keri clare: le corbusier

'the value of all things lies in their purpose

in the germinating seed

the fundamental principle is

from the inside out

everything in life is in essence biological

the biology of the plan or section

its as necessary or as obvious as that

of a creature of nature.

the introduction of the word biology

illuminates all researches in the

field of building.

living, working,

cultivating body and mind,

moving from place to place, are

parallel processes to those of the blood,

nervous and respiratory systems.'

corbusier 1960

saint peter's seminary cardross, 2011

now derelict, saint peter's seminary has become an icon of scottish architecture. the building was completed in 1966 by architects gillespie, kidd and coia. the building served as a seminary for twenty years and then a drug rehabilitation unit after that.

Mathias Klotz is one Chile's most accomplished architects, recently being awarded the Borromini Prize in 2001. His work is heavily based upon Modernist Tradition with similar characteristics reccuring in many of his projects.

Our group was given the task of analysing Casa Ponce House in Bueno Aires, Argentina.

Klotz claims that his buildings are not influenced by an previous works of architecture. He is a firm believer that architecture should be experienced first hand and that showing buildings through photography or sketches is an inaffective method of communicating the beauty of space. This ultimately has a huge impact on his work, as can be seen with Casa Ponce whereby the building is not overly decorative or ornate but has a delicate quality and plays with open spaces and breaking down the barriers between internal and external space.

Although Klotz says he takes little reference from previous architects work, similarities can be drawn between Casa Ponce and Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye.

Casa Ponce is entirely based upon Modernist tradions developed by Le Corbusier with his Five Points of Architecture.

FIVE POINTS OF ARCHITECTURE

1) Pilotis - reinforced concrete steel stilts upon which the building stands. Their purpose is to lift the building off the ground giving it a sense of weightlessness and freedom from the ground. Klotz himself said that when you raise the building from the ground and try to free it from gravity, you are nearer to achieving a purity in space.

2)Open Plan - Free from load-bearing walls, meaning that the architect is free to design rooms without concern for the structure.

3) Free Facade - Follows on from the open plan; allows architect to build rooms without worrying about load-bearing walls

4)Roof Terrace - to breakdown the barriers between external space and internal space by bringing the outside environment in. The roof Terrace also makes up for the space created by the building ie. instead of having a garden area, this outdoor space is within the area made by the building and takes up less of the surrounding environment.

5) Ribbon Windows - Allows light to filter in through the house, again breaking down the barriers between outside and in.

Each of these points is demonstrated on Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye.