[Georgia Tech | Advanced Studio I | Professor: Michael Gamble]
Collect - Verb
"Bring or gather together (things, typically when widespread or scattered"
This studio aimed to create a world/environment that encapsulated and revolved around the idea of collection. More specifically, to design for and with the intent of your collection at heart. Our task was to determine something we were to collect. It could be anything we chose, as long as it had meaning or value to us.
Collect as a definition holds with it a physical sense; the notion of the physical realm, the definite. However, there's another definition of collect:
Collect - Verb
"Regain control of oneself" | "Bring together and concentrate (one's thoughts)"
This definition of collect brings itself out of the physical and into the nonphysical; the realm of spirit, being, and the mind. This is where my world exists. A realm encapsulated, surrounded, and embraced by the idea of collection as focused on the person rather than the object. Explorations into the concepts of the soul, individuality, subjectivity, monumentalism, depth, emotion, and death are found within this world. It is one for recollection, for memory, to find oneself - an opportunity to let the soul find its way.
“There’s an uneasiness in the motions of the distracted mind
Connections to things that seem distant
When does it begin to make sense?”
Midjourney Images
Infinity Drawing & Hand Sketches
The early explorations for this project saw a deep dive into the question of how to represent the soul, our individual self, the inner collection. Through various media, the general ideas of the soul and our inner selves are represented in this ethereal, other-wordly means; a projection of our selves, another body or soul that exists beyond what our physical selves can reach.
The Midjourney generations as well as the infinity drawing was a means to explore what I viewed as a representation of the soul. A complex, vast expanse of space, one without time, place, or even direction. Yet, it lives as a continuous, ever-expanding system of connections between the experiences we live and the memories we make throughout our lives. It is the light within the darkness, a shining beacon of life. What wasn't has become what was.
However, the idea of the soul is an inherently subjective concept. How does one create a world and a project that embodies the idea of recollection; one that would allow anyone to visit and find the means to reflect, find peace, and find themselves
The answer was to create a project that would allow anyone to add their voice, experience, and soul to its character. A timeless program that continues to live on even after those who have added to it have passed. A project that embraces subjectivity as a collective experience. The journey of the lost soul.
The Lost Soul - A Short Story
“An aching soul, yearning for reason, a crowded and cloudy mind that can not bear to let go of itself. A man finds himself weak, sinking into a deep mist of tragedy, loss, and confusion. As days pass, he is unsure of his actions, his life has become a shell of what it once was. This lack of direction seeps deeper every day, he feels how he has changed. He has become a lost soul, one walking without intent.
The mist grows and the darkness has begun to consume the sky for which he once knew. He has accepted this reality and is prepared for this eternal purgatory. Yet, the next day, the man wakes, something has changed. He walks around his home, searching for this anomaly. A letter lay on his table. Though unaware and confused of how it has appeared, he peers on the letter. It is consumed with the same darkness he has felt. However, the imagery shines in a bright white that lights the page. The letter has no words, only imagery of a rock formation and coordinates. He has doubts about where this letter may lead him, but the man knows that it might be the only hope he has left.
“The coordinates take him on a journey to the mountains of Tivoli, Italy. The path seems to have no end, it’s a continuous climb, one confined by the deep thickness of the trees, only the moonlight offering light to guide him along. The journey continues for hours until he reaches the peak...”
Letter #1
Site Plan - Journeyman's Path
Site Plan - Observatory
The Lost Soul - Arrival
“There, a large, circular, monolithic structure emerges from the trees. This must be the destination, he presumes. He enters the structure through a crevice in its side, As soon as he enters, he senses something, as though he has crossed into another realm. The man follows the bridge until it opens to an expansive, empty space. A large circular opening is cut in the roof, the moonlight reaching into the space, shining lite upon a small elevated mound. Though a wonderous space, the man questions, “Is this it? Is this all there is to offer me?” He ponders this, somewhat frustrated by his hopes for understanding.
He is about to leave when he notices a second letter on the mound. He picks it up. Again, another ambiguous image, the mountainscape disappearing into the darkness of the page with a bright light shining behind it. But it’s not just an image, a small phrase “the land tells a story” shows. The man notices the bottom of the letter, an opening in the mountain, an indication that something might be beneath...”
Perspective - The Observatory - Arrival
Perspective - The Observatory - A New World
Letter #2
Perspective - Descent
The Lost Soul - Descent
“The man decides to stand in the center of the mound. Nothing occurs at first. Only after a few moments, the platform begins to descend. A tight space expands into a tall, circular void. Delicate lights shine along the walls, repeating themselves as the platform descends deeper into the mountain. After some time, the platform comes upon a compression in the void, the ground thickens once more for just a moment. Then, the man is met with his suspicions...”
Perspective - Isle of Light
Perspective - Site - Monte Sant-Angelo, Tivoli, Italy
The Lost Soul - Expanse
“The platform sets him down on the rock, and as he steps off, he takes his first steps into a wonderous and expansive cave system, one that seems to have no end. The large, monolithic rock formations surround him at every moment, however, not as if to suffocate him, but rather, as a means to let him breathe. The man is but a small piece of this space, he is secondary to the earth, secondary to the powers that created this place; a realization that maintains his awareness. The rock isle leads him toward the light seeping into the cave. Yet, as he walks, he notices that, though seemingly natural in form, the pathways show signs of life, as if someone has carved into the earth. Someone has been here before. Could it be the mysterious sender of the letter?...”
Isometric Section Perspective
The Lost Soul - Memorial
“He continues along the path, seeking out another space enlightened by the light of the sky. He takes
notice of another seemingly man-made form; an array of large, stone forms. The man assumes this to be a monument of sorts, a dedication to something, something the creator found important. The array disappears into the darkness of the cave, unable to be reached by foot, almost by intention. What is visible of the monument is lit from above, a rectangular void that reaches into the sky and the ground above...”
notice of another seemingly man-made form; an array of large, stone forms. The man assumes this to be a monument of sorts, a dedication to something, something the creator found important. The array disappears into the darkness of the cave, unable to be reached by foot, almost by intention. What is visible of the monument is lit from above, a rectangular void that reaches into the sky and the ground above...”
Perspective - Light Void Memorial
Perspective - Light Void Memorial
Plan - Church + Light Void Memorial
Section Perspective - Light Void Memorial
The Lost Soul - Finding Peace
“The man wanders on along a narrow corridor, whose end turns into an opening into the wall. As he steps through, he again, is met with a wonderous gathering space, a scale so large as if it weren’t made for man. The space resembles that of a church, with a colonnade on either side that reaches to the ceiling. Fire bowls are situated along the floor, giving a shallow glow to the columns and the space as they disappear into the ceiling.
In a moment of realization, the man has lost his sense of time. He is unsure of how long he has spent navigating this wonderous, monolithic expanse. Yet, he does not care. He understands why the creator sent him here. He has found a place that has taken him away from the reality of his world. A moment where time has stopped, a moment of allowance for the man to find himself, find reason, find a purpose greater than him. The creator, whoever they may be, allowed the man a freedom he hadn’t felt in a long time. For so long, the death of a loved one had confined him in a world of darkness. This place shined a light. However, the man wonders what else this place could provide, what other service it could give to another lost soul. Several hundred years later, a man finds a letter.”
Letters #3 & 4