the H-beam of antiquity
column and fluting
column and fluting
light columns
The Ideal Villa
A House at the Junction of History and Now
Where else but in Rome does it become obvious how decisively the ancient column has shaped our western understanding of architecture. But why do classical columns have fluting? Why was fluting invented in the first place? How tangible are light, space, mass and material? I wanted to pursue theses eemingly banal questions by drawing, as all art-historical explanations did not satisfy me. Not only since Le Corbusier have we known that fluting has todo with the incidence of light on bodies. The column is the perfect geometric abstraction, cylindrical but, due to its entasis (bulge) and its upright position, it is be perceived as a corporeal and gravity bound mass.
Because the position of the sun changes slowly during the course of the day and is also subject to weather conditions, I built myself a portable study column in pocket size, so to speak. I also “weathered” the finished plaster model and added cracks to simulate the decay of antique columns. In nature, the column remains fixed, but the light moves. In my studies, I was able to orientate the columns and the light as I wished. Moreover, it was easy to test the effect of the fluting of columns in vertical and horizontal positions. The result was astonishing and unexpected. Dramatic shifts and transitions of shades took place on the simple plaster cast. And it quickly became clear to me that it was the effect of light on the body of the column that primarily led to the invention of the fluting.
In fact, the concave fluting splits the abrupt light-shadow boundary on the convex column shaft into a differentiated gradation of shadow stripes that increase in width. The bright stripes reflect some of their light back onto the dark side of the fluting and create brilliance in the shadow. This differentiated, graduated transition can be compared to a staccato in music. The fluting also intensifies the perception of the change in the sun’s position. The highly dynamic interplay of light and shadow under a moving light source creates a counter-movement in each flute at any moment. The dimension of time seems to be captured twice in the column, in the temporal course of the day and as a trace of time through decay and erosion.
My "columns of light" are divided into series of red chalk drawings, each with 4 states of perception. Firstly, the column appears as arealistic mass hewn from stone, brittle with age, then as a plastic, still mineral surface layer, then as a close-fitting three-dimensional foil imprint and finally as a detached virtual surface layer with its own deformation.
In addition to the phenomenon of light, I have always been fascinated by the Roman villa as an element of the Mediterranean. It was and remains the model for an ideal western lifestyle and epitomises urbanity, the interplay of house and garden, indeed the harmonious interplay of man and nature in general. Based on speculative reconstructions of the small palace of the Villa Hadriana, I attempted to develop a "free floor plan" arranged around a domed central space that undulates in and out, and in which the interior and exterior interlock. The house, carefully embedded in the topography, was to reflect the times of day like a sundial. Built-in furniture allowed private and public functions to be separated like in a kind of modern "free floor plan". The building equipment like heating and ventilation were housed in double walls according to the Roman model.
A more complete and technically mature version of "The IdealVilla" was awarded 2nd prize in the international competition organised by the "Japan Architect" magazine in 1980 under the jury of KishoKurokawa. In the publication, Kurokawa emphasised the value of the entry in developing an "open plan" around a central space with classical axes of symmetry. This attempt to design A House at the Junction of History and Now had little practical value, but met with great interest in exhibitions.
