Utilitas, Venustas, Firmitas – Art, Design, Technology Core (CORE-AD-72),
Prof. Felix Hardmood Beck, New York University Abu Dhabi, Spring Semester 2020

Links: about NYUAD’s Core, course schedule

Pixelz

Student: Ali

Student projects:

The Primitive Digital

With the collapse of physical interactions in our increasingly digital society, the barriers between us have not only strengthened but also evolved. Social media has dominated our routine as the ubiquitous means of communication: in-person hangouts require too much effort in comparison and are therefore infrequent. But we live in unprecedented times, and the coronavirus pandemic has once again emphasised the value of physical and social interactions. Lack of social interaction will always propel us to find creative ventures to communicate. My architecture seeks to creatively incorporate walls in a bid to return to the analogue methods of communication whilst retaining our digital context, and explore such avenues with the forethought of maintaining the appropriate physical distance. To that end, by creating a pixelated message, I intend to engage with the community with an analogus architecture that represents the digitality of our social life.


To create the current model as shown in the pictures, the first step is to obtain a huge cardboard panel. It is best to have a single straight panel rather than combining multiple smaller panels, as the folds between smaller panels destabilize the final structure. Attach two smaller panels to the cardboard; these act as support structures once folded into a triangle. Cut out a small strip at the top (but not at the edge) of the main panel to create a ledge. Now, use multiple cardboard panels and draw out a square grid where each square is of side 5cm, and cut out these squares. It is advisable to use a laser cutter to complete this task with greater precision, but the reader may take action appropriately in accordance with their resources. Now, with the stock of square cardboard tiles, take a needle and use it to thread through 15 cardboard tiles in one long string. To maintain the squares on the string, tie the string around a “placeholder” cardboard, which can acquired from the remaining cardboard strips after cutting the squares. The other side of the string should be attached to the aforementioned ledge, and the column of tiles should hang down. Make 15 such columns and attach them to the ledge together with equal spacing.


In a world that seeks to advance forward, pixel architecture is a merge between our virtual and physical lives. It may seems counter-evolutionary at first glance - sending us back to the real-world rather than our personal, virtual and pixelated universe: our online platform. Pixelated architecture is not conventional as it reverses the trend. Where most of our digital life is inspired from the analogue world, pixelated architecture takes inspiration from what is digital. It involves translating our virtual world to more concrete and practical terms with just a hint of abstractness lingering around. Pixelated architecture can just as easily be compared to cubism, or a set of children’s building blocks. It takes a step back, transforming 3-dimensional architecture to 2-dimensional, and thereby returns to a “primitively” analogus means of communication. 

New York University Abu Dhabi | Prof. Felix Beck | February – May 2020