.blog

SUBSERIES

John Becker — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:13:56 +0000

A while back Peter Nguyen, Luca Farinelli and I joined 11 other teams in a quick project looking at improving or reinventing a NY Subway station. The results from all participants were interesting and are well worth a look. SUBSERIES

Our approach to the project was to leave the existing character of the NY subway intact and create both a visual and a functional contribution. Peter's contribution was to use the layers of subway tiles built up over years of repairs and renovations to create a beautiful display of both form and history.

My contribution was to look at improving the air quality of the subway by removing the steel dust in the air. During regular subway operations the constant grinding of steel wheels on the rails leaves a fine steel dust in the air and coated on every surface. The solution was to replace the existing lighting for the station and replace it with a light which has a magnetic base. The base provides a solution to removing the metallic particulate from the air while creating an ever growing set of ferrous stalactites suspended over the station. The newly integrated lighting system also has multiple displays which inform riders of the occupancy of each region of an approaching train so that riders are able to queue for the best available cars.

This is just a quick break of of portions of our project. For more information you can see more of the project HERE. A book was also produced showing the completed projects and can be found HERE.

Hanger B Update

John Becker — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 05:43:35 +0000

I decided to revisit an older project which I will give a bit of time every now and then. The clothing hangers are part of an ongoing larger project that has been in the works for a while. This specific hanger is for pants/skirts and is part of a series I am developing. I have a number of projects that are in varying states and for the time being I can't share much.

For a look at version one of hanger B see the link below.

Hanger B

TEASERS

John Becker — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:23:40 +0000

For roughly the past year or so I have been working on a number of projects. Most of which are finished, nearing completion, or relatively far along. Just thought I would give a quick teaser of things to come as well as a few links to some recent projects by friends worth taking a look at.

These teasers may leave a lot to the imagination, but are just samples of images to come. New project posts are not far off.

As promised, a few friend's recent work worth checking out:

SubSeries Created by Nico Weiss and Elizabeth Lasater with contributions by countless others.

53 Questions, 265 Answers By Luca Farinelli

- Stan Allen

- Robert A. M. Stern

Co Adaptive Bobby Johnston and Ruth Mandl

Not to be confused with:

CO Architecture + Design Naomi Ocko and Christina Ciardullo

FRAC COMPLETED

John Becker — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:21:56 +0000

The project that I devoted most of my energy towards while at TheVeryMany, taking from beginning to end of the design phase has completed construction. The results speak for themselves and the project is beautiful. Congratulations Mark and the Team at TheVeryMany as well as Brad Brinton at Plastik Banana for all the fabrication work.

As few of the stats provided by Mark:

.Dimensions: 30'X18'X15'

.Surface Area: 269,991 square inches (1,875 square feet)
.Stripes: 6,367 (CNC cut)
.White Aluminum Rivets: 75,000
.4'X8' Sheets of Aluminum: 145 (2/2.5 hours machining each)
.Modules Pre-assembled: 40
.Weeks Pre-assembly: 4

For more Details see the full rundown at theverymany.com

FRAC & POMPIDOU

John Becker — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:34:15 +0000

Recently two of the projects in the office while I was at theverymany have taken some big leaps forward. The Pompidou project has been constructed and is now open to visitors, and the Frac is presently being milled. The Pompidou looks great and I can't wait to see the Frac realized. Below are some updates of both projects, for more head over to theverymany.

.FRAC 01

.FRAC 02

.POMPIDOU 01

.POMPIDOU 02

.POMPIDOU 03

Hypothetical Gallery

John Becker — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:15:43 +0000

This week the Hypothetical Development Organization opened their exhibit in New Orleans at the Du Mois Gallery. The Exhibit will be up from April 7th till May 7th, if you are in the area head on over and check it out. There have been some great comments posted on a number of design blogs so I will leave the comprehensive discussion to those who do it best. If you can't see the exhibit in person head over to the hypothetical development website or one of the below listed websites for an outside perspective.

BLDGBLOG

Wooster Collective

Core77

Hypothetical Development

John Becker — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:41:01 +0000

The Hypothetical Development Organization, founded in 2010, is dedicated to the recognition and extension of a new form of urban storytelling." Set in New Orleans the project takes existing derelict sites, and allows designers, artists, architects and the like to envision a new future for these spaces. The projects will be presented as 'development' billboards posted on the sites. It could be a great opportunity to inspire a new vision for neighborhoods looking for a fresh start.

Taking a playful approach, I envisioned an abandoned aquatic center as a deployable 'snooze' tower. The building is intended as sanctuary of sleep, where nothing is more important than a well rested customer. With an esthetic caught between that of 60's futurists and the remains of a traveling carnival; the snooze tower is not about practicality or necessity but rather intended to expose a whole spectrum of new building types ready to inspire a new way of living.

Wonder over to hypotheticaldevelopement.com to see more, and make sure to check back often as more projects will continue to be uploaded. The project is overseen by Rob Walker, Ellen Susan, and G.K. Darby.

New in Retail

John Becker — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:31:17 +0000

A quick update on a pop-up store in progress, and discussion of display ideas. This pop-up store planned for New York City (opening date TBD) uses the clothing racks as a way to introduce dynamic lighting. As clothing is shuffled about on the racks the hangers change the lighting of the space. Below is a concept sketch of the wall display and counter. Also here are a few images of the hangers, which are being presently being reworked a bit. More updates to come soon, this project is moving along quickly and a site has already been selected.

Concept Elevation

Pants Hanger

Previous post on hangers:

Pop-Up Store

Hanger 2

Death of a Sukkah

John Becker — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 04:48:29 +0000

As many of you may know theverymany's entry into Sukkah City never made it (in one piece) to union square. The Sukkah was loaded on the back of a flat bed truck fully completed with the exception of a top piece which would later be added on site. We knew we were taking a risk constructing it off site and transporting it to union square, however we would not have had the required time necessary to build it on site. While crossing the Manhattan Bridge the structure gave way, collapsing on itself due to both wind, and the manor in which it was strapped down. When we arrived on site and surveyed the damage and attempted to resurrect it with no success. After coming to the conclusion it could not be saved it was removed around 3 am on sunday. Marc Fornes has also posted a record of the event. The materials was a 3 ply veneer roughly 1/16th an inch thick, held together with aluminum rivets. We knew that we were taking a few risks with the material, new script and open transportation however moved forward considering all the risks involved in the spirit of innovation.

For more on the project visit:

http://theverymany.com/

The Sukkah during construction.

Sukkah minus the top in the Gowanus Studio space.

The last time the Sukkah was seen in one piece.

Images by: Marc Fornes of theverymany LLC

I am presently putting together a collection of as many images of the project as possible.

Sukkah City Constructed

John Becker — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:32:14 +0000

If you have not had the chance to get to Union Square to see 'Sukkah City' you should make your way there tonight. All the projects turned out great and congratulations to all the teams. It is hard to remember an open competition that received so much press. I look forward to seeing the who the city elects as the winner. As soon as I can gather the images I will post images of theverymany's piece for Sukkah City as it never made it to installation. A full story will accompany the forth-coming photos.

Sukkah City website

http://www.sukkahcity.com/

Other Coverage of the Competition

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/arts/design/17sukkah.html

http://www.core77.com/blog/events/sukkah_city_arrives_in_union_square_17377.asp

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/2010/09/100915sukkah_city.asp

http://www.dwell.com/articles/sukkah-city.html

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20100920/a-sunday-in-sukkah-city