UNFASTENED AMASS
Amassing is an integral part of an architect’s craft. We amass elements of material, space, light, and memory to create place. Buildings become collections of these singular components, yet read as holistic objects. Once integrated, individual materials often go unnoticed, like the minutiae of nails in the framing assemblies of a home.
This piece is an exploration of nails as a material instead of simple fasteners. The number of nails used was derived from the amount necessary for the framing of an average American single-family home. The moments of compression and tension created between the nails speak to the co-dependent nature of a fastener, abstracting it to generate form. The amassment of nails begins to transcend function and read at a phenomenological level; each nail head uniquely catching light, asserting its individuality within the whole and contrasting the shadow and voids created by the aggregation.
This exploration was created for the Denver Art Museums’ Design after Dark event.
DENVER, Colorado
AIA Colorado YAAG Artistic Craftsmanship Award
