School of Architecture and Planning Thesis Exhibition
Hidden Potential is an installation that presents a series of raw materials that are the product of the tire processing industry in America. Along with a collection of photographs that depict the people, machines, and atmosphere of a processing plant, the materials are considered for their properties and are displayed as a series of experiments and investigations. The installation aims at showing the hidden aspects of the life of truck and automobile tires: space-consuming waste, embodied energy, material worth, and ultimately, potential as viable material components within the realm of architecture.
Michael Place was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1984 and currently lives in Buffalo, New York. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati in 2006. Place is finishing his final semester at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning where he will receive a Masters of Architecture degree later this year. His thesis work focuses on the material realm of the architectural discipline, with particular interest in the use of waste materials as part of a building’s structure, finish, and atmosphere. Prior to moving to Buffalo, Michael spent a number of years working in the architectural field at offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts, and New York City. He was an adjunct studio professor at the Boston Architectural College and currently works as an Intern Architect and freelance designer in Western New York.