The creation of a component catalogue was the catalyst of this project, and creating individually varying, though increasingly self similar components was the origin of the formal logic. The component’s formal responses to various stimuli (program, environment, other components, etc.) was the basis of the architectural form of the Institute for Extreme Urban Behavior.
The logic of the “final” structure’s growth is organized around the progression towards programmatic intensity. Originating from points on the ground, the component starts to redefine occupiable spaces as it infiltrates and erodes the preexisting conditions. This progression eventually resolves into various programmatic volumes. This first stage of resolution is a condition of programmatic simplicity—one program occupies the space created.
Growing from this point of resolution, the component continues to develop and resolve into more complex programmatic expressions, where multiple programs share the same space. Growth continues, with ever increasing programmatic complexity. At this point, complexity is such that individual programmatic character is no longer distinguishable. Where conditions of the site prohibit, the growth of the component is inhibited, and its preferred progression is altered – whether it dies off, or its further growth is curtailed. The system’s logic is representative of the way its neighborhood responds to change and infiltration, with varying degrees of acceptance or refusal. Represented is a small snapshot of the institutes’s growth. Continued growth would result in a new set of conditions and new possibilities.
Collaborator: Alex Still
Christopher Kelly 