My selected piece: Slide 57 of the Week 7 lecture, "The Black Box" by Erika Kruger, Project 4, "Shadow as Solid", Memorial for Ground Zero, New York:

At first I was puzzled why the haphazard forms, and their corresponding shadows, bothered me so much. And then I realized because it evoked distressing, powerful imagery forever locked in my memory; imagery of the destruction, and rampant desolation, from that fateful September morning. In my simple interpretation of the significance of Kruger’s composition, I deeply appreciate the power of architecture to convey significant and meaningful ideas and themes about us, our worlds, and the experiences we possess as our ‘metaphysical heritage’. Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking are two very significant people; I hope my architecture expresses the vitality of their work, the essence of their beliefs, and the complexity of the worlds they devoted their lives to explore and understand. I hope that despite the disparity between the two of them, I have constructed an architecture that allows them to co-exist and intertwine in a significant yet harmonious way… just as Kruger’s work in Project 4 is significant, albeit tragic…



http://gothamist.com/2008/03/29/concrete_for_91.php



http://ginacobb.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/29/september_11_ground_zero.jpg

My two selected clients are Stephen Hawking and Charles Darwin. Earlier in Experiment 2 I shared quotes that reflected the nature and complexity of their work... the following is an 'Electroliquid Aggregation" of those two quotes:

"The universe is a deep and fascinating place to exist within... whether we are immersing ourselves in the richness of our own planet, or wondering intently about what lies far beyond it, nothing is beyond our ability to discover and understand."

This is my imported design into Crysis, using a combined form of 9 rectangular prisms.

The parallel projection:







Stephen Hawking's 'suspended' lab, with two 'subtracted apertures' representing two viewpoints out into the environment - one facing the sunrise, the rear one facing the sunset.



Charles Darwin's distinctive courtyard space to the left immerses itself in the landscape. This is in visual opposition to Hawking's detachment. Darwin is entirely concerned with the study and observation of the natural world, and he undertakes this in close proximity to his subject matter. Hawking, in contrast, is forever trying to reach out and comprehend a place - perhaps even time - that is daunting and almost terriying in its complexity.

In Week 2 I developed a parallel projection drawing constructed out of elements of two of my axonometrics from Week 1. This will resemble what I hope will be my final submission.


The following drawing is the first axonometric. I liked the 'courtyard' created by the subtraction of a rectangular prism from within a larger rectangular prism. I would like to use this to frame the space I want to dedicate to Charles Darwin.




The following drawing is the second axonometric. I liked the idea of having a perpendicular block intersecting a hollow, tubular rectangular prism at the corner, which I find to be a significant location. It allows me to locate a structure in the space that is as far detached from everything else physically, without being completely detached all together. This is the theme I want to convey in the space I would like to dedicate to Stephen Hawking.





And this is the parallel projection of my concept for the final submission for Experiment 2. The space on the left belongs to Charles Darwin; and on the right, Stephen Hawking.

Here are three significant quotes related to the work produced each by Stephen Hawking, Nicole Kuepper, and Charles Darwin:


-Stephen Hawking:

"The universe is governed by a set of rational laws that we can discover and understand."

From "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking, published by Bantam, 1998.


-Charles Darwin:

"But when on shore, & wandering in the sublime forests, surrounded by views more gorgeous than even Claude ever imagined, I enjoy a delight which none but those who have experienced it can understand - if it is to be done, it must be by studying Humboldt"

From 'Charles Darwin Quotes' in The Complete Works of Charles Darwin, http://www.darwin-literature.com/l_quotes.html


-Nicole Kuepper:

"We started thinking about simple processes... and we came up, basically, with this new way of making solar cells that is cheap, low-tech, low-temperature, and able to be done in some of the least developed countries in the world."

From "Solar Star: Nicole Kuepper" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8eNeReo-hw, Youtube 2008.

First models and corresponding sketch into Crysis.

The complete set of 18 axonometric drawings, with 9 opposing pairs.