Max Sandred

Fathoming the Property Line - Purvciems WORKS+WORDS Biennale CNCed facade in XPS foam __ This 1:1 scale artifact is an interpolation between readings of Purvciems’ virtual condition * The property line is an unfathomable ideal with no detail or quality. It is exactly the same no matter which segment one observes, and is unaltered by what it cuts through readings of Purvciems’ physical condition * A photogrammetry scan of a building facade made of concrete panels intersected by a property line To explore the in-between condition of these readings - a world where the two coexist and interact - the relationship between them has been translated into the relationship between XPS foam panels and a carefully designed CNC routing process. As the CNC router gets closer to the location of the property line (just to the right of the panel), the CNC progressively routs less of the 3D scanned information into the material, ultimately revealing more qualities of the XPS panel itself than the scanned context. _____ This work was developed with financial support from the Government of Flanders (Belgium) and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, and a partnership with the Arhiteksti Foundation (Latvia).

Fathoming the Property Line - Purvciems WORKS+WORDS Biennale Screen print __ This 1:1 scale artifact is an interpolation between readings of Purvciems’ virtual condition Two overlapping ownership systems attempt to mitigate Purvciems’ complex parcel divisions: * The ownership of land parcels * The ownership of apartment blocks crossing many land parcels readings of Purvciems’ physical condition * A photogrammetry scan of a building facade * A photogrammetry scan of the interior of the apartment behind the facade The tension between the interior ownership of buildings on top of the land parcel system is flattened and translated into the tension between two overlapping lines of coloured ink. The scans are each separated into their CMYK image colour layers, and printed only considering the Y (yellow) and K (black) layers. The exterior YK is printed in a thick C (cyan) ink, and the interior YK is printed on top of it in a thin M (magenta) ink. The C and M colours fight to occupy a joint YK channel. _____ This work was developed with financial support from the Government of Flanders (Belgium) and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, and a partnership with the Arhiteksti Foundation (Latvia).

Fathoming the Property Line - Purvciems WORKS+WORDS Biennale __ An aerial view of Purvciems, a neighbourhood in Riga, Latvia, reveals an ordered network of green courtyards framed by grey concrete blocks—a former Soviet workers’ “utopia.” Yet, beneath this order lies an intangible chaos. Today, these rigid geometries are fragmented by invisible property lines whose traces appear in uneven grass edges and broken pavements. Their bureaucratic complexity hinders development. These elusive boundaries embody a tension between physical space and the institutional systems that define it. Both abstract and material, a property line remains difficult to study. Beyond political critique lies a universal, deeper question: what is a property line, and how does it exist in the real world? The elusive, immaterial-yet-material quality of these virtual lines we recognize and respect in reality, situates the property line in a space between the physical and the virtual. This undefinable presence of a property line is impossible to fully understand or access if we are forced to try to describe it logically. This work experimentally employs various contemporary tools for spatial representation to explore these property divisions that cut through Purvciems. The work focuses on producing tangible, observable “things” derived from the intangible nature of property lines, rather than descriptions of what a property line is. Though open-ended, the work employs consistent methods such as translation. These methods reveal aspects of property divisions that would otherwise remain invisible. As issues surrounding property remain as pertinent and critical today as ever, it is essential that we continually question and re-examine the fundamental nature of the very thing we are discussing. This work investigates the often-overlooked nature of what a property division actually is. _____ This work was developed with financial support from the Government of Flanders (Belgium) and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, and a partnership with the Arhiteksti Foundation (Latvia).

A disassemblable drawer I designed and fabricated at iMAL in Brussels. Made from 3mm aluminum and mdf

Work by Max Sandred, ‘Resisting Reduction: Spatial Perception and Occlusion’, on digital modeling, software, and maintaining spatial accuracy in design (pp. 382-395). Now available in PDF form at https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/scaffold/article/view/46382

krach_drawing-at-perceptual-limits Max Sandred Since the beginnings of modernism, architects have often overlooked the mysterious and profound emotive influence space has on us. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientific methods of drawing and simulating architecture were mathematically perfected (for example; a perspective drawing could be precisely constructed from a plan). In effect, these technological innovations reduced space to a measurable emptiness, and our conceptualization of space lost its premodern mysticism. (Pérez-Gómez and Pelletier, …the Perspective Hinge) In this thesis I use contemporary tools derived from these 18th and 19th century innovations to reveal that space is not a mathematical emptiness. Rather than considering space an empty void, I seek to rediscover its profound phenomenological effect. My drawings, models, digital spaces, artifacts etc., are derived from the perception of digital cameras and sensors. I investigate how these machines perceive space from specific vantage points, and how they can be used to produce objects of thought. My work explores the limits of the data I can extract from them. This is done by translating this data into representational artifacts (drawings, models, digital spaces etc.) that hold onto qualities beyond description. In this process I reach a point where I am confronted by something utterly unfathomable, or where the initial qualities I am attempting to materialize are lost in translation. Ultimately, the phenomenological effect of space is difficult to fully grasp. This work manages to come into contact with perceptual qualities of various spaces from different angles, but never uncovers their mystery. __ more project details under: __ archundkrach is collecting and sharing fragments of creative work about architecture (arch) and the noise (krach) around it. Would you like to share your project as well? Text us here on Instagram or email us via [email protected] #archundkrach

krach_drawing-at-perceptual-limits Max Sandred Since the beginnings of modernism, architects have often overlooked the mysterious and profound emotive influence space has on us. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientific methods of drawing and simulating architecture were mathematically perfected (for example; a perspective drawing could be precisely constructed from a plan). In effect, these technological innovations reduced space to a measurable emptiness, and our conceptualization of space lost its premodern mysticism. (Pérez-Gómez and Pelletier, …the Perspective Hinge) In this thesis I use contemporary tools derived from these 18th and 19th century innovations to reveal that space is not a mathematical emptiness. Rather than considering space an empty void, I seek to rediscover its profound phenomenological effect. My drawings, models, digital spaces, artifacts etc., are derived from the perception of digital cameras and sensors. I investigate how these machines perceive space from specific vantage points, and how they can be used to produce objects of thought. My work explores the limits of the data I can extract from them. This is done by translating this data into representational artifacts (drawings, models, digital spaces etc.) that hold onto qualities beyond description. In this process I reach a point where I am confronted by something utterly unfathomable, or where the initial qualities I am attempting to materialize are lost in translation. Ultimately, the phenomenological effect of space is difficult to fully grasp. This work manages to come into contact with perceptual qualities of various spaces from different angles, but never uncovers their mystery. __ more project details under: __ archundkrach is collecting and sharing fragments of creative work about architecture (arch) and the noise (krach) around it. Would you like to share your project as well? Text us here on Instagram or email us via [email protected] #archundkrach

krach_drawing-at-perceptual-limits Max Sandred Since the beginnings of modernism, architects have often overlooked the mysterious and profound emotive influence space has on us. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientific methods of drawing and simulating architecture were mathematically perfected (for example; a perspective drawing could be precisely constructed from a plan). In effect, these technological innovations reduced space to a measurable emptiness, and our conceptualization of space lost its premodern mysticism. (Pérez-Gómez and Pelletier, …the Perspective Hinge) In this thesis I use contemporary tools derived from these 18th and 19th century innovations to reveal that space is not a mathematical emptiness. Rather than considering space an empty void, I seek to rediscover its profound phenomenological effect. My drawings, models, digital spaces, artifacts etc., are derived from the perception of digital cameras and sensors. I investigate how these machines perceive space from specific vantage points, and how they can be used to produce objects of thought. My work explores the limits of the data I can extract from them. This is done by translating this data into representational artifacts (drawings, models, digital spaces etc.) that hold onto qualities beyond description. In this process I reach a point where I am confronted by something utterly unfathomable, or where the initial qualities I am attempting to materialize are lost in translation. Ultimately, the phenomenological effect of space is difficult to fully grasp. This work manages to come into contact with perceptual qualities of various spaces from different angles, but never uncovers their mystery. __ more project details under: __ archundkrach is collecting and sharing fragments of creative work about architecture (arch) and the noise (krach) around it. Would you like to share your project as well? Text us here on Instagram or email us via [email protected] #archundkrach

A couple of details from my recent studio project: a small artist residence in the Italian alps

measuring the mountains 😎

After many years of playing strange music and a few strange shows Edward and I have finally released some music. On Soundcloud you can find 3 jam sessions where I'm playing guitar with a very long guitar pedal chain and Edward is playing drums. These recordings were made with Edwards phone in July and are 100% improvised, exploring a lot of different genres and ideas (here are a few excerpts). Checkout the link in my bio to listen :)

Over the past few months I've recorded a number of fully improvised noise/ambient/textural tracks using my guitar and ableton in my Brussels appartment - I've just released 6 of these that you can stream on my soundcloud or download off bandcamp! (See the link in my bio) ✌️