Thursday, March 4, 2010

O'Rourke_ET ALgorithm 02



RULES:

1. If there are any color transparencies adjacent to the scaffolding – using only two tacks, pin ONE color transparency to the inside face of at least 2 basswood sticks.

2. When pinning any type of plastic to the basswood, make sure it stays taut, and it doesn’t droop over the edges of the basswood.

3. IF, and only if, all three of the color transparencies have been used, pick ONE piece of regular plastic lining.

4. Study the length of the piece, and pin it against the outside of at least TWO basswood sticks using TWO tacks.

5. Remember, the pinned plastic should be TAUT and the endpoints of the plastic should be almost flush with the edge of each basswood stick, so match the length of your piece with an appropriate distance between two basswood sticks.

6. Your piece, whether it is a colored transparency or the shaded plastic, can be oriented in whatever direction you wish. (Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal, or Diagonally connecting the basswood sticks on either side of the machine.)

7. Ultimately, place your SINGLE piece in a way you feel is aesthetically pleasing. If someone prior to you has installed a piece that is droopy or dramatically hangs over the edge of a basswood stick, please fix it.

8. After you have applied your single piece of cladding to the scaffolding, you are done.

REACTION:

What I generally noticed was that the rule sets for most of the projects were executed in far shorter than four minutes. I think this was a subconscious reaction to the first algorithm project, as many people in the first assignment had difficulty completing the required tasks in the limited time constraints. In my project I tried to simplify my rules in comparison with the first project, so the rules could be executed patiently and thoughtfully.

Overall, I feel the greatest use of this design method is the ability to carry out design decisions with a simultaneous critique by your peers. Each person to carry out the rules has the opportunity to look at the progress of the created form, and to change it in a way that looks more aesthetically pleasing. It is a process of discovering intriguing form and having your work interpreted and critiqued at the same time.

4 comments:

  1. Architecturally, this process engages with the alternating languages of structure and skin. The structure was already pre-defined, but the way the "skin" was applied to the structure could be determined by the individual. The interesting part of this investigation was that all the "skin" strips were clear except for three that were color. The three that were color were also the first three chosen by the individuals. Does this mean that a more vibrant facade is what we want?

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  2. This algorithm project was interesting in that when I look at the images I immediately think of a building and its facade. Where the strips of color and opacity would create an interesting interior environment and there would also be unique lighting effects that would depend on the way the strips were laid out.

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  3. This project is great as an experiment with light. Architecturally this type of design tool could be used on the facade to create varying experiences on the interior of a building. I think the only limitation is that there needs to be another element of constraint that controls the way the individual strips are manipulated so that there is more of a logic in the result. This could create a really great building facade, that may appear at first glance to be random, but to really have a logic behind it.

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  4. This was an interesting project that experimented with light and shadows. It already seems like a building facade, and you can already imagine where public and private areas would go inside the facade. The color panels were interesting and maybe they start to split up the public program. Then the overlapping of panels could create either shared space, or circulation.

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