Need ideas for precedent study Farnsworth

[archstudent2009]

I have the privilege of doing a precedent study on the Farnsworth house for my college class. The only problem is I have all this information and I do not know where to begin. Has anyone done a precedent study and if so can you give me some ideas of how this is supposed to work. I have a paper as well as an oral presentaion in a few weeks and im starting to stress out over this. The 10 minute presenation is whats really bothering me. Once i figure out how this all works i think i will be ok but until then I just keep reading and hoping something will become clear as to how i am supposed to present this to the class.

Edited February 8, 2009 by archstudent2009
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[chuck]

Are you using a projector? I'd think a sketchup model with views set up as focal points would be really helpful. Ask your prof if you can unless it's been stated otherwise.

 

I guess I'd start with a little background of Mies and the project.

 

-Location w/ site plan/google earth image

-Date

-SF

-Building type

-Architectural Style

 

 

Talk about the Mies' ideas, what drove the space and how previous projects influence the design (Barcelona Pavilion etc). This is a historically important building...explain why. Is the building successful? Does anyone want to live in a glass house? Did it work for the client?

 

Go over the site, maybe a quick site analysis.

 

Discuss the building itself-

-form (the deck sliding past the house ect...influenced by Modern paintings right?)

-stilts

-how is it Modern?

-materials

-connection to nature via glass

-how are they Modern?

-floor plan/interior spaces

-public/private separation etc

-furniture

 

-Heat gain

-Mechanical-sewage lines...etc, under the deck

 

-Flooding...there are some great shots of this thing under water...

 

Maybe finish it off with how it changed later architecture...hope that helps.

 

Chuck

[archstudent2009]

Chuck,

Thank you for the ideas. This is really going to help me out alot. I have been stressing over this for the last 2 weeks but I think today with your help i have some direction and can get going on this project. It should be fun the house is really very interesting to study. I was thinking of doing a power point presentation and some boards with my sketchup drawings printed on it explaining certain points of the design.

 

 

Are you using a projector? I'd think a sketchup model with views set up as focal points would be really helpful. Ask your prof if you can unless it's been stated otherwise.

 

I guess I'd start with a little background of Mies and the project.

 

-Location w/ site plan/google earth image

-Date

-SF

-Building type

-Architectural Style

 

 

Talk about the Mies' ideas, what drove the space and how previous projects influence the design (Barcelona Pavilion etc). This is a historically important building...explain why. Is the building successful? Does anyone want to live in a glass house? Did it work for the client?

 

Go over the site, maybe a quick site analysis.

 

Discuss the building itself-

-form (the deck sliding past the house ect...influenced by Modern paintings right?)

-stilts

-how is it Modern?

-materials

-connection to nature via glass

-how are they Modern?

-floor plan/interior spaces

-public/private separation etc

-furniture

 

-Heat gain

-Mechanical-sewage lines...etc, under the deck

 

-Flooding...there are some great shots of this thing under water...

 

Maybe finish it off with how it changed later architecture...hope that helps.

 

Chuck

[archstudent2009]

I did not know the design was influenced by modern paintings. I have been searching Google for days but cannot find anything that refers to this. Would you know which painting or types of paintings that influenced his design for the farnsworth house.. thanks again

 

 

Are you using a projector? I'd think a sketchup model with views set up as focal points would be really helpful. Ask your prof if you can unless it's been stated otherwise.

 

I guess I'd start with a little background of Mies and the project.

 

-Location w/ site plan/google earth image

-Date

-SF

-Building type

-Architectural Style

 

 

Talk about the Mies' ideas, what drove the space and how previous projects influence the design (Barcelona Pavilion etc). This is a historically important building...explain why. Is the building successful? Does anyone want to live in a glass house? Did it work for the client?

 

Go over the site, maybe a quick site analysis.

 

Discuss the building itself-

-form (the deck sliding past the house ect...influenced by Modern paintings right?)

-stilts

-how is it Modern?

-materials

-connection to nature via glass

-how are they Modern?

-floor plan/interior spaces

-public/private separation etc

-furniture

 

-Heat gain

-Mechanical-sewage lines...etc, under the deck

 

-Flooding...there are some great shots of this thing under water...

 

Maybe finish it off with how it changed later architecture...hope that helps.

 

Chuck

[Peter M. Gruhn]

> paintings

 

I've no idea about Mies and paint, but at a guess look to the dutch guys. Mondrian in particular. De Stijl. This also leads to Schroeder House which did open plan and disolving corners. Corb painted but I don't know how that might tie in to Mies.

 

One thing that always struck me about Mies in Chicago was the symmetry. I find it very classical.

 

Maybe interesting to compare/contrast Farnsworth with his courtyard houses... twenty years earlier? Not sure.

 

Depending on audience/critics may be important to know about Johnson's glass house and its relation to Farnsworth (and Johnson's relation to Mies). But not to make a big thing of it, as you are meant to be taking on Farnsworth, but it might come up, somebody may ask a question and you may want to be able to dismiss it (the question, not the house) without saying "Johnson's Glass house? Never heard of it. Who was he?"

 

> Ask your prof if you can unless it's been stated otherwise.

 

I would back away from the SketchUp model. Sucker will 1) steal the show; 2) not be that informative; 3) detract from the background goal of learning how to read and discuss drawing.

 

Yes, I'm making presumptions about your SketchUp skills. But I've seen too many Johnson Glass Houses built that don't get the IMPORTANT details right, let alone the subtle stuff. It's a combination of students still learning how to see and learning how to run the software and being in a hurry and learning how to self criticise. The end result is too often "Look, I made a crap model of this building. Now let's discuss the building under the pretense that the model isn't telling us all sorts of lies." Better to throw something together with foam core that boldly declares "this is a sketch".

 

The physical model also lets people get up and point and fondle. Nothing is quite the same kind of ghastly as watching some poor sod with a mouse staring into a laptop as somebody in the audience goes "no, the bit behind that. up more. that there no, the blue one. blue. the other kind of blue. left. yeah that. can you turn it around?" "No." when the useful interaction is for the person to come up, tear the roof off the sucker and wiggle the appendix in question. Not saying have a physical model, just saying I think it's better than any old SU garbage.

 

> I guess I'd start with a little background of Mies and the project.

 

Add to his list : the client

 

> Go over the site, maybe a quick site analysis.

 

Site is very important for Farnsworth. Both in the creation of the building and its intent as well as the subsequent use patterns.

 

> Maybe finish it off with how it changed later

 

I like the image I read of a recent owner who lived maybe next door in a real house who would just come over, sit in his Farnsworth House, smoke a cigar, watch the river roll by then go home.

 

With Mies questions of materiality are important. Honesty to materials. Material expression.

 

Proportion?

 

Get some friends over. Do a run through. Ten minutes is shorter than you are stressing about. Especially if that time is meant to include the question period.

 

Rememember to account for how far away your audience is from your presentation material.

 

You will probably not be able to get away with bullshitting Farnsworth. Have your facts. If you like the idea that it was influenced by painting but can't find anything to support that, either leave it out or mention that you ran across references to the idea and have been able to posit that it may have been this or that as they show this way and that way in the building but you have not been able to confirm the idea to your satisfaction.

 

It may be important to reflect on the important word here Precedent. Is this a precedent for something specific (or is it B1 at the BAC and you don't really know what's coming next so it's mostly just analysis). If it is precedent FOR something what ideas will be / have been / are being moved forward from it. "Mies built a house. I'm supposed to build a house. Dude!" "Mies responded to floods with stilts. My site won't flood. Mies is stupid." "...but I do have site specific issues that may well be reflected in my work..."