Fifth Year Thesis -
The Network Society Dwelling
California Polytechnic State University-
San Luis Obispo
network society / noun
-“the social structure that characterizes society in the early twenty-first century, a social structure constructed around (but not determined by) digital networks of communication” (Castells, 4).
network society / noun
-“the social structure that characterizes society in the early twenty-first century, a social structure constructed around (but not determined by) digital networks of communication” (Castells, 4).
The Network Society Dwelling is intersecting the architectural and conventional zoning of the 20th century and is proposing a high-density live-work complex that can utilize the existing infrastructure of a mall anchor store and its surrounding site.
Building on the sharing economy and instant gratification of the digital age, the Network Society Dwelling changes how we inhabit space. No longer needing our own individual kitchens or living rooms, these spaces can be shared among neighborhoods of inhabitants. These shared spaces move along track systems, attaching to individual units on an as-needed basis. The occupant’s needs begin to dictate the architecture of the building.
In order to increase the amount of livable space, daily objects and leisure programs are stored within the basement. Daily objects consist of things you use day-to-day, such as a vacuum or blender, but you don’t need immediate access to. Leisure programs are underutilized spaces that often reside within our homes, such as guest bedrooms or gyms. The Lifestyle Delivery System retrieves daily objects and delivers them to The Network: Object Lounge on each floor. When inhabitants pick up and share their daily objects, they interact with one another and it becomes a social space.
The Network Society Dwelling
Fall Quarter 2017 - Spring Quarter 2018
Click below to view:
Transparent boxes allow inhabitants to see what is occurring at The Network: Object Lounge
Mall Anchor Stores
If one anchor store goes out of business, circulation decreases and the other stores will fail. As a result, if you introduce the Network Society Dwelling in the location where an anchor store currently exists, it will force malls to have to respond differently to the new public space created.
The Network Society Dwelling - Design Proposal
Section Iterations
Lifestyle Delivery System
technology / [tek-nol-uh-jee] / noun
-the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.
At Cal Poly, during our fifth year we spend Fall Quarter focusing on thesis research and participating in the 14th Annual Vellum Furniture Competition. During Winter and Spring Quarter we continue our research and begin to design and develop our projects.
Fall Quarter's research has been complied into my final thesis book and can be found in Chapters 1 to 4. "The Network Society Dwelling" can be viewed by clicking on the link in the left hand column.
The Network Society Dwelling - Abstract:
Background: Observing the world we live in, we are beginning to lose the intimacy of in person, human interactions. Our reliance on technology has grown and it has encompassed our lives, creating a new realm of how people interact and stay connected.
Problem Statement: Sales from traditional brick and mortar stores are decreasing as more people want instant gratification and purchase things online. As a result, programmatic spaces are decreasing and people are finding that they never have to leave their homes with technology always in the palm of their hands. Housing for the digital person in a network society focuses on how technology has changed the way we live and so we have to redesign our dwellings to address these changes.
Methodology: The proposed housing typology would not force people to stop interacting with technology, but would instead foster open and communicative spaces by integrating the physical and virtual world. Recording environmental stimuli and inhabitants’ movements within different housing typologies allows a greater understanding of how these spaces are currently utilized and implications for its future development.
Results: There is a need for an architecture typology that will seamlessly integrate the technology of today and of the future. We must think of future implications and how if we don’t act now, it will be detrimental to modern society and its built environment.
Implications: Focusing first on the human scale, this new architecture typology will allow people to be more connected and will bring technology into the initial design stages of a building. On the urban scale, future implications would lead to a smaller, more efficiently interconnected city, that would meet the needs of the rapidly evolving society we live in.
Efficiency and Occupancy of Programmatic Spaces
Efficiency and Occupancy of Programmatic Spaces
The Millennial Chair
14th Annual Vellum Furniture Competition - November 3rd, 2017
Fall Quarter 2017
millennial / [ mə-ˈle-nē-əl ] / noun
-a person born in the 1980s or 1990s
Participating in the 14th Annual Vellum Furniture Competition, we were to design and fabricate a piece of furniture that related back to our thesis research. Wanting to investigate further how technology is changing the world around us, I began to look at the evolution of furniture within dwellings.
Technology is rapidly evolving and has changed the way we live. As a result, we have to redesign not only our dwellings, but the furniture within to address these changes. Contemporary furniture has tried to integrate technology, but not the new way of how we inhabit space. The Millennial Chair builds off of the idea that technology minimizes the amount of space we need and how we can convert one piece of furniture to adhere to many different uses.
Technology has become integrated into our everyday objects, and objects like analog clocks are beginning to disappear from our bedside tables as people use their cell phones as alarms. As a result, sometimes "the device itself [can] become the furniture" (Kurutz). We have to be careful about designing furniture specific to certain technologies because the technology evolves too rapidly for our furniture design to keep up with the changes. The physical world around us is disappearing in the technological age. We no longer have the same need for filing cabinets and bookshelves because everything is becoming digitalized.
How we utilize furniture has changed because the couch traditionally was where people would socialize and watch television together, but is now where people can work. Laptops allow people to work anytime, anywhere and as a result, the couch can become an extension of someone's work area. It then creates a hybrid of programmatic spaces that previously were well defined in different parts of a building.
Looking at the small scale of a bedroom, through a time lapse room exploration, it provided insight into what occurs within a bedroom. With technology use, you are able to quickly switch between different programmatic spaces all from your desk.
After these initial observations, I designed the Millennial chair that allowed the user to manipulate the orientation of the chair to either short or long-term positions. Focusing on the ergonomic design of the chair, it adheres to the user's comfort depending on the task at hand.
Short-Term Position
Long-Term Position
Iteration #1
The first iteration of the concept-object allows the user to manipulate the kit of parts to whatever they are doing at that point in time. If the user wants to text on their phone, eat at the table, or utilize the workspace then they can adjust it according to their user preference and comfort levels.
Feedback: Make the furniture more comfortable | Scale down the Size | Allow the kit of parts to snap on and off | Explore the use of magnets | Figure out the proper ergonomics for different activities
Iteration #2
The second iteration of the concept-object continued to work out design flaws and the different heights necessary for the desk/table. The chairs now flipped to allow two different ergonomic positions and the desk not only functioned as a table, but also a side table if rotated in a specific direction.
Taking a step back, I had to ask myself about the practicality of constructing the previous iteration within the time frame allotted for Vellum. I didn’t want to lose sight of my conceptual idea, but I realized that I didn’t need every object to get my point across. I was able to scale down the size of my project and work on the practicality of a chair that functioned for not only short and long-term sitting, but also as a side table.
Iteration #3
From the third to fourth iteration I focused on ergonomic chair research for short versus long periods of time sitting.
Feedback: Change the Seat Height to 17” | Try and achieve a perfect cube | Is there a way to make cardboard a permanent material? | Material Exploration | Figure out the fasteners and hardware necessary | Explore possibility for it to become a chair with three or four different positions | Fillet the edges to account for wear and tear from rotation | Design a Foot notch to allow for easier rotation | Void out the center to make the chair lighter
Iteration #4
Iteration #5
The fifth iteration was incorporating the various feedback and finalizing the 3d model for fabrication. At this phase in the project, I performed various quantity takeoffs, calculated material costs, and created cut sheets for the laser cutter.
Fabricate
1 : Scaled
Studio Osborn's Final Thesis Show
Berg Gallery - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA
Wednesday, May 16th - Spring Quarter 2018
Role: Project Manager
scale / [ skāl ] / verb
-represent in proportional dimensions; reduce or increase in size according to a common scale
Wanting to end our fifth year architectural thesis with a final show, Studio Osborn came together to create the 1 : Scaled Studio Show. With 17 people in our studio, we had to find a way to tie everyone's thesis projects into a cohesive show. As a result, we devised the idea of creating a sea of models washed by various colored lights. Wanting to create an immersive viewing experience we blocked out natural daylighting and made the space more intimate by using white panels arrayed at 45 degrees. These white panels reflected the colored lights and became a backdrop for the model's shadows. As the show went on and people moved throughout the room, the white panels had shadows cast upon them and the viewers became a part of the show.
Being the Project Manager, I facilitated meetings to clearly outline expectations and made sure the show was completed on time and within budget. I worked on the preconstruction costs, material procurement, and scheduling, and oversaw the Marketing and Graphic Teams. Having to prioritize the tasks associated with being the Project Manager, while also continuing to develop my thesis and produce the models for the show proved to be rather difficult. In the end, I'm very happy with the final results of the show and how Studio Osborn all came together to end our thesis with an individual studio show.
Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Studio Osborn Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Photo Credit: Bryan Shields, Sergio Sanchez, and Amy Rutty
Graphic Credit: Amy Rutty and Ted Felix Photo Credit: Amy Rutty
Graphic Credit: Amy Rutty and Ted Felix
Graphic Poster Credit: Amy Rutty and Ted Felix Image Credit: Laura Dion