Recently I made use of Lego’s Design by Me service to purchase a model of one of my father’s architectural designs. The experience with the purchasing experience was bitter-sweet, but the model arrived and I was able to build it in under seven hours!
Visual interpretation of the negative space in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum.
My dad once told me that there are two kinds of architects: the ones who can understand spatial transparency (the privileged) and those who cannot (the rest). Robert Slutzky and Colin Rowe develop in “Trasparency” and “Transparency 2″ (from Architecture Culture: 1943-1968, by Joan Ockman) an understanding of how a building’s formal structure can demarcate spaces. They single out two types of transparencies: the literal and the phenomenal. The first refers to how a material like glass, although physically “transparent,” is still tangibly present in the structure’s form. In contrast, phenomenal transparency allows for a simultaneous perception of different spatial locations within the same space. The idea is that, like in an optical illusion, forms are suggested –or implied, as Peter Eisenman would prefer to say– rather than depicted. In other words, it allows for spatial stratification within given limits. Phenomenal spaces are never different, but differentiated. Like in Cubist paintings, phenomenal forms are suggested, not stipulated. The viewer defines what he/she sees.
Cover | Indice Anotado, 13 years of Mid-Career research investigations from architecture students of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
Jorge Rigau, FAIA, founding dean of the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico; Miguel Rodríguez, current dean; and funds from the Historic Preservation Office of Puerto Rico have made it possible to publish the Índice Anotado (Anotated Index). This publication documents the Mid-Career research investigations completed by students at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
These texts were completed between 1996 and 2009 and executed by students at the end of the 3rd year of study. Their topical range is extensive, and most are complemented by photographs, drawings and inventories that will be useful to others following similar lines of research. While the collection is mainly about Puerto Rico, some projects look at Cuba, Dominican Republic and Panamá.
The index is organized by themes, and while some overlap, researchers will have to asses the focus areas of each of their topics to find relevant investigations. The documents are written in Spanish, but the the index provides a blurb about each of them in English to expand the ideas to a larger audience.
Copies of the full writings will be available for public consult at the library of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and at the library of the Historic Preservation Office. The Índice Anotado has been designed by Alberto Rigau and published by Editorial Revés.
Back in the 60′s, Puerto Rico’s government considered the development of a social housing project called “Habitat“. The monstrous structure had its life, for pre-fabricated pieces were actually ordered and many arrived on the island. Thankfully, it was never built.
As this cartoon from 1969 satirically emphasizes, the social implications associated to the design of this structure would have only lead to a catastrophe. It’s labyrinthic layout would have provided a space for crime and drugs to prosper, and a new meaning to the term “cacerío“.
It’s a learning experience to look back at these materials. As a designer, I can imagine all of the blind efforts that must have been pushed forward by the building’s creators. As this case clearly illustrates, designers have the responsibility of understanding the implications of one’s work, specially if the social impact is at a scale that affects communities or cities. Of course, you may think “duh”, but proposals like Habitat make me aware that not everyone out there actually thinks this way.
Today, there are a few of the prefabricated pieces of the Habitat still around Puerto Rico.
Recently my father, an avid architectural historian, managed to track 2 of them down in the town of Arecibo. These pieces never fulfilled their original purpose, but today form a new kind of habitat that keeps intriguing some of us whose curiosities never sleep.
Study of a custom typeface in 1/2″ frosted acrylic. Each letter was cut to be 12 inches tall.
Study for a commercial booth in a 1/2 scale model to test the assembly system.
While at NC State University’s College of Design I was encouraged to consistently prototype. Even though we had access to a full machine shop and a laser cutter, I always prototyped in paper. I loved the quick success granted by playing with some post-its and markers (I have to say my friend Valentina was the grad-school queen of markers who got me into the habit of using them again).
Now, a few months after leaving NC State, I am still consistently prototyping. I have to say that now, because I am trying to establish a multidisciplinary practice, I require more quick iterations than ever before, be it to keep my mind fresh or to be able to collaborate with another designer on a project.
Here I want to show a few images from two projects that are currently underway. In each of them I have prototyped using a laser cutter and some acrylic.
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This past week I received my copy of Gary Hustwit’s film Objectified. You can imagine my excitement to have the opportunity to finally press play, but seventy-five minutes later I found myself asking: “–That was it?” Just as with Helvetica, I enjoyed the film, I truly did, but I found it too closed niched, too much in the preference of a certain kind of designer and object.
Where were the Campana brothers? Did the One-Laptop Per Child deny an interview? Was Phillip Stark not available? Javier Mariscal? How come no electric cars made it to the edit? How about Massimo and Lella Vignelli? And those unsung heroes who today produce some of the most amazing work on the sustainability front? How about Catalan designer Juli Capella who constantly writes about Spanish objects, their design and influence in culture? How come Scandinavia’s and India’s work did not make it? And why were there no architects? (they happen to design a large percentage of the objects that surround us) I bet you can also instantly think of a few more examples.
This project being a film, I understand its need for editing and focus. Not everything can make it. I understand that, but… Would it have been too hard to minimize the fourth showing of one person and introduce the perspective of an up-and-coming designer? And how come Latin American design has not been referenced? (I am so shocked about the non-showing of the Brazilian Campana brothers).
As you can tell, I am a bit disappointed, but don’t let that discourage you from watching it. The film offers a rare look into the process and thinking of some of those whose work has changed the contemporary way of living. It is a good reference. It just left me with too many questions that probably only a design nerd like me will ever make…
In my first night around Seville I made one significant stop (which was non-food related). I visited the Cathedral in Seville, final resting place of Christopher Columbus.
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I arrived at Seville. I have to admit I was exhausted from the long travel, flying into Madrid and then, only 2 hours later, taking a train. Once here, I decided to get myself out into the old city. It was a two-fold strategy. I have never visited before and this might be my only chance to do so on this trip. My work schedule begins tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Walking around would also ensure that I would wear myself out completely to sleep through the night.
Of course, first thing is first. I have to hunt down some nice typography.
I am always surprised that more typography like this is not found in Puerto Rico.
Maybe I am the only person who finds this odd, but a young man searching to take care of older people… hmm, suspicious in my book.
Bar Europa. Strongly recommended by my father, mother and uncle. After enjoying it, I fully endorse their recommendation.
Small, cozy place.
Menu of this bar. It had some of the tastiest ham croquettes I have had in my life. (and if you know me, you are aware of my experience on the topic. jeje)
Caught my eye.
Right across from the bar.
Today I used Renfe’s Ave train as a means of transportation from Madrid to Sevilla. I had heard a lot about it before, but I had never used it. I have to say that I am very impressed with it. More so, I am even more impressed with the graphic and visual landscapes which are born when the train reaches very high speeds. Probably I am the only person in the world who like it but you can be the judge for yourself.
In it’s weekly show, the Puerto Rican League of Theatrical Improvisation executes a game that involves people from the audience. In this game, one of its members calls two single people to the stage for an interview on personal information, dating profile, professional goals, dreams… and also nightmares. With the information attained, the league improvises a complete scene. This past week was my turn.
Coincidentally, the League also chose my dear friend Denisse, and I have to say it was great to share this moment (and embarrasment… hahaha) with her. Good friends of mine think that Jonathan (who played me) did a great job!
Sorry to those of you who don’t understand Spanish and will not be able to understand the play.
Recently I have had the opportunity to work on a series of identity projects for a diverse group of clients. One of the most exciting has been the challenge to re-design the visual language of Puerto Rico’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
In a collaboration with Jorge Rigau FAIA and Miguel Ortiz, the approach intends to provide a framework on which SHPO can now establish a permanent visual structure. The project is currently being implemented, and a full system roll-out should be done in the next 2 months. Here I share some of the elements that have been generated.
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This past thursday 3M Company of Puerto Rico held a fashion show to promote some of their Post-it products. For the event, I was commissioned by my friend Lorna Ramos to execute the event’s decoration… all of it made out of Post-its.
This video documents, in under 2 mins, the 15 hours spent playing with squares of colored paper. For photos of the setup, see here.
I want to point out that frame after frame you will consistently notice the collaboration of Miguel Ortiz, a young architect with whom I am currently working on a series of projects. I also want to thank Lorna, Juan Carlos Rubayo, Denisse Rodríguez and Sofía Acevedo who came out to help.
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To make the video more interesting, I used the music track Again and Again by The Bird and the Bee. As of October 11, 2009, the official website of the band is offline and the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine was not useful in accessing its contact information. I will keep trying so that I can ask for a formal permit to keep the song in the video. If it is not granted, the song will be removed immediately.
Recently I have been playing with a new toy that has me thinking I am Eadweard Muybridge. So far I am only playing to learn the features and its quirks (as in the timer is always on). Here a small peek into this morning’s sunset.
This group of Puerto Rican military personnel works to exterminate rats, and every other kind of rodents, via asphyxiating gases. From Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1921, No. 582
Herbert F. Johnson Museum: Exploring how the negative space of the facade blends in with its environment.
As part of the first exercise for first-year drawing class of the M.Arch. I at Cornell’s Architecture School, my classmates and I were asked to go around the campus and free-hand draw three structures. The assignment was completely open, as we could draw anything we wanted to portray. The purpose of the exercise was to begin thinking about how we “see” buildings and how we can represent those ideas about them. I centered on the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, the Sage Chappel, and Uris Library. I wish to share part of my outcome… Read the rest of this entry »
Commemorative piece given to the 2009 recipients of Puerto Rico's Architecture Awards. Design and concept by Alberto Rigau. Fabrication by Roberto Pérez.
This past Thursday, Puerto Rico’s professional college of architects and landscape architects awarded the 2009 medals in architecture. These awards, named after Ricardo Alegría, are given to individuals and/or entities who are not directly related to the discipline of architecture but who have contributed to the field in a way that can be evidenced in a substantial body of work.
Previously, this prestigious recognition had been given four times, and to my knowledge, recipients were given only a certificate. This year I volunteered and gifted the College with a design of commemorative piece to be handed out in the naming ceremony.
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from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 274
from Puerto Rico Ilustrado, 1915, No. 278
Before Sports Illustrated, Life and the image-based version of National Geographic (can you believe it began as a text-based academic publication?), Puerto Rico had it’s very own image-based weekly: Puerto Rico Ilustrado.
It was published from March 6th 1910 through December 27th 1952, a length of time during which it amassed a collection of 2227 issues. Content wise, the pages primarily chronicled life in the island, while it also included writings and images on international events of the time.1 On average, these were about 16 pages, with about 6 of them dedicated to advertisements (which are fabulous in their own right). It was printed on a kind of dull paper, originally in black and white, but slowly 2 color printing makes its way into the covers. In the later years, covers are then produced in full color (which in many ways diminished the visual impact of earlier compositions)
During the last few weeks I have been scanning directly from about 15 years worth of issues, and the more I look at it the more I marvel at the typography contained in the mastheads of the issues, particularly their visual exploration which shows a struggle between looking man-made and machine-made, with an observed preference on the former.
My study on this publication is only beginning, but I have scanned a series of typographic treatments from a few years’ worth of the publication to begin a process of sharing them.
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L’avenir, for philosopher Jacques Derrida, conceptualizes the coming of the Other. In juxtaposition with the Future, which can be known beforehand, l’avenir references the unpredictable appearance of the Other.
For this blog, I currently represent the Future, i.e. an intentional attempt by my brother, Alberto, to (re)invent the content of his page. Yet, what subsequent years hold for us, I do not/cannot know. How will I affect my brother’s design thinking? And – more importantly for my wellbeing – How will he deflect my way(s) of perceiving the Human Being and its World, which (mis)guides me towards specific problematizations and reconcialiations.
In short, how will l’avenir unravel in Refraction? I can never predict it.
Nonetheless, Refraction will write the evolution of our project. Not only by focusing on different themes, but by seeing how those thoughts bounce back into unforeseen realms. We hope that our thoughts, deflected, will survive.
But what does that mean: that our vestige will survive us? Is it possible? For how long? (Obviously not for eternity.) Derrida asserted: “The trace neither lives nor dies, but survives us.” Such a claim denies existence to the trace, but endows it with a personal utility of extension or continuation of one’s life after death. Yet, this quasi-satisfactory move towards the achievement of immortality (always knowing its implied impossibility) may confuse a reader into believing in an explicit, discoverable link between an origin and its footprint. The trace, always-already disentangled from the origin and henceforth being observed through varying interpretative eyes, can never open the path to recapture an original essence (i.e. thought, feeling, concept, experience, etc.). So, even if MY-trace can never be recovered, my-trace does not merely survive, but is exists! It has its own existence, endowed by the eye of the beholder. Don’t get me wrong, my writing exists because of me, but continues to be in spite of me. (I hope that the reader nourishes the life of my-trace, to prevent its inevitable death.)
My small book collection at Cornell.
Indeed for me, these times need of introductions. First, because most of you, who have decided to read posts by my rather keen brother, may not know me. Second – I have to admit - this would be the first time I bring my thoughts into a blog. And finally, I am getting acquainted with a new setting.
Two weeks ago, I arrived at Cornell University to begin my Masters in Architecture 1. The experience of meeting new people from widely different track records – architecture, furniture design, engineering, physics, business, among others – has been exciting, but has also motivated me to reflect back on my persona. Seeing how many already possess jaw-dropping abilities, I felt compelled to review what I had apparently done right to be accepted into the School of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP). Reviewing my application materials, I came across my essay, which began:
“I do not want to study architecture.” These words quickly became my answer to those who presumed that as the son of an architect and the brother of a graphic designer, I would pursue an undergraduate degree in the arts.
It’s been two years since blogging experiment was initiated. Two hundred and forty two posts later, I have carved a little corner in cyberspace for some of my thoughts and ideas. Up until now, the content of the writing has derived from my work in the Master’s of Graphic Design program at NC State University. As a result, this weblog has served as a documentation of my stay at the university’s College of Design.
Today I would like to announce that the content and focus of the site will be expanded as my brother, Armando Rigau, joins as a writer and collaborator. Coming from an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Georgetown University, he currently pursues a Master’s Degree in Architecture at Cornell University. His different perspective will not only help to pluralize the content of this page, but hopefully challenge some of my own preconceptions on design as we both begin to build together a new collaborative framework.
If anything, this juncture can be seen as a canvas where we will share with each other some of our perspectives as we anticipate collaborative work in the future. We will learn as we go and see where it takes us…
I have a number LD3921 .GRAPH. DES. .R54
When I thought my final project process at NC State University was finished, this morning I had an unexpected surprise when I realized that my research investigation has already been catalogued into the library system. I realize this is a trivial thing… but I have to say it made me smile.
