Misfits

Designer Jonathan C. Nelson

The Architectural Misfit begins as an open-ended question: what is the relationship between "object" and "representation" in architecture? All too often, architectural drawings operate along a one-way-street, by which representation informs the building, but never vise-versa. What would it take to incorporate "drawing" into a dynamic, reciprocal, and generative design process? How can the building inform the representation, and the representation inform the building? A two-dimensional drawing exercise solidifies the role of drawing in ideation and generative design. The exploration of patterns and proportions, traced directly from plans and sections of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, provide loose and spontaneous direction. By pulling images from IKEA instruction manuals, the drawing explores the modern day relationship between modern commodity furniture manufacturers and the functionalism of Le Corbusier.

How would Corbusier react today, I wondered, to the world-wide commodification and appropriation of functionalist design principles by furniture makers and retailers such as IKEA and Target? Do designers participate in the devaluation, or the democratization of their principles by harnessing the forces of capitalism? Indeed, the same LACK coffee table and BILLY bookcase furnish many of the homes and apartments of the neo-American bourgeois in cities like New York and Seattle. For some, a visit to IKEA has become a rite-of-passage, symbolizing the financial freedom and independence of moving to a new home or a new city. What impact, if any, does European functionalist furniture have on the cultural identity of America's urban dwellers? A three-dimensional expansion of the drawing exercise explores the so-called "dysfunctional-ism" of architectural space. What are the traces left behind by an invasion of architectural forms and ideas? What relationship, if any, does this have to IKEA's impact on today's homes and spaces?

What is the signifance of scale in the reading of the architectural object? Does the misrepresentation of Villa Savoye occur only at the building level, or can it occur at the level of the room and the designed object? Rather than wondering, "what effect can the invasion of shape, form, and language have on the Villa Savoye", I ask "what effect can the Villa Savoye have on furniture design, consumerism, and product design?"   Through a series of texture mapping and rendering experiments, I represent the "misfit" Villa Savoye in the context of furniture showroom. This emphasizes the fluidity of the building representation. As opposed to being a static object, Corbusier's Villa Savoye fluctuates between the mediums of drawing and 3D modeling. Situating the model within a showroom further divorces the object from its original context, allowing for a new interpretation of its form.

The Architectural Misfit begins as an open-ended question: what is the relationship between "object" and "representation" in architecture? All too often, architectural drawings operate along a one-way-street, by which representation informs the building, but never vise-versa. What would it take to incorporate "drawing" into a dynamic, reciprocal, and generative design process? How can the building inform the representation, and the representation inform the building? A two-dimensional drawing exercise solidifies the role of drawing in ideation and generative design. The exploration of patterns and proportions, traced directly from plans and sections of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, provide loose and spontaneous direction. By pulling images from IKEA instruction manuals, the drawing explores the modern day relationship between modern commodity furniture manufacturers and the functionalism of Le Corbusier.

How would Corbusier react today, I wondered, to the world-wide commodification and appropriation of functionalist design principles by furniture makers and retailers such as IKEA and Target? Do designers participate in the devaluation, or the democratization of their principles by harnessing the forces of capitalism? Indeed, the same LACK coffee table and BILLY bookcase furnish many of the homes and apartments of the neo-American bourgeois in cities like New York and Seattle. For some, a visit to IKEA has become a rite-of-passage, symbolizing the financial freedom and independence of moving to a new home or a new city. What impact, if any, does European functionalist furniture have on the cultural identity of America's urban dwellers? A three-dimensional expansion of the drawing exercise explores the so-called "dysfunctional-ism" of architectural space. What are the traces left behind by an invasion of architectural forms and ideas? What relationship, if any, does this have to IKEA's impact on today's homes and spaces?

What is the signifance of scale in the reading of the architectural object? Does the misrepresentation of Villa Savoye occur only at the building level, or can it occur at the level of the room and the designed object? Rather than wondering, "what effect can the invasion of shape, form, and language have on the Villa Savoye", I ask "what effect can the Villa Savoye have on furniture design, consumerism, and product design?"   Through a series of texture mapping and rendering experiments, I represent the "misfit" Villa Savoye in the context of furniture showroom. This emphasizes the fluidity of the building representation. As opposed to being a static object, Corbusier's Villa Savoye fluctuates between the mediums of drawing and 3D modeling. Situating the model within a showroom further divorces the object from its original context, allowing for a new interpretation of its form.

The Architectural Misfit begins as an open-ended question: what is the relationship between "object" and "representation" in architecture? All too often, architectural drawings operate along a one-way-street, by which representation informs the building, but never vise-versa. What would it take to incorporate "drawing" into a dynamic, reciprocal, and generative design process? How can the building inform the representation, and the representation inform the building? A two-dimensional drawing exercise solidifies the role of drawing in ideation and generative design. The exploration of patterns and proportions, traced directly from plans and sections of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, provide loose and spontaneous direction. By pulling images from IKEA instruction manuals, the drawing explores the modern day relationship between modern commodity furniture manufacturers and the functionalism of Le Corbusier.

How would Corbusier react today, I wondered, to the world-wide commodification and appropriation of functionalist design principles by furniture makers and retailers such as IKEA and Target? Do designers participate in the devaluation, or the democratization of their principles by harnessing the forces of capitalism? Indeed, the same LACK coffee table and BILLY bookcase furnish many of the homes and apartments of the neo-American bourgeois in cities like New York and Seattle. For some, a visit to IKEA has become a rite-of-passage, symbolizing the financial freedom and independence of moving to a new home or a new city. What impact, if any, does European functionalist furniture have on the cultural identity of America's urban dwellers? A three-dimensional expansion of the drawing exercise explores the so-called "dysfunctional-ism" of architectural space. What are the traces left behind by an invasion of architectural forms and ideas? What relationship, if any, does this have to IKEA's impact on today's homes and spaces?

What is the signifance of scale in the reading of the architectural object? Does the misrepresentation of Villa Savoye occur only at the building level, or can it occur at the level of the room and the designed object? Rather than wondering, "what effect can the invasion of shape, form, and language have on the Villa Savoye", I ask "what effect can the Villa Savoye have on furniture design, consumerism, and product design?"   Through a series of texture mapping and rendering experiments, I represent the "misfit" Villa Savoye in the context of furniture showroom. This emphasizes the fluidity of the building representation. As opposed to being a static object, Corbusier's Villa Savoye fluctuates between the mediums of drawing and 3D modeling. Situating the model within a showroom further divorces the object from its original context, allowing for a new interpretation of its form.

The Architectural Misfit begins as an open-ended question: what is the relationship between "object" and "representation" in architecture? All too often, architectural drawings operate along a one-way-street, by which representation informs the building, but never vise-versa. What would it take to incorporate "drawing" into a dynamic, reciprocal, and generative design process? How can the building inform the representation, and the representation inform the building? A two-dimensional drawing exercise solidifies the role of drawing in ideation and generative design. The exploration of patterns and proportions, traced directly from plans and sections of Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, provide loose and spontaneous direction. By pulling images from IKEA instruction manuals, the drawing explores the modern day relationship between modern commodity furniture manufacturers and the functionalism of Le Corbusier.

How would Corbusier react today, I wondered, to the world-wide commodification and appropriation of functionalist design principles by furniture makers and retailers such as IKEA and Target? Do designers participate in the devaluation, or the democratization of their principles by harnessing the forces of capitalism? Indeed, the same LACK coffee table and BILLY bookcase furnish many of the homes and apartments of the neo-American bourgeois in cities like New York and Seattle. For some, a visit to IKEA has become a rite-of-passage, symbolizing the financial freedom and independence of moving to a new home or a new city. What impact, if any, does European functionalist furniture have on the cultural identity of America's urban dwellers? A three-dimensional expansion of the drawing exercise explores the so-called "dysfunctional-ism" of architectural space. What are the traces left behind by an invasion of architectural forms and ideas? What relationship, if any, does this have to IKEA's impact on today's homes and spaces?

What is the signifance of scale in the reading of the architectural object? Does the misrepresentation of Villa Savoye occur only at the building level, or can it occur at the level of the room and the designed object? Rather than wondering, "what effect can the invasion of shape, form, and language have on the Villa Savoye", I ask "what effect can the Villa Savoye have on furniture design, consumerism, and product design?"   Through a series of texture mapping and rendering experiments, I represent the "misfit" Villa Savoye in the context of furniture showroom. This emphasizes the fluidity of the building representation. As opposed to being a static object, Corbusier's Villa Savoye fluctuates between the mediums of drawing and 3D modeling. Situating the model within a showroom further divorces the object from its original context, allowing for a new interpretation of its form.