A Very Simple Bungalow

South facing elevation.

Rammed earth load bearing walls, and stone foundation.

Section View.  From left to right: Kitchen/Living, Bathroom/Utility, Bedroom/Library.

As an exercise in prudence, this design sought to minimize expense of construction and use.

Minimizing the cost of the bungalow is attempted through two considerations; 1) through material selection, and 2) through minimizing labour costs.  Ideally the materials could be located on-site, where the plot is large enough and natural resources are available for use.  There are a few locations that I have seen in the past that would be ideal for such an endeavour whereby the resources of the site could be crafted into a well designed and built home.

For instance the use of rammed earth walls allows for a significant percentage of the design to be constructed without extensive industrialized processes.  The same reasoning applies to the foundation, and roof structure.  Stone block can be sourced nearby if the building location does not allow for it, and wooden rafters can be milled from trees on-site.

Provided stone, trees, and earth are available for use, it is possible to craft the architectural elements by hand. If not by hand using easily acquired tools, then machines like portable saw mills or pneumatic earth ramming equipment could be used as well.  Tools such as these could be sold afterwards, reducing final cost.  The labour costs are of course reduced by not employing others for the work, and instead invested into the design as "sweat equity".  Each structural element, from the rubble trench foundation, to the rammed earth walls, to the laminated wood beams, can be crafted by hand.

The heating and cooling costs are minimized through the high thermal mass, and south facing façade of either glass or movable wood panels.  The patio reflects light as well as thermal heat into the house for winter heating while moveable wooden panels would minimize heat gain during the summer.  The relatively small floor area is not confining as the ceiling consists of exposed rafters and high ceilings, as well as opening up to views which draws the eye onto the landscape.

The Gothic Cathedral and the Liturgy of Construction

As previously discussed, my thesis and research was aimed at finding how architecture was understood as sacred during the medieval period, despite the absence of written documents.

Now that I have finished my research, I have concluded that cosmology and metaphysics determined 1) how the Gothic cathedral was designed, 2) the construction process, and 3) the organization of the workforce.  Critical of recent attempts to suggest theologians were somehow proto-architects, I suggested theology underlay the decisions of the master masons despite absence of evidence of formal theological training.  What is common to medieval theology and medieval masonry is the dependence upon a Christian metaphysic.  The importance of geometry, masonry, and workforce hierarchy are all explained within the Christian cosmology.

Given that society was organized by the Church, it is not unreasonable to assume masonry would be organized by the Church as well.  The implications for masonry and the physical structures becomes more apparent when important considerations, such as the use of geometry, are placed within the Christian cosmology.  Throughout pre-modern history, the Middle Age included, geometry has held significance for understanding the earth and the cosmos as sacred.  It follows that geometry and theology were ultimately compatible and mutually reinforcing.  That geometry was used during the design and construction process is ultimately to suggest the entire construction process was a sacrament and rite.

Business Chaplaincy Website

Website Snippet.

Reverend Mark Ball e-mailed me yesterday with the new chaplaincy website that I had the honour to shoot.  The images I submitted were good enough for the web-site, but the best images were not included.  A few images were not taken by myself, but are included in the web-site.  Overall it was a great experience, and I look forward to working with the Reverend again.

Love Your Campus Photography Competition

For fun I decided to enter a photography competition sponsored by the university.  The rules of the competition stated that the photograph should reveal the beauty of the campus, and should demonstrate the details of the built environment.  Other adjectives to describe evaluation criteria were daring, realist, subjective, honest.  I couldn’t think of a better competition to enter than one focusing on architecture, and photography. 

Because the competition is open to the entire university, there will be many entrants.  I received a university email about it, and certainly it was sent campus wide.  While the probability is low that my entry will even be recognized, it is good to have a reason to photograph and gain more experience.  I look forward to looking at my photographs over time and see improvement in skill level and technical ability.  The outcome of the competition should be announced in one week, so I will update then.  Until then, enjoy the photos!

Update November 4, 2010: The photo of the stair was short-listed, but did not place. It will be part of a roaming exhibit as well as part of a poster series to appear on buses. If I see it printed or in an exhibit I might snap a photo just to show it amongst the other submissions.

What My Ph.D. is About

I sometimes am asked what my doctoral research is about, and my answer is likely “Gothic Architecture”. 

If I am pressed further, and the interest is there I might give a more detailed reply.  Sometimes the research is not as interesting for those unfamiliar with architecture, so a cursory response is most appropriate as to not bore anyone nice enough to show interest.  The argument for Gothic architecture as defined in the ninety word thousand document makes many points that are not immediately accessible outside of the larger discussion.

What I am suggesting in my Ph.D. on Gothic architecture is something not said by other writers on the subject.  Essentially I am attempting to define the extent of theological influence upon Gothic architecture despite the absence of written documentation about the designers intentions.

Gothic architecture has been explained within its economic, social, political, religious, and aesthetic contexts.  Otto Von Simson, Erwin Panofsky, and Paul Frankl each defined Gothic architecture in their own way, but all attempted to explain architecture within its religious context.  Paul Frankl spent twenty years writing his grand history of Gothic architecture, so finding something that was not said is seemingly an insurmountable task.  The importance of the religious context is unquestioned for understanding Gothic, as the church was the foremost organizational force of the period.  Christianity and the resulting social structures had an unquestionable influence on the architecture of the period, and all scholars agree on this point. 

However the consensual misunderstanding of Christianity brought to bear upon medieval religion is understandable even if Paul Frankl dismisses writers who demonstrate socialistic, nationalistic, or ideological concepts patched onto Gothic.  While Paul Frankl emphasises a Gothic aesthetic development, Otto Von Simson and Erwin Panofsky specifically use theological precepts to suggest an understanding of Gothic architecture within the most significant context of religious social organization.

Otto Von Simson is fixated with Dionysian light metaphysics, and Erwin Panofsky attempts to define a proto-cosmology from the Scholasticism prevalent at the time.  The attempt to reduce the religious understanding of the period to one theologian, and suggest that one source inspired the creation of the Gothic style, as Simson did, misrepresents how medieval man understood himself and his religion.  Furthermore Panofsky intuitively understood the need to elucidate the general consensus at the time about how the world worked, and man’s place in God’s creation.  Unfortunately he isolated his argument to a correlation between how Scholasticism structured the world, and how the Gothic cathedral was structured.  Disregarding Scholasticism not reaching its full maturity and articulation a century after Gothic architecture began, it is inappropriate to attempt to define the historical cosmology that underpinned the Gothic cathedral to such a narrow source.  Historians like Panofsky and Simson have attempted a scientific understanding in that isolating a single precise cause would allow for an explanation of the Gothic effects.

My research then takes up this task of understanding Gothic architecture, as much as possible, as medieval man understood it; as religious.  This implies forsaking modern conceptions about man’s place in the cosmos, and God’s absence in how we understand the world.  Defining the religious cosmology of the period requires accessing the theological precepts of the period, including mysterious and exotic notions about God and his influence on daily life.  Such a religious foundation that understanding Gothic architecture calls for is antithetical to the past attempts of historians looking for a quasi-scientific narrative.  No such scientific narrative is available if searching for an authentic understanding of Gothic architecture, which is why previous historians have not been able to answer to what extent theology influenced cathedral architecture in medieval Europe.  

Business Chaplaincy Photoshoot

Reverend Mark Ball of Canterbury Anglican parish asked for assistance with his new outreach program.  Reverend Ball's ultimate goal is to establish a new workplace chaplaincy, so capturing him and fellow spiritual leaders on the high street and interacting with local business owners became the idea of the photo-shoot.  The trio of photographic subjects were certain about the informal yet contemporary character the photos should have.  The photos were passed onto the web designer, and the workplace chaplaincy website should be completed soon.