Beginnings

This book is a beginning. It begins to explore three conditions. First is the idea of the boundary - not simply the boundary as something that fixes limits, but as something that defines the spatial qualities of architecture. For example, a space that has four opaque walls, a dark floor and a heavy ceiling will feel like a closed cell. But what if the ceiling doesn't quite complete the boundary of the box, and instead it pulls away from the walls to let in traces of daylight. The light trickles down horizontal bands of green stone and reflects in a plane of water that is the floor. The light indicates the space beyond the boundary. This room has the quiet, meditative feeling of an ancient cave. It still feels closed, but the slight change in the boundary creates an experience more stimulating to the memory of the senses than the closed cell of the original box.Second is the idea of the core - the core as the life, the center, more importantly, the core as the foundation. It is of a different nature than the parts that envelop it; it is lasting. Think of driving down a long country road on a bright summer day. The surrounding fields are overgrown and lush green. Wooden barn structures inhabit these fields, some in use, some no longer used, but beautiful just the same as the sunlight gleams through the spaces in the weathered wooden boards. From a distance, a tall figure rises from a hillside. It appears at first to be one of the many silo structures of the old farms. The stack pointing to the sky is surrounded by low stone walls. It is the chimney that rises from a hearth. It is central to what was once home. It remains standing, a sight reaching across time to speak of home as a shelter, as a place for family, and hearth as a place to gather.Second is the idea of the core - the core as the life, the center, more importantly, the core as the foundation. It is of a different nature than the parts that envelop it; it is lasting. Think of driving down a long country road on a bright summer day. The surrounding fields are overgrown and lush green. Wooden barn structures inhabit these fields, some in use, some no longer used, but beautiful just the same as the sunlight gleams through the spaces in the weathered wooden boards. From a distance, a tall figure rises from a hillside. It appears at first to be one of the many silo structures of the old farms. The stack pointing to the sky is surrounded by low stone walls. It is the chimney that rises from a hearth. It is central to what was once home. It remains standing, a sight reaching across time to speak of home as a shelter, as a place for family, and hearth as a place to gather.The ideas of the boundary, the core and the light of a place are where this project begins.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Department dc:contributor.department

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Schmitt, Casey Tyler

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Sarpaneva, Pia

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Galloway, William U.
• Dunay, Robert J.

• house

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-071299-160154

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33980