Buan
Dwelling in Georgia
By Jordan Crawford
Proffessor Jori Erdman Arch 5002 6 Hour Credit Fall 2012
Table of Contents
To Dwell
pg. 2
Perception of Space
pg. 5
Inhabitants
pg. 7
Place
pg. 10
Architecture as the Connection
pg. 16
Annotated Bibliography
pg. 22
Appendix A
pg. 25
Appendix B
pg. 30
Appendix C
pg. 33
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“The way in which you are and I am, the manner in which we humans are on the earth, is Buan, dwelling� - Martin Heidegger
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To Dwell...
Are we living or are we dwelling? In the fast paced American culture the connection between humans and the environment in which they inhabit is quickly diminishing. This diminishment is the result of a society which perceives the Home as merely a container for their possessions, and not a holistic vessel that can ground them to a certain place in time. Ideas of “dwelling” aim to create an environment in which the places we inhabit are more than just a container for the body and our possessions. The spaces we inhabit should act as a vessel that reconnects us to the divinities; a space that serves as a facilitator of preservation, whether it is mind, body, culture, or environment, and a reconnection to our place in time. Through architectural principles, dwelling can be reenacted into the Home, and the body can be reestablished in their place in time.
The dictionary tells us that to dwell is to “exist in a given place or state.” This statement is but a mere masking of to the true meaning of the word. In fact, it is a complex concept that changes not only how we exist in a given place, but also how we perceive the given place we inhabit. Heidegger tells us that “it is language that tells us about the nature of a thing,” and through etymology we find that the word “dwell” derives from the “Old English and High German word for building, baun, to dwell.” Therefore, building and dwelling should be thought of as one entity for which “we do not dwell because we have built, but we build and have built because we dwell” (Heidegger.) If this holds true then we are left with three principles:
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1. Building is dwelling. 2. Dwelling is the manner in which mortals are on this earth. 3. Building as dwelling unfolds into the building that cultivates growing things and the building that erects buildings. -Martin Heidegger
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In our habit to build and dwell, humans have always had primal craving to be reconnected to the earth and sky, and historically we have always built structures that aid in this dwelling with the divinities. In the following excerpt, Heidegger’s romantic account of the spanning of a simple bridge between two stream banks illustrates how an architectural element can bring together two opposing elements and bring to fruition a consciousness of our place within: “The bridge swings over the stream with case and power. It does not just connect banks that are already there. The banks emerge as banks only as the bridge crosses the stream. The bridge designedly causes them to lie across from each other. One side is set off against the other by the bridge. Nor do the banks stretch along the stream as indifferent border strips of the dry land. With the banks, the bridge brings
to the stream the one and the other expanse of the landscape lying behind them. It brings streams and banks and land into each other’s neighborhood. The bridge gathers the earth as landscape around the stream. Thus it guides and attends the stream through the meadows. Resting upright in the stream’s bed, the bridge-piers bear the swing of the arches that leave the stream’s waters to run their course. The waters may wander on quiet and gay, the sky’s floods from storm or thaw may shoot past the piers in torrential waves-the bridge is ready for the sky’s weather and its fickle nature. Even where the bridge covers the stream, it holds its flow up to the sky by taking it for a moment under the vaulted gateway and then setting it free once more.”
From this passage we gather that as we build and dwell, elements that were once unnoticed begin to present themselves into our environment and consciousness. A place of dwelling has a profound effect on our environment and the way in which we interact and
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Perception Of Space...
There are many different types of dwellings, but the dwelling of a Home is a place where a large majority of our time is spent, and a place where memories can be made over time. This is one of the main reasons why the dwelling of Home stands out from any other type of dwelling, the length of stay allows for the experience of the slow and methodical rhythm of time. A dwelling should be an intimate experience, one that is crafted based on the inhabitants that will be occupying the space. In dwelling, the human body plays a major role. Using the human body in the design of a dwelling should be more than just as a unit of measure. Yes, the inhabitant’s way of situating themselves in a space does tend to rely heavily on their body dimensions in relation to something in a space, but there is another layer of sub conscious analysis that takes place. Architects today “have a tendency to design to specific technical standards and
dimensions which revolve around a conception of the ‘normal’ body” (Imrie) and forget that the body is an active living, breathing and emotional entity that can perceive an environment in ways other than just vision. This spatial cube is an illustration of how we as inhabitants perceive a space. The different angles, in which you view the cube, alter your spatial reading of the space within. As you rotate the cube, all of your senses come into play. When analyzing the space your perception of that initial spatial reading rapidly adjusts as materials and sounds change.
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When looking at the model in section, the space can be further dissected and different spatial relationships can be made depending on how you slice the cube. If you were to inhabit the section drawings these variances in spatial relationships would heighten the senses and your awareness of surroundings. These spatial moves can be employed into the dwelling to create more poetic and intimate spaces. How we move through and interact with the environment is essential to dwelling. The architecture of dwelling should be a response to how we interact with these spatial movements. Therefore, when thinking about how we move through space it is very important to have an actual client, or clients, when a dwelling is being constructed. In cases of more than one client, deep analysis of the individuals should be to done to understand underlying emotional and lifestyle tendencies.
Furthermore, what brings these individuals together must also be analyzed.
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Inhabitation...
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The clients in this study go by the names of F. Graham Crawford and Debbie Crawford. As Gaston Bachelard states in his Poetics of Space “the house we are born in has engraved within us the hierarchy of the various functions of inhabiting. We are the diagram of the functions of inhabiting that particular house and all other houses are but variations on a fundamental theme.” Therefore, we subconsciously strive to find characteristics of our childhood home in future dwellings. Thus, the preliminary inquiries asked of the clients were questions pertaining to their childhood homes, in particular their favorite room and memory. These “memoryscapes” illustrate the anecdotes (Appendix A.4 A.5) provided by the clients.
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These “memoryscapes” offer a great deal of information about why these two individuals interact with their environment in the way that they do. In the anecdotes provided, Mrs. Crawford describes her place of sanctuary as her bedroom. Due to her large family, it was the only place of peace and quiet in her home. Even today, she says that she retreats to her bedroom for solitude. She goes on further to describe her favorite memories of family holiday gatherings, where seating was a premium and the backyard was always a gathering place. Mr. Crawford describes his place of sanctuary as his childhood basement. The basement acted as a retreat from the prying eyes of parents. In addition, Mr. Crawford describes the vegetable garden that he grew with his father. He spent many hours with his father in the garden, planting and plowing, and feeling the enjoyment of a hard day’s work. These anecdotes are important because as Bachelard says, they provide the
“diagram of functions of inhabiting.” The memoryscapes serve as a preliminary study of what these diagrams could become in terms of space. From these anecdotes we can also gather further information, Bachelard would classify Mrs. Crawford as an “attic” dweller and Mr. Crawford as a “cellar” dweller, in which the cellar is a “place where shadows prevail night and day” and the attic is a place in which “fears are easily rationalized.” The ideas of attic and cellar should be incorporated into the dwelling, and how the individuals fit into these ideas is of great importance, and although these people are classified as individuals, they do have common traits. They both are heavily centered on the family dynamic, and love to entertain. The spaces within the dwelling should provide intimacy with guests, but should also allow for their own private spaces. A balance of private and public must explicitly be displayed. Furthermore, from the anecdotes we
learn that they are both very interested in the outdoors. Using the ideas of dwelling will further enhance this connection to the outdoors as it reconnects them back into their place. A strong connection to the outdoors will be present in the dwelling, and the line between indoors and outdoors will be blurred. With the interest of the outdoors, the place in which the client will be connected to the outdoors is of great importance.
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Place...
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“Before a support was transformed into a column, a roof into a pediment, and stone heaped upon stone, man put stone on the ground in order to recognize place in the midst of the unknown universe and thereby measure and modify it.”
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We as humans have the ability to choose the ground in which we dwell on, and we build to gain a deeper understanding of the environment in which we dwell in. Over the years, Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia has been a summer destination that Mr. and Mrs. Crawford frequent. For over twenty years they have built memories with their family on the lake’s surface in their boat. However, it is only the surface that Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have experienced of the lake. Therefore, they have chosen Lake Sidney Lanier as their new environment to dwell in. Lake Lanier is a manmade lake formed by the construction of the Buford Dam. It is a strong water source for the state of Georgia and its surrounding states. The lake is fed by the Chattahoochee and Chestatee Rivers, and it is at this intersection of rivers (signifying the connection between the inhabitant and the environment) that the dwelling will be placed.
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The environment of a site is an evolving organism; it changes from day to day, and creates its own mystique. Extensive research can be done about any particular site; such as, the preexisting placement of trees, topography, water run-off, soil conditions, and even quality of air. However, what most people tend to ignore is the phenomenology of the place (the experience of the individual in a certain place in time). This phenomenology has a powerful effect over the site and the way in which one perceives the spatial conditions of the site. Upon visiting the site for the first time, many of these phenomenological experiences were realized that could not have been previously realized by looking at 2D images and maps.
The first phenomenological experience was the element time. The Fall seasonal colors and textures of the environment were in full bloom on the site. The way in which the assorted colors of the trees and the deep greens of the lake was almost as if it was a painted landscape. Textures of what once was, like the stacked rock wall retaining a concrete wall, offer inspiration and make us dwell on what once took place in this site. As Gregotti states, “the environment is composed of the traces of its own history.� It is from these traces that we as beings can learn to build a better environment in which to dwell. An additional interesting experience was the way in which the site was shaped. The sloping of the site was very steep, resulting in almost in 100’ in elevation change from top to bottom; however, this elevation change was even more exaggerated by a series of terraces that take place towards the bottom of the site.
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In looking at the terraces, in what they could become or appear to be, bright electrical flags were placed around their perimeter. These flags bring to consciousness the possibility that the terraces could become something else, like a pathway to some unknown space.
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Another powerful phenomenological experience was one that was tucked away in the trees of the site. It came as a pleasant surprise to find this “cathedral of trees,� a small open space in an otherwise wooded area offers a picturesque view of the lake. These flags define a space in which the dwelling could possibly be placed.
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The site of every place never stops offering new phenomenological experiences, but over time a good idea of the environment can be concluded. As Andy Goldsworthy says, “ideas must be put to the test. That’s why we make things; otherwise they would be no more than ideas.” Constructed from collected leaves around the site, this installation tells the story of the phenomenological experiences of the site, and how the site must be treated when dwelling.
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Architecture as the Connection...
Architecture is the connection between the individual and their natural environment, and it is from this idea of a connection that the building form of the dwelling derives. In thinking of the two individuals Graham and Debbie Crawford, what connects these two people is their love for one another. This love is translated into human’s primal craving for warmth and fire. The fire is then encased in a hearth which allows for the warmth to radiate through the environment. Like the Crawford’s love for each other, this hearth, constructed from stacked masonry stone, is the first thing to be constructed in the dwelling, and the last thing to fall. Upon this hearth the entrance to the dwelling and the circulation are placed. Upon entering you either circulate upwards around the fire and into an intimate private reading room, or straight into the attic space. From the hearth, all other spaces fall into place.
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The hearth element is placed upon the true north and south axis (the defined way of the world) while the rest of the spaces are arranged according to a grid placed upon the site. This grid is based on two units of measure, the 6’ porch, and the height of Mr. Crawford, 5’10”. The 6’ grid starts at the left boundary line of the property. This boundary denotes the Army Corp of Engineers property, thus, the space beyond this line will never be built upon. This provides this part of the property to be extremely private. The space located within this area is known as the “Attic” space, it is the more private and secluded space of the dwelling, and derives from the original anecdotes of Mrs. Crawford.
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This space bursts out of the cathedral of trees and over the first terrace. The private Master Bedroom is also located in this attic space, and provides a secluded oasis for Mr. And Mrs. Crawford. The material quality of the “attic� derives from the materials of the environment. Reclaimed wood and stone are used to give a warm and inviting feeling in the dwelling.
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From the south side of the hearth you circulate down into the “cellar” space derived from Mr. Crawford’s anecdote. The idea of the attic and cellar allow for the dwelling to follow the contours, as Kenneth Frampton states in Towards a Critical Regionalism, “the bulldozing of an irregular topography into a flat site is clearly a technocratic gesture which aspires to a condition of absolute placelessness, whereas the terracing of the same site to receive the stepped form of a building is an engagement in the act of ‘cultivating’ the site.” The elevation changes within the dwelling give the inhabitants a greater understanding of the place in which they are situated.
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The stairs suspended from the stacked masonry stone spill into the entertaining space of the cellar. Stemming from the entertainment space are two bedrooms, one more private bedroom, and a guest bedroom. All of these spaces are connected to the exterior, blurring the line between interior and exterior. Further south, the form of the hearth extends into the landscape. This takes the form of a vertical garden trellis that surrounds a fire pit. This section expresses the overall concept of the spatial arrangement. The way in which the dwelling is designed allows for the inhabitants to be reconnected to their environment, whether it is nestled high in the canopy of trees in their bedroom, or within the earth looking out onto the lake. The Home acts as a vessel for the inhabitant to be reconnected to the divinities and Lake Lanier.
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As humans it is in our DNA to dwell, and as such, we build. Architecture has the ability to take the mundane and turn it into something poetic. It can make a simple overlooked detail into a work of art. Architecture is the connection between the individual and the site, and has the ability to bring them together in a way in which they become one being. Architecture is the vessel for dwelling.
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Annotated Bibliography
Bachelard, Gaston, and M. Jolas. The Poetics of Space. Boston: Beacon P, 1994. First chapter speaks of our original childhood homes and the way in which we think of them. Phenomenological memories from our first experiences. “The house we are born in has engraved within us the hierarchy of the various functions of inhabiting. We are the diagram of the functions of inhabiting that particular house, and all other houses are but variations on a fundamental theme.” (1) A house is imagined as a vertical being. It rises upward. It differentiates itself in terms of verticality. (2) A house is imagined as concentrated being. Appealing to our consciousness of centrality. Discusses the idea of the cellar and the attic, in which the cellar is the place where shadows prevail night and day, and shadows dance on the walls. In the attic, fears are easily rationalized.
Dodds, George, Robert Tavernor, and Joseph Rykwert. Body and Building: Essays on the Changing Relation of Body and Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2002. Print. This book is a collection of essays about how the body fits into the architectural realm. Essays discuss the value of the human body in architecture. From our movements through a space to the way we sit within a space, our body feels out the spaces we are in, and the architecture should react to our bodies.
Frampton, Kenneth. “Towards a Critical Regionalism.” The Anti-Aesthetic Ken Frampton outlines his six points of critical regionalism. He speaks of the tectonic and how we should go about architecture. He never mentions the word dwelling, but all of the information he talks about at the root is dwelling. He speaks of the aerie-garde and how we must take our past learn from it, and project into the future with new explorations.
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Gregotti, Vittorio. "Territory and Architecture." The School of Venice “The environment is composed of the traces of its own history.” Discusses the way in which we must treat the site. We must “modify, redouble, measure, situate, and utilise the landscape.” Expression of the landscape within the architecture. Discusses the value and experience, and how we can either mirror the landscape our set boundaries in the landscape.
Heidegger, Martin. "Building Dwelling Thinking." Avery Index. ESBSCO. Middleton Library, Baton Rouge. Are we living or are we dwelling? “The way in which you are and I am, the manner in which we humans are on the earth, is dwelling.” Building should be a place that further enhances our connection with the earth and the sky; a place to think upon greater ideas, and to preserve our environments. “Mortals dwell in that they receive the sky as sky. They leave to the sun and the moon their journey, to the stars their courses, to the seasons their blessing and their inclemency; they do not turn night into day nor day into a harassed unrest.” Building should protect, preserve, and connect with the divinities.
Holl, Steven, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Gómez Alberto Pérez. Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture. San Francisco, CA: William Stout, 2006. Print. The Seven Senses of Architecture defined by: touch, vision, hearing, taste, smell, time, and space. How we use all of our senses simultaneously to perceive the spaces we are in. How our senses can be heightened or lowered depending on the quality of space we are in. How can architecture be an architecture of the senses?
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Imrie, Rob. "Architect's Conceptions of the Human Body." Rpt. in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. Vol. 21. 2003. 47-65. Imrie argues that architects do not account for the variations in the human body. “Have a tendency to design to specific technical standards and dimensions which revolve around a conception of the ‘normal’ body.” There is no standard body in actuality, and architects do not design for the true human body. Most architects tend to only use the human body as a unit of measure and completely forget that the body as an emotional unit of measure as well.
Rivers
and
Tides.
Dir.
Thomas
Riedelsheimer. Perf. Andy Goldsworthy. Netflix Streaming. Roxie Releasing 2001. A documentary on the work of Andy Goldsworthy. His work focuses heavily on nature and the element of time. How does time effect built works and how can they be a cohesive idea.
Semper, Gottfried, and Harry Francis. Mallgrave. The Four Elements of Architecture: And Other Writings. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. P, 1989. Discusses the four elements of architecture (1) the earthwork, (2) the hearth, (3) the framework/roof, and (4) the light weight enclosing membrane. How these elements should react to the tectonic of the whole.
A.1
Appendix A
Spatial Cube
A.2
Model Abstraction
A.3
Model Abstraction
A.4
Anecdotes of Debbie Crawford
I lived in the house in Boston from K to 8th grade. And I lived in the Atlanta house on Mt Vernon Pkwy from 8th to 12th grade. In both houses my favorite room was always my bedroom. Even though I shared it with my sister Cherie, we had twin beds with our respective things on our side. We shared a desk but I was older so my things were mostly in it. And we shared a bureau. She had 3 drawers and I had 3 drawers. I had dolls on my bed and on the bureau. I had my records and player at the end of my bed and my nightstand had books and magazines etc to read . Grandma let us pick out the wall paper at each house. Our furniture was white with pink flowers on it so our wallpaper was always pink and green flowers. When I was sixteen I got a black and white TV with a 5 inch screen and never left my room after that. The TV sat on my desk right next to my bed and I would have to lie on my side about 18 inches from it to see it.
With 3 other siblings and parents, being able to watch my own TV shows was a luxury. My room was also a means to escape the noise of the house and my brothers. Interesting even now when I am finished with everything downstairs after dinner I escape to my bed to watch TV and read. In Boston my favorite memory were the holidays especially Christmas. Grandma's family was big so I loved it when it was our turn to host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. The house was small so we had to extend the table into the living room. I had a ton of cousins. People were everywhere.. in the bedrooms, living room, kitchen and family room. Since sitting was at a premium most of the adults never left the dining room table. I liked listening to the conversations of my aunts and uncles. They told such funny stories. We also had a large
above ground pool in our yard. So on the fourth of July everyone would be sitting on lawn chairs, and picnic tables. Long tables were set up for the food. Everyone ate in their laps. When it rained we sat in the garage! The food was always memorable! When we lived away from family in Atlanta, my favorite memory of that house was the large Florida room in the back of the house. Large sliding glass doors from the family room, living room and my parents' bedroom opened onto it. Three sides were brick and the back wall facing the backyard was entirely floor to ceiling sliding windows. I loved sitting out there every season especially when we could open the windows. We had our main TV in that room. Also in our house in Atlanta was the first time we had a fireplace. It was fun sitting in front of the fire in the winter time.
A.5
Anecdotes of Graham Crawford
I lived in Glen Ellyn, IL, a suburb of Chicago from 4th grade to my junior year in college. We had a finished basement which had a pool table and stereo system where me and my friends used to hang out, play pool, watch tv, and listen to our favorite records (yes, we had LP vinyl records back then vs. CDs or iPods!). Our basement was my "retreat" to have some private space with my friends. I could also play my music really loud without giving my mom a headache, and it was in this room where I really developed my interest in collecting music, where today I have over 125,000 songs in my iTunes library.
My favorite memory of my childhood house was working in the vegetable garden with my Dad. We had a very large backyard, and my Dad had a 30' x 60' vegetable garden where we grew corn, green beans, tomatoes, squash, eggplant, bell peppers, and cucumbers. Dad and I spent many hours together taking care of the garden from when we plowed the garden and planted the seeds in the spring time, to harvesting all the vegetables for the family meals through out the summer and fall months. It was really fulfilling to enjoy the fresh vegetables at dinner that we had grown in the family garden.
B.1
Appendix B
Before Buford Dam
Lake Traffic Diagram To G
0
0 To 4
le
svil
aine
B.2
Site Diagram
Path Between the Trees
1
2
7
8
3
5
Pan
6
4
B.3
Site Model
C.1
Appendix C
Simpson Lee House
Glenn Murcutt
Precedent Study
Bedroom Living Area Connection Area
“I am interested in an architecture that continually acknowledges the physical and climactic character of its site; that recognizes the sorts of changes in scale we experience when we move from the inside to the outside...�
Pathway and reflecting pool connect the studio space living space. Seperate but continual.
Tectonic connection between site and structure Connection with site Disconnection with site
C.2
Program Analysis
Attic
Sleep & Sky
Threshold
Solitude
Preservation
Cellar Wet Space
Gathering
C.3
Changing of Seasons
House in the Clearing
C.4
Model Study
C.5
Model Study
C.6
Upper Attic Plan
Hearth Section
C.7
Bathroom Detail
Glass Connection Detail
C.8
Exterior Entrance
Hearth Entrance
C.9
Master Bedroom
Campfire