Parti Poché Update

The underlying idea of the parti is to distinguish the private and public spaces within Can Feliz. If the plan is look upon carefully, as one passes through the entry courtyard, one reaches the formal entrance. The house is separated into either side of the entrance hall, to the left are the formal living and work room, and to the right are the more private rooms, terraces and courtyards. Thus, there is a gradual increase in privacy as one moves from the left part to the right part.

I decided to use darkness to express the more private areas, and brightness to show the public spaces. Private areas are usually confined to certain people - the owners' family, so it is more enclosed in a sense. On the contrary, public spaces like the formal living room is usually used to entertain friends and guests. So, it is a more open and less constricted area.

In addition, the density in the lines show the levels of privacy. The more concentrated the lines are, the more private the spaces are. For example, the bedrooms, the connecting toilets and the private courtyard are blacken (more private) whereas the terrace opening adjacent to the bedrooms are less blacken (less private).


Poché rendering is in progress. I have decided to have a go with pencil rendering, and my aim would be to highlight the masonry walls and give a tangible 3D feel to the plan and sections.

Understanding of Parti and Poche

Parti and poché are terms which are new to most students. I first came across the term 'parti' in the book '101 Things I Learned in Architecture School'. It says that parti is 'the central idea or concept of a building'. Furthermore, the book briefly explains that parti is 'most often expressed by a diagram depicting the general floor plan organization of a building and, by implication, its experiential and aesthetic sensibility'.

When parti was introduced as a method of study in Design Studio lecture, I was quite excited. My curiosity towards parti grew more and I was glad that I can learn about this organizational principle this year. Some of the great masters of architecture have use parti as their preliminary task in defining their design. While making some research of what parti is, I came across an interesting comment by Alan Phillips:

“… a freehand sketch diagram that was at the tangent between idea and imagination…if the parti – the first critical diagram – is not made well, it will be difficult for architecture to follow. If there is no parti, there will be no architecture, only (at best) little more than the utility of construction. Buried within their early sketches is the germ of a narrative or language. The early diagrams are reflective conversations with the language of architecture.”


Figure 1 Matthew Frederick, Parti Diagrams (image), 2007.

Poché is another architectural jargon which must be understood. Poché, unlike parti is more formal in its presentation. It is however complementary with parti. Parti informs a building and poché expresses the building. Xing mentioned that poché creates the atmosphere for a building. The emotions that would be experienced and the qualities of the space can be conveyed by poché.

A recommended book to further understand parti is Roger H. Clark and Michael Pause's 'Precedents in Architecture: Analytic Diagrams, Formative Ideas, and Partis'. It contains some of the world's renowned architects' work and the design process.


Reference List:
1. Matthew Frederick, 101 Things I Learned Into Architecture School, (MIT Press 2007).
2. M. Gerwing, parti diagrams, http://mgerwing.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/parti-diagrams/, 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.

Interesting Findings

Interesting Fact #1

Utzon was 73 when he started the project. It is believed that he engaged actively with the construction workers in teaching and even helping them to pile up the building materials. Beats me thinking of him climbing up the ladder and having a good time laying the building blocks.




Interesting Fact #2

Villa Can Feliz is said to evoke the feeling of a miniature Acropolis. The sequence of entering and the manner of entering makes Weston feel so. The 'temple on the mountain' is built with its entrance at the higher register of the slope and Can Feliz is rested on a platform with a view of the distant horizon.


Interesting Fact #3

Utzon paid almost nothing for that piece of infertile land once owned by farmers. Utzon completely turned an unwanted piece of land into an architecture that is marveled till this very day. Remember, not all waste are useless.


Reference List:
1. Richard Weston, Utzon: Inspiration, Vision, Architecture (Edition Bløndal 2002)
2. Martin Keiding and Kim Dirkinck-Holmfeld (editor), Utzon's Own Houses, (Danish Architectural Press 2004)

Parti Poche Trials

Few things that were considered as the parti/central idea of Villa Can Feliz:

1. Enclosure




2. Structure




3. Circulation





Poché Rendering using google sketchup and photoshop:

Study of Villa Can Feliz

Villa Can Feliz, built in the period of 1991-94, is a piece of distinctive architecture among Jorn Utzon's works. It was built by Utzon for himself. His previous occupation was at Villa Can Lis starting 1971, and he stayed there for approximately twenty years before the decision to build Can Feliz came about. Apparently, Utzon's decision to move from Can Liz, a house specially dedicated to his wife Lis Utzon, was propelled by several factors: 'eyes weakened by a lifetime studying pencil-drawings found the glaring surface of the sea increasingly tiring; the incessant pounding of the waves began to disturb rather than thrill; and intrusions from architectural pilgrims, some of whom began to assume a natural right to wander around the site, were becoming more frequent and annoying'.



Figure 1 Richard Weston, Can Lis (image), 2006.

Villa Can Feliz has a deep primordial (people and place according to Utzon) understanding.From the persepctive of human identity, Utzon wanted Can Feliz to possess certain characteristics. It is to be different from Can Lis. Unlike Villa Can Lis which has a plan that radiates outwardly, Can Feliz is bordered by ridges, and 'the house stretches along the slope with the protruding living room at one end and the master bedroom at the other'. A person who wish to spend time living in a place which offers serenity and peace - the house is barely visible from distant horizon and far from the bustling city life; a person who has affinity for nature - the various viewpoints from within the house to the surroundings; a person who has an understanding of public/private zoning; and perhaps a person who has some depth of understanding of the building tradition of Mallorca island - the sandstone walls and terra-cotta vaults. So, Villa Can Feliz very much portrays the character of the people living there.



Figure 2 Martin Keiding and Kim Dirkinck-Holmfeld (ed), Can Lis and its radiating outward plan and section (image), 2005.



Figure 3 Richard Weston, Villa Can Feliz camouflage (image) 2002.


On the other hand, Utzon developed a deep sense of recognition for place, as he did when he envisaged the Sydney Opera House. One of the major issues that Utzon encountered while building Can Feliz is the position where the villa would be. Utzon spent time sitting at different positions, looking and searching for the ideal spot at which the site landscape would exert the greatest force. Relating the house to the landscape is another merit of Utzon's work which is highly admirable. Not forgetting to mention Utzon's ability to create the interplay of light between the interior and exterior. As the publicly recognized master of light, Louis Kahn once said, 'Light is the giver of all presence', Utzon did a great job in inviting the Mediterranean sunlight to participate in the atmosphere of the villa - be it a heavenly ray on the ragged wall texture, a touch of warmth on a cold winter day or the shadows of macchia mediterranea (mediterranean shrubs) casted in the courtyard on a fine evening.


Figure 4 Richard Weston, Interplay of light and shadows (image), 2002.

The transitional experience is another specially considered element in Utzon's design. In architecture, there is this unusual yet thrilling concept of 'denying one of something to reward him/her in another manner'. Villa Can Feliz does this exactly. Villa Can Feliz is located in a remote area, so naturally if one were to journey the path that leads to the villa, one would think that 'it would lead to nowhere but a high-lying wilderness'. 'The road weaves its way between large boulders and a hostile growth of agaves, cactus and a dense prickly thicket through which one can catch an occasional glimpse of the house above' (refer to Figure 3). The transitional journey is richly rewarded as one enters the house, reaches the paved terrace and gets totally captivated by the view of the distant sea and the lush green landscape.



Figure 5 Richard Weston, View of Distant Horizon (image), 2002.


Reference List:
1. Richard Weston, Utzon: Inspiration, Vision, Architecture (Edition Bløndal 2002).
2. Christian Norberg-Schultz, Utzon and the New Tradition, (Danish Architectural Press 2005)
3. Richard Weston, Wonders and Blunders, http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3066187, 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
4. Matthew Frederick, 101 Things I Learned Into Architecture School, (MIT Press 2007).