20061023
Endemic House // Preliminary Site Study
Let us go back to the map and the territory and ask: "What is it in the territory that gets onto the map?" We know the territory does not get onto the map. That is the central point about which we all are agreed. Now, if the territory were uniform, nothing would get onto the map except its boundaries, which are the points at which it ceases to be uniform against some larger matrix. What gets onto the map, in fact, is difference, be it a difference of altitude, a difference of vegetation, a difference in population structure, difference of surface, or whatever. Differences are the things that get onto the map. A difference, then, is an abstract matter - Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind
1) Generate 3-15 nurb curves in a simple 2D Rhino drawing. The curves are derived from the site information you can gather by Tuesday 10/24 midday. The site is defined as the small tidal basin located at the southeast corner of the Baquenzo Moreno Port. The curves may be informed by general site boundaries (canal, boardwalk, airport), topographic information - any qualitative change you deem important (see quote above); together they express the most poignant features of the site. Focus on the location and sequence of the control points that describe the curves; the curves themselves do not have to match any given site line.
2) Use 'Loft' and 'NetworkSrf' to generate several versions of a simple (and flat) nurb surface. Try different settings in the surface tool options to create finer variations.
3) Create a 'Mesh' from the surface. Use 'Simple controls' (density of mesh) and 'detailed controls' (min. max. edge length et al.) to generate different densities and grain.
4) 'TriangulateMesh'
5) Generate a comprehensive series of meshes, then feed a tight selection to the laser cutter. The edges of the triangles are all scored, not cut by the laser. Use water color paper or 1 ply chipboard ( 12" x 12" ) to score the triangulated mesh surfaces. Laser two copies of each version.
Set up a Mesh Matrix with the generating nurb curves in one dimension (x) and the tessellation parameters in the other (y). The cells of your matrix (xy) contain phenotypical expressions in the form of cropped polygonal fields (line dwgs).
While the parameters (y) merely record the change in Rhino tool options; the curve 'discussion' (x) describes the curves 'content' and its formal behavior. Since a curve's control points mark a given site line, the formal characteristic of the curve is an expression of the found territorial difference. Group the curves according to content (boundary, infrastructure, topography) then use transitive verbs to describe behavioral attributes of the curve and the relations within the group (aggregate, bifurcate, compress, connect, dent, deviate, dislocate, double, expand, isolate, loop, protrude, relax, stretch, swerve). Print out on 11"x17".
Mesh Matrix content:
X - Curve Group (noun), Curve Behavior (verb) [type, arial 12pt]
Y - Tool, Tool Option, Numerical Value [type, arial 12pt]
XY - Mesh [line dwg]
Bring Thursday:
- Scored sheets, 3+ pairs 12"x12"
- Mesh Matrix, b/w print 11"x17"
- Sketches, Galapagos structures
Fineness
.: Jonas 9:00 PM
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