Second Year Humanities Essay |
How do the Tidal Pools Leca de Palmeira communicate as a piece of Landscape Architecture? Experiencing Landscapes “Our human landscape is our autobiography, reflecting our tastes, our aspirations and even our fears, in a tangible visible form. We rarely think of landscape that way and so the cultural record [that] we have written in the landscape is liable to be[come] more truthful than autobiographies because we are less self-conscious about how we describe ourselves.” [1]– Pierce F. Lewis Do you ever go to the beach and your eyes water or the tension in shoulders evaporates once you see the ocean or feel the waves beneath your feet and you don’t know what that feeling is? Do you stand on top of hills and the view – maybe the connectedness of how the land fits together gives you relief and something else? You don’t know what that something is, but it leads to happiness; a type of calm, becomes relief, then contentment? “Research has confirmed [that] the senses are tuned to particular nuances of the living environment”. “The prevailing openness or closedness of views […] imperceptibly condition ways of visual perception; we actually see differently depending on the characteristics of the landscape of our domicile”. A “feeling of completeness or singularity is true of great works of art; significant architectural works are microcosms, complete and autonomous worlds of their own”, said feelings are said to be “true of great works of art independent of their size”. “Our sensitivity to their character and features are [said to be] culturally formed”. Experiencing Leca Swimming Pool Figure 1 Leca Swimming Pool, aerial view Photographs reveal that Leca Swimming Pool (built between 1961-66) is by the sea, to the point that it’s hard to tell where the sea begins and the swimming pool ends – “the water level in the larger, deeper pool is only a few feet above the ocean […the swimmers hear] ringing with the roar of the crashing on all the rocks around [them]. It is composed of two natural pools of salt water and as “one plunges into his saltwater tide pool, the Atlantic’s expanse feels somehow limitless and within easy reach.”[2]“The large adults’ pool is bound by low concrete walls that extend into the sea […] complemented on three sides by the natural rock formations. The continuity of these walls with the existing topography and the level of the water in the pool which appears to be contiguous with the sea, create the illusion of a seamless transition between the man-made and natural.[3]” The concrete of the pool blends with the grey of the waves and rocks, as “it seems that the surfaces of the pool and the ocean are merging” swimmers describe the experience: “we are floating, cradled in the bones of the earth at the meeting point of land and sea”.[4] Figure 2 top, Plan of Leca de Palmeira bottom, section of Leca de Palmeira Leca Swimming Pool as an External Landscape Leca da Palmeira is a largely industrial area on the Atlantic, Portugal, it’s neighbour The Boa Nova Tea House and Restaurant (built between 1958-63) also orchestrated by Siza is “built into the natural rocks of the rugged shoreline[5]” – following the context of Fernando Tavora’s development plan for the shoreline. The restaurant “provokes the continuation of the swimming pool walls [… while] the dining room area is limited by walls in wooden frames, kind of like photographic films with the sea and the swimming pool as landscapes.”[6] Siza notes that Boa Nova’s “relationship with the Atlantic is mediated by a rocky outcrop, through which the sea enters, transforming the shape of the landscape according to the weather conditions and tides[7]”. A cement wall is built along the shore’s walkway that limits the swimming pool’s area on the inland side but it still remains within sight of Boa Nova Tea House. The swimming pools themselves are described as “almost carved out of existing rock or […] give that impression”, which would not be unlike Siza as he’s done previously with a number of his other projects, such as the Vieira de Castro House – his works have been described by Philip Jodidio as creating a “powerful juxtaposition of nature (the existing site) and his own proclivity for modern architecture”. Jodidio also notes that “Siza’s modernism adapts itself closely to the existing natural setting rather than attempting to impose geometric regularity,” though both pieces are evidence of “Siza imbu[ing] his work with a personality formed in the […] difficult circumstance of post war Portugal”. Poignantly Siza has kept the materials “restricted to exposed reinforced concrete, stone paving treated Riga wood and copper roofing,” [8] the colouring of which all blend together to maintain the muted colour palette that was already present. Hence “the rough[ness of the] concrete, [that has] a slightly cooler hue than the rock formations”[9] is combined with the “smooth and washable concrete panels for the pavement, Riga wood carpentry, and [odd] green copper roofs which [when] seen from the coastal avenue attain a colour similar to the pools” [10]to create continuity and nothing that overly stands out against the colours and shapes that were already present at the site. The materials used were also used at Boa Nova that create what some have called “an unusual level of homogeneity”. Thus, Leca de Palmeira’s chosen colouring and materiality is part of what allows the pools to “engage [with] the natural rocky shoreline of the ocean as well as the existing concrete flood wall and coastal road”[11]. A pedestrian ramp leads to the pools, which that lead down from the coastal highway. Any visitors “descend gradually, simultaneously losing sight of the horizon, into a maze of concrete walls, platforms and canopies of the shower stalls and changing facilities building. After passing through its long corridors, partially screened by the cabinet partitions, a path along a high wall leads back into the Atlantic light, but the water still remains hidden from view.”[12] Upon closer inspection Siza’s plan (shown in Figure 2) reveals that there are rocks situated by the pool –an effort to maintain as well as add to the landscape, that appears to have worked. Conversely a section of Siza’s pool shown in Figure 2 shows how the presence of the pool flattens the original landscape, losing the initial variation of the small highs and lows of the swimming pool’s site. Despite this, a balance is created between the manmade and the sea, where the former almost looks like it is welcoming the latter amongst the sharp regular structures of Leca. The pool’s surface area was “created from two natural contours of the rocky outcrop which serves as its supports”, [13]Siza reveals that pool area’s “relationship between design and nature is less circumstantial and more precise that Boa Nova […] [hence is] more open to the broad lines of the landscape than to the site that it immediately occupies.” Figure 4 Inside Leca de Palmeira's corridors, by their changing rooms Figure 3 Immediately outside one of Leca de Palmeira's covered shower areas Alvaro Siza showcases a certain amount of control when you compare photographs of Leca versus their architectural drawings – he controls not only how the structure interacts with its setting – the beast that is nature, but other external factors interacting with his structure such as light. He controls light and shadow amongst Leca de Palmeira expertly. The openness of the swimming pool is not only combined with the experience of being on the beach – in contrast to a regular swimming pool where the light is yellow or perhaps maintained with a skylight Leca has natural light, during the day it would come from every direction. The natural light of the Leca pools – one large and one small would only appear brighter as it would come after the stark darkness of the austere concreate changing rooms, showers and corridors, where light is sparse and rationed. Leca Swimming Pool as an Internalised landscape When writing about Siza’s pool, there’s a point where you hesitate, after the shapes, the location and the understated grandeur what else is there to say? This is often the case with landscape architecture. McCarter and Pallasmaa’s text “understanding Architecture; a primer on architecture as experience”’s chapter: “The Internalized Landscape” unpacks the experience of landscape architecture, a type of architecture that they note to be “underestimate[d]” amongst the “human character, behaviour and thought” that it is experienced by. In some way this essay should discuss Leca Swimming Pool as a piece of landscape architecture. This should hopefully create a discussion that talks about how Alvaro Siza’s design goes beyond and is more than “a manmade object; an empty stage of life […] [merely for] aesthetic admiration […] [or] spiritual admiration”. [14] The chapter of Pallasmaa’s text coined “The Internalised Landscape” points out that landscape architecture often gets lost in the viewer’s experience of it – regarding admiration caused or time experienced that ends up being viewed as an “empty stage of [one’s] life- initially appearing as somewhat unoccupied”. Hence Edward T Hall, an anthropologist notes that as humans, we have a “weak capacity to read the language of landscapes and spaces”, but that it is crucial that we start to “understand the interaction of the external landscape[s] and our internal mental landscapes”. Thus, the interaction exchanged between humans and our surrounding landscapes becomes something hidden within our consciousness’, which Hall goes onto suggest can be further explained through the use “unverbalized rules” those of which are “more compelling and […] uniform than […any] individual variable”. Here Hall is saying that there is no uniform way of understanding or examining the actual feeling that a person experiences at the beach or on top of some vast hill (that is one amongst many). Perhaps this is why landscapes are seen as such a “key component of our experience” – their duality to be uniform enough to be experienced by a vast array of people but to be slightly different per person is what makes them worth having. Siza’s work can be further discussed in terms of how landscapes intertwine with architecture and vice versa. He himself notes that “what is made by men is not natural. More and more […] there must be distance between the natural and the manmade. But there must also be a dialogue between the two.”[15] Buildings like Alvaro Aalto’s Villa Mairea in accordance with his other works is described as: “architecture [that] is always in a subtle dialogue with its surrounding landscape”. Often this is done through how buildings use their gardens, “relate to their larger landscape”. An example being the Finnish Embassy Building in Delphi that is derived from analysis of Finnish lake landscapes, while the President of Finland’s residence is based on “studies of local geological formations”. Internalized Landscape notes that “buildings relate to their natural landscape by means of mediating courtyards and Figure 5 Remaining Riga wood carpentry and rock at Leca de Palmeira, that was chosen to mix with Leca’s built structures gardens”, [a] […] relationship [that] can expand the territory of the geometric realm of architecture”. Hence there’s a possibility of geometry within architecture acting as a “mediation between architecture and nature”. There is evidence of this when you look back at classical French gardens, that are “defined by axes, radiate the controlling power of geometry into the distant undomesticated nature, whereas the aspiration of many modern structure[s] is to weave the architectural structure intimately and gently into the themes and textures of nature [which contrasts to the] aspirations of [other] modern structures [who aim] weave the[ir] architectural structure intimately and gently into nature” through its texture and themes. [16] Leca de Palmeira as an example of landscape architecture How landscapes communicate with buildings, while falling and not falling into the category of landscape architecture can also be discussed in terms of mathematics applied to the shapes that architects apply and incorporate within their projects. A primary example of gardens interacting with landscapes is Charles A Jenck’s house featured in AU’s issue 301, 1995. His work applies chaos theory and catastrophe theory to the process of design as he rejects straight lines to solely embrace the cosmogenic nature of architecture and the world. This allows Jenck’s farmhouse to somewhat mimic it’s surrounding, a “nature’s basic forms are continuously changing and curved” which was “applied to the notion of drawing hills, streams, hedges and walls”. The natural forms of the Leca de Palmeira swimming pools were preserved by Siza’s project, to less mimic the pool’s surroundings, but more to continue and extend the surfaces that were already present. Siza recalls that he “added something recognizable as not natural, [he] put those things together […] [to] see the relation between nature and architecture”.[17] Thus “landscape architecture and garden design are extensions of the realm of architecture [that require] specific ways of thinking […] [in regard to] process and form because of their engagement with material, living time and growth.” Strategies of landscape architecture described as “soft and dynamic” “are increasingly seen as models for architecture and town planning, aiming at principles of sustainability”. Despite this McCarter and Pallasmaa’s exclaim that “a profound piece of architecture always enhances, clarifies and strengthens the reading of its surrounding landscape and gives it meanings.” This is done by intertwining the building with it’s landscape – “landscape [is meant to] frame architecture [so that] the architectural works frame and underline the architecture”. Leca De Palmeira swimming pools as a tool of Landscape Architecture If there’s a single feature of Leca that accommodates it’s landscape it is the rock placement. Initially it appears to be the water, recycled salt water from the sea to the pools, however the water is only physical feature that is uniform feature to all pools. In Jencks’ garden, even from the beginning of the project before it was named the Garden of Cosmic Speculation he notes “a certain energy and movement […] in the paisley-shapes of the ponds[18]” which is how he connects the garden to his theories of cosmology and how maths interacts with the universe. Hence Siza connects with his surrounding landscape Figure 6 0:30 out of 3:42 minute video by not only maintaining rock forms of the site but by designing around them - with them. Figure 7 1:21 out of 3:42 minutes of video Figure 8 1:30 out of 3:42 minutes of video Figure 9 2:30 out of 3:42 minutes of video Some buildings are said to be in “dialogue and counterpoint with their landscape settings, both natural and man-made, and [that] this dialogue can take many different forms”[19]. I think what is crucial to the success of the Leca pools in doing this is they have a dialogue with the site that allows them to have an “open[ness] to[wards] […] the landscape[20]”. If “buildings relate to their natural landscape by means of mediating courtyards and gardens”, Leca de Palmeira’s pools interact with their immediate and nonimmediate landscape by the using their pools as gardens. As an architectural project It refuses to negate the Riga wood carpentry and rocks of the site; Siza takes a decisive stance to design “five or six walls that [specifically] relate[d] to some of the rocks”[21], making Leca de Palmeira swimming pools landscape architecture that adds meaning to the surroundings, because it refuses to forget them by continuously referencing them. This is the single feature of Leca that accommodates it’s landscape. A single feature that allows it to mediate with its setting – to communicate with the Leca de Palmeira landscape. Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 showcase exactly how integral Siza makes rock formations in his project, they are part of every view in, they share space with visitors – they are more than just a passing glance or a feature. The rocks are shown to occupy space on the stairs, by the spaces, in the pools, by the pools; acting as seats - as omnipresent reminders of the setting and site. They protrude, they obscure views of the sea but this is how they interact with Siza’s design. A dialect is forced to occur between the visitors to Leca and what is left of the original site as the rocks forms remain as prominent as the pools added, which is overly prominent in Figures 6,7,8 and 9. Outdoor swimming pools have been exclaimed as “plain air oases elegantly [that] fold into the[ir] local landscape[s], both responding to and enhancing their natural surroundings”[22], Leca de Palmeira’s pools are no products of nature, but neither are they something singularly manmade, because the rocks become a part of the architectural project, hence they become architecture, simultaneously interacting with nature and humans. Siza’s choice of leftover rocks went on to become “a wall of ragged rocks embrace the outer edges of the adult swimming pool, blurring the line between where Siza’s pools end and where the ocean begins[23]”. The pools are built into the rocks, he left the natural rock formation to design around and to interact with what he built. Does this make Leca a garden by the sea, in terms of its engagement with the ocean and use of rock placement as seen on its plan? Yes. Moreover, its sense of geometry that others have noted appears “jagged” on plans that is a sign of Siza working cohesively with his environment that make the pools’ makes into the garden of Leca de Palmeira, allowing for it to be “adored by the international architecture community and locals alike[24]”. Figure 10 Intercepting and varied heights of Leca de Palmeira corridors and changing rooms The Tidal Pools Leca de Palmeira communicated as a piece of Landscape Architecture The pools of Leca de Palmeira were thoughtfully designed with their environment in mind and it shows in the final results of construction; they enhance their settings forcing a dialect between the visitors of the pool and what is left of the original site. Bibliography of Text Books: Understanding architecture: a primer on architecture as experience – Robert McCarter, Juhani Pallasmaa – 1955 pages:364-399 Architecture: nature – Philip Jodidio – 1954 pages: 188 Alvaro Siza, Architectural Writings, Skira 1997, page:154-155 Interview with Siza, Porto, May 24th 1998 quoted by Philip Jodido, Architecture: Nature, Prestel, page: 47 - 48 Alvaro Siza, Richard C. Levene, Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Alvaro Siza 1958-1994, El Croquis 1994, page: 56 - 57 Alvaro Siza – Kieran Long – Febuary 26 2009 The Architects' Journal; London Vol. 229, Issue. 7 Modern Architecture – William Curtis - 1948 pages:738 Eduardo Souto de Moura – Antonio Esposito, Giovanni Leoni – pages: 447 Plans, sections and elevations: key buildings of the twentieth century - Weston, Richard 1953 – pages: 233 THE SEA, THE ALHAMBRA, AND PORT WINE – CC Sullivan, The AIA Journal; Washington Vol. 93, Issue. 7 – July 2004 pages: 19-20 Siza Matters – Murray Fraser, The Architects' Journal; London Vol. 221, Issue. 12 – March 31 2005 pages: 42-43 Articles: Article: Charles A Jencks, New Science New Architecture, AU’s issue 301, 1995, pages: 3-15 Charles A Birnbaum, "Landscape architects can't rely on architecture-centric media", 5 September 2018 https://www.dezeen.com/2018/09/05/opinion-charles-a-birnbaum-landscape-architecture-recognition-promotion/ Alice Bucknell, Spectacular Swimming Pools That Were Built Into Nature, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/spectacular-swimming-pools-that-were-built-into-nature September 7, 2017 Websites: Filipa Rodrigues,Tides Restaurant https://cargocollective.com/filipargonzaga-eng-archive/filter/2009-%5Bacademic%5D-%7C-le%C3%A7a-%7C-pt/TIDES-RESTAURANT ANTHI ROZI, LEÇA SWIMMING POOLS, 1966 + VIDEO / ALVARO SIZA VIEIRAs, https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Sofia Baltershttps, 6 August 2011, www.archdaily.com/150272/ad-classics-leca-swimming-pools-alvaro-siza Danielle Schaub, 2000, https://www.academia.edu/31991834/_I_am_a_place_Internalised_Landscape_and_Female_Subjectivity_in_Margaret_Atwoods_Surfacing 10 November 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_pools_of_Le%C3%A7a_de_Palmeira Bibliography of Photographs: Figure 1 http://umgatodeitadoaosol.tumblr.com/post/21923261401/alechsml-swimming-pool-1966-in-leca-de Figure 2 https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewpaulcarr/237091193 Figure 3 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 4 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 5 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 6 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 7 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 8 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 9 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ Figure 10 https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/leca-swimming-pools-1966-video-alvaro-siza-vieira/ [1] Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 364 [2] Alice Bucknell, Spectacular Swimming Pools That Were Built Into Nature, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/spectacular-swimming-pools-that-were-built-into-nature September 7, 2017 [3] ANTHI ROZI, LEÇA SWIMMING POOLS, 1966 + VIDEO / ALVARO SIZA VIEIRAs [4] Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 399 [5] Philip Jodido, Architecture: Nature, Prestel, page: 48 [6] Filipa Rodrigues,Tides Restaurant https://cargocollective.com/filipargonzaga-eng-archive/filter/2009-%5Bacademic%5D-%7C-le%C3%A7a-%7C-pt/TIDES-RESTAURANT [7] Alvaro Siza, Architectural Writings, Skira 1997, page:155 [8] Alvaro Siza, Richard C. Levene, Fernando Márquez Cecilia, Alvaro Siza 1958-1994, El Croquis 1994, page: 56 [9] ANTHI ROZI, LEÇA SWIMMING POOLS, 1966 + VIDEO / ALVARO SIZA VIEIRAs [10] ANTHI ROZI, LEÇA SWIMMING POOLS, 1966 + VIDEO / ALVARO SIZA VIEIRAs [11] Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 397 [12] ANTHI ROZI, LEÇA SWIMMING POOLS, 1966 + VIDEO / ALVARO SIZA VIEIRAs [13] Alvaro Siza, Architectural Writings, Skira 1997, page:155 [14] Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 365 [15]Interview with Siza, Porto, May 24th 1998 quoted by Philip Jodido, Architecture: Nature, Prestel, page: 48 [16]Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 367 [17]Interview with Siza, Porto, May 24th 1998 quoted by Philip Jodido, Architecture: Nature, Prestel, page: 49 [18] Charles A Jencks, AU’s issue 301, 1995, page: 15 [19]Juhani Pallasma (Author), Robert McCarter (Editor), Understanding Architecture: A Primer on Architecture as an Experience, (Phaidon Press 22 Oct. 2012), page: 365 [20] Alvaro Siza, Architectural Writings, Skira 1997, page:155 [21]Interview with Siza, Porto, May 24th 1998 quoted by Philip Jodido, Architecture: Nature, Prestel, page: 48 [22]Alice Bucknell, Spectacular Swimming Pools That Were Built Into Nature, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/spectacular-swimming-pools-that-were-built-into-nature September 7, 2017 [23]Alice Bucknell, Spectacular Swimming Pools That Were Built Into Nature, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/spectacular-swimming-pools-that-were-built-into-nature September 7, 2017 [24]Alice Bucknell, Spectacular Swimming Pools That Were Built Into Nature, https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/spectacular-swimming-pools-that-were-built-into-nature September 7, 2017 |