Spolia Agency III

Course: 502 Design Studio | Instructor: Brian De Luna

Semester: Spring 2021 | Studio Rep.: David Perrine

The following images were selected for Pressing Matters - the official publication of the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania - and were produced by the students in the design studios I have assisted with over the course of each semester.

Students: Taylor Beck, Lixue Cheng, Zoe (Sok In) Ho, Andy Hu, Xiang Li, Kewei Lin, David Perrine, John Round, Harsana Siva, Yumeng Qu, Junyi Zhou

The studio takes its cue from Colin Rowe’s Collage City to design a new social condenser for West Philadelphia’s 52nd street corridor. Students were asked to visit the site, and select a topic of interest that discusses its architectural, infrastructural, and social qualities. Multiple pinups and discussions presented collages and figure grounds of the city as it became mapped to display information collected ranging from waterwater management to public playgrounds. The maps produced became the source of imagery for displacement and texture techniques that move beyond the drawing and towards a three-dimensional space. Each student moved towards their own distinct characters and specificities as the project took shape into new urban hybrids for West Philadelphia.

Harsana Siva | EVOCATION

Junyi Zhou | IDEALIZATION

Yumeng Qu | MARKET-GARDEN