Circulatory Environments as a Method Towards Association

Circulatory Environments as a Method Towards Association

William J. Sergison

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Housing & Urbanism) in the Architectural Association School of Architecture.

September 2015

Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 01 Chapter 01: Urban Linearity .............................................................................................................. 09 A Connector of Everything Meaningful Vertical Articulations Association and the Urbanite Street Life and Associational Neighborhoods Transparency and Street Frontage Diversity and Hierarchy of Movement

Chapter 02: The Interior of the Block ............................................................................................... 33 Divorcing Movement Directionality and Engendering a Sense of Place The Strategy of the Open Block Domesticating Gallery Access Orientation

Chapter 03: Corridors ......................................................................................................................... 55 Ownership, Identity, and the Death of the Corridor Augmenting the Corridor Programming Interstitial Space Circulating Through Program

Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 75 Image References ............................................................................................................................... 81 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 87

1

Introduction

3 Introduction

While circulatory spaces are often perceived as subtractions from the efficiency of a

building, conceived solely as banal distributors of program, it will be argued that highly differentiated and highly articulated circulation spaces in residential building typologies can make use of a greater sense of purpose in the variation and flexibility of circulatory environments. Because today's modern world is one in which people are in constant movement; it will be demonstrated that through this constant motion communities become connected with one another, and as such, one could design in a way that gains a tremendous amount of value from the circulatory spaces where this movement occurs.

Three instances will be interrogated in which the difficult aspects of a morphological starting point, the circulatory systems, can be executed in ways that can foster associational life, break down perceived anonymity, enable communication, and even begin to structure urban areas.

There is an implicit ambiguity in the field of urban architecture. Urbanism, in Aldo

Rossi's terms, is the study of urban areas, while architecture can be understood as the study of building types. 1 As such, an architectural urbanist must be able to work across scales to study urban areas through the lens of a type, thus seeking a synthesis between intuitive and analytical ways of thinking and working. Hence, the following three chapters will study not just building morphology, but their overarching themes, qualities of everydayness, applicability in an urban block structure, and use in larger strategies and ambitions. Chapter 01, urban linearity, will explore the hierarchy that can be achieved by a more thoughtful articulation of the circulation both within terraced systems and on the streets that they front. As terraced housing blocks have an inherent ability to help to develop well functioning streets, a rethinking of the entrance to these homes can help to foster relationships with one's neighbor, movement can dictate a hierarchy of domestic spaces within the home, and a greater thought process in the articulation of vertical circulation can eliminate the need for hackneyed distribution spaces, while becoming a tool for continuities and separation.

Chapter 02 will focus on a garden theme, where multiple lines of movement in an urban system can be referenced to spaces between blocks. It will be argued that these spaces at the interior of the block, if articulated correctly, can make use of the movement associated with them and begin to dictate a hierarchy of different modes of organization while creating more intimate associational spaces. Furthermore, themes of directionality and orientation 1

Rossi, Aldo, and Peter Eisenman. The Architecture Of The City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1982. Print.

5 will be explored to begin to engender a sense of place within these courtyards and gardens.

Lastly, chapter 03 will examine the circulatory spaces at the interior of residential building types, with a focus on corridor logic. After reflecting on the failures of corridors within modernist social housing schemes, it will be argued that a greater articulation in the form of corridors can begin to give a sense of ownership and identity to these circulatory spaces.

Moreover, a greater attention to programming circulation spaces can begin to provide new possibilities to increase the functionality of the corridor thus harnessing a greater value from them; all while simultaneously allowing more flexibility and openness at the interior of the dwelling.

As many builders tend to focus on trying to build what they think people want, or

simply building what the market dictates, current housing trends may be on the brink of a fundamental shift toward more associative environments. An interesting anecdote to consider is outlined in Robin Evans' Figures Doors and Passages. Consider first the story Cotton Mather, a puritan who adhered to a:

"voluntary sequestration. He was said to have made it a rule 'never to enter

any company... without endeavoring to be useful in it,' dropping, as opportunities

arose, instructive hints, cautions or reproofs. He was later portrayed as a domestic

paragon, 'doing all good in his power to his brothers, sisters and servants.' But in

order to do so much good he found it best to avoid the paying or receiving of any

unnecessary or 'impertinent' visits. To prevent useless intrusion, he inscribed

in large letters above the door of his room these admonitory words: 'BE SHORT.'" 2

This attitude towards convenience, one where many isolated rooms is ideal for a more productive lifestyle, is perhaps ideal when considering the cultural ideology of the Puritans, however it is an attitude that very much persists today. And hence, we find much of our built world defined as a world based in a logic of entirely neutral corridors, distributing private rooms. Primarily, the corridors have no quality to them, no character, and as such they continue to be minimized. Evans offers another narrative, juxtaposed against the account of Cotton Mather, that of the 16th century Italians. For example, he gives an account of Alberti, speaking of the variety and great number of doors in Roman buildings, proclaiming:

2

"'It is convenient to place the doors in such a manner that they may lead us

Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 84. Print.

7

to as many parts of the edifice as possible...' It generally meant that there

was a door wherever there was an adjoining room, making the house a matrix

of discrete but thoroughly interconnected chambers..." 3

There is a complete contradiction in attitudes toward convenience that becomes evident when considering an extended use of neutral corridors, distributing rooms with one door, as opposed to a matrix of rooms with many doors. While there are myriad conclusions to draw from these anecdotes, some of which will be alluded to later in this text, this fundamental shift may be evidence that there might be a shift back, and current architectural trends may not be able to anticipate this future. The idea is not too far off considering the global world that exists today. Constantly mobile employees still need to raise their children, and thus one can see a proliferation in shared child rearing, where someone other than the parents may be watching after many kids for much of the day. Similarly, incredibly ambitious young professionals make up a global talent network, one in which highly skilled workers move to major metropolitan cities around the world in search of advancing their careers and opportunities. As they do not have familial ties to a place, they may therefore be looking for other likeminded individuals to associate with. In addition, students are traveling greater distances to advance their studies, and are looking for others to share their common bonds and struggles with. As one considers this increasing need for associational spaces, and associational life, it may be that a greater sense of purpose in the circulatory spaces within building types can start to become a tool to allow this shift to occur.

3

Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 77. Print.

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Chapter 01 - Urban Linearity

Compositional Form

Megaform

FIG 1.1 - Fumihiko Maki’s diagrams of collective form

Groupform

11 Chapter 01: Urban Linearity

It has been said that "our time suffers from an inability to organize, much less

exploit, the possibilities that it has itself produced." 1 This realization can be seen evidenced in the field of urban architecture both present and old as architects have a way of constructing their own quandaries, only to then be tasked with solving them. Considering just one spatial element, circulatory environments, one can begin to see this very paradox in a diversity of manifestations. Social and political changes have explicitly changed the way people live and work; with a proliferation in increasingly global markets. As a result, people today live in constant motion, and this very movement can begin to dictate a hierarchy that designers often fail to exploit. To the contrary, circulation spaces seem to always be viewed as unfavorable, and thus, unsurprisingly, design logic seems to always minimize them. There is an understandable history to this reasoning; one in which circulation is perceived purely as a necessary cost, and thus it's reduction allows for a greater abundance of rentable floor space. However, as one begins to realize the values within these spaces, possibilities emerge. Rooms, floor plates, courtyards, and streets can take on a character that is implicitly dictated by the very circulation that flows through them. At its core, the space of movement is a space of interaction. In many ways, the very thing that organizes urban areas and structures neighborhoods is movement, and indeed motion is not neutral. In fact, there can be an incredible associational quality to this action; one that can be harnessed via a more thorough understanding of these spaces.

If one were to reflect on terraced housing systems as a tool to create urban linearity,

it is clear that they can become an apparatus to achieve much more than the simple creation of streets. However, a clear distinction must be made in the term urban linearity, as it refers not to a constant vector, but rather, to the linearity of a multi‐directional grid. As a part of an urban system, this grid can build hierarchy, balance, and differentiation. Not merely a line, urban linearity is part of an expansive, extensive, multi‐directional pattern of movement and interaction.

Furthermore, when considering the terraced housing type, one could imagine them

as a way of thinking about group form, under conditions in which a maximum diversification in life style is necessary. Group form (Fig 1.1), a term attributed to Fumihiko Maki in his book, Investigations in Collective Form, was seen by Maki as the ideal; "a kind of master form which can move into ever new states of equilibrium and yet maintain visual consistency and 1

Mayne, Thom, Stan Allen, and Thom Mayne. Combinatory Urbanism. Culver City, CA: Stray Dog Café, 2011. 28. Print.

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

FIG 1.2 - Victorian Terraced Housing Plans

Lower Ground Floor Plan

FIG 1.3 - Winscombe Street Terraced Housing Plans

Rasised Ground Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

13 a sense of continuing order in the long run." 2 Maki goes on to describe group form as a dynamic process of adaptation, while also recognizing the potential for architectural form to provide the impetus for functioning patterns of life. This depiction could similarly describe terraced housing systems, as they can house a variety of differentiated lifestyles while having a very deliberate impact on the streets that they front.

Additionally, it must also be understood that the variety in terraced housing systems

does not often come from a single stakeholder, and thus their potentials further become evident as they can be built time and again by several independent builders. However, as one considers many of the established examples, such as Victorian terraced systems, it is clear that their current provisions could gain a greater value if there were a greater sense of purpose in the re‐conception of their circulatory systems, one that currently relies on banal distribution spaces. (Fig 1.2) Further, as an organizer of streets and neighborhoods, there is a value in the movement outside of the dwellings and the meaningful associations that are formed through the shared experience of going to work, the rearing of children, taking kids to school, etcetera; that are associated with Victorian terraced neighborhoods. These previously gender and class divided associations, however, are changing, and a more thoughtful circulatory environment can enhance not just the building interiors, but neighborly environments as well.

A Connector of Everything

The logic behind the raised ground floor of Neave Brown's Winscombe Street

terraces gives little to no differentiation between activities of a place and movement. It lacks any particular directionality. It is a hive of activity, containing all of the bustling actions of everyday life while maintaining an associational intensity. It is a place of constant movement, and yet, it makes the whole system work. The ground floor is, in essence, a connector of everything, but the fundamental logic of the project transcends that. It is a logic of movement versus rest. Of many versus few. While pure circulation is nearly eliminated in the name of efficiency, it is the very logic of movement that dictates a hierarchy and use of spaces. Kitchen and dining functions are located at the center of the home, so all of the movement associated with life in general: the act of cooking, storing groceries, greeting guests, and saying farewell all take place on a level of the home that contains the smallest measureable floor space. In a sense, the very question of circulation 2

Maki, Fumihiko. Investigations In Collective Form. St. Louis: School of Architecture, Washington University, 1964. Print.

FIG 1.4 - Winscombe Street kitchen; appliances and storage lie within a thickened wall

FIG 1.5 - Winscombe Street kitchen interior

Key Plan

15

almost disappears because one is in constant motion, tumbling over each other as they go about the everyday things that must be done relentlessly. And still, the spaces function quite convivially. However it is not just the organization of rooms, but also the furniture that further facilitates this logic.

The kitchen and storage functions are compressed into a thickened wall along one

side of the home. (Fig 1.4) A barrier between toilet and living functions, the only true dividing wall on the floor, is also thickened to accommodate further functional elements of the floor. This compression allows the constant motion and circulation of the remaining home to function in concurrence with one another. It allows one to cook while others rest at the dining table, in clear view of each other. It allows one to rest on a raised slab, viewing a rear garden, while another can come and go as guests arrive. More than a mere free plan, it is a thoughtful positioning of elements that allows a greater circulatory ambition to be achieved; one where constant movement allows meaningful interactions to occur among residents and guests. It is a plan that connects while allowing every kind of activity. On the remaining two levels, much more private floors, one above and one below, the intensity of circulation falls away. On the top floor, it is the much more private aspects of domestic life that occur, sleeping, resting, and bathing. It is a place of rest, the most intimate domain of the home. Similarly below on the bottom floor, it is the private aspects of living that dominate, and it thus becomes a much slower space. A place for few, rather than the many on the raised ground floor. In concurrence with the articulation of horizontal circulation, how one moves between these floors is much more deliberate than one might typically think.

Meaningful Vertical Articulations

The Winscombe Street terraced houses employ a simple, yet incredibly well

articulated vertical circulation scheme that relies on three circular stairs. They are conceived as three unique drums, each constructed in differentiating materiality: concrete for the entrance, wood at the center of the home, and steel at the rear patio. The central wooden stair, which typically represents a statically programmed volume, a mono functioning element, is sensibly used to differentiate space without the need for walls. The decision to place the stair as a central component eliminates the need for any distribution space, as placement alone allows the stairs to differentiate areas, essentially dividing the home into two distinct zones of domesticity. The far end of the home, facing a rear garden,

FIG 1.6 - Winscombe Street exterior facade

FIG 1.7 - Winscombe Street curvilinear entry stair

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accommodates the more animated activities of domestic life, thus allowing for an active participation with the actions occurring outside. This organizational technique is one that can be easily replicated in larger collectivities, and can be employed to help articulate a greater differentiation between two orientations of a building type. The spaces within the Winscombe Street terraces that are directly adjacent to the street front take on a much different attitude than typically found in other terraced systems, such as the Victorian terrace. Rather than the oft wasted front sitting room of the Victorian terrace, the Winscombe terraces eliminate this space in favor of a toilet on the ground floor, and bedrooms on the floors above and below. This marks a unique attitude towards the very street that the homes help to delineate. Along the street front, the interior spaces become very restricted, areas of intimacy and privacy. This decision is rooted in the very conception of the street itself.

Considering the way one enters and exits the home, either to the street or to the

rear garden, subtle variation in the typical movement associated with entrance has a profound affect on the neighborly relationships that the Winscombe Street terraces help to build. Further, it even takes on an urban function. When viewed in a true elevation, the front entry stairs are not even visible, as they are concealed within a concrete drum, (Fig 1.6) and when seen from an oblique angle, one can realize that the half circle stair that grants entry into the home actually protrudes into the adjacent lot, an initial breach in the property line.

The curvilinear form of the stair is incredibly compact, a decision that is markedly

different from the elongated strait stairs of the Victorian era. (Fig 1.7) A longer stair creates a larger distance from the street, creating what is essentially a large buffer zone between the dwelling and the street. This removal from the street, however, drastically reduces the possibility for activities of the home to spill onto the street. Particularly evident in the homes of the more affluent, the Victorian era terraces have an emphasis on a grand entry, but their stairs offer no association between dwellings. The decisions made by Neave Brown allow the dwellings to be pressed close to the street, while the raised entry allows positive effects to proliferate, offering privacy for the inhabitant through this sectional variation. The distance between the pavement and the porch, while very compact, is an extenuating experience, a choreographed movement directly into the core of the dwelling. This very entry is a moment of great conviviality, of great life. Hence, even the compact entryway becomes personalized with decoration, capturing a fundamental distinction in a space that is still quite compressed. Rather than being forced to share farewells in an elongated distribution corridor, as often seen in the Victorian terrace, the Winscombe terrace's front patio

FIG 1.8 - Winscombe Street entry stair

FIG 1.9 - Social Hierarchy based on John of Salisbury’s “body politic,” the predecessor to an urban society based on modes of exchange

19 becomes a first point of contact, a space for greetings and farewells. When further considering the constant motion affiliated with this entry space, it can be seen that this front porch, with it's accompanying entry stair, actually becomes a space of great social interaction both on the street, and within the entry patio. As residents go to and from work at similar times, bring children to school, and go about the rest of their daily routines, the layering veils of privacy that the entry space provides allow for a greater sense of comfort when speaking with neighbors. There is a psychological element at play, as one feels a certain level of safety being in their own contained space, and is therefore more comfortable speaking freely with nearby neighbors. When reflecting on these conditions, suddenly the entry stair jutting into the neighboring lot can be seen not as a breach in the property line, but rather a welcomed embrace. Fundamentally, the vertical circulatory system becomes a device for privacy, a more efficient distribution element, and even a method towards a more meaningful association with one's neighbor. It becomes an organizational tool, one that starts to alter the conception of movement, and its relationship to efficiency. Many of these decisions, though, have foundations in the very understanding of the street itself, and further, the street's role in associational life.

Association and the Urbanite

To better understand the value and basis for the forming of community and

association within an urban system, a powerful anecdote can be considered in Richard Sennett's Flesh and Stone. In 13th century France, complete strangers were flocking to Paris.

Medieval cities of the time were interdependent, and as such traders in the cities had to be adaptable. While denizens of the city felt strong affinities towards their home cities, this was often in conflict with interests of economy, and thus they too had to be more mobile within a larger geography than they had been previously. At the same time, a new understanding of Christianity was proliferating through a better understanding of the Christian body. Sennett explains, "the great tension between economy and religion produced the first signs of the duality of the modern city: on one side, the desire to cut free of communal bonds in the name of individual liberty; on the other side, the desire to find a place in which people care about each other." 3 And as such, it could be seen that the urbanite was expected to learn to experience the pain of others by learning to experience the pain of Christ, in others. A person could feel the "same friendships towards [their] neighbor who is a member of 3

Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 159. Print.

FIG 1.10 - Christian charity in the city

21

[them,] for they are all members of God, who is the body." 4 Through this understanding, a series of modes of exchange were created. Confession, for example, became a dialogue, a two sided exchange rather than one simply listing their sins, thus creating a more meaningful relationship between parishioner and priest, even though they could remain strangers. Part of this came from the very fact they indeed were strangers, and as such the priest had to listen harder to make sense of what was being expressed to him, rather than being able to know who he was speaking to, by knowing the sound of his parish members' voices. A similar story can be said of the almoner, as the urban almoner was now to take to the streets to work, requiring an active engagement in the lives of people beyond the walls of their church. These sorts of dialogues can show how community and association are undeniably a problem for the urbanite. It comes into being not because people are all the same, living in a setting in which everyone knows their counterparts. It comes into being because of the very fact that citizens do not know each other, and must learn to react towards unknown strangers. This very undertaking dominates much of urban life, and this realization that shared experience, not chance encounters, can begin to form a sense of community, or association, is fundamental to understanding how urban architecture can be successful in promoting association with one's neighbors, thus breaking down the perceived anonymity so often associated with urban residential building types.

In understanding Sennett's account in Flesh and Stone, one can see that there is a

genealogy to community that has been a problem, in a sense, for as long as cities have existed. Particularly today, with the propagation of global cities of excellence, where people come from different places, speak different languages, and have different customs; the understanding of how we celebrate these differences, and still treat strangers in a manner that forms bonds is what can form meaningful associations. This integral understanding, that successful communities are not communities of the self same, but rather, the multi‐cultural cities of today form communities precisely because people are different, is significant when considering urban linearity and the affiliated neighborhoods that terraced systems are able to create. While the facades of terraced systems may represent self similarity, a continuous elevation of repeated elements, the domestic environments they contain are actually an amalgam of diversity. Whether it be families or young professionals, people live differently from one another; yet what unites them is a constantly mobility. This exemplifies the importance of rethinking the terraced housing type to make better use of this movement,

4

Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 162. Print.

FIG 1.11 - The street acting as an economic space in 13th century England

FIG 1.12 - The street acting as an associational space in Copenhagen, DK

23 where, for example, the everyday act of entrance can allow for an engagement between neighbors.

The emergence of neighborly relationships can be contemplated when further

examining Sennett's Flesh and Stone. As Christianity was once confined entirely to domestic environments, prohibited by the state to be practiced in public, much of the home life was shared. Sennett explains: "the small Christian cell shared a common meal, during which the faithful talked, prayed, and read out letters from Christians elsewhere..." 5 This allowed for a sort of emotional support within the small community of Christian followers, but further, one can begin to see that the worshipers were engaged in a non private mode of dwelling.

One would have to pass through another's lodgings in order to enter their own. Strangers would cohabitate dwellings with one another. People would constantly pass through the space of others. By contemporary standards, this is a rather bizarre organization of living.

Hundreds of years later, man has experienced a starkly different attitude towards privacy, where family homes are constructed in a fashion that directly privatized domestic life.

Demising walls were raised and gardens became buffers between neighbors. The formerly unrestricted movement within dwellings was halted and forced onto the street. This generated new challenges in how to orchestrate, calibrate, and adjust the inter‐relationships between the private domain, with all of it's associated patterns of activity, and the street.

Street Life and Associational Neighborhoods

As domestic life was increasingly privatized, the street began to take on the role of

being the foundation for many of the social experiences citizens had, particularly when examining the streets delineated by terraced housing systems. Again speaking about 13th century Paris, Richard Sennett shows the unique qualities of the street as he states: "the street was no garden, no coenobitic place created by common labor. If the street lacked those qualities of place, however, it did possess certain visual features which made it function well as an economic space." 6 (Fig 1.11) Similarly today, one can see that the street possess certain features which allow it to function as an associational space, (Fig 1.12) but even further, it becomes the very foundation of an associational neighborhood. Previously it was argued that terraced housing systems are a way of thinking about group form, under conditions in which maximum diversification in life style is necessary. This is where that realization takes on the most importance, when terraced housing systems are designed to 5 6

Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 136. Print.

Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 191. Print.

FIG 1.13 - Winscombe Street axonometric; illustrating spatial layouts of the interior while maintaining reciprocal vision with the exterior

25 better resonate with the life on the street. As Emile Durkheim argues: "association, by grouping individual forces, intensifies them. It carrie[s] them to a degree of energy and productive capacity immeasurably greater than any they could achieve if they remained isolated..." 7 When considering this, along with Sennett's argument toward communities of difference, the possibilities of the associational neighborhood emerge. Residents can be radically different; have different backgrounds, interests, and nationalities; and yet these differences can allow for stronger communities and a broader reach of civic activity. This civic activity can begin to congregate through conversations among neighbors carried out in cultural centers, church halls, the local pub, or even at play areas for children. However, one could easily see the value in the ability to have these conversations as one is walking to or from their own front door, or along the street. Rather than leaving the private realm only to pass though an entirely neutral domain on the way to work, there is an incredible richness in the associational qualities related to the motion on the street. With this in mind, many of the decisions made in the design of Neave Brown's Winscombe terraces take on a greater meaning. The articulation of the front stair is very compact, allowing the home to be closer to the street itself, yet the choreography of entrance allows for greater engagement between neighbors. The entryway begins to serve as a sort of vestibule that intercedes between the doorway, becoming an extension of the exterior circulation. All of these decisions not only gain a greater value from the circulatory spaces within the dwelling, but they are also a means to better gain value from the movement outside.

Transparency and Street Frontage

It was previously noted that the Winscombe Street terraces take on an attitude on

fronting the streets that is radically different than most typical terraced systems. This philosophy is written into its walls. Observing the street facade of the Winscombe Street dwellings, it does not appear to be incredibly transparent, in the physical sense. The privacy of the interior is very well secured, and yet if one is looking onto the street form the interior, they could easily engage with the pedestrians outside. At the raised ground floor, one can enter or exit onto the front patio and see or speak to anyone on the street. Even above, on the top floor, residents can be aware of the street, when observing from their bedroom. The organization of the home takes on an incredibly interesting way of organizing reciprocal vision in a way that allows privacy while, at the same time, allows choice in how one engages 7

Durkheim, Émile. Professional Ethics And Civic Morals. London: Routledge, 1992. 60. Print.

FIG 1.14 - Four bedroom long courtyard house, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

27 with the exterior. The kitchen is removed from the street, allowing a full engagement of family life to occur in total privacy. This is able to happen while still being able to observe the activity of at the street front if one chooses. However, as the quality of the street changes, so too could the building frontages and attitudes towards transparency.

Diversity and Hierarchy of Movement

In Roger Sherwood's Modern Housing Prototypes, the positive attributes of terraced

houses and their ability to delineate streets are noted: "The pattern [is] parallel rows of housing with open space between... and each unit opens to a small, private outdoor space." 8 Sherwood further comments that the terraced house is "designed to be a discrete, ameliorative insertion achieved without the destruction of the urban housing fabric..." 9 Sherwood begins to show the clear advantages in using such a system, however, while it is true that terraced housing systems contain a well documented and inherent ability to create urban linearity and continuity, an uncontrolled repetition of a singular, unvaried type cannot be successful in building coherent urban areas. While many of the possibilities have been explored when considering the circulatory environments within terraced systems, using Neave Brown's Winscombe Street terraces as an example to show the potentials in a greater sense of purpose in the design of circulatory spaces; one must consider these very potentials as a fundamental organization, a logic, rather than a proposal, so that it can begin to influence larger ambitions when applying the terraced type to larger densities. With this in mind, a relevant scheme to further analyze is the Accordia project, near Cambridge, as it uses a repetition of terraced type homes to generate urban linearity in a way that challenges the very idea of the street itself. And in many ways, Accordia expands upon the movement based logic of the Winscombe Street terraces.

While the relevance in the terraced housing type in creating streets is clear, there is

an incredible breadth of value as one considers Accordia, where the re‐conception of the terraced type allows the notion of street life to be challenged. The most abundant type constructed in the Accordia plan, the four bedroom long courtyard house, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley, (Fig 1.14) eliminates the front garden, a long time staple of the Victorian terrace. And further, it's internal organization has a drastically different attitude towards the street than one can see in Neave Brown's Winscombe Street terrace, and the 8

Sherwood, Roger. Modern Housing Prototypes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978.

66. Print.

9 Sherwood, Roger. Modern Housing Prototypes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978.

71. Print.

FIG 1.15 - Accordia master plan

29 reasoning behind this is in the interpretation of the street itself. Whereas the Winscombe terraces articulate the front porch in a way that can allow for interaction between neighbors, but places interior spaces of movement towards the rear, facing a shared garden, the majority of Accordia's terraces use the opposite organization. Here upon entering the home, one is immediately immersed in a living room, with an abundance of fenestration towards the street. The center of the home encloses a small garden, which is delineated by a long kitchen. One could imagine that this decision is similar to the movement versus rest logic deployed at Winscombe street, as the relentless aspects of life associated with a kitchen and dining space frame the courtyard. However, the decision to orient the living space towards the street is rather curious, until one considers the key differences between the streets at Accordia, and Winscombe street. Neave Brown's homes rely upon a rear garden, which was afforded by a rather generous site. At Accordia, many of the streets are filled with pedestrian life, and actually start to organize collective spaces, as seen in figure 1.15, the Accordia master plan. Most are not dominated by vehicular traffic, but rather constitute a series of shared gardens and playgrounds for children which are organized by the linear repetition of varying terraced types. In the reduction of vehicular dominated streets, the strategy at Accordia allows these collective gardens to become an attractor of associative experiences. It is this decision that allows the outdoor space to better articulate the role of the interior spaces and thus allow one to be able to move fluidly inside and out in a pattern of daily life.

When reflecting on Sennett's account in Flesh and Stone, one could imagine the

incredible potentials of these spaces as they can become places to rear children, or to exercise, or any other number of activities. They become spaces of incredibly rich movement, but also have an incredible potential to be spaces to share experiences, and thus foster greater association among neighbors. This is where the hierarchy and orientation within the individual buildings becomes incredibly relevant. The more astir spaces of the interior of the home, the living and dining spaces, are oriented in a way that allows an active participation with the outside realm. Further, it becomes a tool for observation of the shared gardens. As communities are formed, this observation can provide an element of security that allows not just for parents to watch their own children, but neighbors to watch for unknown interlopers.

The arrangement of Accordia's buildings into smaller blocks, oriented towards a

single, shared space, further extenuates the associative attributes of the gardens as it allows for a smaller number of residents to have ownership over a space. A small gesture that can

FIG 1.16 - Accordia exterior; fenestration faces pedestrian dominated circulation

31 have tremendous psychological effects, limiting the number of people allows for the shared spaces to become "our" garden, as opposed to "the" garden. These spaces are much more likely to be used when residents know most of the people around them, as opposed to spaces being shared by hundreds of strangers.

While there is an incredible amount of richness in the both Neave Brown's homes

and the Accordia scheme, highlighting these few elements begins to show the incredible amount of potential in rethinking the circulatory environment of terraced housing systems.

Privacy, reciprocal vision, association between neighbors, and efficiency can all be established, or organized, through a greater articulation in the circulatory systems across scales, from the interior of the dwelling, to the streets and spaces outdoors. Additionally, one can begin to see the potentials in a hierarchy based on movement and rest, and how this can begin to affect the home's dialogue with the streets they begin to delineate.

33

Chapter 02 - The Interior of the Block

FIG 2.1 - Housing Block in La Croix Rousse, external circulation system

35

Chapter 02: The Interior of the Block

As the circulatory environments within terraced housing systems were previously

explored, with an exploration into their ability to create streets, active street life, and build urban linearity; an equally stimulating analysis could be conducted on the in‐between spaces to which buildings on more than one street are referred, the spaces at the interior of the block: the courtyard or the garden. By their very nature, gardens have a latent potential to become pragmatic, rather than be relegated to becoming a sort of urban cosmetic, a cover for the urban residue left over by the act of building. They can become a tool to create the hierarchy of different modes of organization when multiple streets exist. Further, they can become a dominant reference point, because of the possibility for the multiplication of various lines of movement in an urban system. However, the organization of circulation is pivotal in the success of these spaces, when considering how they can begin to take part in added roles of supporting collective life. A critical relationship exists between circulatory systems and the garden, as well as between circulation and the dwellings that front the garden. If the circulation spaces can be understood as an organizing element and a functional relationship can be fostered, the role of gardens can be expanded to not just give hierarchy to different modes of organization, but further, they can begin to cultivate a sense of belonging. For gardens to take on this role, they must be treated as a primary element.

Rather than a repetition of buildings being oriented towards a street, and the courtyards, or gardens, being a pure interstitial space, a certain level of directionality in the building types that front them must be adequately analyzed.

Divorcing Movement

The design of a gallery access housing block in La Croix Rousse, by Jourda &

Perraudin Architectes, rejects the typical solution of building stairwells and adjoining single loaded corridors to the side of a linear block. Rather, this scheme removes both elements from the enclosure entirely. A separate construction contains all circulation, and is simply added onto the rear facade. The decision highlights the architects' intention to gain value out of the circulatory environment. They argue: "the space between circulation and rear facades becomes the focal point for the social life of the building, a meeting point for the

FIG 2.2 - Housing Block in La Croix Rousse; concrete offers a stark contrast to the surrounding brick facades

FIG 2.3 - Housing Block in La Croix Rousse; stairwells are canted away from the rear facade, offering a more choreographed circulatory pattern

37 whole building." 1 There are many doubts in the validity of this claim, as simply locating an abundance of circulation spaces on one side of a residential building type is not an adequate solution for generating social life, or even further, allowing adjacent gardens to achieve their greatest amount of associational value. However, the scheme by Jourda & Perraudin Architectes does represent a meaningful anomaly from typical gallery access housing schemes, and this difference can become a starting point when considering how circulation and movement can become tools in giving hierarchy to the spaces at the interior of blocks.

Roger Sherwood's Modern Housing Prototypes offers some insight on the typological

starting point for gallery access housing. Sherwood explains that single‐loaded corridor systems generally "open to the side away from the corridor and hence are commonly used where there may be a preferred view or orientation or some undesirable site condition that the unit can, in effect, turn its back to." 2 He further notes that the corridor can remain open to the elements, which is known as gallery access. The point Sherwood is alluding to is an inherent difficulty in linear block systems where there is typically a dominant side and a subsidiary side. The general use of this type allows units to front a street, while the circulation space is oriented to the "unwanted" side. While counter examples exist where blocks become equally sided, the unfortunate reality is they often fail to adequately address either side. With this in mind, the Housing Block in La Croix Rousse shows a possible solution to the problem of directionality.

The decision by Jourda & Perraudin Architectes to remove the circulatory elements

entirely may not automatically create the focal point for social life in the building as the architects claim. What this variation in the linear block with gallery access typology does achieve, however, is a clear differentiation between the two sides of a building. While the Housing Block in La Croix Rousse is by no means a perfect success, it does expose a line of questioning about the gallery access block. Fundamentally, it shows a malleability of the type which can become an employable tool to address different lines of movement in an urban system. The circulation systems become sculptural in a way, in that they are constructed in solid concrete; offering a drastic juxtaposition in materiality from the red brick of the main building core. (Fig 2.2) The vertical circulation is canted away about 30 degrees from the main housing block, choreographing vertical movement to and from the main galleries. (Fig 2.3) This allows for a greater visual connectivity between levels in the 1

Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997.

48. Print.

2 Sherwood, Roger. Modern Housing Prototypes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978.

19. Print.

FIG 2.4 - While circulation is moved to the exterior, access galleries remain adjacent to the facade, missing potentials for greater privacy

39 circulatory systems, offering a sort of visual permeability among residents. This act of pulling the system away from the housing block offers up possibilities when considering issues of privacy and the domestication of exterior spaces as a physical separation between movement and domestic interiors can allow for a certain level of reciprocal vision. While the Housing Block in La Croix Rousse does not exploit these potentials particularly well, it nonetheless offers a possibility of further exploration. Comprehensively, these decisions are a stark difference from the standard gallery access, linear block type and the reasoning for these decisions may have a history when considering how building types can make use of the their adjacent gardens and courtyards. Additionally, Jourda & Perraudin Architectes' attempt at allowing the circulation systems to become the "focal point for social life of the building" 3 may relate to a greater ambition of finding a meaningful social function for the interior of the block; which is something that has been problematized for decades by architects and urbanists, such as the members of Team 10.

Directionality and Engendering a Sense of Place

The notion of belonging, or more specifically, how in‐between spaces can be used as

a tool to cultivate belonging, has been studied by architects and academics, most notably by Team 10. The members of Team 10 had an eager curiosity in the ideas of belonging and association, and spent much of their time attempting to build it's form. In their critique of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) VIII report, the members of Team 10 stated: "belonging is a basic emotional need ‐ it's associations are of the simplest order. From 'belonging' ‐ identity ‐ comes the enriching sense of neighborliness. The short narrow street of the slum succeeds where spacious redevelopment frequently fails." 4 The statement is intriguing, and one could easily agree with this reasoning. However, the group's attempts to manifest this curiosity into built form have had difficulties. While this very concept, that one can build the form of unpredictability and social relations, was perhaps the major downfall in the architecture and theories of Team 10, reflecting on their work still has considerable relevance to the theme of garden spaces, and further, the associational qualities of the different kinds of movement that occur within them.

3

Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997.

48. Print.

4 Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 271. Print.

FIG 2.5 - Smithsons’ Golden Lane scheme; linearity was stressed but the scheme failed to create a sense of place in its surroundings

41

In the Golden Lane scheme, designed by Alison and Peter Smithson, both members

of Team 10, one can begin to see the limitations of linear blocks, and their lack of ability to define adjacent spaces. In Kenneth Frampton's critique of the Smithsons, he states:

"For all that the yards in their Golden Lane scheme were indicated as

adjunct areas to the streets, it was clear that the 'house in the air' did not

have a yard that was in any way akin to the back yard of the Bye‐Law Street

and that the street itself, now divorced from the ground, could no longer

accommodate community life. Above all, it's one sided nature had only

the capacity to stress the linearity of the route rather than engender a

sense of place." 5

What Frampton highlights is the linear block's inability to create a meaningful sense of place in the adjacent areas. Similar to much of 20th century architectural theory, there appears to be a conception that architecture should be dependent on what is outside, however simple adjacency to a place clearly lacks the ability to activate a space. As was previously mentioned, linear blocks, like the ones employed at the Smithsons' Golden Lane, often have a dominant side, and a subsidiary side. The Smithsons used a single loaded corridor scheme in a logic that allows the dominant side to delineate a street, while the subsidiary side faces a residual space, relegated to a mostly banal circulatory system. More specifically, they employ long, one sided corridors that are embedded into the building at every third floor.

While there is a clear decision to increase the width of the corridors, with the hope that they may take on more of a social function, they fail to adequately address the gardens below, or the dwellings they are meant to serve. They appear to be owned by no one, and as such they fail to, in Frampton's words, "engender a sense of place." 6 While many of the shortcomings are clear, there is a value in further exploring the considerations of Team 10, especially when observing the build up of larger urban systems.

The Strategy of the Open Block

The architects of Team 10 seemed to believe that there was a role for the spaces at

the interior of blocks in taking on a social, or associational, value. More precisely they

5 6

Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 272. Print.

Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 272. Print.

FIG 2.6 - Portzamparc’s sketches, detailing his strategy of open blocks

FIG 2.7 - Quartier Massena master plan

by Christian de Portzamparc

43 seemed to see a value in engendering a sense of place in the spaces adjacent to their housing projects. If this were true, then perhaps the fundamental logic behind their use of gallery access was primarily to activate a social function in the gardens and courtyards below. However, as seen in the failures of the Smithsons' Golden Lane project, and similar schemes, there must be a further consideration in the structure of urban blocks. With these considerations in mind, it could be argued that the urban block itself can take on a meaningful social category which is accentuated when considering the associational quality of the multi directional lines and modes of movement associated with them. Critical to this understanding is the success of the building types themselves, more so than spatiality of the physical garden or courtyard.

An interesting study to explore is Christian de Portzamparc's argument for what he

calls "'open blocks' and [their] corollary luminous and diversified 'open street.'" 7 (Fig 2.6) Portzamparc's theory began with a critique on Ildefons Cerdà's urban block strategy in Barcelona. Cerdà's now famous blocks were constructed of equal sides with chamfered corners, with the fundamental logic being that the blocks would have both an urban face, along the street, and a private face, fronting an interior garden. At certain densities, and extruded across a certain area, this scheme seems ideal. It offers flexibility on the ground floor, equal potentials on all sides, and a sense of social life at the block's interior.

Regrettably, Cerdà's Barcelona blocks were increased to a density that is seven times more than what they were intended to hold and as a result, in Portzamparc's point of view, the streets were overwhelmed. Further inhibiting a solution to the generated congestion, the blocks offered no permeability. Additionally, Portzamparc makes a claim that there is no clarity in what the interior of the block is to be used for because it is too overwhelmed by the increased density. For these reasons, he makes the claim that buildings should be "independent and apart, allowing the street to open onto the internal side of the open blocks where gardens are planted." 8 These theories are manifested in Portzamparc's scheme for the Quartier Massena in Paris, France, as illustrated in figure 2.7

The Quartier Massena project is a flexible scheme for the extensive regeneration of

a peripheral area interceding between the River Seine and the Gare Austerlitz train station.

The project as a whole is incredibly dynamic and complex, and one may not need to explore it in its entirety to understand the potentials in creating socially rich environments in the

7

Christian de Portzamparc,. 'PARIS - Quartier Massena - Christian De Portzamparc'. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

8 Christian de Portzamparc,. 'PARIS - Quartier Massena - Christian De Portzamparc'. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

FIG 2.8 - Quartier Massena; private garden

FIG 2.9 - Quartier Massena; under performing streets

45 gardens within urban block structures. The scheme consists of a great mix in programs.

There are offices, social housing, market housing, a university building, and a national library all located around a central garden, with smaller individualized courtyards between mostly residential constructions. Typologically, the scheme employs a variety of point blocks and perimeter blocks. To combat Portzamparc's concerns with the lack of permeability in Cerdà's scheme, his Quartier Massena project was designed to allow gardens to flow in‐between point blocks, while elongated building types front the streets with shops on the ground. In many ways, it would seem that the project offers all the necessary components for a successful urban area. And the project has certainly created very successful parks, which can be seen in use daily. Children can play while being viewed by their parents in flats above, neighbors can share each others company outside, and one could imagine individuals enjoying a very private experience there. The streets, on the other hand, seem to underperform. There are two fundamental principals to take away from this observation.

First, concerning the underperforming streets, one could speculate upon many reasons for this. One consideration is the fact that this particular project in a peripheral area, and cannot benefit from the build up of intensity in surround urban areas. This only heightens the importance of the gardens under conditions where a regeneration project cannot take advantage of surrounding urban areas, as seen in peripheral sites. Even if a successful street life is not possible, the Quartier Massena shows that a project can have an efficacious environment at the interior of the block. And secondly, while there are many successes in the project, particularly in the use of gardens, they are not necessarily a result of Portzamparc's claims. His hopes for a "street to open onto the internal side of the open block where gardens are planted" 9 did not materialize as fences often cut off the gardens from the public. And yet meaningful gardens and courtyards still propagate. The reasoning for this may have less to do with the exterior spaces themselves as it does with the relationship between the exterior courtyards and the interior of the dwelling.

What this project begins to show is that a superior organization of flats, with the

correct orientation, can have a tremendous affect on the exterior realm. The point blocks proposed by Portzamparc to open up gardens had an alternative outcome; they offer flats with multiple aspects that begin to enable a relationship that engages with the outside world. The flats become incredibly open and light, but can begin to have an interactive and reciprocal visual connection with surrounding areas. This understanding of the orientation, or the relationship between the interior of the dwelling, and the interior of the block can 9

Christian de Portzamparc,. 'PARIS - Quartier Massena - Christian De Portzamparc'. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Lower Level Plan

Upper Level Plan

FIG 2.10 - Housing Block in La Croix Rousse; plans of upper and lower levels of the duplex

47 begin to show the potential for a more meaningful associational value in the courtyards and gardens within block structures.

Orientation

As one further considers the emergent possibilities in Christian de Portzamparc's

Quartier Massena project, further attention could be drawn to the anomalies in the gallery access type in Jourda & Perraudin Architectes Housing Block in La Croix Rousse. One can recall this project housed both vertical and horizontal circulation in a sculptural element that was removed from the main housing block. The architects' ambitions to create a "focal point for social life of the building, a meeting point for the whole buildings" 10 was also noted.

While the manipulations in the circulatory environment are intriguing, especially as one considers how they may be implemented in ways that can give a better sense of purpose to the adjacent gardens and courtyards, the emphasis on manipulating the gallery access circulation system raises a particular set of issues with the interior layout of flats. In this project, it is at the interior of the dwellings where things seem to go awry.

The units within the Housing Block in La Croix are almost entirely duplexes, centered

around an interior circular stair. One of the inherent problems with gallery access types, is a privacy concern as one must walk past, and thus be able to peer into, several of their neighbor's residences. This becomes one of the fundamental problems with the gallery access type, what would one place at the entry to the flat? In La Croix, the kitchen is placed at the front of the flat, adjacent to the exterior circulation element. This decision represents the repetition of a perpetual failure in housing design, placing kitchens on the street. There is an apparent notion that placing kitchens on the street can offer a relationship between interior and exterior, however as we have seen highlighted in the success of Neave Brown's Winscombe Street terraces, the activities associated with the kitchen are very private. They may indeed become the center of one's home, and for this very reason, one would not want these activities on public display to passers by. Furthermore, most living areas or bedrooms face the same dilemmas if one attempts to place them directly in view of the gallery access circulatory system. Some solutions to this fundamental organizational problem may be found in further consideration of Neave Brown's Winscombe Street terraces. In that scheme, one enters into a generous entryway that serves as a vestibule, interceding between the porch and the doorway on one side, and the kitchen, acting as the hub of the home, on the 10

Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997.

48. Print.

FIG 2.11 - Peter and Alison Smithsons’ diagram illustrating their streets in the air concept

49 other. A similar organizational diagram could be employed in the Housing Block in La Croix, and other gallery access types.

A successful organization might utilize a generous entry vestibule where storage and

mechanical functions can be located. This allows storage spaces to function in a distributory way, so that one can maintain regular access to these spaces but they would still be hidden from living and sleeping areas. Curiously, by giving over more space to circulation at the interior of the dwelling, one can start to overcome the fundamental problem with gallery access types. To gain further efficiency from this scheme, one could imagine additional functions for these spaces. Washers and dryers could be placed here along with storage for recreational activities, or other things that may not be accessed regularly. As one considers these potentials, further exploration could take place on their effectiveness in other building types, so that the potentials in both circulation and orientation can coalesce to better stimulate associational qualities in the spaces at the interior of the block.

Domesticating Gallery Access

When further considering Kenneth Frampton's account of the work of Alison and

Peter Smithson, the Smithsons suggest that perimeter block types are possibly the only form that can adequately build a relationship between the patterns of movement suspended above, and the activity on the ground. Frampton states: "It became obvious that aside from the perimeter block form, such as had been realized in Rotterdam, in 1919 (a scheme well known to the Smithsons), there was little possibility of achieving any continuity between decks in the air, and streets on the ground..." 11 Along with their knowledge of perimeter block forms, the Smithsons also produced a now infamous sketch illustrating the notion that above six floors, one looses all contact with the ground. (Fig 2.11) While this acknowledgement is used by the Smithsons to justify a mega structure strategy, and an emphasis on low height, but high density housings, one can begin to see possibilities emerge if a greater emphasis is placed on the articulation of circulatory systems within housing types that front shared gardens as lines of movement on decks above can begin to connect with the various lines of movement below. Reflecting on the potentials raised in both Christian de Portzamparc's open block strategy, employed in Paris at his Quartier Massena project, and the augmentation of the gallery access circulatory environment at Jourda & Perraudin Architectes Housing Block in La Croix, there may be a possibility of a synthesis of the ideas 11

Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 273. Print.

FIG 2.12 - Stadstuinen; gallery access is separated from the housing facade offering greater privacy

FIG 2.13 - Stadstuinen; patio like entrances are created, becoming individualized by residents

51

raised in each, which begin to be expressed in a project constructed in Rotterdam, known as Stadstuinen.

The walkways of the gallery access system in Kees Christiaanse and Partners' (KCAP)

Stadstuinen project are expressed in a lightweight structure of pure circulation. As a solution to the privacy issues associated with gallery access, where many are forced to walk endlessly past their neighbor's windows, the linearity of the circulation is pulled away from the body of the building, as seen in figure 2.12. This is a potential that the project in La Croix failed to exploit. Where Jourda & Perraudin Architectes removed the circulation structure itself, galleries were still located adjacent to the housing block, generating problems of privacy. But more than a simple solution to privacy, the way the circulation is expressed at Stadstuinen actually becomes a method towards creating a more domestic environment exterior to one's individual home, and facing a shared garden. By pulling back the linear aspect of the circulation, small patio‐like entrances lead to one's front door. This is a refined solution that creates spaces that become very individualized. They become a space to place deck chairs or potted plants, which can bee seen in figure 2.13. In a sense, the activities that begin to take place in these entries actually relate to the garden itself. While residents have a view to the shared garden below, they can partake in the act of gardening, or simply relax in their own individualized spaces above. These spaces become a buffer, or a transition zone.

Simultaneously, though, it allows inhabitants to see, and be seen by their fellow neighbors.

Because the circulation is pulled free from the facade, a visual permeability is created not just horizontally, but vertically as well. As the patio spaces become an intermediary from the many residents walking along the gallery walkways, they allow the resident to look down, and observe what is happening in the garden below, or in their neighbor's patio spaces a few floors below them.

To allow this simple, yet thoroughly resolved system to take place, the vertical

circulation had to be resolved. One typical quandary with perimeter block systems is how to resolve the corner. At Stadstuinen, the continuity of the street is maintained by placing the vertical circulation at the corner, leading to gallery access at the interior of the perimeter block, facing the garden. It is a simple architectural expression that allows the rest of the system to operate. Comprehensively, the solution is one that can solve the inherent problem of efficient circulation in perimeter block systems, while also being able to resolve the corner. Further, it makes a clear distinction between the pattern of circulation on the street and the pattern of circulation in relation to the garden, all while gaining further value from these circulatory spaces. Domestic environments are created as closer relationships

FIG 2.14 - KCAP’s Stadstuinen; aerial view

53 between galleries above, and the gardens below are established; all while maintaining a veil of privacy between dwellings and the exterior. This is indeed an enlightened understanding of gaining a greater value from circulatory environments, as a more meaningful associational space can be created by a more articulate relationship between interior and exterior, and privacy can be maintained by subtle manipulations of entrance. Cohesively, by better articulating the relationship between the interior of the flat, the circulatory systems, and the interior of the block, the potential arises in giving more associational quality to garden and courtyard spaces, thus beginning to engender a sense of place. While the street was lauded for its ability to become an associational space in chapter 01, where a broader reach of civic activity could occur, the more domestic qualities of the garden could allow for more intimate relationships to be formed. For example, by adding domestic qualities to certain components of a residential building's circulation systems, as epitomized in KCAP's Stadstuinen, a greater level of ownership and identity can be established between residents and their gardens. Innovations such as this, are what can allow children to play freely, while under the watchful eye of parents above. Similarly, one could consider this establishment of ownership and identity with the internal spaces of the block when planning larger urban areas; using gardens as a way to organize urban equipment such as parks, schools, or institutional buildings.

55

Chapter 03 - Corridors

FIG 3.1 - Shinonome Canal Court corridor; storage and transparent walls face the shared corridor

FIG 3.2 - Demolition of the Pruitt Igoe Housing Estate; argued as the “death of modern architecture�

57 Chapter 03: Corridors

As previous arguments were made to offer insight into the associational qualities of

movement at myriad scales, with particular emphasis on gaining values through a more thoughtful articulation between exterior and interior directions of motion, one could begin to examine a similar application solely at the interior of a residential building type. Within urban architecture, a greater sense of purpose in the design of circulatory environments can become an approach to collective life that can allow one to see greater degrees of association, while not undermining a space's efficiency. In Tokyo, Japan a provocative case can be found in the multi‐family residential project, Shinonome Canal Court, designed by Toyo Ito & Associates. As one looks down the double loaded corridors that distribute the dwellings within the project, a few unorthodox elements can be seen. Most notably, small storage spaces line the walls, between entry doors. Secondly, many of the entries themselves are completely transparent, constructed from panes of glass. (Fig 3.1) When one considers typical corridors, constructed as pure distribution elements, the notion of visually opening up the privacy of the dwelling to the circulation space seems particularly alarming.

The notion of storing ones own private items in a shared circulatory environment may be equally disturbing. As different, or even fortuitous as these decisions may seem, one can find their genesis in the reinterpretation of a centuries old theoretical history of the corridor.

Ownership, Identity, and the Death of the Corridor

Charles Jencks has argued that "modern architecture died in St. Louis, Missouri on

July 15, 1972 at 3:32 p.m. (or thereabouts) when the infamous Pruitt Igoe scheme, or rather several of it's slab blocks, were given the final coupe de grace by dynamite." 1 Indeed, after a mere 20 years of existence, the Pruitt Igoe social housing scheme had fallen into such disrepair that the estate once touted as a solution to the poverty stricken citizens of St. Louis had no other solution than to be completely demolished. The estate became a palace of crime, a place fear. Public gardens and corridors once filled with civic life quickly became disheveled and unkempt. While there is a much further socio‐political background that can add to the discussion of the demise of the Pruitt Igoe estate, one that will not be detailed in this text, one can see flaws implicit in the architectural design of the estate that may have

1

Jencks, Charles. The Language Of Post-Modern Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 1977. Print.

FIG 3.3 - Coleshill Berkshire by Sir Roger Pratt; circulatory diagram is based on disconnected rooms and an unoccupied circulation space

FIG 3.4 - Palazzo Antonini by Andrea Palladio; circulatory diagram is based on a series of interconnected rooms

59 brought about it's shortcomings as a solution to social housing. These flaws are apparent no where more than in its vast corridors.

As a measure to cut down on project costs, the architectural team heading the

design of the Pruitt Igoe housing estate, led by HOK and Minoru Yamasaki, placed corridors on every third floor which distributed rooms, but also took on some communal functions as each third floor housed a community room, laundry, and garbage room. This decision ended in cataclysm. In Creating Defensible Space, Oscar Newman gives insight into the demise of these shared circulatory environments, and further, the entire estate. He claims: "Because all the grounds were common and disassociated from the units, residents could not identify with them... The corridors, lobbies, elevators, and stairs were dangerous places to walk.

They became covered with graffiti and littered with garbage and human waste." 2 Ownership in these spaces was lost; its perception being a purely neutral and distribution space. This notion of ownership or identity with the corridor is one that far predates modernist constructions, and was questioned theoretically in Robin Evans' essay, Figures, Doors, and Passages.

Evans notes that 18th century housing was often divided into "two domains ‐ an

inner sanctuary of inhabited, sometimes disconnected rooms, and an unoccupied circulation space." 3 The corridor had in essence "split between an architecture to look through and an architecture to hide in. [It] cut an unbridgeable gap dividing commodity from delight, utility from beauty, and function from form." 4 (Fig 3.3) This circulatory diagram, one where a corridor is a distributor of rooms is juxtaposed against earlier forms of dwelling, using the changing pattern in the design of villas as an example. Andrea Palladio's Palazzo Antonini, for instance, typifies Italian villa construction in the 16th century as it is conceived as a series of interconnected rooms where each room has many doors. (Fig 3.4) It became necessary for one to pass from one room to the next in order to traverse the building. Evans notes, "where passages and staircases are used, as inevitably they are, they nearly always connect just one space to another and never serve as general distributors of movement." 5 What this analysis begins to suggest is that once the pattern of the villa, with it's interconnected rooms, was changed, the question of convenience becomes separated from the question of the 2

Newman, Oscar. Creating Defensible Space. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 1996. Print.

3 Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 84. Print.

4 Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 83. Print.

5 Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 78. Print.

FIG 3.5 - Pruitt Igoe Estate; unpatrolled corridors became a disaster

61 aesthetic of space. The logic of the circulatory environment based on corridors becomes one that solely promotes convenience, and aesthetics of space becomes unimportant.

Furthermore, the circulatory spaces become more mutual, simply serving to equilibrate a series of spaces in relation to one another. The corridor is entirely neutral and thus, unsurprisingly, it appears to have no identity with inhabitants. Practically, it serves many, but socially, it is owned by none. Hence, 20th century architectural reasoning saw little value in these spaces as it was recognized only as a necessary cost. It was minimized in an attempt to increase rentable floor space, thus reducing even further any social functionality in it.

It is clear that this idea of ownership certainly had a role in the demise of the Pruitt

Igoe estate as Oscar Newman further describes: "landings shared by only two families were well maintained, whereas corridors shared by 20 families, and lobbies, elevators, and stairs shared by 150 families were a disaster ‐ they evoked no feelings of identity or control." 6 (Fig 3.5) Innumerable modernist social housing schemes attempted to implement corridors in configurations that were an exercise in breaking down the ambiguity of these spaces, though, unfortunately, many resulted in failures. In architect and theorist Rem Koolhaas' examination of the corridor in his compilation of books, Elements, he shares similar sentiments. He states: "In some cases, the corridor... was charged with the responsibility of solving social problems... the failure of these ambitions became an indictment of the corridor and further ammunition for its erasure from architecture..." 7

While it is easy to see how identity in shared corridors can be easily lost, proving

detrimental to the social functionality of housing schemes, there was a continued exploration in the role of circulatory environments as a social function in the work of Team 10. While continuing to rally against the charters of modernism, it is rather curious that members of Team 10 saw value in attempting to build streets in the sky. Kenneth Frampton notes in Alison and Peter Smithson's Golden Lance scheme: " The Smithsons [had] more phenomenological categories of House, Street, District, and City... the street was evidently a system of one‐sided gallery access of generous width, elevated into the air." 8 The proposition to locate streets in the sky is farcical; showing a limited understanding of the qualities of a street, such as the few outlined in chapter 01. It is clear that the street is not simply a constant vector, a way of moving from point A to point B, however there is relevance in attempting to gain a greater value out of the associational properties affiliated

6

Newman, Oscar. Creating Defensible Space. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 1996. Print.

7 Trüby, Stephan et al. Corridor. Venezia: Marsilio, 2014. 88. Print.

8 Frampton, Kenneth. Modern Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992. 272. Print.

FIG 3.6 - Baker House Dormitory; serpentine form seen from an aerial view

63

with movement in internal corridors, as the Smithsons seemed to understand. As chapters 01 and 02 have shown ways in which one could exploit latent potentials in the movement associated with the street and the garden, there are conditions in many urban fabrics where this is not possible. And even still, one could imagine the potentials of internalizing some of those social environments, making a sort of internal street. While this thesis will continue to reject the arguments behind the Smithsons' streets in the sky, one could still find ways to better exploit the potentials of interior circulation, including corridor spaces, if there was sufficient attention and articulation placed in it's design.

Augmenting the Corridor

Along the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. architect Alvar Aalto's

Baker House dormitory is constructed from a plan of sinuous curves. Serpentine in form, most critics would suggest that the curvilinear nature of the plan was a strategy to orient views towards the nearby river, and away from the adjacent street. Nonetheless, that formal decision has an astounding affect on the circulatory environment within the residential floors. While the fundamental logic of the plan is still made up of a single loaded corridor, with student rooms facing south towards the river, and vertical circulation and communal spaces oriented towards the north, the articulation of the plan into a curve affords a multitude of benefits. In myriad subtle moments, long bending corridors allow spaces to unfold themselves. The anxiety associated with an endlessly long, unpatrolled corridor is thus cut down, allowing visible stretches of the corridor to be more manageable. This subtle augmentation of the corridor becomes a method towards providing a sense of ownership to compartmentalized pieces of the space, when one considers the likelihood of students beginning to associate with their neighbors when only 8 rooms share one piece of the corridor, as opposed to a continuous linear strip of 25 rooms. As one can recall Oscar Newman's criticism of the lack of identity with circulatory environments in the Pruitt Igo estate, where landings shared by two families were well maintained, but corridors shared by 20 families fell into disrepair, the subtle articulation of Aalto's Baker House project becomes more meaningful. Without a radical reinvention of the type, a mere augmentation of the corridor can be a starting point for harnessing greater value from the associative qualities of these spaces of movement within residential building types.

Furthermore, the Baker House dormitory puts greater emphasis on its internal

circulation in the decision to build the corridor spaces nearly 6 ft wide. Approaching double

FIG 3.7 - Baker House Dormitory; plan is made of sinuous curves

FIG 3.8 - Baker House Dormitory; light from the secluded communal room can be seen on the right

65 the necessary width mandated by building code, one can see the potential interactions that can occur here. In addition to the width, several of the curved sections of the corridor empty into a congregation of larger collective spaces. As one recalls the reflection in chapter 01 of Richard Sennett's perspective on the formation of community being based on shared experiences, as explained in Flesh and Stone, the relevance of these spaces is particularly intriguing when considering the student occupants. Undoubtedly, students share vast experiences and struggles, both academically and socially. It is unsurprising, then, that many student dormitories seek to provide shared spaces. Unfortunately these spaces are usually left in the basement or ground floor levels, in what is essentially left over space. In doing so, they often remain unused, or at the very least underutilized. Ironically, in pure contradiction to this thesis, one critic refers positively to the Baker House's ground floor shared space as a common room that is "a calm static space in comparison to the movement of the dormitories." 9 The reality is these static spaces are mostly unused, unless hosting a specifically arranged event. By locating multiple communal spaces on each floor, not hidden behind closed doors, but open to the motion of the corridor itself, shared spaces can become incredibly active. They are secluded enough to provided necessary veils of privacy, but open enough for those inside to see and be seen by passers by. A gentile synthesis between privacy and access to movement, these spaces can begin to expand upon and bolster the associative qualities of passage through the corridor spaces.

While much of the success of the Baker House dormitory can certainly be attributed

to the fact that students already exist as a social community, many of these organizing principles can begin to enter private households typologically as it is not only students who seek an associational identity. Young professionals, for example, flock to global cities of excellence world wide in pursuit of bettering their careers. While they may not have familial ties to their new cities, they can begin to engage in the emergent global communities of excellence. While many current provisions for this class of young people are based on economic policies, the logic of some of the elements within the Baker House scheme could begin to facilitate an architectural elucidation for the associational life that these individuals may seek. While many references have been given to those who have theorized the creation of meaningful communities, or associations, it has become clear that a successful sense of community can only maintain dominance when it is convenient. This matter of convenience was shown in the civic value of associational neighborhoods, the more domestic associations in gardens and courtyards, and now can be seen in the more intimate moments at the 9

Perez, Adelyn. 'AD Classics: MIT Baker House Dormitory / Alvar Aalto'. ArchDaily. N.p., 2010.

Web. 27 Aug. 2015.

FIG 3.9 - Shinonome Canal Court; corridor blends private and collective functions becoming a space with program

67 interior of dwellings. It is not simply common recreational spaces that can begin to be organized by, or held within the corridor, but shared work environments as well, thus affording further value to either students or young professionals. While the augmentation of the corridor in the Baker House dormitory is by no means a complete solution, it nonetheless offers organizing principles that can combat the negative aspects of a corridor based logic, while simultaneously fostering more associative environments.

Programming Interstitial Space

The opening of corridors into collective environments on each floor of Alvar Aalto's

Baker House dormitory may lead one to reflect on greater ambitions for the interior circulation systems when housing larger collectivities. Further than the negative aspects of ownership and identity, as previously explored, a certain level of efficiency is lacking in corridor logic, hence single family dwellings often seek to eliminate them entirely. If one were to consider designing for a time based dimension, one in which spaces could take on different uses and activities at different times of the day, one could see that typical corridors are extremely inefficient. Statically programmed and mono‐functional, it is difficult to see value in these types of spaces. As it has already been shown how variation in the articulation of the corridor can provide additional values, a further exploration is necessary in considering adding program to circulatory spaces. Rather than a continued attempt to reduce the corridor, one could begin to look at them as truly fundamental to the way dwelling interiors are organized. Moreover, by beginning to program the corridor, the organization of dwellings can take on a greater level of freedom and flexibility. As opposed to a neutral distributor of rooms where activities take place, circulation itself can become a functional space with great variety of valences.

This is where one can begin to see the value in the decisions made by Toyo Ito &

Associates at the Shinonome Canal Court project, as they turn the corridor into a space that blends private and collective functionalities. (Fig 3.9) To begin to explore this specific idea, a thought provoking narrative can be contemplated when considering the pure flexibility of traditional Japanese dwellings. The centuries old traditional Japanese home is an ephemeral architecture, containing no bearing walls and no permanent interior partitions. In its entirety, the home is supported by a system of wooden posts and beams with moveable walls and sliding shutters inserted within, rather than permanent barriers. 10 Many 10

Teige, Karel. The Minimum Dwelling. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002. Print.

FIG 3.10 - Shinonome Canal Court plans; storage spaces line the corridor while work areas mark the entrance to flats

69 contemporary architects make the claim to "bring the outside in," often through the use of glass walls, but the Japanese home embodies this idea. It simply makes no distinction between interior and exterior as sliding walls are employed as opposed to doors and windows. The home exemplifies a concept of flexibility and temporality as these homes can be "either subdivided freely into a number of individual spaces or transformed into a single large, open space." 11 While contemporary designers so often seek these ideas of ultimate flexibility in their designs, the Japanese home can only function because it exists as a singular element secluded in the woods. It's site offers an ultimate freedom, while everything about city making forces designers to pin things down. There are lessons one can learn from the freedom of the Japanese dwelling, however, and some of its values can be achieved through a more thoughtful use of the corridor.

One of the fundamental flaws present in the traditional Japanese home without

walls is a problem of storage, as there is a natural tendency to store things against walls.

When divisions exist, it is easy to simply widen them, providing closets and other storage functions. That is part of the reason why the ultimate flexibility of the traditional Japanese house cannot exist in an urban setting. However, one could see a potential in multiplying the wall area that is open to the outside, and attempting to load all storage requirements onto the few spaces that are closed from the exterior world. In turn, this could allow for a greater percentage of fenestration, glass, and natural ventilation. By adding a storage element to the corridors, as is the case in the Shinonome Canal Court project, the storage capacity of the wall delineating the communal circulation element is doubled. Where it faces the interior of a dwelling, kitchen cupboards or other storage elements can be placed and hung, along the opposite face; within the communal circulatory system, storage for recreational pursuits can be held. Things like luggage, gardening equipment, or other belongings that are not used everyday can start to be held here, thus freeing more of the interior of the dwelling. It is a seemingly subtle gesture that opens up manifold possibilities. This begins to show how the corridor can, in one sense, allow ultimate separation, and in another, become an environment where residents can easily participate with one another. This begins to reveal some of the potentials in the aforementioned transparent glass entryways within the corridors of Ito's Shinonome Canal Court.

Within the Shinonome Canal Court project, the internal organization of the dwelling

units ensures the necessary layers of privacy within the home; while the glass entryway invites a participation between neighbors in the corridor and residents in their front rooms.

11

Teige, Karel. The Minimum Dwelling. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002. Print.

FIG 3.11 - Mehr Als Wohnen axon diagram; residential cores pierce a floor plate of domestic programs enabling a free flowing, yet incredibly structured plan

71 One can become constantly available to people, which is a particular value if one were to consider this as a working space where they can be available to clients or work partners. One can further start to notice how the corridor takes on a certain rhythm. As opposed to the standard notion of a banal distribution space owned by no one, the corridor itself can take on a character that is partially domestic, while eliciting associative qualities related to either work or domestic activities.

Circulating Through Program

It has been shown how augmentations to the corridor can minimize the unfavorable

aspects of internal circulatory elements and how beginning to program the corridor can allow for a partially domestic character of the circulation space. Considering this, one could further consider a radical reinvention of the internal circulatory system in multi residential building types. As Robin Evans outlined two circulatory diagrams, one being a matrix of interconnected rooms with little to no distribution space, a second based on "two domains ‐ an inner sanctuary of inhabited, sometimes disconnected rooms, and an unoccupied circulation space," 12 perhaps a third diagram could be contemplated. While the idea of programming the corridor was shown to elicit solutions to the negative aspects of corridor logic, which were shown through examination of the demise of the Pruitt Igoe housing estate, focusing on a lack of identity with shared corridor spaces, one could also consider simply circulating through a programmed space. Rather then attempting to resolve a flawed corridor system, which projects like Aalto's Baker House and Ito's Shinonome Canal Court project do rather adequately, the Mehr Als Wohnen project in Switzerland offers a complete re‐conception of the standard circulatory diagrams.

Mehr Als Wohnen employs a concept based on residential cores that are placed

within floor plates of shared domestic programs, as illustrated in figure 3.11. Kitchens, communal tables, and working spaces are open to all, while solid volumes of private dwellings pierce the floor plate. Essentially the logic of this project does not attempt to add domestic elements to a distribution space, conversely, residents simply circulate through a domestic space. In this organization, interaction is favored over isolation, allowing dynamic networks to emerge. Additionally, some of the ambitions of the open and flexible plan of the traditional Japanese home are achieved.

12

Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 84. Print.

FIG 3.12 - Mehr Als Wohnen interior rendering; site lines are interrupted or allowed, structuring differentiated environments in an open plan

73

It was previously noted that in the purest sense, the flexibility of the traditional

Japanese home cannot exist in an urban condition, because it relies on the infinite flexibility of a neutral site amongst nature. However, designers still often seek the plasticity of its organizational logic. Some anxieties exist in this, though, for when spaces flow infinitely between one another a question rises as to what defines a space. If one is allowed to be completely unrestricted as they interweave through spaces, there may be a failure to define when one is in the right place for a particular function. The scheme employed at Mehr Als Wohnen creates a completely open and shared domestic environment, that is at the same time very structured. Through the strategic positioning of elements, circulation spaces are super imposed on a completely communal floor plan. In myriad subtleties, sight lines are either interrupted or allowed, facilitating a sense of place and varied meaningful domains.

(Fig 3.12) Thus, through a circulatory diagram that is the absolute antithesis of typical modernist housing schemes, the neutralizing, or even adverse, aspects of the corridor are abolished in favor of a circulatory logic that promotes crossovers and engagements between inhabitants.

There may be countless examples of different circulatory diagrams that gain richness

and value from the interior circulatory systems, however what becomes profoundly clear is that rather than attempting to reduce or eliminate circulation spaces, one could instead conduct a more thorough articulation of circulatory environments that can make use of a greater variation and flexibility in these areas. This, in turn, can reclaim the often lost associational qualities related to the very act of movement. As an alternative to a continued eradication of the corridor from architecture, internal circulatory environments can begin to take on domestic qualities, as epitomized by Toyo Ito & Associates' Shinonome Canal Court.

Or, contrarily, circulatory diagrams could be re‐imagined in ways that offer greater balances of both independent and associative life, as seen in the scheme of Mehr Als Wohnen.

75

Conclusion

77

Conclusion

Comprehensively, as the current perception of circulatory environments is one that

is viewed as a subtraction from efficiency, this thesis has argued for a more thorough articulation and sense of purpose in circulatory spaces that can gain value from the associational qualities related to movement. There is a necessary method to this articulation, one that involves thinking about circulation as belonging not simply to the individual nor to the undefined social, but rather as something that is formed by secondary associations and the life of the group. The notion of secondary associations and the capacity to gain value from, while at the same time contributing to, an active street life was argued in chapter 01, urban linearity. Through an understanding of communities being formed through shared experiences, as noted in anecdotes from Richard Sennett's Flesh and Stone, and the grouping of individual forces carrying a productive capacity greater than that of the individual, as outlined by Emile Durkheim, chapter 01 showed ways of facilitating more associative environments through the articulation of both vertical and horizontal circulatory elements in terraced housing systems. Using Neave Brown's Winscombe Street terraces as an example, a choreographed yet very compact entry was shown to afford a layering of privacy, which in turn could allow the dwelling to push closer to the activities of street life.

Furthermore, by recessing the more domestic heart of the home away from the street, a level of reciprocal vision could be established between the home and the street.

Additionally, a lateral positioning of entry stairs was shown to begin to allow more meaningful interactions between neighbors. In congruence, it was argued that these themes allow the terraced housing system to function as a way of thinking about group form under conditions where a maximum diversification of lifestyles is necessary, thus adding to the qualities of a more associational neighborhood.

Similarly, the relationship between the interior of the flat and the spaces at the

interior of the block were shown to offer a greater sense of belonging within gardens and courtyards. The malleability of the gallery access type was shown, highlighting the decision to divorce the circulatory structure of Jourda & Perraudin Architectes' Housing Block in La Croix Rousse as a starting point. This showed the potentials for adding domestic elements to the now independent circulatory system, which could in turn harness a greater relationship with the more privatized associational qualities of the movement on the ground.

When considering the interior of housing typologies, this thesis acknowledges the

pitfalls of a corridor based logic, as epitomized by the failures of modernist housing estates,

79 such as Pruitt Igoe, in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. While it was understood that the corridor spaces within Pruitt Igoe may have played a significant role in the estate's downfall, due to the lack of ownership and identity with the vast corridors, this thesis argues that a greater sense of purpose in the design of these spaces could allow for more associational qualities with a great number of valences, while never undermining efficiency. Studying the Shinonome Canal Court project by Toyo Ito and Associates, it was argued that beginning to program the corridor could make it a functional space in and of itself. Further, by multiplying the storage capacity of the wall delineating the corridor, more space at the interior of the flat could be opened up thus heightening the flexibility of the interior space. Lastly, it was argued that a complete re‐conception of the standard circulatory diagrams could eliminate the adverse qualities of the corridor, while proliferating associative domestic environments.

This could completely break down the current model of anonymity that exists between residents of collective housing projects and support the positive qualities associational life, as previously explored through the writings of Durkheim and Sennett.

In essence, this thesis has a unifying desire to study housing by beginning with the

collective, or beginning with the plurality. The home or the flat is one of many, always. And thus, circulation spaces, in some form, are omnipresent. But their presence does not need to continue as a perceived inefficiency, but rather, they can gain value from the very fact that they are used by many. As a design tool, they can be used as a method towards meaningful associations. Perhaps, as Winy Maas, the founder of the architectural firm MVRDV, proclaims, "architecture could then go beyond Ulrich Beck's notion that today 'any attempt to create a new sense of social cohesion has to start from the recognition that individualism, diversity, and scepticism are written into Western culture.' 1 The individual meets the collective again." 2 Even further than Maas' argument, though, perhaps the individual does not simply meet the collective again, but rather, it is individualism that can allow the collective to prosper.

1

Beck, Ulrick, 'Living your own life in a runaway world: individualization, globalization, politics' in Archis 2, 2001, pp. 17-30, p. 19.

2 Allen, Stan, Jean Attali, and Aaron Betsky. Reading MVRDV. Rottherdam: NAi, 2003. Print.

81

Image References

Chapter 01

FIGURE 1.1 Maki, Fumihiko. Group Form. 1964. Web. 7 Sept. 2015. <http://www.jonathanlouie.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/COLLECTIVEFORM_DIAGRA M_MAKI.jpg>

FIGURE 1.2 southlondonlofts,. Yourhome. 2015. Web. 7 Sept. 2015. <http://www.southlondonlofts.co.uk/YourHome/ill‐yourhome/DRW_rh_dormer02.gif>

FIGURE 1.3 Brown, Neave. Terraced Houses At Winscombe Street. 2015. Web. 7 Sept. 2015. <http://modernarchitecturelondon.com/pages/winscombe‐street.php>

FIGURE 1.4 image by the author, September, 2015

FIGURE 1.5 image by the author, taken May, 2015

FIGURE 1.6 image by the author, taken May, 2015

FIGURE 1.7 image by the author, taken May, 2015

FIGURE 1.8 image by the author, September, 2015

FIGURE 1.9 Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 167. Print.

FIGURE 1.10 Sennett, Richard. Flesh And Stone. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994. 177. Print.

FIGURE 1.11 The Urban Economy. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://users.trytel.com/tristan/towns/townint7.html>

FIGURE 1.12 image by the author, taken November, 2014

FIGURE 1.13 Brown, Neave. Winscombe Street. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily‐news/house‐plan‐richard‐lavington‐on‐ neave‐browns‐winscombe‐street/8686966.article>

FIGURE 1.14 Feilden Cregg Bradley Studios,. Accordia. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://fcbstudios.com/work/view/accordia >

FIGURE 1.15 Alison Brooks Architects,. Accordia Masterplan. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.alisonbrooksarchitects.com/project/accordia/>

FIGURE 1.16 Feilden Cregg Bradley Studios,. Accordia. 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://fcbstudios.com/work/view/accordia >

Chapter 02

FIGURE 2.1 Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997. 48 Print.

83 FIGURE 2.2 Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997. 51. Print.

FIGURE 2.3 Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997. 50. Print.

FIGURE 2.4 Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997. 51. Print.

FIGURE 2.5 Grids Blog,. Collage View Of Smithsons Golden Lane. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.grids‐blog.com/wordpress/wp‐content/uploads/2013/05/Smithson‐ goldenlane.png>

FIGURE 2.6 Portzamparc, Christian. Open Block. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.portzamparc.com/en/projects/quartier‐massena/>

FIGURE 2.7 Portzamparc, Christian. Quartier Messena Master Plan. 2015. Web. 12 Sept.

2015. <http://www.portzamparc.com/en/projects/quartier‐massena/>

FIGURE 2.8 image from Google Earth Street view

FIGURE 2.9 image from Google Earth Street view

FIGURE 2.10 Asensio Cerver, Francisco. The Architecture Of Multiresidential Buildings. New York: Arco, 1997. 51. Print.

FIGURE 2.11 Peter and Alison Smithson,. Streets In The Sky. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://canstudio.com.au/2014/01/30/streets‐in‐the‐sky/>

FIGURE 2.12 KCAP,. Gallery Access. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.kcap.eu/en/projects/v/stadstuinen/>

FIGURE 2.13 KCAP,. Patio Entrances. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.kcap.eu/en/projects/v/stadstuinen/>

FIGURE 2.14 KCAP,. Aerial View. 2015. Web. 12 Sept. 2015. <http://www.kcap.eu/en/projects/v/stadstuinen/>

Chapter 03

FIGURE 3.1 Yamamoto, Riken. Spaces Entry To Home. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/toyo‐ito‐kengo‐kuma‐etc‐ shinonome‐canal.html >

FIGURE 3.2 Pruitt Igoe Collapses. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Pruitt‐Igoe‐collapses.jpg>

FIGURE 3.3 Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 82. Print.

85 FIGURE 3.4 Evans, Robin. Translations From Drawing To Building And Other Essays. London: Architectural Association, 1997. 78. Print.

FIGURE 3.5 Cooke, Tristan. Health And Community Effects Of Project Housing Architecture.

2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://humansindesign.com/post/9370158236/humans‐in‐the‐ design‐of‐first‐world‐poverty>

FIGURE 3.6 Adelyn Perez. "AD Classics: MIT Baker House Dormitory / Alvar Aalto" 29 May 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Sep 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/61752/ad‐classics‐mit‐ baker‐house‐dormitory‐alvar‐aalto/>

FIGURE 3.7 Adelyn Perez. "AD Classics: MIT Baker House Dormitory / Alvar Aalto" 29 May 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Sep 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/61752/ad‐classics‐mit‐ baker‐house‐dormitory‐alvar‐aalto/>

FIGURE 3.8 Adelyn Perez. "AD Classics: MIT Baker House Dormitory / Alvar Aalto" 29 May 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 10 Sep 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/61752/ad‐classics‐mit‐ baker‐house‐dormitory‐alvar‐aalto/>

FIGURE 3.9 Yamamoto, Riken. Spaces Entry To Home. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/toyo‐ito‐kengo‐kuma‐etc‐ shinonome‐canal.html >

FIGURE 3.10 Toyo Ito & Associates. Plans. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://architecturalmoleskine.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/toyo‐ito‐kengo‐kuma‐etc‐ shinonome‐canal.html >

FIGURE 3.11 image by the author, Mehr Als Wohnen axonometric projection, May 2015

FIGURE 3.12 Duplex Architekten,. Cluster Housing. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2015. <http://www.swiss‐architects.com/de/projects/38143_Mehr_als_Wohnen>

87

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ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE GRADUATE SCHOOL PROGRAMMES COVERSHEET FOR SUBMISSION 2014-15

PROGRAMME:

Housing & Urbanism

TERM:

Dissertation

STUDENT NAME(S):

William Sergison

SUBMISSION TITLE

Circulatory Environments as a Method Towards Association

COURSE TITLE

Dissertation

COURSE TUTOR

Lawrence Barth

SUBMISSION DATE:

18/9/2015

DECLARATION: “I certify that this piece of work is entirely my/our own and that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of others is duly acknowledged.”

Signature of Student(s):

Date:

18/9/2015