Pipe Garden by Greg Evans

pipe garden design studio prof. andrea ponsi spring 2008

kent state university | florence program college of architecture & environmental design

an experience

andrea ponsi

The idea of proposing the “Pipe Garden” project to the students in the Design Studio course at the Kent State University Florence Program came to fruition when a substantial supply of copper tubing, which I had earlier used to mount some exhibitions, became available. The assignment for each student was to create a life-size installation, on a scale of 1:1, in the courtyard-garden of my studio on Via della Fonderia. Since the 1980s, I have devoted a large part of my activity as a designer to making handmade objects and systems utilizing an assembly method based on the use of plumber’s copper tubing and pipe fittings. This direct passage, without intermediaries, from the drawing board to the actual construction was thus a stimulus to develop further, together with the students, the following themes: The idea of “limitation” and how this can be transformed, during the design process, in order to spur imagination and creativity. The development of an “elementary” design, that is to say of objects and systems based on the use of limited building elements that can be assembled using a simple, coherent architectural language. The compositional possibilities of the “line” understood as an abstract geometric figure, a concrete element (the pipe), and a symbolic sign. The relationship between body and design and consequently between material, space, and sensory perceptions.

Each student was given the possibility of using up to 100 copper pipes, all of equal size, each one 5 meters long and 2.2 cm in diameter. They were not allowed to bend or cut the pipes or to use any connector system such as pipe fittings, joints, or anything else to hold them together. The only concession was the possibility of sticking the pipes into the ground up to a depth of about 30 cm. The garden has always been a fascinating, and at the same time, arduous subject for architects, who are often very willing to turn it over to the landscape professionals. And yet the garden has always represented the supreme expression of the integration between order and happenstance, humanist thought and biological science, architecture and nature. In our case, it was a case of a “dry” garden, a sort of Japanese “karesansui,” enlivened only by the presence of copper pipes and gravel, which could also be used as a material for the project. A learning exercise without a real plan seemed to suggest only abstract solutions, sculptures of pure lines and material. This theoretical limitation left the students somewhat perplexed in the beginning. Unused to problems outside traditional schemes, they needed time to be able to focus on this even too simplified creative opportunity. As they proceeded to experience and make contact with the building materials, different conceptions of both method and content emerged. Some students began their project by throwing the pipes onto the ground to see what might accidentally come about: forms resulting from a certain amount of chance in action which might often be inconceivable if rationally planned in a preliminary design. Others meditated on archetypal geometric symbolisms.

Others still, in a sort of Louis Kahn-type question, asked the pipes what they “wanted to be.” For some, the pipes became expressions for measuring time by means of sunlight and shadows; for others they were slender columns for an ideal gazebo; and for still others they were a dense intersecting web to make a metal carpet that could be walked on. Closer to a primeval, Oriental-type idea of the garden, some designs consisted of tubes laid out on the ground to evoke a fluid material arrested in time. The process of actual building was a moment of solidarity among the students. The preparation of the ground, the transposition of the measurements from the scale of the design to the 1:1 ratio of the construction, the erection of the installations, and the photographic documentation of the event all resulted in a collective experience with educational and formative value. From the technical standpoint, the students were given the chance to use drills to make holes in the ground, investigate the material characteristics of copper, and verify the properties of the pipes such as their elasticity and resistance to stress. The fruits of this experience are now gathered together in this little book, it too the result of the work of photographic documentation and graphic layout done by the students themselves. We hope that this experience has helped the students to develop at least some simple ideas: that it is possible to do a lot with a little, that the limitations of every project lie above all in their own imagination and capacity for inventiveness, and that the individual or collective initiative of building something themselves, even if done using the simplest and most humble materials, is often the intelligent beginning of creative activity as an architect and designer.

Un’esperienza

andrea ponsi

L’idea di proporre agli studenti del corso Design Studio del Florence Program della Kent State University il progetto “Pipe Garden” è maturata quando si è resa disponibile una consistente fornitura di tubi di rame, utilizzata precedentemente per alcuni miei allestimenti espositivi. L’ esercizio avrebbe previsto la elaborazione da parte di ogni studente di un progetto di installazione da realizzare dal vero in scala 1:1. nel giardino/cortile del mio studio in Via della Fonderia. Fin dagli anni ‘80 ho dedicato gran parte della mia attività di designer alla auto costruzione di oggetti e sistemi di arredo mediante un metodo di assemblaggio basato sull’utilizzo di tubi e raccordi per idraulica in rame. Questo passaggio diretto e senza intermediari dal progetto alla costruzione è stato pertanto all’origine di sperimentare, insieme agli studenti, alcune idee e metodologie sui seguenti temi: L’idea di “ limite” e come esso possa trasformarsi, nel processo di progettazione, in uno stimolo per l’immaginazione e la creatività. Lo sviluppo di un design “elementare” composto da un numero ridotto di elementi costruttivi assemblabili mediante un linguaggio semplice e coerente. Le possibilità compositive della “linea” intesa come figura geometrica astratta, elemento concreto ( il tubo) e segno simbolico. La relazione tra e corpo e progetto e di conseguenza tra materia, spazio e percezioni sensoriali. Ad ogni singolo studente è stata data la disponibilità di utilizzare fino a 100 tubi di rame, tutti eguali , ognuno di 5

metri di lunghezza e 22 mm di diametro . Non erano ammesse operazioni quali la piegatura o il taglio dei tubi nè l’impiego di alcun sistema di fissaggio quali raccordi, snodi o quanto altro per tenerli insieme. L’unica concessione consisteva nella possibilità di inserire i tubi nel terreno del giardino fino ad una profondità di circa 30 cm. Il Giardino è sempre stato un tema insieme affascinante ed ostico per gli architetti , spesso e volentieri lasciato alla responsabilità dei professionisti del landscape. Eppure il giardino ha anche sempre rappresentato la massima espressione dell’integrazione tra artificio e accidentalità, tra pensiero umanistico e scienze fisiche , tra natura ed architettura. Nel nostro caso si sarebbe trattato di un giardino “secco” una sorta di “karesansui” giapponese , vitalizzato solo dalla presenza dei tubi di rame e della ghiaia , anch’essa utilizzabile come materia del progetto. Un esercizio didattico senza un vero programma sembrava suggerire solo soluzioni astratte, sculture di pure linee e materia. Questo limite teorico ha lasciato all’inizio gli studenti perplessi. Non usi a problemi fuori dagli schemi tradizionali , hanno avuto bisogno di tempo per focalizzarsi su questa fin troppo semplice possibilità di espressione creativa. Col procedere dell’esperienza e la presa di contatto con i materiali della costruzione sono emerse diverse concezioni sia di metodo che di contenuti. Alcuni studenti hanno iniziato il progetto gettando sul suolo i tubi per vedere cosa poteva accidentalmente accadere: forme conseguenti ad una certa casualità di azione, spesso impensabili se razionalmente previste in un disegno preliminare. Altri hanno meditato su simbologie

geometriche archetipe . Altri ancora hanno chiesto, in una sorta di kahaniana domanda, ai tubi stessi cosa “volevano essere”. Per alcuni i tubi sono diventati strumenti di misurazione del tempo attraverso il sole e le ombre, per altri colonne sottili per un gazebo dalla forma ideale, per altri ancora una fitta trama incrociata per creare un calpestabile tappeto metallico. Più vicini all’idea primordiale di giardino di memoria orientale alcuni progetti consistevano in tubi adagiati sul suolo per evocare una fluida materia fermata nel tempo. Il processo di costruzione è stato un momento di solidarietà tra gli studenti. La preparazione del terreno, la trasposizione delle misure dalla scala del disegno alla scala 1:1 della costruzione, l’erezione delle installazioni, la documentazione fotografica dell’evento sono tutti risultati in un’ esperienza collettiva di valore formativa e didattico. Dal punto di vista tecnico si è realizzata la possibilità di servirsi di trapani per la perforazione del terreno , investigare le caratteristiche materiche del rame, verificare le proprietà dei tubi quali la loro elasticità e la capacità resistere alle sollecitazioni . I frutti di questa esperienza sono stati ora riuniti in questo libretto, anch’esso esito del lavoro di documentazione fotografica e layout grafico degli stessi studenti. Ci auguriamo che da questa esperienza gli studenti abbiano potuto maturare almeno alcune semplici idee: che è possibile fare molto con poco, che i limiti di ogni progetto consistono innanzi tutto nella propria immaginazione e capacità di invenzione e che l’ iniziativa individuale o collettiva di auto-costruzione, anche se fatta con i materiali più semplici o umili, sia spesso l’intelligente inizio di una creativa attività di architetto e designer.

florence, italy

site

loggia

7.60 m

via della fonderia, 25

driveway

12.00 m N

limitations Construct an installation using a maximum of 100 rigid, copper pipes. No other materials, building components, or connecting elements are permitted. No excavation is allowed. However, gravel may be manipulated within the boundaries of the site. Pipes may be stuck into the earth at a maximum of 40.00cm of their length using an electric drill. Pipes may not be bent or manipulated in any fashion. However, the natural elasticity of the pipe may be explored. In any case, the pipe must return to its original shape once tension is released. The design must be stable and secure without creating danger or damage to people or property.

pipe length: 5.00 m pipe weight: 2.50 kg

1:1

gravel depth: 8.00 cm total depth: 30.00 cm

inner pipe diameter: 0.20 cm outer pipe diameter: 0.22 cm

participating jurors: prof. filippo caprioglio prof. alberto francini prof. paola giaconia prof. charles harker prof. david thal prof. larry davis arch. ted sandstra arch. alessandra andrei

project index blustery day

greg evans

sit. up

hyun ji yoon//kamille ditcher

italian zen

masataka yoshikawa

release

seth roodman

ravel

marissa butts

hidden tiger

alexander hosack

time curve

sara vandenbark//rebecca diezman

five

griffin morris

machine

jarrett fishman

forest canopy

john fritsch

compress+release

eric pros

blustery day greg evans

Using the idea of a stagnant element such as a wall to provide directional movement through the site, the structure has animated characteristics in order to lure visitors through the space. Horizontal piping is used to entice motion through the space as well as tilted vertical elements which all lean towards the hidden side of the wall. Tendencies of progression throughout the space and around the wall are then paused in the virtual enclosure created by the surrounding boundaries in addition to the one created by the wall itself.

Construction of the wall is simple and swift. Six pipes are drilled into the ground each at the same angle. Following the placement of the pipes in the drilled holes, woven alternating patterns are then created with the horizontal pipes. This creates a solid, interlocking brace for the center pipe of intersection. Each vertical pipe is secured by the alternating support of pipes around it.

blustery day | greg evans 13

sit. up

hyun ji yoon kamille ditcher

As one of the first industrial materials, copper has been a crucial part of mankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technological development. Its role has been both evolving and serving as constant support balancing the past traditions with present discoveries. For this installation, the copper piping embodies these ubiquitous roles. First, it begins in a horizontal direction representing conservative, stable, and historical situations. This condition then ascends and braces a vertical movement of pipes leading to a dynamic, developed urban representative state.

Upon observation, the installation appears to be in a dynamic state of tension, ready to spring into an altered evolutionary condition.

sit. up | hyun ji yoon//kamille ditcher

italian zen garden masataka yoshikawa

Upon investigation of the site, one may recognize many similarities between the site and Japanese Zen gardens, such as shape, closure of space, and materiality. As a result, particular concepts of Japanese Zen gardens help create the garden composition in the existing site. Japanese Zen gardens are built around the expression and imitation of topographies using materials such as grass, rock, and gravel. Quite often, Zen gardens use rocks to express mountains and islands, as well as, gravel to express water.

For this installation, copper pipes express water and the gravel is representative of mountains and hills. The overall composition was derived from an area in the surrounding urban landscape of Florence.

italian zen garden | masataka yoshikawa 21

release seth roodman

A garden may be viewed as a private sanctuary of harmony and relaxation in which one uses it as a private utopia to calm down and relax, thus leaving the chaos and disorder of everyday life. This movement, from chaos to relaxation, is shown visually with the copper piping. In the front of the garden, the pipes are chaotic in all directions, but as you move through the garden, the pipes become more organized, eventually lying in the back of the garden side by side.

The visual effect of the beginning of the garden appears much like a wall, representing that in distress, thoughts and vision are blurred. As one begins to relax, it is easier to see and think without distractions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as represented by the pipes at the end of the garden.

release | seth roodman 25

ravel

marissa butts

This installation of copper pipes focuses on a visual continuation of the copper pipe wall, and a feeling of movement released by the sculpture. A new flowing form is achieved by the interaction between the copper pipes and ground plane. This form is like a carpet woven from the same fabric as the existing wall where the carpet is shaped by a series of forces and pinpoints that inflict distortion on the pattern and density originating from the wall.

The underlying gravel supports the vertical undulation of the pipes, which allows a path to be incorporated into its form so that the area near the vine-covered wall is open for sanctuary.

ravel | marissa butts 29

hidden tiger alexander hosack

As a person enters the space from the outside, a dense wall of copper pipes confronts them. This forces the person to move around the obstacle and initiates a new axis of movement. On the other hand, if a person enters from the studio side, they are presented with an open walkway that will also redirect their path through the middle of the gravel yard. The dense wall eventually spreads out and becomes a permeable layer open to movement. The density of the exterior curve and the openness of the interior reaffirms the privacy of the courtyard.

time curve sara vandenbark rebecca diezman

For Florence, the latitude of the site is a crucial part in the design of a sundial. Compensating for the axial of the earth, the angle of 43.8째N latitude is either the angle of the center dial or that which determines the time curve. Light and shadow also play a key role in the function of a sundial. Compensation for the movement of the earth around the sun is made with either the angled center dial or the time curve. Each pole base on the outer curve represents a certain hour, where the outer curve is angled in order to embrace the sky and not interfere with the shadow of the dial.

five

griffin morris

Using the specified limitations of the project as a design springboard, a simple and efficient way of connecting the pipes was developed upon a weaving principle. Given that the pipes were of a fixed length, a simple rectangular cube was formed through the established construction method. A place to sit and think is formed within the structure, which also acts as a ground element. This element helps define a path into the space, which is more clearly defined with the use of six pipes resting on the ground plane.

machine jarrett fishman

Walking through Florence, one must dodge, squeeze, and meander between people. In some cases, this means following behind some that are moving quicker or slower, and, at times, one must get out of the way of automobiles. The structure begins to represent the cars pushing pedestrians aside, as they slither through one another. Movement in the city becomes the circulation or anti-circulation through the site where the copper represents the cars that pass through the streets, while the void shows movement of a pedestrian through the city of Florence.

forest canopy john fritsch

Placed at the center of the courtyard, the structure has entrances facing towards the driveway in order to accommodate entry from both the main gate and from the studio. The pipes spring from the ground intertwining with one another creating a canopy above the individual, thus making an interesting shadow texture down in the sheltered space. Representative of trees creating a canopy over the forest, the design creates a sheltered space without completely enclosing the individual, which allows the environment around the structure to be experienced as well.

compress+ release eric pros

Conceived as a spatial study that investigates the manner in which people perceive suggested space, and in turn interact with such given spatial conditions, the structure is mostly vertical in a fashion, which implies an enclosed space that progressively unfurls and reveals an exceedingly expansive spatial condition. One may enter the installation at either end and travel down its length to the other while experiencing the volume of the space unfolding and opening. Through observation, one can learn reactions to compressed and expansive conditions.

Kent State University | Florence Program College of Architecture & Environmental Design Program Director: Marcello Fantoni Program Coordinator: Maurizio Sabini Interim Dean: James Dalton Professor Andrea Ponsi Design Studio | Spring 2008 Layout Design: Greg Evans Photography: Greg Evans & Charlie Able Editor: Greg Evans Translation: Susan Scott Funding provided by: Kent State University College of Architecture & Environmental Design Special thanks to: Liz Kamell Larry Davis Typeset: Aldo SemiBold For more information: http://www.caed.kent.edu

College of Architecture and Environmental Design