Precedents for Task 2

Research on Windows, Doors and Light

The Architecture of the Window (1995) Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani

- a compilation of essays, from the history of the window (from ancient Egypt to Louis Kahn) to the concept and meaning behind the window

- Fritz Neumeyer looks at how the window creates a more fluid space, while other Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau writers, discuss the apparent ‘friendliness’ and ‘happiness’ a window brings.

- the benefits of horizontal and vertical windows are also discussed

- Marco Romanelli describes the window as being an object to look at, as if it were a piece of furniture

- others debate the pros and cons for using windows as a connection between interior and exterior, as something to look through

Thoughts from Musings on Windows and Doors

- windows allow the experience of the outdoors without the glare

- allows light to penetrate the darkness and dullness

- the Spring garden is viewed through a frame, ie, window

- window makes an interior life possible

Pieter de Hooch (1629 – 1681)

- student of Jan Vermeer

De Hooch’s paintings commonly:

- focussed on interiors of houses to the upper class, fashionable people

- saw activity and life with a maid or servant performing a chore in the background

- contained a high element of Chiaroscuro (Italian for clear-dark, is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark, showing the shadows of the human body for example)

- admit sunlight through large window openings

- were clean and accurate, while brilliantly emphasising the play of light and shadow

An Interior, with a Woman Drinking with Two Men and a Maid-servant (1658) Pieter de Hooch

- architecture painted first, then characters painted in; can see chequered floor through servant’s skirt.

- Illuminated wine glass is focal point of painting

- In the background is a map of Holland, a fireplace, and above that, a painting showing the education of a virgin, painted earlier that century.

- sunlight turns the room into an enlightening experience

- windows are set to the ceiling

Emotive Qualities:

Calming, postulating, playful, relaxed, whimsical, cheerful, bright, open, serene, homely

Storyline:

A quiet, relaxed man marvels at a full body of wine, glimmering under the ambient sunlight shed through the large windows.

Site:

A sunny Spring day

Activities of figures:

- wine drinking

- relaxing

- talking

- enjoying sunlight and warmth

Design ideas:

Space

- snug and cosy

- simple and direct arrangement

- neat and tidy

- allow for sociality

- link rooms with narrow corridors which contrast lighting on different levels of height

- have a central ‘hub’ by which corridors connect rooms

- beams, no columns

- doors at corridor

Lighting

- glazing from one direction to admit plenty of light and warmth

- warmth

Materiality

- warm colours

- brickwork

- clay modelling