Schools began with a man under a tree, who did not know he was a teacher, discussing his realization with a few, who did not know they were students.

Schools began with a man under a tree, who did not know he was a teacher, discussing his realization with a few, who did not know they were students. Louis Kahn

Poetics and Properties of Materials Morphology of the Architectural

Poetics and Properties of Materials Morphology of the Architectural Earthworks and Roofworks Stereotomy and Tectonics Solid and Filigree Compressive and Joining Systems Bearing Wall and Frame

Earthworks and Roofworks Hermann Obrist; Monument to the Pillar, 1898 Origin of Gothic Architecture by J. Hall, after Rykwert, On Adam s House in Paradise, 1972

Gottried Semper, Four Elements of Architecture, 1851 Two fundamental procedures of building: tectonics (of the roofworks) lightweight, linear components are assembled so as to encompass a spatial matrix stereotomics (of the earthwork) heavyweight elements. This depends upon loadbearing masonry, whether stone, concrete or mud brick

COMPRESSIVE Only vertical loads are transferred through the materials Lion Gate, Mycenae. The false arch above the great lintel relieves it of much of the load that would otherwise bear upon it.

BEHAVIOR battered walls Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Neuer Packhof, warehouse, Berlin, 1820-1832

CELLULAR Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Bauakademie, Berlin, 1836

CELLULAR Durand, 1823, horizontal combinations. Plate from Precis des lecons d architecture.

Alvar Aalto, Saynatsalo Town Hall, 1952 STEREOTOMIC MASS

TECTONICS The Caribbean Hut in the Great Exhibition of 1851 Gottfriede Semper, 1860-1863 a phenomenally transparent grid, structured about a hierarchical assembly of discrete parts Semper gave primacy to the tensile frame and its infill (tectonics) as opposed to the compressive earthwork or load-bearing mass (stereotomics).

JOINING loads are transferred through the joint Carlo Scarpa, Brion Cemetery, 1969-1978, San Vito d Altivole, Treviso railing detail

SOLID OR FILIGREE? A.W.N. Pugin hidden vs. exposed buttresses shows how the lateral thrusts are absorbed by the flying buttress

SOLID A.W.N. Pugin hidden vs. exposed buttresses shows how the lateral thrusts are absorbed by the flying buttress

DEMATERIALIZED WALL LOOKS MORE LIKE FILIGREE Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris

FRAME OR BEARING WALL: THE JOINT? Henri Labrouste, Bibliotheque Ste.-Genevieve, Paris, 1838-1850 transverse section

Henri Labrouste, Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve axonometric of iron ribs within masonry shell

Henri Labrouste, Bibliotheque Ste.-Genevieve, Paris, 1838-1850 transverse section

Auguste Perret, Church of Notre-Dame, Le Raincy, 1922-1924

Systems and their Applications Decisions of the Architect

Decisions premised on concepts of space Mies van der Rohe

Le Corbusier, Five Points of a New Architecture, plate from La Maison de l homme, 1926

Le Corbusier, Villa Savoye 1. pilotis 2. free façade 3. open floor plan 4. ribbon windows 5. roof garden

Decisions premised on structure Palace of Labor Nervi Studio Turin, Italy 1960-61

Palace of Labour, Turin under construction (Nervi)

Farnsworth House, Mies van der Rohe, 1946 SPACE OR STRUCTURE?

Farnsworth House, Mies van der Rohe, 1946 "To me, structure is something like logic. It is the best way to do things and to express them. I am very skeptical about emotional expressions. I don't trust them, and I don't think they will last for long." Mies in a 1960 interview with Peter Blake

Farnsworth House, Mies van der Rohe, 1946

Mies van der Rohe, Bacardi Office Building, Santiago de Cuba, 1957 note how the concrete space frame structure progressively increases in depth from the perimeter cornice as it moves to the center of the long span.

Decisions premised on concepts of construction TECTONIC Scarpa, Brion-Vega Cemetery, San Vito d Altivole

Scarpa, Fondazione Querini Stampalia parts from Brion tomb

Decisions premised on concepts of construction Auguste Choisy, the derivation of the Doric order from timber construction, from Histoire de l architecture, 1899 AUTHENTICITY OF MATERIALS?

Eduard Sekler, 1973 essay Structure, Construction, and Tectonics Tectonic a certain expressivity arising from the statical resistance of constructional form in such a way that the resultant expression could not be accounted for in terms of structure and construction alone. Atectonic a manner in which the expressive interaction of load and support in architecture is visually neglected or obscured.

Le Corbusier, Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut Ronchamp, 1950-1956

Claude Perrault, 25 bis rue Franklin, Paris, 1902-1903 concrete frame is expressed as basic structure then clad in ceramic tile

Claude Perrault, 25 bis rue Franklin, Paris, 1902-1903 inherent contradiction of pursuing tectonic order with stereotomic means

Poetics and Properties of Materials Morphology of the Architectural Earthworks and Roofworks Stereotomy and Tectonics Solid and Filigree Compressive and Joining Systems Bearing Wall and Frame

Constructing the Design Process Conceptual Design Grounding logics Order hierarchy orientation rhythm Dwelling privacy entry passage place Shelter Accommodation form thermal comfort sound light Schematic Design Systems Structural Systems bearing-wall systems frame systems tensile systems Building Service Systems Movement systems Plumbing distribution Electrical distribution Environmental Control Systems Envelope/cladding systems Mechanical systems Lighting systems Concrete Design Elements Columns Beams Walls Membranes Door, exit, stair, elevator Plenums, risers, fixtures Plenums, raceways Curtain walls Ducts and HVAC Windows and lamps

length ( l ) matters to surface tension area ( l squared) matters to exchange of gases heat loss strength of materials (cross-sectional area air pressure on a surface mass or volume ( l cubed) the larger, more massive, the greater the significance of gravity and inertia buoyancy habitable space

How things grow

Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. Reims Cathedral, Interior of the nave with the glass of the clerestory windows removed.

Louis Kahn, Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1957-1961

Habitat, Montreal (Safdie, Kommendant)

Logarithmic curve + self-similarity

Construction Processes (Design Conditions) Landmark Center, St. Paul and The Ordway Theater, St. Paul

Technology One: Building Materials and Construction Systems Poetics and Properties of Materials (Solid and Filigree) Masonry Timber Concrete Steel Glass Systems and their Applications Structural (Bearing Wall and Frame) Envelope, HVAC, Plumbing, Circulation Systems Building on the earth Controlling Environment» Insulating (thermal and acoustic)» Controlling water Infiltration Systems Integration Strategies Construction Processes (Design Conditions) Walls and Openings Wall turns Corner Wall meets Floor Wall meets Ground Wall meets Sky

All Things are Relative