ARCH 5901-301 - Comprehensive Design Studio!

TTU/COA - spring 2013

notes

architectural sequence

sequence as an itinerary architectural promenade (Besset) The plan is not an abstract factor, but the organizational scheme of a visual experience which takes place in movement and unfolds in time - the scenario of an "architectural promenade." In movement - the eye of the spectator sees architecture born. (Le Corbusier) One enters. The architectural spectacle presents itself successively to the eye. The spectator follows an itinerary andthe scenes unfold in a wide variety of forms. There is the play of inowing light illuminating the walls or creating half-lights. The bays provide views of the exterior where thanks to the right angle arrangement of the house and the indentations formed by the outer covering one discovers architectural unity once more. (Le Corbusier) sequence as encounters and events (Besset) Theme variability and mobility of the constructed mass. The intuitionwhich enabled Le Corbusier to abolish the classic concept of the roomand treated the museum as a veritable thoroughfare interspersed with"encounters" representing so many "events" for stimulating"meditation", could only derive from a way of thinking completelydominated by the idea of circulation; of intercourse and exchangewithin the architectural organism. He avoided straight ights ofstairs and replaced them by ramps with a low angle of slope whichcreated an almost imperceptible gliding movement from level to level.Quite apart from the ramps, the passageways in Le Corbusier'sarchitecture are often laid out along a very slight incline, so slightthat it passes unnoticed in photographs and small scale plans was adevice of optical correction - but also an effective means ofdiversifying the muscular experience of architectural promenade. sequence as dynamic (Besset) Sequence has nothing to do with recreation or picturesqueness. Forms in light - inside, and outside; below, and above. Inside: you enter, you walk about and look around you. and the forms explain themselves, they develop, they combine. Outside: you approach, you see, you get interested, you appreciate, you go all the way around, you discover things you keep getting different impressions, one after the other. And the game being played becomes apparent. You walk about, you keep moving and turning around. It is his promenade. His ramble, that counts, that is the prime mover of architectural events, therefore the game being played has not been set out around a xed central ideal, rotary point, a point of simultaneous circular vision. That is the architecture of the schools, the academies the decadent fruit of the great renaissance, the death of architecture, its petrication (dynamic vs static). (Le Corbusier) sequence and space (Besset) Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye as three-dimensional example of spatialsequence: Contrast between freely articulated planes or concave screens(membrane) and highly individualized plastic object. sequence and space (Besset) Miess Barcelona Pavilion as two-dimensional example of spatial sequence:only the free surfaces intervene in order to make the essential stagesin the unfolding of the "Architecture promenade" which is more fluidbut less animated and less rich in inventions and surprises than Le Corbusier's. Mies promenade is developed on one level only and doesn'tlead to that complete take-over of space in three dimensions. sequence front and back (Besset) A description of the sequence at Villa Savoye: A walk through the house produces architectural impressions of a diversity that disconcerts every visitor unaware of the architectural liberties made possible by modern techniques. The simple stilts of the ground oor are so arranged as to pattern the landscape with a regularity whose effect is to do away with any notion of a 'front' or 'back' or 'side' of the house. (Le Corbusier)

Bennett Neiman, Professor of Architecture!

architectural sequence 1

ARCH 5901-301 - Comprehensive Design Studio!

TTU/COA - spring 2013

sequence inside and outside (Besset) Le Corbusier - was determined to discipline this wealth to classifyclearly and simply the "Architectural events" which occur at everystage of the promenade. To envelop the complexity of it in a "unity"which would transform the house itself a simple architectural eventsituated in an always innitely complex site ("The outside is alwaysan inside") into an element of order and serenity. The outside isdifferent from inside but outside alludes to what is inside - cluesand cues. corbusian sequence as compaction composition (Jencks) Le Corbuisier's buildings are like a collage superimposition of elements; parts obscure parts instead of allowing them to be seen through; a succession of partially hidden and partially revealed excitement and suspense; a sequence of primary forms and object types. sequence as variety of spatial experiences (Rudolph 1974) We need desperately to relearn the art of disposing our buildings to create different kinds of space: the quiet, enclosed, isolated, shaded space; the hustling, bustling space, pungent with vitality; the paved, dignied, vast, sumptuous, even awe-inspiring space; the mysterious space; the transition space which denes, separates, and yet joins juxtaposed spaces of contrasting character. We need sequences of space which arouse one's curiosity, give a sense of anticipation, which beckon and impel us to rush forward to nd that releasing space which dominates, which acts as a climax and those outer spaces which encourage social contact. circulation as sequence (Rudolph 1977) Pedestrian sequences of space and circulation are developed in elaborate ways with stairs divorced from the structural-mechanical bays. Circulation twists and turns are calculated to bring people together, for alienation is a major problem in commuter campuses. Several entrance spaces are celebrated by allowing space to ow vertically through three oors, but breaking down these spaces through the use of platforms cantilevered from stairs which wind around vertical shafts of elevators and "caves" with replaces cut into the earth. spatial sequence, movement, and simultaneity (Rudolph 1977) Moving in space and spatial sequences are the epitome of Twentieth Century architecture because of (a) the relationship of architecture to transportation systems, (b) the idea that a building is never completed and, indeed, constant changes, and (c) the pervasiveness of simultaneity: i.e. space/time. space, place, and sequence (Rudolph 1956) psychological demands of the building or place. Such necessities are met primarily through the manipulation of space and the use of symbols. We are particularly unsure in this aspect, partly because the revolution threw out much which still has validity. We must learn anew the meaning of monumentality. We must learn how to create a place of worship and inspiration; how to make quiet, enclosed, isolated spaces; spaces full of hustling, bustling activities pungent with vitality; dignied, vast, sumptuous, even awe-inspiring spaces; mysterious spaces; transition spaces which dene, separate, and yet join juxtaposed spaces of contrasting character. We need sequences of space which arouse one's curiosity, give a sense of anticipation, beckon and impel us to rush forward to nd that releasing space which dominates, which promises a climax and therefore give direction.

Bennett Neiman, Professor of Architecture!

architectural sequence 2

ARCH 5901-301 - Comprehensive Design Studio!

TTU/COA - spring 2013

avoid the pinball interpretation of sequence (Neiman) sequence is not literally bouncing from object to object. sequence is not being led by the hand. sequence should have an intellectual and conceptual basis. sequence is not just connecting the dots. sequence as beginnings, middles, and ends (Neiman) the minimum number of components for a sequence is three: beginning, middle, end. beginning of sequence as introduction, entrance, preparation. middle of sequence as development, transition, elaboration, climax. end sequence as conclusion, exit, nale, arrival. sequence as celebrated path (Neiman) sequence as progression and motion. sequence as a celebrated journey. sequence as a spatial journey. sequence as an itinerary/route. transformation/metamorphosis. sequence and orchestration of events (Neiman) sequence as physical maneuvering and redirection competitions between the body and the mind (eye) are created the eye is seduced into going in a direction other than where the body is going cues, clues, and references decision making points in the sequence pause points in the sequence transition points in the sequence creation of a scenario sequence as a chess game: a series of interrelated moves and counter moves dynamic balance, dynamic repetition rhythm-arhythm; the orchestration of cadences (ABABA or ABABBAB, for example) intervals: diminishing and increasing density or cadence of increment sequence of spatial events, episodes, unfolding of spaces and places and events. augmentation of sequential orchestration by creating clues, cues, markers, notations, and references velocity; either increasing or decreasing (non-constant rate); path, pause, and reection things that touch and things that do not touch variegated thickness sequence and place (Neiman) places within a place transitions to a place points of intersection sequences with increasing complexities sequence as space and light at-under-beyond space within a space sequence as a thing beyond a thing beyond a thing one into another into another

Bennett Neiman, Professor of Architecture!

architectural sequence 3

ARCH 5901-301 - Comprehensive Design Studio!

TTU/COA - spring 2013

BESSET, M., & KEMBALL, R. (1987). Le Corbusier: [to live with the light]. New York, Rizzoli. JENCKS, C. (1973). Le Corbusier and the tragic view of architecture. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press. RUDOLPH, P. (1956). The six determinants of architectural form. Architectural Record, Oct. 1956, Vol. 120:4, P. 183-190; with Photos. RUDOLPH, P. (1974). Alumni Day Speech: Yale School of Architecture, February, 1958. Oppositions, Oct. 1974, Vol. 4, P. 141-143. RUDOLPH, P. (1977). Enigmas of Architecture. A+U Architecture and Urbanism, P 317-320.

Bennett Neiman, Professor of Architecture!

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