By using only plan of any ONE (1) of the of the following case studies, identify and explain the four condition of place – centers, boundaries, paths and alignments.*
1) Hadrian’s Villa
2) Monastery Fontana Abbey
3) Roman Forum (after Tarajan’s Forum)
* Use David Summer’s concept (see your second and third tutorial reading) to define centers, boundaries, paths and alignments.
Strictly follow the following structure for your paper. When you write the paper, try to respond to the questions I pose. You do not have to answer all the questions,
select the most relevant questions for your case study. DO NOT WRITE RANDOMLY.
1) Introduction (200 words)
Give the basic contextual information of the building you are discussing and analyzing.
2) Describing the spatial scheme (200 words)
By using the plan, give a quick walk through of the building; narrate the distribution of different function in the building, elaborate spatial schemes, describe the
location of the main entry in relation to the rest of the building, narrate human movement through corridors, composition of central space, private space, and open
space.
3) Center (500 words)
What does center mean in architecture? What aspects of center are present in the case study you are analyzing? Is there a central space? How do you identify it as the
center? Shape? Size? Function? Location? How is the center related to peripheral or secondary spaces? Via corridor? Courtyards? How does the center maintain (or
destroy) a social hierarchy within the building? Is the building represent any notional center (such as church, imperial palace), and how is that notional centrality
expressed in plan? In many instances, the Center does not always mean the geometrical or physical center of architecture, and a center could be a non-functional
element that is located outside the building, eg. the Torana of Itsukushima shrine, which is located in the sea and has no direct physical relation with the main
building still serves as the main center of the building.
4) Boundaries (500 words)