the final review

plan

rethinking, refining…

so after presenting our work last friday, i was starting to feel like my design was becoming very formal, having these strange structural relationship, and not really emoting the original rich qualities of quilting that i started my design process with.

i feel like my process has been really interesting in the sense that it was more intellectual and analytical of the structure of a quilt, the physicality of stitching, and the dynamics created as thread affects fabric. i feel like i haven’t been able to translate the richness of information i have thought about into a similar richness of design- things feel very stale and static at the moment. for example, the one feature that i did like about my original design (back in the days of the 1:10 model) was how i had a orchard planted in a stepped landform that connected to a sloping plane. i liked that dynamic but somehow along the way that was cast aside in order to implement other ideas. i feel like i need a stronger vision of how the space is going to be experienced and programed.

my critique with elizabeth was quite helpful. she reorganized my geometries in a more believable configuration and encouraged me to look at my design in terms of 3 program areas –> play, orchard/sitting spaces, active field/wildflower plantings. she also helped me to rearrange my landforms in a configuration more reminiscent of the initial design, though now i feel challenged to incorporate some of the structural rules i developed during my process.

1:10 model –> i like how the sloping plane intersects with the angular stairs

new geometries..

seçãos (sections) & terreno (landforms).. brazil here i come ;)

here i created some sections from my model studies:

thinking about landform shapes has me thinking about hargreaves as precedent:

modeling stitching, edges, & who knows what else…

so i have been trying to investigate the phenomena that happen when 2 edges meet and how different types of stitches can connect them and affect the fabric differently. i am hoping that this will lead me to some ideas about my landscape in terms of materiality or landform shape / movement.

stitching around stuff

this first model series investigates stitching and how it can connect edges and define space along various types of armatures.

stitching & draping

this second series investigates more specifically how stitches can affect the way fabric drapes. i used a looping stitch or cross-stitch and attached fabric in various ways to a cardboard base. when the fabric is overlaid and sewn along the cardboard, the greater tension allows for less flexibility and movement. alternatively, when the fabric edge just meets the cardboard, the joint created gives the fabric a greater angle of rotation and allows it to bend more freely.

the type of stitching- cross-stitch or loop- did not seem to affect the fabric’s movement. on the other hand, if the fabric was gathered into pleats, the layering created greater inflexibility and a more angular fold when it did bend.

patches of stasis / movement

finally, this set investigates how different types of materials affect the way the quilt can flex, bend, fold, or not:

here i observed how various materials- cloth, chipboard, balsa wood, and paper allow the quilt to bend or resist bending. i think it is interesting how the various materials interact so that say, when a fabric piece is stitched to a piece of balsa wood, it becomes less flexible than if it were connected to another piece of fabric or paper. it seems that the quilt acquires properties inherent to not just the individual pieces, but to the relationship those pieces develop with one another.

        

practice of quilting

going back to thinking about the physicality of stitching, i found some interesting videos of quilting on youtube.com. i especially like buck. : ) i think it is interesting to see the type of movement involved in the craft…

hand stitch 1 hand stitch 2

Demonstration of quilting on frame (in colonial Georgia).

Quilting with buck (get yourself some nice soft stuff..) : )

fruit orchards… mmm.. yummy.. beautiful.. and educational too…

so after a brief investigation into fruits that grow well in Louisiana, it seems as though there are several options like blueberry bushes, fig, citrus (satsuma, kumquat, meyer lemon, lime, mandarin oranges,) paw paw, pomegranate and persimmon. maybe some pecan trees too. i think eating locally is a very practical way to make a big difference in living more “sustainably”…

blueberries

fig tree figs

paw paw tree paw paw

persimmon tree persimmon

satsuma trees satsumas

what does community need?

so in thinking about how the site relates to the larger community, i ask myself- what does the neighborhood really need and how does my design meet that criteria? in the heterogeneous rebuilding efforts, some houses being fixed up, others abandoned, i feel like the community needs connection. so that the people who are returning can see each other and band together and find strength in their collective struggle. i want to create comfortable areas for building interpersonal relationships, spaces that bring people together who might not otherwise meet or spaces that bring friends together to talk. also areas where larger groups can come together and meet.. i envision the structures of the landscape- ground plane shifts, retaining walls, and hardscape as providing opportunities for this interlocution in a more dynamic, multi-use way. not like, “here is a bench, come sit.” more like here is a retaining wall helping a landform take shape and there are wildflowers and oh, it looks like a great place to hang out as well. how could you create fun spaces to occupy without using any benches?

i would also like the park to create stronger connections to ecological systems in which are integrated and on which we depend.  i think some type of fruit orchard would be really fun. i guess i envision the central tree planting area to be a subtle memorial orchard, a special place, where implicitly you are connected to the larger food systems which support life. (you could even dedicate certain trees to those who have passed on if you want to be so literal, but I don’t know if that is necessary.) i absolutely love the idea of bringing foodscapes into the city because we so often forget that apples and bananas and oranges actually grow out of the ground. it could be a very didactic space, and kids would love it…i think a memorial that explores the life cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is nice. visitors can follow this cycle through change of the seasons with the flowering and fruiting  of trees.

subtle moves

when thinking about my design I want to work on making it subtly successful. it is often hard for me to think of ways to translate the idea of stitching and patchwork into literal concrete things that don’t seem heavy handed. talking with brad was helpful. he drew this simple diagram which was one permutation of puckering. → the idea that could be single rows and groups of plantings are repeated at regular intervals like that of a stitch along a seam. it is very simple and i like it…

another idea is to create pattern within planting, say an orchard could be subdivided according to patches of different trees. the experience is that of a unified planting but the tree species reveal a more complex intent.

just thinking about pattern and how subtle moves can represent more complex ideas, i came across this website about mathematical quilts. it’s perhaps tangential, but as quilting is about sewing shapes of fabric together, it’s not surprising algebra/geometry lovers have found a special niche. for instance Elaine Krajenke Ellison created the “Music of the Genes” quilt which explores the interconnection between DNA, music, and the golden ratio (1 : 1.618 [phi]).

music quilt. golden rectangle quilt. graeco-latin quilt. sacred cut quilt.

“The Music of the Genes quilt is based on the work of Jay Kappraff, Gary W. Adamson, and Sergey V. Petoukov. The codons that comprise the 20 amino acids are color coded according to the number of hydrogen bonds they posses and more. This powerful work shows the relationships between three seemingly different disciplines: DNA, the music scales, and the Golden Ratio.”

(Ah, reminds me of home- my parents are virologists and the sciencey stuff is comforting in a funny way…)

physicality of stitching

i’ve been looking into how stitching and seams work… the seam creates a very delineated static point, or set of points around which the fabric can move… when the fabric does have the slack to fold, it does so in a rather distinct way either by creating ripples extending away from the seam or puckering out in a circle from a central point…. i guess these images start me thinking about circulation and how various patterns of connection can occur → you could have 1 main artery connecting the site or you could think of having nodes of connection- spaces that are connected diagonally to each other through multiple layers like pathway, planting, view… i want to figure out how to better have different areas of program connect to one another in subtle ways. like, not just “here is a path, walk this way.” how can areas of program remain distinct, yet interconnected in a strong and coherent manner?