︎MOLDing
sp 2018
Molded
architecture is about the relationship between process and product, unique in the
way that space is produced as a function of boththe material and the process, understood across scales; from lofted curvilinear
forms we move under and around, to articulated surface textures, ghosted
formworks at the scale of our touch.
The product is a
process, resulting in forms and facades that talk about how they were made;
honesty in articulation and legibility of process.
For materiality:
earth, concrete, sand and salt, all variations of materials that are capable of
changing state: monolithic and heavy, but also plastic, flexible; either
structured or erodible, creating solids through curing and voids through carving.
Process: Raw earth
is carved by drills that enter and exit the earth column at controlled
points. Once within the strata, their
paths overlap and intertwine on an improvised journey circumventing obstacles. These voids are shored and reinforced with
concrete of various solubility in its material composition. Funnels at the surface drip water along the
edges that slowly erode soluble walls, revealing a palimpsest of textures of
concrete, sand, earth, rock. From these
carved walls, recessed structural beams attach to shoring remnants, suspending
platforms, grates that allow continuity of water and sight. Pathways never touch the walls but float and
meander, adjusting to the surrounding form.
Movement: Enter
from the sidewalk between floating funnels, undulated curves whose geometry is
drawn down into the earth. Descent
brings one into the space where the voids overlap, light filters through punctures
above, and below, the water collected
refracts light, the walls themselves bouncing sound from the performance on a
makeshift stage. The platforms
continuously spiral in descent. The
metal grates float down, over the pool, through the wall of earth, and into the
parks.
Functionally,
these projects are follies; “architectural entertainment.”
This project is
an ephemeral passageway; floating lightly through this heavy, damp space,
punctured by light, like being within a cave which at closer inspection is
highly technical, whose grain reveals ghosts of its carving and the sound of
water trickling a constant reminder of the continuing process of space-making.
