Sunday, January 6, 2008

Meaningful Architecture
















































9 comments:

MCS said...

Touche. Your presentation is beautiful. I've been anxiously awaiting to see this all day long... Looking forward to reading the entire presentation.

Melissa said...

Hi Eric - Its a beautiful presentation! Please take this as a compliment but is that a template? Its really creative!! I love it. As for the content, I'd love to see you expound a bit more on each individual picture. I haven't been to most of those places so I need a little help.

Eric Randall said...

Thanks for the compliment, I went back and forth on whether I should add more description of the images, an I think I chose wrong.

I essentially built a template for myself in photoshop. The notebook, the frames holding the picture, the postcard and the paper with the masking tape are all individual elements that I just assembled together within Photoshop. I really know only the very basics of Photoshop and last night was probably not the best evening to try and learn it. I hope to be able to learn a few more tricks to clean up the presentation (and the misspellings!) in the next few days.

MCS said...

Well, first of all, great presentation. I dont know if you've ever played the game Myst before, but the graphics you used reminded me of the graphics in the game!

As far as the content goes - I would have liked, as Melissa said, a little more description on why those images were important to YOU. (Obviously the pictures based on emotion are significant to your own personal experiences) But I am just curious as to why those images you selected in the other categories (ie. Coca Cola building) was meaningful to you.

I thought your text was quite poignant when you said "great architecture becomes inherent in its surroundings so they we cant imagine the space without it." So true. I can think of several places where the architecture itself "makes the place" (Mont Saint-Michel In France, The Flat Iron Building in NYC, The Parthenon in Greece). I think that statement is was also reflected on 9/11. After the Towers fell, even though they were destroyed, people STILL couldn't imagine that space without them there.

Overall, great project...the gauntlet gets handed back to you on this one.

MCS said...

By the way, I wanted to comment on your comments (if that is possible). I have read all the postings/blogs and your insight into each project has been so well thought and prepared. I'm going to speak on behalf of everyone when I say thank you for all of your help and constructive criticism on these projects. You have insightful things to say - so thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. (By the way, do you actually get any sleep - I took me about 3 hours just to read all of the comments you wrote *granted I'm a slow reader* - it must have taken you much longer to write!!)

enno said...

Eric,

Here are a few comments on your finely callibrated presentation:

The three categories are closely interrelated. I would argue that the narratives in buildings are by default incomplete and are only completed when we are exposed to them and our own history and experience overlays with the "built-in" qualities. This leads to an emotional response on our side.

In this light your "completion" category is a temporary one and the place becomes mute again when we go away. When we remember the place the emotions will be reevoked once more.

I am curious what the meaning of your presentation format is: postcards from the past mounted in a sketch book? Voices of "truth" speaking from the past?

Anyway the use of the quotes is really effective and your text is eloquent as well. You focus on the big themes rather than the individual projects is adequate.

See you soon for fruitful discussios!
Enno

Eric Randall said...

Thanks for the criticisms everyone - I hope there is time to refine these before the trip to Boston.

Michelle its interesting that you mention "Ground Zero" in your comment, and it just barely missed the cut in my collection. Its a really strange space right now and I stopped short of including it mainly because I don't quite know how to categorize it but there is something else about it that I will be very curious to see how it unfolds. Obviously being a native Oklahoman I have a very strong connection to the memorial to the OKC bombing which I have included in my collection. Its really difficult to tangibly describe it, but the location of the memorial (where the Murrah building was) is located in an area of OKC that is undergoing a huge redevelopment. It is situated in an area that caters to the college crowd and it is flanked by bars and restaurants, but there is also a sizeable element of street dwellers there as well. But the memorial site is just so mesmerizing that when you experience it you forget about all the other surroundings. Its eerily peaceful in a chaotic context. I contrast that with Ground Zero. In October, I had the opportunity to visit a college friend of mine who lives in Manhattan and he took me to the site. Something that stays with me about that visit - when we emerged from the subway station there was this bizarre sensory barrage of one group of nuts chanting something about G.W. Bush is the devil, and 10 steps later another pack of loons with their Nuke Iran signs. Regards of what side of the political spectrum one may be on, I hope that once the memorial is finally erected that it becomes the same kind of quiet, solemn refuge of reflection that the Oklahoma City Memory is. Time will tell I suppose.

Melissa said...

I wanted to add to Michelle's comment...Thanks! I really appreciate that you honestly seem to read everything! I can't believe we'll all be in Boston in a few days!

MaloyMark said...

Eric,

It’s amazing the many things we see and experience while only here for a brief moment. The image you had of Thorncrown Chapel brought back the memories of experiencing the space several years ago, and the feelings you left with. It’s an amazing place just to seat and reflect on what’s important and to hope that someday we to will be able to leave something that touches others.