To the Archinect forum regulars and lurkers alike,
I'm currently searching for some successful and/or interesting examples of buildings that have conjoined forms that compliment or contrast with each other to create a dialogue. For example: eccentricity vs restraint, opaque vs transparent, horizontal vs vertical, transitions in materiality, etc.
One work I have looked at is SOM's Lever House, where its strong vertical volume is grounded by it's horizontal block that's penetrated by an open court. I haven't found the correct verbiage to find useful results via searches and don't know many examples off the top of my head. Any examples you all could toss out there would be a big help.
I'm hoping that the fact I'm not asking for a thesis topic or free architectural advice will keep me in the good graces of the usual suspects and garner some good recommendations.
Thanks!
randomised
Oct 23, 18 3:49 am
Could you maybe sketch what it is you're after?
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 8:25 am
That is probably what I should have started with. The image below is a massing placeholder from a project I'm working on. I want to retain the scales of each component (slim vertical core excluded), but figure out how to create a dialogue between the two to prevent them from reading as mass with a uniform sameness. I am wary of just pushing and pulling to create an interesting form and want to study some examples that take a more considered approach in the way the different parts compliment each other.
I hope this makes it a little clearer, I think my way of wording it is what has prevented me from finding relevant examples.
Non Sequitur
Oct 23, 18 8:44 am
I had Steven Holl's Simmons Hall (MIT) in mind based on your original question. It has amorphous blobs contained within a larger rectilinear shape. This massing example above is more like "glued together ikea furniture".
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 8:58 am
I'm a fan of that building, I'll look into it a bit more. I do enjoy the idea of something contained within something that directly opposes that form or void. The Ikea furniture is exactly what I want to avoid, but it was just to illustrate the adjacency and intersection of forms and difference in scale.
senjohnblutarsky
Oct 23, 18 9:23 am
Would the Wexner Center fit what you're after? I personally dislike most of that building.
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 11:59 am
Yes, great example. Thank you!
Rusty!
Oct 23, 18 12:03 pm
If you have a boner for cylinders and triangles penetrating rectangles then image google Michael Graves' entire career.
Everyday Architect
Oct 23, 18 12:33 pm
The Porter House by SHoP ... although, I'm seeing from your comment that maybe this is an example of what you're trying to avoid.
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 1:44 pm
It is a little direct in the way it sits on the existing building, but I like the studies they show on their site about the way its light helps highlight the facade pattern/rhythm. Thanks for reminding me of this!
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 1:45 pm
Another building I found is the Marlow Theatre by Keith Williams Architects.
senjohnblutarsky
Oct 23, 18 3:40 pm
John Hejduk - Wall House
Hell, even Corbu's Villa Savoye would be worth a look.
Do they not beat you over the head with these buildings in school?
JCArchi
Oct 23, 18 4:23 pm
Villa Savoye was certainly an instrument used for beatings of the head during undergrad, but I am not familiar with Hejduk's Wall House. Sometimes the brain just needs a spark and it all comes back to me. Thanks for the recommendation!
Non Sequitur
Oct 23, 18 4:42 pm
"Villa Savoye was certainly an instrument used for beatings of the head during undergrad"
Now there's a bumper sticker for ya!
sameolddoctor
Oct 23, 18 3:43 pm
Sorry for my puerile humor - the word "conjoined" always reminds me of"
senjohnblutarsky
Oct 24, 18 8:07 am
If this is something you're really interested in, you need to add some focus on how the different elements join. This, in real life, can be a less-than-elegant condition if not properly executed. In school, you don't need to worry as much, but should at least acknowledge the limitations of materials and try to design to accommodate those limitations.
JCArchi
Oct 25, 18 8:23 am
Sorry for the delayed reply, midterm madness is in full swing here. You are correct, though, it will be something that I'm focusing on during the development of this project. We have the opportunity to focus on 1-2 moments in our design that we progress as much as possible to a CD level. I'm hoping that I can focus on the connections of materials being used in mine, more specifically corner connections. Thanks for the input!
To the Archinect forum regulars and lurkers alike,
I'm currently searching for some successful and/or interesting examples of buildings that have conjoined forms that compliment or contrast with each other to create a dialogue. For example: eccentricity vs restraint, opaque vs transparent, horizontal vs vertical, transitions in materiality, etc.
One work I have looked at is SOM's Lever House, where its strong vertical volume is grounded by it's horizontal block that's penetrated by an open court. I haven't found the correct verbiage to find useful results via searches and don't know many examples off the top of my head. Any examples you all could toss out there would be a big help.
I'm hoping that the fact I'm not asking for a thesis topic or free architectural advice will keep me in the good graces of the usual suspects and garner some good recommendations.
Thanks!
Could you maybe sketch what it is you're after?
That is probably what I should have started with. The image below is a massing placeholder from a project I'm working on. I want to retain the scales of each component (slim vertical core excluded), but figure out how to create a dialogue between the two to prevent them from reading as mass with a uniform sameness. I am wary of just pushing and pulling to create an interesting form and want to study some examples that take a more considered approach in the way the different parts compliment each other.
I hope this makes it a little clearer, I think my way of wording it is what has prevented me from finding relevant examples.
I had Steven Holl's Simmons Hall (MIT) in mind based on your original question. It has amorphous blobs contained within a larger rectilinear shape. This massing example above is more like "glued together ikea furniture".
I'm a fan of that building, I'll look into it a bit more. I do enjoy the idea of something contained within something that directly opposes that form or void. The Ikea furniture is exactly what I want to avoid, but it was just to illustrate the adjacency and intersection of forms and difference in scale.
Would the Wexner Center fit what you're after? I personally dislike most of that building.
Yes, great example. Thank you!
If you have a boner for cylinders and triangles penetrating rectangles then image google Michael Graves' entire career.
The Porter House by SHoP ... although, I'm seeing from your comment that maybe this is an example of what you're trying to avoid.
It is a little direct in the way it sits on the existing building, but I like the studies they show on their site about the way its light helps highlight the facade pattern/rhythm. Thanks for reminding me of this!
Another building I found is the Marlow Theatre by Keith Williams Architects.
John Hejduk - Wall House
Hell, even Corbu's Villa Savoye would be worth a look.
Do they not beat you over the head with these buildings in school?
Villa Savoye was certainly an instrument used for beatings of the head during undergrad, but I am not familiar with Hejduk's Wall House. Sometimes the brain just needs a spark and it all comes back to me. Thanks for the recommendation!
"Villa Savoye was certainly an instrument used for beatings of the head during undergrad"
Now there's a bumper sticker for ya!
Sorry for my puerile humor - the word "conjoined" always reminds me of"
If this is something you're really interested in, you need to add some focus on how the different elements join. This, in real life, can be a less-than-elegant condition if not properly executed. In school, you don't need to worry as much, but should at least acknowledge the limitations of materials and try to design to accommodate those limitations.
Sorry for the delayed reply, midterm madness is in full swing here. You are correct, though, it will be something that I'm focusing on during the development of this project. We have the opportunity to focus on 1-2 moments in our design that we progress as much as possible to a CD level. I'm hoping that I can focus on the connections of materials being used in mine, more specifically corner connections. Thanks for the input!