Assignment Five: Site Diagraming Comparison

Morphosis: Research Madrid Now

VS.

Project 360 by Franke Dresme | Psychogeographic Map

Madrid Now is a widely recognized urban research initiatives, which was completed as part of a special studio seminar at the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design.  Is an ambitious housing proposal to deal with the large population influx that has occurred due to increased immigration and economic growth.  On Morphopedia (link below) you can read and download the entire book of Madrid Now.  In this document one will find clear and inventive ways of diagraming and showing statistics together.  Morphosis's diagrams are always very well tailored and legible.  It was difficult finding a site analysis diagram from them that was at a scale similar of a thesis project.  Most of the time Their site diagrams are more proposals or ways of displaying design intent rather than functioning as raw site  analysis.  Either way their graphic language is one that is evocative and makes looking at diagrams a real treat.  I would encourage everyone to take a peek at Morphopedia to get ideas for future diagraming whether its site analysis or building diagrams.  

http://morphopedia.com/projects/madrid-now-1

The second examined style of site analysis is less quantitative and more qualitative.  Allowing the visitor the freedom to interpret a setting in a way or means that is in my opinion based more on intuition and interpretation and less on pragmatics.   It is often hard to create graphics or diagrams based on this type of analysis, but the well executed ones tend to stand out.  The above one is one of the better ones ive seen in a while.

Psychogeography:  was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.

"Part of the works find new ways of looking at cities.  Rather then over produced glorified 3D graphic renderings Franke Dresme's Project 360 meshes photos, sketches, and signs into a "collage of constructs" that focus on an urban section as a whole rather then one point of interest.  His production of psychogeographic maps is a similar representation of the more real and personal experience of traveling through the cityscape."

http://www.designundersky.com/dus/tag/graphic-design