Thursday September 24, 2009
When reading about the Compass house at first I thought it was about 4 separated houses that all had a different view of the block. But after discussing it in the class, I understood more clearly about what the article was really about.
It was finding a balance with the surroundings and incorporating that into the homes that were being built. The homes are required to occupy enough land which can then be accessed from any one of the four cardinal points of the compass. (North, East, South, West) I found it interesting of the idea of reusing rain water. The article states that “The roof of each element collects rainwater, which is sorted in cistern and used to sustain a specific portion of the vegetation surrounding the house.” These buildings then become eco responsible homes which I definitely agree to the thought of reusing natural resources, like storing rain water. It would be so much easier for people to reuse what Mother Nature has given instead of wasting it away. Another fantastic idea is having the outside interact with the interior. In other words, using the outside as a living space is also another good way to put use of our natural environment.
Changing spaces within the buildings are also another appealing plan for these homes. “The constrained fragments (moveable partitions, sliding walls contained within the collective and cellular elements of the house are individually restricted to relatively few positions or are restricted to simple movements, but their combined use in these overlapping areas produces a complex array of possible spatial and programmatic opportunities. The manipulation of very simple constrained elements might go beyond spatial reconfigurations, provoking programmic reconfigurations within the dwelling.” Where simply designing a structure in which is can alter the walls in order to change the view of the outside. A building in capable of having natural sunlight at all times. It’s neat to have a blank wall that faces the streets, normally with everyday cookie cutter homes, windows are often used in front of the house, where as these buildings can have it both ways. It’s almost like having the best of both worlds, where the kind of housing are met in between from Cookie cutter homes vs. Eco responsible designs.
The compass house connects with the movie that we saw in class about Carlo Scarpa’s Hortusus Conlusus, which means “Enclosed Garden”, and the Querini Bridge in Venice. The design at first seems almost too abstract, with rooms that occupy space and natural light. He used a wide variety of lines and natural materials such as stone and bricks.
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Some of the walls in the rooms were painted with warm colors such as reds, oranges and yellows, it somewhat had a romantic feel to the interior. Geometric fountains and structures were presented in his design. White was used on the exterior of the courtyard, perhaps for simplicity and purity. The garden had a good use of composition with the trees and the surrounding statues and fountains. There were a wide variety of fountains.
Google Image
Overall, upon looking at these designs, we see them for what they are until we really witness the relationship between the structure and its surroundings. Carlos Scarpa designed this construction intentionally because eventually the water around the area fills the rooms up and the angles of the wall and detailing were done on purpose, so now looking upon it with knowledge I understand the careful patience in order to getting the layout and design perfectly right, exactly the way he wanted it to be at the end.
