SPIRITUAL TECTONICS CHAD SCHWARTZ | SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE | SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY | SPRING 2014
PRIMARY CONCEPTS
systemic thinking = architecture as a series of intersecting systems PRIMARY CONCEPTS studying and building relationships and emphasizes connectedness
architectural academia design technical theory PRIMARY CONCEPTS
architectural academia design technical theory PRIMARY CONCEPTS
architectural tectonics is a systemic endeavor PRIMARY CONCEPTS
architectural tectonics is a systemic endeavor PRIMARY CONCEPTS Tectonics is the formal ampli fi cation of the structural presence in relation to the assembly of which it is a part. KENNETH FRAMPTON | RAPPEL A L’ORDRE: THE CASE FOR THE TECTONIC
architectural tectonics is a systemic endeavor PRIMARY CONCEPTS The origin of architecture is not construction, but the visible representation of closed space originating from human dress. GOTTFRIED SEMPER | FROM CAROLINE VAN EYCK | FIGURATION, TECTONICS, AND ANIMISM
architectural tectonics is a systemic endeavor PRIMARY CONCEPTS There are two components within a tectonic construction: the ontological kernform (work form) and its cladding of the representational kunstform (art form). KARL BOTTICHER | FROM KENNETH FRAMPTON | BOTTICHER, SEMPER, AND THE TECTONIC
architectural tectonics depicts the poetic integration of PRIMARY CONCEPTS assembly, materiality, representation, space, and environment.
SACRED + TECTONIC
tectonic + stereotomic SACRED + TECTONIC T E C T O N I C tectonic = frame or assembly (sky, light, dematerialize) stereotomic = mass or piled STEREOTOMIC (earth, dark, solidity)
SKY duality and spirituality SACRED + TECTONIC Sacred architecture must recognize its position at the center, on an axis between earth and sky. The power of the sacred radiates from this center with EARTH centrifugal force, but it also returns centripetally. EMILE TOWNES | CONSTRUCTING THE IMMATERIAL
sacred center SACRED + TECTONIC The sacred center also appears in tectonic theory prominently in Semper’s four elements. - framework - enclosing membrane - earthwork - hearth The hearth incorporated into a single element the public and spiritual nexus of the built domain. IMAGE: KENNETH FRAMPTON | BOTTICHER, SEMPER AND THE TECTONIC
empathy SACRED + TECTONIC We have the ability to develop empathy with static form: A looming cliff face stands proudly at attention and seemingly in de fi ance; its outward projection instills the feeling of a lunging forward, perhaps in curiosity, perhaps in anger. ROBERT VISCHER | ON THE OPTICAL SENSE OF FORM
empathy SACRED + TECTONIC
THE STUDIO
CASE STUDY INTERVENTION structure THE STUDIO - fi ve linked problems SITE ANALYSIS - centered on the study of sacred space - multiple scales and mediums CHAPEL - varied working perspectives - each problem began with a critical reading and written response DETAIL
P1: CASE STUDY
task 1 P1: CASE STUDY Select a project to study
P1: CASE STUDY
task 2 P1: CASE STUDY Analyze the project to learn its essential lessons, focusing on the tectonic DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
task 2 P1: CASE STUDY Analyze the project to learn its essential lessons, focusing on the tectonic DRAWINGS: D. AMISI
task 2 P1: CASE STUDY Analyze the project to learn its essential lessons, focusing on the tectonic DRAWINGS: A. NEAL
task 2 P1: CASE STUDY Analyze the project to learn its essential lessons, focusing on the tectonic DRAWINGS: B. BECKMAN
task 2 P1: CASE STUDY Analyze the project to learn its essential lessons, focusing on the tectonic DRAWINGS: D. GRANT
P2: INTERVENTION
task 1 P2: INTERVENTION Identify a location in the case study to which can be added a place for a visitor to pause and rest. - zooming in - assembly - attention to detail - bodily interaction with architecture
task 2 P2: INTERVENTION Design the intervention paying close attention to the relationship between the new element and both the tectonics of place and the human body: two key contexts. DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: A. NEAL + W. CHURCHILL
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: A. NEAL + W. CHURCHILL
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: C. SMITH
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: A. EILERS + A. NEAL
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: A. EILERS + A. NEAL
task 3 P2: INTERVENTION Build the intervention at full scale as accurately as possible. CONSTRUCTIONS: S. ABELL
P3: SITE ANALYSIS
task I: groupwork P3: SITE ANALYSIS Analyze the city of Carbondale, IL through the lenses of the sacred, infrastructure, socio-political, and environmental contexts - zoom out
task II: individual P3: SITE ANALYSIS Select and analyze a site within the context zone for the building of a new chapel for the town. DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
task II: individual P3: SITE ANALYSIS Select and analyze a site within the context zone for the building of a new chapel for the town. DRAWINGS: B. BECKMAN
P4: CHAPEL
task I P4: CHAPEL Building on the fi rst three problems, design a new chapel for Carbondale, IL. - analysis of the case study - construction of the intervention - context of the site Develop a program for this small space building on the given outline.
task II P4: CHAPEL Contemplate the questions: - What is the purpose of a chapel? - What is the narrative of the place? - How does the tectonic expression of the chapel re fl ect its purpose? - How is the project contextually driven?
task III P4: CHAPEL Design the chapel.
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: A. NEAL
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: D. AMISI
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: D. AMISI
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: B. MACANDER
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: B. MACANDER
P4: CHAPEL DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
P5: DETAIL
task I P5: DETAIL Select a critical moment in the design of project 4 to investigate in greater detail. - zooming back in - tectonic assembly - part to whole relationships
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: D. AMISI
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: B. BECKMAN
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: B. MACANDER
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: A. NEAL
task II P5: DETAIL Analyze this area of the building and fi gure out how it is constructed. DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
task III P5: DETAIL Zoom in further and build one key detail from the zone of investigation at full scale. CONSTRUCTION: R. LEX
task III P5: DETAIL Zoom in further and build one key detail from the zone of investigation at full scale. CONSTRUCTION: W. CHURCHILL
task III P5: DETAIL Zoom in further and build one key detail from the zone of investigation at full scale. CONSTRUCTION: J. WEST
task III P5: DETAIL Zoom in further and build one key detail from the zone of investigation at full scale. CONSTRUCTION: P. MCKISSACK
REFLECTIONS
successes REFLECTIONS - rigorous investigation was well received by students - plenty of moments of success from each student in the class - tangible connections to architecture through full scale work
challenges REFLECTIONS - dif fi culty in translating lessons of the case study to the problem 4 chapel - intensive case study driving the project caught some of them off guard - need more time for problem 4 to allow for more contemplation throughout the design
challenges REFLECTIONS - the site selection in problem 3 was poor - problem 3, in general, was relatively disconnected from the rest of the series - created a fi ssure in the semester - this problem needs to be much more tightly controlled as far as selection goes
Tectonics depends on the REFLECTIONS fundamental aspects of the world: gravity, the structure of the materials we use, and the ways in which we put these materials together. CARLES VALLHONRAT | TECTONICS CONSIDERED
REFLECTIONS DRAWINGS: A. NEAL
REFLECTIONS DRAWINGS: D. AMISI
REFLECTIONS DRAWINGS: B. MACANDER
REFLECTIONS DRAWINGS: Y. SUN
REFLECTIONS DRAWINGS: P. MCKISSACK
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