ARCH704 | Ferda Kolatan [Spring 2021]

Location: New York City, NY

Partner: Zhiqi Sheng

Awards: Published in Pressing Matters 10

The question of what is original and what is replicated is posed within the new nature of this artificial landscape. The original and the clone are lost in translation as they interrelate within a new technologically driven environment.

Smaller hybrids of the classical architectural elements clashed with contemporary technologies are integrated throughout the interior; the cupola and dome extend downwards to enclose artificial environments for the host and cloned bees, and the classical Corinthian column embeds ventilation systems for cloning operations.

The new monument generates a series of dialogues in relation to the power of value in technology, what we perceive as original and replicated, the homage towards the gleam of temples, and the interdependent relationship of the mundane and the spectacular. Columns clash with ventilation, ziggurats clash with machines, and intricate drums clash with new materials and synthetic environments, inevitably redefining the role of the monument in contemporary times.