House Plan

Making my house footprint was interesting in trying to make a box look visually interesting. Using color to mark special lines helped with making my plan interesting. Drawing the topo lines also really made me think in depth of mine and my neighbor's yards as most of us have raised yards at different heights. Making a logo for my "Smitty & Son's" company was fun too and also adds to the visual interest.

Topo Plans

Dialog Project

For our Dialog projects we were to create two distinct spaces using 12-4"x6" bristol board planes along with 12 wooden skewers. These spaces were to have some type of communication with each other in their respective qualities.

I wanted to create something with positive and negative qualities, or at least two spaces that were not identical to each other. I felt like having different spaces would bring more energy and interactivity to the model. Ironically for my first model I created two spaces that were closely similar to each-other however the way I placed them in relation to each-other created the contrast. One space I placed on its side while the other I placed more vertical. I then intertwined the spaces by sticking one of the stakes of the vertical space into the horizontal space. both spaces opened up outward while relating to each-other in thier interiors which joined at the back. 

I decided not to continue explicitly with this idea in more iterations because I wanted to incorporate my "canal" joint system which I used in my unity project. The canal joints would not work with the structure of my first model because the joints cannot intersect each-other on the planes of bristol board. I wanted my two spaces to be an ordered space which would be a replication of my unity project coupled with a structure that is disordered. The disordered space would have joints and planes like the ordered space but would be "blown apart" as if the disordered space was once like the ordered space but is now only parts and pieces of the original. I placed one of the legs of the ordered space within the disordered space. However when I did this there wasn't much of a sense of dialogue. The ordered space was too tall and open to have much of a relation to the disordered space. The ordered space also had the leg attachments that pointed inward almost implying a third space. It was very hard trying to think of ways to fix this problem or fix the ordered space to relate closer to the disordered space. I decided to throw the unity model/ordered space out as it would only complicate and make the spaces harder to relate to each-other. 

I kept the disordered space and decided to build onto it the ordered space. At first I experimented with extending square planes out from the disordered space as the disordered space has lots of diagonals and crazy angles and an ordered space can be made of squares and right angles. However this only attracted my eye to the disordered space as the angles made it more interesting than the boring blocky ordered space. I decided to find a way to incorporate the angles and energy of the disordered space into the ordered space. 

For the new and final ordered space I created triangular planes which connected to another set of triangular planes all connected by the skewers running through the canal joints. The ordered space was now visually interesting and it conveyed the idea that it is recovering from what ever happened to the disordered space and that it is what the disordered space used to be. Because the disordered space was so exaggerated in its disruption the dialog between it and the ordered space is made more apparent.

Responses to Dialog Questions

1. How is dialog created? 

Dialog is created mostly through the juxtaposition of elements between the two spaces of the project. Often times one space or some element of the space is exaggerated in some way to show its distinction. This distinction translates into the different opinions and outcomes of dialog. 

2. How is a sense of space defined? 

From observing all of the different models and each of their respective interactions between the planes and the skewers, I came to realize that the spaces are defined by the modules used and created. Depending on how the skewers and the planes are connected the module which comes from this connection is essentially what governs the spaces and the development of the project. Only certain types of spaces can come from poking skewers through cards, and as with mine my "canal" joint system only allows the skewers to be placed in diagonals (if there are to be two skewers connected to the card) therefore I had to work with the limitations of my module. Having triangular modules would greatly affect the types of spaces I would create along with scale, strength and size.

3. How is the idea of a system generated?

The systems of each of the projects once again had a lot to do with the type of module and its limitations. However those limitations can be helpful in encouraging creativity in working around them. Working around these limitations is part of the system of creating the model. 

4. How does the joinery support the concept/strategies

I noticed that most everyone along with myself closely incorporated the joinery types/ concepts of their unity project into their dialog. Students with spiraling unity models had spiraling dialogs and as with me, I continued my "canal" joint system. The joinery has a lot to do with the module and how it is incorporated. As noted earlier (question 1) the type of module used and the joinery within governs the whole development of the model. Poking skewers through paper often has a more "separated" effect in the relation of the skewer to the paper because the skewer is never laying on top or is sharing much surface  area with the paper. Pasting the skewer on top of the paper or using my "canal" system causes the skewers to be more part of the paper. The difference in these two joinery types  governs the way the project will stand. Often times the poking method puts most of the structural integrity in the planes as too much weight on the holes of the planes would lead to collapse. The pasting type usually allows either/or/or both the skewers and the cards to be the source of structural integrity. 

5. How is scale utilized in the project

Scale is often determined by the interaction between the two spaces. One space may be exaggerated in some way (usually size) in an effort to show the difference between the two spaces. 

6. How do two-dimensional images add to the understanding of the project?

Two-dimensional images mostly help to show the process of the model and how it was created. Two dimensional images can also zoom into details on a model that an observer may not see in observing the three-dimensional image. Also because the single lens (in the case of a photograph) lacks the depth-perception we have in observing with our two eyes a two-dimensional image can be more interesting  than a three-dimensional view. 

7. How did the initial project idea evolve?

For many students including myself we evolved our dialog projects from our unity projects in that many of us developed our own unique module forms which we wanted to extend and explore. Different types of spiraling projects could be seen which came from the earlier unity project spiral models. I wanted to explore my own unique joint system which consequentialy led me to place other aspects of project development aside. It is important to carry on the strengths of earlier models and drop other aspects (usually embellishment) so they do not end up hurting your project.  

Twig and Cell Phone Drawings for Suzanne

These drawings were fun but time consuming to do. The first set was a little too abstract but as I got along to the twig and cell fusions I developed my own style. I began to not just have a black background behind the objects but to have a glowing outline before the black background. Once I got to the final 8 set and 4 set I found that the "glow" effect could help with the contrast and give an electric effect as well.

Unity Project

For the Unity Project we were challenged to create something with 12 skewers and 12- 4"x6" planes of bristol board unified in its structure, space, joinery, and concept.

The Lao Tse quote on our assignment sheet stuck out to me and was an important part of my concept.  I initially thought of a toilet as an example of unity and the Lao Tse quote in that the its utility depends on spaces where there is nothing. The seat, well, and bowl have importance in what is placed on or in them. The flow of water is also unified in that it is manipulated into swirling and straight motions due to the interaction between the well and bowl. Making a toilet model was too literal however I wanted to continue with the idea of unity where there is nothing or where spaces are implied.

From playing with the thick properties of the bristol board as well as the skewers I created a joint system in which a canal made through scoring folds the paper around the skewer. This type of joinery unites the skewer with the bristol board in a stronger way than if the skewer were pasted on top. Also this strengthens the bond between the paper and the skewer as the rubber cement used has limitations in joining such small spaces together.

My first model away from the toilet was somewhat pyramidal. The folded planes with the skewers inside them pointed inward to the middle which is where I decided to focus my place of unity. However the "roof" I made did not hold the legs very strong and I wanted the legs to be steeper which the roof would not allow. The roof also did not follow the unified "canal" joinery which went through the rest of the model. I also ran into problems with not using enough skewers and planes. I found that my principle problem was in the roof and that I could redesign the roof using more planes and use more skewers in the legs.

My final iteration was greatly improved through my new roof system. I created an open roof made of four planes joined though lapping canal joints. The joints on each of the four corners accept the legs and because these canal joints are the same as the legs the model is unified in joinery and modularity. The greater steepness from the roof increased structural strength as well as emphasizing my place of unity due to the closer proximity of the legs. The small opening in the roof also helps to emphasize this central place as the observer can not only look from the side but from the top to see the central place of unity.

 

Sketches For Nadia's Class

Compare and Contrast Unity

In critiquing Amanda and Dana's project I found a few key similarities with my own project. Amanda and Dana's is a hexagon with the rods coming through arms which radiate from each of the angles. My project is tall and pyramidal and  the inside has triangles created from the structural elements pointing inward. Both projects are open in the middle. I found that the angles and the hexagonal shape of their project pointed to the center. The rods going through the arms extended past each arm almost joining to the neighboring set implying a triangle. From these close edge relations both  projects address the Lao Tse quote (assignment sheet) in that they possess unity in the spaces where there is nothing. However our projects differ in that these spaces are only created by the cards in my project while Amanda and Dana's uses the rods and cards. However this difference also points to the unity my project has in structure in that it would not be able to stand or function without either the cards or rods. Amanda and Dana's project did not need the rods for structure but are used to echo the hexagon within them. 

Both of our projects in structure have modules. Amanda and Dana's had modules in that each folded piece of paper was neatly measured and glued into the next. Also each have holes punched in them so that two modules can accept the rods which are inserted at the ends. My project has modules in that each plane is folded in a way that the rods fit into a canal within the plane. Each rod has a specific place as each can be seen in form within the paper. Also the rods connect to other planes in this way showing the structure without showing the rods.