ENVELOPE 2

The Envelope is an expression of the logic of configuration that governs the construction and the visual impression of your builidng.

The configuration of a building is an expression of value. It tells us how we intend to relate to the material and productive forces of the society in which the building is a part. It gives ‘public body’ to the craftspeople who make the building and the industries that supply the materials and assemblies of which it is constructed. Buildings are ‘fashioned’ in the sense that they are created out of raw materials that constitute their culture. Buildings are ‘fashioned’ in the sense that they are intimately a part of the visual culture of forms that circulate in their time. They are in this way an essential component of our ‘world of desire’—that is they are part of the fashion industry.
The essential wall section of a building is not always the typical wall section. The essential wall section is that section which speaks most clearly to the image of the building that you most ardently wish to convey. This is wall section is apt to be special in some particular way; yet, it must relate to the typical wall section of the building. They should appear as two members of the same family.
Your task for our meeting next Thursday will be to draw an exploded axonometric of your “special” wall section.

On an 18” x 18” panel artfully compose the axonometric so we feel that we understand directly how the building is constructed.