The play of contrasting materiality and permeability also create a space that differs from its traditional counterparts. The ambulatory can be seen as a “substitute for the arcaded or colonnaded side aisles of a conventional church. Yet unlike side aisles, it yields nothing of the interior of the nave or sanctuary for the visitor…”1 The… Continue reading IAT | Chapel of Reconciliation | reitermann/sassenroth architekten
Category: Publication
IAT | Porciúncula La Milagrosa Chapel | Daniel Bonilla Arquitectos
The tectonic enclosure of Porciúncula La Milagrosa Chapel can be shifted back over the entry courtyard to the east all the way to the stone wall holding the chapel bell. This transformation, first, allows the nave to double in capacity. Second, the movement opens the sanctuary to the north towards the forest and to the… Continue reading IAT | Porciúncula La Milagrosa Chapel | Daniel Bonilla Arquitectos
IAT | METI Handmade School | Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag
The design solution may not be replicable in other parts of the Islamic world, as local conditions vary, but the approach – which allows new design solutions to emerge from an in-depth knowledge of the local context and ways of building – clearly provides a fresh and hopeful model for sustainable building globally.1 Although mud… Continue reading IAT | METI Handmade School | Anna Heringer and Eike Roswag
IAT | Brain Studio | Olson Kundig Architects
At several points in the Brain Studio, the folded steel loft intersects with the concrete perimeter wall, helping to both engage in a dialogue between the two elements and to project some of the interior conditions on to the exterior of the building. The first intersection occurs at the entry door. Directly above the door… Continue reading IAT | Brain Studio | Olson Kundig Architects
IAT | Chapel del Retiro | Undurraga Devés Arquitectos
In the Chapel del Retiro, the typically stereotomic mass of the building is vaulted into the air on foundation blocks. Mass is dematerialized and disconnected. The floating concrete walls create an unsettled perception of how the structure is supported. Undurraga exaggerated the effect by extending the concrete walls beyond their supports, creating a cantilever condition… Continue reading IAT | Chapel del Retiro | Undurraga Devés Arquitectos
IAT | Lanxi Curtilage | Archi-Union
Building on a theme of abstracted nature, the patterning of the masonry of Lanxi Curtilage is derived from water. Disrupting the surface of water creates a pattern of ripples that roll across the surface. Archi-Union captured images of ripples in water and then developed “an algorithm that mimicked the transient behavior of water, which could… Continue reading IAT | Lanxi Curtilage | Archi-Union
IAT | Punta della Dogana | Tadao Ando
The Punta della Dogana project required an intensive survey of the existing building, one that examined not just what the building was today, but what it was historically. After all, in order for the building to be returned to its original state, when that point was and what it included had to be determined. Much… Continue reading IAT | Punta della Dogana | Tadao Ando
IAT | Museum of Roman Art | Rafael Moneo
Preserving the ruins below the building proved challenging for the design team. It was determined that a long span system would not work as the massive foundations required would do significant damage to the existing structures. Instead, small foundations were laced into the ruins at optimal points creating a system of arches that are less… Continue reading IAT | Museum of Roman Art | Rafael Moneo
IAT | Bruder Klaus Field Chapel | Peter Zumthor
The concrete mass of Bruder Klaus can be characterized as the building of a mound, referring back to primitive construction methods.1 After finishing the formwork, the concrete was laid in twenty-four layers or lifts, each a separate pour. One lift was poured each day for twenty-four straight days, each with an approximate height of 50… Continue reading IAT | Bruder Klaus Field Chapel | Peter Zumthor
IAT | Casa Tóló | Álvaro Leite Siza
Casa Tóló sits on a 1000 square meter [10,764 square foot] site with a very particular set of characteristics: very long and narrow, relatively steeply sloping, facing south, and with a spectacular view of the surrounding environment. Its primary entrance sits at the top of the hill where a road allows access to the site… Continue reading IAT | Casa Tóló | Álvaro Leite Siza
Book Chapter | Learning by Doing
Schwartz, Chad. “Learning by Doing: The Educational Value of Design/Build.” In The Louna Bookshop Project, edited by Christian Hermansen. China: UED and Taylor & Francis, 2020 (anticipated). Abstract This introductory chapter to The Louna Bookshop Project discusses the learning opportunities inherent in the pedagogy of academic design/build. Academic design/build – an educational construct somewhat distinct… Continue reading Book Chapter | Learning by Doing
Paper | Defeat in Victory
Schwartz, Chad. “Defeat in Victory: Reflecting on the Value of Design/Build.” Paper presented at the 2018 Design/Build Exchange Conference: Working Out: Thinking while Building III, September 2018. Abstract Several years ago, I decided that participating in community-based design/build is an experience that every student passing through the school of architecture should have at least once… Continue reading Paper | Defeat in Victory
Paper | A Taxonomy of Architectural Tectonics
Schwartz, Chad. "A Taxonomy of Architectural Tectonics.” In Poetics and Pragmatism Proceedings: Papers Presented at BTES 2017 edited by Shelby Doyle, Tom Leslie, and Rob Whitehead, 179-186. Building Technology Educators’ Society, 2017. Abstract “[O]ne might argue that a building is intensified through the elaboration of its own medium – a language of sticks and stones… Continue reading Paper | A Taxonomy of Architectural Tectonics