Every building has some sort of conversation, whether it is a MONOLOGUE or DIALOGUE. Architecture takes multiple elements from a variety of places. Hans Scharoun’s Schminke House has a noticeable dialogue with the buildings of Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. It uses the same materials as Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, but has more energy. Sharp angular forms connect it with the dynamics of Expressionism (Roth 537). With the precedent analysis, the dialogue my building has with the HSB turning torso is best understood when considering the intention of the architects: to create a unique skyline. While these two buildings have a dialogue on one level, my building has a different dialogue with the surrounding skyline, and yet another conversation within itself.
Is it possible for a space to hold two opposing conversations simultaneously? This is the struggle I have with my Sacred Space design. I want to find ways to seamlessly integrate areas of CELEBRATION and MEDITATION into a cohesive whole. Aalto had some success with the library for Mount Angel Benedictine Abbey. The furniture is all wood, black leather upholstery on grey carpet. The color is meant to come from the books (Roth 547). This could be seen as a complete celebration of the purpose of the library – the books. Yet it is also a meditation. The neutral tones keep the energy subdued and restful, which is important in libraries. The effect of celebration vs. meditation can vary based on interpretation, time of day, or by looking at different elements within the room.
The rise of interior designers meant a change in what was ‘good taste’ in home decoration. Interior designers have a way JUXTAPOSING different elements to TRANSPOSE a space. The highly decorative, sometimes cluttered, Victorian features of the past were stripped away. Interiors were transposed to a simpler, cleaner, elegant look (Massey 127). This new style also involved the juxtaposition of dissimilar elements, such as a bold check curtain with a hand-painted wallpaper. Good designers can put elements together in unconventional ways that are still aesthetically pleasing. Surrealist painters “attempted to illustrate the threatening world of the subconscious in their paintings, most often by juxtaposing incongruous elements within the picture-frame to startle the viewer and undermine everyday expectations” (Massey 135). My goal as a designer is to take this same approach. In my sacred space, I have found a way to use marble, bamboo, and copper together in new ways to create a unique room.
In any design, LIGHT and SHADOW are important. Syrie Maugham’s signature was the ‘All White’ interior. She was successful with using shades of white and neutral tones to fill a room in a way that was still interesting. Richard Meier has similar success with his buildings, which were often all white. Yet there was simplicity and a play with light that was intriguing and immensely successful, such as at the Douglas House and the High Art Museum. The significance of the use of white and light in both of these cases is that light seems to represent something new, almost divine. The interesting thing is that Notre-Dame-du-Haut, white materials were used as well, but the emphasis was on shadow on the interior. Throughout history, designers have continued to explore the relationship between light and shadow.
One thing our teachers in studio have beaten into our heads is move away from the LITERAL! Get more ABSTRACT! I have found it easier to take inspiration and abstract it to get ideas for a design. It is helpful to start with the literal interpretation, but eventually this can limit the design and thought process. It is hard to push a design further without thinking deeper. In the image above, I created a pattern by painting around the edges of a leaf. However, sometimes literal is where the design stops. Michael Graves’ design of the Team Disney Building features actual caryatids of the seven dwarves. Instead of trying to convey the essence of Disney, he represented it literally. Salvador Dali took the same approach when designing the ‘Mae West’s Lips’ sofa. These designs communicate in a more straightforward way.
This week is about the voice that architecture has. The story or conversation it has with viewers and other buildings around it. Mario Botta recognized “…a need for architecture to speak once again to people, to become ‘presence’ once again…. a need to reestablish a partnership with people after decades in which architecture was so antiseptic, distant..” (Roth 567). These words get back to the idea of an architecture parlent. All architecture has a voice, an idea it conveys, an emotion it evokes. The words this week remind us of that.
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