Atheena M

BD2023

Falling Structure

Falling Structure: Air Conditioners and Architecture tackles the neglected and vitally important concerns prompted by air-conditioner condensing units with architecture in contemporary urban settings. The project embarked from a striking observation of a condensing unit mounting precariously to incite the investigation of these machines' unsettled and haphazard installation. The documentation bears the ruinous impact these installations exert, not so much on the aesthetics of structures but on the background of urbanity in general. The series demonstrates how condenser units are frequently positioned with little regard for structural stability or visual harmony, seemingly teetering on the brink of collapse. This disorderliness misfires towards degrading the architectural integrity of such buildings while disturbing the city’s landscape. Audaciously, the series questions, without much due honour to architecture, this apathy, drawing adverse conclusions against the planning wrongly. It showcases an assortment of considerations without due attention to how these affect the urban experience of residents, pedestrians, and the larger neighbourhood ecosystem. Beyond concerns about aesthetics with the project, one begins to realize the environmental concerns raised. The positioning and operation of these units cumulatively add to the urban heat effect, exacerbating ambient temperature and indirectly impacting the vegetation, wildlife, and people. Falling Structure documents these concerns as a visual art narrative but also as a call to integrate responsible architectural and urban planning philosophy- considerations of form and environmental impacts in the practice of architecture.


Report Content

The project Falling Structure: Air Conditioners and Architecture grew from such an unlikely moment of recognition: seeing an air conditioning condenser precariously mounted on some building, eliciting a train of thought related to its greater implications in the face of the architectural context.

This book narrates the origin of the curiosity to the entire photographic pursuit of these little dynamics that have invaded modern urbanization. We have threaded the path of investigations about the influence these clusters of units have on material and formal expressions in buildings and city space and in the lives of people.

The whole trip leading up to the final work, Falling Structure: Air Conditioners and Architecture, came to me as a salient excursion, having visibly diversified elements and pictures. Each segment informed my awareness and approach to how condenser units disruptively interacted with the urban landscape.

For the final project, I decided to make black and white images because we are more focused on the subjective side of the images than the visual beauty.

The more I learned about the photographers, the more it became apparent to me that photography is about evoking emotion and telling a story and not just documenting what happens in front of the lens.

Learning outcomes and progression from The Medium Is the Massage. Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium Is the Massage (1967) is a key work in media theory that investigates the enormous impact of media on human perception, behavior, and society. The book uses both text and visuals to explain how media impact our sensory experiences.

I got inspired by her work, and I tried to shootsome images. For the images, I used Theyyam.which is more related to me. I am comingvillage were happening, Theyyam. Theyyam is a ritual performance in north Kerala. It says equality and it is against untouchability, which happened in the 19th century. It is giving message. Humans are the real god; god is coming from another world is a part of us. Humanity is the great gift of God. I already had some pictures of Theyyam. I made a mask out of it.

In this workshop, we explored advanced ML techniques for visual analysis, a documentary project driven by machine learning.

We selected images focused on societal issues, weaving these into a narrative that informs and engages, using ML to highlight stories that resonate deeply.

Project Video