ARCH1201 - Week 2 Notes

ARCH 1201 - Week 2 Notes:

Alvar Aalto – Villa Mariea (1938-39)

·         Designed for one of the wealthiest families in Finland – for Marie and Harry Gullichsen

·         Built in Noormarkku

·         Aalto and Gullichsen established a famous furniture co.

·         Marie had studied art in Paris – wanted to bring modern art into Finland’s culture

·         Unlimited budget.

·         L-shaped house, with veranda to sauna and pool.

·         Researcher’s research area is “patterns and structures of living”.

·         Uses the example of seats – in a row – interconnectedness with seats to the side, behind and in front.

·         Questions to ask:

1)     Underlying architectural patterns?

2)     Relationship to site?

3)     Relationship to climates?

·         Research thesis – Aalto – “methodical development of flexibility”.

·         By 1935, Aalto was one of the leading functionalist architects.

·         In that year, gave a lecture to attack modern functional architecture as lacking a human element.

·         “Generate diversity and coordinate it”

·         Flexible order.

 

3 major formal strategies:

1)     Multiple, co-spatial structures of the architectural world

2)     High levels of formal articulation

3)     A predominance of non-repetitive relations in dynamic equilibrium.

·         Relationship with ridge.

·         Connects the site with the topography.

·         L-shape follows the ridge

·         “Drew floor-plan over topographical map”

·         Diagonally links/faces the old house

·         3 key lines – need for excavation, levelling, and elevation.

·         Relationship with Forest – the forest can be both good and evil according to Finnish mythology – Aalto clears the forest to build villa mariea; but then included a tree column inside the house.

NB to create a social area:

a)     must start with a ‘central place’

b)     must set a ‘diversity of activities’ around that central place – the parameter

c)      set an outer-parameter.

There are 7 kinds of relationships b/w these 3 elements:

1)     formal/casual

2)     short/long term

3)     visual

4)     physical access

5)     spillover of activities

6)     shelter and protection

7)     openings

 L-shape gives an ‘implied centre’

But there is also the ‘Dining room centre’ & the ‘Living room centre’.

Need for different centres for the variation in climate. And also with surrounding diversity.