Rawhide, or the New Shingle Style
The Ohio State University, Winter 2011
Prof. Jason Payne
THE PROBLEM: Architectural Surface, From "Skin" to "Hide"
A project framed through the lens of Gottfried Semper's short essay entitled "Furriery: A Recently Neglected Technique," this project attempts to investigate the cosmetic qualities of surface and form, where surface (hide) comes first and form (body) comes second. This idea analogous to finding a flattened hide of an unfamiliar animal and trying to imagine how to reconstitute it's original form. For these developments, a look at models of surface treatment outside of architectural discourse were required - ie, furriery, or the more contemporary version, taxidermy.
My specific project looked at the characteristics of a domestic goat hide, and the way in which, although a topographic surface, the hide could be reformed to create a total effect through specific geometric manipulations. My particular manipulation vocabulary was a series of "pillows" through various processes of pleating, pinching, and draping. Although figural, the various modes of pillow-making are outside the realm of semiotics. And instead, through cosmetic enhancement of the hide, the resulting form is not evaluated through a formal reading, but rather in terms of things like luster, posture, and character. These qualities result in an efficacy that situates itself somewhere between architecture and rogue taxidermy.
A difficult part of this investigation was the issue of representation through analytic drawing and image making. Though a project related to contemporary architectural discourse, it was important that the representations were both familiar but also foreign to typical architectural methods. The result, a combination of photographic work and analytic drawing techniques borrowed from origami diagramming techniques, became a way of showing the process and controls of each pillowing effect on the hide. Compared to a post-modern drawing technique of semiotic surface representation, these drawings conveyed an emphasis on surface character and body.
Fur Direction & Thickness
Thickness of fur, delineated by lineweight, has some relation to the hide thickness. The mulitiple changes in direction offer many opportunities for various folding techniques, which render specific surface effects.
Drape
Draping the fur allows for fluid directional change in a fold. Different from the pleat, draping does not expose the hide below, nor does it create sharp tangental fur effects. The effect of draping can be accomplished without creasing the hide or by literally draping the fur over a voluptuous object.
Pleat
Pleating the fur allows for sharp, turbulent directional changes in a fold. Different from the drape, pleating exposes the hide below through tangental effects of the fur. The effect of pleating can be accomplished by creasing the hide perpendicular to the fur grain.
Pinch
Pinching the fur allows for the most dynamic manipulation of the surface. Combining two pleats, when folded perpendicular to the fur grain, the pinch allows for more than one shift in tangental direction of the fur. These pinches can almost appear twisted and very hurricane-like at times and can also be combined with the pillow technique for further effects.
Pillow
Pillowing the fur allows for volumetric effects on the surface. By pleating or pinching one end while allowing the other to be open, the hide appears inflating or encapsulating of a substance making the hide appeared pillowed in those areas.
Wax Model Studies
Explorations in modeling with waxed sheets allowed for a further investigation of the three-dimensional geometries and hide reforming that created the desired surface effects. Hide thickness could be modeled through the accumulation of layers of wax - much like the layers of leather molded in saddle making techniques.
Full Scale Canvas Model
Modeling the entire hide out of stiffened canvas gave way to a series of fold tracing techniques using dotted lines. These annotations across the hide helped decipher the exact techniques of drape, pleat, and pinch on a large, networked scale in order to better design the effects of triangle, bow-tie, and inverse pillows.
The Ohio State University, Winter 2011
Prof. Jason Payne
THE PROBLEM: Architectural Surface, From "Skin" to "Hide"
A project framed through the lens of Gottfried Semper's short essay entitled "Furriery: A Recently Neglected Technique," this project attempts to investigate the cosmetic qualities of surface and form, where surface (hide) comes first and form (body) comes second. This idea analogous to finding a flattened hide of an unfamiliar animal and trying to imagine how to reconstitute it's original form. For these developments, a look at models of surface treatment outside of architectural discourse were required - ie, furriery, or the more contemporary version, taxidermy.
My specific project looked at the characteristics of a domestic goat hide, and the way in which, although a topographic surface, the hide could be reformed to create a total effect through specific geometric manipulations. My particular manipulation vocabulary was a series of "pillows" through various processes of pleating, pinching, and draping. Although figural, the various modes of pillow-making are outside the realm of semiotics. And instead, through cosmetic enhancement of the hide, the resulting form is not evaluated through a formal reading, but rather in terms of things like luster, posture, and character. These qualities result in an efficacy that situates itself somewhere between architecture and rogue taxidermy.
A difficult part of this investigation was the issue of representation through analytic drawing and image making. Though a project related to contemporary architectural discourse, it was important that the representations were both familiar but also foreign to typical architectural methods. The result, a combination of photographic work and analytic drawing techniques borrowed from origami diagramming techniques, became a way of showing the process and controls of each pillowing effect on the hide. Compared to a post-modern drawing technique of semiotic surface representation, these drawings conveyed an emphasis on surface character and body.
Fur Direction & Thickness
Thickness of fur, delineated by lineweight, has some relation to the hide thickness. The mulitiple changes in direction offer many opportunities for various folding techniques, which render specific surface effects.
Drape
Draping the fur allows for fluid directional change in a fold. Different from the pleat, draping does not expose the hide below, nor does it create sharp tangental fur effects. The effect of draping can be accomplished without creasing the hide or by literally draping the fur over a voluptuous object.
Pleat
Pleating the fur allows for sharp, turbulent directional changes in a fold. Different from the drape, pleating exposes the hide below through tangental effects of the fur. The effect of pleating can be accomplished by creasing the hide perpendicular to the fur grain.
Pinch
Pinching the fur allows for the most dynamic manipulation of the surface. Combining two pleats, when folded perpendicular to the fur grain, the pinch allows for more than one shift in tangental direction of the fur. These pinches can almost appear twisted and very hurricane-like at times and can also be combined with the pillow technique for further effects.
Pillow
Pillowing the fur allows for volumetric effects on the surface. By pleating or pinching one end while allowing the other to be open, the hide appears inflating or encapsulating of a substance making the hide appeared pillowed in those areas.
Wax Model Studies
Explorations in modeling with waxed sheets allowed for a further investigation of the three-dimensional geometries and hide reforming that created the desired surface effects. Hide thickness could be modeled through the accumulation of layers of wax - much like the layers of leather molded in saddle making techniques.
Full Scale Canvas Model
Modeling the entire hide out of stiffened canvas gave way to a series of fold tracing techniques using dotted lines. These annotations across the hide helped decipher the exact techniques of drape, pleat, and pinch on a large, networked scale in order to better design the effects of triangle, bow-tie, and inverse pillows.
Triangle Pillow
Bow-tie Pillow
Inverse Pillow
