A House for a Car Collector

A House for a Car Collector

Contents

Forward and Introduction ________________ 1-4Principles of Making ____________________ 5-7Site and Situation _____________________ 8-11Car Space and Living Space____________ 11-19Questions of Transition_________________ 20-30Sequencing Spaces____________________31-64The Garage_________________________ 65-76Closing Thoughts ________________________ 77

Before discussing the work contained in the following pages, I would like to thank those who have made it possible. Firstly, I would like to thank Hunter Pittman, my thesis professor whose persistent critique always left me wanting more from my project, my colleagues, particularly Nicholas Mosman who always took the time to respond when asked “what do you think?”, the Evans and the Fonvilles who have made unbelievable financial contributions to my education, my parents; mom, who always believed my thesis was the best of all, and dad, whose wisdom always reminded me that it could be better. I would also like to thank Brianna, my wife, for her support in moments of discouragement, for her unfailing love, patience, confidence and friendship.

Above all, I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Builder of all things, who made a world worth knowing, filled with beauty, order and grace.

Acknowledgments

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I would like to start by making the distinction between my building program and my architectural thesis. The making of a house for a car collector was a programmatic exercise to explore deeper questions about the making of architecture. I chose this program not only out of a personal interest in residential architecture and automobiles but as a deliberately contemporary program to test my thesis. At the heart of my investigation, I am very interested in seeing how the classical principles laid down by Vitruvius can be used toward the making of a contemporary work of architecture without necessarily adopting the classical aesthetic. In other words, what do order, agreement, eurhythmy, propriety, symmetry and economy look like without the Greek orders, and all the other rigorous aesthetic prerequisites of classical works. I read Vitruvius’ Ten Books of Architecture, paying particularly close attention to books I & VI which present a sequence of architectural decision making. I have attempted to deliver these principles through the program as plainly as they were first written. By consequence, the architecture in the following pages will be narrated in very ordinary terms and has a greater chance of appealing to those who can read it simply; to those who can consider it according to its use and beauty and not through complex architectural abstractions.

Foreword

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The Vitruvian instructions for the making of an architectural construct begins with the selec-tion of a standard of symmetry. In the words of Vitruvius:

“There is nothing to which an architect should devote more thought than to the exact pro-portions of his building with reference to a certain part selected as the standard. After the standard of symmetry has been determined and the proportionate dimensions adjusted by calculations, it is next the part of wisdom to consider the nature of the site or questions of use or beauty, and modify the plan by diminutions and additions in such a manner that these diminutions or additions in the symmetrical relations may be seen to be made on correct principles, and without detracting at all from the effect. (p.14)

Hence, the first thing to settle is the standard of symmetry, from which we need not hesitate to vary. Then, lay out the ground lines of the length and breadth of the work proposed, and when once we have determined its size, let the construction follow this with due regard to beauty of proportion, so that the beholder may feel no doubt of the eurhythmy of its effect.” (p.175) - Vitruvius (Book I,VI)

The making of architecture is a process of discovery, certainly. We draw, model, redraw, make more models and discuss things in order to know them. This process helps deliver the idea to the final construct. The more thorough this process is, the higher the quality of the

Principles of Making

The look of a building when seen close at hand is one thing, on a height it is another, not the same in an enclosed place, still different in the open, and in all these cases it takes much judgment to decide what is to be done. - Vitruvius, Ten Books, p. 175

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end product. But, according to this thesis position, this process alone cannot satisfy the condi-tions of good architecture. The process of discovery must be directed by an idea and devel-oped under the supervision of correct principles. Natural order sheds light on these correct principles and helps us proportion a plan, end a column, sequence materials, puncture a wall, construct a facade and harmonize rooms. If these principles are adhered to, what we build will have a greater chance of belonging in its place and time.

The standard of symmetry I have selected is constructed by taking a square, constructing the golden section through it and scaling the new proportion inside the limits of the square. Once this construct was established, it was repeated, scaled and limited in such a way that it would comfortably accommodate the program. Decisions in plan were then carried out in section in a perpetual play of repetition and proportion. The aesthetic was directed by this geometric framework but also by questions of site, use and beauty.

The decision to descend terraces down a hill was a result of the dynamic nature of the site and its placement was dictated by the flow of water throughout the topography and by its solar orientation. In terms of use, the house is arranged from the most public to the most private spaces and is separate from the car space for practical reasons.

For in all their works, the [ancients] pro-ceeded on definite principles of fitness and in ways derived from Nature. Thus they reached perfection, approving only those things which, if challenged, can be explained on grounds of the truth. - Vitruvius, Ten Books, p. 109

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The three schemes that were proposed all made use of this beautiful natu-ral formation: the small ponds on the site terminate in a retaining wall that is wedged into a rock formation. The wall is not completely sealed and leaks enough water to create a small stream. The topographic map to the left reveals the dramatic descent of the terrain at this moment.

3 Schemes Based on Site Considerations

Right: The image to the right depicts the rock formation and retaining wall.

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Left: Given the dynamic nature of the site, Scheme 1 anchors itself into the site through the use of a large retaining wall. The wall, which houses the car garage/museum, equalizes the terrain to allow for a court-yard and a house which is entirely sepa-rate from the car space. The footprint of the house is based on a 9 square grid.

Right: The second scheme subsequently made use of the golden ratio turning onto itself to enclose a space. This scheme incor-porates the house into the site in a very di-rect way and the car space into the house space. In contrast to the first scheme, the wall becomes the means by which you in-habit the site, not a pronounced boundary between site and intervention, as in the first scheme.

Far Right: The third scheme, probably most peculiar, was created by the same means of turning the golden ratio onto itself in a play of geometry and space making. Unlike the first schemes, this one is much kinder to the site and terraces down the slope without making a substantial cut in the landscape.

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The relationship between the collector and the car was designed in such a way that they re-mained connected but always with a degree of separation. The collector had to be able to access his cars without getting wet on a rainy day and the cars had to be displayed in an environment where they could be appreciated individually. The garage had to belong to the site, the house and the lower plaza.

Car Space, Living Space and Site

Below: The diagram below reveals the relation-ship between living space, car space and pla-za.

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Initial conceptions of the living, eating and dining space explored ways in which the car could live in agreement with the people in-side the house. In most car collectors’ garag-es, one car is always distinguished above all others and the architecture of the proposed house reflects this distinction by placing the most precious car, the jewel above all oth-ers, inside the house- out of the car space, and into the living space.

Studying Spaces

Right: The diagrams to the right show the spatial organization in plan and section, re-vealing that sequence from the most public to the most private spaces.

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Through aesthetic reflection we endeavour to create a world in which we are at home with others and with ourselves. That is why we care about aesthetic values, and live wretchedly in places where they have been brushed aside or trampled on. Man’s ‘estrangement’ in the modern city is due to many causes besides modern architecture. But who can deny that modern architecture has played its own special part in producing it, by willfully imposing forms, masses and proportions which bear no relation to our aesthetic expectations and which arrogantly defy the wisdom and achievement of the past? What is primarily wrong with modernism was not its rigidity, its moralizing, its puritanical zeal - although these were repulsive enough. Modernism’s respect for the discipline was its sole redeeming feature: but it was a discipline about the wrong things. It told us to be true to function, to social utility, to materials, to political principles. It told us to be ‘of our time’, while enlisting architecture in those insolent experiments for the re-fashioning of man which have threatened out civilization with such disaster. At the same time, modernism threw away, as a worthless by-product of the past and a symbol of its oppressive rituals, the aesthetic discipline embodied in the classical tradition. It had no use for that kind of discipline and no patience toward the few brave critics who defended it as the only discipline that counts.Roger Scruton, The Classical Vernacular, P.75-76

Food for Thought

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One of the consequences of creating a plan along a curve was the condition of complex joints between the various archi-tectural elements at that moment of turning. The vertical transition from plate to plate was determined by the original geometric framework and the mullions of the windows that enclose the plates follow the implied geometric lines.

Spatial and Technical Questions of Vertical Transition

Right: The scheme to the left reveals an al-ternate solution where a column emerges out of the turning mullion. The two adjoin-ing window mullions connect behind the col-umn through metal retainers.

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Both solutions had to accommodate the two adjoining roof plates and the glass wall. Since these architectural elements continue to different elevations, the mullions had to operate independently from each other and terminate at different points. The taller mullion continues to meet both the roof slab as well as the perpendicular window mul-lion.

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Diagrams of the transverse section reveal the way in which the interior conditioned space would meet the terrace slab in such a way that it accommodates the window assembly, rigid insulation and various wa-terproofing systems.

Right: The section to the right shows the re-lationship between the structural wall, the column and the exterior terrace. The struc-tural concrete wall at the garage level sup-ports a doubly insulated CMU concrete wall, clad in stucco and metal lath.

Questions in Section, Continued

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details

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Initial considerations for the column were based on the way it connected to the ceiling plate, the use of the reinforcement as ornamentation and the transition from a cylindrical section to a square capital.

The Column

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Sequencing SpacesTo properly understand the spatial sequence of the house and site, it must be mentioned that the spaces are arranged from the most public ones to the most intimate ones. Vitruvius defines those private spaces as the ones “where you do not enter without invitation” (p. 39). While the plan maintains a degree of openness, the fourth plate marks the beginning of a private space and delineates the public from the intimate.

The sequenced of spaces for the collector is distinct from that of his guests. When the guests arrive, they park on the upper plaza and enter through the formal entry while the collec-tor descends through a passage directly into the garage and enters the house through the lower stair. The guests arrive through the entry foyer while the collector enters the house at the point where the public space meets the private. Given that the footprint of the living space and car space is less than one fourth of the total area of the site, the upper and lower plazas play a very important role in setting the stage for the architectural narrative.

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Edge of Site

Left: The drawing to the left reveals the per-spective along the axis of the upper court-yard. At first encounter, the 6,000 s.f. house does not reveal its entire framework; only the first platform is visible upon arrival. This may be considered a form of architectural modesty. The drive is lined with open green spaces, gardening beds, a line of gravel, and two sets of columns which begin to re-veal the play of proportion and repetition.

Right: The upper courtyard is proportioned to the scale of the car while the lower plaza is scaled to accommodate a gathering of people. The upper courtyard was design to be long enough to take advantage of the car’s performance in a straight line, even if only for a brief moment.

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ReceptionThe house for a car collector could rightly be named a house for an entertainer be-cause most collectors who own a priceless car collection are generous to share it with others. The architecture sought to reflect this reality and has made the distinction between the private life of the collector and his public one.

Right: The perspective to the right reveals that moment of reception, where guests park on the upper plaza and are received through the formal entry. A large glass win-dow reveals a glimpse of the automotive jewel inside while the concrete plates play a game of light and shadows above.

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This whole process should respect the demands of use and convenience, and follow the methods sanctioned by those who are experienced: to contravene established customs often detracts from the general elegance, while conforming to them is considered advantageous and leads to the best results. Although other famous architects seem to recommend by their work either the Doric, or the Ionic, or the Corinthian, or the Tuscan division as being the most convenient, there is no reason why we should follow their design in our work, as though le-gally obliged; but rather, inspired by their example, we should strive to produce our own inventions, to rival, or, if possible, to surpass the glory of theirs. Leon Battista Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books, P.24

Food for Thought

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Courtyards

Left: The depiction of the upper courtyard to the left reveals the length of the long yard. The space could be employed toward a number of activities and offers a large expanse in a terrain that is otherwise very dense and topographically dynamic. The yard is enclosed on one side by the series of columns and on the other by dense North Carolina vegetation.

Right: The image to the right once more reveals the way in which the upper courtyard is partitioned. From left to right: the isolated path, the segmented yard and the long yard.

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Path and SolitudeLeft: A transverse section of the site reveals a third space on the upper plaza; a path that is scaled to be traveled alone. While much of the house accommodates communal activities, the architecture needed to accommodate moments of quiet and the grand scale of the landscape had to be tamed by a narrow path.

Light is controlled by the columns to illuminate the tree line on the long yard and the road in the opposite direction.

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Lower PlazaLeft: When considered from a distance, the house begins to reveal its intimate connection to the landscape. The perspective is a representation from the rock formation, at the lower end of the retaining wall.

Right: The drawing to the right depicts a gathering on the lower plaza, where the geometry of the house begins to reveal itself and one can begin to understand the relationship between the car space and living space.

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Plaza Transitions

Left: The cars are displayed toward the plaza like a storefront, where they can be admired from a distance. As a result, initial ideas about entering the garage through the lower plaza were replaced by an enterance from the front plaza so as to leave the lower plaza unobstructed.

Right: The revised enterance into the garage happens through a depression in the upper courtyard. This lands the cars directly into the garage through a narrow passage. A stair rises to the right of this subterranian passage that connects the garage to the narrow path on the upper courtyard.

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The rooms supported by the first, second and third platforms are public places and are interconnected. The first platform accommodates the entry foyer and the car while the second platform accommodates the kitchen, dining area and a smaller, more intimate dining corner. While the general organization of the plan posed a challenge, the implied geometry presented a number of opportunities to create intimate “nooks” at the intersection of various geometric points. The dining table connects the kitchen with the sitting room. The sitting room is tapered along two of its sides, and the couches are pressed nearer to each other, suggesting places that can accommodate different levels of intimacy. The hearth is central to the sitting room, not only by suggesting a certain social dynamic while in the sitting room but also serves to heat the house effectively during a cold winter because of its location relative to all five platforms. The space has been conceived to accommodate a large gathering of people if the weather does not permit a gathering on the terraces and plaza, but it also has to accommodate the collector on a Monday morning, when he is alone with his family.

Sitting, Dining, Hosting

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Common Space with CarsLeft: The drawing to the left depicts that relationship between living space and car space. No matter what the view is throughout the house, the car is usually part of the visual landscape.

Right: The model to the right reveals the interaction of the courtyard, garage, terraces, and living space.

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DiningLeft: The kitchen space depicted to the right and in plan above makes use of the geometry to deliniate three distinct zones: the formal dining space, the kitchen space which is made separate through the perpendicular island and a nook by the column which suggests a more intimate dining situation.

Right: The perspective to the right shows the intimacy of the dining nook; a scene which almost suggests a Parisian dining setting, wedged between columns and walls and never far from the street.

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SittingRight: The scene to the right depicts the view from the sitting room couch. This vantage point reveals the connection between the upper living space with the car space below; the roof plates, always hovering above, ornamenting the ceilings with light and shadow.

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Reading

Right: Adjacent to the formal entry is a reading corner. This space occupies the highest perch on the site and is open to-ward the lower courtyard, the rock for-mation, the ponds and the site beyond. It is here that the collector can survey the entire site and have a moment of quiet introspection; from a chair, among his books.

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SleepingLeft: The master bedroom space is parti-tioned in a similar way as the living room space, but reduced in scale. The bed sits cen-tral on the back wall and faces out toward the lower plaza. This vantage point offers the best view to observe the rock formation and streams below. The glass wall tapers in to allow a covered patio space to form out-side the bedroom, a place designated for a morning cup of coffee.

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Waking and BathingLeft: The perspective to the left reveals the terrace outside the bedroom and the beautiful landscape that follows.

Right: The master bath, having been confined to the original geometric framework, resulted in a cubic room. The bath, which can only be accessed from the bedroom, is a private space designated for the collector and his family. A stair connects this bath space to the rest of the bathroom functions, which are shared with the rest of the house on the platform above.

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The space which houses the cars has been designed as a double loaded parking lot with enough space to park 15-20 cars on the back wall and the front wall of the lower level. While the roof plates animate the space by manipulating the light, the space is otherwise rather neutral. The floors and walls are white and well lit in order to bring out the character of the individual cars and allow them to tell their stories.The garage can be accessed on foot or by car, from the outside and from the inside. It is expected that guests would enter the house through the formal entry and make their way to the garage using the stair on the fourth plate. The stair which accesses the garage cuts underneath the platform adjacent to it and offers a zone of compression before opening up to the longest axis of view through the garage space. The space is left unobstructed and is only interrupted by two rows of columns which continue along their geometric progression throughout the house.

The Garage

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In architecture, the coexistance of randomness and order occurs through the realization of such concepts as scale, symmetry, proportion, asymmetry and heirarchy. A look at such concepts in relation to the Fibonacci-Divine Proportion forming principle may illustrate both its unique and universal significance as a creative tool, as a diamond in the crown and as sand between the toes. It is not surprising then that a rough correspondence to the basis of the F-DP forming principle can be found in man’s first fumbling attempts to measure and define space outside the mind. Anne Tyng, Simultaneous Randomness and Order: The Fibonacci-Divine Proportion as a Universal Forming Principle P. 54

Food for Thought

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Axis of View and Auxillary KitchenLeft: In light of the projected gatherings down in the garage space, a small kitch-enette has been incorporated on the lower level to accommodate a small wine bar and basic kitchen functions.

Right: The section to the left reveals the play of light and shadow as the terraces descend down the hill. Light which penetrates on the upper level may ultimately light up the lev-els below. The upper floor plates rise from one end of the garage to the other and the scale which begins very intimately at the threshold of the garage, expands to twice the height on the other end. In other words, the ceiling which begins at nine feet, ends up at nearly twenty on the opposite corner.

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from the garage stair

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I would like to express the pleasure I have felt having spent this year investigating questions in architecture and discovering the principles of making that inspired the buildings we love to visit, tour and sketch throughout classical European cities. Though I can only hope that what I’ve accomplished in this project truly makes use of that classical framework in a new way, I am inclined to believe that what I have proposed is both useful and beautiful and in that sense, it just may survive the test of time. Borrowing the words of Roger Scruton, in his Reflection on a Classical Candlestick I would like to end with the following conclusion:

[The house for a car collector] is a disaster: expensive, fragile, in need of constant cleaning, wasteful of space and charity of light. No design theorist could ever have conceived such a thing. Yet it has a pulse, a rhythm, an organic completion which makes us happy to remain in its presence, happy to put it to those social uses which, in the presence of modern architecture, all too rapidly expire.

Closing Thoughts

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