, energy travels to the nearest transmitting device on the transmission archipelago, then the energy is transferred via radiowaves or microwaves to receiving stations at ground level.
The new floating surface designed to collect energy will also serve as shading devices, lowering temperature and the amount of UV rays that reach the earth's surface. The only problem with this idea, as indicated in the idea of anti-sun umbrellas, is that sunlight is vital to all life and therefore should not be completely blocked from inhabitants below. I either think the surface style being translucent might be a solution, or the "smart surface" be controlled by satellite to open like blinds to let sunlight pass through.

The Site

The site for my architectural propositions are located in the boundaries of the Transmission Archipelagos

Conceptual images of floating transmission archipelagos

original illustrations

developing form

2006-11-15T13:45:00.000-08:00

To adhere to the ideas I've been moving forward with, I've decided to use previous forms to derive my first architectural conception. The form was creating using the lines from the transmission archipelago that lies over the northern tip of Africa. More forms would be produced in this similar manor and would be located all along the globe in conjunction with transmission archipelagos. The forms are free-floating, with the surface clad in solar panels. I see the skin of this form acting as a solar envelope, with progam spaces underneath. I plan to use my mapping section to strategically define my program spaces within the interior

Emerging Solar Nations

2006-11-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

We are affected everyday by thousands of invisible entities that travel through the atmosphere, dissipating as they make their way towards the surface of the earth. These are solar rays, whether they be the UV rays that effect our skin conditions, or the infrared rays that warm our atmosphere, we are in constant contact. With this premise, I've decided to give some sort of physicality or form to solar energy to better understand its location, and how the energy can be harnessed using devices such as photovoltaic arrays.
The series of maps that follow revolve around energy usage in the world. I've made a list of countries, based upon their total Btu consumption, to see where most of our energy is being consumed.

After overlaying the heat absorption surface over the Btu consumption map, it showed me that the areas most affected by solar energy lie in areas where not much energy is being used. I propose that energy should be gathered using mega photovoltaic farms in areas of high solar heat gain, then tranfer the energy via microwaves or radio waves to areas in the world that have more need of the energy.

The image below shows new land formations from the intersection of aborbed and irradiated solar energy, creating what I call Transmission Colonies. These new archipelagos serve the purpose of collected energy from the photovoltaic farms and transmitting it around the world.
The other land formations are formed using the countries of high Btu consumption then trimming the heat absorption surface at their intersections, creating Heat Archipelagos. These archipelagos are where the photovoltaic farms will be located, gathering the suns energy and converting it into usable electricity, then fed to the Transmission Colonies.

Final solar map construction

(above) Section of final map
The following maps are created for the "new world" using the parameters from the newly developed archipelagos. The maps consist of analyses on climatic conditions, population densities, and typologies, and nightcaps of the world.
(below) new world map showing climatic conditions in location of archipelagos

The climate map indicates the most of the areas revealed in the new world are predominately arid with scattered tropical wetlands. Since the surface conditions vary, this will help me to respond structurally.

Image below showing lights at night

The illumination at night shows us specific densities in various countries of energy being used at night. Although China is the second (behind the US) in energy use, it seems that the night time is not as active as Spain and Germany, for instance. This in turn would lead me to suggest that the energy distribution has variability from day to night.

Solar Mapimation

2006-10-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

articulating animations

2006-10-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here is an animation showing the two in transition

10.16 mapimation

2006-10-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

So far I've got some interesting forms developing from the information i'm using to create my datascapes. The mapimation will consist of 2 primary surfaces that describe solar radiation both absorbed and irradiated. as an investigation of the surface potential, I have trim/split the two surfaces, creating many separate surfaces where the two intersected. I think that I am going to try to have the surfaces undulate between one another, then split up and condense themselves to the boundaries of the continents, showing the final relation of this condition at a global scale.
Another idea is to somehow escape the boundaries of the continents and morph into some abstract creation as the second image suggests. This would create a new spatial conditions and be much more interesting in my opinion as a mapimation, not just a tracing.

keyframe 1: Two datascapes intersecting one another

layers split up and set and varying levels

keyframe 2: imposing continents onto the surface

absorbed vs. reflected

2006-10-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

These images show surface displacements according to the amount of radiation being absorbed and reflected onto the earth. The data produced in 3 dimensions has created an interesting topography which cuts through the atmosphere above the surface of the earth.

Click here to see the surfaces transform.

Red represents absorbtion/ yellow represents reflected

The map of the earth is rendered undernearth with a slight transparency to show scale and spatial relations

final animation in progress

2006-10-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

animation in progress...

In this beginning stage, radiation from the sun is represented by red balls of energy that fall and collide with each other, collecting and dispersing energy as they make their way down to the surface. The idea is to find a way to best describe the dispertion of energy across the surface of the earth. Some resulting information I am looking for is the flux that is produced on the surface and the connections produced (whether they are visual peaks of energy or connecting areas of absorbtion). This animation is still in its beginning phases. The metaballs tool proved to be a valuable and effective visual aid used to describe the spread of energy I was looking for. I plan to map the irradiation of solar heat as well, and apply a negative weight, so that it has opposing effects on the positive absorbative metaballs, creating a clash of energy in the atmosphere as well.

original illustration

metaballs released

areas with highest concentrations

The sun's power causes many effects to our earth that we are becoming more commonly aware of, such as ozone depletion, that mappings such as these will help to evaluate such conditions for further development. I am interested the locations of holes in the ozone and how the solar energy impacts the surrounding areas, then comparing that information with previously gathered data. Sun spots and solar flares are more things we are affected by. Solar flares fluctuate annually and cause electronic disturbances in things like cell phones. I am interested in gathering information such as this along with the impact of solar energy, evaluating them individually and side-by-side for spatial formations and similarites in information, then possibly overlaying all the data to create a unique map or mapimation that will hopefully display new spatial conditions for design.

sample animation

2006-10-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

this basic animation is to show the approach i'll be taking towards my mapimation. The larger sphere represents the sun releasing its energy, and the tiny balls that fall outward will combine and separate accordingly (using the morphing tool to do this) and fall to their designated locations on the globe. Since my topic is on radiance and solar energy, i plan to push that in my mapping with translucent layers, lights, glowing, etc... This exercise was made with path, morphing, and fly-through animations.

Mega Urbanism in China

2006-10-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Countries like China are evolving at such an incredible rate its breath-taking. The urban environment is constantly changing. City plans are developed in kilometers at a time, and skyscrapers are basically "stamped" onto the cities footprints because they've become so fundamental. "The Chinese city seems to develop into the direction of the `generic city’, “…nothing but a reflection of present need and present ability. [..] If it gets too small, it just expands. If it gets old, it just self-destructs and renews.”

China has made much progress in urban development in the past 25 years. They now have some of the tallest skyscrapers, biggest malls, fastest trains, and biggest dams in the world.

The Mekong River is one of the largest rivers in the world. This image shows the Mekong River along with 7 proposed hydropower dams represented by red dots. Four out of Seven have already been realized, with the other three still in their planning stages. The hydropower dams will continue to direct the development of habitation around the river, for example, further continuing China's spread outwards
the Mekong dams will benefit downstream countries, by storing water in the rainy season to reduce flooding and releasing it when needed in the dry season...” (6). According to David Jezeph, chief of Water and Mineral Resources at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

The rapid growth of cities like Beijing also reduce the quality of living. The worlds largest amount of nitrogen dioxide pollution has been recorded hanging over Beijing and Northeast China.

Some of these effects make me speculate the need for such an urban growth in cities such as this. How is the character of the city upheld and how is the culture still present. What kind of impact will the contiuous increase of hydropower dams in China have on the air quality? As the quote earlier suggests, are the development of such large city footprints making new cities more "general."

radiant energy

2006-10-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

for my mapimations, i plan to continue my exploration in solar energy and focus on the absorbtion and irradiation of solar energy and its effects. I think some interesting maps might include not only the visible spectrum of the sunlight, but also ultraviolet and infrared rays as well. How can we interpret these invisible rays impacting the earth's surface and and develop and design in correlation to that data? There seems to be a sort of "belt of heat, or absorbsion across the surface of the earth where the equator is located. The image below shows both the absorption of heat (left) and the irradiance of heat (right) on the earth's surface.

altered image

This is an attempt at a mapping of various intensites of heat absorbed across the earth's surface.

original illustration

9.20.06

2006-09-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

So far today, we have finished assembling the foam pieces thanks to the help of all the girls. We managed to cut some of the outside ribs of masonite also, but we ran into some slight problems with the joints in them, nothing a little sanding won't fix though. Everyone has been working real well together, accomplishing different tasks at one time. Katy and Nate are busy resolving the logo/graphics for the lucite, which we have ready to get cutting. I'm pretty excited- its coming along nicely.

our first fully assembled outside masonite rib

Some thought the eagle might add character to the unit...(mandi)

coming along...

2006-09-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

detail of lucite

Photovoltaic arrays

2006-09-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

In this study, I am exploring the potential for solar panels/photovoltaic arrays and their application on a human scale, a building scale, and even the scale of the earth. Sustainability is a key subject now that we as architects must be concerned with.
Photovoltaic arrays can be arranged in a number of ways to integrate itself into a buildings design. Solar photovoltaic panels contain arrays of solar cells that convert light into electricity. Solar cells, or PV cells, rely on the photovoltaic effect, which describes how certain materials can convert sunlight into electricity to absorb the energy of the sun and cause current to flow between two oppositely charged layers. Individual solar cells provide a relatively small amount of power, but electrical output is significant when connected together as an array making up a panel.

These solar panels have the potential to be used as something more than just add-ons to a building, they can become the skin of the building. The image below shows the spread of solar radiation over the surface of the country. Parts like Arizona seem to have the most impact of the suns energy on its surface, so strategically placing the panels in an area such as this would maximize energy conservation and reduce the consumption of other forms of energy. One proposal of this was to create mega fields of solar panels located in desolate regions whose sole purpose would be to gather energy, then at night the energy would conceptually be transferred to nearby cities such as Los Angeles. As astonishing as it sounds, in 40 minutes of daylight the sun releases upon the earth the amount of energy that is consumed by the entire population of the planet in one year. Each day more solar energy falls to the Earth than the total amount of energy the planet's 6 billion inhabitants would consume in 27 years. Currently, we harness about 1% of this energy.

Todays solar cells are typically made of silicon, with an efficiency of around 4 to 5 percent. Studies are now being conducted to produce new solar cells using other materials such as plastic
, which could provide an efficiency of up to 15 percent in the future.

On a larger scale, one of the most interesting concepts is to introduce solar panels into outer space to collect the suns energy. Several engineers have proposed placing large solar panel farms, the size of Texas, onto the surface of the moon to gather as much "free" solar energy as possible. The energy would be beamed back to the earth vvia microwaves. Complex megastructures such as the Matrioshka brain are being considered for interstellar placement. This mega device would be placed closer to the sun, near Venus or Mars,to gather more energy.

This image shows a comparison of a farm of photovoltaic arrays the size of Texas on the moon.

original illustration

9.13.06

2006-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a productive day. We've really gotten a grasp of the full-scale model today and it seems to work rather well. We all split up tasks today, some working on the full scale model, some on a possible seat construction, and others working digitally and refining details in earlier models. I think now we are looking to fine-tune the design and move away from this project soon. I look forward to working more in a graphic nature and investigating further potential of architecture, and how we can apply this in a mega-scale as we've been researching

thoughts 9.11.06

2006-09-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today we've hit yet another brick wall it seems. We've managed to come together and synthesize our ideas into one project, which is great. I felt pretty good about this one, but it seems that we've aimed too high. The issue for us as a group now is to work within a given restraints (budget, personal criteria, time) to make this unit that will best suit our needs. We were all pretty stuck today on where to move because we don't want to backtrack and waste time. I think we realized today that we've analyzed the structure and make-up of this project, but now we have to run some tests to see if what we are being is actually comfortable and whether it accomplishes its given task. I have also been thinking of other ways to approach the design ( are the sides merely faces, or can their surfaces be altered in a way that they maintain our previous studies while offering something more?/ Is the unit one solid, or can it be segmented to offer variance?) of the unit, given all the things we've learned so far. I think we're on the right track with this project and I hope to see a resolution that we can be proud of.

SUMO

2006-09-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

From the previous session, we've progressed towards a single design. We all agreed that the portability of the rolling cylinder was most effective, and we combined that with the complex curves of the free-standing unit from the other group.

The unit, now called SUMO (Self-contained Unit for Mega-communicative-occupancy), is accessible from two sides, making it able to be occupied by two people simultaneously. The curves of our structure conform to the body and wrap around it, making the surface a dynamic element in this project. The structure will be made primarily of wood as we see it now, but cost might cause us to pursue other solutions. We propose the use of high density foam, sandwiched between the plywood ribs to reduce noise and to increase its strength. Other areas of the design have been explored as well. The outside panels of the SUMO will be paneled with a semi-transparent material (plexi, lexan). Being that the panel is pretty large, we will probably apply the text to the surface.

Ergo-proposal

2006-09-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

In this proposal, we have chosen two simple shapes that fit the basic needs of one person. The egg shape will serve as the primary seating and it will be plugged into the rectangular shape that will then enclose the person. The primary method of the chair construction will be egg-crating, thus allowing easy adaptation when needed. Both the egg crate and the rectangular form will be constructed out of wood. The exterior of the egg will then have equally spaced openings that will be perfect to plug in the insulation for a sound barrier. The insulation will be exposed allowing others to touch it at will, creating an intriguing surface for the exterior of the egg. We propose that the egg be removable from the box so that a person could let him or herself in and out easily. The egg will be locked into place and zipped into the box from the inside by the person, then he or she can turn around and have a conversation with someone else on the video screen with no outside distractions. We chose to take the idea of inflation and apply it to both the outside of the box and the inside of the egg. The air bubbles will penetrate the exterior surface of the box, creating an appealing surface that pushes the idea of comfort from the inside to the outside. We see others wanting to experience the surface and even lean on it if they desire. The inside of the box will allow for two different seating positions: one lying in the egg shape and another sitting at the edge of the egg seat with the weight of the person distributed to the knees, relieving tension from the lower back. While sitting on this kneeling chair, the pod can be unzipped, leaving an opening for group communication.

Ergonomics

2006-09-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

For this new assignment we were given the task to develop an enclosed space for one person to occupy. Mandi and I chose to study the ergo-dynamics of the design. We first approached the assignment at a basic level, defining what ergonomics is as well as material choice to allow the unit to be portable. Ergonomics is defined as an understanding of not only the physical interactions between a person and their surroundings but a psychological one as well. We first thought of the physical nature of someone in an enclosed space and a work area integrated into that. At the moment, some of our ideas seem a little confined and broad even, so we decided to analyze specific aspects of the design such as:

Adjustability/Versatility- the height of the useable interior space. How the positioning of one body can be altered to incorporate technology (audio, video, laptop, etc...). We researched the idea of static vs. dynamic body positions. We thought about possibly configuring an opening or a surface that would restrict a persons movement, versus having a surface that would allow a series of body positions. For construction in the interior space, a series of contours could be stacked vertically and covered in a skin, which has the possibly of being fixed or rotated to create a different position or offer veriability.

Another idea is that the contours could be slid or shifted in a horizontal direction which could be tightened into place. To achieve a static, but comfortable position, a solution is to construct a "kneeling chair," which is minimal, eliminates stress when sitting for long periods of time, and could easily be combined with the other components of the booth.

Materials- this concept effects the weight and mobility of the unit, level of comfort inside, controlling the amount of noise/noise barriers, supporting the body, defining the space, and impacting the occupant on a visual level. Materials we found that would accommodate the body, be lightweight, and serve as some sort of insulation are: foam creations, which allow for versatility of shape, size, light; inflatable plastic is another light idea that is easily adaptable, such as bubble wrap. We could mass produce small inflatable bubbles that can be shaped in any way in the portable unit, or the unit itself could be created with a system of inflatable structures. We also thought of making three variations of this that would accommodate three different body sizes. These three "packages" could be zipped up and stored inside the unit. This also follows the idea of portablity. We thought that this thing could be deflated and packaged for ease of mobility and inflated in another place.

Psychological effects- ergonomic design determines not only body positions, but comfort sensation, and perception. Elements as simple as choice of material color or smell can effect the mood and performance of a person. Color psychology can be used in combination with aromatherapy to heighten the senses and productivity. For example, red hues are said to increase bodily tension and stimulate the autonomic nervous system and cool hues are said to release tension. Aromatherapy can be an alternative of medicine because of its psychology of odors and their effects on the mind. Studies show that the oils of certain plants have stimulating or relaxing effects. Blends are 100% natural and can do things from enhanceing memory and concentration to relieving stress.

These are all a combination of ideas we've explored and would like to incorporate into the design process

Thoughts 9.1.06

2006-09-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

So far the studio has proven to be a little more than what I had expected. I think that everyone in the class is working well together to generate ideas and to work through them, but there seems to be some misdirection in the air for me. I feel good about the case studies so far, and the feedback I've gotten from my professor, Ron, that has been helped refine my research and productivity. The communication is still an issue for me. The skype chat we had on wednesday seemed to work, but it got very confusing to try and read everyones input at once and really understand it before the next person chimed in. I just think I work better if I verbally talk through my ideas sometimes because they come so quickly through my mind, its hard to grab the right one at a given time. I'm glad to see that we are all able to communicate our ideas more articulately. Maybe these chats are what I need to sharpen my skills as a writer. I look forward to trying other ways to communicate. As far as studio prospects, I'm anxious to see how these megablog entries play into our design for the semester projects.

Arcology

2006-08-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Arcology is a term coined by Soleri which for the most part exists only conceptually. It is basically a move away from the idea of urban sprawl, where people scatter out in every direction, taking up as much space as needed. This type of habitation is very isolated to the individuals because they have all the space they need, and interaction with others is fairly indifferent in comparison to Soleri's idea of arcology. A few experiments have taken place in Arcosanti. It is an extremely large building able to hold up to 5000 residents, and maintain its own internal ecology. This proposal by Soleri is to help minimize overpopulation and environmental degradation since they reduce the footprint of a city. Soleri comments on the issue of megastructures, saying the his arcology is physically a "mini" not a "mega." He states that "the city of Phoenix is truly a megastructure. In his book, he defines a city as being axial versus one of casualness. The axial approach shows growth in the vertical direction, emphasizing the need for development in that direction. In the wake of vertical development, energy is directed radially outwards. While continuing to grow organically, the city maintains its original axis in the city center. The other approach described in his book is casualness, basically relating to the idea of urban sprawl.
The city is broken up with little or no congruency. much of the land is taken up because of growth moving mostly in the horizontal direction. His diagram shows overlapping city aspects that seem to collide, creating a destructive energy. He regards this development as indifferent and careless.

Soleri's schemes for Arcosanti evolve from a city built with a single, all-encompassing structure to assemblies that grow incrementally. The Hyper Building is an example of one of those assemblies.

One of Soleri's concepts, called Babeldiga, lays in conjunction to both a cliff and water reservoir to maintain an internal ecology within the city, while the cliff acts as a supporting structure for the immense polygonal forms. Soleri imagines the city with both natural and man-made topographies. The layers develop vertically to create a variety of boundaries as well as a multitude of environments, catering to the needs of the dwellers. Two of the three "Babels" bear directly into the dam, adding weight and stability to its structure. The total complex can be said to be a city in the water where it is nested in the mountain. The dam acts as a source for power. It also serves as the main horizontal axis.
This particular arcology incorporates all necessities for people to live and function properly. It seems to have even more alterity with water proposed as another possible means of habitation.
The photo below shows a comparison of Toronto and Soleri's Babeldiga. Toronto's current population is approximately 500,000, while the Babeldiga holds an estimated 1.2 million people. The footprint occupies around the same area, but the Babeldiga takes advantage of both horizontal and vertical space to optimize the experience in a human scale within immense ecological locations such as cliff-sides, deserts, canyons, etc...
I would like to speculate on the idea of habitation and ecology to the point of a synthesis between both the building and its environment. This would make the building even more permanent to where, over time, it merges into the environment and becomes indistinguishable as just a building, but more as an entity in the landscape.

Diving IN!!

2006-08-25T11:35:00.001-07:00

Being that this is my last year, I expect a lot of things. I find the new virtual studio an interesting concept and I am prepared to challenge myself to make the situation beneficial and to also examine alternate means of communication. I took this studio primarily to further develop my skills in a digital environment and to communicate those ideas in an effective manor in precise graphic representations. I think this class will revolve around new technology, and I hope to integrate both that and other forms of media to materialize my ideas into something powerful.

These past few years have taken me a long way in my concept of design and exploration. My semester studying abroad in Barcelona helped to open my eyes to radical ideas. I also learned how things such as culture, politics, demographics, etc... effect architecture. My goal is to explore all of these angles to develop a well-informed project that I can be proud to put into my portfolio.