Aaron Hill Application Portfolio

8/11/2019 Aaron Hill Application Portfolio

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01

WINTER OASIS[ career discovery project 1 ]

02

EXPLODED VIEWS[ career discovery project 2 ]

03

ALGAE-CYCLE [ career discovery project 3 ]

_______

04

EMPTY CITY [photography ]

05

CONSTELLATIONS[ photography + book binding ]

06

SCULPTURES[ woodwork + stonework + metalwork + drawing ]

07

CONVEYOR[ book design + book binding + letterpress printing ]

AARON HILL MLA I Applicant, Harvard GSD, 2014

Personal, academic and professional works in art and design.



CAREER DISCOVERY 2013

Disc ipl ine

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Lead Facul ty

ROSETTA ELKIN

Section Instructor

ELLEN GARRETT

Representation Instructor

FRANK HU



Career Discovery | WINTER OASIS72 HOURSSITE ANALYSIS / MAPPING SYSTEMS / HAND DRAFTING TECHNIQUESHARVARD SCIENCE PLAZA, CAMBRIDGE, MA

[duration][focus]

[site]By mapping and subsequently overlaying apparently unrelated

systems, relationships surface. The connections, bifurcations,

transitions, and vacancies that emerge can highlight an

underutilized space or indicate potential opportunities for

hybridized functionality.



[mapping phase]LAYERING SYSTEMS

The agenda of a plaza is one of meeting and interaction, but it must also act as a

conveyance to the places it connects—but what conditions are most conducive to

interaction? Initially I mapped the moveable tables and chairs considering whether

or not, and how far they moved, the amount of noise across the space measured in

decibels, and the motion of passersby (in part to see the arteries of movement, and

in part to see how often and where people would stop to gather).

[steam pipe][noise (dB)][table movement] [pedestrian circulation][table + chair position]

[nodes]

[table movement + pedestrian circulation + noise (dB) + steam pipe + plan]

TENT

BENCHES

BIKE CIRCULATION

ICE MELT

MOVING TABLES

AND CHAIRS

CONVERSATION

PAVEMENT

INTERACTION

DIURNAL/SEASONAL

WEATHER CONDITIONS

LIMITED SPACE

NOISE POLLUTION

STEAM PIPES

AWNING SYSTEM

MODULAR BENCHES

ELEVATED + GRATED

BICYCLE PATH

URBAN RIVER

CAMPUS INTERACTIVE

ART INSTALLATIONS

ABILITY TO MOVE

SEATING INTRODUCES

PUBLIC/PRIVATE DIMENSION

HEATED WINTER OASIS

[systems + site analysis brainstorm]



During the winter months, the plaza loses a great deal of functionality due

to freezing temperatures and snow. Seasonally installed in an underused

area of the site, out of the way of pedestrian and bicycle circulation, this

geodesic structure encloses a misty, steamy winter oasis achieved by

syphoning steam from an existing system running underneath the site in

order to allow the continued use of the plaza.

The sphere-like domes echo the form of the Peter Walker fountain nearby,

creating a poetic ebb and ow in the plaza that reects the seasons: the

fountain mists in the warmer months and the domes steam in the colder

ones, all the while visitors may continue to use the plaza year round.

[design phase]INTERVENTION

[geodesic iterations]



[design phase] RETHINKING INTERVENTION

STEAM-HEATED PAVEMENT

STEAM VENTS

Lacking the rm boundary of an enclosed structure, an open steam area

allows people to stop and warm up, or siply stroll through on their way

across the plaza. Setam is also syphoned and used to melt ice and snow

along pathways according to existing pedestrian circulation, and is further

directed to the plaza benches making ach one a warm respite from the

winter cold. And as an external feature, the steam spiral directly dialogueswith the form of the Walker Fountain, its neighboring precedent.



Career Discovery | EXPLODED VIEWS12 DAYSPRECEDENT RESEARCH / TOPOGRAPHY / TIME / MODELING TECHNIQUESFRANKLIN PARK, BOSTON, MA

[duration][focus]

[site]

[research phase]PRECEDENT OPERATION METRICS

[detonation velocity + crater metrics]

[bore-hole angles + charge placement]

In the eort to reshape topography, complex operations are often performed—

even in a case such as Olmsted’s Franklin Park in which the resulting landscape

is decidedly ‘natural’. The site that is now Franklin Park was regraded,

steam-rolled, partially deforested, subsequently reforested, and terraced with

retaining walls and stairs. The site was rock blasted with dynamite to obtain

puddingstone from quarries to use for walls, stairs and other infrastructure.

Research into rock blasting techniques contemporary to the park’s construction

yielded a language of forms based on metrics of dynamite composition,

detonation velocity, and charge placement.

[franklin park construction: steam rolling + terracing for stairs]



[modeling phase]OPERATIONS + TOPOGRAPHY

Serial sections of the site revealed an organ

shape through the length of the site resembl

a curving stream, which introduced an attent

to hydrology—specically how people woul

circulate and interact with the moving wate

Plastalina allowed for a great degree of play because changes could

be made to quickly and easily. The clay topography was manipulated

in reference to diagrams pulled from rock blasting manuals published

around the time construction began on Franklin Park in the early 1880s.

These rock blasting techniques were abstracted from their traditional grid-

like use to form a more varied topography.



[modeling phase]ELEVATION + FLOWS

Considering elevation became key in order to organize the edge condition

betweenland and water. A SketchUp model of the site proved useful to

manipulate elevations so water would not overow the ssures and craters

created by the dynamite charges, and so the site would be graded gently

enough for visitor circulation. People are provided space to gather and

circulate while water simultaneously pools and ows.

Paper modeling in conjunction with contour

drawings and models aided in furtherrening the slopes and plateaus that guided

movement and rest around the site.

VISITOR CIRCULATION

WATER



[modeling phase]FORMS + SURFACES

The planar surfaces of the SketchUp model did not capture the texture of earth

reshaped by the force of explosives. Shattered plaster and rockite casts of the

topography simulate the initial ssures of rock blasted topography.

Photographic study of the ‘exploded’ models illustrates the tactile

quality of the surfaces revealed by the blasts.



[program phase] VEGETATION + VIEWS

At this nal stage, vegetation is introduced to slow erosion of certain areas to

maintain the terraced landform created by the explosives, and to modulate the

views from various vantage points, creating a spectrum of experiences. Wind, light

and heat were also a concern as the exploded topography had created a number

of microclimates that would inevitably shift the vegetative palette in wind-shaded

craters close to water as opposed to exposed, dry ridgelines.



Analysis of the Brickbottom transect site revealed a nexus of infrastructure in disrepair.

Public transportation such as the T and the public bus system are inaccessible or

infrequent. The network of bike lanes becomes fragmented as it approaches and

then disappears entirely at the transect site. Layering maps of Somerville’s roadways,along which stormwater travels, and overall topography indicated that Brickbottom is

also low point where stormwater collects. Research and site visits told of the area’s

former industrial functions, subsequent pollution, and current impoverishment.

This rst phase of analysis indicated the possibility of intervention where

bike infrastructure, stormwater management and surface impermeability

overlap—a network of permeable bicycle lanes with a planted trac buer.

[roads] [topography ]

[photo study: approaches to transect] [natural stormwater collection]

Career Discovery | ALGAE-CYCLE3 WEEKS

TRANSECT AS TYPOLOGY / PHASING / DIGITAL ILLUSTRATIONPOPLAR STREET CORRIDOR + MCGRATH OVERPASS; SOMERVILLE, MA

[duration][focus]

[site]

[bicycle lane network ] [transportation infrastructure]

[Somerville , MA + Brickbottom Transect Site]



[SEA LEVEL: +1m +2m +3m +4m]

[elevated bike paths + inundation + bioluminescent algae]

[BRAINSTORM: interrelated systems over time]

Looking to sea level rise projections as a framework to shape the development of

an elevated park that straddles both land and sea, the McGrath Overpass transect

site is treated as a typology for other highland sites throughout the Somerville area. The shifting cusp between land and rising marine inundation dictates where and

how infrastructure, industry and recreation develop.



[biking + algae]

[closed farming systems][open farming systems]

[bioluminescent + biofueld-producing algaes]

[typologies] ALGAE FARMING

[iterations]INTEGRATING SYSTEMS

Algae is utilized in two capacities. First, bioluminescent phytoplankton is introuced

as a vegetative strategy relevant to inundated ares to create a nighttime spectacle.

Second, algae farming is installed as a future bioindustry that can remediate

polluted water and capture carbon dioxide from other industry and transpotation

systems to produce biofuels and renew Brickbottom’s industrial heritage.

[pedestrian circulation + bicycle network + inundation + algae farming]



RENOVATE / RE-PURPOSE

INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

RE-ROUTE / ELEVATE RED LINE

ELEVATED BIKE CIRCUIT

RE-ROUTE / ELEVATE YELLOW LINE

DREDGE

FILL

EXPANDED BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE

ELEVATED GREEN LINE EXTENSION

OPEN-POND ALGAE FAR

ELEVATED MULTI-USE P

[PHASE I]SEA LEVEL +1 METER

[PHASE II]SEA LEVEL +2 METERS

[PHASE III]SEA LEVEL +3 METERS

[phasing]LAND / SEA TRANSITION



[program]POLYFUNCTIONAL BOARDWALK

SAILKAYAKROWFISHRUNBIKE

SHELTERED WATER

SPORTS ZONE

OPEN WATER /

SAILING ZONE

ELEVATED CONVEYANCE /

RECREATION ZONE

WATER SPORTS ZONE

As part of the three-phased plan, a fragmented network of bicycle lanes is

connected, elevated and expanded in concert with re-routed, elevated public transit

in order to retain Somerville’s connection to Boston. Most importantly the elevated

conveyance invites the city’s inhabitants to enjoy their new relationship with the

ocean by providing facilities for shing, sailing, and a range of water sports.

[BEFORE/AFTER: existing transect site + proposed site intervention]



ART

Discipl ines

PHOTOGRAPHY DRAWING

SCULPTUREBOOKBINDING

2006-13



Empty City is a series of long exposure lm photographs that utilize the analog

photographic process to erase the city’s inhabitants, its congestion, and its noise.

Neutral density lters dim the light entering the camera to extend the exposure time to

between one and three hours, in eect preventing bodies in motion from registering

on lm. The photographs are eerily quiet ctions—views of the city only possible forthe camera, but never for the naked eye. Accompanying titles point to what has been

obscured and call on viewers imagine the full scene themselves. This gap between th

photograph and the world it purports to represent disrupts notions of photographic

realism and emphasizes the active role of the viewer’s imagination.

The series was recently exhibited in the show Speed of Dreams during Art Base

2013 in Miami, FL, and has been proled by Create Collect, a website that promotes

and sells emerging artists’ work.

EMPTY CITY CONCEPTUAL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

2012



Grand Central Station at Rush Hour , 2012Exposure Time: 3 hrs | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.

Flatiron at Rush Hour , 2012Exposure Time: 2.5 hrs | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.



Astor Place at Rush Hour , 2012Exposure Time: 3 hrs | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.

Tugboats and Seagulls at Twilight , 2012Exposure Time: 1 hr | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.



Playing Fetch, Barking, 2012Exposure Time: 2 hrs | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.

Smoke Break, Yelling on Phone, 2012Exposure Time: 1 hr | Archival Pigment Print | 47 x 47 in.



“I wonder what your constellation would look like,” mused Sarah one afternoon

in October. “Connect all my freckles and let’s nd out,” I replied.

The process of drawing on each other embodied such attention and care. It

was gentle, but it tickled. After three, or four, or sometimes ve hours of at rst bashful

drawing, a warm space would open up and envelop us. In the beginning we were notyet dating, and the oering to draw on the other’s bare skin, and to search every nook

and curve for more freckles was uncomfortable, but attractive.

The afternoons of drawing would then turn into mornings of photographing. We

would work slowly to elongate the period of time in which were fully present to each

other; we used the drawing process as a meditative act to propel us into the close

proximity we wouldn’t yet otherwise allow. The photographs, intended to be hung

in large salon-style constellations that lack the chronology of a linear narrative, and

accordingly are otherwise contained as loose prints in a handbound portfolio case

rather than in book form. These vignettes are glimpses of nascent intimacy.

They are about adoration and trepidation, and they are steeped in sentimentality.

CONSTELLATIONS A COLLABORATION WITH SARAH MOODY

2010-11



Handbound Folio + Slipcase + 30 Print Set6.5 x 6.5 in. | 2011

SCULPTURES



The following works in wood, bronze and stone began as

experiments in conceptualizing and sketching planes that bend, fold

and twist into three dimensional forms. Later pieces, inuenced by

gure drawing, use the same language to render the body as an

undulating landscape of surfaces, creating abstractions that hover

between genres. Final sculptures are never kept rigidly faithful to anyone sketch in order to allow a responsiveness to idiosyncratic features

of the materials such as wood grain or stone color.

Untitled (No. 21)9 x 4 in. | Canadian Pine | 2006

Untitled (No. 88)21 x 7 in. | Canadian Pine + Marble | 2008

SCULPTURES Wood | Bronze | Stone

2006-10



Untitled (No. 28)6 x 10 in. | African Mahogany | 2008

Untitled (No. 165)13 x 5 in. | African Mahogany | 2010



Untitled (No. 187)13 x 3 in. | Mahogany | 2010

Untitled (No. 105)9 x 15 in. | Canadian Pine | 2009



Untitled (No. 11, No. 17, No. 19, No. 34, No. 54, No. 55)3 x 3 in. | Bronze | 2009 Untitled (No. 147)

22 x 10 in. | Bronze | 2010



Untitled (No. 43)18 x 12 in. | Texas Limestone | 2008

Untitled (No. 62)7 x 7 in. | Alabaster | 2008

CONVEYOR



CONVEYORDark Matter, Issue No.4

2012

Conveyor is a biannual photographic arts publication that curates essays, and

conceptual landscape and still life works. Because the studio also operates as a

professional printer and art book publishing house, there is a heavy emphasis on

the delity of printing and the overall production quality of the journal.

My role in the production of the Dark Matter issue took multiple forms: I was an

active participant in editors’ meetings to select work for the issue; I worked on page

layout, copyedited, and retouched images; and I assisted in the restoration of a

19th century letterpress that we used to individually stamp each cover.



Aaron Hill Application Portfolio

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