Abstract and Esoteric Tectonics

American University of Sharjah, College of Architecture, art and Design, Sharjah

Project idea

The research addresses the challenge of architectural representation by looking into the poetics of abandoned objects and machines, and to create compositions that challenge the conventions of representing architectural space. The outcome can be seen as generating settings that are interpreted as three-dimensional architectural spaces.

Project description

The research began by finding discarded mechanical objects in the industrial area of Sharjah, dismantling and cataloging their parts based on their typologies, geometric and physical properties. These cataloged items were then reconfigured into compositional explorations that are focused on provoking material poetics, depth, light and shadow.
These collages developed into hybrid drawings that were abstracted further into new configurations that challenge our perception of scale and space. After exploring these mechanical decompositions, the objects were then layered with natural elements as though they were returned to their original ‘sites’, and thus creating enigmatic landscapes of both decay and growth.
The next stage of this transformative process looked at the sectional drawing as a tool to unveil the spatial experience generated by the reconfigured machine parts, which portrayed the reconstruction of the sites where the machines were extracted, taking the objects back to the beginning of the cycle, forming a loop.

Technical information

Phase 01: Digital Documentation of Extracted Machine Parts
Phase 02: Digital Cataloging of Components
Phase 03: Digital Collages
Phase 04: Hybrid Collages {Digital+Hand Drawing}
Phase 05: Sectional Hand Drawings

Co-authors

Work by: Nada AlMulla
Mentor: Professor George Katodrytis