“Voguing: Shadows and their reflections / Dancing with the self” is the title of thesis special by Sara Gaskari, done at SCI-Arc. The history of the word vogue clearly shows how the meaning can dramatically change over time. In terms of voguing and reflection as seen in the study of building, the pattern of the façade is the direct reflection of the site conditions. The shadows overlapping give the illusion that the building is changing positions, engaged in dance consisting of a series of stylized poses as fashion models do the catwalk.
Changeability of style is dominantly present in the building, in terms of character, visible as one moves through the building, and changes in the lighting conditions to reflect on the dynamic of fashion, as it changes in the industry. The building represents sensibility of transformation. Changeability of style provokes creation of various spaces in the project.
The fractured façade of the building resembles choreography dances. The aim was to show the sequence of self discovery and series of dances that have been created as the building transitions through different opacity of light, shadows and reflections. The voguing of two buildings with each other is achieved through the changes of opacity and intensity of light, as the positions of shadows and reflections of inside and outside vary independently.
The building houses a rental and a fashion school, open loft spaces with different degrees of transparency, translucency and opacity. There is an ever-changing interplay of the dance of light between the shadows and reflections of the exterior and interior spaces. As one transitions from exterior to interior one would see the interior space reflected on the façade and the shadows of the exterior world. And the reverse affect is observed from the exterior.
