LIGHT
Background Inspiration
Louis Kahn was a highly important modern architect in the post-World War II United States. Based in Philadelphia and known for his monumental and brutalist style while highlighting the materials involved in a building's construction, he rightfully deserves a place among the 20th century's most important architects.
was one of America's most influential modernist architects. With complex spatial compositions and a choreographic mastery of light, Kahn created buildings of archaic beauty and powerful universal symbolism.
-www.dreamideamachine.com
-voices.uchicago.edu
Making of Form & Order
Light
Making of Form & Order
The purpose of this project is to design a proposed non-denominational chapel located on the campus of Farmingdale State College. The College wants this to be a profoundly spiritual place that people of all faiths can worship and reflect on life’s events.
The College believes this can be achieved by the creative use of light. This project requires creative methods of controlling the entrance of light into a space and requires a solution for the conflict between the built environment and the natural environment.
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I came up with a solution for that conflict by analyzing the patterns on the existing campus site and by looking at the seasonal light patterns and angles. I used the analysis to influence the site location and the orientation and design of the chapels.
Background Research
I researched the First Unitarian Church of Rochester. built in the 1960's, spanning across eight acres of land. It is regularly visited and studied by architects, students, and tourists from around the world. The exterior of the building represents cemetery and pattern throughout.
The interior of the building is distant with light and shadow, the contrast is bold, The light washing across the walls on all corners of the building, the ceiling symbolizes the holy cross indicating the buildings purpose a church. From the inside you can see the techniques that Louis Kahn used while experimenting with light and dark.
Contextual Analysis & Sun Angles
Site Plans & Sorting
E
S
W
​My analysis of campus circulation and the sun angle analysis helped influence my decision of where to place my site. The site I chose would allow the chapel to receive a lot of direct sunlight from the South.
I have placed it near the macro-vehicular circulation. This would mean the chapel would get a lot of attention and draw people to come in and enjoy the space.
: Chapel Location
Building in Surrounding Context
East View:
West View:
Hierarchy:
1. Main Chapel
2. Memorial Chapel
3. Meditation Chapel
4. Secular
Sorting of Spaces:
Religious: Secular:
Main Chapel Offices
Memorial Chapel Conference Room
Meditation Chapel Library
Design Process
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Final Floor Plan
Final 3D Exterior
Elevations:
North Elevation
South Elevation
East Elevation
West Elevation
Sections
Meditation Chapel
Memorial Chapel
Main Chapel
