![]() Oubrerie points to Palazzo Farnese as an inspiration for the northwest facade, and the two do indeed share some affinity. ![]() The northwest facade is the logical place to begin, as this facade is both the most apparently-intact, and it is the first facade displayed on approaching the house. As the design process progressed, Oubrerie was able to evolve each façade from a simple formal composition to a highly-specific set of interrelated architectonic elements, each referencing different precedents and representing artistic license tempered by the necessities of program and environmental considerations.Īs each facade was both conceived and constructed as a free-standing structure, it will be useful to consider the creative development of each one separately, although each is a participant in an overarching continuum. (These photos will hopefully be published in the forthcoming monograph)The “exploded cube” diagram freed each surface from dependence on any other, obfuscated the exact extents of the interior space, and gave each façade a high degree of autonomy, which was maintained conceptually and physically throughout the design and construction process.Įach façade thus developed as a separate entity, affected somewhat by adjoining facades, but retaining independence. This diagram persisted, and construction photos show poured concrete framing the interior void of the house before any steel was erected, and before finish work and glazing could clarify the extents of enclosure. In early sketches, Oubrerie proposed an “exploded cube” with each façade (including the roof) an autonomous composition, and a free-standing structure. While the design of the house was clearly driven by programmatic requirements (with an eye on precedent), the facade composition demonstrates an architect equally concerned with aesthetics, and with the manipulation of a generative diagram. ![]() The complexity of the public-to-private gradient is reflected in the complexity of the façade and enclosing envelope. The Miller House thus builds on a large number of historical precedents, but has tweaked and updated the formula: while the history of the single-family home is encoded in the design, the architect has innovated within that framework, and created a work of architecture that seems more appropriate for today’s evolving family arrangements. Terminating in skylights, this space is the central axis mundi of the house, a vertical void that provides focus and orientation. As a result, the public commons extends vertically and horizontally, with the ground floor given over almost entirely to communal (if not public) space. These volumes are lifted up on piloti, and the generative grid is only evinced by column placement. The central public space is flanked by three private zones, which are allowed to grow and shift in plan, subverting the ideality of the regulating grid. ![]() But within the design, we can find echoes of older precedents.Īs in historical precedents, the center is left open as a common space, and the perimeter is relatively closed. It is a suburban villa, most obviously evincing the influence of Oubrerie’s mentor Le Corbusier. The Miller House belongs to a long tradition of residential architecture, but aspires to be more than a mere residence. The plan parti is the nine-square grid, which should be familiar to all students of architecture, appearing as an organizational diagram in everything from courtyard homes in ancient Rome, to Renaissance pallazzi, Palladian villas, and the canonical houses of the Modern movement. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |