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115. Courtyards which live

31/3/2018

 
Modern courtyards are often dead. They tend to fail due to the ambiguity between indoor and outdoor and are too enclosed with not enough doors opening into the courtyard. Courtyards should have a view out to a larger open space, doors into the courtyard with natural paths to connect them, and a roofed veranda or porch. (Alexander 1977)

Cloister del paradiso

Amalfi, Italy
Oriental style intertwined Arabic arches supported by 120 slim columns. This peristyle with a Mediterranean garden was used as a graveyard for noble families.

House of vettii

Pompeii, Italy
Entry to the house was from the east into a peristyle atrium with fluted Doric columns. In the centre was a stone-lined basin for collecting rainwater. Interior room open onto a roofed porch to gain views of the courtyard.

1. Courtyard
​2. Atrium 
Picture

39. Housing Hill

28/3/2018

 
High density apartment houses can be impersonal. Alexander states that places which are central and desirable should be three to four stories high, built to form stepped terraces, sloping towards the south, leading towards a common area. 
Picture

Cala di Furore

Amalfi Coast, Italy
The organic growth of hill housing in the Amalfi coast allows for variation and uniqueness in their homes while remaining in contact with the ground. This south-east facing cluster of houses is connected via open stairs.

66. holy ground

27/3/2018

 
​Alexander regards a place of worship as a gateway, and thus thresholds become symbolic architectural elements. The physical shape of this ‘gateway’ differs between cultures however the fundamental characteristic is layers of access, levels of approach, gradual revelation, passage through a series of gates. This layering is a fundamental aspect of human psychology.
Picture

St Peter's Basilica

Rome, Italy
​Bernini’s elliptical space surrounded by fourfold rows of columns,  with a smaller square adjoining and thresholds through the nave, creates layers of approach.

108. connected buildings

24/3/2018

 
Buildings should be connected to the existing ones that surround it, as isolated buildings can cause a disconnected society. 
Picture

Piazza della Rotonda

Rome, Italy
Connected buildings surround the Plaza della Rotonda which leads onto the Pantheon. The narrow streets they define create intimacy.  

    Archives

    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018

    Categories

    All
    100. Pedestrian Street
    104. Site Repair
    108. Connected Buildings
    115. Courtyards Which Live
    116. Cascade Of Roofs
    147. Communal Eating
    206. Efficient Structure
    207. Good Materials
    223. Deep Reveals
    232. Roof Caps
    249. Ornament
    250. Warm Colours
    31. Promenade
    39. Housing Hill
    44. Local Town Hall
    46. Market Of Many Shops
    4. Agricultural Valleys
    55. Raised Walk
    61. Small Public Squares
    64. Pools And Streams
    66. Holy Ground

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  • Home
  • About
  • Concept
  • Blog
    • Patterns
    • Countries >
      • Italy
      • Albania
      • Montenegro
      • Bosnia
      • Serbia
      • Croatia
      • Germany
      • Portugal
      • Spain
      • Morocco
  • Contact
    • About Me