ARCHITEC T UR AL DE SIGN TECTONICS, UNIT 2 LOOKING NORTH: SALT&HONEY

Juliana Yang

1Paul Cravath, “The Ritual Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of

Cambodia,” Asian Theatre Journal 3, no. 2 (1986): 179.

Some of the earliest evidence of Khmer dance is found in the presence of dancing figures as a motif on ornamented bronze kettledrums found

at burial sites, associating this art with funerary rituals.

The conceit of this project has been dramatically refracted by the world-stop-ping occurrence that is the COVID-19 ‘Coronavirus’ pandemic. Under govern-ment orders and a collective discipline, weeks 9-15 of work on this imagined architecture for dealing with death have been done in home quarantine, simul-taneous to the ver y real deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, whose fami-lies and loved ones have had to l ive the real task of reinventing grief in isolation. My own reimagining of the rituals humans perform as a way of dealing with death, and the role of architecture in pointing us in a more considered, more graceful, more telluric direction, was initially hopeful of being a refleciton, an invitation to reflect on the consideration, the gracefulness, and the earthly importance of l ife.

The devastating and renewed urgenc y of dealing with mortalit y is occurring under a constraint that was unimaginable prior to its arrival; the necessit y for grief, mourning, letting go, remembering, in isolation. Though we have taken both comfort and pain in the substitute of screens for interaction, it is my hope that the virtual will not be our only foreseeable realit y. In the undertaking of ( what I should underscore as a pragmatically useless) project, my individual powerlessness to care for the world has taken refuge in the imagination of how architecture might make and be made with care.

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PLACE Research into siteDefining framework of inter vention

Groupwork masterplanning

6 7

2Satellite imagery from Digimaps ‘ERSI World

Imagery’ (2020).

Errol, Perth and Kinross (56˚N, 3˚W)

A village between Perth and Dundee. Just north of the River Tay, on

the banks of which grow reeds which are habitat to bearded reedlings.

In late April of this year there occurred a large and destructive fire,

destroying much of the wildlife habitat. Surrounded by flat agricul-

tural fields. On the field trip we encountered very few locals, many of

whom were elderly and friendly to strangers with cameras. The streets

were very quiet, we could walk down the middle of the road with little

disturbance, though there were many more cars (parked) than peo-

ple or signs of pedestrians. The weather was grey but not so cold or

harsh (to a Canadian). Though small and relatively isolated, there is a

sense of local character and identity in the cared for front gardens, the

atmosphere is not, as one might expect, one of loneliness. The new

suburban developments and additions to the primary school are dis-

appointingly generic, and reinforce the narrative of ‘commuter town’

though the rest of the village resists being defined this way.

3Map from The Soils Round Perth, Arbroath and Dundee produced by The Macaulay Insti-

tute for Soil Research Aberdeen (1984).

4Satellite imagery from Apple Inc, Digital Globe (2020).

8 9

6Soil map of Errol and surroundings. Presence of

clay soil is distinctive in this region.

5Soil map of Perthshire produced by The

Macaulay Institute for Soil Research Aberdeen (1980).

7Graphic key and presentation of soil associa-tions, parent materials, soil series, derivations,

and types.

Soil — Clay

In the research phase of this project, my fellow group members (Katie, Megan, and

Freya) and I returned frequently to this soil map produced by The Macaulay Institute

for Soil Research. Of course, its graphic presentation is beautiful in itself. It also draws

a clear boundary line around the edge of the village development, telling a straight-

forward story of why buildings were built where they were, and why they were made

of bricks, and why they are the colour that they are. Paying attention to what is below

ground was important to understanding what could be planted and where, and what

materials could be made from the immediate ground. Paying attention to soil was also

a mode of defiant embrace of the earth, a small but potent shift in disposition that we,

as architecture students, could adopt in the face of widespread historic disregard for the

planet, a personal beholding of integrity in accordance with our professed concern for

the climate.

8Page from The Soils Round Perth, Arbroath and Dundee produced by The Macaulay Insti-

tute for Soil Research Aberdeen (1984).

10 11

10Dirk van den Heuvel, “Between Inside and Out-side: Multiplicity and Simultaneity in the Work of Petra Blaisse,” OASE, no. 55 (2001): 73–82.

Primary group gesture / stroke of path making / walking to and through

Errol from the train station (mapped against patches of trees).

9‘garden b, women’s philosophical garden’

Petra Blaisse landscape design for Nieuwegein Prison.

Groundscapes — Pathmaking

Responding to the brief, developing a ‘masterplan’ for Errol, our group felt a significant

discomfort with what we felt would be a top-down intervention, an unwelcome impo-

sition. We stubbornly worked from the ground up. Our primary move was pedestrian,

drawing walking maps of imaginary inhabitants, making paths for people rather than

cars. An improved groundscape was to be our public realm, with an ethos of reframing

the landscape, rather than quantifiably optimizing commuter routes or the economic

potential of the high street.

Yarrow, Achillea millefoliumGround elder, Aegopodium podagrariaSilverweed, Argentina anserinaDaisy, Bellis perennisBuddleia, Buddleia davidiiCommon knapweed, Centaura nigraRosebay willow herb, Chamerion angust-foliumCreeping thistle, Cirsium arvenseSpear thistle, Cirsium vulgareHerb Bennet, Geum urbanumHawkbit species, Hieracium speciesForget me not, Myosotis speciesKnotgrass, Polygonum aviculareSelf heal, Prunella modularisCreeping buttercup, R anunculus repensBramble, Rubus fruticosus Curled dock, Rumez crispusGroundsel, Senecio vulgarisRed campion, Sileene dioicaHedge mustard, Sisymbrium officinalePerennial sow thistle, Sonchus arvensisPrickly sow thistle, Sonchus asperDandelion, Taraxacum officinalisHop trefoil, Trifolium campestreRed clover, Trifolium pratenseWhite clover, Trifolium repensColts foot, Tussilago farfaraCommon nettle, Urtica diociaGermander speedwell, Veronica persicaField speedwell, Veronica serpyllifolia

The space of the suburban boundary re-imagined as threshold,The undeveloped plot or leftover fragment of the jardin planétaire is the refuge of the earth’s biodiversity, and thus our biological future. Such spaces are found ev-erywhere in the world. Every rural or urban development venture, however techni-cally accomplished and in whatever spirit of land use, generates some wasted space that awaits a future use.

Paths & groundscapes as collective space, a communal owner-ship of pieces of the urban realm

POLICY CONTEXT Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan 2016-2026

Aichi Targets set in 2011 by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

The Nature Conser vation (Scotland) Act 2004

The 2014-2020 Scotland Rural Development Programme and Agricultural Policy

Paths from United Kingdom (OA SE Journal Issue 91, 2006)

Petra Blaisse, Garden 6 : ‘ Women’s Philosophical Garden’ - Prison in Nieuwegein

(Working with (and never against) Nature by Gilles Clément, in environ(ne)ment, 92)

Marsh harrier

Bearded Tit

Shelduck

Water Rail

BIRDS IN ERROL BIRDWATCHER NARATIVE

TAY REEDBANKS

ROUTE TO THE WATER

The visitor to the area would currently arrive in Errol, walk down to the water to the reed-banks and back towards the town, completing the 7km circular route. This route is distinguished by the RSPB nature reser ve, and they describe the route as well surfaced and following farm tracks, however as there are no visitor centre or cafe facilities, and the route mainly follows roads, there is no clear destination.

Using a narrative of a visiting birdwatcher to the area, as well as the existing RSPB Errol facilities, the requirements of the design become apparent. A central visitor centre is needed, as well as several hides off a number of smaller paths through the reeds. Timber boardwalks will be required in several areas to pass over the marshy landscape.

Continuing on along the green route from the town, the path passes through several fields, passing over a stream and winding towards the edge of the river Tay. Several landscaping features appear here to guide the visitors through the path, creating interest and moving people away from the road. A passage of trees links the farm landscape to the marshy land, the first bird hide stating the boundary. The path then winds through the reeds, leading towards the mound where the visitor centre is located.

Native wildflower plant species are im-portant fora ging habitats for pol l inating insects.

NATIVE WILDFLOWER PLANT SPECIES

SUBURBAN THRESHOLD ON NORTH EDGE

12 13

Photographs taken on a field trip to Errol — January 16, 2020.The town is framed by the River Tay to the south and Sidlaw hills to the north. Over the mainly flat landscape is a big sky.

14 15

what

can

a res

pons

e to

idea

listic

pol

icy l

ook l

ike ?

11Gilles Clément, Philippe Rahm: environ(ne)ment : manières d’agir pour demain (Montréal; CCA ; Thames and Hudson distributor,

2006).

12-14Tayside Biodiversity Action Plan

(2016-2026) select pages.

Tiers Paysage — Planting

Alternatives to techno-optimist approaches to dealing with climate change have been

top of mind. Félix Guattari’s ecosophy is the closest naming of the many layered fac-

ets of the current state of emergency that encompasses the depth and roots of human

alienation from the planet that I have encountered as of yet. Gilles Clément’s radical-

ly simple proposals for landscape reclamation have significantly informed a lot of the

ideas about planting and how to design an integration of the natural. Tiers paysage

(third landscape) is what Clément refers to as areas of wild, self sustaining growth of

plants, weeds, insects, animals, etc.—sites of biodiversity and interaction that can occur

in any ‘leftover’ bit of land.

In an effort to make a radical rift with the associations of suburban typologies and its

components (the driveway, the lawn), another layer of the masterplan proposal of add-

ed planting encroaches on the lawns (now monotonously grass) of the houses at the

northern edge of the town. By planting wildflowers around this area, an invitation to

pollinating insects (explicitly) and a closer proximity to landscape (implicitly) is made.

These are goals that are stated in extensive and optimistic policy proposals in response

to the UK’s declaration of a climate emergency.

16 17

Group masterplan overlaid on map of Errol, with project boundary extents defined.

Group members: Freya HodgkinsonKatie-May Munro

Megan Ellis

/FSculpture park

/JCemetery

/KCommunity pottery and weaving

/MBird observation centre

10 10050

Site of CareLAND

20 21

Painting exploring themes of botanics and minimalism.

18Mierle Laderman Ukeles ‘Manifesto for Main-

tenance Art, Exhibition “Care”’ 1969.

22 23

New planting

Beech, birch, oak, weeping wil-low, horse chestnut, eucalyptus, magnolia, cherry blossom

Planting considered in the context of geographic location, as well as symbolic planting in the con-text of death. Evergreens as symbols of immortality and longevity, yew as the northern counterpart to the sacred cypress, the weeping willow as symbolic of mourning, weaving of funerary wreaths...

Scots pine, cedar of lebanon, juniper, yew

Existing tree species in Errol

Old orchard groups, beech, birch, oak, weeping willow, horse chestnut, eucalyptus, Scots pine, and cedar of Lebanon

Deciduous and flowering tree species

Evergreen tree species

Reading: The Vegetal Setting of Death by Michael Ray-on in Death and Architecture (Stroud: Sutton, 2002).

Typolog yR ituals as programme

PLANIMETRY

26 27

Some time was devoted to situating this project within the historical genealogy of fu-nerary architecture. In particular: Johan Celsing’s New Crematorium for the Wood-land Cemetery in Stockholm followed the study of the architect’s Årsta Church, Gun-nar Asplund’s and Sigurd Lewerentz’s Woodland Cemetery itself, Lewerentz’s designs for the Eastern Cemetery in Malmö, and Aldo Rossi’s Nuovo Cimetero San Cataldo. Of course these examples were informative for their pragmatic organizations and space dimensioning. They also informed the understanding of the idea of a cemetery, the as-sociations and memories that are woven into society and culture. It is especially appar-ent in these architectures the importance of landscape, and the sensitivity with which approach and movement are orchestrated. ty

polo

gica

l mem

ory /

the ‘

idea

’ of a

cem

eter

y

21Gunnar Asplund, Sigurd Lewerentz

Site plan for Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden (1940)

20Aldo Rossi, Nuovo Cimitero San Cataldo

22Gunnar Asplund

Woodland Crematorium, Stockholm, Sweden, Exterior elevation

28 29

Procession from town to place of funeral Threshold for mourners—significant, own character of space Descent into protected ‘sanctuary’Reception as a gathering room, meeting of mournersRoom for ceremony Joins the body of the deceasedRoom to be alone Requires: niches, acoustic privacyThreshold to burial siteProcession away from burial site

Journey to and from burial site, for visitors, commemorative return Access to sheltered rooms for privacy Service rooms such as toilets

Path for deceased body to get to funerary buildingRoom for receiving the bodyRoom for washing the body — Accessible to mourners if desired Cleaning of dirt, body fluids, solids, anything on the skin Purification with water, poured (not immersed) Drying Dressing, natural fibre materials Laying in casket Note on caskets: all wood, no metal or other materials, holes in the bottom Requires: plumbing, strong ventilationRoom for ceremony Casket is brought here Mourners join Connecting room between ‘public’ and ‘private’ functions Requires: lighting specificity (tower (ie. Ron champ), clerestories)Threshold to burial site

Burial and Cultivation No burial vaults Cultivation / maintenance by gardeners Opportunity for mourners to take part in cultivation/gardening as a commemorative ritual (for a sustained amount of time) Requires: Protected area of land—woodland, meadow, more as area grows, garden shed, tools & infrastructures

From landscape to tableclothLAYER IN G OF SUR FACE S

32 33

In th

e man

ner o

f Edo

uard

o C

hilli

da’s G

ravi

tació

n

Paper site plan with layers of surfaces pulled apart.

Liminality as content

The programme of this project is thematically con-cerned with a heightened awareness of the liminal as it pertains to existence. The temporary, transitory nature of life (towards death) is ever looming over the immediacy of grief. The primary architectural moves are an expression of and accommodation for the nav-igation of this experience. A slow, ramping descent into the ground marks the start. An inflection in plan, a widening of the path welcomes. Within the rules of simple geometry, thresholds are inflected, carving out the space for human inhabitation.

34 35

Landscape to tablecloth

Consideration of the surfaces on which this inhab-itation takes place was especially important to the development of this project. These occur at the scale of the landscape (in path making and plant-ing), the articulation of courtyard paving and its permeation of thresholds, differences in interior flooring materials (brick to timber, timber to car-pets), timber finishes on benches and balustrades, to long runner tablecloths.

Courtyard brick ground paving

Interior brick flooring

Timber catafalque

Tablecloth

36 37

Pieces of balsa wood scored with bricks orga-nized and oriented according to the particular-ities of the plan (corners, diagonals, edges, etc.)

Courtyard drawing.

(pos

t) di

gita

l pre

cisio

n, re

pres

enta

tion

for i

mag

e-m

akin

g vs.

com

mun

icat

ion

Drawing groundscapes

In a process akin to stone rubbing (a method often practiced on gravestones to preserve genealogies), the texture was transfered to layers of trace paper

with graphite.

How do bricks turn corners?

deal with inflections?

make paths?

generate mindfulness in walkers?

Inter vening on the groundStereotomic gesture

CARVIN G

40 41

Plaster cast ground model study.

sittin

g vs.

intru

ding

/ v

iolen

ce o

f the

gestu

re

Dispaced-replaced mass

Heizer’s displaced-replaced mass poetically illustrates how the ground receives an object—apt-ly an object that comes from the ground it is sitting in—where the space of cutting is left empty as a reminder of the intrusion.

23Michael Heizer,

displaced-replaced mass, Silver Springs, Nevada, United

States

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Plasticine clay ground and landscape model study (1.500).

42 43Plaster cast ground and volume model (1.500).

44 45

Painting isolating and abstracting ground cut shadows as lines.

L’architecture ensevelie

“Buried architecture,” in the words of Étienne-Lou-is Boullée, situate the project in a genealogy of a funerary typology with an emphasized aim of poetic perception. This particular character of spir-itual place emphasizes the embodied, the worldly. Windows in the most ‘sacred’ spaces offer views to courtyards, gardens, and the surrounding ground. The flat roofs which are sat inside the massive walls evoke a sensation of being contained on earth, rather than opening towards the heavens.

Thinking in the peripateticAXON O METRY

48 49

Study model(model making as an interative,

investigative tool/process)

Wha

t plac

e doe

s ‘met

a’ th

ough

t hav

e in

a des

ign

proj

ect?

The development of this project is an attempt to design for embodied

perception (rather than spiritual transcendence, synaesthetic experience,

or photographic staging). Bodily, earthly, phenomenological architec-

ture. Much of the process work was done in axonometric projection, a

mode of drawing which enabled multiple points of view to be accounted

for simultaneously. The tendency was a result of the desire to be con-

siderate of movement, rather than adhere strictly to a convention. The

drawings were also led by iterations of maquette making. Reflection on

these modes of production has been instructive in their revelations of

the effects of alternative constraints to the design process (compared to

designing strictly in plan and section, for example).

Choisy on axonometry: “In this system, a single image, agitated [mouve-

mentée] and animated like the building itself, replaces the abstract figu-

ration fractioned in plan, section, and elevation. The reader has in front

of their eyes, simultaneously, the plan, the exterior of the building, its

section, and its interior disposition.” 1

24Page from Sergei Eisenstein, Yve-Alain Bois,

and Michael Glenny, “Montage and Architec-ture,” Assemblage, no. 10 (December 1989):

110–31.

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1 «Dans ce système, une seule image mouvementée et animée comme l’édifice lui-même, tient lieu de la figuration abstraite, fractionnée par plan, coupe, et élévation. Le lecteur a sous les yeux, à la fois, le plan, l’extérieur de l’édifice, sa coupe et ses dispositions intérieures.» Auguste Choisy, Histoire de l’architecture (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1899), foreword.

50 51

Series of layered drawings, thinking through the interaction between groundscapes, building volumes, influence of construction on design.

52 53

Programmatic axonometric sketch.

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Bratton, Denise, and Gilles Clément. “An Interview with Gilles Clément.” Log 12 (Spring/Summer 2008): 81–90.

Caruso, Adam. “Sigurd Lewerentz and a Material Basis for Form.” OASE, no. 44/45 (1997): 88–95.

Clément, Gilles. Manifeste du Tiers Paysage, 2004.

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BIBLIO GR APHY

Johnson, Eugene J. “What Remains of Man-Aldo Rossi’s Modena Cemetery.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 41, no. 1 (March 1982): 38–54.

Jonathan Skinner. “Gardens of Resistance: Gilles Clément, New Poetics, and Future Landscapes.” Qui Parle 19, no. 2 (2011): 259.

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Keil, Roger. Suburban Constellations: Governance, Land and Infrastructure in the 21st Cen-tury. Berlin: Jovis Verlag, 2013.

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Luz, Ana. “On Pavements and Other Public Groundscapes Ground as Canvas for and Process of Urban Exploration in Design Processes.” OASE, no. 77 (2008): 91–102.

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Rossi, Aldo. The Architecture of the City. Oppositions Books. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1982.

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Stoppani, Teresa. Unorthodox Ways to Think the City: Representations, Constructions, Dy-namics. Routledge Research in Architecture. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019.

Tayside Biodiversity Partnership. “Tayside Local Biodiversity Action Plan: Incorporating the Local Authority Areas of Angus and Perth & Kinross,” 2016.

Ukeles, Mierle Laderman. “Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969! Proposal for an Exhibition ‘CARE.’” Journal of Contemporary Painting 4, no. 2 (October 1, 2018): 233–37.

Wall, Alex. “Programming the Urban Surface.” In Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture, edited by James Corner. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.