intern architectJAC CORNELIUS

john.adams.cornelius@gmail 708.927.7797

In order to frame the Sublime Machine exhibit, I created a faux playbill in the Art Deco style popular during the early days of the theremin.

It reflects the theatrical and mysterious nature of the device, whose mechanisms are mostly invisible and whose sound is unmistakably otherworldly.

CONCEPTSublime Machine

ACADEMIC SAMPLE

The use of human form and symbolism is designed to attract and engage viewers from afar. When a viewer comes “in range” of the machine, it generates an audible tone. This would ideally create an environment of realization and experimentation

My initial concept resembled a hollow human hand made of wire, which would serve as the magnetic coil. Early tests confirmed that the magnetic field generated in such an asymmetrical volume was not ideal.

However, my initial concept of using an evocative human symbol progressed into pair of angular eyes, with the coils located at their respective centers.

A theremin is an instrument which translates electromagnetic interference into an audio signal. A typical circuit board is engineered to be compact, but without being constrained by size, I reorganized the theremin’s existing circuit board design into a radial layout.

The machine seeks to attract viewers from a distance and then respond to their presence with a continuous note whose pitch and volume is proportional to the viewer’s proximity. However, the function of the Sublime Machine is not confined to the realm of utility. Charles Eames famously raised the question, “Is beauty not useful?”. My goal is to cause a realization in the audience about the complex nature of our world and how we experience it.

intern architectJAC CORNELIUS

john.adams.cornelius@gmail 708.927.7797

CONCEPTCabinet of Curiosities

Though designed primarily as a housing for the Sublime Machine exhibition, the Cabinet of Curiosities accommodates many other programs. The site is located between the Hennepin Center for the Arts (within the historic Masonic Temple of Minneapolis) and the relocated Schubert Theater located on Hennepin Avenue between 6th and 7th Sts.

The building is designed to accommodate and promote the programs of the adjacent buildings while retaining its own identity.

The study of positive vs. negative space explored in the Sublime Machine exhibition is continued in the building’s facade.

Each space’s window opacity and setback from the street is a measure of its relation to the program of the larger site.

The building’s main level features a two-story lobby which is partially illuminated from outside by the marquis spotlights.

I disrupted the regular polarity of the concrete gridwork and em-ployed an undulating staircase as a nod to the revivalist vernaculars of the adjacent Masonic Temple and The Schubert Theater (Richardso-nian Romanesque and Beaux Arts, respectively).

A basic concrete gridwork continues the structural rhythm of the adjacent buildings through their collective center.

Pictured at left -

Large scale laser-cut site model with superimposed digital rendering at half opacity to accentuate shadows.