TRANSITION & TRANSFORMATION:THE TRANSITION OF ARCHITECTURE TO ART

History within the Wall

Jennifer Reymundi-Micheoii

I do not know which to prefer,The beauty of inflectionsOr the beauty of innuendoes,The blackbird whistlingOr just after.

Wallace Stevens, from“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” iii

HISTORY within the WALL

ARCHITECTURE = ART

SOCIETY’S EXPRESSION OF ITS STATE

OF MIND

ARCHITECTURE AS A PERFORMING STAGE,NOT ONLY WHERE IS EXPRESSED, BUT ALSO

SHAPED INTO THE FUTURE BY THE PAST AND

PRESENT ALREADY CARVED INTO ITS SCEN-ERY. IT IS A CONSTANT EXPLORATION OF OUR

INNERMOST AND A REVELATION TO OUR OUT-ERMOST. SOCIETY LEAVING AN IMPRESSION

ON ARCHITECTURE; ARCHITECTURE LEAVING

IMPRESSION OF THE SOCIETY. ARCHITECTURE

CARVING AN IMPRINT ON THE SOCIETY; SO-CIETY MOLDS AN IMPRINT ON ARCHITECTURE.ARCHITECTURE IS A STATE OF MIND.

THE TRANSITION OF ARCHITECTURE TO ART

T R A N S I T I O N

&

T R A N S F O R M A T I O N

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for thedegree of

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

Heiner Schnödt

Frank Weiner

Michael O’Brien

William Galloway, Chairman

HISTORY within the WALL

ARCHITECTURE = ART

SOCIETY’S EXPRESSION OF ITS STATE

OF MIND

ARCHITECTURE AS A PERFORMING STAGE,NOT ONLY WHERE IS EXPRESSED, BUT ALSO

SHAPED INTO THE FUTURE BY THE PAST AND

PRESENT ALREADY CARVED INTO ITS SCEN-ERY. IT IS A CONSTANT EXPLORATION OF OUR

INNERMOST AND A REVELATION TO OUR OUT-ERMOST. SOCIETY LEAVING AN IMPRESSION

ON ARCHITECTURE; ARCHITECTURE LEAVING

IMPRESSION OF THE SOCIETY. ARCHITECTURE

CARVING AN IMPRINT ON THE SOCIETY; SO-CIETY MOLDS AN IMPRINT ON ARCHITECTURE.ARCHITECTURE IS A STATE OF MIND.

THE TRANSITION OF ARCHITECTURE TO ART

Bibliography Acknowledgements Vita

Abstract Foretaste

1Memory

4Anatomy

3Ideas

2Transformation

6System

7Atrium

8Outgrowth

Wall’s Layer axonometric Light Sculpture - Wall’s Layers elevations - Section

Analogy: Motion: From Light to Darkness, Building within a Building, Habitable Wall Lightscape studies Precedent 2-Kern House,

Baumschlager & Eberle Architects Section Precedent 3-Exeter Library, Louis I. Kahn Perspective drawing - Light study - Photographs of model Prece-dent 4-Carlo Scarpa and Makkan houses Solids vs. Voids

Datum & Order Structure Axonometric - Axonometric’s Series

Paisaje Isleño Peninsula The Site Photographs of the site model Facade’s Study

A Memoir Photo Existing Building Reminiscent Precedent 1 - Colosseum - Ruins of an apartment house Ostia Antica Ruins Photos of the building

in its actual condition Intended Aging A candleholder design (Time as a design factor)

Perspectives on pastel and pencil of the Atrium

In Between Three Zones Existing Floor Plan of the Building - Proposed Floor Plans, Facades

Afterthought - Light study Perspectives on pastel and pencil

Essentials

Directions

“Would you tell me,please, which way Iought to walk fromhere?”“That depends a gooddeal on where youwant to get to,” saidthe Cat.1

1 Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adven-tures in Wonderland (1865).

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5Sculpture

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23

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33

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36, 37, 38

vii, viii

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We are living in a fast track world, where technology increasingly dictates our way of life. With technology progressing faster than ever and infiltratingour jobs and homes, we are forced to adapt to this way of life in order to keep up with our ever-changing world. Cities are experiencing changes as well.Buildings are becoming obsolete while creating great strain on the cities. In the long term, we need to allow our cities to adapt and change with us.Otherwise, their inability to adapt and be flexible to our changing needs will cause them to become ruins.

We are in need for flexible spaces that not only serve us, but also technology yet to come. Cities are in demand for buildings that withstand a metamor-phosis. It is our duty to recognize usable buildings and their architectural contribution in order to increase their life span.

Architecture affects us. It affects our moods and lifts our spirit, ultimately contributing to our well-being. Consequently, spatial quality is a veryimportant factor. Light and shadows, scale, vertical and horizontal movement, sound control, temperature and color influence the quality of a space.Space is transformed by means of layers, material finishes, and movement sequences to name a few. After all, is not the act of transforming something,also discovering that which was always there?

Abstract

Work

A work is never com-pleted except by someaccident such as wea-riness, satisfaction, theneed to deliver, ordeath: for, in relation towho or what is makingit, it can only be onestage in a series of in-ner transformations.1

1Paul Valéry, “Recollection,”Collected Work vol. 1 (1972).

Architecture is a reflection of our society. It engages our minds in a sense of wellness or illness,happiness or sadness, accomplishment or failure. In architecture everything is important fromthe big picture to the smallest detail. Since every single piece is playing a part of the master-piece, the attention to or the misplacement of unattended affairs will in the end cause an asso-nance or dissonance.

Foretaste

“Architecture is the

mother of the Arts”1

1 Bianca Albertini and SandroBagnoli, Carlo Scarpa: Ar-chitecture in Details (Massa-chusetts: 1988) ix.

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A Memoir

Northeast view of the existing building.Corner of San Sebastian st. and Cruz st.

Building is undoubt-edly society’s mostpositive act. A citywithout constructionsites is handicappedand runs the risk of de-clining and becominga museum.1

1 Paris 1979-1989 (New York:1987) 193.

1M e m o r y

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Cease existing?All the entities weare familiar withhave a life span ora physical duration,then it Transforms.Now we live asRUINS.

Ruins of an apartment house in Ostia, Antigua.

The Roman Colosseum

“Ruskin said, ‘Greatnations write their au-tobiographies in threemanuscripts, the bookof their deeds, thebook of their wordsand the book of theirart. Not one of thesebooks can be under-stood unless we readthe two others, but ofthe three the onlytrustworthy one is thelast.’ On the whole Ithink this is true. If Ihad to say which wastelling the truth aboutsociety, a speech by aminister of housing orthe actual buildingsput up in his time, Ishould believe thebuildings,” wroteKenneth Clark1

1Francis D. K. Ching, A VisualDictionary of Architecture(New York: Van Nostrand,

1995).

Reminiscence

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Existing floor plan of building.

“People visit us as ifwe were a museum orthe site of ancient ru-ins. We are thinking ofkeeping some of the de-struction as it is andusing it to attract cli-ents.”1

1 Fahed Abu Shaaer, “Over-heard,” Newsweek, July 22,1991.

A ruin is a memoir of a life story. The reminiscences area recollection of adventurous anecdotes carved in its skin,as a shaped journal. Even when a building’s initial func-tion has been long abandoned, the building’s characterwill undoubtedly preserve the memory of the fadedcustoms and the way of life that witnessed its creation.

RUINS

East FacadeWindow on North Facade

Cornice at corner of building

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My first impression: Abandonment, Emptiness, Destruction, as Iimagined it to be at the other side of the wall. Like an old book,covered in dust, forgotten at the side of a bookshelf, but still, witha great deal to offer for those who may know how to read it.

All things are imper-manent. The inclina-tion toward nothing-ness is unrelenting anduniversal. Even thingsthat have all the ear-marks of substance –things that are hard,inert, solid – presentnothing more than theillusion of perma-nence.1

1Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi(Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press,1992).

This candleholder was de-signed to embrace the fasttransformations of fre-quency of use and weatherinclemency.

In this sense, the transfor-mation of a material depictsmoments in its life process.Materials can registerbrightness, temperature,and the effects of the ele-ments through the passageof time.

Design by Martinez and Reymundi.

Intended Aging

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Paisaje IsleñoSuelo donde afincamos nuestras raícesRaíces profundas que penetran nuestra almaAlma definida por esta costa caribeña.

Sol caribeño que calientas nuestro espírituEspíritu definido por tu luzLuz cambiante, imprecindible, aunque constante.

Rayos candentes que generan sombrasSombras que me permiten soñar tus formasFormas seductoras de miradas.

Viento olulando me susurrasSusurrando acaricias y seduces su verdorVerdor moldeado por su pasión.

Mar moldeante de tus curvas costaneras con tus lágrimasLágrimas que lloran tu vaivén.Vaivén que besa tu faz.

Mar, con tu intensidad nos refrescasRefrescante ahular que azota mis contornosContorno único de Puerto Rico.

Positions

To become aware ofone’s own position,one must situate one-self and others insome way. To questionpositionality can be-come the most rigidposition.1

1 Aimee Rankin, “Legacies ofCritical Practice in the 1980’s,”in Discussions in Contempo-rary Culture, ed. Hal Foster(Seattle: Bay Press, 1987).

2Transformation

Old San Juan Peninsula - El Morro

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Scale

I think working withscale puts you in analmost godlike posi-tion, like “You’re ingood hands withAllstate”; that ad onTV. You can hold apiece of turf in yourhand, or a house, andyou can plant it some-where, or you cancrush it, smash it.1

1 Ron Steiner, OMA, interviewby Jennifer Sigler, May 1990.

6Old San Juan Peninsula

The Site

Puerto Rico

A Caribbean island that presents a cultural medley ofcustoms between the Taino Indians (the native indiansof Puerto Rico), Spanish and Africans. Being the Afri-can presence the most consistent element among allthe Caribbean islands, but the Spanish influence beingthe stronger. After the end of the Spanish AmericanWar in 1898, Americans have influenced the cultureand customs of Puerto Rico.

San Juan

Old San Juan contains sixteen blocksof almost 500 year of old Spanishcolonial style architecture, in theirmajority, are perfectly restored andcarefully preserved. Old San Juanstreets are paved with cobblestone,a blue stone cast from a furnace ash.They were brought over as ballaston Spanish ships. Time and mois-ture have lent them their uniquecolor and character.

“Adoquin” , Old San Juan’s cobblestone pavement.

Space-Time

The representation ofthe contemporary cityis thus no longer deter-mined by a ceremonialopening of gates, by aritual of processionsand parades, nor by asuccession of streetsand avenues. Fromnow on, urban archi-tecture must deal withthe advent of a “tech-nological space-time.”The access protocol oftelematics replacesthat of the doorway.The revolving door issucceeded by “databanks,” by new rites ofpassage of a technicalculture masked by theimmateriality of itscomponents: its net-works, highway sys-tems and diverse re-ticulations whosethreads are no longer

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San Sebastian Street

This cobblestone street, have an east-west orientation, serves as the back-drop for the annually-celebrated “Fi-estas de la Calle San Sebastian” (Cel-ebrations of the Saint SebastianStreet), an art festival where differ-ent artists exhibit their work. Thisthoroughfare also hosts residencies,commerce and nightlife for PuertoRicans and tourists. Once a residenceand family business, a two-storybuilding is located at the corner of“Calle Cruz” ( Cruz Street ).

East San Sebastian street West San Sebastian street

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woven into the space ofa constructed fabric,but into the sequencesof an imperceptibleplanning of time inwhich the interfaceman/machine replacesthe facades of build-ings and the surfacesof ground on whichthey stand.1

1 Paul Virilio, “The Overex-posed City,” in Zone 1/2: TheCity (New York: Urzone,1987).

Buildings are particu-larly influenced by theirenvirons; however, en-virons are also influ-enced by buildings asthe buildings becomepart of the environs’context. The peninsulaof Old San Juan is char-acterized by its distinc-tive coast line, which isvery important in thedefinition of the fortresswall that protects thispeninsula. The FortressWall encloses the 16buildings blocks thatforms the nucleus of thecity. One of the city’sprimary components isthe plaza, which gener-ates the pedestrian in-teraction. The presenceof the buildings at the

Coast line

Plazas defining a pedestrian walk course Building location, the plazas and the 16 buildingblocks of Old San Juan.

Fortress wall raises along the coast line. The 16 buiding blocks that comprises Old San Juan.

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plazas creates a dualityas it defines thestreetscape and permitsa breathing space forthe city.

The building is locatedbetween the two mainplazas, at the corner ofthe two most activesstreets in the city. Con-sequently San Sebastianstreet and Cruz streetare the most transitedstreets by pedestrians.This building’s struc-ture “turns” with thestreet, thus, allowing asense of redefinition asit ends one street andsmoothhly starts theother one. The buildingbecomes indeed thejoint of this streetscape.

Planning

I find it interesting tounderstand the city nolonger as a tissue, butmore as a “mere” co-existence, a series ofrelationships betweenobjects that are almostnever articulated invisual or formal ways,no longer “caught” inarchitectural connec-tions... But if you havecome to the insightthat connection is nolonger necessary, in away you put a bomb atthe base of your pro-fessional existence. Ifplanning is not neces-sary, or irrelevant...why “plan”?1

1Rem Koolhaas, interview byAlejandro Zaera, “FindingFreedoms,” El Croquis, March1992.

The first model of the site maps thechanges of the slopes around thebuilding and its relationship to thesurrounding buildings, characteristicof this city. Several points worth no-ticing are listed below:

- the role of the facades with the in-viting cool shadows created by thedepth of their fenestration originatesthe contrast between the coldness in-side of the buildings and the heat andhumidity on the streets.

- the human scale of the city, andmany of its buildings is dictated bythe nearness between buildings, theirheights relationship, and the distanceacross the street.

As Louis I. Kahn said,“ The only way youcan build, the onlyway you can get thebuilding into being,is through the mea-surable. You mustfollow the laws of na-ture and use quanti-ties of brick, methodsof construction, andengineering. But inthe end, when thebui lding becomespart of l iv ing, i tevokes unmeasurablequal i t ies, and thespirit of its existencetakes over.”1

1Francis D. K. Ching, A VisualDictionary of Architecture(New York: Van Nostrand,1995).

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Calle Cruz, North Calle San Sebastian, West Calle San Sebastian, East

The buildings de-fine and shape theskyline, givingthe city some ofits sense of place.The lines of thefenestrations andcornices continuefrom building tobuilding alongthe street accen-tuating thehorizontality ofthe street’s per-spective. Thebalconies stepsinto the street vi-sually narrowingit and define an-other level of hu-man scale.

Reminders

As Stephen Tyler said,“These essays on theunspeakable evoke thecarnival of the every-day and parody thedominant discourse ofa decaying order. Theydo not pretend to nov-elty or invention forthey are but reminders,in their own paradoxi-cal way, of the commonsense world modern-ism had thought it hadsurpassed or sup-pressed in its domesti-cation of all the worldthat was exotic.”1

1 Rem Koolhaas and BruceMau, S, M, L, XL (New York:Rem Koolhaas and TheMonacelli Press, Inc., 1995)1100.

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It will become the fleshed-out body of the habitant skeleton. The stringytissue left after carving and excision has had its way through.

One eye sees, theother feels.1

1Paul Klee. The Diaries ofPaul Klee 1898–1918, no.937 (1957; tr. 1965), 1914.

A Façade Study

A series of three pencil drawings showing the changes and transformation of patina on the Wall.

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Facing San Sebastian Street standsthe north facade of the old building.The facade is divided in two sectionsthat are discernable by the scale anddetails. The smaller one was a lateraddition mainly generated to expandthe ground floor business and to shel-ter the help personnel on the secondfloor. 13

Partial plan of existing building

1 2

1 2

The north facade fronts San Sebastian street

Pregnancy

It was like a secondpregnancy of the sameconception.1

1Rem Koolhaas, interview byAlejandro Zaera, “FindingFreedoms,” El Croquis,March 1992.

Conceptual Ideas

A building within abuilding:- An era surrounded byanother.- The skin of a building,that once was a buildingby itself.

The greatness of thisbuilding can be preservedas a skin for the newbuilding, influencing itsatmosphere and demon-strating the importance ofcoexistence. In this par-ticular case, in which bothentities live as individu-als and at the same timeas a whole, they will de-velop a relationship of de-pendance.

3Ideas

Ideas

The silky feel andthrust of idea, its smallhaunches, like those ofand ermine.1

1Harold Brodkey, “The AnimalLife of Ideas,” XX!st Century1 (Winter 1991-92).

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“Structure is the giverof light,” 1 by Louis I.Kahn.

1Urs Büttiker, Louis I. Kahn:Light and Space (New York:Whitney Library Of Design,1994) 171.

Implementing a screen thatmodulated natural light andnatural ventilation duringdifferent times of the day,as well as different seasonsof the year requiered a flex-ible element with very easyaccessibility. A segmentedwood louvered wall be-came the solution, as itposes as an interior facadebetween the courtyard andthe interior gallery. As thewall matured, two morelayers developed trans-forming three thin wall lay-ers into a thick habitablewall. Now, a three layeredwall raises within the ex-isting old walls.

Wall Section

KernHouse, Lochau AustriaBaumschlager & Eberle arquitects

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San Sebastian Street

1 Courtyard

2 Interior Gallery

3 Studio - 2nd Floor

4 Studio - 3rd Floor

5 Layered Wall

Layered Wall

Section

Wood Layer

Glass Layer

Metal Layer

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There is this fascination with the space in between; thespace that happens because of the sum of volumes ortheir thicknesses. Where one is not outside nor inside,this is the residual of a transitional sequence of spaces.What if this transitional space becomes habitable? Whatif you are inside the space that transitions you from theoutside to the inside? What if the residual becomesThe Great Transitional Space?

Between

I take another peek upand down the corridor.For a loony bin, it’sawful quiet. Mostrooms have doubledoors. The outsidedoor only has a smallglass window so youcan look in at thecrazies; the insidedoor has bars. I’m sit-ting in the space be-tween the two doors.1

1William Wharton, Birdy (NewYork: Avon, 1978).

View from the layered wall to the balcony.

View from the layered wall at the bridges that intesects it.Looking down at the layered wall.

Looking up from the layered wall.

Perspective view through the layered wall.

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Movement

“In its steadfast for-ward movement, thearchitecture of ourtime has made morethan a few mistakes,but in the final resultwill be created a pow-erful embodiment ofthe human vision inspatial and volumetricforms. One must cre-ate; one must manifestone’s own creative ca-pacities and summonto creativity those whoare inert, in order thatlife within the art ofarchitecture should bein a state of maximummovement.”1 IakovChernikhov wrote.

1 Rem Koolhaas and BruceMau, S, M, L, XL (New York:Rem Koolhaas and TheMonacelli Press, Inc., 1995)934.

Circulation and privacy ofspaces are definable by thequality of light. Light andshadows leads us throughspaces marking a rhythm.Light patterns influence ve-locity marking a rhythmicalpace while we move throughspaces. Usually brightspaces defines common ar-eas while the softer light de-fines the more controlledand private ones. This is thecase in this project, wherethe more controlled light isdedicated to the studios andgallery, while the courtyardpresents the brighter onewhich slowly change insidethe habitable wall.

View from the second floor of the court yard at the balconies.View from the third floor of the layered wall at the second floor balconies.

View from the studios. View of the habitable wall from the balcony at the second floor.

This wood louvered wall will regu-late the quality of light inside thebuilding bringing an always chang-ing light experience. While wewould experience the light filteringthrough the louvers and the castingshadows on the walls and floors,Puerto Rico’s latitude will positionthe sun almost at a 90 degree anglefrom the floor creating a glowingwall around midday.

Interior viewKernHouse, Lochau Austria

Baumschlager & EberleArchitects

“Light is the informa-tion perceived by theeye when it touchessomething.”1

1James Carpenter, “ PresenceSymposium,” VA Tech,Blacksburg, 15 Sept. 1998.

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Photographs of the model showing some of the different light effects created bythe wood louvered wall.

Light is our ‘revealer’.It is the announcer of thepalpable and intangibleenvirons. As Louis I.Kahn mentioned, with-out it we are in completesilence. Light is therevealer of forms, col-ors, and transparencies.It defines the shape,size, textures, materialsand colors of forms.Light gives the bril-liance, shade and inten-sity to colors and pre-sents the sheerness,translucence, and clear-ness of transparency.

LIGHT

Silence to Light

Light to Silence

The threshold of theircrossing is the Singularity, is Inspiration,

(Where the desire toexpress meets the pos-sible) is the Sanctuary ofArt, is the Treasury ofShadows,

(Materials casts shad-ows; shadows belongto light.)1 by Louis I.Kahn.

1Urs Büttiker, Louis I. Kahn:Light and Space (New York:Whitney Library Of Design,1994) 74.

Light study in chalk and charcoal ofthe Exeter Library by Louis I. Kahn

View from the interior of the apartments.View of the courtyard.

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One’s point of view is greatly influenced by the glass being viewed through. A person look-ing in has a different perspective than one looking out. In a building a view is subject tochanges. Natural and artificial lights are constant changing factors defining a different con-trasted character in the solids and voids. Solids also frames a view setting the parametersthrough which it will be seen or what will be seen.

Window

In front of a window seenfrom inside a room. Iplaced a painting repre-senting exactly that portionof the landscape coveredby the painting. Thus, thetree in the picture hid thetree behind it, outside theroom. For the spectator, itwas both inside the roomwithin the painting andoutside in the real land-scape. This is how we seethe world. We see it out-side ourselves, and at thesame time we only have arepresentation of it in our-selves. In the same way,we sometimes situate in thepast that which is happen-ing in the present. Timeand space thus lose the vul-gar meaning that onlydaily experience takes intoaccount.1

1 René Magritte, La Ligne devie II, Feb. 1940.

A Makkan house.Windows carved with geometric patterns.Traditional house at the Holy City.

1 Bianca Albertini and Sandro Bagnoli, Carlo Scarpa: Architecture in Details (Massachusetts: 1988) ix.

Views can be achieved in many different ways, for example, through a carefully designed win-dow; they are mainly influenced by the culture and climate characteristics. The Western versionof a window is a picture frame and the Eastern version a ‘screen’, which subdivides a view and,at the same time brings privacy and protection from bright solar rays.

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Solids vs. Voids

Articulated solids moldinghollows silhouettes. Theseopposites complement theircavities and protuberances,creating a balanced rela-tionship of chiaroscuro,rhythms, symmetries orasymmetry. In this relation-ship, the body’s shape andthe silhouette it creates, arecorresponding to the voidas the figure and the solidthe delineator.

Absence

“The most beautiful isnot to be present.”1

Mangelos

1 Rem Koolhaas and BruceMau, S, M, L, XL (New York:Rem Koolhaas and TheMonacelli Press, Inc., 1995)xviii.

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Facade studies of the front facade.

Views of the model showing how light filtersthrough the voids the layered wall creates.

“The fox knows manythings but the hedge-hog knows one bigthing.”…”whether heis a monist or a plural-ist, whether he is of asingle substance orcompounded of het-erogeneous ele-ments.”1

1 Colin Rowe, Collage City(Cambridge: The MIT Press,1978, 1988), 92.

It is a process of adaptation, where the exist-ing serves as a scenario to the new, and thenew evolves respecting the existing.

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This concept refers to the way the old and thenew come together. If the old and the newmeet, do they complement each other? Or dothey just accommodate each other? When-ever possible, the new recognizes and allowsthe space necessary for the existing. How-ever, if convergence is inevitable, the new willonly limit itself to providing some structuralstability for both

Proportions of the original building were the first studies developed. They initiated the new order within the existing one.Studies of light, shadows and enclosure followed. All of them exposed possibilities and set the parameters for the insertion.

Built environmentshave various pur-poses: to shelterpeople and their ac-tivities and posses-sions from the ele-ments, from humanand animal enemies,and from supernaturalpowers; to establishplace; to create a hu-manized, safe area ina profane and poten-tially dangerousworld; to stress socialidentity and indicatestatus; and so on.Thus the origins of ar-chitecture are best un-derstood if one takesa wider view and con-siders socioculturalfactors, in the broad-est sense, to be moreimportant than cli-mate, technology, ma-terials, and economy.In any situation, it isthe interplay of allthese factors that best23

4A n a t o m y

explains the form ofbuildings. No singleexplanation will suf-fice, because buildings– even apparentlyhumble dwellings – aremore than material ob-jects or structures.They are institutions,basic cultural phe-nomena. People thinkenvironments beforethey build them.Thought orders space,time, activity, status,roles, and behavior.But giving physical ex-pression to ideas isvaluable. Encodingideas makes them use-ful mnemonics; ideashelp behavior by re-minding people of howto act, how to behave,and what is expected ofthem. It is importantto stress that all builtenvironments – build-ings, settlements, andlandscapes – are one24

The ground floor is divided in three sections by means of a hollow layered wall that makes an spatial transitionbetween the courtyard and an interior gallery. The courtyard serves as a gallery for exterior exhibits while it transitionsfrom the street to the building with six openings to the San Sebastian and Cruz streets. Positioning the public in anopen space inside the existing building but outside the inserted new building. From the courtyard through the threelayered wall to the interior gallery which have access to a smaller courtyard of its own created when the third layer ofthe wall conveniently curves horizontally opening a space between the metal and the glass layer.

The second floor can be accessed by a stair located inside the layered wall, between the wood and glass layersleading its way to the studios on the second and third floors. It also gives access to the balconies overlookingthe courtyard and the streets. The glass layer is the perimeter of the studios separating the public and privatespaces. The metal layer runs inside the apartments creating a mellower light quality in them.

1 Court Yard2 Int. Gallery3 Stair4 Int. Court Yard5 Restroom6 Mech.7 Int. Balcony8 Studios9 Bridge10 Balcony

Existing Wall

Layered Wall

2nd Level Floor PlanGround Level Floor Plan

Metal Layer

Glass Layer

Wood Layer

way of ordering theworld by making or-dering systems visible.The essential step,therefore, is the order-ing or organizing ofthe environment.1

Amos Rapaport

1Francis D. K. Ching, A VisualDictionary of Architecture(New York: Van Nostrand,

1995).

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Two more studios on the third floor are accessed by the interior balcony that overlooksthe courtyard. This studios are very similar to the second floor ones, but have a differ-ent light quality.

The layered wall stands one third of a level taller than the roof over the apartments. Exceptfor the in-

1 Court Yard2 Int. Gallery3 Stair4 Int. Court Yard5 Restroom6 Mech.7 Int. Balcony8 Studios9 Bridge10 Balcony11 Roof

Existing Wall

Layered Wall

Roof Plan3rd Level Floor Plan

Glass Layer

Wood Layer

Metal Layer

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Facade

To the outside world thearchitect still seems to liveglamorously and to hold aposition in which great ex-pectations are justified.But this is just appearance.In fact, architects are likekidnap victims who haveto phone home to say thatthey are alright, even whenthe gun is being held totheir head. Hardly any ar-chitect dares to point outthe dangers, humilliationsand absurdities of thebuilding process or to ex-plain who has the powerin the daily struggle thathas to be endured. As longas this does not happen,nobody, no matter how in-volved he may be, can seethrough the heroic facadeof the architect.1

1Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau,S,M,L,XL, (New York: RemKoolhaas and The MonacelliPress, Inc., 1995) 402.

East Facade North Facade

A Wall

In Japan a wall entersthe consciousness on aquite different way. Itis thin, often temporary,and more or less sym-bolic as a separation ofinside and outside.1

1 Yoshinobu, The AestheticTownscape, Lynn E. Ricos(Cambridge: MIT Press,1983).

The parallel layers of the new wall en-closed by the existing walls act as layersof privacy, filters of light, transition fromlight to darkness.

The wall is composed of three layers ofdifferent materials which contribute to thediffusion, regulation, and provision of adatum to shadows and lines of light. Thefirst layer is constructed of wood louverswhich create a rhythm of filtered light andshadow. The second layer is made out oftranslucent glass occurring at the sametime as that of the stairs and this one dif-fuses the filtered light from the wood layer.The third layer created out of aluminumsheets regulates the light by letting in stripsof light into the darker spaces. Finally,removing some of the bricks in intervalscauses the existing rear wall to be washedby light. This effect helps illuminate theapartments, but at the same time, allowsthem to be dark enough that the light fromthe new wall can be appreciated. 5

S c u l p t u r e

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Exist. Wall

1 Wood Layer

2 Glass Layer

3 Metal Layer

Exist. Wall

Third layer of The Wall, metal wall.Middle layer of The Wall, glass wall.First layer of The Wall, wood louvered wall.

Communication

Two prisoners whosecells adjoin communi-cate with each other byknocking on the wall.The wall is the thingwhich separates thembut is also their meansof communication. It isthe same with us andGod. Every separationis a link.1

1 Simone Weil, Gravity andGrace, “Metaxu” (1947; tr.1952).

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The first layer of the wall, which is made inwood louvers, originates an interior façade.The wood louvers are interrupted to accom-modate to the existing building walls and toopen to the courtyard and balconies.

Kern House, Lochau AustriaBaumschlager & Eberle Architects

Architecture is themasterly, correct andmagnificent play ofmasses brought to-gether in light. -LeCorbusier

1Francis D. K. Ching, A VisualDictionary of Architecture(New York: Van Nostrand,1995).

29Cruz Street

Metal Layer

Glass Layer

Section

Wood Layer

“Architecture depends onOrder, Arrangement,Eurythmy, Symmetry, Propri-ety, and Economy. All of thesemust be built with due refer-ence to durability, conve-nience, and beauty. Dura-bility will be assured whenfoundations are carrieddown to the solid ground andmaterials wisely and liberallyselected: convenience, whenthe arrangement of the apart-ments is faultless and pre-sents no hindrance to use,and when each class of build-ing is assigned to its suitableand appropriate exposure:and beauty, when the appear-ance of the work is pleasingand in good taste, and whenits members are in due pro-portion according to correctprinciples of symmetry.”1 –Vitruvius

1Francis D. K. Ching, A VisualDictionary of Architecture (NewYork: Van Nostrand, 1995).

Order & Datum

6S y s t e m

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An independentstructure givessupport to the out-side walls whilethe shell stabilizesthe structure.

A wall among the walls. Embracing the walls.

The embracing walls.

A structure becomesarchitectural, and notsculptural, when its el-ements no longer havetheir justification innature.1

1Guillaume Apollinaire, TheCubist Painters, “New Paint-ers” (New York: GeorgeWittenborn, 1962) 14.

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Three existing parallel interior wallsalong with the exterior walls set theparameters for the structure whichbecomes a datum for the building.

1 Three Dimensional Structure Model

3 Front Elevation of the Structure System

2 Side Elevation of theStructure Model

1

2

3

Systematize

I believe that the mo-ment is at hand whenby a paranoid and ac-tive advance of themind, it will be posibleto systematize confu-sion and thus help todiscredit completelythe world of reality.1

1Salvador Dalí, La FemmeVisible (Paris: EditionsSurrealistes, 1930).

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1

2

3

4

5

1 Cutout of the floors made by the Metal Layer

2 Metal Layer

3 Glass Layer

4 Wood Layer

5 Existing Walls

Atrium

Usually situated justinside the main en-trance of the building,the atrium is a largespace, several floorshigh. Furnished withramps, stairs, escala-tors and elevators, itgives the impression ofkinetic activity, ofpeople coming in andout of offices, going upand down stairs, stop-ping in coffee lounges.The aim of the atriumis to infuse the em-ployee with a sense ofbelonging to a whole,and therefore identify-ing with it.1

1 Piera Scuri, Late TwentiethCentury Skyscrapers (NewYork: Van Nostrand Reinhold,1990).

7A t r i u m

The urban streetscape isdefined by the skin of thebuildings as the skyline bytheir silhouette. The plazais the element that allowsthe city to breathe intro-ducing the pedestrian in-teraction. The presence ofthe building at the plazacreates a duality; a dualitybetween open spaces andvolumes. By creating arhythm and density struc-tured by voids and vol-umes, the plaza takes overthe street and provides aplace to which to migrate.The building’s locationmakes it the elbow be-tween the two plazas;Thus, emphasizing one of

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the building’s importantattributes as the joint ofthe two streets. Creat-ing an interior plaza atthe corner of the streetwill aid the transitioninto both the buildingand the street intersec-tion. The plaza is con-sidered a good point forthe insertion of culture,by means of a sculpture,in a public circum-stance. This is exactlywhat is happening in-side this building on itscourtyard, it becomesthe elbow of the streetwhere the relationshipto the contemporaryculture is reveal.

Perspectives of the courtyard - Pastel and pencil

Afterthought

Site

Incentive

Three possible sites with different circumstances were carefully considered for this project. The charm of a forgotten heritage no longer desired by those who are temporarily blind, seized my curiosity. A 500-year-old historic building abandoned in the center of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico is situated at the corner of a very busy pedestrian intersection.

Contiguous The building is surrounded by Spanish colonial buildings of the same period. It is located on the streets that conduct to the two main city plazas.

My premise began with an intention to do a good job, a remarkable and special one, which we take with us and leave for others. Understanding the importance of the past allows us to move forward; in theappreciation of our heritage, we can learn to make our own place in it. Today’s world cities seems to be designed more for the automobile, lending a tendency of abandonment towards older city parks which do notaccommodate traffic properly. Old cities are becoming abandoned by societies without vision. We are in a great need to move forward, but is in our best interest to do so by preserving and utilizing the old cities asthe foundation of our growth process.

Foresight Therefore, I hope it will be a building that speaks about the past and lives in the present.

Brainstorm A third plaza, courtyard.A wall, three walls, a WALL. Wood, glass, metal. Long, slim, filter. Translucent, transparent, layered. Segmented, curved, sandblasted.Light, materiality. physical substance.A view, a window, a balcony.A habitable wall, vertically, horizontally.

All in all, the creativeact is not performed bythe artist alone; thespectator brings thework in contact withthe external world bydeciphering and inter-preting its inner quali-fications and thus addshis contribution to thecreative act. This be-comes even more obvi-ous when posteritygives its final verdictand sometimes reha-bilitates forgotten art-ists.1

1Marcel Duchamp. “The Cre-ative Act,” lecture, April 1957,in Houston, Texas (publishedin Art News, New York, Sum-mer 1957; repr. in RobertLebel, Marcel Duchamp,1959).

The task was to comprehend and recognize the simplest facts. The wind, which is not visible, but is present. The understanding of light cycles and its behavior led to a treatment of the natural elements as materials.The awareness of the elements is the praise to the sublime. “The superb noise of silence…”1

Objective The objective was to create human-structure interrelations in an architectural context via the observation of our surroundings and the adaptation of all the elements.

Task

1 Miguel A. Reymundi. Comment recalled on lecture, January 23, 2000.

8Outgrowth

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Perspective of the studios - Pastel and pencil

Insertion The main idea was to develop a building within a building. To be able to maintain the existing building a separate structural system was proposed. Walls will surround the addition, more like a shell.

Idiosyncracy A habitable light and thick wall that glows rather than illuminates.

Individualism Each component has its very own set of parameters and proportions that defines each one as individual systems. The wood layer is composed of thin long pieces that act as a screen, while the glass layer are bigrectangular sandblasted glass that diffuses the light. The metal layer, on the other hand, creates thin lines of light patterns.

Integration It was very interesting to notice how the individual behavioral characteristic of this layers regulate the quality of the light when combined.

Allegory The project became a record of a growing process. It is no longer a building, but an allegory.

Outcome “One does a whole painting for one peach and people think just the opposite— that that particular peach is but a detail.”1 Life is made out of special moments. An special mment in the masterpiece is as importantas the masterpiece itself and, occasionally, it is the originator. The development of a project that was the realization of idealistic thinking became the first step toward understanding that every parameter is reallyimposed by us and can be treated as a material. Furthermore, the materials can become as special as anything that marvels our senses. At the beginning, the search for a design that would satisfy the parameters wasarduos. However, looking at the conditions and materials the site provided brought about an approach that, in turn, led to a better understanding of what architecture could be.

1Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Vogue (New York, 1 Nov. 1956).

There is nothing moredifficult for a truly cre-ative painter than topaint a rose, becausebefore he can do so hehas first to forget allthe roses that wereever painted.1

1 Henri Matisse (1869–1954),Comment recalled in obituar-ies reporting his death, 5 Nov.1954.

Duality The duality between a massive wall and a habitable light wall both with the same thickness.

Quest Creating an in-between place in the city that can materialize all the new conceptual ideas.

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Perspective of the layered wall - Pastel and pencil

Ching, Francis D. K., A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand, 1995.

Dimster, Frank. The New Austrian Architecture. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1995.

Ford, Edward R. “The Details of Modern Architecture, Volume 2: 1928 to 1968.” Colonnade 12.1 (1996): 12 - 19.

Giovannini, Joseph. “Alpine Rationalists.” Architecture. Oct. 1997: 84 - 89.

Harbison, Robert. Thirteen Ways: Theoretical Investigations in Architecture. Cambridge, London: Graham Foundation / Massachusets Institute of Technology, 1997.

Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mau. Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large. Ed. Jennifer Sigler. New York: The Monaccelli Press, 1995.

Palasma, Juhani. The Eyes of The Skin: Architecture and The Senses Great Britain: Academy Editions, 1996.

Paris 1979-1989. Trans. Bert McClure. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1987.

Pérez Montas, Eugenio, et al. Arquitectura Colonial Iberoamericana. Ed. Ernesto Armitano. Venezuela: Gráficas Armitano C.A., 1997.

Ritchie, Ian. (Well) Connected Architecture. Ed. Iona Spens New York: St. Martin’s, 1994.

Rowe, Colin and Fred Koetter. Collage City. 8th ed. Cambridge, London: The Massachusets Institute of Technology, 1995.

Uluengin, Nihal and Bulent. “Homes of Old Makkah.” Aramco World. 44.4 (1993): 20 - 29.

Büttiker, Urs. Louis I. Kahn: Light and Space. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1994.

Eduard Hueber : p.madera eberle

Francois Bergert : p. paris arab

Nihal and Bulent Uluengin : p. arab

Bibliography

Photographic Credit

Beyond

For anyone who, likeRem Koolhaas, shares“a special penchantfor grey zones,” thegaze into the “be-yond” amd into thatsphere “ where onedoes not see anythingof the ‘architecture’”can provide an incred-ible source of inspira-tion. With the magicformula “to imaginenothingness,” onecould open up and uti-lize this “beyond” foroneself.1

1 Fritz Neumeyer, “OMA’sBerlin: The Polemic Island inthe City”, Assemblage 11.

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Perspectives views of the atrium at the third floor.

Perspectives of the layered wall - Pastel and pencil

Knowledge

Knowledge is in theend based onacknowledgement.1

1 Ludwig Wittgenstein, OnCertainty, sct. 378 (ed. byAnscombe and von Wright,1969).

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In memory of Awilda Reymundi, a great woman who always encouraged me and believed in me, but more importantly, taught me that there is something to be learned from every personthat crosses our way.

To William Galloway, Michael O’Brien, Heiner Schnodt, and Frank Weiner for all the architectural discussions and for sharing a vision.

To my parents and brother for their endless support, enduring love, their encouraging words and their infinite patience. Thanks for teaching me to believe in myself. It’s been quite ajourney to learn from you that taking care of the smallest details makes the product a lot more enjoyable and impressive, since “in the details lie the magic.”

To my husband for all those endless working nights, for the sacrifices you made so that I could follow my dreams, and for your reassuring love.

To all my friends, specially Jorge del Castillo, Jonathan and Yamilet Fleming, Seung Ju Lee, and Edgardo Martínez for your support, the laughs and all the moments that made thisjourney so special.

To my co-workers, for their support and understanding.

Acknowledgements

Bachelor of Environmental DesignUniversity of Puerto RicoRio Piedras, Puerto RicoMay 1996

Master of ArchitectureVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburg, VirginaOctober 2000

Doubledey, Inc.Río Piedras, Puerto RicoOctober 1992 - June 1996

Galeria Redondo y FotolaminadosHato Rey, Puerto RicoSummer 1996

Rife + Wood ArchitectsRoanoke, VirginiaFebruary 1999 - to present

Vita Necessity

Fact I know; and LawI know; but what is thisNecessity, save anempty shadow of myown mind’s throwing?1

1Thomas Henry Huxley, “Onthe Physical Basis Of Life”(1868; published in CollectedEssays, vol. 1, 1893).

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