PRECEDENCE STUDY | CARTESIAN

Displacing Grids In Three Dimensions

THE EXPLORATION BEGAN WITH A STUDY OF CARTESIAN ARCHITECTURE IN ONE OF LE CORBUSIER’S LATER WORKS WITH THE MILL OWNERS’ BUILDING. HERE, DISPLACEMENT AND RECONFIGURATION OF THE 9-SQUARE AND 4-SQUARE GRID BECAME AN EXPRESSIVE FEATURE OF THE BUILDING, CONFORMING TO THE MODULAR MAN AND THE ARCHITECTURAL PROMENADE DESIRED. IT IS CLEAR THEN THAT THE ARCHITECT HAS MASTERED HIS UTILITY OF FORMAL PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE GEOMETRICAL AND FUNCTIONAL HARMONY IN HIS SCHEME. FURTHERING THE EXPLORATION, THE 9-SQUARE GRID IN 3-DIMENSIONAL SPACE WAS ABSTRACTED TO POINTS, LINES AND PLANES, RESEMBLING THE MAISON DOMINO. EXTRUSION OF LINES CREATED A LATTICE WITH AN APPARENT GRID ON EVERY AXIS. DISPLACEMENT OF THESE GRIDS ON EACH AXIS WAS THEN EXPLORED CREATING PLANES THAT CUT THROUGH SPACE AT CONTROLLED ANGLES, SIMILAR TO REM KOOLHAAS’ INVESTIGATIONS. THESE PLANES WERE THEN TAKEN AS PLIABLE AND CURVED TO DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS OF DISPLACEMENT, COINCIDENTALLY PARALLELING TOYO ITO’S BAROQUE AND TAMA ART MUSEUM RESPECTIVELY. THE THOROUGH STUDY GAVE DEEP INSIGHT INTO THE CONFIGURATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF A SIMPLE GRID TO ACHIEVE VARYNG SPATIAL QUALITIES.