Corey Gibbons - M.Arch. Thesis Book

A R C H I T E CT I N G : Revealing the Latent

Corey Gibbons Wentworth Institute of Technology M. Arch. ‘15

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A special thank you to the people that have directly and indirectly influenced this thesis: Marc Neveu – Although I did not have the opportunity to work with you on this thesis, it might never have come to fruition without your teachings and guidance. I am not sure I will ever be able to fully thank you or express my appreciation for everything you taught me – attempting to do so would require a second book. I am indebted to you for your impact on my education (architectural and beyond) and grateful to you for your never-ending questions.

Anne-Catrin Schultz – Thank you for your truly critical criticism, your sharp insight, your constant and reliable feedback and guidance, your thoroughness, and the careful thought and consideration you put into conducting our studio. The list goes on…

Ben Peterson – Thank you for expanding my understanding of Heidegger and for reinforcing the possibility that the role of the architect is analogous to that of a magician. Architects, too, can make things appear.

Weldon Pries – Thank you for your valuable (and sacred) input throughout the semester.

My family – Thank you for your constant support and frequent phone calls reminding me that life exists beyond the walls of studio.

ABSTRACT

This thesis claims that architecture has the ability to reveal the latent potential that surrounds it by bringing to the forefront what may have been previously unknown or not fully noticed. Performing in such a way, architecture can present the world in new, unforeseen ways and, therefore, grant its inhabitants a new understanding of the world. This claim has been developed into a work of architecture and this book chronicles its evolution from idea to design.

DEFINITIONS

Archi- (prefix): Best at‌ -Tect (suffix): ...Making things appear Reveal (verb): To show or make known; unveil Latent (adjective): Existing but hidden and waiting to be made manifest Situate (verb): Provide an understanding of one’s surroundings

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Thesis Topic Thesis Statement

2

2. Site Selection Criteria Description Location Situation

6

3. Process Site Drawings Spatial Investigations Situational Drawings Design Iterations

12

4. Project Project Criteria Design Description Final Iteration

22

5. Exhibition Gallery

46

6. Conclusion Epilogue

50

7. Appendix Canvas Transfer Process Annotated Bibliography

52

1

1: Thesis Topic

2

THESIS STATEMENT

The moment that we choose to build and intervene between the ground and sky, there inevitably exists a relationship between what has been built and the world around it. Architecture, then, becomes a mediator between the world and us; it affects how we understand and perceive our world. Some of the earliest civilizations realized this and, therefore, used architecture as a tool to represent their understanding of the world. Many examples of architecture, including Buddhist stupa, Hindu temples, and Mesopotamian settlements, among others, were built to act as physical recreations of the world and universe.

Architecture’s role was a significant one; it structured the lives of the culture that built it and provided order and understanding of humans’ place in the world.

Today, however, it can be argued that architecture holds a less significant status. Much of architecture is no longer built as a translation of our understanding of the world. Nor is it not created for the vital purpose of structuring our lives. Rather, it seems that too often architecture’s role is reduced to satisfying the pragmatic needs and requirements of our modern society. Functionality, cost, and political pursuits are privileged over meaning. Furthermore, we no longer 3

share the same beliefs or worldviews held by the ancient civilizations mentioned previously. Our world has become so globalized and multicultural that it is difficult to define a community or society by a common belief system, which used to be the source to generate meaningful architecture. Therefore, this begs the question: can architecture still situate us and grant us an understanding of our place within the world and universe? I believe that it can. Architecture has the ability to disclose information about its site that may have, otherwise, gone unnoticed without its presence. It can reveal the latent potential of its site, unveiling what has always been there but not made fully present and, in doing so, it can enhance our understanding of and appreciation for the world around us.

In his book, Architecture Oriented Otherwise, David Leatherbarrow elaborates upon the necessity of discovering the latent. He explains that when studying a site’s “given conditions” we falsely assume that this “place exhibits ‘its intentions’ the way designs present theirs.”1 This would be to assume that a site is composed of prominent figures or objects – which it is not, necessarily.

Regardless of its composition, a site will not announce where the focus

should lie. Therefore, because it does not “expose the intentionality of its formation” it, instead, “serves as the basis for that formation.”2 In other words, the site contains hidden potential waiting to be discovered and revealed by the architecture. Thus, it becomes architecture’s task to reveal what exists but is not necessarily made known (yet).

This act of making the unknown known allows architecture to recognize the world around it and, consequently, allow those who inhabit the building the same recognition. Performing in such a way, a building becomes beneficial in more ways than simply housing human activity. It becomes a device of enlightening through situating. Author Marc Neveu may agree with this point in his essay “Re:reading Heidegger,” in which he analyzes Martin Heidegger’s essay “Building, Dwelling, Thinking.” In his writing, Neveu explains that “we are, as beings, situated; we are oriented in our world…[and] the ramification of such thinking to architecture…may in fact be to allow us to become aware of our own place within the world.”3 This awareness that he speaks of, I argue, may be found through architecture’s ability to reveal.

THESIS STATEMENT Endnotes: 1. David Leatherbarrow, Architecture Oriented Otherwise. (New York: Princeton Architectural, 2009), 64.

2. Ibid.

3. Marc Neveu, “Re:reading Heidegger,” in Wentworth Architecture Review.

(Boston: Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2013), 61.

4

5

2: Site

6

SELECTION CRITERIA

Site photo collage

7

Site Characteristics: Given the claim of this thesis - that architecture can reveal latent potential around it and, thus, make us more aware of what lies around us - an appropriate site would be a place with minimal built environment; a place in which the ground, horizon, and sky are clearly visible. In a site in which the built environment does not interfere with these three primary elements (such as an urban condition), an architectural intervention can reveal these elements in new ways and elucidate our situation between the ground and sky.

DESCRIPTION

Site photo collage

HØvringen, Norway: A site that suits the previously described criteria is Rondane National Park in HØvringen, Norway. This is an almost entirely natural landscape, very little of which has been touched by man-made structures. It features latent potential – such as vast ground, a strong presence of the sky, and an omnipresent horizon – that could be developed and understood in a different way with the implementation of architecture.

8

LOCATION Kirkenes, Norway

Rondane National Park

Site Sweden HĂ˜vringen

Finland

Site

Rondane National Park

Existing Road

Norway E6 Highway

E6 Highway

E6 Highway

Denmark Trelleborg, Sweden

Site location diagrams

Where in the World?: HĂ˜vringen is located in eastern Norway, along the edge of Rondane National Park.

It is a rural, mountainous town located 1,000 meters above sea level. Known for its vast, seemingly unending terrain, it is dotted with small clusters of villages, hamlets, and farms. It is a remote location that is only accessible via a major highway that runs vertically through Norway.

9

SITUATION

SITUATION

Existing Walking Path

Site situation diagram

Stream

Path Extension

Existing Walking Path Stream

Path Extension

Existing Walking Path Stream Site Brekkeseter

Zooming In: Specifically, within this vast landscape, I have chosen a site situated one-and-ahalf miles away from the nearest hamlet - Brekkeseter - at the intersection of an existing walking path and stream. The intent was to locate the project far enough away from any man-made structures so that, from this location, the natural landscape is only visible. Furthermore, the location allows the project to act as continuation of an exiting walking path.

This location is important because, in a

Existing Walking Path Existing Walking Path Stream Stream Site Site Brekkeseter Brekkeseter

seemingly never-ending terrain lacking any kind of orientation, the project could easily never be found. However, by taking advantage of an existing guiding element, the project can be discovered as one follows this path and eventually encounters it.

In addition, by walking for nearly two miles and experiencing the site for quite some time, this path acts as an extended threshold, which will enhance the inhabitant’s experience of an architecture that reveals this site in a new way.

10

11

3: Process

12

SITE DRAWINGS

Color

Horizon

Stars in night sky

Altered horizon

Midnight sun

Moon

Charcoal and Pastel Drawings: The process began with creating drawings that capture certain physical and atmospheric qualities about the site to begin understanding the potential it has to offer.

13

SPATIAL INVESTIGATIONS

Charcoal sketches

Architectural Intervention Sketches: The next step in the process was beginning to explore how architecture could be implemented in such a site to frame, capture, and reveal the previously defined site qualities and characteristics.

14

SPATIAL INVESTIGATIONS

Charcoal sketches

Pen sketches

Clay models

Intervention Sketches/Models: The process continued with more sketches testing the possibilities of small-scale architecture that frames and reveals. The pen sketches lend themselves to a more rigid, precise, and man-made architecture.

Whereas, the charcoal sketches and clay models lend themselves to an architecture of excavation; spaces created only using earth instead of imported materials.

15

SITUATIONAL DRAWINGS

Multiple grounds

Merging scales

Intersecting ground and sky

Sky, horizon, sky

Splicing ground and sky

Sky below; ground above

Digital Collages: These collages challenge our given situation between the ground and sky by altering their given locations in relation to how we experience and understand them.

16

DESIGN ITERATIONS

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Iteration 3

Iteration 4

17

Evolving Iterations: The previous investigations led to a design that continued the horizontal movement through which the site is experienced by creating a gradually incline into the ground. This horizontal movement would then be countered with vertical movement. Through a series of iterations, the design developed into an underground tunnel meant to gradually remove the inhabitant visually from the site and lead him into a series of vertical shafts occupied by moving platforms.

During this process I realized that the project should not just deal with our physical situation on earth, but recognize that we are also situated in several varying structures of time on earth. This led to the implementation of four inhabitable platforms that rise and fall at different speeds and are oriented in different directions, towards differing landscape conditions both near and far. These platforms are meant to present the world beyond from within specific volumes and simultaneously mark the passage of time.

DESIGN ITERATIONS

Iteration 3

Iteration 4

Iteration 5

18

DESIGN ITERATIONS

Study models

Perspective studies

19

Wall Profile Studies: With the development of four distinct platforms, the next step in the process was considering how each is enclosed and how each frames and reveals the specific landscape condition beyond. The possibilities were tested through a series of models and perspectives.

DESIGN ITERATIONS

1/8� Study model - Iteration 6

Penultimate Iteration: The process of investigations, explorations, and tests generated a built form defined by vertical planes enclosing four differently-sized platforms and a narrow, vertical space in the center. The project is entered through a sloping, underground tunnel and each platform is defined by four individual conditions of enclosure.

20

21

4: Project

22

PROJECT CRITERIA

What Must the Architecture Do?: In order to be a manifestation of the thesis, the design must adhere to the following criteria developed throughout the creation process: 1. PERFORMANCE - Project must reveal latent potential around it 2. PERFORMANCE - Project must situate the inhabitant in time, in addition to place 3. SCALE - Project should be scaled to allow for only a few inhabitants at one time 4. LOCATION - Project should be located in a single spot on the site. This spot should be far enough away from built environment that only the natural landscape is visible 5. ORIENTATION - Project should orient in a multitude of directions to capture the diversity of the site and the latent potential 23

DESIGN DESCRIPTION Manifesting the Thesis: Performance The resulting architecture of this thesis is composed of four moving platforms.

These platforms are meant to allow for dwelling; they are planes from which one can observe and discover the latent potential of the site, world, and universe.

Each platform rises and falls vertically at differing speeds. Each is a different size.

Each is oriented in a different direction.

Each is meant to be viewed from. Each situates and reveals.

Time/Speed The platforms each take a specific amount of time to rise to their peaks and fall back down to their lowest positions. The amount of time is based on four cycles and patterns of time that we are situated in on earth. The first is daily time. This is based on the time defined by the sun rising and setting and demarcating a day begun and then completed. The second is monthly time. This is based on the moon revolving around the earth, revealing itself in constantly shifting phases and defining one month periods.

The third is tri-monthly time. This is based on the seasons constantly changing and marking three month-long periods. The fourth is yearly time. This is based on the

earth’s continuous rotation around the sun.

Our lives are situated and ordered within these four degrees of time and the platforms make the inhabitant aware of time’s enduring presence. Time never stands still - it is always creating change, yet within this framework of change there is consistency, repetition, and predictability. Therefore, each platform is designated a speed that is analogous to one of these times. This means that they are indeterminate; they are always in motion, always changing position.

Yet, despite this constant change, their movement is consistent, repetitive, and cyclical. This allows the project to recognize the passage of time and act as a datum to compare against the fluctuating perception of time on the site. In Norway, the sun’s presence varies greatly in the winter compared to the summer. This causes a warped perception of time throughout the year. In the winter, when the sun barely rises, the days can feel abrupt, but in the summer, when the sun does not seem to set, the days can feel infinite. As time frequently appears to be distorted here, the project remains in constant, consistent, and measurable change.

Vertical Movement The project developed into an architecture primarily defined by vertical movement for two reasons. The first reason, as previously described, is that the movement allows the project to mark the passage of time. The second reason is that the vertical range of motion allows the platforms to expose and reveal the latent potential of the site most effectively. By moving vertically, rather than horizontally or remaining static, the platforms each reveal the latent qualities of the ground, horizon, and sky and allow them to be understood in a multitude of ways. Beginning at their lowest positions below ground, the platforms show the layers and sub-layers that compose the earth and ground. As the platforms rise, they then show the details of the ground - the vegetation, rocks, stones, etc. allowing the ground to be understood intimately, on a human-scale. Continuing to rise, the platforms gradually shift the understanding and perception of the ground from a human-scale to larger scale. The ground begins to be seen as a plane or surface. It is understood as a larger entity defining and informing the terrain of the site. As the focus shifts away from the ground itself, what begins to become more apparent is the ground’s 24

DESIGN DESCRIPTION relationship with the sky - the horizon.

Seeing beyond the intimate details of the ground now shows the extents and limits of the ground, causing the inhabitant to realize that, where the ground ends, something else must begin. This something else is, in some locations on the site, a mountain, range of mountains, or the sky. The platforms now offer a constantly shifting perspective of the horizon and allow the inhabitant to understand and consider the relationship between the human body and the horizon - the ultimate boundary. The final element that tops this vertical strip of information is the sky. The sky, too, is able to be viewed with a constantly shifting perspective because during the entire duration of each platform’s rise and fall the sky is always visible; it can always be viewed by looking vertically and, at times, by looking horizontally. The sky can be seen and understood in a variety ways from each platform as it changes color, tone, and density and becomes inhabited by the clouds, sun, moon, stars, and light.

This vertical range of motion, then, reveals the vast range of latent potential on the site. From the depths of the ground below us that we walk on, that we touch, that we feel, to the depths of the universe 25

above us that forever exceeds our grasp and constantly astonishes, mystifies, and inspires us. Thus, it is the intent of the project not to ride each of these platforms for a day, month, three months, or a year to understand their performance, but the intent is to observe the site and world from each and see what each reveals at any given time of the day, month, or year.

Orientation/Size As mentioned previously, each platform is a different size. The daily platform, which moves the fastest, has been made the largest because it has the most to show.

Thus, the speed of the platform is directly related to its size. The slower the speed, the less the platform has to show at any given time and the smaller it becomes.

Therefore, the second largest platform is the monthly, followed by the tri-monthly, and the smallest is the yearly.

The speed of each not only dictates its size but also its orientation in relation to the landscape. Each faces a different and specific landscape condition. The larger and faster the platform, the more layered and detailed the condition it faces. For example, the daily platform is oriented towards the most complex and detailed landscape condition. It faces the stream

that runs in front of it and a horizon that is defined by a mountain range. From this platform the inhabitant can view the stream, in addition to the ground plane, an undulating mountain range, and the sky. The monthly platform is oriented in a perpendicular direction to that of the daily.

It is oriented towards a horizon defined only by a single mountain. This landscape condition is less detailed than the condition visible from the daily platform but is still the second most detailed condition. The tri-monthly platform is oriented towards a horizon defined by a faint, distant mountain. Finally, the yearly is oriented towards a flat horizon line defined not by a mountain(s), but by the ground plane.

Entry Sequence/Threshold The architecture around these platforms is meant to filter the world in a variety of ways. As the project is approached from the existing walking path, it is entered through a sloping tunnel. This tunnel is meant to gradually remove the inhabitant visually from the site. It is a threshold that transitions the inhabitant from the overwhelming and vast site into a project that will narrow and focus their understanding of the site. The side retaining walls of the tunnel and floor are

DESIGN DESCRIPTION made of concrete (as are the rest of the walls of the project) but within the side walls and floor rectangular slivers are removed to reveal the layers of the earth behind and below. This elongated space is covered above by wooden rafters with slits between them to almost entirely prevent views outward, but still allow daylight to enter. After descending to the lowest level of the project, the inhabitant is guided into a central space by the continuation of narrow openings in the floor. This central space exists in between each of the four platforms. Its floor is composed of bedrock and does not have a roof covering it to reveal the sky above. From this space four vertical slots are visible - one in each of the four walls enclosing the volume. These slots allow the inhabitant to compare the locations of each of the platforms and they also allow access to the platforms via ladders on the inside faces. A ladder was chosen as the means of vertical circulation and access to the platforms because they permit access to and exit from each at all times.

Enclosures Each platform is enclosed differently depending on the landscape condition that it faces. The daily platform is enclosed by walls whose profiles recede

as they gain in height. This is a reaction to the mountainous horizon condition that it is oriented towards. As the platform reaches higher in elevation, the view becomes more open towards this textured mountain range in the distance.

The vastness and detail of this mountain range beyond suggests a less specific and focused frame. Whereas, when the platform is lower in elevation, the more focused the view is towards the stream and ground detail.

The monthly platform is enclosed by parallel, rectangular walls. Horizontal bands of wooden planks stretch across the open side of this shaft. They are spaced several feet apart, vertically, to fragment the view outwards. These horizontal bands frame specific portions of the landscape beyond. Depending on the platform’s location and the inhabitant’s perspective, at times the ground plane is framed, at other times the mountain meeting the ground is framed, or the mountain meeting the sky, or just the sky itself. This landscape condition of three clear and distinct parts - ground, mountain, sky - suggests an enclosure that allows the inhabitant to understand these parts individually.

The tri-monthly platform is similarly enclosed by parallel side walls and an open face partially concealed by horizontal bands. However, these bands are angled downward to force the inhabitant’s perspective down and up.

The inhabitant can see through these bands only when looking down. This causes a framing of the ground. If the inhabitant looks up, the angled bands form an opaque surface blocking views out horizontally. But this still allows for views upward, towards the sky. The faint mountain defining the horizon condition beyond does not suggest horizontal viewing and observation of the horizon itself (like the daily and monthly platforms) but a viewing downward and upward towards what is more immediate - the ground and sky.

The yearly platform’s enclosure is the inverse to the daily platform - its side walls lean outward and increase in depth as they gain in height. This means that the higher the platform rises, the more focused the view. The landscape condition here is the simplest of the four a flat ground plane that intersects the sky.

The higher the platform, the more this distant horizon is framed and seemingly brought closer to the inhabitant.

26

Section & Plan Digital Drawing (36”x90”)

27

Exterior Perspective, Site Plan, & Interior Perspectives Digital Drawing (36”x90”)

28

Section & Plan Canvas Drawing (36”x84”) (Digital print transferred onto canvas)

29

Canvas drawing detail - Section

30

Canvas drawing detail - Section

31

Canvas drawing detail - Section

32

Canvas drawing detail - Plan

33

Canvas drawing detail - Plan

34

Interior perspective - Entry Tunnel

35

Interior perspective - Center Space

36

Interior perspective - Daily Platform

37

Interior perspective - Monthly Platform

38

Interior perspective - Tri-monthly Platform

39

Interior perspective - Yearly Platform

40

Unfolded section perspectives (Still taken from animation)

41

1/8� Final model

42

1/16� Final model

43

1/16� Final model

44

45

5: Exhibition

46

GALLERY

Final work presented on 8’x8’ wall

47

GALLERY

Detail of final presentation

48

49

6: Conclusion

50

EPILOGUE Final Review(s) The formal final review and the subsequent final exhibit led to many interesting and insightful conversations.

One of the major recurring comments revolved around how you exit the project.

Many critics felt that there should be or could be a different means of exiting the project instead of just leaving through the same tunnel that you enter in. A valid point brought up is that you are different after you inhabit and experience this project. You are affected by it so the threshold and transition back into the site should be distinct from the entry sequence. Furthermore, another consequence of exiting through the same entry tunnel is that it seems as though the project is sending you back towards Brekkeseter and the path from which you approached the project, as opposed to letting you continue on your journey across the landscape. The project becomes suggestive of something that is a destination to get to rather than something that is experienced as part of the larger experience of trekking through this vast landscape.

I appreciated all of the comments and criticisms offered by the critics because they have allowed me to consider how this project could continue its evolution.

51

Final Thoughts The development of this thesis inquiry over the course of the semester was an exciting, challenging, and ultimately worthwhile experience. This thesis allowed me to explore a specific belief that I held about the role of architecture and what it is capable of. Prior to the beginning of the semester, I felt passionately about architecture as a device for revealing and after specifically examining and defining my beliefs and thoughts, this passion has been reaffirmed and strengthened. I am grateful for this opportunity because I can now carry these beliefs with me for the rest of my education and career. They will hopefully inform my role as a future magician architect...

7: Appendix

52

CANVAS TRANSFER PROCESS

53

CANVAS TRANSFER PROCESS

4/11/15

ROUND 1

8:29PM

4/11/15

8:47PM

4/11/15

8:56PM

4/11/15

9:54PM

4/11/15

10:24PM

4/11/15

11:33PM

4/12/15

12:47AM

4/12/15

1:40AM

4/12/15

2:18AM

4/12/15

2:49AM

4/12/15

3:19AM

4/12/15

ROUND 2

2:46PM

4/12/15

4:05PM

4/12/15

5:32PM

4/12/15

6:02PM

4/12/15

END ROUND 2

6:35PM

END ROUND 1

54

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Harries, Karsten. “Context, Confrontation, Folly.” In Perspecta, 7-19. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1992.

In a portion of Harries’ essay, he discusses Martin Heidegger’s “The Origin of the Work of Art.” He uses this example to make the point that genuine works of architecture “[render] visible the landscape” and “illuminate [their] surroundings.”

He continues on to make another point that “familiarity veils” but “fissures” can lift the veil by disrupting familiarity and making us notice what was right in front of us. This article was particularly helpful to me because it supports my claim that architecture can be an element which makes you notice what has always been there but not fully noticed.

Heidegger, Martin, and Albert Hofstadter. “Building Dwelling Thinking.” Poetry, Language, Thought, 145-61. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought, 2013.

In his essay, Building, Dwelling, Thinking, Martin Heidegger elucidates what it means to build and dwell, or be, on earth. Heidegger comes to the point that we build because we dwell, therefore, our building should recognize our dwelling on earth. He refers to this recognition as a gathering of the fourfold – the earth, sky, mortals, and divinities – and believes that it should be found in what we build.

This ‘recognition’, I interpret as an example of how architecture can perform. He furthers the conversation by elaborating on how buildings can recognize the world around them and us and, by doing so, this act reflects the nature of being on earth.

It also allows us to create genuine buildings and these buildings, consequently, give form to our being. Although Heidegger was a philosopher, not an architect, his ideas presented here can certainly relate to architecture. His words can be taken and applied to the way we conceive of buildings and their relationship with both human beings and the world.

55

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Leatherbarrow, David. Architecture Oriented Otherwise. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2009.

In his book, Architecture Oriented Otherwise, author David Leatherbarrow describes and dissects architecture based on how it performs and explains the advantages of such performances. He switches the common conversation about architecture from what a building is to what it does. Stating and then arguing against how buildings are often reduced to objects, Leatherbarrow explains that the reality of architecture is demonstrated through a buildings acts or performances. A building is not merely an object because it is capable of creating effects and the building is actually understood primarily through these effects. Though it may seem passive, architecture is an active element in the landscape that is “secretly at work.”

Understanding these truths can generate a more profound architecture.

––. Topographical Stories: Studies in Landscape and Architecture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.

Leatherbarrow uses the sixth chapter of his book, Topographical Stories, to discuss and understand the term ‘situation’ as it was understood in the 18th century. He is interested in how architectural forms and elements can retain their relevance and meaning within varying conditions – or, situations – through adaption to change. Specifically, within the realm of the 18th century, Leatherbarrow looks primarily at the writing of Robert Morris and his interpretation of situation in the context of the English garden. Leatherbarrow discovers that Morris is unique to other writers of his time because Morris believes in the form of the building being formed by its situation. The intent of examining Morris is to begin the conversation about how architects today can design buildings that acknowledge their situation and the many complexities that the term entails.

56

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Neveu, Marc J. “The Performative Nature of Function.” In Function-Purpose-Use, 56-66.

2012.

In his essay, “The Performative Nature of Function,” author Marc Neveu analyzes the writing, theories, and works of Carlo Lodoli to illuminate one of the first voices to promote a performance-oriented consideration of architecture and design and understand how these ancient theories are still entirely applicable and relevant to today’s world. This analysis covers Lodoli’s critique of ancient Greek architecture and their lack of understanding of the nature of materials – which Lodoli refers to as indole. This leads to a conversation about the nature, or inherent characteristics, of materials and how understanding the nature of a material can reveal its beauty through use. Lodoli refers to the forcole as an ideal example of something that was design to suit its use and its given situation. In responding to specific criteria and situation, the forcle perform. Neveu raises this point to highlight that this issue is still important today. Centuries later, we still need to understand that materials have different characteristics and it is our job to understand the limits and possibilities of materials to create a more meaningful architecture that responds to and performs within its given situation. We also need to realize that it is not important to only understand the nature of materials; we must also understand the criteria established by the given situation and decide how architecture will not only function, but perform.

––. “Re:reading Heidegger.” In Wentworth Architecture Review, 60-65. Boston: Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2013.

In his article “Re:reading Heidegger,” author Marc Neveu examines Martin Heidegger’s essay “Building Dwelling Thinking.” Neveu summarizes the most significant points made by Heidegger in order to question how the implications of this philosophical writing can be applied to architecture. Specifically, he addresses Heidegger’s understanding of dwelling and considers how such beliefs are essential to creating a more profound architecture. Neveu suggests that Heidegger’s text presents the possibility that “a building…[can frame] our experience and…[allow] 57

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY us to understand the fullness inherent in being and in place.” Architecture can recognize its place in the world and grant the same awareness to its inhabitants.

Zumthor, Peter. “A Way of Looking at Things” (1988), In Thinking Architecture, 7-27.

Baden: Lars Müller, 1999.

Peter Zumthor’s essay “A Way of Looking at Things,” in the journal Thinking Architecture, discusses atmospheres of architecture generated and understood through the various senses. He explains how he experienced architecture through his senses and how these sensual experiences still remain strongly imprinted in his memory. This personal and intimate reading of architecture suggests that architecture is capable of affecting us and performing on us – it is not people that solely affect architecture.

58