Week 4
Will Langston
MODI BLOG WEEK 4
In the previous week when I was brainstorming possible thesis questions, they all really centered around a main idea of speculative architecture. What I am defining as speculative architecture is architecture that is representative of forward thinking of the built environment and holds ideas that push the boundaries of what regular people would automatically think of when someone says architecture. And this style opens itself to be inherently objective and controversial.
So I wanted to do some digging into some articles on speculative architecture. I was looking for articles that might explain the wild/wacky drawings that are seemingly unrelated to architecture and these two articles really stood out to me.
These two articles really hold an idea of the thinking that goes into these certain speculative projects. Rather than making something look appealing, the overall objective of these projects is for the architect to be able to tell a story. It is important to discover more about our world with speculative architecture and to learn from history how we can take a risk in how our future will look.
This quote from the first article really sums that up. Liam Young says “A speculative architect should know how to tell stories about cities and spaces to launch these narratives into the world with such force that they find traction.”
Also I have been following the work of Daniel K. Brown and his ideas of speculative architecture also seem really interesting to me. He often talks about how some projects might not necessarily be for the audience to understand, but as a representation of the discovery of the solutions of the person actually doing the work.
I have watched some of his lectures on youtube and he talks about allegorical speculative drawings as being very similar to fine art. In this lecture by Daniel K. Brown he breaks down this student drawing.
The purpose of the drawing is the students exploration of a certain architectural project. And the output of this project is a set of drawings that are seen as a rather abstract images. But Daniel K. Brown describes in his lecture that by using different architectural symbols that an architect would be able to discover the hidden meanings behind some of these very "busy" images. Through use of superimposing plans, sections, and other images, this is a way for someone to be able to guide themselves through a drawing to understand more about the project.
So instead of trying to come up with a thesis question like "Does speculative architecture inform the future built environment?" I think that I should instead focusing on a story that I want to tell in the world of architecture and then turn that into a question that can seemingly be answered through hybrid visualization or allegorical drawings.
I'm very interested in (outer) space station design and could potential want to ask a question based on how outer space design could influence the future of real world design. I am also interested in how insignificant architecture is not really that insignificant when we apply the stories that this insignificant architecture wants to tell. Here are some articles I read to get more familiar with those topics.
Will, you talk about how speculative architecture isn't always meant to be directly communicated at first, so i think it would be really interesting to create a set of drawings that highlights your process of finding the question/answer you want to find...perhaps you start to develop your own meaning to speculative architecture and what that means to YOU. build your own definition and use it to tell your story and journey!
ReplyDeleteHi, Will!
ReplyDeleteI'm really intrigued by your outer space topic! I think looking at the way we design for atmospheres not so conducive to human survival will be informative. Have you thought about what level of space architecture you want to study? Like architecture in orbit, architecture on another planet (which one?), architecture for traveling through space, architecture for protection? Also, have you considered looking at designs for other deadly-to-humans environments (like the ocean)? The comparison of design for different extreme pressure could offer additional insights on the future of real-world design, as you say. I'm excited to see your ideas develop!
-Katie
I think that makes sense to frame your question in a way that it circles around a driving topic, like from a story-telling perspective. I think your topic has a lot to tell us about how we understand humanity right now in relation to our planet. Thinking of climate change and topics like it, it makes me wonder how these driving environmental forces would cause space architecture to mimic or enhance any architecture we have on earth now.
ReplyDeleteI think the space architecture route is really interesting. one question that comes from that is how much more can we get away with structurally on different planets or moons. I'm not sure if that is really the way you would want to go with it but it is definitely interesting to think about. another way to look at is combining your two topics and looking at speculative architecture through outer space. I'm intrigued by both of these topics! Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI feel like the work can be both appealing and story telling. I believe all these examples balance these two qualities, so I would try to be more open minded. - J
ReplyDeleteHi Will! I love that your questions about speculative architecture and drawings are about process. There's definitely a potential for storytelling, and I appreciate that you touched on these drawings being incredibly personal and often only making sense to the artist. It reminds me a lot of the site analysis you made for the St. Louis project and I can't wait to see where that takes you.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the idea of studying space architecture, but it seems that there's not a clear direction there yet. Katie has some good ideas about what you might focus on, but have you considered combining your ideas? Maybe asking how you might represent radical, speculative utopian architecture on another planet? I have no idea how you would research that, it just sounds interesting.