Southern California Institute of Architecture 2013 / 2014
M.Arch 1
Eyad Kalaji
Portfolio
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1GA . 1GB
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Visual Studies
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Cultural Studies
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Applied Studies
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Making + Meaning
In this irst exercise we have been asked to explore polyhedral packing to form objects in space that operate as line and igure simultaneously. Using strictly regular octahedrons and tetrahedrons did explore combinatorial potentials by connecting like faces of the polyhedrons to form igured lines in space. Using plain folded white paper and clear scotch tape we built a minimum of (6) regular octahedrons and (6) regular tetrahedrons. All edges o f polyhedral must measure 1�. we Combines polyhedrons to form igured lines in space. We explored at least (3) diferent conigurations using at least the minimum required polyhedrons. Ater hat we did photograph all (3) conigurations on a black background. he best version was created as a study model.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Prelude
Project 1.1:
1GA , 1GB
Deep engagement with any discipline requires deep understanding fostered by serious study. In architecture that oten means researching, reproducing and analyzing signiicant works of architecture. his happened in the irst semester, we begun a little diferently by engaging a series of large scale sculptures that embody ideas about geometry, matter and space to serve as contemporary foundational building blocks for the production of architecture. Our focus is to internalize the conceptual geometric strategies for the instantiation of matter and actualization of space. In the second exercise for project one we have been asked to research and produce a scale model of one Tony Smith sculpture, in my case I made a study model of SMOG . he polyhedral matrices or ‘grids’ in the works ofered act as resultant and underlying system simultaneously. we found that the instantiation of matter through polyhedral packing, elongation and connection allowed for a lattice that hovers between object and ield. his was a key point of departure for the studio.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Precedent
Project 1.2 :
In the third exercise for project one we have been asked to expand the lattice we produced in exercise two. his is our irst exercise in form, and we are therefore asked to make speciic decisions. It requires a keen understanding of the growth model for our precedent. we have been asked to explore intrinsic possibilities for system termination; meaning how does the lattice start and stop at a point, an edge or a plane ? We have been asked also to explore extrinsic possibilities for system termination by introducing ‘cutting’ planes in relation to the lattice in order to reveal diferent sectional characteristics and potential spatial conigurations. Additionally, we looked at things like orientation, posture, grain and density as they relate to geometry, matter and space.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Expansion
Project 1.3:
Using orthographic projection and axonometric drawings we have graphically described our expanded ield object. Each of us did create a series of 2D and 3D analytical drawings to describe the system and its expansion. Strictly speaking analysis is the process of taking apart a complex topic, idea or system in order to gain a deeper understanding of it. he drawings we created did efectively ‘take apart’ the geometric system in order to show how it goes together. he best analysis is generative, meaning we discover or even ‘construct’ aspects of the system by drawing it out in this way.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Description / Analysis
Project 1.4:
Precedent analysis is an integral part of any disciplinary education and Architecture is no exception. In this set of assignments we did explore seminal works of Baroque architecture to begin to understand concepts of PochĂŠ and Plasticity. Each of us has been asked to research a speciic precedent, in my case I did analys the churche of Santa Maria in Montesanto. We had been asked to produce a constructed two dimensional plan / analysis drawing of the assigned work as well as a set of diagrams extending the transformational potential of the work. he purpose of this exercise is to rigorously understand the strict boundaries between solid and negative space, and how the curvature and articulation of a wall can afect the space it delimits. hese drawings are not traced from a scan or photocopy; all latent geometry, including arcs, regulating lines, points, notation, etc. are visible in the drawing as well as the present geometry of the plan cut (PochĂŠ) at a level of four feet above the inish loor. hese drawings are not strict representational rawings of the plan of our assigned building, but rather conceptual investigations of the underlying abstract shapes used to create that plan.
Geometry, Matter, Space. PochĂŠ and Plasticity Description / Analysis
Project 1.5:
In the inal series of exercises for project 1 we have been asked to develop a transformational process to be applied to the original geometric precedent model. We have already begun to see the power of transformation in Architecture through the Baroque precedent studies; While Bernini deployed and transformed the classical orders to great theatrical efect stretching and extending known systems (intrinsic), Guarino Guarini following the work of Borromini brought much more complex mathematical and geometric systems to bear on the works that were outside the classical origins of the movement. Indeed every historic architectural movement could be understood and described in relation to techniques of transformation. To transform the original geometric precedent we had to challenge things ‘intrinsic’ to the system. We thought of this in terms of variables: types of polyhedrons (tetra-, octa-, stretched octa-), number of polyhedrons, scale of polyhedrons (length of normal edge, length of stretched edge), relationships of polyhedrons to each other. Meaning we could achieve a transformation working only with the variables Smith used. Of course we can see this in the range of outcomes exhibited by Smoke, Smug and Smog.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Transformation
Project 1.6:
Required Program Elements and Approximate Areas • Lobby/Atrium/Banking Hall - 3,000 SF o Concierge - Included in 3,000 SF o Check stands - Included in 3,000 SF o ATMs - Included in 3,000 SF • Teller Stations - 1,000 SF • Oices - 2,000 SF o Staf Oices - 1,000 SF o Board Room - 600 SF o Closing Room - 400 SF • Drive-Up Banking - 5 units • Safe Deposit Vault - 1,000 SF • Cash Vault - 500 SF • Cafe (Optional) - 1,000 SF • Community Room (Optional) - 500 SF • Mechanical Space (5% Gross SF) - 500 SF • Support Spaces - 1,500 SF
Project : he design of an approximately 10,000 SF single-storey, local banking facility in Boyle Heights.
Instructions: We had to translate the most potent organizational diagram into the site rectangle, illing the site completely from edge to edge. We did that by overlapping more than one of our previous diagrams. We Did at least two diferent versions of the drawing. his could be accomplished by using diferent starting points or by exploring diferent manifestations of the order or diferent distributions: condensed vs. expanded, box as a program boundary vs. no boundary, etc.
Site: 148’ x 120’ = 17,760 s.f. Program Area: 12,000 s.f. Open program: 2/3 of the total program area= 9,000 s.f. Closed program: 1/3 of the total program area= 3,000 s.f.
Geometry, Matter, Space. Organization
Project 2.0 :
In order to approach an understanding of a house spatial structure, we started our semester analyzing diferent houses for diferent architects as precedents. In my case I chose to analyze the Eshrick house by Louis Kahn for its interesting organizations in the interior spaces as well as the exterior shape of the building. In order to understand the creation of the projects, we had to redraw the illustrative drawings and try to apply diagrams that in our understanding were behind the creation of the diferent functions of the house. Interior spaces, apertures and circulations.
Project 3.0
Ater analyzing the Eshrick house I tried to simplify all the steps taken in the creation of the building by presenting them only using lines and points. Ater having these diagrams simpliied I projected them on two adjacent surfaces taken from two primitive forms, in my case I used a cone and a cylinder. Projecting the diagrams on these surfaces approaches the idea of a diagram in space which gives potentiality of a volumetric combination based on a simple diagram.
Project 3.1
he concept that is started with is to take the nine square grid and understand it as parts rather than presenting a whole. Understanding the squares as free elements gives them the freedom to transform in diferent ways, shape, direction and position on the Z axes. Ater extruding these surfaces along their normal I had to think how I can connect those again in order volumetrically inhabit the shape. Connect the cubes on the Y axes again to create the outside and on the X axes to create the inside. he intersection between the volumes created the circulation areas and the interior volumes. Projection of the nine square grid through the project helped to designate the interior spaces, the apertures as well as the pattern on the exterior shell. he house is 2500sf divided on four levels: 1-Living area, kitchen and a bedroom 2-Oice 3-Living area 4-Master bedroom
Project 3.2
any of the exterior edges of any of the surfaces.
Based on our work over the previous several weeks, we have a irm grasp of diferent types of projection and curvature. From the shape we developed for a previous assignment , we traced a continous, closed, three-dimensional path around the surfaces that make up the shape. he three-dimensional path should begin as a line parallel to one of the faces, and then continue around the three-dimensional shape perpendicularly to each edge it hits. he path should also go through the doubly-curved hole at least once, it should include at least one circular arc, and it should pass over at least one surface more than once. Trace several of those paths. he ambition is that we trace enough of them to represent the object without explicitly drawing any of the exterior edges of the shape. We produced several drawings using only these three-dimensional lines: a coordinated set of orthographic drawings and an axonometric drawing, each without
While historically, curves in architecture have most oten been derived from circular geometry, notable exceptions occur in the history of the discipline. Most frequently the exceptions have been imprecise; they evade description, either mathematically or graphically. Nonetheless, with further exception examples of precise curvature derived from non-circular geometry may be identiied. From the intersections of arched pediments with curved surfaces of domes in baroque architecture to ruled or developable surfaces more recently, to understand architectural curvature we must become familiar with several aspects of curved surfaces, including degrees of curvature (that is, the number of terms in the equation that expresses the curve); diferences between developable, ruled, and doubly curved surfaces; and modes of projection that allow approximation of curved surfaces in service of fabrication.
Visual Studies 1:
VS 1 . VS 2
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Assignment 2:
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Assignment 4:
Ater producing a three dimensional object out of the projection of the letter “E” and “U”, we had to produce a series of four drawing. Each one of them illustrate and study a diferent way of representation: 1- “Academic” rendering where shade & shadow falls at 45 degrees from top let to the bottom right in order to construct depth in a 2D drawing. 2- “Color” rendering of shade & shadow where hue and tone produce a diferent legibility in the original object, must be color, but may be rendered to seem greyscale from a distance. 3- “Vector by number” rendering where the raster shade & shadow drawing is translated into a vector ield of graphics (ex: stripes, dots, grids, or arrows), calibrated to an underlying ordering system, such as a grid (may be grey-scale or color); 4- “False” rendering where over-printing, ink leaks, blurring, or incorrect shadows or graphics undo the legibility or depth of the object, lattening out its form.
We did analyze a letterform, through exercises in constructing, regulating. Transforming, projecting, and rendering. he characters of Le Romain du Roi, developed in 17th and early 18th century in France by the decree of Louis XIV oferd the starting point for drawing and modeling exercises. I did construct the Letterform assigned to me which is the letter “E” , accurately articulating its controlling geometry. In a following step we did project two letter igures across one another and deduce the intersection, in my case I projected the letter “U” into my initial letter “E”
his course forms the continuation of strategies of representation, it expands on the use of representational tools to emphasize formal legibility through systems of regulation, annotation and scripting, the assignments focus on building precision and intentionality toward architectural drawing and developing a critical sensibility to the inherent bias in each medium of representation.
Visual Studies 2:
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Cultural Studies 1
Essay 1 :
Original – Copy – Simulacrum
F
or this essay the prompt questions our position toward Tony Smith work, it questions at the same time our position regard the concept of “Original – Copy – Simulacrum”. What would I choose, should I be part of a continuous process of representing precedent works – assuming that it will be a good copy? Or rather take part of inventors who create, elaborate and experiment something new? In my opinion it is crucial before taking any position to understand what an original, copy and simulacrum are. Original as word refers to something authentic, valuable and irreplaceable. Referred directly to its creator who possess the value of its originality and its copyright. he original holds the initial idea, whether this idea is clear and obvious to the receptionist or not, it still the only element of its kind who has it. On the other hand the “Copy” is the element which represents and reproduces the original holding the same idea. Presenting it in another way for several purposes like reproduction seeking understanding or reproducing seeking representation. One aspect of copying is with a simulacrum, it is kind of a representation and reproduction with ignorance to the irst and initial idea. As Gilles Deleuze mention in his book “heir claim- by means of an aggression, an insinuation, a subversion, and without passing through the idea” referring that from Plato’s discussion about Simulacrum. He also refers to it as an image without resemblance. As a personal preference I always was interested in inding the new, the original which impact is more powerful than the best possible copy. Although it is not always possible to ind the original it is still very powerful to look and appreciate the best copy of it. For instance it is impossible to watch and sit in an original Shakespearian play, but it is always possible to watch a replication of it. It still a copy but it still the same idea from the same play. Now if we were to imagine additional scenes and characters we may have a new product but absolutely not a Shakespearian one. Even if it is based on the original play holding the same name or presenting the same characters the idea will be diferent, thus the product is no more original nor a copy and this is a simulacra. I remember once in my third year in the university, my teacher told us how frustrated he was when he was passing by a construction site in Blida near Algiers the capital of Algeria. He walked by a Masjid construction, a Masjid involve by its typology the use of certain aspects of the Islamic architecture introducing arcs, stones, mosaic and other tectonics. What mades my teacher frustrated is the way the construction company was build the arches, they were modeling them using concrete instead of stones. In this case the whole idea behind the arc and its use was ignored and subverted, even if the concrete arc was to be built to look like an original real arc it wouldn’t be holding the same idea and the same meaning. his is not a copy, it is simulacrum.
“heir claim- by means of an aggression, an insinuation, a subversion, and without passing through the idea.” - Plato
In the beginning of our studio experience we’ve been introduced to the work of the sculptor Tony Smith, we’ve been studying three of his works (Smoke – Smug – Smog) each one of us had to look back on these three sculptures and build them again on a smaller scale to look exactly as the originals. Doing that in my opinion had big beneits on our imagination and understanding of an artistic work, combination of forms and how an object can be submerged in a grid that design the DNA of the whole combination. Making these models again and again is a copy holding the same idea of the original work, allowing us to understand and to appreciate minimalism art. In this case copying is beneicial. In the very beginning his works seemed to me simple and easy to reproduce, looks simple to combine but not as simple to understand. Minimalist artist in general intend to expose the essence or identity of a subject with the elimination of any additional form that does not afect or add to the concept. hey try to present the maximum efect with fewer objects. Tony Smith is one of those artist, by using few diferent simple elements like a tetrahedron, octahedron and a cube he created several art sculptures. In contrary to art in the beginning of the renaissance period, art work was based on the element itself more then it meaning or of what it represent. he meaning is clear, replication of an event or a story in the bible was extremely powerful to the point that the real event is referred to this piece of art to give example of the situation how it looks like. Michael Fried who is a modernist art critic, argue that a piece of art has to take the observer to its own world. He believes that a sculpture or a painting should be stand by itself, it does not need a person to look at it to be alive. Minimalism art work needs receptionist, a viewer who thinks about it, try to interact with it and try to understand it. If we look for example to Michelangelo sculpture “David” standing on a pedestal, we can clearly feel that the sculpture is distancing itself from the viewer, creating an invisible wall putting the statue in its own world in a higher level, and the viewer is in an external world looking at it in a lower level. On the other hand if we look at one of Donald Judd works, we feel no barrier distancing us from the piece. Minimalism interact with people. Marcel Duchamp a French painter and sculptor push the idea that a piece of art is the piece that creates interaction between the viewers, it is the piece that provokes reaction and appeals thinking about it. “Fountain” 1917 is an example of this presentation, the art work is simple, a porcelain urinal. Another work of its kind or maybe it is not, “Artist’s Shit” by the Italian artist Piero Manzoni, 90 tin cans labeled as artist shit in four languages. he idea of the artist was to experiment the relation between the art production and the human production, this piece of art in comparison to “David” by Michelangelo or “La Gioconda” by Leonardo da Vinci is highly related to the human being as a receptionist of the work. “Fountain” and “Artist Shit” are artistic pieces that delect the attention from the object itself to the people standing in front of them, they revolution the rules of art to become a social interaction creators. During our work on Tony Smith sculptures we have been asked to add our own touch on them. As a irst step we have been asked to explore and to ind the constructive element in each piece, the element that allows us to extend the system and create more layers. Now our models can no more be referred to as Tony Smith work,
it is not a copy anymore. he models resulted present another type of understanding the work, by taking its DNA, repeating it many times and combining it in many directions. As a second step we have been asked to inject a cube inside this new net of tetrahedrons and octahedrons, rotating it in three axes then removing all the external pieces, and using the box as boundary box to trim all the pieces in between the outside and the inside through three selected planes. Despite the fact that the way of combining the system and repeating the layers is limited, because the DNA pieces are ixed and allow only a few number of movement, injecting the cube is much more complicated and involve a myriad of possibilities. his operation require a decision to be taken and require a full understanding of the expanded model. Ater trimming the model we elaborate a study about the negative space and the type of milieu inhabit the model. As a inal step we are asked to apply modiication on the articulation that allowed us to expand the model, by taking the DNA of the combination, stretching, twisting and scaling its part in order to create a new unitary shape that will for sure change the whole model again. In this case we are absolutely changing the basic grid behind the creation of the very irst sculpture of Tony Smith. hese modiication are not anymore a copy of the original work, nor a way of investigation to the way they have been produced in. hese transformation changed the idea of basic relation between the shapes and the homogeneity between its elements. By changing one cell of the system, the appearance and the character of the whole changes. We have seen by working simultaneously on another project the power of transformation and its impact on the Architecture itself. For instance in the Baroque era Bernini deployed and transformed the classical orders by stretching and extending known systems, Guarini applied much more complex mathematical and geometric systems into Borromini work. Understanding these transformations lead us to acquire a better understanding to the initial work, the way in which Tony Smith works were build, or the way in which the Baroque churches were founded and which geometry they are based on. Finally, one can argue why is all that, why we made those transformations? Is this the best way to learn how to create? Are we enable to ind a point to start the original without referring to the past? Or maybe by looking to the past we may understand how we should proceed? Is the result of transformation considered a copy or a simulacrum? Or it is some kind of an accepted intervention leading to a better investigation? If this is the case, what is the original and how to create an original object without looking to a precedent transformed one? If we didn’t based on our work on Tony Smith “STUFF” in order to lead us to create our inal project which is the bank, how would we create it originally?
Essay 2 :
I
n the readings of this week, we can divide them in two groups in term of the ideas discussed, yet at the end they approach one major phenomena. Robin Evans and Michel Foucault touch the global idea of power and status of the human in his milieu, they categorize this power and try to analyze the source of it and the elements feeding it. How did the space give power to the occupant and how he got diferentiated from an other person who is in a signiicant proximity only by categorizing the space he inhabits? Koolhaas and Tschumi are emphasis on the fact that spaces are deines in relation of the context of the period they are built in, and how does society efect the way we live and interact in our space. Evans analyses the spaces in the sixteenth century houses and compare them to the newer houses where the modern concept of privacy starts to have impact and inluences on the way inhabitant are interacting with their exterior word. Starting from the idea of sharing and social interacting with each other in a big room which has four or ive doors, intersecting passages used by the owner as well as the servant, ending by the idea of an enclosed space which is used only by the main character of the space. Diferent passages diferentiate the status of the user, a servant has his own passage which is not allowed to intersect with the passage of the Sir, and it is the modern idea of privacy which in one way gave a certain aspect of power and superiority. Michel Foucault, discussing the same concept of power but relating it to another type of activity, which is surveillance, discipline and punishment. His emphasis on the fact that if we put a group of repetitive spaces in a certain way and relate them somehow to another group of spaces allow us to categorize the status of power. Bentham’s Panopticon as an example illustrates that by creating multiple separations, and by having an individualized distributions we get as a result the idea of control and power. Foucault question in his essay the fact that this creation of power by categorizing spaces is having its efect even on the outside world, schools and hospitals for example, their characterizations and classiications and the analytical arrangement of spaces in them is one of the most important providers of power. Rem Koolhaas, describing in his essay how Manhattan – downtown New York was grown very fast with a very little architectural intention. By the invention of the elevator and the industrialization of the building the process was basically related to the consumerism. Every loor is diferent of the other, as the one goes up a whole new class is discovered, life is becoming fantastic because we are going away from reality. he space and the life style is created is diferent in each loor as a result of the huge diversity of living in a metropolis. Tachumi discuss in his essay the other possible ways of categorizing space, what are the factors that give a milieu its character. He propose that language is one of the most important aspects efecting those categories. He arguments that architecture is nothing but the space of representation and that the architectural object is pure language, vocabulary and syntax. Although these four reading discuss two diferent ways of categorizing the space, whether by implementing power and producing social classes or by being inluenced by the social reality, they both lead
to the same point of thought. he time period surrounding the area of investigation is wide, Evans analysis ideas about houses in the sixteenth century whereas Koolhaas discussing few of the major aspects of modernism and industrialization. he relation between these four essays in my perception is that they are investigating ideas in functionalism architecture that have a big inluence on the nonfunctionalist ideas.
Essay 3 :
O
ur readings for this week discuss diferent factors and speciics made from Los Angeles such an important place attracting theories and studies. A place where the absence of an identiiable history allowed for multiple design directions to occur. Although this absence of regulators is widely criticized and even become a stereotype used against L.A., nobody was able to deny the important impact of the so called “he New School” – of architecture born in it on the nation and on the world of architecture. In his essay Building in he Brave New World” Aaron Betsky clariies the actual social, environmental and architectural situation in Los Angeles in a pessimistic way, yet ending his essay pointing that an optimistic view could be projected on the future of the possibilities in the city. He describes Los Angeles as a city organized around roads and signs, city with no focal points and even if those are found, like the Hollywood sign or the pleasure piers they are meaningless, whether they were created to fulill a commercial use or a communicative purpose. A city with no vernacular architecture no speciic style, buildings which do not relect the need of their inhabitants and generally not speciic to their site. Despite this pessimistic view toward Los Angeles, Betsky announces that the process of understanding the actual situation of the city has absolutely a great interest. hat’s because Los Angeles is a huge laboratory of development and research for a new form and a new way of doing architecture which in fact had its clear results in term of new forms and possibilities through an interesting number of projects. In fact architects found in the city a challenge because they are confronted with processes of modernization before many other cities, in addition to the lack of regulators, the facts that create another dimension in term of the design diiculties. hom Mayne, Michael Rotondi, Craig Hodgettsm, Robert Mangurian, Frank Ghery and Eric Own Moss are architects in Los Angeles whom work attracted the international attention. heir works which are generated in the city and which are a pronounce tendency to deal with all the problematic factors created a notion of “he New School”. Buildings which barely seems like buildings look more like sculptures or new forms that stress the possibilities of creation in an environment with no limits or regulators. Los Angeles was an open ield for the abstraction in design, investigating new ideas given by the spread areas and the advanced technologies. Although among those architects there is who ind in sculpture and form a concept tools like Frank Ghery and others who ind in theory and social impacts a way of manipulating their ideas and concepts like Eric Moss or hom Mayne, they are all belong to the same school, the same area. Reading these essays opens the door for many questions, what is our role as architects in this environment? What does control and orient our contribution? Can we consider the work of the new school architects as a way of practicing architecture in Los Angeles? In my opinion, at some point the diference between building in Los Angeles or in Europe for instance will not evolve problematic discussions about styles and forms. Modernization, communication and technology created links and similarities between projects, a museum which concept based on a theory or an abstract idea or metaphor is weakly committed to its terrain, the fact that allows it to exist in diferent places.
Essay 4 :
O
ur readings for this week emphasis on the objecthood of the architectural elements, our perception toward them and their standalone meanings. Each of these architects experiment this problem from a diferent point of view. Many theories were written in order to understand what is the architecture we are looking at now, what made it possible? In these four essay we were able to study diferent approaches trying to categorize the architectural object and to understand the facts that were injected in order to achieve a better understanding of it. Lynn in his essay talks about diferent categories in order to understand the architectural element in the period of post modernism, he refers that to three diferent human actions which are whipping, chopping and folding. He says that we can categories any of the architectural object to one of them. In his point of view instead of breaking object apart we would rather apply pressure on it and then study the resulted element, how it does appear and what is its impact on architecture. On the other hand, Eisenman’s approach to the problem of understanding the object is diferent. In his essay he brought a building from Venice as an example of a classical building and compare it to a modern building, his idea is that if we collapse the time between those two buildings we will be able to understand each of them abut with the diferences and similarities in between. Eisenman believe that the object by itself is able to be recognized and categorized without the need of the person, the concept which is one of the post-modernism approaches. Patrick Schumacher in his essay Parametricism, declare that the ultimate solution is to have a building that result from inputting all kind of information we can collect in a computer. he building we get is the perfect answer for all the questions. Also in order to understand the actual situation, we have to mÊlange all the buildings we have with all the styles. he building in result is the best description of the whole and of the situation of architecture now. In my understanding, the four essays are trying to igure out the way we should do architecture, what are we building now and what can we consider a good or a bad building? And what are the elements of judgment? If I was to refer what we are doing in studio to each of these architect I may conclude that I am Folding in Lynn words, by putting together all what we did with Tony Smith sculptures and the study models we did starting from his art, in order to understand more our buildings and his sculpture. In Eisenman words, we are actually trying to forget the context of Tony Smith sculptures and at the same time injecting them in our projects to create something new. In Schumacher words, we are giving the computer information to work with, but the diference is that we are trying to ind the solution, it is not implicated on us by the computer. Despite the huge gab in time between the oldest essay and the latest one, they discuss the same object manner issue and trying to analyze what happened and what is happening and what is going to happen.
Essay 5 :
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ur essays for this week discusses aspects of perception toward art works like painting for example. hey try to establish a full understanding of a human reaction like sensation toward a drawing or a project. Gilles Deleuze in his essay “Francis Bacon, he Logic of Sensation” explained the diferences between igure and iguration, what sensation is and what the diferent levels of it are. On the other hand Jefrey Kippnis in his Essay “he Cunning of Cosmetics” is explaining HdM ways of presentation, the forms they use and the ornaments they present. Deleuze explain in his essay, the Figure or the Abstract which are two ways of going beyond the iguration. Figuration is to present the art work as a story, narrative or describing a status of being, Figure does not contain all those, it makes you feel it without having it, Figure is a deal of sensation which is related directly to the nervous system. Sensation takes the person standing before it to its world, it let him feels the horror and the pain as those are present in Bacon painting “Scream of a Pope” for example. In this painting by Bacon the pope appear to be screaming in from of a curtain, the curtain is not isolating the pope from the viewer, yet it is giving the sensation that the pope is screaming in front of nothing, in front of the invisible the fact that implement a strong sensation of horror. In his essay Kipnis is describing few of HdM projects, on the contrary of his irst essay describing their projects as ornaments and minimalist igures. He consider them to be “the coolest architecture around”. He illustrate that HdM design the signal box which is basically an infrastructural project to be such an important piece to be added in a harsh site. he cosmetic appearance of the project is attractive. By using bended copper the skin of the building was created and a new visual efect was embedded to the volumes. Kipnis emphasizes that the cosmetic efect of the skin is not only a fact of ornament or decoration but it is indeed a powerful enforcement to the entire design. What relies those two essays to each other in my opinion is that they discuss how the visual efect of an object is very powerful to a degree of touching the nervous system, which is the sensation. Deleuze explains that in one moment of sensation there is many levels, the full sensation is achieved when all the levels are completed. He continues that it is wrong to consider that what is unifying the sensations is the object, since the object is the iguration and iguration is opposite to igure. Kipnis on the other hand clearly describe HdM projects as wonderful because of the visual efect they produce by using only a thin, adherent and a difused extension which is the cosmetic skin on a simple forms producing the building.
Essay 6 :
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his week readings are discussing two important aspects of the architectural creating, the virtual architecture which discuss the diference between designs on paper and what is realized, and what is the diference between narrative and database Paper architecture refers to the concept which are kept on paper for either being unbuildable or discussing some study idea, in our studio we oten are asked to look on project that have not been built to learn some concepts being introduced in them like Lebbeus Woods projects. And at the same time we have been asked to look at banks in order to know what should we introduce in our projects, in my opinion both ways are very important to handle many ideas we need to understand architecture. Architecture in my perspective is more than building a physical object, it is to understand facts about human being, social interacting or objects relationship and plenty of other virtual and theoretical notions. Hayles and Manovich are discussing the concept of narrative and database information, both essays are not about architecture but the ideas included would be applicable on the architectural creation. Narrative is highly related to history, where things are coming from and why they are in this status of being. Oten related to the logical evolution of manners. Database on the other hand is more related to the digital information put together by a computer or some kind of statistic. Either ways are important to manipulate the actual information. If I were to refer those ideas to our process of inding architecture, I might say that having a narrative story behind a concept is crucial as a way to understand how the evolution of ideas were and how the impact on the future will be ! On the other half it very important to liberate ourselves from the past and project the future by a new ideas. Our studio projects are all on paper that do not mean they are unbuildable but they are meant to experience design and to understand architecture.
Final Essay :
Looking for New Architecture
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s Deleuze in “Plato and Simulacrum” gives the medium in which we are able to judge the goodness or the badness of an object, relating that to the idea and the image, Andrew Zago, Michael Meredith, Sylvia Lavin and Sarah Whiting in their essays are trying to investigate the way win which a new architecture can be founded. Disconnecting architecture from history, from the desire to satisfy the tradition in order to achieve perfection will be a irst good step to create an autonomy that release architecture of being related to other mediums. In his essay, Andrew Zago starts his investigation of a new architecture by suggesting what he called it he Awkward Position. he awkward occurs with the increasing frequency of any given ield. Shiting the condition from being elegant and formal creates the unease and the discomiture which produces the efect of the awkward. As a way of creating what is weird and unseen, this might help to alter from what is traditional in architecture by deining and delecting, this might be a beginning of a new mastery and authenticity.
It is obvious that achieving mastery and authenticity require an important amount of intelligence and knowledge, in our ield these requirement includes understanding of the classical orders and basic notion of architecture like the proportions, geometries, building types, materials properties and ornamentation. Nevertheless, what is more important than these prerequisites is the expertise in the constellation of working techniques, the way how disciplinary architecture works make from the project a landmark and an authentic element to be added to the directory of a noble work. Although the modern era undermined many of the historical methods for architecture, the conditions required to produce a successful project still the same. he degree of expertise is the major element for rising the authenticity of a project, its quality is not only related to its appearance, yet it is about its contribution to the directory of the model project. As the condition of expertise to authenticity diminished in the modernistic thinking, it has never been erased. But new attitudes have been deployed, like the irony into the design. he postmodernism uses irony as a powerful tool to suppress all kind of tradition and power systems, it was also used as a tool for a successful design. Several faces of this phenomenon were clearly applied by many architects, OMA for example, by trying to uncouple architecture mastery from its production they were disconnecting historical considerations and techniques from their productions seeking a political freedom. Others were trying to ind in the computational design and the fabrication tools a new methodology in the architectural creation. heir intention also is to disavow architecture history to be a major element of today architectural mastery. A third party responds to achieve mastery by applying a neotraditional authenticity. hey apply modern abstraction while neglecting the irony, in a way to create theoretical game-playing. Maybe the best strategy which leads to a notable successful monuments are those with the efort of inding new possibilities, creating new materials and pushing the creativity limits to the maximum. For Zago, new mastery is drop in an awkward position, trying to separate itself from the traditional authenticity and at the same time trying to escape from the judgments which are related to a traditional way of thinking. Succeeding a new mastery require a new set of manners and considerations, a diferent vision into beauty and aesthetics, it has
“he degree of expertise is the major element for rising the authenticity of a project, its quality is not only related to its appearance, yet it is about its contribution to the directory of the model project. ”
to de-attach itself from the barriers of tradition and history and from the fear of correctness. Plato and the Simulacrum by Deleuze, gives the tools to judge the work as a copy, an original or a simulacrum. To deine a new territory of mastery and authenticity, one have to cease the looking for the truth which Deleuze is encouraging and start to think about the unique truth imbedded in each tempt of creation. In her essay Kissing Architecture, Sylvia Lavin introduced how an artistic work like Pipilotti Rist installation in MOMA is a prove of how by a new medium of art she could change and cover an old architectural medium, by slipping over it gives the static igure a new cultural face, this act may introduce a new expertise and a new disciplinarity for today’s architecture. Sylvia argues that by this medium, a nice and sot efect can be injected into the discipline rather than traditional practice or the avant-gardist projections on the ield. She compare kissing to contemporary architecture as a way of saying good-bye to the old considerations of classicism and modern era. Today’s architecture is stuck between the two visions about it, one that consider that architecture is highly related to the capital and the general culture, which preventing it from having a speciic autonomy. And others argued that architecture failed to create a speciic means of engagement. Post avant gard and postmodernism were an answer and a result for these critics. Sylvia gives importance to the fact that Rist work was shown in MOMA and what is the implication behind it, she argues that MOMA was always a good asset for the work presented in it, because of its internationality. But as she describe it, the museum commitment to the history increases its banality and that’s what makes Rist’s kiss operates in the space in an interesting way. he way the museum is organized and the trajectory forcing to be followed reinforces its modernity, from the time the visitor is on line for ticket to the moment he is watching and appreciating the work of art present a way of low that separates the aesthetic from the commercial. What makes Rist kiss exceptional is that it introduces a new concept to be added to the contemporary culture, this new concept of aesthetic helps to understand what is feeling architecture, experiencing it and interacting with it. hese new concepts are attempts to ind out what Is the possibilities of a new architecture, even though if that was through other milieu, just like what Andrew Zago was pointing about the awkward position that might be an element or a tool to ind out what can be considered as successful and new. Michael Meredith in his essay ‘For the Absurd’, is trying to point on the fact that what interest architects does not make sense to other people from other ields, he describe architecture as a book club rather than a discipline, where illustrations in book are more important than the text next to them. Ironically he suggests to write a manifesto of the absurd, of what in his opinion does not interest anybody other than its creator, “Absurd Realism”. He question the autonomy of architecture by putting it down into a discussion about materials and production ways and technics, where is the authenticity than? Robert Somol and Sarah Whiting, includes in their essay “Notes around the Doppler efect and other Moods of Modernism” a quote from Perspecta in 1984 for Carol Burns and Robert Tatylor saying that architecture is not an isolated or autonomous medium, it is in fact related to the social intellectual and the visual culture, which are outside the discipline. In the same edition Michael Hays publish a corrective essay pointing that the editors were insuiciently dialectical in their understanding of engagement and autonomy. He rather creates the notion of critical architecture which stands architecture of being between a cultural product and a discrete autonomous discipline.
he Doppler Efect as they describe shit the understanding of disciplinarity as autonomy to disciplinarity as performance or practice in this context, as a result knowledge and form are based on shared norms, principles and traditions. Eisenman reading for the Dom-ino by Le Corbusier is an orientation toward a disiplinarity as autonomy and process, and Koolhaas’s staging of the downtown authentic club is a disciplinarity as force and efort. By these two examples, R.E and Whiting are trying to diferentiate between the critical projects in architecture with its connection to the indexical and from the projective which proceeds through the diagram. What diferentiate these four essays is that they all propos a solution or a replacement in order to investigate a new architecture. Looking for the autonomy of architecture could be very challenging since architecture is highly related to other ields, like arts and politics. But as Zago, S.E, whiting and Meredith and Lavin made it clear, new ways and exceptional ways of doing architecture might be a new generator for originality, autonomy and authenticity.
Ketchaoua Mosque
In that context I was interested in the mosque of Ketchaoua, and what type of architectural change happened in it? How architectural aspects of a building can refer the function in it, and even though the character is still religious, how a radical change from a mosque to a cathedral to a mosque again efects on its exterior and interior appearance? Before starting analyzing Ketchaoua it is crucial to understand who takes control of a religious ediice in either Islamic or Christian religion.
1/ Introduction :
2/ Religious patrimony in Christianity:
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In the occident, the juridical system of ancient Rome relies goods and spiritual places to gods which they belong to (2), but by the evolution of Christianity this notion was replaced by the ecclesiastical patrimony which collects all the ediices to the church. hese ediices are usually religious and have a spiritual value. he management of these belongings are in control by juridical person assigned by the authority, and his actions are in the name of the church.
Cultural Studies 2 Final Essay :
he relationship between the human and his heritage was always a ield of study and concentration of society. Whichever this heritage is, it always has a legacy and a clear importance at a certain moment in history. he protection of this heritage and the way it is transmitted to the next generation involve a great amount of relection. Heritage and patrimony elements occupy an important place in the world of architecture, due to their deep relation to the culture of the place and the history of its society (1). heir development is highly related to the modern ideology of developing and conserving the heritage of the city or the region. Even though the way we treat the existing historical belongings is related to the actual politics and social afairs, we still take in consideration their creation and the spiritual aspects in them. his is usually because of the strong relation of these ediices to religious manners. Buildings which have a religious function are considered the valuable ones, which is because they have imbedded in them notions as beliefs, faithfulness and sacredness. When these last mentioned be present in an ediice, its patrimonial value become part of the social heritage, and to be treated as a treasure for the region and a powerful statement of the follower’s existence. Any intervention in this kind of existence takes an important amount of concentration and relection from the highest authority in control. Conversions in the function of a religious patrimony are usually the clearest evidence of the strong relation of society to its patrimony and its religious heritage. he mosque of Ketchaoua is a strong statement of this kind of conversion. Ketchaoua is a religious ediice which has been converted into a cathedral in 1832, and was converted back again into mosque in 1962, these operations happened in a very clear context belonging to speciic periods. his conversion happened during the French occupancy in Algeria, and it is part of the processes of colonization and transforming Algiers into a French city. One of the most powerful statement of occupancy is absolutely a conversion of an important religious ediice to another religion. he purpose of this kind transformations is not merely physical or functional, but rather an attempt to apply the ideology of a complete replacement of existing values, once these are replaced it becomes easier to spread power and take control of a whole society. Putting aside the political and ideological aspects of colonization, this kind of transformation gives us a starting point to understand how society interacts with religious monuments. Whether by their architectural appearance or their spiritual character, which is basically related by the prayer. Although Ketchaoua experienced a rupture in its cultural statement, there was a continuity in its use as a religious place.
3/ Religious patrimony in Islam: In Islamic Law, the religious patrimony is managed by the juridical institution which categorizes an ediice to be “Wakf ”. Buildings in this category are protected from being sold or given, and prohibited from being a personal belonging. heir revenues go to the institution to be used as a funding for managing and support any element in this category. hese elements are also protected from any commercial use, and they are oriented to have a free access to the open public (3). he example of a mosque which also referred to be called “House of God” put a direct relation between a mosque to be an object and the highest statute which is God. And this notion is marked in the Quran as the verse which literary says “he masjids are for Allah, so do not invoke with Allah anyone” (4). In Islamic culture mosques are deined as a place of prayer and connectivity with the only Allah more than being a holy architectural object, because believing in immortality is only related to Allah not to any other living beings or objects. hat’s why its patrimonial value usually are related to cultural and social legacy rather than to its spirituality.
4/ Ketchaoua as a mosque: he exact date of the construction of Ketchaoua is unknown, but what is known is that in 1612 a juridical paper states its existence. he mosque as it appears in the lithography by Lessore et Wild and by the plan and section presented by Amable Ravoisie, was built in 1794 under the rule of Hassan Pacha (5) as it is conirmed by the writing engraved on the entrance saying “What a beautiful mosque, the splendor of its completion smiled on the horizon of the century, it was built by the sultan, pleasant to the eminent power Hassan Pasha, with unparalleled beauty” (6). In the Muslim world many type of mosques exist. In terms of scheme we can distinguish the plan that present a yard and a praying hall, this type can be found in the Orient and in Maghreb. Another kind is a big yard with four Iwans, which is a hall covered by a vault, this kind is the one found in Iran. A third kind is the one that constitutes a big yard that surrounds the covered praying hall, this hall is covered by a dome which is usually big in dimensions, might be inspired by the Sainte-Sophie in Istanbul, Turkey and in central Asia (7). he mosque which was built in 1794 takes a place in this last category.
It has a bigger proportion than the precedent one, the section done by Ravoisite conirms that it was built on a plan of a mosque with a big central dome covering the prayer hall, and surrounded by galleries covered by small domes. he praying hall is surrounded by marble columns holding arcs, the arcs constitute an octagonal base for the dome on top. Beautiful engravings and ornament having been placed on the inner side of the dome (8). he original minaret could be found at the end of the two gallery naves, this plane is similar to the ones found in Turkey and similar to the ones built in Central Maghreb during the Ottoman period.
5/ Ketchaoua as a Cathedral: Ater Algiers fell in front of the French army in 1830, the treaty of surrender signed between the Dey of Algiers, Hussein Pacha, and the compte of Bourmont from the French side says that “leave the freedom to the inhabitant of the city from diferent classes to announce their religion, their commercial needs and their industry, with no external intervention”. Nevertheless this treaty was not respected from the actual force in power, saying that it is strange that the winner be subject to the loser. By force, mosques were converted into Catholic cult ediices, buildings were converted into hospitals or churches, palaces were converted into a military bases and Arabic houses into French residences (8). Ketchaoua mosque was converted into a Christian cult in 1832. his conversion generated a stif opposition from the Muslim community and from few of the new occupants of the city because of a clear contradiction with what it is said in the treaty of surrender signed on July, 5th 1830. Duke Rovigo the principal of this conversion, his choice of this mosque was not fortuitous, Ketchaoua is one of the most valuable ediice for the Muslim community at the time, and his choice was more a statement of presence and a declaration of power. Djamaa El Djdid, another mosque at a very close distance from Ketchaoua was saved from being converted by the efort of the Muslim representatives. Rovigo comments on this by saying “We give you the bad positioned mosque, I don’t want it, and I want the most beautiful one. We are the leaders, the winners, I don’t want to be laughable.” Ater this statement from the Duke, no more negotiations.
Lateral Section, Old Ketchaoua mosque Lucien Golvin gives a description to the mosque “from 24/20m the praying hall forms a square of 11.5m the side, which produces a vast dome with an octagonal shaped base. he dome has supports in shells form. Around this big spaces we can ind galleries which get in double at the opposite side of the Mihrab. hese galleries have on top small secondary domes separated by equilateral pointed arches supported by big columns with vast capitals. he minaret of the mosque was decorated from the interior with big Arabic inscriptions, while the mihrab was planted east side of the square room surrounded by columns of marble from Italy. Ketchaoua mosque is one of the most prestigious mosques in the city of Algiers in which the inhabitant were highly attached to, because of the beauty of its decoration and its monumental aspect that states the Ottoman inluence on architecture in Algiers. Being next to the palace of Hassan Pasha and facing Dar Aziza, Ketchaoua occupies a privileged place in the city. Situated at the base of the Casbah, between the city on the hills and the ancient resident of the Dey, and the other two big mosque of the city (Djamaa el Jdid and Djamaa el Kbir), and served by the commercial roads around it, Ketchaoua plays the role of the heart of a city.
Lateral Section, Old Ketchaoua mosque
December 17th, 1831 Rovigo ordered to put a cross on the high end of the minaret and to be saluted by the army of land and the navy from the sea. At this day, four thousand Muslims were barricaded inside the mosque and closed the doors to prevent the army from entering the praying hall. Following an order from the Duke, the doors were destroyed and the army opened ire on the people inside which caused a panic in between them and forced them to leave the mosque. he conversion of the mosque was justiied as inding the need of a place to carry out the duties of religion for the new occupants. In reality this act was more a humiliation of the original inhabitants and had a strong impact on the entire city, December 24th, 1832 was the Christmas manifestation inside the new church. Interior transformations were necessary to accommodate the new function of Christian cult, by implanting new furniture while using the old ones. he basin for ablutions was transformed into baptismal font. he marble ‘Minbar’ was used as a pulpit. Also another symbolic
change were made, as putting a statue of the Virgin in the ‘Mihrab’ and a cross on top of the dome of the old mosque. he inside atmosphere of the church was confusing, and oten presented contradictions in every corner as L’Abbe Barges described it. High Koran verses still engraved on the walls. A function inhabiting the wrong form, a hybrid between a church from inside and Islamic architecture from the outside, these contradictions didn’t seem to make problems for practicing Christian cult.
6/ Ketchaoua cathedral ediice: he construction of SaintPhilippe cathedral in lieu of Ketchaoua mosque started in 1845 ater that the deconstruction started in 1844. his order was lunched by Dupuch the new bishop of Algiers. He ordered to build a new cathedral but the inance administration refused his demand and favored the transformation of the existing one. Pierre Auguste Guiauchain, a building architect presented a project of restoration and amelioration for the ediice in 1830, this project was continued by Amable Ravoisie in 1839 who suggested another restoration. But his drawings were just for the purpose of publication. he construction of the cathedral took place in between 1845 – 1860 but the façade wasn’t completed until the end of the century. he cathedral got considerably bigger and it occupies four times the area of the old mosque which is equivalent to the choir area ater the transformation. Constructions were guided accordingly by Pierre Auguste Guiauchain, Harou Romain, and Jean-Baptiste Feraud and later by Jean-Eugene Fromageau. Construction was disturbed many times because of site instabilities, this problem was solved by projecting shaped stones all around the ediice. Also ater tests on the earth of the site an interesting Mosaic was found, presenting igures of animals as well as medallions, these were found at the foundation level and was attributed to the Roman Empire. he façade kept on construction until the end of the 19th century, the inal realized façade was proposed by the architect Albert Ballu in 1886. Many other propositions were made before the inal realized one, Haroun Romaine propose an elaborated façade that suggested building two lateral towers at the extremities of the ediice. hese two towers are inspired by the two minaret of El-Nasser Mohammed in the castle of Cairo and from the minaret of Kait-Bey mosque. Saint-Philippe was constructed entirely by the inspiration of
diferent architectural styles, Romano-Byzantine at its orientalist shape, which gave birth to the Neo-Moresque style that dominated Algeria in the beginning of the 20th century. he cathedral became a historical building in 1908. Although colossal sums were disposed for this project it didn’t achieve a parallel importance or had a huge impact as it was expected, not even from architects and planners. Perhaps its architecture that might be seen as eclectic, maybe its narrow and small surface or maybe its position in the heart of the historic core of the city. All these problems were discussed in the urban plans ater 1850 to expand the city, also it was written on the report of the new city in 1858 “he cathedral as it is now, it presents shortening in each oicial meeting, or important events, it is situated in a narrow place and there is always traic around it. Cars around it threaten the pedestrians, this cathedral should be constructed in a new surrounding” (9). Installed at the base of the Casbah of Algiers because of an order from Rovigo the duke, Saint-Philippe was never completely integrated in this fabric, surrounded by old Arabic houses where the inhabitant are mostly Muslims, and even ater its expansions it is still narrow to accommodate all the events of the cathedral. he cathedral kept its function until the independence in 1962 where it was reconverted into mosque again. And since then ‘Sacre Coeur’ which was built in 1956 became the oicial cathedral of the city.
7/ Ketchaoua back as a mosque: Ater 130 years of French occupancy in Algiers, and ater seven years of the liberation war, Algiers got its freedom in July 1st 1962. Ater few months, SaintPhillipe was converted into its original function, the mosque of Ketchaoua. It is hard to determine the exact date of conversion due to the huge amount of events and celebrations at the moment, where the conversion was not the most important event. L’Abbe Jean-Pierre Henry, Algerian archive said “he following day of the independence, Algerians invaded the cathedral reclaiming its conversion into a mosque again, the church found this claim normal and possible, and it was seen in the future, so the preparation to transfer the cathedral to ‘Sacre Coeur’ was prepared” (10). In all the regions all over the country, spontaneously, Algerians invaded all the old mosques that were converted before claiming them as belongings for the Muslim Community. Ater its conversion into a mosque again, Saint-Philippe didn’t have a major change in its architecture, chairs were removed as well as any
additional Christian decoration. he two crosses on top of the two minaret were replaced by lunar crescents. One of the major problems was the placement of the ‘Mihrab’ which indicate the direction of the prayer toward mecca. he cathedral was built facing the East, where the entrance is and also where the direction of the Qibla (the prayer direction) is. During the prayer, it is not allowed for people entering the mosque to pass in front of believers in prayer. In order to solve this conlict, the entrance was divided into two at both sides of the façade allowing the East wall to be free and undisturbed. From inside these two entrances were followed by two walls driving the entering people to reach the last lines without passing in front of the praying believers. In addition to the interior transformations, ablution areas were planted in the North West side of the ediice, forcing people to walk all the way to the end of the mosque, and go back to the last line ater inishing their ablution. he mosque entered into a restoration process in 2008, and it still close since then.
Conclusion: Historical buildings are valuable ediices, they are treated as heritage given by our ancestors, our rule is to preserve them and transmit them in our turn to the next generations. Any attempt to change or steal this heritage by converting it to another culture is an attempt to damage the history of the community and of the ediice itself. Cultural war was always as strong and afective as a real war. Ketchaoua does not present only an ediice to pray in or a building that complete the urban fabric with, it is a statement of a Muslim presence and existence in the city. Converting it into a cathedral is an attempt to modify this presence. For Muslims mosques are not a holy place that a prayer would not be accepted without, but rather, it is a gathering place. A hall that unify believers under the remembrance of God and his absolute presence. he value of a mosque is humongous, not because of its walls, but its meaning and its spirituality. Refereces : 1 BABELON Jean-Pierre, CHASTEL André, la notion de patrimoine. Paris, Ed Liana Levi, 1994 2 BART Jean, « patrimoine et religion, les dieux possèdent-ils un patrimoine , Le patrimoine culturel religieux. Enjeux juridiques et pratiques culturelles, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2006. 3 KHALFOUNE Tahar, « Le habous, le domaine public et le trust », Article paru dans la revue internationale de droit comparé N° 2-2005. 4 Quran, Sourate El Jinn 72, Verse 18, Translated from www.al-islam.com. 5 Marçais Georges, « L’architecture musulmane d’occident : Tunisie, Algérie, Maroc, Espagne et Sicile) », Paris : Arts et métiers graphiques, c1954. Print 6 KLEIN Henri, op.cit. 7 BAYLE.M.Hélène, Qu’est-ce qu’une mosquée ?, Institut européen en sciences des religions, Septembre 2007. Descriptions d’Albert DEVOULX, responsable des Domaines, dans KOUMAS Ahmed, NAFAA Chéhrazade, « L’Algérie et son patrimoine », éditions du patrimoine, Paris, 2003. 8 BEGUIN François, Arabisances ; Décor architectural et tracé urbain en Afrique 9 VIGOUREUX, CAILLAT, « Alger, projet d’une nouvelle ville », Alger, 1858, dans OULEBSIR Nabila, op.cit. 10 Reportage, « Ketchaoua : mosquée d’Alger », revue TDC, 2 avril 2001 sur La Cinquième, Conception Hervé Pernot, Auteur-Réalisateur Mehdi Zergoun.
A group project have been produced and presented in order to show the ability to apply the course content to the design and fabrication process. We have been grouped together in order to design, fabricate and present a scaled mock-up of a complex component assembly. Combining a basic knowledge of material behavior, product parameters, fabrication techniques and system performance, we produced an assembly with speciic performance objectives and spatial efects. he design and production process synthesized digital parametric, visualization, physics-based analysis and simulation with material properties, physical fabrication and demonstrated performance. he mock-up included at least two materials, two component types, and two fabrication techniques while taking full advantage of the fabrication capabilities of the SCI-Arc shop. his includes the use of hand tools, power tools, digital fabrication and advanced material production. Cratsmanship and precision are essential to the production of this assembly and the inal work have been evaluated accordingly.
We learned fundamental material qualities, performance and sourcing as well as product production, fabrication and delivery. his basic material understanding included issues of sustainability, durability and applied performance. Historical precedents, construction site visits and guest practitioners illustrated how materials are assembled as tectonic systems in architecture. Material efect, tectonic expression and architectural innovation have been discussed in terms of a comprehensive understanding of material qualities and performance parameters. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to apply this material and tectonic knowledge in the design, fabrication and assembly of an architectural mock-up.
Materials and Tectonics begins the exploration of the material manifestation of ideas. his course is intended as an introduction to building materials and assemblies in architecture. Primarily a survey of conventional architectural materials and construction practice, the course will also introduce new materials, techniques, tools and technologies that are informing the building in the future.
Materials and Tectonics :
he slope of the stairs spatially draws one to the gazing ball, squishing the user towards a denser environment. While it contracts the space, the ininite relection of the lights in the relective surfaces creates an expansion of the perceptual space. he material nature of the mylar produces echoes in the space, be that the light sources or the user experiencing the installation.
Whereas a bulb or light strip would fragment the continuous efect, the LED light tubes provide a uniform lighting system that can be adjusted to i t the space of the installation and afect the experience of the user. Another advantage of the LED tubes is that in comparison to incandescent, they use less power per unit of light generated.
As the light tubes journey deeper towards the center their linearity becomes increasingly chaotic, reacting to and relecting of the distorted mirrored surfaces to create perceptual aspects of ininity. he placement and orientation of the light tubes draws the user into the space, encouraging them to delve deeper. Surrounded by the light tubes and relected in the distorted mylar, the user then becomes another aspect of the installation, relected into ininity.
Our concept for the installation is to create a space where projection of light reacts and is distorted by echoing relective surfaces. Relective mylar attached to the wall and hung from the stairs will create a small alcove for the space of the installation. LED light tubes travel through the space and are pulled toward the center of the alcove where sits a relective gazing ball, the apex of distortion.
Relectivity; to give light the quality of specular interaction with surfaces and objects.he proliferation of relection allows for the interface between light and mirror to echo each other’s aspects ad ininitum.
Design Statement
Enironmental Systems: