From Image to Space: Translating Visual Abstraction into Architecture

2011

Faculty:

Ignacio Cardona, Yacira Blanco, Instructors; Rafael Reverón, Art Instructor

Students:

28 Architecture Students

Institutions:

Universidad Simón Bolívar

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Developed as the final course in the Basic Design sequence at Universidad Simón Bolívar, this studio explored the translation of artistic abstraction into architectural space. In collaboration with the Art Section, students began by producing two-dimensional collages using free artistic techniques and subsequently abstracted them into compositions defined exclusively through grayscale.

Through figure-ground relationships, these compositions were transformed into three-dimensional models, with tonal variations establishing heights, intermediate levels, and slopes. Rather than beginning with a predetermined architectural form, students generated their own spatial rules through this process of abstraction. In the final phase, these rules became the basis for designing an exhibition pavilion within the university gardens, connecting artistic experimentation, spatial thinking, and architectural design.