The goal of the course was to combine a mode of thinking about architecture through parts with an under-theorized mode of representation: animations. Rather than seeing existing structures as being static and absolute, Moving Parts treats them as material full of potential energy, ready to be disassembled and re-assembled, in part or in whole. Digital modeling and basic animation tools are used to imbue the disassembled parts with carefully designed movement. On one hand, the impetus for such movement will emerge from revealing the underlying patterns, logic, and systems that undergrid our society as translated into building tectonics. On the other hand, movement is used to generate a narrative of architecture undergoing perpetual change, considering the role of a building within larger networks, where material is accumulated and relocated in accordance to economic and political negotiations. In summary, by moving parts, architectural representation can visualize the forces that bring form together toward making familiar environments oddly new.

Carpet and cheap linoleum flooring are just as necessary as structural framing when designing an apartment building. Carpet is used as a means of comfort while linoleum is exiled to a life of service and abuse. Due to its nature as the dominant material in this relationship, carpet covers most of the public floor spaces as well as the user’s perception. If we only look unit by unit, this relationship holds true. However, how does this relationship begin to invert when looking at an entire floor? When given agency and association to the others on the floor, how can these hidden cores of linoleum begin to take the dominant role in the relationship?