Jaclyn Zaborski

“Over the past few decades, architecture as an idea has limited its definition of itself.  Architectural styles and forms are often the seductive packaging of the same proven, marketable concepts.  What is needed desperately today are approaches that can free its potential to transform our ways of thinking and acting.”  -Lebbeus Woods

This thesis contends that in the future, due to a burgeoning population, climatic conditions and major technological advances, buildings will become untethered, the sky will begin to be populated and a new horizon will be created.  Centuries ago, in medieval Roman law, it was thought, “for whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell.”  This law has since been amended due to the development of aviation technology.  Of interest, above most parcels of land, is the section of air that is neither the property owners nor aviation space; this will become the new frontier. 
 
Zephyrs, which are cloud-like integrated spaces, will be crisscrossing the sky in the next hundred years.  These spaces respond to contemporary issues and work towards creating a global society. Their tasks revolve around cultural, educational, environmental, and aid programs.  As time progresses, Zephyrs become intelligent spaces that develop into self-sufficient entities that control their own interactions with life on the ground.  This thesis offers a glimpse into the future of architecture, when it begins to expand boundaries and spatialize this new wilderness of the air.              

Advisor: Perry Kulper 

A travel studio that focused on the agriculture, particularly, the vineyards and wine culture of Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, and California.

"Only 2% of the earth's surface is occupied by cities," Koolhaas told an audience at the RIBA in November [2012], as he received the Charles Jencks award for Theory in Practice. "As architects, if we don't look at the countryside, we are ignoring 98% of the world – which seems a bit irresponsible."
As reported in The Guardian (2012)

Drink Me is an investigation into the affect marketing has on the taste of wine.  Marketing influences our daily decisions and often these influences go unnoticed.  The bottles that were selected represent the most average form of marketing available for wine.  After studying thirty bottles of wine and understanding their cork cover color, the various label colors, the label size, the label subject matter, and the bottle shape, the average marketing for a bottle of wine is produced.  Drink Me offers the participant two 6 ounce bottles of wine, two tasting glasses and a cork screw.  The opportunity of an impromptu wine tasting is possible.  What does one taste in a glass of wine?  Does marketing affect the flavors?  The two wines presented are actually the same wine.  Quite a few wineries bottle the same wine in different packaging to sell to a variety of markets.  Can your eye and brain make you taste something different?  

Instructor: Christian Stayner 

A travel studio that sought to understand a variety of brands throughout Europe and America by experiencing their factories first hand. "The factory is the underworld of brands."  Often photos were not allowed because of trade-secrets they wished to hide from the public's eye.  There were seven categories that we studied: Beer, Cars, Chocolate, Furniture, Glass, Pottery, and Spirits and each of these categories had a European and an American counterpart, which allowed us to further explore the branding differences in each country.  

My focus was on Spirits.  We visited Glengoyne Distillery in Dumgoyne, Scotland, Maker's Mark Distillery in Loretta, Kentucky and Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky.  I studied the geography, geology, and ingredients to understand the similarities and differences between the three products and where their flavors are derived from.  A further comparison is done on their branding and how they choose to use their bottles to represent their product.        

Instructors: Teman Evans and Jen Harmon