PROPORTION & ORGANISATION
Today, the role of proportion and organisation in architecture today have carrying a lot of important aspects and responsible in architecture design, especially in space programming and spatial quality.
Based on my research and understanding through the three texts, spatial geometry, proportion and organization have been central discourse in architecture for centuries, but their hierarchical relationships among them have varied. For organisation, its role is to decide the separation or connection between similar or dissimilar uses, helps to clarify aspects of function and establishes the similar point/criteria or contrast between different spaces. For proportion, its role is to arrange the relationship between parts or things, like location of partition(wall), structure like column, furniture, landscape and etc... In particular harmonious, proper or desirable relationships and the balance of symmetry.
From what Andrea Palladio mentioned in his text, his design style is more to symmetrical planning and form. In the other hand, Le Corbusier is more to assymetrical. Although two of these architects are different in their design way, they are still contribute in how the buildings were organised and proportioned. For the philosophical text wroted by Colin Rowe, the architectural historian compared the two architects I mentioned above in terms of their design proportion and organisation of their works and theories.
After I read the three texts, I think, of course, proportion and organisation are necessary for human habitation and functioning, and in the same time, yes, they are also compositional strategies of drawing and design, composition of these or something else.
To support my point of view, I have choose Elderly Residential Home for my case study.
Architects : Atelier Zündel Cristea
Location : Notre-Dame De Bon Secours, 68 Rue des Plantes, 75674 Paris, France
Area : 29000.0 sqm
Project Year : 2014
From the architect Atelier, It is important that old age, illness or disability are not looked upon as ‘problems’ to be managed, but as aspects of life, which architecture must treat with dignity. The project pays careful attention to the way it fits into the site, to internal layout and proportions, to the choice of finishes and to atmosphere. The environment provided is generous without being superfluous, enhancing the lives of its inhabitants by providing appropriately designed, modern living spaces, without emphasizing the function of the building.
A large building operation was planned in two phases so as to manage re- housing and building on an occupied site.Phase one, now complete, comprises the construction of a new building to house a 98-bed residential care-home for the elderly and a 64-place crèche. It is built on the site of the demolished maternity wing, in the south-west corner of the plot. The project also involved the renovation of the street-front building of the old nursing school, known as the ‘chateau’, to house a new children’s healthcare centre. The overall programme covers a total surface area of 14,000 sq m (GIA).
Phase two, due for completion in 2017, will see the construction of a nursing home for disabled patients at the northern corner of the site by the Rue des Plantes.
The project involved a comprehensive rethink of the whole site, began by considering its organisation. First, the access routes and thoroughfares across the site were revised.The main entrance at 68 Rue des Plantes has been maintained, but a secondary entrance on Rue Giordano Bruno has been added. Between these two access points, pedestrian and vehicular circulation has been reorganised, separated by category, and made secure.
The two major axes through the site have been reinforced by careful landscaping. The principal east–west axis linking the main entrance to the ‘big garden’ has been redefined by the insertion of the new building, set back, and by continuous paving that affirms the ensemble. The ‘big garden’ now comprises a park, allotments and a garden for the creche. The new axes are accessible for those with reduced mobility and have been resurfaced. This redevelopment of the site provides residents with the opportunity to sit in the sun, get a breath of fresh air, and enjoy the greenery. The environment promotes the use of these spaces by the residents. They have been carefully orientated, with open views and plenty of light.
They have designed a six-storey building that adjoins the ‘chateau’. Its wide floors are arranged around two internal planted courtyards, its domestic architecture deliberately distancing it from the functional image of a hospital.The ground floor is reserved for entrance areas, public spaces and the creche. The residential units are found on the first, second, fourth and fifth floors. They are distributed around the perimeter of the building. Residents’ circulation is arranged in a figure-of-eight around the courtyards, at the heart of the buildings, with gentle natural lighting for comfort and a feeling of security.Whereas communal areas in this type of building are often found on the ground floor, AZC has put them in the middle of the building, on the third floor. Indeed the third floor is a horizontal break in the shape of the project. Above it, floors four and five have a smaller footprint than the three lower floors, enabling the creation of broad terraces. It also creates a break in the functions of the building, with the floor reserved for group activities, which are held in the large, glazed spaces that give onto the internal gardens.Covered terraces, like large intermediary loggias, are also found on the first two floors. The ground floor is freed up for maximum transparency towards the creche garden. This allows light into the terraces and patios, opening broad views of the city and the landscaped areas.
Residential accommodation is broken up into units of 12 to 14 beds. This scale enables not only efficient organisation and passage, but also improves working conditions for the carers and the daily life of the residents. Each unit comprises an open kitchen, a dining room and a sitting-room giving onto a covered terrace.
