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How can public design in Ireland be improved by acknowledging rain as an author of architecture ?Thesis- Aaron Gladney
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How can public design in Ireland be improved by
acknowledging rain as an author of architecture ?
Aaron Gladney 20035393 Tutor: Alex Kostic
Architecture and Rain.
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Introduction
Ireland is situated in a ‘temperate oceanic climate’. On
average our weather is mild, meaning we generally do
not experience any weather or temperature extremes.
However we do receive an abundance of rain. The
Eastern half of Ireland receives somewhere between
750mm and 1000mm of rainfall a year. The Western half
of the country receives a rainfall of between 1000 and
1400 mm. It rains about 150 days of the year in the east
and about 225 days of the year in the West.1 This mean
on average it rains 50% + of the year. However
consideration of rain as a fundamental factor in shaping
our architecture is not evident .The aim of this study is to
define a set of principles that will create better public
space and architecture in Ireland. This will be achieved
through an observational and analytical study of rain in
architecture from both historical and modern precedents.
The first chapter identifies the important role rain played
in the development of the primitive shelter. It provides a
background in mans relationship to weather and sets a
backdrop for mans desire to connect to nature. It explains
the physical and psychological problems that shelter
creates with nature.
1 Met Éireann website, Irish Climate- http://www.met.ie/- accessed 20/
10/2012
Figure 1 Map depicting rainfall amounts in Ireland
http://www.met.ie/- accessed 20/ 10/2012
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The second chapter is an attempt to explain mans affinity
towards nature. The idea that architecture can provide a
healthy environment to live in by linking man and nature
is explored through the works of Le Corbusier and Alvar
Aalto.
The third chapter is about ‘sense of place’. This chapter
explores the idea that weather identifies a specific place.
By constructing a building that is responsive to the
weather of the specific place the resulting architecture
can embody the genius loci of the site.
The fourth chapter deals with rain in the built
environment. It explains the transformation of space
during and after rain in the urban setting. It also explores
threshold between enclosed and exposed spaces.
The fifth chapter will contain a brief study of early Irish
architecture before any colonization. This allows the
study a period of uninterrupted development of the
vernacular dwelling in Ireland. The aim is to out line the
influence of rain in Irish vernacular architecture so as
these ideas can be brought forward to modern Irish
architecture as an attempt to re-establish these
architectural ideas.
The concluding chapter will result in the establishing of
principles that will inform the designer in the different
materialistic and spatial qualities that are implied by rain
and are necessary to create successful public
architecture.
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Man and Weather.
Rain is a part of nature, regardless of where we live; the
weather affects our lives everyday. According to Jacek
Krenz man is divided into two opinions towards rain –
(encourage exposure to it) and those who want to avoid it
(seek shelter from it).2 He states that this notion has
naturally applied itself to the development of the roof in
architecture, a surface that shelters from precipitation.3
Primitive huts were essentially large roof structures,
addressing their primary function of shelter; a place to
keep warm, provide security and protected the inhabitant
from the from undesirable weather conditions. The notion
of shelter in architecture is a fundamental element when
considering rain in architecture as shelter is the physical
manifestation of the desire to be protected during poor
weather.
When it rains a connection between earth and sky is
made. A shelter is an act of opposition to weather, a
desire to create a controlled environment. When we
construct a shelter between earth and sky the path of rain
fall is diverted. As an architect it becomes our
responsibility to design this new path for rain water. The
challenges of achieving this usually manifest in façade,
2 J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban
development guide [web document](2007) http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 3 Krenz ,Loc. Cit.
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 5
Figure 4
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roof, and materiality and in the construction of the
building. Jonathan Hill writes that dialogue between
architecture and weather is a means to encourage
buildings to coexist with their immediate and wider
environments and acknowledge time, decay and
change.4
It is important not just to consider shelter’s physical
implications but also to consider the users experience of
shelter as physiological. In the book, Poetics of Space by
Gaston Bachlaerd, he includes a chapter called ‘House
and Universe' in which he writes of mans instinctive need
for shelter and home. ‘’ when the shelter is sure, the
storm is good ’’ - Henri Bosco, (Bachelard, 1992). 5In the
chapter Bachlaerd describes the psychological impact
rain and wind can imbue when one is in a good or bad
shelter. The feeling of gratification in shelter can enhance
the user’s experience of a public building or dwelling and
can be exploited through investigation of sound, material
and composition of space. Edward Morse writes that in
Japanese architecture a view to the outside world in the
entrance area of the house was an attempt to heighten
the experience of entering a shelter and produce a sense
of gratification of ‘home’.6 This worked especially well
during poor weather conditions, when the inhabitant
entered the calm dry interior of the house the view to the
poor weather conditions outside enhanced the sense of
satisfaction of enclosure.
4 Jonathan Hill- Weather Architecture,( Routledge , Printed in England 2012)
5 Henri Bosco, Malicroix cited in Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space- (Beacon
Press; New edition 1 Mar 1992) 6 Edward S.Morse, Japanese Homes and their surroundings, (Dover Publications Inc. 1
st Feb 2000)
Figure 6
Figure 7
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Connection to nature.
Rain is part of nature and an architectural response
towards it can create a connection between building and
the landscape.7 When it rains a link is created between
earth and sky: by placing a roof over our heads we
disturb the natural journey of the rainwater. JB Jackson
writes that if we can accept an animal’s construction of a
home as natural then so too is it for man, as man is also
part of nature.8 However he remarks that consideration is
due for a sensible approach to a man made environment
that can satisfy our native physical and physiological
requirements. Jackson writes that every time a building is
erected, a tree planted or large area paved, this has a
direct impact on the human physical condition due to its
effect on the micro climate of the city. 9
In the book Nature and Space, Sarah Manin and Flora
Samuel discuss Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto’s affinity
towards architecture's ability to connect nature and man.
Le Corbusier held strong views about architecture and
nature. He believed that the physical environment could
create connections to the metaphysical environment with
the aim of creating a healthier environment for man to
7 JB Jackson , Imitations of Nature, from Landscape, (edited by Ervin H. Zube published by the University of
Massachusetts Press , Printed in America 1959)
8 Ibid .
9 Ibid .
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dwell.10 Corbusier sought to connect man to nature
through combining the spiritual and the technical in an
uplifting architecture.11 The design for the chapel Notre
Dame du Haut is an example of his concern towards the
poetics of function and metaphor he sought to achieve.
Notre Dame du Haut
The chapel Notre Dame du Haut is located at the top of a
hill in Ronchamp. Part of the brief given to Le Corbusier
was to collect rainwater in a cistern as getting water to
the site was a problem.12 Corbusier applied this functional
aspect to the spiritual metaphor he was creating for Mary
(mother of Christ) to whom the church was dedicated
to13. The resulting roof design was a gesture celebrating
the movement and collection of rain water. The huge roof
references cupped hands which are carefully pouring the
rain water into a cistern.14 The water is passed from
building to cistern via a gargoyle at the rear of the church.
This celebration of rain creates a powerful link between
nature and building, both existing in harmony especially
when it rains.
10
Sarah Menin and Flora Samuel, Nature and space: Aalto and Corbusier,
(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) 11
Menin and Samuel ,Loc. Cit. 12
Ibid. 13
Flora Samuel, Corbusier in Detail, (Architectural Press, Printed 31st August
2007). 14
Ibid.
Figure 9
Figure 8
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Chandigarh
For his design of Chandigarh Assembly in India,
Corbusier’s fascination with the poetics of function as a
means to connect man and nature manifested itself
through the ceremony and celebration of water.
Corbusier saw water as a symbol of spiritual cleansing
and celebrated it in his schemes both internally (in the
bathrooms of his villa’s and wash basins in entrance
foyers) and externally (the journey of rainwater from
building to ground).15 At Chandigarh Corbusier faced the
problematic climate of the area, which included intense
heat from the sun and monsoon weather which brought
large amounts of heavy rainfall driven by winds.16 His
response to this was a large concrete channel that acted
as both a canopy to walk under in the shade while going
between buildings and as a shelter for the building
against driven monsoon rain. The huge concrete channel
is also a poetic device to collect all the rain water from
the roofs and disperse it from either end into the water
basin that surrounded the building. Corbusier referred to
this huge canopy as the river of Chandigarh.17 As with the
chapel Notre Dame du haut Corbusier attempts to use
the physical building to connect man with the
metaphysical of nature by transforming the building into a
river when the heavy rain fall collects in the huge
channel.
15
Flora Samuel, Corbusier in Detail, (Architectural Press, Printed 31st August
2007). 16
Anupam Banjeri, The Architecture of Corbusier and Kahn in the East: A
Philosophical Inquiry ,(Mellen Studies in Architecture), Edwin Mellen Press Ltd; illustrated edition ,August 2001). 17
Ibid
Figure 10
Figure 11
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Säynätsalo
’’ the purpose of a building is to act as an instrument that
collects all the positive influences in nature for mans
benefit, while sheltering him from the favourable
influences that appear in nature’’. – Alvar Aalto18
As with Corbusier, Alvar Aalto was inspired by nature and
the possibilities of connecting man to nature through
architecture. He achieved this by combining poetic and
sensitive approaches to technical problems with his
designs. In his town hall complex at Säynätsalo, Aalto
uses sheltered pathways in a cloister-like enclosure to
create a sense of calm within a natural terrain. The
design for his meeting hall roof is purely functional in
preventing snow from building up and damaging the
structure, yet there is a poetic and calming quality to the
form and massing employed. The shelter aspect of the
design can be modulated to provide varying degrees
depending on the time of year and weather. The covered
walkways can become enclosed by sliding glass panels,
with the mechanism for the panels is raised off the
ground and provides seating also.
Aalto expressed the need for psychological functions in
his designs.19 He wanted to integrate elemental
fundamentals into refined architecture. Aalto wanted to
avoid the creation of psychological slums through
sensitive adaptions of the building to the surrounding
terrain and climate.20 This ideology links with man and
shelter and Gaston Bachlaerd's idea that the quality of a
space or shelter during undesirable weather can either
enhance or diminish the user’s unease and discomfort.
18
Sarah Menin and Flora Samuel, Nature and space: Aalto and Corbusier,
(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) 19
Sarah Menin and Flora Samuel, Nature and space: Aalto and Corbusier,
(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) . 20
Menin and Samuel, Loc. Cit.
Figure 12 Saynatsalo Town Hall
http://cavin2009.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/36-e_saynatsalo-town-hall_courtyard.jpg
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However, Corbusier was driven towards finding solutions
to problems that could work anywhere: a universal style
that could improve the lifestyle of its users regardless of
place.21 He favoured concrete, and used it in most of his
schemes while failing to provide any measures to prevent
unpleasant weathering.
An architecture of connection
Living in spaces that disconnect and mute nature from
man leads to environments that do not satisfy humans
psychologically. If a person has a poor perception of
where they inhabit it can lead to Aalto’s idea of a
‘psychological slum’. By attempting to connect with
nature through architecture the primitive need for man to
connect to nature, something JB Jackson identifies as
lacking in modern architecture, can be achieved. Rain is
a product of weather, a natural phenomenon. The shelter
is a reaction against weather and the uncontrolled
environment. By addressing rain’s functional problems in
architecture in a meaningful way that informs design as it
did with primitive huts, an architecture that blurs the
boundary between building and nature can create not just
pleasurable places and spaces, but also help foster a
sense of well being.
21
. Deborah Gans , Guide to le Corbusier, (Princeton Architectural Press
1987; 3rd Revised edition 28 April 2006)
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Connection to Place.
Attention to climate and seasons when designing
encourages architecture to coexist with the immediate
environment.22 Jonathan Hill describes climate as an idea
formulated about a place over time by studying the area's
weather. Hill writes that weather locates architecture in a
specific place.23 This creates a regional character to the
architecture and allowing it to inform the design will
combat the globalisation of architecture.24 Rain can fall in
many different forms, varying from a light mist to a heavy
downpour in a monsoon. A soft rain will stick to surfaces
making them moist and darker in colour. Heavy rain will
create streams in gulley's and on the streets, and rush off
roofs and facades. In countries that experience frequent
monsoons and heavy rain, the vernacular architecture
has had to adapt to deal with the rain. Singapore,
Indonesia and Japan are all situated in tropical climates
but the temperature and amount of rainfall in their
specific climate has affected the development of building
form in different ways.
22
Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012), 23
Hill . Loc. Cit 24
Ibid.
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Singapore
In Singapore vernacular architecture is based on Malay
architecture. The buildings have a deep over-hanging
roofing system that throws water away from the
building.25 The roof is split with two different pitches that
overlap. At the point of overlap cool air is passed through
the building in a cross flow system.26 This allows the
building to combat rain and keep the building cool. The
buildings are raised off the ground to avoid flooding and
keep the interior as dry as possible.
Indonesia
Indonesia experiences a similar climate to Singapore.
However, the overall aesthetic of the building is quite
different. The vernacular buildings are mostly covered by
roof, addressing the climatic need for protection against
monsoons, and are raised off the ground on stilts to avoid
floods. Even though the construction styles between
Malay and Indonesian traditional houses are similar the
difference in culture, variations in climate and use of
material creates different regional characteristics in the
architecture.
25
26
Figure 13
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Hadrian Villa
Hadrian’s Villa in Rome is situated in hot climate and so
used rainwater in a way that reduced humidity and
helped to cool the building. Throughout the Villa the
incorporation of the movement of water is evident and
none more than the impluvium a fountainless pool
located under the compluvium that both created a
spectacle of light, sound and movement during the rain
as the water shot off the spouted gutters in streams into
the pool but this action also helped to circulate cool air
into the building.27
Japan
In Ancient Japan a desire to connect life with nature was
evident in their vernacular architecture.28 They expressed
their affinity to nature through poetic and sensitive
approaches to construction, indoor and outdoor
transitional space and materials. The buildings were
mostly constructed from timber, stone and paper with
slate or thatch on the roof.29 These materials were not
sealed or varnished due to an appreciation for the
aesthetic of the wet stone and timber. This use of
27
William McDonald ,Hadrian's Villa and Its Legacy, Yale University Press (4
July 1995) 28 Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)
29 Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha
International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)
Figure 14
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material allows the building to darken when wet, meaning
that the building reflected the changing environment and
was coexisting with nature. The long over-hanging eaves
helped to protect the building from heavy rain fall and the
steep angle allowed the building the shed the rainwater
quickly.30
In Japan, Indonesia and Singapore, three countries that
experience varying levels of heavy rainfall, their
vernacular architectures form reflects function in a way
that addresses the primary need for shelter. However,
access to different materials, knowledge of construction
and attitudes towards nature and rain give their
vernacular styles a character born from their own specific
regions.
’ Construction is a means to define the genius of place
both in the ways that elements are made and the manner
in which they are brought together’.31
Sverre Fehn reinforces sense of place in his designs
through reinterpreting the regional character in his
chosen construction method. Sverre fears that the
rationalism of modern architecture is always in danger of
forgetting construction.32 For Fehn, architecture is nothing
without construction and by combining construction
elements directly but delicately he draws on the qualities
of the place. For the design of the Nordic Pavilion in
Venice, Fehn decided to reinterpret the qualities of
Nordic light by controlling the lighting and embracing the
climate of Venice through material and delicate
construction.33 He achieved this by the repetition of thin
but deep concrete beams in the roof construction,
delicately covering the top with corrugated opaque plastic
30
Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha
International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998) 31
Sverre Fehn cited in Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge ,
Printed in England 2012), 32
Ibid. 33
Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012),
Figure 15
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that diffuses the light. This delicate plastic layer draped
over the Pavilion is punctured at points to allow trees that
were on the site prior to the architectural intervention to
remain both in the building and in the realm of nature.
The plastic covering also acts as a rain collector: when it
rains water is guided to the openings in the roof and
subsequently to the trees.34 On rainy days the trees bark
is darkened and rainwater leaves reflective patches on
the floor of the pavilion. Unlike Corbusier or Alvar Aalto,
Fehn draws on the intrinsic qualities of places to inform
his construction through a combination of poetics and
technical requirements reinterpreted from the genius loci
of the place.
Hill describes Sigurd Lewerentz’s flower kiosk at Malmö
eastern cemetery as a building that celebrates weather
through construction and immaterial of weathering on the
building.35 A copper mono pitch roof slopes steeply from
north to south, creating a deep overhang towards the
road, which protects the long picture window on the south
elevation. In heavy rain a visitor can stand between a
curtain of glass and a curtain of water as there is no
gutter or down pipe used.36 This creates a sense of
enclosure in a space that was once exposed. On the
other side, the eaves are flush with the walls: rain water
stains the concrete, emphasising the ridges moulded on
the concrete.
Fehn and Lewerentz recognised weather's metaphorical
potential, making it key to the poetry of the architecture in
its construction. They used it to identify genius loci of the
place by considering weathering and decay as a
34
Jonathan Hill , Immaterial Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England April
2006), pg. 159 35
Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012),
pg. 36
Ibid
Figure 16 Malmo Flower Kiosk overhang
http://kek.org.hu/beton/wp-content/gallery/malmo_flowershop/04_flower-kiosk.jpg
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fundamental part of the design intention. It follows that if
a meaningful dialogue between the weather and a place
is allowed to manifest itself in the built form, then rain can
be used in defining an architecture that is place specific.
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Rain and the Built Environment
Rain is especially suited to an investigation of the
relationship of the built environment as the physical
manifestation of water influences most exterior materials.
(Bachelard, 1992)37 The minimalistic design of the
modern movement affected the way rain water is being
diverted from buildings. The drive for lightness, thinness,
whiteness and geometric purity lead to the omission of
conventional details such as copings, sills, drips and
overhangs, weathering falls and surface relief generally.38
This, in turn, has impacted inaction at the domestic and
urban scales
Rain and the street
Our conception of city space is altered after the rain. The
city’s image resembles a water colour painting, it gets
darker, edges are blurred, and puddles reflect the sky
and surrounds. According to Krenz greater significance is
given to the ‘edge’ in poor weather conditions as people
try to anchor to secure surroundings.39
37
Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space, (Beacon Press; New edition 1 Mar
1992) 38 J Allan - Materials and Myths – Conservation of Modern Movement Architecture in England. Abstract of paper to
International Symposium, Brno 26-29 April 2006. Pg. 10 39
J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban
development guide [web document](2007)
Figure 17
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When it rains in the city the desire lines of pedestrians
change. People have their own rainy circulation routes
that make the most of local dry head circulation space.40
Bernard Rudofsky argues that it never occurs to us to
make streets into oases rather than a dessert. He
believes that pergola, awnings, tent like structures, or
permanent roofs have provided streets fit for humans in
countries that have not allowed the street to deteriorate
into highways and parking lots.41 Krenz writes that cities
should have absorptive pavements to reduce flooding,
large puddles and in doing so improve the pedestrians
journey during wet spells.42
The long overhanging eaves that are associated with
Japanese dwellings not only served as a way to direct
rainwater away from the building but also served as
pedestrian traffic routes, from one end of town to the
other. These Inubashiri - berms or passageways were
made of stone or tiles cemented together with lime
around the perimeter of the building, 5cm – 10cm in
depth and 30- 40cm in width. (Ueda 1998)43 Inubashiri
provided side walk while also repelling rain and
prevented land under eave from standing idle. This
allowed land owners to cheat a little extra space out over
the inubashiri. 44 This sensitive relation ship between
street an building existing in harmony is an aim architects
http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 40
J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban
development guide [web document](2007) http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 41
Bernard Rudofsky (1969) Streets for People, American Heritage Publishing
Co. Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Pg 13 42
J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban
development guide [web document](2007) pg. http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 pg. 14 43
Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha
International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998) 44
Ueda . Loc.Cit.
Figure 18
Figure 19
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should have when design architecture in the public realm
so as the building is designed to serves the streets an not
just itself.
In between space
When continuity in a building or streetscape is broken we
find discontinuity. This can be identified as a step on the
street, an over-hang or building stepped back from the
rest of the buildings in a line. It is at these points we find
transition spaces and in-between space.
The front door entrance space to a house is an example
of where in-between space and the idea of transition can
be explored. At this point, two different spatial worlds or
order of spaces meet, often leading to an architectural
solution to this idea of transition.45 In ancient Japanese
architecture, the transitional space between outdoors and
indoors called a genkan. Here a procession from wet to
dry space takes place. Once under the cover of the large
overhanging eave you remove your rain apparel. The
next stage is to step up onto a stone platform to remove
your rain shoes. After this you proceed up wooden steps
onto the dry mats inside the front door of the house.
Some Japanese dwellings at this point include a view
back to the outdoors to create a sense of wellbeing and
appreciation of shelter from the exposed environment
(Morse, 2000).46
In this instance we are shown how consideration from
wet to dry/ outdoors to indoors has led to the creation of
a space or series of spaces that aim to reinforce the
notion of shelter by addressing a practical experience of
everyday life in a sensitive way.
45
Herman Hertzberger, A Lesson For Students in Architecture, 010 Publishers, (Printed in Rotterdam 1991, 6th revised
edition 2009).
46 Edward S.Morse, Japanese Homes and their surroundings, ( Dover
Publications Inc. ,1st Feb 2000)
Figure 20 Genkan
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
igm3YRiSQbM/T4UppVg8P7I/AAAAAAAAA0/
1AMjmkdQLsk/s1600/ryokan_genkan.jpg
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The roof as a usable space
The use of flat roof construction became very popular
during the modern movement and has continued into
todays architecture. This type of roof structure can
presents problems in the form of leakage due to perfect
technical execution required during construction. The
pitched roof has naturally developed from the notion of
shelter and so the form itself naturally allows the rain
water to run off.
Flat roofs in Ireland are rarely thought of as inhabitable
space. If flat roofs are to be used in greater numbers in
Ireland then they should be treated as functional spaces.
Instead of a small parapet around the edges Ueda would
encourage the use of 1 m or 2 m walls that provide
sheltered space.47 Another approach would be that of le
Corbusier who began to separate the roof from the main
volume of the building in the later part of his career. This
separation of elements allowed for roof gardens that
contributed to the overall quality of life in the buildings.
47
Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha
International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)
Figure 21
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Rain and architecture in Ireland.
In Lost Tradition by Niall McCullough and Valerie they
describe Ireland’s development in history as influenced
by,’’ three cruel gods: isolation, poverty and later
colonization’’.48 Ireland never experienced continuity in
societal order as new cultures overthrew old ones and
the progress of a culture was subject to sudden change.49
However, prior to any invasions by Normans, Vikings and
the British, the emerging building tradition embraced a
broad selection of circular forms: earthen rath’s, the
stone cashel, the crannog and burial sites.50 The circular
ring embodied a sense of enclosure and defensive
shelter in the open landscape: a public façade behind
which a private existence unfolded.51 Early Christian
settlements adopted this circular form, embracing
enclosure in particular. The examples below are a
selection of vernacular Irish buildings that show how a
response to Ireland’s rainy climate has impacted the form
of the building.
48 Niall McCullough and Valeria Mulvin , A lost tradition: the nature of Irish Architecture, ( Gandon Editions, Printed in
Dublin 1987) pg.18 49
McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit 50
McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit 51
McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit
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New Grange
The ancient burial mound of New Grange in Co. Meath
utilises a clever primitive mechanism to keep rain out of
the interior of the burial chamber. A stone corbelling
construction method was used to build the inner passage
in the earthen mound, which leads directly to the burial
chambers. During its excavation, little effort was required
in restoring the interior of the passage as the corbelling
system had successfully repelled any major moisture
ingress even though the building is submerged under a
mound of earth.52 Rain water slowly filters down through
the earthen mound: when it meets the stone that forms
the interior passage way, the water runs off the corbelled
structure that has been stacked at a steep angle to
prevent moisture ingress. Essentially the earthen mound
shelters and protects the burial chamber from direct
weathering, while the corbelling completes the controlling
of the rain by allowing it to pass over it and continue on
its inevitable path towards the water table. This type of
construction and careful consideration of natures natural
cycle fits into JB Jacksons ideal’s about man treating the
built environment as part of nature’s cycle and so
connecting man with nature.
Crannóg Hut
The crannog was a dwelling or fort constructed on
wetland or lakes, usually with one path out to it hidden
under water, only known by the inhabitant.53 Like
previous huts and burial sites, the idea of enclosure and
shelter as a defence is reinforced by both the use of
52
Claire O’ Kelly, New Grange description,
(http://www.newgrange.com/description.htm, last updated unknown , accessed October 26th 2012) 53
Francesco Menotti, Wetland Archaeology and Beyond: Theory and Practice,
Oxford University Press 2012.
Figure 22
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circular form and the structure's isolation on water.54 The
use of thatch and the wattle and daub construction of
early vernacular dwellings lead to the built form being
mostly roof. The steep, thick thatch roofs evoke primitive
ideas of shelter. The roof sits on a base that keeps it just
off the ground and over-shoots the base to keep the rain
water away from the more vulnerable wattle and daub
construction.
Irish Cottage
The Irish vernacular cottage embodies the elements of
the early Irish huts, in terms of inward-looking and
enclosed shelters. The traditional cottage is a simple
structure, thick thatch roof with deep stone walls and
small windows either side of an entrance door. Although
it can be classified as a structure that embodies its
regional character through the use of natural materials to
create a shelter, the Irish cottage construction style
embodies the spirit of most Irish dwellings afterwards and
even today; inward, enclosed and defensive and a
proponent of Alvar Aalto’s term ‘Psychological slum’…
Although it rains 50%+ of the year in Ireland, rain has not
influenced Irish architecture or public space in a positive
or meaningful way in recent years. In an Irish context the
primitive notion of shelter is apparent when we look at the
crannog hut’s which is entirely roof and also in the Irish
cottage where a thick roof and thick mass in the walls
give the impression of solidarity and protection.
54
Niall McCullough and Valeria Mulvin , A lost tradition: the nature of Irish
Architecture, ( Gandon Editions, Printed in Dublin 1987) pg.18
Figure 23
Figure 24
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Conclusion.
“Everything comes alive when contradictions
accumulate.55
Consideration towards the threshold between indoor and
out, contrast between exposure and enclosure,
sensitively laying out the journey that rain inevitably has
to make from sky to earth through your building will
create an architectural dialogue between the building and
its surroundings. This dialogue will create architecture
that guides rain and celebrates it by articulating space
with architectural interventions like channels, spouts and
overhangs. By following these principles streets will have
a character derived from its own particular building
functions.
In Ireland this type of intervention is needed in our public
architecture. The principles to use rain as a meaningful
architectural author in public architecture are:
Enclosure and Exposure
When considering rain in architecture we look to shelter
and enclosure. However it is unreasonable to suggest
55
Henri Bosco, Malicroix, cited in Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space,
(Beacon Press; New edition 1 Mar 1992)
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constant shelter in the built environment. If everything
were sheltered we would loose that sense of gratification
of being in a shelter, as there would be no contrast to
shelter and exposure. This is the reason exposure and
enclosure is important to consider when designing a
space or series of spaces. During rainfall we can
manipulate the falling water to divide space and create
sense of enclosure in exposed space. This space can
only be experienced during rain and is otherwise
exposed.
Construction and material that derive from place
A sensitive and poetic approach should be considered
when choosing materials and construction methods. It is
important that as well as solving the functional problems
of draining the rain away from the building that the
designer considers the users experience on a poetic level
to create a character derived from the weather of a
specific place.
In- Between Spaces
The transition between interior and exterior space needs
to be explored fully during the design process. Rain and
the procession of architectural spaces can be interlinked,
as demonstrated by the genkan in Japenese architecture.
Controlling the fallen rainwater
After rainfall, we can manipulate the water to define
architectural spaces and embody certain spaces with a
particular quality or feeling. By controlling the path of the
fallen rain, by strategically delay it on site or in a specific
location, or by channelling it through the space, the
architectural experience can be enhanced.
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Brief.
Brief statement.
Public space is a social space and should be should be
accessible to all. Shopping centres have replaced the
public forum in Irish towns. However Shopping centres
are not public spaces in the true sense. There are rules
and guidance that everyone must obey by once you
enter. At night they are locked. In recent years many
shopping centres have been developed in Ireland. They
usually are located just outside town centres to allow for
ease of access and creation of many car park spaces.
People go to these buildings as it makes shopping
easier. Easier to get to, easier to walk around and the
environment is kept at desirable conditions.
Many of the traditional town square and shopping streets
that are part of a places character are slowly dying.
However no vernacular towns provide the sense of
enclosure and variety that shopping centres boast.
People enjoying being able to get out to a place where
they can feel part of something bigger, part of society. A
new type of retail forum in Ireland that uses sensitive
control of form and order to establish sheltered shopping
areas could set a standard for other types of public
architecture in Ireland. If people are encouraged to travel
by foot through a considerate public architecture the
streets can feel lived in. This new retail forum must also
be accompanied by an amenity to serve the town. A work
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live scheme for the new development would also help to
keep eyes on the streets to create a sense of security at
night.
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Proposed Site :
Figure 25.
The proposed site to develop the new public forum is located at Kennedy avenue, in
Carlow Town. Carlow Town centre has no defined town centre. The sites highlighted red
are both part of my initial proposal. Carlow town although the 14th largest Urban Areas in
Ireland has very few facilities and amenities. It has a library and a visual Arts centre. The
council are currently searching for a new site to put the library as the current building is
not adequate. As part of the scheme I would like to integrate the library into it.
Figure 26
This map highlights what is considered to be the traditional centre of the town. This new
scheme of exposed and enclosed spaces would hopefully encourage foot traffic through
the town centre and reverse the growing trend of closing businesses in the block.
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Figure 27
This map highlights the Famine Fountain. A sculptural fountain dedicated to the Irish who died
during the famine. On Saturday’s a farmers market herds around this fountain. Its numbers have
grown in recent years and the space is now to small to accommodate all of the Stalls.
Figure 28
Car Parking
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Figure 29
Famine Fountain
Figure 30
Hadden’s shopping Centre. Most of the small business and shops
have moved out of this building. The rear of the building as
actually entered on the first floor as the street level is 3-4 metres
higher than the car park in the image.
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