USC Architecture Xpo
We were working with materiality this semester. My projects uses wood as the main material and uses that in many different ways. Project 2 uses the wood studs, plywood and drywall as ways to manipulate the transparency and privacy of each area in the classroom. The city-like kindergarten in project 3 could give more space for the children to play around and not restricted by the fixed function of the space.
Centering on the LA School’s infatuation with the reveal of the material and structural systems behind everyday architecture, this projects seeks to reconsider the material and structural systems of the shed and of conventional LA architecture as functional elements in the context of a kindergarten. By suspending and elevating the bow truss structure, a new completely flexible space can exist below, while above it, a catwalk space exclusively for children allows them to play and relax independently. In place of conventional walls, transparent, flexible and movable systems allow for a hyper-flexible and adaptable program design that is simultaneously made more functional. The result is a space reminiscent of a construction site or a complex machine, with suspended and moving parts, where children’s curiosity is promoted through reinterpreted materials and an open space, without being an obstacle to them.
This semester concentrated my focus on the role of mechanics in architecture and its ability to create change and ephemeral spaces. My investigation of integrating the machine in architecture applied ideas of kinetic objects (floating panels, sliding walls, and elevating offices) that facilitate multi-functioning spaces. Implementing these ideas in a school adopts a unique perspective on teaching and architecture, encouraging learning through change where dialogue between user and space serves a function and as education.
In this project, I took on ideas from two precedents, the Jorgensen House by Frederick Fisher and the Sawtooth Shed, to push the boundaries of how we think material, specifically CMU, can be used in an educational setting. The various scales and materials (cement, plywood, plastic, and pillow) of CMU are implemented to imply space in an open plan and the constant theme of fragmentation for this kindergarten scheme. The scale ranges from being tiny building blocks like legos for the kids to stack, to being occupiable spaces that the kids can find sanctuary or privacy in. In the overall form of the different rooms, CMU becomes the non-essential form when the walls abruptly transition into stucco. We see CMU being the essential building block for the interactivity of the space, but not be used as an integral foundation of the structure. Each material, scale, and color difference denotes the various types of interactive learning that happens within each room.
I created a repeating pattern that, rather than defining the Kindergarten as a set of closed rooms, could read much more open-ended. The repeating pattern indicates changes in the ground, in terms of material and height. The tapestry on the ground allowed for levels of stacking to occur, creating a subtle topographical map. While the Kindergarten lacks definitive boundaries, the built-up and -down forms rather imply enclosed space. Additionally, the exploration into this repetitive geometry and its resultant system opens up the possibility of an expansive and continuous space that is non-hierarchical.
The studio investigated the work of the ‘LA School,’ specifically in terms of how materiality and form has evolved in Los Angeles, a city with a history of experimental architecture that has leveraged the misuse and deconstruction of anonymous, industrial, and non-conventional material assemblies to challenge architectural typologies and programmatic relationships. By taking stock of the how these architects have leveraged economic and fiscal constraints, the shrewd manipulation and deployment of materials in a slipshod fashion acts as the historical background for the studio’s attitude toward materiality and form. The final project is an adaptive re-use of an industrial shed into a kindergarten, understood as a space that primarily must engender play, as it has been considered as a particular attitude toward material that can be traced throughout the semester, and throughout work by L.A. School architects.
This studio investigates materiality and its representation. Using both the built work and projective drawings of architects associated with the “L.A. School” as a precedent for material experimentation, the studio explores attitudes toward materiality through a series of speculative transformations and design proposals. The final design project is the adaptive reuse of a typical L.A. industrial shed for a small educational space.
The studio investigated the work of the ‘LA School,’ specifically in terms of how materiality and form has evolved in Los Angeles, a city with a history of experimental architecture that has leveraged the misuse and deconstruction of anonymous, industrial, and non-conventional material assemblies to challenge architectural typologies and programmatic relationships. By taking stock of how these architects have leveraged economic and fiscal constraints, the shrewd manipulation and deployment of materials in a slipshod fashion acts as the historical background for the studio’s attitude toward materiality and form. The final project is an adaptive re-use of an industrial shed into a kindergarten, understood as a space that primarily must engender play, as it has been considered as a particular attitude toward material that can be traced throughout the semester, and throughout work by L.A. School architects.
The studio investigated the work of the ‘LA School,’ specifically in terms of how materiality and form has evolved in Los Angeles, a city with a history of experimental architecture that has leveraged the misuse and deconstruction of anonymous, industrial, and non-conventional material assemblies to challenge architectural typologies and programmatic relationships. By taking stock of the how these architects have leveraged economic and fiscal constraints, the shrewd manipulation and deployment of materials in a slipshod fashion acts as the historical background for the studio’s attitude toward materiality and form. The final project is an adaptive re-use of an industrial shed into a kindergarten, understood as a space that primarily must engender play, as it has been considered as a particular attitude toward material that can be traced throughout the semester, and throughout work by L.A. School architects.
Admittedly, I have a slight Sisyphusian attitude when writing a gallery statement, the factoid of if I mention phrases as deconstructionist precedent analysis, topological explorations, or educational morphologies, the majority of readers (perhaps rightfully so) will just stop reading.. but I think “..well, o.k. why not” and I put my hands back on cold smooth hard rock. Look, this is a second-year undergrad studio – if you’re looking at this in search for an epiphanic moment of enlightenment, then my section is going to be a disappointment for you. As a studio we explored the history of many of the characters of the LA School of Architecture from the 70’s-90’s – influential folks with attitudes of collision, contradiction, material misuse, misappropriation, and in many contexts come with propositions that could be seen as improper to put it mildly – we examined the most interesting components of these, attempted to data mine the best ideas from them, set to interpret them in a positive light, to apply many of these principles towards the reconfiguration of various warehouse typologies common to the Los Angeles region. All in the premise of a kindergarten, but with the concepts of adaptive reuse, re-adaptation, material exploration, a dash of contradictory mixing of programs, and a touch of social commentary. I hope you find something useful in the work, the students performed in outstanding fashion, especially with the current situation in light. Thank you for your time, good luck folks, happy hunting.