Speech

Room in New York, Edward Hopper, 1932

I chose The painting “Room in New York” by Edward Hopper. (1932) Room In New York peers in at a couple in their living room through the open window of a city apartment. The pair is separated by space both physical and psychological, and they are both preoccupied. We have the man reading the paper, and the woman is slumped at the piano, with one finger on the keyboard. Hopper conveys a palpable disquiet by the angle of the woman’s starkly lit shoulder as she turns away from her companion to plunk a solitary note on a piano.
I chose to design 2 main rooms, a lounge room and a dining room.


1) The Lounge Room: is The dynamic element.

This room is related to the reading of the paper and the piano where there is silence and possibly the source of the tension. To oppose the grounded nature of the dining room, I perceived the lounge to be as being greatly separated from the values of its counterpoint and therefore it required a degree of detachment.
The windows in this room are large like the painting to allow a sense of looking into the space.
The house is like a maze, and you can’t see one room from the other. I did this to give a sense of privacy, where the couple can go off and do their own thing, however on the other hand it will bring a sense of secrecy with each partner wanting to know what the other one is doing.


2) The second room is the Dining Room: which is the grounding element.

I perceived the dining room to be an environment where a couple would be required to remain civil despite any previous opposition of views - a still and almost sterile environment. It is an environment where the couple will feel like they have to communicate to each other, and can’t simply find a mundane task to immerse themselves in to avoid their partner. I created this atmosphere by avoiding openings with direct sunlight. The lack of 'true' windows also controls the environment, allowing it to become highly insular, and contributing to the feeling of stillness and focussing, or confining the attention of the client to the room and the contents within it - in this case, their partner across the table.

Model

Final Submission

Location

Location

The original location of the painting was in the heart of the city of New York. I decided to take the couple away from the city, to somewhere more peaceful and quiet, where hopefully they can work on their issues, and resolve them. The tension and avoiding the other person will hopefully be resolved and they can once again be a normal happy couple.

The new location is Orange County, California. It will be in the farming areas, in a country town.

Concept

Week 2

1) Dining Room: The grounding element.

I perceived the dining room to be an environment where a couple would be required to remain civil despite any previous opposition of views - a still and almost sterile environment with regulated diffuse light. I will create this atmosphere by avoiding openings with direct sunlight, and the reflection of light off a concrete ceiling. The lack of 'true' windows also controls the environment, allowing it to become highly insular, and contributing to the feeling of stillness and focussing (or confining) the attention of the client to the room and the contents within it - in this case, their partner across the table.

The tension is pulled through the room with the overhead beam, and additionally, other planar elements such as the side benches and the long table with its seats on opposing ends of the table arranged in bi-axial symmetry. The use of a solid beam is to juxtapose the light and dark.


2) Lounge Room: The dynamic element.

This room related to the reading of the paper and piano - the silence and possibly the source of the tension. To oppose the grounded nature of the dining room, the lounge was perceived as being greatly separated from the values of its counterpoint and thus required a degree of detachment.

The window in this room is large like the painting to allow a sense of looking into the space.

3) The link between the two

The lounge is physically detached from the dining room, yet the two are still linked by the theme of tension.

Both rooms are highly insular, pulling against each other. It is this point of directional change that escapes the confines of the walls of building however, that very subtly suggests an easily overlooked point of balance between the two opposing forces.

Narrative

"their silence
came second to civility,
yet the tension
still hung in the air"

Assignment 2

Week One

Edward Hopper - Room in New York (1932)

“Room in New York” (1932) peers in at a couple in their living room through the open window of a city apartment. The pair are separated by space both physical and psychological, each preoccupied. Hopper conveys a palpable disquiet by the angle of the woman’s starkly lit shoulder as she turns away from her companion to plunk a solitary note on a piano.

Existential loneliness also exists within a relationship---a marriage, for instance.

Hopper's works are frozen moments from a narrative that stretches beyond the picture's boundaries.

Final Model

Final Poche

Final Parti

Draft Model Section

Chosen Parti

Parti - Structure

The Utzon's decided to move inland and build on their "paradise" site. They called this house Can Feliz. Can Feliz provided a new refuge from which he could contemplate the sea, away from the growing crowds of architects continually marvelling over his previous location. The place from which the landscape has the greatest force. Where the house fitted-in with the countryside itself in the best way, and was absorbed into it. "This is the only thing I can do, this is how I express myself".

Can Feliz is like a living, breathing body. You can see outside into the vast natural landscape, where there is a sense of peace and tranquility, where the outside can't really see in. There is a certain mystery about the Can Feliz, where only those lucky enough to stumble across its existence will have the chance to marvel at its beauty.

The house follows the slope of the mountain terraces, built of fine, local yellowish lime-stone, cut in blocks at the nearby quarry. Large windows between tall, slim stone columns. A view over the self-sown landscape. Jorn Utzon sought grand simplicity. Nature and empty spaces, just like sites of the ancient temples. "One should welcome the sun". Utzon built colonnades to keep the sun out during the warm summer months, and admitting the sun during the winter months, when it can quickly provide heat. Tall columns, as in the Greek temples, where the freestanding columns provide a sense of harmony. There is nothing to block the view, you can look directly out at nature. Unspoiled nature without culture.

All the materials used here represent their own expression, with their own character and textural effect. "Nature taught me to be occupied by structure, and to reveal it". Utzon worked to create a place that is in harmony with the grand symphony of this landscape. Utzon picked a leaf from a tree, showing the structure of the ribs and said: "See this is my inspiration".

Parti