Hi-Res, Low-Res
SPRING 2018 / UnPrecedented: Architecture in Circulation / Erik Herrmann
The premise of this studio was based on the notion of the architectural precedent. However, rather than executing typical precedent studies, which often result in imitation or repetition, this studio’s aim was to consider new methodologies for working with history that is suggested by a digital culture of constant translation, variation, and reformatting. A series of experiments were carried out that entailed analyzing artifacts currently in circulation (in this case, OMA’s Agadir plan), and then subjecting them to a series of transitive studies which attempted to translate the original sources into new mediums (e.g. animations, objects, drawings, models, etc.). The way these processes/transformations destabilized and complicated the new material’s relationship with the original was heavily studied and used as the basis for generating a proposal for a new architectural artifact.
MATLAB was used to recursively abstract source images. OMA’s Agadir plan was selected from the initial set of MATLAB studies because of the way its delicate, fine, and highly articulated drawing was transformed into a chunky, abstract, and high contrast image. It was also compelling how the figures in the image transformed and new ones emerged.
The first exploration of image to pro-architecture using the new image looked at how “components” might be pulled out of an image and then arranged, stacked, and extruded into a tower proposal. This proposal tested the ways in which the arrangement of components might begin to relate in a manner which blurs and abstracts the part-to-whole relationships. Ultimately, in the spirit of privileging the machine eye over the human eye, this study felt like it depended too much on human subjectivity to become realized.
Therefore, the process was repeated, however, it was repeated with the interest of testing how much the computer-aided-process could be embedded and perhaps physically manifested. Rather than scanning the image for components, an image tracing process was used to break the image into distinct areas of color, which then served as the new components.
Additionally, rather than using a single snapshot of the many phases of the transformation, this approach recognizes that the image is created through a series of transformations, therefore, each phase of it should be regarded equally. Six phases of the transformation were then image traced to create the “kit-of-parts” from which the second proposal was derived. These different resolutions (hi-res early in the transformation process, low-res at the end) provided an extrusion logic which was embedded in the image’s content, rather than reliant on human subjectivity. The low-res, most abstract components were extruded the highest given they resisted the transformation process the most.
A pixelated texture was applied as another way to reinforce the process and also act as a “placeholder” or rule set for material application. The smallest pixels are applied to the hi-res components, and the low-res components receive the largest pixels.
Ultimately, the second experiment resulted in a proposal with a large, highly articulated base which simplifies/reduces itself to smaller, simpler, most abstracted forms.
EXPERIMENT 1
EXPERIMENT 2
