Recent demonstrations in public spaces of our cities are confirming a profound crisis of political institutions worldwide. While citizens are claiming a change in national political agendas to ask for more focus on their own everyday life concerns and less on global finances, public squares are emerging as places of political discussion. Moved by this contemporary interest, Intermediate Unit 8 have worked on redefining what constitutes a public space today, which is the role of the architect and the agency of people, and how innovation on fabrication methods might serve as fundamental tools for constructing a city of the commons.

This year the work of the unit has been located in the city of Mexico, a metropolis developed under neoliberal rules for the last two decades. The particular site for the unit work has been the massive modernist housing complex of Tlatelolco, and more specifically, the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. This urban square is well known not only for the mixed presence of Aztec, Spanish Colonial and Modernist constructions, but also for its past political life including the students’ massacre before 1968 Olympic Games. Based on a confrontation with the everyday life in the city, students have researched on the most “mundane” contemporary issues, including insecurity, informal economy, drug cartels, social segregation or cultural repression. These issues are the ones employed as alternative micro-agendas to inform the public space of today. After intense research and reflection on the realities of the city, students have proposed different material and programmatic tactics, reflecting on how traditional construction methods can be used to generate new fabrication techniques in which citizens have a more active role. Therefore, social participation and public action are considered a fundamental part in the definition of new political spaces as an endless process of contestation, negotiation and transformation.

29.1.12

W15- Tutorials

Next Tuesday 29th of January we will have tutorials in our unit space. You have received an email with the specific task to be done for Tuesday:

1- A wired Frame axonometric of your Frame.
2- The first tasks for a model of your Frame (material, size, files, slot booked, etc). we specify the sclae of your model.
3- 5 examples of your action in a  A2 pdf.
4- 3rd years should send me their TS A4 reports to be sent to Manja and Clive.

The tutorials will be as follows,

10.30 Elliot
11.00 Camille
11.30 Fragkiskos
12.00 Eleni
12.30 Andreas

2.00  Andrew
2.30  Anand
3.00  Erez
3.30  Hao Wen
4.00 Frederique
4.30 Carlotta

26.1.12

TS Meeting

Today, Thursday 26th of January 3rd years will have at 5pm our group meeting with TS tutors in our unit space. You should bring an A4 with TS synopsis / roadmap / research. Please bring all models, drawings,etc that you have done in relation to it.

22.1.12

W14- Tutorials

Next Monday afternoon, before Maya tutorials, some of you will discuss the proposals with us. These tutorials will be as follows,

15.30 Elliot
16.30 Anand
17.15 Andreas
18.00 Fragkiskos
18.30 Eleni

19.1.12

Animation Workshop

From Saturday 21st to Saturday 28th of January there will be a workshop of Maya and Animation for your "Actions". The Schedule and rooms will be detailed soon.

First meeting at 10.30 am in our unit space on Saturday 21st of January.
Tutorials from Monday to Tuesday will be individually arranged with tutors.
Wednesday there will be an induction lecture on Adobe After Effects
The workshop will be taught by Gerry Cruz (Zaha Hadid) and Arturo Revilla (Zaha Hadid & AA PhD)

Animations from last year: http://www.youtube.com/user/InterUnit8

Finally, on Saturday 28th of January we will have the final presentation in North Jury Room.


18.1.12

W14-15 DEPLOYABLE, MOVABLE, TRANSFORMABLE

Parts of the schematic proposal in the first term related with action will be further developed in this week. The transformation will be expressed in drawings, sketch models and animations. Please check TS Brief.  

References
Hoberman´s office (http://www.hoberman.com/home.html)
Perez Piñero

Eliska Pilna (10-11)

16.1.12

W13-Pin-up

First Pin-up/presentation of the 2nd Term will be held in 38 Bedford Square building First Floor Front, starting at 10am. You have to present the FRAME and ACTION, including the work done from the last Jury in December till now.In addition, you will have to present the PROGRAM and ACTIVITIES analysed in the site and surrounding areas and how you deal with them in your proposal.

13.1.12

W13- Tutorials_1

Next  Monday and Tuesday 16th and 17th of January we will have tutorials in the unit space as follows,

Monday 16th of January
13.30 Elliot
14.00 Anand
14.30 Fragkiskos
15.00 Andrew
15.30 Eleni
16.30 Frederique
16.00 Camille
17.00 Erez
18.00 Carlotta (?)

Tuesday 17th of January
10.30 Andreas
11.00 Hao Wen

10.1.12

W12- Tutorials_2

The next tutorials will be:

- On Thursday 12th of January in the unit space as follows,

14.00 Elliot
14.30 Erez
15.00 Enrique
15.30 Andrew (?)

- On Saturday 14th of January in the unit space as follows
15.00 Hao Wen
15.30 Anand
16.00 Andreas

W12-W13 - Programme

PROGRAMME / ACTIVITIES


Frames proposed in the first term will be interrogated in terms of program. The capability of programmatic anchors to activate public space will be put in question and deeply explored.In addition, activities related to reaearch topics in Mexico City will be explored and add to the proposals. The results will be expressed by specific drawings (catalogue/axo) for the final portfolio.

Suggested Readings
Bernard Tschumi, “Program”, in Architecture and Disjunction, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994. pp. 99-168
Kim Dovey and Scott Dickson, “Architecture and Freedom? Programmatic Innovation in the Work of Koolhaas/OMA”, Journal of Architectural Education, ACSA,(2000), pp. 5-13.
Vidhya Pushpanatan (10-11)

Anthony Logothetis (10-11)

6.1.12

Technical studies

Next term you will be working with Manja and Clive (TS tutors) on your TS projects. From now on you should book your appointments with them. As you know, from the meeting we had with them last term, in our unit we will be working on kinetic structures related to the action part of your designs.
The TS project should have the following parts,
-Research - on the topic selected (kinetic structures)
-Case studies
-Experimentation - some experiments on the structure proposed
-Success/ Failure - after the experiments you should sum up the succes and failure of them
-Skills and Knowledge - Transfer/ Application - From what you learnt you should transfer your proposal to the unit design
The criteria of evaluation is: the skills demostrated in each of the parts. It will be especially appreciated the research quality of the design when the knowledge is transferred to your design.
In our unit we have option 2. Thus our Preview will be in the week between the 5th and 9th of March, and the Submission between the 23rd and 27th of April.
Here you have some references,
Emilio Pérez Piñero
Article:
Arquitectura Viva Número 138 M. Cámara y F. González Utopian Mechanics
Two Masters of Crafts. The exhibition devoted to Jean Prouvé at the Ivorypress gallery in Madrid coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the travelling theater of the brilliant and prematurely deceased Emilio Pérez Piñero.
(Video in the right side of this blog)

Hoberman Associates
Hoberman, Chuck: “The art and science of folding structures: New geometries of
continuous multidimensional transformations.” In Sites n.24, 1992, p.34-53


5.1.12

W12- Tutorials_1

Next Tuesday 10th of January there will be tutorials in our unit space. The Frames should be prepared at the end of this week to start the new term work. Please bring your work till date.

10.30 Elliot
11.00 Andreas
11.30 Hao Wen
12.00 Fragkiskos
12.30 Erez

14.00  Anand
14.30  Camille
15.00  Eleni
15.30  Frederique
16.00  Andrew
16.30  Carlotta
17.00 Enrique