Wednesday, December 14, 2011

C1 Studio :: Mind the Gap

Name: Sophia Kim
C1 Studio: Mind the Gap
Instructor: Casey Hughes
Date: Fall 2010

What we are witnessing is a shift in the traditional relationship between reality and representation. We no longer progress from model to reality, but from model to model while acknowledging that both models are, in fact, real. As a result we may work in a very productive manner with the reality experienced as a conglomeration of models. Rather than seeing models and reality as polarizing modes, they now function at the same level. Models have become co-producers of reality. Models are real." - Olafur Eliasson

Models are useful in architecture because they help us to organize information (i.e., program, space, structure, material, etc.) in a tangible way. Models always require translation thus producing different understandings of the model's subject.  By definition models aren't literally what they represent. Rather than seeing this divergence as a deficiency it can be exploited to allow the model to transcend the literal exposing a projects underlying concepts and experience. Regardless of the degree of abstraction represented, the models themselves remain equally real thus creating the potential to convey abstract concepts viscerally.  A goal of this studio is to develop a theoretical understanding of models as a fundamental tool of design and to develop techniques of working with models that are both generative and representational.

Generative: Models tend to be generative when they are approached as "working models" that incorporate ideas discovered through process rather than the execution of a preconceived design. Representational: The aspects of representation that we'll focus on in the studio are the ability of an object to convey a projects central idea viscerally. The models we'll create are devices that allow us to communicate our ideas to others but more importantly they are a process by which we test and develop these ideas. A successful model produces a response that allows us to critiques the effectiveness of the design and thus informs its progression.

The studio will develop methods of understanding and representing space with the intention of elucidating its temporality and mutability. Rather that thinking of models as representing static conditions this studio proposes techniques of modeling that goes beyond the "fixed" elements conventionally represented to define space. Modeling the less tangible relationships within a project helps to develop a subtler understanding the conditions at play, which in turn informs the design.

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