1
1

Water Flux and Scrambled Flat

Water Flux and Scrambled Flat

Part of

People

  • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)
  • Francois Roche (architectural society)
  • Stephanie Lavaux (artist)
  • Jean Navarro (architect)

Title

Water Flux and Scrambled Flat

Dates of creation

2002-2010

Level of archival description

Series

Extent and Medium

  • 415 digital files (13.29 GB)
  • 2 models

Scope and Content

Series 1, Water Flux and Scrambled Flat, 2002-2010, documents the conception and evolution of a project that was originally a farm building and later became a geology and glaciology museum and research center focused on the Swiss Alps. The project was never realized.

R&Sie(n) conceptualized Scrambled Flat as an experimental farm. The project goal was to reconcile European Union’s agricultural regulations, imposing a separation between animal and human living, to the community of Évolène traditional way of living, contiguously with animals, benefiting from the resources they offer. As conceived, Scrambled Flat creates an environment where fluidity between the existence of the animals and the humans is materialized. The size of the form is also adapted from a typical local rural house and exploits the heat of the animals and the insulation of the hay.

For this project, R&Sie(n) approached the mayor of the community with the design proposition. The mayor then called for a competition, while also changing the program to an ecology museum and research center illustrating the local effects of global warming and the thawing of the Alps.

R&Sie(n) won the competition with Water Flux, a reinterpretation of Scrambled Flat. The project was intended to uncover and exorcise the anxieties of ecological disaster, and the principle of flux related to seasonal change and, more broadly, climate change. The firm designed rooms that reproduce the geological and meteorological environment of the high mountains making it visible and experimental, offering refrigerated spaces for art installations and scientific demonstrations. The concept was also to build with the use of new technologies such as digital modelling, point scanning, and computer numerical control (CNC), combined with ancient local knowledge of knocking on trees to decide which specific pines have the best wood for construction. The building is designed to be constructed with local lamellar wood milled by nearby CNC. The resulting parts would be used for the structure, the insulation, the waterproofing and both the interior and exterior finishes. The design includes a grille wrapping the building, reproducing the profile of traditional houses and enclosure and making it possible to hold the snow inside a typo-morphological imprint. Therefore, the transformable envelope of the building reacts to the rhythm of the seasons. In the winter, the structure would appear like a solid cut-out of ice and snow, with cavities similar to those found in glaciers. In the summer, it would resemble piles of stones used in these areas to make borders. A small pool would collect rainwater and supply it to an interior artificial snowmaking system designed for the gallery. Transformation of the water is an integral part of the design.

The records contain images of plans, sections, details for the structure of the façade, renderings, plans of the engineered structure, and photographs documenting the conception of the models with the CNC machinery. The Rhino 3D modelling files are also part of the records along with AutoCAD models and a video documenting the process.

The records contain two physical models: a smaller polymer model at 1:20 scale representing the whole structure of the building, and a larger 1:1 latch wood fragment representing detail of the structure in its integrality.

Reference Number

AP193.S1

Arrangement

Material in this series has not been arranged.

Location

Évolène Switzerland

General note

  • The small 1:20 scale model is made of polymer. The model is in generally good condition but the natural degradation of plastic material caused the polymer to turn yellow instead of white. Upon its arrival at CCA, the big 1:1 latch wood model was kept in a carbon dioxide tent for a couple of weeks for bugs. The surface was cleaned with vacuuming and dusting. The structure is in excellent condition. An expected oxidization occurred causing the wood to become black on some surfaces. François Roche explains that this particular type of wood becomes either white or black over time, depending its altitude.

Inventory

Sort by: 

  • Actions:
    See more Close
    • Reference Number: AP193.S1.001
    • Title: Interior and exterior renderings, sections, façade and essays, Scrambled Flat, Évolène, Switzerland
    • Dates of creation: 2001-2016
    • Form: drawings, textual records, born digital
    • Catalogued items within this file 0

    People:

    • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)

    Description:

    Original directory name: "first 2000". Most common file formats: Tagged Image File Format, JPEG File Interchange Format, Microsoft Word Document

    Quantity / Object type:

    1 File

    Extent and Medium:

    • 14 digital files (177 MB)

    Location:

    Évolène Switzerland

    Credit line:

    When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
    R&Sie(n) project records,
    Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/
    Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
    When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line

  • Actions:
    See more Close
    • Reference Number: AP193.S1.002
    • Title: 3D models of building and spike façade, Water Flux, Évolène, Switzerland
    • Dates of creation: 2007-2008
    • Form: drawings, born digital
    • Catalogued items within this file 0

    People:

    • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)

    Description:

    Original directory name: "3d cad". Most common file formats: AutoCAD Drawing, 3DM, STL (Standard Tessellation Language) Binary

    Quantity / Object type:

    1 File

    Extent and Medium:

    • 12 digital files (458 MB)

    Location:

    Évolène Switzerland

    Credit line:

    When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
    R&Sie(n) project records,
    Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/
    Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
    When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line

  • Actions:
    See more Close
    • Reference Number: AP193.S1.003
    • Title: Plans, sections, renderings, photographs of models, site map, and presentation documents, Water Flux, Évolène, Switzerland
    • Dates of creation: 2002-2015
    • Form: drawings, textual records, born digital, photographs
    • Catalogued items within this file 0

    People:

    • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)

    Description:

    Original directory name: "pictures". Most common file formats: Exchangeable Image File Format (Compressed), JPEG File Interchange Format, Tagged Image File Format, Raw JPEG Stream, Thumbs DB file

    Quantity / Object type:

    1 File

    Extent and Medium:

    • 376 digital files (1 GB)

    Location:

    Évolène Switzerland

    Credit line:

    When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
    R&Sie(n) project records,
    Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/
    Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
    When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line

  • Actions:
    See more Close
    • Reference Number: AP193.S1.004
    • Title: Animated renderings of interior and exterior, and video documenting model construction with CNC, Water Flux, Évolène, Switzerland
    • Dates of creation: 2007-2015
    • Form: born digital
    • Catalogued items within this file 0

    People:

    • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)

    Description:

    Original directory name: "movies". Most common file formats: MPEG-4 Media File, Audio/Video Interleaved Format

    Quantity / Object type:

    1 File

    Extent and Medium:

    • 5 digital files (12 GB)

    Location:

    Évolène Switzerland

    Credit line:

    When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
    R&Sie(n) project records,
    Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/
    Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
    When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line

  • Actions:
    See more Close
    • Reference Number: AP193.S1.005
    • Title: Models of building and spike façade, Water Flux, Évolène, Switzerland
    • Dates of creation: 2007
    • Form: models
    • Catalogued items within this file 2

    People:

    • R&Sie(n) (archive creator)

    Quantity / Object type:

    1 File

    Extent and Medium:

    • 1 wood
    • 1 polymer

    Location:

    Évolène Switzerland

    Credit line:

    When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation:
    R&Sie(n) project records,
    Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/
    Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal.
    When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line

    Objects that have been catalogued:

1
1

Sign up to get news from us

Email address
First name
Last name
By signing up you agree to receive our newsletter and communications about CCA activities. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, consult our privacy policy or contact us.

Thank you for signing up. You'll begin to receive emails from us shortly.

We’re not able to update your preferences at the moment. Please try again later.

You’ve already subscribed with this email address. If you’d like to subscribe with another, please try again.

This email was permanently deleted from our database. If you’d like to resubscribe with this email, please contact us

Please complete the form below to buy:
[Title of the book, authors]
ISBN: [ISBN of the book]
Price [Price of book]

First name
Last name
Address (line 1)
Address (line 2) (optional)
Postal code
City
Country
Province/state
Email address
Phone (day) (optional)
Notes

Thank you for placing an order. We will contact you shortly.

We’re not able to process your request at the moment. Please try again later.

Folder ()

Your folder is empty.

Email:
Subject:
Notes:
Please complete this form to make a request for consultation. A copy of this list will also be forwarded to you.

Your contact information
First name:
Last name:
Email:
Phone number:
Notes (optional):
We will contact you to set up an appointment. Please keep in mind that your consultation date will be based on the type of material you wish to study. To prepare your visit, we'll need:
  • — At least 2 weeks for primary sources (prints and drawings, photographs, archival documents, etc.)
  • — At least 48 hours for secondary sources (books, periodicals, vertical files, etc.)
...