Williams-Landry_Hunter_222_A.1.1a

Geometric vs. Algebraic Combination

“Systems of proportion” can be quantified by a recognizable geometric or numeric pattern. The Great Mosque of Cordoba was used as an example by Stan Allen to exhibit an appreciation of repetition and easily perceived spatial ratios. This can be seen in the fore court with its 10 parallel walls and evenly spaced features. The overall structure frames an event, (fore grove and fore court) that begins locally and is repeated across the site. This is juxtaposed by center of the Spanish Mosque which hosts a Catholic Cathedral which has been melded into the mosque despite a deep division of cultural appreciation for aesthetic appeal and most obviously religious worship. The architectural design of the catholic era ownership of Cordoba reflects an appreciation for geometric division of space in which ratios of space are less predictable but none the less balanced. Objects acting as satellites to each other create a field in which personal preference and traditions are reflected in priority of spatial allocation. This is evident in historical analysis of Moorish versus Catholic establishments across Europe. The appreciation of geometric versus algebraic combination can be contrasted throughout time from one point in the present. Cities like Cordoba are living diagrams of stratified histories.

Systems of Proportion diagramming spatial direction. Agnes Denes

Minimal input can achieve a higher threshold of attention or appeal to the subject at hand. Artists breaking away from Cubism realized that an object closely examined and on display provided a more dramatic subject. A single focus of material, process, pattern, or object allows for broader perspective of that object relative to the system or field it is contained within. In the direct scope of landscape architecture this could be well exemplified ecological rehabilitation and integration of the natural world to expanding urban ism. Re-creating wildlife habitat is a matter of identifying and providing key components to that system. This is a process of guidance rather than direct control. In comparison post-war minimalist artists who do not strive to control an object of the field but rather “establish the conditions within which the material will be deployed.” (Stan Allen)

Forest Growth Stages. Toyo Ito

Thick 2D: Moirés, Mats

Grids act as a way of organizing fields in a highly regular way. This allows for minuscule interruptions and “stresses” across the system to be seen. A skyscraper exemplified as a celebration of the surface grid of a city is a great way to visualize the significance society might place on formatting a field into the shape of a grid. “Objects” or building of higher value are literally elevated above the rest of the grid points across the “field” or city. Moirés, mathematically organized overlapped segments of objects create seemingly random patterns across these grids. These forms and shapes are how changes across the grid or “stresses” of the system can be visualized.

Exploration of Surfaces Across Multiple Planes. Peter Eisenmen

Flocks, Schools, Swarms, Crowds

Objects in a field with a rigid set of local input will often adhere to an overall form or greater figure. This is exemplified by flocks of birds and herds of reindeer. Many natural phenomena are shaped by individuals following local rules and thus shape the field overall. This field condition can even serve as biological defense for many species. For example, in the case of many schooling “bait fish” such as Anchovy; so many individuals moving as a field can prove to be confusing to predators and beneficial to the school. Human crowds are much more sporadic in the spread across a field or space. Allen cites Elias Canetti’s Crowds and Power where he attempts consolidation of crowds into varying categories of motivation and qualities that are reflected in their pace and spread across streets and public spaces.

Crowds moving throughout day. Morning to Afternoon. Stan Allen

Distributed Institutions

Altering, updating, or adding to perception of site conditions and observed objects will alter the options and tools available for design tasks. If powerful institutions and governments incorporated a broader perspective of site condition analysis and world-view perception the degree of control over landscape and architectural design would greatly increase. For example, western art has been confined to “the general premise that relationships should remain critical.” Stan Allen calls into question whether a radical reformation of how we approach field condition analysis in order to accommodate for rapidly changing expectations and requirements. How can designers approach a field with exponentially increasing information and technology?

Objects of Institution. Iannis Xenakis