Lecture 02: Domestic Space

Lifestyle, housing, and the collective were the topics that defined Caroline Constant's lecture. She spoke of the home as an evolutionary entity, adapting to its era and the ideals embodied in it. Starting with the Palladian villas she spoke of private versus public spaces and the method of advancement through the home as definitive of the relationship/proximity to the owner. This shifted all the way to modernism, with an emphasis on Le Corbusier in which clear distinctions of social roles were outlined. He believed in living isolated, but partaking in collective endeavors. His spaces reflected this with a strict adherence to bourgeois ideals. The most captivating was the Rietveid Schroder house in which the challenge became the conventions of a typical home. Program and space began to interweave and adapt, changing with movable partitions to the demands of the family on a given day or even at a given stage of life.

[image courtesy of http://www.the-artfile.com]

Lecture 01: Louis Kahn and the Exeter Library

[Image from http://www.thirdseventh.com]

Last weeks lecture hit on the subject of architectural constraints, uncovered in the form of budget, zoning, structure and material identity. Louis Kahn, who at the peak of his career was turning out blueprints faster than any other firm on the globe, held on to a monumental and monolithic construction technique, despite rigorous training in the Beaux Arts fashion. His design aesthetic with regards to form certainly tilted towards his education, but his materiality remained honest to an antiquated approach.

“To express is to drive.
And when you want to give something presence,
you have to consult nature.
And there is where Design comes in.

And if you think of Brick, for instance,
and you say to Brick,
"What do you want Brick?"
And Brick says to you
"I like an Arch."
And if you say to Brick
"Look, arches are expensive,
and I can use a concrete lentil over you.
What do you think of that?"
"Brick?"
Brick says:
"... I like an Arch"” - Kahn

Exeter Library is a perfect example. The skin, load-bearing brick (although truthfully not doing any additional work aside from supporting itself), remains honest to a bricks capability and even personified desire. However, in dealing with budget constraints, Kahn is forced to abandon the planned vaulting and begins to rely on concrete for much of the building's interior surfacing and internal structural elements. In sticking to the Kahn method, his own office made sure to detail the joinery and finishing condition of the concrete as to imply how it was formed and where the stresses/loads are being delivered. This special attention paid off. As Karl Daubmann, professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, quotes: "The level of detail in this building nearly brought me to tears". And so it should.

A wonderful film can be seen at this here.

Old Kelleys Winery

Just a few shots of the abandoned Kelleys Winery. The use of stone in its construction made for an incredibly humbling space.

I could feel the potential of a monastery... it just seemed right after a few contemplative moments in the dark vaults.

The space, with its deep light wells, seemed almost existential in nature.


While unrelated, one could not help but be in awe of the concrete crusher, also abandoned.

Tour of Kelleys Island

Today we hit the road (and then the water) for Kelleys Island, marking the first of what will soon be many developments in this semester's comprehensive studio. The drive was smooth and provided a great chance to catch up with studio mates after a long and eventful summer. The weather was fantastic and only added to the excitement of the trip.

After passing through the barren Ohio landscape we finally arrived at the first destination; a quarry still on the mainland that would provide some insight for what was to come. Regrouped and ready to get started we finally boarded the ferry and made our way over the waves towards the unknown that lie ahead.

Kelleys Island, a strange vibe of retirement community meets high school summer camp, had our eyes open and other senses alert. We rented two golf carts and made our way onto the path in search of food and refreshments before heading over to the Glacial Grooves.

These amazing rock formations, remnants of the ice age, were quite the spectacle. Deeply contoured valleys and peaks of stone winding down the hillside like the angry work of a CNC router gone free, was a wonderful source of inspiration and enlightenment for the potentials with stone. These naturally occurring formations were a stark contrast to what was awaiting us on the other side.