CLOSE READING AND FORMAL ANALYSIS
SCOTT SIMPSON
TF LUKE STUDEBAKER PROF. PETER EISENMAN W/ ANTHONY GAGLIARDI YALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE FALL 2018
FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI BASILICA DI SAN LORENZO BASILICA DI SANTO SPIRITO
FLORENCE_1470 C.E. FLORENCE_1487 C.E.
EACH OF BRUNELLESCHI’S BASILICAS PRESENT THE CROSSING AS THE CENTRAL INTERIOR SPACE, YET EACH PROJECT OFFERS A DIFFERENT POSITION ON WHAT OCCUPIES THAT CENTER - BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL DEVOTIONAL SUBJECT AND THE CHURCH-OBJECT ITSELF. THIS IS DEMONSTRATED THROUGH THE HIERARCHICAL RELATIONSHIPS OF THE CROSSING TO THE REMAINING INTERIOR SPACES, IN ADDITION TO PILASTER DETAILS APPLIED TO THE FOUR PRIMARY COLUMNS THAT DEFINE THE CROSSING. SANTO SPIRITO EMBODIES A RADIAL HIERARCHY, WITH STATIC, MORE UNIFORM MODULES THAT SURROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE CHURCH AND IMPLY THAT THE SUBJECT IS FIXED IN SPACE AND CANNOT OCCUPY THE CENTER. THIS POSITION IS INTENSIFIED BY THE ON-AXIS COLUMN AT THE NARTHEX IN ADDITION TO THE LACK OF HALF-ROUND PILASTERS THAT CONVEYS A BOUNDARY SEPARATING THIS ZONE FROM THE REST OF THE INTERIOR. CONTRASTING THIS CONDITION, SAN LORENZO DISPLAYS A LATERAL HIERARCHY FROM THE CENTRAL AISLE TO THE SIDE PASSAGES, WITH A COLLAPSED NARTHEX THAT ALLOWS INDIVIDUAL SPATIAL MODULES TO ‘SLIP’ AND ‘SHIFT’ ALONG THE LONGER AXIS. THIS SLIPPAGE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CONSISTENT TREATMENT OF THE PILASTERS SURROUNDING THE CROSSING, IMPLIES THAT THE CENTER OF THE CROSSING IS MEANT TO BE TRAVERSED AND OCCUPIED BY THE DEVOTIONAL SUBJECT.
LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI TEMPIO MALATESTIANO RIMINI_1468 C.E.
IN RE-DESIGNING THE TIEMPO MALATESTIANO, ALBERTI IDENTIFIED THE SQUARE AS A PROPORTIONAL SYSTEM ON THE INTERIOR OF THE EXISTING NAVE; ROWS OF SQUARES, ARRANGED BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW THE ENTABLATURE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE GOTHIC-STYLE SPACE, ORGANIZE THE SEQUENCE OF ORNAMENT. THUS HE PROPOSED AN ARCADE ALONG THE EXTERIOR OF THE STRUCTURE - THIS TIME OF MORE TRADITIONAL ROMAN ARCHES - WITH THEIR MODULE BASED ON A SQUARE PROPORTION AND ALIGNED HORIZONTALLY WITH THE INTERIOR ARCADE AT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE CAPITALS. TO COMPOSE THE FRONT FAÇADE WITH THE SQUARE IN MIND, ALBERTI ARRANGED A GRID OF 3 EQUAL BAYS, DEFINED BY SEMI-CIRCULAR PILASTERS AND RAISED TO THE CENTER OF THE CAPITAL-DATUM PRODUCED ON THE SIDE ELEVATION. HOWEVER, ALBERTI ULTIMATELY DISTORTS THIS SCHEME BY PULLING THE PILASTERS IN FROM THE CORNER, AS WAS THE NORM THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE BUILDING. HE SHIFTS THE PILASTERS TO ALIGN WITH THE VOID SPACE CREATED BETWEEN THE EXISTING INTERIOR WALL AND HIS NEW EXTERIOR ARCADE, REPRESENTING THE FINAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FLOORPLAN CLEARLY ON THE DOMINANT FAÇADE.
DONATO BRAMANTE SANTA MARIA DELLA PACE
ROME_1482 C.E.
LUCIANO LAURANA PALAZZO DUCALE URBINO_1454 C.E.
IN COMPOSING THEIR RESPECTIVE CORTILES, BRAMANTE AND LAURANA UTILIZE COLUMNS, PARTICULARLY AT THE CORNER, TO ARTICULATE THE SPATIAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EACH OPEN COURT AND THE PERIMETER ARCADE THAT ENCLOSES THEM. AT THE PALAZZO DUCALE, ROUND CORINTHIAN COLUMNS TOPPED WITH IDENTICAL, FOUR-SIDED CAPITALS CONVEY CONTINUOUS SPACE BETWEEN THE OPEN, CENTRAL AREA AND THE COVERED ARCADES TO THE SIDE. HOWEVER, THE EXTENDED PILASTERS AT THE CORNERS - PLUS THE ENGAGED COLUMN VISIBLE ONLY FROM THE OUTSIDE - IMPLY SPATIAL ZONES THAT ARE DISTINCT AND SEPARATE. IN SANTA MARIA DELLA PACE, WIDE AND SHALLOW PIERS WITH DIFFERING ELEVATIONS IMPLY COMPLETE SEPARATION OF THE ARCADE FROM THE COURT. THIS IS FURTHER SUPPORTED BY THE MATCHING ADJACENT EXTERIOR COLUMN ELEVATIONS AT THE FOUR CORNERS, WHICH HOMOGENIZE EACH BAY AS A CONTINUOUS AND HERMETIC LOOP OF IDENTICAL SPACES THAT OPERATES INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE CENTRAL, OPEN AREA.
SEBASTIANO SERLIO THE HOUSE OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE TO BE BUILT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
AROUND THE HEXAGONAL FLOORPLAN OF SERLIO’S NINETEENTH INVENTION, UNIFORM COURTYARD WALLS AND EXTERIOR FACADES IMPLY MATCHING SYMMETRICAL INTERIOR SPACES, ALIGNMENTS OF THE INTERIOR WALLS TO THE EXTERIOR SURFACES AND A STRONG CENTRAL HIERARCHY. HOWEVER, SERLIO ASSERTS A RADICAL MANNERIST ATTITUDE AND ALLOWS HIS INVENTED INTERIOR TO OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE ENCLOSING SURFACES. WHILE CERTAIN CAMERAS ARE ENTERED ON THE CENTRAL AXIS, OTHERS PRODUCE ENFILADES THAT UNFOLD AND DENY THE PURPORTED SYMMETRY. CERTAIN HINGE SPACES - LOCATED IN THE CORNERS - MAINTAIN SYMMETRY ABOUT THE CENTER WHILE OTHER PROCEED WITH PERPENDICULAR MOMENTUM WITH COMPLETE INDIFFERENCE TOWARDS THE EXTERIOR.
ANDREA PALLADIO CHIESA DEL SANTISSIMO REDENTORE BASILICA DI SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE
VENICE_1592 C.E. VENICE_1610 C.E.
PALLADIO UTILIZED CONSISTENT SYNTACTICAL ELEMENTS IN THE PLANNING AND FACADE DESIGN OF EACH VENETIAN CHURCH; THE FAÇADES FEATURE VERTICALLY-EXAGGERATED CENTRAL COMPOSITIONS FLANKED BY SECONDARY BROKEN PEDIMENTS, WHILE THEIR PLAN ARRANGEMENTS FEATURE RICHLY MOULDED COMPOSITE COLUMNS ARRANGED IN LOOSE LATIN CROSS FORMATIONS. HOWEVER, AT IL REDENTORE, PALLADIO EMPLOYED A STRAIGHTFORWARD STRATEGY OF COLLAGING DISTINCT AND LEGIBLE FAÇADE ELEMENTS ONTO ONE ANOTHER THAT IS REINTERPRETED IN PLAN AS A CLEAR PROCESSION THROUGH NAVE, TRANSEPT AND APSE. THE UNDERLYING DESIGN STRATEGY AT SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE IS MUCH MORE COMPLEX, AS ONE OBSERVES A WEAVING OF STYLISTIC ELEMENTS AND FREER BLEND OF COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS IN FRONT ELEVATION AND PLAN EXPERIENCE.
GIACOMO BAROZZI DA VIGNOLA VILLA GUILIA ROME_1553 C.E.
THE PLAN OF THE VILLA GIULIA PRESENTS THREE DISTINCT COURTYARD FIGURES ARRANGED ALONG A SINGLE AXIS. THESE FIGURES ARE INTRUDED UPON, OR CARVED AWAY, BY INTERSTITIAL PAVILIONS THAT OCCUR AT SPECIFIC MOMENTS OF OVERLAP GOVERNED BY THE LARGER GEOMETRIES OF THE MAIN FIGURES. THESE PLANAR INTERACTIONS ARE REPRESENTED IN THE VERTICAL DIMENSION THROUGH VIGNOLA’S ADHERENCE TO, OR INTERRUPTION OF, A STRONG HORIZONTAL DATUM LINE: AT MOMENTS WHERE THE FIGURES ARE BROKEN IN PLAN, THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH MOTIF PROJECTS ABOVE THE ENTABLATURE OF THE ENCLOSING WALL. IN OTHER INSTANCES, THE ARCUATED TRI-PARTITE ORGANIZATION IS CONTAINED BENEATH THE ENTABLATURE OR EXISTS AS PURELY HORIZONTAL TRABEATION.
FRANCESCO BORROMINI SAN CARLO ALLE QUATTRO FONTANE ROME_1646 C.E. SANT’IVO ALLA SAPIENZA ROME_1660 C.E.
IN TERMS OF PLAN ORGANIZATION AND SPATIAL EXPERIENCE, BOTH OF BORROMINI’S ROMAN CHURCHES BREAK FROM RENAISSANCE ECCLESIASTICAL TRADITION BY ESCHEWING A DISTINCT LATIN-CROSS SHAPE WITH FLANKING SIDE CHAPELS. EACH RE-INTERPRETS THE CHURCH WITH A MORE CENTRALIZED PLAN GEOMETRY, ALTHOUGH THE SPATIAL READINGS THAT FOLLOW DIFFER IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES. IN SANT’IVO ALLA SAPIENZA, A SINGLE, STRONG CENTER IS DEFINED IN PLAN THROUGH A RADIALLY-SYMMETRICAL ARRANGEMENT OF SEMI-CIRCULAR AND CHAMFERED FORMS. THIS GEOMETRY IS EXTRUDED UPWARD THROUGH THE SCULPTED WALL SURFACES, CONTINUES THROUGH THE DEEP HORIZONTAL ENTABLATURE AND TRANSITIONS INTO A RIBBED DOME SUCH THAT THE INTERIOR VOLUME IS LEGIBLE AS A CONTIGUOUS WHOLE. BORROMINI APPROACHES SAN CARLO ALLE QUATTRO FONTANE WITH AN OPPOSING STRATEGY: THE AXIAL PLAN SHAPE IS BASED ON AN OVAL WITH TWO DISTINCT FOCI. SPATIALLY, THIS TRANSLATES INTO TWO DISTINCT VOLUMETRIC UNITS – THE NAVE SPACE AND THE DOME. THESE VOID-FIGURES ARE SEPARATED BY A HEAVY ENTABLATURE AND MEDIATED BY A SET OF DISTORTED PENDENTIVE SURFACES.
GIAN LORENZO BERNINI SANTA MARIA DI MONTESANTO
ROME_1675 C.E.
CARLO RAINALDI SANTA MARIA DEI MIRACOLI
ROME_1681 C.E.
THE PIAZZO DEL POPOLO PRESENTS THE CHALLENGE OF CONFIGURING MATCHING CHURCHES ACROSS TWO DIFFERENTLY SHAPED SITES. IN DESIGNING THE STRUCTURES, CARLO RAINALDI AND GIAN LORENZO BERNINI ORIENTED BOTH TOWARDS THE NORTHERN ENTRY POINT TO THE PIAZZA – THE PORTA DEL POPOLA – AS AN URBAN GESTURE. IN COMPARING THE TWO FLOORPLANS, ONE CAN READ THE ATTENUATED OVULAR ARRANGEMENT WITH 3 FLANKING SIDE CHAPELS IN SANTA MARIA DI MONTESANTO AS THE FULLY DEVELOPED, ‘IDEAL’ PARTI. IN TRANSLATING THE DESIGN ONTO THE SHALLOWER SITE OF SANTA MARIA DEI MIRACOLI, THE ARCHITECTS KEPT THE FAÇADE AT A FIXED DISTANCE TO THE PIAZZA’S CENTRAL OBELISK, BUT COMPRESSED THE FLOORPLAN INTO A CIRCLE. IN DOING SO, THE FIRST SET OF SIDE CHAPELS BREAKS THE BOUNDARY WALL AND IS EXPRESSED AS A SCULPTED VOID, DEFORMING THE CONTAINING POCHE IN THE PROCESS SUCH THAT THE EXTERIOR SURFACE READS MORE AS A SCULPTED PIER THAN AN EXTERIOR FAÇADE.
GIAMBATTISTA NOLLI PIANTA GRANDE DI ROMA
1748 C.E.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI CAMPO MARZIO DELL’ANTICA ROMA
1762 C.E.
IN THEIR RESPECTIVE REPRESENTATIONS OF ROME, NOLLI AND PIRANESI OFFER STARKLY DIFFERENT THESES ON THE ARTICULATION OF FIGURAL URBAN RELATIONSHIPS IN PLAN. FOR NOLLI, THE DRAWING OF A “PRIVATE” FIGURAL MASS ON TOP OF A “PUBLIC” GROUND PLANE MAKES A DISTINCTION BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED SPACES; THAT DISTINCTION RENDERS RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE BEST UNDERSTOOD THROUGH CIRCULATORY VOIDS AND STRAIGHT PATHS THAT ACT AS SPINES ACROSS THE URBAN FIELD. PIRANESI’S IDEALIZED MAP, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARTICULATES A CITY OF WALLS TO ENCLOSE VARIOUS PUBLIC FORUMS AND MONUMENTS. A COMPLETE ABSENCE OF STREETS RENDERS URBAN RELATIONSHIPS VISIBLE ONLY THROUGH LARGER CONGLOMERATED FIGURES RELATED THROUGH SHARED AXES AND LINES OF SYMMETRY. THESE TWO SYSTEMS ARE IRRECONCILABLE, AND PRODUCE A GRAPHIC TENSION WHEN SUPERIMPOSED UPON ONE ANOTHER.
GUILIO ROMANO PALAZZO DEL TE MANTUA_1534 C.E.
THE PALAZZO DEL TE IS AN ARCHITECTURAL PAINTING; ROMANO COMPOSED THE FACADES BY IGNORING THE STRUCTURAL REALITY OF BUILDING TECTONICS AND INSTEAD UTILIZING ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS AS A SYNTACTICAL SYSTEM . YET THIS LINGUISTIC LOGIC BREAKS DOWN WHEN THE EXTERIOR SURFACE MUST BE RECTIFIED WITH THE INTERIOR SPACES. ALONG THE EASTERN LAWN FACADE, SYMMETRY EXISTS ACROSS THE CENTRAL AXIS AND ROMANO SETS UP THE SERLIANA AS A REGULAR COMPOSITIONAL UNIT. BUT TOWARDS THE EDGES, WHERE THE INTERIOR SPATIAL COMPOSITION SHIFTS, THE CLEAR RELATIONSHIP OF COLUMN, PILASTER, ENTABLATURE AND ARCH IS DISRUPTED THROUGH DUPLICATION; REDUNDANT ELEMENTS INFECT THE COMPOSITIONAL UNIT AND CONFUSE THE COMPOSITIONAL LANGUAGE OF BUILDING ELEMENTS.