CONTRADICTION Dingwen Sun
1
This document contains a body of work submitted to the
VIRGINIA TECH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN in partial fulfillment of a
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE
2
CONTENTS 01 Prologue Acknowledgment
Thesis Statement
02 Site Site Photos
Site Research Streetscape
03 Exploration Case Studies
Early Drawings Prism Science
04 Design Floor Plans
Sections Elevations Model
05 Bibliography
1 3
8 10 14
18 20 34
38 44 52 54 59
01
PROLOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book is dedicated to those who provided their unwavering guidance, support, inspiration and wisdom throughout this process. I could not have done this without your help. Thank you all.
Paul Emmons Marcia Feuerstein Heiner Schonoedt Ezgi Isbilen Dan Snook Joe Iwaskiw
1
“Architecture is necessarily complex and contradictory in its very inclusion of the traditional Vitruvian elements of commodity, firmness, and delight. And today the wants of program, structure, mechanical equipment, and expression, even in single buildings in simple contexts, are diverse and conflicting in ways previously unimaginable. The increasing dimension and scale of architecture in urban and regional planning add to the difficulties. I welcome the problems and exploit the uncertainties. By embracing contradiction as well as complexity. I aim for vitality as well as validity.” -- Robert Venturi ‘Complexity And Contradiction In Architecture’
2
THESIS STATEMENT CONTRADICTION: noun. a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that are opposed to one another. - a person, thing or situation in which inconsistent elements are present. - the statement of a position opposite to one already made. As a Chinese student in the US, what I have experienced most here is the culture shock, a form of contradiction between my Chinese soul and the US environment. From rice to bread, Pingpong to football, and collectivism to individualism; the contradiction makes me feel uncomfortable as I start to ask myself - Why am I shocked? Is this normal? Can I accept the differences? After 5 years of experiencing the contradictions, I have become more open-minded, and I realize that contradiction can trigger cognitive reconsideration, simply speaking, it makes people think. So...Can architecture make people think as well?
3
CONTRADICTION COLLAGE Initial Visualization of Contradiction
4
5
02
SITE
ST THOMAS’ PARISH 1772 Church St NW, Washington DC
According to its official website, “St. Thomas’ Parish has been part of the Dupont Circle and Washington, DC community since 1987. It is a church of past presidents, provided shelter for those protesting war and social injustice in the 1960s and 1970s, cared for people battling AIDS in the 1980s, and has been a leading advocate of social justice, including affirmation of same-sex marriage.” These photos are my impression of the site throughout 8 sperate visits from August 2016 to February 2017. It awaits to be reborn for one of the most important LGBTQ community centers in the USA.
8
9
SITE MAP
Relative Information
10
11
ZONING
DC Code Analysis
12
13
STREETSCAPE
Photographic Assemblage
Church Street NW -- Residence
18th Street NW -- Main Public Access
17th Street NW - Club & Bar
14
15
03
EXPLORATION
CHURCH & CLUB Case Studies
The Church and the Club, even though they are functionally contradicting, display qualities in their physical presence that overlap. For example, they both have a people-hanging structure, one for the god and one for the “goddess�; they both have a dark room with just a chair, one for the confession and one for the lap-dance: they both serve alcohol, one for gaining the faith and one for losing the mind... And as an architect, the light, the sound, the air, and the material, should be carefully designed to serve the qualities of the space.
18
19
VIRTUE & VICE Schematic Designs
“... Virtue as well has been depicted as many figures. It is true that Seneca described it in the form of a woman dressed in white. Vice, however, is depicted as a woman dressed in beautiful clothing. Thus they appeared to Hercules in a dream, each to show him that he should follow her footsteps. Both Vice and Virtue offered him their fruits, one sweet, one bitter. Wise man that he was, he took the bitter rather than the sweet...” “... I made each of them a place which I thought would be suited to them. I depicted a high mountain with steep sides which could be ascended only by one path. Then at its summit between two peaks and between these two trees I placed [Virtue] on his diamond. At the foot of this mountain there was a dark and subterranean grotto. In this I placed Vice.” -- Filarete ‘House of Virtue and Vice’; translated by John R. Spencer
20
21
22
23
PRISM
Rainbow in Church If a church wants to be LGBTQ friendly, then it needs to be visually LGBTQ welcoming at least. Usually, a rainbow flag hanging in front would be the typical solution. But in the case of a reborn, the colors of the rainbow should be carved into the new St. Thomas’ Parish. A prism can separate white light into a spectrum of colors. Therefore, the prism is used as an architectural system that will allow the rainbow of the church to never fade away. And just like every LGBTQ member, the new church is born with a rainbow inside.
24
25
DAY & NIGHT Schematic Sections
26
27
SKETCHES
Design Development
28
29
30
31
FRAMING Isometric Drawing
PRISM SCIENCE
Sunlight Refraction Data Analysis
34
35
04
DESIGN
SUNLIGHT FLOOR Church/ First Floor Plan
Walking up from a curved ramp, a 30ft tall pyramid structure stands in front of me. Through the front glass facade, I can see a rainbow cross light on the church floor. I enter the building, the seats spread out evenly without interrupting the rainbow cross on the floor; two marble walls frame the space into a sacred rectangular that extends all the way to the historic altar. The floor looks like it is made out of frosted glass, I can tell there is a space under it, a dark and empty space. Standing in the rainbow light, I look up to see where is the light from. Up high on the black ceiling, a big long crystal prism stands out. It diffuses the sunlight warmly and colorfully onto the golden trusses. Along with the tall height of the space, the white pattern of the marble, and the ancient feeling of the alter, I can imagine that god will descend down to us through the glory rainbow light.
38
39
TWILIGHT FLOOR
Game&Food/ Mezzanine Floor Plan The gate of the church closes under the twilight, and the entrance below the church starts to glow in the dark. I walk down the stair and enter into a long dark tunnel, where I can see a mysterious tint of purple at the other end. After the security check, I finally get out of the tunnel, and a surprisingly giant space instantly lights up my mood. I see people playing the billiards on the left while I hear subtle jazz music to my right. I walk up to the jazz bar, grab a drink, and keep walking along the edge of the big center opening with the satisfying view of entertainments. While I am enjoying the atmosphere, I notice that the restroom is hidden behind the jazz stage, where both men and women are coming out while a drag queen is clicking her high-heels towards it with no hesitation.
40
41
STARLIGHT FLOOR Night Club/ Basement Floor Plan
It’s late at night, people start to gather in. The stairs to the basement are shining up from the colorful light from the dance floor. People announce their arrival by stepping and pausing on the stair landing. The LED integrated floor and wall changes colors by responding to the music. The dancers spin around the columns like it’s a pole stage. Half of the bartenders pour drinks in front of the liquor display. I see a half-naked man shaking his body with golden glitters, I see a tattooed girl kissing another girl without any worry, and I see a disabled man rolling his wheelchair towards the booth to join the cheers and chats. The smells of strong alcohol and perfume, the sounds of loud music and laughs, the colors of neon lights and exposed skins, everything here is making this place into a utopia where I don’t have to close my eyes to dream.
42
43
DAYTIME WEST SECTION
44
45
NIGHTTIME WEST SECTION
46
47
48
Daytime North Section
49
50
Nighttime North Section
51
ELEVATIONS
52
North Elevation
West Elevation
53
MODEL
54
55
56
57
05
BIBLIOGRAPHY Unmentioned paragraphs, photographs, images, drawings, renderings and models are produced by the author. All the references comply with the Fair Use Policy of Virginia Tech for educational purposes only. • Venturi, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art, 2014. Print.
• “Thanks-Giving Square.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 May 2017. Web. 25 May 2017. • “Church of the Light.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Apr. 2017. Web. 25 May 2017.
• “St. Thomas’ Parish - Dupont Circle.” St. Thomas’ Parish Dupont Circle. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “Tour the Club.” Show Palace. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2017.
• “1772 Church Street.” Hickok Cole. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2017.
• NYC.” InsideBusinessNYC.com. N.p., 03 Nov. 2015. Web. 25 May 2017.
• “JEWEL Nightclub.” JEWEL Nightclub Las Vegas. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017.
• Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. Contrasts ; And, True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture. Reading: Spire, 2012. Print.
• Dixon, Amelia. “What Are the Hottest Nightclubs in Las Vegas?” Pinterest. N.p., 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 May 2017.
• Filarete. House of Virtue and Vice. Translated by John, R. Spencer. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1965. Print.
• “United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 May 2017. Web. 25 May 2017.
•“Refraction.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2017. Web. 25 May 2017.
• Thorncrown Photo Gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2017.
59
“Contradiction� Dingwen Sun Undergraduate Thesis Documentation May 2017 Thesis Advisor: Paul Emmons
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University College of Architecture and Urban Studies School of Architecture + Design Washington Alexandria Architecture Center
61
62