Barrett, Kyle
Arizona Light Study: The first set of images is a light study of the Fulton Center’s southern Glazing. It was conducted from noon untill sunset at one hour intervals. The purpose of the study was to examine the dynamic nature of color on reflective surfaces.
The vertical axis of the graph pertains to the time of day, while the horizontal axis pertains to the angle from which pictures were taken. I found that the graph performs two major functions. Firstly, it creates an abstract representation of the glazing itself, showing its full color potential. Secondly, it allows me to look at how the two variables (the sun and observer’s angles) relate to one another.
The second Set of Images was an attempt to see how the eyes adjust to contrasting lighting as well as how that relates to heat.
The third was an examination of how different shadows layer up to create recognizable forms. The exercise was extremely helpful, as it involved drawing white on a black background, essentially forcing me to draw the light itself to define the form. The fourth and final set dealt with how refracted light moves over time with the sun, and how the reflective surface it was cast on played with the refraction’s intensity.
Concrete Blocks Exercise: As continuation of the light study, I attempted to create three 8″ by 8″ by 8″ concrete blocks that focused on specific light phenomena. Block 1 deals with shimmering light, and is meant to capture the reflections of water on a round surface that slowly moves throughout the day. Block 2 deals with channeled light, allowing for light to spill down a surface that gradually becomes rougher as it widens in diameter. Block 3 deals with diffused light, allowing light to spill around a central column. The theory is that this effect will hide the edges of the column and make it appear to change sizes throughout the course of the day.
Modular Light Screens An extension of the water-based concrete block, these 8′ by 8′ by 1′ light screens explore different qualities of caustic light. The left iteration shows caustics with a matte-finished model, while the middle iteration shows the qualities of a smooth-finished model. The rightward iteration is an experiment in colored light, where the ‘bowl’ of each block is colored red. Essentially, the more water within a block, the less red it should be, allowing for the wall to become a visual gauge to its own water level. The model pictures are listed below and, despite the 3d modeling material’s transparency, still show a significant effect.
Trip to the U of A Optical Sciences Center and Rick Joy’s studio: Below is a choice selection of images taken from the U of A Optical Sciences Center and Rick Joy’s Studio. Both are incredibly inspiring works that deal with light and materiality in different ways. As a side note, the telescope mirror construction lab was kick ass.
Enveloping Light Diagram: Caustic light is a function of multiple straight lines coming together to form a curve or envelope. This concentration creates the beautiful effect I have been studying. I will use the understanding of this process to inform my future development of the light center.
Using enveloped light with curved geometry to create a cusp singularity: A cusp singularity is a function of caustic light in it’s purest form, reflecting off of one simple curve. This effect is incredibly sensitive, and although the study model does not have a perfect circle to create a perfect cusp, the effect itself is still quite beautiful. Now that I have it in its most basic element, I will begin to play with the different geometries of this effect to see what types of visuals I can create.
Caustic Light Manipulation Diagrams: This singularity cusp manipulation is informing my current caustic light gallery design scheme.
Post Midterm Review My project showed strong conceptual development with a mostly unresolved plan. My intent for the final is to move forward with a more solidified plan that directly relates to my concept. Specifically, the concrete shells derived from my original block were criticized as too literal, as the exposed straight line formwork gave them a highly organic appearance. The plan itself was difficult to read, and jurors pointed out that the colliding geometries within the plan would create an experientially unpleasant place. Additional commentary suggests that I may want to go back towards my original direction of creating a single concrete membrane for the roof rather than individual shells. I also want to move away from a strictly linear progression in lieu of something that further represents my effect and it’s relation to water.
SANAA Rolex Center and Glass Pavilion: These are great projects dealing with similar geometrical forms as those in my project. There is a very refined architectural language present in these schemes that I hope to be able to translate into my work so that my project will read as a more unified gesture.
I am considering that my final project may not directly have the walls and blocks from the earlier research projects. My conceptual study has been informed by them, but the content itself has moved very far and their actual presence may no longer be fully necessary or relevant.
Playing with caustic light study model:
Final Review and Reflection: Although the core concepts from my midterm carried over, the project’s final form and organization changed drastically. This was for the better, however, as the overall project achieved a higher degree of resolution than the previous iteration.
The key point I will take away from the review is that there were several areas where the critics pointed out that I could have taken the design further. The notion was that I had stopped short from carrying the level of precision I showed in my conceptual work throughout the entirety of the design itself. My haste in preparing materials and the presentation itself stopped me from taking the project to the next level as a whole. Because of this, critics pointed out, there were several missed opportunities in my project’s design. The two of these opportunities that I took the most note of were the possibility of a stronger entrance and multiple levels of vertical interaction, as these were present elements in my midterm that I lost sight of over time.
There were also internal connections between the building’s elements, such as interior and exterior columns, that I failed to recognize. As a side note, I also need to approach how I come off in my presentation as, in attempting to clearly articulate my design concepts, reviewers mentioned that I seemed a little too confident in my project. My plan needed a higher level of graphical precision as well.
Overall, I felt the review was very positive and the critics seemed to appreciate what I was trying to do and gave me valuable input in how to approach the design process in my future work.
This project, along with my previous design work, has been documented and can be viewed on my website as well.
