The Architectural Void.
Class
IARC 464_Marie Saldana
Year Completed
Spring Semester 2022
Description
The architectural void is a research project proposed for an independent thesis that will be completed in the Spring of 2023. The project compares how the void in two historic instances, including the Pantheon and San Carlino, can be implemented in a contemporary setting apart of the interior and exterior site conditions.
In architectural terms, the void is a blank space implied in the overall architectural form, created by subtracting masses from the interior volume and exterior development. My project compares how the void is applied in two buildings: The Pantheon, a classical building completed between 126-128 A.D., and San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane (San Carlino), a Baroque church completed in 1646. Both buildings are located in Rome, Italy. The void space can have powerful spatial implications, such as the dome that dominates the interior space in both buildings and the narrow streets. Although there is an overall similarity between the domes, the interiority and site context of the Pantheon and San Carlino differ in how they use the architectural void to amplify the experience. I will analyze the use of the void in these examples through a series of diagrams that depict how the void is expressed in components such as circulation, scale, symmetry, light, and acoustics. The overall objective is to comparatively analyze how the void amplifies user experience. I plan to evaluate how the void intensifies interiority and exteriority through two-dimensional drawings and diagrams highlighting architectural effects. Primary sources will come from first-hand experience visiting these two spaces and first-hand accounts of travelers who encountered, sketched, and photographed the Pantheon and San Carlino. Secondary sources will come from architectural drawings, including plans, sections, and elevations.
01: Abstract (1)
01: Abstract (2)
Using a comparative approach to the two case studies, I will create diagrams that analyze the void in terms of circulation, scale, symmetry, light, and acoustics. The drawings will be the beginning stages of an iterative diagrammatic process that interprets ongoing form and experience. This research will establish various effects the architectural void has on user engagement. After analyzing the void in a historical comparative analysis from first-hand experience, I can implement my findings into a contemporary landscape to shape spatial experience. After studying the void in the dense historical city of Rome, Italy, I can examine the lens of the void in another cultural context. The Pantheon and San Carlino are two public spaces apart of Rome that insinuates community, public space, and culture and ultimately serves as attractions. I can determine how the voids applied in these two historical buildings can be seen in issues around today in a contemporary setting. These findings can help determine how voided spaces can simplify the function of a design while also intensifying the overall architectural impact. My research will show how using powerful notions such as the architectural void to gesture toward implied user functions can become essential in architectural experience and sculptural exposition.