The Cynical Film Archive

My project began with an exploration of cynicism. Cynical refers to a feeling of distrust towards anyone other than oneself and, as a result, a self centered mindset.

I first applied this character to wooden joints to establish my main design strategies. I took these joints as a blank canvas and sharpened their character by reshaping the ends into sharp angles, exaggerating the wedges and separations, and emphasizing junctions. Everything that was subtle about the original joints was redesigned to be very obvious and jump out at the eye.

With these newly defined set of design strategies I designed a living study that takes on its most cynical role in the way it interacts with the user. The inhabitant becomes the cutting tool that slices the volumes of mass and acts as the wedge that separates them.

For P2 I continued the exploration of cynicism with an exploration at the surface
level. I worked with three different surfaces that were 1 dimensional finishes and
gave them a cynical character. The metal panels became staggered, the plaster
wall turned into a pointed wall along its hatching, and the greenery hedge was
sliced through the middle to create a frame for views.

With these new surfaces I began to develop the urban site in project 2. Through movement, the user’s actions are creating a series of excavations that define the surface condition of the site. Consequently, this move reveals the nature of the relationship of site and user. Where, while the user is guiding the excavation of the site through its movement, the site is also guiding the user’s movement through its excavation.

The final project is a film center with a film media archive and a memorabilia and film
props collection and display. The combination of techniques developed on project 1 and 2 created a space for igniting an interest in film and media appreciation within a gated community full of cynical residents.