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    Simon Unwin Analysing Architecture 2009

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    alas pal Simon Unwin iM ~ analysing ARCHITECTURE ‘analysing ARCHITECTURE should become an essential part of all tural edueation and an infor rative guide to the powerful tical tool of architectural drawing,” Howard Ray Lawrence, Pennsylvania State University. mnalysing ARCHITECTURE offers « unique ‘notebook’ of architectural strategies to present an engaging introduction to elements and concepts in archi tectural design, Beautifully illustrated throughout with the author's original drasy- ings, examples from across architéctural history, from primitive places to late twwenticth-century structures, are used to illustrate a number of analytical themes and to show how drawing ean be used to study architecture, Simon Unwin clearly identifies the key elements of architecture and con- ceptual themes apparent in buildings. He deseribes ideas for use in the active process of design, Breaking down the grammar of architecture into themes and ‘moves’, Unwin exposes its underlying pattems to reveal the organisational strat- ‘egies that lie beneath the superficial appearances of buildings. Exploring buildings as results of the interaction of people with the world ‘around them, analysing ARCHITECTURE offers a definition of architecture as identification of place’, and provides a greater understanding of architecture as a creative discipline. This book presents a powerful impetus for readers to de- es for architectural design velop their own capa Simon Unwin is Lecturer in Architecture at The Welsh School of ‘Architecture, University of Wales, Cardiff analysing ARCHITECTURE Simon Unwin R London and New York rn CONTENTS Introduction ‘Acknowledgements. Architecture as Identification of Place Basic Elements of Architecture Modifying Elements of Architecture Elements Doing More Than One Thing Using Things That Are There Primitive Place Types Architecture as Making Frames ‘Temples and Cottages Geometry in Architecture Space and Structure Parallel Walls, Stratification Transition, Hierarchy, Heart Postscript Case Studies Fitzwilliam College Chapel ‘The Schminke House Merrist Wood The Vanna Venturi House The Woodland Chapel Select Bibliography and References Index " 13 19 25 37 43 53 5 85 99 128 139 149 157 163 169 175 183 187 193 197 203 TEMPLES Zny coTAGES i sab Ms EetcMgion ot, oe = Mino tm yamine Lot fad har me yumital pie That Bom be ttm ta Hn “Females! thede Tagefine. GEOMETRIC feavenicy | INTRODUCTION For some years I have used a notebook to analyse architecture through drawing. 1 find this exercise usefull as focus my t architect, and it helps to icing, My simple premis isthat one's capacity for ‘doing! ae tecture can be developed by studying the work of others. In this way one can discover some of the powers of The umes oF HeAvesS Shep by hidewen Ende, fm Teeth Maltess i866 | | 1 | cle diane architecture, and, by looking at how other architects have used them, see hhow they might be managed in one’s own design, For teaching Ihave organised my notebook findings into the beginnings ofa thematic framework, which can be used in analysing examples. ‘The fol- lowing chapters illustrate some of the themes that have emenged so far, They make observations on architecture as a creative discip 1, its elements, the conditions that affect it, and attitudes that may be adopted in doing it. The first chapter offers a work- ing definition of architecture, as iden- ification of place. sis put forward asthe primary concem of architecture, and as theme undempins everything that Follows, Realisation thatthe primi tive motivation of architecture is to identity (to recognise, amplify, ereate the identity of places has been the key thathas allowed access into the related areas explored in this book. A lorge part of the book deals with conceptual strategies used in d= sign. There are chapters which look at diferent ways of owanising space, and at the various roles of geometry in architecture, The poetic and philosophical potential of architecture is, I think, evident throughout If poctey is a condensation ofexperience of if, then architecture is poetic, essentially: But it ean be seen that some works of architecture do more: they seem Analysing Architecture ‘of meaning and significance that over- lays the immediate presentation of place, and which is to be interpreted, asa complement to sensual perception and experience, for appreciation by the intellect, The chapters deal with speci themes. These themes are like analyt cal filters’ or frames ofreference. Each, abstracts a particular aspect of the com= plexity of architecture ~ architecture ‘as making frames, primitive place types, temples and couages, stratifica- tion, geometry... Imall the chapters there is an in timate connection between the text, \which is explanatory, andthe drawings, \which have been the principle medium of analysis. Some of the drawings are diagrams of particular elements or ideas, but many are plans or sections of examples which illustrate the themes being discussed. ‘Some works have been sclected as appropriate examples in more than fone of the chapters, illustrating a dif ferent theme in cach. Any work of architecture may of course be cxam- ined through any or all of the filters, though this will not necessarily Produce interesting revelations in all instances. Towards the end of the book there are some ease studies which show how a fuller analysis of particular work can be achieved by examining it under a number of themes. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed, knowingly or unwittingly, to the prepa ration of this book, not least the mu- ‘merous student architects who have been subjected to various forms of teaching related to its development. Some of ther have said things, or done things in their designs, that have prompted thoughts which are included here, The sameis tre of my colleagues in architectural education, in particu- Jar those I work with week by week in the Welsh School of Architecture Some of the examples were suggested by Kieren Morgan, Colin Hockley, Rose Clements, John Carter, Claire Gibbons, Geoff Cheason and Jeremy Dain, Thave benefited from many dis- cussions with Charles MacCallum, Head of the Mackintosh School of Architecture in Glasgow, and from the encouragement of Patrick Hodgkinson, of the Bath School Tam also grateful to the Head of Department at the Welsh School, Richard Silverman; and to various Visitors to the school who have, un- knowingly, stimulated ideas which are included in the following pages Some of my colleagues in archi- tectural education have contributed to the evolution ofthis book by asserting things with which 1 found I could not agree. My attempts to determine why I did not agree have affected my think- ing greatly; s0, although I shall not name them, I mustalso thank my theo- retical antagonists as well as my friends. Some ideas have come from far afield, from friends and opponents | rarely or never see, but with whom 1 sometimes indulge in discussion across the Internet in particular, Howard Lawrence, together with other contributors to the ‘listserv" group ~ DESIGN-L@psivm psuedu. Thanks are due too to Gerallt Nash and Eurwyn Wiliam at the Museum of Welsh Life for kindly pro- viding me with a survey of the cottage Liainfadyn, on which the drawings at the beginning ofthe chapter Space and Structure are based 1am especially grateful to Dean Hawkes, Professor of Design at the ‘Welsh School, who was kind enough to read the material while in prepara- tion and who made a number of useful ‘comments ‘And finally, as always, one must thank those who are close and who put ‘up with having someone around who is writing a book. In my ease these long-suffering people are Gill, Mary, David and James. ‘Simon Unwin, Cardiff, December 1996 ARCHITECTURE AS IDENTIFICATION OF PLACE Onposie page: Children under a tree have, ‘in the most primitive way, made an architeciural decision by choosing ‘itasa place to sit. ARCHITECTURE AS IDENTIFICATION OF PLACE Before we can get on to looking at some of the conceptual strategies of architecture in detail, it is necessary to lay out some ground work with re~ gard to the nature of architecture, and its purpose, Before we ean get onto the ‘how?", we need to look briefly at the ‘what?’ and ‘why’; ie, ‘what is architecture’, and ‘Why do we do it?”. Itis probably fair to say that the ‘matters of the definition and the pur- pose of architecture have never been settled, These are issues about which there is a great deal of confusion and debate, which is strange considering that archit ture asa human activity is literally older than the pyramids. The question ‘What is one doing when one isdoing architecture appears simple, but itis not an easy one to answer. Various ways of framing an an- swverto this question seem to have con- tributed to the confusion; some of these relate to comparison of architecture with other forms of art Is architecture merely sculpture — the three-dimen- sional composition of forms in space? Is it the application of aesthetic con- siderations onto the form of buildings ~ the art of making buildings beaut ful? Is it the decoration of buildings? Is it the introduetion of poetic mean- ing into buildings? Is it the ordering of buildings aceording to some intel~ Teetual system — classicism, funetion- alism, post-modemism...2 ‘One might answer ‘yes’ to all these questions, but none seems to con- stitute the rudimentary explanation of architecture that we need. All of them scem to allude toa special characteris tic, oF a superstructural’ concern, but they all seem to miss a central point which one suspects should be more ob- vious. What is needed for the purposes of this book is a much more basic, and accessible, understanding of the nature of architecture, one that allows those who engage in it to know what they are doing Perhaps the broadest definition oF tecture is that which one often finds in dictionaries: ‘architecture is the design of buildings’. One cannot con- tradiet this definition, but it doesn’t help very much eithe tually diminishes one’s conception of wecture, by limiting it to ‘the de- sign of buildings’, Although it is not necessary to do 50, one tends to think ‘of ‘a building’ as an object (like a vase, ora cigarette lighter), and architecture involves rather more than the design of objects. (One more useful way of under standing architecture ean be gleaned, ironically, from the way the word is used in regard to other art forms, ina way it ace music in particular. In musicology the ‘architecture of asymphony canbe said to be the conceptual organisation of ts parts into a whole, its intellectual stric= ture. Its stange thatthe word israrely ‘used inthis sense with regard to arch tecture itself In this book this is the root nition of architecture that adopted, Here, the archi Analysing Architecture building, a group of buildings, ait, garden .. is considered t0 be its con- ‘ceptual organisation, is inflTectual “siructure. This isa definition of archi- tecture which is applicable toll kinds of examples, {rom simple rustic build- {ngs to formal urban settings. Though this isa useful way of un- derstanding architecture as an activity, in doesn’t address the question of pur- pose the ‘why" of architecture. This ‘appears to be another difficult *big™ an answer question, but again there atthe rudimentary level whi fal in establishing something of what ‘one is striving to achieve when one is doing archi In looking for this answer, ply suggesting that the purpose of architecture is ‘to design buildings’ is again an unsatisfactory dead end; partly because one suspects that archi tecture involves rather more than that, isuse- and parily because it merely transfers the problem of understanding from the word architecture onto the word build- ing. ‘The route toan answer lies in for- getting altogether, for the moment, bout the word building, and thinking about how architecture began in the distant primeval past. (Archacologi cal exactitude is not necessary in this, nor need we get embroiled in discus- sions about whether things were done beter in those days than in today’s more complex world.) Imagine a prehistoric famil ‘makingits way through landscape un- affected by human activity. They de- cide to stop, and as the evening draws 14 con they light a fire. By doing s0, suhether they intend to slay there pet= rmanently or just for one night, they have established aplace. The fireplace is for the time being the contre of their lives. As they go about the business of living they make more places, subsidi- ary tothe fire: a place to store fuck; a place 10 sit; a place to sleep; pethaps they surround these places witha fence; perhaps they shelter their steeping place with a canopy of leaves, From their choice of the site onwards they have begun the evolution of the house; they have begun to organise the world around them into places which they use for a variety of purposes. They have begun to do architecture, ‘The idea that identification of place lies at the generative core of architecture can be explored and illus- trated further. In doing this one can think of architecture, notas a language, ‘but as being in some ways like one. The architectural actions ofa prehistoric family making its yelling place can be replicated and updated in a beach camp. The fre is the focus, and also a place to cook. A windshield protects the fire from too much breeze, and as a wall begins fo give some privacy. There is a place where the fuel forthe fires kept, and the back of the car acts as a "food store. There are places to sit, and if one were to stay overnighi, one would need a bed. These are the basic ‘places’ ofa house; they come before walls and a roof Reference for Welsh farmhouses: Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales Glamorgan: Farmhouses and Conages, 1988. The inside of this Welsh farmhouse can be compared with the beach ‘camp on the previous page. The places of the beach camp have been transposed into a container which is the house itself Although such ‘images can feed our romantic ideas of the past, the architecture itself was, before it Became anything else, a product of life. Architecture as Placeis to architecture, it may be said, as meaning is to language. -arning to do architecture can seem to be like learning to use language. Like language architecture has its patterns and ar- Tangements, in different combinations and compositions as circumstances suggest. Significantly, architecture re- lates directly to the things we do; it changes and evolves as new, or reinter= preted, way of identifying places are invented or refined ethaps most important thinking of architecture a identificstion of place accommodates the idea that achites= ture is participated in by more than the, individual. In any one example (a building for instance) there will be ation of Place places proposed by the designer, and places created by adoption by the us- cers, (these may or may not match). Unlike a painting or a sculpture, which may be said to be the intellectual prop- erty of one mind, architecture depends upon contributions from many. The idea of architecture as identification of place asserts the indispensable part played in architecture by the user as well as the designer, and for the de- signer who will listen, it asserts that places proposed should aceord with places used, even if it takes time for this to happen, So called ‘traditional’ architec- ture is full of places which, through familiarity and use, accord well with users” perceptions and expectations. ‘The illustration on this page shows the interior ofa Welsh farmhouse (the up- per floor has been cut through to show some ofthe upstairsroom), The places that are evident can be compared di- rectly with those in the beach camp shown on the opposite page. ‘The fire remains the focus and a place to cook, though there is now also ‘an oven ~the small arched opening in the side wall ofthe fireplace, The ‘eup- board” to the left ofthe picture is actu ally a box-bed, There is another bed upstairs, positioned to enjoy the warm airrising from the fre, Under that bed there isa place for storing and curing meat, There isa settle to the right of the fire (and a mat for the ea). In this ‘example, unlike the beach camp, all ‘these places are aecommodated within ‘container—the walls and roof ofthe house as a whole (which itself, seen Analysing Architecture fiom the outside, becomes aplace iden- tifier ina different way). ‘Although nobody is shown in the drawing, every one of the places men- tioned is perceived in terms of how it relates to use, occupation, meaning, ‘One projects people, or oneself, into the room, under the blankets of the bed, cooking on the fire, chatting by he fi side... Such places are notabstractions suchas one finds in other arts; they are an enmeshed part of the real world, At its fundamental level architecture does not deal in abstractions, but with life asitis lived, and its fundamental power isto identify plac Conditions of architecture In trying to understand the pow- cers of architecture one must also be aware of the conditions within which they are employed. ‘Though its li and should perhaps always be under review, architecture is nota free art of is cannot be set, theming, Discounting forthe moment those architectural projects that are designed never to be realised, as com ‘ceptual or polemic statements, the processes of architecture are operated in (or on) a real world with real char- acteristies: gravity, the ground and the sty, solid and space, the progress of time, and so on. Also, architecture is operated by and for people, who have needs and esires, beliefS and aspirations; who have aesthetic sensibilities which are affected by warmth, touch, odour, sound, as wellas by visual stimuli do things, and whose activities have 16 practical requirements; who see mean- the world ing and significance around them. Such is no more than a reminder ‘of the simple and basie conditions un- der which we all ive, and withia which architecture must operate, ‘There are however other general themes that condition the operation of architecture Justas the languages of the world have their common character a vor cabulary, grammatical structures, et ~ sotoo does architecture have its ele- s, patterns, and structures (both physical and intellectual) Though not as open to flights of jon as other arts, architecture has fewer limits, Painting does not hhave to take gravity into aceount; mu- is solely aural, Architecture is how- the limits of a ever not constrained frame; nor is it confined to one sense. What is more, while music, painting and sculpture exist in a way fe, in_a transcendent separate from special zone, architecture incorporates life. People and their activities are an indispensable component of architec- ture, not merely as spectators to be ntertained, but as contributors and participants. Painters, sculptors, composers of ‘music, may complain about how theit viewers or audience never sce or hear their atin quite the same way asitwas conceived, or that itis ferpreted oF displayed in ways that affect its innate character, butthey do have control over the essence of their work; and that eS- seneeis, ina way, sealed hermetically ‘within the object: the musical score, the > Architecture as Identification of Place covers of a book, or the picture frame, different ways. And just as there are Buteven the essence of architecture is many religions and many political penetrated by the people whoseactivi- phi many divergent sophie, ther ties it accommodates, which can waysinwhicharchitecture isused. The change it, ‘organisation and disposition of places [Architecture has also been com- is so central and important to the ways pared with film-making ~ an art form in which people live that ithas through that incorporates people, place, and history become less and less a matter action through time. But even in film of lass faire, more and more subject thedirectorisincontrol of the essence to political control Of the art object through the control of People make places in whitch to plot, sets, camera angles, script, ete., do the things they do in their lives — which is not the ease in architeeture.] places to eat, to sleep, to shop, to Wor The conditions within which one ship, to argue, to learn, to store, and so ccan engage inarchitecture are therefore on and on. ‘The way in which people ‘complex, perhaps more sothan forany ong other artform, There are the physical belies and conditions imposed by the natural view. As world views vary, $0 does world and how it works: space and architecture: at the personal level; at solid, time, gravity, weather, light... the social and cultural level; and be- “There are also the more fickle political tween different sub-cultures within & conditions provided by the interactions society. of human beings individually and in w ir places is related to their aspirations, their world ich use of architecture pre- . vails in any situation is usually a mat- ‘Architecture is inescapably ator of power— politcal, financial, or political eld, in which there are no thatof assertion, argument, persuasion. incontrovertible rights and many argu- Launching design into conditions like fable wrongs, The world around can theses an adventure only to be under~ be conceptually organised in inf taken by the brave-hearted, BASIC ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE Opposite page: Places can be identified by a range of basic elements: defined areas of ‘f7ound, walls, platforms, columns, 00h, door. BASIC ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE Now that we have sorted out a Working definition of architecture and ‘ts fundamental purpose — concepiual organisation, and identification of Place ~ we can begin to look at the terials’ that are available to us in doing architecture. ‘These are not the physical mate- rials of building — bricks and mortar, lass, timber, etc. —but the conceptual elements of architecture, And they should be considered not as objects in themselves, but in the ways in which they contribute to the identification (or ‘making) of places. Le Yi; In physical terms the primary el- ements of architecture are the condi tions within which it operates (which have already been mentioned), Prin- th w ch to work. It eannot be thatthe following listis complete, but at the most basic level this palette des: A defined area of ground ee The definition of an arca of sround is fundamental to the identifi cation of many if not most types of plac bbe no more than a clear ing in the Forest, or it may be a pitch id out fora football game. Itmay be small, or it may stretch to the horizon Itneed not be rectangular in shape, nor need itbe level, Itneed nothave apre- cise boundary but may, at its edges, blend into the surroundings. cipally these include: the ground, rai ‘which isthe datum to which most prod- vets of architecture relate; the space above that surface, which is the me- dium that architecture moulds into places; gravity, light; and rime (few examples of architecture can be expe- rienced as whole allat one ime; proe= esses of discovery, approach, entry, eee ee relay involved). Within these conditions the archi- tect has a palette of conceptual materi- ‘A raised platform creates a level horizontal surface lifted above the natu- ral ground. It may be high or low. It ‘may be large —a stage or terrace; it may Analysing Architecture be medium-sized —a table or altar it “may be small astepa halt lowered area, or pit _ mountain, barrier A pitis formed by excavation of the ground’s surface, Itereatesa place ‘which is below the natural level ofthe ground. Itmay bea grave, ora trap, or -even provide space fora subterranean ‘house, Itmight bea sunken garden, or perhaps a swimming pool. [A baurier divides one place from another. Itcould be a wall; but it might also be a fence, or a hedge. It could even be a dyke or a moat, or just the psychological barrier of a fine on the A marker identifies a particular place in the most basic way. It does 80 “by occupying the spot and by stan out from the surroundings. Itmay bea tombstone, oF a flag on a golf course; “tmight be achurch steple, ora mul ‘The roof divides aplace from the storey office block, forces of the sky, sheltering it from sun ‘orrain, Ino doing, a roof also implies pete ceet A “The wad jew ihe Ltn for hes itecture itcan meanany — ¢ clement upon which eoneentation is 20. aes \ Basic Elements of Architecture Because of gravity a roof needs §§ ———————————-——_— Support. This could be provided by — walls, but it could be by... id look, and which allow passage of light and air, EY "poring posi, or columns istorically, a more recent basic Another is the suspension rod or =a place along which one moves; cable, which can support a platform or Which might be sight, or ace an roof but which also depends ltally imegular route across the ground sur-_upona structural support above face avoiding obstacles. A path might also be inclined: as ramp, a stair, or even a ladder. It é ¢ formally laid out, or mercly ined by use ~a line of wear across the countryside. 7 Basic elements such as these can .. doorways through which one may be combined to create rudimentary pass from one place to another, but architectural forms. Sometir which are also places intheir own right; combined elements have and windows through which one can — own, for example: Analysing Architecture [A bridge is 9 path, over a bar- tier, platform; it ean also bea roof. Barriers can be combined to form an enclosure, which defines an area by putting a wall around it ‘Walls and a roof ereate acell, de~ fining place separated from every- where else. KS And giving a roof the supporting columns it needs, creates an avdicule igh). These basic clements and rudi- mentary forms recur again and again inthe examplesin thisbook. They are sed in architecture ofalltimes and re- sions ofthe world. 2 “Anancient Greek temple consists fof some of these basic elements, used ina clearand direct way to identify the place of a god. The building stands on a plat- form, and consists of walls which de- fine acell, which is surrounded by col- tunns. The columns together with the walls ofthe cell support the roof. The cell is entered through adoorway, out side of whichisa small platform in the form ofan altar. Such a temple, often we st 2 Mi References for Greek AW, Lawrence = Gr 1957, zi Architecture, 1971. Nea References Jor Villa Mairea Richard Weston — Villa Mairea, in the Buildings in Desail series, 1992, Richard Weston ~ A/var Aalto, 1995. Basic Elements of Architecture sited on a hill, s a whole acts as a marker, whieh ean be seen from far away. Together, the platform, walls, columns, roof, altar, identify the place of the god, why represented by the carved statue within. More complex and subtle works of architecture are also composed of basic elements, This is the ground floor plan of the Villa Mairea, a house designed by the Finnish architects Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino, and built in 1939, Although itis mot drawn in three dimensions, you can see thatthe places ‘which constitute the houseare defined by the basic elements of wall, floor, roof, column, defined area, pit (the swimming pool), and soon. Some plac ~ the approach to the main en= trance (indicated by an arrow) for ex- ample, and the covered area between the main house and the sauna ~ are identified by roofs (shown as dotted lines) supported by slender columns. Some places are identified by pariou- Jar floor materials, timber, stone, grass, etc. Some places are divided by: low walls (not hatched), others by full- height walls (hatched), or by glass walls Architecture isnot just as knowing the basie elements. A large portion of its subtlety lies in how the are put together. In language, know- ing all the words in the dictionary ‘wouldn't necessarily make one a great_ tovellse difaving aigbedlvoet vale does however give greater ehoiee and accuracy when one wants to say some- g. In architecture knowing the ba- ‘sie elements is only the very firststep, bout knowing them cho ‘of how to give identity to places in ap- propriate ways. MODIFYING ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE re Spposite page: It is impossible to convey fully in drenwing, but the architecture of these Steps consists in more than just their visible form. They are in the Generalife, near the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The place shown in the drawing stimulates nearly all the senses: the deep greens of the leaves, the colours of the flowers and the Patterns of light and shade stimulate the sight, there isthe sound of ‘moving water in nearby fountains; thesmell of warm vegetation, and the perfume of oranges and bougain- Villaea; the variations in temperature between the hot sunny places and the cooler shady places; the cold water for bathing hands and feet; the textures of the cobbled pathways; and, if one were to pick one of the oranges, or a grape, the taste would contribute fo the place 100. MODIFYING ELEMENTS OF ARCHITECTURE ‘The basic elements of architec- ture as described in the previous chap- terare abstract ideas. (Thatis why they were illustrated in such a sparse way.) ‘When, by being built, they are given Physical form, various additional fac- tors come into play, Jn their physical realisation and ‘our actual experience of them, basic elements and the places they identify are modified: by light, by colour, by sounds, by temperature, by air move- ‘ments, by smells (and even possibly by tastes), by the qualities and textures of the materials used, by use, by scale, by the effects and experience of time... Such modifying forces are part of the conditions of architecture; they can also be elements in the identifica- tion of place. ‘The possible configurations of basic and modifying elements are prob- ably infinite, The inside of a cell might be dark, or bright; it might muffle “sound, or have an echo; it might be ‘warm, or cool; it might be dank, or fresh; it might smell of expensive per= fume, or of stale sweat, of fruit, or of fresh cooking. A pavement may be rough, or as smooth and slippery as ice. An enclosure (a garden) might be sunny, or shady, A platform (a seat) might be as hard as stone or metal, oF soft, padded with foam or feathers. An aedicule may be sheltered from wind, ‘or be exposed and breezy. And so on, ‘As abstract ideas, basic elements are subject to complete control by the designing mind; modifying elements may be less compliant. One might decide om the precise shape and pro= Portions of a cof, acell, or an aed- Jeu, but the matter of how it sounds, orislit,orsmells, orchanges with time, is a more subtle iss Control over modifying elements is acontinuing and evolving battle. For example: in pri tive times, light would have been that provided by the sky, and not subject to control; now there is electric light which can be controlled precisely. In the distant past, materials for building, \whether stone or timber, were rough hewns now their textures and qualities can be finely controlled. ‘Though use of the basic elements may be the primary way in which a de- signing mind conceptually organises space into places, modifying elements contribute a great deal to the experi- cence of those places. /- 5 Light First amongst the modifying cle- ments of architecture is light. Light is a condition of archi- twoture, but it can also be used as an ‘element. Light from the sky is the per- vasive medium through which sight- ed people experience the products of architecture; but light, both natural and artificial, can be manipulated by design to identify particular places and to give places particular character, ~Ifone is thinking of architecture as sculpture it is by light that iti modelling appreciated. If one is thinking of architecture as_ St SI identification of place, then one is ‘ava that there canbe fight places and dark places, places wih a sof ev sight an places wit he strong bri ness and sharp shadows of sunlight places where the Tight i anstantly bu subtly changing; paces, suchas thea ot contrast between igh (the staze— the place of te ation) and dark (the aui- the place of the audience) Light can be related 10 the activ ity ima place. Different kinds of fight an be appropriate for different kinds of activity. A jeweller athis workbench reeds sirong light over a particular | sei Anant fi rst needa con: stant and even light by which to paint: Children in schoo! need good general lighting for work and play.In alli stances light contributes tothe iden | Analysing Architecture | 101 Fenton ofp | | Light changes and can be altered. | Light from the sky varies through the | eyeles of night and day, and during | ifferent times of the year; sometimes. | itis shaded or defused by clouds. The variations can be stimulating. aking places, Its qualities can be Daylight can be exploited in _eanged by the ways in wish 18 Some old-houses have, broad chimney stcks. Ofen tothe sky they allow adi tligious ight to illum nate the hearth (when there is no fire), Le Corbusier used a similar ef feet inthe side chapels of Notre-Dame du Haut ot Ronchamp. Using tight “seoops’heidemified the places ofthe side altars with daylight softened by itsrefetion off white rougheast walls, a Ly he way tigi is cited _-side chapels at ve “in effect 0 that of light filte In this villain Sweden, Ralph Erskine used a roof-light 10 identify the place ofa small winter garden at the heart ofthe house. A spotlight can identify the place of anything upon which one wishes to focus attention, Modifying Elements of The same sort of effect is used in this crematorium at Boras, Sweden, by Harald Ericson. It was built in 1957, three years after the Ronchamp chapel, The drawing shows its long section Inthe same year, Ralph Erskine Used a roof-light cum light scoop to identify the place ofa small winter gar- den in the middle of a single-storey Villa which he built at Storvik, also in Sweden. Light from an electric bulb is ‘more constant and controllable than daylight: it can be switched on and off, or precisely varied in intensity, colour and direction. One of the most intense uses of electric lighting is in the thea- tre; but any place can be considered as a ‘theatre’ and lit accordingly, A spotlight can identify the place of an actor, a singer, a painting, an ob- ject .. anything on which attention is to be focused, Architecture Beams of light ean also work in the opposite way, drawiigattention to their source t ee a ee | hi al hae ua ee In identifying places through architecture, light — both the varying light from the sky, and the precisely Controllable light from electric bulbs ~ can contribute in many ways. ‘The way in whieh light contrib- Lutes to the identification of place is part of architecture, Decisions about light play their partin the conceptual organi- Ml ih sation of space, and affect the ways in which basic elements of architecture are used, Light contributes to the ambience ‘of place. One is likely to make the quality of light in a place of contem- plation or worship different from that ina place for playing basketball or one for performing a surgical operation, Without changing the physical form of a place its character can be radi- cally altered by changing the way which it is lit, Think of the dramatic change in the appearance ofa friends face when you hold a flashlight under his orherchin, The same changes can ‘occur in a room when itis lit in differ- ent ways, at different intensities, and from different directions. A room’s character changes radically when, in the evening, the electric lights are pput on and the curtains are drawn; the fading dusk light is replaced with a fistysingrarchisectare constant brightness. WE are perhaps fo familias with this event that we do not recognise its drama. “The device of reversing the light mas im a theatre, when the ing cor house fights go out and the stage lights ‘come on, is an important ingredient in the magic of theatre Light can make the fabric of + building seem to demateralise, A well iit, completely smooth, surface (of a ‘wall, ora dome, forexample), of which ‘one perhaps cannot see the edges, can ‘appearto lose its substance and become like air. The absence of light can have ‘similar effect. The surfaces in the distant recesses of the interior of a goth church can seem to disappear in the gloom, ‘There are places where light is constant, and places where light changes. In some buildings (hyper- ‘markets or shopping malls for exam- pile) electric bulbs supply light which is exactly the same all the time, at 9.30 ‘ona winter evening, and at 12.noon on a summer day. Making a clearing in a forest is anarchitectural act. Itremoves the ob- struction of tree trunks, but it also ‘changes general shade into’ place with bright light from the sky. The removal of obstruction means that the place be- | comesa ‘dancing floor’ of light accentuates the ple lows it to be a garden rather than a forest Erecting a roof under desert sun creates a patch of shade, The creation ofa place of shade is essential to the architecture of a Bedouin tent. | 28 ‘A roof, which might in some eli sates be considered primarily aspro- |<” cg also a shade,

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