Very long overdue...

We are now halfway through the final semester of undergraduate architecture at the University of Michigan. The studio is titled Overconstruction, with a focus on the problem of stalled construction sites in Williamsburg, NY

The stalled sites remain an eyesore for the community, and a dangerous location full of deserted scaffolding and raw construction materials. The aim of this studio is to convert the stalled sites to something useful for the local community.

The studio began with an introductory project called stuioblock, which was centered around the idea of infrastructure and playing into [or remaining separate from] a system. The idea was that each of the 12 students in studio received a particular volume, all of which fit together to form a box [approx 8x4x4]. Each box began with 8 marbles of varying sizes, and the goal was to design a way to contain the marbles, but also allow them to pass through to other volumes. Ultimately, the volumes would connect to each other and complete the box. That almost worked, as some people focused more on containing their marbles than on how they would connect to their neighbors.

I chose to focus on connection first, because I knew that the overall shape of my volume would likely change depending on how I chose to link to the volumes around me. I allowed their volumes to invade my space, making puzzle piece connections which held strong. Once this was settled, I focused on the exchange of marbles back and forth through my volume. Linking to the system and creating paths for the marbles to travel on were my main objectives.


An assembly breakdown of the final version of my volume



An analysis of the entire studioblock system


After studioblock, the studio took a trip to Williamsburg, NY to explore the sites. It was incredible to see the number of stalled sites within such close proximity to each other. Sometimes there were two or three on the same block. My instinct was to convert these construction sites into something that could give directly back to the community. I'm looking at doing that through an energy production network composed of all of the construction sites. Rather than focus on one site, I have been working on creating an energy system where the sites act are the sources of energy and they connect to each other, creating a pool of energy that the community can tap into.



Exploring the different variations of the proposed construction site grid and considering the possibility of connection to the existing energy grid


In preparation for mid-review, I went through several studies juxtaposing the proposed construction site network with the existing power grid. To push the difference between the two systems, I used a different method of representation for the construction sites. They are no longer connected by lines or 'wires' but are instead represented by a field of color, marking off nearby zones that the new energy could contribute to.


The field on top of network relationship that the sites have with the existing grid


I had also looked into some site specific information, shifting scales from the entire network as a whole to just one site. I looked at the energy expenditure in that site in order to analyze which methods of energy production would be better suited to certain sites.



The assembly of one of the sites, illustrating the energy spent in constructing the site to it's current state

In order to relate the two methods of drawing, and to understand the relationship between the network as a whole and the sites individually, I created a drawing at an intermediate scale, relating the proposed energy grid and the existing one.


Bringing the energy grids to the scale of one site


Mid review was helpful in getting me to think about my project in ways I never would have come up with on my own. My next approach is to apply the network to a small collection of the sites, which will allow me to address more specific issues such as methods of energy production and use without losing the connection to the system. The ideas generated through this small scaled study could later be applied to the larger network as they are developed. The challenge now is concentrating on the sites and developing a strategy for energy production in each one that has a relationship to the site itself and to the other sites in the network.