1. MATTHEW HOFFMAN
The Pennsylvania State University
Bachelor of Architecture
360 W. 127th St.
New York, NY 10027
p: 717.201.6746
e: mdh264@gmail.com
2. MATTHEW D. HOFFMAN
JUNIOR ARCHITECT
Work Experience: 2010: May - currently: C-LAB, New York, NY.
Jeffrey Inaba. 212.989.2398
Worked in teams of 2-3 on projects ranging from the scale of a pavilion for the New Museum and
an entry to the Sukkah City Competition, to a large-scale housing development in St. Petersburg Russia,
in collaboration with Neil Denari’s office.
2009: June - September: RSH Architects, Pittsburgh, PA.
Art Ruprecht, AIA. 412.429.1555
2009: May - July: The Manhattan Airport Foundation. New York, NY.
Joe Stevens, Freelance Writer / Director, 917.843.8165
Published in The Guardian UK, The Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report among others.
Developed and created all images for the website Manhattanairport.org, an art project to satirize urban
development initiatives and draw public attention to the shortcomings of our air transportation
infrastructure.
2008: September - December: Design Logic Architecture. Philadelphia, PA.
Tunde Kazeem. 215.925.0700
2008: May - August: DigiFAB website and digital fabrication.
Professor David Celento. 814.865.3682
Education: 2005 - 2010: The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.
Accredited five-year Bachelors of Architecture degree.
2009: January - May: Sede di Roma, Rome, Italy.
Semester abroad: Cartography, Urban Studies and Analysis, Italian Language.
3. Publications in progress: Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture. “ART MEADOW: The Feral Artscape.”
MAS Context. PUBLIC issue, “superFUND.”
ASSEMBLY. “Towards an Art Experience.”
Publications & Awards: 2010: May: Runner-up: Design Excellent Award.
Honorable Mention: Kossman Thesis Awards.
2010: March: College Award for Creative Achievement.
Recognizes students who exemplify the objectives of the college with respect to
enhancement of the arts. Students are selected based upon their creative work,
academic excellence and service contributions.
2010: January: Stewardson Memorial Competition - Finalist.
Comments from the Jury: “This entry engaged the site and the existing structure
utilizing it as a driver. The Andrew Wyeth-esque imagery was strongly compelling
and served as a reference point. This was perhaps the most emotive and poetic image
in the competition. The design was unique, in presentation, attitude towards the
site, and in its imagery and palette. The effect could be measured as much in the silent
contemplation of those considering it as in their comments.”
2009: Semptember: Corbelletti Competition. Excellence in Graphic Design.
2008: May: Design Excellence Award.
Excellence in design studio at the third-year level.
2007: September: Corbelletti Competition. Finalist.
Skill set: Computer: Working experience with FormZ, Rhino, Sketchup, VRay, Autocad 2010, Final Cut
Pro, Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, Flash.
Model building techniques: 3D printing, Laser-cutting, CNC milling.
Excellent hand-drawing techniques.
25. ART MEADOW CONTENTS
STATEMENT
ABSTRACT
RESEARCH & DOCUMENTATION
SITE & CONTEXT
PROGRAM
DESIGN
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
26.
27. ART MEADOW, the Feral Artscape
Feral Artscape [feer-uhl ahrt-skāp’] media on identity, and applying this as an museum and gallery environments. ART MEADOW
The creation, expression and re-appropriation of
ART in its wild state, like wild animals or plants; not analogy to the creation of art, it is possible to [museum + nightclub + sandbox + sovereign city-state]
domesticated, cultivated or censured; ferocious.
create a new type of community completely will resurrect the process of creating, experiencing and
Currently there is a great divide between the process devoted to exhibition and whimsical creation. immersing oneself with ART by removing the idea of
of making ART [the artist’s studio] and experiencing In order to bridge this gap and create a new the artist as the solitary creator and replacing it with
ART as a spectator [the art museum or gallery]. The ART EXPERIENCE, a new type of environment an environment of continuous creation brought forth
traditional model of art museums and galleries has must be created which destroys the division between by collective involvement.
long served as a barrier between artistic creation artwork and spectator and in its place constructs a The necessity of this space leads to an abandonment
and appreciation, which has led to a banal and collective involvement in all aspects of a moment in of the architect as a creator of exact and unbending
soon to be irrelevant architectural form. We are time, from the décor, to the actions of the inhabitants. space through the formal enclosures of floors, walls
spoon feed collections along a predetermined This project creates a new LANDSCAPE OF and ceilings, and instead replaces the traditional role of
path, which leaves little room for a truly personal MOVEMENT that takes the form of a massive urban the architect with that of a strategist of space creation,
experience or understanding of the artistic process. playground in Central Park, New York. outlining processes of space-creation through models
In contrast to this, the Internet thrives on constant Using the theories of the Situationists [Constant’s and kits of architectural pieces to then be appropriated
input and feedback, an ability to freely and instantly New Babylon], ideas of Bigness [Voluntary Prisoners and altered by amateur designers in an environment
reconstitute itself. The ease and availability by OMA], and architecture of the endless interior devoted to the continuous creation of ART.
of content creation and re-appropriation has [MVRDV and SANAA] as springboards, this project
changed the way that we operate as individuals seeks to create a new typology that will save art and
and as a society. By analyzing the effects of new the artistic experience from the drudgery of existing
28. TOWARDS AN ART EXPERIENCE
Inhabitants will transform and recreate their surroundings
within the structure, according to their artistic vision. All
movement and action will become a part of the artistic
endeavors of the whole, thru an uninterrupted process
of creation and re-creation, sustained by a generalized
creativity that is manifested in all domains of activity.
The inhabitant is invited to bring along an arsenal of
tools and materials to facilitate their experience in ART
MEADOW. Likewise, the unprepared user simply re-
appropriates found materials already within the structure.
The seasoned veteran could develop an entire outfit for
his self, or assemble a team of like-minded explorers
for their expedition into the depths of ART MEADOW.
31. Artistic Creation Freedom to Play
Modification of Aggressive / Destructive Influences
Search for Beauty
Recreation of a Lost or Ruined Object
Form as Content Conceived in Terms of a Medium and a Culture
Artistic Appreciation Unconscious Re-living of the Artist’s Experience of Creation
Search for Fulfillment of an Emotional Need
Aesthetic Experience Occurs by Chance
Creation in Virtual-Space Infinite Divisibility [de-centralized administration, infinite monkey theorem]
Crowd-Sourcing [collective intelligence, distributed participatory design]
Fabrication / Adaptation of Identity [-isms, role-playing]
Viral Phenomenon / Memes [amateur celebrities, viral]
Cyber-Terrorism [hacktivism, google bombing, flashmob]
Tribal Formations [minority style, fringe movement]
Project Guidelines Crowd-Sourcing Artistic Endeavors
Unrestricted Movement through Space
Ability to Invent Identities
Transparency of Actions
Super-Compression of Interaction
Mobile Sense of Place
Hierarchy Defined by Movement
32. E O T M
The creative
act MUST be a
social act!
Erasure is taking things away, Origination is a point in time Transformation indicates a Migration describes things
making space. where something new begins continuous change between moving from one point to
to happen, origination sets two states of an object or another, things that leave
something into the realm of situation; change with a and don’t return, of which
the other, it is the basis for beginning and an end. sometimes traces remain.
reaction.
As applied to INDIVIDUALS
The Art Process [Existing] Add Crowd Add Space The Art Experience
As applied to MOVEMENT
Tree-Hierarchy [Existing] Scatter Destinations Connect All movement & action become a part
of the artistic process
As applied to ARCHITECTURE
Generate a Field Define Programmatic Elements Combine & Scatter! Final Structure
33. They wander through the sectors of New Babylon ART MEADOW seeking new experiences, as yet unknown ambiances.
Without the passivity of tourists, but fully aware of the power they have to act upon the world, to transform it, recreate it.
They dispose of a whole arsenal of technical implements for doing this, thanks to which they can make the desired changes without delay.
Just like the painter, who with a mere handful of colors creates an infinite variety of forms, contrasts and styles, the New Babylonians can endlessly vary their
environment, renew and vary it by using their technical implements.
This comparison reveals a fundamental difference between the two ways of creating.
The painter is a solitary creator who is only confronted by another person’s reactions once the creative act is over.
Among the New Babylonians, on the other hand, the creative act is also a social act: as a direct intervention in the social world, it elicits an immediate response.
The artist’s individual creation seems, to other’s eyes, to escape all constraint and ripen in isolation.
And it is only much later, when the work acquires an undeniable reality, that it will have to confront society.
At any given moment in his creative activity, the New Babylonian is himself in direct contact with his peers.
Each one of his acts is public, each one acts on a milieu which is also that of the others and elicits spontaneous reactions.
All action, then, loses its individual character. On the other hand, each reaction can provoke others in turn.
In this way interventions form chain reactions that only come to an end when a situation that has become critical ‘explodes’ and is transformed into another situation.
The process escapes one person’s control, but it matters little knowing who set it off and by whom it will be inflected in turn.
In this sense the critical moment (the climax) is an authentic collective creation.
The yardstick, the space-time framework, of the New Babylonian ART MEADOW world is the rhythm in which each moment succeeds the last.
-Excerpt from New Babylon Constant Nieuwenhuis
34. CENTRAL PARK, NYC
“Creative activity may be the closest thing to a natural resource
in New York, but it is also a little understood and long overlooked
asset, and one that can no longer be taken for granted.”
Creative New York, Center For An Urban Future
Not only does New York City have the art capital in place for such
a landscape, but the model upon which Central Park was created
[The Greensward Plan] provides a basis for my own project by
outlining a model of movement, views and destinations, knitted
together with a false topography. Using this model yields a new
dense landscape condition which becomes a natural extension of
the ideals of Central Park and the landscape itself.
36. THE GREENSWARD MODEL
In many ways the creation of Central Park
erased the natural and replaced it with a simulation of
the natural. This artifice seeks to accomplish what was
“The park was to be a Republican Institution where the Guidelines: expected of a natural landscape. The model of Central
classes would mingle as a single collective in the spirit of • Landscape of desire Park sought to accomplish a certain set of goals for the
democratic fraternity. It was to be a pleasure ground where • Naturalness [or the simulation of] inhabitant by becoming a simulation of a certain ideal.
citizens could find an escape from the pressures of cramped • Mechanisms of exposure & concealment In a similar way, this project replaces the
living. The ideas behind Central Park were accented by the • Disorientation [as opposed to the grid of Manhattan] existing landscape with a new dense field condition
moralistic overtones of the American Transcendentalists • Mechanical artifice which simulates naturalness upon which a continuous artistic invention and
who believed in a metaphysical need for individual • Idyllic, naturalistic landscape reinvention occurs. The space of this project does not
communion with nature, as a way of salvaging personal erase or deviate from the original intentions of the
autonomy from the social conformity spawned by the parkscape, but instead enhances these original goals,
nascent commercialism of American Culture.” through a process of continuous, collective artistic
-DOUGLAS KELBAUGH creation.
37. ABOVE: PLAN OF CENTRAL PARK [THE GREENSWARD PLAN]
BELOW: SITUATION PLAN
NORTH MEADOW
BALL FIELDS
THE RESERVOIR
ART MEADOW
[PREVIOUSLY EAST MEADOW]
HARLEM MEER
CONSERVATORY GARDENS
FIFTH AVE.
96th ST.
101st ST.
106th ST.
38. THE PROGRAM
GALLERIES THEATER RESEARCH
4K SEATING - INTERIOR THEATER LIBRARY
10K 10K
3K STAGE - EXTERIOR THEATER
5K MATERIALS WORKSHOP
3K STAGE - INTERIOR THEATER
STORAGE
5K
100K
.1K
1K
ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION PUBLIC
3K OPEN OFFICE OPEN SPACE ENTRY
5K 4K
INDIVIDUAL OFFICES LOBBY
.1K 1K 3K
CLASSROOMS
1K CAFE
BATHROOMS
.1K
39. THE COMPONENTS
HORIZONTAL VERTICAL WHITE BOXES FOLLIES
CIRCULATION CIRCULATION
Stairs and
places. In most places, the topography
elevators are
when needed to reach inaccessible
Ramping systems are added only
combined White boxes represent
together to form the traditional museum Extravagant pieces
of the field provides access.
vertical elements environment. These of architecture which are
are varied in size and scattered throughout the
which are
location. They also hold structure. These are
scattered through constructed solely for
typical programmatic
the project. They elements such as cafes, decoration and to add
are placed in ideal bathrooms, workshop emphasis to specific areas.
locations where and research spaces.
multiple planes
overlap.
WALLS PITS BLACK BOXES STAGES
Multi-level platforms
serve as canvases for open-platform
experimental painting and drawing.
Shallow pits mark the are integrated into the
alter, using any means necessary.
These are available for anyone to
landscape of the project, Black boxes enclose topography of the
Walls, of varied shape and size,
Some walls are also moveable.
denoting spaces devoted purely digital spaces. structure.
to free-form sculptural These facilitate a new By deleting
pursuits. These spaces hold type of art creation, with certain
raw materials, and serve as no physical presence, pieces
workshop spaces for any to but instead a complete adjacent to
use to create, alter or destroy immersion in digital these stage
3-dimensional art pieces. art production and spaces, transparency
environmental creation. is created which
encourages voyeurism and
exhibitionism.
40. THE HUNGRY PROGRAM
Spaces are defined and arranged
PLAY 100% inside of one another: the “hungry
program.” Like hungry animals, they have
EXHIBITION 90%
swallowed a large amount of information,
DESTRUCTION 80%
sensations, perspectives, moods and
CREATION 70% environments and compressed them into
ADMINISTRATION 60% a dense landscape condition. The result is an
NETWORK 50% endless landscape: the form offers infinite
10% 10% 10% 10% 10% internal possibilities and contains an infinite
amount of interconnecting spaces.
NOURISHMENT
NURTURANCE
INTOXICATION
SENTIENCE
SEX
41.
42. FIELD GENERATION
1. 2. 3.
Cut: Layer: Amplify Height:
To generate a field for ART Four layers are formed and The topography of each of the
MEADOW, the topography of arranged vertically on top of planes is then extruded and
Central Park is divided and one another. amplified vertically to reach
separated into four even pieces. a total of 100’-0” from their
lowest to their highest point.
43. 4.
Merge:
Each of the four layers is then
merged together to form
a large wire mesh, roughly
800’-0” square and 100’-0”
vertically. This forms the field
condition which holds all of
the program elements and
forms the backbone of the
project.
NORTH MEADOW
BALL FIELDS
5.
Situate:
The generated field is then
THE RESERVOIR situated on the site, with
varied edges created to mesh
with the surrounding terrain
and reconnect itself back to
Central Park. Thus the fabric HARLEM MEER
of the project, generated
from the parkscape, is re-
grafted to the park to form a
CONSERVATORY GARDENS
seamless addition.
FIFTH AVE.
96th ST.
101st ST.
106th ST.
44. THE TOPOGRAPHY
In order to form a fabric to knit the programmatic elements and
the components together, a dense topography is developed
utilizing the existing landscape of Central Park as a basis. This
topography is also layered vertically, by stacking each of the
layers and bringing the ground plane upwards through the
structure through a series of massive ramps formed by the
topography.
BEAMS
FLOORS
The fabric of the four overlapping planes is further triangulated to form a dense
3-dimensional field of points. A hierarchy is formed among all of the points
depending on the amount of lines each point is connecting. The greater the
amount of connections, the greater the point. This forms a varied, or gradient,
PLANES field of densities.
WHITE BOXES
VERTICAL CIRCULATION
COLUMNS
GROUND EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC
N.T.S.
45. Lines are then generated between the points. These lines form the structure Finally, planes are formed between the lines to complete the process. These
of the entire project, both vertically, horizontally and diagonally. The planes form the basic topography of the structure, becoming floors, coverings
structural columns and beams are varied in size and shape, according to and walls. Many planes are deleted throughout the structure, or filled with
their span and the load that they are carrying. The structure is typically materials such as mesh or other translucent materials, to admit and filter light
concrete, which encases all necessary utilities within the column itself, to the interior depths of the structure. This acts in a similar way to the filtering
effectively hiding all of the mechanical aspects of the structure. and shading of light from the trees of Central Park.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52. THE GUIDELINES [REVISITED]
TRANSPARENCY OF ACTIONS
ABILITY TO INVENT
IDENTITY
MOBILE SENSE OF PLACE
CROWDSOURCING ARTISTIC
ENDEAVORS
UNRESTRICTED MOVEMENT
THROUGH SPACE
53. FRINGE MOVEMENT
HIERARCHY DEFINED BY
MOVEMENT
SUPER-COMPRESSION OF SEGREGATION &
INTERACTION ASSIMILATION
BUREAUCRATIZATION
OF ART
54.
55.
56. CONCLUSION:
ART MEADOW allows and encourages an unrestricted movement through
space, and a mobile sense of place. There is a transparency throughout the
whole structure which harnesses and exhibits the participant’s actions, and a
super compression of interaction and activity. The combination of each of these
guiding principals allows for a crowd-sourcing of artistic endeavors, and an
ability to re-invent and re-define identities according to each visitor’s creative
insight.
This new ART EXPERIENCE, of art in its most primal and basic element, forms
a radical departure from the traditional and banal architectural form of art
museums and galleries. The existing need to enclose spaces through formal
frameworks has long served as a barrier to art and to our ever-accelerating
selves. By taking into account societal changes and applying these changes
to create a new set of guidelines for architecture, it is possible to bridge
the existing gap between artistic creation and appreciation and in its place
construct a unitary environment completely devoted to whimsical creation and
complete immersion within ART. On a larger scale this project also addresses
the shifting nature of our own self-awareness as individuals and as a society.
This landscape forms a zone of pure simultaneity, absolute simulation,
instability and instant transmission of all creative processes.
57. “Architecture must inevitably hemorrhage in this seismic mix. It must
flow out in other less predictable directions. New spatial aggregates will
require multiple escape routes. A single door for entering and exiting will
no longer suffice. “Riemannian spaces ... amorphous collection of pieces
that are juxtaposed but not attached to each other.” Pure patchwork with
an infinite porosity of structure, like a sponge.”
Merge Invisible Layers John Beckmann
58.
59. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. Harvest Books; 1978.
Costa, Xavier. Theory of the Derive and Other Situationist Writings. Museo d’Art Contemporani; 1996.
Evans, Robin. The Projective Cast. The MIT Press; 2000.
Harrison, John E. Synaesthesia: The Strangest Thing. Oxford University Press; 2001.
Koolhaas, Rem. Content. Taschen;2004.
Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York. Monacelli; 1997.
McLuhan, Marshall. Counterblast. Harcourt; 1970.
McLuhan, Marshall. Gutenberg Galaxy. University of Toronto Press; 1962.
McLuhan, Marshall. Medium is the Massage. Gingko Press; 2005.
NAi Publishers. Reading MVRDV. Actar; 2007.
Sadler, Simon. Archigram: Architecture without Architecture. MIT Press; 2005.
Scott, Felicity D. Architecture or Techno-Utopia. The MIT Press; 2007.
Sorkin, Michael. Starting from Zero. Routeledge; 2003.
Steiner, Wendy. Image and Code. Michigan Slavic Publications; 1981.
Venturi, Robert. Iconography and Electronics upon a Generic Architecture. The MIT Press; 1998.
60.
61.
62. TERMINI STATION MIXED-USE:
PIAZZA DEI CINQUECENTO
Semester Abroad - 4th year
Professor Giuseppe Milani
Rome, Italy
2009: January - May
For most visitors Piazza Dei Cinquecento is the
first place of impact within the complexity of
this City, a place of sharp conflict both in forms
and in scale, and in almost all parts not yet
architecturally resolved.
When you exit the train station, which is reas-
suring in its rigorous functionalism, you meet
a huge formless open space, beyond which
the big measured mass of the Diocletian Terms
closes your sights.
We were asked to redesign the eastern half of
the piazza to create a new enclosure and defini-
tion for the piazza. My project replaced the
existing Compartmental RR building, and rose
to the same height of the Termini Station front,
28 meters high. Within this envelope my project
included a hotel, offices, retail and exhibition
spaces, which were arranged along a narrow
spine of circulation. This spine holds a series of
ramps which wrap around the perimeter of the
facade. The programmatic elements of the proj-
ect are then cantilevered off of the circulation
spine, and woven around the rigid geometry to
soften the edges and add a playfulness to the
massing of the project.
72. FRASER CENTER
State College, PA
2007: August - December
In State College there is a need
for, and an opportunity to design
a structure to improve the area’s
viability simply by creating a locus
for the area’s personality and
promise. The Downtown Vision
and Strategic Plan identifies the
need for establishing a unique
“arts” identity for the downtown
while strengthening its roles as the
Centre Region’s center for business
services, specialty retail and
entertainment.
This project proposes a 6-plex
cinema complex, 40 residential
condominiums as well as retail,
office and restaurant spaces at the
base to form a vibrant street scape.
The primary focus of this project is
to create an overall structure and
form for the project which responds
and enhances each programmatic
element. The simple L-shape
massing provides for a large open
piazza, while the facade of the
building then becomes a living
“screen” for the plaza. The mixture
ofdiverse programs will also provide
a combination of day and nighttime
uses that cater to the student, and
permanent resident populations
while also ensuring a round-the-
clock use of the interior and exterior
spaces.
76. Index:
1. Plaza
2. Pedestrian entrance
3. Cinema
4. Green space for condominiums
5. First level condominiums
6. Second level condominiums
6 7. Miller Alley
8. Fraser Street
5
4
3 2
1
7 8
77. Index:
1. Beaver Ave.
2. Calder Way
3. Pedestrian Entrance
4. Cinema
5. Vertical Circulation - Cinema
6. Condominium
7. Entrance to Green Space
6 6
6 6 7
5
4 4
1 3
4 5 4 2
81. Index:
1. Circulation - Condominiums
2. Entrance
3. Stairs - Cinema
4. Green space
5. Condominium
6. Mail Rm.
82. THE MANHATTAN AIRPORT FOUNDATION
“The Manhattan Airport Foundation is
Professional Freelance
Client: Joe Stevens, Writer / Director
Central Park, Manhattan
2009: May - June
a land-use constituency committed
Personal Responsibilities:
I was asked to create all images to the immediate development
for the project, as featured on the
website www.manhattanairport.org. of a viable and centrally-located
The Manhattan Airport Foundation
TMAF is an art project created international air transportation hub in
Manhattan for the benefit of all New
to satirize urban development
initiatives and draw public attention
to the shortcomings of our air
transportation infrastructure in NYC,
specifically Manhattan.
Yorkers.”
The project has been featured in
Fast Company, The Guardian UK,
U.S. News & World Report, The -manhattanairport.org
Huffington Post and Gawker among
others in addition to generating
huge amounts of conversation
throughout the blogosphere, Twitter
and Facebook.
83. “The group’s proposition, conveyed by
a very professional website complete
with quality 3D renders, is to redevelop
the unused area of central Manhattan,
currently known as Central Park, as an air
transportation hub fit for the 21st century.”
-londonist.com
