Nehal Patel

Alter_etics

Aesthetic, Beauty, Urban collective, Ugly, Surreal

In recent years, there has been rise and revolt against banal and soulless infrastructure that has been in trend for so many years. These homogenized, individualistic architecture is fast and easy to build, achieving sterile and functional interior spaces, and vehicular driven structures, that are usually out of scale with its surroundings. In pursuit of solving modern functionality issue, mainstream architecture has lost liveliness, and are simply reduced to glass boxes. Interior spaces however beautifully planned, the exterior of the city is becoming more monotonous, and is therefore losing aesthetical value of the collective urban cityscapes.

The newer construction in Downtown Los Angles, along with existing decaying historical structures, these blocks are coming up as a chaotic pallet of unfitting facades and volumes that are largely for vehicular usages and not entirely pleasant for humane experience. This thesis explores the possibility and importance of Aesthetical rearrangement in the form of surreal collages, to envision and achieve collective urban aesthetic qualities that are in harmony with each other. The process involves, study of existing buildings, identifying their repulsive and attractive qualities, and can add to the idea of continuation of contextual beauty.

Elaine Scarry have argued that Aesthetics can lead to desire for ethical behavior as opposed to ethics as an alibi.

Site Typologies and Site Plan

Skyscraper Typologies

Site Axo

Site Analysis and Elevation

High Rise Textures