Pimboon Wongmesak: Proliferate

Project 1            Phase 3

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Pratana Klieopatinon

Proliferate: Contemporary Business Futures

The brand that I worked on was GoodReads. GoodReads is an online platform that people use to talk/discuss/keep updated on books. For my adaptation, I chose to translate those qualities back to a physical state.

The programs were decided around the existing "programs"/features on GoodReads. They were also then categorized into different 'levels', or scale of how "private" and close the activity is to you, to how far (more interactions, etc.).  

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The structure created is a carved out structure from a block of existing buildings.

The context is derived from a series of comparisons:
The focused material study is books/texts, and the pathways that your eyes take when you read it, like weaving a sequence. It is then compared to a city, how you walk the city, take different paths, and weave your own sequence (routes) throughout the area. A city is then compared to a block, how a block is like a micro-city due to the many activities and programs it can house.

In the end, the programs of the buildings are fragments scattered across the block, where users can walk and explore the designed space, and create their own experiences/paths.



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This designed space is located in a block on Reade Street in New York City, USA. This block was chosen due to its proximity to bookstores, colleges, a park, the sea, and because it has a variety of existing programs (restaurants, residence, court, retail shops, more). The orange frame below indicates the area that will be carved out with new spaces inserted.

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The spaces inserted are different rooms which have different main focuses. They are categorized into two types: one more secluded areas, focusing on reading and books and being kept to self, and one more 'exposed' areas, which focuses on socializing, interaction, hosting events, etc.

The more secluded rooms are further differentiated by genre: each room has a different atmosphere in accordance to the genre it holds. There are three 'exposed rooms': one informal reading area to hold events, the main reading room, and a reception area with a cafe + workshop area on the rooftop.





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There are different paths that can be taken around the space, and that is completely up to the user. There is a conventional path, and less conventional ones. This also explores the idea of fragments and the whole; in this case, the fragments are the rooms (like texts/passages in a book), and the whole is all the rooms explored and experienced (like a complete book/series of texts).



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Another level of organization/system is the one of books (main material), in this case, converted into bookshelves. There are different types of shelved arranged in different ways to create various atmospheres/moods for each space. Elements were also added in a system of patterns for transition between shelves and stairs.



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Atmospheric view of each room:



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Model Photos

           


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Pimboon Wongmesak: Material Memes

Project 1            Phase 2

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Pratana Klieopatinon

Material Memes

This phase includes material developments of the brands chosen before. Brands primarily focused on include Goodreads and R/GA.

For Goodreads, I chose to focus on texts, translating an online community about books to the physical books/structure of the texts themselves. I explored the properties and elements of the text, including words, spacing, how to read (how it was intended to be read, how the reader actually reads it), context, content, etc. Themes on interpretation, intention, and palimpsest were also explored. The main author I focused on was John Cage and his eccentric ways of formatting his writing.



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Properties I explored on included transparency and layers, where I broke apart poems and separated them, or tried to translate them into formal compositions with shapes, and more.



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For R/GA, I thought about connections - how that is their main primary operation of working. I then thought of weaves and knits, where it's a bunch of individual strands that come together (connect) to create a strong bond, or increase in area and expand. Connecting to expand.

I explored different weaving patterns and their varying strengths/amount of string/space taken. I also cut sections to see the different relationships between the interlocking yarn.



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I also then explored a cone shape, to study how patterns can change over distance (wider, smaller, taller, looser, etc.).



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Reading can be perceived similarly as weaving: when you read, you usually go through a sequence, whether how your eye travels, how the story is developed, how it is narrated, how it is laid out, how you have to read back and forth and try to piece ("weave") everything together, so I tried to track down the reading paths ("structure") of the texts and translate it out into weaves. I had different weaving styles for each 'element' of reading, and made a composition based on the structure of the text.



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Pimboon Wongmesak: Brand Genetics

Project 1            Phase 1

Pimboon Wongmesak 

Pratana Klieopatinon

Brand Genetics 

In this phase, I chose three brands: GoodReads, Wevr and R/GA.

GoodReads is essentially a bookclub and Facebook combined together. It is a digital social platform where people can read and review books online, and check up on their friends to see what they are reading. You can read other people's reviews, and you can also join groups and discussions. In groups, you 'talk' to people all over the world in that same group, usually about common interests in books or themes or concepts (so you can join a group whose main discussion topic is magic, for example). 

GoodReads was an interesting choice for me because I liked the idea of being able to discuss something without physically being together. Reading also makes you lose a sense of dimension and space as you get immersed. For the materials, I chose three different books and their translations from words (describing spaces) to visualizing it.

  

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The second brand is Wevr. It is a company that produces VR content. A new 'meme' that they are doing is creating a community platform, so that anyone can create content and upload it, and anyone can download it. VRs explore the concept of space: the extension of the body (being in two places at once; your room and whatever location you're viewing from your glasses). It seems like there is no boundaries. For the materials, I researched different methods you can use to make your own VR content, and the equipment needed. 

  

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The last brand is R/GA. It is a consultant agency, but also branches out in advertising, communications, and ventures. It's motto is "Connected by Design", and most of their solutions/products are very explicit in the use of digital technology, suitable for the Digital Age and digital disruption in the market. It also has a very famous office space, where it tries to connect everyone to technology, and everyone to each other (is also pretty successful). I mapped out the offices around the world, its relation with each other, and how each office has a product that really represents that area/country. For the materials, I chose two of their products which heavily related to space, collaboration and interaction. 

  

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The last integrated plate is about using content from a book you've read, influenced by other people's thoughts/opinions/things you've experienced, culture, etc. and then creating a VR out of it, so that other people can see and be immersed in your translation of that text. This explores concepts on visualizing (translating) words into spaces based on your manipulation (which will probably be different from everyone else). Other people (audiences), can access this content and explore this world instead of just reading a review on it. It can then be distributed to a wider audience in many other methods, including digital and analog methods, reaching an even wider audience, aiming to reach as many people as possible, even those in different worlds. 

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