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manifesto project vi
20I5/20I6 professor javier sånchez merina group vii bianca woisetschläger anna maly pascale atsma 3
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index i
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II. III. V.
story of houses videos our choice
new story vi. parkinson
vi. microarchitecture vii. our project viii. conclusion ix. bibliography
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STORIES OF HOUSES feature examples of dwellings from which we can all learn - both the clients during their contemplation about building a house, and the architects to understand and evaluate the life of the clients. How can an architect design a house for his older sister who has just become a widow? What can an architect offer when his client, who is confined to a wheelchair, asks for a complex design that will become his world? And when art lovers offer total freedom for the design of their house? How is one to explain that the neighbours once shot at the house of the architect who now has acclaimed international prestige? This series of articles tries to give answers to questions concerning intimacies and origins of important international houses. They try to fill the gap left by so many History of Architecture books which, when neglecting these extreme personal sources, forget the multidisciplinary character of architecture. The houses analysed have been selected for their good architecture and for having been designed by a famous architect. But more than that, there is also an indispensable ingredient of having clients tell a passionate story that generates the project. Stories of Houses include information about the clients, their requests and needs, without which one cannot begin to understand the final result. From Laugier‘s hut, which illustrates primitive architecture, to the houses by such architects as Ă balos and Herreros which are based on the idea behind the Swatch watches, through to the House of the Future, a project by the couple Alison and Peter Smithson, the study of housing has been linked to the time in which it was built. Beyond styles or fashions, Stories of Houses deals with feelings and passions which help to establish an analysis detached from the time to which it belongs. They are examples of architecture which will always be up-to-date, bearing in mind that they are concerned with personal feelings with which we all identify. 6
The elaboration of the program for the dwelling, which is articulated by the clients, is a process that is later reversed when the house moulds the life of its inhabitants. The furniture, memories, inherited objects and collections are all symbols of what we are and what we want to be. One could argue that if the facades of the houses are the interior of the city, then the interior of the houses are the exterior of their inhabitants. Thus, the history of the dwelling derives from the plurality of society in which it is built, from the architect‘s education and imagination and the life of the user. In short, the articles are concerned with recovering an intense connection between the client and the architect. The published material has the rigour of having been revised and accepted by the architects of the houses. The articles are about recently built houses - although some now are demolished - and in only one case, there will be an un-built project. This is by the Spanish architect Enric Miralles, whose recent death did not allow him to complete it. To him we dedicate these articles.
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Having a steep and “uncomfortable” site yet with a beautiful view over the horizon, a professor of literature in Madrid approached the architect, Alberto Campo Baeza, to design a house for his family where they could “listen to music”. As a present he gave the architect a beautiful book of poetry, as it were provisions for starting the design process. Thus, the client directed the architect whose world-wide reputation was recognised for his poetic treatment of natural light. With this mutual cultural understanding between the client and the architect, a house was being born where one listens to the music within the silence. A house for emotions; to forget and remember The first day that the client, Francisco de Blas, visited the architect he gave him a book of poetry from 1950 with the complete work of the Spanish poet Luis Cernuda (1902- 1963) who had been a member of the group of poets, Generation 27, with Federico García Lorca among others. Cernuda’s poetry was dense with intense emotions, describing sensitivity and love, pain and solitary, and the contrasts between the realisation of his personal desires (the wish) and the limits imposed by the world around him (reality). His most famous poem Donde habite el olvido (1932-33) describes a world where one forgets all one’s problems and in that way manages to achieve the freedom that one longs so much. 10
This was the reading material that the professor of literature transmitted to his architect. It seemed as if Francisco de Blas wanted something more than a house, that he wanted place where emotions and reflections were part of the building material. For Campo Baeza, this was a welcoming challenge. In fact, he intended his architecture to speak poetry and in order to transmit that to his architectural students he started every lecture for his classes at the University with an opening of the poem, Auguries of Innocence by William Blake: To see a World in a grain of sand. And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the Palm of your hand. The house in the mountain for listening to silence With these provisions, Campo Baeza went to visit the site with the client. It was to the southwest of Madrid with a wonderful view to the north towards the mountains and 3000 squares metres with a difference of 15 metres in height from bottom to the top. Despite that the client thought it very uncomfortable, the architect realised immediately that the place was perfect for the brief that the client had given him. Being so high, the surrounding houses would disappear and would leave the horizontal landscape in the distance to be enjoyed. Studying the slope, Campo Baeza decided to make a platform for the house to sit on and to divide the house into two conceptual elements: a solid concrete box sitting firmly on the ground emphasising its sense of gravity and another transparent glass box placed on the concrete box with a light and simple steel structure that almost disappears into the landscape. The perfectly carved out box contrasts with the structural qualities of the second, the viewpoint situated at the highest point of the house. They are two opposing states or qualities of how light transmit through the material; one completely opaque and the other completely open. 11
Inside the concrete box is the programme of the house dividing the spaces so as the living areas - the four bedrooms and the living room - have a view of the framed landscape through square gaps that open out to the horizon. The effect is as if the landscape is far away from our reach in the distance. The opposite is felt in the totally transparent box on its roof where one is literally absorbed by the power of the surroundings. It is here that the inhabitant can loose all sense for the time, to listen to the sounds of the ambience, of the silence, of the music of the landscape. One recalls the effect of John Cage’s musical piece “4 minutes and 33 seconds� (1952) where the pianist sits in silence in front of the piano while the audience listen to the sounds of the surroundings. No two people listen to the silence in the same way. In fact, people are generally not educated in listening to the silence. In de Blas house one finds peace within oneself and gains freedom. The experience is deeply personal, based on reflections; forgetting and remembering and relating oneself with the environment. Francisco de Blas and Alberto Campo Baeza have made a house where its poetry helps to build another more subjective poetry of the one who perceives the place.
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To integrate a house with its built environment does not assume a superficial mimic of the geometric forms that surround it. This house incorporates them in its form by reinterpreting the notion of dwelling by the Atlantic Ocean. An author of prestigious architecture in Europe, Asia and America, the British architect, David Chipperfield decided in 1996 to design his family holiday house in a small fishing village in the North of Spain. It was in Corrubedo, the same place the legendary Spanish architects Manuel Gallego and Alejandro de la Sota used to spend their vacations. It was a place in front of the wild sea and unique dunes that represented a complete contrast to their hectic urban life in London. Corrubedo Both Chipperfield and his Argentinean wife Evelyn Stern had long been attracted by Spain. During the 10 previous years they had rented an accommodation in this small village in the south of Coru単a region. Corrubedo, with only 726 inhabitants attracted thousands of visitors every summer who savoured its fresh seafood, fished sea-bass and bream and enjoyed its national park with a huge mobile dune of extremely fine sand. Looking for a site for sale, the couple at last found one, like a gash in the main street and only a few metres from the sea. 14
Although this first line of houses that was built in the 60’s had the possibility to open up towards the sea and the other side towards the urban life of the main street, due to the forces inherent in the sea the houses demonstrated a typology which displayed a preference for the city. All of them open their windows and balconies towards the street, however, they felt the need to protect themselves from the sea and thus reduced the openings to mere vents. Having his own family as the client, Chipperfield enjoyed an exceptional freedom. Yet, for him, much freedom impelled him to redefine the working rules: What was to be interpreted? Rather than being concerned with a style or a shape, it was more relevant to think about the architecture from the inside of the house. That is, to reflect on the human condition and personal relationships that determine architecture, the connection between the inhabitant and the experience of the building. From the beginning, as with all his design work, Chipperfield therefore focused on creating spaces which situated the individual in relation to simple domestic rituals – having breakfast, reading a book, cooking and contemplating the sea. The architecture would become a setting without attracting attention, yet its presence should be felt. Absorbing the powers of the sea The sea became the central element for interpretation; its power and attraction should be enjoyed to the utmost during the family’s vacation. Consequently, and to the contrary to its neighbouring houses, the interior spaces of the dwelling must focus towards the bay and the harbour, protecting its privacy from the main street with a practically closed facade. The house is elevated in four levels. A few metres from the beach, a ramp leads from the rocks directly to the children’s bedroom, rooms that resemble ship cabins. Above this floor is the living room, located such that a glass wall affords views out across the sea.
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On the floor above are more bedrooms and on the top is a terrace which, protected by the study, protrudes towards the Atlantic ocean like it covets the very essence of the sea. Any enclosure which might obstruct the vision is dissolved on the roof terrace where the family prepares a barbeque as if on a deck of a boat. The memory of the village lies in the life around the ocean. In this setting, it is the sea which is the element that comprises the link between the past and living in the present. This powerful natural force also determines the exterior of the house, the selection of materials and the layout of the interior spaces. The solidity of the stone, which forms the base of the house, is reinforced by the weightless glass on the next floor, a sense of lightness which becomes more intense until making the house evaporate on the roof terrace. Further responding to the sea, the house by Chipperfield manages to integrate itself with the same neighbouring buildings that had protected themselves from it. The house maintains harmony with the heights, materials and colours of these houses in the main street but instead of repeating their geometrical forms, it incorporates them through irregular lines which respond to the ever changing surface of the water and which accompany the skyline of Corrubedo’s front. It is a project which is born from incorporating the reflection of the visitor, the architect and his family in showing the attitude of being “a part of and yet apart from� their environment. For Chipperfield it was not a matter of inventing new forms but forming a dialogue between the place and the newcomers.
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In order to materialise architecture on the basis of operating by agreements, “an exhaustive knowledge about the life and belongings of the neighbour - to link with his private world -, is necessary.” The work initiated in 1989 but has no fixed completion date. It started with the City Council showing interest in renovating a deteriorated neighbourhood in the centre of Granada known for prostitution, which led to Juan Domingo Santos receiving a commission to renovate one of the old brothels. Observing basic principles of community life, the architect sought to generate the project from the neighbours’ interests. By negotiating about parts of their dwellings, a game was established which allowed all members to enjoy spaces that they had been longing for. Living in a community The houses in the neighbourhood San Matías are known by its names or nicknames drawn from particular features or physical defects of the prostitutes who owned them (La Remedios, La Pepinica, La Cabezona). Domingo Santos was commissioned to work on a small patio house owned by the Cripple, located in the narrow street Calle Álvarez de Castro just 1, 15 metre wide, and next to houses owned by la Remedios, Carmela of the Dead and a tailor. 18
If one is able to ask the neighbours for a cup of sugar or pinch of salt, to water the plants or collect one’s mail while on vacation, Domingo Santos asked himself why not to go one step further and ask, in the same natural manner, if one could borrow part of their living room or some other spaces they were not using but which one felt really necessary for one’s needs. Historically, against the common thought that dwellings are closed and isolated entities, the medieval city offered its houses the possibility to grow and adjust to the needs of the inhabitants. Asking permission to enter one’s house through a neighbour’s patio or share the laundry line became the rules for a game of exchange proposed by the architect and which received a great enthusiasm from the neighbours. They collaborated with a list of things they would like and what they had to offer in exchange. Legally supervised by lawyers and the architect, the base for this negotiation lay in the exchange of spaces and architectural elements without financial compensation being permitted. The result became an agreed construction that encouraged a communal feeling and traditional way of extending one’s house. As Domingo Santos stated, “it was allowed to build up or down, to the right or left. Any movement was possible if only there was an agreement.” Establishing agreements for the houses. In a letter written to us, Juan Domingo Santos meticulously described the intrinsic process for the exchange: The Cripple’s house, which was the catalyst for the whole procedure, had a small shed that was next to a patio. Adjacent to her, la Remedios lived in a house with a beautiful 19th century patio, with stone columns and wooden beams. To make her dream come true of owning this type of patio, the Cripple proposed to la Remedios to incorporate the patio to her house so she could use it as a walkway or a right of way. As an exchange, the Cripple would create in her new house a passageway next to the patio to benefit the house of la Remedios. It would be arranged in such a way that by uniting, they were connected to two streets at the edge of the block of houses, merely by crossing this passageway-patio space. 19
The solution was interesting for both parties, now that it made an elastic zone, which had up to then been very tight and difficult to access. Another agreement they came to, was to join the first two floors of each dwelling (very small) and to gain a larger floor space which could be rented out and thus, they could obtain an income that separately would have proved impossible. The benefits of this co-ownership were shared, depending on the degree of participation. Later, Carmela of the Dead, decided to participate in the exchange, after seeing the economic success and reward that these connections suggested for the houses (which enlarged substantially their surface through their patio). She offered her patio to form part of the passage which, in this case, connected to a square to which it faced. The result was very intriguing because the city, besides the movement through its streets, also possessed internal movements across its patios of different owners and, although being private, having the doors always open, any passer-by could make use of them. To add to this exchange, the Cripple left part of her roof to become a sightseeing spot over the cathedral, which would benefit Carmela of the Dead, and she in turn freed a room with views towards the square for the Cripple. The result of all these changes permitted the Cripple, who originally had owned a small house, between neighbours and with a small patio without interests but with magnificent views over the cathedral, to finally share a traditional patio from 19th century Granada and one room with a view towards a square, with windows over other patios. La Remedios, in all this affair, also had a favourable result, the access to her patio had been improved, which up to then had been disconnected, and she had managed a change of ownership with Carmela of the Dead in a neighbouring house but closer to the centre, which she had been looking for.
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“This game of exchanges and cessions has been left fractured partly because Granada’s town hall has bought the house of Carmela of the Dead to accommodate a few offices temporarily. As this occupation will be temporary, the Cripple, Carmela of the Dead, la Remedios and I are waiting for its removal to reinitiate this story. Disgracefully, Carmela of the Dead, paradoxes of life, was murdered by a client and let’s just see who is going to be the next owner whom we will approach to incorporate into the game,” said Domingo Santos. This is an extraordinary project, which has emerged from the citizens’ conditions. Without a doubt, negotiation, as a concept, is already an architectural element. With it, new architecture is created which shows a special consideration towards its habitants, and refuses arrogant postures that have broadened the gap between society and architecture. In fact, as Juan Domingo Santos has confirmed to us, the expectations of San Matías neighbourhood have meant that many brothels have been bought and a change in profile in terms of inhabitants has begun to be felt in the recent years.
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video i - who i am
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My first should show me the I am. I tried to explain that i don´t see myself like a typical girl from Germany (despite that I fulfill all the clichÊs) and it is not how I want the world to see me. In my eyes I would describe myself as a person who is interested in architecture and who identifies herself not with stereotypes. For me as an architecture student it is important to see the world in a different way and to learn how I can improve the surrounding of my fellows. It is remarkable how an architect can convey his ideas with nothing than some fast sketches. Just some quick lines and an idea starts to grow. We as architects can influence how people will see, feel and experience our created surrounding. On the one hand it is possible to create rooms where you feel small and lost and on the other hand small spaces where you feel comfortable and cosy.
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video ii - emotions
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„architecture is often reduced to something very abstract, something that has to do with squaremeters, height of buildings, materials of buildings. but it is really addressed to the heart and to the soul and that´s emotion (...) architecture which is made with true love brings an understanding and when we understand something, we find out something about ourself. we know something more, which gives us joy in living and pleasure. that´s what architecture can do... every building has his own story to tell.“ - daniel libeskind Every person in the world is controlled by his emotions which you feel everyday. Everyone needs a space to experience this emotions and should feel ashamed to express them. Good architecture can help you experience pure emotions and an architect needs to see and think with emotions, to create something where you feel comfortable and secure. With my second video I wanted to experience pure emotions all by myself and to see space and architecture in different ways. The houses I have chosen (Blas House, House in Corrubedo) have something where you can see the emotions of the architect. I wanted to work with them and question the architecture.
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our choice
privatehouse in corrubedo (galicia) Date I996-2002 Gross floor area 2I0 m2 Client private Architect David Chipperfield Architects, London Contact Architect Carlos Seoane, Carlos Fontenla Structural Engineer: Jane Wernick Associates General Contractor Serinfra S.A.
why the privatehouse in corrubedo?
we were deeply impressed by the idea the architect David Chipperfield had by creating the house for his family, which occupies a gap in the main street of the small Galician fishing village Corrubedo. His idea was to open the facade to the ocean side and close the facade to the street side to gain privacy. The house integrates itself in the environment without imitating the surrounding houses, but due to his extravagant shape it stands out. The ocean front is determined by one big rectangular opening in the first floor which is used as a lookout in the first floor and a terrace in the second floor. We liked the organization of the interior and the way the architect put it in relation with the exterior. It would be interesting to work with the Private House in Corrubedo and learn to answer new architectural questions. 26
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first drawing of the privatehouse in corrubedo 28
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new story It all started with a little jitter in his left hand. At the first moment he thought that it was only because he was so exhausted and tired, but he could not sleep, not yet because the protect has to be ready tomorrow. Just a few hours more and it is finally over. Sleepless nights, a problem every Architect has to deal with. This was before 6 years. The shaking never went away and it is getting worse and worse every day. There were moments he couldn´t hold his pen anymore. But he would not admit it that there was something wrong with him. He could hide it from his wife and his children for a long time until the moment he felt down the stairs. It was his son who convinced him to see a doctor. After many exhausting hours full of test and waiting, the family got the prognoses from the doctor: Parkinson.
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His world broke down. The great David Chipperfield has parkinson, how was that possible, how should he work with this illness and the most important question how should his family live with it. The hardest part for him was to admit that he needs help. Help with normal trivial things like drinking or putting clothes on. He gave up his work, because he was ashamed to stand in front of his clients and could not draw anything. Drawing, one oft the most important thing in his life. How should he express himself, his ideas of the buildings without drawing. At this moment he had not much joy in his life. His family decided to change many things to make his life better again. They have a beautiful house in a small fishing village in Spain in which he always felt happy and free. So they moved there to see a smile again in his face. There he is living now and he started to handle with his illness. It was a hard way until he accepted the fact that he will never be healthy again. He didn´t feel sorry for himself anymore and started to enjoy life again. There are new things that are important in his life, not the money and the fame anymore, it is the small things that make him happy. He can see his grand child growing up and can play with it because his daughter decided to live with her husband in the family house to help her parents. The smallest son of the family started to study medicine to research more about Parkinson and maybe to help his father one day. Parkinson doesn´t break the family, they getting stronger and stronger every day.
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DIAGNOSE
PARKINSON
“The world fell down. I started a widespread apathy without any stimulus for work, family…nothing had interest for me. Moreover, going out was an obsession. I felt observed by the eyes of the ones that passed me… Because of this, one of the days I was walking around staring, I started to think and get several conclusions. If I have a disease that perhaps would ending up handicapping me, the best I could do was enjoying the time that I was in good shape and handicap her.” -José Luis Molero Ruiz This is just one example of a patient of Parkinson. We all known the symptoms like shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking and gait, but we don’t know how this really effect on our life. Parkinson is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system mainly affecting the motor system. The motor symptoms of Parkinson‘s disease result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain. The causes of this cell death are poorly understood. Although some atypical cases have a genetic origin, while secondary Parkinsonism is due to known causes like toxins. Many risks and protective factors have been investigated: the clearest evidence is for an increased risk of PD in people exposed to certain pesticides and a reduced risk in tobacco smokers. 32
There is no cure for Parkinson but there are some treatments: typically the medications L-DOPA and dopamine agonists, improve the early symptoms of the disease. As the disease progresses and dopaminergic neurons continue to be lost, these drugs eventually become ineffective at treating the symptoms and at the same time produce a complication marked by involuntary writhing movements. Diet and some forms of rehabilitation have shown some effectiveness at improving symptoms. Surgery and deep brain stimulation have been used to reduce motor symptoms as a last resort in severe cases where drugs are ineffective.
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INTERVIEW
Marianne Sloop was diagnosed Parkinson 8 years ago, at the age of 46. What were the first signals of the disease?
“I had a weird walk and I always held my left arm a bit strange when tooth brushing. They told me later that where the first signals. After the birth of my youngest daughter I still had difficulty to walk, I couldn’t find my rhythm anymore. Physiotherapy didn’t help, I get in a postnatal depression. At that time I was a secretary. I am a perfectionist, but the combination about work, two children and physical problems I couldn’t stand. I constantly made myself nervous about everything that I still had to do. I get in the sick leave and did everything to recover, special hormone pills, haptonomy… After about a year, the worst and most violence tiredness depressive moods were gone. I continued walking strangely and had balance problems. The doctor referred me to a neurologist, who finally diagnosed Parkinson’s disease. For the neurologist it was a fact and I felt almost non sympathize. I looked for a new doctor. When they couldn’t help me anymore, I was redirected to Dr. Boon of the Erasmus MC. An expert in her field and very involved. She searched the most ideal medicines for me, depending on my situation. Until now, I still have off-periods between taking my medication, this means about four off-periods per day. They are much shorter than in the beginning of my illness but they stay intense.”
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How does an off-period feel? What happens? “You feel yourself getting down. You become more and more tired and everything you do requires more energy. The coordination of my hands get less: I do have the strength, but the control is missing. As I lay something somewhere, I get stuck. I can not move and have to wiggle to get loose. If I am waiting in the supermarket, I can just fell down in an off-situation. After a while, you can decide about or timing your off-periods. Through you don’t have quite all the control, at other times it can just happen, specially under stress. In that situation, I can not do anything else than wait for the drugs to do their work again. Without medicine I really can’t walk a meter. My legs do not listen because they receive don’t or unclear signals of my brains. I do not know which leg to begin and I fall over. I don’t have yet night medication, so I get crawling to the toilet.” -What does Parkinson emotionally with you? “A lot. But not only with me, even with my family. I talk a lot less clear, and when I`m off, even worse. That puts enormous pressure on the family. We hardly make calls. I have plenty of things I want to say, but I can’t get out of my words. Never mind, I think soon. “What do you say?“ Is our most used phrase. I became a lot more emotional. I can really cry about everything, and get upset when the children have grief or misfortune. I am also very uncertain. I’ve always been sceptic, but now I doubt even if I have made a decision. If there must be something done within a certain period of off time, I get stressful and therefore more affected by Parkinson. And I‘m ashamed when I throw something at a birthday or I fall down when standing up. At home I first have to ‚ bounce ‚ three times to manage to get up. I absolutely do not want to stand out in such a way. At a birthday party, I am very quiet. When I talk, nobody can understand me well, because it is so unclear and fast. 35
And in such a crowded space ... People hooks at some point down. Recently I was at a reunion of my work. I saw all former colleagues with whom I wanted to talk, but due to the tension there came not a sensible word out. I just wanted to cry. At such a moment I feel very lonely. How do you handle this situations? For others, I try to keep good as much as possible. One of my friends has the disease too, with quite different symptoms. But not all of my friends do know how it really is to have Parkinsonism. Since January I have a levadopa - pump; therefore you are within ten minutes back ‚on ‘. However, this does not always work. Once your body just don’t want to listen anymore. I´m just two Marianns . A good and an ill one. In off- periods, I am sad and angry. I realize that I make it more difficult with this to myself, but I find it hard to accept that I can not do what I want. As a mother, I feel guilty. For example if I, again, can not come to say goodbye to the children for a school trip or in sports I can’t come and watch. Also my spontaneity fades. I respond instance not so keen on good news. This is due to the disease, but also because of the drugs and their side effects. This also changes the relationship with my husband, from buddy to caregiver. Fred is very sober and do whether it will all work out. I think that‘s his way to process it and give it a place. The children also experience it in their own way. They are both busy and hot-tempered and have regularly quarrel. They are now at an age when they more go their own way, but they are also forced myself to take things. If I have to go to the doctor, there are - through the school of Laura - always dear mothers ready to catch her, very fine.
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I think about the future so less as possible. Parkinson‘s is a progressive disease; when I see how I was there a year ago, compared to now, I‘m not really happy. In my idea I really get worse quickly. I am a very big supporter of euthanasia, because life must of course remain a little fun. „ Thank you for this interview. “I really hope that my story is helpful. I want to let people to know what Parkinson‘s disease means for the patient and family. That you will not be considered if you goof at the greengrocer barely “two boxes of strawberries ‘. You do not get surprised looks when you drive one day on a scooter and the next day just passes walking through the village. Parkinson gives you two faces - it‘s no different.“
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drawing: action in the house - taking the stairs
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our conclusion about parkinson After the interview and our researches we found out that most of the people with Parkinson disease don´t feel sorry for themselves and accepted their new live and find a proper way to life with Parkinson. Remarkable is the humour most of the PARKIES (how they often call them self) have. They accept their new life and see it as nothing bad, it is another opportunity to live in a different, maybe also better way. They have a strong ability, more like a “superpower”:
they´re able to laugh about themselves
I tried to illustrate some jokes we found on a web - page from a woman who enjoys her life with Parkinson with all the ups and downs. (for you information: those are no jokes a “normal” person is telling, furthermore jokes from the persons who life with Parkinson)
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details microarchitecture
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group project modifying of the house in corrubedo As a next step we tried to modify the house with the thoughts of the microarchiteccture. In the following sides I will show the several developing processes of our group project with short explanation from the respective groupmember
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our project modifying the staircase - pascal atsma The development of the staircase was proposed by Pascal Atsma. The main idea behind her work is the movement of the Parkinson. There is a significant aspect in the movement of a person with the illness: he moves slower and slower because after a while the movements are to exhausting for him and his body will start to strike as he will reach the top of the staircase. Because of that Pascale proposed to design a staircase with different size of the steps (small and fast steps at the bottom, large and slow steps at the top). Triangle mirrors on the wall also imitate the movement of the person. Small mirrors on the bottom will grow with the slower movement and on the top you can find your self in the big mirrors.
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final result - pascale atsma
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our project modifying the facade - anna maly Anna worked on modifying of the ocean view sight of the house in Corrubedo. Her proposal was to see the walls of the house as a part of our microarchitecutre. She developed several versions of the facade with an static improvement.
version i GSEducationalVersion
version ii GSEducationalVersion
version iii
GSEducationalVersion
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final result - anna maly
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our project:
modifying the interior - bianca woisetschläger
version i my first try to translate the microarchitecture to the house. i created a mediation room in the second floor with triangle-shaped mirrors on the wall and a glass-facade instead of the wall next to the lookout
version iii and iv these two versions have basically the same idea but were created with two different techniques. the shape and appearance of the microarchitecture was translated i:i to the facade of the house. my interest here was to create the same play of light you have on the inside of the microarchitecture (as you can see in the details) 56
version II an abstract way to tr chitecture. my idea w - house“ where you n fident because you w everybody can see yo
ranslate the microarwas to create a „glass need to be self-conwould be aware that ou.
addition to version ii here i wanted to show the relation which can be developed because of the „windows“ in the floor and sealing
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final result - bianca woisetschl채ger For my final result my purpose was to show what happen in the inside of the house with the same thoughts of the microarchitecture as in the staircase or facade. The picture on the bottom shows the room right next to the lookout which we closed. I tried to combine the staircase which grows into the room with mirrors and the facade, which is wrapped around the ocean view side and grows into the interior. The two important aspects of our final project start to approach but they will never touch.
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short summary of proyect iv 20I5/20I6 The semester started with a short introduction to the theme: re-reading stories of houses in Spain and producing a therapeutically architecture. The main goal was to understand the story of an architectural important house, focused on the client, rewrite it due to a neurological disease and improve the building because of the disease. At the beginning everyone was asked to read the stories of some of the most important architectural houses in Spain and to choose 3 of them. We should create a short video in which we explained why we choose our three houses, but not just telling the facts, rather than transfer the own thoughts about not only the building but also what we think about us, architecture and what a good architect is. I have chosen The Blas House, Privathouse in Corrubedo and The House in San Matias Neighbourhood. As an next step we should unite us to groups of three ( in my case: Anna Maly, Pascale Atsma and I) and discuss about our choices and with which house we want to work with. Anna and I convinced Pascale after a long discussion to choose the Private House in Corrubedo (Galicia) by David Chipperfield. A decision we should not regret. Furthermore Javier asked us to choose wisely a disease with which we should work the whole semester. As long as the discussion about the house lasted the short was our decision we made about the disease: Parkinson. All three of us were interested to learn more about this illness and we wanted to get in touch with it. After some researches we collected some facts about Parkinson and how it could affect a family, especially the family of David Chipperfield, who was his own client for the house in Corrubedo. So we tried to re-write the family story and to slip into David 60
Chipperfield´s shoes and his fight with his „fictional“ illness. In our first drawings we tried to show actions in the house which could take place due to the new story. I tried to show the problems David Chipperfield could have with the tight staircase inside of the house and a first idea of an solution. But I realized that it is necessary to improve the house in an other way, not finding solutions for problems, furthermore creating an environment which helps to see the positiv aspects of the illness. Thinking about the positiv aspects of the illness was the hardest part of the whole semester. It took us very long to realize that with the help of the disease the people, who suffer from Parkinson, got an other view of the life and started to enjoy it with a wink. Everyone of us can learn from the “Parkies” to live a life full of humour and joy because they needed to learn to laugh about themselves. My Idea was to create a microarchitecture that helps every “normal” person to achive this selfconfident it needs to laugh about yourself. We designed some kind of helmet (thanks to Anna we used the shape of triangles) with mirrors inside witch which someone can gain (with mediation and selfreflection) self-awarness and learns to laugh about themselves. The next logical step was to translate our microarchitecture to the house. After some problems in the beginning we found a good solution (thanks to the idea of Pascale). Pascale re-designed the staircase of the house in a new way with the intension of the microarchitectue. Inspired by the staircase Anna tried to translate the idea of Pascale to the facade and my part was to connect the starcase and the facade on the inside of the house. In conclusion you could say that we complement each other well. We helped each other with our problems and tried to find solutions together. 61
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During the semester we had the change to participate in a workshop guided by Markella Menikon and Adonis Kleanthous. I worked together in a group with Anna, Marta, Vera and Sandra. The topic of the workshop was „The Future of Architecture“ and we were asked to create a time-line through the history with an architectural aspect and evolution. As an first step we made sketches about all our thoughts and tried to avoid talking. We started to communicate just with our drawings. For the time-line we could not decide for one aspect so we created a time-line with several related topics (living space, transportation...) that we tried to connect every time-period. All of the topics had in common that in the future the human being will not be able to live on earth anymore because there is to less space for everyone so we will need to move to other planets. I draw the future vision what would happen with the earth if there are no humans any more.
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How would the world be if everybody is blind? How would the architecture look like? These questions were one of the first things Javier Merina asked us to think about. Who says that the way we created our architecture is the right and normal way, because we are normal people? We need to rethink the behavior of our society when it is about somebody who is not “normal” just because he has an illness. I can remember quiet well that at the beginning of this project I always felt sorry for people who suffer from neurological illness. I did not try to understand their way of living or thinking, I just wanted to change something not that they felt better but that I do, because I for example thought that with professional help in their everyday life they would be happier. This project opened my eyes. Now I am able to see every disease as an opportunity to see the world with different, maybe better eyes. It was great to work with the other Students from around the world and to see how they deal with those “special” people in their country. We learned a lot from each other and helped us with our projects. It was so interesting to re-design a house and to understand how we as architects can react to specific circumstances For me it was a great experience I had this semester and in my opinion I learned something that is important for my whole life and my architectural work. But one of the best things this semester was the work with my group. Thank you Pascale and Anna for such a good teamwork. Even if there were some tough discussions and we did not always had the same opinion. Without you this project would not be as good as it is right now. We supported each other and helped us when someone had problems.
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bibliography http://www.storiesofhouses.blogspot.com.es/
http://www.davidchipperfield.co.uk/project/priva te_house_ in_corrubedo
http://www.archdaily.com https://www.michaeljfox.org/ http://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkin sons/what-is-parkinsons http://www.parkinsonshumor.blogspot.com/ https://www.s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ a5/d9/f4/a5d9f4eb82b56870df34edc4147e9683. jpg (front picture)
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