The exhibition Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness presents a series of photographs by Canadian artist Robert Burley, documenting the decline of traditional photographic equipment manufacturing brought on by new technologies. Since 2005, digital photographic technology has increasingly displaced its analog predecessor, resulting in a plummeting demand for(...)
Hall cases
11 September 2009 to 15 November 2009
Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness
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Description:
The exhibition Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness presents a series of photographs by Canadian artist Robert Burley, documenting the decline of traditional photographic equipment manufacturing brought on by new technologies. Since 2005, digital photographic technology has increasingly displaced its analog predecessor, resulting in a plummeting demand for(...)
Hall cases
As part of the CCA’s ongoing exploration of key issues in contemporary architecture with a specific focus on urban, social, and environmental concerns, Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa features recent architectural projects that propose new solutions to the challenges of building homes in dense urban environments. London and(...)
Main galleries
14 May 2008 to 26 October 2008
Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa
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Description:
As part of the CCA’s ongoing exploration of key issues in contemporary architecture with a specific focus on urban, social, and environmental concerns, Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa features recent architectural projects that propose new solutions to the challenges of building homes in dense urban environments. London and(...)
Main galleries
Series
AP193.S2
Description:
Series 2, I’ve heard about and Hypnosis chamber, 2004-2006, relates to the conception of the urban structure “I’ve heard about”. The records contain algorithmically-generated images, renderings, pictures of models and exhibitions. There are also photographs of the contour crafting process, 3D models and animated renderings illustrating the construction process of the structure. The project is a conceptual, unbuilt project that is meant to be a habitable organism, an adaptive landscape in a constant state of evolution. By means of transitory scenarios in which the operational mode is entropy and uncertainty, it develops open algorithms based on growth scripts permeable not only to human expressions, but also to the most discrete data such as the chemical emissions (for example due to stress or anxiety) of those who inhabit it. The chemical information is harvested through nanoreceptors feeding the VIAB machine with information. This biostructure becomes the visible part of human contingencies and their negotiation in real time. The structure is conceptualized to be in constant construction through the VIAB machine which is also a constituent of the structure itself. It secretes fiber cement, shaping the landscape where it is located and through which it moves. It generates the reticular structure using a process modelled on contour crafting. The VIAB machine was developed with Robotics Research Lab of the University of Southern California and takes its name from the terms viability and variability. R&Sie(n) considers that due to its mode of emergence “I’ve heard about” fabrication is not subjugated to any political power. Hypnosis chamber is a component of “I’ve heard about”. It consists of an indoor chamber, which was realized as a full-scale sample constructed through automated machinery. The chamber is situated as a part of the whole urban structure presented by “I’ve heard about,” and its goal is to immerse the audience into the project, into a fictional environment only reachable by hypnosis. In this context, hypnosis is a way to help citizens escape from their social condition and experience the new condition of citizenship imagined in “I’ve heard about”, where democracy is re-evaluated as a process of self-determination. Both parts of the projects were shown in contemporary art museums. First at Musée d’art de la ville de Paris in Paris (2005), the Hypnotic chamber is permanently on view at Towada Art Center in Towanda, Japan. AP193.S4 contains a video orienting the project into François Roche theoretical stance, research as speculation, that can be summarize as the use of technological tools to take a critical and political position through esthetic in order to open new lines of thoughts. AP193.S4 contains an updated version of the VIAB machine
2004-2006
I’ve heard about and Hypnosis chamber
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AP193.S2
Description:
Series 2, I’ve heard about and Hypnosis chamber, 2004-2006, relates to the conception of the urban structure “I’ve heard about”. The records contain algorithmically-generated images, renderings, pictures of models and exhibitions. There are also photographs of the contour crafting process, 3D models and animated renderings illustrating the construction process of the structure. The project is a conceptual, unbuilt project that is meant to be a habitable organism, an adaptive landscape in a constant state of evolution. By means of transitory scenarios in which the operational mode is entropy and uncertainty, it develops open algorithms based on growth scripts permeable not only to human expressions, but also to the most discrete data such as the chemical emissions (for example due to stress or anxiety) of those who inhabit it. The chemical information is harvested through nanoreceptors feeding the VIAB machine with information. This biostructure becomes the visible part of human contingencies and their negotiation in real time. The structure is conceptualized to be in constant construction through the VIAB machine which is also a constituent of the structure itself. It secretes fiber cement, shaping the landscape where it is located and through which it moves. It generates the reticular structure using a process modelled on contour crafting. The VIAB machine was developed with Robotics Research Lab of the University of Southern California and takes its name from the terms viability and variability. R&Sie(n) considers that due to its mode of emergence “I’ve heard about” fabrication is not subjugated to any political power. Hypnosis chamber is a component of “I’ve heard about”. It consists of an indoor chamber, which was realized as a full-scale sample constructed through automated machinery. The chamber is situated as a part of the whole urban structure presented by “I’ve heard about,” and its goal is to immerse the audience into the project, into a fictional environment only reachable by hypnosis. In this context, hypnosis is a way to help citizens escape from their social condition and experience the new condition of citizenship imagined in “I’ve heard about”, where democracy is re-evaluated as a process of self-determination. Both parts of the projects were shown in contemporary art museums. First at Musée d’art de la ville de Paris in Paris (2005), the Hypnotic chamber is permanently on view at Towada Art Center in Towanda, Japan. AP193.S4 contains a video orienting the project into François Roche theoretical stance, research as speculation, that can be summarize as the use of technological tools to take a critical and political position through esthetic in order to open new lines of thoughts. AP193.S4 contains an updated version of the VIAB machine
Series
2004-2006
DR1967:0010:002
Description:
- The two halves of this drawing show alternate stage sets from which the patron could make his choice. It is unclear whether this design was for a painted trompe-l'oeil stage backdrop and/or a constructed stage set. The deep unified space and low vanishing point of the central piazza/hemicycle interior indicates that this section is probably a painted trompe-l'oeil, however, the curtain pulled back within the central arch and the inscribed scale suggest that some of the architectural elements may have been constructed (Fuhring, 161 and 570). An etching of the Hermes is laid down on the left variant of the central portion of the drawing. The prickings indicate that the overall design was intended to be executed, and the crown above the central cartouche indicates a possible royal connection.
theatre design
probably between 1745-1775
Presentation drawing for a stage set with alternate designs
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DR1967:0010:002
Description:
- The two halves of this drawing show alternate stage sets from which the patron could make his choice. It is unclear whether this design was for a painted trompe-l'oeil stage backdrop and/or a constructed stage set. The deep unified space and low vanishing point of the central piazza/hemicycle interior indicates that this section is probably a painted trompe-l'oeil, however, the curtain pulled back within the central arch and the inscribed scale suggest that some of the architectural elements may have been constructed (Fuhring, 161 and 570). An etching of the Hermes is laid down on the left variant of the central portion of the drawing. The prickings indicate that the overall design was intended to be executed, and the crown above the central cartouche indicates a possible royal connection.
theatre design
Project
AP198.S1.1997.PR02
Description:
Project records document the design process for OCEAN North’s competition entry for the Jyväskylä Music and Arts Centre in 1997. The project was titled Terra Cultura by OCEAN North. The international competition called to create a multi-usage space that would include a venue for the symphonic orchestra, a music school, exhibition spaces, and the possibility to host a variety of small cultural events in the Finnish city of Jyväskylä. The proposed site is in the center of the town, across the street from the Jyväskylä city church and its park, and nearby buildings designed by Alvar Aalto. OCEAN North’s concept presents a topological surface as an extension of the surrounding urban scape with two masses that would host the formal functions of the building (concert hall, music school, exhibition halls). The two volumes, or raised blocks, are divided along a diagonal elevated space, which is the extension of the ground’s topological surface filled and dubbed “Liquid Flow Space” by the design team. In their interview with Greg Lynn, Johan Bettum and Kivi Sotamaa mentioned that the idea for Jyväskylä was that it was a cloud. Digital files, in particular, show the process to achieve the projected design. Drawings provide views of streamed particles and of resulting peels. They also include plans, elevations and axonometric views of the structure. Most files are raster or vector images, likely saved from CAD software. A few files are in CAD formats such as Microstation, 3D Studio and form*Z. Digital files also present sine wave analysis and resulting charts for each component of the program. The analysis and charts present the relationships between various components of the building’s program such as the Art Museum, the Concert Halls, the technical space, and the Common facilities. These files are raster images and spreadsheets. Photographs of the site in Jyväskylä and of models built by OCEAN North were digitized and are included with the digital working files. Physical drawings are chiefly floor plans for the building, but also include sections and sketches. Finally, project files include photographic prints of two built models. One of these models, a small model of the conceptual masses of the building structure, is itself in the archive. Photographs show the model in the context of a city scape model. The second model, not part of the archive at CCA, was built at a bigger scale and was an intricate cardboard and wooden stick structure. Sources: Softspace: from a representation of form to a simulation of space, Edited by Sean Lally and Jessica Young. London, New York: Routledge, 2007. Greg Lynn, ed. Archaeology of the Digital 17: OCEAN North, Jyväskylä Music and Arts Centre, Montréal: Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2017. ePub.
1997
Terra Cultura – Jyväskylä Music and Arts Centre, international competition entry
Actions:
AP198.S1.1997.PR02
Description:
Project records document the design process for OCEAN North’s competition entry for the Jyväskylä Music and Arts Centre in 1997. The project was titled Terra Cultura by OCEAN North. The international competition called to create a multi-usage space that would include a venue for the symphonic orchestra, a music school, exhibition spaces, and the possibility to host a variety of small cultural events in the Finnish city of Jyväskylä. The proposed site is in the center of the town, across the street from the Jyväskylä city church and its park, and nearby buildings designed by Alvar Aalto. OCEAN North’s concept presents a topological surface as an extension of the surrounding urban scape with two masses that would host the formal functions of the building (concert hall, music school, exhibition halls). The two volumes, or raised blocks, are divided along a diagonal elevated space, which is the extension of the ground’s topological surface filled and dubbed “Liquid Flow Space” by the design team. In their interview with Greg Lynn, Johan Bettum and Kivi Sotamaa mentioned that the idea for Jyväskylä was that it was a cloud. Digital files, in particular, show the process to achieve the projected design. Drawings provide views of streamed particles and of resulting peels. They also include plans, elevations and axonometric views of the structure. Most files are raster or vector images, likely saved from CAD software. A few files are in CAD formats such as Microstation, 3D Studio and form*Z. Digital files also present sine wave analysis and resulting charts for each component of the program. The analysis and charts present the relationships between various components of the building’s program such as the Art Museum, the Concert Halls, the technical space, and the Common facilities. These files are raster images and spreadsheets. Photographs of the site in Jyväskylä and of models built by OCEAN North were digitized and are included with the digital working files. Physical drawings are chiefly floor plans for the building, but also include sections and sketches. Finally, project files include photographic prints of two built models. One of these models, a small model of the conceptual masses of the building structure, is itself in the archive. Photographs show the model in the context of a city scape model. The second model, not part of the archive at CCA, was built at a bigger scale and was an intricate cardboard and wooden stick structure. Sources: Softspace: from a representation of form to a simulation of space, Edited by Sean Lally and Jessica Young. London, New York: Routledge, 2007. Greg Lynn, ed. Archaeology of the Digital 17: OCEAN North, Jyväskylä Music and Arts Centre, Montréal: Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2017. ePub.
Project
1997
Commissioned by the CCA, for three years, French photographer Serge Hambourg recorded over four hundred historic mills and factories throughout New England. By capturing their surroundings as well as by focusing on the stark beauty of their interiors and exteriors, the images trace the evolution of this building type. The photographs included in the exhibition range from(...)
Octagonal gallery ante-room
6 December 1989 to 11 February 1990
Mills and Factories of New England: Photographs by Serge Hambourg
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Description:
Commissioned by the CCA, for three years, French photographer Serge Hambourg recorded over four hundred historic mills and factories throughout New England. By capturing their surroundings as well as by focusing on the stark beauty of their interiors and exteriors, the images trace the evolution of this building type. The photographs included in the exhibition range from(...)
Octagonal gallery ante-room
Process as Interpretation seeks to sharpen the viewer’s awareness through consideration of nearly identical but subtly different images. The exhibition presents seven pairs of images from the CCA collection. Although these pairs are printed from the same negative, careful comparison of the subtleties of cropping, scale, tonal gradations, and medium reveal the printing and(...)
Hall cases
17 January 1990 to 22 April 1990
Process as Interpretation: Photographs from the CCA
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Description:
Process as Interpretation seeks to sharpen the viewer’s awareness through consideration of nearly identical but subtly different images. The exhibition presents seven pairs of images from the CCA collection. Although these pairs are printed from the same negative, careful comparison of the subtleties of cropping, scale, tonal gradations, and medium reveal the printing and(...)
Hall cases
drawings
DR1988:0433:010
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicate that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
architecture
October 1849
East elevation for Fonthill House, with section on line IK
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DR1988:0433:010
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicate that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
drawings
October 1849
architecture
drawings
DR1988:0433:011
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicated that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
architecture
October 1849
South elevation for Fonthill House
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DR1988:0433:011
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicated that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
drawings
October 1849
architecture
drawings
DR1988:0433:012
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicate that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
architecture
October 1849
West elevation for Fonthill House
Actions:
DR1988:0433:012
Description:
- Abrasion marks at the t. indicate that the finial on the tallest turret of the great tower was erased. - One of a group of working drawings for William Burn's October 1849 project for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, a country house designed in the Jacobethan style. This group represents only one of the projects that Burn proposed for Fonthill House; the final project, executed in 1856, was much smaller (Walker, 31, illustrated in Hitchcock, vol. 2, fig. VIII 31). Drawings include plans, elevations, and sections, as well as full-scale drawings of masonry details. Approximately half of the drawings are part of a numbered series from one to twenty-two, while the other drawings, mostly masonry details, were not numbered. These latter drawings are not as carefully finished, and a few are incomplete.
drawings
October 1849
architecture