REPEAT Competition Honorable Mention!

I've just been notified that an entry that I completed with students Jenny Kwon and Rebecca Qin was awarded an honorable (American spelling!) mention in the REPEAT competition, located it Houston, Texas!!!

The judging panel consisted of Patrik Schumacher, Marc Fornes, Lisa Iwamoto, Chris Lasch,  and Blair Satterfield.

The work, entitled 'Material Theatricality' was based on design work completed by Jenny and Rebecca during the second semester of second year design 2010 at The University of Sydney.  This work was developed over a series of weeks to the final product you see below:

for a list of the winner, as well as runners up click here

Also, stay tuned for a inclusive post about this entry, as well as the other entries I worked on.

Parametric Surfaces

Some of my latest work:

This is why Louis Sullivan is my favorite architect:

The inscription reads:

Manipulation Of Variants
On a given axial theme
The aspect of freedom is beginning to appear.

Sullivan has drawn a diagram of forces, axial movements and labelled each of the 'arms' A, B and C.  (see the small diagram at the top).  He then exaggerates A, B then C in three drawings, then combines them together to create D.  What in effect Sullivan is doing is a parametric exploration of a series of rules in order to obtain an 'artistic idea' (ie. the great American idea of freedom).

You don't need computer skills to engage with this way of thinking.  Sullivan was doing it before computers.  He was even doing it before modernism!

That being said - I doubt any of us have the skills nowadays to draw with such detail and accuracy in a realistic amount of time.  Computers are opening up such expressiveness to people outside absolute genius.

Image Search: Constructivist Art

A fellow tutor (who shall remain nameless) finally returned my book favorite on Constructivism.  So I googled it.


The Making of Feathered Edge from MOCA on Vimeo.

(via http://archinect.com/features/article_print.php?id=92238_0_23_0_M) 

An interview with Ball-Nogues Studio, a studio who "don’t, like, geek out on this stuff [digital fabrication]. But we try to find ways of applying digital technology to things within our control. Sometimes that means using it to inform how our hand works. Not as a kind of “Oh drat, we can’t afford the machines so we’re going to do it by hand.” Rather, your hand brings that which your machine can never offer. I think there’s so much potential in that. It empowers you. It’s empowering for the average guy."

Apart from that, google doesn't really throw up anything interesting.  I suggest looking at art books.

Wikipedia might get you started - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_%28art%29

Colour Photograph From 1911

I'm struck by the simplicity of the setting for this photograph - simple cement renders, oiled timber with light relief work.  The simplicity of the carvings contrast, yet emphasise the luxury of the ornament on the coat.

via

Does this classify as a screen?

...I hope this classifies as a screen.

Image Search: 'Experiments in porosity"

Sometimes I type phrases into google image search:


The Very Many - A very good scripting/fabrication blog by Marc Fornes. Check out the Leaf Table!



Some work by a student studying under Marc Fornes - Check this out for some great documentation (in reverse) from inspiration to crystallization of an idea.


Some random lazercutting from Steven Holl and co. I do like the small perforations cut to enable the ply to be bent though. Do you think they worked? Or was some sneaky glue used there?