Negative Space in Architecture
In my current role as something of a troll/ busy body: I posted the below to an architecture blog because someone had posted a comment expressing interest. What this has to do with hummingbirds? You'll have to read the whole business.
And in the unlikely event anyone expresses any interest in what I've written, I'll add photos and drawings. I think I know what I'm talking about and anyone else, especially those with expertise.... well, I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. Either I've missed that every architecture program extensively covers this, or I've noticed something most have forgotten, never really learned or something. Christopher Wren did get there 300 years before me....
>>
While visiting London I think like most people St Paul's Cathedral was a landmark, but you don't really look at it.... The people who run the place seem to believe deeply in this approach. Cameras are not allowed inside and inside it's chockablock with geegaws to British military and imperialists. It's like a dime store Yakasuni Shrine.
Well my son said he wanted to see it, so okay. As we approached I started to look at it. What I saw was borrowed from Michelangelo of course, but Wren had gone a significant step further. I realized that I was looking at a brilliant use of negative space. Wren had finely tuned in the spaces between the 'windows' and the columns. So I think St Paul's in London is a brilliant example of the use of negative space in architecture; perhaps an early use of it.
I can find no discussion of this anywhere and two London architects I mentioned this to, just blinked and moved to another car on the train. (It wasn't that bad, but this is funnier. Still I don't think they had a clue what I was talking about. I wondered for quite some time if negative space is called something different in architecture. (Looking at a lot of Roman stuff, I see zero attention to negative space, some brilliant design of course, but no consideration to negative space. Of course the aqueducts were only ever about negative space, how much water can we move through this carefully engineered and designed void, and how little stone and concrete can we use to support it? So perhaps better expressed might be: 'no aesthetic use' of negative space.)
I was primed to notice the columns and how they're not evenly spaced, but paired. This is because by the time of the Renaissance/Baroque engineering had advanced. The Greeks used only as many columns as they thought they need to support the pediment. Wren had options and I think he used them. Also, with no extensive, or even basic, research I wonder if the spacing of the columns at St Pauls isn't the first time this was done. I'm probably wrong, but if you're interested in negative space in architecture might be worth a look. Why was I 'primed'? About twenty years before I made a table, arts & crafts, Stickley style. I had two legs with two beams and 5 staves in the middle. I made the center stave wider and stronger, but two pairs? I played around with them a lot. I thought I was following some kind of tradition in furniture design. Now I don't think I was. I placed them and looked and looked. (Architects do this too, but too often they spend too much time talking about it. I've seen that a lot). I finally arrived at a spacing of slightly wider than a stave width from the wide center, then I think evenly spaced. It was quite satisfying to me. I've made other furniture since and have done the same thing. Each time spending a lot of time just looking. I think my design solution is good, possibly unique. When I finally really looked at St Paul's this came to mind. There's a lot of blank space on the facades of St P's, I think a continental Baroque designer would think, make the elements bigger. I think Wren looked at what he was doing and.. heard music. (Miles Davis and probably JSBach would tell you some of the most important notes are the ones you don't play. Many times people will remember hearing a note or a beat that isn't there.) And then the whole business with Wren having final say and taking 35 years. Well, to me that's like me just looking at those staves until they looked interesting. I imagined Wren spending a lot of time on the site just looking and then making changes as his ideas continued to develop. The proof of this I think might be found in looking at the design of the foundations, then the column bases, and then the frieze, which I think juts out more dramatically than the bases. It's really quite exciting looking up inside. Also, how is this similar to or different from the current practice at the time and the classical and Neo-classical predecessors? Another clue would be to examine the early drawings and model and the final results. Another 'proof' might be to take the existing facades and make the windows and columns a little larger or smaller, change the spacing. I know of no formula for negative space except this general idea: Balance is positive and negative spaces being the same. Next level is to make larger what is less. So blank wall space needs to grow relative to the columns and windows. negative space that is closer to bolder elements, to balance with smaller less bold elements, make that space a little bigger. The Mexican painter Ruffino Tomayo. I was photographing a not very spectacular painting of his called Three Musicians. It was like being hit over the head. I can't think of a more perfectly balanced painting. His use of negative space is wonderful. I just googled negative space in architecture. I've been doing this every couple of months just to see what I might find. I think negative space is deeply underused. As a gimmick? Sure, plenty of examples, especially in advertising. But as a tool? I found a ceramic tile pattern I liked but then wondered... so I played with it in Illustrator. I think this is a great way to tune up one's use of negative space. In architecture? The possibilities are endless and not done. Light changes of course, there's field ground reversal. The easiest to find example of this is in the evening twilight when the sky looks like it's in front of tree branches. If anyone is interested in my examples this site can give you my email. Or google "hummingbird negative space" and one of my net places should show up. -Will N <<< And so I copied and pasted and fiddled it here.
