Final Project, Final Post

Fulfillment of Design Goals: My main goal for this chapel was to provide an environment that encourages and facilitates reflection and introspection, and I feel my project should be evaluated with regards to how well it has accomplished that design goal as well as the overarching project goal of: "to astound us, astonish us with the play of light within the chapel..[through the use of] expressive light" (from the assignment handout). The above picture shows (with wall removed) what that expressive light looks like. The Chapel Sanctuary in general, and this gesture in particular is where I focused most of my effort on this project. I feel this particular lighting scheme provides both focus and inspiration. Focus because the main "light line" really leads you down to the altar (and lines are extremely straight forward because you can only follow them, you can't get "derailed"), and inspiration because of the sweeping ocean and reflected gestures on the side. This focus and inspiration is a requirement that I felt was critical to encourage introspection and reflection.

lighting when the sun is southeast

lighting effect when sun is south

What went well (other than expresssive light): Besides the main lighting feature, a lot of time and effort went into siting, and I felt that my final decision made a lot of sense for a number of reasons. Looking is also a nice foil to reveal my other strengths. So, if we compare my final and original site placements...



I think looking at these two pictures shows a lot about what this project was really about for me. It was about finding ways to relocate these buildings to provide order and meaningful sequences for people while making programmatic sense. Ultimately, and though I was reluctant, it meant recentralizing the buildings. I think this helped out aesthetically too, because it made it easier to develop one vocabulary instead of needing to develop ones for the other buildings. Also, the final design has the Chapel literally at the center of the space, and was successful at using the main Chapel mass to divide public and private space which I struggled to accomplish earlier.

A lot of this project (being a first studio and all) was learning how to go through the process, and all the blogging I've done was a little for you, but mostly for the sake of process capture, and learning to think about how I'm actually spending my time and what I'm doing. So aside from lighting and siting, that's the other strength I've really had.

3 STRENGTHS: expressive lighting, siting, and process capture.



Room for improvement: I really wish I had more time to develop the landscaping elements. In fact, there are many things I didn't get to due to time constraints, and some I did that just weren't as strong as my lighting. In no particular order, they are:
waterfall siting space
water flows outside of the main wall
main entrance
chapel lobby/entrance
development of path language to encourage people to move one way or another

I think the comments on relocating my entrance to the site were spot on, as were those on the lobby. My main "how to" is:
How might I relocate the entrance to the site to encourage circulation towards the chapel, while not eliminating the initial wall (not the massive one, but the one on the side of the classroom) I felt was crucial to separating the spaces?

Overall, I'm happy with the result of this project. Though I didn't get to some things I wanted to, and wish I had a little more time to develop some things, I felt I did a reasonable job of accomplishing the design goals and project criteria, while getting things done in time.

beloved detail: sitting space cut away from mass (the negative space + mass) is a scaled version of the classroom space (see aerial view below)

When I started thinking of the chapel project, I envisioned the main chapel being a geometric mass that would have pentagonal panels pointing upward to the sky and therefore directing the view and at the same time framing it. However, it seemed a little disconnected from the other masses and it started to get too complex in terms of circulation and square footage. Also, as I found solutions to functional problems, the lines and landscaping became more complex and it lost the purity I initially liked so much about the geometry.So after looking at some architects for inspiration, I decided that I would focus on two main ones: Tadao Ando and Steven Holl. I liked Ando because of his simplicity and the way he treats views; and Holl because of the way he deals with materials using them to let light into the building.


The main feature of my chapel is the framed view that is seen from the risers. The "floating altar" divides the view into ocean and sky, hiding the horizon and at the same time providing a stage for the preacher. It has a back 8-inch wall so that the viewers do not see the speaker against the light, what would cause him/her to look very dark and the view feel uncomfortable. I envision the inside of the chapel to feel very large and massive, with the escape being the views of nature as well as the door/windows, which bring some light into the space. Also, I intended it to feel very restful, a place where one can contemplate the views and enjoy the experience of sitting as a spectator of both the speaker and nature.

The people would come from the area closer to the road into the site and would see the lobby from a distance because of its distinctive material. Even though the chapel is more massive and larger in size, the lobby would be lit in the day with sunlight and at night with interior light. In terms of the plan, to emphasize the importance of the chapel amongst the other buildings, I used a parallelogram that also allowed me to play with the symmetry/asymmetry of the location of the speaker vs. the main entrance, and also the seating.

In the lobby area, I played a with some transformations to make the space more interesting and functional. I liked the suggestion of the critics to make the lobby a central area to to the office, classroom and chapel. I would definitely consider this theme for if I were to continue working on this project.

Process

Here are some process pictures of my beloved detail

and below is my construction process, where I basically cut out the plan so I can insert and remove easily the walls. It turned out a really good idea for me because it made things easier, and staying true to the scale.

Paul's Final Project

Design Process

My design thinking was really influenced by the book, Third Millenium Churches, which advocated simplicity of forms and effects, contrasted to the classical churches. Whereas last project I used a complicated system, this time It was more simplistic and probably more ideal to the author of the book I read. I avoided extreme, complicated systems to avoid an impressive architecture, because I want to have a design where at first it wouldn't really say much, but the beauty is expressed through the experience of chapel. Rather, as the author suggested, I use the experience to display the sacredness of the buildings. (See first process post to see more of how my design concept came about, and quotes). Treated them as secular/multipurpose buildings, displaying no overt Christian symbols or group-exclusive insignias.

First I started with the circulation. To start off an inviting entry, with the focus on the pool/fountain , using a framing view as inspired by Scarpa (a framed view at an entrance in Brion) but using rectangular geometries instead for the openings. This beloved detail of mine preparies them for a dark corridor, guided by soft natural light, with the intent of going towards the ocean (with another framed zen vista view), which at the end will give an enlightened peaceful de-stressing feeling.

Inspiration

My inspirations from Scarpa and Holl can be seen as an integration of Scarpa’s framing views (i.e Brion monument complex) and Holl’s rectangular affinity, and his beautiful ways of letting light in indirectly (i.e in St Ignatius church) as seen in my lightwells. I also used the site slope to carve out pathways which stairs down to the flat area of the site (about 1.5-2.5 feet down) and make a small side-circulation path which leads to (first) the class room’s side door) then to the main corridor (which is a smooth sloped ramp for disabled and for most people).

Scarpa- Brion monumental complex









Holl- St Ignatius Church

Theme

The landscaping pretty much evolved into a theme of a light tower by the ocean, which helps sailors to find their way, symbolizing a guiding light to safety and tranquility. Thus, the tower (also a lightwell that pipes light through the chapel, and office, and the side chapel, where it is used for meditation when lookin up to the blue sky), would be the end of continuous circulation, or rather the place to find.The roofs are also slightly sloped (5 degrees) to display a peaceful portrayal of the ocean waves.

Geometry

As can be seen in the plans, I used the square/rectangular geometry with my motif of intersecting diamonds (also can be seen in my view framing system). This also was an idea in one of our tool kits, of intersecting spaces, shared spaces (my zen vista space where people could gather between the chapel and classroom and enjoy the ocean view.

The intersecting diamond and squares cant be found in the chapel section because I was afraid that the symbol is read as an insignia or that it reveals a certain religious symbol.

Expressive lights

My expressive light’s objective was to guide the people, its soft simple light expresses comfort and aids for de-stressing. The light wells pipe soft lights in, with intent to have light all the way to the ground floor. The side light wells of the chapel also become seats.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed the project, almost has grown to love it too much that I wanted to keep working on it until I see every problem. My process in constructing the ¼ model (see other process post) was really helpful in that it allowed me to see and change really fast without gluing or taping the walls down, the down side only is that I over used this advantage and thus took a long time to satisfy myself. I would definitely use this technique to put pieces in place without permanently gluing them together. One big challenge was constructing the site on a sloped topography, (especially since my buildings aren't all sitting on one plane).

Final Note:

All the roofs and some walls are removable so you can see inside, almost all of each spaces. Feel free to remove what is removable to explore the design and effects.

Final Project

The overall goals for this project were: to have a unique form of lighting with meaning; to respect the surroundings and the history of the area around the site; to have a geometric design reminiscent of the Plato quote, "...it must, I think, be admitted that the objects of that [geometric] knowledge are eternal and no liable to decay;" to express inspiration from three interesting architects; and to experiment with a unique combination of materials.Inspiration from Plato drove the majority of this design. A chapel is a building that must be eternal; it must be able to stand the test of time for generations of followers to be able to visit the building. As such, geometric design is something that has been done for centuries, partly due to the lack of development of design materials or methods that allow many of the seemingly impossible designs of the past few decades. For this reason, I designed the building according to a very simple circle of 6-foot panels centered at the middle of the lobby. Each of these panels is separated at 15 degrees to create 24 total roof panels, one for each hour of the day. Secondly, I experimented with the possibilities of different materials and structural configurations that may not have been used in architecture of centuries past. In this way the building respects the past and looks forward to the future.











I also looked to particular architects for inspiration. I mainly looked at those who use nature, especially water, extensively in their buildings, and I also looked at buildings that hint at the idea of ascension. The first building of inspiration is Carlos Scarpa's building shown in the first photo. This building rests on a pool of water, and given the site near the remains of the Sutro Baths, I thought to myself, "Why not try to bring back the Sutro Baths in a unique way?" Eero Saarinen's Kresge Chapel helped me decide where and how I would use the "new baths" in my project. The Kresge Chapel is in the middle of a moat, with the walls of the building separated from the interior to allow the infiltration of water. The issue with this is that the lighting doesn't seem to really be effective. As such I decided to try to place the entire chapel on water. At first it sounded impossible, and in terms of available materials and how they are used, it is a challenge. Nonetheless, I did the best I could to create as little separation between floor supports while still allowing infiltration of light. The site on which the chapel rests is a series of water pools with 1-foot stone rows as the barriers. The pools are only 7.5 feet wide so that the translucent floor (corrugated plastic or corrugated glass) has support it needs.
In terms of the design of the entire building, there is one roof covering the project, to bring a sense of unity to what lies inside. The classroom, minister's office, side chapel, main chapel, and restrooms are all located off a central lobby (pictured above). In the picture above we can see the entrance to the side chapel (door the the left of center). The side chapel is small 160SF room surrounded by three walls of concrete and one of glass. The glass wall faces west off the edge of the cliff and gives a full view of the ocean.From the center of the lobby, and only at a point where one is facing the chapel entrance, the beloved detail and structural core of the building is shown. The structural support would be a 1-foot thick, square steel beam hanging from the top layer of the roof system. This top layer is supported on all sides so it would be strong enough to help support the lower layers of the main chapel. In addition, with the lighting effect, several strips of light penetrate into the lobby, creating a sense of relief from the convergence of all the roof layers of the chapel as well as relief from the overall "closed" feeling of a central lobby surrounded by 10-15 foot walls.Finally, the expressive light detail comes from the main chapel. The translucent floor brings in a soft light that is strong at the edges, and still visible near the center of the floor system. In addition, this is a relief from the traditional practice of light coming from above or from the walls. As we can see in the photo, the walls are massive and dark, with only thin strips of light coming in through 6-inch glass windows to give the walls a sense of receding illumination. In the translucent floor system, one experiences light from the floor, or reflections from the "new baths." The idea behind this is for the Sutro Baths to bring in the strongest source of light, or life, in the building. In addition, the walls increase in height in 1-foot intervals to mimic Alvaro Alto's Vouksenniska Church in Imatra. The increasing height creates the illusion of ascension, followed by relief at the front of the chapel where the minister would give his/her sermon. Behind the minister is small, 4-foot-wide view of the ocean that lies at the edge of a cliff. It is small enough to minimize glare and distraction from the sermon, but large enough to bring peace knowing that one is still part of nature, especially the beach and vast ocean at the horizon.

Final Project

I wanted my design to seem simple initially, but on further investigation, be a complex form. With the mix between concrete and wood there is a relationship between what I would call cold and dark materials. The mix between wood and concrete allows the building to have duality in its form.
I also wanted the person to have an experience through the circulation of the building. The person will walk through the back and follow the water into the building. They will walk on top of the water and as it stops, so will they, as they go to their respective seats. If they were to go to the second floor, they would walk up the stairs as seen below, experience the Zen View through the window above the doors and then make the decision of which room they would like to go to.
I wanted the floor plan to allow for separation between rooms. To enter the side chapel the person must walk through the classroom. So there is no direct entrance from the outside to the chapel, allowing for some isolation for the space. The office has a different staircase to allow for privacy. To get to the bathroom or storage room, the person must enter from doors at the back as there is not entrance from the inside.The side chapel sits above and is the only completely open room. This gives the room a feeling of being closer to the heavens and one with nature. Also, the view is the best in the building as it sits higher to overlook the ocean.
My 1/2 inch section shows the expressive light detail. I was inspired my Aldo and the way he used the connection of the buildings to allow light within the building. From the picture, you can see that light floods in from around the form, not only giving the second floor the look as though it is floating, but it allows light to come in at different angles and strength.

All in all, my design turned out to be a geometric form that contained very complex details.

Final Chapel Project: Taylor Skaufel

Overview

The goals for the my design of the chapel were clear: simplicity, sacredness, and maximize the beautiful views. All the forms are simple. To create sacredness I decided to build upon the foundation of traditional church architecture and add a new architecture feel. I kept a high ceiling because "sometimes the greatest moments in life are the time were you feel like nothing at all" (example looking at the stars). High ceilings heighten this "sacred feeling." The office, classroom, and side chapel all have beautiful views of the ocean. A theme that arose in my project was "Walking into the light." This is seen clearly through expressive light in the main chapel. The foundation of this chapel was rock, very fitting for a church. To exemplify the sturdy foundation the church is set on I made the main chapel mostly massive to give it a very long lasting/ sturdy feel. The surrounding buildings were more skeletal. This was done make the main church seem more massive. I pictured this chapel being made out of a concrete/ stone material.

Chapel
The Chapel is simple. A wall based system with large columns give it a very sturdy feel.












Side Chapel (Zen Vista)
The side chapel is where the viewer can experience the Zen Vista. You enter into this side chapel by going down a sloped corridor from the main chapel. As the person descends two feet, they come to the door of the side chapel and immediately are stunned by the view of the ocean. The solid glass wall allows no obstruction of this view.






Expressive Lighting
The Light slits at the end of the hallways the run along side the chapel invite the people to walk down the hallway. This is similar to to seeing a cracked door in the dark and wondering what is going on the other side of the door.









The light scoop at the front of the chapel provided a way for light to enter into the chapel.













Depending on the time of day, there are different lighting effects in the chapel. This picture shows the expressive light being brought into the chapel through the overhead windows. This light illuminates the columns and creates a sacred experience.









The cross cut out of the ceiling is the Beloved Detail chapel. This can only been seen at a specific part of the day. The illuminated cross on the back wall of the church










Sectional Model 1/2"
The sectional model shows the roof structure of the chapel. It is essentially a roof supported by thick beams. A ceiling rests on top of the beams with a roof layer above the ceiling.










Site Model 1/8"
The site model shows where my buildings are situated on the site.













Influential Architects
Many architects influenced my project including: Ando, Aalto, Kahn, Holl, and Fehn.