Zibaldone 7

The way a building meets the ground is one of the important aspects of architecture.  The way the building meets the ground can tell us a lot about the building we are looking at.  For instance in a lot of H.H. Richardson’s work, the lower part of the building bulges out and sits firmly on the ground.  This helps to emphasize the massiveness, and the size and weight of the building.  When you look at one of his buildings, as you see the bottom part of the building bulging out at the thicker bottom, you get a real good sense of the massiveness and weight of the building.  If for instance, the building was situated within the landscape, you would maybe read this differently.  This is so because you are not seeing how firmly it stands on the ground and you don’t get a sense of its thickness either.