The Preferred Futures

La Sagrada Familia

• Gaudi emerged as the architect Director of the Sagrada Familia with almost no large scale projects to his name.

• He remained head of the project until his death in 1926.

• Gaudi inherited a traditionally Gothic plan with the crypt and apse having already been semi completed.

• The project became one largely concerned with tectonics.

• Gaudi’s interest with curved and warped surfaces only embellished these tectonic solutions.

• The entire project was largely based on one side view drawing of the Nativity facade and hardly changed throughout Gaudi’s life

An Enigmatic Architect:

Gaudi’s Work evolved in three stages:

1. Began as a historicist focused on contextual works to join the Modernisme of Barcelona’s Art Nouveau movement.

2. He then disappeared from public view restricting his contacts and collaborators to an inner circle of people

3. The end of his life was solely focused on the Sagrada Familia and somewhat abstaining from work on other projects. He lived and worked on the site until his death

Gaudi entered into the project concerned with tectonics however he led the project with a novel framework on the nature of digital tectonics and use of second geometry and ruled surfaces. This work is worthwhile in documentation as it illustrates architecture of:

Real Absence:

Defining what is not materially present but what must be subtracted

and

Virtual Absence:

A process of synthesis of material based on some geometric quality that is virtually present but elusive in tangible detail.

Second Order Geometry and Ruled Surfaces:

• Gaudi was much like the mastercraftsman in many of his works with his masterful eye conducting the sculpting of various parts and wholes to be used

• He understood the project would not be completed in his lifetime and he established a means to share his creative work.

• The move toward a more modular rational geometry had a few motives

  • Philosophical

  • Mathematical

  • Practical

• Gaudi implemented three combinations of geometry which all arise in nature:

  • Helicoids

    • Vertical Direction to this geometry

  • Hyperbolic Paraboloids

    • One of the most versatile and expressive geometries in Gaudi’s repertoire and he used it often for corbel supports and walls

  • Hyperboloids of Revolution

    • More sophisticated cousin of the hyperbolic paraboloid with geometric assets and liabilities of its own.

Physical Modeling:

• Gaudi used physical modeling with plaster to create these curved forms and further explore tectonics

• He did so creating a half negative of the hyperboloid of revolution

• Artifact is worked until three points of connection are aligned correctly to adjacent pieces

Analytical Drawing:

• Many molds for the plaster half negatives were destroyed in occupation and analytical drawing specifically with regard to the idea of three points and the 3 cardinal axis proved highly useful for the understanding of the plaster molds and how to pursue the advancement of the project after many years of stand still.

• First describe component surfaces and second plot their intersections.

Digital Modeling:

• First use of CAD was in 1990

• It proved to encompass both previous processes magnificently.

• Both methods could now be easily represented and understood with regard to intersection, precision of joinery and form of modular pieces.

Stipulations of the current

How can one begin to engage with the outermost boundary? To even begin to confront this, one must be a master of oneself. Mastery of one's own realities is necessary in order to consider a reality that is yet to be. The way we observe impacts what can be observed. Quantum Mechanics states this with its conception of the wave particle duality. Observation matters and the frame of this observation requires rigorous iteration so that the outcome might be more suitable toward a proposed conclusion. The whole reality is at work, both in harmony and in contradiction. Fact and fiction at play with one another. It is important to consider, not only that which is material and light and known, but more so, all that is unknown. To confront the truly unknown, a historical assessment of the will of humanity to change and adapt ideals of beauty and culture is necessary. What is ugly and decrepit now, will one day be beautiful and deified. The terra incognita is a concept that exemplifies that which is unknown and unexplored. To come to terms with the terra incognita, we have to engage real intent with what we know and why we know it to really start to chip away at what we don’t know and why.

The preferred futures are those that have been holistically understood to be both full of melancholy as well as brilliantly joyous. The preferred futures promote a paradox known as faith. True faith comes first from a moment of infinite resignation when the realities of living do not allow all wishes to be granted and secondly when there is nevertheless a desire to acquire these dearest wishes. Across time, the faith in the possibility of humanity to better itself and not worsen itself is the very basis from which survival, success and happiness have occupied so much value in modern society. It is from the brightness, that the darkness seems so daunting.

Balancing the minutest details of necessity with those existential questions of reality the obstacles toward the preferred futures become apparent. Terrestrial ecology necessarily involves the engagement with forces that exist concurrent to and outside of time. The laws of thermodynamics state the availability of force and the transformation of such forces perpetually throughout time. Consequently, the nature of waste, with regard to entropy, means increasing chaos in the universe; waste will accumulate with the clashing of opposing forces. With this considered, the ephemeral quality of a future is one that can be a single piece of the pie while still beginning to propose a narrative of the eventual sensibility of the entire reality. The media, materials, technologies, processes, policies and societies that are all manipulated with the ebb and flow of time are not merely pawns in a fantastical game of life. In the preferred future, all of these components of human consciousness can gain agency over the consequences and implications of their inherent decisions. The preferred future takes concrete action toward a hopefulness in the goodness and validity of the human condition.

I am fascinated by how we have made an icon out of the “robot”. Something so polarizing in its humanity. Many would argue hardly human. We are at the forefront of technology; dealing with social interactions and compassion as well as challenging many theoretical norms. I see many efforts both refreshing and innovative. I often contradict myself and struggle to trust what is truth and what is delusion. The real truth is there are infinite truths. I am perplexed and fascinated by the plethora of realities that exist! I want to lead the teams that are taking a risk for the possibility of a collective human revelation about what it means to be human. I am an architecture student but above all I am an artist and a creator. I value people and I started in architecture to impact people. I see life as a visceral dynamic thing that feels far more often than it thinks. In my limited view, the projects I’ve embarked on have attempted to speak to many people in a way that can start to touch them more deeply. I love the multiplicity of societal and cultural experiences that these projects have tried to address. The work speaks for itself and it contains many imbued kinds of emotions. I want to create the world we want by putting forth all our best qualities above the wretched ones. My work comments on this. Life is filled with feelings of anger, hate, resentment, love, joy, sadness, trust, honesty and delusion. All these things exist because of the individual realities that people are compelled to take part in. I want to change the world for the better as many young professionals do. I know that humanity must confront itself in order to save itself. Any current architecture, and many future architectures will not suffice. I want more than buildings, I want to impact people. True innovation is the ability to will something that doesn't exist in this world. To say that something impossible is only so because we believe it to be. I want to touch people with my work and empower them to be greater than they ever thought possible. If everyone on Earth could see how great they really are we might all find harmony in confronting the future with certainty rather than chaos and rage. Artificial intelligence inspires me because I see, in consciously aware computers, my own image. I see their struggle as one that is universal. They want to be accepted for who they are and the obstacles they had to overcome to achieve, not be forgotten. Success is bred by grit and a passion for what you do. I’m sure you’ve explored this notion. My ambition as a creator, a lover of subtle mysticism, a hopeful architect, a movie maker, an ambassador for truth, and as an artist, is simply an attempt to place myself in a placeless world and to learn something by exposing myself to new people and things. I sometimes lose faith in my own pursuits but the one thing I have faith in is humanity and I would be ecstatic to put this faith to the test with all who might confess trust in me. I believe I could be an invaluable asset to any team by bringing my hopeful demeanor, critical discourse and constant positivity.

Montage Drawing of a Proposed Future by Sean McGadden