10.03.2022 -- #

USB Spelunking, a College Look Back

From the drawer of an old drafting desk on the third floor of an architecture school building, to my the closet of my first solo apartment, managing not to get lost in the transition from Milwaukee to Munich this little USB drive I hold in my hand is lucky. As am I for a chance to peer back into my college days and share them with you.

I graduated the architecture program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in Spring 2016. The following is an archive and analysis of a flash drive I found from that period, untouched.

File formats

I extracted all the file extensions with a shell command. Resulting in:

3dm, ai, aspx, blend, css, dae, dat, dll, eot, exe, fbx, fla, html, ico, ini, jpg, js, json, jsx, md, mdb, mov, mp3, mp4, mtl, obj, ogg, pdb, pde, pdf, php, png, psd, scss, sketch, skp, svg, tga, thm, tif, ttf, txt, woff, woff2, xml, xmp

This translates to:

3D models, vector graphics, windows executables, images, fonts, code (Javascript, PHP, C#), sound, video, configuration, design documents, text.

Invisibility in the Information Age

In my last year of University I was a research assistant for a visiting architecture fellow/professor. The flash drive had working files from the research I did as well as photos of the gallery exhibition I helped put on.

The topic was agency and anonymity in modern age of surveillance and how design interacts with that.

Two of the three waffle plastic models I created were featured on the exhibition poster. I remember these as some of the most challenging models I created while at SARUP (School of Architecture and Urban Planning). Starting from simple 3D models I applied a one of my Grasshopper, Rhino3D parametric architecture plugin, scripts to create the waffle pattern. From there I exported the line work to AutoCAD and packed the shapes in 2D. After some trial and error working with thin plastic in the laser cutter I got it to cleanly cut 100+ odd pieces without melting everything.

The third model was an arm part of a work about finger print tracking. After painstakingly gluing 1000s of joints with liquid acrylic the models held up well. The 3D printed fringe prints and black stands I believe were created by another student and also turned out well.

Points marking data-centers dot this globe comprised of CNC milled panels. Following the theme of surveillance It shows where the data that tracks us physically resides. This piece was I want not involved in but I think it’s amazing.

Besides highlighting surveillance the research sought out ways too subvert it. We studied camouflage as a strategy to conceal and deceive forms of tracking. The brief has precedences created by other artists and designers. Things like make up to escape facial recognition or a outfit to conceal ones legs and evade gate recognition.

duck plus pattern animation

In this vein I studied shadows, as can be see by this duck sculpture I made. Starting with a 3D model of a duck I again turned to scripting to programmatically find the negative space left behind by the absence of the animal.

My duck was paired with a Dazzle camouflage study produced by another student. Dazzle is a crazy solution to a war time problem, worth a read. Designing against similar constraints in a modern context really captures the spirit of our research.

We looked at google street view and how it photographs houses and how the houses may try to avoid that. This 3D model of a row house with camo applied pushed my modeling and printing skills to the limit. I remember being so happy it didn’t break coming out of the printer.

The study of shadows was also applied to houses.

I also produced an animation fly through showing how the modern house itself tracks us. Smart thermostat, fridge, air quality detectors all relaying information about how we live.

Being involved in this exhibition was a lot of work but I remember it fondly. My path after college steered away from the professional and academic architecture world but the competitive and creative nature has helped my in my software career. Maybe someday I’ll find my way back to putting on exhibitions.

Content consumption

I also found some TV shows and a movie on the flash drive. What did I watch back then? Have I changed in this regard?

Fringe, a sci-fi, fantasy, drama, plus mystery series. A show firmly in the vein of the crime/mystery shows I watched with my mother growing up. Contemporaries like: NCIS, CSI Miami, White Collar, Suits. Maybe this was one I took home of vacation to watch with her. Recently my wife and I enjoyed Trapped, so not much has changed here.
The Flash, a speedy super hero show part of the CW network DC universe which include other shows like Arrow and Supergirl. Even though I didn’t read comics as a kid I was always a super hero fan. Researching this show I’m amazed it is still in production, Season 8 was released 2021. Currently my super hero TV/film interest is on the decline. Maybe I’m aging out of it? After Spider man no way home a few weeks ago I’m starting to think fan service is the only thing holding these movies up.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Robert Downey Jr causing chous in Hollywood. What’s not to like? Still a big Downey Jr fan enjoyed all his films.
Silicon valley, sitcom about a successful startup. This one sits next to The Big Bang Theory in my mind, both I’ve enjoyed at times when watching with family. Looking back I find them both cringe. This big American sitcom machine steam-rolls over the tech industry and nerd culture creating this weird generic mass-appeal image that is just, no.

Next time

What a fun exercise in nostalgia. There is still a lot of content on this drive to through. I’ll stop here for now.

Thanks for reading.

\- [ archive, architecture ]