https://jonahmerris.com Jonah Merris Sun, 29 Jul 2018 22:42:59 +0000 https://jonahmerris.com en http://jonahmerris.com/mise-en-sand Sun, 29 Jul 2018 22:42:59 +0000 Jonah Merris 281905 mise-en-sand <img width="1200" height="1200" width_o="1200" height_o="1200" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f1100f65fcbf5e2efdaece498a56c9b4d82dd370a618f7b15d03d861e1c7ce0e/DETAIL_FLOOR_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503166" border="0" /> ...Winner in the Architect’s Newspaper 2018 Best of Design Awards, Student Work category.... M. Arch thesis ... U.C. Berkeley ... advisors: Neyran Turan &amp; Andrew Shanken ... 2017 - 2018&nbsp;... Nature is artificial. Some of it is artifice. How can architecture act as a register of constructed ground in the era of the human as geomorphic agent? This thesis proposes an exposition of sand in the 21st century – an interior architecture of composed scenography that narrates the extraction and exploitation of this ubiquitous resource. Ground in its various forms becomes spectacle. <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/19759cbd821266f328e6381bb092c365b043fb89185b3d8d3777fa058d2a6774/PLAN_01.jpg" data-mid="503126" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f41a87780e07821756d6e3bca63a84476dfa8f0ba1d1a894f333b601d581a97a/PLAN_02.jpg" data-mid="503127" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f3064e54c508195b9ffe4f41e307b6579fdd0a5a91609c57ef76d56b5e4d5801/PLAN_04.jpg" data-mid="503129" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/ce50ee6f6d6ed5eed145e9b0de55b142c02e511123a8ad99a0239e3d36390407/PLAN_03.jpg" data-mid="503131" border="0" /> <img width="6000" height="4000" width_o="6000" height_o="4000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/1b37841e8d160fc1615d24a31830f2b1fd10202f25302d91aae51e8656ad7c8e/MODEL_four-corners-03.jpg" data-mid="503135" border="0" /> As the visitor wanders through the exposition’s collection of exhibits and ephemera, they confront the “high volume - low value” paradox of sand as global commodity. The sites and processes depicted showcase the breadth of scales and geographies across which the construction and deconstruction of ground occurs. <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c75e8682e8b282dbd62d755d4d6b0837f92c12e2052136e8c7e4293c675f14da/SECTION_alberta.jpg" data-mid="503137" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7eec33b6fb1649f2404b4651b439824d30455ccea7cd7d5ef9dc27fae87b4d69/SECTION_bedok.jpg" data-mid="503138" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7183e1951643bf0066085fbcc333972d966630bc25fc982dc17cb785192cf3a6/SECTION_lackprofil.jpg" data-mid="503139" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5fbce35d9bc3f7db764a0b3c4318c587794e068f1a02abf2e0ac7dde04651362/SECTION_volleyball.jpg" data-mid="503140" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/4db1e6b2b0af5cbaf10f8237fe8dd9f3b13d14a6e17bf9a70d0c677b63a279c3/SECTION_zandmotor.jpg" data-mid="503141" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/6766de65b3fbf48ae6091d2b60db7632272027383e53e2195d2bbacb5f828609/SECTION_dubai.jpg" data-mid="503142" border="0" /> <img width="5892" height="3928" width_o="5892" height_o="3928" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7127a490700b708c0ed6a67331192e27bcc65e77f04c38bf518479496a03ee29/MODEL_alberta-04.jpg" data-mid="503125" border="0" /> The six “rooms” depicted are recreated territories wherein objects are staged and meaning implied. They coexist under the shelter of a larger building envelope which supplies the utilitarian performance of weather barrier, climate control, and artificial illumination. The staged rooms sample from contemporary narratives that bring to light the artifice of ground often presumed as natural. Rather than excluding other sites from the scope of the project, the specificity of place allows each room to act as “grounded” caricature instead of anonymous foil. <img width="1200" height="1200" width_o="1200" height_o="1200" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/9513fe44cfc2d5bf9fff5ab6839d3536028acbd01718d9911cec3750f5c56dc2/MODEL_alberta_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503153" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1200" width_o="1200" height_o="1200" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/34c92cda455d4a0d8ad00689b6be23250c901ad727ec2a104f8e4637e0c1ee7b/MODEL_four-corners_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503155" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/009b697d9be1d1537f81f2bc663a20a02d90bc260160a1cd12b8ee596f26a529/DETAIL_dubai.jpg" data-mid="503154" border="0" /> <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/aee73229b35ee69983c5cb4533fd39accaa899c8e605f6aecf0f7ab1861b3ec6/DETAIL_volleyball.jpg" data-mid="503158" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1200" width_o="1200" height_o="1200" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c15e9ddd83775a18fd9eb82eda0c911475566cca2b7f4f1ca479201726d49379/MODEL_stockpile_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503161" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1200" width_o="1200" height_o="1200" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3b88fb946b70f2db5786c489982081e0a5a158d563637386527e1adca87bd56e/MODEL_four-corners-05_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503157" border="0" /> Architecture becomes a performance wherein objects are staged and meaning implied – a datum upon which artificial reality is built so that extrinsic factors may be reconsidered. <img width="1275" height="1275" width_o="1275" height_o="1275" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a3707ae8fb8ef73025c25fca23b067bd0d73116877a5a81c7f2817ade003043c/DETAIL_lackprofil.jpg" data-mid="503156" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3390b83d79121c4215da34217e92fc2c72dfbcff46a49a964ce965b641fa82c2/PINUP_group_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503160" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris mise-en-sand ...Winner in the Architect’s Newspaper 2018 Best of Design Awards, Student Work category.... M. Arch thesis ... U.C. Berkeley ... advisors: Neyran... http://jonahmerris.com/working-on-the-water Tue, 12 Dec 2017 08:29:44 +0000 Jonah Merris 236258 working on the water <img width="1518" height="1518" width_o="1518" height_o="1518" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2d57ded9f88db47803895ff52b539e67ecbf303b84042f8e50a5bc9cd71986e2/site_plan_web.jpg" data-mid="338995" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3740bf5a56aeca2f8fffdfc7744415d3fde018d0899f856b3b21f1d2f72377b8/aerial_render_web.jpg" data-mid="338994" border="0" />... ARCH 203 ... instr. Susan Ubbelohde ... Fall 2017 ... A&nbsp;building that works with/on/in the water as sea levels rise. An uncanny partnership has formed between a small architecture firm and ocean exploration / research operation. They require collaborative spaces for the present and not-too-distant future ... <img width="1800" height="721" width_o="1800" height_o="721" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/854074b745b1da3883be98d60622bfd64e039776c1e04e858df1ff82922a7e82/west_elevation_plus_SLR.jpg" data-mid="339009" border="0" /> <img width="2000" height="800" width_o="2000" height_o="800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2d12a0daefc5cb906905a18255ae6c44911390eea5ef03d83d5655459ff7cb9f/north_south_section.png" data-mid="339002" border="0" /> <img width="1000" height="2020" width_o="1000" height_o="2020" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/9ac85b5ccd4706ddddcc7cbbf126e244ba86273e4ea21b28a3c4f65d3985fb60/FP02.png" data-mid="339000" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7fb76296d81c4374c429a2194a74052ae9b379fc1a6fc7d511e01848d81517ac/interior_desk_web.jpg" data-mid="338998" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7814745d8910bfe70f6c11ce1eb858a39fc35c8ebf62fdc591154607e7a01185/interior_shop_web.jpg" data-mid="338999" border="0" /> <img width="1000" height="2020" width_o="1000" height_o="2020" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7ea83cbafe9b26342a3430e302ed3fa67d7a561ae03aefb9fb157451dfa0ffe0/FP04.png" data-mid="339001" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7aee1d9bde70b047d5ee7faefbf4e4477fdd9ad953c18506584cdc7ffa7a7469/exterior_patio_web.jpg" data-mid="338996" border="0" data-scale="100"/><img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f75c0b07adbf6922266250592155ede517b7013c9ddcc92bb39ad1e9d22f8192/exterior_walkway_web.jpg" data-mid="338997" border="0" data-scale="100"/> <img width="684" height="2000" width_o="684" height_o="2000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0f0d43f15a2d92da4fe293dd021c220425abba50f14d2c53a99972e1146febe6/typ_wall_section.png" data-mid="339004" border="0" /> <img width="684" height="2000" width_o="684" height_o="2000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0f15c3352a749439a6321fc96758640eee5ce0041cc0df187f3516c230d5c1c1/wels_elev_web.jpg" data-mid="339003" border="0" /> <img width="2000" height="3000" width_o="2000" height_o="3000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/647d85d7d0dfe75c63ae2aa126a0291be616312182308a23d1f6f6aef1d60bd0/PM_east_elevation_detail.jpg" data-mid="339005" border="0" /> <img width="1906" height="2858" width_o="1906" height_o="2858" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3b6e93161a64b3212cfa7528dd3d5b6f099b4c47937d822531754eac6690672d/PM_NW_corner.jpg" data-mid="339006" border="0" /> <img width="2000" height="2999" width_o="2000" height_o="2999" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/4f9d3b8f5a5f65a806eff5f040edcab3cbf8474a51bf3b7beea2b9b2413c52c2/PM_roof.jpg" data-mid="339008" border="0" /> <img width="2000" height="3000" width_o="2000" height_o="3000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/01120b89c0abffc5ac6d0aca4d1e5947e3a59bea1269cd02ed53cd43a2b0bb8e/PM_patio_detail.jpg" data-mid="339007" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris working on the water ... ARCH 203 ... instr. Susan Ubbelohde ... Fall 2017 ... A&nbsp;building that works with/on/in the water as sea levels rise. An uncanny... http://jonahmerris.com/the-problem-in-the-cloud Sun, 09 Jul 2017 23:39:59 +0000 Jonah Merris 192630 the problem in the cloud <img width="1600" height="1067" width_o="1600" height_o="1067" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5c1d1edb01ad00afc5d3ed215286a474e2095e5f3e14521bad1d6f912d34c0a9/DSC_3539.jpg" data-mid="253303" border="0" />... ARCH 201 ... instr. Sarah Hirschmann, Nicholas de Monchaux, Andrew Zago ... Fall 2016 ... w/ Ryan Conroy &amp; Mark Warren ... To reconstruct three agendas images with ambiguous spatial consequence. Information made ambient ... <img width="1600" height="2240" width_o="1600" height_o="2240" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/39de0a1673ee820dac3f356f465f0d5a5d5cc5fbbf00b93c5d889d4c2e92e2a2/blue_layer_web.jpg" data-mid="253304" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="2240" width_o="1600" height_o="2240" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/035943249df3b6c579ba9e0e798b3ee40059b96b83f18c2778a39e2fcfa8edfa/pink_layer_web.jpg" data-mid="253305" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="2240" width_o="1600" height_o="2240" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/35ba32d9153452c6ee2681c340fce50f5dd2b00ea3b902c33a7e3bee37555136/salmon-mirror_layer_web.jpg" data-mid="253306" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e2210343a29f40722afca405d776b60d8f9f7cbebb6def35c0fc11187b963521/gereface.jpg" data-mid="253308" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0bac158dd5acd45e7e12fe93ea7d97591dbd9348997d44d0b02466cec77d48fc/legsface.jpg" data-mid="253307" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris the problem in the cloud ... ARCH 201 ... instr. Sarah Hirschmann, Nicholas de Monchaux, Andrew Zago ... Fall 2016 ... w/ Ryan Conroy &amp; Mark Warren ... To... http://jonahmerris.com/loose-change Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:23:49 +0000 Jonah Merris 189194 loose change ... various small projects ... ... Drawing the Uncanny Volume (Scenes from the Anthropocene) ... Fall 2017... <img width="1950" height="2850" width_o="1950" height_o="2850" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/80e9cfae33f1d7f3206a7c2ce07db34688171ed933b138547606f2dcdc8163b4/PuncakJaya_booklet.jpg" data-mid="246903" border="0" /> <img width="1950" height="2850" width_o="1950" height_o="2850" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/9328fd0e8641d6d34e9f554e179bc9c8cc2254ffcd4244764403144a2e2bedac/SanJoaquin_subsidence_booklet.jpg" data-mid="246904" border="0" /> <img width="1950" height="2925" width_o="1950" height_o="2925" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/cd4942b93a68a75e79f206231a266cabd78e0022d9617b738a1082b6af0b4817/OaklandSLR_web.jpg" data-mid="246905" border="0" /> ... No-Stop Here There: Reading the Bus Stop as a Territorial Claim in San Francisco ... Spring 2017... <img width="1600" height="1000" width_o="1600" height_o="1000" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e0c3ce9e0c50678058298436fa82bb73b6cf99b2d8a81a947544df4bc6a50c5f/bus-stop-gif.gif" data-mid="246902" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="801" width_o="1600" height_o="801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3e26abdeaceaa6e79ed9807060670a5946e8a9a28c58d4da66e5f62ca4667f5a/bus_stop_plans.jpg" data-mid="246901" border="0" /> ... Site House, or the resettlement of John Hejduk’s Wall House 2 ... Fall 2015...<img width="1600" height="800" width_o="1600" height_o="800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0bb01c5d3421dab8685a7f24747a68db8589ec59ef901898a8b6b4fc31cda2aa/site_house_axon_web.jpg" data-mid="246899" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris loose change ... various small projects ... ... Drawing the Uncanny Volume (Scenes from the Anthropocene) ... Fall 2017... ... No-Stop Here There: Reading... http://jonahmerris.com/trinity-house-or-two-staircases Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:22:59 +0000 Jonah Merris 189193 trinity house, or two staircases <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/6334775d5116f989675fc2dccc2926779dd8f4724e30e89b5a1aba1c958e9a1f/foam-2.jpg" data-mid="246890" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5a2ab44bc59ddf260429d15e98089a7b2e8ff9dcbe842373dc90617b0f4712bc/foam-1.jpg" data-mid="246889" border="0" /> ... ARCH 200A ... instr. Dan Spiegel ... Fall 2015 ... Translations: foam to wall, string to beam. Typology? Acknowledged. Stairs? Redundant ... <img width="1600" height="971" width_o="1600" height_o="971" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/fb923bef6ea568281bd2a62e4b120cf014132685689e426ffd03cf24c288f537/TH-translation-drawing.jpg" data-mid="246893" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="573" width_o="1600" height_o="573" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/cac4d0df676f3a4596eae8e6c83fc04ba6190dd31417f641a66824bb48698c08/TH-process-surfaces.jpg" data-mid="246892" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="785" width_o="1600" height_o="785" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3919d88bffee827e0ceda96e002765d46411c9feb79773a1202af2edf48d725f/TH-process-surface-ribs-linework.jpg" data-mid="246891" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="1236" width_o="1600" height_o="1236" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/13ec1f4d4e9fbdc2b6952b54f552c3ff9edbad270babee56d087e9b98caecd12/TH-sections.jpg" data-mid="246894" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="960" width_o="1600" height_o="960" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/ec14a28d5d177aa294a131f8a07c88dcfe77d1e160d9f63d5325cbbbd1853a0d/TH-plans-1.jpg" data-mid="246895" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="960" width_o="1600" height_o="960" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/ff80dae5dcf01693100d7a51adeb802e958ea7c2382fb60d9111d8e3303a2177/TH-plans-2.jpg" data-mid="246896" border="0" /> <img width="1062" height="1600" width_o="1062" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/9fdf80fe8bfab5f1b88a52983e300017d8fa60b61e7e50b2114b490a09fbc76e/model_street-oblique.jpg" data-mid="246897" border="0" /> <img width="1062" height="1600" width_o="1062" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/31a611ed172c345f9f0e9b61ac3c239bc377218a208fee445f531fe849eb1d94/model_section-open.jpg" data-mid="246898" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris trinity house, or two staircases ... ARCH 200A ... instr. Dan Spiegel ... Fall 2015 ... Translations: foam to wall, string to beam. Typology? Acknowledged.... http://jonahmerris.com/figurations-of-ground Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:12:26 +0000 Jonah Merris 189188 figurations of ground <img width="1067" height="1600" width_o="1067" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/47254b3238a79b1e364b4aaf837b49bc646f8f3aac8af8c7d0cc98d2415923ee/florida-beach-stair.jpg" data-mid="246888" border="0" /> <img width="1067" height="1601" width_o="1067" height_o="1601" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3240b04382d24a7b5b89e5c780d5aa745ec02ecbee85771e2a9b33839312d1fc/singapore-sand-castle.jpg" data-mid="246886" border="0" /> <img width="1067" height="1600" width_o="1067" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3c6585af0beee5531988cd9495d62a6403e417d071f2c51f6cdb0c4b5d130309/kyoto-river-playcourt.jpg" data-mid="246887" border="0" /> <img width="1067" height="1600" width_o="1067" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3cf5981fc7fb0b5e2dd035ead60eccb329c6b0dab31c893cc83209fa040fe62e/hong-kong_basketball-rock_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503119" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/80a6ff26d981d2e95dda65847a92a0743dc0d28e18754d2fcaaa5a9ffcc22e05/holland_sandwall_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503118" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/2710be67f54a51c2727040880fe2613e3229d3d00d9bc30bc840b15ac0076779/holland_windmill_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503117" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/30cf2f49dae064d6de08458de09ea8c897fd2af31ce9551591175f686c094a41/holland_barrier_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503116" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5ea306ed56e8cdbdac5ba0ad5f3a5f58a07bc6bfe88d7daec7f26a197a565424/venice_MOSE_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503121" border="0" /> ... research &amp; travel funded by the John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship ... 2017-18 ... This research began as an effort to seek out and document sites of “constructed ground” – landscapes and buildings whose very presence acknowledges the prevalence of ground as a construction rather than untouched “nature.” Specifically, sites of coastal land reclamation were chosen as dramatic illustrations of ground becoming refigured over time as shorelines are given new definition. In contexts where man has become a geomorphic agent, the traditional binary of building / landscape [figure / ground] seems increasingly irrelevant, if not unproductive, as everything from the soil to the building itself blurs into a collection of figures with fluid identity. <img width="1500" height="1500" width_o="1500" height_o="1500" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e6626ea33e765f9f7a41bbcf56a392af31a03e413bf44b65c37e600fee336cf6/slides-01_for-web.jpg" data-mid="502967" border="0" /> <img width="1500" height="1500" width_o="1500" height_o="1500" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5d295af1af113d32f83732ea6622dd816b939cfcc916d8ecf1be59d2356461ae/slides-02_for-web.jpg" data-mid="502968" border="0" /> On the ground, however, the distinction between “historic” and redrawn coastline becomes turbid. Tracing or even discerning the figure of the land reclaimed is often impossible, sometimes distracting, and occasionally gratifying - lines in the sand are fugitive. Vignettes from this search are presented as photos to be examined in no particular sequence. Ultimately, the ground conditions observed form five figurations: Elevated Eden, Historic Datum, Secured Territory, Bodenschätze, and Anticipatory Performance. The accompanying illustrations refigure, or reconstruct, objects and landscapes in a sand tray where ground (sand) can span geographic and temporal distances. In our current epoch (i.e. the Anthropocene), the increasingly duplicitous boundary between the artificial and natural is perhaps better discussed via the alternate realism of representational and associative space. <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c6adb6234c44968e54649db382e209af20ac878db99cc08c5d885585446a408b/01_elevated-eden_render-WEB.jpg" data-mid="502986" border="0" data-scale="100"/> fig. 1 / elevated eden <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/4b8baf03a81177401f1e31dcd5dd63fe2d4f39cdbbcf498c838d046abc0ef5e5/02_heritage-datum_render-WEB.jpg" data-mid="502987" border="0" data-scale="100"/> fig. 2 / historic datum <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/90eedfa93a657da500043f4bcf1a9e8131816c8b78b90b588e6f53739d052d7e/03_secured-territory_render-WEB.jpg" data-mid="502988" border="0" data-scale="100"/>fig. 3 / secured territory <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5c0d21d68f2c94f1408bae8ffeade13407750dfbad8fde318280b45b5d4871a1/04_schatze_render-WEB.jpg" data-mid="502989" border="0" data-scale="100"/> fig. 4 / bodenschätze <img width="1200" height="1800" width_o="1200" height_o="1800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f9160c6960b6bbe85b53bb3a8480af9952538a935e9a520cfffa4d4d2a6c863d/05_anticipatory-performance_render-WEB.jpg" data-mid="502990" border="0" data-scale="100"/> fig. 5 / anticipatory performance <img width="1500" height="948" width_o="1500" height_o="948" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/9038af25caf3a51a65c4810529bdfd9b2eeeecfccd6dddf388f0f601b321a0b6/group-1_WEB.jpg" data-mid="503099" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris figurations of ground ... research &amp; travel funded by the John K. Branner Traveling Fellowship ... 2017-18 ... This research began as an... http://jonahmerris.com/sand-typ Fri, 30 Jun 2017 10:11:19 +0000 Jonah Merris 189187 sand (typ.) <img width="1600" height="1121" width_o="1600" height_o="1121" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/dd5511550e71bafe11d3563a60e148d6c17d6e9c41d45c9912e4c64ea2771fb8/sand_typ_perspective_web.jpg" data-mid="246880" border="0" /> ... ARCH 389 ... instr. Neyran Turan ... Fall 2016 ... featured in Ground Up Issue 06: Of Process (2017) ... <img width="3317" height="2117" width_o="3317" height_o="2117" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/58532f189548b9a165e5aa7f4d314ce2c151eb3f34bc26420db4a1c10eda34fc/0314_Sand_layout-spreads_Page_1.jpg" data-mid="246884" border="0" /> <img width="3317" height="2117" width_o="3317" height_o="2117" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/a3946714c8e56f4f7798209cf881ef225ca5c6ef6ca89c99b63a3b9fa7f5c81c/0314_Sand_layout-spreads_Page_2.jpg" data-mid="246885" border="0" /> If... global climate change has laid bare resource scarcity,&nbsp; and territory as land is a fundamental resource,and resources are no longer static, independent, or exclusive, and architecture needs land to take shape, &nbsp;then... what does architecture have to say about land? As architecture has yet to evolve intro an extra-terrestrial discipline, convention would hold that the practice is enmeshed in the land (i.e., ground, soil, earth). Mohsen Mostafavi writes, “The work of an architect or a landscape architect is always situational … The drawing of these places refers at once to a condition of typicality as well as uniqueness.”1 While the representation of the site has been privileged to a greater or lesser degree over time, its presence is relentless. In drawing, the discipline of architecture might proclaim its authority as an engine of imagination. What does architecture have to say about the land it sits upon, between, and beneath? Everything. However, the dominant mode of figure-ground is reductive. As Amale Andraos explains, our epoch is anything but static: …as time is stretched to that of geological transformation, and as seemingly endless flows of information recast our concept of context, there is an urgency to move beyond the stability and certainty offered by oppositions…[and] en-gage in mad alchemy as we rewrite architecture as the art and science of the unknown.2 Land is a particularly fertile material lens for an exploration of an “alchemical” architecture of the Anthropocene. Given the nature of land as unstable vis-à-vis natural disaster, indeterminate with respect to territorial adjustments, and commercially transferrable, architecture today must meet the challenge posed by shifting identities. Sand is a worthy analog for the general condition of land in the Anthropocene: ubiquitous, liminal, and tertiary. By some accounts, it is the most widely consumed resource in the world after air and water, but unlike those resources it has gone unregulated and unnoticed as an asset worthy of attention. This work challenges a typical (typ.) architectural imagination of sand in the Anthropocene, highlighting the resulting representational deficiencies present in four prevalent perspectives. <img width="3333" height="3333" width_o="3333" height_o="3333" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/99e3841955fb78e7d9dc152521b8b00d2b99f8bbc338dcbaa3ddbf1b5e6f96ed/land_typ_diagrams.jpg" data-mid="246881" border="0" /> First, sand as territory has potent geopolitical implications with respect to the delineation of boundaries. It is routinely apportioned, governed, and transferred as a primary building block of land. But as Keller Easterling writes, “We often believe boundary to be most clearly made in relation to this static turf…Landscape is so often finally not static, but kinetic—the areas of animals, waters, sands, and atmosphere.”3 Coastal sand is a liminal zone of contention that proves difficult to demarcate due to deposition and erosion, but relatively easy to shape and transport via mining and land reclamation. For instance, Singapore has deployed sand as a tool for nation-building over the last 40 years, expanding its land area by 20% via the production of artificial ground.4 This perspective invokes the architectural convention of plan(s) drawn at multiple scales, but in particular calls attention to the shortcomings of the site plan as a device for describing shifting territorial boundaries. While hard-line drawings are efficient and legible in their austerity, sand’s material properties preclude an obedience to the dash-dot-dash of a property boundary. Secondly, sand operates stratigraphically in tandem with and in isolation from the physical detritus of civilization. Geology and archaeology have already mastered sand in this regard, as the medium to be cut through or brushed off. A literacy in layers breeds appreciation for the prevalence of constructed land in the Anthropocene. As Stephen Graham describes, Modern humans tend to naturalize the ground…Yet this perspective underplays the importance of the vertical composition of ground. For the terrestrial material of our rapidly urbanizing species is increasingly anything but “natural”: it is the vertical accumulation of manufactured ground.5&nbsp; Architecture is familiar with layered assemblies and the section as a descriptive tool, yet practitioners tend to focus their representational efforts on surficial strata, flattening substrate to generic and indeterminate hatch. The third perspective highlights the “high-volume, low-value” paradox of sand mining, situating the substrate within a larger context of material processing. Worth billions of dollars, the global sand trade has gone largely unregulated, spawning a lucrative black market, shifting mining operations to coastal sites, and depleting many land-based sources.6,7 Still, the resource is widely regarded as cheap and plentiful. To describe this phenomenon, architectural convention would favor the diagram for its attention to process and systems. But the necessarily narrow extent of a given drawing, and the reduction of complexity for the sake of clarity, undermine the power of the parti. Sand’s vast volume, breadth of uses, and multi-scalar character prove to be particularly challenging to image. Finally, the fourth perspective operates within the more overtly architectural realm of the speculative site-specific proposition. Constructed as a conceit in the lineage of the now-deficient plan, section, and parti, the following project uses perspectival collage to depict the failure of conventional site representations to consider ground in flux. <img width="1600" height="1035" width_o="1600" height_o="1035" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f81a003dc1e7b89bbbc5d247f40ae1b8b9e6e23c302026cf784df0648a2abe85/sand-wall_dredge-boat_web.jpg" data-mid="246882" border="0" /> The CEMEX Lapis Plant in Marina, CA, lies one hundred miles south of San Francisco, one of the last coastal sand mining operations in the U.S. Twelve miles of beach between the mine and the town of Monterey have recently lost four feet per year on average. CEMEX is not required to disclose complete accounts of its productivity, but estimates put the extraction at roughly 200,000 tons of sand a year. Studies show that with natural sediment deposits from the Salinas River, the coastline should be growing at a rate of three feet a year on average.8 Although natural processes of sedimentation have been interrupted, the prevailing logic of plan, section, and parti might lead architects to deduce their own process of depositing particulate matter. The proposed Sand Memorial at Monterey traces a line marking the top of the beach as of 2016. Built of concrete mixed with sand mined from the CEMEX plant at Marina, the monument grows with concrete pours (strata). Assuming current rates of production continue, 170,000 CY of sand yield 680,000 CY of concrete per year— each stratum is 60 feet wide by 5 feet tall and 12 miles in length. By 2054, the ocean will reach the base of the wall. Existing industry is harnessed to return sand that would have been naturally deposited back to the beach, while simultaneously accelerating the same processes of erosion. Ultimately, the memorial itself will render sand mining at Monterey impossible, becoming a datum for the persistence of environmental process and proof that an architecture of stasis is obsolete in the Anthropocene. <img width="1600" height="1035" width_o="1600" height_o="1035" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/bf77934d42809ac9617c2f7fe992b2cb511f5e30c38aa0fd9e26721cb4d5052c/sand-wall_dunes_web.jpg" data-mid="246883" border="0" /> 1 Mostavi, Mohsen. “The Cartographic Imagination.” In Cartographic Grounds, eds. Charles Waldheim, J. Desimini, 6. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2016. Print. 2 Andraos, Amale. “What Does Climate Change (For Architecture)?” In Climates: Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary, ed. J. Graham, 301. New York: Columbia Books on Architecture and the City, Lars Müller Publishers, 2016. Print. 3 Easterling, Keller. Enduring Innocence: Global Architecture and Its Political Masquerades. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. Print. 4 “Sand, rarer than one thinks.” UNEP, report, Global Environmental Alert Service, 8. 03/2014. Web. Fall 2016. &lt;http://www.unep.org/pdf/UNEP_GEAS_ March_2014.pdf&gt; 5 Graham, Stephen. “City Ground.” Places Journal (Nov. 2016). Web. &lt;www. placesjournal.org&gt; 6 “Sand Mining- the ‘high Volume – Low Value’ Paradox.” Aquaknow. 04/11/ 2012. Web. 12/13/2016. &lt;http://www.aquaknow.net/en/news/sand-mining-high-volume-low-value-paradox/&gt; 7 “Sand, rarer than one thinks.” 8 Schmalz, David. “CEMEX Mine Reflects Human Hunger for Sand.” Monterey County Weekly 14 January 2016. Print. Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris sand (typ.) ... ARCH 389 ... instr. Neyran Turan ... Fall 2016 ... featured in Ground Up Issue 06: Of Process (2017) ... If... global climate change has laid... http://jonahmerris.com/about Thu, 29 Jun 2017 15:05:05 +0000 Jonah Merris 188860 about ... a designer in Berkeley, CA ... jonah.merris [at] gmail.com ... M.Arch. - UC Berkeley [2015 - 2018] ... B.A. in Political Science &amp; Architecture - Middlebury College [2009 - 2013] ... C.V. available upon request ... instagram&nbsp;...Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris about ... a designer in Berkeley, CA ... jonah.merris [at] gmail.com ... M.Arch. - UC Berkeley [2015 - 2018] ... B.A. in Political Science &amp; Architecture -... http://jonahmerris.com/totemic-orthography Thu, 29 Jun 2017 13:06:59 +0000 Jonah Merris 188805 totemic orthography<img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/63b37073887e3ea59493e8ec07fc3f6e8bc6a65804712995e172c9061fd95974/totem_form_process_animated_7.gif" data-mid="246453" border="0" data-scale="80"/>... ARCH 200C ... instr. David Orkand ... Fall 2015 ... A twisted-folded rectangular prism reveals itself. The occluded figure becomes ingrained in form ... <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/bba757e96bd03a0739f5a9f42e81c9c937013da3bbb22decb01e81777603909c/4.3-Orthos_web-01.png" data-mid="246456" border="0" /> <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0b5485348ea79c9b8e759cac16f4b4ed7c0e75fc3e7c33f0c93bb4115419390f/4.3-Orthos_web-03.png" data-mid="246455" border="0" /> <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/1ffa3efaf6b7e3bc4db307f67614b881706183a0008d252b5a8fed804c305a21/4.3-Orthos_web_Artboard-4.png" data-mid="246458" border="0" /> <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/fe956b5778f5bfa30c548947a687c29b7c2764b55c9b8083f035533eb1897734/4.3-Orthos_web_Artboard-8.png" data-mid="246457" border="0" /> <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/3b1591f31c5b04e37abf65122bc591c81fd96eecbf455d7e3b92ac43d331eb3a/4.3-Orthos_web-05.png" data-mid="246454" border="0" /> <img width="1801" height="1801" width_o="1801" height_o="1801" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/678671d2a0086da53a382a03a32e113f54566f6eaea96abaf917aebe555d4ea5/4.3-Orthos_web_Artboard-4-copy.png" data-mid="246459" border="0" /> <img width="1399" height="1399" width_o="1399" height_o="1399" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/23056944f4a627da1d6a010ac2e9e4daeef3967ff03cb812241afb1267fd00b2/totel-elecation-photo-1_6.jpg" data-mid="246449" border="0" /> <img width="1399" height="1399" width_o="1399" height_o="1399" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/56bf9e9b71b44ebae925bfcac44df36eb38391d5958c10b77bb796fb0f60ac75/totel-elecation-photo-3_4.jpg" data-mid="246448" border="0" /> <img width="1399" height="1399" width_o="1399" height_o="1399" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/39a834318f4c922aa768f510dbfe6fa9cfbab507094902e51e6790e370328b41/totel-elecation-photo-2.jpg" data-mid="246450" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1567" width_o="1600" height_o="1567" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/01771d82461902650aac7b4f710e32c34362db1986d6ad33929ec4bff7af163f/4.3-Surface-unfolded_web-01.jpg" data-mid="246460" border="0" /> Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris totemic orthography... ARCH 200C ... instr. David Orkand ... Fall 2015 ... A twisted-folded rectangular prism reveals itself. The occluded figure becomes ingrained... http://jonahmerris.com/two-blue-houses-on-minna-street Thu, 29 Jun 2017 13:06:25 +0000 Jonah Merris 188804 two (2) blue houses on minna street <img width="1600" height="1059" width_o="1600" height_o="1059" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/0617188e79767fa98b910ba42166c5d75873a4f9695a5b67ea6b399e0cbee05a/003_Minna_section-perspective_web_1.jpg" data-mid="246442" border="0" />... ARCH 202 ... instr. Renee Chow ... Spring 2017 ... A generous developer in San Francisco. Five designers reclaim the one-way street as pedestrian, ceding their frontage to the stoop. Two blue houses step forward ... <img width="1600" height="800" width_o="1600" height_o="800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/734b00c822f491cfa79dabe8deef25f549dc0b154606b18801fb0793d012ab68/SF_stoops_web-edits.jpg" data-mid="246438" border="0" /><img width="1600" height="800" width_o="1600" height_o="800" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/e3f6158933e42c6aa815f14477293bd7013cdf0d0b8381b7c260a4bf28384bcb/FINAL_TEAM2_MINNA_agreement_stoop-section-bowl_web-edit.jpg" data-mid="246443" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/8f1c71f7189bae0bf8cda4e4bedefeb3b26905fc788d6134501ff920be5c1237/003_Minna_site-strategy_diagrams_web_1.jpg" data-mid="246446" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/f3903c65afe852cc400c5b2c39de9b40b8f74eb1f6e35a8c34ef2408b44a0888/003_Minna_render01-fire-escape.jpg" data-mid="246436" border="0" /> <img width="793" height="792" width_o="793" height_o="792" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/57d7612126af4481c5187837c22ddeeb8d513e1ef48b9eac779c3b12b4d1d6e6/MINNA_FP01.jpg" data-mid="246444" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/c2b89b9dcfff60b62c3df12295c8e3c57b3d2c2529e6b2e23b5352589a3fa03c/003_Minna_render02-bays.jpg" data-mid="246435" border="0" /> <img width="793" height="792" width_o="793" height_o="792" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/ba777786c13542fbcaa0563e7a649c61aa2c160898503353ac9ad52ea0b415df/MINNA_FP03.jpg" data-mid="246445" border="0" /> <img width="1600" height="1600" width_o="1600" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/5a6fb8f15fa76a4408d80d50e80ba0665ad047d5693b5f0f1c0d2d58a6c7e746/003_Minna_render03-apartment-interior.jpg" data-mid="246437" border="0" /> <img width="1199" height="1600" width_o="1199" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/6e88b7ad246bf60b4c6f539793f79de9c3f81efd4ca7392a432a19e961f9b7ef/003_Minna_solo-01.jpg" data-mid="246439" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/7e5a9d588a5c77cf15d865d8e1de945a7eca37074ff7294b3760021f9a7b399e/003_Minna_in-context-05.jpg" data-mid="246441" border="0" /> <img width="1200" height="1600" width_o="1200" height_o="1600" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/513b387e769ef94265afab56705403965ab47c9cc3b25fe4f4d91aca473ed45b/003_Minna_solo-04.jpg" data-mid="246440" border="0" /> <img width="1302" height="777" width_o="1302" height_o="777" src_o="https://cortex.persona.co/t/original/i/43cbdd950d1e2e87a4d30d8defee2c093fe47c64d4c21fd161579b4ef4af48f3/TEAM2_Minna_combined_elevations_17.jpg" data-mid="246447" border="0" />Copyright © 2018 Jonah Merris two (2) blue houses on minna street ... ARCH 202 ... instr. Renee Chow ... Spring 2017 ... A generous developer in San Francisco. Five designers reclaim the...