The Golden Ratio

The golden ratio is a mathematical measurement that has been used for centuries in the arts and science. It is found everywhere in the natural world and is said to be the most pleasing to the human eye.

Geometric Measurements(1)

From these measurements a geometric figure that can be formed is the golden rectangle.

The Golden Rectangle(@)

A further geometric figure that can develop from the golden rectangle is the whirling rectangle. This rectangle has a logarithmic spiral within it having the centre point converging on the intersecting point of the crossing lines. These crossing lines produce the measurements for the golden ratio.

Measurements for the Golden Ratio(3)

While looking at both the Plan of St.Gall and Le Corbusier's Le Cabanon the use of the golden ratio is evident. Historically the golden ratio was used in architecture because it was seen as measurements that held divine meaning in proportions. The ratio connects to many elements found in the natural world and to the beings that created the world.

The Plan of St. Gall uses these proportions to proportion the elements of the benedictine order into an architectural form. It creates a connection to divine form and order that would be the internal form of stability within the community.

As for Le Corbusier's Le Cabanon he used the same geometrical proportions to explain his building. Demonstrating the connection to the natural environment and his proportational understanding of space within a structure.

-Stefan Berry

Image Sources:

1. Freitag, Mark. "Phi:That Golden Number." http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT669/Student.Folders/Frietag.Mark/Homepage/Goldenratio/goldenratio.html (accessed Jan 18, 2010).

2. Ibid

3. Ibid

Information Sources:

Freitag, Mark. "Phi: That Golden Number." http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT669/Student.Folders/Frietag.Mark/Homepage/Goldenratio/goldenratio.html (accessed January 15th, 2010).

Emerging Chaos Calls for the Need for Stability

Emperor Constantine I (1)

September 4, 476. This date marks the fall of the Roman Empire, one of the most renowned periods in history where a country fell into near chaos. On this day, a barbarian by the name of Odoacer overthrew the Roman emperor Romulus Augustus from his political position. However, there were many other contributing factors leading to the decline of the Roman Empire including the increasing influence of Christianity on society. When first introduced, Christianity was not accepted among the empire. It wasn’t until 380 when Christianity was declared the official religion of the Roman Empire by the present emperor, Constantine I. Initially, the religion was strictly governed by the emperor, but over time church leaders became prominent figures, dictating the religious views to the public. Due to this movement, the power the emperor had on Romans decreased, diminishing the structure and within the state. In turn, chaos ensued and societal stability was lost.

St. Benedict (2)

Years later, in 524, a set of guidelines were written by St. Benedict, who was compelled to create these rules upon acknowledging the growing corruption of Rome’s society. These rules were meant to enforce stability and order and apply them to aid in lessening the turmoil that was plaguing society.

In the 700s, the plan of the monastery of St. Gall was drawn, one of the most prominent architectural drafts of the medieval era. The monastery of St. Gall was an ideal plan, not intended to be built but as a way for the abbot to contemplate the importance of a monastic life. Essentially, the plan was an embodiment of the Benedictine rules which controlled the life of the monks from the time they wake up to the time where they wash their feet and go to bed. There was little room from error considering how restricted their daily schedules were.

The Plan of St. Gall by Walter Horn and Ernest Born

The three volume series centered on the plan of St. Gall was initially published in 1979, first beginning research within the two decades prior. But why after all these years was this subject suddenly brought to light? Was there a reason for the authors, Walter Horn and Ernest Born, to look back to the plan and heavily document its contents? The Vietnam was between the anti-communists and the communists began in 1959, around the time research was being conducted for the plan. The world was suffering the destruction caused by war and perhaps searching the plan was in response to the current events of the time where parts of the world were thrown into disorder and there needed to be a reference to steady society.

Similarly, Corbusier, who based his personal retreat Le Cabanon on Cistercian cells could have had similar views on the existing problems throughout the world and created this cabin based on how he would go about bringing order and stability. Le Cabanon, like St. Gall, was focused on minimal habitation and how one could live with the bare essentials. The house was constructed in 1952, in the midst of the Cold War which occurred from 1941 to 1991. Maybe this study was Corbusier’s way of attempting to create a guideline for people in his time to refer to, much like Horn and Born looked for help in the Plan of St. Gall.

Based on the events that occurred during these periods, it is evident that these individuals felt the need to look back for a reference to help stabilize their society in desperate times.

-Lauren Tom

Image Sources:

1. "Ancient Mosaics." http://www.classicalmosaics.com/photo_album.htm (accessed Jan 17, 2010).

2. "The Cukierski Family Apostulate." http://www.cukierski.net/saintbenedict.shtml (accessed Jan 17, 2010).

Information Sources:

"Ancient/Classical History." http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/romefallarticles/a/fallofrome.htm (accessed Jan 17, 2010).

Bokern, Anneke. "Garden Shed a la Le Corbusier." April 4, 2009.http://www.stylepark.com/en/news/garden-shed-a-la-le-corbusier/291381 (accessed January 12, 2010).

"Fall of Rome - Why Did Rome Fall?." http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=710&HistoryID=ac58&gtrack=pthc (accessed Jan 17, 2010).

"Military: Cold War." http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/cold_war.htm (accessed January 17, 2010).

Designing a Life.

Defining a good life may seem like a relatively simple task. However it is a subject that is filled with ambiguity and relativism. Is there an equation that one could follow to ensure such a life? Is a good life a state of mind or a physicality? What does such a life include and more importantly how can it be reached? Such questions have been at the front of human infatuation for years and they have never truly been answered. If asked people will likely answer that the answer is relative. A common answer would not be architecture. What does architecture have to do with the good life after all? Does where we live influence how we live and how we feel? Absolutely. This is something that Le Corbusier and Abbot Haito both tried to perfect and represent.

The plan for the monastery of St. Gall was something unique. It was the first attempt at representing a 'good' life within the built environment. While a life in a monastery is by no means an attractive one in modern society it can be inferred that the sense of security it provided in a tenuous medieval environment would make it a very viable lifestyle. It goes without saying that living safely with definite supply of food and shelter was very good. The rule of St. Benedict promoted such security. Monasticism, according to Benedict, was something that was directly related to the idea of permanence. To remove oneself from society and wander aimlessly leeching off of other institutions accomplished nothing. A monk should be initiated, educated, work, live and eventually die in his monastery. However, he interestingly notes that the monastery itself should be able to accommodate such a life within its walls, reducing any unnecessary contact with secular society. It is in this way that the church and its faithful can be strengthened in their quest to serve god. This was good. A life devoted to god was one with worth. A life that obeyed the rule was good. One that didn't wasn't. There was no room for interpretation, making the life of a monk essentially simple. However, the plan of St. Gall is the ideal monastery in the sense that it allows for such complete permanence. It poses a methodology of designing a monastery that could be reapplied to ensure the permanence, and thereafter stability, of the place. Not only would the monks live here for the entirety of their lives, they would live in a ceremonial way undergoing the same tasks, activities every day with minor variation. In this way, when one looks at the plan with this knowledge it becomes clear that the very layout of the place allows this to be accomplished with minor obstacle. Therefore the proposed good life in this monastery becomes a life of singularity. Every monk appears the same, acts the same, does the same things, eats the same food, lives in the same conditions and so on. The monastery begins to represent a single life. The community becomes a single entity with one face. All humble and individually insignificant under god. Finding a large sense of spirituality. This is both good and simple.

Le Corbusier studied living throughout his career. Carefully distilling what it meant to live. Not just living but living well. He concluded that people need no excess. They should live with the essentials immersed in their surroundings. However, the more interesting thing was his approach to his own residence. Le Cabanon was a miniscule structure, a mere spec compared to the plan of St. Gall. However, Cabanon is similarly designed to accommodate a certain lifestyle. A modular lifestyle. All necessary functions are designed to exact proportions detailing what one should do in their day to day routine. Le Cabanon's simplicity is what makes it good. It boldly states how to live. It does not simply imply. The good life is directly related to how you live. Therefore doesn't architecture play a key role in determining that? Corbusier believed it should reflect that very fact. Such philosophy is directly related to the time in which Corbusier lived. A time when the world suddenly repressed from its rampaging process and began to seek answers to its innumerable questions. Corbusier looked for such answers within his cabin. A cabin which allowed a life of pure constraint within the most grandeur setting. To me it was blunt architecture but an architecture which encompasses a life. A life with solitude. A life of necessity. A life of thought and introspection. These are things that Le Cabanon emits and that Corbusier embraces.

-Kyle Brill

Information Sources:

Braunfels, Wolfgang. Monasteries of Western Europe: The Architecture of the Orders. Princeton: Princeton Up, 1972.

Jencks, Charles. Le Corbusier and the Tragic View of Architecture. New edition ed. New York: Allen Lane, 1975.

Price, Lorna. The Plan of St. Gall In Brief: an overview of the three volume work by Walter Horn and Ernest Born. Ex-Library ed. Los Angeles: Univ Of California Press, 1982.

The Benedictine Rule

After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the Church found itself in disarray. amidst the chaos of the invasion of the barbarians, leaders clung to the state like structure that had developed since the declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Yet, in the years that followed the church struggled to stay together. Around 524 B.C.E. a monk, that would later become St. Benedict, became very concerned with the immorality that was plaguing the world and set out to write a set of guidelines to help people live better in the eyes of God. Benedict understood the importance of words, and how they could be used as a tool to promote vices or promote God, and his rule set out to refine how monks could achieve the later. This Rule is not offered as an ideal of perfection, but merely as a means towards godliness and is intended chiefly for beginners in the spiritual life.

St. Benedict (1)

In the very first chapter, Benedict makes a very clear claim to the importance of permanence and stability in one's life as he outlines the different kinds of monks. Benedict states there are four kinds of monks:

Cenobites: live in monasteries serve under rule of abbot (this is the Benedictine monk- the monks that followed the rule, and were said to have lived a good simple life.)

Anchorites or Hermites: who no longer have a excitement in their own reformation, but have spent a long period of “probation” in a monastery and have left to go out into the community by themselves.

Sarabaites: not been tested by any rule or lessons and experience, they are soft. They live in twos or threes, sometimes by themselves, in their own sheepfolds, not gods. Law of self gratification, whatever enters the mind appeals to them, they call holy; what they dislike they call unlawful

Gyrovagues: spend whole life moving from place to place, relying on monasteries for food and shelter. No stability, indulge themselves in their own wills and succumb to gluttony.

Benedict believed that the outside world brought corruption and distraction from the importance of God. Living a stable, permanent life in a monastery would allow you to achieve the best life in God's eyes.

A page from the Benedictine Rule (2)

The Rule goes on to describe good works, or things one should do to make their life good. it speaks to the importance of order, obedience, and humility. First outlining the most basic principal of monastic life, or that of any Christian: Love god above all else. The rule states that to obey is to hold Christ dear, and that one must be ready to drop everything in order to follow any orders given to them, without delay or complaint.

The very specific rule outlines all aspects of monastic life, everything from the process of accepting new monks, to when they eat, sleep, bathe, and pray. Benedict believed in the importance of living well, contrary to the trends of asceticism, where monks starved and beat themselves. Monks that followed this rule, ate well, got between 6 and 8 hours of sleep, and were given beds to sleep on. The monks were not to live a life of lavish luxury, or extreme poverty. Their lives were meant to be simple and but also good.

Essentially the Rule of St Benedict is an interpretation on what one must do in order to live a good and simple life. In the chaos of the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire monks were searching for order and stability, but also a way back to the good and simple life. often in times of confusion we look for guidelines to help us find our way back to safety. The Rule of St Benedict, or the Benedictine Rule shaped the course of monastic life for centuries to follow as people continued to follow the guidelines, allowing them to have the simple life they were searching for.

-Sam Eby

Image Sources:

"Italian Visits." http://www.italianvisits.com/people/saint_benedict/index.htm (accessed Jan 13, 2010).

"The Rule of St. Benedict." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02436a.htm (accessed Jan 13, 2010).

Information Sources:

Braunfels, Wolfgang. Monasteries of Western Europe: The Architecture of the Orders. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1993.

"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Rule of St. Benedict." NEW ADVENT: Home

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02436a.htm (accessed January 19, 2010).

Price, Lorna. The Plan of St. Gall In Brief: an overview of the three volume work by Walter Horn

and Ernest Born. Ex-Library ed. Los Angeles: Univ Of California Press, 1982.

"St. Benedict - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online." Catholic Online - Breaking News, World, U.S.,

Catholic, Diocese & Video News. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=26 (accessed

January 19, 2010).

"St. Gall Monastary Plan - Home." St. Gall Monastary Plan : St. Galler Klosterplan

http://www.stgallplan.org/en/index.html (accessed January 19, 2010).

The Rule and The Plan of St Gall

“I have sent you, Gozbert, my dearest son, this modest example of the disposition of a monastery, that you may dwell upon it in spirit…and know my love toward you; think not that I labored at this design because we believed that you had need of instruction, but rather we drew it through the love of God out of fraternal affection, for you to study only. ”~Written in a letter from Abbot Hatio to his Brother Abbot concerning the Plan of St. Gall.

The Plan of St. Gall (1)

The Plan of The Monastery of St Gall, though never intended to be built, presents a commentary on the interpretations of what Abbot Haito believed encompassed and ideal and city, community, and simple life. The plan, which greatly reflects key principals of the Benedictine Rule, the rule that the monks followed, was intended to promote meditation on the meaning and worth of the monistic life.

The plan is split into 4 different areas surrounding the church, the first being the claustrum. This was the area located directly south of the church and the only way to access it was through the church. It severed as the private living and work area for the monks, containing a dormitory, refectory, and a cellar. This area was said to be the monastery within the monastery, a place where the monks lived in community with one another, sleeping, eating, reading, and worshiping.

Claustrum (2)

The second area is directly to the north of the church. Unlike the closed off world of the claustrum, this area was meant to be open to the world. This area housed the Abbots residence, a school for people who worked in the monastery and strangers, and a place for distinguished guests. It stated in the Rule, that the Abbot, who was seen as the father figure to the monks, was meant to eat with the guests rather than the monks.

School and Housing (3)

The third area was for the sick and novice monks, located behind the church. This area housed those at the end of their term with god, but also those had not yet officially begun their term. Both of these groups did not have to follow the strict regimen of the rule. Each group, the sick, and the novices, have their own mini-monastery, with a chapel, a cloister, bathhouse and kitchen.

Domestic Buildings (4)

The final area was that which house the domestic buildings. These included housing for all the animals, and their caretakers, the servants, and various other craftsmen who would have lived or worked within the monastery. These people would have had very little to do with the church itself, but did the work that sustained the monastery. These buildings were located directly south of the monks quarters. This allowed them to function without any interference with the monastery's daily life.

Uncategorized Buildings (5)

The remaining buildings, which fit in to none of the above categories, were strategically placed according to their function and where they would fit best. This included a large building whose function is unknown, housing for visiting pilgrims and distinguished guests. Also attached directly to the church on either side of the high alter, were the library, scriptorium, sacristy and vestry.

Although the Benedictine Rule specifically influenced the placement and organization of the individual buildings within the church, it is the sense of community, and the entire monastery functioning as one solid, stable, and permanent unit, that truly embodies the deeper meaning that St. Benedict was trying to convey as he made a set of guidelines for monks everywhere to live by.

-Sam Eby

Image Sources:

1. "St. Gall Monastary Plan - Home." St. Gall Monastary Plan : St. Galler Klosterplan.http://www.stgallplan.org/en/index.html (accessed January 11, 2010).

2. Ibid

3. Ibid

4. Ibid

5. Ibid

Information Sources:

Braunfels, Wolfgang. Monasteries of Western Europe: The Architecture of the Orders. New York:

Thames & Hudson, 1993.

"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Rule of St. Benedict." NEW ADVENT: Home

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02436a.ht (accessed January 19, 2010).

Price, Lorna. The Plan of St. Gall In Brief: an overview of the three volume work by Walter Horn

and Ernest Born. Ex-Library ed. Los Angeles: Univ Of California Press, 1982.

"St. Benedict - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online." Catholic Online - Breaking News, World, U.S.,

Catholic, Diocese & Video News. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=26 (accessed

January 19, 2010).

"St. Gall Monastary Plan - Home." St. Gall Monastary Plan : St. Galler Klosterplan

http://www.stgallplan.org/en/index.htm (accessed January 19, 2010).

Examining the singular and its application to form a whole

St. Gall Plan

*ISOLATION

Medieval monasteries were sited away from the urban, they were solitary structures. The physical removal from daily life evokes a spiritual journey to the sacred. Monasteries acts as a retreat overlooking the rest of the population. Symbolically, this siting represents the monk’s vocation to oversee and care for the populace. Therefore the vast vantage points of monasteries had an infinite quality both physically and metaphorically.

*COMMUNAL

The plan of St. Gall emphasizes the church as the core of the monastery. The church dominates in size and is placed in a central position to further define its significance. Density increases around the church in order of hierarchal importance, for example the Abbot’s house has a direct route to the church, whereas pilgrim guests are located comparatively further. One can then conclude that the ease of circulation and length of travel to the church is determined by status. There is a definite inward focus to the church and the act of congregation to that central point is a communal activity regardless of status. Furthermore, the buildings are bounded in a grid to constitute as a whole. Physically this defines the community.

Plan of St.Gall: Communal gathering

*A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION

St. Gall can be seen with isolated and communal qualities simultaneously. The community represents the individual. St. Gall is a representation of a monk's life, all the services that one requires from monk-hood to death is present. Everyone is subject to the same conditions, there can be no deviation to how life functions. Life is certain and preordained. Therefore, the community and the individual are two conditions that are integral to each other because in the case of St. Gall they are describing the same life.

Le Cabanon

*ISOLATION

In plan, Le Cabanon has a radial scheme in which the dynamics of the space are directed to isolate the core of the house. Similar to St. Gall, there is an inward focus to the essence of the architecture. Every piece of furniture is placed in relation to the central core. As Corbusier states, “volume and surface are determined by the plan”. Le Corbusier painted on the window panel, so that when closed his focus would be directed into the interior. The siting and purpose of Le Cabanon reflect isolation as well. Built as a retreat overlooking the natural word, it serves as a physical and emotional removal to modern life. The identification of the horizon and vast sea through windows explore the infinite. The physical infinite inspires the individual metaphorically.

Plan of Le Cabanon: day and night areas

Plan of Le Cabanon: Radial Scheme and Circulation

Interior of Le Cabanon: Interior focus, painting over the window (1)

*COMMUNAL

Taking the concept of the singular cell from Le Cabanon, Le Corbusier explored the possibility of joining multiple cells to form a community in designing the apartment complex L’unite D’habitation. In section, the apartment cells also uses a radial scheme. They interweave each other and form a dialogue by sharing the same space. The physical relation to the neighbor further emphasizes the occupants to be interrelated to form a social body. Finally, the individual comprises the whole. Cells are bounded in a grid to form a solid block of architecture.

Section of Unite d'habitation: radial scheme and dialogue with neighbors

-Natalie Hui

Image Sources:

"dezeen." http://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2009/03/le-corbusier-cabanon-the-interior-ricostruzione-cabanon04.jpg (accessed 12 January 2010).

Information Sources:

Janson,Alban. Le Corbusier Unite d'habitation, Marseille. Axel Menges. Stuggart/ London: Everbest Printing Company Ltd., 2007.

"St. Gall Monastary Plan." http://www.stgallplan.org/ (accessed 12 January 2010).