The Mathematics of the Modernist Villa: Architectural Analysis Using Space Syntax and Isovists

426 Pages·2018·18.264 MB·English

by  Michael J. Ostwald, Michael J. Dawes

Mathematics and the Built Environment
Volume 3
Series editor
Kim Williams, Kim Williams Books, Torino, Italy
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15181
Michael J. Ostwald Michael J. Dawes
(cid:129)
The Mathematics
of the Modernist Villa
Architectural Analysis Using Space Syntax
and Isovists
Michael J.Ostwald Michael J.Dawes
Schoolof Architecture andBuilt Schoolof Architecture andBuilt
Environment Environment
TheUniversity of Newcastle TheUniversity of Newcastle
Callaghan, NSW Callaghan, NSW
Australia Australia
ISSN 2512-157X ISSN 2512-1561 (electronic)
Mathematics andthe BuiltEnvironment
ISBN978-3-319-71645-9 ISBN978-3-319-71647-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71647-3
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Preface
TheoriginsoftheModernmovementinarchitecturearegenerallytracedtothelate
nineteenthcentury,anddespitereachingitspinnacleinthefirsthalfofthetwentieth
century, it remains highly influential to the present day. The architecture of the
Modern movement is typically characterised as employing industrial materials and
amachine-made,minimalaesthetictoexpressthezeitgeist,orspiritoftheage.For
theModernarchitect,technologyandscienceofferedhumanityanewbeginning,a
tabula rasa from which a more enlightened and healthy society would arise. The
new materials and construction techniques that became available at the end of the
nineteenthcenturygavearchitectsthefreedomtocreatepure,geometricformsand
expansive,light-filledspaces.ThestreamlinedformsoftheModernarchitectureof
this era were inspired by cars, aircrafts and ocean liners, and Modern architects
sought to evoke the functional elegance of these machines in their detailing.
Today, Modernism—whether it is in art, literature or architecture—is regarded
as one of the most important philosophical and ideological movements of the
twentiethcentury.Historiansandcriticshaverepeatedlydocumented,analysedand
explored its origins and impact. Using archival techniques and qualitative inter-
pretation,scholarshaveidentifiedvariouspropertiesoftheModernmovementthat
are present in both the manifestos of the era and in its completed works. The
characteristicsofModernarchitecturelistedinthepreviousparagraphareexamples
of ones that are readily apparent in both the theories and works of the movement.
Indeed, the standard definitions of Modern architecture found in histories and
encyclopaedias are dominated by such themes and properties. But there are also
arguments in the original manifestos that have been largely ignored by historians.
Furthermore, several famous theories about Modern architecture have been widely
accepted by scholars and practitioners even though there is little or no evidence in
support of them. This situation provides the impetus for the present book, which
usesquantitativemethodstorevisitaseriesofargumentsaboutthesocial,cognitive
and perceptual ambitions of Modern architecture.
Using mathematical and computational approaches, this book examines various
properties of the works of early Modern architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van
der Rohe and Richard Neutra, and Late Modern architect, Glenn Murcutt. The
v
vi Preface
canonicaldescriptionsofthesearchitects’workstendtostressaestheticandtectonic
properties that are aligned to theories about form, expression and the zeitgeist.
However, designs by these architects have also been explained in terms of their
social, cognitive and experiential properties. It is these secondary arguments—
sometimesraisedbythearchitectsthemselves,butalsodevelopedindependentlyby
scholars and critics—which are examined in the present book.
The methods used for this examination are drawn from Space Syntax and
viewshed analysis. The former approach, often described as ‘syntactical’ analysis,
uses graph theory and a range of abstraction processes to derive data from an
architectural plan in order to provide insights into its social and cognitive proper-
ties.Thelatterapproachusesisovists,atypeofspatio-visualgeometry,toexamine
thevisibility-related,experientialpropertiesofspace.PartIofthisbookintroduces
these methods and discusses recent developments and debates about their appli-
cations and limitations. Despite being used extensively in past research, there are
surprisingly few detailed descriptions of these methods or worked examples
availabletointroducethemtonewusers.Forthisreason,allofPartIissetasideto
explainhowtheywork.InPartII,syntacticalanalysisisusedtoexaminearguments
about the social and experiential properties of the open plan in Mies’s domestic
architecture,theperceptualandcognitivepropertiesofNeutra’sCalifornianhouses
and the relationship between form and social function in Murcutt’s rural architec-
ture. In Part III, isovist analysis is used to investigate the perceptual properties of
Wright’s Prairie Style, Textile-block and Usonian designs. In total, thirty-seven
Modernist designs are analysed in this book.
This book has been written for people with an interest in looking beyond the
conventional art-historical readings of Modernism and in approaching some of the
mostfamousbuildingsofthetwentiethcenturywithamoremathematicalmindset.
However, this does not mean that we ignore the history and theory of Modernism.
Instead, the analytical chapters commence with a consideration of arguments that
have been developed by architects or scholars about the social, cognitive and
experiential aspects of space and form. Then, computational and mathematical
methodsareusedtotesttheevidencefortheseargumentsinthebuildingstheyhave
been used to describe. Finally, each chapter returns to the original proposition to
determine if there is support for it and whether the analysis has revealed any new
insights into the buildings being examined.
The anticipated readership of this book includes designers, historians and
postgraduates who are familiar with architectural concepts, but are not experts in
mathematics. For this reason, the mathematical methods used—geometry, graph
theory and statistics—are explained in Part I. The particular mathematical and
computational methods were chosen to provide a balance between accessibility of
resultsandlevelofinsightprovided.Theprocessoftestingaqualitativeclaimabout
architectureshouldnotnecessarilyrequiretheuseofanoverlyintricateorarduous
quantitative method. In some cases in this book, a simple numerical comparison
ofthefrequencyofaparticularfeatureinadesignisenoughtotestanidea.Inother
cases,standardsyntacticalmethodsareused,andinafewcasesweemploynewor
moreadvancedvariations.Thus,ratherthanapplyingthesamemethodsandlevelof
Preface vii
analytical detail to every design, in each case the method is tailored to the
hypothesis being tested.
ThedesignsanalysedinthisbookincludesomeoftheModernmovement’smost
famous works. Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, Richard Neutra’s
Kaufmann Desert House and Glenn Murcutt’s Marie Short House were all
instrumental in changing the way people think about architecture. The list of
Wright’s highly regarded works examined in this book is especially extensive.
From his Prairie Style Heurtley and Robie houses to the Textile-block Ennis and
Millard homes and the Affleck and Palmer Usonian designs, Wright’s architecture
presentsarich opportunity for analysis. Significantly, this booknotonly considers
histhreegreatstylisticperiods,butitalsoexamineshisfamousintermediateworks,
the Aline Barnsdall (‘Hollyhock House’) and the Edgar J. Kaufmann
(‘Fallingwater’) houses.
Many of the buildings analysed in this book have been the subject of intense
speculation and repeated qualitative examination in the past. They are keystone
projects around which the vaults of twentieth-century architectural history have
been constructed. The application of mathematical and computational analysis to
these designs presents a unique opportunity to revisit their properties, both the
seemingly well known and the rarely considered.
Newcastle, Australia Michael J. Ostwald
2018 Michael J. Dawes
Acknowledgements
Many people have supported this research throughout the last seven years. We
would especially like to thank our colleagues and research assistants, Maria
Roberts, Shashank Bhatia, Josephine Vaughan, Anni Dosen, Romi McPherson,
LachlanSeegers,SarahJozefiakandJasmineRichardson.MichaelJ.Ostwaldwrote
theoriginalanalysisofRichardNeutraandtheexcitationresponse(thecatalystfor
Chap.6)withRaeanaHenderson,andherroleinthedevelopmentofthisargument
is gratefully acknowledged. Thanks to Dion Neutra for providing access to draw-
ings in his father’s archive, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for assisting
with access to materials and buildings. The early inspiration for this work came
from various sources, including Anthony Vidler’s seminars at UCLA, Michael
Benedikt’s research at the University of Texas at Austin and Glenn Murcutt’s
masterclasses at Riversdale. John Peponis provided generous advice and direction
fortwoearlydraftchapterswrittenforthisbook.TheAustralianResearchCouncil
(ARC)supportedthisprojectfinanciallywithaDiscoveryGrant(DP1094154)and
a Future Fellowship (FT0991309), which allowed for many of the buildings
analysedinthisbooktobevisited,photographedormeasured.Specialthanksmust
also go to Sarah Goob and Thomas Hempfling (Birkhäuser), and Kim Williams,
series editor of Mathematics and the Built Environment, for their support.
Some sections of this book are derived from material that was previously pub-
lished in journals and chapters and has been substantially revised, expanded or
updatedforthepresentwork.Specifically,Chap.2drawsonmaterialpublishedin:
MichaelJ.Dawes,andMichaelJ.Ostwald,2013,ApplicationsofGraphTheoryin
Architectural Analysis, Graph Theory, Nova Scientific, New York. Chapter 3
includes revised sections from three previous publications: Michael J. Ostwald,
2011a, The Mathematics of Spatial Configuration, Nexus Network Journal 13(2);
Michael J. Ostwald and Michael J. Dawes, 2011, Axial Line Analysis Revisited.
International Journal of theConstructed Environment 1(3); and Michael J. Dawes
and Michael J. Ostwald, 2013, Precise Locations in Space, Architecture Research
3(1). Chapter 4 is a revised and expanded version of: Michael J. Ostwald and
Michael J. Dawes, 2013c, Using Isovists to Analyse Architecture: Methodological
ix
x Acknowledgements
Considerations and New Approaches, International Journal of the Constructed
Environment 3(1). Chapter 5 includes revised sections and ideas originally devel-
oped in: Michael J. Ostwald and Michael J. Dawes, 2013a, Miesian Intersections,
GraphTheory,NovaScientific,NewYork.Chapter6encapsulatesideasdeveloped
over the course of three papers: Michael J. Ostwald and Raeana Henderson, 2012,
TheModernInteriorandtheExcitationResponse:RichardNeutra’sOcular-centric
Phenomenology, Architecture Research 2(3); Michael J. Ostwald and Michael J.
Dawes,2012,DifferentiatingbetweenLineandPointMapsontheBasisofSpatial
Experience: Considering Richard Neutra’s Lovell House, Nexus Network Journal
14(3);andMichaelJ.Ostwald,2014b,SpaceandSound:HarmoniesofModernism
andMusicinRichardNeutra’sClarkHouse,Centre18.Themathematicalanalysis
andcontentof Chap.6 arepartiallydrawnfrom:Michael J. Dawes andMichael J.
Ostwald, 2012, Lines of Sight, Paths of Socialization: An Axial Line Analysis of
Five Domestic Designs by Richard Neutra, International Journal of the
Constructed Environment 1(4). Chapter 7 expands and combines ideas originally
published in: Michael J. Ostwald, 2011b, A Justified Plan Graph Analysis of the
Early Houses (1975–1982) of Glenn Murcutt, Nexus Network Journal 13(3);
Michael J. Ostwald, 2011c, Examining the Relationship Between Topology and
Geometry: A Configurational Analysis of the Rural Houses (1984–2005) of Glenn
Murcutt, The Journal of Space Syntax 2(2). Chapter 8 is a revised and expanded
version of: Michael J. Dawes and Michael J. Ostwald, 2013c, Using Isovists to
Analyse Prospect-Refuge Theory, International Journal of the Constructed
Environment 3(1). Chapter 10 includes expanded and updated material and results
publishedinpreliminaryformin:MichaelJ.OstwaldandMichaelJ.Dawes,2013b,
Prospect-refuge Patterns in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Houses, The Journal of
Space Syntax 4(1); Michael J. Dawes and Michael J. Ostwald, 2014a,
Prospect-Refuge Theory and the Textile-block Houses of Frank Lloyd Wright,
Building and Environment 80; and Michael J. Dawes and Michael J. Ostwald,
2015, Testing the Wright Space: Using Isovists to Analyse Prospect-Refuge
Characteristics in Usonian Architecture, The Journal of Architecture 19(5). Full
details of these publications are contained in the references.
We gratefully acknowledge the advice and support of the many referees and
editors involved in the production of these works, including those from Building
andEnvironment,Centre,GraphTheory,InternationalJournaloftheConstructed
Environment,JournalofArchitecture,JournalofSpaceSyntaxandNexusNetwork
Journal: Architecture and Mathematics.