OPERATIVE DESIGN -—— A Catalogue of Spatial Verbs Ce & G C Anthony Di Mari Nora YooDi Mari, Anthony Yoo, Nora Operative Design: A Catologue of Spatial Verbs BIS Publishers Het Sieraad Building Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam The Netherlands T +31 (0)20 5150230 F +31 (0)20 5150239 bis@bispublishers.nl www.bispublishers.nl ISBN: 978-90-6369-289-6 Copyright © 2012 BIS Publishers, Anthony Di Mari and Nora Yoo Second printing 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owners. While every effort has been made to trace all present copyright holders of the material in this book, any unintentional omission is hereby apologized for in advance, and we should of course be pleased to correct any errors in acknowledgments in any future editions of this book. The drawings in this book are entirely the work and interpretation of the authors, based on publicly available information and resources supplied by the firms whose work is represented herein. OPERATIVE DESIGN A Catalogue of Spatial Verbs Anthony Di Mari Nora Yoo BISPUBLISHERSContents 6 Foreword 8 Introduction 84 106 126 Operations Combinations Aggregations ImplementationsForeword This project was inspired by a unique dual perspective on architectural education. As recent Masters in Architecture graduates, | worked with Anthony and Nora as we took our first steps into the post-school world through studio instructorships — teaching much of the knowledge we had just assimilated ourselves. Through our own design studies as well as our creative crafting of studio curriculum, we discovered a theme in architectural pedagogy — the platform of possibilities offered by operations as design “actions” The operations collected in this publication are but a sampler, a fragment of those we have encountered in our own work as well as that of our students, used as kick-starters for compelling spatial exploration. The power in the operational verbs exemplified in this book is that each provide a portal to the abstraction of space. The action potential captured in each simple word unlocks possibilities that, without this ‘key; would be obscured by our own widespread and preconceived tropes of the built world. A “house” need not always be the same expected idea of a house if you begin the process of designing it from a novel starting point — a word that opens up a limitless breadth of creative spatial results. In our teaching, we found that beginning design projects with spatial operations as the first step allowed our students to translate their conceptual ideas and ‘everyday’ observations into the new spatial language of architecture they were just beginning to learn. This approach to teaching also encouraged this type of design thinking before program, the defined use of a given space, was even introduced. We discovered that, with the introduction to an operative term, our students were able to unlock studies in volumetric relationships, proximities, adjacencies, and experiential factors without being weighed down by their familiar or preconceived notions of what the space was meant to be. The assignment of building typologies and their associated programs followed next in our design process. These specifics found roots in much more engaging and interesting constructs when the sequence was initiated through an abstract spatial operation. Because of the impact these verbs had on our own design work, as well as on the student projects we have seen over the years, Anthony, Nora, and | discussed the possibility of creating a compilation of these explorations. | am happy to see this resultant product that grew from our inspiration to collect our operative design explorations into a graphic assembly. Megan Panzano June 2012Introduction This book is, in its simplest definition, a catalogue. It is not, however, an index definitive in its boundaries. Its ambition is rather to serve as a fundamental tool for spatial and architectural interpretation. The terms collected and illustrated herein provide a diverse set of entry points into the language of spatial design. These spatial operations are not ends unto themselves, but are instead a set of illustrated beginnings to activate architectural inquiry, assembled to ignite the design process. Richard Serra's Verb List Compilation: Actions to Relate to Oneself | works in a similar way, showing how language can invoke form, as well as one's experience or interaction with it. His list, which includes 'to fold,’ 'to modulate,’ 'of tension,’ 'of entropy,’ carefully balances what can be read as a systematic approach along with its effect on the consideration of spatial character, or essence. It is at once defined and yet limitless in what it could yield formally and experientially. The verbs contained in this book are organized within a systematic framework to begin to differentiate how they operate volumetrically. The categories set up in the table of contents are meant to initiate spatial opportunities rather than to limit them. This catalogue thus introduces the possibility of understanding spatial formation as a process that can be derived from fundamental actions, here grouped into volumetric addition, subtraction, or displacement, which define a lexicon of starting points for the creation of space and also imply the relationship between oneself and the space created. "Richard Serra. Verb List Compilation: Actions to Relate to Oneself 1967-1968. g Surface + Volume The focus on surface in contemporary architecture has resulted in the evolution of designing building envelopes, performative grounds and landscapes via a planar manipulation. The pursuit of manipulating a plane through simple operations — folding, weaving, wrapping — as a process of generating buildable surfaces, also provides a logic for understanding implied volumes. These surface operations suggest that spatial design is an active feedback loop between the 2D plane and the 3D volume. From design practice to academic pursuits and methodologies, spatial configuration through surface manipulation generated diverse ideas and allowed for a wide range of recently built examples of this kind of ‘folded’ architecture. There are a number of precedents to this book that focus on these surface operations, including its topical published predecessors, Folding Architecture’ and Supersurfaces. As a precursor to these works, Steven Holl's ‘Correlational Programming’ studies in Parallax“ explored the idea of spatial formation through two-dimensional line drawings that imply active relationships between defined areas and also between those areas and a ground plane, or datum. An indexing of the qualities and characteristics of surface manipulation can be found in Foreign Office Architects’ ‘Classification System’ in Phylogenesis.° Operative Design extends the focus from surface to volume. Volumetric Spatial operations, similar to surface manipulations, present a platform upon which to begin the design process. This book thus inserts itself into the existing discourse with a new angle — that of exploring decidedly volumetric interactions, which immediately evoke, merely through the fact that the base blocks used here are three-dimensional, an understanding of inhabitable space and the dimension of scale. Sophia Vyzoviti. Folding Architecture (Amsterdam: BIS, 2003). 4 Sophia Vyzoviti. Supersurfaces (Amsterdam: BIS, 2006). 5 Steven Holl. ‘Correlational Programming’ in Parallax. (Princeton: New York, 2000), 212-213. FOA. ‘Classification System’ in Phylogenesis: FOA's Ark. (Barcelona: Actar, 1999).Generative Process A key strength of this system is its base premise that quotidian language, which is used to describe movement and action, has within it the potential to itself be applied to spatial thinking. This book is framed as just an illustrative excerpt of this concept: a book that provides a window into a collection of operative terms that is much larger and more extensive than the selection shown here. Using verbs as a design tool also reinforces the idea of design as an active and fluid process - one where the operations illustrate an evolution of changing volumetric configurations, inherently showing how the approach could accommodate varied specifications. In other words, the volumes, the verbs, and how they are applied to one another can be tempered or directed by the specific requirements of given spatial or programmatic needs. The operations and processes, shown here in a systematic organization, are by no means rigid or prescriptive. They are but one interpretation of this kind of active design provoked by these particular action verbs, and the method is first and foremost a generator of spatial relationships whether it is through critical interpretation or used as an instigator for design. It is also important to note that this system is not meant'to imply that architecture or spatial design can be simplified or 'made easy.’ Quite the opposite. While Operative Design conveys formal manipulations through the classification of active verbs, the approach is meant to transcend a purely formal reading and attitude toward design. The goal of this collection is to encourage abstract spatial thinking where the result of volumetric interplay and spatial experience is paramount, The elemental starting points included in this collection carry with them the potential to generate complex spatial outcomes both through exploration of the diverse opportunities latent in each operation and through their combination. ere Combinations and Aggregations Building upon the main list of operative terms, the possibility of combining terms produces volumetric hybrids. While combinations and aggregations are limitless, the method of showing these examples here involves a ‘chain’. While compiling and working through the means of generating these examples, the ‘chain’ allowed for a clear path for deriving inter-category combinations of operations. Iterative by nature, the chain creates links from one set of verbs to another. For example, intersect + split as a combination is linked to split + embed, the connector between the combinations being the verb split. The chain continues in this manner, linking together several examples of combinations of distinct verbs as well as combinations of the same verb with itself. In a similar fashion, a chain is used for organizing the aggregations. However, here, the aggregations are organized and separated by five methods of aggregating — reflect, pack, stack, array, and join. The chain is set up according to these methods. For example, reflect uses the operation expand, then reflect and pack set up another aggregation for skew and the chain moves to pack and inflate, pack being introduced in the previous aggregation. The chain continues to build upon itself. While incredibly useful in designing these sections of this publication, the chain methodology also serves as just one example of using the verbs iteratively to create combinations and aggregations.Implementations In addition to providing a translation through which one can enter into the design process, this book's intention is also to serve as an interpretive guide for reading or understanding works and spaces that already exist. In the Implementations section, selected projects highlight what could be read as volumetric operative moments in these built works, all of which have resulted in highly compelling and complex spaces. The hope is that it can inspire a new approach to thinking about the interaction of volumes in space, at various scales, for both those that already do exist, as well as those that do not. House N by Sou Fujimoto Architects embodies a clear illustration of how one can understand space through the lens of operative design. Although it certainly could have multiple interpretations, one clear reading is of the verb 'nest,' in both plan and section. This nesting operation frames both the project's programmatic relationships and the relationship of interior to exterior, which, through the carefully orchestrated fenestration in the design, allows for views and light to enhance this volumetric play. Photo by Iwan Baan a2 House N - Section House N - PlanBase Volumes 1/2 Base Volume 1/4 Base Volume Base Volume — oe 1/16 Base Volume| Operations Single Multiple Single Subtract Multiple es {Expand Extrude Eo Skew lt Inflate Branch Merge __ Nest Offset Bend I OE a __{_wist ‘Interlock Intersect ‘Lift Lodge ar ail Overlap Rotate Shift Carve Compress Fracture Grade Notch ich ~ Shear Taper r—{ Embed Se Extract 7 Multiple LiOperations Expand _ Single ee ~— ExtrudeExpand Add | Single Volume Procedure = 1 eee | ia Base Volumes se SBR Aa eR aA Orientation Variations Se, OUExtrude Add | Single Volume Procedure = T ae 22 een —e Base Volumes Orientation — 1 Variations . [TTTTT pa GeInflate Add | Single Volume Procedure = 1 94 Base Volumes - Orientation 2 Variations es eerag . o < - 8 S =Add | Multi Volume Base Volumes Variations —— oe J Po ae | = Orientation ® [i — Procedure =— | | eS i onNest Add | Multi Volume Procedure = | & eS 230Offset Add | Multi Volume Procedure = 32 3 Ee Orientation Sr Variations34 Operations Interlock Intersect Lift Multiple Lodge Overlap RotateBend 7 Displace | Single Volume Base Volumes ee Variations . Orientation A.A Sri ite | | | | Procedure = ~ ~ ~ 1 7 2.——__, or | Q fSkew Displace | Single Volume Variations ——Split | S 4 Displace | Single Volume Base Volumes = is | Orientation VMUU Vk Procedure =—— J IL 3 | erTwist Displace | Single Volume | Procedure = Variations | No) NooInterlock Displace | Multi Volume pase Volumes Variations — 4 LU Orientation LRAT RE ETE Procedure = 1 | antes seca ey a 44Lift Displace | Multi Volume Procedure = 48 2. VariationsLodge Displace | Multi Volume Procedure ® 3s Variations ponte distorOverlap Displace | Multi Volume Procedure = 52 Variations POR neRotate Displace | Multi Volume Base Volumes = Se Variations ——Shift Displace | Multi Volume Procedure * a Variations58 Operations Subtract Multiple Carve Compress Fracture Grade Notch Pinch Shear Taper Embed Extract Inscribe PunctureVariations a Volumes Subtract | Single Volume Orientation Procedure = 2 ee 60 i | iCompress Subtract | Single Volume Bese Volumes = Variations —— Orientation —— s Procedure = ee 1— 62Fracture r i Subtract | Single Volume Z Base Volumes ~ Variations —— e | OrientationGrade Subtract | Single Volume z eVolumes = #————-_ Variations — Procedure =—— 66Notch Subtract | Single Volume Variations ieee an scaPinch Subtract | Single Volume Procedure = 70 Variations| Procedure = Embed | Subtract | Multi Volume Variations A E E 1 T meExtract Subtract | Multi Volume Procedure = Base Volumes Be, Variations eeInscribe Subtract | Multi Volume Variations PRS ae|) Puncture | | WU) Subtract | Multi VolumeInscribe Inscribe Intersect Intersect Combinations | 84 | BranchInscribe + Inscribe Subtract | Multi Volume Initial Volume sean es ees) Operation - Inscribe Combined Operations - Inscribe + Inscribe Intersect + Intersect Displace | Multi Volume Initial Volume Operation - Intersect : Combined Operations - Intersect + IntersectSplit + Split " Embed + Embed Displace | Single Volume Subtract | Multi Volume Initial Volume Initial Volume Operation - Split Operation - Embed Combined Operations - Split + Split Combined Operations - Embed + EmbedTaper + Taper Subtract | Single Volume Initial Volume Combined Operations - Taper + Taper Bend + Bend Displace | Single Volume Initial Volume —— - Operation - Bend el Combined Operations - Bend + BendBranch + Branch Add | Multi Volume Initial Volume < Operation - Branch ee Operation - Expand saieabeli © - Combined Operations - Branch + Branch Combined Operations - Expand + ExpandShift + Shift Displace | Multi Volume Initial Volume Operation - Shift Combined Operations - Shift + Shift 94 jotch + Notch ~ subtract | Single Volume Initial Volume Operation - Notch Combined Operations - Notch + Notch | | |Inscribe + Intersect Subtract | Multi Volume + Displace | Multi Volume Operation - Inscribe Operation - Intersect Combined Operations - Inscribe + Intersect tersect + Split isplace | Multi Volume + Displace | Single Volume Operation - Intersect Operation - Split Combined Operations - Intersect + SplitSplit + Embed bed + Taper Displace | Single Volume + Subtract | Multi Volume | Multi Volume + Subtract | Single Volume Operation - Split Operation - Embed Combined Operations - Split + Embed s ‘Combined Operations - Embed + TaperTaper + Bend Subtract | Single Volume + Displace | Single Volume Operation - Taper Operation - Bend Combined Operations - Taper + Bend end + Branch place | Single Volume + Add | Multi Volume jperation - Branch ‘Combined Operations - Bend + BranchBranch + Expand Add | Multi Volume + Add | Single Volume Operation - Branch Padi alder ones Restate es) Operation - Expand Sark eo ee Combined Operations - Branch + Expand Ds G pand + Shift dd | Single Volume + Displace | Multi Volume peration - Expand VD Operation - Shift _ Combined Operations - Expand + ShiftShift + Notch Notch + Twist Displace | Multi Volume + Subtract | Single Volume btract | Single Volume + Displace | Single Volume Operation - Shift Operation - Notch cee pas aah H | Operation - Notch 1 Operation - Twist | FR a Ae se | Combined Operations - Shift + Notch fl Combined Operations - Notch + Twist | 104Aggregations| Reflect | Expand Add | Single Volume Aggregation Base Volume || Operation - Expand —_ | ——————eel = Verlations = = oy 108Pack | Inflate Add | Single Volume Base Volume Aggregation Method - Pack Result Variations eePack + Stack | Branch Add | Multi Volume E Aggregation s——————— on Base Volume Operation - Branch Aggregation Method- Pack __ Aggregation Method - Pack + Stack ae 114Stack | Bend | Aggregation Method - Stack i ]Array + Stack | Rotate Displace | Multi Volume Base Volumes c ) Operation - Rotate a Aggregation Method - Array egation Method - Array + Stack 118 Variations| 120 ] Array | Taper Subtract | Single Volume | Aggregation = = \ | Base Volume LE AG a) ii | Aggregation Method - Array SsJoin + Array | Pinch Subtract | Single Volume - Aggregation © #———— Base Volume Operation - Pinch A ation Method - Joi \ggregation Method - Join Renations ee Aggregation Method - Join + Array _ 122Join | Split Displace | Single Volume TUE 5 Rieettteccsni ere eace tap tn ern meene ecient eee Operation - Split s Aggregation Method - Join Variations I ON OER SESE 124Pezo von Ellrichshausen - Poli House Powerhouse Company - Villa 1 pose Design Office - House in Minamimachi 02 Implementations qi Barbosa and Guimardes Gouveia Law Courts | dosmasunoarquitectos - Carabanchel Housing RTA Studio - lronbankPoli House Pezo von Ellrichshausen Photo by Cristobal Palma E Perimeter Services _ Thickened Openings Carve + OffsetVilla 1 Powerhouse Company peranched Programs Photo by Bas Princen Volume Wrapper _ Embedded Entry Embed + Branch =Casa para un Carpintero | | RCR Arquitectes } cy — (Overlapping Program | Photo by Hisao Suzuki i | ‘ | ' : Prrculation Core - ES] | \ : } | | | | | i Hy ] | | Entry | | _— | | « Embed + Overlap ——____.._..._/ |oe § § 2 3 o £ = £ 8 3 : ? 3 & 3 3 i i 5 a 2! = Photo by Iwan Baan House N Sou Fujimoto Architects Expand + NestExpanded Volumes _ Overlapping Light Wells _ Stacked Program inamimachi Photo by Toshiyuki Yano House in M Suppose Design Office Overlap + ExpandNursing Home Aires Mateus 2 @ = 2 o = Z = o Photo by Femando Guerra Bent Massing Embedded Massing Bend + ShiftLeimondo Nursery School Archivision Hirotani Studio Tapered Volumes e Photo by Kurumata Tamotsu Thickened Roof Embedded Program Embed + Taper 9 = —______________Gouveia Law Courts Barbosa and Guimaraes Carved Massing __ Lifted Program : Carved Plinth g e 5 8 8 s 2 2 é Lift + CarveCarabanchel Housing Ignacio Borrego, Néstor Montenegro and Lina Toro | dosmasunoarquitectos é o yn D al = a 3 3 5 Lifted Massing Carved Plinth Photo by Miguel de Guzmén Lift + Extrudelronbank RTA Studio Rotated Volumes Photo by Patrick Reynolds Plinth and Street Facade I Overlap + Rotate seAcknowledgments To firms and photographers who have contributed to this publication : Aires Mateus RTA Studio Nursing Home lronbank Building Photographer : Fernando Guerra Photographer : Patrick Reynolds Archivision Hirotani Studio Sou Fujimoto Architects Leimondo Nursery School House N Photographer : Kurumata Tamotsu Photographer : lwan Baan Barbosa and Guimaraes Suppose Design Office Gouveia Law Courts Photographer : José Campos House in Minamimachi 02 Photographer : Toshiyuki Yano dosmasunoarquitectos Ignacio Borrego, Néstor Montenegro and Lina Toro Carabanchel Housing Photographer : Miguel de Guzman Pezo von Ellrichshausen Poli House Photographer : Cristobal Palma Powerhouse Company Villa 1 Photographer : Bas Princen RCR Arquitectes Casa para un Carpintero Photographer : Hisao Suzuki 148 We are grateful to the following for their collaboration and support : Harvard University GSD Melissa Vaughn, Mack Scogin, Marcela Delgado, Silvia Illia~-Shedahl, Clay Carroll, Carolina Hidalgo, and our students during the Career Discovery Program in Architecture Northeastern University School of Architecture Ivan Rupnik and students in the first year undergraduate studios BIS Publishers Rudolf van Wezel Our friends and families Special thanks to Megan Panzano for her collaboration and editing This book is dedicated to Joanna Ziegler.Biographies Anthony Di Mari Anthony Di Mari is an adjunct professor at Northeastern University's Schoo! of Architecture where he teaches first year architecture studios and advanced representation. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies from Holy Cross before completing a Master's degree in Architecture at the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University. Anthony's competition work has been featured online through Inhabitat, Scientific American, CNN, and shiftBoston. His fabrication projects have been featured in exhibitions focused on the design process including Matter: design processes at the Bakery Design Collective in San Diego, California, and furniture featured at GreenHomeNYC's The new New York event. His professional experience in the field of architecture includes work with Eisenman Architects, Rick Joy Architects, RCR Arquitectes, and Studio Luz. His studio is located in Boston, Massachusetts. 150 Nora Yoo Nora Yoo is an architectural designer in New York City. She received a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude with honors in Architectural Studies and Hispanic Literature and Culture from Brown University. Following her undergraduate studies, she went on to receive her Master's degree in Architecture at the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University. While studying at the GSD, Nora honed in on research regarding the ‘ application of design thinking to pressing global issues with Toshiko Mori, in addition to exploring the future of physical space for information exchange in her thesis with her advisor, Mack Scogin. In her professional career, she has taught studio at the GSD's Career Discovery program and has worked with Carlos Zapata Studio, SB Architects, Toshiko Mori Architect / VisionArc, and Architecture Research Office.