CUArch
ARCH 101A: Architectural Foundations I
Prof. Michael Abrams Fall 2008
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2008
ORGANIZATION
of FORM & SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• SPATIAL ORGANIZATION: Basic ways the spaces of a
building can be related to one another and organized
into coherent patterns of form and space
ALHAMBRA – Palace and Citadel of the Moorish kings
Granada, Spain (1248-1354)
by Andrea Palladio
ORGANIZATION
• TWO SPACES MAY BE RELATED TO EACH
OTHER IN (4) FUNDAMENTAL WAYS:
SPACE WITHIN A SPACE ADJACENT SPACES
INTERLOCKING SPACES SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
A LARGE SPACE CAN ENVELOP
AND CONTAIN A SMALLER
SPACE (OR SPACES) WITHIN
ITS VOLUME
SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
VISUAL AND SPATIAL
CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE
TWO SPACES CAN BE EASILY
ACCOMMODATED, BUT THE
SMALLER, CONTAINED
SPACE DEPENDS ON THE
LARGER SPACE
MOORE HOUSE
ORINDA, CALIFORNIA (1961)
By Charles Moore
ORGANIZATION
• SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
TO PROVIDE ITSELF WITH A
HIGHER-ATTENTION-VALUE,
THIS WOULD CREATE:
THE CONTAINED SPACE MAY 1) A SECONDARY GRID
SHARE THE FORM OF THE 2) A SET OF DYNAMIC, RESIDUAL
ENVELOPING SHAPE, BUT BE SPACES WITHIN THE LARGER
SPACE
ORIENTED IN A DIFFERENT
MANNER
SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
THE CONTAINED SPACE MAY
ALSO DIFFER IN FORM FROM
THIS CONTRAST IN FORM MAY
THE ENVELOPING SPACE IN INDICATE:
ORDER TO STRENGTHEN ITS 1) A FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE TWO SPACES, OR
IMAGE AS A FREESTANDING
2) THE SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF
VOLUME THE CONTAINED SPACE
SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• SPACE WITHIN A SPACE
FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
SPACES: ROUND VOLUME (BATH) VS.
RECTANGULAR VOLUME (ENVELOP)
ORGANIZATION
• INTERLOCKING SPACES
THE SPATIAL FIELD (S) MAY
OVERLAP THE VOLUME OF
ANOTHER SPACE.
WHEN TWO SPACES INTERLOCK
EACH RETAINS ITS IDENTITY
AND DEFINITION AS A
SPACE.
INTERLOCKING SPACES
ORGANIZATION
• INTERLOCKING SPACES
THE INTERLOCKING PORTION
OF THE TWO VOLUMES CAN
BE SHARED EQUALLY BY
EACH PLANE
ORGANIZATION
• INTERLOCKING SPACES
THE INTERLOCKING PORTION
OF THE TWO VOLUMES CAN
BE SHARED EQUALLY BY
EACH PLANE
ST. PETER’S CHURCH
ROME, 1506-1520
By Donato Bramante and Peruzzi
FLOOR PLAN
ORGANIZATION
• INTERLOCKING SPACES
THE INTERLOCKING PORTION
CAN DEVELOP ITS OWN
INTEGRITY AS A SPACE THAT
SERVES TO LINK THE TWO
ORIGINAL SPACES
ORGANIZATION
• INTERLOCKING SPACES
THE ONE-STORY SPACE FLOWS
INTO THE LARGER VOLUME
OF WHICH IS A PART AND TO
THE OUTDOORS
FLOOR PLAN
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
TWO SPACES MAY ABUT EACH OTHER
OR SHARE A COMMON BORDER
OR PLANE
ADJACENCY IS THE MOST COMMON
TYPE OF SPATIAL RELATIONSHIP,
BECAUSE ALLOWS EACH SPACE TO
BE CLEARLY DEFINED
ADJACENT SPACES
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
THE SEPARATING PLANE MAY:
1) LIMIT VISUAL AND PHYSICAL ACCESS BETWEEN TWO
ADJACENT SPACES,
2) REINFORCE THE INDIVIDUALITY OF EACH SPACE, AND
3) ACCOMMODATE THEIR DIFFERENCES (functional and/or
formal)
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
THE SEPARATING PLANE MAY:
4) APPEAR AS A FREESTANDING
PLANE IN A SINGLE VOLUME
OF SPACE
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
THE SEPARATING PLANE MAY:
5) BE DEFINED WITH A ROW OF
COLUMNS THAT ALLOWS A
HIGH DEGREE OF VISUAL
ROW OF COLUMNS ACT AS:
AND SPATIAL CONTINUITY 1) FILTER FROM SPACE TO SPACE
BETWEEN THE TWO SPACES 2) A SUGGESTED PLANE
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
THE SEPARATING PLANE MAY:
6) BE IMPLIED WITH A CHANGE
IN LEVEL
7) CONTRAST IN SURFACE OR SINGLE VOLUMES OF SPACE DIVIDED
TEXTURE MATERIAL INTO TWO RELATED ZONES
BETWEEN THE TWO SPACES
ORGANIZATION
• ADJACENT SPACES
The spaces in the Church of St. Agnes
(Rome) are individualistic in size,
shape and form. The walls that
enclose them adapt their forms to
accommodate the differences
between adjacent spaces
Church of Sant'Agnese
Piazza Navona, Rome
17th Century
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
TWO SPACES MAY RELY ON AN
INTERMEDIARY SPACE FOR THEIR
RELATIONSHIP
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN
DIFFER IN FORM AND
ORIENTATION FROM THE (2)
SPACES TO EXPRESS ITS LINKING SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON SPACE
FUNCTION
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN
ITSELF BECOME LINEAR IN FORM
TO LINK TWO SPACES THAT ARE
DISTANT FROM EACH OTHER
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN
ITSELF BECOME LINEAR IN FORM
TO LINK TWO SPACES THAT ARE
DISTANT FROM EACH OTHER
THE WALL HOUSE (2001)
GRONINGEN, HOLLAND
BY John Hedjuk
ORGANIZATION
THE WALL HOUSE (2001)
GRONINGEN, HOLLAND
BY John Hedjuk
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN, IF
LARGE ENOUGH:
1) BECOME THE DOMINANT SPACE
IN THE RELATIONSHIP, AND
2) BE CAPABLE OF ORGANIZING A
NUMBER OF SPACES ABOUT
ITSELF
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN, IF
LARGE ENOUGH:
1) BECOME THE DOMINANT SPACE
IN THE RELATIONSHIP, AND
2) BE CAPABLE OF ORGANIZING A
NUMBER OF SPACES ABOUT
ITSELF
PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI (1460)
PIENZA, ITALY
BY BERNARDO ROSSELINO
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN BE:
1) RESIDUAL IN NATURE
2) DETERMINED SOLELY BY THE
FORMS AND ORIENTATIONS OF
THE TWO SPACES BEING LINKED
ORGANIZATION
• SPACES LINKED BY A COMMON
SPACE
THE INTERMEDIATE SPACE CAN BE:
1) RESIDUAL IN NATURE
2) DETERMINED SOLELY BY THE
FORMS AND ORIENTATIONS OF
THE TWO SPACES BEING LINKED
IN THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING
THE RESIDUAL SPACES ARE:
CORRIDORS AND
LIVING ROOM
ASSIGNMENT
• READ
“Architecture: Form, Space and Order”:
Chapter 7: pp. 338-405
