Santa Maria Di Montesanto

SCI_Arc Part of a Design Studio / Fall 13'

Instructor : Anna Neimark

Geometry, Matter, Space. Poché and Plasticity Description / Analysis

This set of assignments explored seminal works of Baroque architecture to understand the key architectural concepts of Poché and Plasticity. The objective of these studies was to produce a two dimensional analysis drawing of Santa Maria Di Montesanto as well as a set of diagrams extending the transformational potential of the project. I selected Santa Maria Di Montesanto as a precedent for its rich exploration of planar and spatial geometrical organisations.    

Through this exercise, I developed a precise understanding of the strict boundaries between positive and negative space and how the curvature and articulation of a wall can affect the space it delimits. The drawings produced are not traces from a scan or photocopy: latent geometry used for construction, including arcs, regulating lines, points, and other notations, are visible in the drawing in addition to the apparent geometry of the plan cut (the poché) at a level of four feet above the finish floor. These drawings are not strict representational drawings of the plan of the building, but rather conceptual investigations of the underlying fundamental shapes used to create that plan.