Simon's World » Architecture

Wavey ball

Simon — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:33:44 +0000

Just putterin’ about:

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Jumping cubes

Simon — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:44:59 +0000

Well, happy little cubes, anyway:

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Holiday greetings

Simon — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:58:03 +0000

… and an axon if the elevation view doesn’t quite tell the full story:

Pluggin’ away

New portfolio

Simon — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:20:13 +0000

Open publication – Free publishing – More architecture

New rendering

Behind the Facade, formal studies

Simon — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:50:18 +0000

Here’s an attempt to distill some of the formal qualities of the alley photos – unlike the first try, this one done manually. I like this better, but I’m not sure if it has the punch of the high-contrast dropout images. Once again, if you have anything approaching an opinion on these, don’t hesitate to share.

Edit 9/14/11:

Here’s an idea that I think begins to better describe the formal qualities of the alley environment (in a funny way it’s beginning to look like my old multiple exposure street photography – something to think about). I simply overlaid all five of the above drawings and rotated the result to keep anything from being too obviously the “main” image:

Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago by Walter Netsch

Simon — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:04:43 +0000

Not as hard-core as the UIC buildings I’ve covered in the past (also here, here and here), the Regenstein Library’s main architectural moves are the concrete elevation and the two staircases – the main one serving all floors and another serving the second and third floor reading rooms. Unusually for Netsch, the building sports quite a few windows, though considering the depth of the plan, they’re not exactly a dominant feature.

I want to thank the library staff for allowing me to peek in without undue bureaucratic obstacles (it is generally a limited-access facility).

Behind the facade, first distillation

Simon — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:14:33 +0000

I started playing around with the images I shot yesterday, in an attempt to reach for the gist of what has been attracting me to these spaces. The first thing that came to mind is to distill them by dropping all color information, including tone. I lost some of them in the process, but I think the ones that survived are starting to reveal forms and relationships that weren’t very apparent in the originals. Here are the results:

Behind the facade, more West Loop

Simon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:29:57 +0000

As usual, here’s a map of the day’s walk.

Here are the pictures – I’ve been thinking about the categories I mentioned as I shot these, so hopefully this will begin to focus the project somewhat soon.

Project categories

Simon — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:46:03 +0000

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m thinking of continuing the alley project by analyzing various aspects of what makes the alleys so fascinating. I’ve been thinking of a number of possibilities. Here’s the initial list:

Platforms (decks, porches, balconies, etc.)
Barriers (fences, warning signs)
Cul de sacs (spaces between buildings, cubby holes of various types)
Materiality
Signs of life (toys, abandoned objects, sports equipment, stuff for outdoor living)

I’m going to continue thinking about these categories as I push the project forward, but for now they seem like a good start to focus my work.

The second issue is how to take this from being a purely photographic project and to start working on the architectural possibilities it suggests. I’m thinking I’ll start by analyzing the graphic relationships in the pictures themselves, then possibly going on to looking at the spaces more objectively (maybe using satellite photos for reference).

Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Just what you wanted – more alleys!

Simon — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:14:02 +0000

As usual, here’s a map of the day’s walk.

Not much to say, really – still trying to find a focus for the project. Right now I’m leaning towards distilling five-six themes and exploring them in depth in five clearly defined locations in the city. But I have a feeling I need to get out more with a completely open attitude first. As always, suggestions and comments welcome.