Spring 2021
Grovelight
Space-Time Sequences.
My design process begins with an analysis of the film Ajami by Yaron Shani and Scandar Copti. Ajami shows a community at war, with a nonlinear timeline and events shown out of order, blurring the lines between cause and effect. In my sequences I focused on the change in tonal value throughout the film, as well as how zoom of the frame affected the mood. From these I gained the design motivators movement, value, and contrast.
Models.
Next, models use these motivators in their own unique ways and allow for further abstraction in the form of diagrams.
Diagrams.
These diagrammatic representations of the film motivators show themselves as various versions of a reveal, a loop, and a journey.
Collage.
“The art-based process of making, specifically via collage, offers a powerful tool for conceptualizing space, form, and light. Collage allows the designer to investigate ideas through manipulation of geometry, composition, and materials.”
- Ziad Qureshi
Finally, the collage creates a continuous space with natural textures in unnatural shapes.
Site Analysis & Grovelight
From my site analysis I noted a significance in the existing circulation, natural and artificial lighting patterns, and student use of the site, and felt it important that these were preserved. The initial concepts all focus on these motivators, but the first one had the strongest connection to the existing site, so it was further developed.
This design influences the phenomenological effects of the site and doesn’t interfere with current circulation and use of the space. After looking back at my collage, and taking inspiration from the Grove and its trees’ effects on what lies underneath them, my design concept creates a biophilic dappled lighting effect from unnatural forms that fills the site. By creating an imagined volume, the physical form of the installation does not require obstruction of the airflow or circulation of people. Had we been given more time, I would have liked to show the weathering of the aluminum panels’ shapes over time as they bumped into the wall, ceiling, and each other.
