Current Polemic

Exploring time as a possible condition of spatial experience and a definitive measure for the existence of atmospheric phenomena, this thesis seeks to unravel some of the mystic surrounding this immaterial quality. Through experiments situated in the realm of space-time and their ability to respond in dynamic capacities to user interaction, awareness of the temporal condition that space occupies and the role within it we as users play is brought to the foreground. It has become apparent that space is no longer static but instead defined through various interactions. Contemporary terminology within the field expresses these spatial conditions during conception as ‘fluid’, ‘responsive’, ‘adapting’, and ‘evolving’ to name just a few. These possibilities are generally contingent on human occupation as material states do not often afford the built environment such dramatic possibilities.

This condition is accepted because we no longer derive satisfaction as a detached observer. Our ever-increasing awareness of our temporal state as time is quantified, realized, and experienced in fractions of a second, is nearing or surpassing the threshold of our perceivable range. Its importance, while truly no less pressing despite this inability to truly witness its full breadth, carries a certain stigma due to these developments in observable and measurable application.

Looking at past and present methods of the representation of time through art and technology as well as our sensorial abilities to perceive it, this thesis attempts to frame a groundwork for ways in which temporal acuity can interweave itself into the design and actualization of our built environments. This interwoven connection presents a new and dynamic condition for the amplification of atmospheres within built space. Utilizing both design tactics to alter our emotional response to an environment and pairing those with methods of embodying motion and in turn temporality, truly ‘fluid’ design may be achievable in the realm of the experience.

Current Abstract

In today’s fast paced society moments of temporal awareness seem to escape us. However, programs contingent on timely operation exist in capacities far exceeding historical precedent. Advances in transportation have brought new levels of urgency as well as detention. It has expanded geographical and cultural boundaries, reducing the duration between points of interest. It is within the intersection of these pathways that my thesis is situated, the realm of the transitional space — a node on a network — intersecting everywhere and nowhere. Here time and its atmospheric intervention is of the utmost importance, bringing this phenomena to the foreground.

The public space is defined through interaction. The private space through withdrawing from the immediate spectacle. Both are flexible in plan, able to occur wherever the scenario presents itself. Interpreted this way built space in its present condition is failing to fully embrace time with the same importance as material objectification.

Time, part of the experiential “fourth-dimension”, provides measure for these interactions. The duration, and arguably the distance, between objects (viewers/users or material bodies), is responsible for this space-time perceptional distortion. The speed in which these objects move, or appear to move, directly influences our interpretation of the atmospheric conditions present within a space.

Transitional Atmospheres

I intend to execute the design of a transitional space -- a locomotive station in which a phenomenal interplay of motion and time, populated with both being and machine, exist on a central stage. People are either in animated motion or situated in temporary detention. As crowds arrive they bring with them unique and indeterminate levels of earnest. In this central station there exists a heightened sense of self-awareness present in moments of haste and stagnancy; on this stage the opportunity for atmospheric intervention and temporal awareness is revealed.

The clients, comprised of individuals of varying backgrounds and equally diverse social roles, are primarily a heterogeneous audience. However, due to an interaction with the space, in both active and passive roles, they define the atmosphere and spatial tone as a collective, thus simultaneously becoming equal contributors. The threshold, the space which separates interior and exterior, embodies the most active and hastened ambient qualities. As the procession through the space unfolds the audience is brought to various platforms of agency; many will lead to everywhere and still others nowhere, instead their departure contingent on an arrival. Caught in limbo, subject to time and circumstance, they wait for their moment in frozen anticipation.

Through explorative installations, I will continue to expand on the notion of interactive design, its ability to sync with existing architectural techniques, to create hybridized environments that enhance atmospheric conditions and temporal awareness. Through this technocratic approach I hope to garner new understanding of the implications of building as such, and further speculate as to the possibility and manner or integration.

The train station will encompass a critical threshold, where the exterior elicits subtle interior intrigue, spilling outward onto the streets of a digitally drowned surrounding. Once this threshold is breached, an interactive and dynamic condition is revealed — layering of spaces and the movement of people that ultimately find themselves in the central hub. Here time seems to slow; a moment for some, speculative eternity for others. Here the space becomes observable, a performance through flurries of people moving between connections and platforms, near and seemingly at a distance from those waiting patiently.

With special attention to the integration of the locomotive into the building program I hope to capitalize on the opportunity of time and procession. Common spaces will exist, with the observers set to the side, left to appreciate the movements of the entire stage; each platform as an individual act of the whole show.

Case as Thesis

Responsive Atmospheres:

Atmosphere, a dynamic and temporal condition, presents responsive experiences. It provides for a heightened sense of awareness through emotional provocation. These individualized, yet collective atmospheres each embody an energy, shifting color to indicate the intensity or the duration in which they are active. The series embodies the idea of spatial progression and experience reliant on occupation.

Feedback encompassed ideas of user interaction, expression, scale, and effect. These issues are driving forces behind temporal atmospheres, the embodiment of the thesis and the new effort (better late than never!) behind the satisfying thesis topic I have arrived at. I look forward to its final development. Although it is due on December 8th I have every expectation to revise a more developed draft during the proceeding semester to bring it to where I hope it should to go. The concept intrigues me ^^

[Images coming soon! Still need to photograph it...]

2046

"It's as if he boarded a very long train headed for a drowsy future through the unfathomable night". Chow Mo Wan

A film by Wong Kar-wai. Backdrops of 1960s Hong Kong ignite the screen in a kaleidoscope of color. Beautiful, ornate decor, floral prints and lighting that exudes a sense of nostalgic transience are combined with worn and tattered structures. At once the atmosphere of the film commands your attention. The soundtrack teases the ears with symphonic romance. The smooth, sad and detached melody of Shigeru Umebayashi successfully transports the viewer into the scene. The visual emotion of the characters are heightened, resonating with the observer's consciousness.
2046, the novel in which Mr. Chow, the protagonist is authoring, is described as a place from which "no one has ever come back". The temporal shift from present to Mr. Chow's fictitious future cityscape is spent aboard a mysterious train along a seemingly never ending route. A constant relationship between proximity and dislocation is established through this transitional metaphor, but is also present in the story's failed love affairs which are situated within the various space-times.

Wong Kar-wai is attributed with a unique style, a visual and emotional pastiche, which emphatically dictate both mood and atmosphere. His delicate play of subtle hues combined with a masterful distortion of depth leave the observer in a state of uncertainty. This spatial technique emphasizes the obvious and leaves the full context to be imagined. It is disorienting as a true perspective cannot be obtained. The reversal of this situation — placing the background in focus and foreground left in obscurity — embodies a more fluid sensation, as if the destination is within reach and time resumes or even seems to advance.

Reactive Cube

The Reactive Cube by Graham Plumb is a visceral screen, a 3d void filled with water. This water is mixed with an oil based compound designed to remain disparate and suspended in the aqueous state. The original cube played with the depth formed from light refraction on the oil's surface, providing 3-dimensional holographic visuals. Later versions of the cube became interactive, responding to the movements and interference caused by users.

http://grahamplumb.com/cube.html