The Living Wall

Summer Visit

2011-07-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

It's always a nice afternoon at the Griffis Sculpture Park. We spent some time hanging out at the site and adding a few screws here and there. Overall, the projects are holding up remarkably well and weathering nicely after a rainy May and a hot and dry July.

Here's the view of the Wall from the field, with green grass and leaved trees:

A few more shots:

Views from the "back", which was getting some great sun at that hour of the afternoon ...

TLW Accepted into the BTES Conference 2011

2011-06-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Professors Shadi Nazarian, Chris Romano, and Nick Bruscia will be presenting the project as part of the Building Technology Educators' Society Conference 2011, themed "Convergence + Confluence" on August 5, 2011.
TLW will be presented in the Environmental Design category.
The conference this year is hosted by Ryerson University (Toronto, ON) and sponsored by both Ryerson and the University of Waterloo. Conference website: http://www.btesonline.org/toronto.html

Theme overview: (from the conference website)
If Architecture cannot exist in a vacuum, then what can be said of its pedagogy?
Architecture is the epitome of convergence. Throughout history architecture has made manifest the confluence of multiple disciplines, stakeholders, technologies, and materials that have intimately responded to its context. From multidisciplinary innovations in material technologies to unconventional appropriation of tools for teaching, it is difficult to find disciplines that do not present some impact on contemporary architecture. Where traditional models of architectural pedagogy have been reluctant to embrace this trend towards convergence, notable educators, practitioners, and students have emerged as vanguards of a contemporary and holistic discipline. To witness these convergences is to witness innovation. As architecture continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly evident that in order to educate future generations of designers, the discrete model of dissemination will be replaced with one that embraces the confluence of multiple dimensions and facets.

Final Review / Opening

2011-04-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, The Living Wall 2011 was opened to the public following a final review and exhibition of the projects. The students were invited to relax, hang out at the park, and stay overnight in their projects. Congratulations to them all for an amazing semester and job well done!

Many thanks to our guest critics, who remained cheerful and constructive throughout the long day in the rainy weather:
James Brucz - Pratt Institute, School of Architecture
Craig Huffman - Florida A&M, School of Architecture
Maciej Kaczynski - University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture
Steve Mankouche - University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture
Alexander Maymind - Cornell University, Department of Architecture
Abigail Murray

A few shots from the review:

Breaks from the review to keep warm ...

On-Site Assembly

2011-04-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a wet, muddy, but productive and fun few days on site. The weather is slowing us down a bit, but we'll be finished for the opening!

Almost there!

Shipping!

2011-04-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

The projects were done on time, packaged within the limits of their original volume of 6'x8'x8', and loaded safely onto the trucks before 7:30am. On-site installation to soon follow ...

Many thanks to Wade, Shawn, and Norman from Georgi Construction for the expertise, equipment, and time!

Projects packaged and ready for transport. 6:30am.

Meanwhile at the site ...

2011-04-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's still April after all :)

Measure. Mark. Dig. Level. Check. Dig. Level. Double Check. Repeat (or dig again)

The few days previous were quite beautiful however. Old foundations from TLW 2010 were removed and re-cut as necessary for use this year. New railroad ties were delivered and cut to size on site. Old trenches were filled, tamped, and graded. Not bad for a day's work.

We've been busy fabricating ...

2011-04-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

... and digging in the foundations and preparing for shipping. We transport the finished projects tomorrow, and begin the on-site assembly. More updates to follow in upcoming week.

Until then, have a look at the Flickr page for some work in progress fabrication shots:
go to: Flickr Archive

Modularity and Structure

2011-03-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Working now in groups of 6-7, the students have been working on the final 12 projects that will be built at full scale. Phases 3 and 4 focused primarily on modularity and structure through drawings, scaled models, and full scale mock-ups of some of important structural details.

Drawing: Team Ascension

Drawing: Team Light Wall

Phase 2, mass to plane (interior and program)

2011-02-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

The massing studies were developed into planar models (as well as drawings in plan and section) interrogating the possibilities and consequences of the geometric transformations explored earlier. Here's a few snapshots of some of the results. The projects now take program into account: entry, a minimum of 5 sleeping spaces, and internal circulation.

The students will soon work in teams of 3-4 and begin breaking a selected series of design schemes down into modules for ease of shipping and on-site assembly.

Phase 1, initial massing schemes presented

2011-01-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

The project for 2011 got off to a great start with each student completing several individual schemes, testing ideas and different strategies for transforming the rectilinear volume. Program was left out of this phase, resulting in a wide array of abstract geometric investigations that will soon become a base to study interior / exterior occupancy.

Photos: Rob Garlow

TLW accepted into the NCBDS 2011

2011-01-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Professors Shadi Nazarian, Chris Romano, and Nick Bruscia will be presenting the project as part of the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (Beginning Of / In The End - Sustainable [re]starting) on April 1, 2011. TLW was accepted into the "Integrating Integration" category.

The conference is hosted this year by the University of Nebraska, College of Architecture.
Conference website: http://ncbds.unl.edu/

About NCBDS: (from http://www.beginningdesign.org/)
The National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS) is a national peer review scholarly gathering dedicated to the study and practice of beginning design education. For over 25 years, the NCBDS has provided a forum for design educators to present papers and projects and hold discussions related to introductory design issues.

About this year's conference theme:

Design schools have been dealing with issues of sustainability, design, and solutions to problems for a long time. It has been long known that meaningful design inherently calls for sustainable outcomes and leads to solutions in harmony with nature, not outside of it. While this may be true, the level of discourse about the impact our design could have in improving the climate, material reduction, energy reduction, and more, has increased to astonishing levels. William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle to Cradle suggest a radical and deeper method of thinking and making. This call for change has been with us for some time but is our teaching paving the way for their type of new thinking. Are we really capable of this level of change? Can we affect change in what we do? If sustainable design thinking is the solution to environmental issues, do our early design studios prepare the way for the types of significant changes McDonough and Braungart require?

This proposal seeks to raise these and other questions about the shifts in practice and teaching. How are we responding or speculating about them? Our goal is to create a stage were educators can claim that what they are doing in foundation education is preparing students for the shifts and changes that have happened in the field of design. Conversely, the discussion may speculate that we are not doing enough. This proposal does not seek to prescribe outcomes, but rather we intend to provide a stage for open discourse and argument about where we have been and where we are going.

TLW in Tokyo

2010-07-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Nick Bruscia, while teaching a summer study abroad in Tokyo, presented the Wall in Pecha Kucha Night Tokyo, Volume 74.

Thanks to Mark Dytham, Astrid Klein, and Tomoko Kagawa for the invite to present the project!

The Completed Wall ...

2010-04-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

On-Site Assembly - Day 2

2010-04-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

On-Site Assembly - Day 1

2010-04-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

The projects have been shipped and dropped off on-site.

Special thanks to Norman Georgi Construction for donating their time and equipment!

Move Day - Transport to Griffis Sculpture Park

2010-04-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

update: Final Build Week

2010-04-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

update: Foundation Complete

2010-04-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Foundation in progress ...

2010-04-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

PDF: foundation plan

Salvaged railroad ties provide the foundation for the projects to rest upon. Each set of ties is terraced to compensate for the slope of the land which is roughly a 6" drop per project.

update: Works in progress...

2010-04-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

The development of the 14 final projects is well underway ...

Phase 3 Review

2010-03-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

Phase 3 review

14 projects - groups of 6-7 (structural studies at 1"=1'-0" and full-scale detail mock-ups)

Due to the size, shape, and formal complexity of the modules, a typical load bearing structural system could not be applied to the projects. Thus, the proposed method of fabrication required an investigation of the module as a self-supporting structural component.

Work in progress exhibition

2010-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Some shots from the opening in the Hayes Hall Lobby ...

announcement: TLW work in progress exhibition - 3.22

2010-03-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

The Living Wall exhibition:
in-progress work from phases 1 and 2

Hayes Hall Lobby
School of Architecture and Planning, South Campus

Opening Reception:
March 22, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
On view through April 2

Phase 2 Review

2010-03-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

Phase 2 review

28 projects - groups of 3-4 (scale: 3" = 1'-0")

Individual projects from phase 1 were organized into a single scheme combining the strengths of earlier proposals . The goal of phase 2 is to be able to disassemble and pack each unit as blocks considering the transportation of units in smaller / lighter fragments.

Phase 1 Review

2010-02-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

Phase 1 review.

First wave of design proposals - 100 inhabitable dwellings.

All projects began with a solid volume of blue foam measuring 6'x6'x8' (1"=1'-0" scale).

Volumes were cut, shifted, and rotated to provide an area for entry, internal circulation, and sleeping areas for 3-7 people. Final models for this phase were the result of a translation from solid to planar materials allowing the massing studies to become inhabitable while maintaining their volumetric identities.

Hello World

2010-02-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

This blog was created to mark the progress of The Living Wall; a first year design / build project at the State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Architecture.