The "thing"

The “thing”

Tectonic Exercises - report Aleš Moravec

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 No glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Two parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Earth-work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Wood-work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Skin & bones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

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Introduction

The assignment was to make an object, which represents itself, using two materials “sand” and wood. It shouldn’t be a model of something as well as it shouldn’t be an abstract material composition. However it should be an independent “thing” with certain architectural qualities.

Qualities like tectonics e.g..

“Tectonics is complete system, binding all the parts into a single whole, similar to the principles of Greek temples.”

Bottiger

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Inspiration

There are three things that inspired me in my work.

I. Architectons by Kazimir Malevich.

II. “The farmer marks out the site for his new house in the green meadow and digs out the tranches.”

Adolf Loos III. “The wall we shall term all that structure which rises from ground upward in order to support the weight of the roof or which acts as a screen to provide privacy for the interior volumes of the building.”

Leon Battista Alberti

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No glue

Two materials nothing else. Exactly! I wouldn’t use any glue in order to present raw materials in their own nature. (I don’t count the glue which is mixed with the sand..) Hence all the joints used to make the frame are proper carpentry joints.

This decision raised a lot of limitations but it also gave me an opportunity to use the potential of each material.

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Two parts

As I mentioned above, we were allowed to use just two materials Each material has certain qualities, which I wanted to emphasise by the design. Pretty much like Mies van den Rohe treated materials in his buildings, for example in Vila Tugendhat in Brno or in Barcelona Pavilion.

“Tectonics is complete system, binding all the parts into a single whole…”

Bottiger Load-bearing structure is inseparable part of the system I wanted to emphasise it in as August Perret did in case of Théâtre de l’Exposition des Artes Décoratifs in Paris.

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Earth-work

The sand part is the “ground”, “fertile soil” from which everything grows. First of all I wrote down a list of soil attributes: solidness, heaviness, coarseness, uncontrolledness, naturalness, eternity and horizontality. They are not just attributes but also a qualities, which I wanted to emphasise. Therefore I was looking for a very simple, natural and authentic shape for the sand part, when Adolf Loos came with his quote: “The farmer marks out the site for his new house in the green meadow and digs out the tranches.”

Adolf Loos What is more natural shape then a piece of soil which has just been gigged out from the earth? I couldn’t find any..

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Wood-work

For the wooden part I wrote down those attributes: lightness, preciseness, controleness, temporariness, artificialness, verticality and horizontality. As I mentioned above August Perret was an inspiring figure for me, especially the way he designed the loadbearing structure for Théâtre de l’Exposition des Artes Décoratifs in Paris.

The main load-bearing structure is put over the whole building at least from the exterior, because the exterior walls are just a screens providing privacy and quietness. This was a good base for me to start thinking about the wood-work itself.

Space-frame, yes, it fulfils all the requirements I mentioned above.

It emphasises the nature of wood (verticality and horizontality), the structure of the space-frame is an object itself, moreover it also creates an opportunity for skin and screens.

“The wall we shall term all that structure which rises from ground upward in order to support the weight of the roof or which acts as a screen to provide privacy for the interior volumes of the building.”

Leon Battista Alberti

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Grid

Because I decided to make a space-frame, I was seeking for suitable, regular grid. Well, why regular grid? Of course I could have used a random irregular grid but because I wanted to express the contrast between coarse and irregular “earth-work” and precise, well considered “wood-work” hence a regular grid was one of the options.

Well, actually the space frame is not as regular as it might seems from this text, the columns ends in 4 different heights. The reason for doing so is, because I wanted to grasp the naturalness of the wood.

All the trees are not the same hight and have the ambition to control everything either..

The dimensions of the sand base were more-less given hence I was seeking for proportional solution. A grid 60 x 60 x 60 mm made out of 10 x 10 mm wooden prisms gave me a pretty good result.

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Skin & bones

The way I made the skin and the slabs was more-less a result of a coincidence because the prisms I bought, were originally 12 x 12 mm. However I didn’t like the proportions so I trimmed them to 10 x 10 mm and as a waste I had 1 mm thick fibre-like, wooden strip.

How do I make a screen or panel out of it?

I wouldn’t use glue because in most cases it just “rapes” every material so it stays as it’s needed. Therefore I had been seeking for another method of joining. Maybe I could weave it? I have used this wooden fabric as a horizontal element because it’s self-supporting, it’s just a filling of the gap.

Next step was to find a filling for the vertical gaps, using wood and no glue of course. I needed a brick or a tile, which would hold in the frame just by friction. Because of the precise grid, it was possible to “prefabricate” them easily so I didn’t have to care about amount, therefore about their size. The basic module, which is in my “thing” is 10 mm hence the tiles are the same dimensions (10 x 10 x 2 mm) in order to fit in the frame.

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Contact

A very important aspect of tectonics is how is the building (object in my case) attached to or detached from ground and their relationship. Two of the attributes I have listed for the “earth-work” are uncontrolledness and naturalness but is it true even at the point of contact of “earth-work” and “wood-work”.

Usually the point of contact is artificially made, which requires digging and temping. I expressed this fact in my “thing” as a flat, top surface, which is the artificially treated “border” between the earth and building itself. This flat surface is in contrast with the rest of the earth-work, which is uncontrolled, contingent piece of earth.

Last thing I would like to mention in this chapter is the point where the overground part of the building is turning into the underground part. In the case study I have chosen, The Reid building in Glasgow, we can observe two approaches. I case of the old part of the building, it’s noticeable that the building is rising from the ground, while on the other hand, in case of the new building the plinth is cladded with stainless steel, which makes that contact point very ambiguous. It looks like the building is levitating.

In case of my “thing”, the relationship between “earth-work” and the “wood-work” is very simplified compare to real world. Four columns are just laid on the “earth-work” and three are thrust into it.

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Conclusion

I had a real fun during this project also the fact that we worked with new (at least for me new) technologies, like the “sand”, it was very enriching.

My intention was to think about the materials and the way I’m using them instead of designing every detail, therefore making the “thing” artificial. I wouldn’t control everything, my ambition was to control as little as possible to get a meaningful, naturally looking thing.

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