Building Structures Flashcards
Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria), Egypt by Snohetta
eg. of Rectangular grid within a circular form
Circular plan because they represent a “continuous and infinite capacity of learning and knowledge”
ESO (European Southern Observatory) Hotel, Chile by Auer + Weber Associates
eg. of Circular plan (circular courtyard) linked by a terrace to the linear block of accommodations.
Palmach Museum of History, Israel, by Rafi Segal
eg.this illustrates several ways in which
contrasting orientations can be accommodated within a single composition. Consist of three parts, two of which are skewed to preserve an existing cluster of trees and rocks and define an irregularly shaped courtyard.
Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Arts, Ohio, by Zaha Hadid
eg. It is based on a regular rectilineear grid but the coluns have the shape of parallelograms to reflect the skewed geometry of the full-height, skylit atrium space housing the vertical system of stairways.
Valley Centery House, California b Daly Genic Architects
The Valley Center house uses the main living rooms as a transitional structure that rises above to visually link the contrasting orientations of two wings.
Kunsthaus, Austria by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier
A response to an irregular site and the required fire-separation distance from existing adjacent buildings. It appears to float above the geometry of the structural grid that supports it.
Seinajoki Library, Finland by Alvar Aalto
The significance of the main reading room of the
Seinajoki Library is expressed in both plan and
section by its fan-like shape, which is anchored at
the circulation desk to the rectilinear geometry of
the offices and support spaces.
Rule of Thumb:
How to determine Beam Depth and Width
Depth = Span/16
Width = Depth/3 or Depth/2
Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Japan by Kenzo Tange
The dramatic sweep of the tensile roof structure of the
Yoyogi National Gymnasium is created by prestressed
cables suspended from two larger steel cables, which
in turn are supported between two structural towers.
From this central spine, the roof cables drape down
and are anchored to curvilinear concrete bases. The
plan view, however, shows the regularity of the cable
spacing.
Des Moines Public Library, by David Chipperfield Architects
The angular, multifaceted nature of the Des Moines
Public Library building belies the regularity of the
structural grid of columns on the interior. Note how
secondary columns define the boundaries of the
building facades.
Can Lis, Porto Petro, Majorca, 1971, Jørn Utzon
Can Lis, perched high on the
edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, appears to be a loose collection of small, vernacular
buildings linked by a circulation spine. The individual nature of the forms or spaces allows each to be
oriented independently of each other.
EOS Housing, Helsingborg, Sweden, 2002, Anders Wilhelmson
- The EOS Housing project, on the other hand, is a terrace housing
scheme. The sinuous, continuous forms are generated by the radial geometry of the party walls that separate the individual housing units.*
One Jackson Square, New York, New York, 2009, Kohn Pedersen Fox
These two examples show how curvilinear curtain walls
can be created. The irregular, site-assembled curtain
wall panels of One Jackson Square are attached to the
curvilinear perimeter of the overhanging concrete slabs.
The slab edges had to be formed precisely so that the
mullion joints of the curtain wall system would align
properly. In a few of the units containing double-height
spaces, a large beam replaced the slab edge as a means
of support for the curtain wall.
Willis, Faber & Dumas Headquarters, Ipswich, England, 1971–1975, Norman Foster/Foster + Partners
The central portion of Willis, Faber & Dumas Headquarters
consists of a square grid of concrete columns spaced at
46-foot (14-m) centers while perimeter columns are set
back from the curvilinear slab edges. Dark, solar-tinted
glass panes are connected by corner patch fittings and
silicone-jointed to form a three-story-high curtain wall,
which is suspended from a perimeter edge beam at the
roof level. Glass fins provide lateral bracing
Tholos of Polycleitos, Epidauros, Greece, 350BC
Point Elements
Baptistery at Pisa, Italy, Dioti Salvi
Point elements
Cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton, Etienne-Louis Boule, 1784
point elements
Mont S. Michel, France, 13C
Point Elements
Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome, Michelangelo, 1544
point elements
Torii, Ise Shrine, Mie Prefecture, Japan, 690AD
Two points
The Mall, Washington DC,
Two Points
Bell Twoer, Church at Vuoksenniska, Finland, Alvar Aalto
Linear elements
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus
Linear Elements
Caryatid Porch, The Erectheion, Athens, Mnesicles
Linear Elements
Salginatobel Bridge. Switzerland, Robert Maillart.
Linear elements
Katsura Palace, Kyoto, Japan, 17th century
Linear Elements
Villa Aldobrandini, Italy, Giacomo Della Porta
Linear Elements
House 10, 1966, John Hejduk
Linear Elements
Cornell University undergraduate Housing, Ithaca, New York, Richard Meier
Linear elements
Town Hall, Saynatsalo, Finland, Alvar Aalto
Linear elements
Crown Hall, School of Architecture and Urban Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Mies van Der Rohe
Linear Elements
Seagram Building, New York City, Mies Van de Rohe and Philip Johnson
Linear elements
Altes Museum, Berlin, Karl Friedrich son Schinkel
Linear elements defining planes
see plan
The Basilica, Vicenza, Italy
Linear elements defining planes
see plan
Stoa of Attalos
Linear elements defining planes
Cloister of Moissac Abbey, France, c1100
linear elements defining planes
St Philibert, Tournus, France
Linear elements defining planes
Temple of Athena Polias, Prience, Pythius
Linear elements defining planes
Cary House, Mill Valley, California, Joseph Esherick
Linear lements defining planes
Trellised Courtyard, Georgia O’keefe Residence
linear elements defining planes
Solarium Condominium Unit 1, Sea Ranch, California, 1966, MLTW
linear elements defning planes
Scala de Spagna (Spanish Steps), Rome
Planar Elements
Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Der el-Bahari, Thebes, Senmut
planar elements
Machu Picchu, Incan City, Andes Mountain
Planar elements
Sitting Area, Lawrence House, Sea Ranch, California, MLTW/Moore-Turnbull
planar elements
Emperor’s Seat, Imperial Palace, Kyoto, japan
Planar elements
see interior
Bacardi Office Building, Santiago de Cuba, Mies Van Der Rohe
planar elements
S. Maria Novella, Florence, Alberti
Planar elements
Uffizi Palace, Giorgio Vasari
planar elements
Piazza of San Marco, Venice
Planar elements
Peyrissac Residence, Cherchell, North Africa, Le Corbusier
Planar elements
Country House in Brick, Project, Mies Van Der Rohe
Planar elements
Concert Hall, Project, Mies van der Rohe
planar elements
Hangar, Design I, 1935, Pier Luigi Nervi
planar elements
Brick House, New Canaan, Connecticut, Philip Johnson.
planar elemenets
Church at Vuoksenniska, Finland, Alvar Aalto
planar elements
Robie House, Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright
Planar elements
Shodhan House, Ahmedabad, India, Le Corbusier
planar elements
Kaufmann House (Falling Water), Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Frank Lloyd Wright
planar elements
Schroder House, Utrecht, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld
Planar elements
Notre Dame Du Haut, Ronchamp, France, Le Corbusier
Volume
Doric Temple at Segesta, Sicily
volumetric elements
Villa Garches, Vaucresson, France, Le Corbusier
volumetric elements
Piazza Maggiore, Sabbioneta, Italy
volumetric elements
Palazzo Thiene, Vicenza, Italy, Andrea Palladio
volumetric elements
Buddhist Chaitya Hall at Karli, Maharashtra, India,
volumetric elements
“Architectural form is the point of contact between mass and space… Architectural forms, textures, materials, modulation of light and shade, color, all combine to inject a quality or spirit that articulates space. The quality of the architecture will be determined by the skill of the designer in using and relating these elements, both in the interior spaces and in the spaces around buildings.”
Edmund Bacon
The Design of Cities, 1974
Central Pavilion, Horyu-Ji Temple, Nara, japan, AD607
Shape
bust of queen nefertiti
Shape
The pattern of the eye moevement of a person viewing the figure. from research by Alfed Yarbus of the institute for problems of information Transmission in Moscow.
Villa Garches, Vaucresson, France, Le Corbusier
Shape
This architectural composition illustrates the interplay between the shapes of planar solids and voids. (see page 37
Suleymaniye Mosque, Constantinople (Istanbul), Sinan
Shape
Roman Theater according to Vitruvius
Circle - The circle is a centralized figure that is normally stable and self-centering in its environment. Placing a circle in the center of a field reinforces its inherent centrality. Associating it with straight or angular forms or placing an element along its circumference, however, can induce in the circle an apparent rotary motion.
Plan of the Ideal City of Sforzinda, Antonio Filarete
Plan of the Ideal City of Sforzinda, Antonio Filarete
Circle
Modern Art Museum. Caracas, Venezuela, Oscar Niemeyer
Triangle
Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, Egypt c2500bc
Triangle
Bathhouse, Jewish Community Center, Trenton, New Jersey, Louis Kahn
Square
Agora of Ephesus, Asia Minor
Square
Maupertius, Project for an Agricultural Lodge, Claude-Nicolas Leduox, 1775
Primary Solids
Chapel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Eero Saarinen and Associates
Primary Solids
Project for a Conical Cenotaph, Etienne-Louis Boulee, 1784
Primary Solids
Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mykerinos at Giza, Egypt, 2500BC
Primary Solids
Hanselmann House, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Michael Graves. 1967
Philharmonic Hall, Berlin, Hans Scharoun. 1956-63
Irregular Forms
Katsura Palace, Kyoto, Japan,
Irregular Composition of Regular Forms
Mosque of Sultan Hassan, Cairo, Egypt
Regular Forms withinan ireggular composition
Coonley playhouse, Riverside, Illinois, Frank Lloyd Wright. 1912
Regular Composition of Regular Forms
Courtyard House Project, Mies Van Der Rohe
Irregular forms within a regular field
Unite d’habitation, Firminy-Vert, France. Le Corbusier
Transformation of Form
Gwathmey Residence, Amagensett, New York, Charles Gwathmey + Gwathmey Siegel
Transformation of Form
II Redentore, Venice, Andrea Palladio
Transformation of Form
Plan of an Elliptical Church, Pensiero Della Chiessa S. Carlo, Project, Francesco Borromini
Dimensional Transformation
St. Pierre, Firminy-Vert, France, Le Corbusier. 1965
Dimensional Transformation
Project for Yahara Boat Club, Madiso, Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright. 1902
Dimensional Transformation
Gorman Residence, Amagansett, New York, Julian and Barbara Neski
Subtrative Form
House at Stabio, Switzerland, Mario Botta
Subtractive Form
Gwathmey Residence, Amagensett, New York, Charles Gwathmey + Gwathmey Siegel
Subtractive Form
Shodhan House, Ahmedabad, India, Le Corbusier
Subtractive Form
Benacerraf House Addition, Princeton, New Jersey, Michael Graves
Subtrative Form
La Roche-Jeanneret Houses, Paris, Le Corbusier
Cumulative Compostion
- Additive form
- a rather easy type
- picturesque, full of movement
- can be completely disciplined by classification and hierarchy
Villa at Garches, Le Corbusier
Cubic Compostion
- Very difficult to satisfy the spirit
House at Stuttgart, Le Corbusier
Subtractive and Additive Forms
Very easy,
Comvenient Combining
House at Poissy, Le Corbusier
Subtractive Form
Very generous
- on the exterior an architectural will is confirmed
- on the interior all functional needs are satisfied (light penetration, continuity, circulation)
S. Maria Della Salute, Venice, Baldassare Longhena
Centralized Form
Beth Sholom Synagogue, Elkins park, Pennsylvania, Frank Lloyd Wright. 1959
Centralized Form
Tempietto, S. Pietro in Montorio, Rome, Donato Bramante
Centralized Form
Centralized forms require the visual dominance of a geometrically regular, centrally located form, such as a sphere, cone, or cylinder. Because of their inherent centrality, theses forms share the self-centering properties of the point and circle.
Yume-Dono, Eastern Precinct of Horyu-Ji Temple, nara, Japan
Centralized Form
Runcorn New Town Housing, England, James Sterling, 1967
linear Form, Linear Growth through the repitition of Forms
Burroughs Adding Machine Company, Plymouth, Michigan, 1904, Albert Kahn
li9near Form
Linear form expressing procession or movement
Agora of Assos, Asia Minor, 2nd Century BC
Linear Forms Fronting on or Defining Exterior Space
Henry Babson House, Riverside, Illinois, 1907, Louis Sullivan
Linear Form
The Mile-high Illinois, Skyscraper Project, Chicago, Illinois, 1956, Frank Lloyd Wright
linear Form
Secretariat Building, UNESCO Headquarters, Place de Fontenoy, Paris, 1953 - 1958, Marcel Breuer
The orgnization of radial form can best be seen and understood from an aerial viewpoint. When viwed from ground level, its central core element may not be clearly visible and the radiating pattern of its linear arms may be obscured or distorted through perspective foreshortening.
Skyscraper by the Sea, Project for Algiers, 1938, Le Corbusier
Vacation House, Sea Ranch, California, 1968, MLTW
Clustered Form, A cluster of forms attached toa parent form
GN Black House (Kragsyde), Manchester-by-the Sea, Massachusetts, 1882, Peabody and Stearns
A cluster of interlocking forms, Clustered Forms
Trulli Village, Italy
Clustered Forms
Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, 13th Century
Clustered Form
Numerous examples of clustered housing forms can be found in the vernacular architecture of carious cultures. Even though each culture produced a unique style in response to differing technical, climatic and sociocultural factors, these clustered housing organizations usually maintained the individuality of each unit and a moderate degree of diversity within the context of an ordered whole.
Centraal Beheer Office Building, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, 1972, Herman Hertzberger with Lucas and Niemeyer
Clustered Form
Vernacular examples of clustered forms can be readily transformed into modular, geometrically ordered compositions which are related to grid organizations of form.
Habitat Montreal, 1967, Moshe Safdie
Clustered Form
Nakagin Capsule Building, Japan, 1972, Kisho Kurokawa
Grid Form
Hattenbach Residence, California, USA, 1971, Raymond Kappe
Grid Form
Chancellery Building, French Embassy, Brasillia, 1964, Le Corbusier
Circle and Square
Plan for an Ideal City, 1615, Vincenzo Scamozzi
Circle and Square
A circular form can be freestanding it its context to express its idead shape and still incorporate a more functional, retilinear geometry within its boundaries.
The Island Villa (Teatro marittimo), Hadrian’s Villa, Italy, AD 125
Circla and Square
The centrality of a circular form enables it to act as a hub and unify forms of contrasting geometry or orientation about itself.
Museum for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 1975, James Stirling
Circular And Square
Pearl Mosque, within the Red Forman imperial palace at Agra, India, 1658, Aurangzeb
Rotated Grid
The interior space of this mosque is oriented exactly with the cardinal points while its exterior conforms to the existing layout of the front.
St. Mark’s Tower, New York City, 1929, Frank Lloyd Wright
Rotated Grid
Taliesin West, Arizona, USA, 1938, Frank Lloyd Wright
A diagram of Architecture
Everson Museum, New York, 1968, IM Pei
Corners
The unadorned corners of the forms emphasize the volume of thier forms.
Corner Detail, Izumo Shrine, Japan
The timber joinery articulates the individuality of the members meeting at the corner.
Corner Detail, Commonwealth Promenade Apartments, Chicago, Mies Van Der Rohe
The corner member is recessed to be independent of the adjoining wall planes.
Einstein Tower, Germany, 1919, Erich Mendelsohn
Corners
Rounded Corners express continuity of surface, compactness of volume and softness of form.
Laboratory Tower, Johnson Wax Building, Wisconsin, 1950, FLW
Corners
Rounded Corners express continuity of surface, compactness of volume, and softness of form.
Kaufmann Desert House, California, 1946, Richard Neutra
Corners
openings at corners emphasize the definition of planes over volume.
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Italy, 1460, Michelozzi
Surface Articulation
The color, texture., and pattern of surfaces articulate the existence of planes and influence the visual weight of a form.
Hoffman House, New York, 1966, Richard Meier
Surface Articulation
The color, texture., and pattern of surfaces articulate the existence of planes and influence the visual weight of a form.
John Deere and Company Building, Illinois, 1961, Eero Saarinen
Surface articulation
The linear sun shading accentuate the horizontality of the building form.
CBS Building, New York, Eero Saarinen. 1962
Surface articulation
Linear columnar elements emphasize the verticality of this high rise structure/
IBM Research Center, France, 1960, Marcel Breuer
Surface Articulation
The three dimensional form of the openings creates a texture of light, shade, and shadows.
First Unitarian Church, New York, 1956, Louis Kahn
Surface Articulation
The pattern of openings and cavities interrupt the continuity of the exterior wall panes.
Theater in Seinajoki, FInland, 1968, Alvar Aalto
At the scale of a building, we tend to read the configurations of walls as the positive elements of a plan. The white space inbetween, however, should not be seen simply as background for the walls, but also as figures in the drawing that have shape and form.
The form and enclosure of each space in a building either determines, or is determined by, the form of the spaces around it. In the Theater in Seinajoki by Alvar aalto, for example, we can distinguish several categories of spatial forms and analyze how they interact. Each category has an active or passive role in defining space.
A. Some spaces, such as offices, have specific but similar functions and can be grouped into single, linear or clustered forms.
Square in Giron, Colombia
Form defining space
When we place a two-demensional figure on a piece of paper, it influences the shape of the white space around it. In a similar manner, any three dimensional form naturally articulates the volume of space surrounding it and generates a field of influence or territory which it claims as its own. The following section of this chapter looks at horizontal and vertical elements of form and presents examples of how various configurations of these formal elements generate and define specific types of space.
Fatehpur Sikri, Palace, Complex of Akbar the Great, Mughal Emperor of India, 1569
Elevated Base Plane
A special place is established by a platform in an artificial lake surrounded by the emperor’s living and sleeping quarters.
Pavilion of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian) in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, 1627
Elevated Base plane
Elevating a portion of the ground plane establishes a platform or podium that structurally and visually supported the form and mass of a building. The elevated ground plane can be a preexisting site condition, orr it can be artificially constructed to deliberately raise a building above the surrounding context or enhance its image in the landscape.
Farnsworth House, Illinois, 1950, Mies van der Rohe
Elevated Base Plane
An elevated plane can define a transitional space between the interior of a building and the outdoor environment. Combined with a roof plane, it develops into the semiprivated realm of a porch or veranda.
The Farnsworth house was constructed to rise above the flood plain of the Fox River. This elevated floor plane, together with an overhead roof plane, defines a volume of space that hovers delicately above the surface of its site.
High Altar in the Chapel at the Cistercian Monastery of La Tourette, France, 1956, Le Corbusier
Elevated Base plane
A section of the floor plane can be elevated to establish a singular zone of space within a larger room or hall. This raised space can serve as a retreat from the activity around it or be a platform for viewing the surrounding space. Within a religious structure, it can demarcate a sacred, holy or consecrated place.
East Harlem Preschool, New York, 1970, Hammel, Green and Abrahamson
Elevated Base Plane
A section of the floor plane can be elevated to establish a singular zone of space within a larger room or hall. This raised space can serve as a retreat from the activity around it or be a platform for viewing the surrounding space. Within a religious structure, it can demarcate a sacred, holy or consecrated place.
Theater at Epidaurus, Greece, 350 BC, Polykleitos
Depressed Base Plane
Depressed areas in the topography of a site can serve as stages for outdoor arenas and amphitheaters. The natural change in level benefits both the sightlines and the acoustical quality of these spaces.
Lower Plaza, Rockefeller Center, New York, 1930, Wallace Harrison, and Max Abramovitz
Depressed Base plane
Rockefeller center’s lower plaza, an outdoor cafe in the summertime and a skating rink in the winter, can be viewed from the upper plaza while shops open onto it at the lover level.
Underground Village near luoyang, China
Depressed base plane
The ground plane can be lowered to define shelterred outdoor spaces for underground buildings. A sunken courtyard, while protected from surface level wind and noise by the mass surrounding it, remains a source of air, light and views for the underground spaces opening onto it.
Palafolls Public Library, Spain, 2009, EMBT
Building as Landscape
Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Art Museum, Washington, 2008, Manfredi Architecture
Library, Wolfsburh Cultural Center, Germany, Alvar Aalto
Library in Rovanleml, Finland, 1965, Alvar Aalto
House on the Massachusetts Coast, 1948, Hugh Stubbins
National Garden Show, Germany, 19957, Frei Otto and Peter Stromeyer
Totsuka Country Club, Japan, Kenzo Tange, 1960
Overhead plane
Hale County Animal Shelter, Alabama, 2008, Rural Studio
Imagination Art Pavalion, Netherlands, 2000, Rene van Zuuk
Glass House, Connecticut, 1949, Philip Johnson
Centre Le Corbusier, Zurich, 1963, Le Corbusier
Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia, 1920, Henri Maclaine Pont
Cistercian Monastery of La Tourette, France, 1956, Le Corbusier
Parish Center, Germany, 1960, Alvar Aalto
Bibliotheque Nationale, 1788, Etienne Louis Boullee
Overhead Plane
Piazza Del Campo, Italy
Shokin-Tei Pavillion, Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto, Japan
Piazza of St. Peter, Rome, Italy, 1655, Giovanni Bernini
Taj Mahal, Tomb of Muntaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan, India, 1630
Tetrastyle atrium, House of the Silver Wedding, Pompeii,
2nd century B.C.
Palazzo Antonini, Udine, Italy, 1556,
Andrea Palladio
Condominium Unit No. 5, Sea Ranch, California, 1966, MLTW
Cloister and Salle des Chevaliers,
Mont St. Michel, France, 1203–1228
Dom-ino House Project, 1914, Le Corbusier
St. Agostino, Rome, 1479–1483, Giacomo da Pietrasanta
Arch of Septimius Severus, Rome, A.D. 203
German Pavilion (Barcelona Pavilion) at the International Exposition of 1929, Barcelona, Mies van der Rohe
