Architectural Biography The Architecture of John W. Carpenter’s Memoirs
Masters Project by David Zawko University of South Florida School of Architecture and Community Design [1]
Acknowledgements I would like to thank all of my colleagues and friends at the university. It has been an honor to learn from each faculty member over the last four years. I would like to personally thank Steve Cooke for his guidance. From our design one studio to my masters’ project he has continued to be an incredible mentor.
Special Thanks Steve Cooke Dan Powers Michael Halflants Robert MacLeod Jan Wampler Nancy Sanders Kuebler Perry Daryl Krumseig Sobieslaw Fedyk and Friends
I would like to dedicate this document to the two most important people in my life; my mother, Arlene Zawko, and my wife, Megan Zawko.
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Chair | Committee | Consultants Chair | Steve Cooke
Faculty Advisor | Robert MacLeod Supporting Committee Supporting Committee
| Brandon Hicks | Daryl Krumsieg
Consultant | Josh Gilpin
To all the mentors in my life, I thank you.
John Carpenter
The Architecture of John W. Carpenters Memoirs [5]
Thoughts of an Architect
1. The architectural tracings are apparitions, outlines, figments; they are not diagrams but ghosts. 2. Tracings are similar to X-rays; they penetrate internally. 3. Erasures imply former existences. 4. Drawings and tracings are like hands of the blind, touching the surfaces of the face in order to understand a sense of volume, depth and penetration. 5. The lead of an architect’s pencil disappears. (drawn away) “To take a site: present tracings, outlines, figments, and apparitions, X-rays of thoughts. Meditations on the sense of erasures. To fabricate a construction of time.” “To draw out by compacting in. To flood (liquid densification) the place-site with missing letters and disappeared signatures. To gelatinize forgetfulness” John Hejduk
Architectural Biography
In Memory of John W. Carpenter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS The John The Autobiography Autobiography of JohnW.W.Carpenters Carpenter Memoirs
The Chapters
1 About the Author
1 About Proposal the Author Abstract 2 Introduction 11
Take, eat;this is My body which is broken[b] for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
2 Introduction How we choose to remember 3 House and Home 3 House and Home Flying 44 Flying Constructing the Site 20 55 Combustion Engineering Combustion Engineering 6 Pakistan A study of spatial recall through mapping the site 6 Pakistan 7 Grouse Hunting 7 Grouse Hunting 8 Hog killing Time Re-constructing Narrative 50 8 Hog killing the Time 9 Horses [Mapping part 2] Capturing space 9 Horses 10 Steam 11 cycle 10Thermodynamic Steam Alternate Sources A 12 Gift | The Process 62 cycle for Converting Heat into Elec11 Thermodynamic 13 Boy Scouts Make something for someone you have lost tricity 14 France 12Italy Alternate Sources 15 A 16 Place of Scouts Remembrance 64 13 Boy Japan 17 The Architecture | a laboratory of making 14China France 18 15London Italy Bucket 19 16London Japan Kentucky 20 Military 17 China 21 Miscellaneous
18 19 20 21
London Bucket London Kentucky Military Miscellaneous
It is well to have, not only what men have thought and felt, but what their hands have handled, and their strength wrought, and their eyes beheld, all the days of their life. John Ruskin
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Abstract Proposal What do you do when you lose someone who is dear to you? We have all experienced the traditional ways to remember through funerals, burial rituals, and religious observances. These traditional practices have placed emphasis on marking the physicality of death, rather than the loved one’s life by constructing monuments, headstones and urns. While these ceremonies celebrate the notion of life and death, they typically initiate the process of saying goodbye. The issue becomes what to do when we never want to say goodbye. There are numerous approaches to memorializing the lost. The method that I have chosen to investigate proposes combining the traditional practice of constructing in remembrance, but places emphasis on the process of making. When you make a gift for someone you are forced to ask yourself, “what would he or she want?�. The process of answering such questions begins the process of recollection. The intent of this project is to create an alternative approach to honoring and remembering those we have lost.
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“Hobbies” of John Carpenter
The Beginning
Author Cabinet Maker Competitive Snow Skier Carpenter Inventor Metalworker Eagle Scout Sculpture Amateur
Mechanical Engineer Civil Engineer MEL Instrument Pilot Competitive Skeet Shooter Archer Professional Tennis Instructor Telescope and Mirror Maker Professional Photographer
This project began over fifteen years ago when I was introduced to a man named John Carpenter. John is still to this day the most interesting man I have ever met. He was a polymath or contemporary renaissance man, skilled in almost every facet of life. I worked under his mentorship for over ten years and our relationship began as a traditional apprenticeship. Over time, he became one of my closest friends and was the inspiration for my pursuit of a degree in the field of architecture. He was writing my letter of recommendation for acceptance to the university when he passed away; I never got to see it. He passed away on December 7th 2009. I have continued to return to his farm many times each year to visit his wife, Genie, and walk through their home and gardens. This place always brings back such rich memories. John Ruskin speaks of the relationship of architecture and memory and states, “we may live without her [architecture], and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her. So many significant experiences happen in life at such random times and mundane spaces but they become meaningful because of those moments we shared within them. John’s farm became one of those places to me; It was so significant that When I decided to propose to my now wife, I returned to John’s farm to ask for her hand in marriage. Many years after his death, I discovered that he had begun to write an autobiography; it was a series of stories from John’s life. When I read through the stories I was reminded of all the things John had done during his lifetime and all the things that he had taught me. I was inspired to propose an architectural project that would investigate topics of memory and place; and would act as a gift to John for all he had given me. This project began as a private and personal investigation but my intent was to create something public that could be accessible to anyone .
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House and Home
An excerpt from Chapter 1. 711 West 5th street. London, Ky 40741
After 11 years of traveling I decided to quit being a vagabond and settle down in my home town of London, Kentucky. In 1964 we moved back to London and the first order of business was to locate a house to buy, not really interested in building at this time. We both liked and wanted a house with high ceilings and large rooms. This basically ruled out houses built in the last 20 or so years. Our interests finally settled on a house built in ’23 by the president of a small local bank, D.F. Brown, Jr. When I found the property is was rented to A.W. Rawlings, who owned and operated the Rawlings Funeral Home. The house remained in that status until my wife and I bought it in 1965. We immediately began a major remodeling project which lasted about 9 months. We were able to move in November of 1965. Nearing the end of our remodeling an electrician, Hard Rock Evans, was in the basement finishing the wiring of the entrance panel. He was a colored man and an unusually good electrician. He looked up at me and said, ”Mr. Carpenter, you are going to have a lovely home here but I wouldn’t live in it for a million dollars.” “Why not, Hard Rock?” “Once a funeral home, always a funeral home.” I replied, “Hard Rock, people die in every house”. He said, “Yes, I know. My wife and I had a son die in our house and we are moving in about a month.”
Placing the Memories [15]
House and Home
An excerpt from Chapter 1. 711 West 5th street. London,Ky 40741
In 1968 my wife wanted to move her two saddle horses from her home place in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, to our new place. That meant a barn so with some helpers I built her a 24’ x 48’ two-story barn. So before the year was out Daisy and Blondie were in their new home. The next project was a shop for me. That I was able to complete with no help, with the exception of pouring and finishing the concrete floor. I had learned a long time ago that concrete finishing was nothing but paid slave labor. About this time, I caught the astronomy bug, I mean bad. I read everything I could find of the subject from observing, photographing and lens making. I had never laid a brick in my life but I started a 13’ 6” diameter circle on a concrete slab just two inches bigger than that in diameter and carried the brick up to 4 feet high and there I mounted an angle for a track for my dome. I decided for the sake of cost to build it out of one-half inch electrical conduit and use a geodesic dome design for the structure. I calculated all the member lengths and devised an intersection connection to make the dome. It was covered with aircraft fabric and doped and painted just as one would when covering a Piper Cub. It had a roll-over shutter that gave good access to the heavens. This ‘temporary-permanent dome’ was used until about 1985. Then I designed another dome with much heavier angles and rollers for rotating the shell. The design was the intersection of two cylinders; this gave a flat surface to make a side sliding shutter mechanism. The dome itself was made of 14 gauge hot-rolled steel sheets. I have never been able to understand why almost the entire population of the country is so fearful of darkness. The bane of existence to any astronomer, big time or amateur, is the indiscriminate use of lighting. Any spot that is dark, there are dozens who want it destroyed with some form of lighting. If our Maker had intended or wanted us to never be in the dark He would have created two suns to give us constant daylight. When I started my observatory project there were 4 street lights in about a one-half mile stretch by my operation. I had made an arrangement with the head of the local electric utility company, to install an on-off switch at each of the four poles. Then when I was all set to make a photograph I could have an assistant trip these four switches and give me darkness long enough to expose the plate I was working on.
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Front Door
The Observatory
The Tapestry
Living Room Entry
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Re-Constructing Memories Two observatories stand on John’s Property and have been decaying there for as long as I have known him. What strikes me as fascinating about the observatories is the patina, placement and juxtaposition. Their relationship is an example of the entire experience of this place. They tell a story; the story of his life. The newer observatory rests on a circular brick bed and the top is hand-made in steel by John. The older observatory lid sits behind it, beyond the farm gate. It is space frame construction wrapped in fabric, decaying more and more every year. As the surrounding city grew and constructed streetlights near his home, John was forced to find new hobbies; these lights are astronomer’s worst enemy. The remains of John’s interest and experiments occupy all ten acres of his property. He never lost his love for learning and he took every opportunity to try something new.
The Home of John Carpenter
In many ways the home of John W. Carpenter is his “biography”. So much can be understood about him from just visiting his home in London, Kentucky. The property continues to remain untouched for many years after his death; even during his life the property only evolved through an additive process. According to Ruskin, “that which a man endeavors to make permanent exemplifies both his true self and the world he resides in.” John Carpenter revealed his true self through his work. The label that he was given throughout his life was “hobby poor” because he had invested all of his time and finances in his interests. His beliefs and philosophies now are exemplified in what he has left behind; in people and physical objects. The architecture he created speaks of a life dedicated to caring for things that he made and did. His passion for life is evident throughout his entire home. His love of discovery is seen in his pursuits for continual knowledge but also revealed in architecture that exist in his home…an observatory, hand crafted, built to explore the sky.
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Below Number
1
The series of charcoal drawings were a mapping exercise based John’s home and memoirs.
Excerpt from Chapter 2. I Got my start in the small town of London, Kentucky, located about half way between Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee, right on Interstate I-75. Born July 8, 1927 the son of the late W. S. and Bess Carpenter. I graduated from high school in 1945 and went immediately into the army for a short unglamorous career as a drill sergeant, (DI). I guess I was steered in that direction by having spent the previous 12 months in the local guard. My next 6 years were spent at the University of Kentucky where I earned degrees in Mechanical and Civil Engineering. When I entered the university as a freshman I became a walk on member of the freshman football team under the tutelage of the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. That didn’t last due to an ankle injury. What a blessing that was because it allowed me to commit full time to my studies.
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Vineyard Number
Garden Maze Number
2
3
Excerpt from Chapter 5. Toys didn’t rank very high in the list of necessities during; the depression. I will never forget one that I played with for hours when I was 3 or 4 years old. It was a wooden Aunt Jemima doll. It was shaped, hollowed out like a tulip champagne glass, upside down, with stem removed and replaced and replaced with Aunt Jemima’s head. There were two legs pivoted up inside, and both had large flat feet. I could set the doll on a slightly inclined smooth surface, tilt her to one side and she could walk down the slope. So intriguing to a young mind, I would make her walk for hours trying to figure how she did it.
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Silence Number
Through Number
4
5
Excerpt from Chapter 6. Five months after my 14th birthday, that dastardly attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. For the first few weeks the speculation was that it wouldn’t last but a few months and we would have a total victory. And as things progressed and the outlook darkened all that talk died and the fear of possibly losing took over. That was when voluntary enlistment took over and the recruiting stations were crowded. So totally different than a big percentage scrambling to Canada, in later years. If you were a conscientious objector you damn well kept it quiet. You were in physical danger if it got out. Like it or not that was the way it was. Political correctness had not, as yet, reared its ugly head and one could say that they thought without any apologies to anyone. In May before my 18th birthday in July 1945, I successfully talked my mother and father into signing the papers for me to join the Marines. I went to the Induction Center in Louisville, Kentucky to take my physical.
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The Gravel Pit Number 6
Switch Back Number
7
Excerpt from Chapter 9. I couldn’t wait to be 12 years old so I could join the scouts. Now that I think back on it, it was my first social mixing outside school. The troop met every Monday evening in the basement of the Methodist Church. I felt as if I had accomplished the world when I passed that first step to the top in scouting, the rank of Tenderfoot. Then it seemed that my whole existence was devoted to progressing up the ladder, to be a more advanced scout and to learn. It may have been my introduction to my burning desire to learn. Then when I got to be 16 I made it to the top, the EAGLE SCOUT RANK. A dear friend, Don Chesnut, who I had worked with through all the stages of advancement joined me at a special meeting of the local Kiwanis Club, and we were awarded our Eagle Scout badges. The countless hours we worked together to get to this point formed a relationship that I know of no other place to achieve.
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Emptiness Number
8
Crafting Rooms Number 9
Excerpt from Chapter 8. I entered the University of Kentucky, the College of Engineering in 1947 after my stint in the army. Each freshman and sophomore was required a certain number of elective hours outside the engineering curriculum. Rather than get bogged down in a lot of A&S studies that I wasn’t interested in I went to the Home Economics Department (HED) and signed up for what was designated as Foods 5. Determined that I was not going to embarrass my peers in the engineering department, I had to make this a success. I went to the largest clothing store in Lexington, and bought a white jacket, white trousers and the large white chef’s hat. I never washed a dish or pot the whole course, as soon as we were done and ready to start cleaning up, all my accessories would disappear and then miraculously reappear clean and back where they belong. Yes I did get my A as I was determined to do and the ton of QP’s to go with it.
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Beneath The Stair Number
10
The Textured Door
Number
11
Excerpt from Chapter 1. He wanted an open well in the front yard so he had one dug about 50 feet from the house, and moved the access to the well about 12 feet deep and built an underground room over the well which was in the center of the floor of the room. For access he had a tunnel dug from the basement to the underground room. More about the tunnel later.
Excerpt from Chapter 1. I was hired from on campus interviews by Combustion Engineering, Inc., an international manufacturer of steam boilers for utility plants. One of only three companies engaged in building this type of equipment. The other two are Babcock-Wilcock and the smaller of the three FosterWheeler. The next 11 years were spent in 30 states and 12 countries. My future father-in-law once stated, I wish he would get a steady job.
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Elevation Number
The Fire Pit Number
12
13
Excerpt from Chapter 11. In 1958 I married a lovely lady, Eugenia Bisset, that I met at the university and we traveled together for the next 6 years. Our Honeymoon was 6 months in Nagoya, Japan. There she got taken into Ikabana, (I-ka-ba-na) classic Japanese flower arranging. She later became a National Flower Show Master Judge when we returned to the States. Soon after our return to the states, while living in Michigan, I bought for our anniversary present a 6-week old Weimaraner puppy. He quickly became an “only child�. I developed a rapport with Leider that I had no idea could exist between a man and a dog.
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The Introduction Number
Basements Number
14
15
The old man came first then I came closer and I understood We can be so much more than we appear
Excerpt from Chapter 7. If you want to stop smoking, just quit. You can when you really want to. I smoked unfiltered Camels for many years and they over lapped with a pipe, which I stayed with for well over 45 years. I mean I ate the pipe, first thing when rising in the morning and the last thing at bedtime. About 15 years ago I decided I was hooked on the pipe. I didn’t like the idea of being controlled, so I placed pipes, matches and tobacco in every spot where I spent a lot of time. I haven’t lit-up once since that decision. My X-rays at my annual physical show everything clear. No pills, patches or any other crutches to stop the pipe. Just the decision to stop. I’ll have to admit, a certain amount of stubbornness is a great help in a decision like this. One of the few places where being very stubborn is an asset. Of course I miss my pipe, I enjoyed every puff but I hated the idea that I had to have it. I would dearly love to, right now. Light-up a big load of Granger tobacco and smoke it to the end.
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The Sky Number
The Ring Number
16
17
Excerpt from Chapter 1. More and more high intensity street lighting had to be installed. Now my beautiful black sky was ablaze with extraneous lighting. A film plate would be severely fogged in seconds with a sky light like I have now. So my enthusiasm waned rapidly, with no sky, what chance does an astronomer have.
Excerpt from Chapter 1. The tennis court was my next major improvement as it was necessary for my teaching for the next several years. A bad knee put a stop on the tennis and teaching. I needed a good level area for a training ring for my horse. I bought 13 corral panels to make a 50 foot diameter training ring and put 55 tons of sand for a better surface for the horses to work on. What luck? My prize Q horse went stone blind with cataracts. She is just over 11 years old now has never been out of the pasture where she was born
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Resting Place Number
I Smile Number
18
19
Excerpt from Chapter 3. When I was in the guard before getting drafted in 1945 we were always scheduled to be the honor guard at the winners circle. What a thrill for a seventeen year old country boy. I made my first bet on a horse, Hoop Jr, and he won paying me back $7.20 for my two dollar investment. I of course lost it all on the last two races and wound up with none of my winnings. But the old adage paid off, easy come easy go, taught me a good lesson, betting the ponies was not a good way to make money. My only contact with the Kentucky Derby since then has been that every year from 1966, my wife and I have held a Kentucky Derby Breakfast at our home. We have 25 to 30 guests in for breakfast, the most ever I think was 40, which was too many. It is a bit of a dress up affair, the gentlemen wear coat and tie and the ladies usually dress to the nines, some even wear hats. We try to make it as traditional as we can.
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Entry
Number
The Gardener Number
20
21
Excerpt from Chapter 1. A small clapboard house and lot adjoin my property at the street. I purchased it in 1975 and the elderly lady who owned it wanted to go to California to be with her daughter. The house, older that my home, has made an ideal office and dog house. The .9 acres evened out the property that we had at 10 acres. It has a small garage which makes an ideal storage space for my wife and I, who are both considered pack-rats.
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Sitting Bench Number
22
Land of Giants
Number
23
Excerpt from Chapter 16. I am constantly queried as to why I had such a love for horses, and what is the big attraction to riding. If you have ever driven one for the over powered sports cars, like Ferrari, Porsche or even a ‘vette,’ you know the excitement generated when you feel that surge of power when you call on it for performance. That sensation cannot begin to compare with the sudden tensing of every muscle in that 1200 pound animal, when you call on him to take a steep bank. You can feel the whole process between your legs. It is just awesome.
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The First Number
The Last Number
24
25
Excerpt from Chapter 16. For the past 20 years I believe my major hobby has been large format photography. I was lucky enough to successfully publish two books and recovered all my investment in their publishing. John W. Carpenter’s Kentucky Courthouses and John W. Carpenter’s Tennessee Courthouses. I heard a rumor that a friend had stated that John is the only person I know that is completely hobby poor. I guess he derived that from these facts. I am a serious multi engine instrument rated pilot, professional rated tennis instructor, amateur astronomer, a telescope and mirror maker, competitive skeet and pistol shooter, better than average at pocket billiards, cabinet maker, archer, snow skier, wine and champagne maker, along with fishing and wing shooting.
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The Site | John’s Compound 711 West 5th London Kentucky 40741 Legend 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
John Carpenter’s Home The Workshop Horse Training Ring | Tennis Courts Lonbuck Steel Tool Shed Observatory Horse Stable | Barn
A. Below B. Vineyard C. Garden Maze D. Silence E. Through F. Gravel Pit G. Switch Back H. Emptiness I. Crafting Rooms J. Sitting Bench K. Land of Giants L. Beneath the Stair M. The Textured Door N. Elevation O. The Fire Pit P. The Introduction Q. Basements R. The Sky
S. The Ring T. Resting Place U. I Smile V. Elevations W. The Gardener X. The First Y. The Last
Proposed Site
3
7
2
6
1
5
4
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1
The Plans | capturing the Narrative Constructing space from the narrative
2
3
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The Construct | an exploration of the narrative
The first assignment was to use one of the chapters from John Carpenter’s autobiography to inspire a project. The chapter chosen was “flying”, where he describes an intense experience of flying solo for the first time on his sixteenth birthday.
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Re-constructing the Narrative
The following two-dimensional drawings and models are the evolutionary studies of the three charcoal drawings.
Concept plan | Sitting Bench
Concept plan | Lonbuck Steel [55]
Three Dimensional Study of the Sitting Bench
The Sitting Bench
The plan is developed from the narrative surrounding the sitting bench. It was the meeting point at the end of every workday where we would sit and talk.
First Iteration
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Plexiglass layered Model
The Fire Pit The Fire Pit is used as a gathering space at times. It was primarily used for work; the burning of brush and fallen branches. It has been used to boil spoiled meat from time to time.
First Iteration
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Lonbuck Steel
The Lonbuck Steel plan reconstructs John Carpenter’s office. The existing office was in an old house on an adjacent property that John purchased. The entry of the office was a public space where John would meet with clients and friends. His private office was connected by a hallway where he hung many of his diplomas and awards. First Iteration
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“
“
“
“ “
A Gift
The Assignment Following the initial research of John’s home and memoirs, I began to evaluate and make conclusions about the work that I had done. In the beginning of the project, I had set out to create something that would honor and memorialize John Carpenter and throughout the project I had proposed several ideas. The objects that I constructed over the semester had a special meaning to me but not because they themselves were unique, but because of the process I went through to produce them. By the end of the semester I remembered all the stories and all the memories that John and I had shared-I remembered everything. The success was not necessarily embodied within the physical objects but was achieved throughout the process of investigating his life. I remembered him because was seeking to find what would honor his life. To test the idea I developed an assignment that would require someone to make a gift for someone that they had lost. I contacted several friends that I knew had lost important people in their life and asked them to participate. The assignment was intended to allow others to experience what I had gone through the previous semester. They didn’t have to complete the gift just determine what the gift would be and sketch it. I interviewed each one of these friends and gathered all of his or her sketches. The feedback varied from person to person depending on the relationship of the person that was lost. To be expected the people who had lost grandparents or older loved ones were very open and happy to remember and speak about their experiences. People who had lost siblings or parents were not as open. It was difficult for them to speak about them. It felt more tragic because it was so unexpected and they were so young. The architectural proposal stemmed from this assignment, to create a place where people could go to make a gift for someone they had lost.
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The Diagram
Constructing the Experience [65]
Organizational Study Model
The Project is organized around a central courtyard accessed from the bridge to the east. The entry incorporates a reflection pool that marks that transition between the pasture and project.
Study Model [67]
Proposed Site
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Schematic Design
Schematic Diagram The procession throughout the project is constructed of experiential transitions between the gardens and work areas. There are multiple paths to each portion of the project allowing the public to explore an undetermined sequence.
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Constructing the site
Mapping the moments across the landscape
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8 7 6
14 4
5
2 3 15
13
9
10
Ground Plan 1’= 1/16” Legend
1
11
1. Bridge 2. Bird Bath 3. Entry 4. Gravel Courtyard 5. Writing Room 6. Desk 7. Hearth 8. Alternate Entry 9. Service 10. Wood shop 11. Prep Room 12. Metal Shop 13. Rose Garden 14. Caretaker 15. Water Well
12
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6 2 3
5
1
7 4
Lower Plan 1’= 1/16” Legend 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bridge Bird Bath Entry Workshop Entry Slate Seating Sitting Bench Writing Room Entry
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Longitudinal Section
Half Level
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Caretaker Residence
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Vertical Organization
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Second Level
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The Approach
The project is situated in the heavily wooded edge of the site, west of John Carpenter’s Home. The intent of its specific location was to allow the public to pass through John’s compound before entering the project.
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The Entry The door is a half arch formed from an overhead stairwell entry to the writing room.
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The Courtyard
The central courtyard is six feet below grade with the intent of blocking the view of the surroundings. The verticality and scale of the walls draw your eyes to the sky while transparency of the writing room allows for horizontal views of the site.
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Rose Garden
A series of freestanding concrete walls cut through the landscape to create pathways within the project. The walls divide the project into a series of gardens, a rose garden on the west, a private garden connected to the writing room, and a gravel garden in the center.
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The Workshops
Three small workshops line the south edge of the site; a wood shop, metal shop and a prep room.
Writing Room
Private Garden
Reflection Pool
Bridge
Workshops
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The Workshops
The workshops are adjacent to the reflection pool. Three large operable doors allow north light to flood into the space. The southern exposure is diffused by a series of horizontal shutters.
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Gravel Courtyard | Gathering Space
The landscape walls create pathways that carve the land and allow access to the gardens.
Prep-Room Wood Shop Water Well
Service
Shop Entry
Gravel Garden
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The Sitting Bench
One small concrete bench is situated within northwest corner the gravel garden. It is intended to provide an area for private reflection.
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The Stairway
The staircase is imbedded within the concrete walls that encapsulate the central courtyard. The stairs frame the courtyard entry to allow access to The Writing Room.
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The Writing Room
The writing room overlooks the central courtyard. The long narrow space is divided into two workstations; the writing area and the library.
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The Writing Room
Horizontal wall-to-wall slits permit lateral light from the east. The slits are held within a steel door chassis that rotates to open a view corridor to the northeast corner of the site, looking back upon John Carpenter’s Home.
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