ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 705A

USC School of ArchitectureSpring 2015Tom Phifer, Visiting ProfessorLisa Little

Village ChapelMeditation Space in the City

ILLUMINATED PRESENCE

A poem is a poem, is a poem, a building is a building, architecture is architecture, music is…its all struc-ture. Essential. I use it as language. Architects are organically responsible today to have their language run parallel with their structure. You know what I’m getting at? The new age in architecture. I cannot do a building without building a new repertoire of characters of stories of language and it’s all parallel. It’s not just building per se. It’s building worlds. - John Hedjuk, Sanctuaries

MIT Non-denominational Chapel, Eero Saarinen,Boston, Massachusetts

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Peter Zumthor, Mechernich, Germany

John Hejduk | Such Places as Memory: Poems 1953-96

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 705A

USC School of ArchitectureSpring 2015Tom Phifer, Visiting ProfessorLisa Little

Studio Overview

Can a routine walk through the city become a spiritual experience? Can concrete, glass, wood and other ‘everyday’ materials reflect the essence of place? How can ‘common’ space become spiritual?

In the studio we consider the emotive power of architecture. We ask how light and materials can be used to connect us to place, mark the passage of time and reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary. By documenting the essential qualities of site, surface and space, we discover a means to make collective yet intimate public space and examine the role of architecture in the city.

How do we come to know a place? What influence does it have on architecture?

A small chapel space in the city will serve as grounds for investigating and applying prin-ciples and discoveries. We will work primarily with spatial models and will encourage use of other evocative materials, sensory drawings and writings.

A starting point

Practice | Techne: How do we find a way to start working? How important is precision?

Small Works: Surface, Aperture, RoomWithout building a full size space one can create a potent sense or feeling through ob-jects, sounds or models and covey with these an acute sense of space and place.

Starting with model and material studies we will explore how elements and space are emotive:SURFACE - Find or make a surface which captures an essence.OPENING - Make an aperture, understanding its relationship with its surroundings, how light works with it. This is not necessarily a ‘window’ but is understood in the most abstract term.ROOM - Create a physical spatial object (model) which conveys a feeling or emotion. This construct should be large enough to be understood spatially.

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Peter Zumthor, Mechernich, Germany

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 705A

USC School of ArchitectureSpring 2015Tom Phifer, Visiting ProfessorLisa Little

Program

The program is a non-denominational chapel or spiritual space. The program can be understood in terms of ideas about inspiration through contemplation.

The chapel should be an intimate sanctuary available to people of every belief provid-ing a tranquil meditative environment. The chapel is open to people of every faith and from all parts of the world, a sacred place open to all people, every day.

The chapel has two vocations: contemplation and action. It is a place alive with religious ceremonies of all faiths, and where the experience and understanding of all traditions are encouraged and made available.

Square footage requirments:

Public Spaces (~4000 GSF actual sizes will be set by the students)

Entry – Transformation (includes a reception desk and limited books/postcards)

Gathering Space (for up to 150 People) - Sanctuary | ‘Fold’ | Chapel

Support Spaces (~1000 GSF actual sizes will be set by the students)

3 Offices: Executive Director, Public Program Director, Community Engagement DirectorOpen Office: Office Administrator, Visitor & Volunteer Coordinator, Operations / Advance-ment Directors

Meeting Room: (table+ 6 chairs)

Other: Toilets | Changing Spaces | Mechanical

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Peter Zumthor, Mechernich, Germany

Sancaklar Mosque, Emre Arolat Architects, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 705A

USC School of ArchitectureSpring 2015Tom Phifer, Visiting ProfessorLisa Little

SiteStudents may select from a choice of three sites. All of the sites offer an urban infill con-dition with limited square footage relative to the program requirements.

Triangle site1016 E. 4th Street (intersection of 4th Street and Molino Avenue)Lot size: 3267 sq.ft.

Trapezoid site (site fronts S. Alameda St. and E. 4th Place)312 S. Alameda StreetLot size: 25,873 sq.ft. (building footprint must be limited to 6000 sq.ft.)

Corner metro site (across from Pico/Aliso Metro Gold Line station)1334-1336 E. 1st StreetLot size: 6504 sq.ft.

PrecedentsCistercian Monastery, Czech Republic, John Pawson

Nanjing Wangjing Garden Chapel, Nanjing, China, AZL Architects

Sancaklar Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, Emre Arolat Architects

Chapel of Saint Albert the Great, Edinburgh, Scotland, Simpson and Brown

Bruder Klaus Field Chapel, Mechernich, Germany, Peter Zumthor

The Rothko Chapel, Houston, Texas, Mark Rothko

Temple, Kagoshima, Japan, Thomas Heatherwick

Sancaklar Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, Emre Arolat Architects

St. Benedict Chapel, Sumvitg, Switzerland, Peter Zumthor

Required ReadingHavik, Klaske, Teerds, Hans, and Tielens, Gus, OASE Journal for Architecture #91: Building Atmosphere, Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Nai010 Publishers, 2013.

Triangle site Trapezoidal site Corner metro site