are a number of devices used in the interior of the Hagia Sophia including classic proportioning, materials, murals, and so forth, however, height and light stand in my opinion as the most important. From the exterior, the spaces rise in sequence until the nave with the highest point at the central dome. This in itself is not enough to produce the unique awe of the building, but add the windows, not in an obvious arrangement to maximize openness and light but, in the contrary, so that their light and openness serve to accentuate the darkness and solidity of the highest spaces, including the central dome -- an architectural counterpoint. Height nor light obtain their fullest potential (or, perhaps, understanding, in a spiritual sense) yet, being so close acheiving thier potential, the overall effect is one of amazing grandeur and mystery.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
20
Zonification: Whereas post 16 points out that the size of a space in plan is the essential attractive force in circulation, zonification is the overall quality of a space. The primary qualitative driving forces are changes in heights, mostly of the ceiling, and brightness of a space. Other charactaristics can come into play, such as flooring material. Although qualitative, as is true with magnets, with some interpretation by the designer, zonification should be relatively quantifiable. For simplicity, this post discusses the two common types of zonification: vertical openness and brightness. Vertical openness is the sense of space gained through sight lines above eye level. The greater the sense of largess in a space as a result of zonification, to greater the tendency for it to attract individuals. The most common of example is with ceiling height. Balconies, clerestories and skylights can also influence vertical openness. Brightness tends to have a similar effect as vertical openness. Zonification touches on another aspect of the architectural plan: spatial zones. Spatial zones refers to the geometric arrangement of spaces, in plan, for the purpose of creating a sense of enclosure, space, and place. Zonification is linked to spatial zones in that it usually most effectively used when done in conjunction with spatial zones -since ceiling height, vertical openness, and light can be key to creating a sense of enclosure, space, and place. The Hagia Sophia is a wonderful example (perhaps one of the word's best) of the use of zonification. My personal experience with the building interior was one of great awe, and it is my sense that most who walk into the building are overtaken by its power during their procession from the exterior to the nave, as I was. There 
are a number of devices used in the interior of the Hagia Sophia including classic proportioning, materials, murals, and so forth, however, height and light stand in my opinion as the most important. From the exterior, the spaces rise in sequence until the nave with the highest point at the central dome. This in itself is not enough to produce the unique awe of the building, but add the windows, not in an obvious arrangement to maximize openness and light but, in the contrary, so that their light and openness serve to accentuate the darkness and solidity of the highest spaces, including the central dome -- an architectural counterpoint. Height nor light obtain their fullest potential (or, perhaps, understanding, in a spiritual sense) yet, being so close acheiving thier potential, the overall effect is one of amazing grandeur and mystery.
are a number of devices used in the interior of the Hagia Sophia including classic proportioning, materials, murals, and so forth, however, height and light stand in my opinion as the most important. From the exterior, the spaces rise in sequence until the nave with the highest point at the central dome. This in itself is not enough to produce the unique awe of the building, but add the windows, not in an obvious arrangement to maximize openness and light but, in the contrary, so that their light and openness serve to accentuate the darkness and solidity of the highest spaces, including the central dome -- an architectural counterpoint. Height nor light obtain their fullest potential (or, perhaps, understanding, in a spiritual sense) yet, being so close acheiving thier potential, the overall effect is one of amazing grandeur and mystery.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
19
The Magnet:
A magnet refers to something attractive visually, olfactorily, or audial; usually an object, such as a painting, flowers, sculpture or fountain. These items draw an observer closer with the desire for more to be revealed and, usually, enjoyed (a car wreck would be an obvious exception).
Magnets are not always small objects, however, as they can be things such as an interesting view through a window, or the sound of a waterfall in the distance. For simplicity, for now this blog is only concerned with visual magnets, since they are much easier to analyze in terms of how they might influence an individual's movements, and the most effective method of guiding individuals, with good site, through spaces. That is, an individual will only know of a visual magnet once a clear site line to it is established, and only at that time will individuals tend to move towards the magnet.
As an example of a visual magnet, take a person walking down a sidewalk. Imagine that they suddenly happen upon a small plaza between two buildings. Spatially, the plaza itself could have some attractive force inherent in it (depending on its geometry and the geometry of the surrounding area), but imagine if the plaza had a beautiful fountain in its center. Once the fountain is in the individual's sight, it will have, for all intents and purposes, an attractive force pulling the observer closer to it(whether the person actually moves towards the fountain depends on a number of factors outside the scope of this post).
Sound and smell are much more complex senses in terms of their impact on movement. To illustrate this complexity as it relates to sound, imagine again the scenario above but with the added fact that the fountain is very loud and can be heard from a distance. Since sound will bounce and echo off of solid objects, in a city with buildings in every direction it may appear to the individual that the sound originates across the street, or even from behind. The observer in a dense city, who is dependant on sound to find an object, may easily meander a while before actually locating a loud fountain in a small plaza.
The purpose of pointing out that sound and smell can be magnets in terms of human circulation is primarily to serve as a counterpoint to the important role that sight plays. Although it is not entirely beyond me that this post also opens the door to the possibility that architectural management of the other senses might be done to effectively guide those with limited sight through spaces.
A magnet refers to something attractive visually, olfactorily, or audial; usually an object, such as a painting, flowers, sculpture or fountain. These items draw an observer closer with the desire for more to be revealed and, usually, enjoyed (a car wreck would be an obvious exception).
Magnets are not always small objects, however, as they can be things such as an interesting view through a window, or the sound of a waterfall in the distance. For simplicity, for now this blog is only concerned with visual magnets, since they are much easier to analyze in terms of how they might influence an individual's movements, and the most effective method of guiding individuals, with good site, through spaces. That is, an individual will only know of a visual magnet once a clear site line to it is established, and only at that time will individuals tend to move towards the magnet.
As an example of a visual magnet, take a person walking down a sidewalk. Imagine that they suddenly happen upon a small plaza between two buildings. Spatially, the plaza itself could have some attractive force inherent in it (depending on its geometry and the geometry of the surrounding area), but imagine if the plaza had a beautiful fountain in its center. Once the fountain is in the individual's sight, it will have, for all intents and purposes, an attractive force pulling the observer closer to it(whether the person actually moves towards the fountain depends on a number of factors outside the scope of this post).
Sound and smell are much more complex senses in terms of their impact on movement. To illustrate this complexity as it relates to sound, imagine again the scenario above but with the added fact that the fountain is very loud and can be heard from a distance. Since sound will bounce and echo off of solid objects, in a city with buildings in every direction it may appear to the individual that the sound originates across the street, or even from behind. The observer in a dense city, who is dependant on sound to find an object, may easily meander a while before actually locating a loud fountain in a small plaza.
The purpose of pointing out that sound and smell can be magnets in terms of human circulation is primarily to serve as a counterpoint to the important role that sight plays. Although it is not entirely beyond me that this post also opens the door to the possibility that architectural management of the other senses might be done to effectively guide those with limited sight through spaces.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
18
Permeable Barriers: The Permeable barriers pose a much more complex thought challenge than impermeable barriers. It's easy to imagine that people's eyes and movements tend to drift away from large flat uninteresting opaque surfaces. Permeable barriers, however, being physically impassable but allowing some degree of visual access, can encourage wide wide spectrum of behaviours. This spectrum will primarily depend on the character of the visual access, the approach to the barrier, and what lies beyond. Examples of permeable barriers include a wall with windows, window wall, counter, railing, impassible change in level, lattice, shoji screens, glass block, and so forth. Some of these barriers are visually open, some are physically and visually open, and both can be to varying degrees. Shoji screens and a precipice are at opposite ends of the permeable barrier spectrum. The prior being almost impermeable except for ghostly impressions and silhouettes, and the latter allowing for full visual exposure and physical openness. The precipice will actively attract us towards it to be fully embraced with awe, anxiety, or delight, while the shoji screen with silhouetted figures may pique a subdued, intimate, curiosity but may not inspire us to action. Therefore, to avoid too much complexity at the moment, I'll make simple postulate that the greater the visual and physical openness, and the greater the view, the more individuals are attracted to a permeable barrier. The less of each of these ingredients, the more an permeable barrier acts as an impermeable barrier. The approach can also enhance the attractive force of the permeable barrier.
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