Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Dissertation Help - Le Corbusier/Transparency/Cubism
I'm new to the forum and I'm in the process of researching for my dissertation.
My topic is looking at various levels of ‘transparency’ within Le Corbusier’s villa’s. The essay will concentrate on Villa la Roche and Villa Stein de Monzie. I’m going to use Colin Rowe’s and Robert Slutsky’s seminal essay Transparency: Literal and Phenomenal as a starting point/core text for my dissertation and refer back to it throughout the essay.
Within their essay, they outline the differences between perceptual transparency and conceptual transparency. They also state that cubism could serve to illustrate the presense of both types of transparency. They describe the cubist canvas as one that consits of “figures…intersecting, overlapping, interlocking…building up into larger and fluctuating configurations” and compare this to the layering used in Le Corbusier’s painting’s and within the facade of Villa Stein.
Some examples of things I might look further into are :
Cubism and architecture from 1907 – 1920’s
Differences between primitive, analytical and synthetic cubism
Transparency of information
Transparency of context
Transparency in art and architecture and the relationships between them
The journey of the gaze
Simultaneity and interpretation
Layering of planes and shapes
Eye vs Mind
Transparency of structure
By looking at the literal and conceptual aspects of each building I aim to verify various levels of transparency within each building and look at the affects these might have on how we perceive and experience different space within the building.
If anyone could give me feedback / any additional ideas or sources that would much appreciated :)
Sorry, but what degree does dissertation imply? (masters. phd, etc...?)
I'm an undergraduate, in my 3rd year of architecture.
Number two. Cubism in architecture is very interesting, but Corb was not a cubist. See Czech archis & a few Germans (Bruno taut maybe)
if you’re going to be a dick, at least know what you’re talking about. in some places the word dissertation is used for undergraduate and master’s level work (the UK jumps to mind). you don’t need to look further than wikipedia for this information: “Outside the academic community, the terms
thesis and dissertation are interchangeable. At universities in the United Kingdom, the term thesis is usually associated with PhD/EngD (doctoral) and research master's degrees, while dissertation is the more common term for a substantial project submitted as part of a taught master's degree or an undergraduate degree (e.g. BA, BSc, BMus, BEd, BEng etc.).”
" Czech architects were the first and only ones in the world to ever design original Cubist buildings.Cubist architecture flourished for the most part between 1910–1914, but the Cubist or Cubism-influenced buildings were also built after the war..." FWIW from Wiki. Oddly enough a lot of cubist paintings resemble Frank Gehry's work (to me at least)
what is meant by literal vs conceptual?
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.