futureacademy

Scenography research

Working on revising the topic of the history seminar. Initially thoughts: compare Bebiena family and Svoboda.

posted by Chris @ 7:56 pm 0 comments

Studio status presentation

In-studio presentation to see whether we had advanced our thoughts from last presentation. Short answer: no.
I need to clarify what I want from the project. I have an approach for the site and an approach for the theory behind the project but they are in opposition in a way that is not resolved...A revision of the manifesto is needed and a new ideas model/image/collage. Thinking about how the art school might be turned inside out - manual, behind-the-scenes processes become the shop front for the school. How processes within the college can become available for the public? A student run print shop creating flyers, cards etc? A student metal workshop that creates cheap furniture that is a million miles from Ikea?

posted by Chris @ 4:00 pm 0 comments

History seminar topic: scenography

We were assigned history seminar topics today after discussion in the studio. Following a (garbled and unclear) presentation on my particular flavour of future academy, I was assigned the study of the Bibiena family. A clan of eight names, they created theatrical designs from 1680's - 1780's and introduced the concept of multiple vanishing points to the stage, where previously there had only been a single perspective point.

posted by Chris @ 12:35 am 0 comments

George Square walkaround

History course walking tour of George Square. The visit to the Library was the most interesting part of the morning, as we heard about the recent changes within the reception space. The dispensing of the card catalogue freed up a huge space on the ground floor, but the subsequent rearrangement of issuing desks, security etc, apparently destroyed the original arrival intentions. I see Appleton tower now also in a new light after hearing about the student protests in its ground floor meeting space which is the largest under cover public space in the university. It may look tatty, but considering it has never been maintained externally, it is not looking so bad!

posted by Chris @ 1:48 pm 0 comments

Manifesto draft 1 and ideas model

Studio presentation today of first draft of manifesto and ideas model. From the manifesto:

“Braided streams” or “To spin an urban yarn”
The manual :: the technological
Where the two have met most profitably the results has been times of tremendous progress. eg. the printing press allowed precious hand inscribed works to become available to a far wider audience.
We are now in a period of time where technology has been adopted, integrated and assimilated into manual art processes to such an extent that it is threatening to burst from the inside out. At the same time, there is a concurrent resistance by the in-place generation of tutors to embrace the possibilities of technology when appropriate and require its rejection when neccessary.
The art school of the future will protect those manual art processes that are threatened by the technological invasion whilst supporting the use of technology for art. Those heavy, dirty, hard manual processes will be celebrated and valued.

posted by Chris @ 6:42 pm 0 comments

Psst! Electronic Art - Will digital editions become the art world's new headache?

"Sudbrack vaulted to art stardom with his contribution to last spring's Whitney Biennial—a surreal full-room installation with a Brazilian-disco vibe that included images of drag queens, soft-core porn, and serial substance abuse. Traditionally, such installations are unique pieces. Those created by artists firmly inscribed in the artistic canon—such as Joseph Kosuth, Richard Long, or Mona Hatoum—might sell for $150,000 to $300,000. But Peres Projects broke the Whitney piece down into multiple units (somewhat like the suit, shirt, and shoes of an autumn ensemble in a Barneys window) and sold each individually. To reproduce the whole installation, a collector would have to buy one of each element, at a total cost of $150,000. The defining elements—the installation's floor, walls, and ceilings—were in an edition of three. But the five sculptures, priced at $5,000-$15,000, were in an edition of five while the $2,500 decals and $5,000 video were in an edition of 10. Thus, the total list price of products available from the Whitney show was $600,000, minimum. Such sums only matter, of course, if someone will pay them. But by the time Frieze opened barely seven months later, Peres Projects had sold every last item from the Whitney show."

posted by Chris @ 10:43 am 0 comments

Ideas model

Timber: 75p (everything half-price at Lawson's before it closes....)
Denim: £1.50
Raw wool: free
Plastic wheel: £1
Stainless steel kitchen door handle: £5.50 (?!)
Copper plated pints: £1
Pictures to follow

posted by Chris @ 6:54 pm 0 comments

Scottish History of Architecture reading

Still at it, but should be able to start writing (at last). Core of the essay to be built on Hume's

"This is an historical age and we are the historical people"

posted by Chris @ 10:27 pm 0 comments

Sick

and in bed...

posted by Chris @ 4:54 pm 0 comments

AI, technology and the futureacademy

This evening I conducted an informal interview with James Mackenzie as part of my 'scenario forecasting' for futureacademy. James' background is computer programming and he recently completed a MSc in Artificial Intelligence at Edinburgh University. As I develop my aims for future academy (which will certainly be renamed in the next few weeks) I am increasingly interested in the interplay between technology and 'traditional' art produced in a 'manual' way. In order to explore these two opposing themes and the overlapping space of operation, I am aiming to interview subjects involved predominantly in these respective areas with a view to mapping in some way future scenarios that might impact the art school. Audio/transcript of the interview will be posted soon.

posted by Chris @ 10:34 pm 0 comments

Devices of Design

"Whither thine boundaries, o Architecture, in a networked, cognitive, interactive universe? Is architecture still single? Does the architecture of networks qualify as architecture?
If we could answer some of these questions, we would be in a better position to propose strategies for evaluating, selecting, and distributing architectural design in digital and networked as well as more traditional modes of support, distribution, and access. Not being an expert, I perhaps have more questions than answers concerning the archiving of architectural design. How does one distinguish between architecture and design in a total information environment? Indeed, we are collectively transiting through a digital phase of electricity in the wake of the analogic phase that brought us light, heat, and energy. The novel thing about electricity today is that it has become cognitive. We now have three distinct yet related domains in which architecture and design are operative: physical space, mental space, and cyberspace. Much of our design activity, from conception to production, is mediated by a screen, where all three kinds of space coincide. There, too, reigns a hidden architecture – that of software."

posted by Chris @ 1:15 pm 0 comments

Forget the Dewey decimal...

"For one amazing week in November, Adobe Bookshop in San Francisco has agreed to allow its estimated 20,000 books to be reclassified by color. Shifting from red to orange to yellow to green, the books will follow the spectrum continuously, changing Adobe from a neighborhood bookshop into a magical library—but only for one week"

posted by Chris @ 9:47 am 0 comments

On the radio!

I was interviewed today by The Arts Show for Radio Scotland. See more here.

posted by Chris @ 9:19 pm 0 comments

Theory essay 2: "The City and the Tree"

Currently working on the next theory essay which is concerned with the dialogue between Aldo van Eyck and Christopher Alexander over the structure of the city as a tree. I'll be pulling in the latest version of SimCity as a reference to show that Alexander's ideas haven't gone away, 40 years after their first publication.

posted by Chris @ 8:17 pm 0 comments

Weeks 7 &8 workflow

Unit meeting this afternoon and discussion of the next stage of design: a manifesto for Future Academy and an idea model (which may or may not be contextual). From Lynda's text:

"Now that you have selected a site for your project, you are to set out your own individual manifesto for Future Academy. This can be in any form that you wish (eg. a pamphlet, a poster, a statement) but shouldn't be any larger than the equivalent of A4 and should be largely self-evident without your haing to explain it to another person. In addition, you are to make the first attempt at an idea model which may or may not be contextual."

posted by Chris @ 3:21 pm 0 comments

Site mini-models

Made two site models this afternoon of Site 2 & 3. It becomes immediately obvious how far my thoughts had wandered whilst walking around the context of Site 2: taking in all the area I had explored makes the site about 10x bigger than any of the others. Oops. May require a some revision to the scope of the project.
Site 3 is revealed as fairly limited with not much scope for new building and alot of existing building to be retained as stands. Too 'finished', too nice, too clean.
Site 2 is on the edge, in transition with raw edges on all sides. The existing land uses are changing, but not yet lost to post-industrial times. Rail lines pierce the land to the east of the site, where a tenement block (housing the excellent Pond pub) stands isolated and alone. I have in my mind some strategic moves that would energise Baltic Street and Salamander Street. A new neighbourhood street to reduce traffic street and activate what is currently a blank wall on the north side. Behind traditional tenements, the future academy works quietly, taking the north light and views to the Forth. Or perhaps it nestles in the corner of Constitution and Tower Street, a young, vibrant marker to the entrance of the new Port Quarter.

posted by Chris @ 3:02 pm 0 comments

Assessing the sites 2

Made a bright but chilly route around the four sites in numerical order today. Site 1 still gave the same compact impression of solidity, despite the fact that the core is probably somewhat rotten. Difficult to get a sense of scale. Site 2 is cracking - right off Bernard Street and loads of potential along Salamander Street (somewhat off the site limits, but the limits are there to be stepped over aren't they?). Site 3 is also intriguing - the tower is c17th and untouchable and even Brown's warehouse/workshop is a significant building that would have to be integrated into the site. No tablua rasa here. Site 4 is very complex and confusing - many buildings, a sloping site, unclear circulation.
So, the choice is narrowed to two - Site 2 and Site 3. Time for some mini-models.

posted by Chris @ 7:55 pm 0 comments

A Constructive Madness

Watched the Jeffery Kipnis film "A Constructive Madness" during our Theory class this afternoon. Fasinating documentary (in the Hollywood style) about the Lewis residence that Gehry spent years designing without ever being constructed. Shows how a special client can make an architect take their work to a higher level.

Particular references that deserve further exploration:
Harmonisation in J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations as a metaphor for describing the process of refining the Lewis residence.
Les Pleurants - beautiful folded costumes that inspired the 'Horses head'

posted by Chris @ 4:51 pm 0 comments

Assessing the sites

Yesterday afternoon, each unit presented their respective sites to the full year. Over the next few days we have to decide our individual site for the year. It is not going to be an easy decision.
Site 1: Foot of the Walk
(The site my Unit was assigned at the beginning of the year)

+ central location
+ loads of community interactions and possibilities
+ gateway to Leith
+ immediate links to green space around
+ ideal location for significant public space
- resistance to radical interventions
- many established buildings and programmes on site

+ freedom to introduce radical programmes
+ Corn exchange building is very valuable
+ on edge of Forth Ports boundary
+/- a successful radical programme here could distabilize the surroundings
- developer-led housing to surround site
- nothing significant in terms of architectural programme currently
- Corn exchange is already being developed as office building

+ dramatic corner block on quiet part of the Shore
+ the water
+ two sides/faces to the site
+/- Brown's factory on site
- a little quaint and twee
+/- significant landmark buildings on site
- very quiet
- picture postcard spot

+ water and green space on each side
+ existing buildings could go easily
- developer-led buildings all around
+/- dodgy area by night
- wind-swept and heavily-trafficked

posted by Chris @ 1:40 pm 0 comments

Artists dancing on air with crane ballet

"THEY would surely be the most unusual "ballerinas" ever to perform in the world.
After decades of service lifting millions of tonnes of cargo on and off ships, the six cranes along Imperial Dock in Leith could be reborn as the "cast" of a massive steel ballet.
The cranes looked set for sale or the scrap heap under plans to transform the port area into a vibrant new city quarter.
But now four artists have dreamt up a fresh beginning for the giant structures.
Under the ambitious proposal, members of the public will be able to "instruct" the cranes to move via text messages from their mobile phones, or by leaving requests on a website.
And the cranes - believed to date back to the 1920s - will trace messages in light across the night sky, much like a child signing their name with a sparkler.
The messages will only be visible through several specially-adapted telescopes that capture the letters on a video or long-exposure photography.
It is hoped the unusual performances by The Ballet of the Steel Dinosaurs will be visible from as far as Calton Hill.
The project is the brainchild of four students from Edinburgh College of Art, who won a competition organised by the Scottish Parliament architects RMJM and Forth Ports.
The winning team - made up of Ruth Bide, a painting student, Chris Gray and Rebecca MacDonald, both architectural students, and Martine Pugh, who studies sculpture - scooped a £2000 prize.
Today, Mr Gray, who is in his fourth year at ECA, said: "We are very pleased. We came up with the idea very quickly and got the opportunity to work it up to a high level of detail. We are keen to see it happen and believe it could conceivably be done."
Port chiefs today admitted the bizarre idea could one day be turned into reality.
Terry Smith, director of property at Forth Ports, said: "It is a very exciting idea. It is great to see the designers of tomorrow coming up with these ideas."
RMJM has been commissioned by Forth Ports to draw up a master-plan for Leith Docks, which will breathe new life into the area.
Tony Kettle, director of RMJM, said: "The standard of entries was very high and the commitment and enthusiasm of the students was fantastic.
"We struggled to choose one winner from so many good works, but The Ballet of the Steel Dinosaurs was the one which all the judges agreed would make a significant contribution to the regeneration of Leith Docks.
"We organised this competition to bring students from different disciplines together and produce something innovative and remarkable."
The winning entry and a selection of the runners-up are expected to be displayed at Ocean Terminal for three weeks from the end of the month."

posted by Chris @ 2:37 pm 0 comments

Notes on Temporlabor: a libertine laboratory

DELISS, Clementine. "Metronome No. 3. Tempolabor : a libertine laboratory?", Basel 1998.

p130. Charles Esche: "In the English sense, to curate means to care for. Interestingly, a curator in Scottish law is not someone who makes exhibitions, but someone who has guardianship over a child, as if that child were an orphan. This understanding is perhaps strange and inappropriate but it does imply caring, developing and nurturing."

p140. Charles Esche: "Institutions shape not only how are is received by how art is made. The physical space of a gallery affects it, and the conditions attached to that space, often set by bureaucrats, affect the way art is produced. Art practice and artists have gone through a whole series of questions, but the institutions have not had a parallel history."

posted by Chris @ 1:30 pm 0 comments

Librarians vs. technology

"Besides being able to find the information more efficiently, librarians are also more experienced at breaking that information down. "Librarians are great analysts," says Information Highways' Web Search Alert columnist Gwen Harris. "Given the freedom to research a matter they'll be very thorough and they'll digest and rearrange and even do some interpretation."

posted by Chris @ 5:37 pm 0 comments

Architectural programme as it relates to site 1

Met to discuss the analysis and architectural programme as it relates to our Unit's specific site (The Foot of the Walk).

"Programme: a planned series of events; a set of related measures or activities with a long term aim."

• Housing/residential component
• Public space/square
• Community involvement
• Connection space between open spaces of Leith Links and Kirkgate centre
• Meeting point
• Focus point for Foot of the Walk - marker or front door to Leith
• Church activities
• Advertising
• Integration of Leith Dockers social club on site
• Beware of displacement of residential units to east
• Tatoo parlour
• Art supplies available to students and public
• Building supplies - eg. the relationship between Lawson's and eca
• Streetscape relationship at south - pavement/shop/road relationship

• Open air sports
• Anything overly-Port/harbour related

posted by Chris @ 2:46 pm 0 comments

Theory essay 1: "The complexity of images"

Reading this weekend for architectural theory essay 1. The essay explores the impact of the image of the Barcelona Pavilion and puts forward an argument that it can be considered one of the first post-modern buildings and that Mies exhibited plenty of post-modern complexities himself.

posted by Chris @ 11:34 am 0 comments

RMJM competition presentation

We won!

posted by Chris @ 6:28 pm 0 comments

Notes on "University without Condition"

"This [the modern university in the European model] university claims and ought to be granted in principle, besides what is called academic freedom, the right to say publicly all that is required by research, knowledge and thought concerning the truth. However enigmatic it may be, the reference to truth remains fundamental enough to be found, along with light (lux), on the symbolic insignias of more than one university. The university professes the truth, and that is its profession.", p24.

posted by Chris @ 11:30 am 0 comments