Fall '06 - Purple Line Subway Terminal

The terminal developed through the transformation of a single surface, embedded with program and funicular logic. The upper, exterior surface is walk-able and intended for primary circulation from bluff to beach. Sectionally, the “pocket” space is the interstitial condition created by the sandwiching of two materially dissimilar surface conditions.
The exterior surface is rendered with a uniform consistency and subtle texture. Linear flow is implied through surface line work created by planking/board formed concrete. This tactility is intended to delineate high-usage surfaces in a rugged manner. The intense sunlight will create small, but distinct shadow patterns which will shift throughout the day, creating subtle animation and highlighting the exterior condition.
Much attention was given to construction techniques. Where surface curvature is the most extreme, the surface was divided into two foot sections and individually pre-cast using a standard set of rubber inserts to create the window openings. This created a distinct cross grain to the project which was carried into the interior as well as immediate site for continuity.



...

the last weekend of freedom...

The last year of graduate school begins in three days. I am sure the intensity levels will be much higher in previous years, but now that I am out of core classes the direction of my work and research will be much more self driven. This fall quarter I am hoping to be able to focus on smaller scales of detail and perfect the transition between digitally designed work and fabrication. I enjoyed the taste of fabrication which I experienced during the Superglow project, but the experience was lacking in many respects.
Last year's technology seminar was an exercise in futility. Sure, we learned to take a design from the computer screen to the storefront, but the methods to accomplish this were outdated, inefficient, and highly wasteful to non-renewable resources. The money that was spent on plastics, foam, lights and finishes would be enough to build a small house in many parts of this country.
The 3-axis CNC mill is yesterday's toy, and the process of vacuum forming plastic as we know it, came into use in the 1920's. I'm tired of hearing about "cutting edge" CNC fabrication; I am ready to experiment with new techniques and technologies. For example, when are architects going to stop describing their work through biological analogies, and instead actually learn to "grow" a building, if not literally in a biological sense, shouldn't we at least be focusing more energy on efficient means of design, construction and usage? Why do we devote so much effort to writing and speaking about the design of architecture, and so little on the physical ramifications of real design? Why was the full size 3d printer developed by a civil engineer and not an architect? Perhaps architectural education needs to focus less on learning the latest software package, and instead research physics and the biological sciences. Perhaps we need to pull our heads up from the computer screen and look around at the rest of the world. Perhaps innovation doesn't come from talking, but from doing.

...

Or maybe not. At any rate, I feel there is still much to be learned, and I am hoping to find some answers this year. This marks the culmination of many years of schooling and I hope to be able to pull together some meaningful research and cap my education off with an innovative project.

I'll leave you with an image from a recent trip to San Fransisco:
...



St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, by Pier Luigi Nervi 1971