ann arbor MICHIGAN
University of Michigan
Critic: Alfie KOETTER, Emmett ZEIFMAN, Ashley BIGHAM, Erik HERRMANN & Jeff HALSTEAD
suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.
Stephen PETTIS, Mingyang XIA & David ALCALA: This workshop investigates a set of precedents; more to the point, it investigates what our goals and intentions are when we use the term.
- Gabriela ALVERGUE, Benjamin BRANNAN & Sigen CHEN, “Moriyama House”, Model
- Da LI, Mengyang WANG & Tyler VAN KIRK, “Parr House”, Model
- Andrew DEVARES, Lorraine GAYE GEMINO & Chao DENG, “Tello House”, Rendered Oblique
- Stephen PETTIS, Mingyang XIA & David ALCALA, “Adler House”, Rendered Oblique
Many projects that have been deemed “precedents” are themselves preceded by a set of prescribed terms and conclusions that we are meant to emulate, that over time have been continually reaffirmed to the extent that we may recognize them as undeniable, as “correct.” It would be wrong to read the Barcelona Pavilion in terms of density and thickness, right? Pavilion in terms of density and thickness, right? But, what sort of architectural production comes from rehearsing the same
conclusions over and over again?
Rather than confirming what we already know about a project (or what we know other people already know about a project), we will instead develop a degree of calibrated aloofness. Like saying the work “fork” over and over again until it is reduced to a phonetic with no meaning, we will draw a seires of buildings over reduced to a phonetic with no meaning, we will draw a series of buildings over and over again - in a precise and serial manner - until those things that we are familiar with have been exorcised.
familiar with have been exorcised.
-synopsis by Alfie KOETTER
Organized by Erik HERRMANN and Jeff HALSTEAD
