Carl Lostritto, Instructor
School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation
FormZ
Annapolis: Virtual Three-Dimensional Spatial Intervention
The final result was a process of learning how to use FormZ in order to create a three-dimensional model that could be inserted into the source video from the previous exercise. I think through the process I lost the essence of establishing a datum throughout the 60 second clip. None the less, I felt the integrity of the video was strong in presenting the transition from day to night and how the intervention is received differently throughout the day.
Tracking Movement_Transforming Space
This is my final image for the review of Project B. My intentions have changed along the way, so I thought I’d update the proposal in the image as well.
Youth Vote and the Swing States
Statistics show an overwhelming increase in registered voters for the 2008 election. Across the United States the “young voters” those ages 18-29 have increased their votes in every state except New York. In the year 2004 the average youth vote per state was 46,373. The average in 2008 is 174,646. In most states, young Democrats appear to be outnumbering young Republicans at the polls. This graph establishes a correlation between, the youth vote in 2004 and 2008 and the party affiliation of the state in each year.
Bush Approval by the Media
The image above presents data regarding the Bush approval rating throughout 2008 by three major media outlets. At first I thought about having the “Approve” stay separate from the “Disapprove”, but in working in FormZ and Illustrator, I found that intersecting the two was more spatial, especially when I aggressively intersected the two polls. Below is the actual FormZ model and the FormZ model with Illustrator:
3D Mapping
The graphic maps a comparison between a poll done by SurveyUSA for the state of Ohio and the overall national trend for the 2008 Presidential election, from January to November 2008, as compiled by Pollster.com. I chose to create the graph of the poll statistics for Ohio using by cubes, as they can be stacked and displaced to represent a margin of error that comes with pre-election polls. Furthermore, they are also the “building blocks” that make up the national polls, which is why I chose to represent them as larger and generally more consistent, sweeping elements that weave through the Ohio poll. The grey rectangles a 10% range in which most of the information falls (between 40 and 50%).
Electoral Mapping
I started by mapping the electoral votes alloted to each state and in what direction that state voted. A state like California with 55 electoral votes in an election that voted democratic would be 55 units above the horizon, while a state like Texas that has 34 votes and voted republican would be 34 units below. I then went back to the last 7 elections to see if there was any type of trend. What I found was that in recent history, other than the 8 years Clinton was in office, the country voted HIGHLY Republican. It has not been until recently that there was more disparity among the states. Finally, the color of each graph denotes who won that election, blue being democratic and red being republican.
This elections stats are based on estimates with no toss up states.
Not to be cynical, but this election might come down to money…
Starting with a map of the lower 48 states, I extruded each state based on total financial contributions to the 2008 presidential election. Interwoven with this information is a warped plane that reflects the total electoral college votes for each state. The intent of this juxtaposition is to produce a map that reflects both the relative wealth of states and the relative interest of states in the current election through the medium of the two biggest contributions a state can make to a national election, namely money and votes.
Swing States (seems to be a popular trend..)
I mapped data from the swing states only to look at how often each candidate (McCain and Obama only) visited each place. At the bottom, I mapped both McCain and Obama in popularity polls against the rising gas prices. I found this to be a relevant statistic because of economic factors and the candidate’s differing policies on energy. I made two images, one including the states where the data corresponds, and one with no context. Any comments on which is more successful? As a diagram, it is better without the states because it can be interpreted differently and is more about the spatial relationships and clustering of data, but having the states allows you to read it as a political message– showing who visited what state more and whether the end polls were leaning republican or democrat.
Exploration of Surface
This project takes the abstraction of pattern and creates an interesting condition between two surfaces. When viewed straight on, the surfaces line up to give the idea of the original pattern. Since this view is rarely achieved in perspective, this project will explore the idea of experiencing a layered surface from different viewpoints. The two surfaces create a space between which can be inhabited on different scales. This space is created through the folding and bending of each surface, which creates texture and space in the surface. “While bending may suggest tension, stress, or restlessness, it also suggests continuity, direction, and smoothness” (“(Un)folding Form” by Kostas Terzidis from “Expressive Form, A Conceptual Approach to Computational Design”). Through this manipulation, a dialogue is created between the surfaces, as a result of the original abstraction of pattern. This project explores the idea of a façade, which can be occupied. The viewer will have one perception from the outside, a different perception from the interior, and the space between the two surfaces. The Louis Vuitton Roppongi Hills Store explores the idea of transforming their label into a façade treatment. The label is experienced as label from the interior, but on other outer wall, it is transformed into an abstraction of that pattern which then allows you to experience the label in varying ways. “The composite of the layers forms a deep screen that provides varying degrees of transparency or opacity when seen from different angles: more transparent the more frontal the viewpoint, more opaque when seen on the oblique” (The Function of Ornament, edited by Farshid Moussavi and Michael Kubo). The technique used in this building creates an experience that varies dependent on the viewpoint.
This project takes the idea of transformation of a pattern, and allows the surfaces to be experienced from the exterior, the interior, as well as the space between the two layers of surface. This will add an element of human motion that will make the façade more dynamic.
Inverse model
Exercise 03
