Floating Vestiges

Concept Design • Ultrareal

GSAPP Columbia • Fall 2020 • Partner: Renee Gao

Instructor: Joe Brennan, Phillip Crupi

Sometime in one of our distant futures or in the past of another universe, the city has been emancipated from the ground. In this world, architecture is given new agency: it is site-less, indeterminate, a free particle that defies conventional principles of material permanence.  The buildings of this timeline float above the old ground, vestiges of civilizations that have since disappeared. In these communities, people and cultures from all walks of life are welcome.

The architecture is an aggregation of different styles and eras long past: imperial China, diesel-punk airships, downtown Tokyo, and American roadside architecture all come together on this flying object—and as it moves, it grows, collecting more of these historical fragments. The architecture of this world is constantly changing; it is not defined by when or where. Like the clouds, these vestiges are ephemeral but vibrant: a re-imagination of what our cities could be.

Level: 0 - 5 - 7 , Simplicity: 0.-5 -10, Edge Fidelity: 0 - 3 - 1