Fluidity

Though form is often the focus of architectural design, volume is at the heart of experience. Using sculpture modules, curvilinear paths, and berms, we create a highly fluid, interpretative, and unbiased experience around engineering south.

A study of Richard Serra's sculptures and methodology provided us with a unique way of design we wanted to represent. The significance of the Serra sculptures does not come from their form but from the volume they create.

Serra wanted an unbiased interpretation of his sculptures, that each individual would have a unique experience. This is the approach we use.

Project PDF's:

Fluidity-Project Board (PDF, Large File 37.6 MB)

Criteria:

The current trajectory of education favors a more integrated, collaborative, and symbiotic confluence within the aggregation of the arts and sciences. The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology (CEAT) at Oklahoma State University will be a vital model for the current realm of higher education which is creating value in society through a genuine integration as dissimilar elements of an un-unified whole. A few visionary supporters of OSU in holding such a view have jointly funded a collaborative academic initiative to support the integration of people, systems, and ideas from the key intellectual center on campus: The CEAT. The College has embraced the initiative and is planning longterm opportunities for collective engagement.

Design a multifunctional environment for students, alumni, university personnel, and visitors to experience. There are three primary components to this design project. First, you are charged with organizing a collection of four to six sculptures that will be purchased by your clients and donated to Oklahoma State University. Second, you are responsible for thoughtfully placing the sculptures in the landscape according to the prescriptions specifi cally described below. Third, you should design the site and landscape to artfully accommodate the sculptures and other activities on the site in context. The site is approximately 430'x370' or about 126,000 SF between the ATRC and Engineering South. These institutional adjacencies form an important part of the context for your project. Within the constraints of the site and with consideration for the institutional and environmental context, you are required to provide the spaces and functions listed below.

• Richard Serra Sculpture Collection 4-6 pieces
• Outdoor Sculpture Gallery 65,000 SF
• Common Lawn 8,000 SF
• Common Plaza 8,000 SF
• Assembly Space 15,000 SF
• Flexible Space 30,000 SF

Richard Serra Sculpture Collection

The supporters of this project identified Richard Serra as an artist that embraces and explores an integrated vision of art, science, and technology that would appropriately represent the future envisioned for CEAT and OSU. As such, they desire for similarly expressive pieces of Serra's work to be selected and assembled as a collection for the OSU campus. They prefer large pieces suitable for exterior, public display. You are responsible for designing their placement on and integration with the site, landscape, and other required uses on the site. The sculptures will be purchased and reinstalled on site and cannot be separated, modified, or scaled.

Outdoor Sculpture Gallery

The outdoor sculpture gallery should be specifi cally designed for the Richard Serra Sculpture Collection. It should be designed for pedestrian traffic only, with a combination of landscape and hardscape that move visitors through a series of spaces that highlight the artwork and provide opportunities for observation and refl ection. As such, care should be taken not to make the sculpture gallery a principal place for traffic to and from other major destinations in context.

You are required to artfully compose 4 to 6 of the following sculptures by Richard Serra. 2

• Snake, 1994-1997 - This sculpture is three parts, each composing two identical sections inverted relative to each other, 104' long and 22' 4" deep (2"thick plates) and made of Weatherproof steel.
• Switch, 1999-This sculpture is six identical conical sections inverted relative to each other, 13' 6" high 52' 1/2" along the chord (2"thick plates) and made of Weatherproof steel.
• Four, 2001 - This sculpture is 13' 7" x 40' 4" x 36' (2"thick plates) and made of Weatherproof steel.
• Torqued Ellipse, 2003-2004 - This sculpture is 14' x 27' 3" x 29' (2"thick plates) and made of Weatherproof steel. Part of the Matter of Time. Installation, Guggenheim Bilbao
• Dirk's Pod, 2004 - This sculpture includes five parts, each comprising two torus sections, that are each part 16' 7" x 46' 7" x 71" (2"thick plates) and made of Weatherproof steel.
• Connector, 2006 - This sculpture includes five torqued plates that are each 64' x 12' x 2" and made of Weatherproof steel.

Common Lawn & Common Plaza

• Assembly Space
• Flexible Space
• Informal Pathways and Places
• And, many Other Requirements