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PHOTOS by Richard Harned - Copyright Richard Harned
SPACES proposal 12/98
My proposal for the SPACES Gallery is a series of small illuminated houses to be installed on the roof. When thinking about the site I was fantasizing about the life behind the windows of the SPACES building. I know that the building is commercially zoned, but who can look at it without wondering how nice it would be to wake up to see the sun coming up over the lake and the city? I think I visited SPACES four times before I accepted that no one lives there. My proposal is about the little fantasies we create around the spaces we observe.
Inspiration
Urban landscapes are characterized by many horizontal planes punctuated with strong vertical elements. Chimneys, water towers, vents, street lamps and telephone poles all combine to create an active visual environment. I haCve always loved the little details on roof tops, particularly the accidental things, like the way vents do or don’t line up, odd patches on the roof or the structure of light wells. I was thinking about these things in relation to SPACES when I recalled that the Medici had some pretty interesting chimney’s, a very good seed for which to approach this project. The Villa of Artimino, also known as “la Ferdinanda” has a crazy assortment of chimneys that make a dull villa into a visual circus. The Spaces building is not dull, but it is a good stage for a little circus of is own.
There is a minor influence to this piece that is it’s underside. I read the poetry of Jorie Graham while looking for direction on this project. Her poetry does not relate to ideas about community space but one poem kept sticking with me for thisV project, Sea-Blue Aubade (see final page). It is about mornings, interiors and exteriors. The exterior of a house has the inherent quality of longing, and this longing also resonates in this project for SPACES. I have included this poem because it is a inspiration for this site, but it is more obscure than the some of the formal concerns I have described.
General Description
Viewpoints
As you approach SPACES in the daytime you will see some unusual features to the building. You get closer you and recognize strange little buildings are perched on the roof. I have indicated two houses for the Western side of the building. Because Superior Viaduct is at an angle, the buildings mounted over the facade will also be visible from the approach. The view form the street will be rather oblique because the facade buildings will be set back fqrom the actual edge, but like the
current signs, When you park in front of SPACES, you have already figured out you are there, so the sign does it’s job. From the Superior Bridge, the parking on the southern side of Superior Viaduct and from many spots in the Flats and Downtown, the Facade view will be marvelous. At least seven buildings will be seen.
SPACES is easily spotted when traveling East or West along the Shoreway. I really love this view. The entire roof slants toward the highway traffic. I have arranged the buildings so that they would be visible from their appointed sides of the building but also be interestingly arranged in respect to the large open space of the roof. At night these houses will be a peculiar and wonderful sight from every direction, but especially from the Shoreway.
The Houses
Each house will have it’s own personality and they willr be funny little buildings in the daylight. They will all be brightly colored and decorated so they will be easily spotted from the many vantage points around Cleveland; the Shoreway, Superior Viaduct, walking over the Superior bridge and from many buildings on the Eastern bank of the Cuyahoga. At night they will have a neon glow from within as if someone were home. Who lives in the spaces on the roof? Soon, as we get used to them, we will discover that we have made up little stories about each building, a couple lives in the close one, a cranky old man in the one that is far.... Even the houses that line up to spell ”SPACES” will be assigned a personality that distinguish each from the other.
The Houses, Technical Description
The house forms will range in height from four feet to about six feet. They will vary in their width and depth but remain near threeˇ feet squared. Each house will be made up of several components: the support structure, the shell form (and it’s roof), the interior neon and exterior lamps).
The support structure will be made of welded steel. It will rest on top of the bitumen roof upon pressure treated 2x6 sleepers (see diagram) and will be attached to the roof using lag bolts driven into the joists and caulked with sealant. The support structure will not only add the necessary height for a house form to been seen over the edge of the building, but also will serve as the interior skeleton (see diagram).
The shell will be the part that describes the house. It will be brightly painted with sign paint and reflective sign materials. It will be made with MDO panel, a special playwood specifically made for outdoor signs (see Materials). Each roof will be made of sheet metal and/or MDO board. The windows will be plexiglass.
The windows will be illuminated by neon outlines that will be housed within the structure. The windows may be blasted or scratched to enhance the glow of the neon and give them a misty look. The windows for the buildings that spell out SPACES will be painted and the letters will be outlined instead of the shape of the window. Finally, Each house will have two quartz lamps that will be mounted on two opposing corners of the structure. They will illuminate the form of the houses at night and also relate the houses to the many other lamp-lit structures in the Flats area. The neon and the quartz lamps will compliment each other. The Flood lights will be on from dusk then they will be turned off incr`ementally late in the night, over the course of an hour. The neon will remain on all through the day and the night.
The Future
SPACES is a gallery built on collaboration and cooperation. I could not propose a piece that began and ended with my sole vision. This piece is specifically designed to be altered or increased in the future. I would like to see other artists make buildings for the roof. Once the first set is installed it will be easy to make and install more. I would encourage spaces to invite an individual or small group to alter the houses a few years from now. I would like to periodically add a new building or two when a new design strikes me and funds are available. My proposal, Spaces On The Roof, is open to artistic interaction, which seems the only sensible way to make a piece for an organization such as SPACES.