1 Formal Analysis: 1914 - 1988 Fan Yang Spring 2022 Yale School of Architecture
2 Contents 131211109876543 Le Corbusier I Le Corbusier II Adolf Loos Mies I Mies II Le Corbusier III James Stirling Aldo JohnRobertOswaldRossiUngersVenturiHejduk Maison Cook Cite de Refuge Steiner House Brick Country House Neue WallVannaStudentElementaryEngineeringMaisonNationalgalerieJaoulBuildingSchoolHousingProjectVenturiHouseHouseII Architects Projects
3 Le Corbusier I
Maison Cook 1924Paris
“The exterior is the result of an interior.” The relation between indoor space and façade opening in Maison Cook can be considered as a typical example of the state ment above. The façade arrangement seems random at first glance, yet connection can always be founded when we analyze the program within, along with the specific lighting needs for each area. For the living space facing the street (NE), there are always full-length ribbon windows. Since the double height living room is only half the width, the ribbon window can only reside at the bottom half. In order to pro vide adequate sunlight on the other side while avoiding this space being transparent from both sides, the aperture on the other side (SW) occupy the upper half, leaving the bottom half only a door and a small balcony. At the roof level, the façade of the roof garden and balcony is still influenced by the interior program: The curved wall and the protruding balcony are all centered along the axis of the double height living space, and although the open spaces at this level are all sealed with balustrade from the street, the balustrade for the narrow balcony is still more opaque than the adjacent balustrade in front of the roof garden.
Cité de Refuge 1933Paris
4 Le Corbusier II
The entrance gateway seems to be displaying an illusion of fake entry directly an swering to the giant screen, in front of which a series of figure elements are ma nipulated, folded and elongated to create an entry sequence which can situate all programs within the limited triangular site. The halftone figures show the originally straight sequence before the folding. Eventually, the entry sequence is organized with three perpendicular axis perpen dicular to each other, and the final axis also serve as the axis of vertical circulation within the main building volume behind the screen.
Loos
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Core vs. spine Steiner house presents two distinct organizational systems parallel & segregated with each other. One (the core) is more ubiquitous, almost hidden from the public, and always located at the center of plan; while the other (spine & etc.) functioned more as the user circulation, which is more visible, and distributed more randomly, and vary from level to level based on the differences between the programs on each level. The core exists every floor but has slightly different location on every floor. Spine echo with structure and tripartite formal system, do not exist on every floor
Steiner House 1910Vienna
Adolf
6 Mies I Focus of representation: Fluidity, continuity and infinity of space (show in grey) In open plan layout, walls are treated as object (showed in red) rather than the de finer of space. Reasons for fillet corner: - Object-field analogy (magnetic / electricity). The presence of wall does not neces sarily affect the space in a strictly formal fashion - Gestalt principle: continuity help space read as the entity being intended - Tectonic analogy: space read less fragmented (windows on ship and plane) Brick Country House 1923
7 Mies II The datum of the orthogonal grid goes beyond different levels and is expressed through the plan layout, structure distribution, and the module of facade and roof. Neue 1968BerlinNationalgalerie
This project illustrates a total deviation from the five points. It has no pilotis, no ribbon window, but most obvious is the deviation from the idea of free plan. In a typical free plan, the structural formation and the formation of interior program are basically two detached systems. Yet in this design, we can observe a much tighter connection between the two, as the interior room division is basically following the order set by the arches. Accordingly, the façade seems more like the reflection of the tectonic system, instead of the interior program.
8 Le Corbusier III
Maison Jaoul 1956Paris
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James Some1963LeicesterEngineeringStirlingBuildingUniversity,UKoftheformalexpressionin this project are the most direct reflection of the programmatic requirement, including the diagonal glass roof with only northbound opening, the water tower, and the sloped auditoriums. Within the seemingly random and asymmetrical exterior, the order/organization of the interior circulation is still discernible.
Elementary School Fagnano Olona, Italy 1976
Aldo Rossi
Heavily influenced by historical typologies, this project presents an overlay of the concentric order and the linear order, which is co-defined by the objects at the cen ter and the circulation.
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Concentric order - The circular object at the center is unique in this project, having almost no direct contact with surrounding indoor space. It could almost be the cen ter of those radiating jail, yet the corridors point to another type of order.
The linear order is co-defined by the linear sequence of the objects (marked in red), the symmetry & axis, the increasing height along this axis. as well as center-to-pe ripheral relation, strengthen by all the side corridors along with the segemented volumes (classrooms) attached to these corridors.
The objects in red are not necessary arrangement for school typology, and it might be the intention of Rossi to bring back some of the atmosphere/culture from related historical precedent, such as monastery or divinity school.
11 Oswald Ungers Student Housing Project Enschede, Netherlands Axis1964& symmetry, grid, point and circle... This drawing illustrates the several types of formal method beneath the seemingly complex and clueless master plan, as well as the formal connection (or “meta formal system”) between these method. The rep resentational method aims to draw a parallel with the works of Wassily Kandisky.
12 Robert Venturi Vanna Venturi House The1964Philadelphiaambiguitiesin this project include but not limited to: Alignment vs. misalignment: linear elemtents always accidentally miss each other, resulted in much more surfaces than ‘necessary”. Symmtery vs. asymmetry: marked in red Layering vs. Anti-layering: Interplay between an extrusion-like exterior massing and an object-like interior space.
John Hejduk Wall House II 1973
The second drawing illustrates a type of figure ground relation, the symbolic mean ing of a painting frame and still life, with the figural curvy elements floating in and out of the frame.
The first drawing shows the idea of the wall as a tool to divide quadrants, and also shows how the circulation strategy is affected by the wall, as the paths are deliber ately designed in a way that the user need to constantly go through the wall basi cally in all cases when they try to move from one room to another, and all these moments are marked with red. The wall does not just separate the served space to the servant space, but also vertical movement which heavily rely on the circular stair. Moreover, the groundfloor spaces actually have no direct access to the exterior, therefore everything are basically floating beyond the initial entrance.
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