Lecture:
INTRODUCTION:
I found the introduction to the course in this first lecture very interesting and thought provoking. The most important idea that I drew from Catherine Lassen was the need for all of us to learn how to ‘read’ architecture. In order to blur the ‘form-content’ distinction, we need to take it upon ourselves to individually rigorously examine the example houses, in order to try to develop our understanding of architecture without the use of words. This is particularly important for the houses studied in Design Studio 3 as many have become clichéd in their significance and revolutionary ideas. Therefore, we must make a conscious effort to delve deeper into our study of these texts, looking at each intricate detail, remembering that every decision is important to the designer and thinking about how this relates to what they believe to be ‘right’ and necessary.
Catherine also briefly outlined the house as an architectural building; being a combination of spaces and programs. The challenge we, as designers, face are to make each individual space, their relationships and the overall form meaningful. Finally, a house must relate to its surroundings and firstly we must ask ourselves what is the point of this connection in this particular site? In exploring this idea we must look at what the house frames, what the relationship is and what this suggests.
Catherine also briefly outlined the house as an architectural building; being a combination of spaces and programs. The challenge we, as designers, face are to make each individual space, their relationships and the overall form meaningful. Finally, a house must relate to its surroundings and firstly we must ask ourselves what is the point of this connection in this particular site? In exploring this idea we must look at what the house frames, what the relationship is and what this suggests.
VILLA SAVOYE:
“The house is a box in the air, pierced all around, without interruption, by a fenetre en longueur.... The box is in the middle of meadows, dominating the orchard.... The simple posts of the ground floor, through a precise disposition, cut up the landscape with a regularity that has the effect of suppressing any notion of “front” or “back” of the house, of “side” of the house.... The plan is pure, made for the most exact of needs. It is in its right place in the rural landscape of Poissy. But in Biarritz, it would be magnificent....”[i]
Catherine introduced the upcoming lecture by John Gamble through reading out this quote. This immediately reaffirmed to me the fact that each decision the designer makes, is made for a reason, and therefore nothing should be left un-studied. John followed this by reiterating that art is in specifics by quoter Langer: That art is in ‘this’ rather than ‘of this kind’. These introductions encouraged me to make a conscious effort to explore deeper and in more detail into any design in order to ‘read’ architecture.
John Gamble then introduced the Maison diagram and Le Corbusier’s ‘5 points of Architecture’ that formed the basis of the Villa Savoye design. It was made clear that Corbusier had not invented these ‘5 points’, but in stead had brought them together in order to reinforce the potential of concrete to change our pattern of living and the design of cities. A new ‘vertical pattern’ can be seen in the house: ‘cave’, ‘pilotis’, ‘habitation’ and ‘solarium’, that revolutionised the relationships of spaces to each other, their programs and the site, as we now were able to inhabit and contemplate from a space above the ground line. This lead on to the discussion of the extension of the ground up towards the sky, through our habitation: ‘We live between earth and sky’ (John Utzen).
The Villa Savoye also raised three important architectural ideas; firstly the architectural promenade (The pattern of movement). The 2 circulation patterns of the house both lead up to the main window that looks out to Paris, and this lead to a discussion on the effects of vertical and horizontal circulation patterns, with the use of examples such as Charles Moore’s Talbert House, Oakland (1964). Secondly, the Villa Savoye explores the concept of the house as a container, aided through the many horizontal surfaces that draw us along the long horizontal windows throughout the container. Corbusier often drew a lot on the insides of houses to highlight it’s capacity to be the container of possessions, and the Maison Diagram encouraged this as the space between the set back columns and the wall acted like a ‘thick wall’. Finally, Corbusier was very focused on the ordering process of a design, seen in the subtle shift of the regular columns the Villa Savoye in order to draw us in and define the house entry. The ‘4 Strategy’ drawing of Corbusier’s shows different starting points that then was be adapted to accommodate and connect with a site through deviating elements in significant ways.
John Gamble then introduced the Maison diagram and Le Corbusier’s ‘5 points of Architecture’ that formed the basis of the Villa Savoye design. It was made clear that Corbusier had not invented these ‘5 points’, but in stead had brought them together in order to reinforce the potential of concrete to change our pattern of living and the design of cities. A new ‘vertical pattern’ can be seen in the house: ‘cave’, ‘pilotis’, ‘habitation’ and ‘solarium’, that revolutionised the relationships of spaces to each other, their programs and the site, as we now were able to inhabit and contemplate from a space above the ground line. This lead on to the discussion of the extension of the ground up towards the sky, through our habitation: ‘We live between earth and sky’ (John Utzen).
The Villa Savoye also raised three important architectural ideas; firstly the architectural promenade (The pattern of movement). The 2 circulation patterns of the house both lead up to the main window that looks out to Paris, and this lead to a discussion on the effects of vertical and horizontal circulation patterns, with the use of examples such as Charles Moore’s Talbert House, Oakland (1964). Secondly, the Villa Savoye explores the concept of the house as a container, aided through the many horizontal surfaces that draw us along the long horizontal windows throughout the container. Corbusier often drew a lot on the insides of houses to highlight it’s capacity to be the container of possessions, and the Maison Diagram encouraged this as the space between the set back columns and the wall acted like a ‘thick wall’. Finally, Corbusier was very focused on the ordering process of a design, seen in the subtle shift of the regular columns the Villa Savoye in order to draw us in and define the house entry. The ‘4 Strategy’ drawing of Corbusier’s shows different starting points that then was be adapted to accommodate and connect with a site through deviating elements in significant ways.
Tutorial:
The first tutorial facilitated an opportunity for us to be introduced to our new building. For my group and I this was Gehry House Santa Monica (1977-78) and we were given the freedom to explore, find, examine and gain an understanding of this building. However, this proved to be quite a difficult task as the UNSW Library did not have adequate resources to aid the limited drawings that were provided, either online or in the library itself. This provided a difficult problem, that my group and I had to overcome through analysing pictures on the web and making some conclusions from the relationships between these and the architectural drawings provided. After this 4 hour studio we decided on the two key ideas we were going to highlight through or model, and explored possible ways in which we could do this.
Firstly, the alienating and confronting complex facades of the house that seem to separate it from the environment. We aim to highlight these irregular angles and abnormal materials through separating these exterior walls from the site; achieved through using contrasting materials in our model.
Secondly, the way in which Gehry adapted and added to the existing household in order to create a real physical connection with the site from the interior. The first way in which he did this was to strip the interior design and cladding back to reveal the structural and bluntly natural wooden structure. Secondly, the added form that wraps around the 3 edges of the existing building connects to the wooden frame through the glazing structure and the internal design that is then related to the outside through the transmission of light through the high quantity of irregular glazing. We aim to highlight these positive changes in connecting the interior space to the site by cutting a section through the new building, allowing a view of the interior and the connection of the interior materials to the landscape outside.
[i] Le Corbusier, Précisions sur un état présent de l’architecture et de l’urbanisme (Paris: Vincent, Freal & Cie, 1930), pp. 136-138.
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