the world of ollie palmer » architecture

Under Scan

Ollie Palmer — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:20:42 +0000

Under Scan is an interactive video art installation for public space. In the work, passers-by are detected by a computerized tracking system, which activates video-portraits projected within their shadow. Over one thousand video-portraits of volunteers were taken in Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton and Nottingham by a team of local filmmakers. For its London presentation in Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern filmed over 250 additional recordings. As people were free to portray themselves in whatever way they desired, a wide range of performances were captured. In the installation, the portraits appear at random locations. They “wake-up” and establish eye contact with a viewer as soon as his or her shadow “reveals” them. As the viewer walks away, the portrait reacts by looking away, and eventually disappears if no one activates it.

Every 7 minutes the entire project stops and resets. The tracking system is revealed in a brief “interlude” lighting sequence, which projects all of the calibration grids used by the computerized surveillance system.

The piece was inspired by representation en abîme, where the portrayed make eye-contact with the viewer, – as found in works by Jan Van Eyck, Parmigianino, Velázquez or Leon Golub. Other references for this work include the post-photographic device described in La invención de Morel, written by Adolfo Bioy Casares (1940) and the ghostly portraits created by Gary Hill, Lynn Hershman-Leeson, Paul Sermon and Luc Courchesne.

Click here for more info

via lozano-hemmer.com and unit 14 work-in-progress

Physical Virus Overview

Ollie Palmer — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:11:24 +0000

Here’s the presentation I gave in Copenhagen last week regarding my Physical Virus project. The project is an architectural conversation about invasive species; the first step is to create a ballet performance using ants, using a series of modified printers to print pheromones and influence ant behaviour. This presentation shows briefly the main stages involved in the execution of the project, a few influences, and some videos pilfered from various places.

You can also see the first batch of ants on flickr here.

My, What a Strange Loop

Ollie Palmer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:36:36 +0000

I am currently in the research phase for a new project in Unit 14. Whilst I’m not in a position to show off any fancy drawings, diagrams or bits of circuitry yet, I thought perhaps a list of the influences that are working their way into this subject might give a preview of where it may go…

The following statement is true. The previous sentence is false.

Mis en Abyme / Strange Loops / Infinity / Voids

Introversion, self-reference and meta-reality abound; the theme I’m working with is the concept of a thing in a thing. Mis en Abyme, literally translated, means ‘into the abyss’. Kind of like a Russian doll – but an infinite one.

Hofstadter investigates this in Gödel, Escher, Bach – the paradoxes that exist within each of these genius’ works are remarkably similar.

Expect an experience that is simultaneously introverted and ethereal; esoteric yet accessible. As I say, development is in progress, but here’s a list of influences so far (by no means exhaustive):

Douglas Hofstadter
Meta-physics, presentation of mathematics alongside music and art
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid // The Mind’s I // I Am a Strange Loop
Michel Gondry
Incredible use of visual effects, warped looping and fractional distortion
Björk – Bachelorette // Kylie Minogue – Come Into My World // The White Stripes - Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground // Also look at this video for the White Stripes – not Gondry, but Alexandre Courtès
Charlie Kaufmann
Screenplays with stories that fold into themselves and each other
e.g. Synecdoche, New York // Adaptation // Being John Malkovich
Francis Bacon
Space frames, foreground and background merging, distorted figures – frankly, I relish any opportunity to browse through Bacon paintings
See image reel at the end of this post

General points-of-reference

Optical illusions, magic, puppetry…plus other influences include all of the usual suspects, plus music videos, short films, etc, including: this book, this video, of course this group, this video, this one is equally cheesy, these projects, this studio (of course), fractals, ths photographer, these guys, this image is jerky and pixellates badly but a nice idea, you’ll regret this image, this guy, etc etc. (If you’re interested in my influences, check out my delicious stream, or head to Ruairi’s blog at interactivearchitectrue.org)

Click on the images below to be taken to their source. Images are property of their respective copyright holders.

Perry Kulper Workshop at Bartlett

Ollie Palmer — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:39:24 +0000

This week, the AVATAR students at the Bartlett School of Architecture have been working under the guidance of visiting lecturer Perry Kulper (University of Michigan). Perry’s work investigates the potential of methodology in the working process, aiming not to create buildings, but rather to progress the cultural effectiveness and agency of architecture. Whilst working in the field of architecture and architectural education, he often eliminates buildings as an outcome, and has produced hundreds of provocative, rich and intensively laboured drawings. Spending four days under his tuition was a privilege, and the general consensus from the year group is overwhelmingly positive.

Through his academic career, Perry has identified 14 different methods that can be used within architecture, independently or interdependently. On our short dive into this esoteric pool, we studied four of these methods and worked intensively for three-and-a-half days on one of them.

The brief was to work on a motel using an Edward Burtynsky photograph as a site plan, using one of four of Perry’s methods.

Kim Walker and I worked together, and investigated gestural translation. Gestural translation, to explain in one sentence, is a process by which a gesture is translated into an architecture. The gesture can be as meaningful or meaningless as you wish, and it is generally the way in which it is translated that creates the interest.

We chose this photograph of a fragment of a ship being broken down as our site:

The process then underwent four stages:

1. The gesture

Our chosen gesture was bursting a balloon filled with water. This action took place over a scale of milliseconds and was captured using high-speed photography and video.

Finding commonalities

We found commonalities in the site, the gesture and the motel through changing state of being over time:

The ship was originally constructed from minerals from all over the world, then used for however long its lifetime was, and now is being broken down to return to its original mineral state. We could say that the ship is in a transitory state, when measured over a period of years.

The motel will serve as a temporary place for its visitors. Its activity is a transitory state, when measured over a period of days.

Whilst being burst, the balloon is effectively undergoing a state change – from being contained in a membrane to explosion to finding an equilibrium in its new form. The balloon we captured in high-speed photography is in a transitory state, when measured on a scale of milliseconds.

3. The interpretation

The ship

The ship’s line was derived by tracing the outline of the ship and the inversed outline of the ship from the Burtynsky photograph.

The motel

The motel’s line was derived by tracing the outline of one of the waves that were created from the balloon explosion.

The balloon

The balloon bursting line was derived from a tangent graph.

4. Reinterpretation

We placed all elements onto the same sheet using a variable scale.

We then plotted the intersections of the graph. The circles drawn around the loci of the intersections were structured according to the intensity of the collision; where the balloon (a ‘small’ scale) met the motel (a ‘medium’) scale, the circle was small; where the ship (a ‘large’ scale) met the motel (a ‘medium’ scale) the circle was larger.

The motel is thus represented in a transient state, similar to the three transient states it is derived from. The outcome is not necessarily a finished building, but represented through the geometric logic that has driven its creation.

The final image was printed and manipulated with paint, charcoal and wax. Click here to download a high-resolution version. Click here for the flickr image pool from the critique.

AVATAR

Ollie Palmer — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:28:58 +0000

OK, so I’ve been fairly lax with blog entries recently. That, dear readers, is not due to a lack of excitement – perish the thought! – but a general lack of time to document it all.

I will soon be developing a series of projects at the Bartlett School of Architecture as part of an Masters in Architectural Design AVATAR, studying directly under some of the people who have heavily influenced my past work. To say that I am very excited would be an understatement…

Digital Architecture London

Ollie Palmer — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:11:04 +0000

So excited about the Digital Architecture London conference next month. Organised by Ruairi Glynn, and boasting an impressive lineup (Brett Steele, Stephen Gage, Tony Dunne, Neil Spiller, Usman Haque and many more), the event is sure to be an eye-opener. Perhaps most impressive is the bargain £55 ticket price, with a private view of the simultaneous Digital Hinterlands exhibition.

Chinese news

Ollie Palmer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:28:01 +0000

Open_Sailing made it onto the Chinese news. Thanks to New Dynasty Television for the report.

Open_Sailing funding

Ollie Palmer — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:20:06 +0000

We’re looking for media, sponsorship and technology partners for Open_Sailing.

Click here to read on-screen
Click here for a printable version

Open_Sailing website and contacts

Open_Sailing poster

Ollie Palmer — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:04:02 +0000

Poster for event on the 13th June, specially made for the Architectural Association in London. Super low-resolution version.

Click here to download poster

Crackwhores do it on our doorstep

Ollie Palmer — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:27:14 +0000

We have a slight problem with the alleyway outside the flat. Being just off the main street – and lower than street level – our ‘back passage’ makes the ideal place for Brixton’s prostitutes to ply their wares. We can tell from the constant trail of used condoms in the gravel.

There are two positives that I can ascertain from this situation:

Firstly, it is reassuring to know that even the skankiest of prostitutes (and Brixton has some munters walking the strip) uses protection.

Secondly, I admire their resourcefulness. In the current financial climate, we’re all trying to reduce our overheads, and their innovative cutting back on rent scheme warrants merit.

However, as a resident, you are always left wondering if you shall someday have to confront a copulating crackwhore and her client(s) when you enter or leave the house late at night. Plus, there are quite a few condoms to clean up.

We now have three anti-crackwhore measures. Firstly, we installed a gate. This worked from an anti-prostitute point of view, but we also stopped getting mail. So we had to leave the gate open – and effectively welcome back the women of the night.

Secondly, we installed a light with a motion detector, so that any movement would trigger a burst of light the whole way down the alley. But to no avail. Maybe they do it without motion these days. Or maybe the light just helps. It’s certainly easier to find our keyhole now…

The latest anti-crackwhore measure is to make the alleyway a tad perplexing. Outside the door we have a black-and-white 1912 print of a family who have returned from a fox hunt, with the message ‘Like Father, Like Son’ printed underneath.

If that doesn’t stop them, nothing will…