reading:space

Prof. Murali Ramaswami, with Kimberly Auinbauh, Britt Beushausen, & Katie Darter, 2008

The title of the project, reading:space, carries two intended interpretations. The constructed installation can be described functionally as a space for reading as well as a reading of space.

After selecting the activity of reading as a conceptual generator, an initial study was conducted on the intangible space that exists between reader and book. Time based analysis with defined geometric restrictions revealed a trapezoidal space bound by points at the head, neck, arms, and book. In profile over time, the boundaries of the body and head remain stationary, while the arms and lines of sight reveal an undulating rhythm. Composite imagery provides static two-dimensional representations of the dynamic spatial experience.

A conceptual model attempts to materialize the observed geometry between reader and book. Acrylic glass frames encapsulate the shifting space. Thin steel rods portray lines of sight and provide structural support for the acrylic frames. The head and body are given solidity by concrete, while thin aluminum tubes resembling arms support the lines of sight. The model gives a positive form to negative space and attempts to communicate the supportive role of the physical body in the metaphysical act of reading.

The design process of the installation reconciliates an abstract analysis of reading with a physical context (Marvin Hall at the University of Kansas). An underutilized pocket of space in the architecture school building constitutes a full scale three-dimensional frame for reading:space. The small space, tucked away behind a blackboard at the end of a prominent hallway, provides ample lighting for reading as well as auditory insulation.

The entire installation (including pinned connections) is built from wood in order to achieve tectonic unity. Lumber posts, which span vertically from floor to ceiling, create a patched envelope of space with moderated privacy. In step with the geometric space of reading, angled wood posts emerge from the flat plane, creating a rhythm visible from the exterior that is conveyed to the interior of the space. While the installation is structurally independent, it depends on its context to perform as an enclosure.

While formally informed by analysis of the action of reading, the installation facilitates that what it promotes. Sheltered from the sometimes vitriolic ethos of architecture school, reading:space is simply a peaceful place to read a good book.