STUDIES
This space is a repository for concepts, fledgling ideas, visual studies, and the like. Some of which may later develop into more complete projects, most will only see daylight here. With the creation of machine learning tools, it has become increasingly easy to explore these concepts through imagery. Not everything found here is A.I. generated, but the speed and ease of these tools allows for the creation of complex visuals near instantly. These images are never a perfect match for the pure idea, they are limited by language, however in their inaccuracies countless compelling moments can be found.
Object Impermanence
2022 | An exploration of inflatable structures and the illusion of volume
Inflatable structures have no definitive form, their shape and size are defined by the introduction or volume. With inflatable architecture, volume becomes active and critical, and the forms these spaces take are dynamic. Restraints within the membrane can redirect and constrain the force exerted by the volume, resulting complex and energetic forms.
Delaminated
2022 | Layered concrete facades peeled and exposed
Delaminated is a series of formal studies exploring layer concrete forms. Soft, flowing, flaking, crumbling, and stacked, these structures all have a unique design language that could be worth separate examination. Some of the results were quite unexpected and varied. I’ve included an assortment of some of the standouts.
Grappling
2023 | Entangled figures in stone
Abstract figures caught in physical combat, suspended for all time in stone. Both familiar and foreign, these sculptures tap into our primordial core and are instantly recognizable while distorting that with which we are most intimate.
Blown Glass Bell Pendants
2022 | Formal studies for glass pendant lights
2023 | Revisited
A simple series of blown lass bell pendants. Some unique patterns, forms and details can be found in these primitive test created using machine learning. Under close scrutiny they have issues to varying degrees, but it’s in these unexpected failures that some of the most exciting moments emerge.
A year later you can see the evolution of machine learning visuals. The shift towards photorealism is dramatic and undeniable. For better or worse the concept now feels steps away from a physical reality.
Geologic Anatomy
2022 | Anatomical forms at a geologic scale
Shifts in scale can often produce unexpected results. This series of stills became more of an exercise in composition. It was a simple quick concept exploration, but I found a few worth sharing.
DRIFTWOOD FIGURES
2022 | Simple figure studies assembled with driftwood
2023 | Revisited
Concept studies for a series of wooden figure sculptures assembled from driftwood. The proportions are altered by the found nature of this raw material. The eroded wood is evocative of skeletal and muscular structures in the body. These material properties conjure faithless memories of anatomical drawings, figures in various states of repose.
Revisiting the concept with an updated version of Midjourney the greatest challenge was fighting the realism/literal nature of the the latest version. The accuracy is undeniable but the strength of the original scheme was it’s interpretive nature, and the abstraction of both the material and the intended figures.
BIOMOPHIC BRUTALISM
2022 | A series of images exploring the marriage of biological structure and over-scaled cast concrete forms.
Brutalist architecture is a celebration and exaggeration of a buildings structure and it’s form without the flourishes of ornament. Often the weight and scale of the structure are heighten to overshadow all other building elements to define the reading of space and form. Biological structures in many ways are the antithesis brutalism. These structures have evolved around efficiencies of strength and weight. Below is a series of AI generated studies that blend these opposing structural languages resulting in some alluring spaces bound by these structures.
STONE LACE
2022 | Post gothic typologies in cathedral construction. Scenes of what ‘could be’ in the pursuit of lace-like stonework with the aid of 3d printing and CNC manufacturing.
The house of worship has for most of human history been the leading edge in architectural innovation. As symbols of wealth and power, they were designed to humble and awe patrons. They still perform that service for visitors centuries later. High gothic buildings dematerialize the stone structure required to build such lofty volumes and give way to a flood of light. The craftsmanship required to create these buildings is lost to time and the steady march of innovations in material and design. In present day, new advances in manufacturing and construction feel on the verge of bringing this design ethos back into the the architect vocabulary with the benefit of centuries of innovation and contemporary forms.
