Thesis submitted to the faculty of VirginiaPolytechnic Institute and State University inpartial fulfillment of the requirements for thedegree of Master of Architecture.

Michael J. O�Brien, Chariman

William Brown

Hans C. Rott

requiem: a chapel for blacksburg

Alice C. Hillery

June 2001

Contents

prologue the wall

cemetery scales corner old/new

project

narrative entrance threshold chapel exit

studies in light

epilogue

vita

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To my collegues: to those whohave taken an interest in myarchitecture over the past threeyears and to those who haveshared their�s with me. Thankyou for the dialogue andexchange.

Thanks to my teachers:

Matthew McNeelyAndrew QueenJon FooteCarl BoltonAlan Dodson

Mike TempleHalil DolanChristian Kienapfel

To my committee for theirenergy and criticism.

Mike O�BrienWilliam BrownHans Rott

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The most comprehensive and perhaps the most im-portant architectural experience is the sense of be-ing in a unique place... Part of this intense experi-ence of place is always an impression of somethingsacred.

J.Pallasma The Geometry of Feeling

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7

The wall in Architecture is primary and para-mount. In a hierarchical comparison withother elements, the wall is dominant be-cause of the inherent potential housedwithin to inform our experience of place. Itdoes more than divide what is in from whatis out. It is where Architecture begins itspresencing.

The juxtaposition of man within nature is al-ways violent. In this role as reconciliator ofform and environment the wall shapes ourperception of being in nature. The archi-tecture of the wall is the spatial record ofthe drama between interior and exteriorforces acting upon it.

We construct walls to keep out from be-coming in. At the same time, the wall is wherea controlled out is allowed in. What pen-etrates our world, must come through thewall. The wall must be made to acceptopenings, carry loads, or transfer that loadelsewhere. The wall is a deliberate or deli-cate connection to the earth. The wall ac-cepts, reflects, mediates, or rejects all that itis confronted with.

Architecturally, permanence is expressed bymeans of the wall. By following the wall, onecan understand the configuration of theinternal vessel, its perimeter, its zones of fo-cus, and the relationship of parts to thewhole. ..By knowing the limits of something,you really know something. Then you knowits order, because you know its limits...butif you don�t know its limits, then you don�tknow its order...� L.Kahn

conceptual sketch

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Writing�s relation to architecture affords only anuncertain mirror to be held up to evidence; it israther in a wordless silence that we have the bestchance to stumble into that zone comprised ofspace, light, and matter that is architecture. Al-though they fall short of architectural evidence,word present a premise. The work is forced to carryover when words cannot. Words are arrows point-ing in the right directions; taken together they forma map of architectural intention.

Steven Holl Anchoring

Architecture has a responsibility toheighten one�s experience of place.A successful work of architectureemerges when the architect�s inten-tion transcends that of mere func-tion and a poetic expression is offered.

The language of walls reveals the ex-istence and essence of architecture.An experience of place is gained froman approach to architecture thatunderstands the inherent power ofthe wall. The projects offered on theproceeding page propose varyingroles for the wall. The walls serves asboth primary element and interme-diary facilitator. The exploration eacharchitect has taken with theseprojects reveals a position about thewall.

In the work of Steven Holl and LeCorbusier, the wall serves as a can-vas that allows for the play of lightover its surface.The wall as mass reveals its thicknessin section, carving place out of itsbeing. This notion of volume is usedby Joy and Neumann to magnify theessence of the wall.The wall as a screen allows for a dy-namic, changing dialogue with thelight and atmosphere. It does nothave an association with pure, staticsurface.The wall as an inhabitable spacefrom van Eyck and Holl, creates ten-sion within, activating place, allow-ing us to exist within the character ofthe wall.The works of Barragan and Galfettiexplore the possibilities of the wall asline, a boundary whose presence isthe primary ordering effector ofplace.The wall sculptures of Serra activateplace through the tension of chang-ing the perception of one�s environ-ment and uncovering the potentialof a given place.

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wall

Indian Institute, wall as openingSt. Ignatius, wall as canvasCasa Batllo, wall as sculptureYale Center for British Art, wall as materialTowers, Barragan, wall as sculptureBrion Cemetery, wall as openingIgualdad Cemetery, wall as inhabitationLa Tourette, wall as massRonchamp, wall as sculptureChurch of Light, wall as canvasIntersection, wall as sculptureGarden Pavilion, wall as pocheJapanese screenConvent Studios, wall as massGossweinstein, wall as massMetropolitan Apartment, HollIgualdad Cemetery, wall as inhabitationSt. Ignatius, wall as structureRed Wall, Barragan, wall as lineStoreFront for Art, wall as openingApartment, Herzog and de Meuron, wall as screenSculpture Pavilion, wall as inhabitationRonchamp, wall as openingBagno Pubblico, wall as lineStoreFront for ArtRicola Storage, Herzog and de MeuronRonchamp, wall as canvasChurch of Light, wall as openingSignal Box, wall as screenPavillion for Het Oosten, Holl, wall as screen

left ot right

An Architectural experience silencesall external noise; it focuses attentionon ones�s very existence. Architec-ture, as all art, makes us aware of ourfundamental solitude. At the sametime, Architecture detaches us fromthe present and allows us to experi-ence the slow, firm flow of time andtradition. Buildings and cities are in-struments and museums of time. Theyenable us to understand the passingof history.

Silence, Time and Solitude

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The project is a chapel situated in WestviewCemetery, Blacksburg Virginia. The individualopportunity to grieve, reflect, or meditate inthe presence of light is that which becomessacred about this Architecture. The journey,path, and story of this project is one toldthrough material and light, as well as thespatial sequence of events presented to thevisitor. The act of separation as journey isintrinsic to the arrival at the spiritual place,as one can not be alone in the open cem-etery lawn.

What gives this project meaning is the ritualof leaving the world of the profane, the ex-perience where no true orientation is pos-sible, as described by Eliade, for somethingmore spiritual. In the absence of sacredspace, there is no longer any world, only frag-ments of a shattered universe...consisting ofneutral places. Conversely, it is in the sacredthat we acquire a sense of orientation amidstthe chaos. The sacred reveals absolute re-

The cemetery is unques-tionably a different place incomparison to usual cul-tural spaces; nonetheless itis a space linked to thegeneral effect of all thesites of the city or societyor village...In all events,since the 19th century ev-eryone has had the right tohis own little personaldecomposition...Cemeteries,then, no longer constitutethe sacred or the immortalprecinct of the town, butrather the other city.

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cemetery

ality..; it founds the world in the sense thatit fixes the limits and establishes the orderof the world. The sacred is saturated withbeing. Architectectural experiences of thesacred require the acts of recollecting, re-membering, and comparing. An embodiedmemory has an essential role as the basis ofremembering a space or place.

Architecture is the art of mediation and rec-onciliation. This project affords one suchspace. The introduction of a family of wallsinto the cemetery provides this place apartfrom the profane. The language of walls speakto the condition of the site and the sequen-tial relationship of the parts to the whole.Decisions about the path, the entrance se-quence, the threshold, the chapel, and theexit, are driven by the wall. The wall pro-vides the baseline by which the other ele-ments, floor, ceiling, light, etc.., are intro-duced into the project.

Proposed project

old plots

contemporary plots 21�X16�

dates from ealry 1800s

the corner

Hard

ing

Aven

ue

The project serves to hold the corner of thesite, keeping the momentum of the cem-etery from spilling out into Harding Avenue.The shape of a corner was explored, as wellas the conceptual pieces of the project: theentrance sequence, threshold, chapel andexit sequence. A family of walls were devel-oped to speak to the two conditions foundon the site: the contemporary grid (NE/SW)and the historic grid, consisting of westwardfacing plots. The path conforms to the gridwhile the chapel recognizes the historic ori-entation with a rotation to the west. Thelanguage is that of boundary wall, wall asmass, screen wall, and wall as canvas. Thepath and chapel exist as independent en-tities, never touching. The path surroundsthe chapel, safely nestling it inside her walls.

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early study sketches

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a

c

d

a. path comprised of stone pavers and pieces of wall. wall as boundary

b. entrance sequence, screen wall and structure.

c. threshold and chapel. wall as mass and wall as canvas

d. exit and sunken plaza.

b

existing site facing east

2. search for individual spaceattempts to define personal space amidst the cemeterylawn. the use of stone and natural elements to give boundaries where none exist.

1. the uniformity of the exisiting grid within the context of the cemetery

3. the scale of the cemetery the grave markers are the reference point, what the

visitor comes in contact with.

4. historic section with its apparent disorder

5. monument as extension of the earth inspiration for character of walls.

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rows of monuments that fall into line.

the freedom to wander.

There is something powerful about the or-der to the site that is formed by rows of head-stones and monuments that fall into line.There is also a poetic quality about the free-dom of movement offered here by the his-toric section. The uniformity of the grid is re-lieved by this preexisting section of the cem-etery. The site sits along the juxtaposition ofboth worlds and it is important that parts ofthe project acknowledge these conditions.

historic grid juxtaposition comtemporary grid

The Brion Family Tomb by Carlo Scarpa is astudy in the movement from path to desti-nation. There exists a delicate balance be-tween controlled movement and a free-dom to wander through the site at Brion.Scarpa achieves this through a density ofpaving and level changes found through-out the cemetery lawn. The proud concretewall that encloses the limits of the site, alongwith the green lawn, the sparse plants, andthis mixed gray of black and white concretestructures create a framework of languagethat Scarpa uses not as a reference to mor-tality but rather as a testament to life afterdeath. It is this interest and attention tomaterials that age heroically that theWestview project clings to. This ennobling ofmaterial speaks to the record of time.

Brion Cemetery

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Le Corbusier�s chapel at Ronchamp pro-vides an important precedent. The wall isthe baseline by which a quality of stillness isachieved. All other elements exist as servantto the wall. It shapes the light, air, and si-lence of the place. My intellect does notaccept that adoption of the modules ofVignola in the matter of buildings. I claimthat harmony exists between objects oneis dealing with. The chapel at Ronchampperhaps shows that architecture is notan affair of columns but an affair of plasticevents. Plastic events are not regulatedby scholastic formulae. They are free andinnumerable.

Corbusier

ink sketches by author

Ronchamp

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narrative

rows of white and gray spread across the lawn markers of time

wander gives rise to direction, hesitationgrass turns to stone and then back againsteps quicken along the pathconcrete slices cut the views beyond

direction changesinside screens outsidefeet press into crushed stonelight and shadow breath from abovenoise becomes sound, sound becomes echo from feet below

hands seek thresholdwall pivots, revealing compression, securitysilence replaces sound

light leaks from beyondtreads slow, walls part release and restmeditation, reflection, pause

wall accepts flame, holds memoryabsence becomes permanence

descent beginssky returns

ascent

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entrance

The entrance sequence developed out ofstudying various approaches offered to sa-cred spaces. This sequence is needed to pre-pare oneself for entry at the threshold andaffords the opportunity to modulate the per-meability of the site, closing the corner tothe road.

The path emerges as stone pavers that ex-tend into the cemetery lawn, beyond theboundaries of the site, reaching into the his-toric section, gently inviting one to ap-proach. 8� pieces of wall begin to enclosethe entrance sequence. These markers ofentry follow the grid but are angled alongan east/west axis, providing framed viewsof the cemetery beyond. Made of granite,their material and scale unite them as monu-ments within the given context. The polishededges serve as reflected lines, harnessing thesetting sun. The walls screen the view fromthe road and allow a degree of visual per-meability back towards the cemetery.

This path through the cemetery allows formovement left and right but this sequencebegins to control direction by increasing indensity as one approaches the screen wall.The power comes from the contrast be-tween the segment (piece) and the line(wall).

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superimposition of path walls on historic order of plots

early interplay between line and segment

The elevation beyond the site is controlledwith the introduction of a 24� high 84� longcopper screen wall that blocks the view ofthe apartments across Harding Ave. Thisforms a new edge and backdrop to thecorner, protecting the chapel and its visi-tors from the traffic and noise while its per-meability breaths light and shadow. Thedensity of the cemetery grid is allowed to fillin around the site. The relief occurs beyondthe project, where the land falls away fromthe building, devoid of markers and man.

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The transition from the cemetery lawn tothe chapel is one that takes the visitorthrough a variety of scales and changes inthe quality and intensity of light. This sec-tion of the entrance sequence is tall andnarrow, meant for individual travel, dis-tancing one from the profane experienceof the world in preparation for the destina-tion. The journey needs to be long enoughto create this separation, both physical andspiritual. Some eighty-four feet is offered toslow the pace of the visitor.

The desire to introduce light without allow-ing a view into the path was reconciledwith the introduction of a screen wall. Thescreen wall is composed of individual cop-per panels, perforated and rolled, the un-dulating light pulling one toward the thresh-old. The light and sound is gradually takenaway, until one can only hear himself.

The undulating copper screen gives a fa-cade to the street. The play of light andshadow keeps the massive wall from over-powering the site.

...but the light holds thepeople together so that noone loses his way..

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entrance sequence in natural light

The large 7� wide threshold door pivots outof the wall. The ceiling behind is dropped to7� above ones head. The compression is anattempt at creating tension in anticipationof the destination. Once the door swingsclosed, silence and darkness surround thevisitor.

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threshold

how concrete everything becomes in the worldof the spirit when an object, a mere door, cangive images of hesitation, temptation, desire,security, welcome, and respect. If one were togive an account of all the doors that one hasclosed and opened, of all the doors one wouldlike to re-open, one would have the story ofone�s entire life...

..shodows are the sign that profaneman is in the process of �dissolution� and that a newpersonality is on the point of being born...

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view at threshold, looking into chapel

view at threshold

The chapel is the destination of the journey.The compression that one encounters in thethreshold is released by means of the arcceiling. The volume of the massive concretewalls silences all noise. The rotation of thechapel is presented by the scored brassjoints in the floor. In the chapel, the wallyields to the floor, allowing light to enter, re-vealing the change in thickness of the wall.All of the light sources are hidden. The dark-ness is pierced by the light from the candlewall and that which pours down behindthe arc. The chapel is not meant to housethe funeral services. There is no altar and nointernal orientation. No icons adorn the walls.The spirituality comes from a conversationwith the silent light, in a personal solitudehoused within massive concrete walls. Astrong architectural experience alwaysproduces a sense of loneliness and silence,irregardless of the actual number of peoplethere or the noise...

early studies of the sec-tion of the chapel

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chapelmetal infillpanels

plastered concrete beams with aspherical exterior section, conical inte-rior section

glass panels that allowstrips of light to enterthe chapel

...the shadows fall across thelong nosed sundial and tell methat I exist, I exist...

...shadow inhales and illumination exhales light...

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view of chapel, late afternoon

view of candle wall, early morning

The act of journey to this sacred destinationinvolves leaving something behind. The lightthat is placed in the candle wall tells a storyabout memory. This light grows as a func-tion of remembrance. The openings are notsubtractions in the wall but rather the resultof gaps between layered stone, big enoughfor the placement of a votive candle. Thepattern is one abstracted out of the densityof the grid on the site. There exists a dia-logue between the natural light and thisadditional light in the chapel.

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study of pattern for candlewall. The pattern chosenis one abstracted from thedensity of the grid foundat the site.

The exit sequence is different from the entry,as one leaves. The events presented to thevisitor on the entry do not hold the samevalue as an exit in reverse. It was importantin the development of the project that anexit sequence grew to hold this role. Thelight that is taken away is during the entry isgradually given back. The passage is a slowdescent to the outdoors where one finds asunken plaza. This in-between space ismeant as a transition back to the profane,a space to linger and reflect. The repetitionof the markers allows for privacy and per-meability. Their direction leads the slow climbto the way out. The chapel floor spills outinto the landscape, offering a place to sit.

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exit

photographic montage of exit and sunken plaza

The was important for the character of theconcrete walls to collect the light on theexterior as well as the interior. The thick sec-tion of the wall demands a slow controlledpour. This affords an opportunity to introducetexture. The joints from the form work andthe pours are exaggerated, casting shad-ows across the surface.

...I believe that �architectural materials� are notlimited to wood or concrete that have tangibleforms, but go beyond to include light and wind-which appeal to our senses...

concrete studies in natural light

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studies in light

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What then is time? If no one asks me, I know; if I wantto explain it to a questioner, I do not know...We mea-sure time. But how can we measure what does notexist? The past is no longer, the future is not yet. Andwhat of the present? The present has noduration...when I measure time, I measure impressions,modifications, of consciousness..

St. Augustine

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screen wall in natural light

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chapel view in natual light, mid-day

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projections from candle wall

epilogue

This thesis affords the opportunity to explorean element of architecture, the wall and itsdialogue with light, in a search for place.What separates the architecture of spaceversus that of place is a memorable rela-tionship with character. We live in an envi-ronment where events take place, unitingplace as an integral part of existence. Aplace is a qualitative, total phenomenon,comprised of space, character, and atmo-sphere, which we cannot reduce to any ofits properties. The existential purpose ofbuilding (architecture) is therefore to makea site become a place, that is, to uncoverthe meanings potentially present in thegiven environment. Place is the point of de-parture as well as the goal of our structuralinvestigation as architects.

To achieve this level of perception of place,architecture must be understood as a seriesof experiences rather than a singularity, en-gaging all sensory receivers. The joy is de-rived from a personal discovery with thephenomena of the built world. The chal-lenge for architecture is to generate this re-sponse, heightening the experiences of day-to day.

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plan of the floor

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longitude section

bibliography

Barrie, Thomas. Sprirtual Path, Sacred Place: Myth, Ritual, and Meaning in Architecture.Boston: Shambhala, 1996.

Otto, Christian. Space into Light: The Churches of Balthasar Neumann.Mass: MIT Press, 1979.

Holl, Steven. The Chapel of St. Ignatius. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

... Anchoring. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1991.

... Intertwining. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996.

Holl, J. Pallasma, and Perez-Gomez. Questions of Perception; Phenomenology of Architecture. A+U. July 1994.

Nesbitt, Kate ed. Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture: An Anthology of ArchitecturalTheory 1965-1995. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996.

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. Boston: Beacon Press, 1969.

Olsberg, Nicholas, et al. Carlo Scarpa, Intervening with History.Canadian Centre forArchitecture: Monacelli Press, 1999.

Noever, Peter. Carlo Scarpa: The Other City. Berlin: Ernst & Sohn, 1989.

Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane; The Nature of Religion. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1959.

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Vivoni-Farage, Enrique. A Measure of Silence: L. I. Kahn and the Transformation of the Wall.University of Pennsylvania,1985.

photographic creditsItoh, Teiji. The Elegant Japanese House. New York: Walker/Weatherhill, 1969.

De Long, David and David Brown. L. I. Kahn: The Realm of Architecture.Museum of Contemporary Art, LA. 1997.

Jencks, Charles. Le Corbusier: The Continual Revolution in Architecture. New York: The Monticelli Press, 2000.

Schumacher, Thomas. 5 House: Anthony Ames, Architect. New York:Princeton Architectural Press, 1987.

Collins, George. Antonio Gaudi. New York: George Braziller Inc., 1960.

Mack, Gerard. Herzog and De Meuron1987-1988. Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1997.

... Herzog and De Meuron1989-1991. Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1996.

Aldo van Eyck. Aldo van Eyck, works. Basle; Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1999.

Plummer, Henry. Light in Japanese Architecture. A+U 1995.

Holl, Steven. The Chapel of St. Ignatius. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999.

Masiero, Roberto. Architectura in Ticino. Skira: Milano, 1999.

El Croquis vol. 49/50 September, 1991.Enric Miralles/ Carmen Pinos

Luis Barragan Morfin, Obra Construida. Sevilla: Direccion General de Arquitectura y Vivienda, 1991.

Ever-changing Pavillion: Steven Holl Bridges Thought and Feeling. Architectural Record. McGraw-Hill, October 2000.

Barragan: The Complete Works. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996.

Ames, Anthony. Five Houses. New Jersey: Princeton Architectural Press, 1987.

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Serra, Richard. Richard Serra, Sculpture 1985-1998. Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, 1998.

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vita

Alice Catherine Hillery October 3, 1976

Washington D.C.

1998 B.A. with Honors, Goucher College. Art History with Spanish.

2001 Master of Architecture. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.