Disegno

Instructors: Igor Marjanovic & Elisa Kim · Venice, Italy. Summer 2017

The Florentine word “disegno,” denotes both the drawing of a line and the drawing forth of an idea. Building upon this dual trajectory, the exercise engages a diverse set of drawing strategies—from freehand drawing and drafting to printmaking—probing public space as a confluence of architecture, culture, and identity. The projects emphasize craft and experimentation, as well the socioeconomic forces that shape architecture, including the role of different cultures in its making. The intention of this studio was to spatialize and address the incomprehensible challenges faced by a rising number of migrants seeking refuge in Europe, through a series of mylar drawings and Intaglio prints. The first two drawings are analytical, while the third explores a theoretical solution, sited in the Venetian Archipelago.
TIME AS CURRENCY
Mapping the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis
The first drawing maps the concept of time as a measurement of distance as well as a universal currency. Three routes are depicted across the drawing: Syria to Milan, Mali to Rome, and Sudan to Florence, and included is the distance in kilometers and the number of days it would take to walk between each stop on the journey, thus using time as a common lens through which we can begin to understand individual experiences. 
Cannaregio Town Square
Precedent Analysis: Meaning as Function
The second drawing is an analysis of Peter Eisenman’s theoretical proposal for Cannaregio. In his conceptual design he uses ground excavation and varying scales of his “house 11” as a response to his own psychoanalysis as well as his analysis of the conditions in Venice. His grid system is an extension of the one designed by Le Corbusier years earlier for his Hospital, which, like Eisenman’s project, was never built, but still holds meaning as a part of Cannaregio’s history and of the site that Eisenman invented for his project. 
Connection Hotspot
The Tenth Island
The final drawing in the series is my proposal for the Tenth Island: a repurposing of Peter Eisenman’s design for Cannaregio Town Square into a wifi hotspot and digital connection center that enables migrants and refugees to connect with the rest of the world, thus collapsing the obstacles of time and distance. Text across the drawing describes the same three journeys depicted in the initial map. However, instead of documenting the time one would spend walking, I included the latency (the time measured in milliseconds required for data to transfer from its origin to its destination), the intention being to emphasize that, at the hotspot, time does not inhibit these connections. Resources at the hotspot, including computer labs, phones, private video calling rooms, and help centers, make it easy for individuals to reach out to and reconnect with friends and family, plan the next stage of their journey, research opportunities, and begin the process of petitioning for asylum. Spaces are built into Eisenman’s “house 11”, while the data servers are placed into the voids, resulting in the creation of new links between past, present, and future.
↑Back to Top