Densities by Ruben Alcolea

•ARCH 3101 ›Densities •Rubén Alcolea •Sam Ghantous

CORNELL AAP

FALL 2019

›Introduction •Exercise 1 •Exercise 2 ›Documents

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Instructors ›Rubén Alcolea Sam Ghantous Teaching Assistant ›Olivia Calalo Students ›Abigail Calva, Ade Lawrence, Alexander Arebalo, Alexia Asgari, Allan Mezhibovsky, Christian Montanez, Collin Carder, Donnal Baijnauth, Emilija Iannace, Farzana Hossain, Fernan Bilik, Grace Kirimi, Haotian

Jiang, Isaac De Castro, Jacob Wong, Jaein Lee,Jiayu Liu,Justin Tan, Madeleine August, Polen Guzelocak, Remy Mermelstein, Ribhya Arora, Shaoyu Li, Taimaisu Ferrer Sin, Tiffany Ly, Yimeng Ding, Zoe De Simone

Density matters. Used to analyzing in detail works of unique or distinctive qualitative value, we often forget how important their quantitative context is. And yet, this aspect often determines whether they succeed or fail. In the residential field density is key, and while too much density increases traffic, sanitary 4

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and safety problems, the reduced density of new neighbourhoods or sprawling expansions causes an economic and ecological damage only comparable to the subsequent impoverishment of social interaction and disappearance of the civic and political nature of urban space. Far from being incompatible with quality of life, density DENSITIES

becomes a key element to achieve it, and urban regulations are now complementing the old codes on maximum density, intended to prevent overcrowding, with new minimum densities that aim to stimulate sustainability and sociability.1 As architects, we should study our built environment, submitting it to an interpretive close reading, but also including statistics, graphics and maps which replace details, edges and joints, so that architecture does not become a sum of individual cases but a collective system. Density is a concept traditionally associated with housing projects, as a way to fight against the infinite sprawl of contemporary western cities but also as a natural reaction to deal with sustainability and scalability of urban interventions. Nevertheless, the concept can also be applied to buildings themselves, of any nature, as a way to potentiate and foster relationships among diverse, ever-changing and even noncompatible programs. This Design Studio will consider both ends of understanding density, and will discuss how architecture performs within the city and its potential to cultivate instances of interpersonal spatiality through a strategic articulation of 6

programming, urban configuration, public space and social / community engagement. While continuing to develop and expand the knowledge and tools acquired during the first and the second year studios, this third year studio explicitly takes on the challenge of the making process of a complex architecture project, situated in a very specific urban context and developed with regard to program, site, representation and architecture discourse. This studio will consider the urban context, no matter its age, as a historically layered, socially and culturally diverse, evolving construct â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a generator capable of providing cues and motivating specific architectural design strategies, but also itself susceptible to positive transformation through architectural intervention. In this sense, the city becomes a mosaic of episodes, each with its own particular life span, that contest each other through the medium of the grid.2 The studio will consider the building in the city as both a unique microcosm in and of the city itself: Building as City / City as Building. This dichotomy means that the project should be developed considering not only the building itself or its urban insertion, but to understand 7

and develop the richness which derives from a variety of complex and dense functions. Since the architectural object has a degree of complexity which is not autonomous from that of the urban context it deals with, a building can be seen as the result of the dialectic between statistical ratios and architectural form. Students will be guided to work through the consciousness that this dualism gives the building a dual essence: a public dimension, where the building works as a catalyst for the development of the city activities; and also as a collection of spaces where the individuals should develop appropriately their personal and daily routines. The specific urban environment we will be examining throughout the semester will be the upstate city of Rochester, and the primary programmatic catalyst for this investigation will be the concept of density, where somehow fixed conditions will be forced to accommodate an extensive and mixed program. The project to develop during the semester will accommodate a Music House.

Cfr. FernĂĄndez-Galiano, Luis, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Densidad/Density Matters â&#x20AC;&#x153; in Arquitectura Viva, 159, 1/2014, p. 3. 2 Cfr. Koolhaas, Rem, Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan (New York: The Monicelli Press, 1994) Originally Published 1978, p. 21 1

An abstract exploration of density. ›Studying how diverse and heterogeneous spaces and functions usually coexist in close relationship, altering their character and enriching the intermediate or transition spaces. Guests ›Gesa Büttner, Val Warke

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DENSITIES

11 â&#x20AC;ºCLAIRVAUX ABBEY

Index •BA — Beaulieu Abbey, Hampshire, England ›Haotian Jiang •CA — Clairvaux Abbey, Sous-ville-la-Ferté, France ›Jiayu Liu •CD — Chateau d’Angers, Angers, France ›Polen Guzelocak •CE — Certosa di Pavia, Lombardy, Italy ›Justin Tan •CM — Cathedral-Mosque in Córdoba, Spain ›Taimaisu Ferrer Sin 16

•CP — Certosa di Padula, Padula, Italy ›Yimeng Ding •DC — Dover Castle, Kent, England ›Ade Lawrence •EC — Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland ›Donnal Baijnauth •EE — El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain ›Allan Mezhibovsky •FA —Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, UK ›Zoe De Simone 17

•FC — Forbidden City, Beijing, China ›Isaac De Castro •GM — Ganden Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet, China ›Jacob Wong •HC — Hedingham Castle, Essex, England ›Tiffany Ly •HT — Hanging Temple Hunyuan, Datong, China ›Fernan Bilik •KP — Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine ›Remy Mermelstein •LA — La Alhambra, 18

Granada, Spain ›Alexander Arebalo •LS — La Sacra di San Michele, Sant’Ambrogio di Torino, Italy ›Christian Montanez •MA — Mount Athos, Mount Athos, Greece ›Alexia Asgari •MS — Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña, Santa Cruz de la Seros, Spain ›Emilija Iannace •OC — Orford Castle, Suffolk, England ›Abigail Calva 19

•PC — Peak Castle, Derbyshire, England ›Grace Kirimi •RM — Rila Monastery, Rila, Bulgaria ›Jaein Lee •SC — St. Catherine’s Monastery, South Sinai Governorate, Egypt ›Shaoyu Li •SD — Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos, Spain ›Ribhya Arora •SM — Sumela Monastery, Altindere Valley, Turkey ›Farzana Hossain 20

•TC — Trim Castle, Trim, Ireland ›Collin Carder •VM — Varlaam Monastery, Metéora, Greece ›Madeleine August

BA 9%

BA 1%

CA 13%

CA 20%

CD 16%

CD 50%

CE 33%

CE 9%

CM 35%

CM 6%

CP 20%

CP 12%

A1 DC 42%

DC 58%

EC 25%

EC 43%

EE 11%

EE 4%

FA 85%

FA 35%

FC 38%

FC 2%

GM 15%

GM 50%

HC 36%

HC 16%

HT 17%

HT 14%

A1 KP 11%

KP 78%

LA 11%

LA 6%

LS 15%

LS 44%

MA 16%

MA 49%

MS 53%

MS 58%

OC 13%

OC 16%

PC 47%

PC 63%

RM 10%

RM 43%

SC 8%

SC 10%

SD 12%

SD 10%

SM 20%

SM 6%

TC 30%

TC 27%

VM 22%

VM 20%

100

101

102

103

B1 KP

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

CM 156

157

KP 158

159

BA 160

161

CA 162

163

CE 164

165

CP 166

167

DC 168

169

EC 170

171

EE 172

173

CD 174

175

FA 176

177

FC 178

179

GM 180

181

HC 182

183

MA 184

185

HT 186

187

LA 188

189

LS 190

191

MS 192

193

OC 194

195

PC 196

197

RM 198

199

SC 200

201

SD 202

203

SM 204

205

TC 206

207

VM 208

209

EE 210

CA 211

CP 212

GM 213

CE 214

BA 215

DC 216

LS 217

MS 218

LA 219

CD 220

PC 221

SC 222

EC 223

TC 224

HC 225

RM 226

MA 227

OC 228

SM 229

KP 230

HT 231

CM 232

FA 233

SD 234

VM 235

Edwin A. Seipp Prize â&#x20AC;şAccommodating three living spaces in a cube and translating different understandings of density into an architectural project. Guests â&#x20AC;şMauricio Pezo, Florian Sauter, Andrea Simitch, Sofia Von Ellrichshausen

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â&#x20AC;ºMVRDV

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Index •AA — Alexander Arebalo •AC — Abigail Calva •AL — Ade Lawrence •AM — Allan Mezhibovsky •AS — Alexia Asgari •CC — Collin Carder •CM — Christian Montanez •DB — Donnal Baijnauth •EI — Emilija Iannace •FB — Fernan Bilik •FH — Farzana Hossain •GK — Grace Kirimi •HJ — Haotian Jiang •ID — Isaac De Castro 242

•JI — Jiayu Liu •JL — Jaein Lee •JT— Justin Tan •JW — Jacob Wong •MA — Madeleine August •PG — Polen Guzelocak •RA — Ribhya Arora •RM — Remy Mermelstein •SL — Shaoyu Li •TF — Taimaisu Ferrer Sin •TL — Tiffany Ly •YD — Yimeng Ding •ZD — Zoe De Simone 243

ERNO H

AA 244

245

AC 246

247

AL 248

249

AM 250

251

AS 252

253

CC 254

255

CM 256

257

Ground Floor Plan Scale: 1/4” = 1’ Exploded Axonometric

First Floor Plan Scale: 1/4” = 1’

258 A

259

EI 260

261

1:4

FB 262

263

FH 264

265

SPLIT AXONOMETRIC, DIAGRAMS

1/4”=1’

DRUMMER

FILMMAKER

BASKETBALLER

LOAD BEARING WALL

GK 266

267

HJ 268

269

SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

ID 270

271

JI 272

273

JL 274

275

JT 276

277

JW 278

279

MA 280

281

PG 282

283

Third Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

RA 284

285

EVANS

Gibraltar

+5’ Cut Plan

+20’ Cut Plan

Roof Plan

RM 286

Gibraltar

+10’ Cut Plan

+25’ Cut Plan

Section A

+15’ Cut Plan

+35 Cut Plan

Section B

287

SL 288

289

TF 290

291

TL 292

293

YD 294

295

ZD 296

297

›Documents 1 | Density Exploration

Jorge Oteiza: Cortes Transversales - Cross Cuts Jorge Oteiza, Cubos abiertos espacios interiores, retenciones de luz / Open Cubes, 1972, 12’’x12’’x12’’

“Diagramming….is the recording of the physical and spatial components that identify the unique and recognizable characteristics of a building, site, or program. It is the process by which familiarity with a specific set of conditions can be achieved. Much like a child’s sketch, a diagram is not concerned with developing nuance but instead with clarity: it is the reduction—the "boiling down"—of an idea. The diagram does not only analyze the physical, it can also reveal the ephemeral, the historical, the infrastructural. Diagrams allow one to gain an understanding of a particular project by revisiting it again and again through a series of specific lenses. The diagram not only maps the identity of a given project, but points the way to the conception of a new project. And it is in these reductive, abstract states that diagrams often resemble more universal conditions….” “The most common systems separated during an analysis are structure, circulation, exterior envelope or membrane, major versus minor spaces (not just in size and program but in experience as well), public versus private spaces, solid volumes versus the spaces that they help to define, repetitive elements versus unique moments, and the geometric and proportional orders that often hold these systems together. While each system on its own is important in understanding a work, the ways in which they are transformed, merged, or overlaid is what ultimately leads to an understanding of the unique qualities of the greater whole…” “The Language of Architecture” by Andrea Simitch and Val Warke (pp.14, 15)

In order to have a better understanding of the program and the required scale of the different parts of the program and how they relate to each other, every student is expected to analyze a precedent building, assigned from the reference list provided. Do NOT simply rely on the internet for your research. The aim of this preliminary exercise is to focus into the concept of density, by studying how diverse and heterogeneous spaces and functions usually coexist in close relationship, altering their character and enriching the intermediate or transition spaces. The main deliverables for this preliminary exercise will be a set of drawings and a perfectly-crafted physical model.

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1. Presentation Each student will need to research on one reference building, and present it to the rest of the section, researching and emphasising the concept of density, and supporting the ideas with documentation on the precedent. The presentation should include general information of the building (site plan, all level plans, and at least a cross and long section), and should present how the building relate to the site. 2. Drawings

By analysing the reference building, each student will develop a set of expressive abstract drawings, to explore how the concept of density and overlapping are solved in each reference project. Each drawing should be 10’’x10’’ (25.4x25.4 cm), and centered into a 14’’x14’’ (35.5x35.5 cm) blank paper. Each drawing should follow the template provided. As a starting point, each student should re-draw one plan and one section of the reference building, as a diagram. Only line weight can be used, and no use of solid shading is allowed: A1. Representative plan A2. Representative section In addition, the following drawings should be produced in black/white only, and each of them trying to show how spaces, functions or densities are structured through the building according to different concepts. Density can be represented by using different density of lines, dots, … It should not be a direct translation of the plans or sections, but diagrams which, considering those as a starting point, relate to the buildings without literally reproducing them. The drawings should use strategies based on figure-ground to convey the thesis on density and to explicate the relationships of volumes to voided space. Students are provided with only two white line weights to support your otherwise black drawing. Hatching is acceptable using these line weights. B1. Drawing related to the plan/section B2. Drawing related to the plan/section B3. Drawing related to the plan/section B4. Drawing related to the plan/section B5. Axon drawing relating both concepts simultaneously 3. Physical Model

Every student should produce one perfectly crafted physical model in the prefixed size of 10’’x10’’x10’’ (25.4x25.4x25.4 cm). The model should relate to the concepts and drawings resulted from the analysis of the building, but it can also be one step further exploration on the way that density is understood in that given precedent. The physical model should both express plan and section in an ambiguous way, and should pay attention to the way that solids, voids and interaction of different material densities take place within the prefixed given volume. The model can only be produced using only the following materials: Void / Plywood

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Analysis

Below is a tentative guide of aspects to consider while analysing the building. Not all may be applicable to your particular project, but your analysis could show a range of ways of “seeing” the project. ORDERING SYSTEMS: Is there a system of proportion or regulating lines controlling the plan, section, and/or elevation? Is the building organized according to a system of bays, a particular rhythm, or is there an implicit grid that controls the positioning of particular elements? What elements are regular vs. irregular in the plan? Are there zones that occur according to function, materiality, structure, lighting? SPACE: Is the plan a series of individual spaces/cells, one open space with smaller elements within it, or a series of overlapping spaces? Do certain kinds of program correspond to particular spatial conditions (open, closed, clustered, etc.)? What is the spatial relationship between certain kinds of programs (for example, is the bathroom its own room next to the bedroom or is it part of the bedroom)? How are thresholds between differing spaces/programs articulated? How are larger vs. smaller spaces organized relative to each other and the whole? RELATIONSHIP OF ELEMENTS: How are elements sited in relationship to the perimeter, other programs, other elements? Are repetitive elements grouped or distributed throughout? Are there unique vs. repetitive elements in the plan, section, elevation? PROGRAM: What is the organization of program? How are public and private spaces identified, defined, organized relative to each other and the whole? How are thresholds between programs defined? Are similar programs grouped together or distributed throughout? STRUCTURE: What is the primary structural system of the project (columns, truss, loadbearing wall, etc.). What is the relationship between structure and space (i.e. does the structure form the spaces, determine a spatial rhythm, is it visible or hidden within walls)? What are the loadbearing vs. non loadbearing elements in the plan and section? Is there a separation or a synthesis between the structural and the spatial system? MATERIAL: What is the relationship of material to program, structure, space? Are there multiple materials used and what systems/organizations are they related to? Is the materiality of the structural system evident in the building’s spaces? How do different materials meet? Interior vs. exterior materials? How is time registered in the materials? AMBULATORY: What is the spatial sequence through the building? Are defined circulation zones and how are they articulated? What is the relationship of program elements to passing spaces? What is the horizontal vs. vertical sequence, is it related to a series of views? Exterior vs. interior sequences? Zones of fast vs. slow movement vs. still? Is there a beginning and an end? LIGHT: How does light enter the building? What are the devices to control natural light? Is there a particular kind of light/source that has to do with specific programs? Is light used as a differentiator between program? Natural vs. artificial lighting systems? Light vs. dark areas in the plan and section? How are openings for light vs. openings for view articulated/placed on the building’s envelope? North vs. south light? Is there different light at different times of day according to use (morning light in the bedrooms for example)? ENVIRONMENT: How is the building envelope, form, and siting influenced by environmental factors such as the sun, sound, prevailing winds? Does the building and the use of its spaces change with the seasons or with time of day?

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List of reference buildings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36.

Clairvaux Abbey, Ville-sous-la-Ferté, France Beaulieu Abbey, France Alcobaça Monastery, Portugal Sumela Monastery, Altindere Valley, Turkey Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro Kiev Pechersk Lavra, Kiev Mount Athos, Greece Rila Monastery, Bulgary Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Egypt El Escorial, Spain Metéora, Greece Monasterio de San Juan de la Peña, Spain Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire, UK Certosa di Pavia, Lombardy, Italy Certosa di Padula, Padula, Italy Montecassino Abbey, Cassino, Italy Ganden Monastery, Wangbur Mountain, Tibet Hanging Temple / Xuankong Temple, Daton, China Forbidden City, Beijing Tawang Monastery, Tawang, India Cathedral-Mosque in Córdoba, Spain La Alhambra, Granada, Spain Edinburgh Castle, Scotland Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan Malbork Castle, Poland Chateau d’Angers, France Chateau Gaillard, France Cité de Carcassonne, France Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome Dover Castle, Kent, England Hedingham Castle, Essex, England Orford Castle, Suffolk, England Peak Peveril Castle, Castleton, England Trim Castle, County Meath, Ireland

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2 | Edwin A. Seipp Prize Interpretation

MVRDV: Diagrams for Double House in Utrecht, 1997

The Edwin A. Seipp Prize was established in 1948 by Mrs. E.A. Seipp in memory of her husband, an alumnus of the class of 1905. One or more prizes of at least $150 are awarded to the third-year student winners of this special design competition, with a total budget of $750. After the initial understanding and research on the concept of density, the next assignment requires the student to design a building to accommodate three (3) living spaces. There are some basic programmatic requirements associated to typology of the single house or apartment which need to be solved, but the main aim for this exercise is to translate the different understandings of density into an architecture project, while working in a very constrained and pre-fixed volume, and with special attention to the interior spaces. Every project will be an individual entry to the Edwin A. Seipp Prize, so there will be no desk critiques during its development. Program

The building should have a strictly required cubic volume of 40’x40’x40’ (12.2x12.2x12.2 m), and its shared by three (3) completely independent housing units. Each of them should include at least a sleeping space, a full bathroom, a dining-living space with kitchen and a space associated with his/her daily professional routines. There are no requirements in terms of minimum dimensions for each individual space. Every unit should be specific to the character of its final user and the way they use the space. Every unit should have an independent access from the ground level. One of the units is for a professional drum player One of the units is for a professional NBA player, who is 6ft 8in (2.03 m) tall One of the units is for a film director, who usually produces wide 2.39:1 films

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Site

The three units should fit inside a single cubic building, which would be located in an abstract, flat and empty suburban lot in a mild mediterranean climate. One of its sides is oriented North. There is no need to design the exterior spaces. Delivery and format

The submission is anonymous, and its format is fixed and should contain: a) One (1) plot, 30’’ wide, 48’’ tall, with diagrams, plans, sections and eventual perspectives of interior spaces; b) One (1) plot, 30’’ wide, 48’’ tall, with a large axonometric of the proposal to show the interior spaces and interlocking of units; and c) One (1) physical model in the final and fixed 10’’x10’’x10’’ size (1/4’’=1’). The model should reveal the interior spaces in some way, by removing pieces of by being built in parts. Date due

12:20 pm, 9/25, Milstein Hall Dome (pin-up diagram will be provided) Please, note that projects pinned up after 12:20 will be disqualified from jurying.

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ARCH3101 â&#x20AC;ºFall 2019 Bachelors Design V Studio DENSITIES MWF 12:20-4:25 PM

Architecture is a system, physical elements related to each other by strong and clear rules.