Zibaldone 11

Q: Why do we feel the need to "frame" views?

There isn't always a necessary need to always frame views. Sometimes windows are used only to allow light into the building. However in certain situations a window of a framed view in this case can reveal the site in a way never seen before. The building can make you pause it can make you notice what is already there. Maybe you would have never stopped to look at it if it wasn't framed. For the Salk institute, that view exists on both sides of the building but when you stand in the court yard it all that you see drawing you in. Other times maybe in a urban situation you have a view regardless just because you want to have windows. So instead of just making windows the views of other space can actually develop the shape of the building. Finally the site could be more important than the building itself so that, the buildings form literally becomes a landing trying to re-situate you in the site in a new way.

Zibaldone 11

Q: What holds a building up?

A: Traditionally, brick has been used in architecture as a structural element. The material is abundant, modular, economic, ecologic and incredibly strong in compression. However, in the example of the Tate Modern, designed by Herzog and De Meuron, brick is expressed as a permeable screen. So what holds the building up? In this case, a network of reinforced concrete columns and beams make up the ‘bones’ of the building. Precast concrete lintels and pins are also attached to the structure, allowing for windows and keeping the brick screen in place.

Zibaldone 11

Where do stairs begin and end?

It can be argued that stairs do not have a beginning or an end.  We can see an example of this in the etchings of Piranesi.  He creates stairs that seem to have no beginning or end; they just disappear off the page.  Then we have the reference from the movie, Inception when two of the characters are walking on a set of stairs continuously without noticing that they are at going anywhere.  But a much clearer way to answer this question is to say that stairs begin with a rise and end with a tread.  The tread that one who end with would be a floor or maybe even a landing if you think about it.

Zibaldone 10

Why does a building have to be  aesthetically pleasing?  Shouldn't a building just perform to the best of it capability and not worry about how it looks?

Zibaldone 11: What Holds A Building Up?

In the example of Burj Khalifa (the Dubai skyscraper) the structure that is used is the bundled tube design. The concept of a tube system is to resist lateral loads by designing a hollow cantilever that is perpendicular to the ground. This allows minimal structure inside the space as it is pushed to the exterior walls. The method of tube design is developed through reinforced concrete in this case. Special mixes of concrete were used  to withstand high pressures from the massive building weight. The site would ultimately determine the application of the concrete. The Persian Gulf temperatures would reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Most of the concrete was poured at night when the air is cooler and the humidity is higher. The cooler concrete mix cures evenly with a lower rick in it cracking. A bundled tube design through concrete would be my interpretation of how this building is held up.

Sampling- Zimbaldone Undici

The difference between architecture and hip hop sampling all comes down to the different ways of making a song or building. A song can be created using anything that makes a sound, and with any different pitch or combination of different instruments. Look at the new delta faucet commercial, featuring percussionist Glenn Kotche, he makes a song out of touch faucets and the water that it produces. Not only do we have hundreds of different instruments but more sounds are used in music every day.

                Let us contrast this to architecture, how many different building materials can you name? Can you name more building materials than things that produce sound? Music has copyright laws because of the infinite ways to make a melody, two songs that are identical without one sampling the other is unfathomable. Because there is a finite amount of architectural strategies, if they can be copyrighted, it won’t be long until new graduates have to literally re-invent the brick to make a career for themselves.  

Peter Cataldo - Zibaldone 11

Typically, when there is a noticeable seam between two buildings, it means that the buildings were constructed at different times. Some transitions between those buildings can be relatively smooth and not very noticeable, while other times the buildings contrast greatly and one of them may seem out of place.

One common way to connect two buildings is to use a party wall (one wall that is shared between two adjacent structures). One may notice that turning the corner on the upper levels of an adjacent building has not been thought about. The timeline of the surrounding construction plays a big role in answering how the building turns a corner (maybe originally the corners were not exposed).

Although some connections look funky and out of place, they can bring a certain texture to the landscape that enriches the surrounding culture.