Egeraat, E. V. “Designed by Erick Van Egeraat�. 2011. April 28.             <http://www.erickvanegeraat.com/#/projects/ing_head_office_budapest>

 Dutch architect Erick Van Egeraat explores contemporary ideas of materializing facades, structures, and entire buildings by creating unmistakable gradients in his patterns.  His designs are mostly characterized by rigid geometric shapes that create tension exhibiting elements of sublime aesthetics.  His compositions of mass are very dynamic, but often random at first glance.  Van Egeraat’s geometric abstractions of facades inspire my pursuit of designing the pixelated light screen for the final installation.  His approach to façade design shows elements of parametric design especially his City Hall project in Budapest.  The new addition to the building aims to blend new and old through gradients of materials and patterns.  The success of this strategy is debatable, but provides interesting insight and inspiration for screening and light modulation on a larger scale.           

 

Marpillero, S. (2006). James Carpenter: Environmental Refractions (1st ed.). New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

 James Carpenter’s collection of work is beautifully showcased with images, solar diagrams, and construction details.  The Dichroic Light Field project in New York, NY on pages 36-45 is of particular interest to my research efforts as this project also utilizes simple repetitive elements.  The modules create dramatic lighting effects based on careful placement of glass fins on a building’s façade capturing different spectrums of light throughout the day.  The result is a passive system that changes color due to reflected light from changing sun angles.  In my installation the incorporation of various accent materials that reflect different colors might create pleasant surprises that break the rigidity of the pattern.    

 

Bahamon A., Alvarez A. M. (2010). Light Color Sound: Sensory Effects in Contemporary Architecture. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

 A rich collection of contemporary projects showcased through large format images, architectural drawings, and construction details aim to demonstrate, as the author says, “the sensual pleasure� of buildings in today’s high-tech era.  Digitally fabricated and designed modular systems seem to dominate this genre as rapid manufacturing of modular systems drive the economy of constructabilityin large scale projects.  Emerging digital technologies make more irregular shapes increasingly affordable and constructable, the idea of repetition and rapid manufacturing of similar piece modules is a notion I wanted to stay with while developingmy installation.  It seems that the theme of my exploration emerged more in the realm of maximum phenomenological conditions achieving something complex and rich with minimal manipulation of form.    

 

Hauer, E. (2006). Continua: Architectural Screens and Walls. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Erwin Hauer’s sculptural screen designs from the 1950’s are mindboggling given the fact that his forms were designed and fabricated before the era of computing and 3d modeling software applications.  The curvilinear nature of most his architectural screen designs are elegant solutions to screeningand modulating light.  A chronological collection of his work shows a definite shift in his design aesthetic although I would say this first featured Design I from 1950 is one of his more successful pieces.  My pursuits of screening direct light are more rigid in form and do not venture into curvilinear surfaces, but Hauer’sworks provide great precedence incorporating modulation and intricate stitching of patterns.

 

 Oxman Ri., Oxman Ro. (04:2010). “The New Structuralism: Design, Engineering and Architectural Technologies�. Architectural Design. London: John Wiley & Sons.

 In this issue of Architectural Design guest editors Rivka Oxman and Robert Oxman showcase selected works that carry a common thread in materialization and fabrication technologies resultingin a movement in that defines a new emergingpractice of experimental structuralism.  In “EncodingMaterial� on pages 108-115 the West Fest Pavilion project demonstrates complex interactions of simple material modules.  Utilizingsimple repetitive elements in a complex arrangement derived from various mathematical relationships result in soft undulating patterns.  My screen panel pattern explorations are based in similar principles using a single sized module that represents a “pixel� in the overall grid pattern.  The placement these “pixels� along the grid based on various parameters offer a variety of outcomes that can suggest movement like expanding and contracting.