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An Integral Theory of Place University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2004 The Portable Particular: An Integral Theory of Place Arthur Paul Butts University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Architecture Commons Recommended Citation Butts, Arthur Paul, "The Portable Particular: An Integral Theory of Place. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2004. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1879 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Arthur Paul Butts entitled "The Portable Particular: An Integral Theory of Place." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Architecture, with a major in Architecture. Mark DeKay, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Jon Coddington, Scott Wall Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Arthur Paul Butts entitled “The Portable Particular: An Integral Theory of Place.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture, with a major in Architecture. Mark DeKay Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Jon Coddington Scott Wall Acceptance for the Council: Anne Mayhew Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) THE PORTABLE PARTICULAR: An Integral Theory of Place A Thesis Presented for the Master of Architecture Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Arthur Paul Butts August 2004 ii ABSTRACT “Architecture [that brings man and nature together in a ‘higher unity’] is likely to alter with the region in which it sends down roots…still it is open in the direction of universality.” -Tadao Ando Tadao Ando’s statement takes a step toward addressing the inherent paradox of the theory of critical regionalism: How to create architecture that is both universal and regional? In other words, how to create architecture that is both portable and particular? The theory of critical regionalism evolved as a reaction to the architecture of the International Style. With an onslaught of International Style buildings beginning in the 1930s, the importance of creating a connection between building and site was lost. Ian McHarg states: “Architects since the outset of Modern architecture have been anti-ecological…the International Style proclaimed that modern buildings are all coequally suitable for all people, all places and all times” (Kelbaugh, 67). This architecture was not particular. Critical regionalism, however, is a call for a celebration of cultural differences, as well as a participation in the technological advancements emerging everyday. According to Martin Heidegger, dwelling, in both a physical and psychological sense, means to be at peace in a protected place. It is necessary for an individual to be able to identify with his or her surroundings in order to fully dwell. Christian Norberg-Schulz believes that this act is not possible without the psychological functions of identification and orientation, two things that, if not developed, will lead to a feeling of being lost and eventually fear. Critical regionalism attempts to avoid this problem by creating architecture specific to its location. iii Additionally, a concern for more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings is emerging as a primary architectural issue. The advent of climate controlled buildings diminished the importance of building in a way that respected the natural forces of a site. Sustainable design can re-connect the natural and built environments by creating an ecologically fit building. Sustainable Design can help to re-establish the relationship between the natural and built environments. Critical regionalism can help to re-establish the relationship between the built environment and the individual. A holistic architecture, however, needs to establish a relationship between the natural environment, the built environment, and the individual. This thesis proposes that an Integral Theory of Place will establish this tripartite relationship by combining the theory of critical regionalism with the practice of sustainable design. In doing so, it addresses both the objective and subjective aspects of design, i.e. the building’s form in relation to the climate, personal experience, and cultural meaning in the built environment. Conceived as a pattern of design, an Integral Theory of Place is portable by nature. It provides the particulars of the portable, but not the specifics of the particular. What is particular is the emergent architecture. An Integral Theory of Place will thus lead to a holistic design that is environmentally and culturally fit to its place. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 CAUSES OF CRITICAL REGIONALISM 1 MODERNISM 1 POSTMODERNISM 2 CHAPTER 2 CRITICAL REGIONALISM 3 THE EVOLUTION OF THE THEORY 3 ALEXANDER TZONIS AND LIANE LEFAIVRE 4 KENNETH FRAMPTON 7 DOUGLAS KELBAUGH 11 CHAPTER 3 SUSTAINABILITY 15 CHAPTER 4 THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE 19 CHAPTER 5 AN INTEGRAL THEORY OF PLACE 22 CHAPTER 6 THE PORTABLE PARTICULAR 23 THE PROCESS 24 CHAPTER 7 THE SITE 27 ZONING 27 CHAPTER 8 RESPOND 32 CLIMATE 32 TERRAIN 38 MATERIALS 40 THE PATTERN MAP 42 CHAPTER 9 INTEGRATE 48 PROGRAM 48 THE PROJECT 49 CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION 58 BIBLIOGRAPHY/LIST OF REFERENCES 61 v APPENDICES 64 APPENDIX A- SITE DOCUMENTATION 65 APPENDIX B- PROGRAM 68 APPENDIX C- ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS 70 APPENDIX D- RENDERINGS 80 VITA 82 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 A Lack of Concern 1 2.1 Renzo Piano’s Rue de Meaux, Paris, France 4 2.2 Tadao Ando’s Rokko Housing Project, Kobe, Japan 5 2.3 Architectural Commodification 7 2.4 Jorn Utzon’s Bagsvaerd Church, Copenhagen, Denmark 8 2.5 Mario Botta’s House at Riva san Vitale 10 3.1 Cliff Dwellings of the Anasazi Indians, Mesa Verde, Colorado 16 6.1 The Portable Process 23 6.2 The Holistic Pie 25 7.1 Large Aerial View of Site 27 7.2 Small Aerial View of Site 28 7.3 Zones of the Site 28 7.4 Railroad Tracks Intersecting Site 28 7.5 Elevational Differences Between Upper and Lower Lots 28 7.6 Southern Boundary 28 7.7 Cumberland Avenue Entrance 28 7.8 View of the Upper Lot 29 7.9 View from the Pedestrian Bridge 29 7.10 View from the Upper Lot’s Vehicular Entrance 29 7.11 Proposed Greenway Trail 30 7.12 World’s Fair Park Extension 30 7.13 1982 World’s Fair Exposition 31 8.1 Scale 32 8.2 The Matrix 33 8.3 3-D Topographic Map 34 8.4 Climatic Summary 35 8.5 Nature Retaining Nature 40 8.6 The Pattern Map 43 8.7 Topographic Restoration (Portable) 44 8.8 Dispersed Buildings (Portable) 44 8.9 Topography and Buildings (Portable) 45 8.10 Responsive Roofs (Portable) 45 8.11 Rainwater Collection (Portable) 45 8.12 Locating Outdoor Rooms (Portable) 46 8.13 Thin Plan (Portable) 46 8.14 Combined Openings (Portable) 47 8.15 External Shade (Portable) 47 vii 9.1 Design Issues to Address 50 9.2 Interwoven Buildings and Plants & Dispersed Buildings (Particular) 50 9.3 Topographic Restoration (Particular) 51 9.4 Site Zoning Rationale 51 9.5 Courtyard Orientation 52 9.6 Seasonal Shade- Summer and Winter 52 9.7 Migration Spaces 53 9.8 Stack Ventilation (Particular) 54 9.9 Thin Plan (Particular) 54 9.10 Combined Openings (Particular) 55 9.11 External Shading (Particular) 55 9.12 Rainwater Collection (Particular) 57 A.1 Locational Maps 66 A.2 Site Documentation 67 B.1 Program 69 C.1 The Figure Ground 71 C.2 The Shaded Roof Plan 72 C.3 The Site Plan 73 C.4 Second Floor Plan 74 C.5 Third Floor Plan 75 C.6 Fourth Floor Plan 76 C.7 Elevations 77 C.8 Sections 78 D.1 3-D Renderings 81 1 CHAPTER 1 CAUSES OF CRITICAL REGIONALISM “Architects since the outset of Modern architecture have been anti-ecological...the International Style proclaimed that modern buildings are all coequally suitable for all people, all places, and all times.” -Ian McHarg MODERNISM The intention of the Modernist movement can be described as a desire to exhibit technological progress by utilizing a “rational and empirical methodology” (Kelbaugh, 61). The 1932 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition, The International Style, is a prime example of how this belief is represented in architecture. The exhibition, supervised by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, classifies Modernist buildings from around the world under the category of the “International Style.” It is, however, a purely aesthetic classification, neglecting the respective buildings’ responses to their site conditions. The Modernist building, according to Colin Rowe, is “an icon of change, an icon of technology, and icon of good society, an icon of the future” (Kelbaugh, 60). The buildings of the International Style were object buildings that had no desire to fit into an existing urban fabric. When this is coupled with the 1932 MoMA exhibition, what results is the random and arbitrary appearance of “International Style” buildings all over the globe. This process gains even more speed during the post-World War II period when it is adopted by large corporations because of its purely functionalist appearance, which emanates efficiency, economy, and progress.
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