“love” written in Japanese

As you all know, this past Monday we had our small group review with Motoi and a Japanese translator. As the review unfolded, I was fascinated by how the language barrier completely changed the review dynamic.  No longer were we rambling on about minute details of our projects, but instead were forced to be simple and succinct with our language, as well as pick and choose exactly what aspects to cover about our designs. With all of our ideas and concepts being interpreted by the translator–who is most likely not familiar with architecture speak–and then translated into Japanese, who knows exactly what Motoi heard. This got me thinking about how, as architects, we must learn how to speak our own language. We talk about abstract 3D concepts a great deal of the time. To be able to communicate this information effectively we must learn some additional vocabulary in terms of traditional language, but also learn how to speak in drawings and models. Ultimately, language is really interesting stuff. It informs our lives in many more ways than we are really aware of. I will leave you all with a series of quotes I found interesting on language:

“A different language is a different vision of life.”

-Federico Fellini

“Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.”

-William Gibson

“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”

-George Orwell

“As soon as there is language, generality has entered the scene.”

-Jacques Derrida

“Man’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.”

-Paul Tillich

They say that it took the egyptians on average around 30 years to build a pyramid, and in the past two weeks each of the groups in our studio have accomplished a task equally as respectable. 

The progression of each of our design groups was more than evident to anyone who attended our most recent review with Motoi and the original review only two weeks ago.  The thought and attention to detail of each design was in direct relation to the hard work and long hours everyone put into articulating their ideas.

Thankfully David gave us a night off tonight! A rare chance to catch up on some sleep before it’s back to work tomorrow on further developing the design of our platform!  And after yesterday’s review I think there are going to be some very high expectations from Mark as well as Motoi for our next and final review on March 2 which will luckily again feature our artist via skype (he will be in Seatlle this time though, not Japan. Hopefully we wont make him stay up untill 2 am again!)

This being said, it is almost time for the final push before we actually begin building our platform.  Although we are all now one group, it does not mean it is time to take a breath! The next two weeks are equally if not more important than the two we spent in three seperate design groups.  It is time for Studio V to unite and form the super team that will deliver the most least distracting platform to Motoi that he has ever seen…

I think the most interesting part was to see Motoi’s reaction to the three schemes we have presented. Each one took a different approach and all had good ideas. I think we exceeded Motoi’s expectations and have changed his idea at what our platform could be. By the end of the review I think he appreciated that with this platform we can give a viewer an experience that they were never able to achieve before, and that is to take the visitor into the artwork. He found the idea intriguing and compelling to pursue. We also had a chance to get answers for all the questions that have been on our mind since the beginning of this project, oftentimes confirming our fears and concerns, and other times we heard him being open to the possibilities.

Below are the three schemes that were presented. I think it is important to reflect on how far we have come since our last review and Linnea’s post on the three schemes. In the end Motoi as a client had a first say at what and how he wants his art presented. He wanted our part to be something that enhances the viewers experience, yet does not distract or compete with it. With that in mind scheme two (Minji, Jeff and Sam) were the best to address those issues. The platform is simple and minimal and gives the viewer the views that Motoi is interested in highlighting.

Scheme 1 ( a Garden Journey): Artemiy, Elise, Caitlin and Chris

Scheme 2 (The pier at the Halsey): Minji, Jeff and Sam

Scheme 3 (a Purposeful Path): LeRone, Adam, Madison and Linnea

Below are the images from our review:

Tomorrow morning is our first review with the artist Motoi Yamamoto.  He will be in Japan joining us via Skype.  We will be presenting to Motoi and Mark Sloan three schemes for better viewing the Return to the Sea: Saltworks show which will be debuting this spring at the Halsey Gallery of Contemporary Art during the Spoleto Festival.  This is going to be a significant review for us, not only because we will know our direction to proceed with by the end, but that this will be the first time we will hear thoughts from the artist himself in regards to our addition to his show.  So that nothing is misconstrued tomorrow, Mark is bringing a translator.  Motoi does speak some English, but we speak no Japanese, and it is of the utmost importance that we understand each other fully.  The image above is from a great scene in the Sofia Coppola film “Lost In Translation”, and if you’ve seen this film, you know that this is not the type of situation we want to find ourselves in tomorrow.

Good morning my good friends it’s Adam Windham coming to you live from the deathly quite CAC.C studio in Charleston South Carolina It’s a warm 61 degrees outside, and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day….. Please enjoy it for me because it will be over by the time I get out of here, but that’s fine by me, sleeping is boring. Big day tomorrow, we have our last desk crits before we take our designs to the man himself MOTOI YAMAMOTOOOOO! Yup, thats right, we will have him sitting in live via Skype on our review early monday morning 9:30 am. It’s going to be a doosey, so make sure you tune in tusday morning to get the scoop what goes down.

So it’s just me up here tonight and I have FINISHED the base of our site model finally. It’s pretty darn sexy if I do say so myself. Its an interesting situation to have the responsibility of taking on a key part of any project that everyone is depending on you for, but don’t worry, I had help ( thank you Sam). It was quite a challenge building this base and I’m sure you’re thinking it can’t be that hard…. oh yes it can! It seems that if it can go wrong it will go wrong. Another interesting thing to think about is the importance of this base, this foundation, it needs to be represented at a much higher level than most modeled floors because what we are designing is intended to help you get a better view of the artist’s work, which in this case happens to be on the floor. Throughout this task of building the base I have run into a few problems and I have been frustrated with, but now that it is finished, it is better than I had imagined. It brings with it a sense of accomplishment and pride, so I welcome the challenges of studio, because in the long run its what makes studio so fun.

Well, now that the base is done and Artimey has all the walls and things cut out on the laser cutter we are basically done. Minji and Elise have laid out such a good template with directions, it will be like putting together Ikea furniture. So no worries, we are well on our way now, I just have to get to work on my group’s project!

You may find it strange that I am quoting Paris Hilton. We usually think of people like Mark Twain or Daniel Burnham or famous presidents or leaders throughout history of saying things that will go down in history as impactful statements that changed lives. I found this quote by Paris to be motivating for myself because she makes a very bold point that I think we as designers need to think about on a daily basis.

I found that this one line went well with a documentary that Professor Pastre had us watch the other day. The documentary was about how everything in this world has some design to it. Almost every item we encounter was thought out and specifically designed to fit a need. Some may fall into the realm of boring because they are not new or innovative at the moment. Take for instance the insulated coffee mug. We pour a scalding hot liquid into it and we can immediately grab the mug and run off to wherever we need to go. Before that item was invented, the hot liquid was placed in a normal cup and handled with care to not burn your hand. Someone spent a lot of time figuring out how to design the mug and now we don’t even think about the advantage it gives us.

Similar to our design for the Halsey, we want to have a successful design that in some ways may appear boring but in other ways spark the viewer’s interest and make them experience the Halsey in a different way than they would with another artist’s work. Also, artists have to think about how to not be boring because let’s face it if we think, “oh that’s boring” it will get looked over and no one will truly appreciate it.

The group I am working in for the design is currently trying to find a proper design of the “skin” of our installation. We’ve read dozens of books and searched all over the internet but nothing has truly hit us and said I am the solution. We want it to blend, but not get lost. To get the viewer’s attention but not take away from Motoi’s work.

I am writing this in hopes of inspiring everyone who reads this to take an extra moment and think. “how do I make this exciting?” in everything you do. If you’re putting your time into it, you might as well make it look cool right?

So I guess Paris wasn’t all that bad after all? Not that I’m going to listen to every statement she says but for a moment there she really hit on an intriguing point and kind of inspired me a bit. I have a few sayings and quotes from people that are typed up and printed out that I have hung in my room where I know I’ll see them just small inspirational statements that I try to incorporate throughout my day. One that stands out in particular is, “When you’re really good you don’t need to tell anyone, they’ll tell you.” I use this for everything, but I started using it when it came to my golf game. I used to be a good player but reading that daily made me work harder and practice longer until I became the captain of my golf team in high school and received offers to play in college. That was when I truly knew I was good.

Now apparently, Paris Hilton will be right up there saying. “There’s just one rule: don’t be boring.” So thank you Paris Hilton for giving me inspiration (I can’t believe I just said that) and also a happy early birthday to Paris (she’s 30 now in case you wondered).

Our group design review is quickly approaching, and we still have lots of work to do. At Monday’s end, none of our groups were quite as far along as we had hoped we would be on our designs, so Pastre invited us to view the documentary film “Objectified” (Gary Hustwit) with his ITC class Tuesday. The documentary takes you on a journey through the process of industrial design, and focuses on the interaction between objects and the people using or viewing them. The film points out that people rarely think of the extensive design process that something goes through before the product is on the market or in their home.

The part that stuck out in my mind was that we don’t think of the people or the process which made our toothbrush, laptop, chairs, or potato peelers-all we care is that it works. The film also explained how a product has to go through many, many iterations before the best configuration is found. This part was, in some way, encouraging, because it has felt like we have been trying so many different things, without ever coming to a decision. Most importantly, I learned that we can’t wrap ourselves up in the process, because the only thing that matters is if it works. 

So Wednesday, we got our hands-or tables-dirty. We went origami insane. And finally, a break through! The result? An awesome, origamified skin for our viewing platform. It was a long day, and a long process, but we finally found something that works…for now. 

It’s on to model making and presentation preparation!

Our group has been challenged with further developing LeRone’s original design concept “The Wall”.  Our team includes LeRone, Linnea, Adam, and of course, myself. Although it may be quite simple, the wall cuts across the entrace into the smaller gallery, where Motoi’s paintings and drawings will be, to help circulate people first to see his works and then back around the wall to see the salt installation has a sort of finale. In order to give people the best experience possible we have been looking at this wall from every angle possible in order to reveal things  in a manner that will allow visitors to appreciate the work of Motoi. By curving and bending “The Wall” we are able to create suspense, hide other visitors viewing works at different locations, and offer different views of the artists work. Currently our group has been creating a number of models of different variations of “The Wall” so that we can test it to make sure we get it just right.

It has been a tough couple of days for my little group of three (myself, Minji, and Sam). There is no discord between us. We all get along very well. There is no differing opinion into what we want the finished product to be. We are all on the same page. The problem is that the laws of nature are simply not in agreement with our vision. The tendency of matter to have mass coupled with the cruel force of gravity has been continuously throwing wrenches into our plans. The weekend through today was spent sketching, staring, modeling, and obsessing about how to physically realize what is in our minds. Luckily, we have had a couple of breakthroughs along the way which have kept us emotionally intact and moving forward.

It is hard to design something that is not meant to be the main attraction. What we want is something that is so simple, so clean, something that works so well, that it doesn’t take away from the real star of the show, the salt work of Motoi. This is a difficult thing to do. I watched the documentary Objectified earlier this evening and, while it deals with product and industrial design, I found it extremely applicable to our current project. I can’t remember who but one designer who was interviewed said that a great design is so good that you hardly notice it. It works so well you can’t even imagine it being any different. This is how I see our project. Our design should seem like a natural extension of the gallery. It should look like it has always been there.

At the top of this post I included an image of a sewing needle. This may be the closest thing to an ideal design. It does its job very well, so well, in fact, that you don’t even think about how good of a job it does. It is unbelievably simple and extremely useful. So what does the needle teach me? I am not quite sure yet but I am sure it is really important. Check back tomorrow and more will be revealed.

Ice Cube’s description of the work of the Eames couple as doing “mash-ups” made me think about these three groups of students working together for the first time, being “mashed up” so to say. It’s not about the pieces, but how the pieces work together is a perfect description of my expectations of Studio V this week. Taking something begun by one student and making it into something truly special by the infusion of fresh ideas from others is how we “sample”.