Jessica Downard

Jackson studio2009-2010

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table of contents

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thesis argument + research

site analysis

initial design

final design

vellum

we arevoyeursexisting architecture is unable to fully satiate our voyeuristic desires. by inserting the public realm into a usually private space and allowing the public to get a view of that private space, architecture has the ability to reach its full voyeuristic potential.

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thesisargument

+research

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[macro]

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i seeyou.

We are all guilty of people watching. There are cafés designed so that someone can sit down with their latte and watch people as they pass by, catching snippets of their lives. In those passing moments we make split second judgments and come up with elaborate stories about the people based on what they’re wearing, how they walk, and who they’re with all without their direct knowledge that they’re being watched with such scrutiny. But voyeurism doesn’t just happen while looking out into the world; we also like to look inside buildings. We have a fascination with peering into people’s windows and watching them live out their daily lives in their most personal of spaces. It is epitomized in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”, where the main character finds himself enraptured in the lives of his neighbors. He comes up with nicknames for them and fabricates intricate stories based on his voyeurs into their daily lives and even witnesses a murder. I myself have even been guilty of this kind of voyeurism, watching a man dubbed “no pants guy” cooking in a short robe in his kitchen, which was clearly visible from my living room window.

Now with the rise of the digital age, thanks to websites such as myspace, facebook, twitter, youtube, and blogspot to name a few, we open up our entire lives to others. We make announcements to the world to let everyone know when we wake up, what we eat for lunch, if we’re stuck in traffic, and sometimes completely intimate thoughts. With all of these daily breeches of privacy, one begins to ask where we should draw the line? When does it make the step between harmless people watching to living under constant surveillance, like we’re all characters right out of George Orwell’s novel “1984”?

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facebook stalking:voyeurism for the digital age

Facebook is one of the most interesting examples of digital voyeurism that exists, due the unforeseen implications that it has on our society and us as individuals. In today’s society, checking facebook has become such a routine that one’s facebook is checked multiple times a day to see if anyone has written on their wall or even just to see what other people are up to. On one’s facebook page, you create personal profiles for the world to see. People post personal photo albums that are documentations of their entire lives like travels, parties and even pictures they take of themselves using their computer’s embedded cameras. These profiles are then viewable by both “friends” and complete strangers, giving the world an intimate look into their daily lives. One of the most voyeuristic actions that are practiced on facebook is that of facebook stalking. Facebook stalking is when people secretly gather information about others by checking statuses, pictures, events attending, wall posts, friend adds, and groups joined (just to name a few) of fellow facebook users. Sometimes people facebook stalk close friends but often times facebook stalking is implemented to find out information about people they’ve just met, old high school classmates they haven’t seen in years, friends of friends, or a complete stranger that you happen to stumble on. Facebook is also very interesting because most of the time who you are on your facebook profile isn’t necessarily who you are in real life. People consciously edit and adapt the information they post about themselves in order to portray a certain image that they want the world to see them as. People edit the pictures they post or are tagged in, what they list as their favorite music, what they update their status as, and conversations that they have with others on their walls. With all of this personality editing, one may begin to question if a person tries so hard to portray this certain image to the world, if they begin to become that image and lose their individual identity. A lot of times we post things about ourselves on facebook and completely forget about the amount of people that potentially have access to this information. Most of the time, the people who end up reading all of the intimate details we post, would not be people that we would necessarily offer up this information to in person.

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It’s very interesting when we forget that people could be watching us. It happens when we’re walking down the street, sitting at a restaurant, stopped at a stoplight or even when we forget to close the blinds before changing. I think that when we forget that people could be watching, we’re someone entirely different than when we’re aware that you’re being watched. Its like when you’re in front and center of a classroom giving a presentation, you’re entirely aware that others could be (and probably are) judging everything about you. It’s because of this awareness that in preparation we tend to dress a certain way, have proper posture, make sure to form your sentences as intelligently as possible, and are even aware of how you gesture. What if you we’re forced to live your life under that microscope? Would you ever be able to feel entirely comfortable? One exception to this rule though is often times when you go out of town and are confident that you will not run into anyone you know and the people you do see are most likely people you will never see again, you tend to not care quite so much about your outward appearance.

One group of people that are forced to live under a constant microscope is celebrities. In order to maintain the image they want to portray to the world, celebrities have to make sure to look their best everyday and act “appropriately” because they’re truly never aware of who could be watching. Celebrities are also expected to divulge personal information to the world like whom they’re dating or what their favorite flavor of ice cream is. We’ve all become voyeurs into their lives. The paparazzi even sit outside their homes with telephoto lenses in hopes of being able to get a picture of a celebrity with their newly born child. Why is it that price of fame is losing all personal space and privacy and when did that become okay? Would the public still feel so comfortable with the existence of media outlets such as tabloids and TMZ if they were forced to live under the same scrutiny? We all experience things like bad hair days where

all you want to do is hide but what if instead of being able to just hide in the back row of your classroom, pictures of you were plastered on magazines in the grocery store check out line under demeaning headlines? How would we feel then?

Despite the fact that we may not actually be all that comfortable living life under a microscope like celebrities, we still strive for that kind fame. It seems like every time I turn on the television, at least half of the programming is some form of reality television. There are courtroom shows like “Judge Judy”, extreme competitions like “Survivor”, dating shows like “Flavor of Love”, and shows about “normal” people’s day-to-day lives like “Jon and Kate Plus Eight” or “Keeping up with the Kardashians” to name a few. The sad thing is that in a few instances, people on these reality television shows actually receive fame and notoriety, but at what cost? Most just become easy tabloid fodder and the most intimate secrets of these average Joes become water cooler gossip. The people who audition for these shows offer up intimate information and a glimpse into their day-to-day lives all for the chance at their 15 minutes of fame and as viewers, we’re captivated. Reality television lets us to become voyeurs into lives of strangers, allowing us to live vicariously, satiate our desire to people-watch, and even reaffirm our own sanity (in comparison to those reality television stars), all from the comfort of our living rooms. Even better than the typical reality television shows, if you’re a fan of the show “Big Brother”, for a small fee you can log on to a website and watch a 24/7 live feed of people in the Big Brother house. People actually subscribe to this and are willing to pay money to watch strangers wash dishes and have insignificant conversations. This makes me begin to wonder if as a culture we’ve become so desensitized and almost dehumanized, that privacy has become a thing of the past.

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anynonomous exhitibiton

One large problem that exists with voyeurism is that people have issues being exhibitionists when they know who is watching them or at least can visually see people watching. That is why people feel a lot more comfortable with letting their guard down when interacting with strangers online. The Internet allows for a kind of anonymity that had previously been unattainable, especially in real-time communications. This is one reason why online worlds like “Second Life” and “World of Warcraft” are so successful – they allow people to interact with each other online without the same kind of social pressure and judgment that exist in the real world. Now the Internet has become such a huge part of our lives, it would make sense to somehow employ this same idea of anonymous exhibitionism on a real life, architectural scale.

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second life.

world of warcraft.15

HOLE IN SPACE by KIT GALLOWAY & SHERRIE RABINOWITZ

One example of this anonymous contact that has been done on a human scale is the art installation “Hole in Space” by Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz in 1980. In this installation, two separate live feed cameras and life-size screens were placed in public view, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. People were then able to approach the screens and have real-time conversations with complete strangers who were 3000 miles away. The distance created between participants provided in this installation

allowed for them to drop their guards and interact in ways they may not have actually done if they had actually been face to face. Although this experiment was very successful, it may not have been if it had been done now due to today’s easy access to video telecommuting technology that was not accessible to the general public in 1980.

Los Angeles New Yorkmuseum exhibition of “hole in space”

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ESTONIAN PAVILION. VENICE BIENNALE

Another installation that engages our voyeuristic nature was that of the Estonian Pavilion at the 2008 Venice Biennale. This installation consisted of sixty-three meters long of real scale elevated bright yellow gas pipe which is a political statement of the controversial proposed Nord Stream which is a direct pipeline running from Russia to Germany. The pipe would run along the Baltic seabed, which could have major political and ecological implications for neighboring countries. It also makes the architectural statement that we as a society have begun to value energy over aesthetics. The interesting and voyeuristic twist to this exhibition though was that at one end of the open pipeline existed a camera that was

placed far enough back in the pipe that people didn’t realize it was there. People then proceeded to interact with the opening by doing things like sticking their heads in and making faces. What was also unbeknownst to the viewers was that the video was then projected in a room far away from the pipe itself. It was only after experiencing the entire exhibit did they realize that they were actually being filmed and the footage was being projected for strangers to see. Perhaps if people had known beforehand that they were being put on display they would have acted much differently but since they didn’t, the exhibit truly succeeded in becoming a vehicle for voyeurism.

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5,377,183 SUNS FROM FLICKR by PENELOPE UMBRICO

“In appropriating thousands of anynonomous snapshots, many captured with camera phones, the artist highlights the pervasaveness of ametur photography in 21st century life. The project also draws attention to the changing nature of the life of the photograph as it shifts from a physical object to a globally shared form of virtual content. Umbrico’s work remarks on the universality and longevity of the sunset as a romantic symbol while increasing disconnect between lived experiences and photographic images.”-excerpt from piece description while on display at SFMOMA.

This piece manages to capatalize on the digital photograph as virtual content. It ephasizes the shift that has happened in the photography world as we have moved beyond the physicality of fiilm to the intangibility of digital and how it has allowed everyone to become an ametur photographer.

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voyeurism inarchitectureShould architecture facilitate our curiosity or inhibit it? If a building is made out of solid glass, voyeurism is easy to achieve… but then what is the fun in that? Part of what makes people watching in general so interesting, is seeing people live out their lives without the knowledge that they’re being watched and analyzed. But still, it is second nature for us as human beings to look in windows when we walk by buildings -- be it a storefront, an architecture studio or even someone’s living room. It could be very interesting to have a piece of architecture that has the ability to satiate our appetite for voyeurism in a way that was not simply having a façade that consisted of giant floor to ceiling windows, creating a fish tank or peep show model. But how to resolve this is the real question.

The images to the right are of The Standard Hotel in New York City. The façade of the hotel is entirely make up of clear glass and now with the newly opened High Line running directly under it, the building has become almost a tourist attraction in itself. Hotel guests notoriously forget to close their blinds before changing (or some guest leave them open on purpose) and people down on the High Line are able to see everything. This is an example of existing architecture that highlights voyeurism but does it in a way that is very obvious and superficial.

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view of the standard hotel from the high line

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watch theprocess It’s been established that people enjoy voyeurism but beyond simply watching others live out their daily lives, what else is so interesting to watch? People enjoy seeing a process – a transformation. It is why we watch home makeover shows, cooking shows, and shows like “how it’s made”. In analyzing what type of building should facilitate voyeurism, it is very important to keep the idea of a transformative process in mind. There are many kinds of processes out there that are

transformative in nature and it is those that are mainly information and technology based that the common person has little to no knowledge of. What if through the architecture itself people could begin to learn and understand a transformative process? Or what if the architecture not only housed the activities of the process but also assisted in the inhabitant’s overall understanding of the transformative process itself?

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technologicalbalance

digital or analog?

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technologicalbalance

There are a number of medias that started with an easily understandable analog process and have now moved into the complexly incomprehensible digital realm. Some examples of medias that have made this transition include photography, movies, and architecture. Although despite the fact that these digitized medias maintain the same terminology as their analog counterparts, their actual processes have diverged significantly. Photography and movies used to be a simple process of letting light pass through film and is now about capturing information represented as a series of 1’s and 0’s, yet we still use terms like film speed when there is no longer any film involved. Architecture has also moved out of the tangible realm of mass and materials and into the domain of information.

Information has become such an integral part of our daily lives, it is not possible to propose going back to the analog and abandoning the digital. But the question is: how can the architecture address this juxtaposition and still maintain its identity as Architecture? “What used to be the essence of architecture is more and more taken over by other technologies” is a statement made by Paul Virilio when explaining how information is replacing mass and energy as the most important means of matter. In this explanation, Virilio states how things as architecturally iconic and relevant as a staircase is now beginning to be replaced by standardized elevators designed by engineers. The architecture is then designed around the elevator instead of a staircase that gets designed into the architecture.

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photo_graphic

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The type of media that is able to balance the juxtaposition of digital verses analog, exhibitionism, as well as voyeurism is that of photography. Photographers are the ultimate voyeurs. They make a living out of photographing other people’s lives and intimate moments (especially in the case of paparazzi). A professional photographer can take pictures of children playing or a nude woman and don’t get persecuted for doing so since it can be categorized as art. But what if the camera were turned the other way and the photographers became the ones being exploited and watched?

photo_graphic

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siteanalysis

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siteanalysis

[landscape]

SITE1140 7th StreetSan Francisco, Cal i forn ia

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primarily industrialnew lofts & condosmany warehouses

Established as a redevelopment area by the city of San Francisco in 1998.

Mission Hill District:

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existing site conditions

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immediate vicinity38

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designprocess

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designprocess

[setup]

cal ifornia col lege of the arts, campus expansion.

school of photography

project:

existing california college of the arts campus map

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photo studiosclassrooms

computer labstudent loungegal lery space

cafekitchen

faculty off icespark space

program:

initial program massing study

admin school

circuilation

circuilation

circuilationpublic

school

park space

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Form analysis:By making the shape of the building in the form of a wedge, it allows for the park space to slowly slope up to the actual building. This gesture makes it possible to have the public entrance on the second floor, flipping the usual public vs. private space organization. It also allows for the park space itself to have level variety and making it more of an unusually dynamic outdoor space. At the front of the building (the facade facing the freeway), the vertical facade is maximized, allowing for the facade itself to act as a billboard of sorts towards the freeway.

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With the wedge shape as the initial formal gesture, I decided to begin to break down the incline into multiple angled planes. The first angles were based on the orientation of the site to the south cardinal direction as well as the angle of the site itself. These angles allow for maximum southern sun exposure and a logical public path direction. Other angular moves were then done to both bridge the gaps between these two initial angles as well as to add dynamism to the overall form itself.

initial form

diagramatic studies

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form study 1form study 2

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form study 3form study 4

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form study 5

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The images to the left are massings of the form I have chosen to pursue. This form manages to combine my first ideas of slopes based on orientation as well as creating enough dynamic planes to make the spaces interesting and useful. The planes gap in the center to allow for the public entrance to be a cut into the form itself.

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these images illustrate how and where the public are to enter into the building (as noted by the arrows).

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rough sections depicting interior spaces and circulation.

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final

designfinaldesign

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final

designfinaldesign

[museum]

7th street

Irwin

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Hoop

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c c

b b

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The first floor is an entirely private floor and is

only accessible by the students and faculty

of the school. This floor contains classrooms,

photo studios, offices and student lounge

space. The main entrance is along 7th

street. The students and faculty can then

access the third floor using the grand

staircase (next to the 7th street entrance) or

by using the elevator located in the north/

west corner circulation tower. Although the

elevator exists, student are encouraged to

use the grand staircase to traverse up and

down from the first to third floors. The only

direct access between the first and second

floor is by use of the fire stairs in the north/

east corner or the elevator in the southern

corner of the building, but those are only

to be used for handicap accessabilty or in

case of emergency.

[see page 76 for interior rendering of first floor student lounge area]

first floor

[diagram demonstrating relationship between the private spaces, public space, and circulation.]

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7th street

Irwin

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Hoop

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c c

b b

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The second floor is the only public floor

in the building. This floor includes a cafe,

gallery space, and a kitchen. The only non-

emergency entrance to this floor is through

the doors on the south end of the building

next to the park space. Even if the students

or faculty of this building wish to use this

facilities on this floor, they are forced to enter

from the same public entrance. This creates

a very defined programatic and physical

separation between the public and private

realms. There are many opportunites for

those on this floor to catch glimpses of the

private activity housed on the other floors of

the building. The main point of observation

is on the grand staircase running from the

first to the third floors. As people sit at the

tables in the cafe, peruse the gallery space

or simply wander around the 7th street

extruded walkway, you are able to view the

students and faculty as they go about their

everyday business. This situation not only

allows for people watching, but it actually

encourages it. As one big reason people

may feel uncomfortable about overtly

watching others is the possibility for award

interactions, this is entirely averted as they

are physically separated and unable to

ever cross paths.

[see page 78 for second floor interior rendering of cafe area]

second floor

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7th street

Irwin

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Hoop

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a

c c

b b

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Just as the first floor, the third floor is an

entirely private floor. This floor houses

classrooms and a balcony looking onto the

second floor. This is the place in the building

where the voyeurism gets turned onto the

public. As students and faculty are heading

to the classrooms or simply lingering in the

open space, they are able to look over the

railings and see the public as they occupy

the cafe and gallery.

[see page 80 for interior rendering of third floor balcony area]

third floor

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section a-a cuts through the length of the

building, showing how the park space lead

into the inhabitable part of the building, as

well as shows all three floors in relation to

eachother.

section a-a

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1

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section b-b section b-b cuts through the building

parallel to 7th street and shows how the

interior spaces are laid out in relation to

each other on the first and second floors.

This section also demonstrates how the

footings are to be constructed as well as

how the park space green roof is to be

supported.

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section c-csection a-a cuts through the buliding

parallel to 7th street and demonstrates

mainly how circulation inside the building

works in all three floors.

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2

elevations

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floor structuredetail

This anonometric cut into the floor structure

explains how the floor structure on the

second floor works. Because the floor plates

on the second floor consist of sloping

triangular planes that mimic the geometry

of the park space, a secondary structural

system is required on top of the standard

gridded system that runs throughout the rest

of the building. This detail demonstrates how

the secondar

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view from first floor student lounge space

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view from second floor cafe seating

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view from third floor looking down on to public floor

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exterior renderingsThese exterior renderings are intended to

help better understand the building itself

as well as its relation to the surroundings.

The image below is a computer generated

bird’s eye view of the entire building. From

this view, you are able to fully understand

the park space and its relation to the mass

of the building. The image on the right, is

the view of the building as seen from the

freeway. In this view, you can begin to

understand the ability for passers by to

view the inner-workings of the building as

well as get a glimpse into the daily lives of

the users.

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view of new building from main hall interior of existing cca main building.

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[play]

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play!We have engaged in some form of “play” our entire lives - be it playing football, playing a game of chess or even playing make-believe. Play is something that fills up our free time and provides us with endless entertainment. If something is not enjoyable or done out of one’s own free will, it cannot be considered play. For the most part, play can be split up into two categories: play with games or toys. The largest difference between the two is that while toys can be played with independently, games generally require multiple players. Also, games usually require some sort of rules while toys do not. Toys tend to require a bit more imagination from the users as seen when children play with dolls. The children create a world in which their dolls play games with them where as actual games exist in the real world and promote real interactions.

But how can the ideas of play be applied to how we experience architecture? Architecture is in general something to be experienced. We experience spaces visually as well as tactilely. Some architecture even promotes interaction with users just as games do. Just as there are rules for games, there can potentially be rules for how someone plays with architecture and such rules are decided upon by the designer of the space. Rules for architectural play exist because the designer of the space intends for the users to only have a limited number of possible variations to the space. Without the rules, chaos would ensue and the vision of the designer will no longer be theirs. A certain amount moderation is the key in making up rules for both games and architecture.

Game and toy play can be seen as a useless task, although it actually isn’t. Play engages the mind and the body in an enjoyable fashion. We chose to play in our spare time and it gives us joy and sense of completion. Without this idea of play, we would live much more mundane and unexciting lives. Everyday would be ordinary without play to engage our imaginations. In some ways, this idea can also be correlated to architecture. If architectural play didn’t exist, we would all live in little boxes that required no human interaction. The great thing about architectural play is that with engaging the users, there opens up a number of possibilities of variations therefore getting rid of the banal singular space. Architectural play allows for the users to feel invested in the space they feel that they’ve helped create as well. If the idea of architectural play were utilized more in every facet of architectural design, we would live in much more dynamic and uncontrolled environments. This is a very good thing as long as the designers remember to invent and enforce certain rules and guidelines. Limitlessness can be a very dangerous thing in all variations of play. Without limits, we lose the subtle beauty that is play itself.

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catalog of pieces:

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most furniture today have only one configuration, one function, and one orientation. this is not the case with PUZZLING. each piece is entirely functional on its own as an individual table, but due to the notches that allow pieces to interlock, a number of different configurations are possible.

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