Fall 2016 - Graduate Topical Studio

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The intent of the archaeological park must be the preservation of history and the utilization of innovative technologies to best understand and teach that history. The program has been parceled into two long bars that serve to frame and shelter the site, a wide triangulated canopy soars overhead and wraps itself around the site, protecting it from the elements. The two figural aspects of the project, the orthogonal built architecture, and the organic form of the dig site merge in the design of the canopy system. Each supporting column is grounded first in a space of importance on the site, and second on an existing structural element, such as an old fortification or wall. The grid implied by the column bases is strictly organic and fully follows the intent of the dig site. However, as the columns soar upwards, they branch out at variable heights. The points to which they reach are formulated off a linear grid, the basis of which stems from the logic of the built environment, creating a combination of the two geometries on the site.

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Visitors are greeted with a multi-level gallery space where they don a Hololens headset. The Hololens passively tracks which artifacts the user is most interested in, primarily based on the length of time they spend interacting with the artifact. From this data the Hololens then suggests areas on the site that the user might be interested in. These points form a path through the site, allowing the wearer to slowly navigate down a series of ramped pathways that intermingle with one another, forming a web-like network across the site. New artifacts are revealed as the wearer approaches their original location on the site. When the wearer ultimately arrives at a checkpoint an animation is projected onto the ruins, telling the story of the place through the lens of the wearer’s personal interests. The wearer also then has the opportunity to move around the location, and in doing so, they reveal new perspectives and new narratives overlaid on top of one another.

 

This all stems from the idea that every place has more than one story to tell, more than one use, and more than one life. This Mt. Zion dig site reveals the rich cross-section of the city and its history. The dig site allows us to imagine how these varying layers of narration overlap and influence one another.

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For a full view of the work produced this semester please click HERE to visit our studio webpage, designed by me.