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, March 9, 2008

sketch problem: over drawing process

As an expoloration of the potential of Over Drawing this sketch problem will be done in steps that will manipulate a 50' x 100' x 25' box. The parti will be to organize a series of perforations to allow "light" to enter the volume of the cube. The original box will be generated in a digital workspace and printed onto an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of bond paper, scaled appropriately to fit the format of the exercise. The next steps are listed below, each lasting approximately 30 minutes of quick work time. The time limit is short so that not too much effort or focus is spent "designing". The focus being on process.

1. On printed hard copy of a wire frame model, hand draft onto a transparent overlay a series of perforations or punctures of the three faces that oriented towards you in the isometric view of the box.

2. On the resultant image from step 1 model texture and/or surface onto the wire frame, preserving the transparent view settings within the model and print hard copy.

3. On the resultant image from step 2 hand draft a system of "structural lines" that suggest possible support for the perforations.

Resultant images: (to follow shortly)
update 3.10.08

Interestingly enough the steps outlined above actually required some intricate manipulations in file format and programs used in order to make the transition from one to the next.


Original box at 1/16" scale on 8 1/2" x 11" format

Hand drafted overlay of perforations.

The scanned hand drafted overlay from step 1 needed to be brought into CAD inorder to preserve the scale. Linework was overlayed digitally to define edges. (below)

The edge lines were transferred into modeling software to generate the surfaces and texture.

The textures were then digitally collaged back onto the resultant image.


In the end I was a bit surprised by the complexities of navigating between the media while preserving and reinventing something in this manner. This over drawing sketch is a pretty simple exercise in its scope and scale yet I think it shows the potential graphic language that could be created.

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2 comments:

F.R. said...

nice investigation Rick,
one question, how do you define the perforations ?(what's being cut vs not cut in your model?)

March 12, 2008 at 12:52 PM
rbutera said...

Felix... for this short exercise the perforations were done as a visual composition. There is not a particular order to them. This sketch problem is more about investigate the process of over drawing itself. The end result, while important is secondary and not a focal point of the exercise.

It proved to be very valuable as the transition from digital 3D to hand drawn 2D and back into a digital 3D is pretty intricate, pushing the capabilities and my knowledge of the software.

March 12, 2008 at 1:19 PM

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