Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Find Your Geometry

Woman Teaching Geometry, 1309 - 1316, France (Paris).
As it is easier to understand what is geometry in general, the geometry in architecture demands certain understanding of history. In this beautifully didactic illustration, geometry can be understood in two parts of a whole: the measuring instruments(a set-square and a compass), and the world of triangle, circle, square, and rectangle. The painting connotes a real world and an abstracted world that signify one and another.

"In the preface to book vi of De Architectura, Vitruvius recounts the story of Aristuppus, the Socratic philosopher, who was shipwrecked but reached the shore of Rhodes. There he noticed geometric figures drawn in the sand, and is said to have shouted to his companions, 'there is hope, for I see traces of men.' Vestigium hominis video, quoted by Kant, Critique of Judgement, sect. 64. If a footprint would have signified a man, a circle signified a mind. (see W. Oechslin in Daidalos 1) Yet geometric forms are not a monopoly of men. (see natural form ) Still, for Kant, the Aristuppus story means that here we must assume an actual causality according to a concept and look for the agent."(quoted from: Christian Hubert.)

We will discuss a few aspects of geometry as Parti in today's studio.

Two images to illustrate the internal and external signification of geometry in relation to mass and form:
Credited to: Building; Mchines, Pamphlet Architecture No. 12(1987).

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

P1 Artifice - Poché
















By Sudipto Ghosh in Poché Parisienne(2001).




Above:Left - G. A. Dosio, project for circular temple,
section/elevation. Right - J. Rossi, Insignium Romae Templorum prospectus, 1684 ~ elevation/section perspective with plan.
Below:H. Labrouste, project for the Laperoue mausoleum, 1829. Sagittal section.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

P1 Artifice - Analytical Diagrams




















House VI(1975, USA), by Peter Eisenman.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Just In Case

This is the list for the "ownship" of each case study houses. Please contact your teammate(s) and work together toward the submission for Project 1. Be sure to email me your blog address at my gmail account.

Soo Hee + Irina + William         Villa Savoye, 1929-1930
Ahmed + James                       Tempe a Pailla Castellar, 1932-34
Arhabie + Nicola                    House for Dr Bartholomeusz, 1961-63
Kevin + Lyna                           Vanna Venturi House, 1959-64
Howe + Brian                           E-1027, 1926-29
Jiwoo + Mei Ning                     Villa Can Feliz, 1992
Andrew + Victor + Norhasnani        Villa Müller, 1931

There are additional students whose names are not on the list. Please write me a mail asap to my gmail account so we can start to work.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Welcome

The Constructor, a self-portrait photomontage by El Lissitzky, c.1924.