ARCH4822 - Theory II - OliverH

   Studio Project:  this design 3 studio project form derived from small pieces of packaging foam. The foam pieces were collected from the garbage, selected based on interesting spatial and formal qualities, and digitalized. Once in a digital form, the base geometry was multiplied and manipulated by digital means targeting to create interesting spaces at various scales.  the project was designed to be a new Community Center in Redhook, New York. The formal qualities break away from the neighborhood's conventional architecture but it resonates and exaggerates the neighborhood's quick-changing context. Deconstructivist Architecture - MOMA Catalog - Summary Preface - Philip Johnson: Modernist architecture was a new style to take over the discipline in the 20th century. Deconstructivism is, however, not a new style. If anything it is the reinvention and regeneration of Russian Constructivism. There is a high contrast between modernism and deconstructivism. Modernism repr...

Naturalism The above sketch was created to visualize the set of patterns picked from 'A Pattern Language' by Christopher Alexander. The patterns to create this hillside section composition were the following: 105. South facing outdoors 107. Wings of light 118. Roof Garden 168. Connection to the earth 171. Tree Places 192. Windows overlooking life The overall composition suggests a strong connection to earth where the structure wouldn't take away from the natural forms of the hill, giving respect to nature. This approach would also mean less excavation and destruction on the site.  Summary of 'Perspectives: Manifesto 1991' (pp108-109) Christopher Alexander lays out his manifesto by demeaning the "Mainstream Theory of Architecture" of his time of practice. He lists a series of issues with the mainstream theory that is to argue his claims and needs for change. Such issues include lack of understanding within the definition of quality, affordability, finance...

Analysis of 'Discipline & Punish - Panopticism' by Michel Foucault      (pp1-2) To begin with, Foucault describes the historical measures taken to fight the plague epidemics during the middle ages. His main focus is not on the disease, but rather on the logistical actions that the people took to eliminate it. Due to the monarchical structure of countries at that time, there was already a clearly established hierarchy of power, but another powerful tool surfaced from the disease-fighting efforts: surveillance. The constant surveillance and reporting through the hierarchical chain ensures full discipline both among quarantining citizens and among those who carry out the higher orders.       (pp3-4)The described surveillance phenomena from above are exemplified with Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon . A cruel but intelligent solution for prisons. The concept of the Panopticon entails a circular or polygonial periphery with a central tower. The periphery ...