226_James C. Hardt: Taxonomy of Volumes: The Post Digital Garden
James C. Hardt
Junior Environmental Design Architecture major at Texas A&M University. Born and Raised in Georgetown, Texas. Besides my aspirations to become a licensed Architect, I spend my free time backpacking, taking photos, or traveling.
Project Name: Taxonomy of Volumes: The Post Digital Garden
Architecture today is entering a post-digital era. As the next generation of aspiring Architects, it is our task to define what this world will be. The possibilities are endless. This project is a speculative building centered in the messy urban environment of Houston, Texas.
The purpose, a flagship store for Issey Miyake in the Houston Galleria Area. The form was created through the combination of two separate studies: one of a twentieth century house through the process of “indexing”, and the other a transgression of surface logic based on the clothing line of Issey Miyake. Having created two separate objects, they were combined to create this urban garden. A scattered reality in this Post-Digital world. The field surrounding the building produces many ways of approaching the entrance, all demanding further exploration of the site. Upon entry, the inserted volumes redefine the operations of each floor and the wayfinding of each. This garden into the heart of an urban environment is an unfamiliar scene, but falls right into the anything goes city.
Each floor has its own battle between hard straight walls and organic obstructions. This creates a unique experience on every floor. In conjunction the volumes contained inside the large main form all allow for difference program use. A few uses include: bathrooms, changing rooms, or storage rooms. Making this an ideal building to house the ever changing fashion pieces that would occupy the void within. Two taxonomy diagrams depict the volumes represented in this project and their origins. The blue are forms created through the study of the Bazett House, by Frank Lloyd Wright.
The red are the volumes created using the blue forms and the surface logic from the dress, Pleats Please, by Issey Miyake. The Pink are the forms that occupy the exterior site and are formed through boolean operations of the red form. The interior render of the large volume which houses the auditorium for the site, but also showcases the surface of the volumes in this project, and sets the precedent for the visual and physical interactions and environment for all nine floors of this building. These experiences are not limited to just the building but the site and its entirety.
