Shells as bespoke architecture: the making of home by Demetra Voskou

Shells as Bespoke Architecture The making of home

Demetra Voskou (10832475) demetra.voskou@gmail.com Module: AIM707 Architectural Humanities Research Project,

School of Architecture and Design, University of Brighton Tutor: Tutor: Tilo Amhoff Word Count: 6682 Submission Date: 11/01/2016

“I hereby declare that, I have consulted and understood the information provided in the University of Brighton’s Plagiarism Awareness Pack and the information on academic standards and conventions for referencing given in the Short Guide. I know that plagiarism means passing off someone else’s writings or ideas for my own, whether deliberately or inadvertently. I understand that doing so constitutes academic misconduct and may lead to exclusion from the University. I have therefore taken every care in the work submitted here to accurately reference all writings and ideas that are not my own, whether from printed, online, or any other sources.”

CONTENTS List of illustrations ............................................................................6 Introduction .....................................................................................8 Shell as home ................................................................................14 1.1 The home of the mollusc .....................................................15 1.2 Are bones shells?................................................................ 16 1.3 From function to form ..........................................................18 1.4 The inner beauty .................................................................19 1.5 Life builds a home ...............................................................20 1.6 Shell as bespoke unit...........................................................21 1.7 A living machine ..................................................................22 Theory in Practice .........................................................................26 2.1 From the inside outwars .....................................................27 2.2 The spiral shape .................................................................28 2.3 Le Modulor .........................................................................30 2.4 Le Modulor and the spiral shape ........................................32 2.5 Endless Continuity .............................................................34 Structural Art..................................................................................40 3.1 Imitation of the Natural Shell ...........................................41 3.2 Structural artist definition ...................................................42 3.3 Los Manantialies Restaurant ..............................................43 3.4 Mystery of the hidden .........................................................46 3.5 Endless Structure ...............................................................46 Design

through

making...................................................â&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś48

4.1 Material Experimentation .....................................................49 4.2 Designing a shell as an observer ..............................51 4.3 Designing a shell as an observer, for the observer ............54 Conclusion .....................................................................................56 Bibliography ...................................................................................60 Appendix ........................................................................................64

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1: Demetra Voskou, A glove for one hand, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 2: Demetra Voskou, A glove for one hand, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 3: Demetra Voskou, A glove for one hand, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 4: φ=Phi 1.618=The Golden Number. Nautllus ratio at 4:3 or 1.33, based on width:height, not spirals,2014.Is the Nautilus shell spiral a golden spiral?, Photograph,2015, accessed 10 January 2016, http://www.goldennumber.net/nautilus-spiral-golden-ratio/ Figure 5: Siphome.co. Elegant Simple Floor Plans on Home Design//Exquisite Simple Floor Plans For 3 Bedroom House on Floor with Simple Elegant Floor Plan Hwbdo01394 Cottage House Plan From Idea, 2015. Wayfair:Official site, Photograph,2015, accessed 10 January 2016, http://siphome.co/simple-floor-plans/2610/ archives/elegant-simple-floor-plans-on-home-design-exquisite-simple-floor-plans-for3-bedroom-house-on-floor-with-simple-elegant-floor-plan-hwbdo01394-cottage-houseplan-from-idea/ Figure 6: Niklas Maak, Le Corbusier, Musée à croissance illimitée, 2011. Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach (Munich: Hirmer), p. 98, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 7: Niklas Maak, Le Corbusier, The Modulor,1948, 2011. Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach (Munich: Hirmer), p. 13, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 8: Niklas Maak, Analytical ground plan of Le Corbusier’s Cabanon at Cap Martin, 2011. Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach (Munich: Hirmer), p. 41, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015.

Figure 9: Frederick Kiesler, Klaus Bollinger, Florian Medicus, Camilla Nielsen, Sabine Schmidt, and Sarah Fleissner, Endless House, plans and elevations, 2015. Endless Kiesler (Basel: Birkhäuser), p. 210, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 10: Frederick Kiesler, Klaus Bollinger, Florian Medicus, Camilla Nielsen, Sabine Schmidt, and Sarah Fleissner, execution plan for the Endless House, 2015. Endless Kiesler (Basel: Birkhäuser), p. 262, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 11: Frederick Kiesler, Klaus Bollinger, Florian Medicus, Camilla Nielsen, Sabine Schmidt, and Sarah Fleissner, Endless House, model ,wire mesh structure partly covered with concrete, 2015. Endless Kiesler (Basel: Birkhäuser), p. 169, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 12: Maria E. Moreyra Garlock and David P Billington, Right half of plan shows foundation design, and left half shows shell design,2008. Félix Candela (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press), p. 145, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 13: Maria E. Moreyra Garlock and David P Billington, Derivation of the form from a hyperbolic paraboloid, 2008. Félix Candela (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press), p. 144, Scanned Image Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 14: Demetra Voskou, Structural Framework of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 15: Demetra Voskou, External view of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 16: Demetra Voskou, Internal skeleton of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 17: Demetra Voskou, In my shell. Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 18: Demetra Voskou, Card Shell. Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 19: Demetra Voskou, Metal Shell. Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 20: Demetra Voskou, Mod-rock Shell. Object, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015. Figure 21: Demetra Voskou, Layered outlined drawings. Drawing, 2015. Photograph. Demetra Voskou, 2015.

INTRODUCTION Throughout antiquity, people used to build their shelters themselves according to their bodily needs and dimensions; for example, as high as the arm of a man could be raised. The house was made proportional to the dimensions of the inhabitant who was also the designer and the builder. Each house, although apparently the same in form and material when observed from afar, was different because it suited each individual family uniquely. The increasingly popular notion of mass-produced housing is for many people, including myself, the abandonment of the bespoke, of true beauty, which architects and artists have been striving many years to unveil. Economy is the main driving motor of this conveyedbelt housing production. The need of keeping the costs low requires quick design, the use of cheap materials and fast construction methods. Le Corbusier notes how, ‘the object made on the production line embodies the growing horror of this machine age’1.

Tim Benton, Charlotte Benton and Dennis Sharp, Architecture And Design: 1890-1939 (New York: Watson-Guptill, 1975), article. Le Corbusier’s “Mass-Produced Buildings” (1924), https://modernistarchitecture.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/le-corbusier%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cmass-produced-buildings%E2%80%9D-1924/

Following Le Corbusier’s logic, the design process in the ‘machine age’ no longer takes the figure of human body as its dynamic principle, but instead renders it a mere scale representation on printed drawings and three-dimensional visualizations. Also, the construction of a house is no longer a unilateral process, but a collective one. So, building a house is not merely undertaken by its future inhabitant but also involves other people with different roles: clients, architects/ designer, builders; and other professionals who are irrelevant to the scope of this essay. The important question now is: has dwelling lost the meaning of home, particularly if we consider that ‘home is not a place, it is a feeling’2, a feeling of warmth, love and confidence? Although the physical health of the inhabitants is – in most cases – protected, what about their mental welfare? Can architects find solutions, for inhabitants, so they ensure the survival of the home? Architects seek to find – or invent – suitable design tools/methods, to drive their inspiration and/or get information from. Many articles and books, in various fields, have been written on how people can mimic nature in order to solve problems. For this essay, shells will be used as the reference object, to explore whether – and how – they can be a design tool for architecture and specifically home design. In this way I will examine whether shells can stimulate architectural design in three ways: as a home, as a proportional growth and as structural art. I will do so mainly through the works of Gaston Bachelard, Paul Valery, and the architecture of Le Corbusier, Frederick Kiesler and Felix Candela. Sea-shells are the external skeletons of marine animals called molluscs, formed by the creatures themselves, using their saliva. Like Cecelia Ahern, Love, Rosie (New York: Hyperion, 2005), p. 325.

a house, the shell, provides its inhabitant protection from predators and adverse weather conditions. Seashells are also very hard and resilient against breaking since they mostly consist of carbonate calcium, which is also the main component of human bones. Although their external skin is rough and humped, the inner surface is smooth and shiny, providing comfort to the mollusc. Shells vary in shape, form, colour and size. All of them, however, have a unique geometry, structure and beauty. As Gaston Bachelard notes, ‘they are all built on the same plan, the object of which is to provide shelter for the animal. But what a variety in this very simple plan! Each one has its own perfections, its own charms and conveniences.’3 What does it make them so special? Is it their form or their formation? Paul Valery, in his attempt to carve the ideal object which would replicate the qualities of a shell – solidity, beauty and geometry – noticed that his object had the mark of a touched-up beauty. Conversely, ‘the mollusc exudes its shell’, and the building material gradually seeps through to form the shell; for Valery, this is ‘the mystery of the form-giving life, the mystery of slow, continuous formation.’4 Shells are build proportionally to the growth of their inhabitant – often forming a spiral – which is intriguing. As the mollusc grows, the shell grows outwards, forming a construction from the inside outwards. Similar to a shell, designing a house should be approached from the inside outwards, rather than the other way round. The figure of the human body should be in the centre and the spaces subsequently formed based on the body’s gestures and its circulation in that space. Gaston Bachelard, The poetics of space, ed. by John R. Stilgoe, trans. by The Orion Press, Inc, 3rd edn (Boston: Beacon Press, 1994), p. 121.

Ibid., p. 106.

Both the proportional expansion and the spiral shape have values that could be possibly used in design methods. In order to investigate this further, I will draw upon Le Modular, by Le Corbusier and the Endless House, by Kiesler. Finally, shells have a three-dimensional solidity, despite their material thickness, which is very low compared to the shell body. For architecture and engineering, building strong [long-span] structures with the use of minimum material is desirable, mainly for economic and environmental reasons. However, the aesthetic values of a building are also important. Is there a future in architectural design that can be economic, environmental, functional but also have aesthetics? Would that be something achievable through the research of shells as a concept and as structure?

SHELLS AS HOME 1.1

The home of the mollusc

In his book The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard, defines shell as the home of the mollusc, constructed by the mollusc itself ‘according to the teachings of a transcendental geometry.’5 Shell and shellfish become one inseparable unit, until the day that the organism dies, and the shell is left without a soul. Similar to how the human bones (and body in general) become lifeless when the soul has left them, the shell becomes incapable of moving when separated from its life-giving organism. J.B. Robinet, thought that the function constructs its form the way the shellfish constructs its shell.6 Therefore, shell is a form that its function [of protecting] is the reason to be constructed. Protection is the reason that gives birth to the shell which grows in proportion to the shellfish,

Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 105. Ibid., p. 113.

5 6

in a specific form and shape.7 In the same manner, the bones comprise the inner shell of the human body. Molluscs, do not have bones, which is why they have shell, so, I wonder, are bones enough to protect humans, or is the external shell (home) necessary?

1.2

Are bones shells?

Bones exist to protect the internal organs of the body.8 Bones are also fundamental for bodily movements – the various joints found in the human body being responsible for individual gestures. Consequently, bones are multi-functional elements, responsible for protection, movement and life-giving, and have a proportional growth to the growth of the body. All these properties explain why bones can be referred as shells. As to whether an external shell (home) is required for the human body, again this can be addressed by looking at the bones’ protective function. Although they act as a shield for vital organs, bones is nonetheless an imperfect shield. The skin, for instance, is left unprotected; thus the need for an external shell, a dwelling. More than mere physical protection, however, a house is also meant to provide comfort, the right temperature, and spaces for sleeping and storing food. The role of the house is further linked to the needs and wants of the inhabitants: it is a place to study, to exercise, to rest etc. There is an extension of the role of house therefore, and where the house finds its main function in the physical protection of the inhabitants, a home acquires its value from the additional The difference between the two is important, and it is something that I will subsequently elaborate upon.

For example, the cranium protects the brain and the eyes, while ribs protect the heart and the lungs.

She comes home from work every day. She takes off her shoes and lies on her bespoke chaise-long chair. The window could not be in a better position. The view of the river in the boundaries of the window cut away the neighbourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing. The chair becomes her shell inside a bigger shell, her home.

1.3

From function to form

Robinet also thought, that life – along with function – originates form, and therefore nature ‘should create living forms.’9 This poses a paradox however – how can a shell be alive, when it is basically a stone? Old bones are dead, but as long the soul is present the ones inside the body are alive. Likewise, the shell’s life will be forcefully quenched after its inhabitant’s death. After all, they are one and inseparable unit. However dead shells have the ability of recalling their inhabitants’ life cycle. Looking inside an empty shell, one is able to see the tracks made by the organism while growing, but also while crawling in and out. Beautiful patterns were created inside the shell throughout its life, which testify the size of the organism and its proportional growth. These comprise the archive of the mollusc’s life; the archive of its memories, its fears, its experiences. People are dying but memories are carved in the minds and hearts of those left behind; and since they are carved none can steal them, they will always be there as a remnant. Memories keep those who have departed alive. Empty shells, like fossils, are dead stones in human eyes. In one’s mind, however, they are asleep in their form, waiting for someone to give them life again. Similarly, the inner skin of the shell, the archive of the mollusc’s memories, keeps the latter alive. Here I do not mean biological life, but a life that exists in the imagination/dreams of the observer. So, even though shell and organism are inseparable, the former lives after the natural death of the latter. Form that once had life, now embodies and emerges new life to live in.10 Considering that these forms encourage Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 114.

Ibid., p. 113.

and welcome dreaming, they become home for dreamers (or dreams). When looking at a shell, I imagine myself crawling inside; and while my body takes the shape of the shell, it hugs me: She imagines Aphrodite11– the goddess of love beauty and sexuality – rising out of the sea foams inside a shell; the queen is on her throne.

1.4

The inner beauty

Aphrodite is not a person nor a dream anymore. Rather she symbolizes the inner beauty of a shell – and that of a person – which is not accessible by everybody. Similar to a human, the external facade of a house can be seen, admired or judged by anyone who is passing across the street. However, the interior is experienced by the soul of the house – the family and their visitors. The walls protect the inhabitant(s) by keeping the shell inaccessible; the mollusc crawls in its shell when it wants to be hidden away. This seems to be, however, a paradox. Is this the right way of protecting: by hiding? Hiding something away does not only imply protection, but also imprisonment. A home should not be a prison. Instead, it should be a place of warmth and comfort and have the qualities to look after the mental welfare of its inhabitant. Humans should be able to control the visual accessibility from the outside inwards and vice-versa; this is something architects should bear in mind. If the home design is solely based on its inhabitant’s welfare – becoming a bespoke unit – it will have the suitable and required volume dimensions. What is vital is therefore not its external 11 Aphrodite - from Greek Αφροδίτη = αφρός (foam) + αναδύομαι (emerging, coming out of the seabed)

appearance, but whether its internal dimensions convert the house into home. Aphrodite who arose from a simple – in plan – shell now represents the valuable life-moments emerging out of the simple – for the observer – home.

Life builds a home

1.5

Every animal needs a home, but not all of them are capable of building them; therefore they find ready-made houses to use for protection. Hermit crabs for instance, wear empty seashells and usually cover them with corals to camouflage the predators. When they grow, they abandon the borrowed shell and search for a bigger one. The shell therefore becomes a temporary borrowed house. In this way hermit crabs, although sea animals, are closer to contemporary humans than mollusc, since their house is designed and built by someone else. As described by Bachelard, ‘the mollusc’s motto is [as follows] one must live to build one’s house, and not build one’s house to live in.’12 Simply put, a house should be built by the beings inhabiting it, and not by the walls and roof. Of course, I am not arguing here that people should become architects and builders. However, the architect should understand the clients (inhabitants) and their needs/ desires, in order for the latter to feel warmth inside their shell. When this is achieved, it is the inhabitants’ turn to build the house, to give it life. Walls, like fossils, are waiting for the inhabitants to awake them and for memories to start being carved on them. Subsequently, walls will become an archive of memories able to recall everything that ever happened in that house; from the time the family moved in until the Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 106.

time the soul left its body, until the soul left its home.

1.6

Shell as bespoke unit

The shell is like a glove made for one and only hand, one person’s hand, a left or right. It cannot be worn by a different hand, it doesn’t fit; and if it fits then this means that the hand is smaller than the glove. This is the true value of the bespoke: that it is unique, only belonging to the entity that was originally designed for. It cannot have this value for anything else. The point made above concerning the protective function of the shell is of great relevance here. Given that shell has the power of protection, then this power can be only applied on its maximum on you; it was made for this purpose. When a snail feels the fear of being attacked, it crawls inside its shell, in the same way that a little girl runs to find sanctuary in her room, when she is led in tears. Her bedroom is the place where she feels protected and comfortable to express her real feelings. She is not exposed anymore. Home, is the house that offers both private spaces where one is able to express his sadness or happiness to himself/herself, but also places where the family – functioning as a single element – will share moments together – which will keep the home alive. It is the architect’s duty to design the house in such way that invites the family to spend time together; this is especially relevant in a technology age which often denies these family moments. For example, the volume of the cooking area should be balanced; it should accommodate the person cooking, but also allow for other family members to join:13

This can be a principle that can be adapted to other rooms in the home too.

When she was little, her mother asked her what she would like to be. She wanted to bake cakes. Along with her mother, she was making and decorating cakes with jelly beans and chocolate buttons every week. These joyful moments were accompanied by her father who was reading the newspaper. Those were some of the moments which were carved on the walls and kept the house alive.

1.7

A living machine

To conclude, home is the place that protects both the spiritual and physical welfare of the inhabitants. To respond to that role, plans and sections should be designed from the inside outwards. Le Corbusier’ s statement ‘the house is a machine for living in’14 contrasts Eileen Gray who argued that ‘a house is not a machine to live in. It is the shell of a man [and woman], his extension, his release, his spiritual emanation. [It is] a living organism in which each of the inhabitants could... find total independence and an atmosphere of solitude and concentration.’15 Although Gray’s quote seemingly concurs with this essay’s arguments, a closer reading can show that both architects are referring to the dual welfare role of the dwelling as home: the physical (Le Corbusier) and the mental (Gray). As the physical and mental welfare of the inhabitants are equally important, a house could not be a living organism if it wasn’t designed as a machine. The design of the house should be calculated and have rational plans in order to 14 Le Corbusier and Frederick Etchells, Towards A New Architecture (London: Architectural Press, 1946), p. 89. 15 The Guardian, “The House That Eileen Built”, 2001 <http://www.theguardian.com/ theguardian/2001/jul/21/weekend7.weekend5> [accessed 28 December 2015].

Figure 1: A glove for one hand, Object, Demetra Voskou, Brighton, United Kingdom, 2015

Figure 2: A glove for one hand, Object, Demetra Voskou, Brighton, United Kingdom, 2015

Figure 3: A glove for one hand, Object, Demetra Voskou, Brighton, United Kingdom, 2015

avoid a dysfunctional system, in a similar way that aeroplanes and cars – which are machines – are designed. Subsequently the home is a living organism which reflects its inhabitant(s)’ lives. Inhabitants and dwelling will become one and inseparable unit.

Figure 4: Nautilus ratio at 4:3 or 133 based on with: height, not spirals, Cross Section of a chambered nautilus shell. Photograph. Gary Meisner, 2014

Figure 5: Elegant Simple Floor Plans on Home Design//Exquisite Simple Floor Plans For 3 Bedroom House on Floor with Simple Elegant Floor Plan Hwbdo01394 Cottage House Plan From Idea, Wayfair:Official site, Photograph, 2015.

THEORY IN PRACTICE 2.1 From the inside outwards The chambered nautilus shell, is examined to understand and explain its geometry caused by the proportional growth. A crosssection reveals the individual chambers16 which grew proportionally and formed an almost perfect golden spiral. The outer skin hugs the inner spaces following a shell within a shell sequence. A further investigation, shows that the external shell has been actually created from one of the sides of individual inner shells (chambers). The slow formation of its continued external surface gives the shell the values that Valery was trying to mimic. It is important to re-state, that the external form of the shell is determined by the arrangement of the inner chambers. When considering the cross-section as a plan, it resembles a simple house plan with a central gathering area surrounded by the rest of the rooms. In the house, there is not proportional growth, which limits its expansion in a uniform sequence. Also, the form of the house is not determined by the inner spaces. Contrarily the dimensions and arrangement of the spaces are derived â&#x20AC;&#x192; Chamber (def. by author): enclosed area where the nautilus lived for a given time of his life.

from their angular boundary. Consequently, the house which has been designed based on a from the outside inwards construction fails the criteria of a home.

2.2 The spiral shape Bernard Palissy also had a great interest in shells and their protective function. For years he tried to figure out the plan of a ‘fortress city’ that would be built from what he calls within.17 Unsurprisingly, he found the inspiration for his project in the geometry of the shell. The city should resemble a gigantic snail: ‘in the very centre of the fortress city, there was to be an open square on which the governor’s house would be located. Starting from this square, a single street would run four times around the square; first, in two circuits that espoused the shape of the square; then, in two octagon-shaped circuits.’18 The posterior of houses will be a continuous surface, having the windows and doors on the inside. Even if part of it fell to the enemy, the structure would still be strong and the inhabitants would be able to move to the inner coil; much how a sea creature behaves when it is attacked in a coil shell. The exterior walls should be rough and rigid to protect the citizens, but the inside surface should be polished; alluding to comfort and safeness. On the external wall, plants should grow to camouflage it from the enemies; in the same way that a hermit crab covers its borrowed shell with seaweed to deceive predators. For the inhabitant the external wall exists for protection and the internal for comfort. The benefits of the spiral geometry do not stop here since the Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 128. Ibid,. p. 129.

17 18

structure is capable of growing proportionally to population growth, without losing the harmony of its plan.

Figure 8: Musée à croissance illimitée, Le Corbusier, 1939. Photograph, Scan Image, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Musée à croissance illimitée (Museum of the unlimited growth) by Le Corbusier, is another example of the use of the shell’s spiral shape as a design tool/method. ‘The design possesses no final, definitive form: the building was to expand like the shell of a mollusc which

increases in size imperceptibly through the secretion of calcium.19 Like a shell, the museum’s volume grows proportionally – keeping its harmony – when space for more galleries is required. Although it was quoted that the form of the museum is inspired by the shell, for me, it is the shape that does so. The spiral geometry is being applied in a two-dimensional plane, whereas the form is something applied in three dimensions. The imitation of the shell has the advantages of better circulation through the galleries and proportional growth. This is defined as a practical property of shell’s shape. The dimensions of the building were mathematically analysed to follow the Fibonacci sequence (golden ratio), in order to achieve a harmonious result. Imitation of the form of the shell – along with its physical and mental properties – is achieved when the spaces are designed based on the body dimensions and movements.

Le Modulor

2.3

Le Corbusier, admired the golden proportions and harmony of the human body and their relation to architecture. He thought that the metric system – which replaced the British imperial system – was artificial and therefore led to a alienation between buildings and people. 20 Although the British system is based on human proportions, still it has fixed measurements.21 Therefore, he created a unified measured system called Le Modulor which is based on the human body and is capable of giving innumerable combinations that are

Niklas Maak, Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach, (Munich: Hirmer, 2011), p.

99.

And therefore lack the capacity to fully adjust to the particularities of individual bodies/figures.

satisfactory, but above all harmonious.22 In his later works, the golden proportions of the human body are used as a design method, as opposed to his earlier built work, such as Villa Stein and Unité d’ habitation, where the use of golden section is observed in plan and facade for aesthetic harmony. The figure of the human body is the centre and starting point of each design – as it should be – surrounded by spaces which were calculated on its measurements. Because of their strictly correct dimensions, these buildings were called machines.

Figure 9: Le Modulor, Le Corbusier, 1945. Photograph. Scanned Image. Demetra Voskou, 2015.

Michel Richard, “Le Modulor, Not Located, 1945”, Fondation Le Corbusier, 2015 <http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysId=13&IrisObjectId=7837&sysLanguage=en-en&itemPos=3&itemSort=en-en_sort_string1%20&itemCount=6&sysParentName=Home&sysParentId=65> [accessed 12 December 2015].

Le Modulor and the spiral shape

2.4

Le Cabanon (= cabin, hut), also designed by Le Corbusier is a built project which combines the functionality of the shell’s spiral in plan and the modulor system as design tools. Measured 3.66 by 3.66 meters on ground plan and 2.26 meters high (the height of a man with raised arm), the gigantic snail has harmoniously and practically proportioned details.23 Although the hut externally appears small it adopts the needs and dimensions of the inhabitant precisely, mimicking a shell’s qualities. ‘Le Corbusier himself spoke in interviews of his wish to give the human being its shell’.24 Le Cabanon contains the essentials for living in the minimum space needed. The modulor and the golden ratio define the dimensions of individual elements and the circulation in the house. A 3,6 meter-long corridor guides one to the main cabin – a perfect square – who then turns right and continues moving in a spiral shape, as if one was crawling inside a snail’s shell. A 70x70cm square is the centre and starting point of the spiral.25 The human being is located in the centre of its shell and it is surrounded by the rest of the areas. The spiral of four rectangles divide the hut into different-purpose areas: dressing, working and two for sleeping.26 Small windows enhance the room with views of sea and nature. Movable paintings are replaced by mirrors, enabling the shell to adjust to its inhabitant’s desires. Windows’ angle, height and dimensions are determined by the activated viewing field of the Niklas Maak, Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach, (Munich: Hirmer, 2011), p.

38.

Ibid., p.39. According to the modulor this is the required measurements for a person to walk

24 25

through.

Simon Unwin, Twenty-Five Buildings Every Architect Should Understand (London [u.a.]: Routledge, 2015), p. 94.

corresponsive body position; sitting, standing, lying. Le Cabanon is a human-sized artificial shell, whose role of protection is achieved. 27 The inhabitant’s physical health is secured through the functionality of furniture and shelter, since they are bespoke units designed for oneself. This in combination with the furniture’s materiality and the right views also enhance the mental welfare. It is not only that which defines the Cabanon as a shell: ‘Made from smooth, light-toned wood, the interior walls and the furniture form a seemingly organic unity and contrasts the rough wood of untreated trunks on the outside.’28 The shells’ proportional growth is calculable with the golden ratio – in two-dimensions – and their spiral has the qualities of harmony and endlessness. However, it is their function of protecting and the dimensions of the mollusc which define their form and geometry. To clarify, the function and user’s dimensions construct form, not the Fibonacci sequence.

Figure 10: Analytical ground plan of Le Corbusier’s Cabanon at Cap MArtin, Le Corbusier, 1952, Photograph, Scanned Image, 2015.

Maak, Le Corbusie, p. 39. Ibid., p. 40.

27 28

Endless Continuity

2.5

In his work Endless House, Kiesler constructs an organic spheroid form which has no beginning nor ending.29 Contrasting massproduced housing – which are constructed as a box above a similar box – the rooms in the Endless House are unique in height and width. Specifically, ‘they are exactly schemed to take care of our individual desire’.30 Freely combined volumes which have no division of column, roof/floor and walls, are embodied within a large monolithic shell. Each living space can be separated from the unified continuum to meet the inhabitant’s will. Spaces can be modified to perform as a womb for oneself ‘into happy solitude’ and as a room for congregation of the family or friends.31 Kiesler’s demand for ‘functional architecture’ meant that each space corresponds to the needs of individual moments.32 Designed from the inside, the house has a ‘dynamic equilibrium of the body-motion within encompassed space’.33 There is therefore an endless interrelation between the precisely designed house and the living organisms that inhabit it. The inner arrangement of living space define the form, and themselves are determined by the inhabitant’s gestures. In return, the house contributes to the spiritual, physical and family welfare of the living being(s). As long as the inhabitant’s wellbeing is ensured, the shell becomes alive. House and organism become one and inseparable unit.

Thomas Mical, Surrealism And Architecture (London: Routledge, 2005). p. 146. Frederick Kiesler and others, Endless Kiesler (Basel: Birkhäuser, 2015), p. 234. 31 Ibid., p. 245. 32 Frederick Kiesler and Yehuda Safran, Frederick Kiesler (London: Architectural 29 30

Association, 1989), p. 42.

Ibid., p. 46.

Figure 11: Plans for Endless House, Frederick Kiesler 1950.

Figure 12: Execution plans for the Endless House, Severud-Elstad-Kruger Associates 1959

Although the endless house remained inbuilt, its structure was analysed through drawings. Since the house has no columns, a ‘system of [continuous] tensions [=spans] in free space’ is required to shelter this continuous form. 34 One of Kiesler’s ideas was that a house should be suspended from ground and liberated of foundations while keeping the shell’s thinness. Concrete shell-structures are home for such organic forms including the above requirements. Because of their – mathematically analysed – form and material properties, there is even load distribution; meaning that minimum foundations are required. Internal rooms are structurally independent, since each one has different dimensions and material thickness. Similar to the design process, the house should be considered as a unified shell, but also as individual internal shells.

Finally, the whole design was approached through model-making in order to create the three-dimensional organic form. However, the structure was precisely analysed in two-dimensional drawings. Because of the form and material properties the shell’s expenses were actually lower than an average house of that era. Consequently, the house consists of aesthetics, function and low costs which make its construction feasible without economic concerns.

Kiesler , Safran, Frederick Kiesler, p.42.

Figure 14: Model making for the development of the Endless House, Frederick Kiesler, [1950]

STRUCTURAL ART 3.1 Immitation of the natural shells Seashell structure derives its strengths from a combination of curves, folds and ribs, so that large forms can be created using extremely thin sheet material.35 Likewise, concrete shells36 imitate natural shells in three ways: material (concrete is made of shells, limestone, chalk), form and acoustic properties37. Acoustics are important since some concrete shells are constructed to reflect sound, such as the Listening Ears and whispering galleries. Whispering galleries are circular, elliptical, or hemispherical enclosures – usually beneath domes or vaults – through which whispers transverse the inner surface and can be heard in other parts of the gallery. This phenomenon was discovered in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, where sound was traveling in waves following the curvature of the wall towards the other end of the gallery. Mathematics are of great importance to calculate

Michael Pawlyn, Biomimicry in Architecture (London: RIBA Publishing, 2011), p. 11.

Structures made of thin concrete and usually without internal columns or external buttresses. 36

Sound travels through the shell’s inner surface (from the inside outward) so that one can listen to the sea waves.

the form that would allow the sound enhancement, without creating echoes in the centre. Nature makes extremely economical use of materials, and this is normally achieved through evolved ingenuity of form.38 Similarly to natural shells, concrete shells have a geometrical form, through which it gains structural strength. These advantages of the shell’s form – along with its material properties – make the structure sustainable since it requires reduced amount of material, reduced building and construction costs and low maintenance costs. However, similarly to chalk, concrete absorbs water which is why concrete structures must be waterproof coated.

Structural artist definition

3.2

One of Kiesler’s inspirational master-builders whose projects were investigated for the Endless House’s structure, was Felix Candela. Master-builder is defined as the structural engineer who designs efficiently and with a builder’s mentality. However, Candela was not a structural engineer but ‘structural artist’ instead.39 A structural artist is defined as the master-builder who possesses aesthetic motivation.40 Structural artists are described by the ethos of efficiency and the ethics of economy.41 In other words, structural artist is the architect who uses engineering knowledge to drive design and to endow the Pawlyn, Biomimicry in Architecture, p. 9. (reference in notes) Maria E. Moreyra, David P. Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural

38 39

Artist, ed. by Jill Guthrie (New Jersey: Princeton University Art Museum, 2008), p. 16.

Ibid., p. 16. Ibid., p. 16.

40 41

resulting project with ethos (the converse of natural resources), ethics (avoidance of much waste) and aesthetics (beauty, functionalism). Rightfully therefore, Candela is called structural artist. Having said that, molluscs are also structural artists. The inhabitant of the shell is an amazing creature capable of creating its own home with a threedimensional geometry and solidity. It is an architect whose designs have purpose, function and aesthetics. Candela’s career includes construction of concrete shells of funicular, conoid and hypar (hyperbolic parabola) forms. Such projects could not be achieved without material and form experimentation of the concrete mixture and shell thickness. To achieve maximum strength with minimum costs, the shell must be precisely calculated as if it was a machine.

3.3

Los Manantiales Restaurant

Completed in 1958, Los Manantiales restaurant in Xochimilco in Mexico city, is surely one of the most important and successful examples in the field of thin concrete shells in modern architecture. Its shape in plan, inspired locals to refer to it as the Flor42; a flower surrounded by canals and trees and colourful gondolas. The restaurant was Candela’s first attempt in creating a groined vault consisting of four intersecting saddles (hypars). 43 Groined vault is defined as the vault produced by the intersection of two [or more]

42 43

Moreyra, Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, p. 142. Saddle is the hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) surface generated by two intersecting

parabolas that are concave in opposite directions; Moreyra, Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, p. 200.

vaults,44 where groins are the valleys in the shell formed at the convergence of the intersecting hypars.45 Because of the symmetry of the saddles, the structure has no stiffening on the curved edges, keeping the form continuity that Kiesler was also seeking for. The continuity of the shell emphasizes the slenderness of its thickness, which is only 4 centimeters. Besides that, the shell expands in a diameter of 42,4 and 32,4 meters between the supports along the groins. According to the architect’s own words ‘what makes [the shell] so graceful, is the regularity and the proportion.’46 However, proportional growth does not occur in Candela’s shell. Despite that, in both cases [natural shells/ Los Manantiales] proportions achieve technical intelligence and aesthetic sensitivity. The harmony of the empty shell, invites people and dreamers to inhabit the place, to awake the structure and give life to the walls.

Vault (def.): roof in the form of arch or series of arches. Moreyra, Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, p. 142. 46 Alfonso Basterra, Elisa Valero, ‘La aventura mexicana: Entrevista con Felix Cande44 45

la’, Arquitectura viva, 58. 0214-1256, (1998), 75-77.

Figure 15: Right half of plan shows foundation design, and left half shows shell design. Scanned Image. Maria E. Moreyra Garlock and David P Billington. 2008.

Figure 16: Derivation of the form from a hyberbolic paraboloid. Scanned Image. Maria E. Moreyra Garlock and David P Billington . 2008.

Mystery of the hidden

3.4

‘Pick up the snail’ was the most repeated sentence in spring during garden snails hunting. And while the hand was approaching the snail-shell, its inhabitant − guided by its fear − crawled inside its shell; impressively fast for such a slow animal. Emerging with its two antennas, the snail was coming out; but not completely since its rear parts remain[ed] imprisoned in the solid geometrical form.47 A mystery is hidden in the far end which possibly keeps the snail attached to its shell. There is a contradiction between the things that are visible and invisible. Like the snail, which has its support mechanisms hidden, Los Manantiales has V-beames to stiffen the groins which are invisible from the outside but also from the inside. The V-beams are reinforced with steel for structural strength. At the supports, the v-beams are anchored into inverted umbrella footings to prevent the shell of sinking into to the soft Mexican soil.48 At the groins, where the shells come together, the architect designed a curved connection so that visually it is a continuation of the shell curvature. Candela’s attention to detail, make this project valuable as this solution arose to allow the visitor to admire the shell without interrupts. With or without purposing, this details also adds a mystery to the design.

Endless Structure

3.5

The principles of a concrete shell structure can be understood by simply investigating the structure of an egg-shell, a great example of Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 108. Moreyra, Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, p. 147.

47 48

nature’s skills, through questioning why hens do not break their eggs when sitting on them. The egg-shell is harder to break when squeezed from the peak points, than when squeezed from the long sides. Besides its thin and fragile material, the form enhances its structural stability. In architecture, material and form properties are equally important for achieving structural strength. Similar to an eggshell, Los Manantiales has curved continuous structure – without corners– that encloses an enormous amount of space without a single column. What is essentially happening, is that the weight and pressure applied on the top are distributed evenly on the entire structure and minimises stress and strain. Because of the symmetric form, forces applied on the roof are balanced and the loads travel towards the groins which act like a three-hinged arch collecting all the forces and dumping them on the support, which in turn must resist a vertical and horizontal force.49 Candela calculated the shell stresses with the equations of the membrane theory he developed, however a computer analysis was done to evaluate this in detail. Although Candela’s analysis was confirmed, he believed that the use of such evaluation is unimportant when the designer knows how to choose a structurally appropriate form. Consequently, an architect should be able to think about the structure during the design stage, and incorporate the properties of material and form in the design; so that structure and design unite. This is, as defined earlier, structural art and according to Leon Battista Alberti ‘the whole art of the building consists in the design and in the structure’.50 49 50

Moreyra, Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, p. 147.. Simon Varey, Space and the Eighteenth-Century English Novel, Volume 1, (Cam-

bridge: The University Press, 1951), p. 47.

Design through making 4.1

Material experimentation

Bespoke architecture, has associations with craft, ornamentation, materiality, fit, uniqueness and the unrepeated.51 As already explained, bespoke is something made for one and only reason, a glove for one and only hand. Additionally, when the product is to be repeated, it will not be the same as it will follow new measurements to fit to its new purpose. Bespoke design, therefore, requires intimate knowledge of material and scale.52 Architects should design buildings in a bespoke way, in the same way molluscs do. Shells of different scales are constructed (by the author) in order to explore the outcomes of the essay. The process requires understanding of material, form and inhabitant’s needs and dimensions. Initially, four materials were tested, card, metal, plywood and mod-rock in a symmetrical curved form. Such form allows vertical forces to distribute while travelling to the ground, therefore the Bob Sheil, ‘Introduction, From Making the Bespoke to Manufacturing the Bespoke’, in Manufacturing the Bespoke, ed. by Bob Sheil(Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2012), p. 7.

Sheil, ‘Introduction’, in Manufacturing the Bespoke, p. 9.

Figure 17: Structural Framework of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Demetra Voskou, 2015

structures – although thin – are very strong. (Appendix 1)

4.2 Designing a shell as an observer For this experiment, mod-rock is used as the skin material because of the multiple texture properties it adopts; rough on the outside, smooth on the inside. The dimensions of the body and its movements are the main criteria for the design process. Multiple drawings outline the human figure in different sitting/lying positions, which are then overlaid to determine the form of the shell. A second drawing traces the peak points of the form which are where framework is needed. Because of the organic form, two-dimensional drawings are unsuitable to develop the final form, therefore model making is done instead. Metal rods forming parabolic curves are placed vertically to create the structure. Horizontal framework is also required for two reasons: to create a rigid structure and prevent metal rods of bending when forces of mod-rock will be applied, and to increase the skin surface on which the modrock is laid. Thick cotton thread is used.53 (Appendix 2) The body crawls inside the monolithic shell and emerges moments which are carved on the interior and become memories. These memories enliven the structure. Although the interior of the shell is not accessible physically for the designer, as an observer it is accessible through dreaming. Noises of happiness… sea creatures travelling towards Aphrodite’s shell. Humans as well. What happened that made her come out of her shell after all this time?

Cotton thread is a very fine, regular fibre chosen because of its thickness, strength and elasticity.

Figure 18: Exterior view of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Figure 19: Internal skeleton of the shell, Designing a shell as an observer, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Aphrodite is pregnant but she shared these moments only with her shell; she was feeling shy. Her children Phobos,54 Harmonia and Eros55 are growing inside their individual sack, inside Aphrodite’s womb. The womb is a temporary shell for the children that protects them during pregnancy and provides a warmth environment. As the children grow, their shell, the womb and Aphrodite’s shell grow proportionally, in a sequence of a shell within a shell.

Memories and feelings are emerging inside the entire shell (home, Aphrodite), as well as in each individual space (rooms, amniotic sac).

4.2 Designing a shell as an observer, for the obeserver Further, a shell is constructed for the author using thin plywood stripes. Again, a quick drawing outlined the body dimensions in specific sitting positions to capture the shape of the required form, which was further developed through model-making. The plywood stripes were both cut in long grain and cross grain, to enhance flexibility and strength respectively. Nothing more should be said, as this derived through the research undertaken.

Figure 20: In my shell, Designing a shell as an observer for the observer , Demetra Voskou, 2015

Greek word for fear Greek work for love

54 55

Conclusion Shells are bespoke units created by their inhabitant because of the need of protection. Function therefore constructs the shell whose form is defined by the measurements of the inhabitant and the space it requires for certain gestures. The shell suits and applies its properties optimally, only on its inhabitant. Shell is not a house anymore, it is the home of the organism. Being unique and personal, it provides comfort to the living organism and they become one inseparable unit. Mollusc and shell grow proportionally to each other, constructing a spiral − from the inside outwards − formed by a number of chambers. When the living organism dies, the shell becomes empty and lifeless. Looking inside the shell, one is able to track the inhabitant’s life experiences, its dimensions and the ratio of proportion. For the observer, the empty shell, is an inspirational object accessed through dreaming. The memories carved inside, along with the observer’s dreaming, enliven the shell and keep it alive. In architecture, there is much to be learned from shells how they define the notion of home. Dwellings should be bespoke units, specifically made for their inhabitants. Spaces should be formed by researching the human body’s measurements and its movements

through spaces. In order for the house to qualify as home, the architect should consider both the sensual − visual, acoustic, touch − and physical measurements of the body. The form of the whole shell should be therefore determined by the arrangements of the inner spaces, in the same way as natural shells do – from the inside outwards. What matters, is for the internal spaces to have the elements perform as shells; ‘after all we live in the interior.’56 Consequently, the house is identified as functional and appropriate to protect the mental and physical welfare of the human being. When a house has accurate dimensions, it becomes a machine to live in; and considering that it is alive – as long as life inhabits it – the house is to be defined as a living machine. Human bodies have organic form without angles; why should therefore buildings have rigid angles considering their function as human shells? Organic forms have a three-dimensional solidity which cannot be perceived through drawing; model-making is required instead in order to capture precisely the right dimensions of the form which will be able to hug the body. Exploration through modelmaking allows one to ‘feel the space’57 while modelling. The architect becomes the inhabitant through dreaming and designs the house as if it was his/her own shell. When the form is perceived, the structure of the house should be calculated. It is important to mention, that the architect should acquire structural and material knowledge, that will be incorporated during design process. Structurally, shells also have form properties that provide strong column-free structures made of thin material. Concrete-shell structures are ideal for such Kiesler and others, Endless Kiesler, p. 237. Ibid., p. 237.

56 57

constructions. Along with the mentioned material’s properties, concrete is also sustainable as it requires low maintenance. Form and material qualities are able to make the construction of such organic houses economic. In order for the form to attain maximum structural qualities, it must be mathematically analysed through a variety of twodimensional drawings. To conclude, recent years presented a radical development of technology. However, architects – and people in general – must be able to utilize the benefits of this technology, rather than turning into its slaves. It is therefore feasible to build houses that constitute a functionality and aesthetics which are also economic and environmental. There is a future potential in house design that brings human and architecture in a dynamic equilibrium. Home and inhabitants are one inseparable unit, where the former shield the mental and physical welfare of the latter. Model making (defining form) – and two-dimensional drawings (structural analysis) are essential tools to perceive architecture. Shells, is the tool through which the term home is being understood, developed and accomplished. Above all, home is the expression of the inhabitants in an enclosed space. It is not merely an aesthetics; rather it is the symbol of the inhabitants just as shells were for the Ancients the ‘symbol of the human being in its entirety, body and soul.’58 I would like to end with a quote by Frederick Kiesler:‘ We will create a man-made cosmos around us which we will not have to depend on decoration to render our homes liveable.’59 Bachelard, The poetics of space, p. 112 Kiesler , Safran, Frederick Kiesler, p. 50.

58 59

Bibliography Ahern, Cecelia, Love, Rosie (New York: Hyperion, 2005) Baltrušaitis, Jurgis, Le Moyen Age Fantastique (Paris: Flammarion, 1993) Bob Sheil, ‘Design Through Making: An Introduction Bob Sheil.’, in Design Through Making, ed. by Bob Sheil(Chichester: Wiley, 2005) Bob Sheil, ‘Manufacturing the bespoke’, in Manufacturing the Bespoke: Making and Prototyping Architecture (AD Reader), ed. by Bob Sheil(London: Wiley, 2012). Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton, ‘Le Corbusier’s “Mass-Produced Buildings” (1924)’, in Architecture and design, 1890-1939: An international anthology of original articles, trans. by Rose Wolfe(New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1975). Dezeen, “Flanagan Lawrence Completes Shell-Shaped Seafront Shelter And Stage”, 2014 <http://www.dezeen.com/2014/07/22/flanagan-lawrenceacoustic-shells-shelter-stage-littlehampton/> [accessed 29 December 2015] Endless Kiesler, ed. by Klaus Bollinger, Florian Medicus and others, trans. by Camilla R. Nielsen, Sabine Schmidt, Sarah Fleissner (Austria: Holzhausen Druck GmbH, 2015).

Frampton, Kenneth, Le Corbusier (New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001) Gaston Bachelard, The poetics of space, ed. by John R.Stilgoe, trans. By The Orion Press, Inc, 3rd edn (Boston: Beacon Press, 1994), p. 105. Gordon, Alastair, “Le Corbusier’s Role In The Controversy Over Eileen Gray’s E.1027”, WSJ, 2015 <http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424 127887324354704578637901327433828?mod=WSJ_article_exploremore> [accessed 27 December 2015] Kiesler, Frederick, and Yehuda Safran, Frederick Kiesler (London: Architectural Association, 1989) Le Corbusier, and Frederick Etchells, Towards A New Architecture (London: Architectural Press, 1946) Maak, Niklas, Le Corbusier: The Architect on the Beach (Munich: Hirmer, 2011) Marcus Frings, ‘The Golden Section in Architectural Theory’, Nexus Network Journal, 4.1, (2002), 9-32, <http://www.marcus-frings.de/text-nnj.htm> [accessed 12 December 2015] Maria E. Moreyra, David P. Billington, Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist, ed. by Jill Guthrie (New Jersey: Princeton University Art Museum, 2008), Mical, Thomas, Surrealism And Architecture (London: Routledge, 2005) Pawlyn, Michael, Biomimicry In Architecture ([London, UK]: Riba Publishing, 2011) Penccil.com, “Frederick Kiesler On Penccil”, 2015 <http://www.penccil.com/ gallery.php?p=203547555804> [accessed 23 December 2015] Richard, Michel, “Le Modulor, Not Located, 1945”, Fondation Le Corbusier,

2015 <http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysId= 13&IrisObjectId=7837&sysLanguage=en-en&itemPos=3&itemSort=en-en_ sort_string1%20&itemCount=6&sysParentName=Home&sysParentId=65> [accessed 12 December 2015] Simon Unwin, Twenty-Five Buildings Every Architect Should Understand, 2nd edn (New York: Routledge, 2015). Simon Varey, Space and the Eighteenth-Century English Novel(Cambridge: The University Press, 2006). Solà-Soler, Jordi, “Phi In The Human Body”, Sacred Geometry, 2012 <http:// www.sacred-geometry.es/?q=en/content/phi-human-body> [accessed 29 December 2015] Stevens Curl, James, “Correalism – Dictionary Definition Of Correalism | Encyclopedia.Com: FREE Online Dictionary”, Encyclopedia.com, 2015 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-Correalism.html> [accessed 22 December 2015] The Guardian, “The House That Eileen Built”, 2001 <http://www.theguardian. com/theguardian/2001/jul/21/weekend7.weekend5> [accessed 28 December 2015] D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, On Growth and Form, 2nd edn (Cambridge : University Press, 1945)

Appendix Appendix 1: As almost every concrete shell, a formwork out of 6mm MDF was built, on which thin (90gsm) paper was used to shape the form of the curve. A symmetric geometry was chosen, truncated cone, with 200mm long diameter, 100mm small diameter and 100mm height. The form allow the vertical to travelling towards the edges and distribute evenly. The form was tested in four materials, white card (3 layers of 1mm), veneer plywood (two layers of 0,5mm), aluminium sheet (0,7mm) and plaster (multiple layers of mod rock).

Figure 21: Card Shell, Material and form experimentation for shell structures, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Figure 22: Metal Shell, Material and form experimentation for shell structures, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Figure 23: Mod-rock Shell, Material and form experimentation for shell structures, Demetra Voskou, 2015

Appendix 2: Metal rods of 1,6mm thickness were rather than MDF in order to make the process quicker. Metal rod, is a flexible materials that can be easily manipulated using curved needle nose pliers. Despite its flexibility, metal has a certain strength that can be increased according to the form it takes. Furthermore, the choice of metal resulted to achieve the desirable form with less material and without any electric power. In total, eighteen parabolic curves of different sizes were constructed, and drilled on a plywood surface.

Figure 21: Layered outlined drawings, Designing a shell as an observer, Demetra Voskou, Drawing, 2015, Scanned Image. Demetra Voskou, 2015