the GATTACA COMPANY 2119
Yanqiu Zhou
Zumthor (2006) point out that “Memories are the reservoirs of the architectural atmospheres and images”. Although every space has its particular position and form, It seems that people usually generate a sense of familiarity with space where they have never been. Thus there may be some hidden spatial elements to weather our bodies, which trigger of human’s spatial experience in past scenario recorded as memories. At the same time, those memories have an impact on the perception and understanding of the new space.
According to the background of the development of British modernism in different historical periods, The site Block 14 was removed some of the original feature and elements. Now it is standing in the central city wearing a new “coat” (surface and materials) which likes others’ surrounding it. It is easy to associate the peculiar state of the building with some social phenomenon that the high attention about cosmetic surgery, artificial pregnancy(gender choice) and CRISPR-CAS9. These biological transformation projects are spreading around the world gradually. It seems that ‘the artificial fittest’ could be considered as a FastPass to let people achieve personal and collective profit easier, while pursuing this idea may make them ignore the significance of individual identity. Thus, this program exposes the social phenomenon.
There is a significant part of the process diagram to find the relationship between space with a ‘meat cutting machine’. In terms of form typology. I collected common factors such as function and operation mode between space and machine, then try to tentative transcript each part of the machine by practice space. I hope that when audiences read and imagine these spaces and scenarios. They could think that this building is like a giant machine. It implies that the process of transformation is like cutting meat, which kills and exhausts and torment people’s self-cognition.
The case studies:<Die welle>, <Ghost in the shell>, <THX1138> provide me with ideas the process of human self-imperceptible alteration in environmental control of totalitarian governing. The program will be demonstrated in a new script. The script shows the protagonists’ life trace and visualizes their spatial experience. Every part of space in the building will have an impact in them from the physical to the spiritual, finally, to demolish their character.
Spatial design is usually considered that it is based on the reflection of the reality, and eventually becomes the materiality, so when people’s stay in space, they focus on its physical appearance and ignore its meaning. However, this program includes a profound experience of my life in my memories to express the fear of the decline of the various identity of individuals. Moreover, I agree with Koolhaas’s idea(1972) ‘the psychological and symbolic effects of space is more powerful than its appearance.’ Space may hint every spatial element which is eliminating the individual characters and containing totalitarian rules. They may be schools, hospitals, manufactories or prisons.
