Arch 102 Learning

Portfolio

Gianfranco Pescetti Spring 2012

City College of San Francisco

Corrugated Board of “Jewelry”

“Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of a language , while in fact language remains the master of man”. Martin Heidegger

As an “Icebreaker” the first assignment of the semester was to design and build a tile out of corrugated cardboard. The set of rules we were give were very clear. But unfortunately I misunderstood them and I did not let my creativity go. The exacto knife was not behaving and the design was just plain and boring.

Awkward first steps towards exploring and bending space

We start making models and I show a tendency toward the curvilinear rather than the rectilinear

A Fourfold Chapel

"In my hands, there is a little bit of architecture and engineering. What architecture does is what a coat does for our body. It wraps us.“ Santiago Calatrava

S.Calatrava Sketch

The main project for the semester is the design of a non denominational chapel on the rocky southern coast of California. The program should include: a main chapel for ten people and a place for the speaker. Two private meditation space for one person. A restroom separate from the chapel. A space for 40 people separate from the chapel. An outside storage space for the folding chairs.

THE PROGRAM

How does building belong to dwelling?

Calling Genius Loci

Pure Presence Ethereal

True Blue Moody

Complex Simple

Celestial

Are we there yet?

At this stage I am just looking for a language that has not manifested itself in a clear way. I am frustrated because everything that I imagine does not appear to meet the reality of the final product. I am definitely craft challenged .

Blake’s Iteration Gianfranco Pescetti

Arch 102

Andrew Chandler

01/06/2012

Blake’s Iteration

Blake’s model is beautiful and inspiring because it conveys a sense of

strength and self-confidence thanks to the clean lines and strong

connections. Another element that contributes to the success of the

piece is light. Light saturates it and bounces off it in a way that is

sensuous and evocative of water at once. Additionally, there is a sense

of mystery in the way the exterior walls keep the distractions from the

outside, while the interior provide a private space. On the exterior, the

wall deflects the surrounding urban chaos, while on the interior it

encloses a private space. With the use of geometric simplicity Blake

has generated a piece that reveals a clarity and richness in spatial

articulation.

What I dislike about the piece is perhaps its predictability and

how the two central pieces dead end into each other’s.

As a cool exercise we are asked to take home a model of a classmate and describe what we like and why, and what we dislike and why. Not as easy as it seems.

Chapels and Vibes

What moves me?

Thing are getting a little easier and at this stage I actually start thinking of the actual chapel and the fourfold. I am still working with the curvilinear.

I find myself liking to mix balsa wood with copper and steel wire, while avoiding symmetry at all cost.

… biomorphic gestures.

The model above marks a breakthrough of some sort. It shows a complexity that is new to the process, and I am very pleased with it.

Playing with reflections and duality.

First move towards an architectural language. This is also around the time I start feeling that the foam core has to go.

The model to the left shows a curvilinear shape that is mirrored by half another. The two pieces are tied together via a piece of balsawood, and steel wire wraps around as to represent an energy that symbolizes the invisible forces that surround us.

The model to the right is a “variation on a theme” of a model built a while back. In retrospective I should have kept this language and refine it further.

Lost at sea

Neither of these two model please me, and I am again going through a creative crisis. I don’t know what to do!

“Good Design tends towards the

asymmetrical over symmetrical”

Thankfully I can go back and read the design bias given to us by Professor Chandler.

Good Design embraces the complex over the simple

I am not sure that I have chosen the right material for developing a language that will carry me to a higher level of design.

In any case these two iterations have a

certain quality that pleases me. The central spine serves as a structural support for all the additional elements. The central idea is to show the interior of a structure that is almost rib-like.

Good Design tends towards open and expandable qualities

over closed ones

At this stage I have started gaining a confidence not present at the beginning of the process. Things are getting more simple, before getting immensely more complex.

And there’s gravity

The Site

Genius loci

My first attempt to explore form within a more specific sets of constrains. Gravity for one, seemed to work slightly against the creative process. Now that there is an up and a down, all of a sudden things have gotten a bit more restrictive. Working with a specific building site in mind, while keeping the process as abstract as possible, proves to be harder than I thought.

“But how else mortals answer this summons than by trying on their part,

on their own, to bring dwelling to the fullness of its nature? This they

accomplish when they build out of dwelling, and think for the sake of

dwelling” Martin Heidegger

What I have learnt so far is that one can repeat the same mistakes over and over, and unless serious attention is given to the aspects that work in a design, improvement can be elusive.