Location: 37°41'00.7"N 97°20'51.9"W
Evidently, an object was once hung from the rear wall of this building, perhaps some sort of box connected to the post that extends above the roof-line. It might have been removed or just fallen off; regardless, a raw surface remains. The concrete block has been left unsealed, and there are several penetrations that have been temporarily filled with spray-foam insulation. However, if these issues are not addressed, moisture will begin to degrade the block, thus compromising the structural integrity and imperviousness of the entire wall.
This is the rear wall of Picasso's Pizza, a popular restaurant owned by a good friend. The pizza is amazing but I tend to eat dinner pretty late at night, so I've often wished that the owner would open a late-night take-out window. I understand that this is probably not a viable option, otherwise my business-savvy friend would have done it ages ago, so I'm attempting to solve at least half the problem myself by installing a do-it-yourself pizza oven (with an overheating sensor connected to an automatic sprinkler system in case of malfunction--pizza ovens need to be very hot!) over the existing vulnerable patch. This can easily become a lucrative endeavor if the owner provides an exterior honor-bar of ingredients behind the shop, to allow his loyal but circadian-arrhythmical customers to prepare and then produce their own perfectly baked and cut pizzas whenever the craving hits.
***
This is a piece from a collection of work entitled FISSURE, shown at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, from November 3, 2017 - January 26, 2018.
Twenty years ago, a girl moved to a new city. She spent the first few weeks walking and investigating, then built a hidden residence inside a billboard sign from which she could watch the city move and react beneath her, unaware of her presence. As time passed, she tricked the city into revealing all its secrets; however, it soon became clear that she must insert her own into the voids left by her intrusion, in order to maintain equilibrium. As an architect, the girl is predisposed to notice conditions that are unstable or unresolved, so she decides to reciprocate the city's unintentional generosity by stabilizing these issues. The fix is only temporary: these devices are not designed as permanent solutions, rather to act as urban prosthetics that may become an intrinsic part of the whole or be absorbed back into the city when no longer needed.
There are eight “secrets” inserted in various places around both Kansas City and Wichita. They can be found at the following locations:
37°41'21.1"N 97°20'09.2"W
37°41'00.7"N 97°20'51.9"W
37°41'02.4"N 97°20'37.2"W
37°40'49.4"N 97°19'51.8"W
39°06'12.6"N 94°34'51.3"W
39°05'37.7"N 94°34'54.7"W
39°05'14.1"N 94°34'55.8"W
39°06'17.8"N 94°35'32.7"W
Task: Replace Detached Component
Evidently, an object was once hung from the rear wall of this building, perhaps some sort of box connected to the post that extends above the roof-line. It might have been removed or just fallen off; regardless, a raw surface remains. The concrete block has been left unsealed, and there are several penetrations that have been temporarily filled with spray-foam insulation. However, if these issues are not addressed, moisture will begin to degrade the block, thus compromising the structural integrity and imperviousness of the entire wall.
This is the rear wall of Picasso's Pizza, a popular restaurant owned by a good friend. The pizza is amazing but I tend to eat dinner pretty late at night, so I've often wished that the owner would open a late-night take-out window. I understand that this is probably not a viable option, otherwise my business-savvy friend would have done it ages ago, so I'm attempting to solve at least half the problem myself by installing a do-it-yourself pizza oven (with an overheating sensor connected to an automatic sprinkler system in case of malfunction--pizza ovens need to be very hot!) over the existing vulnerable patch. This can easily become a lucrative endeavor if the owner provides an exterior honor-bar of ingredients behind the shop, to allow his loyal but circadian-arrhythmical customers to prepare and then produce their own perfectly baked and cut pizzas whenever the craving hits.
***
This is a piece from a collection of work entitled FISSURE, shown at the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City, from November 3, 2017 - January 26, 2018.
Twenty years ago, a girl moved to a new city. She spent the first few weeks walking and investigating, then built a hidden residence inside a billboard sign from which she could watch the city move and react beneath her, unaware of her presence. As time passed, she tricked the city into revealing all its secrets; however, it soon became clear that she must insert her own into the voids left by her intrusion, in order to maintain equilibrium. As an architect, the girl is predisposed to notice conditions that are unstable or unresolved, so she decides to reciprocate the city's unintentional generosity by stabilizing these issues. The fix is only temporary: these devices are not designed as permanent solutions, rather to act as urban prosthetics that may become an intrinsic part of the whole or be absorbed back into the city when no longer needed.
There are eight “secrets” inserted in various places around both Kansas City and Wichita. They can be found at the following locations:
37°41'21.1"N 97°20'09.2"W
37°41'00.7"N 97°20'51.9"W
37°41'02.4"N 97°20'37.2"W
37°40'49.4"N 97°19'51.8"W
39°06'12.6"N 94°34'51.3"W
39°05'37.7"N 94°34'54.7"W
39°05'14.1"N 94°34'55.8"W
39°06'17.8"N 94°35'32.7"W
