During the 1800's, the city of Syracuse stood at the forefront of the American industrial revolution, setting itself up to become a pillar for American industrial development and production. Spearheading industrial America, Syracuse became a symbol for the change to a 'modern America', away from the old-fashioned and failing technologies of the past. Looking at this image of the modern Syracuse in the present day, this greatly juxtaposes Syracuse's symbolic standing in this modern age, lending itself to its reputation as a failing American city. In considering the historic and modern image of Syracuse in the local and national context, the project aims to set itself up as a new symbol for Syracuse, offering up and signifying its revival as an American powerhouse.
Directly translated, 'Die Verkrümmung' stands as an object that has been 'warped, contorted and distorted'. Serving as an operative object in the inoperative historical machine of Syracuse, the project aims to reinvent Syracuse as a new technological and modern stronghold, thus distorting its image as a declining city, and drawing reference to Syracuse’s place as a historic, modern and industrial stronghold.
Focusing on the juxtaposition between opposing factors, the project addresses formal and theoretical approaches. Formally, the project focuses on the rotational realignment of 6 major volumes, of which program serves as the initial divider of the volumetric spaces. With this though, the rotation of the volumes is established through the consideration of the local urban context, through minor to major rotations based on significance. In doing so, and joining the volumes, a two-part object is created, with curved and smooth surfaces joining at sharp and strong lines and points, creating a dynamic between moments of stress, and moments of relaxation. Along with this dialogue between these moments of stress, it is further accentuated through perforations in the facade within moments of relaxation, creating a diagrammatic element that creates transparency between the object and its surrounding context. This, while symbolic and visual, also remains functional, in allowing ventilation to pass through the building.
Along with this, much how a discourse is created between inoperable and operable, as well as stress, and relaxation, a theoretical approach is taken, in creating a dialogue between man and machine, in which data serves as the common ground. In establishing a progression of programmatic spaces located within the moments of stress, a narrative is created from the acquisition of data to the analysis and finally exposition of data. Thus, creating a distinction between the man and the machine that is only able to be understood through the data, but through the interaction between the human, and the building/machine.
