MArch Students Explore 'Desire to Build Vertically' in Exhibit at ICA

The 20th century saw a global proliferation of tall buildings that, through advances in design and engineering and accelerating urbanization, gave way to the era of supertall buildings that continues unabated. Towers, a temporary exhibition at Institute of Contemporary Art, explores the impulse to defy gravity through the work of 23 first-year Master of Architecture students in the Department of Architecture at Weitzman. The installation features six large-scale models designed and fabricated by student teams over the past 6 weeks, which were selected by faculty members from among 18 models produced.

“The desire to build vertically, against the will of gravity, has permeated all geographic regions, historic eras and cultural movements,” says architect and Weitzman Lecturer Daniel Markiewicz, coordinator for the first-year studio in the Master of Architecture program, Architecture 501. “But the reasons behind this desire have been varied. Towers have been built for observation, religious homage, defensive protection, imprisonment, military tribute, a desire for dense urban living or simply overt competition. From ancient narratives—Tower of Babel—to historical complexes—Angkor Wat—to modern constructions—Burj Khalifa—examples of architecture building upward have consistently proliferated our cultural landscape. The collection of proposals found here seeks to engage with and expand upon the abundant history of this typology through the design and fabrication of a new Tower.”

eFORMeral
Students: Fasai Chainuvati, Veronica Devito, Elijah Huggins, Mic Ma (Faculty Critic: Anthony Gagliardi; Teaching Assistant: Taely Freeman)

Kinetic Perception
Students: Joshua Bonamy, Colin Clark, David Owe, Victor Zhang (Faculty Critic: Ryan Palider; Teaching Assistant: Conrad Tse)

Woven Dichotomy
Students: Abigail Ruby Cherechi Nwaebube, Sissi Zhang, Jihao (Josh) Shen, Xiyan (Yan) Li (Critics: Danielle Willems & Ezio Blasetti; Teaching Assistant: Sahil Pranay Shah)

Veiled Relief
Students: Olivia Liu, Ziming He, Yoon Chung, & Colby Cox (Faculty Critic: Daniel Markiewicz; Teaching Assistant: Zhang “Finn” He)

BLOCK PARTI
Students: Camille Escobar, Iris Zi, Ryan Lane (Faculty Critic: Eduardo Rega; Teaching Assistant: Amy Koenig)

HIDE & SEEK
Students: Jonathan Bonezzi, Leean Li, Lisa Liu, Jiapeng Sun (Faculty Critic: Laia Mogas-Soldevila; Teaching Assistant: Grace Infante)

All of the students’ designs are presented in an online gallery.

The exhibition will be on view at ICA's outdoor terrace, 118 South 36th Street, from Wednesday, October 18 through Friday, October 20. Visiting hours are 12:00 to 6:00pm. Admission is free and open to all.