Mid Review :: No Vacancy

Develop your argument. Demonstrate what you are discussing. Situate the work in the context of No Vacancy. Present, locate, show. (Images 1 and 2 by Maja Mrdalj, image 3 by Heather Losley, and text paraphrased from Catie Newell)

Effective Arguments :: No Vacancy

RIGOR: def end. In response to UNBASHFUL, go back through with great rigor taking care to determine and defend the considered methods of adjustment and lifetime of the project.

JUST YOU: c larify. Draw only the portion of the building that your project affects.

_WITHOUT: Indicate this portion without your project.

_WITH: Indicate this portion with your project.

DISTINGUISHED ATMOSPHERE: tell. what sort of life and narrative does your project create? Emphasize the atmosphere and conditions as developed within your work.

WALL SECTION AXON/PERSPECTIVE: cons truct. Rigorously draw the wall section and extended surfaces.

OPERATIONAL DETAILS: demons t rate. Diagram the operations. Clarify what principals drive the project.

TIME SCALE/SEQUENCING: deploy . Situate time within your project. How/when is it built? seasonal adjustments? How long does it last? When/if it ends.

MOODINESS: characterize. Through perspectives, demonstrate:

_WITHIN: The tone and life within and amongst your project.

_AFAR: The impression of your project as presented from a distance.

GREATER SURROUNDS: contribute. Your work will alter the atmosphere and the life of the project. Expand on its extents and contribution to the atmosphere and negative space.

(Images 1 and 2 by Grant Weaver, images 3 and 4 by Michelle Whitaker, and text by Catie Newell)

Site/Defense/Attitude :: No Vacancy

SITE: exploring, representing, defending, and altering the chosen site as seen through the eyes of your project. 
DEFENSE: the logistics, tactics, operations, techniques, and resultants of your method of working on those structures. 
ATTITUDE: the atmosphere, character, and ideas behind your work.
(Image 1 by Holly DeRussel, image 2 by Grant Weaver, and text by Catie Newell)

Detroit Explosion Prompts :: No Vacancy

A difficult upkeep, all materials run a course of deterioration. Each with its own pace and exposure the outermost envelope of all structures is pulled directly both by exterior atmosphere and its harsh realities and the juxtaposed machined atmosphere of the interior. Using the vertical surfaces hovering within and around the blocks of W. Adams Street, Park Avenue, W. Elizabeth Street, and Woodward Avenue, develop an intervention that works amongst the block’s surfaces and negatives spaces. Note this is the location of the Fine Arts façade: exposed and suspended. (Images 1 and 2 by Maja Mrdalj, images 3 and 4 by Matt Young, and text by Catie Newell)

Charged (Review 1) :: No Vacancy

EMPHASIZE THE PERTINENT AS IS CONDITION: amplify . Draw the Genesee Towers through the eyes of the conditions that matter most to your project. Use the class-wide AS- IS drawings as a base for manipulation. Line-weight, ghosting, color, drawing type, and vantage point, (amongst others) are all tools at your disposal. Determine the best techniques for your cause.

UNBASHFUL: energiz e. Attack the building through your concepts, bold, and unforgiving; an energetic drawing.

(Images 1 and 2 by Eric Craig, images 3 and 4 by Sophia Zhou, and text by Catie Newell)

Elsewhere :: No Vacancy

Pull back away, disperse into the atmosphere, accelerate another space, and see more volumes. Each and every one of you has work that goes beyond the Genesee Towers. Each strategy is ripe for another site, and each site capable of testing and morphing a strategy. Discover its deployments. Anticipate. Observe. Agitate. Take nothing lightly.

Projecting into another design project, first evaluate your instincts in Flint. Our endeavors and tendencies run deep into the way we see and express the world. Mine the existing initiatives, search for what pulls you, and throw out what you have only been

dragging along. (Images 1 and 2 by Maja Mrdalj, image 3 by Heather Losley, and text by Catie Newell)

Work :: No Vacancy

Examples of work from the first weeks of the No Vacancy Studio. (Images 1 and 3 by Michelle Whitaker, Images 3 and 4 by Simon Rolka)

Genesee Towers :: No Vacancy

From No Vacancy studio instructor Catie Newell, “Genesee Towers in Flint, Michigan constructed in 1966 now lies vandalized, desolate and a danger to the city inhabitants as it crumbles. The tower now obstructs pedestrian and vehicular traffice movements, taking public space away from the citizens of Flint. Due to the construction of the tower it cannot be demolished in a cost effective manner. Thus, the students of the No Vacancy studio take on the task of designing a solution to give back to Flint a healthy and useable structure.” (Image and text by Catie Newell)