a Renovation of a Neighborhood: January 2010

Here is the final system drawing of all the 12 studioblocks. I try to draw this system in a more abstract way, more like a testing between meaning and feeling which are the two conflict parts I kept struggling when I drew the drawing.

Although this is not so much a clear, legible drawing, I still like the intertwining aspect of it as it collapses surface, movement and connection at the same time with working trace. This intertwining situation, I believed, is what infrastructure always has to face. It actually means, it cannot be taken apart: one subtle move of a small gear will lead to a change to the whole machine. This might be the very substantial inner force that shapes, nurses and raises infrastructure.

The first warm-up project for UG4~!

Project_Studioblocks

The project stared with a cubic volume divided into 12 individual pieces which got assigned to each studio member randomly.

Then we have to fill some marbles in it and have fun! ~lol~

I stared the idea with a thinking about marbles' movement. Not only marbles moves around the space, but also marbles act as the mechanical "infrastructure" for others movement.

The first thing I made is this "Marble Seesaw" whose kinetic part was actually accomplished by a marble. This "Marble Seesaw" can enable the marble on the right hand side to jump to adjacent studioblock volume when another one falls down on the left hand side. However, after several test with Chelsea, it didn't work that well. This lead me to think about what else can this seesaw do.

Then I was inspired by the mine rail both from amusement parks (This is one of my favorite game in the amusement parks.) and movies such as The Joinery to the Center of the Earth and Indiana Jones. (Here is a good demonstration how interesting the mine rail is! "Mine Car Chase")

So I imagined the marbles being the small carts rolling on the rails made by basswood sticks and the seesaw can be a movable-rail that shift the movement of the marbles. Especially when there is a moment where the rail is broken and the "cart" jump from one rail to another.

Here is the diagrams that show how the marbles will jump from rails to rails and finally go in to my neighbor's volume.

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I also wanted to emphasis the close relationship with my neighbors. This emphasis was showed in passing marbles with Chelsea, Kyle and Dexter ; having phsysical connection with Chelsea and Kyle; continuing surface patterns from Chelsea.

Here shows the lock with Chelsea. It's a mechanical lock.

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Here is the link with Kyle. It's a slide-in lock.

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Here are several pictures with my volume locked with Chelsea and Kyle's volume. They also shows the facade pattern that continues from Chelsea's and blend into a similar "chaos" with the basswood sticks inside my volume.