beneath the wheel... hermann hesse

the inspiration behind the direction of this semester has been heavily driven by the literature that has inspired me in the last few months... hermann hesse has had a particular impact on my thought and his commonly adressed theme of education and indeed educational institutions is what is driven my idea for the script for the final presentation...

the book which will be readapted for the purposes of this assignment is called "beneath the wheel" and i have included a quick plot summary to give the basic idea of the premise of the storyline. 

"Hans Giebernath lives among the dull and respectable townsfolk of a sleepy Black Forest village. When he is discovered to be an exceptionally gifted student, the entire community presses him onto a path of serious scholarship. Hans dutifully follows the regimen of study and endless examinations, his success rewarded only with more crushing assignments. When Hans befriends a rebellious young poet, he begins to imagine other possibilities outside the narrowly circumscribed world of the academy. Finally sent home after a nervous breakdown, Hans is revived by nature and romance, and vows never to return to the gray conformity of the academic system."

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25905.Beneath_the_Wheel

this storyline will be adapted in my case with the monastery itself replacing han's rebelious friend - in particular a narrative will be established between a full time elder of the woodfordia site and an apprentice / scholar confused with his direction. the animation will break down the 5 elements (eating, dwelling, making, moving, breathing) into different segments of their day together - and show how the monastery provides those living within it's walls a greater sense of consciousness...

inspiration... peter zumthor

alternatively to the openness of stutch the design requires an element of "introspectiveness" to be incorporated into the design - furthermore a key element that draws the eye to the heavens...

this chapel was formed through using old logs to create the formwork for the rammed earth pillar... then burnt out to leave the hollow core... this is very similar to the premise behind the chimney stack which around the entire village revolves around...

in terms of use of material and spatial outcomes this is such a beautiful exemplar to work from - furthermore driven heavily by the theory of "phenomenology" - as mentioned throughout my blog the ideas of heidegger are instrumental to my thought this semester...

inspiration... peter stutchbury

the paddock house by stutch really emphasises the element of porosity, openness and "touches the earth lightly" in a way i would like to pursue in my design... 

very open floor plan - simple structure and the use of simple materials - such a beautiful attatchment to the landscape - the blurring of inside and outside... 

this typology will be incorporated in the 2 sides of the courtyard that open up to the landscape - allowing a connection through the village to the activity and landscape - the "extrospective" element...

the design continues...

i feel as though a real sensibility between open and closed - inside and out - hard edge and soft are bebgining to develop... here is where the plan sits now

the pagoda has been substituted for a fire place, which around the main activities of the "monastery" revolve... a meeting place for discussion

also in the corner you can see the beginnings of the section and understanding of the scheme in a different way...

kahn inspiration

two louis kahn quotes that are powerful in their sense of connection to what i am trying to achieve here...

 

‘the school and the dormitories are a unit, like a monastery. corridors are avoided by having deep porches, off all the dormitory rooms, where tea is served and things are discussed. the school is around a court which has in it an amphitheatre. everything here is planned around the idea of meeting.’

– kahn on IIM – ahmedabad.

 

"i think of school as an environment of spaces where is good to learn. 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 . . . the existence-will of school was there even before the circumstances of a man under a tree. that is why is good for the mind to go back to the beginning, because the beginning of any established activity is its most woderful moment."

– kahn on the first school

 

 

 

 

 

 

the evolution of a courtyard...

the diagram above is to explain further the developments in the programme and their meaning...

all decisions have been made in regards to addressing the 4 elements


1. a sense of introspectiveness (a deeper understanding of one's self) - the courtyard

2. a sense of extrospectiveness (a connection to the world around us - others) - open floorplan - external views

3. a connection to earth (an understanding of our relationship with the ground below) - touching the earth lightly - reading the contours of the land - the now

4. a connection to the heavens (an understanding of our ephemarilaity) - a centrepiece drawing the eye inwards and upwards - the future

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the first diagram shows the courtyard and its establishment of the element of introspectiveness

the second is the opening up of 2 sides to establish the sense of extrospectiveness

the third looks at the tapering of the court to create a focal point - "the pagoda"

the fourth then looks at this with a deeper level of porosity - freedom + flow

the fifth includes a tree at the opposing end of the courtyard to reintroduce the circular sense of the court - eternity

zoning

the following diagram further highlights the way the "monastery" is beginning to form a zoning heirarchy - as per in the buildings looked at in the exemplar analysis - all working around the central courtyard...

 

you can see also how there is a focal point to the arrangement that is beginning to develop...

porosity...

an exploration into a further level of porosity within the programming...

there needs to be a further level of openess to the design response - opening up oppurtunities in which the landscape is celebrated...

the contour + programme "a courtyard is born"

after a few hours of pushing and pulling lines on the yellow trace....

a baby floorplan layout begins to develop - a courtyard is born!!!

a sense of zoning is beginning to develop also - keeping the big 5 together yet all revolving around the central courtyard and cloister...

eating, dwelling, moving, making, breathing

the contour...

as mentioned a couple of times now the connection to earth is one of the 4 key elements highlighted to increase conciousness... therefore the building programme needs to be derived from a sense of connection to the contours and run of the land.

i feel as though by looking closely at 2 particular contours within the site and deriving movement off these a sense of connection can be established. the drawings below begin to look at how these contours may shape the overall design response.

further developed the building envelope can begin to take a very early shape...

site

in terms of touching the earth lightly the site shown above was made for a range of decisions...

- walkability around the woodfordia area due to the contour wrapping around a majority of the area, meaning the residents of the monastery can travel large distances without too much struggle...

- views down the valley connecting to the earth - as mentioned in the 4 elements post discussing the need for the proposal to have an attachment to the earth.

-a close proximity to the woodford festival site without encroaching on it - meaning the full time residents are not completely swamped every year and provide a visual cue from a small disatnce to visitors of the festival.

-access to a water source that runs adjacent to the selected area - for obvious reasons.

-an area in which regeneration of the local trees is required adding to the "breathing" intent of the proposal - also meaning minimum impact on the greater site by choosing an area which is already slightly "scarred"

-elevated site to catch breeze, light and other elements required for comfort and connection to site and place - additionally monasterys have typically been placed in elevated sites - closer to the heavens...

programme + consciousness

it is important then that a programme is established...

based loosely around the monastery / abbey exemplar analysis a loose programme has been established which aims to address the 5 pieces of the puzzle that have been carrying throughout the semester...

eating, moving, dwelling, making, breathing

a question of why???

“why are there beings at all instead of nothing? that is the question. presumably it is not arbitrary question, "why are there beings at all instead of nothing"- this is obviously the first of all questions. of course it is not the first question in the chronological sense [...] and yet, we are each touched once, maybe even every now and then, by the concealed power of this question, without properly grasping what is happening to us. In great despair, for example, when all weight tends to dwindle away from things and the sense of things grows dark, the question looms.” 
martin heidegger - being and time


this question - why are there beings instead of nothing? - is the ultimate question in my opinion...

only through trying to understand this, achieving a level of consciouness, can one prepare for a fulfilling life... the woodfordia proposal is important as it aims to arm the apprentice an oppurtunity to explore this through a connection to the earth and simultaneiously to ones self...

4 elements 4 consciousness

through my exemplar analysis I have arrived at a point of realisation that the overall scheme must incorporate an adresses 4 elements within the human consiousness and that relationship with the environment...

the 4 motivating elements must address...


1. a sense of introspectiveness (a deeper understanding of one's self) - the courtyard

2. a sense of extrospectiveness (a connection to the world around us - others) - open floorplan - external views

3. a connection to earth (an understanding of our relationship with the ground below) - touching the earth lightly - reading the contours of the land - the now

4. a connection to the heavens (an understanding of our ephemarilaity) - a centrepiece drawing the eye inwards and upwards - the future

 

 

in a sense parralels could be drawn between this and the notion of the 4 elements - earth, wind, water, fire...

 

 



exemplar analysis - japanese buddhist temples

the japanese style of buddhist monastery also followed with the theme of the courtyard determining the spatial heirarchies and overall form.... additionally however in this case is the significance of the pagoda.

 

 

 

the pagoda is the home of sacred texts and artifacts and works on a verticality that emphasises its importance in the overall planning of the precint... this is something interesting in terms that it draws the eye upwards and towards the heavens (enlightenment) not merely inward and introspectively...