A LOOK INTO WINDOWS
A VERTICAL STUDIO PROJECT
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STUDENTS Aaron Scott Brandon Abrams Dan Fisher David Conley Emily Clemons Eric Mei Jacob Pfahl Jay Schlesinger Juan Varela Kristen Autin Micah Stidham Nicholas Schweer Sam Brown Zhixin Sun
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A LOOK INTO WINDOWS The WINDOW is often treated as a 2D thing, called out in architectural drawings via the elevation. But in fact it is a complex multi-dimensional device orchestrating LIGHT, VIEW, and AMBIANCE. Proximity to it is political and weighted (the “Window Seat”; a “Room with a View”; the “Corner Office”).
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WINDOWS THEIR HISTORY / COMPONENTS / STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS WINDOWS THAT AREN’T WINDOWS ARCHITECTURE / VIEWS / OPPORTUNITIES OTHER VIEWING DEVICES TELESCOPE / CAMERA / STEREOSCOPE / KALEIDOSCOPE CONCLUSION REMAINING QUESTIONS / THEORIES
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WINDOWS THEIR HISTORY / COMPONENTS / STYLISTIC CONVENTIONS
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WINDOW ORIGINS The first windows were developed out of necessity. They provided the function of allowing light into the interior and allowing for air flow. The earliest windows were made at a time when glass wasn’t readily available, so they are simple openings with no fill in the frame.
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The development of clerestory light was crucial as buildings began to grow in size. Allowing more light in the interior was necessary, and clerestory windows were a key innovation that allowed this to happen. The dome in the Hagia Sophia is a good example of early clerestory light.
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Windows also began to have multiple purposes, such as allowing in light, while also providing ornament, as seen in Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp.
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Functional window through light & ventilation.
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WINDOW AS SURFACE BEAUTY As windows became easier to seal, they became easier to decorate. They were no longer simply functional but they could be used for surface decoration. The ability to make lead more malleable as frames enabled the ornament of windows. This led to the creation of rose windows.
As stained glass became more usable, rose windows began to pop with color and were even able to tell stories. This technique was widely used in churches to tell biblical stories.
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Sometimes they are used to convey a message about the buildings whole scheme and in other instances it’s just localized surface ornament.
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Windows as decoration.
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WINDOW AS FRAME In modern architecture, windows began functioning as a way to connect back to nature. Using mostly glass as a material for an entire building, or part of a building, makes the occupant feel like they are part of nature, like at the Glass House.
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ICA Museum | Computer Room This is an example of both how the window is captured and is capturing. The building splits and lowers a piece of itself to allow its embedded window to capture views of the water.
The strategic use and placement of glass in windows can frame specific views that are meant to be seen, as well as forcing a perspective on the viewer.
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The windows at Unite D’Habitation are part of a complex building system. They provide light, ventilation and begin to express the datum of the interior. They are also solidly captured by the concrete material and by the boundaries of the floors above and below.
These skylights capture light and re-direct it purposely into the chapel of La Tourette.
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The windows belonging to the ceiling, while not embedded in the wall, are captured by their steel frame. They are also supplementary to the architectural composition which is an environmentally sustainable design.
As architecture moves toward a more “green� and environmentally conscious era, designs connect us to nature through clever implementations in windows. A combination of function and style goes hand in hand with this idea as well as connecting the design to the outside world. PAGE 25
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Relating windows to nature.
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DEMATERIALIZATION As windows become increasingly connected to nature, they can dematerialize the building. This occurs when corners are broken and replaced by the window.
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Dematerializing buildings with windows.
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WINDOWS
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WINDOWS THAT AREN’T WINDOWS ARCHITECTURE / VIEWS / OPPORTUNITIES
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WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (TRANSPARENCY)?
WHAT IS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY?
What is the window of opportunity? The window of opportunity is a window created through the framing of one or more unexpected elements. A window of opportunity is dependent on the viewer being in a specific location to the framed elements, creating the window. WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A DOOR?
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (PROPORTION)?
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Framed opening within a wall suggesting a relationship of looking from outside to inside. No physical difference between interior and exterior, only a suggested reading.
Framing device within a suggested plane. Not within a host.
Object that frames a specific view. Accidental and unintended use within a larger object.
Suggests a view through a planar boundary. You can pass through the opening. PAGE 39
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (TRANSPARENCY)?
WHAT IS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY?
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A DOOR?
A door becomes a window once the extent of transparency begins to dominate the surface area of the door, or when the doors primary use is within a series of identical units of which the purpose is to allow light to travel through it. Primary use becomes a large factor into the classification of door or window. WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (PROPORTION)?
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A framed opening in which its primary use is the passage of light. Its secondary use is an operable door.
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WHAT IS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY?
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A DOOR?
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (PROPORTION)?
When does a window become a wall? A window seems to read as a wall when the window area exceeds the ratio of host object by more than half. Alternatively when the area of frame defining a window is less than one tenth, the overall composition stops reading as a window.
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London Alley
Framed opening defining views through objects Unintended result based on a particular vantage point PAGE 46
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Los Angeles Alley
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Gateway Arch | Eero Saarinen 1965
A boundary surrounding a specific, framed object. The boundary is only the frame, and is not set into a host. PAGE 48
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Crankbrook Art Academy | Elle Saarinen 1942
Framed opening suggesting a planar relationship with dual sides Ratio between opening and solid blurs the line between window and wall. PAGE 49
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A WALL (TRANSPARENCY)?
When does a window become a wall (Material)? A window becomes a wall when the visibility through the window is questioned. A window becomes a wall when the focal point is taken away from an object behind the window’s surface and focused instead on the surface itself. In these examples it is hard to tell if the window helps the viewer focus on an object behind its surface or if the window itself draws the attention of the viewer. WHAT IS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY?
WHEN DOES A WINDOW BECOME A DOOR?
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Translucent glass, which allows light to pass through Does not allow view, giving the appearance of a solid object or wall PAGE 52
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Variable openings negotiate a difference in primary purpose, from allowing light, to blocking light. There is no defined frame allowing for a specific view.
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WINDOWS THAT AREN’T
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WINDOWS
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OTHER VIEWING DEVICES TELESCOPE / CAMERA / STEREOSCOPE / KALEIDOSCOPE
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TELESCOPE How is it a window? The device frames a specific view of the images to create the desired effect of depth perception in a pair of two dimensional images.
The original telescope was invented by German spectacle maker, Hans Lippershey. It was then made popular the following year by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei
A telescope consists of a viewfinder eyepiece, a magnifying lens, a tube and a stand that holds the device up.
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A view from a telescope zooms in on a framed area and fades to black surrounding the image due to the tube shape of the viewing device.
The telescope house in the Makinohara plateau region of Japan is designed by MA-style architects and uses a giant telescope-like viewfinder to frame the town and surrounding tea fields. PAGE 61
Refractor Telescope Refractor Telescope Refractor Telescope Lense Lense Lense
Reflector Telescope Reflector Telescope Reflector Telescope
Mirror Mirror Mirror Lense
Schmidt-Cassegrain Schmidt-Cassegrain Schmidt-Cassegrain
Lense
Lense Lense
Lense Lense
Mirror Mirror Mirror
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Refractor Telescope uses a series of lenses to see object far away. More lenses can be added to enhance the range.
Reflector Telescope uses a series of mirrors to see object far away.
Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope uses a series of lenses and mirrors to see objects far away.
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CAMERA How is it a window? The device frames a specific view of the images to create the desired effect of depth perception in a pair of two dimensional images.
A camera consists of a viewfinder, a series of mirrors and apertures to expose and reflect light, a flash and focus in order to take a permanent still image of a view.
The first film camera was invented in 1888 by George Eastman and was called the Kodak. It consisted of a fixed-focused lens and a single shutter speed. It was built to contain film for 100 exposures and then had to be refilled.
The term fisheye lens was invented by physicist Robert W. Wood in 1906 while commercial use of the fisheye lens was not popular until the early 1960s.
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Photography and architecture have always had a strong relationship in that architecture can be visually framed or interpreted in several different ways using photographic techniques that the eye may not be able to pick up naturally.
The fisheye lens distorts the view of the image to bring more attention to the center and to allow a wider scope of view for the entire image, giving the viewer up to 180 degree view. PAGE 65
Convex Lense
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The refracted rays converge at one point called the principal focus. The distance between the principal focus and the center of the lens is called the focal length.
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STEREOSCOPE How is it a window? The device frames a specific view of the images to create the desired effect of depth perception in a pair of two dimensional images.
A device by which two photographs of the same object taken at slightly different angles are viewed together, creating an impression of depth and solidity.
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Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
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The stereoscope takes two images of the same taken at 2 slightly different angles and combines them into one image by having one eye focus on one image and the other eye focus on a second image and then the brain combines the two image into one image with the hopes of creating a sense of depth.
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KALEIDOSCOPE How is it a window? Through the use of light, mirrors, and colored materials a constantly changing image is produced. The peep hole frames a view and changes the viewers perception of patterns.
The device operates on the principle of multiple reflections, where several mirrors are placed at an angle to one another.
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The way a kaleidoscope works is by reflecting an object through at least two mirrors at an angle and making it seem like there are more than one object. The angle determines how many objects will “appear,� to find the number of objects you take the 360 divided by the angle of the mirror. More complex images can be made by adding more mirrors.
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A COMPARISON OF VIEWS STEREOSCOPE
FISH EYE
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TELESCOPE
KALEIDOSCOPE
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OTHER VIEWING DEVICES
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CONCLUSION REMAINING QUESTIONS / THEORIES
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REMAINING QUESTIONS Does a vantage point create new windows through architecture?
What different suggestions are made from windows, apertures, and voids, and how do they begin to relate and differ from one another?
Is a window meant to capture a still image?
What conversations begin between the viewer, the window, and the individual?
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The Eye’s of the Beholder In reality, every human being is not the same which suggests that we all view things differently. While the window may hint at and frame a certain view, perception, or light, we must determine what it is that we want to frame and how to do it. In the end, we create our own views of what we find inspiring and meaningful
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Cheating the World Our phones give us access to view things we cannot reach. They open up the world to us, capturing and displaying views and experiences we would like to be a part of, all while at the same time minimizing the space around us due to our constant focus on the phone.
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A LOOK INTO...
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