INDUSTRIAL PLASTICITY

    SAN FRANCISCO IS, IN MANY SENSES, IS A CITY BUILT OF ARTIFICE, TREATING THE WORLD OF THE NATURAL AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. AS THIS PROJECT STARTED WITH AN INITIAL INTEREST IN AN  EXAMINATION OF THE MANUFACTURED AND THE BUILT AND HOW THEY RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER, IT BECAME IMMEDIATELY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT BY NATURE, LANDFILL INHERENTLY SURPRESSES NATURAL ELEMENTS (IN THIS CASE, WATER). THIS NON-SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THESE TWO ELEMENTS, NOT ONLY INCREASES ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS, BUT ALSO CREATES AN AIRE OF INVINCIBILTIY, AND PREPETUATES THE IDEA OF THE ABILITY OF THE HUMAN CONDITION TO OUTLAST, AND CONTROL NATURE.
    THIS PROJECT STRIVES TO REINTRODUCE A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE NATURAL AND THE MANUFACTURED. INITIALLY EXPLORED IN A SERIES OF MAPS (FIRST AN EXAMINATION THE CITY GRIDS, SECOND:AN EXAMINATION OF MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPE (LANDFILL) IN SAN FRANCISCO AND MISSION BAY), AND THIRD: AN EXAMINATION OF DEVELOPMENT IN MISSION BAY), THE PROJECT QUICKLY BECAME FORMALLY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF PIERS SINCE THEY ALLOW FOR UN-AFFECTED INTERACTION WITH WATER, AND THERE FOR DO NOT SURPRESS THE NATURAL. 

     THESE VOLUMETRIC PIERS ARE ARRANGED BY SNAPPING THEM TO SEGMENTS OF THE BAY TRAIL. A CONDITION OF LINEAR INTERSECTIONS ARE CREATED, AND THESE INTERSECTION SPACES BECOME DOUBLE HEIGHT GLASS VOLUMES TO ALLOW FOR ADEQUATE DAYLIGHTING. THE OBLONG SPACES THAT ARE LEFT IN BETWEEN THESE PEIRS BECOME SWIMMING POOLS. BOTH TYPES OF VOLUMES CREATED (EITHER THROUGH INTERSECTION, OR THROUGH ABSENCE) LIE TANGENTIAL TO ONE ANOTHER AND BECOME ENCLOSED, ONLY THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF DRESSING ROOMS, WHICH ARE SELF LIT OPAQUE GLASS VOLUMES. 
    THE, SO FAR, LEFT UNDISCUSSED THROUGH ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSE, ARE THE ISSUES OF MARRYING THE NATURAL AND THE MANUFACTURED. THEREFORE, THE REMAINING SPACES STRIVE TO DO THIS, BY DIRECTLY ENGAGING WATER THROUGH THE PROGRAMS OF DESALINATION, AND THERMAL DISTILLATION. WHAT IS UNIQUE, HOWEVER ABOUT THIS, PARTICULAR TYPE OF DESALINATION, IS THAT THE SALT IS HARNESSED, AFTER BEING SEPARATED. THE REMAINDER SPACES BECOME PLACES FOR BOTH THE PUBLIC, AND INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS TO COME AND WORK WITH SALT, TO CREATE SCULPTURE AND ART. THE BUILDING SEEKS TO ENGAGE THE PLASTICITY OF NATURE, THE FORMAL FLUIDITY, WITH THAT OF THE INDUSTRIAL, URBAN, AND MANUFACTURED: HENCE THE PROJECT TITLE: INDUSTRIAL PLASTICITY.