S U
O M O S T N O H O I C T I D SER IN E
FV
IC EN
G
O ES
G KIN
D EE
TH
HIN
T RE
E UT TIT S N TI CT H AT PR ARC ROJE . P O . S EE GR DE
NE EE GR URA E M N AN M DE A D A
CONTENTS PRATT INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE 2017-18 DEGREE PROJECT ANNE GREENE & ADAM DEMURA CRITICS ANTHONY CARADONNA, ADAM ELSTEIN & ASHLEY SIMONE
No 2
CONCEPTUAL STATEMENT
No 4
PROJECT PROPOSAL
No 6
SITE RESEARCH
No 8
MATERIAL RESEARCH
No 28
PROGRAM RESEARCH
No 48
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
No 60
CONCEPTUAL STATEMENT
No 4
Architecture can materialize narrative and mediate dichotomous conditions. Venice is a city of splendor and doom, stasis and transiency, land and water. Situated at the junction of land and water, scalable and modular threshold landings constructed primarily of textile-reinforced concrete are inserted to react to sites; framing their splendor, doom, or hidden qualities, and exploiting respective edge conditions. They take the form of shell structures that both delineate and blend the static and transient edge condition, thus altering the existing condition of threshold. A narrative is formed by arranging the shell structures in a curated sequence that is informed by experiences found in the literature of Venice, both contemporary and historical. The structures interface between land and water to augment as well as transform the edge condition, articulating the shoreline. Materializing the multiplicity of dichotomies in Venice fosters a comprehensive understanding of the city.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
No 6
Venice is a city of constant ebb and flow where waterways replace the solid road as the arteries of circulation. While things flow through it, it remains still and sedentary, providing for transitory activity on it and around it. If Rome is the eternal city, Venice is the adaptable city, with buildings constructed in a way that allow for the ground beneath them to settle. Like the wood that supports its structures, the city is petrified in a glorious state. It is composed of islands covered in Istrian stone that form an archipelago, interconnected only by bridge or crossing gondolier. The interface between land and water is flexible. Land both emerges from, and is deposited by water. Few objects are as synonymous with Venice as the gondola, the primary mode of transportation through the aqueous city. Its rich political history distinguished those who walked from those who rode, furthering the binary nature of the city built on water. The distinction was heavily status driven, as the elite exclusively rode in embellished cabins on their gondolas during the renaissance period. As the disparity between social classes increased, sanctions against gaudy additions to gondolas were implemented and the gondola became a standardized and humble vessel of simple black painted wood. Adorned with one forcola holding the oar, and a fero on the back, to allow passage under bridges, a flat bottom to stabilize and provide seating, and an asymmetrical shape to allow for one gondolier to operate it. In the process of stripping away excess ornamentation
from the gondola, the impression of a more democratized society become expressed. It was no longer a status symbol for the elite to adorn with silk and gold; they, too, were limited to a standardized model. Lightweight and able to pass through narrow canals with ease, gondolas are the quintessential Venetian vessel having been perfected over five centuries. Unlike the automobile on a traditional roadway, boats have long been programmed beyond transportation. In the case of Venice, gondolas served as the open train car or convertible limo in which to display one’s status. Slowly gliding through the canals, the gondola became an extension of the home liken to a public salon. Gondolier and riders put on an intimate spectacle for others on the water as well as the public on land. Comparable to the private balcony of an opera, the elite intended to see and be seen while maintaining a distinct separation from the general masses. The gondola is just one typology of vessel with a specific function and may share a common ancestry to the less glamorous dinghy or ship’s tender. Another typology of vessel is the barge, which functions to transport heavy loads or keep them anchored. Its characteristic flat bottom produces a parallel relationship to the land and water and mitigates the severity of the thresholds between them. Barges can also be anchored, becoming dispersible satellites such as the firework barges used in the Redentore Festival. An additional vessel typology is the dock, unique in that it hybridizes the span and
vessel. In this case, docks are thresholds between land and water. These typologies inform the various operations that the dorso must perform when merging between land and water. Dry docks create a new plane level beyond the edge of land and water by expelling water. In this case, docks are thresholds between land and water. These typologies inform the various operations that the dorso must perform when merging between land and water. Our focus on vessel typologies and the duality of urban phenomena in Venice developed through researching the genealogy of textile-reinforced concrete. Inherent in the material is a bond between two dissimilar elements, thus reinforcing the idea of binary conditions on site land and water, transiency and stasis, spectacle and ruin. Specifically, the dissimilarity of their primary structural properties - tension and compression - that are exploited for the creation of thin-shell structures. Through the use of textile reinforced concrete, many vessel structures have been made possible due to the extreme formability and thinness that can be achieved. The gondola is a thin shell vessel with a high degree of formal articulation, which specifically deviates from its predecessors to function in the waters of Venice. Threshold landings are a manifestation of narrative itineraries that generate a connection to Venice’s literary history, signifying the ceaselessly transient life of the city. The experience of the writer is derived from the text, rich with
atmospheric description; sight, sound, tactility, dialogue. The landings latch onto locations of historical significance, revealing the other overlooked side of Venice, whether a historical reference or an everyday occurrence. Through a sequence of threshold landings a more vivid narrative of Venice is constructed. Vessel typologies, literary history, and site conditions have provided the basis for the design of the threshold landings. They take formal cues from the precedent vessel typologies and are located at sites that elucidate an experience found in literature, at the intersection of land and water. The sequence of selected sites is the Bridge of Sighs, Basilica di Santa Maria dei Frari, Chiesa di San Stae, Campo Manin, and the Santa Croce Apartment. Derived from literary texts, each provides a unique set of rive at their edge condition. The threshold landings are inserted to interface between land and water to augment as well as transform the edge condition, articulating the shoreline. The image of Venice to its visitors and native people has transformed from a representation of its multifaceted history to a flat sequence of spectacles. It’s crucial characteristics are now taken for face-value, rather than wholly understood. The insertions that we propose will provide spaces for a deeper understanding of specific conditions that have contributed to Venice’s unique and complex disposition.
SITE RESEARCH
VENICE, ITALY
EDGE CONDITIONS
1 THE GONDOLA ELEMENTS OF VENICE GONDOLA TO EDGE
MAPPING VENICE THIS MAPPING highlights the canals of venice as if they were capillaries with more circulation (shown in brighter orange) at their entry points. TOPOGRAPHY LINES in a lighter shade of grey reveal land masses that formed the original foundation for the city which has been greatly built upon (shown in black).
SITE REAEARCH
DERIVED LINES in grey highlight major circulation routes like that of the Grand Canal.
No 10
“TRANSIENCY”
SITE RESEARCH
500m
VENICE
MAPPING VENICE THIS MAPPING highlights the itinerary of Mark Twain via his transcribed experiences from The Innocents Abroad. KEY STRUCTURES that give context to Twain’s descriptions are isolated. His drifted path via the gondola meanders through the canals and is glittered with commentary about the dark history of the Bridge of Sighs, a dialogue of Venetian women, an opinion about renaissance artwork, a scene of family and religion, and a scene of furtive interactions.
SITE RESEARCH
THE INTERPRETED PATH is derived from a sequence of possible canals that Twain could have traveled along his journey. It was speculated from the descriptions of the Grand Canal, the dialogues of the people, and the contextual cues.
No 12
“NARRATION”
SITE RESEARCH
LOCATIONS OF DICHOTOMY
RESIDENCE AT SANTA CROCE
CAMPO MANIN
CHIESA DI SAN STAE
SITE RESEARCH
BASILICA DI SANTA MARIA DEI FRARI
No 14
BRIDGE OF SIGHS
“Human nature appears to be just the same, all over the world. We see the diffident young man, mild of moustache, affluent of hair, indigent of brain, elegant of costume, drive up to her father's mansion, tell his hackman to bail out and wait, start fearfully up the steps and meet "the old gentleman" right on the threshold!--hear him ask what street the new British Bank is in--as if that were what he came for--and then bounce into his boat and skurry away with his coward heart in his boots!--see him come sneaking around the corner again, directly, with a crack of the curtain open toward the old gentleman's disappearing gondola, and out scampers his Susan with a flock of little Italian endearments fluttering from her lips, and goes to drive with him in the watery avenues down toward the Rialto.”
“We see visiting young ladies stand on the stoop, and laugh, and kiss good-bye, and flirt their fans and say ‘Come soon--now do--you've been just as mean as ever you can be--mother's dying to see you--and we've moved into the new house, O such a love of a place!--so convenient to the post office and the church, and the Young Men's Christian Association; and we do have such fishing, and such carrying on, and such swimming-matches in the back yard--Oh, you must come--no distance at all, and if you go down through by St. Mark's and the Bridge of Sighs, and cut through the alley and come up by the church of Santa Maria dei Frari, and into the Grand Canal, there isn't a bit of current--now do come, Sally Maria--by-bye!’”
“We see little girls and boys go out in gondolas with their nurses, for an airing. We see staid families, with prayer-book and beads, enter the gondola dressed in their Sunday best, and float away to church. And at midnight we see the theatre break up and discharge its swarm of hilarious youth and beauty; ... and then, the strange pageant being gone, we have lonely stretches of glittering water --of stately buildings--of blotting shadows--of weird stone faces creeping into the moonlight--of deserted bridges--of motionless boats at anchor. And over all broods that mysterious stillness, that stealthy quiet, that befits so well this old dreaming Venice.”
“In a little narrow corridor, near by, they showed us where many a prisoner, after lying in the dungeons until he was forgotten by all save his persecutors, was brought by masked executioners and garroted, or sewed up in a sack, passed through a little window to a boat, at dead of night, and taken to some remote spot and drowned.” -Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
“In the conventual buildings attached to this church are the state archives of Venice. We did not see them, but they are said to number millions of documents. "They are the records of centuries of the most watchful, observant and suspicious government that ever existed--in which every thing was written down and nothing spoken out."...The secret history of Venice for a thousand years is here--its plots, its hidden trials, its assassinations, its commissions of hireling spies and masked bravoes--food, ready to hand, for a world of dark and mysterious romances.”
THE GONDOLA THIN SHELL BUILD Section cut
RENAISSANCE VENICE Illustration
Gondolas represented elite status but were also a representation signifying professional and corporate pride. They were signs of independence and power for the elite and either signs of the opposite or a privilege for the gondoliers. In the hierarchy of Renaissance Venetian society, there were those who walked and those who rode The relationship between the elite and their gondoliers was amicable in the representations. In the famous myth of venice, that relationships between classes was good; in reality it was not so.
SITE RESEARCH
“Gondolas and gondoliers mark the presence of self-assured and socially confident members of the city’s elite. In this way gondolas were metaphors for the idealized vision of the political and social hierarchy of Renaissance Venice as understood by the elite.” The elite men saw important connections between women and gondolas - they allowed women to travel through the city with protection; not on the streets. The gondolas showed off the men’s wives, mothers and daughters to the public. Simultaneously, gondolas as scenes of violence, murder, robbery and rape.
No 16
BUILDING PROCESS
1. Four posts to determine L x W set up 5. Floor installed; protects the ribs; made of pine; divided into four compartments on each side 2. Stern and bow posts of oak set up 3. Ribs of walnut, cherry, or elm laid 6. Two steps in the bow added down; flat at bottom, rounded at edges and joined by a binder of oak 7. Rowlocks and foot rests added 4. Counterpiece to the ribs from the 8. Iron finishings bought and applied bow to the stern installed
separately
9. Felze, carpet, cushions added
Each beat has unique characteristics and every 3 months in winter and every 20 days in the summer the boats are washed and oiled. The life span of a boat is about 5 years in frequent use, then it is transferred to a less frequently used ferry for 5 more years. sanctions against adornment were put into place at the end of the 15th century and the ferro was added to indicate the ability to pass underneath bridges without hitting the canopy. The gondola was lengthened for speed and the ferro disappeared, now a broader hatchet, the felze was given glass and a door; the gondola design was fixed by 1740.
“The Venetian gondola is as free and graceful, in its gliding movement, as a serpent. It is twenty or thirty feet long, and is narrow and deep, like a canoe; its sharp bow and stern sweep upward from the water like the horns of a crescent with the abruptness of the curve slightly modified.� -Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
Gondoliers stand at the stern od the of the gondola and work their oar through a wood block known as a forcole. Forcole have a long hisotry in Venetian ship design and are often pictured in centuries old Venetian ship-building manuscripts. Gondolas are designed asymetrically which causes them to tend to starboard which adjusts for the continual strokes of the gondolier on the starboard side. A straight path can also be achieved by adjusted the load within the boat.
THE GONDOLA EXTRACTED PARTS
SITE RESEARCH
The gondola consists of wooden structure, functional and mechanical parts, and decorative additions. Most parts are a variation of a shell form or an arc form. Each segment of the boat functions for either its occupants of its operator: the flat bottom is primarily covered by the canopy for riders to sit comfortably; the narrow ends are capped for storage; the space in between the two provides the gondolier access to the forcola and a high vantage point.
No 18
A
B A B C
C
D
D E
F E
F G
SECTIONS Sectional cuts of the gondola reveal the thinness of the structure and the function of the flat bottom versus the arched sides and cover. The relationship between floor and roof is symbiotic in the way that one shape influences the other; enclosing, supporting, and wrapping.
“This the famed gondola and this the gorgeous gondolier!--the one an inky, rusty old canoe with a sable hearse-body clapped on to the middle of it, and the other a mangy, barefooted guttersnipe with a portion of his raiment on exhibition which should have been sacred from public scrutiny.� -Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
G
ELEMENTS OF VENICE
SHIP’S HULL CEILINGS Ceilings echoing the construction of ship hulls traditionally believed to be inspired by the ceiling of the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua, Italy. These ceilings fill the space between the roof trusses from which they are hung. While exquisite in appearance, they are merely false ceilings serving no structural role.
RIGHT PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE Padua, Italy BELOW SAN GIACOMO DELL’ORIO Venice, Italy
SITE RESEARCH
BELOW CHIESA DI SANTO STEFANO Venice, Italy
No 20
PONTOON BRIDGES The weekend of the Festa del Redentore is the only time that Giudecca is connected to the rest of Venice. This used to be via a bridge of barges, but it is now via a pontoon bridge made of 16 parts. The bridge is 330 meter long and 3.60 meter wide. It is put just above the water, except in the middle where small boats can pass underneath. Opposite is an image of a traditional Venetian barge bridge connecting Cannaregio to San Michele for a religious holiday. This span is comparable to the span of the Festa del Redentore bridge. CANNAREGIO-SAN MICHELE BRIDGE Venice, Italy
-Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
“Narrow streets, vast, gloomy marble palaces, black with the corroding damps of centuries, and all partly submerged; no dry land visible anywhere, and no sidewalks worth mentioning; if you want to go to church, to the theatre, or to the restaurant, you must call a gondola. It must be a paradise for cripples, for verily a man has no use for legs here.�
ELEMENTS OF VENICE
RIVE CONDITIONS Venice, Italy
INSET PERPENDICULAR PROTRUDING PERPENDICULAR PROTRUDING PARALLEL
SITE RESEARCH
INSET PERPENDICULAR
No 22
RIVE Initially constructed in order to faciliate the movement of people and goods, rive were generally built parallel to the bank of the canal where sidewalks were narrow, or perpendicular where they were wider, and in correspondance to squares (campi). If located on the same axis as state churches, these banks would become integrals to the architecture and engage the water.
FLOORS The experience of the viewer is controlled by the layout of the floor - one must stop and look up at the point where the large square of marble, distinguishable by color, lies. It is offset from the line of the adjacent squares that surround the cupola. This is done so that the viewer is held back from experiencing the “iconostasis.” The geometry in the circles on the floor represent an infinite movement and trajectory, since one circle leads into another; the planar geometry is polygonal and finite in its boundaries; the circle is the opposite BASILICA DI SAN MARCO Venice, Italy
-Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
“Of course we went to see the venerable relic of the ancient glory of Venice, with its pavements worn and broken by the passing feet of a thousand years of plebeians and patricians--The Cathedral of St. Mark... Everything was worn out-every block of stone was smooth and almost shapeless with the polishing hands and shoulders of loungers who devoutly idled here in by-gone centuries and have died and gone to the dev--no, simply died, I mean.”
GONDOLA TO EDGE
SITE RESEARCH
A
E
No 24
B
C
D
F
G
H
THRESHOLD
RIVA CONDITION Venice, Italy
The interaction that the riva facilitates between the land and water varies depending on the position of the steps. Above, there are five conditions at which the gondola is parallel to the canal:
“We see the diffident young man, mild of moustache, affluent of hair, indigent of brain, elegant of costume, drive up to her father’s mansion, tell his hackman to bail out and wait, start fearfully up the steps and meet “the old gentleman” right on the threshold!--hear him ask what street the new British Bank is in--as if that were what he came for--and then bounce into his boat and skurry away with his coward heart in his boots!” -Mark Twain
SITE RESEARCH
A. INSET PERPENDICULAR B. PROTRUDING PERPENDICULAR C. PROTRUDING PARALLEL D. INSET PARALLEL E. PLATFORM PARALLEL F. MONUMENTAL STAIR G. BARGE H. DOCK
BRIDGES OF VENICE
BRIDGE LOOKING NORTH Current
BRIDGE OF SIGHS
SITE RESEARCH
The Ponte dei Sospiri also known as the Bridge of Sighs was commissioned by Doge Marino Grimani in the beginning of the 17th century. Connecting the Doge’s Palace, where the courts were housed, to the new prison, it is obvious how the name was derived. The demure limestone structure designed by Antonio Contino, nephew of the designer of the Rialto Bridge, is divided longitudinally by a wall separating those entering the prison and exiting the prison. Stone bars obscure views in and out of the windows adding to its sense of confinement. Today, a tourist attraction and object of objective beauty, it was once a symbol of the dire consequences of perpetrating a crime or wronging the Doge.
No 26
BRIDGE INTERIOR Current
RIALTO BRIDGE LOOKING NORTH Current
RIALTO BRIDGE One of only four bridges that crosses the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge built between 1588 and 1591, is the oldest. Previously a wooden bridge with draw-bridge in the middle existed on the site but two collapses in 1551 led Venetian authorities to initiate an architectural competition for the design of a new stone bridge. Due to the difficult site conditions, it was not for a number of years that Antonio da Ponte’s design for the current bridge would come to fruition. Shops located on the stone arch bridge echo Palladio’s entry for the design competition consisting of a large forum on a raised plane supported by three stone arches. BRIDGE SCENE PAINTING 1500s
SITE RESEARCH
MATERIAL RESEARCH TEXTILE-REINFORCED CONCRETE KEVLAR & CONCRETE
2 MATERIAL MANIFESTO GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH PRECEDENTS CASE STUDIES
MATERIAL RESEARCH
MATERIAL MANIFESTO
No 30
The word “concrete” means to grow together, which refers to its requirement for a material partner with which to grow and realize it’s tectonic potential. Concrete is strong only in compression, while steel operates well both in compression and in tension. We recognize that the reciprocity between the two materials is not in equilibrium: steel does not need concrete but concrete needs steel. Steel has limitations;
Concrete is fluid when poured and becomes rigid as it cures. Formwork must be in place to dictate concrete’s final form. Whether horizontal or vertical, loadbearing or not, the skin and bones of the building can be fused. That is to say, the separation of skin and bone in buildings is counter to concrete’s nature of being cast.
-steel requires protection from the elements -steel has high thermal expansion -steel corrodes over time -steel does not fully adhere to concrete -steel is prone to creep over time -steel is heavy -steel is conductive
Modernists promote material expression, yet steel and concrete are not expressed individually in steel reinforced concrete; the steel structure is repressed. A clear use of material expression is apparent in the construction of steel and glass buildings during the era of the Modernist movement. The Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe in New York City is one example.
Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said: “Reinforced concrete buildings are by nature skeletal buildings. No noodles nor armoured turrets. A construction of girders that carry the weight, and walls that carry no weight. That is to say, buildings consisting of skin and bones.”
A concrete enclosure system with expressed structure requires a material besides steel rebar to be implemented. Textiles possess properties on the opposite side of the spectrum from concrete. They are strictly tensile in nature and outperform steel in many aspects.
Of many yarns that can be woven, Kevlar is not only the strongest, but among the lightest. -Kevlar does not require protection from the elements -Kevlar does not have any thermal expansion -Kevlar does not corrode over time -Kevlar adheres well to concrete -Kevlar is not prone to creep over time -Kevlar is light -Kevlar is not conductive
KEVLAR & CONCRETE MATERIAL RESEARCH
Woven Kevlar and concrete can grow together to create a harmonic expression of forces because there is no crossover between tension and compression. The new modernism using textile reinforced concrete is more pure in that it fuses skin and skeleton, both enclosing and supporting.
HISTORY OF CONCRETE CONCRESCERE “con-” : together “crescere” : to grow 12m BC 3k BC 300 BC 1756 1796 1822 1824 1850s MATERIAL RESEARCH
1884 1887
N 32 o
first natural deposit of cement compounds in Israel caused by reactions between limestone and oil shale during spontaneous combustion Egyptians used mud mixed with straw to bind dried bricks and furthered the discovery of lime and gypsum mortar as a binding agent for the building of the pyramids Roman use of pozzolana, a type of mortar mixture composed of a 1pt lime : 4pts sand ratio; animal fat, milk, and blood used as admixtures John Smeaton rediscovered hydraulic cement through repeated testing of mortar in fresh and salt water James Parker patented a natural hydraulic cement by calcinating nodules of impure limestone containing clay, called Parker’s cement or Roman cement James Frost prepared artificial hydraulic lime and called it British cement Joseph Aspdin patented Portland Cement; named for its resemblance to the quarried stone of the Isle of Portland Jean-Louis Lambot was the first to use reinforcing in boats; ferrocement Earnest L. Ransome patented a reinforcing system using twisted rods Henri Le Chatelier established oxide-to-lime ratios for Portland cement; proposed that crystalline products of the cement-water reaction cause hardness
1900
The Kahn brothers proposed steel reinforcing with angled tabs
1927
Eugene Freyssinet develops successful pre-stressed concrete
1930
Eduardo Torroja designed the first thin-shelled roof at Algeciras
1940s
Portland cement laboratories perfect air-entrained concrete
1970s
Fiber-reinforced concrete was introduced
TEXTILE-REINFORCED CONCRETE Concrete & mesh
PERFORMANCE
alumina from bauxite, recycled aluminum, clay
As concrete hardens and solidifies, it transitions from a plastic state to a brittle-elastic state. This process is called hydration and involves a reaction that crystallizes the material due to the bonding of water. 30-70% of the hardening occurs in the first 1-3 days and continues for 4 weeks. The compressive strength is the most important to determine, and it is tested at day 28 after pouring. Temperature can greatly affect the hardening of the concrete, so the outcome of the tests is not always consistent with the actual output. Concrete has served as a compatible element in composites such as concrete with marble, with fiber reinforcements, with glass, and of course, with steel. It is important to consider the chemical properties of the paired material; the possible reaction of recycled glass with the alkaline properties of cement led researchers to replace a part of the cement with metakaolin. Knowledge of these properties allows for substitutions that make these composite materials possible. In the case of textile-reinforced concrete, the viscosity of the mixture is key. A good bond between the concrete and the textile can be achieved with very fluid, fine concrete. Because textiles are not subject to corrosion, the concrete need not cover them, allowing the walls of the composite to be just 10-20 mm thick.
silica from sand, old bottles, clay or argillaceous rock lime or calcium oxide from limestone, chalk, shells, shale, or calcareous rock iron from clay, iron ore, scrap iron and fly ash gypsum found together with limestone Concrete goes through a thorough testing process when the ingredients are selected to be used in the mix, so the material is very durable when used as a building component. Ideally, it will be resistant enough to protect the reinforcing material that is embedded within it.
ABILITIES/QUALITIES • • • • • • • •
sound insulation durability fire resistance carbonation high thermal mass flood resilience material efficiency vibration control
MATERIAL RESEARCH
COMPOSITION
CONCRETE PRECEDENTS
RONCHAMP CHAPEL
MATERIAL RESEARCH
Le Corbusier’s simple and powerful design for the small chapel in France utilizes a shell-structure raw concrete roof and thick masonry walls sprayed with mortar. The space within the shell of the roof is 6’ 11” and insulates the building and sits upon short struts. The walls are curved for stability without buttressing. Cement domes top the surrounding towers.
No 34
LOS MANANTIALES RESTAURANT Felix Candela’s hyperbolic paraboloid structure in Mexico City that floats upon the water like a flower lotus displays dynamic gestures of concrete forms that intersect one another. Candela utilizes a groin vaulted shell structure with hidden V-beams for stiffness. The V-beams are reinforced with steel for structural purposes, but the rest of the concrete is reinforced for temperature and cracking control. At the base of each intersection, the structure touches the ground via umbrella footings to absorb vertical forces. Adjacent footings with steel tie-bars absorb lateral forces. The concrete was cast by hand over the steel reinforcement bucket-by-bucket.
MATERIAL RESEARCH
APPLICATIONS & SUSTAINABILITY
MATERIAL RESEARCH
APPLICATIONS
No 36
textile reinforced
surface
folded plate beam
relief conrete
barrel vault
rough texture concrete
stressed-skin roof structures
fair-cafe concrete
diamond-shaped lattice arch
light-permeable concrete
lightweight wood particle
lightweight concrete
precast facade elements
loadbearing structure
steel mesh reinforced
printed concrete
polished concrete composite
shell structures
SUSTAINABILITY The use of cement bonding throughout a structure classifies it as monolithic construction, which is in contrast to lightweight construction, i.e. timber or timber studding. In comparison, heating requirements are 2-8% lower in monolithic construction due to the high heat storage capacity. The cooling energy requirement is 15-20% lower than lightweight construction as well. Concrete stores heat very well and conducts it well with the addition of thermal insulation.
Therefore, the extraction of resources necessary for the production of concrete is not of ecological concern. However, the process of transporting the materials is of concern and generates the need for widespread regional procudtion facilities.
Concrete offers many possibilities for re-use, as the material residues from demolition provide for the production of new materials. Additionally, any wet concrete leftover after pouring is recycled back into the facility.
MATERIAL RESEARCH
Since concrete is comprised of minerals, the quarrying process allows for a period of extraction and subsequent process of restoration once resources have been depleted.
CONCRETE PLANT Belt Conveyor
HISTORY OF KEVLAR POLYPARAPHENYLENE TEREPHTHALAMIDE
MATERIAL RESEARCH
STEPHANIE KWOLEK Chemist
No 38
DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek discovered Kevlar in 1965 while working with a team to create a lightweight yet strong fiber to be used in the production of tires.
Kwolek made a solution from the polymers poly-p-phenylene-terephthalate and polybenzamide which unlike other solutions was liquid crystal in state but generally thrown away.
At the time, Nylon was the strongest and most commercially viable synthetic polymer having been developed in back 1935.
Despite this, Kwolek convinced a technician to run the solution through a spinneret and was surprised to find that the resulting fiber did not break -what we now know as Kevlar was made.
BULLETPROOF Simulation of bullet
PRODUCTION
ABILITIES/QUALITIES PROS
1.
3.
_good resistance to abrasion _good resistance to organic solvents _non-conductive _does not melt _low flammability _good fabric integrity at elevated temperatures _outstanding strength-to-weight properties _high Young’s modulus _high tenacity _low creep _low elongation at break
PERFORMANCE
CONS
_does not melt but decomposes only at temperatures of 800-900 degrees Fahrenheit _does not shrink _UV light will discolor Kevlar but only specific wavelengths substantially harm its mechanical properties _chemically stable under most environments _tensile strength of 3,600MPa
_difficult to dye _difficult to produce at high volume _sensitive to ultraviolet radiation
para-phenylenediamine and terephthaloyl chloride are combined to form a viscous liquid-crystalline solution of polyparaphenylene terephthalamide (liquid Kevlar)
2.
the hot and concentrated solution is forced through a spinneret (metal former with small holes similar to a sieve)
the stiff fibers that result from the extrusion through the spinneret are washed, dried, and wound onto drums to be further processsed into various ropes, strands, weaves, etc. MATERIAL RESEARCH
_prone to electrostatic charge build-up
KEVLAR APPLICATIONS
-flame-resistant clothing -heat-protective clothing and helmets -body armor -composite materials -asbestos replacement (e.g. brake linings) -hot air filtration fabrics -tires -mechanical rubber goods reinforcement -ropes and cables -wicks for fire dancing -optical fiber cable systems -sail cloth
MATERIAL RESEARCH
SAILBOAT Kevlar in hull materials
No 40
-sporting goods -drumheads -wind instrument reeds -loudspeaker diaphragms -boat hull material -fiber-reinforced concrete -reinforced thermoplastic pipes -tennis strings -hockey sticks -snowboards, skis -jet engine enclosures
APPLICATIONS Kevlar’s immense strength, light weight, and scalable properties gives it the potential to be incorporated in any number of composites or used alone. Used in fiber-reinforced concrete, Kevlar could be used to create concrete shell structures Eero Saarinen could only dream of. Used in tensile members, a lightness of structure could be achieved similar to that of spider webs. Kevlar and other para-aramids allow one to create structures that defy the status quo.
Kevlar and other para-aramids are not sustainable for reasons that other materials are sustainable; naturally occurring, plentiful, cheap, non-toxic, etc. Kevlar is sustainable because of its immense strength to weight (efficiency), versatility, and longevity. In other words, it takes very little to do a lot and do it for a long time. Kevlar is more accessible now in comparison to when it was first introduced as multiple companies now manufacture it (However, DuPont has coined the name Kevlar).
MATERIAL RESEARCH
SUSTAINABILITY
CHEMICAL STRUCTURE Bonds at opposite ends
FORMS OF KEVLAR COMMON WEAVE PATTERNS Kevlar textiles PLAIN WEAVE 4-H SATIN WEAVE 5-H SATIN WEAVE TWILL WEAVE
PLAIN WEAVE A weave that is widely applicable but is not very strong or very pliable due to the frequency of the warp and filling threads crossing one another. However, the stability and simplicity make it a commonly used pattern.
MATERIAL RESEARCH
SATIN WEAVE
No 42
This weave pattern produces a flexible fabric with variations on each side, since the fill yarn dominates one side by floating over several warp yarns. Therefore, satin woven fabric is more pliable than plain woven fabric and applies well to curves, curved surfaces, and compound curves. The range in pliability depends on the type of satin weave, which are commonly 4-Harness, 5-Harness, and 8-Harness.
TWILL WEAVE Similar to the satin weave in that the fill yarn floats over the warp yarn, but is more decorative due to the diagonal rib that forms across it. The 2x2 twill weave is the most common twill weave, and is composed of equal floating patterns between the fill and warp yarn. It provides more stability than the satin weave and more pliability than the plain weave.
YARN SPOOL Kevlar strands
TWILL WEAVE Kevlar & carbon fiber composite
MATERIAL RESEARCH
MATERIAL CASTING
PLASTER AND NYLON The casted proxy material plaster over molds that allow an interaction with the proxy material nylon influence the development of operations between kevlar and concrete. Formwork is critical in the casting of concrete structures - it determines the boundaries within which and the final form to which the concrete solidifies. In this testing process, the formwork was decidedly curved and attempted to allow for the casted material to nest within it to create a shell. The nylon was placed in the middle of or underneath the layer of plaster. The conditions below are abstracted relationships between
MATERIAL RESEARCH
BASE
MATERIAL INTERACTIONS Kevlar in concrete
No 44
WARP
EMBED
INTERSECT
EMBED
NYLON kevlar PLASTER concrete
POLYSTYRENE formwork
FOAM form
NYLON kevlar
PLASTER concrete
PLASTIC formwork
PLASTER concrete
PLASTIC formwork
MATERIAL RESEARCH
NYLON kevlar
MATERIAL CASTING
PLASTER SHELLS The casted proxy material plaster over molds produce singlular and doubly curved forms that influence the development of modulated pieces derived from vessel structures. The plaster cloths contain a mesh that acts in place of reinforcement in the compound material. Curved solid forms are possible due to the tension from the fibers embedded within the fluid binding agent, which rapidly turns into a solid. The forms are malleable
MATERIAL RESEARCH
enough when wet and rigid enough when solid to simulate textile-reinforced concrete.
No 46
SHELL CASTING Plaster
MATERIAL RESEARCH
PROGRAM RESEARCH DICHOTOMOUS INSERTIONS CURATED THRESHOLD LANDINGS
3 PRECEDENTS VESSEL TYPOLOGIES NARRATIVES
PRECEDENTS FLOATING PIERS SKETCH Christo
FLOATING PIERS Christo, a contemporary artist whose work can be categorized as massive public interventions, realized his vision of the floating piers in 2016, but he first envisioned it 46 years earlier.
PROGRAM RESEARCH
It was a dream of his and his late spouse and partner, Jeanne-Claude, to give the public the experience of “walking on water,” and that is what the project truly did. It was constructed in Pilzone, Italy upon Lake Iseo out of high-density polyethylene cubes covered in felt and saffron-covered fabric (Christo’s signature medium). The installation lasted for just under two months and attracted thousands of visitors to the area, all of whom strode onto the piers and freely wandered across the lake. Whether to reach the protruding Monte Isola at the center of the lake or just to experience the feeling of the fabric under his or her toes, the wanderer experienced something completely magical. The piers defied our conception of ground, spanning at almost the same level as the water and moving with the currents. There is no threshold between the solid ground and the floating piers; the fabric bleeds into the streets of the city.
No 50
POINT COUNTERPOINT II DOCKED Louis Kahn
POINT COUNTERPOINT II A true vessel designed by Louis Kahn for the American Waterways Orchestra in 1974, Point Counterpoint II exemplified the cultural influence of water-based structures. It originated in Biloxi, Mississippi but has traveled to many sites in the United States, the Carribean and even several across the ocean in Northern Europe and Russia. The structure is double-hulled and able to propel itself, even with its 25-foot tall clamshell-like stage cover that opens for shows.
POINT COUNTERPOINT II DRIFTING Louis Kahn
PROGRAM RESEARCH
When it docks it creates a public space with its mere presence. The public is invited to gather around it, enclosing an open space into an amphitheater. It has the ability to transform the public spaces it touches, though the way that it touches those spaces is delicate and temporary.
VESSEL TYPOLOGIES
VENETIAN FLOATING DRY DOCK Woodcut, 1560
PROGRAM RESEARCH
CONCRETE DRY DOCK Water level replenishing
No 52
DRY DOCKS A dry dock is a basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are frequently used for the construction, maintenance, and repair of ships, boats, and other watercraft.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
MOORING TECHNIQUES
1.
HEAD LINE Keeps forward motion of the vessel against dock
Mooring is the act of securing or any element that secures a vessel. Mooring may refer to a quay, wharf, jetty, pier, anchor, anchor buoy, or mooring buoy. Mooring can be brought with the vessel or remain in a singular location.
2.
FORWARD BREAST LINE Keeps vessel close to pier
3.
FORWARD SPRING Prevents vessel from advancing
Above is a diagram of typical rope mooring for vessels to land docks.
4.
AFT SPRING Prevents vessel from moving back
5.
AFT BREAST LINE Keeps vessel close to pier
6.
STERN LINE Prevents vessel from moving forward
PROGRAM RESEARCH
NARRATIVES OF VENICE
MARK TWAIN “One ought, indeed, to turn away from her rags, her poverty and her humiliation, and think of her only as she was when she sunk the fleets of Charlemagne; when she humbled Frederick Barbarossa or waved her victorious banners above the battlements of Constantinople.” “To-day her piers are deserted, her warehouses are empty, her merchant fleets are vanished, her armies and her navies are but memories. Her glory is departed, and with her crumbling grandeur of wharves and palaces about her she sits among her stagnant lagoons, forlorn and beggared, forgotten of the worldfor vessels to land docks. “ Twain’s transcribed experience in The Innocents Abroad is a device to study the state of Venice in the 1860s from the point of view of an outsider. As an omniscient reader
PROGRAM RESEARCH
in the present day, this depiction of Venice is vastly different than its current state. In
No 54
the same means of conceptualizing the city, Twain compares his ‘modernity’ with the historical Venice he has heard so much about. His romanticized image of the city is not fulfilled, and he inserts lofty descriptions of the Venetian glory days throughout the two chapters devoted to his time in Venice.
“REVERENCE FOR THE HALLOWED PAST AND ITS TRADITIONS KEEPS THE DISMAL FASHION IN FORCE NOW THAT THE COMPULSION EXISTS NO LONGER. SO LET IT REMAIN. IT IS THE COLOR OF MOURNING. VENICE MOURNS.” PROGRAM RESEARCH
NARRATIVES OF VENICE
PERCY SHELLEY “These gondolas are the most beautiful and convenient boats in the world. They are finely carpeted and furnished with black, and painted black. The couches on which you lean are extraordinarily soft, and are so disposed as to be the most comfortable to those who lean or sit. The windows have at will either Venetian plate-glass flowered, or Venetian blinds, or blinds of black cloth to shut out the light.” “It was very curious to observe the elements above in a state of such tremendous convulsion, and the surface of the water almost calm; for these lagunas, though five miles broad, a space enough in a storm to sink a gondola, are so shallow that the boatmen drive the boat along with a pole. The sea-water, furiously agitated by the wind, shone with sparkles like stars. Venice, now hidden and now disclosed by the driving rain,
PROGRAM RESEARCH
shone dimly with its lights.”
No 56
Percey Shelley recounts his experience of Venice detailing the immense comfort of the interior of the gondola complete with shades as well as the way in which Venice’s lights twinkle in the water’s reflection. Crossing the laguna during a storm caused Venice to disappear in the rain and feel as though one was at sea in a great storm even though the laguna is only five miles across and shallow enough to reach the bottom with the gondolier’s pole.
“THESE GONDOLAS ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND CONVENIENT BOATS IN THE WORLD.”
PROGRAM RESEARCH
NARRATIVES OF VENICE
ROBERT BROWNING “Oh, Galuppi, Baldassaro, this is very sad to find! I can hardly misconceive you; it would prove me deaf and blind; But although I give you credit, ’tis with such a heavy mind Here you come with your old music, and here’s all the good it brings. What, they lived once thus at Venice, where the merchants were the kings Where St. Marks is, where the Doges used to wed the sea with rings?… As for Venice and its people, merely born to bloom and drop, Here on earth they bore their fruitage, mirth and folly were the crop, What of soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop? “Dust and ashes!” So you creak it, and I want the heart to scold. Dear dead women, with such hair, too—what’s become of all the gold
PROGRAM RESEARCH
Used to hang and brush their bosoms? I feel chilly and grown old.”
No 58
It is inherent in Browning’s nature of writing to place modern situations in historical contexts. In this case, he is dramaticising a dialogue with someone in a time period following the decay of the Victorian era. This plays on the idea of conflict between modernity and history and touches on the decay of Venice, specifically, from its idyllic state.
“AS FOR VENICE AND ITS PEOPLE, MERELY BORN TO BLOOM AND DROP, HERE ON EARTH THEY BORE THEIR FRUITAGE, MIRTH AND FOLLY WERE THE CROP”
PROGRAM RESEARCH
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Architecture, Faculty of. “h1.” Textile Reinforced Concrete Bridge Albstadt-Lautlingen - RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY Faculty of Architecture - English, RWTH Aachen University, 12 May 2012. RWTH Aachen University has done extensive research on the application of textilereinforced concrete (TRC) and they outline the process of planning and casting the TRC bridge in Albstadt-Lautlingen. The bridge is comprised of two interlocking, extremely thin pre-stressed and ribbed base plates. Underneath, the structure is supported by v-shaped steel columns. A wood form was created for the casting of the plates. The bridge has extremely good corrosion properties, eliminating the need for coating. The thinness and resilience that this bridge proves to possess with TRC is extremely relevant to our concept. Keywords: textile-reinforced concrete, casting, thinness, resilience
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barthes, Roland. “The Photographic Message.” Image Music Text. New York: Noonday Press, 1988. The photograph is more than mere reproduction of what is seen by the human eye. Roland Barthes deconstructs the press photograph in an exploration of the denotative and connotative power of a photographic image. Employing trick effects, pose, objects, photogenia, aestheticism, and syntax: a photograph can send a more descriptive message or another message all-together from the initial message the images subject may have given. Through Barthes’ systematic exploration of the photographic message, the mechanical nature of the photograph is dismantled and it is revealed to be ‘art of the most social of institutions’(31). Barthes teaches us that an image is powerful and that in our own work we have the potential to be incredibly nuanced with what we would like to convey. We can carry this into the way we consider the exhibitionary portion of our program; the way we use our materials can have the same duality as the photograph does with its denotative and connotative power. Keywords: photograph, denotative, connotative, message, exhibitionary Corner, James, and Alison Bick Hirsch. “The Agency of Mapping: Speculation, Critique and Invention.” The landscape imagination: collected essays of James Corner, 19902010. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2014. James Corner of Field Operations writes about the history of mapping then goes on to describe the difference between tracing and mapping. Corner explains that mapping
No 60
is more than mere tracing because of its agency or ability to convey or show things beyond what is obviously shown. Later is the piece, Corner explains that mappings can be categorized into various operations; Drift (derive), Layering, Game-board, and Rhizome. Keywords; tracing, mapping, agency, operation, drift, layering, game-board, rhizome Foscari, G., & Koolhaas, R. (2014). Elements of Venice. Zürich: Lars Müller. With a forward written by Rem Koolhaas who curated the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale, the book breaks Venice apart into twelve architectural elements. Once broken into pieces, each architectural element is given historical background in relation to Venetian history with contemporary examples given at the end of each section. Keywords; Venice, canals, architecture, elements, Biennale, history “Historical Timeline of Concrete.” Timeline of Concrete, Auburn University. Auburn University provides a thorough timeline of the events that advanced the development of concrete. The timeline includes the names of the people who influenced the development and the location of the events. Ranging from 12,000,000 BC to the present, it includes a full genealogy of the composite material that contributes to our understanding of its current uses, limitations, and possibilities. Keywords: genealogy, development, uses, limitations, possibilities “Introduction to Concrete.” Memphis University. In this lecture introducing concrete as a material, the properties, composition, curing process, strength statistics, and temperature reactions are outlined. The lecturer stresses the effects of differing ratios of ingredients, such as fine aggregates vs large aggregates in both air entrained concrete and non-air entrained concrete. The compressive properties are given in terms of psi and the timeline of strength gained is shown graphically. The document’s relevance to us lies in its general and unbiased information on the general properties of concrete. Keywords: curing process, strength statistics, temperature reactions, aggregates, ratios, compressive
The author introduces the building as being on a significant plot of land in Mexico where many people like to gather and as having unique geometry. The concept of the building is related to the geological features around it and the spaces inside are described in accordance with the effect of the parabolic roof structure. To conclude, the author attributes success to the lightness and thinness of the roof structure and notes the way it has supports built into it, rather than under it or around it. We see how the context of the building is related to its shape and effect on the people and the significance of thin-shell structures. Keywords: parabolic roof, geometry, thin-shell, context Lavin, Sylvia. “Showing Work.” Log, No. 20, Curating Architecture (2010). 5-10.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Los Manantiales Restaurant - Data, Photos & Plans.” WikiArquitectura.
Lavin’s Showing Work talks about the ever evolving identity of work. The idea of of work and curation once a black and white topic, is now very blurred. “...Hans Ulrich Obrist, and others now make ‘works’ by curating curation”. The constant redefining and hybridization of curation and work has influenced the art/architecture movement. Architecture, what once was a separation of tasks such as theory, strategy, and production, is now increasingly unified as is the exhibition. Lavin insists that the architecture exhibition is a new medium but not in the sense of curating a separate show for a building(s). Copious amounts of work already goes into the making of a building and the architecture itself is the real exhibition. This gives a bit of insight into the future and we can begin to speculate and experiment in hybridizing multiple fields to produce the new definition of work in the future. This opens up the possibilities for the connection between our materials and the other art forms that they interact with. We can consider how architecture and art relate as one, rather than as separate entities. Keywords: redefining, hybridization, curation, architecture exhibition Martin, Lillian. “Illustrations from Mercantile Manuscripts and Technical Treatises.” In The Art and Archaeology of Venetian Ships and Boats, 80-91. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2001. A comprehensive survey of ships both constructed in Venice and used by Venetians from the beginning of the city’s history up to modern times. This section references notable folios of mercantile manuscripts and technical treatises of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries describing elements of the ships shown in the historical images alongside the text. While comprehensive, in-depth ship construction is out of the scope of the study. Keywords; ships, boats, Venice, construction, merchant, framing, timber, planking, nave, galley, rudder, vang, parabolic, sinusoid, hull, rope ladder, rigging, forcole, asymmetry
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Major Works.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University.
No 62
The Princeton University Art Museum provides a brief history of the Los Manantiales Restaurant at Xochimilco, by Felix Candela. The author explains the inspiration behind Candela’s creation of the roof with free curved edges, which was a sketch done by Colin Faber. Candela’s work had featured groin vaulting before, but not in such an extreme form. The author details the construction of the structure and includes some anecdotes from Candela himself, emphasizing the significance of the thin shell concrete to the overall impression of the restaurant. The information provided gives us insight into the details used to create such a striking form with reinforcement that does not combat it. Keywords: groin vault, thin shell concrete, reinforcement Peck, Martin. Concrete Design, Construction, Examples. BirkhaÌ User, 2006. In Concrete Design, Construction, Examples, Martin Peck introduces the material in depth and gives thorough examples of applications. He divides the topic into three main categories: the material concrete, designing with concrete, and fair-face concrete. Additionally, the book includes appendices for standards and citations. As it was written in 2006, the book does not have the latest technology, but it provides an overview of the basic properties and applications of the material. It is most useful for us in our initial research about the material because of its thorough descriptions of the material properties and applications.
Keywords: fair-face concrete, properties, applications Perriand, Charlotte. “Wood or Metal?” The Studio 97. Charlotte Perriand creates a dialogue between wood and metal in this piece. She structures it by comparing them directly and then professing the superiority of metal with reference to its presence in daily life and commerce. Her style of writing is like the way someone would make a speech, and thus her opinions become very convincing. She emphasizes her points by repeating the same sentence structure several times, such as when she says, “They make metallised wood. They make imitation oak or metal. They have even planned a chair…” Perriand’s manifesto provides many analogies between materials and our everyday life, so it is easy to comprehend her arguments for them. We can use this strategy for our own manifesto and take cues from her strong stylistic techniques that give the writing such a strong voice. Keywords: metal, wood, manifesto, repetition, voice Povoledo, Elisabetta. “Christo’s Newest Project: Walking on Water.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 June 2016. Christo, a contemporary artist whose work can be categorized as massive public interventions, realized his vision of the floating piers in 2016, but he first envisioned it 46 years earlier. It was a dream of his and his late spouse and partner, Jeanne-Claude, to give the public the experience of “walking on water,” and that is what the project truly did. It was constructed in Pilzone, Italy upon Lake Iseo out of high-density polyethylene cubes covered in felt and saffron-covered fabric (Christo’s signature medium). The installation lasted for just under two months and attracted thousands of visitors to the area, all of whom strode onto the piers and freely wandered across the lake. Whether to reach the protruding Monte Isola at the center of the lake or just to experience the feeling of the fabric under his or her toes, the wanderer experienced something completely magical. The piers defied our conception of ground, spanning at almost the same level as the water and moving with the currents. There is no threshold between the solid ground and the floating piers; the fabric bleeds into the streets of the city. The expression of this public intervention is similar in its aims to our proposal. It supports: connection, extension, threshold, accessibility, nomadism, and movement.
“Removable Forms (Cast-In-Place).” Removable Forms (Cast-In Place), Portland Cement Association. The Portland Cement Association provides a detailed profile of cast-in-place (CIP) concrete by referencing the history, advantages, components, processes, sustainability, codes, costs, and case studies. The history dates back to the 1850s and provides benefits for both owners and contractors for its material properties. The method has a clear set of steps that include inserting and removing formwork, a critical element in CIP concrete. The standards for steel reinforcement are outlined, though alternatives are possible. The curvaceous form of the Palm Avenue Parking Garage and Retail Shops case study demonstrates the flexibility of form that CIP concrete provides, which is important for us to explore as we push the limits of the material.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Keywords: connection, extension, threshold, accessibility, nomadism, movement, polyethylene, magical, ground, span, currents
Keywords: history, advantages, components, processes, sustainability, codes, costs, and case studies “REINFORCEMENT/COATING/LAMINATING FABRICS.” Properties of Weave Patterns - Reinforcement/Coating/Laminating Fabrics, Lewco Specialty Products, Inc. An overview of the most commonly used weave patterns is provided on this online resource by Lewco Specialty Products, Inc., a manufacturing company. This online resource outlines the composition of the plain weave, the satin weave, and the twill weave. It is non-specific to any fabric or yarn, but states the advantages and disadvantages for each weave, such as the pliability and stability. We can use this to determine the Kevlar weave most suitable for our critical material practice. Keywords: weave patterns, advantages, disadvantages, plain, satin, twill, pliability, stability Romano, Dennis. “The Gondola as a Marker of Station in Venetian Society.” Renaissance Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, 1994, pp. 359–374. JSTOR, JSTOR. The social ties to the gondola in Renaissance Venice are presented in this journal article by Dennis Romano. Gondolas represented elite status but were also a representation signifying professional and corporate pride. They were signs of independence and power for the elite and either signs of the opposite or a privilege for the gondoliers. In the hierarchy of Renaissance Venetian society, there were those who walked and those who rode The relationship between the elite and their gondoliers was amicable in the representations. In the famous myth of venice, that relationships between classes was good; in reality it was not so. The distinction between those who walk and those who ride is pertinent to our distinction between land and water, so we are able to draw conclusions about their differences with the addition of this social aspect. Keywords: gondolas, elite, privilege, gondolier, hierarchy, walk, ride
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schultz, Colin. “Why the Pantheon Hasn’t Crumbled.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 16 Dec. 2014.
No 64
Profiling the composition of the Pantheon and its unique concrete makeup, Colin Schultz elaborates on an age old curiosity while introducing new discoveries about it. He cites Gail Sullivan from the Washington Post, who also wrote an article about the new discoveries. The article is brief but does provide a background for the reason behind the research conducted and the conclusions found during the study. Keywords: concrete, discoveries, research, conclusions Sontag, Susan. “The Image World.” On Photography. New York: Anchor Books, 1990. Susan Sontag attempts to define what a photograph is in modern times and explains that photography is intertwined with the photographed subject as opposed to divorced from it. There is a point of view in the text that photography as a system of information allows control, in the sense of transforming what is present into a mental image, much like we interpret the past. Keywords; image, subject, mental, depersonalizing, iconography, observer, reality “Textile Concrete.” Textile Concrete - Events & Dates - Avr - Allgemeiner Vliesstoff Report, AVR, 22 Apr. 2015.
The developments of textile reinforced concrete are making large influences in the field of architecture and engineering. In comparison to steel, it has increased lightness and resistance to corrosion. The materials have already been used together in some industrial fields, but the aim is to integrate their use into architecture. The difficulties of making this happen are outlined, but the milestones already made are also stated. Research in the implementation of textile reinforced concrete into architecture is outlined at the end and the author concludes with a promising outlook for the future of the materials. The argument made against steel reinforcement is critical to our research because we are stating the same argument, and the development of the technology is very important for us to learn about. This article is a brief overview of our specific material practice in the real world. Keywords: textile reinforcement, lightness, corrosion resistance “The Gondola: Its History and Manufacture.” Scientific American, vol. 79, no. 16, 1898, pp. 247–247. JSTOR, JSTOR. The long and rich history of gondola building has been chronicled in this straightforward article by The Scientific American from 1898. Though this article was written over a century ago, the gondola has been built the same way since the 1700s. The author gives a detailed list of steps involved in the building process and the changes it went through before coming to its current state. The maintenance of the boats is also discussed, giving closure to the description of the lifespan of the gondola. The specificity of the building process gives us insight into potential methods of constructing our modules. Keywords: building process, construction, gondola, history “Weave Patterns.” ACP Composites. An overview of the most commonly used weave patterns is provided on this PDF by ACP Composites, a manufacturing company. This online resource outlines the composition of the plain weave, the satin weave, and the twill weave. It is non-specific to any fabric or yarn, but states the advantages and disadvantages for each weave, such as the pliability and stability. We can use this to determine the Kevlar weave most suitable for our critical material practice. Keywords: weave patterns, satin weave, twill weave, plain weave, pliability, stability, advantages, disadvantages
Anna Winston gives an overview of Le Corbusier’s Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut and its significance within the context of the 20th century. She gives the context of the building in Ronchamp and in the history of Le Corbusier’s own work, noting that it is something new and different for both. The structure of the building is briefly described for its use of thin shell construction and simplicity of organization in plan. She compares the bright interior colors to another building of his, the Dominican Monastery of La Tourette, and describes the fenestration. Winston distinguishes between the different methods of concrete usage, such as mortar finished and raw. What we can take away from the overview of this building is the use of thin-shell construction and the different treatments of concrete. Keywords: context, fenestration, thin-shell construction, concrete
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Winston, Anna. “Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp Chapel Is One of His Most Important Buildings.” Dezeen, 5 Aug. 2016.