The intersection of art and digital technology: The addition of digital animation and motion capture facilities to the film studios at Las Colinas, Texas

Date

1999

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Abstract

Architecture that will inspire the state of computer technology in media at the beginning of the 21^ century: a structure that is not restricted by classical formal symbologies, exemplified in the theory and processes of Architectural Deconstruction. Deconstruction is a term that defies the possibility of a "shortorder" definition; in fact, it refutes the idea that it can be defined at all (according to its philosophical proponent Jaque Derrida). Jorge Glusberg in his Forward to Deconstruction: a Student Guide defines Deconstruction as "to denounce doctrines and to abolish standards". He goes on to say that it is "a method aimed at discovery and discovering ourselves."' The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as: A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth, asserts that words can only refer to other words, and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings.^ Another (more architectural) way of stating this is that a building can be "torn" apart into all its different structural and symbolic pieces. Then through analysis, the pieces are restructured, reassigned, and/or reevaluated to create a new "originar' work. Deconstruction is seen as a reaction or progression of Structuralism. ^ Deconstruction in architecture manifests itself in a very individualized process of analyzing some or all of the programmatic, structural, historical, climatic, psychological, and human concerns. Each architect decides what issues are to be addressed: Destroy the current syntactic meanings of form? ' Construction of a new "syntactic language"'!' ^ Deconstruction allows the architect the freedom to experiment with new concepts of space, form, and envelope. The project will be an adaptive (Tending to, designed for, suitable for) expansion (To become greater in size, volume, quantity, or scope) ^ of the Film Studios at Las Colinas. The Studios at Las Colinas is a full service production and entertainment facility located in the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Currently the facilities offer service for music, film, video, multi-media, and computer production. ^ The intention here is to add facilities for the consolidation of three computer animation companies with a shared bluescreen/ motion-capture facility into one structure specificalh designed for their needs. With the exception of the "bluescreen/ motion-capture" facility, most of the project is to accommodate creative workstations and office space into an existing structure.

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Keywords

Buildings -- Additions, Computer animation, Motion picture studios, Dallas (Tex.)

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