Reading Response 9: Classic Forms Made Modern

St Paul's Cathedral:London

Old St Paul's Cathedral~Gothic

The current St Paul's Cathedral in London was designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in London, 1666. Wren was tasked to design a protestant cathedral that would rival St Peters in Rome, on the site of the Old St Paul's Cathedral. The area around St Paul's was developed and populated which meant that the English model of church building was inadequate and great care would need to be used while the building was under construction.

Bird's eye view of St Paul's Cathedral

Bird's Eye~Development around Cathedral

Wren's original design for St Paul's was unlike anything built in England to that point but he faced strict opposition to his design from the bishops in the church. They wanted the Cathedral to be built in the Gothic style that it had been before but Wren wanted to employ the latest design and technology from Europe. An agreement was reached between Wren and the clergy; the cathedral became a Latin Cross plan and the church agreed to a "modern exterior but insisted on a Medieval-style section, with low side aisles and a tall nave (Ching 570)."

Front Facade of St Paul's Cathedral~2nd Story

Using neo-classic styles, Wren designed St Paul's with precision and care. To visually balance the enormity of the dome, Wren designed a false second story. The second story gives visual mass to the structure of the building, maintaining proportion between the dome and the structure. The facade of the cathedral bares neo-classical motifs in a modern way for 18th century England. Wren paired a series of Corinthian columns on both stories, emulating Bernini's use of columns at the Louvre in Paris. Additionally, Wren borrowed aspects of Mansart's dome at Invalides by dividing it into three courses. It is interesting to note that the towers on either side of the front facade were an addition, by Wren, when the cathedral was close to completion.

St Paul's dome in section

The dome rests on a course of buttresses that appear to be columns. There is a conical shaft between the interior and exterior walls of the dome that allows light from various angles to shine through the occulus. The light enters the shaft via eight light wells in the exterior wall of the dome. 

Cornice over the main entrance of St Paul's Cathedral

The interior is well lighted, considering its massive size; a great deal of light comes in through the dome. The ornamentation and decor in the cathedral is grand and rich but not overstated, as we see in examples of French Baroque.

Interior view~from south side looking toward altar

Looking directly into dome

Looking east toward the altar and choir

The building of St Paul's Cathedral was funded by a tax levied on sea coal. During this time in history, we witness buildings commissioned and funded by the government instead of wealthy, private patrons.

The dome of St Paul's from the east side of the Thames~Millennium Bridge

The dome as an architectural feature was not new in the design and building of St Paul's Cathedral, nor is it today. But as with St Paul's, the form is used, even today, and given modern twists as technologies change. The dome can still be found in contemporary structures throughout the world and conveys that we look to the past for ideas and ways to discuss our culture through architecture while always seeking innovative ways to create the "ideal."

Modern dome made from cable and canvas

Modern dome in mosque

 Modern dome on stadium

Photo Credits:

http://www.a-london-tourist-guide.com/st-pauls-cathedral-london.html

http://www.aeroengland.co.uk/londonaerial.html

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/london-st-pauls-cathedral

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/st-pauls-cathedral-pictures/slides/plan-dome-ca.htm

http://www.best-london-attractions.co.uk/st-pauls-cathedral-london.html

http://www.e-architect.co.uk/london/st_pauls_cathedral_building.htm

http://www.architectoo.com/architecture/dome-design-colors-on-mosque-building/attachment/dome-structure-building/

http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/todays-news/threatened-pittsburgh.html

http://hoogrrl2.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html

Reading Response 8:French Flair

The Palace of Versailles

The Baroque period marked the change of rules in art and architecture from those of the Renaissance by using massive scale, elaborate decorations, "taming" the landscape, and by transforming surfaces, space, and form into grandiose theatricality. The Palace of Versailles may be the best example of the French Baroque, with the sprawling chateau and extensive, elaborately controlled gardens that not only contain vegetation, but also feature statuary and water features as theater.

fountain~gardens~reflecting pool

fountain at night~reflective light

"room" in the garden

The gardens and parks of Versailles are so strictly designed that they become extensions of the architecture of the palace. Each space carved out of the parks and gardens is treated similarly to an interior room. Like the palace, the grounds are laid out on an east/west axis that indicates the path of the sun. The reiteration of the sun's path helps to enforce Louis IVX's persona as the Sun King. The layout and containment of the gardens is meant to display his power and control over nature.

intricately patterned gardens confined to their borders

The Palace of Versailles exemplifies the Baroque ideal of "spare no expense" in the opulence of the decoration of the interior. One of the best known spaces within the palace is the Hall of Mirrors. The Hall of Mirrors is flanked by the Salon of War and the Salon of Peace. At the time of its design and construction, full length mirrors were rare and very costly, but the hall in Versailles is covered with them.

notice the floor-to-ceiling mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors reflects the gardens of Versailles, but more importantly reflects the sun, which further reinforces the theme of the Sun King. Additionally, enormous chandeliers with crystal prisms and the reflective gilt used in the room all coordinate the process of reflection.

sunlight pours into the hall

crystal chandelier~gilt work~elaborate ceiling painting

The opulence in and around the Palace of Versailles reinforce the ideas of the wealth and power of the French monarchy.

...Baroque done with French flair...

Photo sources:

http://palace-of-versailles.landmarkss.co.uk/palace-of-versailles-architecture

http://www.fotografiamag.com/2010/04/palace-of-versailles-garden/

http://www.fotopedia.com/items/gary91-PI_TDgcNfjM

http://thefrenchprovincialfurniture.com/the-interior-french-furniture-of-versailles

http://www.tenorama.com/fr/node/34

http://www.dudziak.com/picture.php/hall_of_mirrors3419

http://blog.cityshopingpoint.com/travelers-guide/palace-de-versailles-paris

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hall_of_Mirrors,_Palace_of_Versailles_chandelier.JPG

http://keenanevans.com/2009/12/01/marie-antoinette-versailles-dazzle/



Orthographic coffee cup

These are orthographic views of a coffee cup that I use on a daily basis. My cup is called a tankard. It is very large and much fatter in the middle than at the top or bottom. The first view on my drawing is from the top, the second view is actually the inside section, and the third view is from the outside.

Light Box: IAR 102 and 112

For this project we had to make a light box from white board 6x6x18. Before we made the box we had to do a light study; look at different light situations. The lighting situation I chose was sunlight reflecting off of a highly reflective/prismatic surface and on to the wall.

This is my picture of the reflective light.

This is the inside of the first light box. The interior and exterior of the box are entirely white. On this box I drilled holes in two of the sides, the light streamed in through those holes.

This is the light box from the exterior. The hole in the center seam serves as the view finder.

As part of our color week, we remade the light box using the color scheme from our 18 color study.

When we remade our light box the new dimensions were 4x4x12. On the inside of my light box I put stripes of color on the two sides of the box that did not have the holes. The colors were symmetrically laid out with the second darkest pink-red in the middle and the colors becoming more blue until they were the darkest cyan of the bottom triangle. I then adhered very highly reflective silver paper to the inside of either end of the box, this gave the illusion that the colors continue indefinitely.

This is the center of the colored light box. You can see the color gradient if you look carefully. I think this is successful because you can see the color gradient in the reflected light more than in the paper, itself.

Here is a picture down one side of the box. The gradients of cyan are very clear but all of the gradients beyond the darkest cyan are a reflection. Again, the reflected light reveals the actual paper color.

Assignment 1 Continued : Dining Tables.....and more

The first project in IAR 102 Studio was a project about dining tables. I chose to pick a dining table design from 1 designer on 5 different continents (see the first post under IAR 102). From there, we were asked to choose one of the five tables from our board and pick design elements and properties that we felt that it had. Once we did that, we had to make a sketch model (in about 10 minutes) from whatever we could find around the studio.



Karim Rashid's Flap Table:

Here's my sketch model of Karim Rashid's Flap Table:

We then had to make the same table in scale, using a 1":1' scale:

Then we remade the table to work out any kinks in craft, etc:

For this version I made my base a little shorter, stopped inverting the colors, and put an edge around the table so the board under it did not show.

Then we chose a plan from four dining spaces provided and came up with a parti of our concept for the design:

Concept parti~Juxtaposition of circles and straight lines, color, contemporary, space-saving

Because my dining table is so small and none of the dining spaces seemed entirely appropriate for it, I decided to convert my space into part of a studio apartment. This is my working floorplan with all of my notes along the way.

We were also tasked with designing and making a model of a "sideboard," however, we were encouraged to think of a sideboard in a non-traditional sense. My first idea for a sideboard was to take the lines of a mid-century modern cabinet and put a contemporary twist on it by use of color and materials. I intended for the sides and top to be a very slick white surface with sliding doors and the back in orange. Here is my sketch model for that sideboard design.

I needed to challenge myself to design a "sideboard" that pushed some boundaries. The next piece I designed was a short shelving unit. Each course of shelves are a different color, in keeping with the contemporary design of the space, and are movable. I then considered stacking it on top of the unit above, but it was still too traditional. I scrapped the idea of using the cabinet as a base and decided, instead, to make the shelving unit taller.

Here you can see the colors of the shelves.

This is a top view with the shelves adjusted in a non-linear orientation

And finally, this view of the shelf indicates the size compared to the scale figure.

After making the table and sideboard and designing the space in plan, we made sketch models of the space. I chose to make mine out of whiteboard and to scale (1":1'). After making the sketch model of my space, I was challenged to consider the windows and ceiling. Originally, my windows were 8' and the mullions were on a grid and  predictable. I changed the mullions to echo the circular shapes and forms found throughout my space and further emphasize the concept of circle vs. straight lines. I also put a grid of beams on the ceiling with sound dampening fabric woven through. The beams in the grid pattern did not work with the rest of the design the way I had hoped, so I changed the ceiling to a series of sound-dampening circles of varying sizes; some were lighted to add light to important parts of the room (art, sideboard, and seating area). For this project we also had to incorporate a piece of artwork from the Weatherspoon Art Gallery on the UNCG campus. I chose a kind of creepy looking Claes Oldenburg and a large, colorful painting by George McNeil.

 Claes Oldenburg: Symbolic Self-Portrait with Equals

                         George McNeil: Bedlam Place

 

These are perspective drawings of the space. Notice that they still indicate the shorter shelves on the original sideboard as a base and the beams on the ceiling.

The chairs that I chose for my table (Karim Rashid' Flap Table) are by Calligaris in orange. I also chose a colorfully patterned chair by Starck as side chairs in the seating area.

Calligaris Ice Chairs in Orange

Mademoiselle by Phillipe Starck

The final model of my (dining) space came together using the original concepts from my parti. 

Ceiling detail

This was a great project for me. It challenged me to push my design threshold and to continue to think more creatively.