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| 9 -
The Importance of Place |
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| Appendix A / Sylvan Hill Residence | |||
| The
importance of place in architecture is a concept that has
been of interest to me for some time. Some of these
thoughts can be seen in a project I designed while in
private practice in New York. The project is a single
family residence located on a 13 acre site in Connecticut
about 2 hours from New York City. The site has a rural
setting, but is not far from a number of small villages
and larger towns. One of the principal ideas was to create a sense of ‘dynamic repose’ where one was felt sheltered from the elements, but was in direct psychological contact with the surrounding natural environment. Projects of interest to me included the ‘Church in the Rock’ by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in Helsinki, and Louis Kahn’s Unitarian church in Rochester, New York (figs 52, 53). Additionally, the sheltering roofs of John Lautner (fig 54) are also of significant interest to me. The idea of place has several aspects. First, there is the physical site. In the case of this project, the natural elements of site were of prime concern. The seclusion of the site meant that a continuous open engagement could be made with the environment. In most projects, this would not be possible due to needs of privacy from neighbors, etc. A physical, tactile connection with the environment was the intention with this project. Another aspect of place is the relationship of man to the environment. In this project there was a gradation of spaces from the public spaces of the nearby village and highway to the semi-public living and dining areas, to the private bedrooms. The transition between each is modulated and controlled. |
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| Fig 51 - Sylvan Hill (SH); Exterior | Fig 52 - Unitarian Church, Rochester, NY (L. Kahn, arch) | Fig 53 - Church, Helsinki (T. Suomalainen, arch) | Fig 54 - Elrod Residence, Palm Springs (J. Lautner, arch) |
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| Fig 55 - SH; Family room | Fig 56 - SH; Floor plan | Fig 57 - SH; Foyer / gallery | |
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