Surface Diagraming/Construction Document

What I am looking to accomplish here is to create a surface that is both a representation of spatial and temporal sequence. Since we as a class are researching “surface” as a basic architectural element, I would hope that my diagrams and rather simple construction documents are a means of fabricating a physical morphology based on my diagrams and studies of the cinematic sequence.

The marked off tic-marks indicate the focal point within the frame. This in return helps me to create the underlying structure of both the form work that is a representation of the filmed sequence of frames. Hopefully I captured motion through time and space represented in the abstracted two-dimensional re-represented three-dimensional film sequence.

- tic-marks represented in the form work model

- tic-marks along with the added spline
- the form that would become the bases for the physical construct

Constructing the Frame

Well first lets start off if the question posed in the previous entry, Why? Now the reasons I decided to choose this particular cinematic sequence was because I found it to be rich in the way the director/cinematographer (in this case its Martin Scorsese) carefully framed each and every aspect of the sequence. He very carefully constructed, represented, and conveyed the elusion of a three-dimensional space, through spatial and temporal re-representation. Basically in most cases (in the film industry) the director/cinematographer is tasked with re-interpreting the space in the film as a three-dimensional space translated into a two-dimensional representation.

Now to pose another question, how does one dissect, analysis, and extract the essential parts of the sequence? It is at this point I took the film sequence broke it up into seventy- seven still frames and started to diagram them, focusing what the eye was drawing to first. These diagrams turned into approximately three analytical drawings that help me to create/construct in what I saw was a “surface” (the second part of the project). Low and behold I was somewhat off target when it came to thinking my first attempt was a surface. When in fact all it really was (in my eyes) was the formwork that would hopefully lead to the creation of a surface.

Animation Sequence

So why this scene?

The future of space...?

Elizabeths Grosz essay on “The Future of Space: Towards an Architecture of Invention” seems to touch on very similar concepts, theories, and philosophies that have be discussed and debated in most progressive architectural schools of thought. The relationship to architecture, and the way she frames the conversation although brings into debate the fundamental traditional metaphysical connection between identity and difference, space and time and the overarching attachment in the ways we might perceive architecture. There is an excerpt that really resonates (I think) with the topics (I believe) in which we as a class are trying to explore this semester as speculative studies in architecture. “ To remember (to place oneself in the past), to relocate (to cast oneself elsewhere), is to occupy the whole time and the whole space, even admitting that duration and location are always specific, always defined by movement and action. It is to refuse to conceptualize space as a medium, as a content, a passive receptacle whose form is given by its content, and instead to see it as a moment of becoming, of opening up and proliferation, a passage from one space to another, a space of change, which changes with time” p. 119 Architecture from the Outside. And it is at this point I start to conceptualize (maybe?) what this next project(2) is going to explore/study. The study of time and space in which the student is asked to perceive, understand, think, and create a reflection in which describes a way to look and consider spatially relationships.

Project 1 Image

This image is trying to provoke curiosity and give an introduction to the project. Compositionally the image is made up of parts that were created from the virtual model, along with frames that were taken from the original motion.

Project 1 Video Compolation

Basically this is a compilation of my work and explorations to date. I think possibly this edit could be better explained with added process and analysis, to understand the relationship between the physical motion of the tennis stroke, and the virtual motion of the computer generated model. I think what lacked in the work and my review presentation was the tangential relation tying the two together.



- Feel free to crit and comment, I would like to know what others think about how this first study and how successful, or not these explorations where.

Project 1c Images

So the transition from Project 1b to Project 1c the viewer now gets a chance to see through the construct to the opposite side. by taking away the strip that connected both ends, the construct is easier understood as a series of temporal slats in time. As this study is refined this understanding of representation of time should be more refined. Through the overlapping of wire-frame and solid model one starts to experience the temporal construct as a still image and is able to then contrast that with the animation . Between the two forms of representation hopefully two different understandings of the construct articulated.

Why Tectonics is Square & Topology is Groovy

To become familiar with Greg Lynn’s usage of the word “blobbiness” or “blob”, Lynn looks at defining blobs in three ways. First, in the context of science-fiction horror films, where the blob takes on a form that is all surface and not flat or pictorial. Second, in the realm of philosophy, where the blob is defined as a viscous composite that is fluid like, and easily formed and/or deformed. Finally, how the blobbiness is justified in contemporary construction techniques.

Ok, well my understanding in relating the architectural concept of “blob” to the usage of blobs in films is to try and grasp the underlying concepts that relate to the formalistic notions of what a “blob” is. Easily put, from the 1988 film “The Blob”, we understand the blob to be all surface, not flat or pictorial in anyway. Further defining the blobbiness as a gelatinous surface, having no regular shape. By this description one starts to understand what a “blob” is, and therefore it becomes easily understood how to start thinking about the blob in an architectural sense.












Screen shot from "The Blob" 1988


The “blob” in theory: is stated as being “quasi solid” a composite or amalgamated form that is understood to be neither multiple or singular. A form that acts like in many ways that of singularity, while composing itself to any one simple organization or organism. This simple word “BLOB” holds many underlying concepts that result in a freely complex, non-formal geometry. Since these concepts were hard to understand, Lynn introduces the word “isomorphic polysurfaces” which relates to forms that are conceptualized off the Cartesian grid (or irregular blobby shapes). An example of both types of architectural forms is seen below (you figure out which one is which).

















As for the “blob” in construction: Lynn in this part of the essay finds some beef with the tectonic practitioner, and their way of looking at man as always structuring himself as standing upright, and therefore buildings should as well. Lynn feels that within structure there are many more layers of complexity then the mere vertical loads of gravity that causes building loads down perpendicular to the ground. He states that we must be looking at interacting with not only vertical and horizontal loads, but with the multiple loads in between, which could become one parameter or many dictating the massing of the buildings form and/or envelop. Moving pass the “upright” Cartesian approach Lynn starts to investigate topological surface organizations, along with isomorphic architecture, as a exploration of the human body and the single cell. Some built architectural examples of these concepts are the works of Shoei Yoh, with his undulating roof surfaces that are created with minor variation in everyone of the structural members. With this slight difference in all members, construction and fabrication would be causes for concern. But with the use of new and innovated techniques in digital fabrication, a combination of prefabricated and on-site assembly moved the construction phase of the projects through to completion.











Shoei Yoh, Glass station, Kumamoto, 1993

By creating this type of roof surface, the building program along with the structure would not be compromised by a rather plain and idealized Cartesian like module.

Project 1c (1st attempt)

Well, here I tried to confine this iteration to the representation of frame, and the organizing factors which create the modules of this composition. To try and represent the sectional qualities of the "compositional displacement". I first took away the linear strip that confined the two sides of the construct to unveil the space in between each of the surfaces, in hopes this would give the animation more depth, and stronger spacial qualities. Also by giving the composition a transparency, this hopefully would add to the factor of "time", because as the viewer visualizes one surface at the present point in time, he/she is able to look back and reflect at where the animation was at an early point and time. One could also argue the fact that the viewer is able to catch a glimpse of the future, being able to visualize in a transparent form, of whats to be framed later in the animation. Since this is a first iteration, I will further explore the past animations and develop them, hopefully adding to the re-presenting qualities of the construct, in terms expressed during classes, in readings, and on the blogs.

Lines | Linearity

The two articles, Architectural Representation and the Perspective Hinge by Alberto Perez-Gomez and Louse Pelletier, and Lines and Linearity: Problems in Architectural Theory by Catherine Ingraham, found in a collection of essays entitled Drawing | Building | Text by Andrea Kahn (editor) bring to conversation the concepts of seeing and visualization. Starting with the concepts of the line and linearity, Ingrahm theorizes that what gives architecture form in the simplest context is “line”. With that being said, Ingraham states, “ as a subject, the line must be outlined – given a shape or character – and it is precisely at the moment when the line takes a shape that it eludes our grasp”(p.5) I believe that this statement looks at how form seems to take shape, and just at the moment where line defines form that, we no longer understand line but the form that is made up of many different line segments. I guess to try and communicate this a little better I will refer to one of Barnett Newman’s pieces of work entitled Concord.




















Barnett Newmann, Concord 1949

Know for his abstraction of the fundamental concept of line Barnett takes his limited palette of color and creates a highly layers yet simple composition of diluted green and yellow washed paints. What we see are the thick spatial fields that are demarked by color, the edges are the relationships to greater composition. Each spatial field’s edge is defined by a line, but is lost in the composition as a whole. These fundamental concepts are followed throughout his works. One more example is part of a series entitled Station, the reason why I bring this to attention is because here Barnett plays with achromatic colors (black & white) which represents a composition built clearly by the line showing the space in between.




















Barnett Newmann, Thirteenth Station 1965-66

Animation (project1b 1st attempt)

So clearly this animation was a little more trouble then first expected. For a first iteration not too bad. So here the viewer gets a chance to look and experience this temporal construct in a 3 dimensional virtual world. Basically now by adding animation to the project, we enter another design aspect of the project ( it is like adding another variable to the equation, or so it seems to me, adding another layer to the project ). Looking at animation as a new variable hopefully will add a complexity to the study, with hopes that the study itself does not become complicated to understand, rather easier and in the end more rewarding. See how this is the first attempt, the next few iterations should presumable build upon this animation, and clarify what these studies are looking to understand. I would like in the next few weeks be able to grasp a firm understanding of the programs used, so that it does not constrain me from trying to communicate my understanding of the projects being studied this semester.

Project 1b (Temporal Images)

For this iteration what I was trying to understand from the 3 dimensional construct was the temporal qualities that was not so apparent in the last model. So in hopes of clarifying the understanding of what a temporal construct are the following images for project 1b. Basically the approach I took in this iteration was trying to map the four point of the body, which then would represent a line, simplifying the body form into one line segment. Each one of the lines correspond to a frame taken from the motion video earlier in this study. I hope for the next iteration to start looking at how from a temporal construct, one would move forward to change and study the spacial aspects of these motions.

Temporal Construct (1st Attempt )

Using the line segments from the diagrams below I was able to translate the two dimensional abstraction of my service/ground-stroke into a three-dimensional diagram of what I could define as a temporal construct. These images I generated, speak to me as more temporal, mainly because one can start to see how the movements that are diagrammed below are those relations to my feet, knees, upper body, and the interaction of time.
This first iteration my body movement was some what confusing at first, trying to relate the curvature of the forms I was making into a relationship with the body movements. But as I played with different types of line and model forms, I believe I was able to get to a point where I could talk about what I did and how. These were the points I was struggling with at the beginning of this part of the project. Where I was not sure what I was generating, or what I was trying to represent. Hopefully now people get a sense of where I am trying to move towards in this investigation.

Thinking......Service Motion

As I start to create these images, I am starting to understand that these diagrams are crucial when trying to create a computer model of the motion sequence. But in these last few iterations of diagramming, I found that I'm missing an important part of the analysis. That in order to create a 3D computer iteration of my motion, it would be informative to take some time before I attempt a computer model and spend some time looking at the front footage of the motion. This would then help me look at the motion in a more spatial three-dimensional aspect, that I think we as a class are trying to accomplish.
The images here are again the diagramming of vertical movement in contrast the horizontal. It is probable to state that the side view is more interesting to diagram then that of the front view of the motion. The reason for this might be that there is more movement of the body along a stretched sequence. Now at this point I have not started to diagram the front view just yet, but I am going to guess that the line segments that I create in the front view are going to be somewhat more compact.
Basically here in these images I was looking at how the movement of the service motion would differ from the motion of the ground stroke. When looking at the two one can start to understand that the two motions very much are in contrast. Where at the point of impact with the tennis ball, there is an explosion of energy and it is at that point where the body seems create a line segment that is almost straight. After the body exerts this vertical movement, the resultant is the body folding in on itself with following through, trying to control the explosion of power that was just exerted. As the body then recovers the line segments start to create a more repetitive type, leaving me to assume that it is at this point the body is fully recovered from the service motion.
Below are the series of images that where created along the way to the finial image above. These investigations I believe are as just as important to me, as the finial image, because they help me to understand how the diagram is created and how it related to the beginning of this study. Hopefully these diagrams/studies will lead me to understanding this motion a little better, both the physical environment along with the digital.

The Ground Stroke

Here I took the stills of the video, photoshoped the images together and came up with a pretty interesting image. Instead of focusing in on just the horizontal movement, here I started to look at the vertical differences in the body and how the verticals then related to the horizontal. I choose four point that would give me a vertical line segment, the head, hip, knee, and foot. Once I was able to create the vertical diagram, I choose to connect each point those points with a horizontal line segment to better understand the motion as a whole.

The following images are the diagrams broken down, to better understand how I generated the finial image. And for some reason the uploading of these images distorted the color of the original jpgs, so forgive the really odd colors.

Motion Analysis Part I

Here I was my first attempt to try and diagram the movement of my feet, left wrist, racquet and tennis ball. What I found interesting was how in the first third of the motion the movement of my upper body all started in sequence, (left wrist, racquet head, and ball). The second third is where we start to get a see all these variables find their own path. The left wrist has folded into the body, the racquet head is at full extension, and contact with the ball has be made. During the last third of the motion, the stroke is completed by the whole sequence coming back together.






Here is the line diagram

The Motion

Here was a video splice test, were I was experimenting with overlaying video. I was trying to look at the difference between the front and side motions of the body, and the relation between the two.

Non-Static ART

After reading through Lynn’s article on Animate Form, (for the 3rd time and probably not the last) I start to get a sense that this document is his “Towards a New Architecture”. We are again experiencing a new age of enlightenment in the field of architecture. Not only with the advent of new technologies, but with the integration calculus based forms. With these new (relatively speaking) mathematical theories, the design fields find themselves looking at ways to exploit and integrate new technologies as Le Corbusier did during the middle 20th century, and combine that with complex and rigorous mathematical computation. This way of “looking” at architecture is not new, the rules may have changed but basically Lynn is referencing patterning and ratios, which have made up the fundamentals of architecture since man could theorize about the built world.
Now I’m not an expert in math, (you will have to look to Luc for that) but my understanding is that before we had a logical theory of calculus, man based forms and ratios on whole numbers and fractions of these whole numbers, for design and construction. I guess this type of math is called Combinatory math, a theory of pure mathematics, which can be related to other areas of math such as algebra, and geometry. Therefore limiting possibilities to a fix design palate. With the introduction of calculus-based forms designers have the option to take whole number ratios, and replace them with calculus-based formulas creating an infinite amount of possibilities. So here this theory of continuous mathematics comes into play, where line segments can be split into an infinite amount of segments, referencing one another.
It’s at this point motion, and the way looking at architecture differs form previous theories of thought. With the usage of continuous mathematics, designers are able to analyze and calculate motion. With this new theory of thought we might be able to look at motion and subdivide it into movement and action, or we can refer to it as animation, (evolution of form through a series of still images that give the illusion of motion)

Day One

the beginning.........