Alexis Woodman
h
ug
ro
th
26
re
tu
es
pl ec
it
ch
ar
ci
in
ti al
en
re si d
Pr
abstraction
color
light
scale
geometry
symmery
grid
analysis planes
mass
shadow diagramming
hierarchy
introduction
22
14
04
24
20
16
12
26
18
10
08
06
02
01
Table of Contents
void
contrast
order
subtraction
addition
repetition
space
structure
irony
environment
datum
movement
materials
48
44
38
52
46
40
34
32
36
50
42
30
28
01
A house is where people spend the majority of their time. It is the space people search days, month, and years to find and call their home. Residential architecture and interior design have been a passion of mine since I was 12, so this book incorporates residential architecture and my own work to explain 26 principles of architecture.
hierarchy
02
West Paces Ferry Residence / Atlanta, GA
03
Heierarchy creates organization is orders the importance of elements in a design. Architects have certain components of their design that dominate others and by reflecting that in their designs, they create hierarchy. For example, in the West Paces Ferry Residence, the ceiling height in the inerior and exterior views shows the value of the rooms that are within the home. In the interior, the dinning area features the highest ceiling and the sitting area to the right of the dinning room is much smaller. On the exterior, there is also a clear difference in ceiling height. The room enclosed in glass that is directly behind the pool boasts
a two story ceiling, whereas the areas of the home on the right of the pool only have the one story ceiling height. This architect chose to use ceiling height to show the rooms with greatest importance which are the dining area and glass enclosed room. For the cardstock model created above, there are three distinct tiers, each being a different height or width. The hierarchy here stems from area inside the space created by the cardstock. The tiers in this model go from least to greatest in terms of hierarchy based on the size.
04 The use of glass walls in Casa La Roca, allows natural light into the space from sunrise to sunset. The glass was an intentional choice in the design and shows how important the view and light are to the space. In the images, there is no use of interior lighting, so the natural light is a main feature of the residence.
light
“Light creates the ambience and feel of a place, as well as the expression of a structure.� -Le Corbusier
Casa La Roca / Morelia, Mexico / RRZ Architects / Photographers: Marcos Garcia & Vladimir Soto
05
Direct light
Diffuse light
Light is a nonstructural element that can add details to a design. Especially with homes, natural light is an important element that homeowners are looking for. For architecture, light does much more than just adding visibility to a room. Light can add geometry by the way it hits a wall and creates angles, it can create hierarchy and importance by illuminating a key element of a design, and it can create space by defining an area. Light is crutial to most things we do, which makes it important to use it as an advantage. In the project above, two types of light were studied: direct and diffuse light. Direct light creates harsh shadows and diffuse light resembles (and can also be) natural light coming in from a window, where shadows appear like a film over the ground. Diffuse light will keep the structure as the most important, whereas direct light turns the focus more on the shadow created than the light added. Homeowners will focus more on how diffuse light affects the design of their home, but architects will also take into account how direct light can add to their design.
06
shadow
Haus Gables / Atlanta, GA / Jennifer Bonner / 2018
Shadows can be a strategic part of a design. Many people focus on how light can add to a space, but the shadows can also add dimension, depth, and texture. In Haus Gables, the shadow is breaking up the rectalinear shapes by creating harsh lines and new angles. The architect was able to turn what could be a disruptive part of a photo or design, unwanted shadows, into a feauture.
07
The way diffuse and direct light hit these compositions creates different shadows. The diffuse light keeps the focus on the model, but the direct light makes the shadow the feature of the composition and uses them to create interest and appeal.
diagramming
08
Diagramming pulls out the most important or prominent features from a design. It takes what could start out as complex and makes it more simplistic. With the addition of the windows and planes, the north elevation of Lovell Beach House becomes complex and from first glance, the main geometrys are difficult to recognize, so diagramming makes the design easier to understand.
Lovell Beach House / Newport Beach, CA / Richard Neutra / 1929
09
This diagram highights the inverted L as the main feature of the north elevation of the house. When analyzing the building, that was the feature that became most aparent, and all the other complonents of the elevation seemed to work off of it, so the inverted L was kept as the most important feature, and the other elements kept with the simplistic design of rectalinear geometries.
In architecture, color is used strategically. Most of the time, color can take away from the design itself or be used only for aesthetics, but not add anything to the study of a structure. However, for Kyiv, Ukrane, the color makes the individual residential buildings stand out. Without the color, the buildings blend in and lose dimension. The addition of color shows the numerous planes and individual windows on each building.
color
10
Kyiv, Ukraine / Photographer: G Aero
11
Color can also emphasises the grouping of similar elements. Unlike symmetry, the color emphasises distinct groups and shows details that can get overlooked in greyscale. For the compositions above, each color creates a group and tints are used to show where light directly hit the model.
12
grid
Grids are one of the most important and most used concepts in architecture. They are a means to create an organized layout and a defined structure in a design. Grids are used in this book to organize images and text in a way that is unifying throughout the spreads, grids are also used in the layout of a cities to create functionality, stucture, and organization, grids are used to create symmetry, grids are used in diagramming to show how the important components of a structure are laid out, and grids are used in numerous other aspects to create a foundation of order and structure.
Hannah House / Merida, Yucatan / Workshop, Diseno and Construccion / Photographer: Tamara Urbine
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Atlanta, GA
13
Grid for the balsa wood box.
Lovell Beach House / Newport Beach, CA / Richarn Neutra / 1929
To create the box model on the previous page about diagramming, a grid was created from the eleveation of the Lovell Beach House. The grid took the major lines and geometrys from the North Elevation and fromed a simplified grid that highlighted the inverted L. This grid above was the foundation for the rest of the box and how the other pieces were placed. Because of the importance of the inverted L, the other sides focused on simple rectalinear shapes that would not stand out or take the attention. It was very important to create this grid as the starting point because without it, the pieces of balsa wood would have been placed at random without a clear organization.
Overlap
mass Lift
Starting Point
14
15
Private residence / Westside, Atlanta, GA
Mass goes beyond a strucutre being large or small, it also encompasses the thickness or density of the structure. By using the definition of mass, the residence in Westside can be described as more than just large. The different masses create a top-heavy structure. The dark color used on the mass on top makes it appear more dense and heavy than the mass holding the structure up. For the residence in Vickery, there are two massive structures joined together by a smaller strucutre. This creates an organized design with symmetry in
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharatte, GA
the masses. Similar to the Westside home, this has two large masses, but the addition of the samller mass gives it softness and order. For the mass study on the previous page, by performing certain actions on the individual masses, the end mass had a distinct structure. For lift, the overall mass became less massive in the end than the starting point because there are more voids, making it less dense. However, for overlap, the components are tightly compacted, so the overall mass is extremely dense, making it appear to be the most massive structure of the three.
16
symmetry
Hollyhock House / Los Angeles, CA/ 1921 / Photographer Elizabeth Daniels
Pantheon / Rome, Italy / 126 AD
17
Collage of the Pantheon and Hollyhock House
Symmetry is a method to create organization in a design. Some architects think that symmetry can make a structure less appealing, but for the Pantheon, the symmetry was successful. It is hard to picture the pantheon without the symmetrical elements of the colomns and rotunda. For the collage composition merging elements of the Hollyhock House and the Pantheon, symmetry was the main focus. The Hollyhock house has many
symmetrical elements, but the left and right sides of the interior couryard are composed of different elements. The composition created uses the columns from the Pantheon to create the symmetry that was not present in the inner courtyard of the Hollyhock House. By adding back the symmetry, the eye is drawn to the composition as a whole versus the elements that are creating slight dissymmetry.
18
geometry
Geometry is the physical shapes that are present in or on a structure, but also the shapes that are implied. Similar to numerous other concepts, geometry can create order or disrupt order. This is evident in the two homes in Vickery. The image on the top shows rectalinear geometries that create organization and order. But, in the home on the bottom, the gothic arch breaks the order and rectalinear shapes that compose the rest of the fascade.
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
19
Salk Institute / La Jolla, CA / Louis Kahn /1960
The sketch above highlights the geometries of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. It is comprised of linear geometrys that make an orderly, defined strucutre. The circle on either end of the building break the linear shapes, but also show a geometry that is not physically present. This geometry shows the circulation of people in the building. This detail was added to show how the physical elements of the building are orderly and organized, but when people are added into the mix that order is broken.
20
analysis
Photographer: Jatinder Marwaha
Photographer: Edmund Sumner The Artisan House / India / Morphogenesis / 2015
21
Private Versus Public Space
Circulation
Geometry
Analysis is the deeper study and understanding of a space. By analyzing a structure, specific elements of the design are studied in greater detail like circulation, light and wind, geometries, hierarchy, symmetry, and private versus public space. All of these components give people a greater understanding of how the space is intended to function and why the elements were placed where they were. For the Artisan House in India, three concepts were studied in order to analyze the home: private versus public space, circulation, and geometry. These individual studies show others the functionality of the house as well as the design elements. With the
public versus private space diagram, it highlights that the main courtyard area is the most public, and then as people move away from that area, things become more private and closed off. The circulation diagram builds off of that showing that the natural human flow in the home is centered around the living room with the courtyard and temple area. These are places for socialiation and the rest of the rooms stem from it. The geometry diagram shows the simplistic elements of the elevation and that the architects chose to use different sizes of trapezoids to create dimension and depth in the elevation.
22
planes
Planes show the depth of a strucutre. When a structure has multiple planes, it means that another layer of dimension was added. Planes can also be used to ground a structure and give context. For example, the ground line is used as a plane to give the viewer an initial reference to view the precedent. These homes use planes to add dimention to the front fascade. The home in St. Louis has many more planes that add dimension, but the home in Vickery added another element, color, to differentiate the planes.
Private Residence / Saint Louis, MO
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Study 1
Study 2
23
The two studies above use planes to transform a structure. In each study, the same balsa wood box model is used, but the four planes were added in differnent areas. By performing two studies with the planes, it became apparent that the use of planes in intentional and strategic. With study one, the planes create more of a defined space and strucutre with the box. It appears more confined and organized. But, with study two, the planes to not fill up as much of geometries they were added to, so the box feels more incomplete than study 1. The gaps create an abstract look and an open form.
24
scale
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Scale works to show the size of an object or element compared to another. This residence in Vickery is composed of many different masses that highlight their size. Immediately, the eye is drawn toward the main, largest mass in the center with the three tall windows and front entrance. Then, by scale the garage entrance is the next most promient feature and then the patio on the left because it is smaller and less bulky. The smaller masses are then seen on the top of the home, but are clearly smaller in scale compared to the rest of the home. With scale, all of these components of the home were compared to each other, but there is no clear reference to their actual size in the environment or neighborhood.
25
Image 1
Image 2
The scale in image one is much more obvious than in image 2. With image 1, the pieces are getting smaller and smaller as they move away from the center. This was a study that was created specifiacally to show the action scale. It shows the definition of scale be a measurement of size compared to something else. For image 2, the project focused on using one continuous plane to create a strucutre, but scale turned out to be a major part of the structure. There is a clear differentiation in the size of the main components that make up the composition. There are three tiers to this part of the strucutre, and each one becomes greater in size. Each tier is identiacal in form, but differs in the size. The way in which they were arraged exaggerates the scale and size difference of each tier.
abstraction
26
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Abstraction takes a design and simplifies it to the important details of the strucutre. Diagramming is similar to abstracting, but it is a specfic subset of it. With abstracting, the goal is to analyze the structure and show how it can be simplified as a whole. It highlights the main parts that compose the entire design.
27
Original fascade
Abstraction
For this abstraction the focus was on the fascade of the Vickery home. The goal was to take the complex roof line and use simpler geometrys to make it more understandable and show the different components that went in to create the fasacde as a whole.
28
materials
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Altanta, GA
29
Materials are an important factor in a design. Of course certain materials are needed for a building to be structurally sound, but they are also important to the design style that the architect indended. There are hundreds of design styles that appeal to people, and materials an important component of these styles. Homes could have the same bone structure, but the materials used to complete the fascade make them look drastically different. For the Vickery residence, the wood adds color to the rest of the greyscale fascade and it makes it more appealing and interesting. Without the wood elements, the planes of the home would blend together and dimension would be lost.
The Ansley Park residences uses more materials to add textures and dimension. On the fascade texture is created with the combination of brick, stone, and wood. The colors of these textures are similar to one another, so they also used moss as a material to add color and give more details and contrast. In the foam and cardboard study above, the choice of material was intentional. Because the cardboard is brown, the purple foam was used to differential between the materials and create contrast. In addition, the two different textures create more interest and details.
30
movement
Swan House / Atlanta, GA / Philip T. Shutze / 1928
Wave House / Venice, CA / Mario Romano / 2017 / Photographer: Jason Speth
31
Circulation Diagram from the Arstisan House / India / Morphogenesis / 2015
Movement can occur inside and outside of a structure. Movement is the flow of air, materials and people through a space.
of the house. Unlike circulation of people inside a house, this form of movement can be seen from the exterior.
For the Swan house, the grid created in the floor plan shows that people use the main hallway to get from room to room. That hallway is the major pathway of the circulation of people in the house.
The circulation diagram above is from the Artisan House in India. This diagram shows the flow of people inside the home and that the movement stems from the living room and courtyard area. This is the heart of the home and has the greatest importance, so it makes sense that all the movement is centered around it.
In the Wave House, the materials used resemble waves flowing over the entire shell
32
datum
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Atlanta, GA
Datum is the point of reference in a composition that the other elements can be related to. This point is the main element of a strucutre and the other components have more defined organization when based on the datum. In the Ansley Park residence, the datum is the grand window on the fascade. This window is the focal point of the home and the rest of the elements seem to be built around it.
33
For the model above, the datum is the L because it is the element of greatest importance in the composition. The view from the front and back both clearly show that L stands out the most and the other pieces on from each grid are supporting the L. Because the L is a linear shape, it makes sense that all the other pieces on each side also create linear shapes. Without the datum to show that, there would be no reference to why the those geometries were used.
34
environment
The enviroment plays an imporant role in how a structure is designed. The enviroment can be a limiting factor on height and width of a structure or the materials needed to make sure it will sustain the elements. Some homeowners are adamant on creating a home that looks cohesive with the rest of the neighborhood and other don’t take that into account. For the Black Villa, the home was designed to fit in with the enviroment, which is evident in the grass on the roof that continues from the ground.
Black Villa / Harriman State Park, New York / Reza Mohtashami
35 Assuming this model represented a house, it would fit in an enviroment and neighborhood with other contemporary homes. The clean lines, sharp edges, and simplistic form would not be cohesive with elecic, ornate homes. This model could sit next to the Black Villa if it was not fitting into its enviroment situated in the woods, because it also has a contemporary design.
36 Irony happens when a design breaks what the viewer assumes will happen. For example, if 9 square images were laid out to create a square grid, that would be orderly and make sense to the viewer. Irony would happen if 8 of those images were square and one was a circle. This would throw of the clear organization of a design and it highlights the element that breaks the order. In the first Vickery home, irony is created by the windows not having a grid or being centered on the fascade. For the second Vickery Home, the window with the gothic arch breaks the pattern of the other rectangular windows on the elevation.
irony
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta GA
37
Hollyhock House recomposition
Diagram of the Salk Institute
For the two studies above, there are elements that break the order. In the Hollyhock House recomposition, the left side is all symmetrical, but the stairs that are off-center start the irony. The way the pond is positioned behind the other mass, only part of it is shown, and only one post holding the auning is visible, thus creating dissymmetry. All of the elements from the stairs and to the right break the pattern from the symmetrical side on the left. If someone were to only look at the symmetrical part of the recomposition, it would make sense that they would imagine the rest of the structure to also be symmetrical. So, the right section of the structure falls away from the concepts that the rest of the structure follow. The diagram of the Salk Institite is composed mostly of linear geometries. Because these shapes are repeated, it would make sense that the entire diagram would keep with the linear nature, but the circles showing the circulation disrupt the linear components and bring in a geometry that is conflicting and unexpected.
38
structure
IVR Prime Golf Villa / Shilpa Architects / 2015
Structure not only holds a building up, but it also defines space. Different materials work together for the support, but also contribute to the boundaries of a space. For example, in the IVR Prime Golf Villa, the massive, large columns support the villa, but also create a defined rectangle that the space occupies. If the colums were thinner and less dense, then the space would appear more open and the different planes would stand out versus the voids that are created by the columns that create the bounding box.
39 In the study on the left, the columns are the main structure of the composition. Without the columns, the roof would fall in and there would be no structure. But, the columns add much more than support. They are defining the space that is enclosed and using the holes as a design tool. Space and voids work closely with structure and will be further explored on the following pages.
40 Architecture focuses on using materials to create space. Space does not necesarily mean four complete walls with a roof on top creating an enclosed box. There are many ways to create space while still using voids. For the houses on the right, defined space is created where there is open air. For the Vickery residence, the area on the driveway under the carriage house does not have four walls, but is still defined. In the Buckhead home, the courtyard is a clear part of the home, but is a void compared to the rest of the structure that comprises the house.
space
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Buckhead, Atlanta, GA
41
In the study of mass above, the composition on the right with more voids creates a more defined space than the one on the left with less holes. The composition on the right uses the supporting column and the voids to define an area that is inhabitable. With the composition on the left, the masses are all huddled together creating a blob. Yes, it is a structure iteself, but there is not space inside or outside that is defined by the masses.
“All architecture is shelter, all great arcitecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space.� -Philip Johnson
42 Voids are the absence of objects. It is often thought that in order for a structure to be interesting and appealing, numerous masses need to be added to it and that it should have great complexity. However, voids can be an advantage to arcitects and designers. In the Vickery home, the void adds functional outdoor living space, but also dimension and planes to the fascade. For the Ansley Park home, the void on the left gives softness to the large masses and adds depth to the home.
void
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Atlanta, GA
43
The two studies above show how voids can be added to make a composition more appealing and have more dimension. In both imaages on the top, the materials are tightly compacted so there are no voids. This creates more of a surface level shape because there are holes or areas for different planes and layers. But, in the images on the bottom, the voids are used strategically to create more interest and details. The two compositions with the voids seem more intricate and complex without adding any extra materials.
44
repetition
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Repetition is the means of doing or using the same object over and over again. It causes an element to stand out and have greater importance because it was chosen to be reproduced. If someone did not like a part of their design, they would most likely either take it out or make it small. So, it makes sense that if an object is repeated, it has
value or importance. The columns on the home in Vickery stand out as an important design and structural feature becasuse of their repetition and mass. When looking at hundreds of homes for this book, repetition was a common theme in residential architecture especially with columns.
45
For this balsa wood box composition, the horizontal dowels were intentionally repeated in the L shape to make it stand out. The repetition was a way to emphasie the importance of that element in the structure. Without the repetition, the L could blend in like another shape on the grid, but the dowels create a defined space along the L that is visible from all sides of the composition.
46
contrast
Contrast is a way to define two elements in a composition. Black and white are a common way to show a clear distinction between objects, but contrast can be done with materials, geometries, textures, planes, and colors. In the Vickery residence, contrast is shown by materials, planes and colors. The fireplace in the first image stands out because it is on a different plane and is grey concrete next to blue siding. In the second imgae, the contrast is where the white brick plane bumps up to the blue siding.
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
47
In the charcoal compositions above, they study the shadows from direct and diffuse light. It is no surprise that the direct light will create more contrast with its shadows (as shown in the image on the left). The use of the greyscale range in the composition with the direct light shows more depth of the model and the distinct planes. With the diffuse light charcoal study on the right,
there is much less contrast. The shadow creates a less defined form and the range of greys used is smaller. Because there is not as much contrast, the individual dowels from the balsa wood box model are not as evident in this study and they tend to fade together, especially in the shadow. For two dimensional compositions it is even more important to show contrast so that dimension can be brought in.
48
addition
Addition is used to expand upon the concepts used in a design. For residential architecture, addition may be frequent when working to fulfill a clients needs like the amound of bedrooms and bathrooms, but it can be done in a way that also enhances the design. In both residences on the right, there are dormer windows that give light into the spaces on the second floor. These windows are vital to the home, but also keep the symmetry from the rest of the design.
Private Residence / Atlanta, GA
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Atlanta, GA
49
In the images above, the planes were added to the model in the bottom row of photos as part of an assignment with planes, but they were intentionally placed. The planes were placed to break up the rectalinear shapes and bring more details and harsh lines to the model. This addition kept the focal point on the L, but also added another architectural element to the composition.
50
subtraction
Like addition, subtraction is used to build upon the design of a structure, and it adds new elements of interest and appeal to that structure. For the Ansley Park home, the cut outs above the main window took a rectangle and gave it dimension and texture. For the Inman Park home, the design subtracted from a rectangular prism to create the multiplanar exterior. By taking away the voids, many more dimentions were created and the home became more appealing.
Private Residence / Ansley Park, Atlanta, GA
Private Residence / Inman Park, Atlanta, GA
51
In the composition above, the clay started as a cube and then slices were taken out of it to create depth and valleys. By carving the clay and subtracting from its smooth surface, different layers and components were added to the composition. This study shows the great effect a simple concept like subtraction can be to the aesthetics of a form. Just like the Ansley Park home on the left, a small detial like the cut outs above the window can add immensely to a design.
52
order
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Private Residence / Vickery, Alpharetta, GA
Order can take many forms in architecture. Many structures are desinged to create order where there is chaos. This could mean creating a symmetrical building in an environment where there is disorder or using a clear grid to define a space. In the insatnce if these houses above, they both have a clear organizational system and have symmetry. There is no coinsidence in the symplistic elevation of these homes. The architects clearly laid out the window and doors to form a grid with rectalinear geometries to complement the shape of the house.
Composition 2
Composition 1
53
Another form of order is found in the way a structure is put together. For the clay composition above, the actions pinch and slice were performed. The row on the top took the initial clay cube, then pinched the sides, and finally, performed the action slice. For the composition on the botton row, the action slice was performed first and then pinch. The final compositions turned out completely different just by
the order in which they happened. This study shows a small scale experiment of order, but the order in which actions are taken to create a space are vital to the final outcome. One arragnement of steps could create a composition with clear order and organization, such as composition 2, but the same steps in a different order could create a structure that seems disorganized and abstact like composition 1.