Well, it seems ive ended up doing a case study on Ando's Chruch on Water. The case study is based on a study of light. What I have gotten so far is that there is the massive pane window that overlooks the faux lake, which provides light to the sanctuary. The window (wall) is the main source of light. There is, also, the light box with crosses which illuminates the cylindrical room underneath the transparent space. The lake itslef has reflective properties and plays a role in the lighting concept of the building. I still feel like I'm missing some sort of factor. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
main thing is that the church is a for money wedding chapel and that god doesn't really enter into the deal. so the light is just nice, not spiritual, a kind of special effect gimic that looks good on the brochures. funny they never talk about the hotels attached to most of his churches/chapels...
anyway don't just describe where the light is cumin from, talk about the effect, what the materials do to the deal, etc etc.
guys, he seems to have done a bit of his "homework" already, and wasn't coming here empty handed, as is often the case....
the monograph mentioned above, or even the simplified Phaidon monograph would offer some helpful drawings to show how Ando achieves this effect. what are your products for this study?
the products of the study would be an interpretive model and another conceptual model of a library i have to design myself... but i have use factors of light from this case study and factors of program from an earlier case study of libraries...
1. light on concrete is key. ando is good at playing light/shadow against each other; these are his pigments and concrete is the canvas. concrete's color and texture, the mottled character and the sheen - these are hugely important.
2. look at the quality of light in this specific location. is it coming in at low or high angle, overly bright or subdued, etc? get out the old sun angle calculator. these things make a big difference in how the surfaces reflect the light. remember that ando knows his region intimately and that he's using these environmental qualities intentionally.
actually the church is in hokkaido (basically CANADA climatewise) and he is from osaka which is semi-tropical. might as well be chicago. he is good with site though.
Ando's work is very simple and direct so easy to analyze, perfect for students, but the work tends to stop there. inhabitation, life, all the things that make really great architecture are not things he thinks about much anymore, if ever. his buildings don't need people and aren't made for people at all, which is dissapointing for a japanese architect where the archi- history is entirely about filling spaces with daily life.
on the other hand the proportions are damn fine. he is a genius with geometry. light? certainly makes his buildings more comfortable in the sense that there is awareness of the outside world...I think Kahn and scarpa were his inspiration for light, and the effects are similar if less succesful from a humanist perspective. very quiet spaces. kind of like a timelapse video of a flowers in a wild field. everything is moving, and it is a wonder to see reality exposed/expressed in a way you couldn't otherwise; but you can never be a part of it. it will always be outside of your daily life. scarpa wasn't like that. for him light was a joy. even kahn never went to such andonian extremes. and in the hands of holl light is pure pornography, very sensual, and inviting.
There is also something interesting about the procession into the chapel itself. If I remember correctly, a specific ascent into a light box and then descent into a darker, more subdued chapel.
I think also there is the idea that light changes with the seasons. So that in the Winter the lake is covered with white snow and ice. SO from the church all you see is white. ALSO: It was ando's aim to NOT have glass in this wall and infact the glass can be removed from the wall for certain events. Even in the winter. Ando would rather create spaces that are beautiful rather than comfortable. Also you are to suffer when in church.
After an all nighter and a kinkos run to preint out all my plans, which I traced over in illustrator, i ended have an iffy review. First of all i made a cement conceptual study model which was pretty good in the sense noone else in the whole studio took the time to study how materials effected the light, altho my OWN professor was prettty good about it, the other professor critiquing with him was very critical. He was also critical about my explanation of the "BIG idea." Woe to me, this girl that presented the same building with me had her mouth shut tight and didnt have one bad thing said, me with my 3 models over her 1 and a presentation board with light diagrams and such.. got my my butt handed to me on a platter.. but at least i waled away fearing a low grade and a better understanding of the building :).. thanks everyone for the comments.. much appreciated
ah the life of presentations to profs. kinda miss it. not. don't sweat it chinoi, it is just school. and good practice for when you make presentations to clients, especially of the unforgiving executive type (ugh).
by the way g-bot, it ain't a church its a wedding chapel. there are no gods involved and the priest who marries the folks is likely an actor (several of my friends make good coin wedding folk in similarly fake chapels in japan; they are all atheists; this is a strange country).... the church of the light (with the cross of light) is i think the only one he did for a real congregation.
GOtcha. I guess I was refering to both his church of the light, and this wedding chapel. In the lecture I saw a few weeks ago, ANdo said (through his translater) that he didn't want glass in EITHER of these buildings.I think he was refering to the church of hte light when he said he didn't care how cold the congregation got.
yeh i remember him saying that as well. it is an interesting, and strange, point of view. In hokkaido it would be impossible; in osaka (where the church of the light is) maybe ok as it is much warmer.
i went to visit the church of light maybe 8 or 9 years ago and talked with the pastor for awhile. I recall him telling me the congregation had to wear jackets in the winter time and that there were some problems with the concrete sweating. He didn't seem to mind and the space really is beautiful.
Oct 23, 05 3:48 am ·
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Need help with case study!!
Well, it seems ive ended up doing a case study on Ando's Chruch on Water. The case study is based on a study of light. What I have gotten so far is that there is the massive pane window that overlooks the faux lake, which provides light to the sanctuary. The window (wall) is the main source of light. There is, also, the light box with crosses which illuminates the cylindrical room underneath the transparent space. The lake itslef has reflective properties and plays a role in the lighting concept of the building. I still feel like I'm missing some sort of factor. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
main thing is that the church is a for money wedding chapel and that god doesn't really enter into the deal. so the light is just nice, not spiritual, a kind of special effect gimic that looks good on the brochures. funny they never talk about the hotels attached to most of his churches/chapels...
anyway don't just describe where the light is cumin from, talk about the effect, what the materials do to the deal, etc etc.
hey chinaboi how was your first year?
extremly... tough.. but i got through with a 3.5 avrg in studio..
there is a cross and i think some concrete is involved
i think it's in japan
do your own homework
or, more aptly, do your own research
I agree with ochona....
but......
i hate doing research... so..
there is a series of monographs called 'architecture in detail'
has photographs and drawings...
the particular one you would want is edited by Philip Drew.
good luck.
in my opinion...
the whole thing is about how cool light looks on high-finished concrete....
guys, he seems to have done a bit of his "homework" already, and wasn't coming here empty handed, as is often the case....
the monograph mentioned above, or even the simplified Phaidon monograph would offer some helpful drawings to show how Ando achieves this effect. what are your products for this study?
indeed, perhaps i was a bit harsh, AP...dunno, maybe i have oldtimer's disease already...
the products of the study would be an interpretive model and another conceptual model of a library i have to design myself... but i have use factors of light from this case study and factors of program from an earlier case study of libraries...
thanks for the comments btw..
1. light on concrete is key. ando is good at playing light/shadow against each other; these are his pigments and concrete is the canvas. concrete's color and texture, the mottled character and the sheen - these are hugely important.
2. look at the quality of light in this specific location. is it coming in at low or high angle, overly bright or subdued, etc? get out the old sun angle calculator. these things make a big difference in how the surfaces reflect the light. remember that ando knows his region intimately and that he's using these environmental qualities intentionally.
actually the church is in hokkaido (basically CANADA climatewise) and he is from osaka which is semi-tropical. might as well be chicago. he is good with site though.
Ando's work is very simple and direct so easy to analyze, perfect for students, but the work tends to stop there. inhabitation, life, all the things that make really great architecture are not things he thinks about much anymore, if ever. his buildings don't need people and aren't made for people at all, which is dissapointing for a japanese architect where the archi- history is entirely about filling spaces with daily life.
on the other hand the proportions are damn fine. he is a genius with geometry. light? certainly makes his buildings more comfortable in the sense that there is awareness of the outside world...I think Kahn and scarpa were his inspiration for light, and the effects are similar if less succesful from a humanist perspective. very quiet spaces. kind of like a timelapse video of a flowers in a wild field. everything is moving, and it is a wonder to see reality exposed/expressed in a way you couldn't otherwise; but you can never be a part of it. it will always be outside of your daily life. scarpa wasn't like that. for him light was a joy. even kahn never went to such andonian extremes. and in the hands of holl light is pure pornography, very sensual, and inviting.
i like the porno version better.
There is also something interesting about the procession into the chapel itself. If I remember correctly, a specific ascent into a light box and then descent into a darker, more subdued chapel.
I think also there is the idea that light changes with the seasons. So that in the Winter the lake is covered with white snow and ice. SO from the church all you see is white. ALSO: It was ando's aim to NOT have glass in this wall and infact the glass can be removed from the wall for certain events. Even in the winter. Ando would rather create spaces that are beautiful rather than comfortable. Also you are to suffer when in church.
After an all nighter and a kinkos run to preint out all my plans, which I traced over in illustrator, i ended have an iffy review. First of all i made a cement conceptual study model which was pretty good in the sense noone else in the whole studio took the time to study how materials effected the light, altho my OWN professor was prettty good about it, the other professor critiquing with him was very critical. He was also critical about my explanation of the "BIG idea." Woe to me, this girl that presented the same building with me had her mouth shut tight and didnt have one bad thing said, me with my 3 models over her 1 and a presentation board with light diagrams and such.. got my my butt handed to me on a platter.. but at least i waled away fearing a low grade and a better understanding of the building :).. thanks everyone for the comments.. much appreciated
don't let it bother you. not great reviews don't translate into poor grades.
ah the life of presentations to profs. kinda miss it. not. don't sweat it chinoi, it is just school. and good practice for when you make presentations to clients, especially of the unforgiving executive type (ugh).
by the way g-bot, it ain't a church its a wedding chapel. there are no gods involved and the priest who marries the folks is likely an actor (several of my friends make good coin wedding folk in similarly fake chapels in japan; they are all atheists; this is a strange country).... the church of the light (with the cross of light) is i think the only one he did for a real congregation.
GOtcha. I guess I was refering to both his church of the light, and this wedding chapel. In the lecture I saw a few weeks ago, ANdo said (through his translater) that he didn't want glass in EITHER of these buildings.I think he was refering to the church of hte light when he said he didn't care how cold the congregation got.
yeh i remember him saying that as well. it is an interesting, and strange, point of view. In hokkaido it would be impossible; in osaka (where the church of the light is) maybe ok as it is much warmer.
i went to visit the church of light maybe 8 or 9 years ago and talked with the pastor for awhile. I recall him telling me the congregation had to wear jackets in the winter time and that there were some problems with the concrete sweating. He didn't seem to mind and the space really is beautiful.
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