Part Two - Light and Architecture

Light Entrances/Materials

The images below relate to my investigation into light and how it is used throughout, and enters buildings. I have chosen buildings to investigate based on their use of materials and interaction with light. For example, how the harsh concretes allow for sharp light lines. Further detail on a few of them is provided below.

Michigan University of Art by Brad Cloepfil	Costa Brava Gran Casino by b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos	Zero Contemporary Food by Dordoni Architetti, Milan
Eduardo Chillida by Tindaya	Contemporary Arts Center Córdoba by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos	Toyo Ito. White U House, Tokyo
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel by Preston Scott Cohen	Tel Aviv Museum of Art by Preston Scott Cohen	Atrio Relais Châteaux by Mansilla + Tuñón
Kolumba Museum by Peter Zumthor	Court - Museo Neanderthal by Piloña, Estudio Barozzi Veiga

Figure 101-111

Costa Brava Grand Casino - b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos

Based in Lloret de Mar, Spain the casino is situated in the grounds of the Gran Hotel Monterrey. The structure is designed as if it is breaking through the surface of the ground and the roof shields the Hotel from the noise pollution of the main road. The floor on the inside is made from broken concrete which 'evoke the tectonic movement' [http://www.archdaily.com/110861/costa-brava-gran-casino-b720-fermin-vazquez-arquitectos/ accessed November 2014] from the ground. The Staircase leading to the inside draws you through the space into the building, creating interest and intrigue then opens out at the end with the glass panelled windows.

Entrance Staircase

Staircase

External

External View

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Section Cut

Section

Figure 112-120

b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos - Other Projects

Spanish Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 The project is titled "Language of Taste", offers a seemingly simple, smart solution for the complex technical, spatial, functional and thematic of this Expo. A pavilion with a clear and contained geometry, a fusion of the traits that our country exports: the tradition and the innovation.	Spanish Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015 Floor Plan Axo	Mercat dels Encants European Competition for the construction of the new Encants Market in Barcelona. Convened by the City Council through the municipal company BIMSA, the ruling was made public last April 22, 2008. The new Encants market is installed as a device to mediate between the reform of the Plaza de las Glorias and the axis of Meridiana, an area popularly known as les Glories de Bosquet.
Mercat dels Encants	Mercat dels Encants Visual	Ibermutuamur Healthcare Center Exterior
Ibermutuamur Healthcare Center Interior	Ibermutuamur Healthcare Center Floor Plan

Figure 121-129

Eduardo Chillida - Mount Tindaya

Mount Tindaya is a 'building' carved into the inside of a mountain. Chillida does not like to call it a building as he refers to it as a sculpted space and a 'work without materials'[Quote accessed November 2014 http://www.estudioguadiana.com/proyectos/index.php?nCodProyecto=9&nCodProyectoTipo=&cSubMenu=Projects&cSeccion=&cLinkImagen=&cOrden=&nNumRow=&nCodIdioma=en]. It is based in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. He worked with Estudio Guadiana SL architects to design and build the space whilst carrying out geological studies to ensure the mountain was protected during the process.

"For Chillida, to empty the heart of Tindaya means to create a space, between the sky and the earth, from where one can contemplate the horizon and abandon oneself to the light and the architecture created by the light itself." [Quote accessed November 2014; http://www.estudioguadiana.com/proyectos/index.php?nCodProyecto=9&nCodProyectoTipo=&cSubMenu=Projects&cSeccion=&cLinkImagen=&cOrden=&nNumRow=&nCodIdioma=en]

The light travels around the space throughout the day, you can see in the video below. The music that has been put to the video is a demonstration of how it can affect the emotion and dramatics of a space. (Try watching without any sound first.)

Video Accessed 10th November 2014; http://vimeo.com/42119980

The following link is of an interview with Eduardo Chillida;

Other works by Eduardo Chillida

http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag97/childa/sm-chlda.shtml

Four Public Sculptures Page scan from Chillida, E., 1990. Chillida, [London]: South Bank Centre, p14-15	Hommage a Giacometti Page scan from, Chillida Sculture, collage, desegni., 1987. Reinhold Hohl [Milan] Electa Spa. p22-23	Victoria-Gasteiz Page scan from Chillida, E., 1990. Chillida, [London]: South Bank Centre, p22-23
Victoria-Gasteiz Page scan from Chillida, E., 1990. Chillida, [London]: South Bank Centre, p24-25

Figure 130-133

Exterior

Garden Courtyard

Staircase

Entrance Way

Chapel

Hand-sown silk curtains

Materials

Hallway

Floor Plans

Kolumba Museum by Peter Zumthor

Peter Zumthor Part 2

Figure 134-143

The Kolumba Museum is home of a collection of Roman Catholic Archdiocese art and is based in Cologne, Germany. The building has been designed and built from the ruins of a Gothic Church.

”They [the Archdiocese] believe in the inner values of art, its ability to make us think and feel, its spiritual values. This project emerged from the inside out, and from the place,” Peter Zumthor, accessed november 2014 http://www.archdaily.com/72192/kolumba-musuem-peter-zumthor/

Zumthor wanted to connect the old to the new so thought about to look of the new materials using grey brick to tie the destroyed parts (such as the chapel designed by Gottfried Bohm) of the church to the new build.

Video Accessed November 20th 2014 http://youtu.be/vXxk700hGyQ

Peter Zumthor - Other Works

Peter Zumthor's book Atmospheres is an insight into his views and gives a background into his thoughts on design and where his ideas are from. It is an interesting read and gives a simple explanation of how he thinks when designing and what is important to him during the process. The few pages below are the section of the book covering 'The Sound of the Space' which explains how he feels sound is important in a building, what materials can do to change the sound and how changing one simple item in the space can change the sound completely.

Figure 144-146

"INTERIORS ARE LIKE LARGE INSTRUMENTS, COLLECTING SOUND, AMPLIFYING IT, TRANSMITTING IT ELSEWHERE"

"THERE ARE BUILDINGS THAT HAVE WONDERFUL SOUNDS, TELLING ME I CAN FEEL AT HOME, I'M NOT ALONE."

Zumthor, P., 2006. Atmospheres: Built Surroundings - the Things Around Us, Birkhäuser Basel. p29-33

Therme Vals

Below are images of the Therme Vals (Hotel and spa) in Switzerland.

Exterior	Internal Stairs	Spa Pool
Section	Floor Plan	Light Entrance
Design Sketch

Figure 147-153

About the Building...

Built in 1996 in the Graubunden Canton in Switzerland, the building is over the top of the thermal springs and provides a 'sensory experience'. The spa was designed to prelude the hotel which already exists. Peter Zumthor's design was to represent the form of a cave/quarry, using the natural surroundings of the site. The building is made from locally sourced/quarried slabs of Valser Quarzaite which was one of the main inspirations of the design;

“Mountain, stone, water – building in the stone, building with the stone, into the mountain, building out of the mountain, being inside the mountain – how can the implications and the sensuality of the association of these words be interpreted, architecturally?” Peter Zumthor [http://www.archdaily.com/13358/the-therme-vals/ accessed November 2014]

Zumthor designed the building so its guests could learn and experience historic ways of bathing. The enclosed spaces, uses of light and shade allow people to explore and relax in the spaces provided. The use of light in the building is what stood out to me the most, he has used simple partitions which then reflect with the light falling down the walls or creating a pattern on the floor, drawing the guest towards the light enhancing the intrigue, like a moth to a flame.

http://www.archdaily.com/85656/multiplicity-and-memory-talking-about-architecture-with-peter-zumthor/

http://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/architecture-thinking-building-dimitrios-karaiskakis2.pdf

Video of the Therme Vals and Interview with Peter Zumthor

Example of Echo and Sound Chamber between 21.00-22.22 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpkpiK4o-cw

For the Bruder Klaus Field Chapel by Peter Zumthor click here

Light Lines

The use of and the creation of light through architecture is a critical in a design (Light Design) Being able to incorporate as much natural light as possible enables the building to have more character and stand out with key features. Below are some images of buildings, which I feel have a strong light design. I will go into a few of them in more detail on the next few posts.

Figure 154-162

Chapel of St Ignatius

by Steven Holl http://www.seattleu.edu/chapel/

Residential House

By L3P Architekten http://architizer.com/projects/two-single-occupancy-detached-houses/

Stone House

By John Pawson http://www.dezeen.com/2010/05/06/house-of-stone-by-john-pawson/

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

Claudio Silvestrin http://www.claudiosilvestrin.eu/mobile/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158&Itemid=14

The Tate Modern

By Herzog de Meuron http://www.flickr.com/photos/naughton321/512133155/

Therme Vals

By Peter Zumthor http://betorod81.blogspot.co.uk/2010_07_01_archive.html

Eglise Saint-Pierre

Le Corbusier http://helenebinet.com/photography/architects/le-corbusier.html

National Museum Model

Moxon Architects http://www.aiaiai.com/design-for-a-new-national-museum-in-oslo-competition-finalists-moxon-architects-☮k☮/

Monumenta

By Richard Serra http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/01/52/ca/0152ca0047c2cacf7ff59c8bed793524.jpg

1/1

The Chapel of St. Ignatius - Steven Holl

The Chapel of St. Ignatius was designed by Steven Holl and is situated at the University of Seattle. It has been based on 'Seven bottles of light in a stone box' [http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?id=40 accessed November 2014] which is represented in the design drawing at the bottom (by Steven Holl). He has used the metaphor of light, shaped through different heights and volumes, to create different qualities of light (north, south east and west facing) through the roof. Every volume represents a different part of the Jesuit Catholic Worship; South for the procession, North for the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and for the East and West is the main worship space.

The way the light has been created through the roof and walls has a strong effect on the mood of the building. It creates a feeling of tranquillity and is particularly app[ropriate for a chapel as the light is 'shining down' on the congregation inside.

The chapel design and construction have, from the outset, been focused on the spiritual needs of students. Students contributions were central to the design process. "I think there has been more student input on this job than any other university project I have done," [http://www.seattleu.edu/chapel/ accessed November 2014] said Holl. Student comments helped anchor the design, and according to Holl, the result was "a design that would be forward looking, but anchored in the past." [http://www.archdaily.com/115855/ad-classics-chapel-of-st-ignatius-steven-holl-architects/ accessed November 2014]

Exterior Shot	Interior of Pews	Light Wall
Light Wall	Alter Platform Wall	Right of the Alter
Floor Plan and Section	'7 Bottles of Light'

Figure 163-170

Eglise Saint-Pierre by Le Corbusier

November 2014

Eglise Saint-Pierre is also known as the Church at Firminy. In 1963 Le Corbusier began the design process for the Church. The Church was left unfinished after he died in 1965 (therefore was his last major design before his death) and 41 years later the French architect, Jose Oubrerie, completed it. It was designed in celebration of the steel workers and miners of the town and used concrete to relate to this as well as controlling the space and light he planned to create due to its smooth surface and sharp edges.

Le Corbusier aimed to design the space as a 'spiritual enrichment' and stated is should be “vast so that the heart may feel at ease, and high so that prayers may breathe in it.” [http://www.archdaily.com/108054/ad-classics-church-at-firminy-le-corbusier/ accessed November 2014]

There are light boxes designed so light will travel to different alters at different times of the year, specific to religious holidays, in relation to this is also related to the constellation 'Orion' to create a flood of natural light.

'Corbusier uses the spirituality of geometry to create the overall form; a square base that projects upwards to a circle depicts the metamorphosis and transition from earthly to spiritual realm, and the cosmological basis is revealed in the constellation windows and angle of the roof towards the sun.' [http://www.archdaily.com/108054/ad-classics-church-at-firminy-le-corbusier/accessed November 2014]

http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysid=13&IrisObjectid=6924&sysLanguage=en-en&itempos=278&itemCount=300&sysParentid=15

http://www.archdaily.com/108054/ad-classics-church-at-firminy-le-corbusier/

Exterior Image	Le Corbusier with Building Model	Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan	Section Drawing

Figure 171-175

Interior Video of Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JvaK_YnZzE

Summary

This section has highlighted areas of light design which I have no considered before. Le Corbusier's Eglise Saint-Pierre is an example of how light can be used as a feature, the design allows the light to travel around the building and light up specific alters dependant on the holidays throughout the year. Another example similar to this is Eduardo Chillida's Mount Tindaya, with the light traveling through the space throughout the day. A different example of the use of light is in Peter Zumthor's Kolumba Museum, using stained glass to add in a faint amount of colour and to brighten up the space. I have found that Zumthor chooses his materials very carefully so that they can create interesting lighting and sensory experiences in his buildings. Through my research I have concluded that creating natural light architecturally has a strong effect on the whole mood and style of the building and works well as a natural feature.

Figure References;

101 http://www.alliedworks.com/projects/university-of-michigan-museum-of-art/#/overview/1 acessed 14th October 2014

102 http://www.archdaily.com/110861/costa-brava-gran-casino-b720-fermin-vazquez-arquitectos/ acessed 14th October 2014

103 http://www.architonic.com/aisht/zero-contemporary-food-dordoni-architetti/5100421 acessed 14th October 2014

104 http://architectuul.com/architecture/montana-tindaya acessed 14th October 2014

105/106 http://www.archdaily.com/354500/contemporary-arts-center-cordoba-nieto-sobejano-arquitectos/ acessed 14th October 2014

107/108 http://www.tamuseum.org.il/en/new-building acessed 14th October 2014

109 http://europaconcorsi.com/projects/199888-Atrio-Relais-Ch-teaux acessed 14th October 2014

110 http://www.archdaily.com/72192/kolumba-musuem-peter-zumthor/ acessed 12th November 2014

111 http://afasiaarq.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/estudio-barozzi-veiga.html acessed 12th November 2014

112-120 http://www.archdaily.com/110861/costa-brava-gran-casino-b720-fermin-vazquez-arquitectos/ acessed 14th November 2014

121/122 http://b720.com/en/project/2015_milano_expo_spaninsh_pavilion acessed 12th November 2014