philadelphia PENNSYLVANIA
University of Pennsylvania
Critic: Karel KLEIN And Miguel ABAUNZA
suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.
Adam SCHROTH: This project presents a collaboration with Neural Network technologies in order to suggest alternative ways to image architecture. These technologies were viewed not merely as tools, but as partners, willing and able to shift the way architects privilege information…
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Render
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Render
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Aerial Render
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Model Photos
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Nueral Network Render
- Adam SCHROTH, “Cyborg Misprision; Veolia Energy Station.”, Plan and Section
…Stemming from an initial set of processed images where recognizable componentry and feral surface features were identified, the collaboration was able to locate specific tectonic, programmatic, and site contexts. An interplay of elements attributed to industrial programs such as buckles, straps, rivets, and bolts sited the project at Philadelphia’s Veolia Power plant. The proposal formed a parasitic relationship to the site’s storage equipment. Loose organizational gestures and assembly logics, when paired with the abilities of the partnering Neural Network, were unusually calibrated to the site. An interior densely populated with tectonic componentry and oculi, was strangely associated with edge conditions largely feral in quality, opening to its environment and hosting the mechanical features of the program. Finally, the culminating condition of the collaboration was a compositional shift, allowing the vision of intelligent machines to challenge the way in which contemporary architecture is visualized.
sP: Who are what influenced this project:
AS: Karel Klein, David Ruy, Miguel Abaunza, Lee Bontecou, various free stock photos, and Convolutional Neural Network Technologies
sP:What was I reading/ listening to/ watching while developing this project:
AS: Reading: Viktor Shlovsky “Art as Technique”, Harold Bloom “The Anxiety of Influence”, Steven Shaviro “Discognition”, Timothy Morton “Humankind”. Listening to: Ben Frost “By the Throat” + “Theory of Machines”, Alessandro Cortini “Risveglio”
sP: Who work is currently on your radar: MOS is definitely still on my radar. They have a very focused body of work and are getting things built all the time.
AS: Ruy Klein, Jason Payne / Hirsuta, Timothy Morton, Alessandro Cortini, Ben Frost
