Craft-
From our 3rd skin project we made cardboard prototypes before making the finals out of MDF. When we showed the cardboard prototypes it was evident that although some people had good designs, the bad craft of the cardboard would distract so much that it was hard to recognize the object as a good design. This relates to the poorly made Grecian apartment complexes that often caught on fire or caved into themselves (Roth 215-246). Although they were poorly crafted the idea of stacking residences up in urban areas was very forward thinking relating to the future 19th century when machine technologies would attract many people to the city.
Jefferson may have put a lot of thought into the sun's East and west "movements" (I know the Earth revolves around the sun) when planning Monticello. The ornamentation and positioning of paths and walkways lends some interesting shadows which are cast on the walkway surfaces as shown below.
Public:Private-
The notion of public and private space seems to relate very much to personal space. On a public bus or even a church people sit closely in non designated seats often times next to strangers. Spaces seem to become more private according to the purpose as well as how much space is to be allotted to an individual. Although our desk spaces are in a somewhat public building (public of iarc students) each of us is entitled to our own space where it is understood to be private. This issue of privacy is evermore intensified by the fact that each of us has hundreds of dollars worth of tools and materials at our desks.
Churches or christian religious gatherings seemed to change from private among small groups of believers in the catacombs of Rome to large public gatherings with the advent of the basilica churches (Roth 275-300). With the switch to public gathering also came a sort of public or group mindset which came from the ways in which the priest became the translator for the language of the bible rather than a small intimate group of people learning and discussing together the meanings and teachings of the Bible. Later on before the great reformation in Europe the Catholic church would use their religious power to manipulate the public into paying indulgences for the funding of the clergy and large grand cathedral projects.
When we toured Fallingwater I felt very cramped and got the feeling that although this was a big time party house, it has a very private "homey" feel. The picture below serves to show this cramped feeling of Fallingwater and may even bare some relation to the Christian meeting catacombs of Rome.
Technique-
There is a technique and style to the Fallingwater house that dictates the way one moves though the space. The small sqare asian kneeling seats are well suited to Fallingwater in that they have a planar form and they match the compressed cozy scale of most of the interior. The way bench seating is arranged in cathedrals relates to the structure, notably the thin bands above in the vaults as well as the tall narrow columns. The benches are very long and one right side row is placed next to or across the left row creating a long narrow aisle which serves to accentuate the lengthiness of the nave (Roth 301-352).In visiting Monticello there seemed to be many techniques of lighting, construction, domes, doors, windows, layout that went against the norms of the day. The paintings along the walls of the house were hung by wires rather than on nails in the walls. This creates a different effect from what I'm used to as wires between the paintings interrupt the space between the paintings and the natural border that is often formed around framed paintings. The way Jefferson chose to not show the dome above the back showroom was an interesting decision. The way Jefferson placed his bed within a wall is an interesting technique in that the wall is made thicker creating a veil over the bed as well as a solid transition between his workroom and the leisure/bed room. The leisure/bed room also has an interesting recessed skylight that showers light into the room. Small oval windows above Jefferson's bed also seem to serve to continue the light from the skylight into the workroom.
Throughout the Fallingwater house all of the furniture, walls and details scream "cantilever" as well as "built in" over "built for." This built in focus seems to relate to the overall house itself in that it emphasises horizontals and relates to the way the house itself is built into the land and stream. As shown in my quick sketches below, tables, shelves and even the stones within the wall hang out. The tour guide even showed us how as we went up stairs, Wright had certain stones protrude to use to to climb stairs rather than having banisters. The cantilevering nature of the desks and tables is also very functional in terms of leg and movement space.
Language-
Style of a time period has a lot to do with language in that the time peirod something is created in has much influence on the design. For example today the large consumerism we have in the United States has led to widespread corporate take over and franchising. Mcdonalds, Walmart, and Lowes can been seen all across America. This franchising has lately lead to the rise of the new "cookie cutter" houses and neighborhoods. These houses are often tall with a facade of brick, stone or a stylized vynl siding to give the impression of wealth. Virtual-
During drafting class while Stoel instructed us on how we would draft the Critique room in second perspective he explained how our station point (where the eye is standing in relation to the corner of the room) would be outside the room. This is unique about drawing in that only with a drawing can we superimpose our point of view into positions that would be impossible or impractical to get in in real life. With the composition project we are starting with Suzanne, we are merging plans with perspectives and elevations of Fallingwater on one page to be surrounded by a painting-like super graphic of the structure's environment. This composition is like a virtual reality in that through it we can experience a space from above, below or any perspective. The ways in which Grecians thought they would immortalize themselves was through striving to achieve "arete" quality and excellence attained through fine testing and refinement" (Roth 215-246). A man's name may be on some building or creation he contributed to so that his work; a part of his life is forever implanted symbolically into the lives of all who come into contact with that creation.
Jay Kabriel, watercolor on 24" x 36" watercolor board
quick sketch details of Fallingwater
quick sketch details of windows and recessed skylight of Monticello
Reflection-
The trip was very successful in immersing us in two different house designs as well as learning and observing architecture and the psychology in the spaces between Fallingwater and Monticello such as the bus and the Casselman Inn. Instead of the Casselman just being a place to stay over night it turned out to be a comfortable interaction with rustic furniture design and culinary culture.
Citations
Roth, Leland (2007). Understanding Architecture. Westview Press.
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