Thursday, November 6, 2008

research_daidalos-water issue


map of the Po and Argenta river delta and its flood planes, 1687








































































"American show-films also cannot do without swimming pools. Entire corps of girls decorate the opulent water ensemble scenes."

These images are collected from Daidalos journal, an issue specifically devoted to the relationship of water and architecture. The articles in this issue dissect the evolution of water through history. They note both the utilitarian purposes of water and the celebration of it in architectural form, ie the Roman aqueducts. However, with the advent of modern technologies such as piping, the architecture of water became increasingly more hidden and private. Bathing became an inappropriate group activity and became a utilitarian act...another programmatic function a house must perform.

images:
The first two images show water as network, and the second in particular shows its infrastructure become both latent and visible in other infrastructure--the road network.

The next pairing of images show the celebration of water and the act of bathing. One from the bath houses of the 16th century, the other a rendering from the 80s. The image of the 80s is a recalling to the pre-modern condition of communal bathing.

The fifth image is a painting showing the effect of being inside, looking out on the rain.
The next images pair and compare the Salk Institute and the Alhambra. A modernist version referencing the ornamental Mughal palace. The water forms a rill, and an axis, that directs attention out of the space.
The final image is a theatric depiction of water.

lessons:
water as utility and water as celebration.

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