PROJECT MATRIX
ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENTS
PROJECT:
The Thermal Vals
ARCHITECT:
Peter Zumthor
LOCATION:
Switzerland
YEAR:
1996
KEY CONCEPT AND ITS REFLECTION
IN THE DESIGN STUDIO
The Therme Vals is a hotel and spa, built over the only
thermal springs in the Graubunden Canton in Switzerland. The idea was to create
a form of cave or quarry like structure. Working with the natural surroundings
the bathrooms lay below the grass roof structure half buried into the hillside.
Water piped from the area’s mineral springs fill a network of baths in the base
of the complex.
The Therme
Vals is built from
layer upon layer of locally quarried Valser Quarzite slabs. This stone became a
driving inspiration for the design and is used with great dignity and respect.
“Mountain, stone, water – building in the stone, building with the stone, into
the mountain, building out of the mountain, being outside the mountain – how
can the implications and the sensuality of the association of these words be
interpreted, architecturally?” Peter Zumthor
The spaces
were designed for visitors to rediscover the ancient benefits of bathing. The
combinations of light and shade, open and enclosed spaces and linear elements
make for a highly sensuous and restorative experience. The underlying informal
layout of the internal space is carefully modelled path of circulation which
leads bathers to certain predetermined points but lets them explore other areas
for themselves. The perspective is always controlled. It either ensures or
denies a view.
“The meander, as we call it, is a
designed negative space between the blocks, a space that connects everything as
it flows through the entire building, creating a peacefully pulsating rhythm.
Moving around this space means making discoveries. You are walking as if in the
woods. Everyone there is looking for a path of their own.” Peter Zumthor
This precedent study seeks to analyse and communicate the
formal organisation, hierarchy, geometry and the architectural intent of Peter
Zumthor’s Therme Vals, Switzerland, a structure that is integrally embedded
into the rural hillside. After analysing the project through readings,
photographs and diagrams, a model will be constructed to highlight the most
important of these explorations.
The wall cladding is made up of 60,000, one metre long
sections of stone. Although the wall cladding may seem random, like an ashlar
wall, there is a regular order. The cladding stones are of three different
heights, but the total of the three is always 15cm, the three so it allows for variety in arrangement,
whilst facilitating construction. The different heights are 31, 47 and 63 mm,
that cover the spaces of the bathrooms from top to bottom.
An interplay between stone and water; a juxtaposition
between solid and void. the play of interior masses on the floor plan directly
translates into the final thermal baths building.
One of the main elements with which Zumthor designed this
project was the light and its combinations. Through the light and the shade,
the open and closed spaces create environments in which visitors enjoy and
rediscover the benefits of the waters. This is achieved by creating narrow
slits that cut the network of lights from the ceiling of the baths that’s show
the bathers an extension of the rooms next door, giving the feeling of
continuous space.
The collection of interior spaces of the thermal baths
engage the user, through a variety of sensory experiences. Light acts as a
procession through the collection of spaces. movement is not directed or
controlled but the user is free to be drawn to certain light sources, with blue
and red lights indicating the temperature of pools in each chamber. A strip
lighting detail is used in the ceilings, to allow the natural light to
penetrate the spaces and act as a guide along corridors and around corners.
‘Rectiliniear geometry is rigorously pursued, and its
visibility guarded even in winter, when heated glass strips between the fifteen
rectangular, snow-covered roof slabs ensure that the right-angled roof mosaic
is not obscured. Nothing is allowed to ‘compete with the human body… Only the
anatomically undulating wooden deck chairs, designed especially for the baths,
hint at the softeness of the human body’.
GEOMETRICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
SHAPE.
The entire building will be modelled at 1:200 including the
site contours, as the structure is half buried in the hillside the projects
roof becomes an extension of the of the hillside therefore it is necessary to
show what is happing around the site. As motioned before the 15 table like
units of stone make up the thermal baths, each unit is between 3 and 5 meters
wide and 6 to 8 metres long. The units fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, with
the canterlivered concrete roof units supported by tie-beams. The nature of the
construction is revealed through close inspection of the roof, the roof of the
units don’t join, with 8 cm gaps covered by glass to prevent water entering the
structure.
Inside the structure provides a contrast; the concrete makes
the roof appear heavy, but the gaps between the units make the roof appear as
if it is floating.
The Therme Vals is built from layer upon
layer of locally quarried Valser Quarzite slabs, I have chosen basswood to
represent the Valser Quarzite slabs. Basswood will also be used for the
contours, The
insertion of the baths in the strong unevenness of the land, allows the
project’s roof top to be an extension of the valley therfore basswood will also
be used for the countours the represent the integration of the baths into the
locacal context. Acrylic frosted sheets will represent the water, this
material compliments the basswood and will not over power the other materials
rather coincide harmoniously.
PROPOSED
SCALE, MATERIAL, TECHNIQUE
Scale:
1:200 scale was selected to represent the entire structure
and the surrounding context, this scale is appropriate as it is large enough to
represent the detail of the roof structure and other important features of the
building’s design.
Materials:
2mm thick Basswood
Acrylic Frosted sheets
Technique:
Laser cutting was selected for this project as the project
is faced in slender pieces of quartz that lend the walls a layered appearance
like a slice through a rock formation. Laser cutting will give a smooth finish
to the basswood that will represent the extremely smooth stone finish.
TIME AND COMMITMENT
Approximately
40 hrs
this
includes, purchasing the materials,
Preparing digital
file: 20
Laser cutting:
4 hours
Sand papering:
5 hours
Assembling:
10 hours
BUDGET
Laser cutting
30 hours: $60
2mm thick basswood
sheet: x 4 $31.95
2mm thick acrylic frosted sheet: $20
REFENCES:
ZUMTHOR P., Thinking
architecture , Milan, Electa, 2003
ZUMTHOR P., The
thermal baths of Vals: stone and water , in "Casabella",
1997
SPIRITO G., The magic
of the real , in "Review of architecture and urban
planning", 2009,
GRIFFERO T., Atmosphereology. Aesthetics
of emotional spaces , Rome-Bari, Laterza, 2010
ZUMTHOR P., Atmosphere. Architectural
environments. The things that surround us , Milan, Electa, 2007
PROJECT:
Tietgen Dormitory
ARCHITECT:
Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
LOCATION:
Denmark
YEAR:
2006
KEY CONCEPT
The source of
inspiration for the student’s residence in Copenhagen were the traditional
Tulou houses in Southeastern China – village communities
with individual dwellings and communal facilities. The building expresses the idea of community while also making
privacy for individuals, as mentioned by the Architect Peter Thorsen “The
principle inspiration for the project is the meeting of the collective and the
individual, a characteristic inherent to the dormitory building type.”
The simple
circular form of the Tietgen dormitory is an urban response to the context,
providing a bold architectural statement in the newly planned area. The
circular shape allows for logical organization of the building:
The building consists
of 7 storeys with facilities common to the entire dormitory are grouped at
ground floor, such as administration, meeting and study rooms, workshops,
laundry, mailroom, and function room.
The upper 6 levels
contain 360 residence units placed on the outside with a view of the
surrounding city, while the common rooms and hallway are orientated towards the
inner courtyard. In this way the architectural idea mirrors what’s unique about
the dormitory as a type of accommodation: the meeting between the individual
and the collective. The 360 residences, organized in thirty groups of twelve,
each equipped with a shared kitchen, common room and utility room.
Architect and owner of
Lundgaard & Tranberg Lene Tranberg puts it: ‘Architecture is caring and
responsibility for something very fine and fragile. We build for and around
people. Imagine if it wasn’t allowed to build anything unless you have
something at heart.’
This precedent study seeks to analyse and communicate the
formal organisation, geometry and to express the architectural intent; for the building’s circular form to express the idea of community while
also making privacy for individuals, a characteristic inherent to the dormitory
building type. After analysing the project through readings, photographs
and diagrams, a model will be constructed to highlight the most important of
these concepts.
GEOMETRICAL DESCRIPTION
The
apartments are set at differing depths in an alternating rhythm, which
expresses the individual’s unique identity through its form and gives the
exterior form of the building it’s characteristic, crystalline expression and
neutralises the possibly monumental shape of the cylindrical space.
The apartment
groups’ communal spaces are formed correspondingly. They stand out as dramatically
protruding building masses that face the middle of the courtyard – the centre
point of the entire form.
Five vertical
intersections divide this circular building into sections and acts as passage
ways between them, and to the inner courtyard, allowing for both communal and
private life.
PROPOSED SCALE | MATERIAL |
TECHNIQUE
1:200 for the
massing model
Materials:
Silver and
white filament will be used to 3D print the circular building
Silver filament
will be used to highlight the communal and circulation spaces while the white
is used to indicate the private rooms
TIME | COMMITMENT | BUDGET
Time and commitment:
Approximately
60 hours
Preparation of
digital model: 20 hours
Fabrication duration:
30 hours
Assembly and refinement:
10 hours
Budget:
3D printing:
$30
REFERENCE:
Boyer, Christine M. (1983) Dreaming the
Rational City. The Myth of American City Planning, MIT Press, 1997 Bresnahan,
Keith (2003) ”Neurasthenic Subjects and the Bourgeois Interior”, Space and
Culture, May 2003 vol. 6 no. 2 pp. 169-177 Bundegaard, Christian (2009) “Om
arkitekturens oprindelse”, Kritik, 193, 42, Nordisk Forlag, København 2009, pp.
12-27 By og Havn (2011) Godt Begyndt – Et tilbageblik over Ørestads udvikling,
Udviklingsselskabet By og Havn, København 2011 Clapham, David F., Clark,
William A., Gibb, Kenneth (2012) The SAGE Handbook of Housing Studies, SAGE
Publications, London 2012
http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature86.htm
http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?id=47
http://www.archdaily.com/65172/simmons-hall-at-mit-steven-holl/
http://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Simmons_Hall_Residence
http://www.archdaily.com/474237/tietgen-dormitory-lundgaard-and-
tranberg-architects/
http://www.arcspace.com/features/lundgaard--tranberg-/tietgen-
dormitory/
http://tietgenkollegiet.dk/en/the-building/
http://www.payette.com/post/1789308-tour-of-simmons-hall-at-mit
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/magazine/big-sponge-on-campus.html
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/simmons/
https://couplarchideas.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/the-phenomenological-approach/
http://architizer.com/projects/mit-simmons-hall/
http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature86.htm
PROJECT:
Tietgen Dormitory
ARCHITECT:
Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
LOCATION:
Denmark
YEAR:
2006
KEY CONCEPT AND ITS REFLECTION
IN THE DESIGN STUDION:
The third
precedent model will be the study of the Tietgen building’s different programs,
communal spaces, room layouts, flexibility and designing for diversity.
The concept
of this project is reflected in the design studio as it explores alternative
housing models for students, by analysing the buildings program and spacial composition,
I can gain an understanding of how increasing communal spaces can facilitate social
interaction among the building occupants.
In order to
realise the complexly shaped construction within the time and budget frame of
the job, and to make way for the high standards of materials and finish, a
combination of innovative and known building technology with a high degree of
prefabrication and repeatability has been used.
Room layouts privacy
and prefabrication techniques:
In all rooms,
one wall is clad with light plywood panels that not only serve a decorative
purpose. Built into this construction are a number of storage lockers along the
ceiling, a closed bookcase in the far end of the room as well as a movable
wardrobe that can be used as a room divider. Student are allowed to bring their
own furniture for temporary personal use and decoration. At the end of the
semester when the students move out they bring their furniture with them.
The interiors are objectively a continuation of the design
of the rest of the dormitory, with polished concrete floors extended to one
wall and the ceiling, while the other wall is covered by panels of wood, yet
they are also highly personalized by the students.
There are altogether 360 rooms, divided into
two types; one is a 1-bedroom unit which takes 26-33 square metres. And 30
2-bedroom units of 45 square metres suitable for students who need extra space
or couples.
The smallest
rooms are 26 square meters and all rooms have a large window section that you
can slide open giving you access to either a French window or a proper balcony.
360 “SLICES OF THE PIE” The total 360 rooms are all facing the outer side of
the round structure. Common to them all is also the basic shape that can be
clearly seen from the layout: as slices of a pie, the rooms are widest at the
outer end.
Social interaction:
The residents are
encouraged to be part of the community, there are no kitchens in the rooms. Therefore,
the cooking takes place in the communal kitchen. However, each apartment has an
ensuite with toilet and shower. This Tietgen dormitory focuses on the
interaction between inhabitants with great society and less time spend on
individual space. The small division of space in each room is not their
weakness but rather their underscore of the large communal space outside the
limited space.
Designing for
diversity:
30 of the apartments
are double rooms that are well-suited for couples or for students requiring
extra space. About 60 of the rooms are dedicated to international students that
are on an exchange stay in Copenhagen. While the ordinary rooms are furnished
by the residents themselves, the international rooms come furnished.
There are four different types of
residences, distinguished by varying sizes. The four types vary with French
window, small or large balcony as well as a few small layout differences. In
the double room residences there is room for two students.
Flexibility
of communal spaces:
"The kitchen is important to residence
hall living and it is crucial that the room should be a place contains many
human activities and possibilities. 12 residences at Tietgenkollegiet share one
of the 30 spacious kitchens which are equipped with kitchen utensils,
tableware, 1 cooker hood, 2 cookers and 4 fridges. Residents have made
contributions to infusing every kitchen with its own characteristic style. The
utility room, which connects with every kitchen, has a sink where people can
hang laundry to dry. There is an additional room for every housing group. After
moving in, residents can decide to name additional rooms if they wish. Although
the 30 common rooms are associated with a residence group, the rooms are
available for all the residents and, therefore, they encourage people to move
around into other places instead of just their own kitchen. Since every room
has its own function and theme, the opportunity is offered for access to a more
changeable selection of facilities."34
GEOMETRICAL DESCRIPTION
The hanging
kitchens and common room areas facing the inner courtyard, contrary to nature,
seem to be hanging freely in the air. With a depth of up to 8 meters, these
boxes are an impressive feat of engineering requiring gathering inspiration
from e.g. building bridges in the open sea.
This model
will be at a larger scale, it will explore the internal layout of the rooms,
the relationship between private and communal spaces and also will provide
details of the structural component of the building.
The model will
show how the apartments use flexibility of space; As student dormitories are
most commonly short-term stay, space should be the most flexible as possible
for different inhabitant to rearrange by their desire. This plan is showing
different variation of arrangement of furniture. Some of this furniture are
provided and first and some are movable.
PROPOSED SCALE | MATERIAL |
TECHNIQUE
1:50 scale for
construction and detail model
Technique:
Laser cutting
and engraving
Cutting by
hand
Material:
Different coloured
2mm thick acrylic sheets will be used for the movable and fixed furniture within
the apartments
Coloured acrylic
will be used for the communal spaces aswell.
3 mm white
card will be used for the external and internal walls
5mm Balsa wood
will be used for the structural elements
TIME | COMMITMENT | BUDGET
Approximately 40
hours
Time and commitment:
Preparation of
didital model: 20 hours
Laser cutting:
4 hours
Assembly: 10
hours
Budget:
Laser cutting
and engraving: $30
White board:
x1 sheet $8
Balsa wood: x
2 sheets $16
Assorted acrylic
sheets: x4 sheets $64
Total: $118
REFERENCES
Boyer, Christine M. (1983) Dreaming the
Rational City. The Myth of American City Planning, MIT Press, 1997 Bresnahan,
Keith (2003) ”Neurasthenic Subjects and the Bourgeois Interior”, Space and
Culture, May 2003 vol. 6 no. 2 pp. 169-177 Bundegaard, Christian (2009) “Om
arkitekturens oprindelse”, Kritik, 193, 42, Nordisk Forlag, København 2009, pp.
12-27 By og Havn (2011) Godt Begyndt – Et tilbageblik over Ørestads udvikling,
Udviklingsselskabet By og Havn, København 2011 Clapham, David F., Clark,
William A., Gibb, Kenneth (2012) The SAGE Handbook of Housing Studies, SAGE
Publications, London 2012
http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature86.htm
http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?id=47
http://www.archdaily.com/65172/simmons-hall-at-mit-steven-holl/
http://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Simmons_Hall_Residence
http://www.archdaily.com/474237/tietgen-dormitory-lundgaard-and-
tranberg-architects/
http://www.arcspace.com/features/lundgaard--tranberg-/tietgen-
dormitory/
http://tietgenkollegiet.dk/en/the-building/
http://www.payette.com/post/1789308-tour-of-simmons-hall-at-mit
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/magazine/big-sponge-on-campus.html
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/simmons/
https://couplarchideas.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/the-phenomenological-approach/
http://architizer.com/projects/mit-simmons-hall/
http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature86.htm
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