Project3: Art Gallery

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Final presentation

The narrative

The Astronomer
(De astronoom)

1668
oil on canvas
19 3/8 x 17 3/4 in. (50 x 45 cm.)
Musée du Louvre, Paris

The painting in the painting (This one is Vermeer's late Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, this time, represented much larger than in the Astronomer )


This painting on the wall represents the Moses in the bull rushes. Moses was described as 'learn in all the wisdom of Egypt' He was also the patron saint of a type of science, which did not seek knowledge through observation and experiment like modern science, but in the return to old sources of wisdom in the ancient civilizations.

Did the astronomer still worship the old wisdom? Is that why he put this painting on the wall? Curiously, the painting is almost unnoticeable in the shadow of the room? Does that mean that the astronomer wants to free himself from the old wisdom?

The hand touching the globe becomes the centre of the painting, as well as where the light concentrates. The globe represents complex form of constellation with an artistic rendering. The hand gesture seems confusing, it is elevated from the globe, where only the head of middle finger is touching the globe.

Is he ready to explore the universe, or is he still contemplating the contradiction? The contradiction between the old wisdom and modern science? Can the process of contemplation take him where he wants to be?




A small part of the window is colored with decorative stem, small portion of light enters the room quietly. The incoming light mysteriously concentrates on the contemplative scholar and the celestial globe.

the room seems very much closed and isolated, the lighting is concentrated but soft. Is the astronomer satisfied with the condition? is he happy contained in a box like this? Does this really help him to find a solution?


The whole painting seems so harmonious, but why am I feeling a temptation? especially the astronomy's hand, it is reaching for something more than just sitting in a room and contemplating.
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Here are just some scraps and pieces I remembered from the movie Synecdoche NewYork.

In the movie, Hazel is deciding to buy a house on fire, she is so optimistic and determinate about buying a house as she is 36 already.
'i like it, I do. I'm just really concerning about dying in the fire'
and the woman said
'it's a big decision, how one prefers to die...'
Yes, she dies in fire eventually.
This is interesting that how every decision we make is effecting the 'end', like the end is built into the beginning.....

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The space is emotionally charged and theatrical......

Project 2: Room and Narrative

Reflection on Professor's talk

It was suggested by Chinese writer Qian Zhongshu that it is window that makes an interior life possible. 'We can go out because there is a door; but we don't have to go out because there is a window'

The balance of the room would be distracted if the light come into rooms with no control, like the Farnsworth House designed by Mies Van der Rohe for the female doctor , although it is still influential in the modern architecture, the full glass walls made the space outdoor too irresistible that the purpose of domestic housing is lost.

Mies Van der Rohe,Farnsworth House,Plano, Illinois, 1945-51.

Mies Van der Rohe,Farnsworth House,Plano, Illinois, 1945-51.

The emphasis of abundant exterior view is predominate in Edward Hopper's painting if comparing with the dutch paintings. A large area of glazing and often have blinds for the upper part, which has more or less reflects the 20th century architectures, like buildings by Mies Van der Rohe and philip Johnson. Hopper was still influenced by Those Dutch painters who are mastered at depicting the domestic activities and use the light to illuminate the silence of the room. Strangely, in his painting, the activities carried indoor seem either distracted or observed by the exterior. The sense of voyeurism made the interior no longer peaceful......

Compartment C, Car 293 (Edward Hopper, 1938) Image: Geoffrey Clements, Corbis.


Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967) Morning in a city, 1944, oil on canvas

Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967) Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas

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Oppositely!

Louis Kahn's architecture are cautious in letting the light in, the light serves the purpose of the building, like the Salk institute. The placing of the window are carefully selected and illuminate the heavy masonry wall in a soft tone.

Louis Kahn, Salk institute, 1959-1966, California

Louis Kahn, Salk institute, 1959-1966, California

I was wondering how the building should be like, do we really need to be chasing the intensive visual convulsion? Most of the time, architecture would rather to be like water or air, simple but subsisting the ongoing life....

final model

Disassembled

final drawings

Poche

The use of Raumplan in Loos architecture is evident, particularly in villa muller. It could be seen in the differentiation of the height of the ceiling in different used rooms, which is strongly linked to the privacy provided in the room.
For instance, in this Poche diagram, the first level main hall is higher than second level bedroom, indicating a strong difference of privacy.


It could also be shown in the poche diagram that more private annexes with lower ceilings are spatially connected through stairs with higher more public rooms.
The poche diagram of house plan shows more details of how different rooms are connected and the lighting system in the house.




Parti

Parti diagrams explain the building through a broader sense, this parti attempts to show the envelope of the house, indicating the enclosure and structure.



The hatch part of the space shows how people can move through rooms, simple geometries are used to indicate different rooms.

The programming of the house is mainly about the difference between private space and service space. From the section, a clear circulation of service space is highlighted both in staircases and lifts.
From the site programming diagram, it shows how the living room is located at the more private side of the site.

week 2 drawings