BIERMAN.WORK

SenseScape

>Spring 2020
>ARCH4420H: Honors Research Thesis Studio
>Team: Aisha Cheema, Andrew King, Zachary Slonsky
>Tools: Rhinoceros 3D CAD, Illustrator, Photoshop, V-Ray, Premiere, Audacity


SenseScape is a proposal for a new building and landscape typology, which rejects existing modes of living and working through the generation of unique programmatic zones that encourage play. Drawing from the ideas of Constant Nieuwenhuys’ New Babylon, Donna Harraway’s Cyborg Manifesto, and Rem Koolhaas’ Delirious New York, SenseScape explores the potential for an environment that focuses on the creation of the homo ludens, or man at play, by seperating people from the experience and lifestyles that make up the current society. The edges between the standard ‘zones’ and programs one may experience in regular daily life, such as office cubicles or a laundromat, become indistinct, creating new sensations for the user to experience.

This process began with documenting different possible sensations, such as feeling hot, claustrophobic, wet, or light. These sensations were then mapped out and related together in a sequence, where a cold space led into a light space, or a wet space led into a hot space. Instead of having these contrasting sensations entirely separated from each other, the edges were defined by an action, such as superimposition or shearing, that allowed their sensations to interact with each other. The edge conditions we explored were then turned into building plans, with some of my studies displayed below and to the right. Each zone was prescribed a function, and at their intersections the user was presented with a clash of programmatic elements. A dome could house a nighclub, which slipped into a bath house. People who entered this space, when presented with new modes and options for living, could be freed from the ideas of social expectations and get to decide how they wanted to experience and interact with the space.

Different formal elements, such as domes, curtains, or pools, were then coded with certain materials and programs. These pieces were put together at multiple scales: a pavilion, a landscape, an office building, and a tower. By using a series of aggregated parts, every prototype has the ability to be deployed into existing cities and towns at multiple scales. Therefore, SenseScape offers an alternative way of living that isn’t bound by convention, giving the user an opportunity to generate their own experience through exploring an unknown environment.