Field of Fragments: A Study of Miesian Transcendental Spatialities by Zilsalina Mendieta

FIELD OF FRAGMENTS a study of miesian transcendental spatialities

Zilsalina J. Mendieta M.Arch Thesis Spring 2014

This is a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Research Project presented to the University of Florida in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Architecture. Chair of Surpervisory Committee: Martin Gundersen Co-Chair of Surpervisory Committee: Mark McGlothlin

FIELD OF FRAGMENTS a study of miesian transcendental spatialities

Zilsalina J. Mendieta M.Arch Thesis Spring 2014

“ In the details are the possibilities of innovation and invention, and it is through these that architects can give harmony to the most uncommon and difficult or disorderly environment generated by a culture.

”

Marco Frascari, The Tell-the-Tale Detail

“ The long path from material through function to creative work has only one goal: to create order out of the confusion of our time.

”

L. Mies Van der Rohe, Inauguration Speech at the AIT [IIT], 1938

08 10

INTRODUCTION

A PROCESS OF SIGNIFICATION

CASE STUDIES

the Post-WW II American Culture of Technology the detail as a manner of expression

the re-use and re-presentation of the “fertile detail”

Alumni Memorial Hall

Farnsworth House

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments

S.R. C r o w n H a l l [ I I T ]

Seagram Building

the junction of diverse materials the harmony of building & landscape the transcendence of technology

the realization of true universal space the steel skeleton as universal expression

HYBRID ASSEMBLAGES

CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUING

FIELD OF FRAGMENTS

the generative hybrid axonometrics a study of material spatialities

a Miesian proposal

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Illinois Institute of Technology1

INTRODUCTION

“ Technology is rooted in the past. It dominates the present and

tends into the future. It is a real historical movement--One of the greatest movements which shape and represents their epoch. ” L. Mies Van der Rohe, Addition of the Institute of Design at the IIT, 1950

Caught within this cultural and architectural shift in American history was Ludwig Mies van Der Rohe. His emigration from Germany to the United States in 1938 granted him the evolution of a thoroughly rationalist approach to architecture, design, and the education of the architect. He observed the struggle of American culture Post-WW II and saw opportunity in the steel and glass industry that was rapidly growing within construction.

As a logical and rationlistic architect, he embraced the advancement of technology and utilized it as a way to define the modernist movement in America. During the addition of the Institute of Design to IIT, Mies van der Rohe discusses the importance of technology within each epoch and the transformative capabilities it has on the building as art: “...some people may be convinced that architecture will be outmoded and replaced by technology. Such a conviction is not based on clear thinking. The opposite happens. Wherever technology reaches its real fulfillment, it transcends into architecture.” The success and legacy of Mies van der Rohe relies not only on his contribution to modern architecture, but in its execution. Mies embraced all that steel and glass as materials had to offer within the American culture of mass production and standardization. His use of standardized steel components of construction to create a spiritual tectonic assembly is what allowed him to create an architecture ahead of its time. The manner in which he worked out the logical construction of each detail that allowed for a structuralist aesthetic engendered a legacy that would affect the American modern architecture movement for decades to follow.

INTRODUCTION

Three addresses were given at the Blackstone Hotel on April 17, 1950 as a celebration of the addition of the Institute of Design to the Illinois Institute of Technology. It was during a time in which the education of the architect and the rapid advancement of technology were at odds in a Post-World War II America. It was during this time that American culture had embraced a Fordistic approach to all aspects of expression, including architecture. Modern architecture became defined by the ideals of a standardized manufacturing system designed to mass produce standardized products and rejected the use of the hand-craft. Production and art were economized--producing items at high quantities for extremely low prices. With the advent of industrialization and the production of steel, an architecture evolved out of the efficiency and economy of its construction rather than an aesthetic--emerging from this a “modern architecture.”

S I G N I F I C AT I O N 10

Frascari discusses the importance of the architectural detail. He attributes the detail as the minimum unit of signification and creation of meaning. It becomes the smallest construction in which the mind can produce an order and find its own working in understanding the whole. He also begins to discuss the role of technology--not as at advancing influence within architecture but as its double-faced presence within it as the techne of logos and the logos of techne. . . [ t e c h n e ] : craftsmanship, craft, doing, making . . [ l o g o s ] : principle of order and knowledge . . These two understandings of technology thus give way to the architectural detail, which can be defined “as the union of construction, the result of the logos of techne, with construing, the result of the techne of logos.”1 If this is true, then the detail becomes the moment in which the intangible meets the tangible--construing gives way to construction. As the detail becomes the place of conceptualization and construction, it is only true to say that the detail becomes the primary mode of architectural expression and theoretical development. Thus the detail becomes the place in which the order of its own making imposes order on the whole.

[ d e t a i l ] : n. a part of a whole, the small elements that constitute a work of art2 . The English dictionary’s definition of detail as stated above can hardly be fully applied architecturally. The multitude of architectural definitions and implications of “the detail” are contingent upon the parameters of the architect, and ultimately the range of perception and interaction with said detail. Frascari defines the detail as always being a joint. . . [ j o i n t ] : n. the junction of two or more members of a framed structure3 . . . . They can be considered “material joints:” the joining of materials in an aesthetic matter; the connection between a column and a roof. Or they can be considered “formal joints:” the spatial connection between an outdoor plaza and the entry way of a building. Both are considered imperative in architectural progression as they lend to a development of a building as art. Such as the French theoreticians of the architecture parlante equated details to the words of a sentence, the precise selection of words and composition give structure to prose as does the joining of details gives structure and understanding of the building.

1 Frascari, Marco. “The Tell-the-Tale Detail.” Diffusive Architecture. Print. 1984.

2 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. An Encyclopedia Britanica Company. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detail. 24 April 2014. 3 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. An Encyclopedia Britanica Company. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joint. 24 April 2014.

A P R O C E S S O F S I G N I F I CAT I O N the detail as a manner of expression

”

Marco Frascari, The Tell-the-Tale Detail

“A function of detail becomes clear by re-presentation, that is, by re-use. The detail often appears incomplete and vague in its structuring principle. But, unifying in itself function and representation, the re-use of a detail becomes a creative catalyst. It becomes a fertile detail.”4 A case of fertile details can be attributed to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his repetitious efforts of detailing. He was caught in an era in which the changing views of technology and mass production was quickly becoming the American culture within modern architecture.

4 Frascari, Marco. “The Tell-the-Tale Detail.” Diffusive Architecture. Print. 1984.

Kenneth Frampton’s analysis of Mies van der Rohe places Mies’s career amidst a continuing struggle between three divergent factors: the technological capacity of the epoch, the aesthetics of avant-gardism, and the tectonic legacy of classical romanticism. Mies’s resolution of these divergent factors reveals and enlightens an ever-present motif of dichotomies within his works that eventually aspired to a state of eventual ruination—an “almost nothing.” It is this transcendental exploration and criticism of technology within architecture that essentially elevated Mies’s career and marked a significant turning point in modern architecture. The iterative process of reworking details led to a refinement that was to redefine the modern architecture. It was through the fertile detail that Mies van der Rohe was capable of finding a harmony within the chaotic emergence of modern architecture in a Post-World War II American culture. “Mies recognized modern technology as a dichotomous destiny that was at once both destroyer and provider...It was that that prompted him to shift the focus of architecture toward technique and away from type and space form, always assuming that the latter would be spontaneously fulfilled, either through the limitless freedom of the open plan or through the changing subdivision of cellular space.”5 And thus, a spiritualization of his fertile detail emerges. 5 Frampton, Kenneth. Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture. Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Print. 1995.

S I G N I F I C AT I O N

With this correllation of writing, architecture becomes the art of appropriating a selection of details to compose a complete building art. The detail, however, can only become known and understood through its “reuse and re-presentation.” The repetitive use of a detail gives way to a subtle succession of development with each iteration that can ultimately lead to a complete understanding of the relationship from part to whole. Frascari also poses the existence of the fertile detail, which defines the iterative process of detailing. Each detail represents an incomplete iterim that cannot be considered a final result, but the continuing motif of the detail in successive re-using can only lead to an architectural progression--the development of mental construing.

CASE STUDIES the re-use and re-presentation of the “fertile detail”

Farnsworth House Entry Stair, Plano, IL 19512

ALUMNI HALL [1945-1946]

the junction of diverse materials

Location

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

Structure + Materials It has a fireproofed steel structural frame and is enclosed by a skin consisting of welded steel components, aluminum sash, clear plate glass and solid panels of buff-colored brick. All exposed steel is painted matte black. The modular bay is designed to align with the campus grid—24 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 12 feet tall. Building Module 12 ft Structural Bay 24 ft square Overall Thickness of Floor 1 ft 7 in Overall Dimensions of Plan 122 ft 7 in x 303 ft 7 in Gross Area of Building 36000 sq. ft. Clear Height of Interior 11 ft 11 in Height of Floor above Ground 5 ft 3 in Height of Building 28 ft 6 in

ALUMNI HALL 14

The Alumni Hall is the first academic building to be done by Mies on the IIT campus, which essentially frames the majority of the subsequent academic buildings. The modular bay is designed to align with the campus grid—24 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 12 feet tall—which allowed for an ideal scenario for flexibility and efficiency, allocating modular spaces for classroom, labs, and offices. As a result of a city mandate to fireproof classrooms, Mies’s previous architectural expression of exposing the structure of his work was compromised. This was one of the first buildings in which the expression and resolution of the detail created the illusion of his architectural intention of an exposed structural system. The fireproofing requirement also forced Mies into a tireless effort to resolve the corner detail by carefully apply a logic to the joint between brick and steel. This infamous IIT corner detail was his first iteration of attempting to reconcile the junction of diverse materials into creating a seamless façade while maintaining their individual properties.

Alumni Hall Corner Detail, IIT, Chicago, IL 1948

The thoughtful configuration of manufactured steel members, concrete fire proofing, and brick facade allows for a seamless blending of materials that reaches its apex of clarity within the exposed structure of the corner detail. ALUMNI HALL 16

Alumni Hall Plan Wall Detail.

ALUMNI HALL 17

Alumni Hall Full Wall Section Detail.

[ e x t r u d e ]

+ [ p r o j e c t ]

ALUMNI HALL 18

The utilization of the three differing materials [ b r i c k , s t e e l , c o n c r e t e ] becomes a pivotal moment for the creation of

T H E

T H R E S H O L D

as a moment of transfer between the art of detailing and the logic of construction. Steel becomes the anchoring component.

ALUMNI HALL

[ p i v o t ]

[ d e f l e c t ]

ALUMNI HALL 20

[ s t e became the

T H E

e l ] anchoring

device

for

this

S P A T I A L

that acts as a moment within a larger field of details--thus allowing its reading to become hinged within this fragment.

H I N G E

ALUMNI HALL

FARNSWORTH HOUSE [1945-1950]

the harmony of building & landscape

Location

Plano,

IL,

USA

Structure + Materials The building’s steel framed floor and roof planes are held 9 ft 6 in apart by wide flange columns so that they cantilever in their longitudinal direction. The skin is composed of steel frames, glazing members, and clear plate glass. The welded columns are painted white along with tavertine pavement to maintain a neutrality to not detract from the landscape. Overall Dimensions of Plan 28 ft 8 in x 77 ft 3 in Gross Area of Building 2215 sq. ft. Column Centers 22 ft Roof Cantilever 5 ft 7 1/2 in Depth of Floor and Roof Channel Fascias 1 ft 3 in Clear Height of Interior 9 ft 6 in Height of Floor above Ground 5 ft 3 in Height of Building 16 ft 6 in

FARNSWORTH 22

The Farnsworth House is one of Mies’s most iconic pieces of work within his entire career, both European and American. The success of the project was based upon the elegance and thorough attention to detail. The house is 2400 square-feet with an open floor plan divided into 3 distinct spatial interfaces: a transparent house, a covered terrace, and an open deck. The simplicity of two parallel planes held in suspension by only eight steel columns could only be attained by the advancement in technology of the time and the thoroughness Mies applied to this project. Structural detailing was reduced to a minimal expression to attain a “transparent structure” that was envisioned by Mies— open-jointed paving, gravel-filled drain pans made of welded steel, and facemounted full-height H-section columns. At such a small domestic scale, Mies’s architectural vision of a transparent structure was capable of being actualized. This tranquil pavilion of steel and glass is poised above the ground to allow a full immersion of the landscape. Its relationship to the surrounding landscape suggests a level of phenomenological transparency that engenders an alliance between human and nature. The interdependent yet independent systems of the organic and the inorganic create an icon of the technological era.

Farnsworth House Plano, IL 19503

The simplicity and specific attention to detail allowed a timeless elegance of the Farnsworth House. It was only through this attention that allowed the compilation of details to produce a true building art. FARNSWORTH 24

Farnsworth House Wall/Stair Section Detail.

FARNSWORTH

Farnsworth House West Wall Section Detail.

Farnsworth House Column Detail.

[ s h i f t ]

[ c a r v e ] FARNSWORTH 26

The carving device used to create this ground was controlled by the [ s t e e l as

bounding

T H E

a n g l e ] areas

create

S T A G G E R E D

--a slight shifting of a horizontal condition in which a tactile engagement becomes dominant.

G R O U N D

FARNSWORTH

[ p r o t r u d e ]

[ r e f l e c t ]

FARNSWORTH 28

The single line connects between the [ s t e e l c h a n n e l ] is used as marking an area known as

T H E

G A T E W A Y

to provide a definitive mark of entry-otherwise a spatial detail of a whole.

FARNSWORTH

860-880 L A K E S H O R E D R I V E A P A R T M E N T S [1948-1951]

the transcendence of technology

Location

860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, USA

Structure + Materials The buildings have fireproofed steel structural frames and are enclosed by skins consisting of welded stell components, aluminum glazing frames and clear plate glass. All exposed steel is painted matte black. All apartments are provided with light-gray drapery linings to maintain a uniform facade. Building Module 5 ft 3 in Structural Bay 21 ft square Overall Thickness of Typical Floor 1 ft 7 1/2 in Clear Height of Typical Floor 8 ft 4 1/2 in Clear Height of Ground Floor 17 ft 1 in Number of Floors above Grade 26 Number of Floors below Grade 2 Height of Building 270 ft Overall Dimensions of Plan 64ft10inx106ft10in Gross Area per Floor 6930 ft Ratio of Core to Floor Area 8.2% Gross Area of each Building above Grade 180,000 sq. ft. Total Number of Apartments 860:96 880:192

L A K E S H O R E D R. 30

The Lake Shore Drive Apartments are renowned for their structural clarity and composition. Each building individually is symmetrical, comprised of 21-foot square bays (5 across, 3 deep) with a total of 288 apartments. Similarly to the IIT Campus, the free plan was attained by perpendicularly offsetting each apartment building to create an openness to views of the lake. At the pedestrian level, the open plan creates a flow of natural green space amid the plaza unprecedented at the time. It is the first building by Mies in which the execution and placement of the detail and attention to proportion allowed for the clarity of the structure to be evident. Aluminum I-beams were welded onto the mullions and columns to create an aesthetic of exposed structure. It was within this skyscraper that Mies fully accepted the opportunities of technology within architecture to realize his “glass skyscraper” and to realize his own words: “When technology reaches its true fulfillment, it transcends into architecture.” Essentially the Lake Shore Drive Apartments allowed for an architectural expression to be fully actualized into a “true architecture.” This skyscraper would be the most influential works of modern architecture. The spatial concepts that Mies van der Rohe had developed at IIT continues to be applied through to the field of high-rise structures. The open placement of the two apartment towers allow for an open, flowing space; it allows for a visual and physical penetrability at ground level due to the buildings’ setback from the street edge and the use of glass enclosures. This high-rise structure set a new urban pattern in Chicago which allowed an interplay between pedestrian and high-speed traffic scales. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 19514

The use of steel as a means to reach a structural aesthetic depended upon the proportion, measure, and spacing among the facade. This lended to the illusion of an exposed structural system. LA K E S H O R E D R . 32

Lake Shore Drive Apartments Wall/Roof Section Detail.

LA K E S H O R E D R .

Lake Shore Drive Apartments Plan Corner Section Detail.

Lake Shore Drive Apartments Roof Section Detail.

[ a r r a y ]

+ [ p r o j e c t ]

LA K E S H O R E D R . 34

The array created by the repetition of [ s t e e l f r a g m e n t s ] create a sensation of measure that becomes translated into

T H E

R A I S E D

to provide a a newly defined horizon of vision.

P L A T F O R M

LA K E S H O R E D R .

[ c o n v e r g e ]

[ s u s p e n d ]

LA K E S H O R E D R . 36

The array created by the repetition of [ s t e e l f r a g m e n t s ] create a sensation of measure that becomes translated into

T H E

C A N O P Y

to provide a newly defined horizon of vision.

LA K E S H O R E D R .

S.R. C R O W N H A L L [ I I T ] [1950-1956]

the realization of true universal space

Location

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, USA

Structure + Materials Four externally exposed steel bents--located at 60 ft intervals--carried a steel framed roof which in turn cantilevers in the longitudinal direction 20 ft beyond the end supporting members. The building’s substructure works indepedently of the superstructure. The facade is composed of welded steel mullions and glazed with transparent and translucent glass. All exposed steel is painted black. Building Module 10 ft Structural Bay 60 ft x 120 ft Clear Height of Main Floor 18 ft Clear Height of Lower Floor 12 ft Height of Building 27 ft 5 in Overall Dimensions of Plan 120 ft x 220 ft Gross Area per Floor 2600 ft Depth of Roof Girders 6 ft 3 in Height of Main Floor above Grade 6 ft Roof Cantilever 20 ft

CROWN HALL 38

S.R. Crown Hall was designed specifically as the School of Architecture for IIT and as a centerpiece for the master plan of the entire campus. It is considered one of the most innovative buildings of modern architecture combining steel and glass. It is widely considered that Crown Hall is Mies Van der Rohe’s finest work finally perfected in terms of its modernity, ideas, structure, and proportions. While Mies had used a clear-span design at the Farnsworth House, completed five years earlier, the massive increase in scale allowed Mies to clearly and coherently realize his concept of creating a truly universal space. He did this by using steel frames to hang the ceiling rather than having columns support it, which marks this building as Mies’s first major success in creating a clear-span structure. The floating platform terrace first realized at the Farnsworth is translated here to a larger scale allowing for a lifted interruption in entering the building. The idea of providing a large area for the entire School of Architecture and City Planning’s three hundred students was in theory the physical expression of a phenomenological transparency within the school’s curriculum. The classes each then become simultaneously transparent and isolated to each other within the open floor plan.

S.R. Crown Hall, IIT, Chicago, IL 19565

The Crown Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suspended ceiling from a steel frame allows for the realization of a true universal space. The advancement in technology and the hanging of an overhead plane from the structural system allowed an immaterial experience of a true universal space. CROWN HALL 40

Crown Hall Plan Wall Section Detail.

CROWN HALL 41

Crown Hall Full Wall Section Detail.

[ h a n g ]

[ e l o n g a t e ] CROWN HALL 42

The interplay created between the [ s t e e l m u l l i o n ] and the structural steel allow a detail to become both the boundary and

T H E

T R A N S I T I O N

to provide an specific itinerary more prescriptive in nature.

CROWN HALL

[ m e a s u r e ]

[ a r r a y ]

CROWN HALL 44

The repetitious nature of the [ s t e e l c h a n n e l ] creates screen

a datum that may

T H E

and act

a as

P A R T I T I O N

to provide a fluidity of spaces.

CROWN HALL

SEAGRAM BUILDING [1954-1958]

the steel skeleton as universal expression

Location

NewYork, NY, USA

Structure + Materials The building contains a fireproofed steel structural frame and is then enclosed by a skin consisting of bronze components and bronze-tinted glass. The facade is hung as a curtain wall off of the structural frame. The lobby and ground floor plaza areas are paved in granite. Building Module 4 ft 7 1/2 in Structural Bay 27 ft 9 in Overall Thickness of Typical Floor 3 ft 1 1/2 in Clear Height of Typical Floor 8 ft 10 1/2 in Clear Height of Ground Floor 23ft10 in Number of Floors above Grade 39 Number of Floors below Grade 2 1/2 Height of Building 516 ft Overall Dimensions of Plan 87 ft 7 in x 143 ft 1 in Gross Area per Floor 31,955 ft Ratio of Core to Floor Area 8.2% Gross Area of Building above Grade 694,000 sq. ft. Gross Area of Building below Grade 157,000 sq. ft.

The concept of the glass skyscraper as envisioned by Mies van der Rohe had been realized through firstly the Lake Shore Drive Apartments but it wasn’t until the Seagram Building that Mies was able to realize the glass skyscraper while also providing a new typology for urban plazas in New York.

S E A G R A M 46

“My approach to the Seagram Building was no different from that of any other building that I might build,” Mies van der Rohe recalled. “My idea, or better ‘direction,’ in which I go is toward a clear structure and construction--this applies not to any one problem but to all architectural problems which I approach. I am, in fact, completely opposed to that idea that a specific building should have an individual character. Rather, I believe that it should express a universal character which has been determined by the total problem which architecture must strive to solve. On the Seagram Building, since it was to be built in New York and since it was to be the first major office building which I was to build, I asked for two types of advice for the development of the plans. One, the best real estate advice as to the types of desirable rentable space and, two, professional advice regarding the New York Building Code. Wih my direction established and with these advisers, it was then only a matter of hard work.” Being set back 100 feet from the street’s edge, the open plaza space would act as a reference point for pedestrians among the urban fabric and would also add to the overall identity of the whole undertaking.

Seagram Building, New York, NY 19606

The Seagram Building becomes a compilation of both the Alumni Hall corner detail and the transcedent qualities of technology present in the Lake Shore Drive Apartments. It becomes the quintessential essence of Miesian ideology. S E A G R A M 48

Seagram Building Wall Section Detail.

S E A G R A M

Seagram Building Corner Section Detail.

Seagram Building 22nd Floor Section Detail.

[ f r a m e ]

[ p r o j e c t ]

S E A G R A M 50

The careful interplay between the two domininant materials of [ s t e e l

c o n c r e t e]

generates a juxtaposed junction of materials that provides

T H E

E N C L O S U R E

similar to what could be considered a fragment of a facade.

S E A G R A M

[r e p e a t ]

[ f r a m e ]

S E A G R A M 52

The rhythm extended from the central section detail allows the [ s t e e l

t e c t o n i c s]

to create an area in which the

T H E

T R A N S L U C E N T

allows a certain sense of visual penetrability.

D G E

S E A G R A M

HYBRID ASSEMBLAGES the generative detail and the introduction of materiality

As autonomous as each of perceptual axonometrics are, their importance comes in their relationship to one another. The idea of part to whole becomes evident in a study to understand their relationship in a spatial configuration. Separated into building type, each axonometric of the details become composed into an assembly to compose yet another larger scaled detail of a whole. The addition of materiality begins to construct a spatiality that aids in understanding the relationship between each detail and thus the relationship to a larger construction. The material as a component of the building art lends to a spectrum of translucency, reflectivity, and texture. The careful detailing of materiality with its textures, patterns, layerings, and opacities speaks to a series of transcendental qualities that enhance the perception and experience of a spatial sequence. Materials do not only represent themselves but represent the manner in which they are construed that lend to a spiritualization of the spatial qualities they engender.

HYBRID AXOS 56

Implications become reality as the mind begins to enter this series of parallax of perceptions. As a means of initiating the transfer from mental construing to physical construction, a set of material textures are used as spatial boundaries and markers within an endless visual horizon to allow a multitude of visual understandings of the spatialities generative by each detail axonometrics, thus the role of the detail as a generator.

HYBRID AXOS

The hybrid axonometrics become composed and assembled into a larger scaled component to begin to understand the spatial relationships generated from each typology of architectural component.

HYBRID AXOS 58

HYBRID AXOS

Each of these architectural fragments became assembled in a way to allow a communication between them in order to allow a self-created logical system specific to their own logic.

HYBRID AXOS 60

HYBRID AXOS

CONSTRUCTION & CONSTRUING a study of material spatialities

Concept Sketch of Barcelona Pavilion, L. Mies van der Rohe7

â&#x20AC;&#x153; We must remember that everything depends on how we use

a material, not on the material itself...New materials are not necessarily superior. Each material is only what we make of it. No design is possible until the materials with which you design are completely understood.

â&#x20AC;?

L. Mies van der Rohe

FIELD OF FRAGMENTS

a Miesian proposal

After exploring each of the fragments as individual experiential entities and as an itinerary of fragments, it became time to place these experiments into a Miesian gallery hall. The techniques and ideals Mies himself imposed in his designs become implemented as a manner of housing the parallax fragments created from his perspectival collaging techniques.

P R E C E D E N T S

the Miesian legacy

LOUVRE-LENS [2012]

SANAA [Ryue Nishizawa & Kazuyo Sejima]

Location

rue Paul Bert, F-62300 Lens, France

Structure + Materials Larger exhibitions areas are clad with anodized polished aluminum, offering a blurred and unfocussed reflection of the contours of the surroundings and the minimal amount of lighting present within Northern Europe. Full-height glass panels work in tandem with the aluminum facades to reach a reciprocity between the surrounding scenery and changing climate.

This project by SANAA exemplifies a contemporary take on Miesian ideals on materiality with the use of certain materials to attain a certain level of translucency and reflectivity famous to the Barcelona Pavilion. The facades are composed of reflective aluminum to allow a play on the horizontality of the gallery within its surrounding landscapes. The precise control and choices of materials within the Louvre-Lens gallery leads to the success of the gallery as a contemporary execution of Miesian ideology.

PRECEDENTS 84

PRECEDENTS

Louvre-Lens Exterior Courtyard, SANAA8

Louvre-Lens Plan, SANAA

PRECEDENTS 86

Louvre-Lens Interior Spatial Sequence, SANAA9

PRECEDENTS 87

Louvre-Lens Interior Facade, SANAA10

NEUE NATIONALGALERIE [1963-1969]

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Location

Berlin, Germany

Structure + Materials Eight cruciform columns, two on each length placed so as to avoid the corners, suppport a square pre-stressed steel roof plate 6 feet thick and painted black. A 60-foot cantilever allows for an expansive spatial interplay between the columns and the glass facade of the exhibition space. Floor-to-ceiling height reaches 27.5 feet to allow for a truly universal space.

The new national gallery for Berlin was one of the final projects designed by Mies van der Rohe. It implements the ideals of both his European works of spatial fluidity and American material understandings. The gallery is composed of a large universal space similar to Crown Hall at IIT with a series of partitions to allow for display of art and sculptural installations.

PRECEDENTS 88

PRECEDENTS

New National Gallery of Berlin, L. Mies van der Rohe11

PRECEDENTS

New National Gallery of Berlin Entry, L. Mies van der Rohe12

New National Gallery of Berlin First Floor & Basement Plan, L. Mies van der Rohe

PRECEDENTS

New National Gallery Interior, L. Mies van der Rohe13

FIELD OF FRAGMENTS

a Miesian proposal

Conceptual Section Variations

100

The proposal includes a large Miesian universal space as a gallery space to house these material exploration fragments. The gallery acts as universal space with partitions that both separate but allow a fluidity between each of the display fragments. The spatial organization and logic behind Miesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European work becomes the spatial organization of the gallery as the structural rationality of his American work becomes the structure in which it is housed.

101

102

103

104

3 4 1

Floor Plan 1 Galleries 2 Entrance Lobby 3 Utility Cores 4 Exterior Plaza

105

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yes, the structure is the backbone of the whole and makes the variable ground plan possible. Without this backbone, the ground plan would not be free, but chaotically blocked. â&#x20AC;?

L. Mies Van der Rohe, Artless Word: A Talk with Mies van der Rohe, 1950

As a means of understanding Mies, the generative detail developed a Miesian gallery, and in turn developed an understanding of its construing in detail.

112

113

Column-to-Roof Construction Detail 1’=3/16”

Structure and material joinery becomes related to the spaces inside: â&#x20AC;&#x153;so all of this becomes a fabric, a kind of weaving that works together or hangs together.â&#x20AC;? 6 It has the ability to absorb the conditions and restraints given by a new context, reintegrating them into its own system of design--a self-fashioning autopoietic system of seemingly disparate elements.

P R O P O S A L

114

6 Quote by George Danforth. Edited by Lambert, Phyllis. Mies in America. Canada: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. 2001. Print.

P R O P O S A L

115

C R E D I T S

116

Scherschel, Frank. L. Mies van der Rohe & Lake Shore Drive Apartments Model. Photograph. 1 March 1957. “Emergence of a Master Architect.” LIFE. Print.

Guthrie, Peter. Farnsworth House Entry Stairway. Photograph. 2009. Farnsworth House Photos. http://www.peterguthrie.net/blog/2009/10/farnsworthhouse. Web. 20 April, 2014.

Farnsworth House, Plano, IL, Exterior View. Photograph. 1950. Mies van der Rohe at Work. Print.

“A View of the Millions on 860 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.” Photograph. 2009. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:860_Lake_Shore_Drive_Mullions.JPG. Web. 20 April, 2014.

Crown Hall, IIT, View from south-east. Photograph. 1960. Mies van der Rohe at Work. Print.

Seagram Building Corner Reflection. Photograph. http://www.architecturaldigest. com/blogs/the-aesthete/2013/02/mies-van-der-rohe-critical-biography-book. Web. Courtesy of University of Chicago Press. 07 Feb. 2014.

Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig. Conceptual Sketch of the Barcelona Pavilion. Photo Collage & Drawing. Print. 1926.

Lanoo, Julien. Louvre-Lens Exterior Courtyard. Photograph. 2012. http://www. archdaily.com/312978/louvre-lens-sanaa/. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Neue Nationalgalerie. Photograph. 1968. http://farm5.static.flickr. com/4139/4931550628_32d16f0f65.jpg. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Buhrer, Anja. New National Gallery of Berlin Interior. Photograph. Fahrenheit Magazine. Print. 17 March 2013.

New National Gallery of Berlin, Berlin Kulturforum. Photograph. 29 July 2013. “Mies van der Rohe: New National Gallery, Berlin.” http://wolfguenterthiel.blogspot. com/2013/07/mies-van-der-rohe-new-national-gallery.html. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

C R E D I T S

PHOTO CREDITS

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REFERENCES

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Cadwell, Michael. Strange Details. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Print. 2007.

Carter, Peter. Mies van der Rohe at Work. London, England: Phaidon Press Limited. Print. 1999.

Drexler, Arthur. Masters of World Architecture: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. New York, New York: R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company. Print. 1960.

Ford, Edward R. The Details of Modern Architecture. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Print. 1990.

Frampton, Kenneth. Studies in Tectonic Culture: The poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture. Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Print. 1995.

Frascari, Marco. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Tell-the-Tale Detail.â&#x20AC;? Diffusive Architecture. Print. 1984.

Gleeson, Andrew Ryan. Resolution and Tension: Mies van der Rohe and the Myriad Dualities of Architecture. For the Harvard University Graduate School of Design: LULU. Print. 2013.

Lambert, Phyllis. Mies in America, ed. Phyllis Lambert. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Print. 2001.

Neumeyer, Fritz. Trans. Mark Jarzombek. The Artless Word: Mies van der Rohe on Building Art. Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Print. 1991.

Schulze, Franz. Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Print. 1985.

REFERENCES

SELECTED REFERENCES

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THANK YOU to Martin Gundersen and Mark McGlothlin for the wonderful journey in creating this project and helping in finding myself as a designer. to Kim Connel, Melissa Cortes, Danae Cardenas, and ARC415 for surviving this journey with me and for constantly providing such a challenging and invigorating environment. to my family for their never-ending support throughout my life. I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be where I am without them.

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