Thesis

Investigation and Development of Architectural Process through the Adaptive Reuse of "Big Box" Architecture.

Abstract
Through the exploration of adaptive reuse of residual, no longer viable, commercial buildings in economically challenged urban zones develop an over arching guide and process upon which to base future architectural practice, solidifying design principles that have the potential to define specific approaches to architectural strategies and form making. The adaptive reuse of architecture, specifically "big box" architecture, in a form that captures and utilizes natural daylight, artificial light, and inspires the human spirit addresses many key issues prevalent in today’s practice and design discourses. The notions that the proper lighting of space effects its occupants is not new, but one that is very seldom maximized in the built environment that we occupy. In addition, the importance of recycling building products and materials is at a peak in the world today. The building industry is one of the largest contributors to the degradation of our planet. Adaptive reuse of buildings is quite simply the recycling of architecture.



fracture of rigid form
thin outlines of light
natural and artificial
of worlds on a journey
who grin at the day
to the evening breeze

Sunday, February 24, 2008

research: tactics for an opportunistic architecture

post updated 3.3.08

Through the investigative process of precedent analysis 04, I found LTL's monograph very interesting. Their approach to finding the "constraints inherent with the architectural question" combined with restricted play, wit, and curiosity allows them to create unexpected forms from the standard rules and conditions that dominate so much of the modern architectural practice. I find this approach to be very intriguing and hope that further understanding of their work and process will be beneficial in discovering that of my own.

LTL utilizes five interwoven tactics in the work presented in "Opportunistic Architecture".

"Retroactive, incomplete, and fragmented, they offer a partial list of possible trajectories for design. Rife with slippages and overlaps, they serve as a means to a productive architecture"

Catalyzing Constraints
Invention Sprawl
Paradoxical Pleasures
Alchemical Assemblies
Over Drawing


Of the five listed above, I would like to focus on the notions of Catalyzing Constraints and Over Drawing. These two offer some tremendous possibilities as they extend to redefining my own architectural principles or practice.

Catalyzing Constraints refers to taking the limitations that are present in a given project and manipulating them to find inherent designs from within them. "The seed for the most radical solution can always be found within the items that initially pose the greatest resistance. Rather than avoiding these obstacles through formal or logistical gymnastics, the tatics of catalyzing constraints generates an impassioned inquiry into the unavoidable limits of architectural production." - LTL.

One example that is sited is to selectively apply "principles of efficiency in order to discover relationships through which the project can be pursued in unexpected, yet seemingly inevitable ways." The idea of selectively applying efficiency could be spacial efficiency, lighting, structural, etc. By choosing one to focus upon and apply as rule, you inevitably inform or effect the others, this is where the "unexpected" is generated, creating exagerrated forms or systems that creates the efficiency.

Over Drawing is a design strategy that LTL utilizes to explore the medium that architects use as language as a process to discover. They use a combination of hand drawing, 3d modeling, hand drawing over top of that and overlapping them all together to create very interesting and evocative drawings. The idea is that from this process of "over" drawing you begin to generate richer spaces. Each form of representation has limitations and potential. It plays on each "simultaneously". Example of LTL's Over Drawing using a combination of 3D lines, edges, renderings, and 3H lead on 4mm mylar...



Park Tower, Prototypical American City

2 comments:

F.R. said...

Rick,
looks like with your skills in sketch-up you can achieve something similar what LTL did to their drawings.

rbutera said...

Thanks Felix, I hope so. The most important thing is the PROCESS. How do these types of operation generate form / space / architecture / etc...

Right now my focus is on generation of process and testing it.