Isaac Howell

Selected Works

Isaac HowellSelected Works

University of California, Berkeley: 2013B.A., Political Eonomics

University of Michigan: 2016Master of Architecture

Taxidermy in a Dressing Room with Annelise Heeringa + Jayne Choi

Studio Work

In the interior, he brings together remote locales and memories of the past . . . every single thing in this system becomes an encyclopedia of all knowledge of the epoch, the landscape, the industry, and the owner from which it comes.

Graduate Studio VII: ThesisInstructors: McLain Clutter + Andrew Moddrell

An Island for 27 Subjects

-Walter Benjamin, The Arcades Project

The interior, as Walter Benjamin argues in The Arcades Project, defines the urban subject through an encyclopedic collection of objects. Aggregated together, these interiors create buildings that symbolize their own specific meanings.1 The city, as a collection of these buildings, implies a collective subjectivity that all interiors and individuals reside within. This creates different subjectivities of the city (society) and the interior (individual), and the [mental and physical] boundaries between them that are produced. The urban interior, therefore, is a space of identity politics where the subject is framed and defined against the backdrop of society.2 Rather than being constrained by the interior, this thesis relishes in the possibility of an object-urbanism that creates individual subjectivities of the interior within an urban design.

The depiction of urban interiors in recent paintings investigate the relationship between the urban subject and city.3 Through techniques of perspectival construction and formal composition, these visual relationships were spatially studied. To understand this, a method of analysis was created where the subjective interior can determined scalar and formal relationships of the exterior, opening up new possibilities of both interior and urban architecture. The proposal is the speculative application of these techniques on the site of Roosevelt Island, itself an urban interior. These interior-exterior and building-object relationships were investigated, tested, and manipulated. The result is an architecture where buildings, objects, interiors and exteriors are re-shuffled and re-organized; an urbanism for the inscription of imaginative subjectivities.

1 Leon Krier, The Architecture of Community, 2009: 29.

2 Judith Butler, Excitable Speech: The Politics of the Performative, 1997: 21.

3 see Gustave Caillebotte, Young Man at His Window, 1875.

Thesis Exhibition RGB Gallery, Taubman College

The paintings that were studied of urban interiors each show a distinct relationship between exterior and interior objects. After spatial analyses, physical (not pictured) and digital models were produced. The building forms which that were created as a result of reconstructing these interiors were then appropiated on to Roosevelt Island, New York City.

Henri MatisseInterior With Goldfish

1914

Madelon VriesendorpFlagrant Delit

1975

Edward HopperRoom in Brooklyn

1932

Gustave Caillebotte,Young Man At His Window

1875

Each object-building contains two interiors, and their arrangement was to construct and collect views of specific buildings on Manhattan, and reciprocally, to itself. The result is an urban plan that appears jumbled but, in fact, is highly curated.

The

sis

The

sis

Similarly, the poche of these buildings curate the collection of objects within it. As a result, there is a blurred distinction between the interior architecture and the objects themselves.

Oppositely, the site contains urban objects of the human scale: park benches, mailboxes, bus stops, subway turnstiles, etc, in gradients of intensities. This mimics the density Manhattan, but rather as an object-urbanism.

Axonometric Interior Views

Axonometric Exterior Views

The

sis

Models:City Rendered as a Field of ObjectsScale 1:200

Models:City Rendered as a Field of ObjectsScale 1:200

The

sis

Exterior Views: Collections of Urban Artifacts

Interior Views: Curating the Field of Objects

The

sis

SECTION A-A

Graduate Core Studio V: Comprehensive / HousingInstructor: Julia McMorroughw/ Kallie Sternburgh + Suxian Sun

Hi [Density] / Lo [Rise]

Mat-building can be said to epitomise the anonymous collective; where the functions come to enrich the fabric, and the individual gains new freedoms of action through a new and shuffled order, based on interconnection, close-knit patterns of association, and possibilities for growth, diminution, and change.

-Alison Smithson, How to Recognise and Read Mat-Building

Designing high-density / low-rise housing provides a unique set issues: How can the site be logically organized? What should the unit varieties be? How can individuality be introduced? And, can it not be a mat-building? We explored different possibilities to these answers in our proposal for a housing project in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In this project, we considered the characteristics of private and public space, individuality of aesthetic, and form as pattern. The project features three housing cubes consisting of various unit types. Within each cube, living patterns are sub-organized into a 12 x 12 grid. Each domestic program is assigned both a vaulted interior form and an external fenestration. This allows for a variety of aggregation opportunities while maintaining an inherent logic to organization, allowing for flexibility in both program and appearance.

12

12

12

ROOM TYPE FENESTRATIONPATTERN

FORM

CONTENT TO FORM BEDROOM

BATHROOM

ENTRY

TERRACE ENTRY

LIVING

DOUBLE HEIGHT LIVING

ROOF TERRACE

DINING

LIVINGDINING

KITCHEN

FORM AS LIVING PATTERN

Content Form Form as PatternBEDROOM

BATHROOM

ENTRY

TERRACE ENTRY

LIVING

DOUBLE HEIGHT LIVING

ROOF TERRACE

DINING

LIVINGDINING

KITCHEN

FORM AS LIVING PATTERNBEDROOM

BATHROOM

ENTRY

TERRACE ENTRY

LIVING

DOUBLE HEIGHT LIVING

ROOF TERRACE

DINING

LIVINGDINING

KITCHEN

FORM AS LIVING PATTERN

2 BD

CUBE 1 CUBE 2 CUBE 3

3 BD (2 STORY) 1 BD

1 BD

2 STUDIOS

2 BD

2 BD

2 BD

1 BD

FORM AGGREGATION Form Aggregation

Hi /

Lo

FLOOR 11 Bedroom

FLOOR 23 Bedroom + 1 BedroomFLOOR 1

2 Bedroom

FLOOR 2 1 Bedroom + 1 Bedroom

FLOOR 32 Bedroom

Hi /

Lo

Hi /

Lo

PlansCube 2

PlansCube 3

Hi /

Lo

Unit Model + Site Model

Hi /

Lo

I want to tell you a story about a poor little rich man. He had money and possessions, a faithful wife who kissed his business cares from his brow. and a brood of children that any of his workers might envy. His friends loved him because whatever he touched prospered. But today things are quite, quite different. It happened like this.

Graduate Studio VI: PropositionsInstructor: John McMorrough

Il Rhombi: An OperaAn Opera (In)Complete

-Adolf Loos, Poor Little Rich Man

Ever since the German opera composer Richard Wagner proposed the idea of the total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk), architects have been enthralled by the idea. From Loos to Lloyd Wright, Corbusier to Koolhaas, the work of architects have extended far beyond buildings themselves. The ambition of the studio was to design at a variety of scales (building, furnishings, and objects) to test ideas of materials and assemblage, and extend the ideal of design totality.

The task was to make a design opera/work entitled Der Traum der Gesamtkustwerk (the Deam of the Total Work of Art), based upon the short story The Poor Little Rich Man by Adolf Loos. The work was to implicated a logic of completeness (and incompletion) in the space between the real and the fake, control and happenstance. The field of production included diagrams, drawings, models, sets, images, furniture, videos, and scriptsstarting with, and culminating in, the design of a dream house.

Left: Step 1, Design a Dream House

Right: Step 2, Complete Geometry

sitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . standing

sitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . standingStep 3: Furniture (Set)

Step 4: Little Elemetns

Ashtray Plates Cutlery

Pillows Slippers Carpet

Il R

hom

bi: A

n O

pera

Step 4: Opera (In)Complete Film Stills

In its frantic search for more profitable investments, capital will begin to live its life in a new context: no longer in the factors and spaces of extraction and production, but on the floor of the stock market casino, jostling for more intense profitability. But it wont be as one industry competing with another, nor even productive technologies against another in the same link of manufacturing, but rather in the form of speculation itself: specters of value, as Derrida might put it, are vying against each other in a vast, worldwide, disembodied phantasmagoria.

Graduate Core Studio IV: NetworksInstructor: Jen Maigret

A Loss Disguised as a WinLudocapitalism as Urbanism of Detroit

-Frederic Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

The first gas-powered automobile and mechanical slot machine were both invented in 1889. Since that year, the city of Detroit, Michigan was built on a bet of capitalistic spec-ulation and automobile production. 90 years later and all but abandoned by this industry and facing bankruptcy, Detroit turned to the most modern form of capital production: casino gambling. Labeling it as urban recreation in the zoning ordinance, casinos now contribute over 30% of the total tax revenue.

Casinos are the embodiment this new era of ludocapitalism. There are no longer la-borers nor a manufactured good. Only profits are produced, which are kept in constant movement to create further profits. One strategy in particular to produce this phenom-enological environment is the multi-line slot machine. By placing multiple, simultane-ous bets, the player has a greater perceived chance of a win. When one line wins, the machine celebrates a victory, stimulating a desire for continued gaming. However, the machine fails to acknowledge the total loss incurred. By maximizing exposure to these losses disguised as wins, the casino has become an alternate reality of a complete tonal experience. This project explores the architectural implications and possibilities of the multi-line gaming space, and its application in built form in Detroit. Working in section, the design is intended to be a spatial correlation to the methods of slot machine designs; creating spaces of intensified exposure to the abstractions of capital and gaming within.

diagram: Patent US 6270410 B1Remote-Controlled Slot Machine

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285,704

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: King

Cha

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nglan

g all

ows g

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y all

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se ra

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ck b

uilt i

n N

orth

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erica

on

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t leg

al ga

mbl

ing h

ouse

ope

ns in

Unit

ed S

tate

s, N

ew O

rlean

s, Lo

uisian

a

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: Gam

bling

is f

rist l

egali

zed

in th

e U.S

. Sta

te o

f Nev

ada

1887

: Firs

t mec

hanic

al, co

in-di

spen

sing

slot m

achin

e inv

ente

d by

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rles F

ey, S

an F

ranc

isco,

Cali

forn

ia

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: The

city

of L

'du

ce r

uns a

lott

ery

to ra

ise fu

nds t

o re

pair

the

city

's w

alls

and

fort

ifica

tions

, Fra

nce

Thi

s is t

he e

arlie

st re

cord

ed lo

tter

y in

whi

ch p

artic

ipan

ts p

ay fo

r a c

hanc

e to

win

. Gra

nd p

rize

is 30

0 flo

rins

1520

: King

Fra

ncis

I of F

ranc

e sig

ns a

bill l

egali

zing

lotte

ries i

n Pa

ris, L

yons

, Stra

sbou

rg, B

orde

aux,

and

Lille

1726

: The

Net

herla

nds e

stab

lishe

s the

firs

t nat

iona

l lot

tery

1732

: Pop

e Clem

ent X

II pe

rmits

the e

stabl

ishm

ent o

f a R

oman

lotte

ry

1621

: tie

nne B

rl

padd

els u

p th

e St.

Mar

y's R

iver a

nd en

ters

Lake

Sup

erio

r

1670

: Fre

nch

miss

iona

ries fi

rst a

rrive

to th

e sit

e of

Det

roit

1701

: For

t Det

roit

first

sett

led

by A

ntoi

ne L

aum

et d

e La M

othe

, sieu

r de C

adilla

c

1760

: Fra

nce

surre

nder

s For

t Det

roit

to th

e Br

itish

1783

: Tre

aty

of P

aris,

Brit

ish c

ede

Fort

Det

roit

and

surro

undi

ng te

rrito

ry to

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es

1837

: Mich

igan

bec

omes

a St

ate

1888

: Glo

be T

obac

co b

uild

s a fa

ctor

y ne

ar d

ownt

own

Det

roit

1889

: Ham

mon

d Bu

ildin

g co

mpl

eted

, firs

t ste

el-f

ram

ed sk

yscr

aper

in D

etro

it

Cadillac

1900 1920 1940 1960

Population

of Detroit

, MI285,704

465,766

993,678

1,568,662

1,623,452 1,849,568 1,670,144

1933

: Hor

se ra

cing

betti

ng is

lega

lized

in N

ew H

amps

hire,

Ohio

, Wes

t Virg

inia,

Cali

forn

ia, an

d M

ichig

an19

34: H

orse

racin

g be

tting

is le

galiz

ed in

Mas

sach

uset

ts an

d Rh

ode I

sland

.

1946: Total amount spent on legal gambling in the United States: $500 million

1947

: Clar

k Cou

nty,

Nev

ada,

appr

oves

352 g

ambl

ing lic

ense

s19

48: g

ambl

ing le

galiz

ed

in Pu

erto

Rico

1934

: Pue

rto R

ico in

stitu

tes a

lotte

ry

1889

: Ham

mon

d Bu

ildin

g co

mpl

eted

, firs

t ste

el-f

ram

ed sk

yscr

aper

in D

etro

it

Rapid Motor Vehicle Company Buick

Motorcar Company Lincoln Motor CompanyChevrolet

General Motors

Ford Motor Company

Packard

Chrysler

Cadillac

1929

: Am

bass

ador

Brid

ge co

mpl

eted

, link

ing D

etro

it an

d W

indso

r, O

ntar

io

1943

: Pea

k W

WII

prod

uctio

n, o

ne B

-24

bom

ber/

hour

at F

ord

s Willo

w R

un p

lant

1943

: Det

roit

Race

Rio

ts

1954

: Nor

thla

nd C

ente

r sho

ppin

g m

all o

pens

, Sou

thfie

ld

1960 1980 20001,670,144 1,514,0631,203,368

1,027,964

951,270

$539

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34

$1,17

3,174

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$1,37

0,31

6,981

$1,35

5,974

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$1,40

2,740

,796

$1,43

5,064

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713,777

Reven

ues from

Detroit casinos

1946: Total amount spent on legal gambling in the United States: $500 million

1974: Total amount spent on legal gambling in the United States: $17.3 billion

1976

: Cas

ino g

ambl

ing le

galiz

ed in

Atla

ntic

City

, New

Jer

sey

1993

: Rive

rboa

t cas

inos a

llowe

d in

Miss

issip

pi, In

dian

a, an

d M

issou

ri

1995

: Col

orad

o leg

alize

s trib

al ca

sinos

1994

: Rac

etra

ck ca

sinos

lega

lized

in D

elawa

re, Io

wa, L

ousia

na, a

nd W

est V

irgini

a

1992

: Rac

etra

ck ca

sinos

lega

lized

in R

hode

Islan

d19

91: T

ribal

casin

os b

egin

oper

ating

in W

iscon

sin

1993

: 92 m

illion

peo

ple v

isit c

asino

s in

the U

nited

Sta

tes

1994

: Cea

sars

Cas

ino o

pens

, Wind

sor,

Ont

ario

2004

: Pen

nsylv

ania

and

Okla

hom

a leg

alize

casin

o ga

mbl

ing

2004: Total amount spent on legal gambling in the United States: $78 billion

2004: Total revenue from slot machines in the Untied States: $25 billion

2005

: Har

rahs

, Inc.

acqu

ires C

easa

rs E

nter

tainm

ent,

Inc.

for $

9 bi

llion

2000

: MG

M G

rand

buy

s Mira

ge R

esor

ts fo

r $6.4

billi

on

2005

: MG

M-M

irage

buy

s Man

dalay

Res

ort G

roup

for $

7.9 b

illion

2007

: Kan

sas a

nd M

aryla

nd le

galiz

es ca

sinos

2008

: Alab

ama l

egali

zes v

ideo

bing

o ha

lls

1993

: firs

t trib

al c

asin

os o

pen

in A

rizon

a, Id

aho,

and

Ore

gon

1990

: Rive

rboa

t gam

bling

allo

wed

in Illi

nois

2012

: Ohio

lega

lizes

casin

o ga

mbl

ing20

13: N

ew Y

ork l

egali

zes c

omm

ercia

l cas

inos

2010

: Cas

ino ap

prov

ed in

Main

e ref

eren

dum

1988

: Sou

th D

akot

a vot

es to

allo

w slo

t, vid

eo, a

nd o

ther

gam

bling

mac

hines

in th

e sta

te19

88: F

eder

al In

dian

Gam

ing R

egula

tory

Act

19

89: C

asino

s leg

alize

d in

Iowa

1987

: U.S

. Sup

rem

e Cou

rt leg

alize

s trib

al ca

sinos

in

Cali

forn

ia vs

. Cab

azon

Ban

d of

Miss

ion

Indi

ans

1986

: firs

t trib

al c

asin

o op

ens i

n C

onne

ctic

ut

1987

: gam

bling

lega

lized

in D

eadw

ood,

Sou

th D

akot

a

1979

: Sem

inol

e T

ribe

open

s fist

Indi

an c

asin

o, F

lorid

a

1963

: Bal

ly in

vent

s the

firs

t ele

ctro

mec

hani

cal s

lot m

achi

ne

1964

: New

Ham

pshir

e leg

alize

s sta

te lo

ttery

1971

: New

Yor

k leg

alize

s off-

track

bet

ting,

Mas

sach

uset

ts, P

enns

ylvan

ia, an

d C

onne

cticu

t leg

alize

stat

e lot

terie

s

1968

: Bal

ly in

vent

s firs

t mul

tilin

e pa

yout

slot

mac

hine

1998

: Cali

forn

ia all

ows f

or th

e esta

blish

men

t of I

ndian

casin

os

1999

: Trib

al ca

sinos

beg

in op

erat

ing sl

ot m

achin

es in

Was

hingt

on

1976

: Firs

t vid

eo sl

ot m

achin

e

1971

: Mas

sach

uset

ts, P

enns

ylvan

ia, an

d C

onne

cticu

t leg

alize

stat

e lot

terie

s

1984

: Ore

gon

and

Wes

t Virg

inia l

egali

ze st

ate l

otte

ries

1976

: Ver

mon

t leg

alize

s sta

te lo

ttery

1980

: Ariz

ona l

egali

zes s

tate

lotte

ry

1982

: Was

hingt

on, C

olor

ado,

and

Was

hingt

on, D

.C. le

galiz

e sta

te lo

tterie

s

1985

: Iowa

, Miss

ouri,

and

Mon

tana

lega

lize s

tate

lotte

ries

1987

: Kan

sas a

nd V

irgini

a leg

alize

stat

e lot

terie

s

1990

: Lou

isian

a and

Main

e leg

alize

s sta

te lo

tterie

s

1991

: Tex

as le

galiz

es st

ate l

otte

ry

1992

: Geo

rgia

legali

zes s

tate

lotte

ry

1995

: New

Mex

ico le

galiz

es st

ate l

otte

ry

2002

: Nor

th D

akot

a and

Sou

th C

arol

ina le

galiz

e sta

te lo

tterie

s 20

03: T

enne

ssee

lega

lize s

tate

lotte

ry

2008

: Ark

ansa

s leg

alize

s sta

te lo

ttery

2013

: Wyo

ming

lega

lizes

stat

e lot

tery

1989

: Idah

o leg

alize

s sta

te lo

ttery

1988

: Flo

rida,

Indi

ana,

Kent

ucky

, Minn

esot

a, an

d W

iscon

sin le

galiz

es st

ate l

otte

ries

1986

: Sou

th D

akot

a leg

alize

stat

e lot

tery

1967

: New

Yor

k leg

alize

s sta

te lo

ttery

1970

: New

Jer

sey l

egali

zes s

tate

lotte

ry

1972

: Mar

yland

lega

lizes

stat

e lot

tery

19

73: D

elawa

re an

d O

hio le

galiz

es st

ate l

otte

ries

1974

: Illin

ois,

Main

e, an

d Rh

ode I

sland

lega

lizes

stat

e lot

tery

2007

: MG

M G

rand

Det

roit

open

s lar

ger c

asino

1999

: Mot

orC

ity, G

reek

town

, and

MG

M G

rand

Cas

inos o

pen,

Det

roit

Mich

igan

Gam

ing

& Co

ntro

l Boa

rd cr

eate

d

1988

: Det

roit

vote

rs re

ject c

asino

s, 62

%-38

%

1996

: Mich

igan

Cas

ino G

ambl

ing

Act p

asse

s, 51

.5%-4

8.5%

files for bankruptcy

files for bankruptcy

1967

: Det

roit

Race

Rio

ts

1973

: Col

eman

You

ng el

ecte

d m

ayor

1977

: Ren

aissa

nce C

ente

r ope

ns

tonal studies:

perception of winning machine scale, building scale, urban scale

When Foucault defines Panopticism, either he specifically sees it as an optical or luminous arrangement that characterizes prison, or he views views it abstractly as a machine that not only affects visible matter in general but

also in general passes through every articulable function. So the abstract formula of Panopticism is no longer to see without being seen but to impose a particular conduct on a particular human multiplicity.

-Gilles Deleuze, Foucault

A L

oss

Disg

uise

d as

a W

in

section study:

a space that intensifies exposure to disguised losses, encouraging a continuous production of gamingor, the participation of any other program that may occur

A L

oss

Disg

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Case Study: Prada TokyoArch 417: Construction

Diagram of Structural + Facade Systems

Instructors: Jen Maigret + Claudia Wigger

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aluminium diagonal post-and-rail facadetwo-paned rhomboid window, glazedsilicone waterproof sealaluminium guide trackwelded sheet-steel supporting sectioncalcium silicate fire-resistant claddingaluminium diagonal post-and-rail facadetwo-paned rhomboid window, glazedstainless steel sliding track

stainless steel outer pane fasteneraluminium fastener clampsilicone joint stripsilicone compression stripaluminium smoke extraction flapcalcium silicate fire resistant claddingW10 x 33 steel I-section structural facade member

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Cas

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Professional Work

Cities are funny things, both equation and caprice, they are testaments to, and limit cases of, big plans, and no-where more so than Chicago...Like all cities, Chicago is a combination of circumstantial facts (the quantities and dispositions of its urban form) and a projective imagination (how it is seen and understood)...Whether reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900, or raising the mean level of the city by physically lifting buildings six feet in the 1850s, Chicagos answer to the question of what the city is, has always been, in a manner of speaking, funny (both peculiar and amusing).

for studioAPT Professors John McMorrough and Julia McMorrough

with Caitlin Sylvain

Second City! Or, How Improv Made Chicago Funny (and Vice Versa)

-John McMorrough

2014 Research on the City Grant

Worked as a member of the research and production team for studioAPT, the pro-fessional office of Professors John McMorrough and Julia McMorrough, on the 2014 Taubman College Research on the City Grant, titled Second City! Chicagos Funny Ur-banism. For the project, Caitlin and I were responsible for conducting research, design strategies, site visits, the production of material for a book, two films, and an exhibition.

Project Brief:Looking at the relationship between improvisational comedy and the city of Chicago, two questions were first asked: How did Chicagos improv comedy become such a large industry, and what connections are there between improv, design, and urbanism? Our initial investigations yielded overwhelming results. The question then became not what connections are there, but how can we make sense of them, and how can they be com-municated? The result was the organization of our research into a book, which follows the format of a specific type of longform improv (a Harold). By juxtaposing relationships between improv and Chicago in different beats and scenes, the reader will be able to begin to make connections between the material discussed. The resulting exhibition was in two parts: An Urban Improv Study Center, which is a proposed new type of in-stitution for collaborative work in and of the city, and a City-Stage, presenting a space for people to engage in improvisational games. By using Second City and improv as a way to understand Chicago, we thought of a city as not a problem to be solved, but as an evolving set of scenes to produce an ever-changing (and sometimes funny) solution.

Book: Urban Research as Longform Improvisation (i.e., a Harold)

Exhibition: City Stage + Urban Improv Study Center

Seco

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Seco

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Greening the Grounds @ Jane + Finchcompetition entry:

Islands and Piers in a Sea of Green (and Browns and Greys)

Modelswork from Michael Maltzan ArchitectureAs an intern at Michael Maltzan Architecture, I was responsible for working several project teams to assist with model-making, producing renderings, compiling material specifications, and preparing drawings for publication. Shown here is documentation of a 3/32 site model, which I worked extensively on, for an institutional master plan.

e: ilhowell [at] umich [dot] edu

Contact

a: 4439 1/2 Willow Brook AveLos Angeles California

90029

t: (562) 472 8702

Thanks!