Ephraim Joris :

The second chapter as presented at the GRC conference;

An architecture preoccupied with negotiating contextual data at first largely guided by a historical context starts to explicitly engage with other types of context such as climate and tectonics. To accommodate the inclusion of these new types of information in the articulation and design of spatial proposals the orthographic projection is gradually replaced with the drawing of diagrams. The diagrams are still subject to architectural conventions and ingredients of orthographic projections yet do not perform as descriptions of a projected reality yet describe a design process. I call these drawings Deviation Diagrams.

As an instrument of discourse, the diagram has the fantastic quality of the ‘slow’ by revealing micro shifts in a design process and thus providing opportunities to sustain in the transitional construct of a design; questioning it to learn more about its impending potential. As much as the diagram is aimed at the ‘organization’ of the design process, it becomes a tool to derail thought, make mistakes and provide moments for improvisation. As such the diagram is negated as a scientific tool and looked at as a personal thinking tool, hence the title Deviation Diagram.

For projects such as Wands Business centre the diagram is used to notate spatial boundaries on the basis of qualities particular to the site; the design of a spatial envelope is defined by various types of implicit boundaries (such as zones of temperature, light intensity, wind velocity) complemented with explicit boundaries (such walls, streets, etc). A horizontal volume floating above an urban-scape is sliced and carved with solar/wind path transcriptions to provide for sunlight and air penetration.

Wands Business Centre by Architecture Project