Fast Pace/ Slow Space

The goal of our class will be to make a physical space for meditation over the course of a semester.

Parametric and computational software offer designers a high degree of specificity which can be used to create complex forms, intricate details, and material efficiency, yet high-level results become insignificant if construction methods are too complicated to be timely. Fast Pace/Slow Space will focus on the marriage of complex form and logical assembly, with detailing, hardware and construction methods informing design decisions from the onset. Students in groups of 4-6 will design an installation or environment with slow pace sensibilities, while utilizing details that allow for high-speed assembly and disassembly. The class will explore the nature of the digital process, material techniques and fabrication process in the human environment; students will generate unique solutions that satisfy architectural requirements, building standards, cost ceilings and aesthetic aspirations, and efficiency of time. In today’s cities people work not only at their place of business but often while mobile, utilizing the digital tools and infrastructure that allow us to stay constantly interconnected. While moving between fast-paced environments, many people have no chance to experience respite. This occurrence is even more amplified in Manhattan where space is premium and the pace of life rarely slows down. We propose high speed construction of a space for meditation, relaxation and atmospheric therapy; a cohesive environment built upon the relationship between man and his built environment. The space could be a room, a tunnel, a free-standing structure, an implied enclosure that still allows light and air through but creates a sense of privacy; the program is completely open to any installation that would create an environment.