a thread of continuity

a thread of continuity

this thesis is submitted to the faculty of the college of architecture + urban studies at virginia polytechnic institute + state university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of architecture with a major in architecture

submitted by alice toth

august 5, 1999approved by hans c. rott, chair; william w. brown; michael j. o’brien

blacksburg, virginia

this book is dedicated to those friends and family who took the time to push me beyond the initial impulse

dedication

thanksciaocinque • ciao centro

abstract

Therefore, when you set about solving atask, always ask: how will it suit thecontemporaries, the contract, the geniusloci, the climate, the available materials, thepecuniary means?

– Otto Wagner

venice, italy luxembourg, luxembourg

To place a building within anexisting urban fabric without

considering the components of thatfabric is to deny the interactivenature of the built environment.Components such as scale,materials, regulating lines andgeometric framework must beexamined in order to decide what isto be transformed, what is to betranslated, what is to be ignored.They are the means of creating thethread of continuity between whatwas, what is and what will be. Thisthread of continuity continues theharmony of the urban neighbor-hood by unifying the variety of thebuilt environment. Any attempt todeny the interactivity of buildingsruns the risk of creating notarchitecture but rather thecacophonous assemblage ofmaterials.

This thesis looks at discovering theunifying elements of an existing

neighborhood and using them tocreate a building that draws from theexisting to reflect its own times, yetalso continues the thread of theurban fabric.

table of contents

intro .............................................. 1

studies ...........................................5

le grande louvre ..................................... 8

visual arts center ................................... 10

sonogno ............................................... 12

project ........................................15

drawings .....................................35

bibliography ................................43

resume ........................................47

ohio cityintro

what is sprang...from what-is-not–Lao-Tzu

O hio City is a well-establishedneighborhood on the Near West Side

of Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1818 as anindependent city, the area first was home tocanal builders and shipbuilders. As theIndustrial Age expanded, so did demands forall levels of housing due to the nearby docks,mills, foundries, distilleries and bottlingworks.

The area was, and still is, a composite ofvarying economic levels, from poor to

working class to wealthy. In addition toworkers’ housing, Ohio City proved attractiveto a number of mid–19th Centuryindustrialists and assorted robber barons,with the result that Franklin Boulevardbecame known as the Millionaires Row of theWest Side.

While the majority of homes follow thelight wood frame construction of the

original workers’ cottages, the granderhomes used brick construction to declaretheir prominence and solidity in theneighborhood. Many of these large-scalehomes are still standing, and a number ofthem have been restored and retrofitted forlate 20th Century commercial use.

Ohio City neighborhood, Cleveland, Ohio

2

mainavenuebridge

shoreway

I-90

fulton ave.

detroit ave.

lorain ave.

franklin blvd.

lake erie

w. 25th st.

This project makes use of two such formerresidences, the Robert Rhodes House (on

the right in the photo), built in 1874, andthe Nelson Sanford House (on the left), builtin 1862. These brick homes are situated side-by-side on Franklin Boulevard and reflect theoriginal owner’s social and economicstanding, both in their size and in thematerials used. Their solidity and prominenceare only enhanced by the area’spredominance of light wood frame workers’cottages.

The proposal for these two buildings is thecreation of an addition. Addition can be

defined as the act or process of adding to anexisting entity. The existing in this instancecan be both taken down to the minutia, e.g.,the bricks, and also viewed on a granderscale, i.e., the neighborhood. The buildingswill be added onto; this in turn will create anaddition to the neighborhood thus addingan opportunity to support the urban fabric.The inquiry is to find a means ofaccomplishing this addition that will bothenhance the existing yet not deny theexistence of the new.

Robert Rhodes House (1874)Nelson Sanford House (1862)

3

and here lies the secret. Art and artistsshould and must represent their times.

–Otto Wagner

some studies5

This thesis deals with two existing 19thCentury structures and a proposed 20th

Century addition to each, therebyconnecting the buildings into a whole.Wanting to keep the individual identities ofboth the old and the new, plus besympathetic to the surroundingneighborhood, I looked at how otherarchitects dealt with the blending of centuriesand styles, i.e., the evolution of the existingto the new. The three that captured my eyewere the Louvre’s pyramid, a Victorian housein Richmond, Virginia, and the village ofSonogno, Ticino, Switzerland. These projectsare presented on the following pages.

7

I . M. Pei’s addition to the former palace ofthe kings is said by some to be the inevitable

result of his love for geometry combined with acertain intrigue for curtain wall construction. Thatcannot be entirely discounted. However, Peihimself insists that the origins for the pyramid camefrom his studies of classical French landscapedesign, particularly the works of Le Notre and hiscrisp, geometric arrangements.

The form, in and of itself, has been around for afew millenia. However, while the pyramids of

4,000 years ago were about mass andimpenetrability, Pei’s pyramid is abouttransparency and lightness which neithercompetes with nor overshadows the existingbuildings. Its basic geometric shape bothcompliments the classical symmetry of the Louvre.On the surface level, this seemingly incongruousmix of glass and stone creates a powerful interplayof contrasts, allowing each part to support thewhole. At the organizational level, Pei’s pyramidcontinues the evolution of formal geometry inFrench design.

le grande louvre 9

visual arts centermuseum of fine artsrichmond, va

Although currently owned by the Museumof Fine Arts, their ownership is but a

recent acquisition in the history of theseQueen Anne style houses. The houses, builtsometime during the last century, sit next toeach other on Grove Avenue in Richmond,Virginia. During this century, a doctors’practice bought the then abandonedbuildings, looking to tear them down. Theresulting furor from the neighborhoodassociation caused them to rethink theirstrategy with the result that the buildingswere restored and an addition was createdjoining the two houses.

The addition is kept to the same scale asthe existing, both in the overall size and

in the building elements. Note that the cmu’sused on the new are approximately the samesize and shape as the original stone in thehouse, thereby creating a continuity betweenthe old and the new, yet acknowledging thetimes in which the new was created. Also,the large expanse of window on theaddition’s streetside gives a sense of lightnessto the addition which then uses the houseson either side as anchors. Each part works tosupport the whole without sacrificing its ownidentity.

11

sonogno, ticino,switzerland

One of the more intriguing aspectswhen walking around European cities

is the ability to see a progression of timethrough their architecture. The changes andadaptations of building types and buildingmeans is present throughout all layers of thecity. One such example is the village ofSonogno in the Canton of Ticino,Switzerland. Even though the village is on amuch smaller scale, it still shows evidence ofsuch a progression in the slight variations andtransformations of the structural elements.

A walk around the village reveals thehouses and other structures still being

built in a manner that is typical of that village.The houses are still constructed of local stone,which is used for both the load bearing wallsand the roofing materials. All of the homeshave a solidity of mass which does notchange regardless of which century theywere built. The newer homes, however, showan evolution of construction and use. Theupper level is now used for living and notstorage; therefore, while the upper levelopenings still exist, they are now framed andglazed. Changes are also evident in the roofconstruction: previously the roof wasconstructed so that only the stone roofingwas evident. The current prototype is toexpose the timber framework while still usingthe stone as roofing material. The differencesindicate an adaptation to changing uses,lifestyles and knowledge without breaking allties to what has gone before.

13

you have to distinguish betweenreason and thinking. Reason has todo with finding the ground ofbeing and the fundamentalstructure of order of the universe.

– Joseph Campbell

the project15

The idea, then, is to continue the threadof the existing without sacrificing the

building’s identity as a new construction.

The Nelson Sanford House was built in1862 and the Robert Rhodes house was

constructed twelve years later in 1874. Bothhouses are brick construction and sit solidlyon the site. Each house sports its owndecorative elements and are excellentexamples of the last century’s Italianate style.

T he Italianate Style was popular inAmerican from approximately 1850 to

1880. This was a less formal style than theprevious era of Classicism and emphasized amore rambling, asymmetrical floor plan.Exterior elements include a low-pitched,hipped roof with wide overhanging eavesand decorated brackets, decorated cornicesand tall narrow windows emphasized by aheavy lintel or a curved opening. Whimsicalfeatures such as the belvedere on the SanfordHouse were also elements of this style.

16

At first glance, these houses share only astyle and building materials; however,

there is a much stronger connection betweenthe two, one which provides an underlyingconnection – namely, proportion.

A study of the geometry reveals the squareroot of two as the underlying order of

the whole, i.e., the proportion which governsthe massing of the structure. A secondary,but no less important, proportion used inthese houses is the golden section. Thissystem of proportions is used to determinethe placement of the various buildingelements, such as the height and width ofthe windows, the cornice and the base.

This harmonic relationship serves as aframework for creating an architcture

that resides in the world of compositionrather than a mere composite of noise. Asstated in the 1793 Carpenter’s New Guide:design is an adventure and geometrydiscovers secrets. What was uncovered,therefore, was a measuring system thatprovides a framework for the new buildings.A framework, that is, not a recipe since aproportioning system alone does not lead toa well-designed building any more than apiano can create music.

17

The insertion into an existing fabricrequires a dialogue between what was

and what will be. While a building shouldreflect its own time, it cannot disassociateitself from the existing structures. Thephysical presence of such mass requires theinitiation of such a dialogue. The integrationof the rational and the context creates abuilding that continues the harmony andrhythm of the urban fabric.

Within this thought process, context isimportant. Contexturalism, however,

is not. To create a building that is a directcopy of its neighbor’s style is to produce abuilding that has no life of its own. Itbecomes an exercise in matching a designsolution, rather than acknowledging a designidea, and diminishes the act to nothing morethan pasting decals on a plane.

The idea of context is to look for clues fromboth the surrounding neighborhood and

the site. Clues that would be acknowledged,within the architecture of the new; areinterpretation rather than a direct copy.One clue to be considered is visual scale.

18

Ohio City is a residential neighborhoodwith most buildings standing no higher

than three stories. The taller buildings, suchas apartments, are closer to the comercialareas and are usually situated on corner lots,thereby anchoring that quadrant of anintersection. But generally, the buildings inthis neighborhood are two or three storyresidences.

Another clue to take into consideration isthe use of materials. The important

houses within Ohio City, and both theSanford and Rhodes building fall into thiscategory, are of brick construction. Theirsolidity of form sets up a contrast with theintermingled wooden-framed workers’cottages and creates a definite hierarchywithin the neighborhood. That level ofimportance needs to be maintained.

I n addition to materials, further studyreveals certain elements consistent within

the various houses in the neighborhood.Elements such as heavy emphasis on windowopenings; a cornice, sometimes highlydecorated; deep eaves usually withdecorative brackets or decorative trim. Inaddition, the brick homes were generallyconstructed using the Common Bondpattern on their load bearing walls. This setsup a subtle but nonetheless evident designon the facade.

19

The final clue to be gleaned from theexisting buildings is an examination of

the regulating lines to determine if any couldbe continued within the new in order toreinforce a sense of continuity. Regulatinglines not only give the various forms a qualityof rhythm, they also help us to perceive anorder to the whole by drawing our eyes fromone element to the next, from one side tothe other. Again, this relates back to thegeometry which sets up a framework for theplacement of elements.

The existing was examined in order tocreate the new. This was necessary

because while a building should reflect itsown time, it should not disassociate itselffrom the surrounding elements. Therefore,from the existing the principles of scale,materials, tri-part construction and geometrywere carried directly into the new. Certainother elements, such as window articulation,cornice, brackets and brick design,underwent transformation within the new.And, of course, there are the new containedwithin the steel and glass section.

21

first floor

As the plans show, there are now two newbuildings that sit behind the existing

houses. The geometric framework of thesquare root of two was continued throughto the new buildings, both as a means ofproviding an underlying structure to theforms and in determining scale andproportion. The sense of rhythm andinterplay of spaces resulting from thisframework, therefore, is present throughoutthe entire structure, thereby establishing alinkage between the old and the new.

franklin boulevard

rhodes house sanford house

22

The middle structure is the connection notonly between the two new buildings, but

also between the old and the new. Thisstructure of the in-between is a zone oftransition that both separates and connectsall the buildings. It is a zone of egressbetween the outside and the insideenvironments and between the interiors ofthe various buildings.

second floor

franklin boulevard

rhodes house sanford house

23

I n dealing with the exterior, variouselements were carried through to the new

additions, but in a transformed state. As withthe existing, the facade of the new is dividedinto three parts: the foundation, the facade,the cornice. And, in fact, both the corniceand the foundation are again in a contrastingmaterial to offset the facade. In addition, thewindows openings are heavily defined.However, that is where the similarities end.

The brick facade on the new addition,since it does not have to serve load

bearing purposes, does not have to becreated in a structural pattern, such as theCommon Bond on the existing facade. Thispattern, however, is very much an integralpart of the existing buildings; it adds a depthto the facade which would not otherwise bepresent and should not be ignored. It is thispattern which is paid homage to in the newby creating a coursing that it slightly set backfrom the remaining bricks. This set backcreates a visual pattern for the eye to followwith its interplay of light and shadow on thefacade.

the existing

24

the new

The cornice is carried through to the new butin a slightly transformed state. The depth is

the same, but the frieze is far less ornate that inthe existing. In fact, there is only a noddingacquaintance to a freize through the threedimensional articulation of the cornice. In addition,the three dimensional shape of the cornice paysreference to the brackets of the Italianate Style.

The windows are also transformed from theexisting. Since the basic geometric framwork

was carried through from the old to the new, theheight of the windows did not change. Thearticulation of the window opening, however, isrefined to its essence, i.e., a heavy lintel rather thana highly decorated piece. In addition, emphasiswas placed on the window by framing the openingwith a rounded brick (details noted later).

The integration of the new within the old createsa building that continues the harmony of the

existing without sacrificing its identity as a buildingof this century.

25

north elevation fronting along franklin avenue

26

south elevation showing the additions

27

west elevation and main entrance fronting west 32nd street

28

east elevation

29

W hen adding on to an existingbuilding, one concern is how to

make the connection between the old andthe new. In this instance, to abut the newdirectly against the old would cause adistortion of the original proportions,resulting in a disharmonious whole. The ideais to keep the integrity of the existing andhopefully to enhance it.

The creation of an in-between spaceconnects the old and the new, yet allows

each to stand on its own, thereby not havingone subordinate to the other. The use of steeland glass creates a visual break between thetwo buildings and establishes their individualidentity. However, since the underlyinggeometry is incorporated within the spaceof egress as well, the overall harmony of theentire structure is maintained.

The idea, then, is not to mimic what wascreated before. The idea is to glean the

visual clues that allow a connectivity to bemaintained. This thread of continuity tiestogether the visual diversity of the urbanlandscape and sets up the framework forfuture growth.

31

Franklin Boulevard

West 32nd Street

32

drawings

creativity lies at the interface of discipline andchaos.

– Donna Shirley35

exterior wall section

The new buildings are masonry constructionwith brick exterior cladding. The wall, frominterior to exterior, is made up of drywall,cmu’s, extruded polystyrene, air space andexterior brick. The exterior wall totalsapproximately 18”, creating an appropriatethickness in relation to the existing buildings’load bearing walls.

36

The interior wall is of a similar constructionto the exterior, minus the insulation. Theinterior structure is steel construction with aconcrete decking on the second level.

37

section showing interior wall

39

Section through new additions

The insertion of the steel structurebetween two brick structures brings up

the question of how the door to that areawill meet the brick. At the entrance, wherethe frame meets the brick, I chose to set backthe frame slightly from the plane of theentrance. This sets up an interplay of lightand shadow and further defines the steelsection as an insertion rather than acontinuation of the brick.

40

41The articulation of the windows in the newwas transformed from the Italianate style.

The emphasis on the lentil was kept and thewindow opening is now faced with roundedbricks.

bibliography

my books are water; those of the greatgeniuses are wine–everybody drinkswater.

– Mark Twain 43

Ching, Francis D.K., Architecture: Form,Space and Order, New York, Van NostrandReinhold, 1996

Hale, Jonathan, The Old Way of Seeing,Boston • NY, Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1994

Jacobs, Jane, The Death and Life of GreatAmerican Cities, New York, Random House,1961

Kunstler, James Howard, The Geography ofNowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’sMan-Made Landscape, New York, SimonSchuster, 1993

Mang, Karl + Eva, Viennese Architecture1860-1930, New York, Rizzoli IntenationalPublications, 1979

McAlester, Virginia & Lee, A Field Guide toAmerican Houses, New York, Alfred A. Knopf,Inc., 1984

“Request for Expression of Interest, CountyArchives Property, 2905 Franklin Boulevard,Cleveland, Ohio”, Department ofCommunity Development, City of Cleveland,Ohio, 1996

Scott, Geoffrey, The Architecture ofHumanism: A Study in the History of Taste,New York, Scribner’s Sons, 1924

Urban Conservation + Design and Foster D.Armstrong, Franklin Circle Historic District,City of Celveland, 1992

Wiseman, Carter, I. M. Pei, A Profile inAmerican Architecture, New York, Harry N.Abrams, Inc., 1990

45

résumé

in order to be irreplaceable, onemust always be different.

– Coco Chanel 47

Graduate Student RepresentativeEuropean Director Search Committee, 1996Center for European Studies and ArchitectureVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Phi Kappa Phi

Golden Key National Honor Society

Collected Works, Virginia Tech Center for EuropeanStudies and Architecture, Spring 1996College of Architecture and Urban StudiesVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

form •Z Joint Program Study Annual Report,1993 – 1994

HONORS/PUBL ICATIONSHONORS/PUBL ICATIONSHONORS/PUBL ICATIONSHONORS/PUBL ICATIONSHONORS/PUBL ICATIONS

Graduate AssistantGraduate AssistantGraduate AssistantGraduate AssistantGraduate AssistantCenter for European Studies and ArchitectureJanuary 1996 – May 1996Set up and maintained the Macintosh lab. Continuedthe on-going work of cataloging the Casa’s library.Traveled to Zurich to pack-up and catalog thedonation of a private library.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityAugust 1995 – December 1995Maintained the Macintosh computers in the FacultyDevelopment Lab, College of Architecture. Providedinstruction on digitizing images and video and onusing the various programs.

Italian Tutortalian Tutortalian Tutortalian Tutortalian TutorPublic School Systems, Richmond, VirginiaFebruary 1993 – April 1993Nine week assignment involved teaching Italian cultureand language to a first-year high school class.

International Orientation Resource, Chicago, IllinoisApril 1993 – June 1993Tutored a Richmond, Virginia, executive transferring toNaples, Italy, in basic conversational skills.

Junior DesignerJunior DesignerJunior DesignerJunior DesignerJunior DesignerKSA Interiors, Richmond, VirginiaDecember 1991 – January 1993Wrote specifications and pricing, chose materials andfinishes, prepared boards for client presentations, pulledtogether information for responses to RFPs, orderedsamples, maintained reference and sample library, ranblueprints.

EXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCEEXPERIENCE

Web DeveloperWeb DeveloperWeb DeveloperWeb DeveloperWeb DeveloperVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityAugust 1995 – Present

Virginia Tourism Corporation/Virginia TechResearch ProjectMember since inception of development team forVISIT Virginia, a multidisciplinary effort to create adatabase driven web site for Virginia TourismCorporation. In Phase II, I participated in creating anew site structure, designing an updated graphicalinterface and reworking the HTML to take advantageof current technology. Phase III involves incorportingGIS mapping and e-commerce into the site.http://www.virginia.org

Public Service ProgramsHeaded the team redesigning PSP’s web site.Created the site structure, designed the graphics andassisted in writing the HTML.http://public.service.vt.edu

Virginia Polytechnic Institute andVirginia Polytechnic Institute andVirginia Polytechnic Institute andVirginia Polytechnic Institute andVirginia Polytechnic Institute andState UniversityState UniversityState UniversityState UniversityState UniversityBlacksburg, VirginiaMaster of Achitecture, 1999

Center for European Studies and ArchitectureCenter for European Studies and ArchitectureCenter for European Studies and ArchitectureCenter for European Studies and ArchitectureCenter for European Studies and ArchitectureVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityRiva San Vitale, SwitzerlandJanuary 1996 – May 1996

Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VirginiaBachelor of Fine Arts, Interior Design, 1994Magna Cum Laude

EDUCATIONEDUCATIONEDUCATIONEDUCATIONEDUCATION

A l i c e T o t hA l i c e T o t hA l i c e T o t hA l i c e T o t hA l i c e T o t h

form •Z • AutoCad, release 12Freehand 8.0 • Illustrator 7.0QuarkXpress 4.0 • Pagemaker 6.5Photoshop 4.0 • BBEdit 5.0HTML • CSS • DHTML

COMPUTER KNOWLEDGECOMPUTER KNOWLEDGECOMPUTER KNOWLEDGECOMPUTER KNOWLEDGECOMPUTER KNOWLEDGE

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