Truth, Goodness and Beauty
Above. Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha ['the awakened']: a wandering ascetic ['recluse'] who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE; and source of inspiration in following the 'Middle Way' or 'Middle Path'. Photographer: Anonymous.
Introduction
'If the tops of the three trees of Truth, Goodness and Beauty converge, but the too blatant, too direct stems of Truth and Goodness are crushed, cut down, not allowed through – then perhaps the fantastic, unpredictable, unexpected stems of Beauty will push through and soar ... and in so doing will fulfil the work of all three?'1
- Alexandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
In the previous collection of essays, the author crafts an intricate tapestry of spiritual symbolism and wisdom that captures the essence of human civilisation's ebb and flow through history;2 rather than how architecture and urban space is generally conceived - designed - and realised - built - in response to an existing set of conditions.3
These conditions may be purely functional in nature, or they may also reflect the ideological and psychological themes within the present milieu - the people, physical, and social conditions and events that provide the environment in which someone acts or lives. In any case, it is assumed that the existing set of conditions - the problem - is less than satisfactory and that a new set of conditions - a solution - would be desirable. The act of creating architecture and urban space, then, is a problem-solving design process.5 This is concept design and concept art. But what is a concept?
In its rawest form, it implies an idea, or range of ideas, a development approach, and a design intent. It resolves the issue of 'what' and 'how much' and begins to set the stage for understanding 'how'. It is here, through a series of iterative explorations that the form, space. and order of the building is modified, adjusted, and narrowed down from a 'broad-brush' approach towards a more precise, well-illustrated guiding concept that both encapsulates the spirit, form, principal aesthetic and technical principles of the overall project within its urban context; and is capable of being meaningfully discussed, not only with the client, but also with external partners, planners, engineers and other interested parties.
As a result, the designer's time commitment often gets stretched trying to understand a client's evolving requests as well as brainstorm, plan, build and craft the architectural concept.6 Consequently, designers inevitably, whether consciously or not, prefigure solutions to the problems they are confronted with.7 I shall refer to these ideas henceforth as the conventional wisdom: familiar, acceptable, highly predictable, and limited solutions to a problem. And so, too often 'the bland lead the bland',8 and its consequences have been a disaster for our cities and towns. We see, for example, an urbanicidal model that kills the buoyancy or vitality of city life; by driving skyscrapers into it at some point, in the same way one might kill a vampire by driving a stake through its heart.9
And what now drives the construction of such anti-architecture more than anything else is simply the lust for financial gain.10 In mainstream Western culture, designers aren't encouraged to be integral to the social, environmental, or spiritual life of the community. They do not train to engage with real-life needs and problems of people. Instead they learn to be competitive, in a society in which all our products and institutions are defined and measured by this market ideology - none escape.11 And throughout the corporate and academic structures supporting this system, otherwise decent people lead a life of continual lying, in order to achieve a level of economic comfort.12 They merely swim in it like fish in water.13
The following ten concepts, broadly referred to as 'principles,' therefore focus on broadening and enriching a vocabulary of design through a brief exploration of solutions to architectural and urban problems that have developed since the Industrial Revolution.14 The principles were selected from a diverse body of work that combines the clean lines of ‘warm minimalism’ with Japanese traditions in building, spirituality and, the association between architecture and nature; and are linked to the question of whether we can't sympathetically introduce or ‘retrofit’ new intermediating elements into, between, or beside our residential architecture - for the purpose of 21st century indoor-outdoor living that is more satisfying: sensually, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.
Use it as a resource to increase your cross-disciplinary knowledge and understanding of design, promote brainstorming and idea generation for design problems, and refresh your memory of design principles that are infrequently applied.15
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Alexandr I. Solzhenitsyn [1970]. Nobel Prize Winning Lecture in Literature.
2. Manly P. Hall [1922]. The Initiates of the Flame. Quoted in: Agrippa’s Diary [2023]. Manly P. Hall: There Is But One Religion In All The World.
3. Francis D.K. Ching [1996]. Architecture: Form, Space, & Order, pp. introduction, ix.
4. Cambridge Dictionary [2024]. Milieu.
5. Francis D.K. Ching [1996], pp. ix.
6. Mike Davies [2022]. Concept Architectural Design.
7. Francis D.K. Ching [1996], pp. introduction, ix; Graeme Brooker; Sally Stone [2004]. Re-readings: Interior Architecture and the Design Principles of Remodelling Existing Buildings, pp. 79.
8. John Kenneth Galbraith [1958]. The Affluent Society. Excerpts: The Concept of the Conventional Wisdom, pp. 21.
9. Nikos A. Salingaros [2014]. A Future without Starchitects, pp. 1; Jane Jacobs [1992]. The Death and Life of Great American Cities, pp.4.
10. Mark A. Signorelli; Nikos A. Salingaros [2012]. The Tyranny of Artistic Modernism. New English Review. pp. 6.
11. Suzi Gablik [2004]. Has Modernism Failed, pp. 12.
12. Mark A. Signorelli; Nikos A. Salingaros [2012], pp. 6.
13. Suzi Gablik [2004], pp. 12.
14. Francis D.K. Ching [1996], pp. ix.
15. William Lidwell; Kritina-Holden; and Jill Butler [2003]. Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design, pp. 13.
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One
Historic Preservation
The prerequisite for restoring sanity to our cities, towns, and neighbourhoods is an unqualified rejection of tabula rasa urbanism;1 and the practice of contemporary creative conversions2 of historically valuable and criminally underappreciated old buildings - not for the sake of sustainable architecture, but for the sake of sustainable living: That is, space and time, to rest in the act of contemplation. Resting in the presence of Nature. Resting in the breath. Resting in stillness and quiet.3
Bibliography and footnotes
1. 'Tabula rasa urbanism argues that the resolution of a present anxiety or decline - for example, our built past: can only, and only ever, emerge if it starts from a fresh start: erasure, rupture, a new beginning, a blank slate. This image, this black and white promise of a utopia from erasure, masks the violence of erasure, of destruction and displacement. It is the myth, the fallacy, the false hope that destruction is a feasible beginning for creation – not just a feasible precursor, but a necessary one;' Dr. Adam Kaasa [2016]. Cohabitation: Against the Tabula Rasa and Towards a New Ethic for Cities. pp. 2-3.
2. 'This process is sometimes referred to as preservation, restoration, renovation, remodelling, adaptive reuse, or reworking;' Graeme Brooker; Sally Stone [2004]. Re-readings: Interior Architecture and the Design Principles of Remodelling Existing Buildings, pp. 11.
3. Alan Seale [2019]. Resting In the Act of Contemplation.
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Two
Spaces between Buildings
Although the main interest is always old buildings, spend time looking at the spaces adjacent to, beside, behind, in front of them – in short, the spaces between buildings - and the architectural features which influence how a building relates to the spaces around it: window and door types and placements, porches, steps, stairways, patios, decks, gardens, courtyards, lawns, driveways, walls, fences, gates, pavements, footpaths, street trees, alleys, etc.1, 2
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Larry R. Ford [2000]. The Spaces between Buildings, pp. 4.
2. In architectural design, this is generally referred to as a threshold - spatial conditions in boundaries allowing for: [a] the movement and transition of people between two distinct spatial environments e.g. interior and exterior, or from one type of spatial status to another – for example, from a very public to a very private space and; [b] the flow of air, light, sound, and odour; The Sleep of Rigour [2013]. Threshold: Link and Separator; Ebru Alakavuk [2018]. Threshold Approaches to Architectural Design Studio, pp. 1-2.
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Three
The Edge Effect
In such 'nooks and crannies'1 one sees buildings and cars, but few people, if any, because favourable conditions for outdoor stays [the key word is staying], are more or less impossible.2 In a study of the preferred conditions for moving about in and lingering in, the sociologist Derk de Jonge mentions the borders of the spaces or at the edges of spaces within the space.3 The obvious explanation for the popularity of edges is that placement at the edge of a space allows one to see without being seen.4, 5
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Larry R. Ford [2000]. The Spaces between Buildings, pp. 4.
2. Jan Gehl [2011]. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Spaces, pp. 31.
3. Ibid, pp. 149.
4. 'Before we break through the last bushes and out of cover to the free expanse of the meadow, we do what all wild animals ... would do under similar circumstances: we reconnoiter ['make a survey'], seeking, before we leave our cover, to gain from it the advantage which it can offer alike to hunter and hunted - namely to see without being seen.'; Konrad Lorenz [1952]. King Solomon's Ring. pp. 181.
5. 'A supplementary explanation is discussed by Edward T. Hall in the book The Hidden Dimension, which describes how placement at the edge ... or close to a facade helps the individual or group to keep its distance from others. At the edge, one is less exposed than if one is out in the middle of a space. One is not in the way of anyone or anything. One can see, but not be seen too much, and the personal territory is reduced to a semicircle in front of the individual. When one’s back is protected, others can approach only frontally, making it easy to keep watch and to react, for example, by means of a forbidding facial expression in the event of undesired invasion of personal territory;' Jan Gehl [2011], pp. 149.
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Four
A Gentle Flow of Life
The plan of the building must be designed so that the symbolic centre of the entire dwelling can flow seamlessly towards the outside. This may imply, for example, that there should be 'door-windows'1 directly from the living-dining-working area to the semiprivate front yard with a view of the street and the pivate backyard. This typically involves intervention:2 the cutting and removing of the parapet at the foot of the window looking onto outside space. Without any parapet to block, space is articulated by discontinuous walls, in which the openings produce a sensation of fluidity and continuity; transparency and lightness.
Bibliography and footnotes
1. 'A door-window [porte-fenetre] consists of a frame around one or more transparent or translucent panels [called lights or lites] that may be installed singly, in matching pairs, or even as series. A matching pair of these doors is called a French window, as it resembles a door-height casement window. When a pair of French doors is used as a French window, the application does not generally include a central mullion [as do some casement window pairs], thus allowing a wider unobstructed opening. The frame typically requires a weather strip at floor level and where the doors meet to prevent water ingress. An espagnolette bolt may let the head and foot of each door be secured in one movement;' Wikipedia [2024]. Door: Design and Styles.
2. 'Intervention is a procedure that activates the potential or repressed meaning of a specific place. The original building provides the impetus for change; the architect's localised and highly specific reading of the place will dictate the appropriate moves. In order to impose a degree of control or order, the architect will strip away, remove, clarify, undo in order to reveal new or hidden meanings;' Graeme Brooker; Sally Stone [2004]. Re-readings: Interior Architecture and the Design Principles of Remodelling Existing Buildings, pp. 81.
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Five
Soft Boundaries
Correspondingly, intermediating elements, bridging structures or 'intermediary zones'1 - which define and/or blur both the edge and transition from inside to outside, building to nature, private to public2 - must be placed directly in front of the door-windows at the heart of the dwelling. The major function of transitional spaces is to provide the arena for life between buildings - short stays, rest and contemplation [thinking], and simple social activities from which additional communal life can develop, as desired by the residents.3
Bibliography and footnotes
1. 'This idea can be further expanded and made clear when one looks at one of the most pronounced and distinguishing qualities of Japanese Zen Buddhist 'temple' architecture and the 'ordinary' Japanese rural and urban dwelling, the 'engawa': ‘The engawa is multipurpose, serving simultaneously as an external corridor connecting all the rooms of the house; a sheltering structure against rain, wind, and summer heat; an area for greeting or entertaining guests, and as a passageway to the garden, among many other miscellaneous functions; [but] perhaps the most important role of the engawa is as an intervening space between the inside and the outside – a sort of third world between interior and exterior - where public and private life ‘interpenetrate, exist in symbiosis [a mutually beneficial relationship] and stimulate each other;' Kisho Kurokawa [1988]. Rediscovering Japanese Space, pp. 53-54. Quoted in: David Y. Yen [2012]. Japanese Timber Frame Methodology: Alternative Solutions to Hawaii’s Built Environment, pp. 29; Michael Lazarin [2007]. Temporal Architecture: Poetic Dwelling in Japanese Buildings, pp. 106.
2. Kisho Kurokowa [1994]. The Philosophy of Symbiosis. Chapter 8, Intermediary Space; Michael Lazarin [2014]. Phenomenology of Japanese Architecture: En [Edge, Connection, Destiny], pp. 138-139; Gunter Nitschke [1993]. From Shinto to Ando: Studies in Architectural Anthropology in Japan, pp. 84.
3. Jan Gehl [2011]. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Spaces, pp. 57.
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Six
The Magic of Trees
Typically these 'bridging structures'1 have three classical motifs perfected over 2000 years of trial and error.2 These motifs are indicated as being: broad, 3½ ft. deep [1,060 mm.] edging strip of raised floor planks; 'ishibatate' or 'standing on the stones'3 post-and-lintel skeleton frame construction;4 and a 'hidden roof' ['noyane']5 incorporating oversized projecting eaves. The structural framing is exposed to show the art and craftsmanship of Japanese carpentry and joinery. Building materials are largely timbers and boards, selected for grain and natural beauty, polished, but seldom marred by paint.6
Bibliography and footnotes
1. 'In Japanese, a bridging structure that has 'ma' is said to have 'en,' which means both 'edge' and 'connection.' It also means 'destiny' and has connotations of transcendence in the sense of leaping toward one’s destiny. Two architectural examples of bridging structures are the 'engawa,' an area at the rear or side of a building used to view the garden, and the 'hashigakari' bridgeway of the Noh theater by which the principal actor gets from the green room to the stage. In both cases, the architectural construction is designed to give one the experience of the span being stretched out so as to blur the discrete boundaries into a sensation of continuity;' Michael Lazarin [2014]. Phenomenology of Japanese Architecture: En [Edge, Connection, Destiny], pp. 138.
2. Soma Ko Sha [2024]. Traditional Japanese Timber Framing.
3. Ibid.
4. Philip Thiel [1957]. Japanese Influences on Western Architecture. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 271-274. Quoted in: Bloxas [2013]. Engawa House.
5. The hidden roof [noyane] is a type of roof widely used in Japan both at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is composed of a true roof above and a second roof beneath. The second roof is visible only from under the eaves and is therefore called a 'hidden roof' [giving its name to the whole structure] while the first roof is externally visible and is called an 'exposed roof' in English and 'cosmetic roof' [keshōyane] in Japanese;' Wikipedia [2024]. Hidden Roof.
6. Robert Wetterau [July 1955]. Arts and Architecture. Books, pp. 6.
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Seven
Visual Gardens
The presence of an extra space projected from the house would be meaningless if there is nothing to be experienced mainly with the eyes and the mind.1 Such being the case, assimilation of the tsubo-niwa - the small 'courtyard gardens' found amongst the 'leftover' space of buildings is one of the main tasks of contemporary architecture.2 Intimate in scale, informal, and unassuming in character, these are often devoted to a semi-transparent [naturalistic] 'hedge' that more or less conceals the house from the street.3 Contemplated while seated 'inside' the verandah, it is a 'living picture wall' of pruned trees, shrubs and bushes that is in perfect harmony with nature, and therefore more satisfying sensually, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.4
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Siujui [2020]. A Study on Engawa: The Japanese Tradition and its Contemporary Revival; Geeta Mehta; Kimie Tada [2008]. Japanese Gardens: Tranquillity, Simplicity, Harmony, pp. 11.
2. Heinrich Engel [1964]. The Japanese House: A Tradition for Contemporary Architecture. Chapter II: Measure, pp. 49; Marc P. Keane [2016]. Japanese Courtyard Gardens. Kyoto Journal/Hidden Japan.
3. Gunter Nitschke [2007]. Japanese Gardens, pp. 38; Gunter Nitschke [1993]. From Shinto to Ando: Studies in Architectural Anthropology in Japan, pp. 86.
4. Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 258; Boye Lafayette De Mente [2011. Elements of Japanese Design.
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Eight
The Presence of Water
One of the most important elements of the tsubo-niwa is the presence of water:1 often in the form of a curved metal water bowl, precisely positioned to receive rainwater dripping from a Japanese kusari-doi rain chain. The beauty of the kusari-doi is that it gathers heavy rain from a roof and conveys it to the bowl. either in a trickle or a flood, and it does this artistically.2 Beneath the kusari-doi, rainwater forms a shallow pond in which birds may drink, bathe, and cool themselves; or a calm reflecting pool, mirroring in its placid waters, the shifting atmospheric changes in the heavens.
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Terrapin Bright Green; William Browning; Catherine Ryan; Joseph Clancy [2014]. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment. 4. The Patterns, 4.1 Nature in the Space: Presence of Water.
2. Japan Experience [2012]. Kusari-doi Rain Chains.
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Nine
Seclusion in Building1
Complement the effects of a 'tsubo-niwa', and heighten the state of both enclosure and solitude, through the use of a large number of thin, repetitive wood elements, or slats,2 expressed in a variety of fixed, flexible or integrated filters.3 Breaking down the material surfaces of a 'wall' between inside and outside or between other spatial units, in this way, ensures that architectural space is continuous4 with the atmospheric qualities of the garden and street, while providing effective privacy, noise reduction and intrusion prevention, in the night-time as well as during the day.5
Bibliography and footnotes
1. 'SECLUSION IN BUILDING is both the state of and the place for being in solitude within the house [or garden]. It is the physical and psychological isolation of the individual from both his fellow man and his environment;' Heinrich Engel [1964]. The Japanese House: A Tradition for Contemporary Architecture. Chapter VIII: Seclusion, pp. 278.
2. Botond Bognar; Kengo Kuma [2005]. Kengo Kuma: Selected Works. Filtered Space, pp. 31.
3. 'Fixed elements cannot be adjusted for changes in direct sunlight levels and in the course of the sun throughout the day or year. Flexible filter elements can be adjusted to the time of day or desired amount of sunlight. Integrated filter systems are filter systems that are part of the glazing;' Anette Hochberg; Jan-Henrik Hafke; Joachim Raab [2009]. Open | Close: Windows, Doors, Gates, Loggias, Filter. Introduction/Types of Filters, pp. 80.
4. Botond Bognar; Kengo Kuma [2005], pp. 32.
5. Anette Hochberg; Jan-Henrik Hafke; Joachim Raab [2009], pp. 80.
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Ten
A Room With A View
Visual and non-visual connections with nature1 [views/prospects] are to be set up, to be constructed, not by accident as you might get from idly gazing out of window, but by the careful positioning of furniture,2 to create 'habitable' windows3 or 'windows of affection'.4 A unity of openings and furniture5 in which the architecture is telling you to take your time to rest. People sit down, the scenery opens up, and they are offered a moment to look out onto a tranquil 'living picture', while reflecting [thinking] on things that transcend the mundane, everyday life and phenomena.7
Bibliography and footnotes
1. Terrapin Bright Green; William Browning; Catherine Ryan; Joseph Clancy [2014]. 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment. 4. The Patterns, 4.1 Nature in the Space: Visual Connection with Nature & Non-Visual Connection with Nature.
2. Graeme Brooker; Sally Stone [2004]. Re-readings: Interior Architecture and the Design Principles of Remodelling Existing Buildings. Tactics: Opening, pp. 215.
3. Anette Hochberg; Jan-Henrik Hafke; Joachim Raab [2009]. Open | Close: Windows, Doors, Gates, Loggias, Filter. Spatial Openings and Intermediate Spaces, pp. 18.
4. Hiroshi Nakamura [2013]. Hiroshi Nakamura Windows and Affection. Window Research Institute.
5. Anette Hochberg; Jan-Henrik Hafke; Joachim Raab [2009], pp. 18.
6. Hiroshi Nakamura [2013]. 7. Wesley Longhofer; Daniel Winchester [2023, Third Ed.]. Social Theory Re-Wired: New Connections to Classical and Contemporary Perspectives. Profile: Émile Durkheim.
In-between Space 2024
Japanese-influenced indoor-outdoor timber architecture
+ small secluded visual gardens
+ small secluded visual gardens