Ralph L. Knowles: Architecture, Nature and Context

Link: Ralph L. Knowles: Architecture, Nature and Context.

This website contains a fascinating set of papers exploring how natural forces (sun, gravity, wind), rhythms and rituals can be creative elements in architectural design.  Although designing to a context is becoming increasingly popular, it is rare to see a body of work that is as well grounded on an understanding of natural forces and how they interact.   The papers suggest a number of different patterns that would be useful additions to an architect's toolkit. 

I was particularly intrigued by the conclusion to Rituals of Place where Knowles explores the complexity of rhythm and ritual in a village and a city, in much the same way as we observe differences in ecosystem and biological diversity .  Knowles argues that:

"It is the ritual connection to nature, especially to seasons, that has always identified traditional environments and that is missing in most urban settings. This is clear from my earlier examples of historical settlements in North America and now the instance of Prievoz. It is equally clear that modern places like Petrzalka are lacking that coherence. I don't mean to imply that modern urban experiences totally lack essential cadence. Rather, the things people keep on doing in urban places are forgettable. They follow either contrived or monotonous daily rhythms, too simple to excite the imagination. If people don't evolve complex celebrations of both time and season, they cannot fully occupy an environment. They cannot find themselves nor can they pass on the truth of a place to future generations."

Thanks to Josh Stack for the pointer!

Comments

[NH]

I received the following from Prof. Knowles on the importance of rhythm as a way of understanding and working with nature.

"One way I have found most useful in my own work is first to translate things into patterns of rhythmic change, and to avoid describing things in static images. This is fairly easy when dealing with ecosystems since their very nature is rhythmic and changing. I have taken this approach in my recent book, Ritual House, in which I describe the patterns that people have traditionally followed to sustain comfort in their dwellings by low energy means. All of these means are dynamic and are repeated in concert with the rhythms of weather and climate in a particular setting. And all of the dynamic means which I have called “migration, transformation and metabolism”, eventually give rise to rituals that add a creative, a ceremonial dimension to life in a place."