S12_VT_ARCH2034_Intertwined by Tim Frank

Church on the Water Tadao Ando, Hokkaido, 1988 Location: Hokkaido, Japan Structure: Reinforced concrete Construction period: Six months Site area: 6730 m2 Building area: 344 m2 Heading Church on the water establishes a strong relationship between its interior and exterior spaces. Ando manages to weave the building, light, and nature into one complete project.

materiality and light

In plan, Andoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church on the water consist of two overlapping squares of different sizes. A freestanding L-shaped wall wraps around the church and extends alongside a lake Church on the water establishes a strong relationship between its interior and exterior spaces Ando utilizes a sliding glass wall at one endo to blur the distinction between interior and exterior spaces

looking out from chapel space

blurred distinction between interior and exterior

Church on the Water

Tadao Ando

Concrete

Furniture

The building is constructed out of site cast concrete. The lower volume, which is made primarily of the concrete, sits nestled into the ground. It grounds the visitor to the earth, settling him into the landscape. The upper volume is made of glass, which draws attention heavenward. However, the crosses in the room are made of conrete as well. The crosses become a substantial focal point- They tower over visitors and draw visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; eyes upwards eye upwards.

The pews, chairs, and tables in the chapel are made of a light wood. Each piece is simply designed, with straight lines and rigid seats. They take up little space, leaving ample room for visitors to walk around the chapel and experience the space. They serve their function without taking attention away from the form of the building and the view from the front of the chapel.

drawing label

Snow

Concrete

Chairs

Concrete Detail

Pews

The grooves from the mold are imprinted into the walls, as are holes from the construction process. The unadorned walls were designed not to take away focus from the glass curtain wall at the front of the chapel. Letting the true material qualities of the concrete show was an effective way of giving character to the building, without making it the main focus.

Chapel in the Snow

Church on the Water is located at the Alpha Resort in Hokkaido, Japan. The region receives a substantial amount of snowfall each year, covering the buildings and roads in white snow. The church is no exception. The upper volume has no roof, so snow falls into the building without restraint. It settes atop the concrete crosses, and when it melts, it creates a soft white cap on top of the cross. The snow also exaggerates the topography of the land, further nestling the building into the landscape. The chapel is still visitable during the snowy months, prodiving a unique experience for those willing to trudge through the snow to the site.

Kitty Schaffernoth

Church on the Water

Tadao Ando

Volumes

Approach

The Church on the Water is made of two stacked cubic volumes. The larger one, made completely of concrete, cements the building to the ground. The smaller one, which sits atop the larger, is made primarily of glass. This brings the visitor’s focus upwards to heaven.

The approach to and through the building is both circular and oblique. The path of travel winds up and through the building- from the entrance in the back, up the stairs, around the monolithic concrete crosses, down the spiral stair, and into the chapel space. The procession builds up the anticipation, ultimately releasing at the view over the lake.

Lake The lake was created by diverting water from a nearby stream. It was designed with four shallow terraced levels. From the interior of the chapel, the lake looks like one smooth surface. From the side, though, the terraces are evident. The wind was taken into account when constructing the lake- a slight breeze will send subtle ripples across the water.

Religion Volumes

First and foremost, the building is a place of worship. Ando designed it to create a sense of tranquility and spirituality. While most religious spaces are adorned in stained glass and symbols, Ando has put God’s creation on display in the Church on the Water. The view from the front of the chapel and the glass cube at the top of the building draw the visitor’s attention away from the building and towards the objects of God’s creation.

Procession Path

The lake was meant to accent the natural surroundings around the chapel. It creates a beautiful, idyllic scene where the wonder of God’s creation can be viewed. Front View

Front interior view

Kitty Schaffernoth

Church on the Water

Tadao Ando

Grid System

Operation

The Church on the Water has a distinct grid system in its design, governing the proportions and layout of the space. It allows for the maximum use of space, without cluttering the building. The floor tiles in the lower volume emphasize the grid, as do the lines of the furniture.

In order to keep focus on the building itself and the view over the lake that it creates, the operational systems were all hidden in the building. The bathroom and mechanical systems are all housed in the intersection of the two volumes, masked behind the spiral staircase. A church should bring you away from the earthly world and clsoer to God. If left visible, these systems would have distracted from the event of the building and reminded the visitor of the reality of humanity.

Grid Layout

Enclosure

Everything in the building, including the structure itself, was designed with the human scale in mind. Traditional churches and cathedrals were typically designed to be grand and largeGothic cathedrals, for example. Ando has designed a chapel that showcases Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation, not the decorations and adornments that man thinks God deserves in a place of worship. The chapel was designed by a man for a man to use in his quest for God. Designing the chapel at a human scale allows for a more intimate connection with God, and bringing the focus to whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s importnat- His word and creation. Interior of chapel

drawing label

View through concrete crosses

Axonometric Drawing of Chapel

There are three enclosed areas in the site. An L-shaped wall closes off the chapel from the rest of the resort. This creates the illusion that the chapel is located in a quiet, idyllic setting, away from the business of humanity. The lower volume is enclosed on three sides by the concrete walls, but is completely open on the fourth wall. The wall facing the lake is a glass curtain wall. In times of nice weather, the wall can be completely opened, elimination the border between man and Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation. The upper void is enclosed on four sides with glass walls, but the rood is left open. This also eliminates the border between earth and heaven, allowing visitors to transcend the bonds of earth and lift their prayers heavenward.

Kitty Schaffernoth

8 house

Bjarke Ingels Group

Space + Enclosure

Layered Space

Space and enclosure is addressed at different scales throughout the 10 levels of 8 house. The absent, descending corner making great reference to the play between enclosure and expansiveness. Apartments, penthouses, and office leases experience similar emphasis of space in the use of outdoor balconies and breaks in the horizontal plane.

The stacking of spaces atop one another differentiates between the 10 levels of the architecture. Offset window frames further differentiate space- allowing a pedestrian to differentiate between the office spaces and living spaces. In addition, extrusions along the building facade create an enclosure beneath and an expansiveness above. These extrusions allow for an inhabitable space below the facade- creating occupiable space both within the building and without. Layered space becomes the definer of program as well as physical occupancy. As one level sits above another, balcony space becomes more enclosed by the floor of the balcony above and so on.

privacy of upper level penthouse

Program

Interior vs. Exterior aerial view of 8 houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open corner

extrusions on building facade

communal nature of lower cafe space

privacy

Acting as a large, enclosed community, 8 house encompasses a multitude of programs within its geometry. The bottom floor is occupied by small businesses, shops and markets. Upper floors encompass daily life of inhabitants- apartment houses, town homes and penthouses are layered one on top of the other. Privacy of the building increases with higher altitudes as program becomes more and more focused towards the top level. The courtyard spaces encourages great community activity, and other such experiences. Upper floors are specifically living areas, with less communal activity and more personal relations.

separation of space my level and privacy

activity in exterior courtyard

transition of space from interior to exterior space in town home

On the largest scale, BIG uses the absent corner of 8 house to contrast between interior and exterior space. This continues to the human scale as specific spaces transition from full enclosure to partial enclosure. Program transitions in a similar fashion as less restriction is implied in the outdoor courtyard, to the more restricted behavior suitable for an interior hallway

Danish Maritime Museum

Bjarke Ingels Group

Movement

Space

Paths throughout the building are defined by the site and program. These paths influence the experience of inhabiting the void and gallery spaces. One continuous path containes the gallery, which wraps around the entire building. Two other paths provide means of transport across the building to another gallery without having to travel completely around the site.

The diagonal connecting path in the middle of the void spans from one level to another, creating an interesting spatial secional experience. These spaces combined with the side galleries, also at different heights, provides an infinite combination of spaces. drawing label

Experience drawing label

The two paths spanning across the building also allow one to inhabit the void of the dry boat dock. The continuous gallery space also encompasses a transition from one level to another. This path is a ramp at a 1/50 slope that allows the visitor to walk completely around the building, beginning on one story and ending on a second without ever knowing they were walking up.

drawing label

Enclosure The old dry boat dock is underground, but opens up to the sky. In contrast, the gallery spaces are underground, completely enclosed. This allows for a progression from aboveground, to underground but still outside, to completely enclosed underground, and vise versa when exiting. plan

renderings`

section

Danish Maritime Museum

Bjarke Ingels Group

Form

Site

An abandoned dry boat dock is being transformed into a museum for the history of the shipping industry. BIG won the competition by giving the only proposal that didn’t fill the dock with program, but instead wrapped the gallery around the space, keeping the dock whole and preserving the history of the site itself.

The form of the Maritime Museum is further influenced by regulating lines in the site. They include large scale lines that run the entire city, and small scale regulating lines that are more specific to the site. These lines create a means of circulation around and through the building that further imbed the building into the surrounding landscape.

Context perspective

site map

section

An important landmark nearby is the Kronborg castle, and a concern of the client was that the view of the castle not be blocked by the new construction of the museum. This concern sparked BIG’s idea to submerge the entire building. As a link inbetween a historically famous building and a growing cultural center in Denmark, the museum can be read as a piece of the surrounding city and as it’s own individual entity.

Danish Maritime Museum

Bjarke Ingels Group

Programme

Structure

The program of the museum is designed to heighten flexibility in the exhibitions. The forms of the individual spaces can either set up to be one continuous exhibition, two long spaces with connecting bridges, or twelve independent exhibitions. This design thought goes above the typical thinking of how to lay out a gallery space.

The decision to keep the existing dry dock provoked the problem of preventing it from caving in. The most likely solution was also the most expensive, and because of this BIG decided to use the program as the supporting structure of the dock. The continuous gallery around the building and the bridges in the middle serve as structural support for the void of the dock.

programme

section

rendering

construction

Event This layout of the program provides for unique interaction among independent exhibitions. Someone viewing one exhibition on an upper level may look down and see another exhibition below, sparking interest to go there.

DANISH MARITIME MUSEUM

BJARKE INGLES GROUP

LIGHT+MATERIAL

DETAIL+MATERIAL+LIGHT

The design problem of bringing light to a buried structure is very challenging in itself. By using curtain walls of glass and large openings, the problem already begins to fade. To assist the dispersement of sunlight, hard maple - judging by the rendering - is used to reflect natural light due to its lightcolor. The same can be said for the white-washed concrete used in some of the gallery spaces.

Teaming with light-colored materials, there are moments (such as the one circled) where two corners do not meet with the intention to bring in more light. By creating an opening, natural light filters through and gives the woodpanel wall a “glow” to emphasize the sunlight entering the space. SECTION

LARGE OPENINGS FOR LIGHT

WALL-CEILING DETAIL

DANISH MARITIME MUSEUM

BJARKE INGLES GROUP

SITE+VIEW

SITE+MOVEMENT

The site of the planned Maritime Museum is in the vicinity of the historical Kronborg Castle. With that fact, BIG had to create a new landmark without taking attention away from an old one. By keeping the museum submerged in the ground and drydock, both structures are able to exist together without detracting from the other.

Movement is largely based on the form of the drydock, but the site adds a lot to the decisive placement of the ramps. The central ramp (1) gives access to the Kronborg Castle instead of having to walk all the way around the museum “ditch.” The second ramp (2) allows for waterfront access while also blocking the harbor water from entering the dock.

SITE (BIRD’S EYE)

SITE CONTEXT

kronborg museum

SITE SECTION

SITE PLAN

DANISH MARITIME MUSEUM

BJARKE INGLES GROUP

MOVEMENT+FORM

ENCLOSURE+EXPERIENCE

The general form of the museum was based off of the drydock, so its understandable how movement can also be associated. BIG wanted to ensure that movement could happen 1) through the museum to access Kronborg Castle 2) near the waterfront and to block water from entering the dock and 3) throughout the museum itself. The interior ramp acts in a ricochet motion to gradually move persons a level down. Inside the galleries, another gradual decline is happening to move the observers to the ground level. This movement happens in ellipse form around the shape of the dock.

A majority of the galleries are formed by the walkways over head to create slanting ceilings at a variation of heights. The top rendering shows a more spacious gallery that is placed outside the edge of the dry dock. The high ceilings give an open-air feeling one wishes to experience while perusing a museum. The bottom rendering shows the more intimate auditorium-style space with low sloped ceilings. The slope is caused by the walkways above, but create ceilings ideal for listening to a presentation.

MOVEMENT DIAGRAM #1

GALLERY HEIGHT

MOVEMENT DIAGRAM #2

PLAN

CEILING SLOPE

River and Rowing Museum

D. Chiiperfield

Space

Form

David Chiperfield uses several elements to distinguish and separate the spaces in the River and Rowing Museum. He uses a hard planned field of Columns, glass planes, and floating slabs to distinguish spaces. The columns help to deviate the spaces with out creating a physical wall. The glass planes also deviate the spaces, but these spaces are inaccessible. The concrete slabs help deviate space as well by creating the physical barrier.

The River and Rowing Museum can be broken down into simple forms. The basic for the museum spaces can from a rowing shell storage shack. The doors that are inaccessible from the ground are the rowing shell doors which were used to place the shells inside for display. The facade of the storage shack was simply taken and extruded. The concept is simple but references the proper storage of equipment.

Material

Interior Perspective

Form drawing

The main materials used in the River and Rowing museum are wood siding, sheet metal (aluminum) and glass. The wood and sheet metal both reference materials that boats and rowing shells have been made of. These three materials compliment each other and offer a wide range of textures. Wood Facade

Wood, Metal, and glass.

Exterior Photograph

River and Rowing Museum

D. Chiiperfield

Weathering

Program

The left top photograph was a photo taken shortly after conrtuction. The wood facade and wooden decken is not the color or texture Chipperfield wanted. But he knew that with time and exposion to the elemnts the wood would change to the color he wanted.

The River and Rowing Museum consists of three main gallery spaces. One gallery is for the history of the River Thames. The second one is for the history of rowing and sport rowing. The last is for history of the local town Henley-onThames. The gallery spaces consits of long rooms based off of a rowing shell stroage shack.

The top right photo was taken a couple years ago. With time the wood hasaged from a gold light brown to a darker more course gray. The bottom two pictures are more example of the woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true color after weathering.

Shortly after constuction

Several years after construction.

Weathering

Rowing shell gallery

River and Rowing Museum

D. Chiiperfield

Site and Context

The building is positioned obliquely to the River Thames. Chipperfield intentionally did this to increase the viewing area of the gallery and to pull it away from the waterfront. The oblique angle allows the building to appear more profound when approaching it form the water. If it were parallel with the River or 90 degrees to it, the building would loose some of the views and appear as just another building near the river.

The top left photograph is a view form the River Thames towards the museum. The top right photo is a view from the museum towards the River Thames.

View from the river

View from the museum

The middle photograph is take from field that sits behind the museum.

View form the field

The bottom left photo is taken car park ,which is fronted by the cafe. The bottom right photo is also taken from the car park.

Site plan drawing

Cafe

View form the car park

High Line Park

Diller ScoďŹ dio + Renfro

Movement

Entrances

The park was intended to provide a slow, peaceful oasis from the fast paced city life. The horizontality of the space creates a sense of duration and contrasts the vertical cityscape. This creates a different feeling and event for the person walking through the park.

Every stairway to get onto the space prepare you for the slower pace that exists above. The architects do this by creating a longer ascension than expected.

Entrance, Horizontality, and Laisure - All photos by Stephanie Mahoney

Long narrow entrance emphasizes the slow pace

Event

Seating

Designed to allow people an escape from everyday city life and view New York from a new perspective. There are multiple types of spaces allowing the person to create their own event while moving through the space.

There are multiple niches cut out of the main path with seating. These allow the slow experience to become even slower, making the visitor more aware of their surroundings.

Full view of movement along the parks horizonal axis

A niche with benches, allowing a pause.

High Line Park

Diller ScoďŹ dio + Renfro

Material

Foliage

The existing structure of the tracks was steel and concrete. The architects didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to take away from that, so they used concrete slabs for the ground. Another important material are all of the plants. This foliage creates the space, therefore it can be thought of as a material. The space is constantly changing and the materials emphasize that.

There are hundreds of different speces of plants that span the length of the park. They are placed in different sections depending on their season and how they will affect the space. At some points trees can become walls and grass can become the ground you walk on. The plan life here affects how you experience the space.

New concrete slabs

Old railway with new materials

Trees enclose the space just like buildings do.

Experience

Environment

Since the space contuously changes, there are many different things to experience. At one point of complete openness a person can get an understanding of the whole city. On the contrary at times of enclosure you can focus on the simple elements and materials in the park.

The park creates a new atmosphere contrasting the one from the city below it. The plants create a more serene and calm feel. Within the 1.5 miles there are multiple changes of environment depending on many factors some of which being the foliage and adjacent buildings. Enclosure and open space

Relaxing High Line contradicting the busy city below

High Line Park

Diller ScoďŹ dio + Renfro

Site

Cityscape

The park was installed on an existing traintrack. It has a lot of history behind it, giving it importance and meaning. Being in the midst of New York city, the park is a site within a site. It seperates you from the city, yet you are not enclosed from the atmosphere.

New York City has a very dynamic skyline, but when you are in the city it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as apparent but once you enter the High Line, there is a great appreciation of the buildings surrounding it. These buildings create a view and even enclosures along the path of the park.

Cityscape of modern buildings

Enclosure For being an outdoor space, the park has a lot of pportunities fo enclosure. Some of these places are intentional and some are accidental. The park goes through the Chelsea Market, closing off the park from natural elements, then at other points the park is completely open yet feels enclosed because of the close proximity of the buildings surrounding it.

City creating enclosure

Overpass There are two major overpasses along the High Line. One is through the Chelsea Market and it changed the space completely. The other overpass is not as massive and is equipped with blue LED lights to emphasize the walk through it. Plan with enclosures and overpasses

Chelsea Market Overpass

Neon Lights Overpass

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Structure

Composition

House VI is constructed with a simple timber frame set on a poured concrete frame, with footings several feet deep into the Connecticut earth. The double columns in the middle of the house take the maximum force in the vertical direction. The post and beam construction allows for an open floor plan. However, Eisenman adds formal columns to strengthen his concept and helps give rhythm to the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s composition.

Formal columns are pulled out from walls and are used to show design process and give tempo to the building. These columns also create implied cubic interior volumes, helping to break up the floor space. These formal columns meet the structural columns in complex clusters, causing the inhabitants to not be sure which columns are structural and which are simply formal. Both structural and formal columns are placed along the manipulated grid lines.

Super Imposed Floors

Load Bearing vs Formal Columns Load Bearing Columns

Manipulated Grid Systems

4 Main Intersecting Planes, Grid, Columns Superimposed

Formal Columns

1.5

1-A .628

.45

.628

Walls are broken up to create floor to ceiling windows. The masses that are subtracted are the projected across the building to create a formal column. The opposites of masses and Proportions of House VI based on Volumes of voidsColumns are used throughout House VI. It creates a relationship Projected Across Floor Plan between the interior and exterior. Manipulated Grid and Formal Columns 1-B

.75

Formal Columns Added to Boost Concept

Walls are broken up to create floor to ceiling windows. The masses that are subtracted are the projected across the building to create a formal column. The opposites of masses and voids are used throughout House VI. It creates a relationship between the interior and exterior.

Central Double Columns With Formal Columns Intersecting

Projected Interior Columns Progression

Columns Walls are broken up to create floor to ceiling windows. The masses that are subtracted are the projected across the building to create a formal column. The opposites of masses and voids are used throughout House VI. It creates a relationship between the interior and exterior.

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Eisenman almost completely ignored program when designing house vi. Although it was a house for living he conceptually had many things that would go against the idea of comfortable living. Major examples of this at the glass sill in the master bedroom that does not allow for one large bed, a staircase with no handrails, and a column in the middle of the dining room table which onstructs dinner conversation. The programme of the building comes from the concept.

The House as an Object

House Inconveniences

Eisenman saw the house as an autonomous structure in a landscape. Because of this he completely ignored material choices, operation, and the idea of form following function. The house is simply a detailed record of the design process.

Eisenman ignored program so completely in House VI that at times he purposely made inconveniences in his architecture. At first he did not even want to his the Franks a bathroom. There are column abutting the table, no hand rail on the stairs, and a bedroom designed so the couple couldn’t sleep in the same bed.

House colors: House VI - Materials and Systems Hidden

Eisenman almostVI completely ignored program when designing house vi. Although it House Inconveniences was a house for living he conceptually had many things that would go against the idea of comfortable living. Major examples of this at the glass sill in the master bedroom that does not allow for one large bed, a staircase with no handrails, and a column in the middle of the dining room table which onstructs dinner conversation. The programme of the building comes from the concept.

House colors: House colors:

Material House VI is meant to look like an autonomous structure. Eisenman completely covers the timber frame, taking away any materiality the building had. He kept the colors of the house a grey scale and simply filled voids in the exterior wall with windows. The only color in the house is in the stairs and its inverted counterpart, to be used as and anchor point and provide the house with symmetry.

The Materiality (or lack of) in House VI

Stair colors:

Eisenman believed the house was an Eisenman believed believed thehouse house was an autonomous Eisenman structure. Because ofthe this he was an autonomous structure. Because of this autonomous structure. Because of this he he didnt pay particular attention to materials. didnt pay particular attention materials. The three main colors House VI are didnt payinparticular attention to to materials. white, black.The However, makes maincolors colors House VI are Thethree threeEisenman main ininHouse VI are the stairs stand out by painting them Eisenman white, black. However, makes white, black. However, Eisenman makes bright green.the He stairs then them with the stairsopposed stand by them standout out bypainting painting them a set of upsidedown stairs around the bright green. green. He them with bright Hethen thenopposed opposed them with corner. Theseastairs painted with setof ofwere upsidedown stairs around thethe a set upsidedown stairs around green’s complementary color, red, and are corner. These stairs were painted with corner. These stairs placed perpendicular to green stairwere to addpainted with green’s complementary color, red, and are symmetry togreen’s the building. complementary color, red, and are

House VI continues with the ideas of autonomy with how it hides systems in the house. The same way no traces of the original materials can be seen in the finished project, even something as common as an electrical outlet is parse and difficult to find.

The house is meant to show no signs that it is a house.

placed perpendicular to green stair to add

placed perpendicular to green stair to add symmetry to the building. symmetry to the building.

Stair colors:

Heating/ Cooling Water Sewage

House VI vs Google Sketchup Model vs Foam Core Physical Model

Systems

Hidden Systems of House VI

Electricity

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Enclosure, Light, and Views

Glass Walls Changing Space

House VI consists for 40% glass walls. This not only allows for an abundance of light to enter the space but it also frames views of the surrounding landscape and blurs the line between interior and exterior.

Eisenman utilized glass walls throughout House VI. Glass walls open up the interior space and allow people to use all of the space in the building. When there are 3 solid walls forming a U-shape a person is unlikely to move deep into the enclosure. With a solid L-shaped wall a person will round the corner, leaving a lot of unused space. However, Eisenman replaces solid walls which large class walls. In the case of the solid U-shaped wall, if the middle wall becomes glass it feels far more like an open space, inviting people to come into the space and look out at the scenery. The window also makes the room less dark, inviting more people. In the case of the L-shaped wall, having one glass wall allows for the solid wall to act as a path with the glass wall becoming a terminating point where people can stop, relax, and enjoy the views that Eisenman creates.

Large Glass Walls Frame Views of Cornwall and Allow for an Abundance of Natural Light

Glass Walls and Floor to Ceiling Windows Frame views, Let Light in, and Blend Interior and Exterior

With Large Glass Walls, the Line Between Interior and Exterior is Blurred

Interaction With 2 Solid Walls

Interaction With 3 Solid Walls

Interaction With 1 Solid Wall, 1 Glass Wall

Interaction With 2 Solid Walls and 1 Glass Wall

Exterior Versus Interior House VI stands as an object in the landscape of Cornwall. However, with the open floor plan, few interior walls, and large glass walls, then enclosure between the inside and outside is not strictly defined. Inhabitants can see out to almost every part of the landscaper, and adversely visitors can get a view of most of the rooms from the outside of the building. Privacy is very sparse besides the fact that the house is set back from the road and the surrounding trees.

Maximum Privacy Minimum Privacy

House VI Uses Trees to Provide Privacy While the House Itself is Very Open

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Order

Form

The ordering system of House VI is the point or generation for nearly all of the aspects of the house. One of Peter Eisenman’s opinions on architecture is that it is most pure in its conceptual, unconstructed form. House VI portrays this idea through the powerful presence of the ordering system in the actual building.

When this pure order manifests in the physical house, Eisenman uses all aspects of the house to indicate his order. A module forms in the house, indicated by the columns, beams, and floor and cieling planes.

Subtractive 1

Subtractive 2

The System As shown by the images on the right, the ordering system of House VI begins with the transformation, rotation, stretching, and mirroring of a grid. This “grid” actually contains many overlaped grids which, over a series of steps, is cut away to create the shape of the building. From another perspective, the building can be thought of as additivee, rather than subtractive, starting from the basic axes of the building and then extruding, stretching, reshaping, and copying different lines and planes the establish the building’s shape.

Axes

Subtractive 3

Subtractive 4

Additive 1

Additive 2

As determined by the ordering of grid, two sets of axes define the main transition space of the house. They are visible from the exterior and strongly define the interior space.

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Order

Events

The order of the house is the primary generator of the of the house’s organization, including the program. The two images to the right show the order and how it establishes the transition space on the first floor of the house.

A few particular events in the house work with the order, and create an interesting feeling withing the house. The first is the window which divides the bedroom and forces the use of two individual beds, rather than one large one. The second event occurs in the dining room. A large column divides the dines on one side of the table, completely separating them, like the bed. The last event occurs in the transition space. Above the table, and pointing to the entry way is a second flight of stairs on the ceiling.

Program House VI’s program is a product of the ordering syster, breaking the idea of “form follows function.” Eisenman, however does not ignore program entirely, as shows by the transitional axis above.

House VI

Peter Eisenman

Order

Detail

As the primary focus of House VI was on the order, it is easy to see the house as more of a work of art than a house. One major example is the use of light.

The details of the house, or more accurately, the absence of detail further enhance the sense of depth created in the house. Along the floors and ceilings are patterns which emphasize the ordering system and make it obvious to the inhabitants of the house, though they do not necessarily explain that order.

Light

Windows

The light within House VI works to create an ambience within the space, reflecting off of the white walls and floor and cieling make the spaces seem endless when combined the repetition of the module on the interior of the space.

Some of the windows in the house contain a grid pattern and clouded glass. This clouded glass further improves the ambient quality of the house.

New Monte Rosa Hut

ETH Zurich

Scale This project emphasizes a comparison between the scale of the mountains and the scale of the hiker, namely using the obvious fact that the mountains operate on a larger scale than the people climbing them, thus the design of a building that more closely relates to the human scale for those seeking rest in its confines, compared to the unsettled mountains that provide its context. Movement The hut was designed to accommodate a shift between two different scales of movement, the marco-level and the mirco, from approaching the building to the termination of movement while sleeping on the top two floors. The most energy is invested in arriving at the building while hiking the Monte Rosa, and the first shift in scale starts at the outdoor platform, which prepares the body for the rest and relaxation which the hut was designed to provide. Point, Line, Plane While looking at both the human scale and the scale of the Monte Rosa, it becomes easy to see the articulation of the point, line, and plane, namely through the arrival at the hut (left), the movement between the different floors (center) and the movement along each floor.

Point

Linear Movement of Staircase and Window

Planar Movement on 2nd Floor

New Monte Rosa Hut

Climate In order to make a push for sustainability, the designers of the New Monte Rosa Hut relied upon the climatic conditions of the site, namely the snowy winter climate, in order to meet the needs of the program. They chose to create a system of collection bins to collect the abundance of melting snow to be used for the hutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste management, cooking, and washing needs. This makes the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functional operations unique to the specific site and context. Performance The hut takes water from the surrounding melting snow and passes it through a heating system (far right) that uses solar energy in order to be used for the sinks and showers. Waste is kept to a minimum because of a filtration system that attempts to reuse grey and black water. Seasonal Division of Labor While the hut uses the snow from the winter times (far left) to fulfill its water needs, there are times when snow is lacking in other times of the year. Therefore the water is stored in caverns in order to be used for the summer times.

ETH Zurich

Meltwater Collection

Heat Storage

Waste Treatment

Section w/ Collection, Heating, and Cooling of Water

New Monte Rosa Hut

ETH Zurich drawing label

Site It is safe to say that the site in which the hut is located is what influenced all design decisions, ie the uninhabited mountain landscape created strengths in certain factors (namely the openspace, abundance of natural water, and the breathtaking view) and weaknesses in others (namely assembly). The mountainous terrain which members of the Swiss Alpine Club love to explore is the single factor whichmakes the program unique. Program The hut is designed to provide a temporary place of rest and relaxation to around 125 hikers traveling up the Monte Rosa in Zermatt, Switzerland. The entrance floor is used as a restaurant and thus requires open space while the next three floors promote privacy because theya re used as sleeping rooms. It is this dichotomy that fuels the design decisions behind lighting and the organization of space. Its second goal next to providing rest is to make advances in sustainable architecture in order to mitigate any negative effects that huma n contact may have on the beautiful mountain context. The Paradox of Conformity and Contrast The hut was designed to create varying levels of contrast with the site. For instance, the aluminum shell enables the reflection of the surrounding context onto the site, yet also creates a force field-like sensation to symbolize protection from the cold and snow.

During Winter Season

5th Floor w/ Beds

drawing label

During Summer Season

2nd Floor w/ Tables

Light + View

careful placement of openings allows for light to promote and suggest movement through spaces

autonomous and centrifugal openings encourage movement through interior programs

effect of light and shadow in interior spaces

Movement + Experience

movement through the space exposes different light conditions and reveals views to the exterior

Program + Event

Order + Composition

the ordering systems of the structure inform the progams, both primary and secondary

the program of the building influences the composition

Verticality-primary program (galleries) Longitudinal-secondary program (parking) artwork from gallery

ordering system of regulating circles to define corners

use of root two rectangles to place walls

Site + Context

Material + Weathering

the white, uniformity of the material allows for the building to stand out from its surroundings

materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appearance is influenced by the surrounding climate and atmospheric conditions

Site of museum

White Concrete

Porto Alegre Orientation of building

Site and Context

emphasizing the public realm and surrounding the government space

preference for pedestrian approach

Program and Event transparency of the government

London’s Living Room

The Scoop Potter’s Field Park

Spiral Ramp

Queen’s Walk

Exhibition Space

external circulation starts the public internal circulation

public spaces surround government space

Structure and Form

duality of structure: support and performance

Operation and Performance performance systems solidfy the structure

curvature of structure designed to maximize performance

enclosure

water

horizontal divisions

light

transformation volume/void

acoustics

Movement and Experience spiral as promenade

wrapping of stairs around chamber atrium

continuous circular path creates enclosure delineates central space

Space and Enclosure chamber atrium as the central space

diminishing radius + shifting of center as you ascend

London Â City Â Hall

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Site Â + Â Context

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Air Â pollution Â hit Â itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Â highest Â in Â 2008 Â and Â water Â polluiton Â was Â known Â interernationally Â during Â the Â Great Â Stink Â period, Â when Â fecal Â matter Â was Â dumped Â in Â the Â water. Â Heat Â emissions Â drastically Â increase Â in Â city Â centers. Â Â As Â city Â hall, Â Foster Â + Â Partners Â decided Â to Â reduce Â their Â mark Â and Â symbolize Â the Â governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Â position Â on Â toxic Â emissions. Acoustic Â System

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London Â City Â Hall

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Proportion Â is Â mostly Â seen Â in Â the Â interior Â where Â human Â interaction Â with Â architecture Â is Â mainly Â witnessed. Â Â The Â staircase Â and Â seating Â area Â for Â business Â showcaes Â the Â core Â of Â interaction. Â Â Ample Â seating Â is Â provided Â with Â a Â direct Â concern Â with Â conversation Â from Â a Â short Â distance Â across Â a Â circular Â table. Â Â Once Â business Â is Â done, Â viewers Â are Â then Â GLUHFWHG WR ÂłĂ&#x20AC;RZÂ´ XS WKH VWDLUZD\ ZLWK circulation Â for Â two Â people Â side-Âby-Âside. Â Â Each Â step Â is Â stretched Â to Â provide Â more Â walking Â up Â the Â stairs, Â than Â ascending.

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Promenade

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The Â second Â is Â near Â the Â modulated Â steps. Â Â The Â narrative Â continues Â until Â the Â viewer Â climbs Â to Â the Â top Â of Â the Â railed Â steps Â and Â witness Â a Â complete Â subtraction Â into Â the Â gorund Â plane. Â Â A Â direct Â correlation Â with Â the Â structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Â form Â is Â seen. Â Â The Â subtraction Â curves Â and Â swirls Â almost Â to Â itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Â own Â entirety. Â Â It Â welcomes Â the Â viewer Â as Â it Â professes Â a Â new Â opening Â to Â the Â structure. 7KH ÂżQDO SLHFH RI P\ RZQ YLHZ RI FLW\ 9LHZHU LQ VSLUDO VWDLUFDVH hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Â narrative, Â is Â the Â spiral Â staircase. Â Â Once Â in Â the Â structure, Â the Â viewer Â looks Â XS DQG ZLWQHVVHV EHDXW\ LQ Ă&#x20AC;XLG continuous, Â musical Â form Â bathed Â in Â light Â and Â silenced Â by Â material. Â Â The Â narrative Â continues Â up Â the Â stairs, Â spiraling Â and Â showing Â a Â different Â view Â on Â every Â tangent. Â Â Once Â at Â the Â top, Â the Â apex Â of Â the Â narrative Â is Â seen, Â and Â the Â viewer Â continues Â to Â descend Â down Â repeating Â the Â story. 1DUUDWLYHV

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HSBC Headquarters Building

Norman Foster

Structure

Form

The structure of the HSBC Headquarters is derived from the prefabrication of the parts, which in turn stemmed from the rigorous time requirements set by the client.

The form of the building is derived directly from the structure of the building.

The structure is hierarchical. At the largest scale, the building structure is composed of eight mast structures, each of which is an assembly of four columns. The entire weight of the building rests on these masts. At the next scale down, they are laterally braced by 5 suspension trusses on the East/ West axis and cross bracing on the North/West axis. At the next scale the floors hang off the suspension trusses, meaning that they place no weight on the floors below, only tension on the floors above and the suspension truss, which in turn places force on the masts, finally transferring this force into the ground. The smallest scale is the structural detailing, such as the glass curtain and the sunshades.

The three cores, as seen from outside.

The three cores defined by the eight masts.

Additionally, the strong vertical and horizontal elements in the building structure emphasize the form. In the lobby, the strong horizontal structural elements work to draw the eye from one side of the lobby to the other, and the strong vertical masts draw the eye upwards. Outside the horizontal repetition is broken by the support trusses.

Drawing label

The Horizontal and Vertical lines in the atrium drawing the eye around the space .

The eight masts split the building into three cores, which become extremely evident at the top of the building, where the cores end at different heights. The five suspension trusses break the building up along the vertical axis, creating distinct differences in levels. These suspension trusses take the form of double height spaces , which have important consequences for movement, program, and light.

The iterations of structure, and how they affected the form.

HSBC Headquarters Building

Norman Foster

Light and View

Structure + Form

The strongest expression of the HSBC Headquarters is light. Light penetrates every space in the building. This is allows for the building to save energy by not having to use artificial lighting to light the building.

The light impacted the form of the building through the expression of the atrium in the center of the building, and the open space on the 11th floor for the sunscoop light to pass through. The structure allows for the curtain wall to be as minimalistic as possible. Because many of the levels hang from the suspension trusses, the exterior walls are not load bearing, which means that the curtain wall only has to support its own weight. This means that it lets in as much light as is possible.

The sunscoop directs light from the exterior of the building into the thirteen floor atrium in the center of the building using a system of massive mirrors. The mirrors, originally intended to move to keep the light constant, do not move, which allows the light to sweep across the space, simulating daylight. The glass curtain wall also brings in light from the outside into the building, much in the same way that the sunscoop brings light in. This helps illuminate the working spaces, creating a positive work environment.

The light being directed by the sunscoop.

The view from level 11 into the atrium.

The light condition in the central atrium.

The exterior sunscoop, which uses a double height condition to pass light to the atrium

The front of the exterior sunscoop.

The back of the exterior sunscoop.

The strong and centralized structural system allows for very little interruption of views, be it looking outwards towards the harbour or inwards to the center of the building.

HSBC Headquarters Building

Norman Foster

Movement

Structure +Form

Movement through the building along the vertical axis is initially through elevators, which take the traveller to the double height spaces on floors 11, 20, 28, 35, and 41. From there the traveller takes escalators up or down to the intended floor. This creates a strong experience through the travel. The traveller has the gradual reveal of passing through the spaces one at a time.

The structure impacted the movement patterns in the building through its impact on the form.

Movement through the ground floor lobby.

Once at the intended floor, a traveller will be confronted by different movement patterns depending on the floor. The ground floor is and interpenetrated space, so movement is through the space, either to the outside, or to the atrium above. The majority of floors have a square movement pattern, which is movement around a space. Finally the smaller upper floors have a linear movement pattern, based on the more narrow proportions.

Because of the tall skinny tower form the building takes, as well as the wall-less exterior allowed by the structure, including enough elevators and their lobbies would be incredibly spatially inefficient, which forced Norman Foster to implement his elevator scheme. The double height spaces created by the suspension trusses create the elevator lobbies and serve as movement interfaces. The structure and form also impact the horizontal movement . The masts break the building into three cores, which make the horizontal movement into motion around a path.

An example of the escalators used to travel through the building.

The vertical movement through the building

Linear movement through the upper levels.

Faith House

Tony Fretton

Regulating Lines Circulation

Circulation

Rectalinear Regulating Lines

Light from the West

North

The simple building design is created through the use of strict rectaliner lines. All of the regulating elements are set at 90 degree angles to create either square or rectangle shaped rooms. Therefore, eight rooms are created for purpose of a small contemplation space.

The building is oriented to the west where there is a wall made of full story windows. This allows for the setting sun to shine light into the contemplation and public spaces.

East

West

South

regulating lines

drawing label

orientation of building

light & heat in building

Transition Entrance

Utility

Living Space vs, Transition Areas The eight rooms are divided into transition spaces versus living spaces. The foyer and the entrance lead a person into either a private contemplation space or a public gathering room. These become the two distinct rooms in the small building, while the other four rooms are left for that of utility purposes. This idea of splitting the spaces into two distinct catergories can be carried over into the site context. The site is also broken up into a living space where one can find the buildings and pathways, and agricultural fields. Circulation

Contemplation

Private

Sink

Passive Heating System

Foyer

Transition

Public

Bathrooms

Utility

how the spaces are broken up

A simple design calls for a nonagressive system to cool and heat the building. With strong light shining through the space all through the late afternoon and evening the spaces passively become heated. This heat will remain in the space during the chill of the night. It also will only keep extra heat in the two primary spaces of the building.

Meeting Room Closet

label of room programs Living Space

Fields

building context

site context

interior view of windows

exterior view of windows

Faith House

Tony Fretton

Dimensions

Proportions

Small Spaces Each room consists of small proportions to keep with the idea of having a temple of contemplation in a solitude area. Within such a simple landscape the designer did not want to overwhelm the site with a large building. The smallest room is 27 square feet which is used as transition space. While the largest room is 650 square feet and is used to hold a place for gathering.

Wall of Light

27’ 111’

182’

After walking through the entrance found on the porch one will walk into the primary public room. This space allows a person to see through three bays to the landscape beyond that slowly move down towards the sea at Poole Harbour. These bays of windows also allow for a large amount of light to pour into the empty rooms.

198’

47’

room proportions

47’

650’

room dimensions

Implied Boundaries

Blur of Exterior and Interior

The designer created small spaces; however, he wanted the person to be able to experience a large open feeling in his building. He did this through creating transparent walls of glass. On the west wall it is completely open to the view of the surrounding landscape. Fretton also created implied boundaries in the interior and exterior of the building. On the exterior small spaces are created through the shifting of the rectalinear rooms. In the interior the circular columns break the idea of a strict rectalinear geometry.

Since the windows are from the floor to the ceiling it creates a sense as through a person is outside even when in the safety of the interior.

Transparent Walls Implied Boundaries

All three images above show the windows in the spaces.

Faith House

Tony Fretton

Temple of Contemplation

Empty Rooms

Tony Fretton used this site to create an elegant and refined design for the program of a quiet, contemplation space. Its simplicity has an overpowering effect of the quiet landscape in a small town in the United Kingdom. The building reflects a templeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abstract and timeless qualities through the use of material and composition of the small rooms.

Fretton did not want to destroy the simple design with cluttering of the rooms. Each space is left empty for an open program and freedom of movement. The person then creates the activity found in each of the primary rooms.

entrance

front elevation

back elevation

Transition

Utility

Private

Entrance

Contemplation Sink

Public vs. Private To create that sense of a simple temple of contemplation for one to get away or spend time with others, Fretton breaks up the spaces into public versus private spaces. The largest room is open for the public to gather, rehearse, or have a banquet. However, he programmed one of the rooms to be that of quiet meditation. The only other element found in this room are untreated wood columns.

Transition

Public Utility

Foyer

Free Movement

how the spaces are broken up Bathrooms

meeting room

meditation room

movement diagram

Meeting Room Closet

Since the architect left the rooms completely clear of clutter it allows for an open activity as well as a freedom of movement. A person can enter through various opens and wonder through the different rooms. However, the primary congregations can be found in either the meeting room or meditation space.

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Dimension and Form

Facade

The form of the building is dictated by the dimensioning of the program. This is easier to see if you break the dimensioning of the building into a bookshelves in the facade as a unit of measure. In that respect, the building is 30 bookshelves tall, which a bookshelves being roughly 1ft in height.

The facade compliments effectively with the concentric spiral layout of the floor plan. The shear scale and repetition of the bookshelves create an unique atmosphere within the space. The floor can be said to be laid out to be like a maze, and because of the consistency of the facade it would be easy to be lost within the space. This characteristic of the library was well thought out by Fujimoto. He imagined the library being a forest of books.

As a result, the building from a sectional perspective have a very rectangular geometry.

Atmosphere Diagram

Program of Spaces

Space Program and Event The program of the building can easily be depicted by the formal qualities of the building. If the program is not already given away by the buildings transparent facade, it can be easily assumed by the bookshelves facade that covers the whole building inside and out. The facade is masterfully integrated with the program, by depicting the events that happen with the space. The facade as can be seen by the interior photos, doubles as a functional bookshelf.

Outside windows

Interior Photo of Events.

Program of Spaces

The space within the Library is carefully placed. The main open spaces are used as an open stack library space, where the openness and height is used to the spaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advantage. The facade also comes into play, where the large amounts of bookshelves creates a sense of endless amounts of books, or the possibility for continuos development of the number of books in the library in the future. The two open stack library spaces are connected by a grand staircase which adds to the sense of openness. The less gestural space such as the office space are on the lower floors of the building.

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Composition and Order

Openings

The Library sectionally is ordered around the geometric shape of a bookshelves. In to the plan of the Library, it is ordered around the concentric shape of a spiral.

The rectangular sectional design with the spiral floor design works excellent together because of the large openings in the wall. The openings in the walls unites the whole interior space into one continuous path through the transparency it allows. This also blurs the space, adding to the confusion of the whereabouts in the space, and adding to the effect of a maze, forest like atmosphere the architect wanted.

This raises the question of how the architect thought about designing the building. Whether floor plan development and sectional development were separate identities when designing the Library, or whether they were thought of together to portray the same idea.

Grand staircase

Catwalks

Stairs and Catwalks Movement and Experience Looking at the movement throughout the building in regards to the form of the building, it is very surprising. The regular rectangular geometries of the building mislead the meandering and spiral movement composition of the building. Although this can be hinted at when looking through the giant glass openings in the walls. One can see that the library seems to be layered instead of a large, or divided individual spaces. Instead it seems like there is a constant flow and movement within the space, implied by the concentric spiral composition of the floor plan. From analyzing the movement thought the building it can be easily concluded that the architect integrated the sectional design with the floor plan design.

Floor Plan diagram

drawing label

Interior Photo Drawing label

Strollability Diagram

Spiral Movement Diagram

Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-eye View

Drawing label

The idea of a maze is further enhanced by the stairs and catwalks within the library. The stairs such as the grand staircase blurs the first and second floor. Other examples of this intention is the stairs on the exterior which lead directly to the second floor. As can be seen by the birds eye view photo, one can hard[y tell what space is the first floor and what space is the second floor. Catwalks are also vital for this characteristic in the building to exist. The catwalks allow circulation within the second floor however leaves the second floor open in most areas, creating a continuous vertical space in the two stories.

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Light and View

Windows

Light and View play an integral part within the design of the Library. Fujimoto uses light, enhanced by the materials he chooses and the detailing in the building to enhance the quality of space within the building. Light is abundant is this building, because of the amount of openings in the walls.

The plentiful large windows in the walls allow in large amounts of natural light. The windows also frame beautiful views of the library. For example, the window in the photo frames the grand staircase, which arguably is the centerpiece of this project. drawing label

drawing label

Material and Detail

Reflection

Materials are a very important aspect of this project. The architect choose certain materials specifically for what he wanted to accomplish in the space.

Reflection plays a big role in the facade and the atmosphere in the library. Extremely, the reflective qualities of the glass allow the building to blend in the surrounding site, and blurs the walls, allowing more attention to be drawn to the large clear openings which frame certain views.

Details are another crucial part of the project. Details are not only in a small scale, such as plugs are installed n the grand staircase, to promote the use of them as a seating terrace, all the way to larger scaled details such as the facade, where books can be placed in them, or they serve as a gesture of a forest of books. Details also enhance the light and view within the building. The details of the facade, where the openings are placed generate a unique condition and views with in the interior and exterior spaces. Without these details the space would be completely different.

Light/atmosphere in the Interior

Detailing in staircase

Exterior Window

Large Opening Photo

Reflective Ceiling

On the interior, reflective elements such as the ceiling enhance the atmosphere in the building. The reflection of the already repetitive bookshelves further emphasize the idea of a space which mimics a continuous forest of books.

Detailing of Lighting

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Site

Climate

The library is aligned with the major axes on campus rather than Tokyoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing urban scale/fabric. Cherry blossom trees and apertures in shelving create beautiful views and connect the library with the rest of the campus and with the old library. Because of the outdoor glass encased bookshelves, the library has a different materiality than the rest of the campus. The height of the Musashino, at least, is similar to the height of the surrounding buildings on campus. Also, the orientation of building and inside circulation mirrors the circulation of campus foot paths. There is moderately vibrant street life, typical of a small university.

The Tokyo Region, much like the rest of Japan, experiences a one-month seasonal lag compared toe the U.S., with the warmest month being in August, which averages 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit). The coolest month is in January which averages 6 degrees Celsius (42 degrees Fahrenheit).The longest exposed wall is southwest facing.

Japan

Context

Weathering

The new, 69,000 square-foot library fills what was one of the only open plots left on the campus. Though the site is surrounded by a variety of academic buildings and the main cafeteria, it had few constraints, since many of these older structures are slated for redevelopment in the near future. Little constraint offered by the topography as the site is located in the plains region between the Yatsugatake Mountains and Tokyo Bay.

Annual Mean temp

The region of Tokyo that the Musashino library is located in, Kodaira, generally sees around 60 in. of rainfall annually. This has an interesting affect on both the interior and exterior experience of the structure. Most notably, the structural float glass on the facade becomes reflective. In a way the bookshelves become filled with their surrounding environment. Broad pedestrian path lined with cherry trees

Yearly precipitation

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Program

Space

Elements that affect program are the preservation of art history and heritage. The combination of preservation and reading creating a unified spatial experience with reading areas, reference stations, staircases and bathrooms occupy the interstitial spaces of the spiral, whose linear progression is broken by a further radial axis offering opportunity for more accidental forms of wandering.

Detail of masonry, and exterior wall. There are 60,000 1 meter long sections of stone forming the cladding of the walls. Whilst these initially appear random, like an ashlar wall, there is a regular order. The cladding stones are of three different heights, but the total of the three is always 15cm, so it allows for variety in arrangement, whilst facilitating construction.

Event The spiral is clearly legible upstairs where the floor to ceiling shelves wind around the desks and middle of the room. Furniture and lighting designate functional zones. Low bookcases fill the inner layered rings of the space, and communal tables, individual desks, computer counters, and designer chairs define the sitting and studying areas. The lighting scheme also helps to orient readers as they navigate the space. Rows of task lights are on the balconies, and pendant fixtures hover above the reference desk.

Open view of library form

Spiral shelves and atrium voids define space

Enclosure The clarity of the concept spiral is impressive. The spiral is the defining shape for not only the form, but also the order, the spaces, and the program of the Musashino Library.

Grand stair

Depth of space

Rich program to space relationship

Musashino Library

Sou Fujimoto

Movement

Light

Fujimoto blurred the boundary between upper and lower levels with tiers of stepped shelves big enough for sitting, vast void spaces puncturing the second floor, and a web of narrow catwalks winding their way among the colossal shelves

Fujimoto explained the effect in reference to light as an experience similar to walking through a forest. He explains that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bright lights invite you to go here or there.â&#x20AC;?

Experience

View

However exploration is also significant to the library experience. It is opposing to the concept of investigation. One can encounter the space as constantly transforming and being renewed.

View becomes very important in the way that the space is experienced. Openings for windows and the apertures in the shelving become frames.

Fuimoto allowed the two apparently contradicting experiences to coexist in the spiral form. There are numerous layers through which to explore the infinite depth of books, as well as a radial path that moves from the center outward.

Fujimotos diagram of searchability vs strollability

Views from outside show depth of spaces

Complex forms created by walks and bookshelves create complex spaces to move between and views

Aqua Tower

Studio Gang

Space

View

The aqua tower has many view points from within it, all of important areas in the surrounding comminuty.

The swells in the building were purposefully placed, so that the views from their balconies are of specific sites, such as the Nacy Pier and Cloud Gate. The entire facade of the aqua tower reveals the amazing Chicago skyline and city life, while swells in the “wavy” facade provide certain, more specific, views for certain parts of the building.

A large frame of view is available because of the centrifugal nature of the building. The openings along vertical planes and the glass facade on the building drawing label

Views ourside are framed for occupants to enjoy

drawing label

Swells in the building’s facade direct attention towards specific sites in the city.

Sites The sites deemed important to the placement of the swells in the Aqua Tower are the BP Bridge, Cloud Gate, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Park at Lake Shore East, and Lake Michigan.

Large windows in the building frame important sites

The centrifugal space draws the view outwards

The focus is drawn outside of the building, to thesurrounding city.

Aqua Tower

Studio Gang

Program

Movement

The Aqua tower is home to three specific functions overall: condominium housing, apartment-style housing, and hotel rooms. Within each program type, there is further program distinction ranging from gift shops and restaurants to en-suite bathrooms to offices in the lobby.

Due to the three different program types, there are three main types of people who will be occupying the building at any given moment: permanent residents, hotel guests, and employees. Each type of inhabitants will occupy and move about the programs in a different manner.

The diagram of the first floor denotes the lobby area from office spaces from the restaurant area from the function area (which includes a ballroom and prefunction room).

First floor, based on program

Possible path of a hotel guest through the building

Permanent housing - Condominiums

Possible path of a resident through the building

Permanent housing - Apartments

Possible path of an employee through the building

The diagram of the permanent housing distinguishes between different types of condominiums available to residents. The diagram of apartments splits each apartment up according to living room/ common area, bedroom, bathroom, and laundry area.

Overlayed paths show moments of interaction between the permanent residents, hotel guests, and employees within the building.

Aqua Tower

Studio Gang

Sustainability

Material

A main factor in the design and construction of the Aqua Tower was Studio Gang’s desire to make it a LEED Certified Green Building.

The materials used to build the Aqua Tower were chosen because of their relationship to the natural environment in surrounding areas.

A continuous drainage layer allows water to flow under soil, gravel, and concrete walls to drains and pipes. The roof’s vegetation is not only aesthetic but also combats the heatisland effect during the hot summer months by lowering ambient temperatures around the building.

Layering effect of the “waves” mimick layering in the stone, while the voids in the waves mirror the shapes of bodies of water.

The Aqua Tower also includes the second largest rooftop garden in Chicago.

Voids in the “wave” facade were created based on bodies of water nearby.

Material of “waves” chosen to relate to the limestone naturally found in the area.

Concrete balconies create a shading mechanism for the balconies below, as well as the landscape around the Aqua Tower. This saves on other shading and cooling devises during the hot Chicago months. Even though the concrete captures the cold during the winter and raises heating costs, the payoff is still huge.

The overhead balconies provide a cost-effective cooling method for the Aqua Tower.

Most of the rooftop garden is comprised of sustainable elements

The material for the balconies was chosen to resemble the limestone that is natural to the region.

Gehry Residence

Frank Gehry

Dimension

Material

The dimensions for Gehry’s addition relied heavily on the existing dimensions of the house as well as programmatic needs that go along with everyday life. The addition wraps three sides of the original house with the front and back sides serving mainly as hallways for circulation. The larger, wider side of the addition houses the new kitchen as well as drawing label flexible living space.

Material shifts used alone, or in conjunction with formal shifts further this division of the addition into parts. The prevalent usage of materials traditionally associated with commercial complexes such as chain link, corrugated metal, and plywood challenges the meanings and assumptions which go along with them very much as Corbusier challenged the architectural views toward concrete. Gehry’s response to his neighbors who are unhappy with the modifications he has made to his house is that he simply materials similar to those found in their own boats, campers, etc. The industrial, reflective exterior materials Gehry chose to use also makes it look as though the old house is simply wrapped in new material. This is in respnce to the modernization and growth found in the surrounding area. The cold and rigid exterior also compliments the warm feeling of the interior brought about by the use of warm colored wood. The combination of level of completion as well as demarkation between old and new materials serves as a history of the house through its stages of construction, completion, and addition.

2x drawing label

drawing label

Form The formal language used in the addition is intended to capture the essence of the old house. The nice, ordered, plain geometry which was altered drastically during renovation due to the removal of existing elements such as walls is represented by the cubic forms which create some of the window surfaces. The old house is also celebrated by the chain link fence that highlights the original roof line. The formal shifts visible from the exterior succeed in breaking the addition into distinct “parts” which are meant to combine to make an even richer whole. drawing label

drawing label

Gehry Residence

Frank Gehry

Composition and Order

The parts and openings in the addition were planned in such a way that the addition frames the original house. The contrasting style of the addition adds interest to and draws attention towards the original house. The old original house was intended to take on the role of an item on display or of a character on stage. Openings frame the house and direct the views of visitors passing by on the street. The screen wall which extends along one side of the backyard provides privacy of an interior space as well as offering a framed glimpse of the activities going on on the other side. Existing window treatments are highlighted by remaining untouched while all surrounding them is stripped away. This is especially true of the old traditional bay window which is put on display in the new kitch space. The new kitchen window was placed in alignment with the existing bay window so the latter could still be read through the addition. The preservation of the old front door, now located immediately inside the entrance, also delineates between what is old and new.

Light and View

Alignment

Framing of Views

Maintaining Old Exterior

Accenting Old Details

The shaping of light and views in the Gehry residence is the result of variations in openings and transparencies. The outer edge and roof line of the old house is left visible from the street in order to highlight its preeminence. This wrapping of the house places importance and adds interest to it. The kitchen window is oriented west so that room gets nice, warm sunlight during the evening dinner hours and is aligned with the existing bay window. The opening in the yard wall directs but restricts views into and from the back yard. The windows direct views from the interior upward and away from the surrounding suburban neighborhood and towards the cedar trees around the property. The use of chain link fencing as screens on the roof of the sturcture also adds interest through shadows when lit by the sun.

drawing label Framing of Views

Gehry Residence

Frank Gehry

Space and Enclosure

Structure and Force

Gehry used various types of screen walls in order to create different effects of space and enclosure. These differing materials create different transparencys which, in turn, create different feels. The chain link fencing provides an almost transparent spatial demarkation without the feeling of enclosure that comes with traditional walls. The interior walls that were stripped to the bare framing also act as screen walls. This deconstruction also implies that the building is still under construction which decreases its apparent age. The corrugated matal screen wall along the back yard provides a much greater sense of enclosure. Passers by on the street are only allowed very limited views into the space. On the interior of the building, Gehry’s variation of the ceiling plane is key to deciphering between different spaces. The definition of the kitchen area and the dining areas are especially reliant upon the ceiling plane. Gehry also includes some corner openings in his addition which accentuates the chaotic nature of the forms used. The addition is also completely seperated from the existing house by maintaining the exterior walls. This makes the addition more like a large and highly finished closed in porch.

The structure of the original house was largely stripped down to essentials by the removal of some walls and by exposing the bare frames of others. In some cases this is done to highlight certain details such as original windows but in other cases it is done to display which members carry most of the loads exerted by the house. The removal of unnecessary members moves the house’s structure towards efficiency. This is contrasted by the structure of the addition which is indebtted to the forms intended by Gehry. The 2nd “floor” of the addition is a large outdoor patio and is built much like any other deck-like addition with framed members. This deck is supported by the original house on one side and by the forms and walls of the outside of the addition on the other.

Screen Walls

Force Flow

Modulated Ceiling Plane

Deck-like Nature with Enclosure

The Guggenheim, Bilbao

Frank Gehry

Program

Exhibitions

Obviously, the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao was designed and built to be a museum of modern and contemporary art. The abstract forms seen on the exterior are often similar to, or representative of the exhibitions within.

As shown by the exhibitions on the left from the last 10 years, the pieces on display at the Guggenheim are as abstract as the building itself. In many ways, this is yet another key detail within the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features

A Matter of Time, 2005

Bilbao Circle, 2002

Hidden Features Detail The many key details of the museum are mostly those that have to do with the form and space of the structure itself including, but not limited to, the titanium cladded volumes, the interior sculptural walls, the wide open floorplan, and the hidden abstract objects within the structure. Guggenheim Reflection

The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

View from Bilbao

Museum Entrance

Hidden Imagery within the Facade

Inverted Mirror

Surprising to most, the Guggenheim has hidden surprises in the building itself. From a jumping fish, only visible from an aerial view, to an opening rose in the cluster of volumes around the center to even a cruise liner down the long volume towards the bridge, the museum has surprising whimsical qualities. The fact that the exhibitions within reflect the facade outside is yet another whimsical quality, in that a visitor never forgets what museum they are within.

The Guggenheim, Bilbao

Frank Gehry

Site

Climate

Designed to be a renewal project for the city, The Guggenheim, Bilbao was placed along the river front next to abandoned warehouses and at the edge of the city of Bilbao. Bilbao is a city of stone, brick and classic architecture, making the Guggenheim a focal point for the classic city.

Bilbao is known for its oceanic climate, and year round precipitation with no well defined summer season. The city is known to have a majority of rainy and cloudy days throughout the year, with a specified â&#x20AC;&#x153;rainy seasonâ&#x20AC;? between October and April. Snowfall within the city is infrequent. Close proximity to the ocean makes the two most defined seasons, rather mild. Averages vary between 77 and 78 degrees in the summer and 42 and 44 degrees in the winter.

Material Built using a custom steel frame, custom titanium cladding and curved glass curtain walls. The titanium cladding was a perfect decision for the particular climate of Bilbao, Spain, and a perfect opposition to the classic architecture that was already in Bilbao.

Aerial view of Bilbao, Spain

Bilbao, Spain

Titanium Titanium is recognized for its strengthto-weight ratio. It is very ductile, lustrous and metallic-white. It is also a refractory metal (extraordinarily resistant to heat and precipitation), making it the perfect metal to envelope the Guggenheim.

Facade zoom

Titanium Cladding, Zoom

The Guggenheim, Bilbao

Frank Gehry

Space

Tilted Planes

When it comes to the enclosed space of the museum, an unbelievable number of points and lines create the abstract forms, below. Each group of lines is critical to the overall design. The series of lines form vital planes that make the Guggenheim at Bilbao so unique.

The tilted ceiling plane is a central repetitive theme of the design of the Guggenheimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure. These surfaces are skewed at angles between two and thirty-five degrees relative to the ground surface (indicated by the blue line). This feature helps emphasize the sculptural nature of the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao.

drawing label

Light There is a steady progression from light to dark as one moves deeper into the museum. At first, the patterns appear random, but after brief review, one can tell that the space dictates the light. Both inside and outside of the Guggenheim, light is channeled through in very abstract forms. The sight lines also tend to be inconsistent. This arbitrary variety of features only strengthens the seeming randomness of the overall structure

Section

Guggenheim atrium with visual lines from walls and windows

Randomness No matter how random the patterns of light, sight, or structure may appear, each one is connected to the others. The planes of the walls and the glass windows above create unique planes of light, and the walls channel lines of sight upwards into the vast atriums.

Interior View and the same view blurred

drawing label

Guggenheim

Frank Gehry

Space

Reveal and Conceal

Created through offset and fragmented volumes, the interior and exterior spaces of the museum take on a unique character. Rooms and galleries have a dynamic quality: one loses sense of location when in the midst of the atrium. Pathways suspended from the ceiling penetrate spaces, while overhead arching beams create implied three dimensional space above walkways.

Forms created by space and light play a game of reveal and conceal with visitors to the museum. Volumes create spatial definition. The undulating curves of the space leave one with a sense of openess in path, yet wonder in regards to what lies ahead. The overhead light in many spaces acts as relief to the chaotic forms that cast shadow in the areas below on the ground floor.

overhead light

light play on titanium

light opening space

Light

Titanium Sheathing

Natural light is brought forth through floor to ceiling glass paneled walls. Gehry also utilizes sky lights to open draw light in from above. The facade also mimics the dynamic qualities of light taking on differing tones based on the time of day: gleaming in morning light, yet subdued on an overcast day.

The uique exterior facade plays with light and the surrounding water in the river. It creates aother â&#x20AC;&#x153;roomâ&#x20AC;? on the exterior of the structure as one proceeds through the flickering show of lights around the building.

implied overhead space

water as spatial

Guggenheim

Frank Gehry

Enclosure

Masonry

This museum is marked by organic volumes that delineate spaces and flow of traffic. Formed overhead planes make unique, uninhabitable autonomous spaces that allow light to filter to the ground floor three stories below.

Masonry ties the structure to the ground with its heavy visual quality and earth tones. This also serves as a strong structural base to tie to the foundation. The same stone block is utlized in the flooring in the musuem. In the atrium, plaster is utilized above the stone as a transition from heavy to light material and acts as a visual felief to visitors.

material weaves space

Material Engineered by Catia, the facade of the Guggenheim is clad in unique titanium plates. The bottom of the structure is comprised of light stone blocks. Glass is utilized in the entrance allow light into the atrium space. The stone at the base of the structure belongs to the earth as a heavier mass, while the titanium claddding is a shell that lightens the load and belongs to man.

Water

concrete and water surrounding

The water garden in the front of the structure allows for a physical and visual â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;enclosureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The plane of water as a shift in materiality make two distinct spaces on the exterior of the museum to allow onlookers to appreciate the stucture as they circulate the path to the entrance. Materiality in Gehryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work underlines a differentiation in space. titanium cladding

stone block base

water garden

Guggenheim

Frank Gehry

Structure

Form

Guggenheim Bilbao expemplifies structure subservient to form. Special programs, such as Catia, were needed to engineer and design the underlying structural system of the building. Unique steel rods and titanium sheathing were designed as one of a kind forms.

Form has a strong presence in the Guggenheim and dictates structure. This is of the utmost importance for its influence on the program. The art museum becomes a piece of art in itself.

organic form walkway

gallery space

Program

drawing label

Hierarchy Arguably, the demands of the structure overpowers the program of the building. It may be considered that the Guggenheim draws more attention to itself as a sculptural masterpiece as compared to the art it houses. This raises an important question: should architectural structure exceed a defined program? The Guggenheim is controversial in this matter.

As a modern museum the Guggenheim houses world class art. Galleries flow and visitors are free to explore them in any particular manner. All flow from the main atrium space in a dendritic fashion. The paths that connect galleries create a dynamic, non-linear exeperience. architecture as sculpture

puppy of flowers

Triangulated support structure

Gwathmey Residence

Charles Gwathmey

Light The Gwathmey Residence is designed with light quality in mind. Charles Gwathmey used orientation, volumetric subtraction and window size to strengthen the light condition of the interior spaces.

View from central void

Illustration of unframed window lighting

Enclosure There are no definite boundaries indoors, by using half-walls and columns to divide areas the volume can be read as a whole. By his use of subtraction Gwathmey extends the sense of enclosure to the exterior as well. One within the central, rectangular void would feel enclosed while still remaining outdoors. This extension of duality creates the blurring of the boundary between interior and exterior space.

Gwathmey Residence Exterior

Scale Model

Interior Living Room and Loft

Dining room

Analysis of Light and View

Light at Night

Windows Gwathmey chooses not to use traditional windows, but instead uses a combination of framed and unframed windows. By placing the windows within the walls of the residence Gwathmey further extends the sense of enclosure while also optimizing interior light quality. One cannot see the glass and then feels as if they are actually outside while remaining indoors. The use of some painted cedar frames creates further illusions between what areas are indoors and which are outdoors. No real definition is given to interior versus outdoor conditions.

Walls No walls actually reach the ceiling within the residence, which aids in the lack of enclosure, while also allowing for maximum light to be spread throughout the structure. The natural light let in by the glass windows and open voids is not cut off by any fully enclosed areas and thus allows the entire building the ability to enjoy the natural lighting.

Gwathmey Residence

Charles Gwathmey

Ambiance

Program A vertical organization of the living space creates a unique situation in the residence. The public spaces are raised to the 2nd floor, where the views and light qualities are the strongest. This pulls one through a more personal place into the public area, which is strange for a residential organization.

Experience Meant to be experienced as a whole, the movement through the building is vertical and then through to the outside. This movement begins in the semi-private area on the 1st floor then up and through the public domain on the 2nd floor. Once there the movement goes around the remaining interior spaces and through to the exterior space.

The Gwathmety residence was built as a home for Charlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; parents, and served its purpose well. The program developed by the volumetric construction helps the residencial ambiance and accentuates the relationship between an interior home and the surrounding habitat. In addition to that, the programme that came about over time was that of sancitiude and harmony, becoming a place to meditate and become enveloped in the surrounding nature.

Limbo

Floor Plans in Model Form

The subtraction of volume from the whole is meant to create spaces that act as the limbo between the outside nature and the interior condition. This limbo blurs the barrier between the two conditions. This allows those within the residence to feel enveloped by the building inside while still experiencing the natural light and space from outdoors.

Central Axis

Movement Overlay

Gwathmey Residence Exterior

Gwathmey Residence

Charles Gwathmey

Structure Gwathmey exposes a number of the structural elements in order to continue the volumetric interpenetration. One might not be able to fully experience that subtraction condition without the structural elements that remain from that void. The prime example is the central square column right down the middle of the rectangular void, it symbolizes the forces that the rectangular void carried. This visual representation of the buildings forces is also seen in the structural elements; such as the cylindrical exterior stairs, and the cylindrical column in the rear of the building,

Axis The addition and subtraction of each volume created a whole form based off of a centralized axis. This axis retains structural properties as well as being the main key in the organization of the formâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many volumes.

drawing label

Form At the time of this design, Gwathmey was very influenced by LeCorbusier and this transfered into his creation for the Residence. The Gwathmey Residence derives its dimensions from a spinoff of the proportions used by LeCorbusier, filling a 20-24 foot grid. The Gwathmey Rseidence gets its form from the interpenetration of three basic geometric shapes: the cube, the cylinder and the triangular prism, and the subtraction of other geometric volumes.

Gwathmey Residence

Isolation of Overlay

First Floor Plan and Overlay

Isolation of Stairwell Overlay

Scale Model

Interior Staircase

Stairs The main staircase of the residence is along the exterior facade of the building. It is made from the cylindrical volume that is penetrated onto the cubic form. This element is structurally and visually important to the building due to its use, and solidity. The interior staircase to the third floor also retains these qualities of structure and form, but to a smaller degree due to the more private nature of the third floor.

Cincinnati Center for the Arts

Zaha Hadid

Space

Site

Zaha Hadid created the Center for the Arts by interlocking various sized gallery spaces together. These seemingly rectilinear spaces appear to float above the open lobby space on the ground floor below. They are arranged in a dense manner in order to compensate for the small footprint of the site. Hadid counteracts this compact feeling by letting in abundant amounts of natural light. The ground floor lobby is constructed of high glass walls giving the space a feeling of openness. This space invites the public inside the museum, mixing the threshold between exterior and interior.

Hadid successfully integrates the museum with its existing surroundings while still giving the building its own character and presence on the site. The Center appears to be composed of orthogonal cubic volumes, however they are actually distorted. This creates a poetic contrast to the neighboring buildings. The distortion gives the Center a sense of direction, giving the form a dynamic quality that is lacking in the adjacent buildings.

Enclosure

Hadidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective diagram

volumetric model

The gallery spaces are of many different sizes and shapes in order to accommodate for a wide range of temporary collections. Hadid wished to design a space that could house the public and act as a gathering space. These cubic interior volumes are echoed on the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade, connecting the interior of the building to the exterior.

perspective

Abstraction Hadid designed the museum as a replication and abstraction of the surrounding city. As seen in the diagram, the Center for the Arts seems to be composed of volumes in a manner similar to the city skyline. This extrusion of cubic volumes resonates throughout the entire design. section diagram of space

photograph of lobby

side view

Cincinnati Center for the Arts

Zaha Hadid

Light

Circulation

Zaha Hadid manipulates natural light throughout the Center for the Arts. By installing a skylight over the common stairwell along the back wall, she created a vast open space that allows sunlight to pour into the building. This illuminates all six floors of galleries, the lobby, and the performance space in the lower level. This oculus-like condition is one of the main sources of light throughout the entire building. Constructed almost entirely of glass, the lobby is another significant source of sunlight. The visual connection between these two spaces --the lobby and stairwell-- is reiterated in Hadid’s design concept of the “Urban Carpet”.

By restricting all of the circulation space to the back wall of the building, Hadid has created a space entirely devoted to the movement of people. The ramp-staircases are specifically designed to give guests a view of the gallery spaces as they walk through the building. Landings provide moments to pause and admire the view of the surrounding city through the six story window located at the end of the staircase.

Urban Carpet

photograph of skylight

diagram of circulation and gallery space

Reference

Hadid created this concept with the ambition to create an interior urban environment. She extends the sidewalk into the building, where it merges with and becomes the back wall, creating an uninterrupted surface. This symbolizes the continuation of the public from the street into the galleries above.

Hadid has connected the back wall and lobby of the building visually using light and programmatically using circulation. By creating this connection, she has established a reference point to “ground” guests as they travel through the meandering galleries. photograph of staircase

photograph of staircase and lobby

Cincinnati Center for the Arts

Zaha Hadid

Event

Operation

The Center for the Arts’ main program is to house various types and sizes of art collections. Built to adapt, the museum does not contain any permanent exhibits. The Center also includes art preparation areas, art storage, museum shops, a Cafe, and an interactive children’s section called the Unmuseum. Hadid designed the building with the intent that it could function as a public gathering space and fit the needs of the public. The versatile layout can accommodate for various events, such as weddings.

Acting as a uniting space, the stairwell provides space for movement, air circulation, and light passage. This high function area acts as a linking element, creating an unconventional focal area along the back interior facade. The contrast of the bold staircase with the open lobby creates a space with visual interest. By moving all of the circulation to the rear wall of the building, Hadid created a “spinal” wall, anchoring the surrounding gallery spaces.

drawing label

Program Analyzed in plan, every floor of the building is unique. The lower level of the building contains a performance space. On the ground floor the split level lobby welcomes guests into the museum. The second floor is the first level of gallery space. While the third floor is entirely devoted to offices and open space, the fourth and fifth floors are primarily gallery space. Containing the Unmuseum, the sixth floor is designed for kids. Although the program of each floor varies, the stairwell remains consistent throughout.

Interlocking Spaces

photograph of stairwell

Circulation Space Gallery Space Space open to Below

plan diagrams

photograph of stairwell

photograph of stairs

The composition of the staircases mimics the formation of the surrounding gallery spaces and on a larger scale the adjacent cityscape. The gallery spaces are composed of interlocking volumes which come together as a jigsaw puzzle. Similarly, each staircase is unique and embodies a specific niche in the stairwell. This is another reflection of the building’s urban environment, which consists of varied independant structures.

MAXXI

Zaha Hadid

Light

Movement

Both natural and artificial light flood the atrium space of the MAXXI which starts a unique experience for the viewer. Although the space is designed to allow for individual movement, Hadid uses light to guide the viewer along certain paths.

As expressed in Hadidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early paintings, flow and fluidity within the space is vital to the project. Light not only highlights individual functions within the museum but also acts as a guide.

auditorium space

merging paths

View

Experience

As one moves through the galleries, they are constantly confronted with large, black forms which not only function as pathways for viewers but also divide the space in unique ways. The paths allows the space to be interpreted in new and different ways.

Although from the exterior the building appears rigid and dense, the interior space provides an environment defined by progression and light. This design element prohibits the space from ever being static and allows the overall experience to vary according to the viewers chosen path. sharp lines define movement within the space

preliminary painting by Zaha Hadid

MAXXI

Zaha Hadid

Program

Light Hadid explores the use of both natural and artificial light in order to differentiate space within the structure. The dense stairways are illuminated by bright lights below where as the auditorium is lit by specific cut outs above.

The MAXXI embodies a very distinct program for it primarily serves as a cultural center and home for contemporary art in Rome. From the beginning of the project, Hadid expressed the idea that the space should be able to perform a multitude of functions. In some ways, the entire structure could be used as gallery space, including the stairways that divide and interupt the space.

Event

View

Huge concrete walls, black axial stairways and a grid-like ceiling hightlights key elements in the MAXXI project. Concrete slabs contrasts the surrounding buildings which may entise the viewer to approach. Black crossways direct one through their own individual path. The intricate roof modulates natural light into the gallery space and give the spacea true purpose.

The viewers focus is often directed towards the grid roof above them in the gallery space. Originating from her paintings of the project, the grid like design mimics that of the urban environment surrounding the museum. The grid filters the sunlight above and shines through into the many galleries below.

gallery corridor

outlines three main uses of light

Natural/Illuminates Galleries Artificial/Highlights Stairways Artificial/Guides viewer into Auditorium

MAXXI

Zaha Hadid

Composition From the beginning of construction, Hadid uses an additive process to design the unique spaces within the building. As one walks into the atrium, he is automatically confronted with large, black forms overhead. This space acts as pathways to guide the viewer from one gallery to the next.

Movement Although Hadid intended for there to be freedom in the movement of the space, she creates defined paths in which one travels through the galleries. These paths are additive in composition and therefore allows the viewer to become one with the space. The viewer becomes part of the museum. section of MAXXI

Order Experience

In section the building appears to have a direct and specific order, but this strict geometry is lost when occupying the space. Instead, free flowing forms surround the inhabitants and further enhance the unique movement one may experience.

As shown in the image to the left, Hadid layers the pathways to enhance the buildings overall composition. The viewer may cross a path once taken but experience the space again with an altered and changed mind. stairways

diagram of additive process

MAXXI Museum

Zaha Hadid

Space, Program, and Light

Light

The MAXXI Museum incorporates very complex spaces. The program of the building - a museum accommodating occasional events - greatly influences the design: sequential â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;roomsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are linear, with curvy walls that are further enhanced by sunlight. The linear rooms are simply the pathways; these pathways intersect at certain moments, where they create various indoor and outdoor spaces.

Lighting of space is very intelligently dealt with in the MAXXI Museum. Natural light, at many places, is brought into the interior pathways linearly, in such a way that enhances the directionality of the space. Artificial light is also important. On the outside, thin light stripes create a sense of hovering, heavy masses, and also drive people to walk around the building.

The project is meant to connect to the urban space surrounding it. As one can see from the initial sketches of the project by Zaha, the structure extends beyond its footprint, blending into its context. This connection makes a seamless transition into the museum, where it is hard to define where the building begins or ends.

events make the open space

spatial complexity drives the eye

sunlight enhances the curved spaces

intersecting paths create various spaces

initial sketch by Zaha showing spatial intersections

hovering masses created by artificial light

plan, showing possible circulation patterns

sections showing vertical complexity.

defined light follows pathways

MAXXI Museum

Zaha Hadid

Site, Context, and Weathering

Weathering

The MAXXI Museum is located in a very dense urban environment in Rome, Italy. The museum is easily differentiated in its context. The buildings in the surrounding context are “classical” in their orders, materials, and colors while the MAXXI is highly modern, especially with its flowy, unregulated form and its concrete-and-glass material combination.

Despite it’s short term of final construction, the museum has already experienced minor forms of weather. Due to the high humidity of the site, the weathering experienced to the building will increase regularly and quickly as the years progress.

Below is a sample idea of the possible weathering effect a couple years for now in comparison to the weathering currently experienced on the building.

Rome, like most cities of the area, has a typical Mediterranean climate. The area experiences generally mild to warm Spring and Autumn seasons, with the coldest parts of the year typically above freezing. The Summer season lasts for about 6 months from May to October with an average relative humidity of 74%. Site Placement

Main over hang - Beginning of weathering seen underneath

Density Context

Current weathering under overhang

MAXXI MUSEUM RIVER

Possible future weathering

MAXXI Museum

Zaha Hadid

Structure, Movement, Detail

Detail

The MAXXi Museum is constructed around using cast curved concrete walls, a technique that is often used in architectural buildings of similar style. The museum also has some steellike posts seen at the base exterior of the building. It is probable that those posts are load barring due to the heavy concrete cantilevered above.

The key detail of the MAXXI Museum is the focus on the metal platted curved sheets that run along the vast majority of the buildings ceiling. The sheets seem to be made of brushedmetal, allowing the framing of the light passing through the ceiling, but being diffuse enough to not allow for major reflectivity in the space below as the light passes through. The metal provides for a subtle glow in the spaces between the sheets without producing any sharp glares.

Exterior of Museum, showing the curved exterior walls and steel support posts

The curved ceiling pattern helps direct the path along the museum and moving the individuals attention along the walls and further down the hallway. The ceiling in conjunction with the gradual curving walls acts as an emphasis to the flow and floorplan of the structure, creating movement within the space and directing the individuals occupying it.

In essence, the ceiling combines the physical element of the curvature of the walls with the additional element of strips of light to enhance the movement of the building along the pathways. Close view of ceiling

Interior curved movement

Curved concrete wall construction

Curved walls and ceiling drawing movement

Wall House 2

John Hejduk

Light, View and Color While trying to encompass the effect of a painting as architecture, color is involved to bring a whimsical and artistic flair to the building. The different colors are also symbolic of the different inhabitable spaces programmes, including cooking, sleeping, dining, reflecting, and contemplation among other everyday activities. The colors are prone to changing in different light, throughout the day and the season, further suggesting an array of activities to take place within the walls of the house. Windows are placed stratigically in the hallway to hide the views, and in the living areas to expand the billowing walls. Program and Event Although the house was constructed as an object, rather than with a specific programme in mind, the number of floors and the way they interact with each other leads one to conclude the structure is a space for living. The program of the space is obviously for living, while the interior of the house was left up to the future homeowners. The colors of the different floors, along with the windows indicate the programme according to different spaces of a house

Shade and Canvas Within the context of the living space was the concept of how the house is oriented in terms of natural light and shade. The main living spaces of the house face the morning sun in the east, while the wall protects the rest of the house from harsh sunlight. The wall also provides a canvas for the undulating, colorful volumes.

Colors emphasize Programme

Formal Architectural Promenade

Site The house program becomes even more evident when considered within the context of site. Although it has been a tourist attraction since its errection in 2001, it is set within a neighborhood in the Netherlands. Even with its whimsical design, the program is quite clearly that of a residential space, and its neighboring structures furher empasize this point.

Sequential View of Window at the end of the Hallway

Light Diagram

Diagram of Colors used to emphasize Programme and Example of Hidden View

Wall House 2

John Hejduk

Space

Windows

Vertical planes dictate how one moves through the space. The undulating forms of the main living spaces encourage circulation, rather than straight lines, as compared to the main hallway. The spaces are planned to feel enclosed when one is transitioning to another living area, and open as soon as one enters that new space.

The windows of the Wall House 2 suggest a scale for the house, while also allowing for the living areas to feel incredibly open, as opposed to the narrow feeling of the hallway, exaggerated by windows that hide the view of the landscape from sight. The windows on either side of the wall allow for an individual to actually experience the massive transition in the space, rather than keeping the wall as an element that one only understands from the outside of the building.

Movement The raised hallway paired with the set of stairs at the entrance suggests a formal entering place and architectural promenade. The spiral staircase is practically hidden between the two major axes, which further suggests formality of transitioning between areas of the house. Hejduk obviously envisioned this structure with primarily horizontal movement, the hierarchy of the experience is not expereinced through vertical steps to different floors, but from the action of moving through the corridor, to the transition moment, and finally into the main inhabited space.

View of Hallway

Formal Architectural Promenade

View of Windows about Threshold

Movement Diagram

Scale

Scale of wall and Living Spaces compared to Humans

The architect desined the building to experience moments of claustrophobia juxtaposed with moments of seemingly endless space. However, the building seems to be void of any scale of section due to the verticality of the structure. However, the windows were designed to frame the views, and really the only giveaway of the human scale within the house.

Wall House 2

John Hejduk

DImension and Form Regulating lines form a set of two major axes in both section and plan. These two axis lines are then translated into pure volumes and extruded out to create the undulating forms of the living spaces. The Scale of the house is apparent from the black and white picture taken at the back of the house. This picture shows the massiveness of the living spaces, and the height of the hallway compared to the height of a man.

Volumes In the attemmpt to create a three dimensional space from a painting the concept of volumes was an important factor in the design of the house. Swelling and curving forms create a feeling of relaxation and â&#x20AC;&#x153;naturalâ&#x20AC;? movement juxaposed with the rigidity of movement of the orthogonal geometires in the hallway. The rounded volumes also allow a great amount of light into the living spaces.

Regulating lines for Plan and Section

Axes The two axes of the Wall House extend far beyond the confines of the plot of land on which it is located. They parallel highways, nearby neighborhoods, and the lake in front of the house. They also comprise the geometries of the house, and give weight to either end of the axis of the long hall. The axes are also symbolic of the transition of time, with one axis providing the architectural promenade and the other the experience as a moment of transition in time.

Sketch Idea for Undulating Volumes

Composition and Order Hejduk incoporates many connections between the forms of the living spaces and the order in which they are arranged. The thresholds are situated along the major threshold of the wall, with equal space in between each seperate entrance. The scale of the wall can also be manipulated to create each of the different spaces within the house including the hallway and living areas. Diagram of Volumes

Order Diagram about Wall Axis

Massiveness of Living Volumes compared to Hallway Volumes and a Man

VitraHaus

Herzog & de Meuron

Site+Context

Material+Structure supporting view

The VitraHaus is sited in Weil-amRhein, Germany, and is on the Vitra Furniture Campus, with many works by other prominent architects. Utilizing the constructed site idea of drawing out a condition from the existing, the VitraHaus connects itself to nearby features, and is built on a cleared site.

Clear glazed glass windows in a gabled roof form allow for the reversal in light qualities between day and night. The structure and forces holding the building together allow for the ends of each volume to be open and to give stunning views between interior and exterior.

Light+View The ends of each house volume form the windows, and these frame different views of the buildings on the Vitra Campus and the surrounding landscape. During the day, the showrooms look out onto the landscape, enhancing the idea that one may actually be in the typical room of a house. During the nighttime, this perspective is reversed, as the gabled roof form becomes illuminated, and the showrooms begin to display themselves to the surroundings.

VitraHaus Site Plan

interior looking out during the day

exterior looking in at night

layering of volumes establish roof as filter

VitraHaus

Herzog & de Meuron

Program+Event

Subtraction

Designed to launch Vitra’s Home Collection and expand Vitra’s market to include individuals interested in well-designed furnishings, VitraHaus is a series of showrooms for displaying these objects.

At the intersection of the stacked volumes, Herzog & de Meuron experiment with different amounts of enclosure, allowing for the possibility of diverse programming within the subtracted space. The dimensions of the forms that are created deviate from the comfortable domestic scale, again offering many options for use of the space.

Dimension+Form The form of VitraHaus is that of an extruded archetypal gabled roof “home,” stacked to create the diverse spaces. However, the interiors still maintain a sense of personal or domestic dimensions, used in the design of the showrooms to keep them at a scale easily understood by the customers who will be buying the furniture.

On the ground ﬂoor, the form of one of the lower volumes is literally crushed, symbolically bearing the weight of the forms sitting on top of it. The bend also allows for additional programmatic elements to be added, as a bench is created along the crushed portion.

Floor Plan- the module created by the window determines the extrusion of the volume

degrees of enclosure

showrooms at an intimate scale

lowest volume bears the weight

programming resulting from form

degrees of enclosure resulting from intersection of volumes

bench created on the exterior façade

VitraHaus

Herzog & de Meuron

Material+Detail

Interior/Exterior

The exterior of the VitraHaus is cladded in a simple charcoal-colored stucco skin. The natural tone connects it to the earth and grounds the building on its site. A wooden entrance ďŹ&#x201A;oor grounds VitraHaus to its surroundings while also delineating the boundaries of the space. Interior spaces are painted a clean white, drawing attention away from the walls and the complicated geometry of the intersecting volumes and onto the furniture displays.

The clustered linear modules create the complex interior spaces, but also an exterior condition between the volumes create a roof filtering the light. Resulting from the intersection of the stacked clustered volumes, the architects create an organic and ďŹ&#x201A;owing interior radically different than the strict geometry of the exterior. The destruction of the space is a detail in itself, forming the complex interior enclosures.

attention is on the furniture and the view

roof condition

intersection of material-stair detail

Materiality of the ground plane separates the different showroom spaces, in a way clustering the different displays in the space.

Composition+Order Linear modules of the form come together in a cluster organization. Space+Enclosure Modulations in vertical and horizontal planes delineate the individual showroom spaces. They serve also to break up the large extruded volume of the house form with the amounts of enclosure, and make the displays feel more domestic and personal.

modulated vertical planes

ground plane materiality shift defines space

intersection of material- volume detail

VitraHaus

Herzog & de Meuron

The spacial and movement qualities of the VitraHaus are intertwined and can be combined as a single conecpt created by Herzog and de Meuron.

Movement + Circulation

Enclosure The VitraHaus is composed of repetative house-like volumes that are stacked on top of one another. The houses interesect and connect to one another to create a variety of enclosed environments. Looking at just a single unit, the space is enclosed by parallel concrete walls; the frame of an archatypical house extruded to create a long rectangular space. A strong linear axis is created within each individual house, except for the places where the volumes intersect. Large windows cap each end of the unit, and are the only points where the interior of the structure can create a relationship with the outside world.

Space The many spaces of the VitraHaus are all unique in that sometimes a single house can be divided into smaller parts due to the stcking or the house remains one large open room. At the points where the houses connect, the spaces start to interwine, and the volumes reach a great degree of spatial complexity, some with clear thresholds, and some that are unclear and blurred unable to make a clear distinction. The greatest space is the courtyard created by the radial stacking of the houses. It is a large open space left open for interpreation of the users.

Movement and circulation analysis

Properties of enclosure

The VitraHaus appears to be a very complex and confusing structure to navigate. However, the building has a clear path of circulation that takes visitors to the top and are left to wonder through all the houses as they reach the bottom. There are staircases that provided the dialouge between adjacent units and either provide insight to the next experieince of the structure, or reveal little to no clues, leaving a surprise around every corner.

Experience

Relationships established among the units Individual unit Interior spaces

Combined analysis Section of the VitrHaus

Both architects designed the VitraHaus with the idea to to create a dynamic building that provides the opportunity for every space, experience, and moment to be different from the next. Together they make up the whole overall experience and environment of the VitraHaus. Each house has a different view of the outside world, again adding to the uniqueness every unit of the building. The courtyard essentially has the most complex experience, and is affected by the outdoor conditions on a daily basis. The experiences and the spaticial complexities are without a doubt interrelated, and can work together to strengthen the architectural language the Herzog and de Meuron have set out to achieve.

VitraHaus

Herzog & de Meuron

The construction site and placement of the VitraHaus were extremely important and begin to intertwine with the qualitis of light and view.

Light

Site & Context The VitraHaus is located near the entrance of the Vitra campus, and serves as the passage to the rest of the surrounding site. It is built in close proximity to the the Vitra Design Museum designed by Frank Gehry and the Conference Pavilion designed by Tadao Ando, thus completeing the Vitra triagnle. Analysing the building at a local scale, the Vitra Campus is located north of a small city and south of farmland. Because it towers over the nearby trees, it can be seen form a distance, yet it is relatively isolated in context. At a larger scale, the VitraHaus is placed near the boundary of France and Switzerland. It is fairly close to a river, and in the foothills of a major mountain range. Due to the variety of surroundings, Herzog and de Meuron take advantage of the opportunity to coninue builing on the many unique experiences by giving each house its own view, inside the building and out to the landscape.

Analysis of light inside and outside of the VitraHaus

Each unit of the VitraHaus has only two large windows on each end of the long axis. The windows let in a substantial amount of light during the day, and plays an important role in the overall experience. This is because the separate houses point in all directions allowing for light to come in at different times of the day all over the building. The center courtyard becomes active due to the changing light which allows it to be the most dynamic space. As the light comes in, it begins to illuminate more than one space, and light is able to penetrate multiple units at once.

View The architects purposely created the â&#x20AC;&#x153;chaoticâ&#x20AC;? stacking appearance to gather and preserve all the available views and landscapes surrounding the VitraHaus. The units on the lower levels have view at a smaller scale, whereas the houses on top have a view that span long distances and refernce points on all sides of the building. The view begins to communicate with context on the site, allowing the complex form a starting point to be derived.

Relationship of the VitraHaus placed on the site

Site context at different scales Analysis of the view and light combined

Herzog and de Meron knew that having unique views would follow the architectural idea that they had been working on and began to relate it to the site of the VitraHaus.

VitraHaus

Herzog and de Meuron

The last two architectural concepts that have been synthesized and influence one another are structure and force, and order and composition.

Order & Composition

Structure & Force The Structure of the VitraHaus is made of a concrete framework. The units may be read as individual pieces, but the structure is composed and built as one large volume. Each level is dependent of the level beneath it. The building can be seen as a semi-direct transformation of the static forces present within a building. Each of the houses intersect one another at strategic points that unify the whole building, and allows the units to span large distances and create dramatic cantileavers. There is a centerpoint in which the units are placed around, making a large coutyard in the center of the building. There is some freedom in the placement of each unit, whcih allows for a large degree of uniqueness, and a variation in the size of each house.

Construction and properties of the Vitrahaus

Types of intersections

+ +

Analysis of forces

Analysis of individual units

Combined analysis of structure and composition

The VitraHaus appears to have a complex composition, but it actually has the opposite. Breaking it down into smaller pieces, the building can be analysed as a synthesis of long architypical houses stacked â&#x20AC;&#x153;chaoticallyâ&#x20AC;? on top on one another. Looking at each unit even closer, most of the houses have a long and narrow floorplan geometry. In elevation, each unit looks like the shape of the ideal architypical house. Almost fully inclosed in a concrete framework, the only windows and relationship to the outside world are established by the large windows that cap the ends of each house. The full composition arises when all the units are added together. Each unit has a different nature to it, and is placed pointing in different direction from all the other units. All the houses are stacked around a center point, creating a courtyard for the building. The VitraHaus appears complex because every unit connection is different, changing the spatical qualities, experience, and movement throughout the entire building. In Conclusion, there are many architectural ideas imbedded in the design of the VitraHaus, and continuously interwine with one

Laban Dance Centre

Herzog & de Meuron

System The polycarbonate panels serve not only aesthetic qualities, but a practical use as well. By putting this second layer of panelling on the building, it creates a technique called doubleglazing. Double-glazing is when there is a small space in between the interior and exterior of the building that provides ventilation and insulation to the building naturally and efficiently.

Detail A common theme in this building is perfectly planned design. Interior and exterior detailing take into account seemingly insignificant moments and celebrate them. For example, a curve in a hand rail to highlight a slender column, or a material shift at the edge of the building. The design takes into account all aspects and sheds light on important features. interior detailing

Fabrication The building takes a systemized approach at construction and building materials, which is both effecient and productive. The main proponent of this technique are the polycarbonate panels - which come in regulated segments that easily mesh together in a grid like pattern. Glass, a second important feature in this design, is implemented in the same grid system. The glass appears in a single generic size, and then is used repeatedly and in multiples throughout the building. This kit-of-parts idea creates beauty in simplicity and splendor in articulation.

PERMANENT LIVING FIXTURE ALLOWED LIVING CONDITION CREATED SYSTEM CONDITION PERMANENT FIXTURE parameter system

exterior detailing

facade deatiling

Material Steel, concrete, wood, polycarbonate panels, stone, and glass all are materials that are prevalent throughout the building. Each serves its own purpose in supporting this complex design, and each was chosen for its own specific reason. The range of materials is vast, as can only be expected for a building of this caliber. interior systemization

exterior systemization

material representation and study

Laban Dance Centre

Herzog & de Meuron

Movement Long connecting corridors riddle the plan of the building. Due to the high need for large areas of space, there is no room for unplanned or unidentified areas. All spaces are created with a purpose. The passageways in the Laban cut through large areas and are bordered by glass-walled studios, lockers, windows, doors, etc. which allow for interesting movement and energy through the space.

Program The Laban Dance centre is named after the contemporary style of dance called “Laban” or “Labanation”. The design originally seeks to serve the basic purpose of a dance centre - provide space for practice and movement, and also to create a professional performance area. The architects take a serious approach at utilizing the space in such ways to achieve these things, and by bringing about such a precise and articulated design, they have in turn created a beautiful and wonderful place.

There is one central program present that is created by a large auditorium space.

Secondary elements such as large dance studios help to support this.

Hallways act as connections and passageways.

Approach to the building manifests the same energetic experience, as you must pass by a maze of mirrors and find the entrance which lays flush to the facade.

Various tertiary components exist to further program

WALL MURAL

WINDOWS

STATED PURPOSE

BOLD COLOR STATED PURPOSE

movement

space and enclosure

WALL MURAL

BOLD COLOR

Space The hallways themselves create a unique experience. Typically walled on one side with glass, the length creates a dynmaic sense of space and a heightened sense of enclosure. It directly parallels the feeling experienced inside one of the dance studios, the large auditorium, or even the exterior courtyard area.

WALL MURAL

WINDOWS

procession

space and enclosure

program versus programme

Programme Beyond the basic structure and layout, the building also aims to take an approach at cultivating a sense of programme. Through collaboration with a graphic artist, the Laban gained larger than life wall murals, and a bold and eye catching color scheme that really pushes and enhances the playful and creative nature of the space.

Laban Dance Centre

Site The architects absolutely took into consideration site when designing this building. Not only did they work to incorporate some of the appealing features of the area, but they also were inspired by the less desirable ones as well. The sprawling green lawn couples with the warm welcoming curve of the front facade of the building to invite the community in. While on the other hand, inspiration for the grid pattern on the exterior of the building could have been inspired by the condition of the decriped retaining wall that faces another side of the centre.

Herzog & de Meuron

6 5

INCORPORATED FACTORS

1. Sprawling green lawn, opens up to community 2. Continues dock idea, frames what is important to the people

4 2

representation of transparency

exterior light and framing study

describing range of hues projected on facade

interior light and framing study

3. Community’s sense of economy acknowledged 4. Mimics wall condition vertical aspects and blocks of color

5. Connected with community as well as outside, bringing in new life

Light + View The Laban Dance Centre incorporates brilliant colors and vibrance into its design, and these colors help to create frames and windows on the exterior of the building. Framing is not only created externally by reflective panels of glass and blocks of color, but also by being cast through the building from the interior. The transparent quality of the polycarbonate allows light to filter in, but also to project out. Depending on the time of day, it is possible to disern what kinds of activities are going on inside the building and where. The transparent quality, in combination with decisions of color truly brings an edge to the design.

6. Promotes town’s regeneration values

Context Scaling out from the building, and even the town of Deptford, can show the relationship the architects knowingly created with the surroundings of the site. Up close, the building seems most to relate to the local road systems and patterns of blocks. However, after looking at it from a much more scaled back view, it begins to incorporate and be inspired by the shape of the Thames River itself.

Weathering Whereas long-term weather shows no signs yet, daily weather conditions take their toll on this building. In respect to color especially, the building’s entire atmosphere and experience changes with the weather. A bright day can make the building really shine, while a rainy one will only bring out the deadness of the area. finding respect and inspiration from surroundings

comparing contrasting colors due to weather conditions

Laban Dance Centre

Herzog and deMeuron

Interaction through Reflection

Material Experience at Night

The building plays a game of revealing and concealing at many scales through the reflection of light upon, out of, and around the main facade. During the night and day, the building can be seen reflected upon the Thames, tying it more strongly into the surrounding context.

At night, Laban glows from within. Dancers shadows are silhouetted on the interior facade. The glass windows become fully transparent and almost begin to disappear, leaving only the frames and a series of floating lights.

Glass Becomes Transparent at Night

Polycarbonate Glows from Within

Material Experience at Distance The polycarbonate cladding and two way glass panels create the dynamic interactions to be had with the Centre. From farther away, the windows seem to be dark holes in the facade, but upon closer inspection, they become mirrors. Simultaneously reflecting images literally while metaphorically asking for self-reflection, the exterior of the building is never the same experience twice.

User Experience Even as Laban Dance Centre invites interaction from anyone and everyone, the translucent facade allows students their privacy. The light from the exterior and reflective flooring and floor-to-ceiling mirrors create an intense and evocative space within which to practice.

Laban at Night

Laban during the Day

Couple by the Main Entrance

dancer in a closed studio

Laban Dance Centre

Herzog and deMeuron

Modulated Ground Plane and View

Framing of Outdoor Views

The outdoor ground plane is modulated in an effort to both blur the boundary between interior and exterior and invite interaction between the building and the outside world. At certain points, the landscape almost touches the facade, where as in others, it pulls pointedly away.

The promenade into the building is comprised of a winding path between raised, grass-covered planes. Differences of height in the planes create framed views of the cityscape and river beyond. This oblique mode of entrance also begins to build an anticipation by framing sections of the building facade while hiding others.

Facilitating Community Interaction In addition to the open ampitheater, the modulated ground creates multiple surfaces upon which to sit, lay, or stand. The path connects specifically to the free use areas of the building. Both of these details contribute to Labanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal of revitalizing and encouraging growth within the Deptford community.

ground plane nearly against facade

Outdoor Auditorium Seating Open air seating is carved into the landscape facing the largest grouping of windows and a series of studios. A large flat area is left between the seating and the building. The space becomes a viewing platform for both the daily activities within as well as outdoor performances. open air seating

interaction with and accentuation of site

Laban Dance Centre

Herzog and deMeuron

Space Types and Program

Large Amounts of Public Space

The layout of the dance centre is comprised of two polar types of space. Open, continuous hallways form the main circulation areas, while closed autonomous spaces create practice and performance area, offices, and sanitation facilities.

The students are encouraged to mingle and interact along the wide pathways. They are designed to be reminiscent of the bustling streets of downtown London. Open use spaces are connected to these passageways, allowing community members to interact with the students. This scheme does not always work, but thus far, it has been extremely successful in the school.

open continuous space

closed, autonomous space

Light Definitions of Space

Textural Definitions of Space

Boundaries in the space types are defined by framed light and partitions/ walls. In the autonomous spaces, light sources are framed by regular geometries and walls are straight edged. Along open areas, the lights are framed by irregular and curving walls.

Circulation spaces are hallmarked by playful textures and detailing. The handrails undulate and almost pull away from the roughly textured, painted, and curving walls. The floors flatten and slope, adding a larger scale spatial change to the smaller details, creating a total experience. irregular versus regular light

circulation spaces encompass the majority of the building

Goetz Gallery

Herzog and de Meuron

Space, Event, and Form

Space

The Goetz Gallery’s design is laid out in a way to emphasize the rectangular spaces of the gallery. Overall, the floor plan is based on the minimalist simplicity of what is needed for the single purpose of the placement of artwork along the walls of the gallery spaces and the viewing of that artwork.

The facade of the building varies in the implication of “open” and enclosed space. For the Goetz, the allowable natural light exists only through the frosted glass facade that allows light through the upper portions of spaces (excluding the entrance room that takes up the upper portion of the lower floor). The rest of the building are made of solid, opaque walls that serve the function of presenting various artwork. The enclosed spaces utilize diffused light from above to allow sufficient emphasis on the function of the room itself.

The spaces is inside the gallery are contained within specified cells of space, each being a specific unit of space within the whole. The Goetz Gallery as a whole is two unified spaces that are subdivided into three individual spaces on each level.

Each of the gallery spaces has an upper opening to let in natural light to illuminate each of the galleries. This directs light to the center of the room and prevents the artwork from receiving direct light and possibly damaging or fading them.

Upper Floor

Ground Floor

Facade Emphasis

Lower Floor

Interior Gallery

Gallery Space Entrance / Office Space Service Area Interior Gallery - Window View

Goetz Museum

Herzog and De Meuron

Structure, Performance, and Experience

Experience

The structure of the Geotz Museum is very orthogonal. Structural concrete walls, creating a volume, combine with steel columns that allow horizontal openings rapping continuously around the top and bottom of the four facades. A sense of hovering is created for the roof and the central mass.

movement: approaching the orthogonal structure

horizontal openings extend along the four facades

Approaching the building is not as simple as moving perpendicular to one of its axes, straight towards the facade. Instead, one takes a pathway parallel to its longer axis, which delivers a three-dimensional experience of the structure. In the interior, on the other hand, light is very essential in creating the experience. Light is brought gently into space, allowing a soft feeling when moving through it.

Performance

POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL ELEMENT STRUCTURAL CONCRETE STEEL-STRUCTURE COLUMNAR SHELL, COVERED WITH GLASS TIMBER FRAME

The openings at the top and bottom of the building allow great amount of light during the day, even for the half-buried space; this reduces the energy needed to light the space, and will also warm the space throughout the winter season.

diagram of structure

diagrammatic cross-section, showing light penetrating through space

soft light enters the space

Goetz Museum

Herzog and De Meuron

Material, Detail, and Weathering

Joints

The architects, Herzong and De Meuron, very carefully select their materials for any project. In the Goetz Museum, wood, concrete, steel, glass, and wall stucco are the major visible materials. On the exterior facade, white-painted timber frames create a grid system enclosing the structural concrete walls. The white-painted wood is hard to be distinguished from concrete, since the edge between the two materials seems as a recessed line in the concrete.

The joints between any two materials alomost disappear. In most cases, a sharp line defines where a material ends and the other starts. This concealing of joints, together with the smooth finish of wood, white stucco, and the gentle light brought into space through the frosted glass, create a soft, smooth atmospheric quality; the ‘feeling’ of space surpasses the ‘seeing’ in this case.

Weathering

hard-line joints: glass, steel, and wood

wood and concrete: diagrammatic weathering

smooth wood finish and white stucco, along with the soft light, all add to the atmospheric feeling of space

timber frame weathering and hard-line joints

concrete weathering

The architects were aware of the weather of the area. Snow and rain were predictable, and the use of concrete was intentional, with the knowledge of its weathering effect. After water ran over the surface many times, today the concrete looks more natural, as if it belongs to the site. The texture of the wooden frame looks more rough than before, which also enhances the sense of belonging to site. wall grid-system

Caixa Forum

Herzog and de Meuron

Dimension and Form

Human and Material

A module is a unit of measurement used for standardizing the dimensions of building materials or regulating the proportions of an architectural composition. Material based modules used here are brick, corten steel, and window openings. Notice the scale change from brick to corten steel to window openings. Brick was the only salvaged material from the renovation of the building and thus marked the initial building module for Herzog and de Meuron. It is evident that the dimensions of modules lead to the formation of space and enclosure within the building and the plaza.

Here the human body effects the sizing of the stainless steel modules that form the open stairwell space. The dimensions of these modules relate to the size of the human at the stair entrance, but then extend out and increase in size when farther off the ground. Covered Plaza Revealing Modules and Material

Space and Enclosure

Material Dimension and Space

The progression of scale changing material modules leads to the idea that a human body can be an influential dynamic module. Observe how the building seems to levitate above the ground. The height of this gap it determined by the human body. Materials and spaces within the building are then chosen and positioned to create enclosure based from the human module.

The stainless steel panels and fluorescent lighting fixtures take on various triangular dimensions to form space on the lobby level. The steel panels occupy the wall and ground planes, undulating at various inclines to direct the flow of visitors toward the lobby or exit. The lighting fixtures occupy the ceiling plane allowing visitors to feel enclosed by the triangular module from all directions. Elevation Revealing Modules and Threshold

Stairwell Revealing Enclosing Modules

Caixa Forum

Herzog and de Meuron

Light and View

Experience and Light

Natural light within the museum is experienced through the corten steel perforation cladding. Larger perforations let in more light than smaller perforations. Herzog and de Meuron determined the relationship of material to opening by creating a pattern of Spain and Portugal maps within the overall cladding. The light and view that a visitor experiences from the inside of the building is reflective of the culture and history of the physical surroundings.

The experience of the covered overhang plaza changes depending on when a visitor is outside the overhang or inside. When outside, a visitor is in direct sunlight and space within the overhang is dark in comparison. When inside the overhang, a visitors frame of view is experienced as a horizontal strip. Light inside is experienced as a series of reflections from the stainless steel panels surrounding the visitor.

Experience of Overhang from Outside to Inside

Movement and Experience

Movement and View

The corten steel screen effects a visitors experience of the Caixa Forum based on their distance from it. A close up of the corten steel reveals the texture of the material as well as a view of activities and spaces surrounding the site. Standing at a standard distance from the screen, a visitor can notice shadows that cross the horizontal plane as well as the edges of the larger opening that illuminate more than the smaller openings. Visitors experience the weathering and the overall configuration of the panels when they stand far out from the building.

The streets surrounding the Caixa Forum are narrow and thus posed a challenge to Herzog and de Meuron as to where they would place their entrance and how the building could attract visitors in. By â&#x20AC;&#x153;levitatingâ&#x20AC;? the building, people walking on the streets have a glimpse into the museum and thus are tempted inside. This structural feat also prevents space on the street from feeling cramped. View of the entrance stairwell is accessible from all four surrounding streets, thus movement under the overhang occurs from all directions. Corten Steel Perforation Views

Movement from Under Overhang and Streets

Caixa Forum

Herzog and de Meuron

Program and Event

Culture and Program

The Caixa Forum can be described with three spaces, the livitating mass of brick and corten steel above ground, the open air, covered plaza space at the ground level, and the below ground addition of an auditorium and classrooms.

The existing brick mass is a preservation of a monumental industrail era in Madrid. The additional corten steel spaces comingle with the existing condition in program, material, and cultural significance.

Existing and Added Spaces Delineate Program

Event from Structural Force The openness of the covered and uncovered plaza was programmed into the site by Herzog and de Meuron. The space is an example of programme because it can host a multitude of events. The connection between the covered plaza space and the outdoor plaza space would not have been possible without the structural capacity of the three load bearing cores. This structural feat not only draws in visitors walking along the narrow streets of Madrid but also worldwide.

Structure and Force Access to the above and below ground program is through three central cores. These cores are not only the stairwellss that dictate vertical movement throught the building, but they are also the main load bearing supports that allow the â&#x20AC;&#x153;levitationâ&#x20AC;? of the above ground mass. Plan and Section of Structural Overhang

Overhang as Program and Programme

Beijing National Stadium

Herzog and de Meuron

Program and Event

Composition and Order

Beijing National Stadium was designed and built to be the main venue for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It would serve as the main stage for the opening and closing ceremonies of the event. It would also be the main stadium for athletic competition. The program establishes a central focus for the competitions and events that would be taking place in the stadium. The inward focus creates a grand stage. Post-Olympics the stadium is still used to host events and competitions.

The stadium is composed of ovals that surround the track and field. Two axes of symmetry can drawn through the center of the ovals to establish the main orienting directions of the plan. The central organization is key to the program of the stadium.

Plan

Form Diagram

View Diagram

Movement Diagram

Dimension and Form

Movement and Experience

Beijing National Stadium follows an oval form. Gradation of scale of the oval is used as a layout for the stadium stands to surround the track and field, the main focus of the program. The central proportion about the track and field further establishes the focus of the program.

Circular circulation and path follow the oval form of the plan. Partial radial circulation and path also follow plan. The shell of the stadium creates an entry threshold for the spatial transition from the outside to the inside atmosphere of the stadium.

Program and Event

Perspective View

Elevation

Beijing National Stadium

Herzog and de Meuron

Light and View

Climate and Weathering

Direct light enters the stadium from the aperture in the overhead plane. The direct light from above helps create an interior atmosphere for the stadium. The steel structure has transparent filling in the webs in between steel members of the shell. This allows for natural light to come in through the exterior surface or for the artificial light of the stadium to escape to the outside. The shell of the stadium creates a texture to the three dimensional surrounding plane through a hatched pattern. There is a central direction of attention and focus within the stadium, following the program of the stadium to be a stage for grand events.

The aperture in the overhead plane serves as the main threshold and connection from the inside of the stadium to the outside. It creates an interior atmosphere for the stadium allowing sunlight and weather into the stadium. The inside is exposed to the elements of climate and weather. The direct light brought into the stadium helps to naturally light the venue and also casts dynamic shadows onto the track and field and stands of the stadium.

Site and Context The stadium is located in Beijing, China, the capitol. It is a part of the Olympic Green, the main area used to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. The stadium itself is the main stage for the Olympics. The site has historical significance as it lies eight kilometers due north of Tiananmen Square, an important cultural site for the rise of the democratic movement in China and the following suppression and massacre of protestors in 1989.

Site and Context

Interior View

Operation and Performance The aperture in the overhead plane continues to be of importance to the project. It allows for open ventilation of the stadium. Natural light is also brought into the stadium through the aperture. The interior of the stadium is also exposed to the elements.

Perspecitve View

Interior View

Beijing National Stadium

Herzog and de Meuron

Space and Enclosure

Material and Detail

Beijing National Stadium is spatially defined by the surrounding three dimensional plane that is the outer shell of the stadium. Irregular lines create a clustered spatial field that becomes the shell. Linear order can be established by finding that there are many short vertically angled lines and few long horizontally angled lines that create the skin of the shell. Three dimensionally the stadium is fully enclosed by vertical planes. It is further closed and defined by the overhead plane. Spatial interaction through autonomous space occurs with the opening in the overhead plane that is the aperture.

The stadium is a steel structure. Poured concrete is used to create a base for the structure. Precast concrete is also used for the interior of the structure to create planes and stands. Inflated ETFE Cushion is used to fill the web gaps in between steel members. The cushion provides a water tight barrier but remains translucent to allow for natural light to enter and artificial light to escape. The steel trusses are interwoven into a grid formation to create interlocking branches.

Exterior Shell Pattern

drawing label

Fabrication and Assembly Structure and Force Beijing National Stadium is a steel structure. Steel trusses and beams are interwoven into a grid formation that becomes the shell of the stadium. The interlocking branches were designed to follow nature and the way a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nest is formed. The structure itself weighs 42,000 tons. The structure is designed to hold itself up as 11,200 tons of the weight is hanging in the form of the ceiling of the overhead plane. Diagram of Outter Shell Pattern

Exterior Shell Pattern

Construction

The steel structure is welded together and is designed to hold itself up. Precast concrete is used to create interior elements of the stadium such as planes and stands. Seventy-eight temporary support structures were installed while building and removed at the end of construction. Lifting jacks were used to hold the structure as it was being built until the structure could hold itself. There was a thirty-five step process of placing and removing supports until the structure was built.

Beijing Olympic Stadium

Herzog & de Meuron

Material The stadium has concrete in the inside for the seating bowl. It has a steel outer shell and the roof is made of a double layer membrane, One layer is transparent and the other is translucent.

Assembly + Fabrication

The steel shell con consists of over 22 minles of unwrapped steel. Due to the thermal expansion of steel, and these being the supports for the stadium, engineers had to come up with two new types of steel that had the flexibility and the strenght for the expansion and contraction caused by the changing temperatures of beijing. The roof is covered with a double-layer membrane structure, with a transparent ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) membrane fixed on the upper part of the roofing structure and a translucent PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane fixed on its lower part. A PTFE acoustic ceiling is also attached to the side walls of the inner ring.

The stadium steel shell has 24 columns made of three sections that were shipped to the site in parts because no crane was able to lift so much weight. In the site the three were put together as the stadium was being built creating the facade of it. Smaller beams where then added between columns for additional support.

Lower Section

Photograph of the building shortly after completion.

Pattern of steel facade

Double-layer mebrane

upper Section

Pilar Section

24 columns

smaller beams between columns

The stadium was held by 78 columns during construction to help support the load. when finished with the steel shell these columns were removed, and some jacks pads were used to transfer the load to the actual structure.

Beijing Olympic Stadium

Herzog & de Meuron

Movement

Order and Composition

Unlike most public venues, the stadium does not lock up at night. The use of steel beams for both the structure and facade of the building prohibits the use of standard exterior walls. However, the facilities inside the stadium are all self-contained units that can be freely opened and closed. This makes the space more accessible to the general public and is likely to increase its use as an open public space after the Olympics.

In plan, the order of the stadium is not much different from any others of its kind. Two different ovals operating on the urban scale define the playing field and seating area. Within the larger area, there are several stands and places to rest that were designed for the human scale in order to seem more approachable to visitors. In seciton, the composition is fairly simple: a giant red bowl rests inside a steel frame. However, this simplicity is hidden by the dramatic steel beams that make the structure seem more complex than it really is.

Beyond the human and urban scales

The circulation and structure take similiar paths.

Urban Scale

Human Scale

Form The outside of the Bird’s Nest emanates synergy: the steel structural elements support each other while converging into a grid-like formation. This is similiar to the idea of the interwoven twigs of a bird’s nest. The red bowl is the other key design element. Its form and dimension were determined by sight lines from the seats to the playing field. The form of this project is a good example of how functional requirements can result in a seemingly random form, particularly with the steel structure.

Beyond Urban Scale (Stadium) Urban Scale (Playing Field) The use of two shells creates a dynamic space.

Shadows oppose the geometric plan inside.

Human Scale (Vendors/stands) The sections shows how the stadium “nests” inside the outer shell similiar to a bird’s nest.

The mechanical, human, and urban scales are expressed in both plan and section.

Double Shell System The Olympic Stadium has a double shell system that is very similiar to Brunelleschi’s Dome at Florence Cathedral. There is a fifty foot gap between the bowl (with its supporting structure) and the steel frame which houses a large staircase. The architects do not cite this directly as a source of inspiration, but the idea of using two shells and putting the ciruclation between them is nearly identical to Brunelleschi’s scheme for his dome.

Beijing Olympic Stadium

Herzog & de Meuron

Structure

Light

Instead of covering up the steel structure, Herzog and de Meuron considered it to be an integral part of the stadium’s form and left it exposed. Rather than using a different set of members for each side of the stadium, the architects used continuous lines that run from the ground, up one side, across the roof, and down the other side. This results in two identical sides. The same process was done for the diagonal lines of the staircase. Finallly, remaining infill members were added to balance the facade.

The use of a transparent facade allows natural light to constantly let into the stadium. It also creates interesting light conditions within the stadium. For example, at some times during the day, the sun casts shadows onto the playing field. These shadows echo the form of the steel members directly onto the field and stands below. The light conditions within the stadium remind visitors of the continous importance and beauty of the architecture they occupy.

drawing label

outsidei

Skin differentates inside and outside colors.

skin

nside

Space The Bird’s Nest can be simplified into three spaces: the facade or steel structure, the red bowl stadium, and the space in between them.The inner space is more enclosed to allow visitors to focus on the athletic events, while all of the attention in the outer space is drawn to the facade. The idea of the stadium as a true bird’s nest also works here. The shape of the “nest” suggests thoughts of nurturing and enveloping, just as one could feel enveloped and contained inside the stadium.

outsidei

skin

nside

Structure and light overlayed onto drawings.

Skin as a light filter.

Circulation The circulation for the stadium is located between the inner and outer structures. In the circulation space, the open, autonomous area outside contasts with the darker, more closed space within. The circulation serves as a transition from inside to outside, dark to light, and closed to open.

In both plan and section, the skin marks the transition from open to closed.

The section is comparable to a bird’s nest.

SKin as a tool to frame views of circulation.

Detail + Context De Young Museum Sculptural installation “Drawn Stone” by artist Andy Goldsworthy allows visitors to subtly recall the history behind the De Young Museum. A long crack runs from the concrete pavement into the entrance of the museum, where it goes through eight large stones. This symbolizes the earthquake that damaged the previous museum and led to the De Young. Goldsworthy says this sculpture aims to “[draw] attention to the power of nature to undermine or destroy even the most monumental works created by humans.” 2

The crack, reminiscent of a fault-line crack, is shown here running from the beginning of one of the courtyards and through the first large stone

Material + Movement

De Young Museum In De Young, copper combines with glass to frame views and guide movement. The breakdown of copper to glass is shown, with orange representing copper and light green representing glass. The amount of glass was moderated to limit the amount of heat gains coming from the outside. Glass can be seen in the entry courtyard at an angle, reflecting views and therefore guiding visitors along the courtyard.

Diagram of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glass and copper

Glass facades both reflect spaces as visitors move through and guide movement along this courtyard

Structure + Site

De Young Museum While the steel frame of the museum rests on bearings, allowing the base to move independently and absorb seismic vibrations that would otherwise be transferred to the structure, a three and one-half foot wide moat surrounds the building and accomodates for the horizontal displacement of the building that would occur during an earthquake.

The moat cover was buried in the ground, so as not to interrupt the design goal of seamless integration of the building with its surroundings. It is submerged under loosely set pavers and planted material. In the event of an earthquake, the cover will press on this “pop-up zone,” creating a small pile of debris.

The building’s moat is located around the perimeter

A typical section view of a moat is shown here. In the event of an earthquake, sliding bearing isolators allow for horizontal movement up to three feet of de Young in any direction. This shift displaces the material within the moat into a “popup zone.”

Planted material that covers the trench-like moat

Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Geometry in Form

Composition

The overall form of the building is reflected again in the cutouts of the facade. The rectangular shape repeats in rectangular voids, with square voids as well.

The organization of the interior reflects the linearity of the facade. The main paths through Simmons Hall are straight lines. However, free flowing paths are integrated into the plan where the “sponges” pierce through the floor and ceiling. These sponges, like the voids in the facade, cut through the interior, creating gaps in the building and breaking up the linear progression of the hallways.

Linear geometry drives this project. The building is over three times longer than it is tall, which is enhanced by the window placement on the exterior and hallways in the interior.

how sponges are connected between floors

point and line technique

Dimensions

Form of the Sponges

Steven Holl’s residential hall for MIT is one of the larger buildings on campus. It is over 375 feet long, 105 feet high, and contains over 5,538 windows. In addition to meeting spaces, a cafeteria, and a rooftop deck, there are 350 student rooms, whose proportions were derived from the golden section.

Although it is a large building, the crenellated form of Simmons Hall makes the interior space feel compact. The lungs change how the halls operate, creating and using space when needed. They make the continuing horizontal spaces more dynamic, and add much needed variety to the typically “institutional” feel of a residence hall.

linear form and composition

The “sponges,” as Holl calls them, act as an organic structure with a variety of forms and spaces. They are created with a simple point and line technique, which allowed the construction team to build the complex shapes with relative ease. section sketch of lungs within a linear geometry

perspective sketch of sponges in a corridor

Bryana Warner

Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Circulation and Path

Light and View

The circulation in this building is straight and axial primarily on the long axis of the building. On most floors the circulation can be defined as a path moving by space because the individual dorm rooms and other program needs are on either side of a central hallway, defined in the diagrams as a red line. However, occasionally the path is penetrated axially as well as obliquely by public outdoor spaces that relate to the site. Another encounter along this central hallway includes the sponges; one must circulate around or inside of these amorphous volumes.

Light is brought into the building in two ways: through the sponges and the windows on the facade. The sponges bring light from above to the core of the building. The windows on the facade bring light in from the sides. Comparing the two, the light from the sponges is more diffuse light brought in at a gradient while the light from the windows is very strong and distinct. The views correspond to how the light is filtered into the building. From inside the sponges, where the public lounge spaces are located, the view has a very natural organic shape giving a view to the sky. From the dorm rooms and corridors in the building the view to the surrounding landscape is fragmented by a grid system of 2’x2’ windows. drawing label

light and view comparison

Passive System The voids are referenced as the “lungs” of the building because their function is to bring natural light in while moving air up through the building. This is achieved because of the vertical porosity of these structures.

plan analysis of path

“lungs” of the building

The skin of Simmons Hall is made of concrete which gives the building a sense of mass at the perimeter, acting as a natural insulator. This structure allows for operable windows, which are set back about 20 inches from the facade thus increasing the thickness of the concrete which acts as a shade from the sun allowing winter sun to heat the building but blocking the higher rays of the summer sun.

Bryana Warner

Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Structure

Construction

Simmons Hall is primarily composed of perfcon precast concrete panels with reinforcing steel that was digitally coordinated, which gave precision to the project. There are 6,000 panels comprising the building, each one precast off site. Through the design process Steven Holl worked with a concrete- and a steel-frame system side-by-side, with the most inexpensive system being employed.

The perfcon panels were fabricated in Canada and shipped to the site in Cambridge, Massachusetts to be assembled. The whole building sits on a 4’ concrete matt foundation from which the perfcon panels were build upwards. They were then lifted into place and attached together. structural diagram of individual perfcon panels

fabrication of perfcon panels

assembly of perfcon panels

Force The anticipated maximum stresses in the structure are expressed through the colored window jambs. These were based upon a structural diagram used to coordinate the size of reinforcing steel in the perfcon panels. The colors reveal the size of the reinforcing steel cast within the panels.

The “sponges” or voids in the building are also made of concrete using everyday construction techniques for ease of construction. Using the point and line technique, these amorphous shapes were made by connecting the base of one to the base of another on the next floor using straight lines. Detail

construction of sponge

Blue=#5 Green=#6 Yellow=#7 Orange=#8 Red=#9 and #10 Uncolored areas=#5 or smaller

colored window jambs

idea of porosity represented at different scales

furniture design

Holl’s initial idea of porosity is manifested in all aspects and scales of Simmons Hall. The windows on the facade are all operable allowing for tremendous air movement through the building, therefore making the building itself porous. Another way Holl decided to show this idea of porosity was in the furniture designed for this building. A series of playful perforations were made in the wood panels of the furniture, which was designed as a series of interchangeable components that would allow maximum flexibility. The idea of porosity is also represented at much smaller scales, including the overhang at the entrance of the building, the railing for the stairs, and on the handles of the doors.

Bryana Warner

MIT Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Perfcon Panels + Materials

Assembly

MIT uses precast concrete construction called Perfcon. The concrete of the Perfcon panes are only seen on the interior of the building and are not exposed to the exterior. This is to insulate the building. On the exterior of the panels are the building facade’s aluminum panels which in synthesis with the concrete, work as the building’s skin. The concrete is reinforced by steel. The sandedaluminum skin matches the materiality of the windows, giving the building a monolithic quality.

The Perfcon panels were fabricated at a precaster Canada and then shipped to Cambridge. This design process runs against another design process Holl had for Simmons, that is, a steelframe system. Holl chose the most inexpensive system: the prefabricated concrete system. Fabrication of Perfcon panels

Fabrication of Perfcon panels

Detail drawing of Perfcon panels

Perforation

Digitization

The perforations in the skin’s aluminum adds to the architect’s concept of the building being a sponge.

By using prefabricated concrete, Holl was able to achieve precision because of the controlled condictions of the precaster and the accuracy of the computer. Reinforcing steel was digitally coordinated and of over 6000 panels, only 1 was defective, saving the client time and money. Perforated aluminum

Aluminum exterior cladding

Assembly of Perfcon panels on site

MIT Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Structure

Passive System

The interior structure of Simmons Hall consists of two rows of columns running the length of the building. They run along the walls of the central corridor so as not to interrupt the open spaces. These columns however, do not support the majority of the load. It is the external walls, made of Perfcon, prefabricated, perforated, reinforced concrete panels that support the majority of the building load.

During the summer months, mixed mode, a hybrid arrangement that combines the mechanical cooling effects of a low-volume ducted airconditioning system with the natural ventilation effects of opening windows, supply outlets at the base of the atria supplement natural ventilation to keep the building cool. In the winter however, heated air is supplied into the top of the atria to keep the building warm. The low-energy ventilation and dehumidification system allow the building to be used year-round without requiring air conditioning.

Solar light during the summer

6,000 operable windows with solar shading provide natural ventilation.

Colored jambs express the anticipated maximum stress in the structure

Diagram

Color Generated with Structure The colors of the head and jamb spaces, created by the deep insets of the windows are not random. They express the anticipated maximum stresses in the structure. The colors reveal the size of the reinforcing steel cast within the Perfcon Panels (Blue = #5, Green = #6, Yellow = #7, Orange =#8, Red = #9 & #10).

Solar light during the winter

The concrete walls of the building also help to maintain the occupants’ comfort. Exposed interior concrete takes advantage of night ventilation to cool and the thermal lag of the concrete to maintain cooler temperatures during the day. Light The window jambs are 18” deep and keep the sun’s rays out during the summer and lets in light from the low angled sun during the winter.

Stress diagram of Perfcon panels

Diagram revealing Simmon’s “lungs”

MIT Simmons Hall

Steven Holl

Composition

Form

Elevation-wise, Simmons is divided into 5 parts with three large towers and two smaller parts that act as bridges over the building’s lungs between the towers.

The concept Holl envisioned for Simmons Hall is that of a sponge. Holl wanted the building to be porous and does that by applying large porous sections serving as “lungs” for the building, allowing light to enter and serving as a means of vertical ventilation. Instead of a brick urban wall, the porous walls give Simmons Hall freedom from the normal city.

The organic forms created by the building’s lungs form an autonomous space which is juxtaposed with the rigid grid-like system. Five curvilinear atria intersect vertically through the building’s grid. This in turns creates a dialog between organism and grid. The vertical atria spaces connect the different floors to each other rather than having the floors being independent distinct qualities. A section of the building shows additive vs. subtractive space. Three towers with additive-subtractive spaces

Vertical porosity through “lungs” sketch

Programming The exterior walls are load bearing walls thus the interior space does not have any necessary columns, therefore the sptial programming is free. The spatial attributes are determined by functional requirements. Study rooms are given the maximum of light and thus have the organic lungs. Three towers with additive-subtractive spaces

Program spaces by color

Tama Art Library

Site The library is designed to become an extension and celebration of the site that it is within. This becomes evident through the use of columns and arches that mimic the vertical and branching elements of the trees within the garden that the library is located in. It also becomes evident in the way that the ground floor of the library continues the slope of the ground plane in the garden, creating a smooth transition from garden to library.

Space

Toyo Ito

Use of reflection The use of reflective surfaces in the library brings the exterior into the interior and begins to blur the boundary between the two.

Columns and arches vs. trees

Reflective surfaces within Tama art library

Arches

Continuing ground plane from gardens to library floor

The building has no real walls on the interior, instead using columns and arches to softly divide or integrate spaces both within the library itself and between the interior and exterior spaces of the library. The open floor plan also allows for a mostly unobstructed view throughout the interior of the library and through the library to the site beyond.

The large, repeated openings that are layered within the space serve to funnel and direct oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view to the gardens that the building resides within. The large repeated openings also create layered space that seems as if it has the potential to continue on forever, not unlike the feeling of walking through a forest. Layered, open space within Tama art library

Funneling/directing view

Tama Art Library

Toyo Ito

Site

Intersecting arches

The library is located within Tokyo, Japan. This region is located near several fault lines and experiences frequent earthquakes.

The arches that run throughout the interior of the library intersect frequently. At these intersections, cross shaped columns apear. These intersections help to increase the structural stability of the structure and stabalize it in the case of an earthquake.

Fault lines by Tokyo, Japan

Intersection of arches

Structure and Force A great deal of effort went into making the narrow columns and arches that hold up the library structurally sound even in the event of earthquakes.

Elevated base of buildingstays still during earthquake and takes no damage drawing label

rubber isolators move with the building base on ground, allowing the elevated building base to remain still

Tama art library section

drawing label

Base built directly on ground moves and takes damage during earthquake

Tama Art Library

Toyo Ito

Space

Use of reflection

The building uses columns and arches to softly divide or integrate spaces both within the library itself and between the interior and exterior spaces of the library. The columns and arches also allow for a mostly unobstructed view throughout the interior of the library and through the library to the site beyond.

The use of reflective surfaces in the library has the joint functions of bringing the exterior into the interior and at the same time incorporating color and light into an otherwise gray space.

Layered/open space within the library

Reflective surfaces in Tama Art library

Funneling View

Light and view

The large, repeated openings that are layered within the space serve to funnel and direct ones view to the gardens outside of the building. The contrast between the mostly gray and dim interior and the bright, colorful exterior also helps to direct oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view towards the gardens outside.

The majority of the light in the space comes from the large arching windows along the exterior of the building. The open floor plan of the building allows for this light to filter throughout the entire structure. The open floor plan also allows for a mostly unobstructed view within the interior of the building and from the interior of the building to the exterior.

Funneling/directing view

Sendai Mediatheque

Toyo Ito

Site and Context

Structure

All of Japan is succeptable to earthquakes. Sendai is located in a region under a moderate earthquake warning. This context influences the design of the building in a few ways that will impact the quality of the architectural space. Most importantly, of course, when dealing with the threat of an earthquake, is the structure. Making structural decisions with respect to potential seizmic forces gives the building its form.

Ito takes advantage of the new technology of her time. She uses computer software to enable her to design columns that pierce each floor of the building. The columns have to react to the programing of each floor while maintaining its structural integrity. The columns react to the necessary forces and building program and are aestheticly extrordinary as well.

Digital columns drawing label

Re-Structuring

Earthquakes Sendai Mediathique has encurred damage in the past. Buildings in this area have to be able to experience the earthquake without fatal damage. The cost of building a new building after each earthquake would not be possible. It is interesting to study a building where the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary consideration is for the building to stand up. Ito has chosen to emphasizes the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure since it is the most critical aspect of the building.

Under construction

Section Site

Library (after earthquake)

Japan earthquake risk

Comon Area (after earthquake)

The earhtquake has come and gone and the building must be tectonicly organized in a way that damaged parts can be replaced and critical structural elements do not fail. In an area without the threat of earthquake, the discovery of this type of structural nuance would never occur. Architects can use the environment to learn from and celebrate the environment, even when the environment seems harsh.

Sendai Mediathique

Toyo Ito

Quality of Space

Library

The space is defined by an exterior curtain wall that lights the interior from the perimeter toward the center. The light makes the space toward the center of each level more private and the space at the edges more public. This is menifested in the floor plans, as on some floors, the space toward the center of the floor is set off by partition walls for more private use.

The library, one of the primary functions of Sendai Mediathique, takes advantage of the open floor slabs. The consistant sea of bookshelves is interupted by the columns, which emphasizes the structural nuance of the building.

Comon Area

Galery Space

Library

Programme This quality of the architectural space starts to define the program on each floor. Activities that require good lighting are placed at the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perimeter. The artificial light is very destinct from the natural lighting because of the pattern of its placement. It is also very destinct because the only natural light comes from the facade of the building.

Natural vs. Artificial Light

Perimeter Lighting

Eating Area

Computer Lab Rooms that require less light can be placed on lower floors. On the lower floors, the trees do not allow as much natural light into the building. But this quality of space is not suitable for computer screens because of glare. The quality of space on each floor dictates the programatic function of that level.

drawing label

Computer Lab

Sendai Mediathique

Toyo Ito

Old

Structure

The columns of ancient Greece serve as structural components. They are an obstacle for occupants of the building. People move around these columns. They are heavy and require an uneconomical amount of material.

Obviously the structure of Sendai is celebrated for its phenomonal experiential quality, the blending that it allows between floor levels and its sophistication in a new age of technology. The columns wind their way through each floor slab, from the ground, all the way up through the roof of the building.

greek columns

Movement The architect takes the opportunity to enhance the experience of the columns by placing stairs up through them. The occupants experience the columns from the inside of them, outside of them, and outside of the entire building. The structure is an opportunity for movement. The unbelievable opportunity that technology has provided has transformed a columns from something massive and solid to something that is elegant and occupiable.

New

Stair

Circulation through column

columns moving between floors

Movement around column

doric column

Sendai column

Movement through column

The columns in Sendai Mediathique serve as curculation conduits. They are the exact opposite of an obstruction for occupants. These columns requre less material and light to pass through them. The new columns increase the fluidity of the use of the building instead of taking away from it.

Sendai Mediatheque

Toyo Ito

Program + Event PERFORMANCES

BUILDING SERVICES

LIGHT

EATING

STAIRS

Opened Doors: Festival/Public Space

OFFICE SPACES

Closed Entrance: Exhibition Space

DUCTS & CABLES

The open space and enclosure being defined only by the columns or moveable furniture articulates the Mediathequeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cross-programming. The venues are able to change, and people are exposed to each other as they move across different areas of the program.

ELEVATORS

Space + Enclosure

Methods of movement through lattice tubes

INFORMATION

SHOPPING

The complex program given to Toyo Ito let him create a very open structure that has no defined spaces for specific events. Instead, every space can be turned into a stage or venue for different events. This effect is achieved through how he designed the open spaces and ways of movement through the structure.

Overlapping programs on ground floor

Movement + Experience

Cross-programming

The whirlpool effect ot movement the Sendai Mediatheque allows people to freely travel between the different spaces, and exposes every part of the program. A person knows all of the activitiees that are going on in their respective floor because of the constant currents of movement and open space.

The effect of these three concepts is cross-programming. With no defined spaces, people move freely between different aspects of the program. So while specific requirements of the program are met, the building offers much more as a building chameleon, that can orient itself to satisfy other unexpected functions.

Spacial transformation of ground floor

Open Plan of the Sendai Mediatheque

drawing label

Whirlpool effect of movement

Cross-programming across the various floors

Sendai Mediatheque

Toyo Ito

Composition + Order

Fabrication + Assembly

The total composition of the building is same through all the floors: a loose grid with 12 tubes differing in diameter across the different floors. It gives the Sendai Mediatheque a sense of “oneness,” but the fabricating and assembling contradicts this due to limitations in the fabrication and transportation of construction elements. However, the final product is still read as one with its three main elements: glass skin, steel lattice tubes, and spanding slabs.

With the intention of a sense of “oneness” in composition and order, it created great difficulty in the fabrication and assembly of the Sendai Mediatheque. The tubes could not be custom fabricated and transported in one piece due to their size and expense. Thus, they were sectioned off between floors, and innovatively pin-jointed in the slab. The joints are exposed so that there is still a visual connection to the tubes being one piece.

Assembling tubes in pieces

Exposed joinery of the tubes between floors

Three elements: skin, slab, tubes

Loose grid with differing tube diameters

Sendai Mediatheque

Toyo Ito

Operation + Performance

The different functions of the column tubes

SUMMER

LIGHT

Heat being re-routed by the glass skin

STAIRS

OFFICE SPACES

While, the tubes serve the people in visibley operable ways of transportation, it also maintains comfortable conditions while simulatneously keeping the building structurally strong.

DUCTS & CABLES

Operating as an information center for the city of Sendai, The Sendai Mediathque is a massive building that uses its structure as sustainable performance. The glass skin and the lattice tubes transported unwanted air out of the building and keeps valuable conditions within the building.

ELEVATORS

open air gate

Honeycomb slabs allow great spans

WINTER

Cool air being re-routed by the glass skin

Cold Winter Wind

Structure + Force The structure of the Sendai Mediatheque is provided by the three elements of the building: the glass skin, the steel tubes, and the honeycomb slabs. The slabs connect the faces of the building without addition structural support besides the steel lattice tubes thanks to the honeycomb structure. It allows the building to perform as a transparent building with the slabs floating along the glass facade.

AT&T Building

Philip Johnson

Composition

Space

The Golden Section rectangle makes a presence on each floor throughout the building.(Figure 1) This system is repeated on the facade making this a plan-section composition. The composition of the columns around the perimeter of the ground level is repeated on all floors. These columns form a pattern that is repeated along the facade of the front and back of the building, making this is plan-section composition.(Figure 2)

The space created by these systems is very different on each of the four spaces not including the atrium. The Ground Lobby has high ceilings and a free flowing plan that is made to invite the public.(Figure 4) The atrium changes as the over hang outlines the sky. (Figure 5) The Sky lobby, since it is an adjoining space to the entire tower is used as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;control lobby.â&#x20AC;? This space has a smaller height than the lobby but still significant.(Figure 6) The low rise floors drastically change in ceiling height as these spaces are now used for a workforce.(Figure 7) High rise levels have irregular spaces. These spaces seem to be more specific to the function.(Figure 8)

Figure 2- Plan Section Composition

Figure 4- Ground Lobby

Figure 5- Public Atrium

Movement Four types of horizontal movement occurs through the tower. On the ground level, a grid organization allows the public to move through this space freely. The sky lobby demonstrates a radial path as the elevators connecting the ground and low/rise level is situated in the center. The low rise levels have a circular path that travels around the center space. The high rise floors have a straight path. On this level, there are instances where the only way to access a room would be to follow the path of another. (Figure 1) Vertical movement is regulated by the elevators that have different destinations. The elevators create a transition space making this a threshold path.

Program

Figure 1- Floor Plans

Figure 3- Elevator Destinations

Figure 6- Sky Lobby

Figure 7-Low Rise Office Space

Figure 8-High Rise Lounge

Figure 9-Ground Lobby

The program in each of these spaces is unique. There is a distinct separation of public and private spaces. The Sky Lobby and Ground level are public whereas the High and Low rise levels are private. The ground level provides the public with a free flowing space along with kiosks and retail space. There are also tables and seats scattered around.(Figure 9) The atrium in Figure 5 connects the the streets allowing pedestrians to walk through.

AT&T Building

Philip Johnson

Material

Framing

The materials for this building are; flamed finish granite, standing seam copper roof, gray tinted glass, white painted metal, clear tempered glass bronze window mullions and marble. The materials form a relationships with lighting to set the tone for spaces. The warm and earth feel of the granite is supposed to invite the public to enter the main lobby.(Figure 1) The Bronze ceiling in Figure 2 exaggerates the golden illumination of the rays.

The framing of the exterior, streetscape is best seen from the outside. The framing transitions from portrait to landscape as you move from the front of the building, to the sides.(Figure 6) The frames are created by long granite columns. The oculus in the Sky lobby also frames the view through not only the large circular shape, but through the window mullions as well. This also occurs in the ground lobby in Figure 7.

Light

Enclosure

The lighting around the structure are both artificial and natural. Natural light is created by subtracting large volumes from the walls. The opening in the ground lobby (Figure 1) has the sole purpose of providing light to the space. The oculus in the sky lobby illuminates the space and material, creating almost and angelic glow.(Figure 3) The long windows on the high rise levels also allow for maximum light into the space.(Figure 4) The atrium in Figure 5 is enclosed with an overhange that allows sunlight to penetrate into the connecting space. Artificial light is the most prominent towards the center of the structures, where light can rarely makes its way in.(Figure 6&7)

The framing on the ground level has a direct relationship to the level of enclosure. The portrait framing on the front of the building leads to higher ceilings which give a greater level of openness. The Sky Lobby (Figure 3) also has a higher level of opennes without the need to open to the outside directly.

Figure 1-Granite on Main Lobby

Figure 2- Bronze Ceiling in Lobby

Figure 5- Natural Lighting in Atrium

Figure 6- Artificial Light in Ground Lobby

Figure 3- Natural Lighting in Sky Lobby

Figure 4-Natural Lighting in Executive Lounge

Figure 7- Artificial Lighting

Figure 8- Framing

AT&T Building

Philip Johnson

Assembly

Detail

There are three assembly techniques that impact the finished building. The steel columns used as a structural framework are enforced by concrete. (Figure 3) The granite that acts as a second skin is veneered onto the concrete.(Figure1) Last, the joint system for the columns to extend to the ground.(Figure 2)

The detail in the assembly plays a crucial role in the finished product. The cladding system for the granite must be snug so as to support the granite from falling off. This system allows the granite to begin to take curvilinear shapes.(Figure 7) The detailing allows for different arrangments of the granite to begin to form different surfaces. (Figure 9)

Figure 1-Cladding

Figure 2-Column Section

drawing label

Structure Modulation The asembly methods are structurally reinforced throughout the structure. The columns that were added as a framework also serves to allow large opening, close together to occur. (Figure 4) The columns that line the perimeter of the ground lobby is extended to all the floors throughout the tower, shown as the darkest shade of black in Figure 5. Another structural component that requires a specific method of assembly is the canopy over the atrium.

Figure 3-Structural Support

Figure 4- Large Voids on Facade

Figure 7- Granite Curves

Figure 8- Interior Modulation

Figure 5- Supporting Columns

Figure 6- Canopy I-Beams

Figure 9- Granite Detailing

Figure 10- Exterior Modulation

Because of these assembly techniques and detailing, modulation starts to occus in the interior and exterior. There are three modules that are consistent throughout the building; the circle, rectangle and arch. By scaling these modules, the enclosure and space begin to shift.(Figure 8 & 10)

Kimbell Art Museum

Louis Kahn

Program + Event

program becomes secondary

The Kimbell is an art gallery that takes into account the human scale, the relationship between the viewer and the art, and how the exhibits flow together, The program also includes a bookstore, cafe, light courts, offices, auditorium, and a portico.

The various programs of the Kimbell are applied to the predetermined grid as well as the barrel vault form. Because of the rigorous order and repetition, the program appears to become secondary to the order. Kahn adjusts what might be typically expected of a praticular program to fit into the established order. Cafe

Acknowledgement of various scales of prgogram

Composition + Order

Composing to Enhance Program

The barrel vaults are composed in a grid fashion. The grid is 6 x 3 using an individual barrel as the unit for the grid. The light courts are subtracted out of the grid system. The composition of the bays in a grid pattern establishes a clear rhythm from the exterior. On the interior, this repetitive rhythm is not as evident because of the integration of program.

The parts of the museum are composed together to enhance the functionality of the programs of the spaces. For example, the light courts, which are composed in an additive subtractive manner, serve as a resting spot from the gallery space. This program of resting is enhanced because it is composed in a way that subtracts part of the bay and adds a resting place.

Repetitive Grid Order

Bay used as Auditorium

Lobby and Bookstore

Light Court

Additive and Subtractive Order

Kimbell Art Musueum

Louis Kahn

Movement + Experience

Creating Options

There is a distinct difference between the expected and actual movement within the Kimbell Museum. One expects to weave through the space, but instead the actual path takes unexpected twists and turns. The path is determined by how one moves around walls that interrupt the expected flow.

Movement is affected when Kahn creates options to travel through the space in various ways. He does this by adjusting the amount of enclosure which encourages people to meander. from less enclosed spaces, through more enclosed spaces, and back to less enclosed. Expected Movement

Actual Movement

Space + Enclosure

Adding and Subtracting Walls

The spatial qualities of each bay are determined by the amount of enclosure. Through the presence and absence of walls, Kahn adjusts the experience in the bay. Similar to the movement through the museum, the spaces are much different on the interior than what one expects from the outside. One expects each bay to be one continuous space, uninterrupted and enclosed on at least two sides; however in reality, the bays range from having one wall, to several walls, and to walls that interrupt the continuous space.

Through the presence and lack of walls, Kahn also changes the way someone moves throguh the space. Instead of having one solid wall, he creates an implied boundary that consists of three separated walls. This allows people to meander through and use whichever path they determine is best.

Various Paths through one space

Fully enclosed spaces

Partially enclosed spaces

Presence and Absence of walls

Kimbell Art Museum

Louis Kahn

Light + View

Release of tension

The Kimbell is known for bringing natural light into the spaces. Kahn uses light as a break in the overhead plane, as well as the cracks between planes. Using natural light for a gallery is ideal, and allows for beautiful dramatic shadows along the sufraces of the museum.

The integration of light allows for a release in the tension of the form. The very rigorous grid-ordered barrel vaults recieve a break in the enclosure through interspaced light courts. Each bay has small slits that let natural light in, and imply a release in the tension of the cycloid shape. Light Courts

Cracks of light in the corner

Dimension + Form

Rhythm

Each individual barrel vault is considered a module in this system. The barrel vaults are based off of a cycloid shape that is derived by taking the ratio over its length and height to equal pi. It also has vertical tangents on both ends. This form resembles something similar to a plane being bent and held under tension.

The light elements combined with the form create a rhythm throughout the museum. It allows one to recognize the space and become familiar with the form. The light elements, such as the center slit and cracks in the corners, are repeated almost identically through each bay. The form appears almost unseperable from the light elements.

Natural Light through overhead plane

Cycloid form derivation

Dramatic and Sharp shadows

Establishing a Rhythm

The Yale Center for British Art

Louis Kahn

Material

Steel, Wood, Concrete

The chosen materials, namely concrete, steel, wood, and glass, serve as a means of communicating monumentality. The materials on both the interior and exterior situate the structure into the site, giving the impression of power that will serve the test of time. The materials and structure give the appearance of density from all sides. While the physical structure of the building is sandwhiched between these materials, the structural characteristics and monumentality are visible from the outside.

Kahn’s choice of materials serve the purpose of highlighting the structural qualities within. The concrete, glass and steel used along the exterior create a sense of monumentality, situating the user within. It expresses the power of the building over the user. This feeling of “smallness” within the spaces also acts as a means of drawing attention to the solidity of the structure. The heavy, raw concrete exerts not only its power over the user but its power to stand alone over the course of time. The steel working with the concrete situates the Center within the ground, not to be moved without a great deal of force.

drawing label

Structure and Force The load bearing elements of the building fall along the perimeter as well as the concrete cylinder in the center of the structure. The forces act between the interior and exterior walls as the volumes of spaces push outwards. While these forces are contained within the structure of the building, the structural and fabrication elements are shown physically through the form and materials.

drawing label

Concrete Cylinder Concrete column

Concrete from ﬂoor to ceiling

Wood against concrete

The concrete cylinder in the center of the building is the perfect example of how the materials work in harmony with the structure and forces acting within. The cylinder contrasts the rectilinear system that dictates the form everywhere else. However, it is an important element structurally, bearing a signiﬁcant load in order to keep the building from falling to the ground. The structural importance of this speciﬁc element is clearly communicated by the raw concrete material as well as the size. Its structural purpose is unmistaken.

The Yale Center for British Art

Louis Kahn

Material A major element in Kahn’s design of the Center is how the materials communicate with natural light and the structural elements. Steel, concrete and glass are used on the exterior facade, and the interior is constructed of light colored wood and concrete. The windows on the exterior are ﬂush with the steel, creating a smooth, unbroken facade. The interior juxtaposes wood and concrete next to each other in order to break up to space and continue the grid system used to organize the form. Each material works in synch with the others and provides a canvas for the light within. Light Kahn’s design considers how natural light moves around and through the space. The central gathering space stretches across all four ﬂoors, allowing light to enter from the coffers above. The coffers follow a grid over the top level, transmitting light into the more private gallery spaces as well. Natural light is accessible from all sides of the building, but can also be shaded. Kahn’s light studies led to the incorporation of shading devices placed along the vertical windows as well as within the domed skylights.

drawing label

Steel, Wood, Concrete The chosen materials work with and against each other. The exterior steel/ concrete/glass facade is illuminated as sunlight passes around it throughout the day. The interior wood and concrete work against each other in order to communicate to the user the structure and fabrication techniques. The adjacent materials call attention through contrast and are further illuminated by shafts of light entering from above. The light acts of as means of differentiating the materials and pulling out the visible characteristics of fabrication. Domed Coffers

drawing label

Each opening serves a specific purpose with consideration of all things surrounding. They act not only to let light into the building but also to emphasize or shade elements surrounding. The raw concrete chosen for the interior was chosen as a reflection of the support strcture and wood paneling on the walls. Base or heavy materials are frequently combined with delicate materials. This pairing works in harmony with the light to call attention to the massiveness of the building. Kahn says of the building, “On a gray day it will look like a moth; on a sunny day it will look like a butterfly”.

The Yale Center For British Art

Louis Kahn

Site and Context

Intersection of Chapel and High

The Center sits on the corner of Chapel Street and High Street in New Haven, Conneticut. It sits amongst other Yale University acedemic buildings, while blending into the downtown city-scape in New Haven. While the building is situated amongst the many retail and dining spaces of the area, Kahn’s ﬁrst building, The Yale Art Gallery is located across the street as well as the Yale School of Art and Yale School of Architecture. The Center appeals to the acedemic as well as commercial elements of the site it sits in.

The Center sits on the corner of Chapel and High street, across the street from another Kahn gallery as well as several of Yale’s Art buildings. This site is also along the same road as countless retail spaces. Directly to the left of the Center is a Starbucks Coffee and to the right a boutique. In order to fit the programatic qualities that already existed on this site, the Center had to combine both gallery and commercial space. While three of the floors within the center serve to display the various exibits of British Art, the first floor serves to meet the commercial qualifications of the site. The building itself does not blend in to the surroundings but its programatic elements follow those already dictated by the site.

Program Each of Kahn’s buildings is program specific. The intention of the structure is depicted in the form that it is created. The Center is therefore not a building but a gallery, designed with the purpose it serves in mind. The Center consists of four floors. The first floor contains the entrance hall, in addition to lecture, classroom and retail space. The second floor houses the library and study space as well as temporary exhibitions. The third and fourth floors serve as the main gallery spaces. Each specific space was considered when creating the form and how the Center would be situated in the site.

drawing label

First Floor Store The first story of the Center contains the retail space for the gallery. Inset from the upper stories and completly transparent, the store on the bottom stands out amongst the rest of the building but blends into the grid of store fronts that exist along either road. The first story meets the programatic retail needs of the street, while the galley spaces above programatically fit with surrounding acedemic art buildings.

Yale University Art Center

Louis Kahn

Light

Material

Kahn makes dramatic use of light to mold space and create a rich contrast as the body moves through the building. Kahn uses light to pull people through space and create a beautifully choreographed experience of the gallery. Through the use of light and material the architect is able to create richly varied atmospheres as people circulate through various parts of the building.

Kahnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adoration and respect for material is expressed in every detail of this building. Whether it is clay brick, concrete block, cast concrete, glass, marble, stone, steel, or wood, the utmost care is taken in expressing the materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intrinsic beauty and in making beautiful, complimentary intersections with other materials to create a unified whole.

Triangular Stair Lit by Skylight Above

Triangular Skylight and Clerestory

Stair Detail

Tetrahedral Concrete Slab

Exterior Brick Masonry

Partition

Movement When commissioned, this building was required to accommodate many varying programmatic requirements. Kahn responded to this by creating expansive uninterrupted open spaces, and devised a movable partition system. This allows the building to respond to the changing needs of various events or functions

The entry sequence of the building is rigorously ordered as one leaves the street and enters the ground floor. After ascending the spectacular triangular stair, space opens up dramatically into free-plan galleries where the body is welcome to meander through space. Arrival at Stair

Circulation Diagram

Open Gallery Space

Partitioned Gallery Space

Yale University Art Center

Louis Kahn

Site and Context

Operation and Performance

The building stands on Chapel Street on the flat, urban campus of Yale University. At the time of its construction it was the first modern building constructed on the neo-gothic Yale campus, and today it still stands in sharp contrast to its surroundings. Kahn’s use of the site to create lush gardens at the north end of the lot creates beautiful exterior spaces.

The Yale Gallery very effectively demonstrates Kahn’s ideas about served and servant spaces. In order to achieve the clean, open, and uninterrupted gallery spaces that he was after, he had to devise a way to keep the building’s mechanical systems hidden from view without disturbing the purity of form so important to the design. These servant spaces are created within the voids of the tetrahedral waffle slab and in the hollowed out structural concrete girders. The building is supported entirely using active systems.

Exterior Gardens

Services Contained in Tetrahedral Slab and Hollow Concrete Girders

Fabrication and Assembly It is very interesting to observe the erection of this early Kahn work in light of its context. While this building was very modern in its form, spatial configuration, structure, and systems, it was built primarily on site and remains a fundamentally handmade building. This reflects Kahn’s preoccupation with timelessness in architecture, and the building is at once forward-looking and primal, erected the ancient way - part by part by the hands of working men. Kahn bridges the gap between the past and the future in a very unique and effective way.

Weathering and Durability Contrast between the old and the new

View from Chapel Street

Under Construction

Construction of Tetrahedral Slab

The hearty concrete structure of the building has fared quite well in the temperate climate, but over the years has fallen victim to architecturally unwelcome modifications and to the obsolescence of the building’s glass and mechanical systems. In recent years the structure has been completely renovated and restored to reflect Kahn’s original architectural intent. Under Renovation

Yale University Art Center

Louis Kahn

Form

Structure

The structure takes the basic form of a rectangular box in the urban landscape. The form of the building is driven partly by the program and the desire to create very open and adaptable spaces. The beauty of the structure used to create these conditions is explicitly brought out and expressed. Kahnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keen consideration for the scale of the human is present throughout.

The structure of this building is absolutely integral to the way it achieves its final form and fulfills programmatic requirements. It is based on a series of structural bays supported by heavy reinforced concrete piers which transfer all the loads into the foundation. Kahn creates a long span condition between these piers by using the steel reinforced concrete waffle slab system formed by tetrahedral coffers. The glass curtain wall facade was one of the largest in the United States when it was constructed.

Program Tetrahedral Coffering

The original commission for a very adaptable building was a major factor in its resulting free-plan form. Currently the building serves strictly as a free art gallery for Yale University and the New Haven community. Over the years it has served additional functions such as art and architecture studios, but the open and flexible nature of the spaces has allowed it to gracefully respond to changing functional needs.

Load Diagrams

Order In typical Kahn fashion, this composition is highly ordered. The rectangular grid is used to order the spaces, the facade, and the structural bay system. The rectangular grid is strategically juxtaposed with a triangular ordering system to create spatial tension and complexity, and this triangular grid is expressed in the repeated tetrahedral ceiling coffers.

Open Interior Art Gallery

South-North Section

West Facade

Ordering Diagram

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Movement

Voids

The Jewish Museum relies heavily on movement, not to just move from one exhibit to another, but to experience the building as an exhibit itself. Libeskind has created spaces that rely on movement and the body’s interaction in order for the visiter to truly experience the museum as a building. Among these spaces are the Garden of Exile and the exhibit “Fallen Leaves” which cover the floors of the voids.

As visitors enter the empty, threestory voids, they must travel across the “Fallen Leaves”. This exhibit by Menashe Kadishman is composed of thousands of metal faces. These faces are rusty, crudely cut, and covered with expressions of terror. One can’t help making the loud ringing sounds as they travel across.

Event Throughout the museum are spaces that require interaction. More specifally, the act of moving, or walking. As a museum, people must walk through the spaces to experience them the way Libeskind intended. He has designated these spaces as climaxes along the journey through the museum. Their programs are spaces of understanding and emotional connection that are only understood by experiencing the space.

The Garden of Exile

“Fallen Leaves” within the voids

Garden of Exile The Garden of Exile is the climactic ending of the Axis of Exile. Visitors reach this outside garden to find a dead end on their journey. It features 49 columns built on a 12 degree slope which disorients viewers as they walk through it. They experience a sense of confusion and a loss of hope. “Fallen Leaves”

View from the Garden of Exile

The Garden of Exile

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Material

Zinc

The reinforced concrete structure of the Jewish Museum is covered in a thin layer of Zinc. Thousands of panels of Zinc cover the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade. Libeskind chose this material because he wanted a thin metal, and he was interested in how it will weather and oxidize over time.

A unique quality of Zinc is its oxidation process. As Zinc oxidizes, it becomes blue/grey over time. This makes it less reflective and reduces its metallic appearance. Reducing its reflective qualities will result in elements, such as the windows, to stand out. The building is fairly recent at about 15 years old, but these qualities will be more apparent in another decade or so.

Weathering While there are many trees surrounding the museum, it is still very exposed to sunlight. Overtime, exposure from sunlight and the elements will accelerate the oxidation of Zinc and change its qualitites. The screws holding in the window frames have already begun to weather, and have created streaks running down the Zinc.

Reflection of the building next door on the Zinc

Windows As the Zinc oxidizes and changes color, Libeskind is hopeful that these qualitites with exaggerate the irregular windows. The facade should become less reflective, thus bringing out the qualities of the glass and interior light shining through.

As the Zinc oxidizes, it will become blue/grey

Windows of the facade

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Light

Threshold

There are many dramatic shift of light quality throughout the Jewish Museum. These changes occur in hallways, rooms, and thresholds. Most of the time, light is used to guide the visitor through the museum either as a pathway, or as a destination in the distance that draws them in.

The Jewish Museum’s entrance is within the older museum, next door. When walking through the Boroque building, the entrance grabs the visitor’s attention with its irregular shape, and contrasting light. It’s a very dark space, but the thin light running across the walls accelerates down to the underground level, guiding the way to the axis.

Movement Movement throught the Jewish Museum relies heavily on the use of light. With the initial dark, underground spaces in the museum, light is relied on to direct visitors through the space. The open, upper gallery spaces are flooded with natural light, so the transition between them and the dark underground spaces had to be dramatic while guiding visitors upwards. The staircase created this drastic transition by combining movement, with the dramatic shift of light.

The Jewish Museum’s entrance

Axis In the underground axis, the museum’s ceilings have lights running from their entrance, to their destinations. These lights accelerate the visitor and maintain linear motion through the space.

Staircase leading to the gallery spaces

Underground axis

Underground axis (blurred to show light effect)

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Movement & Experience / Space & Enclosure

Holocaust Tower

Death Release Comp

pre

Release

ress

Com

The series of three underground pathways, Death, Exivle, and Continuity, all lead to spaces with unexpected dimensions that evoke emotion in the viewer. The promenade Libeskind creates is one of compression and release throughout the structure. One is led down a dramatic stair underground into narrow pathways, and then released into large volumes. This formal play of space is can immediately be realized in the viewerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotions. Libeskind states that he wanted the journey through the museum to emulate the experience of the Jewish people throughout history. He accordingly does not always make spatial experiences comfortable. Perhaps this is what made the museum such a success on the first day it opened, despite the fact that no exhibits had been installed. Some critics go as far as to say that the museum was more succcessful when it was purely a spatial journey. The architectural intent is realized in the relationship Libeskind forms between space and emotion, circulation.

Compress

Garden of Exile

Exile

Stairs to Gallery Continuity axes and destinations

compression: crossing of axes

compress and release of space

release: holocaust tower

release: garden of exile

release: gallery stair

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Zinc also used in historic architecture of Berlin

Site & Context / Material & Detail / Fabrication & Assembly Libeskind clearly expresses the context of the museum in the material and details of the facade. The choice of a zinc paneling system connects the buildings to its surroundings on a surface level because zinc is used in many architectural details throughout Berlin. This puts a relational time stamp on the outer appearance of the building. The material also has reflective properties, so the site is at times literally present on the facade. The ability to age, yet also be reflective of its surroundings speaks to the building as a container of knowledge that is conscious of its existence within the site, especially when the context is so sensitive. The lacerations in the zinc panel system is also heavily symbolic. The way their pattern was formed and then overlaid onto the building with no regard to the underlying systems has a direct relationship to the context. The Jewish people of Berlin were without warning disrupted from their lifestyle and isolated for their beliefs. In a physical manner, the cuts in the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade abruptly and almost garishly disrupt the system of panels, exposing and isolating the structural and pragmatic systems within the wall assembly. Through these moves, Libeskind understands context in the facade of the museum.

drawing label

Floor Division Structural Members Cladding system

Window pane system

Regular pattern of identically prefabricated panels used as a scaling tool

System for cuts created by connecting addresses of individual Holocaust victims

Cuts interrupt pattern of panels, exposing underlying pragmatic systems within the wall assembly

Reflective properties of zinc cast the site onto the facade

Jewish Museum

Daniel Libeskind

Structure & Force / Movement & Experience / Site & Context Throughout the building, there is the constant idea that everything structural is invisible. The reinforced concrete outer walls are covered in zinc and gypsum. The interior voids provide much of the structure for the floors, but some are not occupyable and outwardly covered in gypsum. The void that penetrates the neighboring Berlin museum is not visible within the interior. The concrete members meant to show structure between planes at extreme angles are in fact not structural; the walls are self supporting. There is concrete cladding on walls that are not structural. Although the average viewer would never be able to recognize that the structural elements are invisible, it plays into the idea that the total experience evokes the emotions of historic Jewish people. There was a long period of time where Jewish people were absent from Berlin. However, this structure is proof that although absent, or invisible, their presence will always be historically strong. This poetic connection between structure, experience of the viewer, and analysis of the context is where we see that Libeskind has layered big ideas within the architecture of the building.

As made visible in the section, the concrete void containing the museum entrance (above) penetrates the Berlin museum. The concrete is never exposed.

In the upper galleries of the museum, the structural walls allow the building to be without columns and the galleries to be uninterrupted. However, this is never made apparent to the viewer.

The concrete members present throughout the building are not supporting anything except themselves.

The thick structural walls, as seen in the section above and during construction directly above, are bearing a lot of the load of the building, but are only exposed where air and water circulaiton systems do not exist.

Hotel Aire de Bardenas

Emiliano Lopez + Monica Rivera

FORM + ASSEMBLY Rectilinear Geometry

Materials

The hotel works on the basis of rectilinear shapes, mostly resembling squares. The design used overlapping and interconnecting squares to create the forms of the Hotel Aire, from the square basis of a single room to its penetrating, similarily shaped inhabitable window. These shapes create a modular system that is present throughout the complex, and ensured through construction. For example, in the section of one of these rooms, one can note the clear effort in construction to create the rectilinear shape from the inside. One can see a complex interworking on materials and systems in the roof and somewhat in the walls, but that is left invisible to the outside in order to maintain that perfect appearance.

The materials used were chosen directly for supporting the form and assembly of the Hotel. Dry construction and materials were the only things used for intentions of ease. though everything would have been premade and not custom. The team suited the design specificaly for such pieces and for such available methods of construction (steel).

Hidden elements in plan and section

drawing label

Desert Mimcry Practical Design

The repeated forms along the construct, and the easy scale at which they were created

Further example of the repeated square, in plan

Alot of the design, from its shapes and its manner of assembly, work to integrate the hotel into the desert landscape. It is very low, of a human scale, something also helpful for construction purposes, and the strong consideration for assembly in the formal design assists in helping it look largely natural, and not at all out of place despite being in such an environment.

Despite this effort, it is clear the design still works very well with the methods of construction. While the aforementioned innerworkings are left hidden, much of the facade speaks quite plainly about its construction, and seems, in fact, suited for its materials. In truth it was designed with these sizes in mind, for practical intent. The evident construction pieces in a facade

Fitting into the landscape

Hotel Aire de Bardenas

Emiliano Lopez + Monica Rivera

SITE + MATERIAL The Desert

Oasis

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Hotel Aire is the site. The Hotel is set in a wheat field and largely surrounded by desert landscape on all sides. In the back sit windfarms and dirt, and to the front, a bit aways, is a historic city. Lopez and Rivera were aware of how important these things were to the project, and sought to integrate them appropriately. The main and best way to make it clear was through their choice of materials.

In addition to the natural materials, the Hotel Aire makes use of a lot of plant life. Although of desert variety, these plants are an extremely natural way of making the hotel seem something of an oasis in the desert. It is alive and functioning but not commercial or closed off from the world. Surrounding in a small niche of its own, a number of trees even are able to grow ,and are watered frequently.

The Hotel Aire, fitting perfectly in the low, flat, and desert-like landscape.

Plants provide a feeling of life

Natural Origin Many of the materials used are of a recycled source. In keeping with the surrounding windfarms, Lopez and rivera decided to go for a more ecological approach that also would help to make a clear decision that nature was to play a huge role in the construction. For protection from wind, crates from local farms were used, and are surprisingly effective. For structure, a lot of steel was used, due to a local metal worker being willing to help. Rocks from construction sites were used to keep out unwanted visitors, as a natural method of security that few could walk on.

Integrated Context It is clear that the site and context of the Hotel Aire was very important to Lopez and rivera in their design. The use of very desert related materials helps to bring this decision to the public and patrons of the hotel. Down to even the use of a reflective material on the inhabitable window, allowing one to look outside and feel the landscape without the harshness of it, but reflecting it back out to outsiders who pass by, one is faced solely with the landscape. A natural security, the rocks protect residents privacy

Reflective surface on one side, window on the other, only the desert is in view.

Hotel Aire de Bardenas

Emiliano Lopez + Monica Rivera

MOVEMENT + VIEW Tourism

Direct Pathways

The Hotel Aire was built thanks to a government grant given to those who were promoting tourism. The main programmatic function, then, is for the temporary housing of those who will be touring the nearby landscapes and sites. It is a place one moves through and relaxes, but does not necessarily stay in. As such, the movement and flow throughout the Hotel was very significant and well-structured.

Within the hotel, pathways are made of concrete walkways, some of them having a low fence to the side. The pathways share the same formal features as the rest of the hotel, and are as such very straight and rigid. They have very clear and direct destinations, from other rooms, to the pool, to back to the main building. One can feel a pull upon walking these pathways to the destination at the other end.

drawing label

City vs. Desert The two main views one would have at the Hotel Aire would be the desert and the city. The desert is visibly on most sides. Once you are a resident, your room will most likely face the low and beautiful desert landscape, with little to no inhibitian until your eye reaches the edge of a plateu. This natural element is heavily played up in the design. From the front facade, however, one faces the city, though it is a fair distance away, still likely very visible. The city is very historic and quite likely to be a frequent tourist destination. As one leaves and enters the hotel, they are then faced with the view of the city, and partake in a transition between the two.

Meandering Pathways

Division of views

Path studies; where a tourist would be travelling

The City

Direct Pathways

In contrast with these very direct pathways, there is still a very evident sprawling feel to the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s layout. the very perpendicular lign up one is first greeted with turns into a more scattered and radial format as one moves farther back, becoming more intimate with the space. In turn, the pathways are not necessarily the shortest distance any longer, and one does not necessarily feel so inclined to stick to their narrow and confining limiations, pressured on by the varying angles in the surrounding surfaces.

Meandering

Museum for Roman Artifacts

Rafael Moneo

Layout

Axial Views

The museum comrpomises of a series of eleven paralles walls that are punched through with horizontal paths to allow the sapce to be inhabited.Ten bays are thus established between the lateral bracing walls. A long transverse nave creates a void along the bays connecting them together.

The grand nave spans the full height of the building allowing one a view of all the horizontal paths at once. The horizontal pathsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; layering create frames in space that isolate an artifact.

isometric section

view from nave into bays

view along the paths

Obstruction of View Walking along a path, one cannot see what occurs in the subsequent bay creating curousity and and urge to keep walking. Unlike the nave, not all the bays can be percieved at once. The transverse walls physically bridge the lower and upper adjacent spaces across the bifurcating rail line however.

Flow of Space Although the museum is exprienced horizontally, voids in the horizontal paths visually connect the layerd level vertically.

Space 1

second floor plan

Space 2

axial view along a path

Museum for Roman Artifacts

Rafael Moneo

Order

Superimposition

The walls are set at 6m spacing providing suffcient sapce for the artifacts to be displayed. This provides a monumental space for the monumental sculptures. The fixed spacing allows for flexible programming, that can be easily rearranged.

The museum superimposes different periods of Roman history without closing each one off. The first and second floor incorporate voids along the bays to provide vertical connection, so the museum can be experienced in totality from any spot.

street level plan

program organization

Juxtaposition

Composition On a larger scale the museum juxtaposes two main spaces that carry the same outline. The space on the right houses the entrance, the theater, and the restrooms, whereas the bigger space on the left is used only for exhibition sapce. This juxtaposition creates a shift from the present to the past.

The museum is laid out with program in mind as it intertwines the circulation space with the exhibition space. The museum is a journey through time. A great nave provides one with an overall feel for the museumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contents while each seperate bay provides a specific portion of history. street level plan

second level plan

Museum for Roman Artifacts

Rafael Moneo

Wall Structure

Light Treatment

The museum phsyically relies on Roman history as it uses the Roman construction technique of a concrete infilled brick wall to assemble the museum. The repetion of the massive wall allows for a light pocket to be created between each one, creating a dichotomy between heavy and light. In essence the vertical plane controls the structure of the buidling, whereas the horizontal one controls the light condition. A skylight that is triangular in section diffuses sunlight into each bay, the series of walls act as a vessel to contain that light.

The walkways act as lintels strcuturally as they span the lateral walls resting on the arched openings. The horizontal plane is thus further associated with light as it manipulates the skylight creating different light conditions for each level. Consequently, light wells are created in particular locations accentuating certain artifacts.

Open Skeleton The structure of the museum is one that is relatively open and allows for a free flow of space. It is basically a system of columns and lintels taht have been extruded to walls and walkways. Light is an inherent quality of this infastructure, no openings need to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;punched-out.â&#x20AC;? Structure and light coexist in harmony, each informing the other. nave

view from nave into the bays

Diamond Ranch High School

Morphosis

West Coast

Landscape

This school is just outside of Los Angeles, California with a very steep, â&#x20AC;&#x153;unusableâ&#x20AC;? topography. Looking at many pictures and understanding the west coast climate, the weather is very hot and the site is almost desert-like. This school definitely addresses the climate when designing the program because it is focused around one main street, which is outside. This is possible because of the climate of the site.

The architects were given unusable topography. This is very evident in the aerial maps because there are neighborhoods all around the school except for south, which has very rocky terrain. Given this is California, which is highly developed, it says something about the land and how it truly was undesired.

Material

the effect of rain on concrete

aerial view of the development

Because of concrete and its material properties, Morphosis is able to create knife-like edges in their forms. When the sun is overhead, the edge is emphasized and cuts through the sky. Also, when it rains, the concrete turns a darker shade. The concrete is used throughout the school and when wet, can change the overall atmosphere of the space.

Weathering Because this building is still relatively new and because of the site and climate it was built in, it does not have much weathering. The concrete and steel weather the most based on rainfall, which is sparse on this site.

depicting the dry climate

view from the school

Diamond Ranch High School

Morphosis

Module Units

Building vs Street

The separate academic units of the campus can show a strict order and repetitive idea Morphosis is trying illustrate. The academic grades are split up into three separate units that are all the same dimension and form, placed in a row. These units break the very large high school campus down into smaller spaces, allowing for a more individualized learning environment.

The dimension of the street to the buildings surrounding it is very effective and makes the street seem compressed. The way the buildings are canted inwards towards the street, as well as the height of them makes the space more enclosed. To emphasize this idea, the street actually narrows in the site plan.

Stairs The stairs at this high school is a very interesting feature because they serve different purposes. While they provide access through the campus from one elevation to another, they are very monumental stairs, which makes them a place to gather. Because the stairs are placed right off of the main street on campus, they are easily accessible and can be used for both purposes.

site plan of module units

module drawing

Topography The natural topography really affected the final design of the campus, playing on the steepness of the hill the campus sits on. The main street running though the campus is a very intentional action, cutting across the face of the steep hill.

Â photo of stairs

photo of steep topography

site plan of the compression

Diamond Ranch High School

Morphosis

Program

Material

The material as well as detail is directly related to the program of the design. Morphosis really stresses the idea of creating a school that nurtures exploration and gives a student a chace to be more open minded. Because of the way this building is designed and how it creates irregular forms, it can be instilled in the students that doing things that are unique are possible and they should be ambitious.

The material choice is directly related to how the material responds to structure. Concrete is able to create many different forms because of its properties. With that said, it relates to the program, emphasizing the unconventional nature of the school and way of learning.

Event

emphasizes inquisition

between class

an interesting form

This space is very strong because it reads differently based on occupancy, which has a lot to do with the material choice. When empty, the space feels very eerie and sort of intimidating because there are large concrete walls around with no signs of life. When it is full, there is high energy of the students and it is almost like walking in a city.

complimenting forms

Detail Many of the forms are very strange at first glance, but actually compliment each other. The fact that some pieces come together but do not touch can tell a story of how it is structurally made. This idea of learning and exploring is seen through the details throughout the campus.

empty school

a detail of a facade

Glenn Murcutt

Magney House

Exterior daylighting

daylighting

sustainable design

Orientation of the house maximizes passive heating and cooling. the overhang of the roof has been clipped at the equinox cut-off sun angle, so as to permit desirable winter sun to penetrate into the house, while blocking out the hot summer sun.

Located in the southeastern part of Australia, the Magney House sits near the coast by itself on top of a hill with bare land surrounding it. It is oriented directly on an Eastwest axis. A direct response to climate is clearly seen in the Magney House. There were key design priorities that governed this.

blinds

Blind detail

Some of the main concerns were to allow natural ventilation to cool and remove excess moisture in the summer, protect the building from the summer sun, and avoid creating additional humidity during the summer. Other priorities included: letting the winter sun in and protecting from the cold winter winds. Since the house is so close to the Pacific Ocean, there is usually always a breeze around the site. The house orientation is to the north, allowing access to the northern sun and closing off the southern faรงade in the south from cold winter wind.

Plan showing orientation

Wind direction

external operable metal blinds allow the occupant to regulate the amount of light, while ensuring solar heat gain is prevented when it is not desired. the living rooms are oriented such that they maximize the sun and view, while the service spaces which do not need as much passive gain from the sun are located on the other side of the circulation against the south facade(brick wall).

Interior daylighting

Blind elavation

Wind intensity

Temperature range

Site plan

glenn murcutt

magney house

movement In the magney house, Murcutt uses a long thin plan providing a narrow corridor as the primary path of movement between the larger programmatic spaces. Also, Murcuttâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s use of large panes of glass, allowing for panoramic views of the landscape, as well as an exchange of views between the two living rooms, creates a strong feeling of open-ness within the house.

Program â&#x20AC;&#x153;The client asked for a house that could be compared to a tent, in terms of having a lot of access to light and not being overloaded in structure.â&#x20AC;?

Form through modulation and repetition, murcutt creates a grid-like form on the bottom that is destabalized by the shifted arcs of the roof which frame the entrance.

Extraction of organization

Movement on the exterior

The north-south axis is located at the point where a verandah (a shared common space), also serves as the main entrance to the house; divides the house in two: children area and parent area.

Space diagram

The east-west axis divides the living spaces like the living room and bedrooms apart from service areas like the bathrooms and kitchen.

Experience Upon entering the first space, the visitor feels comfortable. With the second space, comes a feeling of constriction and discomfort, which forces you to move quickly into the final space in which the visitor is likely to feel small and insignificant. This final space is meant to evoke these feelings due to both the scale and openess of the interior.

space the repetition of a single module across one axis creates rhythm. There is clear distinction between each space.

Veranda space Plans of function

glenn murcutt

magney house

material

operation

the structure is mainly comprised of steel and glass. these materials are used in intricate ways by murcutt with very close attention to detail.

the building is built with close attention to detail to maximize its performance.

Interaction of the building systems

from far away, the building looks simple, but the closer one gets, the more and more they realize all of the thought put behind this design.

assembly

Roof + gutter

the house uses a single section that is extruded and repeated throughout its length. THis implies a kit of parts.

The architect intended for the shape of the roof to mimic the landscape and also to serve the building in a sustainable way.

PRE-ASSEMBLED WALLS FIT ONe AFTER THE OTHER.

The air-space of the double skin roof structure allows for passive ventilation.

Detail section

cUSTOMIZATION AND DETAIL ONLY HAVE TO BE FIGURED OUT ON A SMALL NUMBER OF PARTS AND THEN JUST REPLICATED.

the roof is shaped in a way to collect and funnel rainwater to a gutter in between the two arcs. the gutter runs the water into an underground cistern where it is collected for later use.

Main structural system

Overhead view of roof gutter

Roof support detail

Magney House

Glenn Murcutt

Site- Context

Orientation

Located around 300 kilometers from Sydney Australia, the Magney House is sited in Bingie Point, Muroya Australia. The site defined by its proximity to the ocean and its relative isolation from other structures and facilities. The result is the autonimity of the Magney House presenting itself as an intervention that is both derivative and truly an asset of the given site.

Magney Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long rectalinear plan is oriented to run along an east-west axis. The resulting cross axis allows the house to take advantage of the high angled sunlight derivative of the site. This climatic element is then manipulated by the arched roof plane in order to directly light the interior spaces according to the existing needs. The south facing facade aligns itself along the coastline framing views of the ocean as well as allowing for the blur of inside and outside space to occur. Magney Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roof is articulated to collect and harvest rainwater.

Climate- Weathering Magney House exists within a climate that provides varying weather patterns throughout the months. For instance, during the summer months the weather tends to be hot and dry, while most winters are cool with precipitation occurring primarily during this time. The climate itself is a main director in the design and implementation of many of the Magney House features. Numerous design choices from the non-orthognal roof to the utilization of clerestory windows are direct decisions from a deep knowledge of the climate in which the house is located.

Murcutt intended for the Magney House to exist autonomously within the landscape in which it is sited. In a gesture that relates itself to camping, the house sits alone within the site, but appears to make very small intervention into the actual site. This autonomy requires the house to harvest the surrounding resources such as rainwater to function in a proper manner. This requirement dictates the gestural roof which captures the rainwater and filters it to the off-center trough leading to the underground cistern in preparation for reuse.

Magney House is highly relient on its surroundings.

N W E S Autonimity of the structure.

Orientation of the house within the landscape.

Rainwater Conservation

The roof is also utilized as a filter of light and guide of wind.

Magney House

Glenn Murcutt

Light- View

Program- Event

Murcutt manifests the concepts of light and view through a unification with the structure and ultimate program of the house. Light bleeds through the clerestory windows on the Northern facade to light and warm the space during the winter months. During the summer months, when the sun is at an extremely high angle, the clerestory windows allow only a small portion of light to enter the space. The large panel windows on the south facade frame the views of the extended landscape and ocean. Both these moments are brought about through the articulation of the roof plane as a filter for light.

Magney House is a design and construction that is ultimately a house for the light. Through the structure, the house brings about the ultimate program of blurring the lines between inside and outside. This aspect is not simply a question of bringing the inside out of the building, but also bringing the outside, particularly light, to the interior spaces. The roof arch in a manner that allows this design aspiration to come into fruition.

light captured by the articulation of the roof

Structure- Force

modular delineation of program

Apart from the convex arching roof plane, the Magney House is a stoic construction of entirely orthogonal elements. The juxtaposition of the gestural roof remarks the roof as an extremely important factor within the structure of the house. While not a player in the load-bearing aspects of the house, the curved roof structure acts as a filter of light into the space. roof in unison with the orthogonal frame structure

light seeps through the clerestory

views framed by module

Magney House

Glenn Murcutt

Composition- Order

Module

Magney Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s linear composition is one comprised of individual modules that aggregate to delineate a rectalinear plan. The module is a ruled geometry of the rectangle that is almost perfectly consistent throughout the entirety of the design.

Murcuttâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design theory revolves around the idea that a house has relatively small and simple requirements. These meager parameters establish the simplistic plan of the linear aggregation of the module. Through this module the establishment of specific programmatic events is possible.

module aggregating to accommodate individual programs

Program- Event The modular composition of the Magney House serves the purpose of providing a series of spaces that act under the dictation of different programs and events. The module accommodates programs typical to the home but seeks to blur the boundary between inside and outside. The module is broken only within the innermost space of the house where a large interior space is is opened to the landscape. This opportunity allows the outside nature to enter into the space further linking the house to its natural site.

Light

action within the module

The greatest event that occurs within the Magney house is the capturing of light through the articulation of the roof. The sweeping curves of the roof allow light to penetrate the facade of the home embodying an encapsulation of light. The composition of the house allows for this to occur through its linear layout and orientation along the East-West axis. event of capturing the light

thresholds delineate spaces of new programs

Borneo-Sporenburg 12 Form+Light

MVRDV 2000

Footprint

Abundance

The house only touches the ground on 40 square meters of the 80 square meter plot. This give the majority of the spaces in the house, which would be long and narrow even if it occupied the whole plot, an extremely linear, passageway kind of form, broken up by the side volumes that partially fill the space between the main body of the house and the house next door.

Because of the extensive use of glass in the third facade, direct and diffused light fill the house. The side volumes create contrast with their opacity, creating moments of shadow, a rhythm of light and dark. 1st upper floor plan

Effects 2nd upper floor

The approach taken creates an extreme impression from the canal. From some angles, the design makes the observer feel as if they really are only seeing half a building, only as they see other angles do they realize that there is more.

Limits The facades facing the canal and the street are both windowless, but the side facade is all window. There is a view across the canal from the bedroom and studio spaces of the house, but it is very limited. This shows the intention for the glass: that of a light gathering device, not device facilitating a view.

In addition, by effectively slicing the house in half, MVRDV exposed a third facade. This third facade allows the signature moments in the house to happen.

Borneo Sporenburg-12 from the canal

View from 3rd upper floor

Borneo-Sporenburg 12 Space+Enclosure+Movement+Experience

MVRDV 2000

Openness

Enclosure

Though the primary spaces are very narrow, much of their alleyway facade is window. This creates a virtual openness, the implication of more space than is actually inhabitable. On the top floor, however, some of that space becomes inhabitable, as the top of one of the side volumes serves as a terrace.

Through a shift in materiality, the rooms added by the side volumes define themselves as separate, though no formal threshold exists for two of those rooms. At the same time, this shift, from transparent to opaque, along with the additional element of two walls, creates unique relationship with the adjacent space in the hallway like main portion of that level. This leads to a paradoxical condition in which the smaller spaces seem less limited while the larger ones are more strictly defined.

Circulation

1st upper floor plan

Because of this proportioning, the largest room on the three upper floors gives the impression of a transitory space. The much smaller and strictly bounded spaces off of it, however, are more static and provide points of rest to balance the ‘hallway’.

1st upper floor plan

Blurring The quality created by cutting the house in half and hanging volumes from it, combined with the transparency of the side facade, blurs the line between being inside and outside the house. By being in the alleyway, one has entered the wouldbe footprint for the building, but hasn’t actually entered the house proper, even if it may feel like it.

The driveway

Borneo-Sporenburg 12 Climate+Light+View+Context

MVRDV 2000

Neighborhood The house reacts to its built context through form and the relationship of that form to the views from the house. The designers chose to focus on the more interesting views across the canal over views of the uniform housing across the street. MVRDV used the roof of the higher volume for a balcony. This balcony is at the end closer to the canal, which, combined with the greater height, gives it both a better vantage point and a wider angle of view.

Climate The climate in Amsterdam is greatly effected by being surrounded by water on three sides and by its proximity to the North Sea. This makes the climate generally mild, but with many cloudy days, often bringing precipitation in the form of light rain. A consequence of this climate is that sunlight can often be limited.

The Borneo-Sporenburg neighborhood

Plot 12 as seen from the street

Formal Consequences This climatic condition clearly influenced the form the house took, as the darkening effects of overcast days are fought by the light gathering abilities of the glazed facade. View from 3rd upper floor

By facilitating a view this way, through a balcony instead of windows, MVRDV reinforces their logic for the use of windows in the house, that is, not so much as a device for seeing out, but for letting light in.

Villa VPRO

MVRDV

Organization

Stacked Voids

Villa VPRO consists of 5 floors with highly intertwined program spaces. MVRDV took great care in allowing the surrounding landscape to translate directly into the building

Transitioning between floors isr rarely as asimple as walking up a flight of stairs. Rather, MVRDV mimics the natural conditions of the park in which VPRO is built, Creating indoor “hills“, slopes, and ramps. These spaces often have a present of paths to travel throughout the building

Perhaps the most important characteristic of Villa VPRO are the Voids which exist in both Plan and Section. Since VPRO is essentially a boxt dropped on the landscape, these void spaces play a crucial role in developing a level of complexity and uniqueness existant within the building.

The diagram on the right shows the voids thorugh the floors in volumetric fashion and begins to show how they dictate the paths of travel throughout the building.

Plan of the Second Floor

Voids in Plan and Section

The structural columns create an underlying grid throughout the building which dictates many of the rooms, circulation spaces, and most importantly, the voids. This grid allows the voids to play out in a linear cluster organization on most of the floors

Upward Circualtion

Enclosure This picture shows how one of these voids affects the experience of the building. This space is an exterior porch which extends into the interior of the building. It is accessible from multiple interior offices. creating a a special zone of interaction between employees which would otherwise not exist.

Column Grid

Grid Defines Void Space

“Exterior“ Porch

Villa VPRO

MVRDV

Structure While maintianing structure is always a necessary concern, MVRDV envisioned new ways to express the structure of the building and still create interesting, usefull spaces.

Material Concrete is used quite often throughout the building, and it is epxressed in many different ways. Nearly all of it is cast in place concrete Upon careful examination, the formwork of the cast in place concrete is revealed through the gridlike striations visible on the cieling. The patchy apperance on the curved surface tells that the rough pour concrete was not enough, but instead the concrete was finished with another thin layer by hand in order to fill in minor imperfections

In a unique twist on the stanard typology of a wall, MVRDV uses a semi circular concrete partition to increase the percieved space within the corridor to the left, and create an interesting “object” on theother side, all the while maintaining a structural system capable of retaining the loads of the above floors. The blue wall on the right would be a more standard way of achieving the exact same goal, yet the hallway and elevator entrance would lose much of its sense The floor slabs in the picture on the bottom left are stacked in such a way that they create a new path from the second to the third floor. These three sections are in close enough proximity that one can easily climb small steps and elevate through the building.

Structure + Force Rounded Wall

Panels are placed on network of wooden or steel joists, supported by temporary columns. The joists are covered by a wooden sheathing, square boards in the case of Villa VPRO.

The structural columns on the exterior of the building support the massive curved concrete slab and dictate its curve through a series of vertical lines. Stacked Floors

Force-expressive columns hold up the massive “hill” Columns located between the second and third floors of the building. These columns, made of concrete, are seen as a continuation of the same element which makes up the floors and the plaza below. MVRDV makes no attempt to hide their structural system, both inside and outside the building.

These stacked floor slabs introduce multiple new ‘floors’ into the space, existing between the standard 5. These can also be viewed as a new means of passage between floors. Due to their close proximity to one another, stairs, ramps or stramps exist between them ways to elevate throughout the building. Their placement also allows for a massive void in the third floor to accomodate for the sloping ground condition.

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MVRDV Experience

Light and Glass

Climate + Weathering

Light permeates into the building on all sides, in a variety of ways. It is filtered by over 35 different types of glass which make up the facade of VPRO. This porch frames a view of the park, but on either side there are glass panels running from floor to cieling. The cool blue glass stands in contrast with the dull gray, mirrored glass opposity it.

gradations in light and shadow

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The light within the building is accentuated and heightend in certain program areas, such as this lunchroom/conference room. While moving throughout this area, thresholds are created by both the 3 vertical intersecting2 horizontal and elements and by the shadows that they cast upon the floor and walls.

intersecting horizontal and vertical elements create thresholds throughout the space

engaging the ground plane allows for dramaticized views of the bu

The light in this space, the ramp which connects the second and third floors, rises up out of the first floor staircaseindoor and fills outdoor the foreground. Voids in plan and section create conditions wh Huge windows line the back wall and allow the light and elementsproduce to penetrate “interior” a variety of the reflections and of the shadows upon the floor. Carefully building in a variety of ways. placed glowing lights on the floor introduce point sources of glow

MVRDV uses glass to “paint“ Nearly 35 types of glass are used in the the facade with the surrounding construction of Villa VPRO. This leads landscape. Here,creates the green a variety ofroof viewing experiences, even within the same space, both inside reflects off of the dark, mirrored and outside the building. glass in order to provide a deeper connection with the nature and the spirit of the site. In a sense, the building takes on many of the visual characteristics of the park as it changes throughout the seasons. This type of glass also serves a doubl purpose in difussing and dimming the light which permeates into the building

The concrete used for the entrance plaza is continued into the building in a highly expressive manner. The exposed concrete floor slabs give a sense of weight to the building, as well as clearly partition the space from the outside. This is a direct contradiction to what happens once you enter the building however, when one realizes that the floor slabs are perforated to such a high degree that it is often impossible to distinguish betweeen traditional “floors”

Light penetrates though the voids.

MVRDV incorporates natural materials from the surrounding landscape into Villa VPRO. The grass that occupies the majority of the green roof not only provides a natural element within the building for the employees to access, it also strengthens the deep connection VPRO has with the park in which it is located. The highly reflective mirror glass that is used turns the buildings facade into an imitation of the landscape elements around it, further expressing this connection with nature.

Because of this, MVRDV uses materials such as wood, conc all throughout the interior/exterior spaces building, not just on outermost facade. This creates interesting views and spaces the interior that usually would only be seen from an the outsid the building. One example is the residue excreted from the w decking onto the concrete slab, seen from both the exterior por and from the surrounding office Often, the interior/exterior spac allow MVRDV to extend wood decking and exterior facing win to the interior of the building.

Foundation Cartier

Jean Nouvel

Movement

Movement + Program

Nouvel developed a sequential understanding of space defined as movement. He made use of three separate devices that allowed for people to proceed to their particular destination within the structure. A vertical staircase for office staff. A horizontal first floor plan for gallery and event space. Last, ambulatory circulation paths for the park area.

By separating the flow of traffic for each individual program Nouvel was able to have multiple programs in the same space.

Vertical Movement + Office Space Program

Program

Program + Movement

The necessity for three individual programs within one building presents logistical and circulation problems. By linking the programs together Nouvel was able to intertwine dual programs together creating communal spaces that can inhabit more than one purpose.

The building encourages the vertical flow of office movement, the horizontal flow of gallery patrons, and the ambulatory traffic of an urban environment.

Horizontal Movement + Gallery Program

Movement + Threshold

Gallery Space

Event Space

Ambulatory Movement + Recreational Program

Foundation Cartier

Jean Nouvel

Structure

Structure + Order

Jean Nouvel created form and order through structure. The distance between the steel columns is in proportion to the entire building. This generates a sequence of openings which defines the individual spaces of the building.

The combination of ordered structure makes it expressive on the exterior facade and the interior spaces. The free plan that vertical columns allow the designer to have increases the horizontal order of the building.

Order The aggregation of the ordered spaces created by the steel columns gives the structure order. Order which dictates light, space, movement, and program. This allows the everyday worker as well as the visitor to understand their place within the entire site.

Order + Structure The architect created hierarchy through order derived from the repetition of the columns. By arranging the parts in a linear organization Nouvel is able to add multiple programs together.

Steel Columns Create Order

Curtain Wall + Main Facade

Foundation Cartier

Jean Nouvel

Site

Site + Light

One of the most important elements to the Cartier Foundation is its site. The embracing attitude of the buildings facade along with the numerous glass panels cradle the surrounding landscape. This is an example of a constructed site within the existing context of a cityscape. The result is a synthesis of interior and exterior space.

The abundant sunshine allows for a wide variety of plants and trees around the site. This creates a welcoming environment for the foundation staff and its frequent visitors. Site more than any other architectural attribute relies on natural light.

Spring Flowers

Bamboo

Light There is an abundance of natural light within the Cartier Foundation and the surrounding park. Large sliding doors on the bottom floor gallery allow the flow of people and sunshine in the warmer months. One of Nouvelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main objectives in this project was the use of natural light. Thin steel construction and large glass panels make this possible.

Light + Site

Landscape Reflection

Spring Flowers

Outdoor Pavilion

Narrow Stairwell

The source of light throughout the entire project is direct sunlight. The light reveals the form of the surrounding site and disguises the volume of the building. The glass panel refections extend the landscape. This adds to the texture and richness of the entire site.

Fondation Cartier

Jean Nouvel

Hierarchy

Movement

The facade can be broken up into WKUHH OHYHOV RI KLHUDUFK\ 7KH ¿UVW LV the ‘ribbon’ of glass doors, which mark the entrance. Its dimension is relative to the cedar tree planted by famous poet, Chateaubriand. Also, these glass doors completely open up in the summer, literally removing the barriers from inside and outside. The choice of material offers an ambiguity between inside/outside. This ambiguity is further emphasized when those glass doors open to the public. This makes Fondation Cartier the approachable public space in the city of Paris that it is. The second level is the grid of glass panels, which make up the rest of the facade. They too are made of glass, which emphasize the main intentions of the building: transparency DQG UHÀHFWLYLW\ 7KH WKLUG DQG OHDVW important is the stairs. Fondation Cartier is read as a horizontal space, because of its transparent vertical planes and opaque horizontal ones. Thus, the stairs, which offer vertical movement, are least important. They are also located to the sides of the building, allow for not only an open plan, but further emphasizing horizontal movement, since to move up, one would have to move to the end of the building.

The layering of glass at different transparency levels creates this enhanced perspectival space. ,Q WKH RI¿FHV SDUW RI WKH EXLOGLQJ WKLV translucent glass is used, to add a sense of privacy, but in the rest of the building there is a clear 1:1 relationship between the opaque horizontal plane and the transparent vertical one. This clear relationship of opaque horizontal to transparent vertical planes almost forces a horizontal movement throughout the whole building.

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Geometry Aside from the root two rectangle geometry that is carried out both in the general geometry and also the geometry of the windows, in both plan and section foundation cartier’s modular system allows for the building to be proportional to its individual parts.

Fondation Cartier

Jean Nouvel

Program

Material

Being a center for the contemporary arts, foundation cartier’s transparency and open plan allows a freedom for the showcased art. Also, the ambiguity of the boundary between inside and outside allows for art to be showcased both inside and outside

The materials used for the facade control the level of transparency where needed. In the public spaces glass is most transparent. Moving on to the inside, glass is translucent glass and layers to give a sense of privacy. Those spaces are UHÀHFWHG RQ WKH IDFDGH ZKHUH WKHUH are shutters, to further provide a sense of privacy. The materials used for the facade also include steel members, and as that layers, especially where the stairs are situated, it also creates a layering of space.

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Location Fondation Cartier sits among historical gardens. Its entrance is marked by the cedar planted by poet, Chateaubriand, an important part of the gardens. Its views are of the surrounding gardens. Its location by the gardens and the sliding doors that open up to the outdoors, allow it to be approachable by the public. When the weather allows, its outdoor spaces are just as approachable.

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Jean Â Nouvel

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Arab World Institute

Jean Nouvel

Context

Site

Located in France, commisioned to celebrate the Arab culture. How does one bridge the gap between two completely different cultures? Representing about 19 Arab states that are also different due to their location on two continents.

Located at the intersection of four roads, its back is turned towards the traffic as if protecting the treasures of the Arab world.

According to Jean Nouvel, “If it is a homage, then it has to use the two main aspects of Arab architecture, geometry and light...” As a result, Nouvel designed a geometry-plastered south facade. On the north, a square grid is still maintained, but not a detailed as the opposite side. To the casual observer, it is a western building in the west. Yet to those who come seeking it, represents the Arab culture they have come to understand.

Satellite image of site and building

Form One can notice two distinct halves when viewing the building in plan. The south is strictly geometry-based while the north follows the curve of the Quai Saint-Bernard and the Seine. By appropriating the Arab moucharabieh, geometry became the defining factor resulting in geometry within geometry. Nouvel’s screen

Outline of building

Also, the north side mirrors the surrounding Parisian landscape.

Geometrically-derived moucharabieh pattern

Wooden moucharabieh from Morocco

The institute

Overlaid geometry

Arab World Institute

Jean Nouvel

Light

Space

The south facade is composed of a moucharabieh inspired screen. 250 motors control 25,000 camera shutters to regulate light. This lets in 30% of light when open, and just 9% in closed condition. The rest of the building is made up of framed glass that lets in uninterrupted light.

Our perception of space is determined by the presence or absence of light. It enables us notice color, texture, material and other elements that define a space. Light explicitly defines space in the building through shadows cast on the floor and by lending transparency to the entire building. In the images to the immediate left, a break in the reflected patterns on the ground would mean a change is space, as Nouvel separated the building into bays (each with four 9 1/2 ft aperture frames) bottom, far left.

Light screen

Extraction of light through apertures.

Transparent interior

Shadows making partitions on floor

Light patterns on the interior

Arab World Institute

Jean Nouvel

Material

Assembly

A steel structure mostly covered in glass and more steel. The main facade is covered by a screen composed of 240 large squares. Each square, steel frame is comprosed of smaller squares, and this composition of units continues till the square is about 2 inches. The use of steel for the apertures was due to the need for durable parts in constant motion.

The screen of the south facade is all hand assembled. The outermost layer is a frame connected to the steel structure, next is a pane of glass, then the diaphragms, followed another pane of glass and a frame. This is backed by a truss that is four 9 1/2â&#x20AC;&#x2122; diaphragms in length. Each diaphragm is made up of at least 6 layers. Units

Fabrication The building as simple as it appears challenged convention by making use of assembled units for the sun screen. Usually such screens are made of pierced steel and other materials, stone and mud in Arab architecture from which Nouvel got his inspiration. The kinetic nature of the apertures was also a step ahead of its time.

Units being attached to a bigger frame

Interior of front facade showing layers of material

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Paspels Schulhaus

Valerio Olgiati

Light

Movement

The penetration of light into the space is used in several different ways to convey the idea of differently functioning spaces. There is more light present in the spaces designed for static occupancy, while the dynamic spaces are lit in such a way as to cause gradient values on the walls. This encourages those inhabiting the structure to seek out the brighter portions of the building.

Movement is generated throughout the space through the use of light and view. When standing in the center of the intersection of the corridors, one has a hint at what is around the blind corners, but no clear view. This indirect light encourages movement toward the source (the end of the hall, and inside the classrooms).

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View Threshold As well as letting in light, windows allow the inhabitants to look out onto the world. Again this is used to encourage movement within the structure. Spaces intended to travel are only allowed a partial view of the outside world, while those spaces where people are meant to be stationary allow full views via picture window.

What separates a threshold from a mere opening? Olgiati answers this question with light. He creates an amazing experience where the staircases penetrate the floors above. Leaving the stairs in a relative shadow, and lighting them from above. a large picture window lights a classroom

partial views and gradient light in the corridor

ascending the stair

window at the top of the stairs

Paspels Schulhaus

Valerio Olgiati

Material

Space

The schulhaus is made of cast-inplace concrete. The properties of this material allow long, flat surfaces, and crisp lines and angles. These properties accentuate the defined spaces on the interior and exterior of the structure.

Three dimensional space consists of three different axes. In a hypostyle grid each of these axes are represented and drawn in perspective. On the interior surfaces of the schulhaus, the lines of the concrete form-work becomes these perspective lines defining the three dimensional space. This definition forces the perspective on the viewer, and allows the corridors to appear longer than they are.

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It only makes sense that these lines would appear on the exterior facade as well. In their application on the facade, these lines form a regular grid. I like to picture these as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;netâ&#x20AC;? of sorts, enclosing the exterior of the structure.

To build a building of cast-in-place concrete, the builder uses a series of forms to pour the concrete into. No matter how careful the casting, the forms will always leave a line (unless edited post cure). In the schulhaus, Olgiati makes use of these remnants of fabrication. an example of concrete form-work

close up of lines made by form-work

defining lines creates by the concrete form-work

Paspels Schulhaus

Valerio Olgiati

Order

Detail

Olgiati chooses to order the space into regions of transitive and stationary space. These spaces, in respect to the structure itself are kept clinically separated. There is always a gap between static elements such as the floor and more transitive elements like the stairs. Olgiati even carries this idea into windows, leaving a separation between the view of the dynamic outdoors and the static wall.

The details that Olgiati includes in his design may seem trivial at first glance, but as we observe them closer we begin to see that they have logical meaning behind them. The gaps delineate differing spaces and rates of travel. The details are what makes this structure unique, and impactful, without them, the experience would not be the same.

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Light

Experience The order dictates that the dynamic and static elements are separate within the actual structure of the building, but light is an interpenetrating factor that motivates the movement in those dynamic spaces by penetrating the static volumes.

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The entire experience of Paspels Schulhaus is a fusion of all of the aspects blended together. The light pulling you through the space, the walls floating off the floor, the separation between moving and standing still, all combine to create the unique experience that is Paspels Schulhaus. the buffer enacting a separation

OMA, Rem Koolhaas

Masion a Bordeaux

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Site The Bordeaux house is located on a hill overlooking the town of Bordeaux, France. In between the town and house sits a river (expressed by blue to the right) and seen through the circular window on the 3rd floor. It is unclear on the reasoning why the house sits on the site, but is believed that Koolhaas designed it to not lie up with the town or river.

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OMA, Rem Koolhaas

Masion a Bordeaux

Movement and Experience D

Spacial Enclosure The space that is formed from the three different floor plans allow several types of enclosure. To the right are photos showing examples of four spaces and the enclosures within the home. These spacial enclosures is the basic definition of what architecture is and is well designed by Rem Koolhaas and the OMA team.

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Maison a Bordeaux contains four methods of vertical movement through all three levels. One is a 3.5m X 3m elevator platform, two transitional staircases and one spiral staircases. All methods of movement except one staircase moves only through the 1st and 2nd floor whereas the others move through every level of the house. E D

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Maison a Bordeaux contains four methods of vertical movement through all three levels. One is a 3.5m X 3m elevator platform, two transitional staircases and one spiral staircases. All methods of movement except one staircase moves only through the 1st and 2nd floor whereas the others move through every level of the house.

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Casa Da Musica

OMA/Rem Koolhaas

Material

Operation

The highlight of material looks directly at the glass and the corrugation. The glass is specially manufactured and mass produced for many spots in the building. More specifically, the properties of glass allow it to be a great reflector of sound and music which allows it to bounce the sound back into the main hall. Also the corrugation serves as a redistribution of sound which provides an even music experience.

The basic operation of the building is a concert hall. For this obviously they are trying to optimize it being a concert hall for music and sound reverberation. The glass does this perfectly.

Detail of glass

Exterior view

Performance

Glass window in main auditorium

Interior space between types of windows

Music and sound reflection diagram

Interior to exterior view diagram

Detail The detail of the glass is looking closely at the way that its placed within each situation. For example, the green room has a corrugated facade on the inside and a flat face on the outside. This allows the views to continue from the inside out and the outside in but the views stop at the corrugation.

The performance of the glass has 2 main functions, to reflect sound back into the space and denote different spaces. The two large facades that come into the direct contact with the exterior that are corrugated are skewing the views which show that this space isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for direct viewing from the exterior to the interior. Other large glass windows arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t corrugated which allows the passer-bys to look into those spaces and have an understanding of the building because a the majority of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get to experience what actually takes place inside.

Casa Da Musica

OMA/Rem Koolhaas

Structure

Fabrication

The structure of Casa Da Musica is focused around the main central concert hall. The main beam walls follow the exterior of the auditorium allowing the main spaces to be completely open. Next, the facade is tied back in to the beam walls which allow for the angles that the bottom branch out at.

The fabrication of the building is based on a ground up build. Each concrete panel is poured in and continually tied back into the main core. The panels are regularized making it a repetatve process.

Construction of the facade

Interior concert hall

Core of a skyscraper (red) with floors (blue)

Core of Casa Da Musica (red) with facade (blue)

Assembly

Force The forces within the Casa Da Musica are alll taken by the cenrral core. This core drops down into the ground and wraps up around the main hall, almost touching the ceiling before returning to the ground. All forces from the exterior skin are resloved by this main core.

Auditorium Floor

Construction of the main hall + facade

The assembly is ground up. As each piece is poured it get tied back to the core. Before the next can be poured everything needs to be structurally sound. It creates a balancing effect where each side pulls on each other and transfers it back to the core.

Casa Da Musica

OMA/Rem Koolhaas

Program

Movement

The program of the building is to house a theatre. This theatre was deisgned to not be a revitalization to the city but to celebrate the city in its current condition.

The movement that takes place within the space is pulling visitors from the lower area up through the volume and continually reveals parts of the city. The movement allows the view over the surrounding buildings to open up.

Movement into auditorium

Approaching a window in the stairwell

Experience Public (red) vs. Private (purple)

Event

drawing label

The event of the space becomes less about the actual theatre, but more the progression to the theatre. As you move through the space you get several views of the city but non as grand as the one in the concert hall.

Views (visibility shown) and Path through space

Public view (red) vs. private view (purple) with surrounding buildings

The framing of the city is really the experience in this situation. Seeing the exterior of this building and getting some sort of idea as to what is inside. Next you pass into the inside and for the most its a rather dark interior except for the large window openings which pull you from space to space. These begin to unravel the city in progressively larger frames and lines of sight.

Casa Da Musica

View Main view from the main auditorium.

Context The view from the building leads to the surroundings around the building such as the statue at the park.

OMA

Casa Da Muscia

Structure Based on different programs, spaces in this building have different structure.

Program The main program, concert hall, is the beginning of this building which leads to the whole design.

OMA

Casa Da Musica

OMA

Form Because of main space at the center of the building, the building forms a centrality.

Program The centered concert area leads the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design to be centered and clustered.

drawing label

Peñalolén Campus

José Cruz Ovalle

Space

Carved Planes

The space within the Peñalolén Campus is largely created through a language of overlapping and intertwining volumes. By layering the masses of the building, Ovalle creates an overhead plane that is constantly shifting in response to the space above. Furthermore, by creating openings in the vertical and overhead planes, the architect allows this architectural language to be understood from any point within the space.

Many of the spaces in the Peñalolén Campus are defined by the volumes carved out of the vertical and overhead planes that are used to create view and bring light into the structure.

vertical plane diagram

Indirect Lighting

interior photos

interior photo

light diagram

Light + View The introduction of light in the Peñalolén Campus is mainly accomplished through openings in the vertical and overhead planes. However, these openings not only introduce light into the space, they also create framed views of the interior corridors and exterior landscapes.

In an effort to illuminate the building while also screening the sometimes Santiago sun, Ovalle employs methods to filter or indirectly bring light into the space. While the exterior is ribboned with horizontal bands of windows, the interior corridors are afforded no such luxury and must bring in light from above. This is done by means of a clerestory level sitting atop the third floor, bringing light in and allowing it to reflect off the smooth white surfaces to brighten the main circulation spaces.

Peñalolén Campus

José Cruz Ovalle

Climate

Concrete

The Peñalolén Campus is located in the temperate climate of Santiago, Chile, where the high temperature generally only fluctuates about twenty degrees Fahrenheit over the course of a given year. The building also happens to be situated in an earthquake prone portion of South America, necessitating the use of a sturdy construction material.

Because of its location in an earthquake zone, the reinforced concrete facade of the Peñalolén Campus had to be broken into multiple segments with large expansion joints in-between to allow the various parts of the building to move independently, thus reducing stress on the structure in the event of seismic activity. expansion joint

Material The architect’s choice to reduce the material palette of the Peñalolén Campus to almost nothing but reinforced concrete represents an effort to address the climatic needs of the building. Due to its thermal properties, the reinforced concrete allows the building to maintain a steady temperature throughout the year, absorbing the heat of the day and releasing it into the building during the cooler nights. The choice of reinforced concrete also allows the building to remain stable in the face of any earthquake; the reinforcements in the concrete allow the material to flex during the shaking while still preventing it from crumbling under the strain.

Detail Perhaps the most noticeable detail on the exterior of the building, the concrete awnings present on the western side of the building help to regulate interior temperatures by screening the sun during the summer when it is high in the sky while also permitting the low winter rays to penetrate into the building’s interior.

aerial view

exterior view

reinforced concrete awnings

Peñalolén Campus

José Cruz Ovalle

Form

Path

The form of the Peñalolén Campus is one defined by circulation. The idea that any of a number of paths may be used to get from one point in the building to another is what drives the shape of the structure. Based off of intersecting paths that converge at five vertices spread across structure, the Peñalolén Campus questions how movement through a building can be used to define the space itself.

Ovalle envisioned the Peñalolén Campus as a space where the user would create their own way through the building, forming crossroads where multiple paths converge and forcing the occupant to choose a direction to continue.

Movement As one moves through the Peñalolén Campus, they are presented with moments where multiple paths converge and the occupant is forced to make a decision as to which one they would like to take. In this way, the people who occupy the building create their own journey through the space. Whether that journey takes them directly from point A to point B or encompasses the building in its entirety is left completely up to the occupants.

examples of path

Circulation Movement within the space is not limited to simply following the paths from one side of a floor to the other. Ovalle introduces ramps into the Peñalolén Campus to allow the individual to traverse from one floor to another during their travels.

diagram of vertices, paths, and rooms

section showing circulation

Novy Dvur Monastery

John Pawson

SPACE & LIGHT Space

Modulation of Plane

The chapel at Novy Dvur is broken into three distinct spaces: the congregation, the altar, and the apse. The separation between spaces is accentuated by modulation in the ground plane and walls, as well as variation in light.

The altar space is set perched upon an artificial hill, raised just slightly over the congregation. The light and the subtle elevation mark the altar as a place of sacred importance, yet the miniscule height of the separation, as well as the similar, if diminished, lighting over the pews keep the space connected, and thus within reach, of the faithful.

Diagram of Space

The Role of Light

The Mysterious Apse

The delicate dispertion of light acts as a sign within the space, and is used much as a material would in a more conventional building. The long, frosted windows over the pews guide the eyes of those seated opposite upward, while the linear golden lights on the floor, cut by sharp shadows, mark the area as a processional space. Beyond the congregation, the altar is magnificenty illuminated, the compression of the walls limiting the diffusion and amplifying the intensity. Here the glow of the walls extends all the way to the ceiling, leaving gentle wispy marks, almost like clouds suspended over the altar.

Here the partnership between light and space climaxes in dramatic style. Behind the altar, the floor plunges out of sight. Only the rear wall is visible, yet it is not marked by the signature openings of the altar and nave; a thin shadow along the joint of wall and ceiling betrays its presence. The total effect is that of an unknown force behind the altar; only by approacing the altar can its true nature be revealed. The spacial experience of the church can thus be construed as an allegory to the faith; humans (the congregation) may only understand the mysteries of life (the apse) by becoming closer to God (the altar).

Photograph of chapel nave

Blurring of chapel

Diagram of Light

Spatial analysis of chapel

Diagram of the Spatial Experience based on view from the nave.

Novy Dvur Monastery

John Pawson

SPACE & CONTEXT History

Spaces

The design of the monastery is informed by the rules of the Cistercian order as set forth by St. Benedict in the 6th century. The Rules of St. Benedict outline an architecture free of frivilous ornament and unneccesary detail: the monastery should be a reflection of the restricted monks who make their lives within. The exception to this rule is in the use of light as a material. The monks approached Pawson for his modern adherence to the same antique principles of simplicity and light.

The cloister is a common element in nearly all monasteries. It primarily serves as a respite, its circuitous path meant to guide a meditative stroll, paired with the tranquility of the central courtyard. Pawson embraces the power of natural light in the cloister, cantilevering the barrel vault to allow a single expansive pane of glass. He also maintains the balance of the space by keeping it perfectly level, even when it projects a full story off of the ground. While at St. Gall the various living spaces and services are centralized on the cloister, but as separate structures, Pawson internalizes the centralization into a single structure. These spaces are low, and set to the human scale, promoting brotherhood between monks.

Precedents St. Benedict makes no specific instructions as to the form of the spaces; however, his rules for the strict discipline of monastic life suggest certain spaces that proliferate through most monastery designs. These elements are exemplified in the plan of the Abbey of St. Gall, the only major architectural plan to survive from the middle ages. The qualities of the spaces illustrated in the plan are demonstrated in the spaces of Novy Dvur.

A digital tracing of the original plan of St. Gall

The plan of Novy Dvur

The most intriguing comparison comes between the churches of each monastery. Both project their apse past the cloiser, reaching out beyond the confines of the monastery. The long axial form is preserved as well, promoting the processional space. Even the transept is preserved, but at Novy Dvur it is turned inside out, compressing the altar rather than expanding from it. The church at St. Gall, a Baroque intervention

A typical monastic cloister

The chruch at Novy Dvur

The cloister at Novy Dvur

Novy Dvur Monastery

John Pawson

PROGRAM AND MATERIAL Division of Program

Material

Novy Dvur, as a Cistercian monastery, must contain and balance a large variety of programs. Novy Dvur is not simply a church and a living space for monks. It is also a school, a library, a feast hall, a craftsmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop, and a farm. All of these functions must be both harmonious with the structure as a whole, and as self-sustainable as possible; the Cistercian Order limits contact with the outside world as much as possible.

This dichotomy is readily evident when one analyses the use of material within the individual spaces. The sacred religious spaces are highly restrained in palate. Walls are stark white plaster, vertical and soaring. The floor is a similarly stark concrete. In contrast is the rich, dark wood furniture and doors, harsh and definite in stature. The sum effect is that of discipline and control, appropriate for spaces devoted to service to God.

A Space for Scripture

A Space for Moving

Dichotomy Despite this incredibly complex program embodied in the monastery complex, the system can easily be divided into two encompassing categories when cross-examined with material. The first class is that of the spiritual space. This of course includes the church and chapels, but also the library, which is primarily devoted to the study of scripture and Benedictine rule. The remaining spaces can be categorized roughly as secular, or at least requiring a much reduced spiritual effort.

Word Diagrams of Program and Material

A Space for Worship

A Space for Learning

A Space for Procession

A Space for Making

In contrast to the rigid religious spaces are the sites of work and study. The dark, imposing wood furniture and harsh concrete floor are both replaced with light, golden wood, providing an air of freshness to the space. Wall surfaces are no longer restrained vertical cliffs, but swoop and curve in freely flowing vaults. Central columns of stone ground the spaces to the earth, where the walls in the church soar towards the heavens. In some areas, even the detailed Baroque ornament has been preserved, adding a sense of whimsy to the otherwise abstract spaces. These spaces are thus made unbound and provide room for creativity, again appropriate for the program at hand; that is, craft and learning.

Bank of China Tower

I.M. Pei

Atmosphere

Material

The multi-floor lobby was designed to intimidate visitors and create a sense of grandeur. Because of the inward slant of the columns, you feel as if a mountain is pushing down on top of you; as if you are in a dense cavern.

At the base of the structure, Pei utilizes polished French granite with clear glazing windows on the exterior and granite and marble on the interior. Above the base he uses natural anodized aluminum framing with reflective glass to enclose the frame.

View of Escalators from Lobby

French Granite

Clear Glazed Windows

Marble (floors)

Marble (walls)

Movement

Light

At the base, movement is much more lateral and diagonal, walking across the grand lobbys and moving up escalators. Once you reach the elevators, movement is much more veritcal.

Heavy and dense materials were used at the base of the structure to dampen the light and create a more formal and elegant lobby. As you get to the steel space truss frame structure with glass walls, the space opens up and light floods in. Lateral to Vertical Movement

Heavy, Dense Materials

Light, open materials

Bank of China Tower

I.M. Pei

Space Frame Structure

Curtain Wall

The structure that enables this building to stand in a site with wind loads twice that of New York and earthquake loads four times that of San Francisco, is called a space truss frame. A space truss takes the lateral load and through a diagonal beam transfers it to the columns of the building.

The curtain wall shell enclosing the space frame structure is made up of 1.33 meter x 1.33 meter windows. The curtain wall has no structural significance to the building and is only there to protect the building from outside weather.

Site

Space Frame

Organization

The site for the Bank of China Tower is in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a warm climate and experiences wind loads twice that of New York City. It also experiences a lot of seismic activity and has an earthquake load four times that of San Francisco.

Even though the curtain wall is nonload-bearing and not part of the overall structural significance of the building, it is still significant in the layout of the building with regards to the floor plan. The individual windows exude a rhythm which helps modulate the plan. A typical office is 3 modules (4 meters) long. Centerpoint of Major Hong Kong Interchange

Space Truss Resistance of Lateral Loads

Portion of Curtain Wall

Bank of China Tower

I.M. Pei

Form

Program Program had a lot to do with the form of the building. Pei was asked to design a building with over 1,400,000 square feet of office space. There was no way he could have done that on such a small piece of land without building a skyscraper. The top four floors and bottom 19 are used by the bank, while the rest are leased to tenants. The parking garage below shelters up to 370 cars. Every 13th floor is an auxiliary mechanical floor.

Tier 5: -14 floors -typically 7273 s/f

Tier 4: -13 floors -typically 7273 s/f

Tier 3: -13 floors -typically 14547 s/f

Tier 2: -13 floors -typically 21821 s/f

Circulation Elevators, escalators, and stairs were designed and built according to the programmatic needs of the buildings. More elevators are needed for the lower floors, while only two elevators are needed for the execuvitve lounge on the top floor.

Tier 1: -13 floors -typically 29095 s/f

Mechanical Leased Space

5 Tiers

Bank Use

Lobby Basement (Parking Garage) (1)

Programming by floor

Four Modulated Prisms

Pei stacks five modules of 13 floors each on top of each other to create the form of the building. As the height increases, the footprint of the module decreases. The bottom floor is a full square footprint while the top floor is only one fourth of a square.

National Gallery of Art- East Wing

I. M. Pei

Context

City Grid Within

The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s triangular form is determined by the imposing angled streets on the strict grid of Washington D.C. In the same way that the triangle streets create an arrival to the Capitol the parallel triangular form of the museum create an entrance to the rotating galleries. The exterior limits of the building is defined by the surrounding steets thereby taking influence from the site even though the triangular form of the building contrasts the overall grid of the cityscape.

The streets that funnel to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focal point, the capitol, also define the composition of the building. Not only do these lines regulate the exterior form of the building but also the interior organization of the building.

Triangular Influence Diagram

Exterior Boundaries Diagram

Initail Area Stipulations

Composition The order of the building was created by taking the initial area allotted, creating a trapezoid and slicing a diagonal through it. This simple action creates two essential yet separate spaces. Geometry of the building is comprised of similar triangles layered to create and define spaces. The form of the triangle creates dynamic spaces with a focal point and an entrance.

Diagonal Divides and Creates Two Essential Spaces

drawing label

Focal Point In the same way that the city streets funnel to the capitol, the smaller yet similar triangles within the building perform similar functions for art and architecture within the museum. The geometry symbolically emphasizes the design and highlights the natural form.

Exhibition Space Center for Advanced Study - Skylight Triangular Influence on the Interior

Form Derivation Diagrams

Exterior Site Photo

National Gallery of Art- East WIng

i. M. Pei

Material

Glass

The building is comprised of three surface materials, concrete, glass and marble. The lighter materials like glass and concrete are floating on the massive marble structure of the building. Brick-like units of material are used throughout the building, seen in the slabs of marble facade, panels of the glass atrium, and triangle prisms of concrete ceiling.

The atrium floods the public space with light allowing the space to feel enclosed yet still connected to the surroundings. The material is light and floats above the heavy stone and concrete materials

Enclosure The atrium has a constantly shifting overhead geometry in the glass and concrete. Both take the existing repetition of the triangular form and alter it to create pyramids that alternate pushing into the space and pulling out of the space, bringing in constant light to the space. The concrete panels use trangles differently, recessing trangles in the concrete and therefore cause the concrete to feel lighter while still enclosed.

drawing label

Concrete The concrete exhibition space ceilings blocks of the space and allows you to experience the pure form of the space without interruption by the surrounding. The triangular prisms while still made of concrete give the heavy material a light and airy feeling.

drawing label

National Gallery of Art- East Wing

I.M. Pei

Light

Dark Intimate Exhibition Space

The pyramids capture light and funnel it down into the building. Triangular forms are evident in the use of the exterior pyramids and the similar interior framework. This ripple of pyramids in the exterior and interior plane causes light to bounce around. From tip of one triangle to the bottom of the next there is a shift from dark to light. The traingular pyramids seen in the glass windows are mimicked in these ceiling structures. The same gradient from dark to light is also created forming an appearance of more light.

The dark exhibition spaces are blocked off from the surroundings and therefore receive little natural light. The recess of the triangular prisms allow a darkness to be created giving the illusion of light surrounding it. While not actual light it tricks the eye into seeing a lite space. Public Soace

Atrium Light Diagram

Program The public spaces of the building are greatest near the ground floor and are located under the glass pyramid roofs. These spaces get the most natural light throughout the building. The contemporary exhibition spaces are located mostly in the corners of the buildings where the angles of the walls are most exaggerated to create the most dynamic of closed spaces. The special exhibition spaces are all located on the north side. They increase in size as you go up a floor to allow some of the rooms to be closed off when not in use.

Contemporary Exhibition Space

Light Open Public Spaces In the public spaces, the above atrium allows plenty of natural light to enter into the space. The abundance of natural light allows free movement and unlimited functions possible, a program otherwise impossible.

Program Diagram by Color

Special Exhibition Space

Exhibition Light Diagram

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

All Together

Axis And Deliniating Lines

When overlayed, it is clear to see that the programs within the Menil are divided along the horizontal axis. In this case, the very same axis acts as a hallway, which gives acces to both sides. In a way the horizontal axis acts as a mediator between the two seperate realms. These three items play a major role in how the building opperates and explain where the geometric form came from. In a way, they are the driving forces for the structure.

The plan of the Menil Collection is driven by two central axises and a series of deliniating lines. Both of these elements serve as guidelines for the entire building, leading the way for cirrculation, program layout, and general location of the building. They also provide the building with a strong geometric form, offering a feeling of simplicity and familiarity.

Axial and Deliniating Lines Diagram

Program, Axial, and Deliniating Lines

Deliniating Lines Diagram

Program The main program of the Menil collection is an art gallery for the private Menil family art collection. It is free to the public and has a number of permanent and expanding exhibits. When looked at closer, the Menil collection is divided into two specific zones of program, three when the hallway is included. The largest and most accesible/public zone of the building is the gallery space. The next zone is the smaller and more private facility support offices. And, the transition zone between the two is a long horizontal hallway.

Gallery/Public Event Space

Facility Offices/Private Space Program Diagram

Axial Diagram

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

Direct Comparisons

Axis And Deliniating Lines

The very heart of the building lies in the Golden Rectangle in both plan and section, therefore it ends up being the major driving force for other characteristics, such as as symmetry, program and form. That said, when overlayed, most of the deliniating lines fall almost directly on the grid set down by the golden rectangle.

Axial and Deliniating Lines Diagram

Plan with Axial, Golden Rectangle, and Major Deliniating Lines

The Golden Rectangle Deliniating Lines Diagram

As seen on the right, the golden ratio is clearly demonstarted in both plan and section, therefore placing great emphasis on the proportions located within the structure.This ratio then further influences the major geometries and regulating lines within the gallery.

Golden Rectangle

Axial Diagram drawing label

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

Atmosphere

Inovative Lighting

The conditions of lighting and airflow are very closely linked because they both create the atmosphere for the interior enviornment and involve the use of the ‘leaves’. In this particular stucture, the ceiling element functions as both an insulator and source of light. It keeps heat out and cool air in, while also giving off a diffused light strong enough to light the entire building.

The main source of light within the Menil is natural light from outside. The roof is a massive network of glass windows placed within a space frame at varous angles (As seen below). This allows for the light to come into the building and hit the angled structures which line the ceiling, and refract with a diffused glow throughout the room. These angled structures shield the visitors and art from any direct sunlight, but still fill the room with plenty of light, acting almost as a barrier between the outside and inside conditions. In addition to the angled structures, some of the galleries feature entire walls filled with windows, which also help to bring in even more natural light.

Major sources of light

Flow The air cirulation in the Menil is a work of art all on its own. While we all know hot air rises, the unique ‘leaves’ that line the ceiling both keep direct sunlight(and its heat) out while also redirecting cool air back down into the galleries. Meanwhile, the hot air from before is allowed to escape through vents that access the truss network of the roof. This allows for proper air ciculation within the building while

Airflow Diagram

Roof Structure

‘Leaf’ Structure

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

Structure

Light Openings

Structure is the driving force behind the design for the Menil Collection. A special type of ceiling structure was necessary in order to let natural light into the galleries while still retaining the ability to filter that light at certain times. Although the louvers are not movable, their shape creates different light conditions at different times of the day. The louvers are held up by a steel truss frame that

Order Light

Generated by Structure

Program

View

Menil Collection

Enclosure

Space

Generated by other

Circulation

Form

The patterns on the site inform interior space.

Scale

Structure is the basis for many design decisons.

Space One of the notable features about the Menil Collection is that there is plenty of space around the drawings. Many visitors have been drawn to the museum to look at Richard Serraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, which is shown in one of the images to the right. After their visit, they mentioned that the main reason that the space was so fantastic was because there was room for the drawings to breathe. One visitor said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The space makes the pieces lively rather than dense, the variations between series and canvas playful rather than austere and heavy.â&#x20AC;?

The wall section shows how the roof structure creates varying degrees of light within the galleries.

The plan helps to see the contrast between open and closed due to the modulated overhead plane.

The overhead plane emphasizes the perspective

The openness of the ground floor contrasts with the closed-off spaces above and below.

In turn, lght draws attention to the artwork.

There are two very different light conditions within the Menil Collection. Both allow for an abundance of natural light, but in different ways. The entry space, hallway, and corridors have what could be called the standard way of letting in light, which would be with large windows. The light conditions in the galleries are quite different. The louvers in the ceiling, despite being fixed, have a curved shapes that provides different light conditions at different times of the day and at different points within the year. This allows the artwork to be designed or placed specifically for certain light conditions. This is a great feature for de Menil, as she can choose what light she wants the art viewed in, and it allows for unique conditions in each gallery depending on the time of day and the season. The overhead plane is a very important aspect of the design because it brings light into a centrifugal space without literally punching a window through a wall. Visitors can focus on the artwork in natural light without being too distracted by the view out the window, as all of the light comes from the ceiling panels.

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

Movement

Order and Composition

Due to the influence of the surrounding site on the design, movement through the space is very linear and ordered. A long, narrow hallway spans the length of the building and houses entrances to each of the galleries. The space designated for movement serves as the bridge between programme and program. It is the common space that is occuiped by both visitors and employees due to its location between the galleries and offices. In section, the building is extremely flat and does not have many level changes. In fact, visiors should not have to go up or down stairs at any point because the second floor and basement are restricted to employees and specific visiting groups.

Upon analyzing the plan and section of the collection, it became evident that the golden rectangle was the basic module for the entire building. Due to the dimensions of the rectangular lot given for the site, it was nearly impossible to use a golden rectangle for the overall dimensions. However, the architect did use the golden rectangle to determine the gallery sizes and height of the rooms. The plan is composed of ten identical rectangles, which are outlined in red in the diagrams to the right. Each rectangle can be broken down into two golden rectangles, which are outlined in blue. In most cases, two golden rectangles (or one red rectangle) defines the gallery space. In section, the facade sections follow the same modular system. Together, the two floors above ground can be seen together as part of a larger rectangle. The modular system of this building is not often noticed, but the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s context seems to play a large role in the sole use of identical rectangles as the building blocks for the design.

The golden rectangle is the basic module in plan. Each gallery is composed of two golden rectangles

The clear separation of program and programme results in a form that is composed of rectangles.

The Houston neighborhood informed the form of the interior spaces and the building as a whole.

The same modular system is also expressed in section.

Form Despite its regular geometric form, the materiality of the Menil Collection gives it layers of depth and complexity. The pine floors, cypress panels, and natrurally-lit galleries create meaningful spaces that overcome the assumptions associated with purely orthagonal buildings.

Menil Collection

Renzo Piano

Material + Detail

Assembly + Fabrication

The louvers that allow light to enter the building were made with ferro cement and cast ductile iron. These are hanging from a glass plane in the ceiling. The floors throughout the galleries are made of pine wood. The facade is made of cypress wood panels which were chosen so the museum would blend in with the sorrounding buildings.

Ferro-cement has a soft grainy texture, which both reflects and evenly diffuses natural daylight. Ductile iron, although not as strong as cast steel, has high resistance to cracking and does not require heat-treatment after casting. The use of cast iron for the trusses allowed for the articulated form possible with casting, without the distortions which typically result from reheating. Construction of the louvers required tracking down a patented method of spraying ferro-cement into moulds with multiple layers of mesh reinforcement.

The portico wrapping around the entire building creates a tectonic understanding of the structure, exposing the steel I-beam columns and intricate detail of the custom steel roof assembly. Louvers are locate in almost all the galleries of the museam allowing for natural light to come in and illuminate the painting//art that is in that gallery. The louvers are notmovable but light moves through spaces as the sun moves, creating different ambients during the day.

Cypress sidings, I-beams

In some spots, the louvers appear straight

Louvers, wood pine floors

Louvers in the roof

The double-paned glass roof is supported by ductile iron trusses These trusses in turn support the louvers. the whole is supported by steel I-beams.

Sketch showing the scale of the louvers in comparison to the human scale.

Poli House

PvE

Interactive space, both public and private

Uses for the Poli House The Poli House was designed to be an artist home as well as a personal home for the architects who designed it. The three foot thick walls allow for storage which further allows the rooms to have open spaces for the multifunctional house. The kitchen shown presents the multifunctions of the room. With the use of the shutters, the kitchen furniture can be closed up within the walls as well as the sink area. When needed, the furniture can be taken out and be used easily. There are multiple ways of using the one room for the many uses of the building. The storage space within the walls allow for easy creation of a display space for gallery use as well.

drawing label

use of space in one room

Many functions occur within the Poli House. Because of the different interlaying floors of the house, from within the central open living space, one can view the different operations of the building. Each area acts as a multifunctional space. A window sill could act as a walkway, and a room could act as an open gathering space, kitchen and dining area, or a meeting room. The interactive spaces of the Poli House is very intriguing compared to the almost stale cubic shape of the building. The house is both public and intimate.

Poli House

PvE

Material

Weathering

The material of the building is concrete, wood, and glass. The concrete expresses a very intimate private feel for the personal use of the building for the architects during the summer. The glass panoramic windows creates a public open view for the public art gallery, tourist uses. To mediate between the two uses the wood material acts as the buffer between the two. The wooden shutters allow for the building to be closed off or be open. The building was hand built with hand poured concrete. With time, one can see the slow weathering of the concrete as it slowly starts curving with the curve of the unflat landscape. The layers of concrete and wood also allow for the rainwater flow on the facaade to be interupted and slowed down to also slow down the aging of the house.

The weathering is very severe with the Poli House. Being built off the jagged cliffs off the coast of Chile, being exposed to 15 hours of sunlight per day, and being exposed to the strong souther winds from the shore, the Poli House has to compensate for these conditions. The thick perimeter around the building allows for insulation. The space between the two walls creates a space to buffer out the sunlight and wind.

landscape of poli house

facade of building

Poli House

PvE

Movement about the perimeter

Organization of the movement

The house was built to have an inner wall and an outer wall that surrounds the outer perimeters of the building. The walls create a space between it and allows for the flow of movement to occur at the outer perimeters of the building. To move from level to level one walks between the walls. These walls are open to light as well so that it is naturally lit as well. These steps continue up, but there are pauses within the steps so that one could step out into a room or space, so although there is a linear movement to circle around the building to reach the terrace level, there are points of exit within that outer circular movement.

When laying out the composition of the floor levels one can see that there is a continuous flow between certain levels. between the first and second floor level by overlapping them there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a perfect continuous form, but instead the second floor is a mirrored form of the first floors. There is a continuous outer space between the inner and outer space of the Poli House which is the space for the stairs, storage, kitchen, and bathrooms.

movement around the perimeter

organization of space of floor plans

Dee and Charles Wyly Theater

REX

Dimensions

The Golden Ratio

The dimensions of the building are 106 feet, by 106 feet, by 151 feet. This gives the building the ratio of 1:1:1.43. Proportions are a very prominent aspect of the Wyly theater.

The Golden Ratio is 1:1.62. This ratio is found many places in the world. It can be found in nature and in the human body

Golden Rectangles

Golden Ratios in the Human Body

Order Perspective

All of this relates to the purpose of the building. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a theater with plays that are structured and organized. A play must occur in order or else it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make sense in the same way, the theater must be structured similarly to make sense.

Composition Within the theater there are proportions that exist. There are several rectangles that contain the golden ration and there are others that are similar with other proportions.

Plan of Proportinal Rectangles

Dee and Charles Wyly Theater

REX

Site

Facade Material

The proportion of the theater is based on some of the surrounding buildings and sites in Dallas, Texas making it one with the community and site.

The theater has aluminum tubes that cover the facade. These tubes cover the higher windows and protect the rooms behind the windows from becoming too hot.

Overhang

Climate

Wyly’s Relationship to Site

Aluminum Tubular Facade

Dallas, Texas is a warmer climate. So if a building gets direct sunlight on any of it’s sides the rooms behind that facade get warmer. But in the case of the Wyly Theater this does not happen because the coners point in the cardinal directions giving the walls forty five degree angles to the sun rising and setting in the East and West. Cardinal Directions for above picture

Window and Entrance Overhang

On the exterior of the building there is a slight overhang that surrounds the entire building. This helps prevent the sun from hitting the lower windows that aren’t clad with aluminum tubes when the sun is at its highest and hottest point of the day.

Dee and Charles Wyly Theater

REX

Structure

Progrommatic Exigency

The utter lack of columns, both inside the space and at the corners, allows for flexibility regarding floorplan, allows for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;transparencyâ&#x20AC;? of the entry level, and the strong vertical aspects. The tower is set upon six columns that are situated around the perimeter of the structure. Two of which are vertical, and the other four are situated at strong inclines (above, right). The belt truss stabilizes the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frame as it spans from the fourth to the seventh levels with smaller interior trusses intermittent. Three walls of glass surround the performance chamber while the majority of the building is clad in aluminum tubes (1.5 to 5 inches in diameter) (above, middle) with no particular organizational pattern to create the well known texture.

The green chairs in the theater show where the path terminates.

drawing label

Exterior Curtain Wall Theater Seating

drawing label

Program The building is very structured and organized. The same can be said about the plays that happen within the theater. The Structure and the Program are similar in this way.

Rendered Structural System

Curtain Wall

Due to the special structural system of the theater, the exterior facade can be used as decoration instead of support. This gives the architect freedom to let the building be what it was meant to be.

Wyly Theater Program + Event REX/OMA seem to have a single architectural thought in mind in their design for this building: How does the program interact with the building and what multitude of programs could interact with the building? The building is designed as a performing arts theater with events fitting this category happening within the space. The events can be from a multitude of typologies from dance or lecture to plays or music. The stage floor and seating can be Grand theater space provides ample opportunity for differrearranged accordingly to suit ent scale events from single speaker to involving hundreds the needs of whatever even is happening in the space. The floor can be arranged as a flat floor, a proscenium, thrust, transverse, or studio style theater. This speaks to the multifunctional design of REX/ OMA, but also to their design process in that they design not for what a building is, but what it could be or coude be used for. Could someone rock climb in the space, create a gym, or play a sporting event?

REX/OMA

In section the stage/ theater area is not only horizontal, but vertical allowing entirely new events requiring large air spaces above the ground space (circus or bungee jumping)

Wyly Theater

REX/OMA

Fabrication +Assembly The theater was not fabricated as most in a speficic way for a specific even or function, but rather fabricated and assembled to multifunctional use to provide for the greatest number of options of use within the space. The building and its parts were created to provide a massive expanse of space for the stage floor and to provide ample room to maneuver and refabricate the stage area in whatever way necessary for a partocular event. Operation The building is designed to operate as a space for all types of performances, not just technically for the “performing arts”; it can be used for other typologies of events as well such as for indoor sporting events or class type seminars. The building itself houses the space for these functions and areas to plan and prepare for them because it encompasses the whole process of theater work. “Architecture is the art of how to waste space.” -Philip Johnson REX/OMA’s design for the stage does nto waste space rather it provides opportunity to use all of the space in whatever way seen fit.

Reimagining of spaces needed in a theater, moving vertically while providing ample space for all functios and space for possibilities of different functions. The stacked building uses less ground space and gives a new seperation between the functional spaces of stage, floor, offices, and backstage needs. Another proposed optino for rethinking space

Wyly Theater Space + Enclosure The Wyly Theater provides a new vertical stacking of spaces needed in a theater building and it provides a multifunctional theater floor chamber for the audience to interact on different levels with the space and the event occurring at the time. The building is enclosed in a steel and glass structure allowing ample natural light to illuminate the area while still allowing for different light settings depending on the function the space is providing for. The facades are then enclosed by long steel tubes set vertically on all sides that give a different view from the exterior making the building appear more vertically even though the dimensions are not that exaggerated. Order The building does not have a conventional theater order with the front being entry and lobby area, and back being offices and backstage spaces. This building uses vertical order of spaces with the main floor being the stage and most important to its function. Then the less important or less noticed spaces of backstage work and offices lie above and below the theater chamber.

REX/OMA Oder Lvl 2

Order Lvl 1

Order Lvl 3

Facade reads vertically not horizontally to onlooker from any approaching direction

Main floor houses the interactive spaces for audience and performers including stage, lobby + entrance, prop and kitchen areas for performers, and prep areas for immediate stage changes.

Cemetery San Cataldo

Aldo Rossi

Structure

Circulation The circulation structure within the building is shown on the left in blue. It is constructed like a scaffolding on the interior and is visually separated from the exterior structure. This circulation scaffolding meets the exterior at the roof. Circulation is also created by structure beneath the perimeter buildings, by the colonnades. The columns are double functioning, they support the building and create a path through in light.

Different buildings and different structural systems exist in Rossi’s cemetery. Within the cube there are two structures which manifest in two different materials. The exterior “skin” of the building is made of concrete and the platforms on the interior are made of metal. Another structural form is the enclosed building elevated by a colonnade.

Circulation

Storage and skin

Program The program of the existing cemetery is uniform throughout. All buildings are for the remembrance and storage of the dead. In plan additional functions exist such as a building for a memorial. Spaces exist that do not function as storage areas. These areas such as the space beneath the building are for circulation and contemplation.

Storage The program of the complex is to remember and store the deceased. The storage block is a programmatic element that also begins to structure the building. This can be seen on the left where the storage block structures the exterior of the building.

Cemetery San Cataldo

Aldo Rossi

Enclosure Collinade

The enclosure created in San Cataldo can be defined at large as permeable, this can be found in both the colonnades and in the cube. In the colonnade both sides are contained by a wide plane created a space that is more enclosed than the typical colonnade. In the cube the skin of the building is punctured by the cube windows, making the space less enclosed and more transparent. This contrasts with the colonnade which is permeated yet dense.

In the collinade a long row of wide planes is used to hold up the more enclosed second ﬂoor of the building. They create an enclosure that is both dense and open depending on one’s focus.

Light The light present in Rossi’s cemetery San cataldo is rhythmical reminiscent of the light found in a monastery. In the colonnade it creates a density and a rythym that is interesting to move through. In the cube the puntured skin creates a similar efffect, however the views are framed by the cube windows. In both cases the threhold between interior and exterior is thick creating a unique effect.

Windows

light diagram of the cube

The walls of the cube are very thick. The effect of this thickness is experienced in the crossing of the threshold, physically seperating the interior from the exterior more so than a thin skin. The light within the building is also made darker. Also zenithal light is let in through the square opening in the roof. This adds to the transparency of the building.

interior collinade

elevation of collinade

section of cube

plan of cube

Cemetery San Cataldo

Aldo Rossi

Form and Composition

Symmetry

The geometric form of the buildings are easily perceived in plan. The geometry of the rectangle, the square, the circle and the triangle are all present. In plan the buildings are organized symmetrically. The outside of the complex is defined by a large linear building that forms three sides of a rectangle. This successfully delineates outside from inside. An axis runs through the center of this rectangle.

While the constructed building is currently asymmetrical the plans are for a symmetrical complex. On the axis of symmetry the three geometries manifest themselves in three different structures, the cube the triangle and the cone. There is a linear path through these three structures, The suggested paths within the rectangle are also organized symmetrically,

General circulation

Movement Defined paths exist in the site. These exist within the colonnaded areas and within the complex. They are determined by a material difference in the ground plane. These paths form large open blocks. The defined paths are organized and rectilinear, however the undefined paths are limitless. Within the buildings on the perimeter of the site. The movement is extremely linear and controlled.

Emphasizing geometry in plan

Circulation on large scale

Circulation

Composition

Colonnade

Perimeter The perimeter of the complex is defined by a path that exists underneath the building. The path is defined by the colonnade and surrounds a large courtyard area. This is reminiscent of the pre existing cemetery that exists adjacent to Rossiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cemetery. The path is rectilinear and allows one to circulate around and observe the central axis that runs through the complex.

San Cataldo Cemetary

Aldo Rossi

Form

Punched Windows

The formal elements of the building are very subtle and almost invisible to the eye. At first the complex seems like some plain boxes with holes. The ordering system Rossi used through spacing of the window punches creates a form that is derived through intellectual analysis. Although horizontality seems to be the prime substance, it is the vertical that becomes articulated through implied form. The punched out window voids become more important once light is considered.

Punched square windows are a technique Rossi has used in many other designs. It creates a drastic change from inside to out, having no gradual motion through the window. You are either out or in. It also allows the thickness of the wall to become a factor in the form. Outside cubic volume

Order through voids

Light Light in San Cataldo acts as the catalyst for formal creation. When it interacts with the punched void spaces it creates a drastic difference between inside and outside the threshold. This theme is another important formal element that is enhanced through different lighting conditions. At parts there is full light, half-light, or barely any light. In all occasions the quality of light allows for the conception of what the formal idea and interconnectivity must be.

Light vs Dark The reason light becomes so emphasized is its direct juxtaposition to extreme darkness. This creates tension in the eye and brings out rich qualities of both the light and dark spaces. Comparing two opposite things next to each other is something Rossi continues to do in the entire complex Inside cubic volume

Form through square voids

San Cataldo Cemetary

Aldo Rossi

Movement Moving through San Cataldo impresses the same effect as visualizing the form. It creates a hierarchy of space through different volume types. The interior corridors allow wondering between courtyard and inside, the cubic volume creates movement inside and outside itself, and the outer corridor fosters internal movement only

Courtyards Courtyards in-between all of the complex components allows for breathe and relaxation to occur. The create counter points to the intense built elements. The courtyards have no specific internal order allowing for free wondering. They seem like the spaces between words of a very dense sentence.

Space All the spaces in San Cataldo are fairly regularized by the orthogonal lines, the emphasis given to the vertical. Through different modulations of closed vertical space in-between open void space 3 different types are created in the complex. Outwardly facing in the inner (corridor), both outwardly and inwardly in the center (cubic volume), and inwardly in the outer (corridor). Each type has its own voice and own articulation of the root thought. This helps unify the entire complex while promoting individuality between spaces.

Creation of space

Movement regulation

Inter-void regulation

Burial Units The burial units themselves create interesting spaces inside the spaces. They set up a dense network of very geometric orientations. They are all cubes stack one another on top each other. This creates a sense of continuity between spaces and evens the movement no matter what type of space is created.

Burial units

Courtyard movement

Movement diagram

San Cataldo Cemetary

Aldo Rossi

Composition

City of the dead

San Cataldo is set up as a promenade of spaces, each providing their individual refraction of the prime idea. As you approach the complex you enter large courtyards framed by the interior corridor’s portico. This is a mixed space and a gradual introduction to the idea. Further you are faced with the crescendo of energy, the cubic volume. The volume acts as a neutral yet individualized element in the composition, allowing movement through, around, or inside of itself. Finally the outer corridor finishes the statement with a more discreet composition. You just enter it, and walk through.

Creating what Rossi refers to as the city of the dead is no easy task. It implies that even beyond physical presence there can still be a metropolis of ideas and actions. This speaks to Rossi’s ability to create mental institutions of thought, expressing his architectural questions through ideas instead of purely physical.

Complex composition

Program The program is minimal, you observe the dead. However the real program is a mental manifestation of the observer. Rossi states, ““Together all of the buildings read as a city in which the private relationship with death happens to be the civil relationship with the institution.” He reinvented the program through contrapuntal syntax, the comparison of dissimilar objects through common features. Each corridor has its own specific role to play in the city of bones, its own voice and event.

Cubes Even though there is technically only one cube the entire complex reads as warped or pulled cubes. The composition is very orthogonal as emphasized with the square courtyards. The spaces themselves become combinations of extremely small squares (burial units lining elements) to large masses (different types of corridors, and cubic volume) drawing label

Inside exterior corridor

Composition with holy Rose from Viterbo

Habitat 67 Material + Weathering + Light Analysis Evolution over Time

Moshe Safdie Montreal, Canada 1966-1970

Material

Weathering + Light

Tell-Tale

Aesthetic Deterioration

The detail that was essential to the success of Habitat 67 as an architectural masterpiece is the precise cornerwork on each of the modules. The explicit and defined hierarchy of forms enables the aggregated faรงade to make a bold statement concerning the building as an iconic landmark.

The temperate climate of Montreal, marked by short, warm summers and wet, cold winters, has greatly transformed the exterior of the building. When rain or melting snow comes in contact with the untreated concrete structure, the surface reveals saturated color streaks. Ultimately, this unintentional weathering generates a new face and character for the entire building. As evidenced in the photographs, the time of day and sunlight has a dramatic impact on the coloration of the faรงade.

Uniformity + Simplicity Looking at the building composition as a whole, Safdie chose to keep the number of materials used to a minimum in order to focus on the pure functionalism of Habitat 67. Terraces, interior flooring, and cabinetry are made of a lightly-stained Douglas Fir, while all other surfaces are composed of a beige-tinted concrete. The neutral materials contrast with the incredible dynamic quality of the modular forms.

corner detail magnified

winter thawing around the central plaza

after the rain

pre-occupancy photo showing original material

rust and moss detail at corner condition

Joint Details The architect intended to not include clocks within the spa, as he believed that time should be suspended whilst enjoying the baths, but three months after the baths opened, the architect relented to pressure from the client by the mounting of two small clocks atop brass posts.

wood parquet on a roof terrace

concrete and glass close-up

joint separation at stair tower

additional modular joint cracking

Habitat 67 Fabrication + Form Analysis Concept vs. Reality

Moshe Safdie Montreal, Canada 1966-1970

Fabrication

Form

Assemblage

Precedents

Each of the 354 pre-cast modules were constructed on-site using a movable form system. The seventyton 37’ x 17’ volumes were made of reinforced concrete. Only eighteen molds with varying window and door placements were used to give each apartment a unique look and layout. The modules were staged adjacent to the site then subsequently put into place using cranes. Finishing touches and bathroom modules were fabricated on-site as construction progressed.

The forms of Habitat 67 mimic those of the industrial shipping yard located across the river from the site. Though slightly smaller in dimension, the modules of Habitat 67 were moved into position by crane much like conventional shipping crates. Safdie implemented a noticeable offset rhythm in his design, which provides the building with a livable, dynamic character. The apartment complex stands in stark contrast to the rigid and static composition of shipping crates, which are usually arranged in a strict, linear manner.

habitat 67 under construction in 1966

partially completed structure, 1966

comparison between stacks of shipping containers and formal structure of habitat 67

Sequencing

Dimension + Concept

Despite its aggregated façade, Habitat 67 is laid out on an extremely precise and nearly symmetrical grid system. Modules were layered floor by floor, so that the number of modules decreased as the building height increased. Ultimately, offsetting each module produced Safdie’s desired 11-story pyramid effect.

Originally intended to become a “City in the Sky” comprised of 1,000+ modules, Safdie’s vision was scaled down due to financial constraints. The modular forms were mass-produced in equal size to keep costs down. Only eleven of Safdie’s twenty stories were realized for Habitat 67, which resulted in the familiar truncated pyramid shape seen today. point of assembly, 1967

façade order is derived from explicit symmetry

initial thesis concept sketch by Safdie, early 1960s

Habitat 67 Site + Program Analysis The Building as Event

Moshe Safdie Montreal, Canada 1966-1970

Site

Program

Surroundings

Exposition

Habitat 67 sits towards the north end of a wharf that extends nearly a mile into the St. Lawrence River. The site was previously undeveloped and sat adjacent to an old factory and shipping yard, with the latter still in use today. The site was chosen mainly for its water views, especially dramatic east-facing expanses towards the city center. Safdie embraced rather than downplayed the generally unpleasant views from the westward side, incorporating them into the formmaking process of the structure.

One of the main attractions for the World Expo ‘67 held in Montreal was the Habitat 67 apartment block designed by Safdie. The building saw millions of visitors before being converted from an exhibition piece to permanent housing in the early 1970s. Habitat 67 was celebrated as a piece on contemporary and modern sensibilities when it was first constructed. Since then, it has become a landmark for the city of Montreal and pays homage to the early development of post-modern style and the Brutalist movement.

the industrial heritage of the site played an immense role in the development of the structure

habitat 67 stands as a monument today

poster for habitat 67

view of montreal to the east

original posters showcasing various pavilions at expo ‘67

Development + Themes

Functional Emphasis

The entirety of the Marc-Drouin Quay (wharf) was utilized for Expo ‘67, though very few permanent structures remain today. Habitat 67 and its obvious industrial roots totally embraced the Expo’s “Man and His World” axiom, which focused on the technological prowess of mankind and our ability to shape and dominate nature.

From the outset, Safdie was determined to design a housing center that could meet the needs of its residents in a self-sustaining matter. Roof decks, recreation facilities, and even a small cooperative store were all incorporated into the master plan.

original site plan of habitat 67 (far right) and surrounding expo ‘67 structures on the wharf

the program is completely functional and utilitarian: the building is simply an apartment complex

Moshe Sadfie

Habitat 67

Context Habitat 67 was designed for the Montreal Expo in 1967 and it was a display of affordable, modular housing. within a large city.

Climate Due to its moderate climate, the seasons allow for many different environments throughout the entire year allowing the views to change in color and light.

Habitat 67, the river and downtown Montreal

Fall

Winter

Spring

Summer

View With this beautiful setting, each apartment has beautiful views in every direction as the St. Lawrence River surrounds it on all sides. Each apartment has its own roof garden which gives the residents a large panaromic view of the surrounding area.

Site Habitat 67 is set on a peninsula on the St. Lawerence River across from downtown Montreal. With its close proximity to Montreal, the views are magnificent of the city as well as easy access to downtown and parks nearby.

drawing label

View from the circulation paths

Map of downtown Montreal and the peninsula

Moshe Sadfie

Habitat 67

Construction The baths were designed to look as if they pre-dated the hotel complex, as if they were a form of cave or quarry-like structure. This is particularly evident from observing the grass roof structure of the baths, which resemble the foundations of an archaeological site, and reveal the form of the various bath rooms which lie below, half buried into the hill-side.

Fabrication The modules were prefabricated on site and then put together like a puzzle or building blocks. Each having its own roof garden which is the roof of the one below. The molds are very similar except for some variation in the punch out windows and doors.

Construction

Weathered Concrete

A module in its mold

Material Concrete is the primary material for this project and essential part to its form and construction. All the modules are prefabricated in a mold.

The prefrabicated modules put together

Habitat 67

Peter Zumthor

Movement There are many circulation paths that go through the entire complex and allow residents easily access their apartments. These circulation paths are partially covered by concrete structures and plexi-glass structures.

Climate The circulation paths and the garages below are all protected either by plexiglass structutes or Habitat 67 itself. it allows it to be open to the air but also protects residents and visitors from the elements.

Winter

Fall

Spring

Summer

View Through plexi-glass structures, they are able to see the many views of the river, city and mountains beyond.

Roof Garden

Zollverein School Lighting + View = Atmosphere Zollverein School, at first, appears to have a random and simplistice exterior facade. It is a whitewash concrete with holes punched in the walls and roof. however, the holes are all one of three size moduled squares and are far from random. These openings are designed for optimum natural lighting within the space and to create lighting experiences massive top floor courtyard open to sky at all times for natuor atmopsheres in each room ral lighting and feeling of openness in building (above) and on each floor. The interior layout is centered around 3 Square Moduled Window Openings (scaled up from smallest size) these clusters of opening for the different types of work within each interior space. the architects designed the space to provide not only optimum lighting, but a multitude of views of the pristine landscaping around the site and of the historic site on which it sits. The design provides a feeling of movement and flexibility in its appearance, natural illumination , and the views between interior and exterior spaces.

SANAA

Exterior Views created by openings, require movement throughout building and time in each space in order to fully experience the building and the creation of the multitude of vantage points and available experiences

SANAA

Zollverein School Movement + Experience + View The building is designed through paths and open spaces with all natural lighting to create movement and flexibility throughout the space. The school provides a large courtyard on its top floor that draws the occupants upward through the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s floors to reach and interact with the final fully open space, which also opens itself to the sky with massive skylights in the roof. The movement through the building and the lighting from the modulated holes in the exterior facades create unique experiences within each space with different degrees of movement, function, openness, and vantage points. The windows are also reflective from an exterior perspective. The facades being so cut away with the clusters of openings also gives the experience that an occupant is (in a way) within and without the building simultaneously. There is enclosure and there is no enclosure.

Interior walls are glass panels to provide a sense of openness between most all spaces windows of reflective glass give exterior viewers an only exterior view with a glimpse through to other windows of the four facades

All spaces are rectalinear and connected to each other with almost no technical pathways just space to space movement

Clusters of punched windows provide ample vantage points across the landscape and draw occupants view in all direction to the ground and skyward

Zollverein School

Historic Area/ World Heritage

School Site and Building Scale

SANAA

Site The Zollverein School is set on an important site to Germany, a historic and World Heritage site since 2001. This site also provides historic buildings and a glimpse to the past of Germany where the modern school sits as a new design amidst them all. The site is set apart from this buildigns by the immediate landscape keeping it from clashing or distracting from the surrounding buildings. Form The overall building is in a cubic form and the spaces are all rectalinear, however, the spaces within the building feel huge by being so open to the exterior site. he rooms are rectalinear, but are also based on a cubic module just like the facade openings and the actual buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s form. Order The building has a heirarchy within its spaces ordering from top to bottom. The grand open courtyard for gathering and events is the space drawing occupants to it. Then come the classrooms and study areas on the middle floors, followed by the connection-entry space to the exterior.

Floor plans gridded off into cube or square areas and then combined in different ways each floor for whatever function or design purpose they serve

The New Museum New York City

SANAA 2007

Structure

Program

From the outside, the New Museum may seem like a fairly normative building structurally speaking. However a look inside reveals a very intuitive structural design. The tightly spaced lots of a New York City block and the needs of the program, made the project a unique interplay between structural requirements and visual cohesiveness. Load-bearing crossbracing steel members and careful load distribution allowed SANAA to create free, open plan art galleries for displaying a variety of media. The centralized core, shown in red below, is the primary circulation zone as well as the structural core for the building. Instead of columns intruding on the artwork, the forces active in the building are resisted by the braceframe system housed around the periphery.

The New Museum displays a very diverse collection of art pieces from all around the world. In this way the program is clearly defined yet the logistical requirements of accomodating such a wide range of media was the primary driver behind the â&#x20AC;&#x153;open-boxâ&#x20AC;? design. Slide Installation

Construction and Assembly Process

Art Exhibit

The shifting volumes create a number of cantilevers on nearly every level. Although this creates a unique way to bring light into galleries it also presents a engineering challenge. A very specific sequence of construction was implemented to ensure that the truss system in the core and on the sidewalls could anchor the cantilevered levels. Structural Core + Open Space

Structure delegated to the periphery

Art Exhibit

Carousel Installation

Art Exhibit

Because of the free 40-foot spans allowable in the design, patrons are able to freely wander through the space, enjoying a variety of pieces ranging from a three-story slide to am interactive carousel. Even the smallest details of the construction process contributed to the overall goals of the project. The way the concrete was poured was designed so that the pour-lines from the concrete would not influence the placement of art pieces. Consequently, the floor is one continuous concrete pour.

The New Museum New York City

SANAA 2007

Site and Context

Form and Composition Chrysler Building

The site of the New Museum and its final designed form are inextricably connected. Aside from the programmatic requirements, the New Museum is refelctive of its site and surrounding context. This plays out at multple scales: the city scale and the local street level.

Empire State Building

The Bowery in New York City presents a certain set of constraints than could not be overlooked in the overall design. The small area of the lot influenced the verticality of the building while the needs for light and a view of the city influenced the shifting volumes and the perforations in the building facade. The overall composition of the building is cohesive in its structural and formal elements. The rectilinear geometry is consistent at multiple scales and across multiple applications. SANAA takes a strong postion regarding the footprint of the building. The front facade of the building follows the angle of the street that runs parallel to it. The museum is framed by the long street that runs perpendicular to the site, creating a dramatic approach.

The architects (and the clients) were willing to accept that the building would not maximize on square footage. Instead the architects sacrificed close to 20,000 square feet in order to take advantage of the opportunities presented by its location. Instead of the extra interior square footage, SANAA opened up the museum to the rest of the city, visually connecting the older area of the Bowery with the more contemporary architecture of downtown Manhattan.

The New Museum

Although visually the museum stands out on a street consisting mostly of older buildings, it brings a unique presense to the Bowery. From the very beginning, the museum was meant to be part of a revival process for the Bowery. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;off-balanceâ&#x20AC;?, monolithic appearance starkly contrasts the hard lines of brick the dominate the street. It creates a very different atmosphere within the community, inviting people into the building, then allowing them to visually connect with the rest of the city.

One World Trade Center

Street Perspective

Relationship to Well-Known Context

Site Plan

Skyroom View of NYC Skyline

Stacked Rectangular Volumes

The New Museum New York City

SANAA 2007

Space and Enclosure

Experience

Space is a very delicate balance between threshold conditions, degrees of enclosure, and non-tangible atmosphere. In the New Museum, spatial definition comes in multple forms, by means of changing light conditions, varying ground conditions and shifting overhead planes. For example, the change in material of the floor from the sidewalk to the ground floor of the museum creates a noticeable transition zone. The curtain wall creates a physical barrier but visual connection between inside and outside. The long rectiliear ceiling plane introduces visitors to the overall experience of the museum.

Varying degrees of enclosure within the building help enhance the experience of visitors. Patrons experience the building by traveling veritcally through the stacked volumetric spaces. At each step in the journey through the building there is a new type of enclosure.

The building as a whole is mostly autonomous and isolated from the exterior. Only at certain controlled points do the architects allow for interaction with the surroundings. There is a dynamic interplay between light and spatial quality that makes this museum appropriate for displaying art.

First Floor Groudplane

First Floor Framed View

Autonomous Gallery Space

Artificial Light and Contrasting Darkness

From the exterior, the building appears to be off-balance and floating off the ground due to the large glass panels at street level. As one enters the museum, the street slowly melts away and the weight of the building can be felt. Access to the upper floors is direct and provides for a smooth path up the building. Galleries and other program spaces have no windows, instead featuring the famed skylights. Acoustically, these galleries have few buffering surfaces, creating a dynamic presentation space. Finally as one ascends to the Skyroom, they are greeted with a view of New York City, a thoughtful conclusion to a journey through contrasting fields of experience.

Enclosed Gallery Space

Skyroom Conclusion

Ribbon Window and Panoramic Views

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion

SANAA

Site

Enclosure

The Glass Pavilion is the only structure that occupies the city block that it rest on. Placed in the center of the block, the pavilion has open spaces around the entire perimeter which creates natural views from every side of the building and allow the glass curtain walls to function to their full capacity in terms of light and view. The pavilion is located directly across from the original Toledo Museum of Art. Since the pavilion is separate and somewhat isolated, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s importance in the landscape and cityscape is increased dramatically.

SANAA uses glass walls along with opaque white walls to create enclosure. Nine of the interior spaces and all three courtyards are created by the use of purely frameless glass walls. Only six of the 18 enclosures are made with the use of opaque materials. Each of the three types of enclosures used has its own character.

Map of Site

Structure on Site

Types of Enclosure

Courtyards

Structure Sits 45 Degrees to the Streets

Opaque Walls

Interior Enclosure Massing Diagram

Light

Weathering

Glass curtain walls allow the transmission of non diffused natural light throughout the entire pavilion. The natural light is especially important when it comes to highlighting the gallery spaces. SANAA also uses light to create the feeling of an open plan even in areas that are not actually open.

Weathering is an important factor to take into account when designing a building. SANAA decided to use very weather resistant materials such as glass and painted metal. Even after seven years the pavilion still shows no signs of weathering.

Light Quality

Light Refraction

Weather Resistant Material

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion

SANAA

Cluster and Circulation

Insulation and Structure

The pavilion is designed with a clustered floor plan. The glass enclosures are bunched together to make a series of similar spaces. The clustering allows for a more ambiguous circulation path. Instead of having a grid organizing circulation where every turn is the same as the next, the grouped spaces allow for each turn and each decision to be independent and creates a new experience for the entrance into every room. There are regulating lines that organize the clustered layout, however the regulating lines are not set by a certain ratio or proportion. The regulating lines are also hard to see when walking through the pavilion which gives the space a certain feeling of flow.

Because most of the pavilion is glass, insulating the interior space became a tough question that SANAA resolved in a very efficient way. Between the clustered interior spaces and the large exterior container is a narrow pocket of air that acts as an insulator for the entire pavilion. This is a technology that has been perfected by optic companies to create anti fog goggles. SANAA has taken the technology from the mechanical scale to the human scale. The glass walls do not hold the roof up although a quick glance may give that impression. There is a series of thin steel columns that hold up the roof and they are placed within the insulating pocket. The glazing on the glass hides the columns from view when looking at the pavilion from the exterior. The thin columns being inside of the insulating pocket also keeps the occupiable interior spaces open and free from structure.

Isolated Circulation Path Insulation Pockets Human Scale

Cluster

Regulating Lines

Steel Column

Insulation Pockets Mechanical Scale

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion

SANAA

Volume and Threshold

Form and Sight

The main volume that encloses the structure is comprised of three layers. The roof, the glass curtain walls, and the floor plane. The structure does not have the overhead plane stick past the vertical plane, nor does the vertical plane stick up above the overhead plane. The two are flush with each other which causes the structure to read as one volume and one mass. It can also be read as being comprised of three layers but the dominating read is as a single mass. The main entrance does have the overhead plane stick past the vertical plane which brings an emphasis to the threshold and creates a smooth transition between interior and exterior spaces.

The form of the interior spaces are derived by the program. Many of the spaces are used as gallery spaces which require smooth circulation paths. The walls of the pavilion all have curved corners which create a smooth circulation pattern for looking at the work. The curved glass walls also create a 360 degree field of vision form inside of the pavilion. The pavilion is transparent from the interior and exterior which adds to the visibility factor of the pavilion.

SANAA Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion Main Threshold Plan

Week 12 Main Threshold

Form Based on Circulation

The non-glass walls are typical stick built walls. They use metal studs instead of wood but they use common building practices to shorten build time and to lower cost.

Field of Vision

Single Mass

Three Layers

Material choice creates a visual division between the overhead plane, the vertical planes, and the ground plane. The pavilion almost reads as a diagram itself.

360 Degree Field of Vision

Structure + Experience

Toledo Museum

Lines created from steel structure of roof

Door: Illusion of Thickness

SANAA wanted the columns to be almost nonexistent to the viewer as he or she experiences the space. Thus, they placed the columns at irregular spacing as to avoid presenting a pattern or regularized grid. Thus, the seemingly strange structure of the steel roof is a result of this architectural idea. SANAA also employs the illusion of thickness in terms of the doorways. The actual thickness of the glass walls is simply one glass pane; however, when a doorway occurs, additional glass is added to create the illusion of thicker wall. Lastly, SANAA wanted to create a very clean looking space. Therefore, the detail connections or joints for the skinny steel columns are hidden in the ceiling structure. Thus, the fluidity of the ceiling plane is maintained.

Column with hidden joint/connection

Material + Space

Toledo Museum

Graveling defining a threshold between the building and grass

Differentiation between groundplane material

There are several subtle material changes throughout the building that help to create thresholds and influence how people experience the space. For example, there is small gravel border that runs along the ground, outside of the building. It helps to provide a threshold between the building and the grass, so that there is not simply an abrupt change. On the interior, the polished concrete floors contrasts with the nonreflective ceiling plane, which creates a feeling of weightlessness. Because the vertical planes are glass, nature is reflected through throughout the ground plane, which is not unlike the effect of a reflecting pool. Lastly, the tiling of the courtyards contrasts with that of the smooth concrete of the other curved units, which creates a subtle spatial differentiation.

Climate + Context

Toledo Museum The climate and context affect how one experiences the building from the exterior. Because of the glass, the immediate context is always reflected. The climate of Toledo is temperate, thus, the area always cycles through the four seasons, yearly. The landscaped site for the Toledo Glass Pavilion changes with the seasons, as trees grow, change colors, lose their leaves, and snow falls. This context then gets brought into the experience of the building because the image is reflected on the exterior glass shell.

Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Climate The facade of the building reacts to the surrounding environment by overlapping the marble slabs slightly in order to help shed water off the exterior skin of the building. In addition, there are large overhangs and cantilevers throughought this building with create shelter and shade from exterior elements such as wind or heat.

Facade The exterior facade is a juxtaposition of cast-in-place concrete with a marble tile cladding and a steel stud framed glass and metal curtain wall. This juxtaposition creates a dialogue between the classical and the modern.

Material The detail of the marble tile cladding creates a textured surface on the facade which creates a sense of depth. It results in a much more dynamic space on the exterior of the building. Also, on the interior, marble was used on the surfaces creating a very clean, polished surface.

Exterior Marble Cladding

Interior Marble Finish

Juxtaposition of Marble Cladding With Steel and Glass Curtain Wall

drawing label

Marble Cladding Close-Up

Lakeshore Drive Apartments 1951

Ensor-Gutzeit Headquarters 1962

Steel and Glass Curtain Wall Close-Up

Weathering Miesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lakeshore Drive Apartments and Aaltoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ensor-Gutzeit Headquarters are used as a precedent to see what effect the weathering will have on the building over the course of about 50 years. The result is that over the next 50 years, weathering should not have a significant effect on the building.

Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture

Program The school of architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motto is to be commited to teach both students and the community and provide education in architecture, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning for 600 students. The school is divided into different layers and program blocks with the green representing the studio space, the red representing the office space, and the blue representing classroom and administrations space. However, these different programs are combined into one cohesive whole through the use of a ramp system which is represented by the yellow.

Section Showing Continuity

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Site Diagrams

Section Showing Program Division

Categorization of Program

Context Diagram of Surrounding Buildings

Context The building is set in the context of an intersection of the various functions of the campus. There is a meeting and dialogue between the sports facilities, the academic buildings, and the nonacademic buildings. The building is put right at the intersection of where these three programs meet. Therefore, it becomes a conduit of traffic for that area of campus. The building reacts to the surrounding landscape in a variety of ways. The plan and facade are created through using the surrounding structures and roads as a boundary from which the form is generated.

Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects

Composition The building is composed in a subtractive manner by cutting away at what the extrusion of the building on the site would be. The result is the creation of unique spaces and the forming of implied space on the exterior.

Circulation The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s circulation is based on a series of ramps which transition the individual from space to space creating an environment where many spaces can be experienced at one time. This results in the building being one continuous experience.

Order There is a linear layout in the building that is based on an axis (red) which runs lengthwise through the building. Different programmatic spaces (yellow) are then arranged off of that axis.

Enclosure Diagram

Composition Diagram

Circulation Diagram

Ramp Diagram

Unifying Space

Experience In the image on the left you can see how the studio, library, and circulation areas are all a part of the same space. The circulation system of ramps and plateaus is most evident through section and diagram.

Knowlton Hall - Ohio State School of Architecture

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam

Axis and Space

Program and Movement

The major organization principle of Knowlton Hall is a long, horizontal axis. This axis is created and informed by a large negative space on the western side of the building.

The negative space and longitudinal axis were said to inform the organization and space allotment of the interior. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the design of the ramp system that facilitates movement between levels.

There are several outdoor plazas around Knowlton, and several negative spaces are cut out of the building, but only one negative space reaches from the ground plane all the way up through the building to the sky.

Central horizontal axis

Building programs superimposed over the plan

This negative space at the western edge of Knowlton is visually apparent and indicates that something is happening inside the building. Indeed, this negative space delineates the start of the horizontal axis that organizes the features of the interior.

Often times movement between levels is confined to a stairwell and hidden away. This is not the case in Knowlton Hall. Inter-level circulation is celebrated and given a central position. The program of circulation runs parallel to the central axis and runs almost the entire length of the building.

This relationship between an exterior space and the rest of the interior allows for people to begin the read the organizational principle of the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior from the outside. Once someone begins to physically engage the architecture and walk through the space, he will be able to see that his reading of axis from afar was indeed accurate.

Programs isolated - yellow is circulation via ramps and the green on the left is the western cut-out

The use of the ramp allows for a more gradual and fluid transition between levels. It creates an architectural promenade; it celebrates circulation between floors and offers sweeping views of the interior of the structure. As one ascends, he is visually linked to the studios and offices. Relationship

The negative space cut out of the western side

Circulation via ramps in section - the cut-out is on the left

The longitudinal axis of Knowlton informs and orders the interior and circulation between levels, and it is visually apparent on the exterior.

Knowlton Hall - Ohio State School of Architecture

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam

Fabrication and Material

Module and Regulating Lines

Concrete is used as the material for the load bearing columns and walls in Knowlton. The very nature of concrete’s fabrication leaves residual signs of its creation.

The lines left on the concrete from its form work create a module, the module of the form, that is repeated across the concrete. The repetition of this module creates a set of regulating lines that visually orders the space. These regulating lines were created by the modulation of the concrete surface, which in turn was created by the concrete’s form work.

Concrete is created using form work, and the lines from the forms are apparent on the surface of the concrete after it is poured and the forms removed. Rather than try to conceal these lines, the architects chose to celebrate them, leaving them uncovered and unaltered for all to see. By the very nature of its fabrication, concrete, through the residual effects of its forming, provides a geometry that informs and affects how one reads the surfaces found throughout Knowlton Hall.

Relationship The floor slab during the construction process

The concrete interior of Knowlton after construction

The interior surfaces (those made of concrete) in Knowlton Hall are visually ordered by the use of a module. This module creates a set of regulating lines that affects one’s reading and viewing of the space. This modulation of space was the result of the method of fabrication of the concrete walls. The lines from the form work were left over indications of the manner in which the concrete was made. Rather than conceal these remnants, the architects to chose leave these lines visible to the public, and thus made a conscious decision to include regulating lines in the interior of the building.

The lines left by the form work are highlighted

The modulation of the interior created by the concrete form work

Knowlton Hall - Ohio State School of Architecture

Mack Scogin Merrill Elam

Program

Space

There are four major programmatic distinctions in Knowlton Hall: studio space, class and offices space, interlevel (ramp) circulation space, and outdoor/plaza space.

The major spatial features of Knowlton are three negative spaces carved out of the overall mass of the building. These negative spaces correspond with the plaza program in the plan.

The plaza spaces are designed into the conception of the building and figure into its overall form and help inform the other programs within the building.

The negative spaces vary in geometry; some reach from the ground plane to the sky, others only reach part of the way up through the building mass, thus creating cantilevers. These negative spaces blur the distinction between the interior and the exterior.

The 4 major programs in Knowlton superimposed over the ground floor plan

Negative space under the oculus

Negative Space along the center axis

The plazas can be conceived of as negative spaces within the overall mass of the building. They appear as elements subtracted from the overall building form. They are apparent in plan, but they also appear in threedimensions and are not confined solely to a two-dimensional plane.

Relationship Knowlton Hall features three major negative spaces carved out of the mass of the building. These negative spaces correspond with the program of the outdoor plaza spaces. The spaces designated as outdoor, plaza spaces in the programmatic distinctions

Volume of the negative space

The plaza program isolated and shown with the overall footprint of the plan

The volumes of the plaza programs superimposed over the ground floor plan

These cuts through the building create transition spaces that can be used by the public even when the building is not in use. They blur the distinction between the inside and outside and their negative volumes are designed to meet the programmatic requirements that such a plaza space necessitates.

Integral House

Site

Shim-Sutcliffe

Context

Movement

Experience

The journey through the house parallels the experience of descending the ravine slope, granting a sequential understanding of the space. With an oblique entrance to the house, the viewer gains an exaggerated experience of the top two floors flowing exterior which only further emphasizes the views and emotions gleaned from traveling into the ravine. Circulation through the house is as fluid as the design itself, even allowing for a complete opening of the bottom floor panoramic window, connecting inside and outside over an infinity pool.

Shim-Sutcliffe spent a month working in the original house before its removal to understand the site, using a constructed site instead of leveling the area. The Integral House approaches the street flat but has a 65â&#x20AC;&#x2122; drop into a wooded ravine in the rear. Views of the ravine change through height variation along with various degrees of light. The house is in a very wealthy neighborhood and appears to be a two story building from the street level but is actually a five story structure. Back of house looking into the Ravine

Aerial View

View from street

Paths of Travel

Movement through the Integral House is entirely derived from the site on which it sits. The ravine is the initial flowing element which created the basis for the rest of the fluid motion throughout the design while utilizing the abstract curvilinear nature of the integral. Experiences throughout the house are almost entirely based off contextual elements, creating views and scenic outlooks over the site and surrounding area.

Integral House

Space

Shim-Sutcliffe

Light

Enclosure

View

Wooden fins separated by floor are all unique and oriented with no regulation between one another, creating a rhythmic flow through each curved glass component. The fins act to frame the ravine, but rather than one large panel acting as a static image of the landscape, the sporadic spacing requires motion to create a full image, further emphasizing the fluid nature of the house. The light is further emphasized within the house by a very contained color pallet, bringing a brilliance into the space through largely glass facades and creating a brighter wooden interior.

A point-line emphasis is seen throughout the house by the wooden fins, and an emphasis on the horizontal plane can be experienced throughout the reflection in the infinity pool. The saturated blue-glass staircase is an artistic installation of its own space, created with translucent glass treads and a steel framework. The staircase provides the only splash of color from the otherwise bland color palette.

Analysis of glass stair installation

Study of light through wooden fins

Spaces throughout the house are all focused on creating an impacting experience for the viewer, be it focused centrally or out to the landscape. The wooden fins are the key element to focusing views, instead of a simple and static view, the customized fins provide directionality and create an almost cinematic experience when traveling through the space, an always changing and flowing backdrop which directly mirrors the fluid motion of the house itself. The glass stairs create a focus within the center of the house, emphasizing the artistic elements of both the interior and of nature on the exterior.

Integral House

Composition

Shim-Sutcliffe

Order

The obvious initial concept to this house is the integral, a mathematical function used to determine the area under a curve. Therefore there are an abundance of arbitrary curves throughout the house. There are clear divisions between a curvilinear exterior facade in contrast with a fairly strict traditional orthogonal design where the five floors are stacked upon one another. A progression is evident by traveling through the space, moving from the large double height living room down into the ravine and gaining fantastic views in the process. Also, a sort of repetition is establi shed throughout the house by using the wooden fins to direct and create views, however each individual fin is unique and customized to the curve.

Material

Primary ordering principle - Integrals

Radial and Orthogonal geometries

drawing label

Door handle and light shade

drawing label

Material qualities

Music Stand

The primary ordering principle of the house comes from the unique curves found in calculus through integrals. These curves create an extraordinary facade and an overall fluid feel through the house that is directly and intentionally mirrored through specific details placed by the architects. Custom door handles emphasize the curves of an integral, as do light fixtures and music stands. The basic materials throughout the house of wooden fins and concrete form a union of opposites, solid heavy materials lending themselves to the fluid irregular form of the house.

Detail

The primary materials are glass, concrete, wood and bronze, with a stark color contrast appearing in the blue glass staircase. Nearly all elements of the house are custom designed, including door handles, light fixtures and even music stands for musical performances

Integral House

Shim Sutcliffe

Light + View The large windows broken up with the wooden panels allow for large and framed views of the woods in the ravine.

Atmosphere The changing seasons allow for a changing atmosphere. The views of the ravine contribute greatly to the atmosphere of the interior spaces and therefore each season brings a new feeling into the space. The seasons in which there are leaves on the trees brings more privacy and enclosure to the space. During the winter when the trees are empty, it is easy to see in and out of the site and house, therefore making the space feel more public.

View to ravine

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Cilmate The Integral House is located in a Climate that enjoys all four seasons of the year fully. This leads to a variety of levels of blooming in the ravine surrounding the house. These different seasons also lead to flexibility in the implict exterior space. During the cold of the winter you would be far less likely to spend time outside, however the exact opposite can be said about the warmer monts.

Context The context of ravine plays directly into the importance of the climate, views, and atmospheres. The structure and large rooms in the back allow for an expanded and panoramic view of the ravine and changing trees.

Plants in Bloom

Trees Empty

Directed and Expanded Views

Integral House

Shim Sutcliffe

Movement The main circulation aspects of the Integral House are many stairs that carry you from level to level on different sides of the house.

Space A main spatial quality of the Integral House is layered space. These layers usually span different levels of the house. As you look further up, you have less of a sense of the space that you are viewing. The circulation plays into these layers in two ways. First, helping in creating the depth of space. Second, by giving you visual cues as to how to travel to the space you are unsure about.

Enclosure The stairs used for circulation also create enclosure. In many houses the spaces underneath the stairs is wasted or used for storage. However, in the Integral House, the architects take advantage of this space. This is most clearly seen in the bathroom created under the large blue stair.

Large stair

Bathroom created by space underneath stair

Layered space created by cirulation

Integral House

Shim Sutcliffe

Detail + Form The driving factor in determining the form of the Integral House was the integral sign from calculus. This led to some unique curves that posed a structural and detailing challenge. This was solved by using a curtain wall system adorned with wooden fins. Each one of this fins is placed at a different angle and on a different part of the curving wall, thus calling for individualization. Every fin has a uniquely designed joint that attaches it to the curtain wall.

Structure The structure of the Integral House was developed in order to support the form already created, instead of being the driving factor in the creation of the form. Therefore, the main structural components are columns- a few large ones that in the middle of spaces and create new ones, and lots of smaller ones holding up the curtain wall.

Wood Fin Joints

Fins in preformance words

Fins in an upper level

Columns puching through floor

Columns going through multiple floors

Small steel columns and rebar exposed

Most structrual components covered

Assembly The architects did not want the structure of the house to be seen after its completition. Therefore, all of the structural components were put in place first, followed by the faces that would hide them. This is most evident in the wooden fins that cover the small load bearing columns. When looking at the fins, one can tell which contain the columns and which do not.

FundaĂ§ĂŁo IberĂŞ Camargo

Alvaro Siza

Site

Parallel

The duality of the organic and straight lines of the building are taken from the surrounding landscape terrain and urban design. Outstretched curved ramps mirror the rough mountainside and constantly changing coastline. The straight and perpendicular walls relate to the urban city streets and the surrounding buildings. The placement of the straight walls along the rough terrain and the curved ramps along the linear street allows for the most drastic contrast.

The contrast of the curvilinear landscape compared to the straight back of the building creates a dynamic space. Similarly, the curvilinear of the building compares to the straight form of the street. These parallel lines compare to each other without actually connecting to one another.

Order

Exterior Photo

Site Influence Diagrams

Placement of the walls and the floors along the central core intersect at a right angle to form a grid layout. While in other instances the curvilinear walls intersect with this grid to join sections of the building together. Intersecting planes while join spaces physically separate the program and use of the space visually.

Exterior Photo

Perpendicular The curvilinear form of the interior floors compare to the grid layout of the rest of the building as seen in the intersecting planes. These planes relate to one another based on their juxtaposition against one another.

Site Influence Diagrams

Interior Grid

Intersecting Planes Diagram

Fundação Iberê Camargo

Alvaro Siza

Light

Dark Circulation Space

The quality of light in the circualtion ramps is darker, making the small amount of light that much more emphasized. Light against the back wall funnels out lighting the entire hallway, In the interior core, the light color of the walls and floors in each level creates an alternating pattern when compared to the surrounding space. The alternating bands of light and dark thereby comparing view and obstruction.Views are important in the buildings light qualitites. The exterior upward view is created by the layering of the floor levels, creating a dynamic experience. The interior window view directs attention outward to key focal points.

Ramps lining the exterior of the building create the main circulation routes. These spaces are enclosed and dark with small focal lights that draw you into what normally would be considered a uninviting space. Circulation

Circulation Light Diagram

Exhibition Space

Program The circulation spaces of the building are focused around the exterior edge to allow the ramps to extrude form the main structure and interact with it while creating an enclosed outdoor space. The exhibition spaces are mostly located in the south eastern side of the building, where the space is not interrupted by other programs. The public space is mostly on the first floor by the entrance to allow easy access to the cafe and gift shop.

drawing label

Exhibition Light Diagram

Light Public Spaces Exterior Space

drawing label

Public Space

The public areas are located in the front and center of the building. The open spaces that receive plenty of natural light. The dark bands of the walls emphasize the brightness of the surrounding spaces.

Public Space- Light Diagram

Exterior Light Photo

Fundação Iberê Camargo

Alvaro Siza

Enclosure

Progression

Throughout the building overhead planes are interrupted. Inside skylights are formed inorder to highlight a space or provide a focal point in the dark circulation ramps. Outside, the ramps interact with the main building define its own space. The space while open to the surrounding is a dynamic and fluid experience. The lack of enclosure in this space emphasizes the protection of the rest of the building.

Throughout the building the viewer can move through the building in both a straight line created by focal lights that direct your movement. Also free movement where walls are along multiple sides but are generous enough to allow people to create their own paths. Circulation Ramp Enclosure

Movement The continuous ramp that wraps around the entire building create the main circulation path. The ramps create a vertical progression around the building. A sequence is created through the different levels of the building as each level creates a new series of spaces. The approach of the building consists of an axial promenade which turns into an oblique entrance.

Interior Enclosure

Implied Enclosure The exterior ramps while visually enclosing the space outside the entrance, it does not physically enclose the space. This duality allows the viewer to experience both an enclosed cube space and an outdoor space simultaneously. Ramp Circulation Diagram

Exterior Enclosure

Mercedes Benz Museum

UN Studio

Site

Circle

The area surrounding the museum plays a major role within the experience and form of the structure. The use of context within the site is shown through the use of the circle and major views within the space to the outside. The nearby stadium, roadway, and waterway act as essential ideas for the design.

The circular plays the biggest role within the design of the Mercedes Benz Mueum. Its use in the surrounding area provides a concept that is used throughout the structure and dominate all levels of activity.

Site

Building Plan

Dominance

Views of Surroundings

Circular Repetition

View

Form

The nearby sports arena, waterway, and parkway provide surrounding views that come into focus when in the space. The ideas all provide a sense of fluidity and its position over the parkway provide the sense of dominance for the company.

The form of the Mercedes Benz Museum uses the repetition of the circle to create an interlocking form. Within the three circles of the space, it creates different levels of activity and content of the surrounding landscape. Circular Repetition

Site Context

Mercedes Benz Museum

UN Studio

Program

Collection Tour

Surrounding a central atrium, the space contains two options of path that represent different ideas of the Mercedes Benz company. The spaces interlock to create and provide enough room for the tours. The interlocking allows changing of tours at certain points of the space.

One of the tours, this path inhabits an overall larger space and uses artificial light to enhance the experience of history and specifics. This path contains steps within the ramp to break up time and stages time for the company.

Experience

Focal Point of Space

Legends Tour

The Mercedes Benz Museum provides two different pathways to emphasize two different ideas of the company. As one descends down the spiral, the visitor has multiple experiences and views. The ability to see previous, future, and the other tour create an experience of intimacy as well as unknown.

The other half of the space, it uses natural light to enhance the idea of possibilities. The ceilings are smaller in elevation and provide the focus for its displays. A singular ramp in this tour does not stop time and expresses the idea of the future. Legends Tour

Collection Tour

4D Experience

Mercedes Benz Museum

UN Studio

Structure

Inhabitance

The structure is supported through columns that alternate in size and angle throughout the space. Alternating by floor, one level contains columns slighty on an angle. The level above uses columns perpendicular to the floor and at the meeting point of the angled columns. The design varies each space and conforms to detain. The large space of structural units allow inhabitance within the walls.

The thickness of the structure serves as a solution for maintenance and employment to be unseen to the visitor. It flows with the overall idea of the structure; fluidity.

Support System

Glass Detail

Structure Through Facade

Glass and Support Join

Material and sight

Detail

The architect intended to vary the use of structural concrete and glass from floor to floor. The variation of glass and concrete both serving as an idea of structure explores the different qualities of both materials and the unusual uses of the material.

Built of concrete, glass, and aluminum, the exterior walls contain a detail that goes unnoticed to the everyday user. Certain levels use the concrete columns to hide the joints between glass panels as other floors Structural support

Glass and Cement Facade,

Overall Joint of Exterior Window

Mercedes Benz Museum

Unstudio

Experience

Space and Passage

The planning of all the building was to provide different experiences with the different time periods of Mercedes Benz. Each exhibition space has dramatic lighting and utilizes darkness while the collection spaces utilize the natural light from the exterior. This variation of lighting provides a space that bleeds into others with interupting them.

To strengthen te experience throughout the entire exhibit space fluctuates. Your path is always continuous and there is never a sharp turn, therefore instead of the tourists path changing the walls beside them and the ceiling above them fluctuate with spatial volumes. Light Detail

Diagram: lgith from center voin on ground

Light as Material Light

Photo of interior space

drawing label

Light is used to dilineate a path for the building. It uses different types of light to make different types of space. The use of dramatic light is mainly in the exhibition spaces to illuminate the objects themselves and make them the visual focus. In the intermediate space natural light is used as a pause or break from the dramatic. Diagram of unity through light

Diagram of seperation by light

Picture of the entrance to an exhibition space from a collection space

Unstudio uses light as a material. Making the continuous path have a different value with each step. The Pattern of dramatic light, natural light, back to dramatic light does not allow the eyes to get settled in one particular environment. this in the end makes each experience a new experience unlike the one before and very different than the one coming after.

Mercedes Benz Museum

Unstudio

Movement

Double Helix

The pathways throughout the entire building are continuous, however modulated planes provide very different atmoshperes. In this specďŹ c case it is a very small pathway with very large vertical elements on both sides, normally a space such as this would give off a very closter phobic feel for anyone. However, with the way the materials are used in the structure a space as tight as this can feel open and generous.

The major factor of movement is the continuous double helix throughout the space. This double helix form not only allows for vehicles to make their way to the top floor but also provides an easy walkway to follow when the museum has tourists.

Material

Seamlessness

The materials used throughout the structure are glass, steel (executed in aluminum), and concrete. Concrete was used primarily for the modulated wall planes and floors making a continual ramp pathway very possible for the space.

Unstudio picked every material for a speciďŹ c reason; they wanted to provide seamlessness. They used 4-mm-thick punched aluminum, clear colorless glass, and concrete all to provide a seamlessness facade and interior. Diagram showing how dense the space is

Picture of one of the many collection spaces

Mercedes Benz Museum

Unstudio

Program

Vehicle

The program is to show the journey that the Mercedes Benz franchise has been on. They start with the conception of the business and then go chronologically until it reaches the present then looks towards the future.

The vehicle is the essential element of the program every space is design to hold one or multiple vehicles. Without the vehicle playing a hand in this building the program would be obsolete.

Line drawing of the module used to design the space

Rules

Detail of the hole left from the pouring process

Detail

drawing label

Detail is important to Unstudio but even more important in this case because Mercedes Benz puts so much emphasis on detail in their automobiles. Unstudio wanted to approach the building with the same attention to detail. Making sure that everything made in its place and designed to the last detail. Picture inside the center void looking up to the different levels

Detail photo showing built in benches

Photo showing the deatil put into different lighting

Unstudio had put rules on itself to regarding color and printed wall or floor surfaces.Colors were only allowed to be used in lessvisible areas. On the contrary, the places that are in full view at all times are not allowed to be extremely colorful. Therefore, very saturated colors are only seen in the elevator cores, bathrooms, and the exits. Their rule on printed wall or floor surfaces was that they were only limited to dots. They did this to contribute to the coherence of the building, dots echo the circle that is the paradigm of the building as a whole.

Sydney Opera House

Jørn Utzon

Performance

Detail

The opera house’s shell shape directly coorelates with the performance qualities of the spaces that are made. The performances are allowed to roll towards the audience, whether it be sound or light.

The detail of the concrete slabs that cover the roof of the opera house impacted how it was constructed. Each slab was calculated and poured individually, which allowed the project to take on a personal attachment for the workers on the site. Every tile was laid by hand. drawing label

Structure The structure is of steel reinforced concrete ribbing that spans the dimensions of the shells, this “shell” provides optimum sound performance and sound engineering possibilities on the interior, and extraordinary performances of light on the exterior

Fabrication drawing label

drawing label

The method of fabricating was gruling for the workers of the sydney Opera House to say the least. Each pannel was prepped and set by hand. Only the ribbing could take some form of consistency.

Sydney Opera House

JĂ¸rn Utzon

Order

Enclosure

The order in which you experience the building is reflected on the outside shells. The sizes of the shells, in the rull of fifths, create the bulge in which you walk on, around the performance space.

The shell creates a natural, organic enclosure that allows for the waterfall of glass at either end, opening the occupants of the opera house to the views of the harbor.

Form The form of the Sydney Opera House resonates the interior. The larges shells contain the larges use, the concert hall itself. The overall form bulges in the middle, creating an access way for the order of progression towards the harbor and then towards the performance space.

View The view is directly effected by the amount of enclosure at the ends of the structure. The ends taper off from the middle bulging section, focusing your view onto the harbor. The simple enclosure of the structure that holds the glass facades also assists in focusing your view onto the harbor.

Sydney Opera House

JĂ¸rn Utzon

Reception Audience

Front of House

Program

Weathering

Performance

The programs of the opera house are encompassed by those who occupy it. The movement that is intended goes toward the harbor, one of the main focal points other than the performance in the concert hall.

Performance Support

House Support H

Weather is not necessarily an issue in Sydney, but sunlight is. The glazed ceramic tiles that cover each of the slabs of the opera house were chosen specifically for their abilities to be cleaned, usually back to the condition they were first in.

Movement The movement throughout the opera house makes one take note of the harbor on the outside, but the 180 degree turn around at the moment you are captured by the harbor, allows you to turn the harbor 180 degrees in your mind, to the back, and the performance you paid to see in the front.

Material The material of the opera house, at least on the outside, and is most noticable, reflects the weather of the site, sunny. The glazed ceramic tiles reflect sunlight like nothing else can, and Utzon demanded this material not be changed.

Sydney Opera House

Bjorn Utzon

Roof Structure

Tile Assembly

Originally, the roof “shells” were perceived as a series of parabolas supported by precast concrete ribs. Eventually, the shells were all created as sections from a sphere. This solution allows arches of varying length to be cast in a common mould, and a number of arch segments of common length to be placed adjacent to one another, to form a spherical section.

The original construction of the tiled arched roofs intended for tiles to be placed directly on cast concrete, but that wasn’t structurally or practically possible. Instead, the tiles were prefabricated in chevron-shaped sections and screwed into concrete ribs in a spigot-and-socket system, using suction to hold onto the concrete. This system also allows for the structural forces of the building to move each section individually.

Application of individual tile sections

Roof Fabrication Detailed development of the roof’s spherical derivations

Manufacture Schematic diagram of arched vaults

Hornibrook manufactured the 2400 precast ribs and 4000 roof panels in an on-site factory and also developed the construction processes. The achievement of this solution avoided the need for expensive formwork construction by allowing the use of precast units. These units were then covered by individually cast sheets of tile.

Elevation of ribbed vaults

The shells can be sub-divided into ribs, which again can be divided into smaller elements, which can be cast within formwork representing the largest rib-entity. Thus it is possible to pre-cast the concrete-shells in smaller pieces and assemble these pieces on location. When the Opera House experiences any shifts or movement, the assembly of the individual tile sections allows for some movement without damaging the roofs of the building. If the tiles had been applied directly to the cast concrete, the roofs may have cracked and become unstable.

Wire structural system of ribbed vaults

Completed concrete ribbed vaults

Process of roof tile sections

Sydney Opera House

Bjorn Utzon

Roof Tile Detail

Material Detail

The HĂśganĂ¤s factory generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry. In the paper-mills, the boiling water with the pulp is channelled through huge ducts lined with this type of stoneware tile. The ducts are then flushed with ice-cold water from the rivers.

Cream matte and white glazed tiles were used to deect the harsh Australian sun, and provided resistance to fungus. Grooves were also placed inbetween the tiles to allow for water drainage.

The factory, after many trials, came up with tiles made according to a certain technique, where the raw tile is painted with a sauce or slick of the same material, is fired, and overlaid with a glossy, transparent glaze before it is fired the final time.

Tile detail of material

Roofâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glossed tiles reflecting sunlight

Lighting This process allowed for sunlight to peacefully reflect all the colors of the spectrum of the sun without giving off a harsh glare. The detail resembled that of snake skin.

Material Quality The tile process gave a surface, which had a beautiful luster or sheen, a surface that would retain its visual qualities even when the tile became dirty. A normal ceramic tile with a normal glaze has a relatively dull surface, as if it is made from white cardboard, and when dirty it completely loses its luster.

SOH at night, tiles reflecting neon lights

At night, the roofs harbor neon lighting that easily reflect off of the glazed tile. Roof cleaners inspecting for cracks

Roof tile thickness and application to concrete

Sydney Opera House

Bjorn Utzon

Movement

Event

In the Sydney Opera House you are aware of your orientation at all times. It is important that each member of the audience has a simple, easily understood tour, from the entrance to his or her seat and out again.

The Opera House gives way to over 450 events that embrace the structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acoustically-built interior walls and vast performance halls. Each program is enclosed within its own personal venue; the individual experiences his or her own event and no other. The Opera House even goes as far as allowing people of one event to never come into contact with an individual from another event. This gives the individual the idea of privacy, intimacy, and personal interaction with the performing band, play, or orchestra.

When you enter the building you pass around the stage towers to enter the auditoria from the sides. Two halls are placed side by side to avoid the necessity of passing one hall to get to another. The layout of the halls consist of a series of radial sections all fanning out from a local point in the stage area. The halls acoustically had a shape that was oriented towards the stage. It is very important that the audience does not enter and walk through the building along dark corridors to a dark hall.

Interior perspective

Orchestra Hall Perspective

Orchestra event taking place in Grand Hall

Program With so many programs and performance sites, Syndey Opera House successfully accomplishes having multiple events within one building while still capturing the individual experience. One may attend an outdoor festival on the structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open air pavilion on the plateau, and another may experience a symphony of 100 people in the Grand Hall, but both individuals in each event will never come into contact with one another, and neither will experience the same movement through space as the other.

Experience During intermission you remain around the auditorium and can retain the feeling of being in another world. As in large cathedrals the Opera House is functional in the sense that people have a beautiful experience entering and walking up the stairs and entering the auditoria.

Movement through the hallway

Perspective of outdoor hallway leading to event pavilion

Vanna Venturi House

Robert Venturi

Form

Materials and detail

The architect contradicts the symmetry of the facade with assymetrical elements across its vertical axis. These elements include different sized windows and the top of the chimney. These details are construced out of distinct forms to generate ornament. The ornament

Specific materials on the houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facade interact to generate a narrative. The joining of these details seems unsophisticated. This opperation is reminiscent of tacking on ornament to a building. The juxtaposition of the arch on the structural lintel serves as a symbol of entry. Two types of trim seem purely visual and calli attention to the houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of horizontal ribbon windows.

drawing label

assymetric layout of details across vertical axis on facade symbolism of the arch superimposed on the structure

relationship of details to one another

drawing label

trims and muntins as ornament

Vanna Venturi House

Robert Venturi

Experience

Program

Experience can varry due to the flexibility of the plan of the house. The position of an inhabitant generates both a specific and a universal experience. The staircase and the fireplace occupy the central focus as the center of the home. As one moves about the object one is able to have three experiences. As sepparate objects the signal for different events and programs yet these are unified through motion.

The program of the house is simple with the traditional elements of a house: bedrooms, kitchen, and dining room. The venturi house makes programmatic events distinct yet unified simmultaneously. The dining room and living room seem to demand specific events at specific times of the day through via their unique forms. One space is formal and the other inorma. Despite this the rooms have the ability to serve one another as they both occupy the same ground plane and offer space to relax. As the living room may appear to be seppaated due to a material shift, they are also united because curved skylight of the dining room adds light to the living room bluring their seeming purpose. space and event are both united and divided experience is deterined by oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position in space

Form

three distinct spaces in plan

three distinct spaces in elevation

Each space is is characteristically distinct and is formed in its own expression language. These expressions tend to call upon particular events such as the sculptural fireplace giving symbolsm and place to the event of sitting in front of the hearth. While the sylight in the dining room gives place to evening dinners. Despite their specific forms, the spaces are unified through the continuity of motion and possible interconnect programmes.

Vanna Venturi House

Robert Venturi

Light and the extention of space

Light from above

As light comes from above and diffues into the space, spaces appear larger and more volumnous. Diffuse light changes in tone as it falls and moves across the walls. The oberserver is able to quantify the light. With changing lighting conditions, spatial depth is achieved. Another factor that contributes to spatial depth is that diffuse light tends to blur ones understading of the source of light making space seem infinite as one traces the light to its origin.

Light is allowed to diffuse into the house from above allowing wall surfaces to be illuminated from top to bottom. This in affect acheives greater amounts of light in the spaces. light from above challenges the inhabitant in his or her coprehension of the source, and positioning, and intensity of the light. Through this light, is no longer an object of attention but a quality of the the room itself.

drawing label

light from above the staircase

drawing label

lights ability to extend space overhead lights in second floor bedroom

diffusion

lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position in space

diffused light generates spatial extention in the second floor bedroom

quantifying the diffused light

Light is designed to play off of wall survices within the house. This allows the intensity and brightness of the rooms to be controlled. Direct sunlight tends to not hit the centers of the rooms preventing light fm being too intense, hot, and bright. As walls are illuminated, spaces become evenly lit and a better over all lighting condition is acheived.

American Folk Art Museum Fabrication+Assembly+Material+Detail

Tod Williams and BillieTsien Architects

Material

Steel Frames

Of all of the materially rich elements in the building, the facade has the most impressive presence. Tombasil, a white bronze alloy with copper content, was spill cast into panels. Spill casting produces panels with a mottled surface and exposed cold seams, but also a texture that is inconsistent, defying specification. The folded and faceted metal sections give the viewer an extra visual treat as he or she gets closer to the building. From across the street, the variants in color of the panels bring character to the street. This facade is successful in capturing the interest of the passerby at multiple scales. Also, when the panels were cast, the liquid alloy splattered and dripped, then solidified in these forms.

After the primary steel structure of the museum was constructed, the form of the facade was mounted to the grid. Then, a steel frame was attached to the form. The tombasil panels were then welded to this frame. A gap was left between the panels for visual interest and to keep water from getting trapped in the facade.

Metal panels mounted on wall

Detail of Metal panel

Splatter of Metal

Steel frames on the facade of the Museum

American Folk Art Museum Material+Detail+Site+Context

Tod Williams and BillieTsien Architects

Material in Context The weighty dark concrete of Eero Saarinenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CBS building across the street influenced the choice of facade of the American Folk Art Museum. Tombasil was cast into panels to reference both the material and proportions of the concrete elements across the street.

Saarinenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CBS building material detail

American Folk Art Museum Material Detail

American Folk Art Museum Program+Event+Light+View

Tod Williams and BillieTsien Architects

Change of Program Requirements

Light for circulation

The owners of the American Folk Art Museum originally wanted the office spaces to be at the top of the building so that they would gather the most light. Williams and Tsien however, wanted all of the above grade levels to be public space, so that they would take full advantage of the natural light.

The architects used light as a method of leading the visitors through the museum. From the entry, the most abundant natural light is in the rear of the building. There, one will find a staircase that is common on all of the floors above. The light scoop at the top of the building dumps light into the central spaces of the museum, drawing the visitor to the upmost gallery spaces. This specific method of circulation is essential to the atmospheric quality of the museum.

Gallery

Light below grade

Entry and Gift Shop Street

Street

Classroom and Auditorium Offices and Private Library

Williams and Tsien built a shaft at the front and rear of the building which captured the natural daylight and pulled it through the two subterranean floors. This satisfied the ownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; original request for light-filled offices.

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Peter Zumthor

Material

Glass Etched glass diffuses light yet not transparent. 712 glass shingles, 1.72 x 2.93 m each, VSG-compound safety glass.

The facade consists of etched glass shingles with several functions: they lend the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main body lightness with their transparency, insulate against cold and heat and form an essential part of the lighting arrangement for the building. The incoming light is refracted for the first time on the facade before entering the interior.

Etched glass

Glass shingle supports

Glass facade and concrete walls

Lighting The facade consists of etched glass shingles with several functions: they lend the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main body lightness with their transparency, insulate against cold and heat and form an essential part of the lighting arrangement for the building. The incoming light is refracted for the first time on the facade before entering the interior.

drawing label

Gaps and glass material absorb light from outside pendulum lamps

Natural light enters the museum

lamsps above the glass ceiling

Lamps Over the hanging light ceiling, specially developed pendulum lamps, controlled by an exterior light sensor on the Kunsthaus roof, have been installed that complement the daylight. Every lamp can be controlled separately or as a group and can be infinitely dimmed (light management system Luxmate professional). The pendulum lamps hang in pairs at a 90Â° angle to one another and are equipped with 58 Watt fluorescent lamps and diffusion attachments.

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Peter Zumthor

Functionality

Third floor

The three exhibition floors differ only in respect to ceiling height. The floor is made of terrazzo (polished cast concrete), which was dyed dark grey on the first subterranean level and ground floor, while the staircase and the exhibition floors are light grey. The workmanship of the Terrazzo is remarkable for such a large surface area, as expansion joints were not required. This was made possible by inserting ventilation slits on the outer walls to absorb the tension in the floor.

The third floor - the floor with the best daylight conditions - measures 4.70 metres, the first and second floor 4.20 metres.

subterranean level

first floor

Technology

Plastic pipes

This allows the Kunsthaus to do without conventional air-conditioning units under normal operating conditions. Climbing temperatures in the hot summer months can be kept in check by additionally cooling with incoming air. The costs of construction for this newly developed climate control concept lie 50% below the costs of conventional air-conditioning. Even the consumption of energy during current operation can be kept low in this way. The costs of operation have been prognosticated at one-fifth of the costs for a comparable cubature.

Plastic pipes within the slotted wall construction with a depth of 27 metres transport water to the piping network in the ceilings and walls.

Natural ventilation: not only warm and dry, but also moisterizing.

Natural cooling of the slurry wall Water circulates from the trench and through the pipes in the walls for heating.

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Peter Zumthor

Structure

Light pit

The facade was designed as a selfsupporting construction, completely independent from the actual building. Steel framework elements make up the construction which supports the glass shingles on the outside as well as the glasswork on the inside of the structure. In this way it covers the completely free-standing concrete building like a double casing.

Between the outer and inner glasswork there is a 90-centimetre wide light pit that makes it possible to direct daylight to the first subterranean level. This gap is equipped with cleaning lifts used for the servicing and maintenance of the building. In addition, it accommodates the lighting installation which illuminates the Kunsthaus during the night.

section plan of building

two separate strctures

Form

Concrete slabs

The course o f walking through the building, which approximates a spiral, makes the exhibition spaces not axially but tangentially accessible.

One can grasp the gallery at a glance. A slight, clockwise turning motion results by means of the placement of the structural slabs. Only those taking the shorter way along the ‘stair slab’move ‘against the tide’ for a short distance

Concrete slabs are both a form of spatial arrangement and a supporting structure.

stairs

movement indicator

Saint Benedict Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Light

Time

Light is used in a way that enhances the materials that are very important for the chapel. The light creates a space in itself and emulates the form of the vertical posts. Lighting also changes the appearance of materials from dark in nature to light and airy. Additionally, light is used to draw people in from the rater dark entry.

As time progresses, the materials begin to change and take on new characteristics. The facade starts to turn gray and when illuminated, adds even more depth to the appearance of the shingles. Sunlight progresses through the days and seasons to create and ever changing atmosphere. recess for posts

Material

Interior Walls

The use of a single material in different ways is a major driving force for the project. Wooden shingles that are very small in scale are used for the facade. As the sun projects onto the surface, the color transforms into a powerful and deep red. Inside the chapel, wood is used for the posts, flooring, benches, and ceiling plane. Each instance of the material gives a new experience. The posts are set down from the main floor and the wood under them has a dark tone adding a shadow to the recess.

Zumthor creates the interior walls by posts that are offset from the exterior curtain wall. The spacing of the posts creates difference perspectives based on the angle of the viewer. This creates areas where the walls appear very dark and solid in nature as well as instances where the posts are very light and fragile in appearance.

light diagram

light diagram without context

penetration of light

posts without changes due to light

wooden shingle facade

use of light and wood

Saint Benedict Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Assembly

Wooden Posts

The wooden posts form the vertical structural component and are joined in a way that adds to the character. The posts are connected to the curtain wall of the structure which is clad with wooden shingles on the exterior. They are assembled in a way that enhances the curvature and height of the building while creating different elements of spatial enclosure.

The posts form the main structural component of the chapel. They are placed in a recess along the perimeter which allows for an anchoring to the ground without interrupting the spatial fluidity of the space. The posts connect to the overhead beams, which allow for the interior of the space to be completely open. tapering of beam

system of beams

Structure Zumthor uses a traditional construction method, timber frame, to form the structure of Saint Benedict. He then manipulates the form of the wood in ways to make the space unique. The central beam in the overhead plane tapers to a point and almost pierces the edge of the building.

Joinery vertical posts

joinery of posts

structural model

elevation of floor

section detail of posts and beams

The posts are attached through long metal screws with the actual mechanics hidden. This results in an understanding of the joint, as well as a sense of mystery as well. The joints are hidden in many instances throughout the chapel, and exposed in careful ways to create a particular expression language.

section detail of floor

Saint Benedict Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Form

Shape

The architect uses a basic shape and lets the other aspects of the space be exposed. This allows for the qualities of the materials dictate the space. The wood floor is laid out following the shape and the curvature of the wall allows for the vertical posts to create a layering of open to closed.

The shape itself is a polar curve known as a lemniscate. It is the shape used for infinity and can be easily derived. The resulting form is something that resembles a leaf or tear drop.

Movement

Floor

Movement is created before one enters the building. The oblique approach allows for individuals to see the chapel from multiple angles and understand the shape. When entering the structure, the entry is placed off of the central axis. This allows for the entry to pierce into the structure and the curvature dictate the movement, instead of the central axis. The curvature itself creates a fluidity and entices movement throughout to allow for different experiences to take place.

Zumthor builds the main floor in the chapel up off of the subfloor in a way that enhances the curve. The result is a wall that does not intersect the wooden posts and is continuous in nature.

plan

lemniscate

juxtaposed entry

interior of the space

curve created in the space

oblique approach

flooring

Bruder Klaus Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Volumes

Rhythm

The chapel was designed as a system of two separate volumes. The exterior, made of rammed concrete, derives its overall form from the irregular geometric shapes of the fields in Wachendorf, Germany. The interior, constructed from a wooden framework that was later burned, derives its overall form from a series of ellipses in both section and plan.

The charring on the interior walls creates a series of regularly spaced vertical lines. These lines accentuate the form of the space while also creating a rhythm to guide movement. The steady series of lines sets a pace for progress through the chapel.

vertical lines formed by material

rhythm created by vertical lines

Interior Form

Exterior Form

The shape of the interior is based on ellipses. In plan, a series of three different sizes of ellipses arranged along a common axis determine the curvature of the interior walls. The slope of the roof from the entrance to the skylight follows the shape of another ellipse. The overall form of the interior was achieved using a wooden framework in a wigwam shape. When the wood was burned, the concrete on the interior was left with the charred markings of the wood.

The chapel is located in the fields of Wachendorf, Germany. The boundaries of the fields are irregularly shaped polygons, and Zumthor reflects this in the irregular shape of the chapel in plan. This form was accomplished using rammed concrete formed around the wooden framework. The straight geometries of the exterior do not hint at the texturized curvature of the interior, designating the two spaces as separate volumes, the interior being subtracted from the exterior.

sketch of exterior and interior volumes

derivation of section from ellipse

derivation of plan from ellipses

drawing label

plan

irregular polygons of site

comparison of site and plan

Bruder Klaus Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Performance The chapel is open to the elements through a skylight placed over the main chapel space. On sunny days, light pours down through the skylight and in through the doorway. Even if the door is closed, a thin line of light traces its outline. On rainy or snowy days, precipitation falls into the chapel through the skylight, pooling on the lead floor and leaving puddles.

Interior Weathering PRECIPITATION

SUNLIGHT

Due to the precipitation that falls through the open skylight, the floor of the main chapel space shows signs of weathering. Puddles form, staining the lead floor over time. The chapel was constructed in 2007, so it hasn’t had considerable time to develop major water stains, but as it ages the floor will begin to show signs of weathering more and more.

Light In addition to the light that enters through the skylight and doorway, light also filters in through small glass bubbles set into the tie-holes left in the rammed concrete walls. These bubbles seem to glow in the sunlight, appearing like small stars. These ‘stars’ help blur the boundary between exterior and interior, making the chapel seem less like a man-made construction than a natural formation. The otherworldly brilliance of the skylight when the sun is almost directly overhead is symbolic of the heavens, adding to the natural sacredness of the space.

Exterior Weathering The exterior of the chapel is formed from rammed concrete. During precipitation, the surface of the concrete develops water stains and appears darker in patches. As time progresses, this staining should become more prominent. The weathering of the exterior surface will add to the textural quality of the entire chapel, making it seem even more like a sacred work of nature.

entry points for precipitation and sunlight

glass bubble set into interior wall

skylight

weathering beneath the skylight

Bruder Klaus Chapel

Peter Zumthor

Material

Construction

The exterior of the chapel is made of rammed concrete. The layers in the concrete give scale to the exterior. Each layer is approximately the height of the human head. The door is made of steel, which appears almost otherworldly when juxtaposed with the roughness of the concrete. The textural quality of the interior walls and floor bind the chapel to the earth, while the bright sunlight through the overhead skylight emphasizes the heavens.

The chapel was constructed in a series of stages. First the interior wooden wigwam structure was built. Then layers of rammed concrete were built up around this framework. Tie-holes were cast into the concrete. Then the interior of the chapel was set ablaze, burning away the wood to reveal a charred interior. Crystal blown glass was set into the tie-holes on the interior, creating small bubbles. The floor was constructed of cast concrete with a poured lead finish.

construction photographs

construction & model of wood framework

Structure

Detail

After the wooden framework was burned out of the interior, the concrete was left charred and marked with the ridges of the wood. The textured lines in the walls give an indication of the method of construction for visitors. Although the wood may not remain, is is evident from the walls that it was at one time present.

perspective

steel door

charred concrete interior

rammed concrete exterior with tie-holes

frozen molten lead floor

Each material used in the construction of the chapel (with the exception of the smooth steel door) has a distinctive textural quality. Tie-holes and roughness in the concrete relate to the bumpiness of the lead floor and the charred ridges of the interior walls. Zumthorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention to detail with materials lends a sense of earthiness to the chapel, which juxtaposes against the otherworldly steel door and sunlit skylight.

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, 2007

Peter Zumthor

History

Geometry

Necholas of Flue (Bruder Klaus) was born in 1417 in Canton of Unterwalden. Famed for his wisdom and integrity, he was elected as a counceller and judge as an early age. At the age of fiftey he lest his wife and ten children to live as a hermit in a neerby town, where he stayed untill his death twenty years later. Respected by both Catholecs and Protistants alike, Bruder Klaus has become the patron saint of both Switzerland and Germany

The diameter of the 120 tree trunks that form the support for the construction of the structure form a modulus for the geometry of the structure

The Field Chapel

It is [my] desire to bring God and the world together. And like a living towe [I] will later guide and support my people. (Nicholas of Flueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Life motto) When Peter Zumthor was approched by a German farmer with a preposal to design a chapel for the patron saint he drew his insperation from the life and phiolosaphy of Bruder Klaus. He designed an towering structure with bright angular sides that glisene in an open field. Like the hermits cellin which Bruder Klaus lived for twenty years, the Field Chapel has only two openings, one for man and the other for God.

View of the Field Chapel from the East

Major geometry of the Field Chapel

Axis of God

Location located in an open field in Mechernich, Germany, the Field Chapel ties three axis, the axis of the field grid, the East- West axis common in religios architecture, and the axis that ties heven and earth.

East - West Axis Interior view of Bruder Klauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hermit cell

Painting of Nicholas of Flue

Arial view of the Field Chapel

major axis of the Field Chapel

Axis of Entrance

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, 2007

Peter Zumthor

Construction

Light

The Field Chapel is constructed both additivity and subjectively. First 120 tree trunks, where arranged to form the buildings framework, then concrete was poured in .5 m thick layers until the entire support structure was covered, Then 300 holes where drilled into the structure a fire was lit and the support structure was allowed to burn out for several months. Then each of the air holes was caped form the inside with a handmade glass ball.

Rays of light commenly depict the conection between heven and earth, and symbolize the conection between God and man. In the Field Chapel, Peter Zumthor Painted these rays in living light on the walls Durring construction, Zumthor drilled 300 holes in the walls of the Field Chapel to allow air to feed the fire that burnt out the support structure. After construction, he capped each of these holes with a hand made glass ball, so that as the sun is low in the sky hundreds of stars come to life against the blackness of the walls. As the sun is higher in the sky the sun comes through the oculus and down the ribing in rays of light and shadow.

The Field Chapel under Construction

Detail of the burnt concreate ribing

Light from the oculus flowing down the wall

Detail of the dripped lead floor

Inside and outside view of an air hole

Stars of light formed by the air holes

Extacy of St. Tereasa

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, 2007 Bruder Klaus

Peter Zumthor

Fire

Earth

With blackened concreate walls, and the smell of burnt wood, the chapel seams to be on fire. though there are now no flame or smoke the construction process is seared into the chapel walls, and filling the ocupant with the wonder and glory of the devawering flames. Even in the hart of winter, when snow is falling through the oculus and the walls are freazing cold, one can not escape the fire.

The massive weight of the tilted concrete walls, their burnt earthen tones dripped lead floor impresses on the ocupant the weight of the earth. At the dip in elevation, the walls apear to close around the ocupants, conditioning them for the glory of the iner chamber and seporating the outside world from the interior space.

View into the structure

Blackened concreate ribs

View of the joint between the wall and floor

Building section showing elevation change