[PAIR]ing down

[MEDITATION/CELEBRATION]

In studio we have been exploring creating a space that is both celebratory and meditative. The title of my project was finding a balance, and I think it applies to the project, design and architecture. Whether the two spaces are combined or separate they both share a unique bond with each other. The room within itself could contrast, or the room could contrast with its surroundings. The key is to find the balance between the celebration and the meditation to create a cohesive environment. A perfect example of this is Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright. The structure is both a celebration of impressive architecture and design, while also a meditation with the natural environment that it’s nestled in. Wright uses organic shapes and cantilevering structures which is “creating a harmony between the natural beauty of the setting and the interior living space”.[1] He mastered celebrating the land by creating a space to meditate and reflect within it.

[LIGHT/SHADOW]

Light and the shadows it makes is more than just a natural element, it’s a tool and material of design. The use of light can completely change a space and the emotion that it provokes to the user. In my studio project I used the diffusion of light through a repeating pattern to create a connected space that brought all surfaces in the room together. In architecture it is important to use light as a way to shape your design. An example of this is in Ando’s Church of the light. Ando says that the three materials he used were concrete, steel, and light. He used light and shadows to create the space and create a unified building. The Goldstein House also shows how light and nature are used as a material rather than just a happening. Large glass panes allow the light to stream in while also creating one space, or combining the exterior with the interior. John Lautner the designer said he “wanted to shape infinite space”[2] bringing the two worlds together through such mediums as light.

[TRANSPOSE/JUXTAPOSE]

When I see these two words and I relate them to the past week the College Life Insurance building is the first thing that pops into my mind. The building is essentially a series of three pyramids in the Indiana land. They are very ironic to their location and use, seeing that it was an insurance life insurance building with classical Egyptian designs for the dead. However they are still impressive and work with the land. These classical forms are juxtaposed to the flat landscape to create a visual interest and bring the land alive. The pyramid form however is transposed from its original setting and use. The original use of the pyramid was a burial location and was on the dessert sand, however these pyramids serve none of the same purposes, but have the same form. Another example of the pyramid form being transposed was at the Louvre. He added a “transparent pyramid in the court, marking the new public entrance.”[3] This glass pyramid stood out against the previous structures design and style.

[LITERAL/ABSTRACT]

In design it is important to distinguish between the abstract and the literal. What inspires and influences my design should not be my design but should be an abstract idea of it. The literal in turn influences the abstract. Eero Saarinen is a master at creating architecture that takes that literal idea and turning it into a functional abstract idea. The TWA terminal shows how he “decided to make a building that would suggest the miracle of flight.”[4] He made a building that took the structure of a bird’s wing and abstracted it into a functional design. He also did the same thing with the Dulles airport in Washington D.C. Design uses inspiration to create your own in a abstracted and new way.

[MONOLOGUE/DIALOGUE]

A design speaks its own language to the viewer. Each person sees this language as something else, and interprets their own version of what its saying. Architecture also has its own language as well. A building can speak a monologue and stand all on its own. It also has a monologue because it tells the story of the land and what is inside of it. It is important to also have a dialogue as well. There has to be a dialogue with the inhabitant and their needs, or the building must speak t its function. Phillip Johnson stated that “sooner or later we will fit our buildings so that they can be used”[5] The function of the building must be part of the dialogue that it has with the user. A building also has to have a dialogue with the land. The Notre Dame du Haut for example has a dialogue with natural elements that surround it. It interacts with both the light and the natural landscape around.

[WRAP-UP]
A space is not limited to what it encompasses, but also what surrounds it. Natural elements like light and shadow should be used as a material in a design, and not just as something that happens. Further, a design must juxtapose to the landscape which it is placed, but at the same time there must be left room for transposing a design from the past. The design can either be literal or abstract, whichever represents the design the best. The deign has to take in those surroundings it’s in and have a dialogue with it, while also having a separate monologue. And finally a good design must be celebrated and meditated over at the same time.

[CITATIONS]

1- Massey pg. 85

2- John Lautner quote given in class

3- Roth pg. 574

4- Roth pg. 554

5- Phillip Johnson quote given in class