110411 - conditioning

A dynamic conception of architecture, which overcomes the traditional notion of buildings as a still, tectonic construct, allows us to think of space as practice. This involves incorporating the inhabitant of the space (or its intruder) into architecture, not simply marking and reproducing but reinventing, as film does, his or her various trajectories through space—that is, charting the narrative these navigations create.

- Giuliana Bruno
Atlas of Emotion, Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film 

In an athletic pursuit, repetitive conditioning tunes the body to work exceptionally well within a specific set of performance parameters. In this process, the body gains certain abilities at the expense of others (i.e. a sumo wrestler does not make a good basketball player). A similar type of repetitive conditioning must now occur in systems for building the intervention into the landscape. So far, these systems have been driven by internal relational and transformative logics, now they must be conditioned in response to external demands of program. 

As described above, program will be a ‘dynamic conception’ rather than a ‘still, tectonic construct.’ It will be based on a series of converging and diverging trajectories through space, not discreet, static compartments.

Biological form conditioned through environmental forces –

D’Arcy Thompson, variations on the form of a hydriod

PROGRAM 

Text sequences from the exquisite corpse writing exercise will conceptualize a program consisting of an itinerary of converging and diverging movement trajectories. Scan all exquisite corpse work, and then with Photoshop, isolate three intertwining strands of text (7-10 words minimum) from the final iteration. Use these sequences of text to imagine and describe three potential movement trajectories of an inhabitant through the landscape / intervention. The inhabitant must move through a series of qualitatively different spatial conditions. Different spatial conditions should be produced by: filtering sunlight in different ways, producing surfaces and enclosures in different ways, and dealing with notions of ground in different ways. Program will not be composed of a single narrative but multiple potential micro-narratives.

MODEL 

Build a new version of the intervention in the landscape. It may be in bristol board, basswood or a combination of the two. Condition this model in response to program. Modify and augment rules of its construction and relationship to the landscape so that it begins to support the movement sequences described in the program. Following the example above from Thompson, modify modular systems by stretching and re-orienting components rather than breaking or tearing them. Refine the craft of the model. Increase precision of attachments to the landscape.

SECTIONS

Two 1/4” scale sections are required, one horizontal, one vertical. Sections must document as many different spatial experiences as possible. The vertical section must include shadows and scale figures. The vertical section may be drawn at different times of day or year to document changing lighting conditions. All sections must show deep space by calibrating line-weight and line-type.