e-motion: Immersion, Ambiances, VR
Directed Research StudioThe Pennsylvania State University, USA
Fall 2023
e-motion: Immersion, Ambiances, VR
Directed Research StudioThe Pennsylvania State University, USA
Spring 2023
Edward Kaufman. Above: Sun Color Diagram that explains the concept of the underground space. Spring 2023. Students create an atmospheric model in which they place a 360º camera. Right: Edward’s model in which a 360º camera is placed to produce 360º movie to be experienced with a VR headset. A first step toward a high-tech immersive experience. Photo © Yasmine ABBAS
Edward Kaufman. Render of the sunken courtyard using the visual of the virtual space developped with Rhino and Unity and emphasizing the drama of space colored by light. Diagram and render © Edward KAUFMAN.
50 CC of Paris Air
Directed Research StudioThe Pennsylvania State University, USA
Fall 2021 and 2022
Marcel Duchamp’s 1919 work of art, a small glass ampoule purchased from a Parisian pharmacist that contained fifty cubic centimeter of Paris air, inspires the idea of the Directed Research Studio – Paris: How can architects decode, encapsulate, and re-encode into a sound architectural proposition a Parisian atmosphere or ambiance?
Students researched Parisian ambiances along the city’s waterways – the Seine river that gave birth to the city, the canals, and the covered Bièvre river – through a variety of mediums, maps, oral presentations, texts, news articles and films. They made architectural commentaries on the city of Paris through the making of speculative projects that resonated with the ambiance studied. The architectural mediums and artefacts employed enhance the overall narrative of the ambiance and concept that had prompted the architectural proposition.
Xi Jin. Collage City: Paris Détournement based on an interpretation of the Situationist map. IMAGE © Xi JIN
As a highly sought after country for asylum, refugee applications in France have doubled over the past 20 years. The chronic shortage of housing for the refugees disrupts the ability for Paris to serve as a place of refuge, and often generates a counter-reaction to the reception of those in need. Illegal migrant camps have persistantly appeared throughout Paris and are inhumane, unsafe, and unsanitary, often, provoking authorities to forcibly dismantle illegal campsites.
In choosing a site for an intervention, trends with makeshift camps show a tendency for refugees to temporarily settle amongst parks, waterways, bridges, and transit stations. The 19th arrondissement contains the Canal Saint-Martin, Parc de La Villette, offices for asylum applications, and neighbors major rail stations. Many refugees find themselves in this area, and the the majority of removed migrant camps are found in and around the Villette neighborhood.
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In choosing a site for an intervention, trends with makeshift camps show a tendency for refugees to temporarily settle amongst parks, waterways, bridges, and transit stations. The 19th arrondissement contains the Canal Saint-Martin, Parc de La Villette, offices for asylum applications, and neighbors major rail stations. Many refugees find themselves in this area, and the the majority of removed migrant camps are found in and around the Villette neighborhood.
La Folie du Monde: Parisian Refugee Housing
IMAGES + TEXT © A. DAMUS
The deconstructivisit language of the park [de la Villette]’s folies perversely contrast with the constructivist need of the refugee folie as a generative expansion of living space.
As the streets of Paris emptied, occupants of the city fled while water poured in. A once bustling city life returned to the serene state of the flowing river. The iconic rooftops and buildings are still recognizable, Paris remains true to its core even in this state...
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... From the water emerges striations. Once empty skeletal framing mounted on the facades of each building are now populated. The life of the streets reemerges into the air, with bridges forming across these islands. Mechanical systems to cafes and laundry all find their new places across the vertical. Chatter now populates what is now remembered as only a brief moment of silence for the city – Audrey Leung, Flood Escape
Audrey Leung. Left: Cartography of the flood level in Paris. Below: Image of the Flood Escape project. Drawings © Audrey LEUNG.
Audrey Leung. Left: Cartography of the flood level in Paris. Below: Image of the Flood Escape project. Drawings © Audrey LEUNG.
