2a - Spiller and Burry

Neil Spiller - Towards an Animated Architecture Against Architectural Animation

The process of architectural animation too often homogenizes the uniqueness of the architecture that is being put on display; it results in a banal movement across vistas or along paths, degrading the intrigue or mystique surrounding the design of an individual building. This problem arises because of a seemingly static progression through a site or down a corridor, putting the minutia of the building on display instead of highlighting the "fluid multiple viewpoint 'snapshot in time.'" These snapshots in time or framed clips left pieces of the building in the 'dark,' giving the architecture a realm for imagination. In the realm of artistry, the most successful enterprises are those that leave the finessed details to the imagination of the beholder. In a similar way, the most unique and intriguing architectural animations leave the audience the ability to complete the story of what they are seeing. Animation as a tool for the representation of architecture is capable of producing stunning results, but it is equally capable of muddying the intent of the design. How can one harness this medium without adding to the cacophony of badly animated architecture?

Mark Burry - Beyond Animation

"In teaching architecture one often ponders on what today's student, released by the computer from the hours of hatching and other manual craft-based time-consumers prevalent in traditional architectural study does in their stead. What should we offer in their place, of equivalent usefulness and less excruciating time commitment?" The world of animation has the potential to release the designer from the tedious work of crafting details within drawings. We are freed to bring life to our creations by digitizing their being across a series of virtual Cartesian coordinates, creating infinite variability. Yet something is missing within the digitization of Our World; the answer to that age old question -'Why?' Yes, we should tackle this new medium of animation and define the animate, and the precision with which Burry accomplishes the translation between Phileban geometries is certainly laudable. Yet there seems to be a disconnect between the digitized translation of these geometries and the art of the "master-builder." How does the shifting of a cube to a sphere create better spaces for people to live - are these spaces animated without thinking about life? Are these digitized geometries getting in the way of our imagination?

Animation 2

Animation Attempt 1

Square cropped animation

Widescreen Animation

Dynamic Spatiality

Grosz and Rocker

"Indeed the subordination of space to time in western though [...] is one of the most complex issues in the history of metaphysics." (Krell,31)

"Spacing is of interest in as much as it exceeds the conceptual order it makes possible." (Wigley, 79)

These two points go hand in hand with the readings by Grosz and Rocker, which deal with a the dynamics of space and movement. 

The Future of Space: Toward an Architecture of Invention

There are two different times; a time of differance and a time of knowledge. The focus of this essay was upon that of differance, a seeming temporalization of space and spatialization of time. The dichotomy between spacing and temporization is one that allows space to emerge from non-time or a time of interval. This allows for virtuality to seep into existence, meaning that space and movement are simultaneously dynamic. This generates the modalization of space; a rift between what "is" and "isn't." 

Some key points were that:

• abstract space is nothing but the mental diagram of infinite divisibility
• space is a field for the play of virtualities
• space emerges through motion
• the past is only idea, the present is ideo-motor - a series of unhingings
• contrast between finite moment and infinite past

Versioning: Evolutionary Techniques in Architecture

There is the potential for a dissolving differential data-design that no longer simply 'exists' but 'becomes.' These two words are key to both of the readings. Existence emerges through an understanding of time and processes, becoming an object or space or motion that can be simultaneously understood and controlled. In our dynamic world, "nothing but change persistently takes place." Since we are able to instantaneously project and produce, objects are dynamically 'in-formed.' Through the repetition of difference, finessed objects can emerge, refined to the point of pragmatism, warranting careful studies in form making. 

Some key points were:

• Repetition of difference
• Data-design escapes the realm of the prior-anticipated
• differentiation can dissolve into figures out of 'nothing'

Finally is defined as the continuous process of differentiation. Different versions or iterations are used in order to resolve problems at a w holistic level; such as those of the automobile, airplane, and certainly architecture.

Krell, David Farrell. Architecture: Ecstacies of Space, Time, and the Human Body. State University of New York Press. New York. Print. 1997
Wigley, Mark. The Architecture of Deconstruction: Derrida's Haunt. The MIT Press. Cambridge. Print. 1993

Movement 3 and Analysis

Usain Bolt - Gold Medal Finish

Movement2

The dunk is one of the most thrilling aspects of basketball. A player goes airborne and flies to the rim, slamming the ball and their body into the action of scoring. The moment before the dunk is one of compression, whereas making the bucket is one of extension. This process is one that creates a unique pattern through space, with different parts of the body engaging in different movements.