Labor Visible and Invisible

Abstract

Labor Visible and Invisible examines the process of concrete casting to discuss the invisible types of labor involved in the making of the formwork - something that is designed and constructed but invisible being removed from the final cast artifact, yet visible by virtue of having shaped, with fidelity in its negative form, the design intentions of the positive cast within it. Two concrete projects are elaborated, Lafayette 148 and Thermoplastic Concrete Casting. Both projects explore alternative techniques for formwork production to address design parameters that traditional methods fall short of accomplishing. Lafayette 148 also highlights when labor itself becomes the design criteria, to accommodate workers in a well-lit and well-ventilated environment for garment manufacturing. For the discussion on shifting modalities for design inquiry in architectural production (as in what constitute new forms of labor for designers) raised by Thermoplastic Concrete Casting, a similarly labor-intensive process for mold making for textile pleating is described. Here, the close alliance between clothing and architectural production offers an opportunity for textile pleating, advanced by the Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, to serve as an example where innovations and emergent forms of creative productions are possible when traditional methods are challenged. In this parallel read, questions emerge as to whether concrete forming, whose methods steeped in true and tried processes could be reinvested with new life - especially in light of new types of technology and fabrication tools that are available today.