By: Khris Kirk
"All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space."- Philip Johnson
Architects design spaces that invoke a feeling for a person. They want people to feel a certain way when they are within their space. One method that some architects have been doing lately is bringing a person within nature and letting them experience the space from a different viewpoint. Being one with nature. Two examples would be Diller and Scofidio with Blur and RO & AD architects with the Moses Bridge.
The RO & AD architects designed the Moses Bridge to bring a person within the moat to Fort de Roovere. Moats were used as a defense against enemies that were attacking a fortress. The only way to get across a moat was with a draw bridge. Since the area around the fortress is used for hiking, running, and biking, people needed a way to get across the moat. The RO & AD architects decided to put the bridge within the moat, making it nearly invisible to the eye. The bridge is like a section cut within the land. By allowing a person to be within this section, they get to experience being within nature. The RO & AD architects could have designed a regular bridge that stretches across the moat, but instead, they took the effort to change a person's view from above to within. This unique experience will live on with people who visit the site. RO & AD architects have successfully engaged people to feel one with nature with the use of their designed space.
Diller and Scofidio took a similar direction with bringing someone into nature; however, they took a different approach. They designed a structure called the Blur. The idea behind this is to bring a person on top of a cloud. Many people dream of being on a cloud as a child, and Diller and Scofidio have made it possible. As a person approaches the Blur, it starts as a bridge towards a huge cloud. A person cannot see the structure unless they are far away. Once on the Blur, there is a viewing point where a person stands above the cloud and can see out onto the lake. Diller and Scofidio have created a space that gives the feeling that a person is in the air and standing on a cloud. The name Blur even gives the impression that as you are within the cloud and upon the structure, a person can’t see clearly in front of himself. The people beyond them are blurred. This is another sensation that the space has created for a person. Taken as a whole, Diller and Scofidio create a man-made structure that provides the sensation of being within a cloud and on top of a cloud, bringing a person within nature.
Overall, both RO & AD architects and
Diller and Scofidio have successfully created spaces for people to experience
the nature around them. They did not just create a structure that is used to as
shelter or a means to get somewhere, but they went further. They used their
skills to bring a person into a space and feel what they wanted people to feel;
and that would be to be one with nature.
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That quote is very true. Architecture should be so much more than just building.
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