Sunday, November 25, 2007

Studio Anticipation

Just an example of great high-rise projects to come from Gabriel Esquivel's Forth Year Studio. Project by Zach Kamerer.
Final Review November 30th. 2:00 p.m. at KSA Central Space.
Invited Jury.
Kivi Sotamaa
Clover Lee

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Museum for Solidarity.

Univeridad Intercontinental.
Mexico City October 5, 2007.
Project by Raul Basurto.
Gabriel Esquivel was invited to design and precede the jury for this competition.
It was decided to make museum for Solidarity, a city-forming object in Xochimilco Mexico, built by ideology and by technologies of 21st century. New museum should become a city brand, a visiting card of the city and region, like Guggenheim museum in Bilbao by Frank Ghery, Kiasma by Stephen Hall in Helsinki, Gratz museum by Peter Cook, MXXI by Zaha Hadid in Cincinnati. The objective of the project is to widely confront creative design solutions and to select the project of the highest aesthetic, functional and operating values. This Center is to commemorate the importance of Solidarity. This center is a diverse organization, with several programs supporting to the education, the culture and the new currents. These activities are diverse from exhibitions, conferences, film, theater and concerts. A fundamental aspect for the accomplishment of this project is the discussion of the emergent technologies that affect the execution of the architectonic project in XXI Century. The points to consider were: Originality of the aesthetic values Generation of form and geometry control Innovating nature of the solution Discussion on Emergent Technologies Nature of the design Materiality and structural aspects of the design This competition was a research and design workshop. The first part concentrated on the understanding of surface, geometry and ornament in different cultures; Aztec, Islamic, Mayan, Mexican Baroque, etc. The second will be an attempt at developing an alternative approach to architectural design capable of engendering a new type of bio-morphology. The proposed morphogenetic approach required a novel theory of species for architecture that may be related to the notion of genes and species within biological evolution. It will be an experiment in morphogenesis based on an abstract formal system that is autonomous and deterministic once the rules are set and defined. The result was a new generation of performative and emotive surfaces that related the genetic conditions of the precedents that were applied. The Third step was to develop an understanding of what Solidarity could be in terms of mood, aesthetics and atmosphere in the context of Xochmilco and the technological precedent of the building by Felix Candela. The new Project will occupy the site next to it.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Delicious Patterns. Braniff Terminal.

Chiharo Sato. Design Thesis. Department of Design. The Ohio State University.
Critic: Gabriel Esquivel
Based on a hip global culture implemented by publications like WALLPAPER magazine and the importance of fabulous air traveling, Braniff became the perfect choice. The project is about reinventing the Braniff brand, by reinterpreting the design ideas implemented by the team of Charles Eames, Nelson and Emilio Pucci. These atmospheres presented a great array of color and were introduced using fruits as a way to comunicate their impact, thus the name Delicious. A very important part of the project was to reframe the idea of the Pucci pattern in their different colors and applied as a series of surfaces provoking and opearting in different ways. The geometry control was crucial in the application of the surfaces to maintain strict design and fabrication parameters and avoid using a different geometry in every area. The result is dramatically enhanced experience of color and pattern framing the different airport events