FACETED GEOMETRY

One of the key conceptual design strategies informing the work of our office, Stephen Alton Architect is what we loosely call Faceted Geometry.  In distinction to contemporary architectural trends in fractal geometry where complex form is derived from the triangulated subdivision of a surface using modeling algorithms, our approach is one grounded in elegant simplicity, the tilting of planes, and a material palette that evokes ephemeral plays of transparency and dimensionality.  Examined through a series of projects of varied scale with different programmatic focus, the conceptual richness of Faceted Geometry provides for engaging spaces and provocative form. 

As a continuation of an earlier post on the Chelsea Condominium, the conceptual process for this striking building can be examined in the following image matrix.   The square and rectilinear planes serve as the raw form for many of Alton’s designs that infer dynamic qualities through the diagonal and oblique views. In combination with translucent and reflective materials choices, these inferences generate 3 D-like form that that resists the literal reductiveness of more formally overt gestures.

Through analysis our design team discovered that the relationship of the crates created an illusion similar to the Hering Illusion. Two vertical lines are both straight, but they look as if they were bowed outwards which adds to a false perception of depth. The distortion is produced by converging lines moving away from the parallel lines. Given the combination of facets and recesses in this façade we would expect unique illusions to occur. We believe that by creating “illusionary depth” in a façade at little cost to real estate, we have created great value both aesthetically and financially.

As a precursor to this project, the Atlas Project for the Gotham Organization, expressed Faceted Geometry as part of a layered narrative that employed mediums like paintings and photographs as building materials.  The connective logic between these two projects is manner in which the framed subject is a point of reference for other readings of the architectural space through changes in light and material.  In the Chelsea Condominium, the Egg crate concept mediates the self-reinforcing geometry of the planes with the pellucid materiality. The Atlas evokes themes of voyeurism applied to a full height wall of tilted mirror planes in the lobby that transcends the typical connotations of making space larger, and engaging framed views in a manner that suggests an ever changing relationship with physical walls, their color, and architect-generated paintings.

Under the banner of the creative studio M.A.R.S., Stephen Alton Architect has begun a series of studies in Plastic Form that examines the formal ambiguities of rectangular prisms with differentiated surface treatments in controlled stacking arrangements.  Exhaustive analysis using photography and directional light provided insight into the refractive and reflective properties of the selected materials.  The success of the studies prompted a series of montages that began to respond to larger questions of scale and context.

Early investigations into the perceptual effects of tilted planes are evident in the Apartment 22 project which activated wall surfaces as part of an understated material palette.  Controlled use of lighting allows the opaque white squares to form a dialogue with a dark, reflective floor surface. The suggestion of movement becomes a subtle and elegant substitute for the use of color.