Phy/gital Ornament
This graduate-level seminar explored the intersection of physical and virtual materials in contemporary architectural design, focusing on the development of novel ornamental languages through digital appropriation and manipulation. Students worked in pairs to harvest, hack, and curate taxonomies of objects using photogrammetry, establishing personal digital asset libraries as foundations for new tectonic systems.
The course combined theoretical discourse on ornamentation and aesthetics with hands-on experimentation using software including Blender, ZBrush, Adobe Substance, and real-time rendering engines. Students progressed through exercises in object curation, digital clustering, and culminated in designing virtual "cabins" that embodied their aesthetic philosophies.
The curriculum addressed how viral images, point clouds, and compressed meshes exist on equal ontological planes with physical objects in post-digital design practice. Students created 3-minute animations showcasing their final cabin designs, demonstrating mastery of digital sculpting, simulation, and real-time rendering techniques. The course positioned contemporary ornamental practice within broader cultural contexts of appropriation, examining how "will-to-form" operates through the subversive misuse of networked digital assets and the productive coalescence of material and virtual realms.
GRADUATE SEMINAR
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto
fall 2022
Students: Megan Cyr, Sophie Fan, Zakir Hamza, Lillian Ho, Alexander Lamarche, Jerry Lin, John Nguyen, Samantha Tam, Annie Wang, Bryson Wood, Ziyue Yang, Brian Zhang, Zheren Zheng, Ning Zhu