ASSIGNMENT 3 EVOLVING THEMES

ASSIGNMENT 3 - EVOLVING THEMES

During this course various themes initially from a fence drew connections with the psycholgical themes of industrialization, resource extraction and human labour. Relating these concepts in abstract and architectural language suggested aspects of order, sharp treatments and dynamism. A paradox exists in factory production and labour slavery in which one is exhausted in many different ways yet confined to a specific rationalized way of working. Aspects of rationalization have clarity and also allude to something very dramatic. This is what interests me about factories.

My first proposal for assignment 3 was to have these iconic large buildings in an urban context which have factories at ground level and underground and tight residential areas above. When modeling the building and its context I had difficulty in finding an inspirational source that links the urban fabric with my central strategies. I undertook various tutorial exercises particularly with surface modifications for 3dsmax and the one I found most beneficial was the tutorial involving the hexagonal lattice. Initially I was performing this exercise using triangular geometries however I then thought of the hexagonal lattice structures and I began seeing reference with beehives. I then found concepts of beehives and bees to strongly tie in with my area of conceptual research with factory production, prefabrication, repetion, multiplicity etc. The beehive lattice strongly impressed me as it usually distorts at some point. Such aspects of distortion linked well with my assignment 1 research showing distorted screens. Furthermore beehives tied in with many of my words such as profit (allows for a larger area than a square), façade decay and rough skin.
Looking at distorted screens amazed me in this course as I was always questioning the conceptual or literal force (not merely for aesthetic reasons) that induced this. E.g. is it a resultant from wind, overflow of water, resource or human occupation. For my final video the distorted screens suggest a response from the tyranny of the workers exhausted and out of normal sync. Such themes were also seen in my assignment 2 using particularly various modifiers such as melt and bend and then applying a noise modifier to convey labour movement.

3Dsmax strongly proved to be a successful medium in testing ideas and abstractions. What I found very helpful was it allowed me to distort objects to an extent where I can still control the geometries by applying other modifiers. It offers many solutions to a problem but also when combined with many modifiers it can deliver new options for innovative solutions.