Unveiled on April of this year at Milan Design Week, “3D Housing 05” is Milan’s first 3D-printed concrete house, the work of CLS Architetti’s Massimiliano Locatelli. He offers several interesting facets of consideration, including commentary about building installations on the moon.

“3D Housing 05” was built with a CyBe mobile 3D concrete printer, and its mobility specifically allowed for unconventional geometry to be instated. Its environmental implications are a bit obscure to me as the house was constructed out of mortar as opposed to a common PLC compostable bioplastic. However, the debris is recycled into new housing which perhaps reduces waste and reduces use of lumber. Furthermore, the roof houses an urban garden which has positive implications.

This prospect is particularly exciting for me as housing crises ride metropolitan areas. The construction through 3D-printing reduces not only the cost of each unit but also the amounts of human capital and time required.

Ultimately, Locatelli considers a plethora of criterion, and brings the project to completion with an awareness of aesthetics.

Jackson Mac Low (1922-2004) used computational methods to create poetry in a sort of “cut out” methodology that contradicted conventions of syntax and structure. He implemented algorithms to create abstract texts–but with intricate craftsmanship. Despite the outward incoherence of his texts, Low maintained aesthetic control–even down to the seconds elapsing between each phrase–with methods mirroring those of a composer. The slight connections between consecutive words are even comparable to Siri’s predictive feature on the keyboard.

Strangely, I felt like I understood the essence of his texts, whether that was the sense he intended for his audience or not. For example, in his poem, “Call Me Ishmael” (1972), he pairs the word “circulation” and “long long” and “coffin” that, to me, conveys the mundane cycle that is life. He–or, his algorithm–incorporates tinges of politics as well, with a name characteristic to a specific culture and the phrases “city a land” and “extremest left.”

Low and his methods were a perfect manifestation of “first word art”–what he accomplished was revolutionary. He broke the constraints of composition–and even art. A fruitful creative of the 20th century, he also continued to receive prestigious fellowships and awards throughout his career.

Read more about him here:

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/jackson-mac-low

rebecca-variableface

/*
Rebecca Kim
Section C
rykim@andrew.cmu.edu
Project-O2
*/


//define variables
var eyeSize = 20;
var faceWidth = 250;
var faceHeight = 200;
var colorX = 200;
var petalY1 = 50;
var petalY2 = 30;
var wordNumber = 0;
var colorR = 255;
var colorG = 120;
var colorB = 120;
var y1 = 285;
var y2 = 295;
var smileY=320;

function setup() {
	createCanvas(640,480);
}

function draw() {
	//face
	strokeWeight(5);
	background(colorX,180,180);
    ellipse(width/2, height/1.9, faceWidth, faceHeight);
    noFill(0);
    stroke(255,255,colorB);
    strokeWeight(.5);
    ellipse(width/2.1, height/1.95, faceWidth, faceHeight);

	//eyes
	strokeWeight(0);
	var eyeLX = width / 2 - faceWidth * 0.25
	var eyeRX = width / 2 + faceWidth * 0.25
	fill(colorR, colorG, colorB);
	ellipse(eyeLX, height / 2, eyeSize, eyeSize);
	ellipse(eyeRX, height / 2, eyeSize, eyeSize);

	//blush
	strokeWeight(5);
	stroke(colorR,colorG,colorB);
	line(385,y1,390,y2);
	line(395,y1,400,y2);
	line(405,y1,410,y2);

	//facial expression
	noFill();
	stroke(0);
	strokeWeight(2);
	beginShape();
	curveVertex(width/2-faceWidth*.15,smileY);
	curveVertex(width/2+faceWidth*.025,310);
	curveVertex(width/2-faceWidth*.025,310);
	curveVertex(width/2+faceWidth*.15,smileY);
	endShape();


	//larger flower
	translate(200, 300);
	strokeWeight(0);
	stroke(colorR,120,120);
	for (var i = 0; i < 10; i ++) {
	ellipse(0, 10, 10, petalY1);
	rotate(PI/5);
	}

	//smaller flower
	translate(240, -40);
	strokeWeight(0);
	fill(colorX,120,120);
	for (var i = 0; i < 10; i ++) {
	ellipse(1, 5, 7, petalY2);
	rotate(PI/3);
	}


	//text
	var word = int(wordNumber);
	if (word == 1) {
		strokeWeight(.1);
		textSize(12);
		fill(160);
		text("???", 50, 50);
	} else if (word == 2){
		noStroke();
		textSize(20);
		fill(200,160,160);
		text(":-(", 50, 50);
	} else if (word == 3){
		strokeWeight(1);
		textSize(15);
		fill(255);
		text(":-/", 50, 50);
	}

 }

 function mousePressed() {
 	faceWidth = random(200, 300);
 	faceHeight = random(150, 300);
 	eyeSize = random(10,25);
 	colorX = random(180,255);
 	colorR = random(240,255);
 	colorG = random(100,150);
 	colorB = random(80,140);
 	petalY1 = random(50,80);
 	petalY2 = random(25,40);
 	word = random(0,4);
 	wordNumber = random(0,4);
 	y1 = random(275,285);
 	y2 = random(285,295);
 	smileY = random(280,350);
 }

Navigating the world of arcs and curves was new and a bit challenging, but nonetheless rewarding once I successfully embedded it into my code!

Titled “Owen” after the main character and his experiences, this Virtual Reality video game juxtaposes two unlikely fields: technological advances and mental health. Pitched and developed by my friend, Pauline Yang, along with her team at the Stanford Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience, Owen aims to humanize those with mental illness through real-life scenarios and a pick-your-fate style inspired largely by TellTale Games. It initially began with a concentration in schizophrenia, but due to its complexity, it was changed to depression (which nonetheless demands attention and awareness). The idea proved a finalist at Stanford Brainstorm Lab, and since them, her team has been working to bring Owen to life and mental health to light; however, they have not yet working with software and programming.

“Owen” inspires me because, coming from San Francisco, near the Silicon Valley, it’s easy to associate technology with privilege. However, using (or planning to use) programming skills to promote mental health awareness makes me feel hopeful for the generations who will be met with an abundance of resources in years.

rebecca-portrait

/* Rebecca Kim
Section C
rykim@andrew.cmu.edu
Project-01
*/

function setup() {
    createCanvas(600, 600);
    background(250,220,220);

    // text("p5.js vers 0.7.1 test.", 10, 15);
}

function draw() {


	//hair
	strokeWeight(0);
	fill(20,40,20)
	rect(210,150,180,280,90,90,10,10);
	//hairline
	fill(180,145,110);
	rect(298,150,3,20);


	//neck
	fill(220,180,140);
	rect(282,320,35,70,0,0,50,50);
	//neckshadow
	fill(210,160,95);
	ellipse(300,340,37,40);


	//ears
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(220,270,20,30);
	fill(200,160,120);
	ellipse(220,270,15,23);
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(380,270,20,30);
	fill(200,160,120);
	ellipse(380,270,15,23);

	//earrings
	noFill(0);
	strokeWeight(1);
	ellipse(380,302,38,38);
	stroke(151);

	strokeWeight(1);
	ellipse(220,302,38,38);

	//head
	strokeWeight(0);
	fill(220,180,140);
	rect(220,170,160,180,120,120,100,100);


	//right brow
	fill(89,69,44);
	ellipse(330,230,60,20);
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(330,240,60,20);
	rect(300,220,10,20);
	rect(300,231,20,10);
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(340,238,60,20);

	//left brow
	strokeWeight(0);
	fill(89,69,44);
	ellipse(270,230,60,20);
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(330,240,60,20);
	rect(290,220,20,20);
	rect(280,231,20,10);
	fill(220,180,140);
	ellipse(262,238,60,20);


//nose
	strokeWeight(0);
	fill(180,145,110);
	ellipse(300,280,10,5);
	fill(230,190,160);
	ellipse(300,278,8,3);

//eyes
	//fill(0);
	//ellipse(268,253,40,8);
	//fill(220,180,140);
	//ellipse(268,248,50,8);




}

My distinguishing features are my defined (but drawn on) eyebrows and small, upturned nose, so I focused purely on those. My hoop earrings, which I often wear, are also characteristic to me.