Studio Folder Submissions

Atmosphere Seminar

1) Benedikt and Zumthor both talk about the experience of architecture and the emotions that different atmospheres present to us. Zumthor begins talking more of how to create these atmospheres while explaining how certain aspects are attainable through architecture. Benedikt looks more at atmospheres and how it is able to affect one's mood and not create it entirely.

2) It comes across that Zumthor and Serra want to create an influential space, but the processes of each are very different. Zumthor wants to have a great effect on viewers of the space, only without them being completely aware of it. He also goes on to explain materials to be endless because of all the ways that they can be spaced, manipulated and applied. Serra on the other hand wishes to create a space with a more upfront experience which would be noticed by its viewers and not really had to be thought into.

3) Architecture is mostly about the experience that is had within it, but it is also about where it is at on the site, also the physical beauty and its appeal to its viewers, and the last thing that affects everything is the funding that is place and the restrictions it puts into place. All of these could have an effect on how a building is designed or constructed. 

4) Seeing beauty in the created architecture is not always an easy thing to accomplish.  Beauty, in architecture, must has to incorporate several needs in order to earn such a label. The building has to be: first be practical, functional, and serve a purpose. All the while doing so, the building has to have an aesthetic appeal. Just because it does not appeal to everyone does not mean it does not appeal to the owner. As the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," which for the most part is always true. Otherwise the process has to be redone.

Pathway With Section Cut

Weight and Measure Reading by Richard Serra

1. He let the space maintain its boundaries as well as wanted to deal with volume, mass, space, and directionality of the space the two elements create a manifestation of space. it also allows experiential awareness of yourself and the space.

2. The field is the space around the elements and how they relate to it. Serra does not want too much space or too little space. The "experience of presence" is something that is had by the viewer and how they take in and deal with the spaces and objects around them.

3. The octagonal space is a center piece which is also self referential that contains a center of gravity. the pedestal condition creates a focal point for the octagonal space. The columns and vertical axis challenge him because they could take away from the elements if they are not scaled correctly. Both horizontal and vertical axis were a challenge because Serra wanted to create a pure space for the two elements and he had to deal with the space around them.

4. Because Serra wanted to create a sort of pure space he had to deal with physical space in the galleries. The scale of the elements created a fine proportion left around and by them. The rectangular shape read as more of a contextual external condition of space. it also worked well with the room and directionality of it all. The number 2 starts to create a series, and anymore would have taken away from the elements present in the space. It would also show a greater emphasis on the elements as objects rather than space that is taken up.

5. Similarities between the two would be a memory space in terms of a sequence as well as emphasizing the vertical plane which allows both to embody the direction in a space. Newman's zip painting achieved the same thing Serra's achieved spatially. The differences can be see that Newman Used vertical to horizontal to create a bilateral relationship where as Serra utilized both horizontal and vertical in the same manner not going from one to the other.

Book Sections

Theme: Axis That Reach/ Paths That Wander

Compositions: Rooms That Define/ Space That Leaks Up Into The Light

Rooms, Intersections, and Circulation Diagrams

Experience and Memory Map