architecture and rain

How can public design in Ireland be improved by

acknowledging rain as an author of architecture ?

Aaron Gladney 20035393 Tutor: Alex Kostic

Architecture and Rain.

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submitted: 29/11/2012 aaron gladney 20035393

Introduction

Ireland is situated in a ‘temperate oceanic climate’. On

average our weather is mild, meaning we generally do

not experience any weather or temperature extremes.

However we do receive an abundance of rain. The

Eastern half of Ireland receives somewhere between

750mm and 1000mm of rainfall a year. The Western half

of the country receives a rainfall of between 1000 and

1400 mm. It rains about 150 days of the year in the east

and about 225 days of the year in the West.1 This mean

on average it rains 50% + of the year. However

consideration of rain as a fundamental factor in shaping

our architecture is not evident .The aim of this study is to

define a set of principles that will create better public

space and architecture in Ireland. This will be achieved

through an observational and analytical study of rain in

architecture from both historical and modern precedents.

The first chapter identifies the important role rain played

in the development of the primitive shelter. It provides a

background in mans relationship to weather and sets a

backdrop for mans desire to connect to nature. It explains

the physical and psychological problems that shelter

creates with nature.

1 Met Éireann website, Irish Climate- http://www.met.ie/- accessed 20/

10/2012

Figure 1 Map depicting rainfall amounts in Ireland

http://www.met.ie/- accessed 20/ 10/2012

http://www.met.ie/-

http://www.met.ie/-

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The second chapter is an attempt to explain mans affinity

towards nature. The idea that architecture can provide a

healthy environment to live in by linking man and nature

is explored through the works of Le Corbusier and Alvar

Aalto.

The third chapter is about ‘sense of place’. This chapter

explores the idea that weather identifies a specific place.

By constructing a building that is responsive to the

weather of the specific place the resulting architecture

can embody the genius loci of the site.

The fourth chapter deals with rain in the built

environment. It explains the transformation of space

during and after rain in the urban setting. It also explores

threshold between enclosed and exposed spaces.

The fifth chapter will contain a brief study of early Irish

architecture before any colonization. This allows the

study a period of uninterrupted development of the

vernacular dwelling in Ireland. The aim is to out line the

influence of rain in Irish vernacular architecture so as

these ideas can be brought forward to modern Irish

architecture as an attempt to re-establish these

architectural ideas.

The concluding chapter will result in the establishing of

principles that will inform the designer in the different

materialistic and spatial qualities that are implied by rain

and are necessary to create successful public

architecture.

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Man and Weather.

Rain is a part of nature, regardless of where we live; the

weather affects our lives everyday. According to Jacek

Krenz man is divided into two opinions towards rain –

(encourage exposure to it) and those who want to avoid it

(seek shelter from it).2 He states that this notion has

naturally applied itself to the development of the roof in

architecture, a surface that shelters from precipitation.3

Primitive huts were essentially large roof structures,

addressing their primary function of shelter; a place to

keep warm, provide security and protected the inhabitant

from the from undesirable weather conditions. The notion

of shelter in architecture is a fundamental element when

considering rain in architecture as shelter is the physical

manifestation of the desire to be protected during poor

weather.

When it rains a connection between earth and sky is

made. A shelter is an act of opposition to weather, a

desire to create a controlled environment. When we

construct a shelter between earth and sky the path of rain

fall is diverted. As an architect it becomes our

responsibility to design this new path for rain water. The

challenges of achieving this usually manifest in façade,

2 J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban

development guide [web document](2007) http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 3 Krenz ,Loc. Cit.

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 5

Figure 4

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roof, and materiality and in the construction of the

building. Jonathan Hill writes that dialogue between

architecture and weather is a means to encourage

buildings to coexist with their immediate and wider

environments and acknowledge time, decay and

change.4

It is important not just to consider shelter’s physical

implications but also to consider the users experience of

shelter as physiological. In the book, Poetics of Space by

Gaston Bachlaerd, he includes a chapter called ‘House

and Universe' in which he writes of mans instinctive need

for shelter and home. ‘’ when the shelter is sure, the

storm is good ’’ - Henri Bosco, (Bachelard, 1992). 5In the

chapter Bachlaerd describes the psychological impact

rain and wind can imbue when one is in a good or bad

shelter. The feeling of gratification in shelter can enhance

the user’s experience of a public building or dwelling and

can be exploited through investigation of sound, material

and composition of space. Edward Morse writes that in

Japanese architecture a view to the outside world in the

entrance area of the house was an attempt to heighten

the experience of entering a shelter and produce a sense

of gratification of ‘home’.6 This worked especially well

during poor weather conditions, when the inhabitant

entered the calm dry interior of the house the view to the

poor weather conditions outside enhanced the sense of

satisfaction of enclosure.

4 Jonathan Hill- Weather Architecture,( Routledge , Printed in England 2012)

5 Henri Bosco, Malicroix cited in Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space- (Beacon

Press; New edition 1 Mar 1992) 6 Edward S.Morse, Japanese Homes and their surroundings, (Dover Publications Inc. 1

st Feb 2000)

Figure 6

Figure 7

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Connection to nature.

Rain is part of nature and an architectural response

towards it can create a connection between building and

the landscape.7 When it rains a link is created between

earth and sky: by placing a roof over our heads we

disturb the natural journey of the rainwater. JB Jackson

writes that if we can accept an animal’s construction of a

home as natural then so too is it for man, as man is also

part of nature.8 However he remarks that consideration is

due for a sensible approach to a man made environment

that can satisfy our native physical and physiological

requirements. Jackson writes that every time a building is

erected, a tree planted or large area paved, this has a

direct impact on the human physical condition due to its

effect on the micro climate of the city. 9

In the book Nature and Space, Sarah Manin and Flora

Samuel discuss Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto’s affinity

towards architecture's ability to connect nature and man.

Le Corbusier held strong views about architecture and

nature. He believed that the physical environment could

create connections to the metaphysical environment with

the aim of creating a healthier environment for man to

7 JB Jackson , Imitations of Nature, from Landscape, (edited by Ervin H. Zube published by the University of

Massachusetts Press , Printed in America 1959)

8 Ibid .

9 Ibid .

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dwell.10 Corbusier sought to connect man to nature

through combining the spiritual and the technical in an

uplifting architecture.11 The design for the chapel Notre

Dame du Haut is an example of his concern towards the

poetics of function and metaphor he sought to achieve.

Notre Dame du Haut

The chapel Notre Dame du Haut is located at the top of a

hill in Ronchamp. Part of the brief given to Le Corbusier

was to collect rainwater in a cistern as getting water to

the site was a problem.12 Corbusier applied this functional

aspect to the spiritual metaphor he was creating for Mary

(mother of Christ) to whom the church was dedicated

to13. The resulting roof design was a gesture celebrating

the movement and collection of rain water. The huge roof

references cupped hands which are carefully pouring the

rain water into a cistern.14 The water is passed from

building to cistern via a gargoyle at the rear of the church.

This celebration of rain creates a powerful link between

nature and building, both existing in harmony especially

when it rains.

10

Sarah Menin and Flora Samuel, Nature and space: Aalto and Corbusier,

(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) 11

Menin and Samuel ,Loc. Cit. 12

Ibid. 13

Flora Samuel, Corbusier in Detail, (Architectural Press, Printed 31st August

2007). 14

Ibid.

Figure 9

Figure 8

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Chandigarh

For his design of Chandigarh Assembly in India,

Corbusier’s fascination with the poetics of function as a

means to connect man and nature manifested itself

through the ceremony and celebration of water.

Corbusier saw water as a symbol of spiritual cleansing

and celebrated it in his schemes both internally (in the

bathrooms of his villa’s and wash basins in entrance

foyers) and externally (the journey of rainwater from

building to ground).15 At Chandigarh Corbusier faced the

problematic climate of the area, which included intense

heat from the sun and monsoon weather which brought

large amounts of heavy rainfall driven by winds.16 His

response to this was a large concrete channel that acted

as both a canopy to walk under in the shade while going

between buildings and as a shelter for the building

against driven monsoon rain. The huge concrete channel

is also a poetic device to collect all the rain water from

the roofs and disperse it from either end into the water

basin that surrounded the building. Corbusier referred to

this huge canopy as the river of Chandigarh.17 As with the

chapel Notre Dame du haut Corbusier attempts to use

the physical building to connect man with the

metaphysical of nature by transforming the building into a

river when the heavy rain fall collects in the huge

channel.

15

Flora Samuel, Corbusier in Detail, (Architectural Press, Printed 31st August

2007). 16

Anupam Banjeri, The Architecture of Corbusier and Kahn in the East: A

Philosophical Inquiry ,(Mellen Studies in Architecture), Edwin Mellen Press Ltd; illustrated edition ,August 2001). 17

Ibid

Figure 10

Figure 11

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Säynätsalo

’’ the purpose of a building is to act as an instrument that

collects all the positive influences in nature for mans

benefit, while sheltering him from the favourable

influences that appear in nature’’. – Alvar Aalto18

As with Corbusier, Alvar Aalto was inspired by nature and

the possibilities of connecting man to nature through

architecture. He achieved this by combining poetic and

sensitive approaches to technical problems with his

designs. In his town hall complex at Säynätsalo, Aalto

uses sheltered pathways in a cloister-like enclosure to

create a sense of calm within a natural terrain. The

design for his meeting hall roof is purely functional in

preventing snow from building up and damaging the

structure, yet there is a poetic and calming quality to the

form and massing employed. The shelter aspect of the

design can be modulated to provide varying degrees

depending on the time of year and weather. The covered

walkways can become enclosed by sliding glass panels,

with the mechanism for the panels is raised off the

ground and provides seating also.

Aalto expressed the need for psychological functions in

his designs.19 He wanted to integrate elemental

fundamentals into refined architecture. Aalto wanted to

avoid the creation of psychological slums through

sensitive adaptions of the building to the surrounding

terrain and climate.20 This ideology links with man and

shelter and Gaston Bachlaerd's idea that the quality of a

space or shelter during undesirable weather can either

enhance or diminish the user’s unease and discomfort.

18


(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) 19


(Routledge, Printed in England 2003) . 20

Menin and Samuel, Loc. Cit.

Figure 12 Saynatsalo Town Hall

http://cavin2009.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/36-e_saynatsalo-town-hall_courtyard.jpg

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However, Corbusier was driven towards finding solutions

to problems that could work anywhere: a universal style

that could improve the lifestyle of its users regardless of

place.21 He favoured concrete, and used it in most of his

schemes while failing to provide any measures to prevent

unpleasant weathering.

An architecture of connection

Living in spaces that disconnect and mute nature from

man leads to environments that do not satisfy humans

psychologically. If a person has a poor perception of

where they inhabit it can lead to Aalto’s idea of a

‘psychological slum’. By attempting to connect with

nature through architecture the primitive need for man to

connect to nature, something JB Jackson identifies as

lacking in modern architecture, can be achieved. Rain is

a product of weather, a natural phenomenon. The shelter

is a reaction against weather and the uncontrolled

environment. By addressing rain’s functional problems in

architecture in a meaningful way that informs design as it

did with primitive huts, an architecture that blurs the

boundary between building and nature can create not just

pleasurable places and spaces, but also help foster a

sense of well being.

21

. Deborah Gans , Guide to le Corbusier, (Princeton Architectural Press

1987; 3rd Revised edition 28 April 2006)

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Connection to Place.

Attention to climate and seasons when designing

encourages architecture to coexist with the immediate

environment.22 Jonathan Hill describes climate as an idea

formulated about a place over time by studying the area's

weather. Hill writes that weather locates architecture in a

specific place.23 This creates a regional character to the

architecture and allowing it to inform the design will

combat the globalisation of architecture.24 Rain can fall in

many different forms, varying from a light mist to a heavy

downpour in a monsoon. A soft rain will stick to surfaces

making them moist and darker in colour. Heavy rain will

create streams in gulley's and on the streets, and rush off

roofs and facades. In countries that experience frequent

monsoons and heavy rain, the vernacular architecture

has had to adapt to deal with the rain. Singapore,

Indonesia and Japan are all situated in tropical climates

but the temperature and amount of rainfall in their

specific climate has affected the development of building

form in different ways.

22

Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012), 23

Hill . Loc. Cit 24

Ibid.

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Singapore

In Singapore vernacular architecture is based on Malay

architecture. The buildings have a deep over-hanging

roofing system that throws water away from the

building.25 The roof is split with two different pitches that

overlap. At the point of overlap cool air is passed through

the building in a cross flow system.26 This allows the

building to combat rain and keep the building cool. The

buildings are raised off the ground to avoid flooding and

keep the interior as dry as possible.

Indonesia

Indonesia experiences a similar climate to Singapore.

However, the overall aesthetic of the building is quite

different. The vernacular buildings are mostly covered by

roof, addressing the climatic need for protection against

monsoons, and are raised off the ground on stilts to avoid

floods. Even though the construction styles between

Malay and Indonesian traditional houses are similar the

difference in culture, variations in climate and use of

material creates different regional characteristics in the

architecture.

25

26

Figure 13

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Hadrian Villa

Hadrian’s Villa in Rome is situated in hot climate and so

used rainwater in a way that reduced humidity and

helped to cool the building. Throughout the Villa the

incorporation of the movement of water is evident and

none more than the impluvium a fountainless pool

located under the compluvium that both created a

spectacle of light, sound and movement during the rain

as the water shot off the spouted gutters in streams into

the pool but this action also helped to circulate cool air

into the building.27

Japan

In Ancient Japan a desire to connect life with nature was

evident in their vernacular architecture.28 They expressed

their affinity to nature through poetic and sensitive

approaches to construction, indoor and outdoor

transitional space and materials. The buildings were

mostly constructed from timber, stone and paper with

slate or thatch on the roof.29 These materials were not

sealed or varnished due to an appreciation for the

aesthetic of the wet stone and timber. This use of

27

William McDonald ,Hadrian's Villa and Its Legacy, Yale University Press (4

July 1995) 28 Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)

29 Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha

International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)

Figure 14

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material allows the building to darken when wet, meaning

that the building reflected the changing environment and

was coexisting with nature. The long over-hanging eaves

helped to protect the building from heavy rain fall and the

steep angle allowed the building the shed the rainwater

quickly.30

In Japan, Indonesia and Singapore, three countries that

experience varying levels of heavy rainfall, their

vernacular architectures form reflects function in a way

that addresses the primary need for shelter. However,

access to different materials, knowledge of construction

and attitudes towards nature and rain give their

vernacular styles a character born from their own specific

regions.

’ Construction is a means to define the genius of place

both in the ways that elements are made and the manner

in which they are brought together’.31

Sverre Fehn reinforces sense of place in his designs

through reinterpreting the regional character in his

chosen construction method. Sverre fears that the

rationalism of modern architecture is always in danger of

forgetting construction.32 For Fehn, architecture is nothing

without construction and by combining construction

elements directly but delicately he draws on the qualities

of the place. For the design of the Nordic Pavilion in

Venice, Fehn decided to reinterpret the qualities of

Nordic light by controlling the lighting and embracing the

climate of Venice through material and delicate

construction.33 He achieved this by the repetition of thin

but deep concrete beams in the roof construction,

delicately covering the top with corrugated opaque plastic

30

Atsushi Ueda , The inner harmony of the Japanese House,( Kodansha

International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998) 31

Sverre Fehn cited in Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge ,

Printed in England 2012), 32

Ibid. 33

Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012),

Figure 15

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that diffuses the light. This delicate plastic layer draped

over the Pavilion is punctured at points to allow trees that

were on the site prior to the architectural intervention to

remain both in the building and in the realm of nature.

The plastic covering also acts as a rain collector: when it

rains water is guided to the openings in the roof and

subsequently to the trees.34 On rainy days the trees bark

is darkened and rainwater leaves reflective patches on

the floor of the pavilion. Unlike Corbusier or Alvar Aalto,

Fehn draws on the intrinsic qualities of places to inform

his construction through a combination of poetics and

technical requirements reinterpreted from the genius loci

of the place.

Hill describes Sigurd Lewerentz’s flower kiosk at Malmö

eastern cemetery as a building that celebrates weather

through construction and immaterial of weathering on the

building.35 A copper mono pitch roof slopes steeply from

north to south, creating a deep overhang towards the

road, which protects the long picture window on the south

elevation. In heavy rain a visitor can stand between a

curtain of glass and a curtain of water as there is no

gutter or down pipe used.36 This creates a sense of

enclosure in a space that was once exposed. On the

other side, the eaves are flush with the walls: rain water

stains the concrete, emphasising the ridges moulded on

the concrete.

Fehn and Lewerentz recognised weather's metaphorical

potential, making it key to the poetry of the architecture in

its construction. They used it to identify genius loci of the

place by considering weathering and decay as a

34

Jonathan Hill , Immaterial Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England April

2006), pg. 159 35

Jonathan Hill , Weather Architecture, ( Routledge , Printed in England 2012),

pg. 36

Ibid

Figure 16 Malmo Flower Kiosk overhang

http://kek.org.hu/beton/wp-content/gallery/malmo_flowershop/04_flower-kiosk.jpg

15 | P a g e


fundamental part of the design intention. It follows that if

a meaningful dialogue between the weather and a place

is allowed to manifest itself in the built form, then rain can

be used in defining an architecture that is place specific.

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Rain and the Built Environment

Rain is especially suited to an investigation of the

relationship of the built environment as the physical

manifestation of water influences most exterior materials.

(Bachelard, 1992)37 The minimalistic design of the

modern movement affected the way rain water is being

diverted from buildings. The drive for lightness, thinness,

whiteness and geometric purity lead to the omission of

conventional details such as copings, sills, drips and

overhangs, weathering falls and surface relief generally.38

This, in turn, has impacted inaction at the domestic and

urban scales

Rain and the street

Our conception of city space is altered after the rain. The

city’s image resembles a water colour painting, it gets

darker, edges are blurred, and puddles reflect the sky

and surrounds. According to Krenz greater significance is

given to the ‘edge’ in poor weather conditions as people

try to anchor to secure surroundings.39

37

Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space, (Beacon Press; New edition 1 Mar

1992) 38 J Allan - Materials and Myths – Conservation of Modern Movement Architecture in England. Abstract of paper to

International Symposium, Brno 26-29 April 2006. Pg. 10 39

J. Krenz-‘ Rain in Architecture and Urban Design’-Weimar Urban

development guide [web document](2007)

Figure 17

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When it rains in the city the desire lines of pedestrians

change. People have their own rainy circulation routes

that make the most of local dry head circulation space.40

Bernard Rudofsky argues that it never occurs to us to

make streets into oases rather than a dessert. He

believes that pergola, awnings, tent like structures, or

permanent roofs have provided streets fit for humans in

countries that have not allowed the street to deteriorate

into highways and parking lots.41 Krenz writes that cities

should have absorptive pavements to reduce flooding,

large puddles and in doing so improve the pedestrians

journey during wet spells.42

The long overhanging eaves that are associated with

Japanese dwellings not only served as a way to direct

rainwater away from the building but also served as

pedestrian traffic routes, from one end of town to the

other. These Inubashiri - berms or passageways were

made of stone or tiles cemented together with lime

around the perimeter of the building, 5cm – 10cm in

depth and 30- 40cm in width. (Ueda 1998)43 Inubashiri

provided side walk while also repelling rain and

prevented land under eave from standing idle. This

allowed land owners to cheat a little extra space out over

the inubashiri. 44 This sensitive relation ship between

street an building existing in harmony is an aim architects

http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 40


development guide [web document](2007) http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 41

Bernard Rudofsky (1969) Streets for People, American Heritage Publishing

Co. Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Pg 13 42


development guide [web document](2007) pg. http://www.academia.edu/246404/Rain_in_architecture_and_urban_design, accessed October 2012 pg. 14 43


International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998) 44

Ueda . Loc.Cit.

Figure 18

Figure 19

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should have when design architecture in the public realm

so as the building is designed to serves the streets an not

just itself.

In between space

When continuity in a building or streetscape is broken we

find discontinuity. This can be identified as a step on the

street, an over-hang or building stepped back from the

rest of the buildings in a line. It is at these points we find

transition spaces and in-between space.

The front door entrance space to a house is an example

of where in-between space and the idea of transition can

be explored. At this point, two different spatial worlds or

order of spaces meet, often leading to an architectural

solution to this idea of transition.45 In ancient Japanese

architecture, the transitional space between outdoors and

indoors called a genkan. Here a procession from wet to

dry space takes place. Once under the cover of the large

overhanging eave you remove your rain apparel. The

next stage is to step up onto a stone platform to remove

your rain shoes. After this you proceed up wooden steps

onto the dry mats inside the front door of the house.

Some Japanese dwellings at this point include a view

back to the outdoors to create a sense of wellbeing and

appreciation of shelter from the exposed environment

(Morse, 2000).46

In this instance we are shown how consideration from

wet to dry/ outdoors to indoors has led to the creation of

a space or series of spaces that aim to reinforce the

notion of shelter by addressing a practical experience of

everyday life in a sensitive way.

45

Herman Hertzberger, A Lesson For Students in Architecture, 010 Publishers, (Printed in Rotterdam 1991, 6th revised

edition 2009).

46 Edward S.Morse, Japanese Homes and their surroundings, ( Dover

Publications Inc. ,1st Feb 2000)

Figure 20 Genkan

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-

igm3YRiSQbM/T4UppVg8P7I/AAAAAAAAA0/

1AMjmkdQLsk/s1600/ryokan_genkan.jpg

19 | P a g e


The roof as a usable space

The use of flat roof construction became very popular

during the modern movement and has continued into

todays architecture. This type of roof structure can

presents problems in the form of leakage due to perfect

technical execution required during construction. The

pitched roof has naturally developed from the notion of

shelter and so the form itself naturally allows the rain

water to run off.

Flat roofs in Ireland are rarely thought of as inhabitable

space. If flat roofs are to be used in greater numbers in

Ireland then they should be treated as functional spaces.

Instead of a small parapet around the edges Ueda would

encourage the use of 1 m or 2 m walls that provide

sheltered space.47 Another approach would be that of le

Corbusier who began to separate the roof from the main

volume of the building in the later part of his career. This

separation of elements allowed for roof gardens that

contributed to the overall quality of life in the buildings.

47


International Ltd; New edition 1 Oct 1998)

Figure 21

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Rain and architecture in Ireland.

In Lost Tradition by Niall McCullough and Valerie they

describe Ireland’s development in history as influenced

by,’’ three cruel gods: isolation, poverty and later

colonization’’.48 Ireland never experienced continuity in

societal order as new cultures overthrew old ones and

the progress of a culture was subject to sudden change.49

However, prior to any invasions by Normans, Vikings and

the British, the emerging building tradition embraced a

broad selection of circular forms: earthen rath’s, the

stone cashel, the crannog and burial sites.50 The circular

ring embodied a sense of enclosure and defensive

shelter in the open landscape: a public façade behind

which a private existence unfolded.51 Early Christian

settlements adopted this circular form, embracing

enclosure in particular. The examples below are a

selection of vernacular Irish buildings that show how a

response to Ireland’s rainy climate has impacted the form

of the building.

48 Niall McCullough and Valeria Mulvin , A lost tradition: the nature of Irish Architecture, ( Gandon Editions, Printed in

Dublin 1987) pg.18 49

McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit 50

McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit 51

McCullough and Valerie. Loc. Cit

21 | P a g e


New Grange

The ancient burial mound of New Grange in Co. Meath

utilises a clever primitive mechanism to keep rain out of

the interior of the burial chamber. A stone corbelling

construction method was used to build the inner passage

in the earthen mound, which leads directly to the burial

chambers. During its excavation, little effort was required

in restoring the interior of the passage as the corbelling

system had successfully repelled any major moisture

ingress even though the building is submerged under a

mound of earth.52 Rain water slowly filters down through

the earthen mound: when it meets the stone that forms

the interior passage way, the water runs off the corbelled

structure that has been stacked at a steep angle to

prevent moisture ingress. Essentially the earthen mound

shelters and protects the burial chamber from direct

weathering, while the corbelling completes the controlling

of the rain by allowing it to pass over it and continue on

its inevitable path towards the water table. This type of

construction and careful consideration of natures natural

cycle fits into JB Jacksons ideal’s about man treating the

built environment as part of nature’s cycle and so

connecting man with nature.

Crannóg Hut

The crannog was a dwelling or fort constructed on

wetland or lakes, usually with one path out to it hidden

under water, only known by the inhabitant.53 Like

previous huts and burial sites, the idea of enclosure and

shelter as a defence is reinforced by both the use of

52

Claire O’ Kelly, New Grange description,

(http://www.newgrange.com/description.htm, last updated unknown , accessed October 26th 2012) 53

Francesco Menotti, Wetland Archaeology and Beyond: Theory and Practice,

Oxford University Press 2012.

Figure 22

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circular form and the structure's isolation on water.54 The

use of thatch and the wattle and daub construction of

early vernacular dwellings lead to the built form being

mostly roof. The steep, thick thatch roofs evoke primitive

ideas of shelter. The roof sits on a base that keeps it just

off the ground and over-shoots the base to keep the rain

water away from the more vulnerable wattle and daub

construction.

Irish Cottage

The Irish vernacular cottage embodies the elements of

the early Irish huts, in terms of inward-looking and

enclosed shelters. The traditional cottage is a simple

structure, thick thatch roof with deep stone walls and

small windows either side of an entrance door. Although

it can be classified as a structure that embodies its

regional character through the use of natural materials to

create a shelter, the Irish cottage construction style

embodies the spirit of most Irish dwellings afterwards and

even today; inward, enclosed and defensive and a

proponent of Alvar Aalto’s term ‘Psychological slum’…

Although it rains 50%+ of the year in Ireland, rain has not

influenced Irish architecture or public space in a positive

or meaningful way in recent years. In an Irish context the

primitive notion of shelter is apparent when we look at the

crannog hut’s which is entirely roof and also in the Irish

cottage where a thick roof and thick mass in the walls

give the impression of solidarity and protection.

54

Niall McCullough and Valeria Mulvin , A lost tradition: the nature of Irish

Architecture, ( Gandon Editions, Printed in Dublin 1987) pg.18

Figure 23

Figure 24

23 | P a g e


Conclusion.

“Everything comes alive when contradictions

accumulate.55

Consideration towards the threshold between indoor and

out, contrast between exposure and enclosure,

sensitively laying out the journey that rain inevitably has

to make from sky to earth through your building will

create an architectural dialogue between the building and

its surroundings. This dialogue will create architecture

that guides rain and celebrates it by articulating space

with architectural interventions like channels, spouts and

overhangs. By following these principles streets will have

a character derived from its own particular building

functions.

In Ireland this type of intervention is needed in our public

architecture. The principles to use rain as a meaningful

architectural author in public architecture are:

Enclosure and Exposure

When considering rain in architecture we look to shelter

and enclosure. However it is unreasonable to suggest

55

Henri Bosco, Malicroix, cited in Gaston Bachlaerd, Poetics of Space,

(Beacon Press; New edition 1 Mar 1992)

24 | P a g e


constant shelter in the built environment. If everything

were sheltered we would loose that sense of gratification

of being in a shelter, as there would be no contrast to

shelter and exposure. This is the reason exposure and

enclosure is important to consider when designing a

space or series of spaces. During rainfall we can

manipulate the falling water to divide space and create

sense of enclosure in exposed space. This space can

only be experienced during rain and is otherwise

exposed.

Construction and material that derive from place

A sensitive and poetic approach should be considered

when choosing materials and construction methods. It is

important that as well as solving the functional problems

of draining the rain away from the building that the

designer considers the users experience on a poetic level

to create a character derived from the weather of a

specific place.

In- Between Spaces

The transition between interior and exterior space needs

to be explored fully during the design process. Rain and

the procession of architectural spaces can be interlinked,

as demonstrated by the genkan in Japenese architecture.

Controlling the fallen rainwater

After rainfall, we can manipulate the water to define

architectural spaces and embody certain spaces with a

particular quality or feeling. By controlling the path of the

fallen rain, by strategically delay it on site or in a specific

location, or by channelling it through the space, the

architectural experience can be enhanced.

25 | P a g e


Brief.

Brief statement.

Public space is a social space and should be should be

accessible to all. Shopping centres have replaced the

public forum in Irish towns. However Shopping centres

are not public spaces in the true sense. There are rules

and guidance that everyone must obey by once you

enter. At night they are locked. In recent years many

shopping centres have been developed in Ireland. They

usually are located just outside town centres to allow for

ease of access and creation of many car park spaces.

People go to these buildings as it makes shopping

easier. Easier to get to, easier to walk around and the

environment is kept at desirable conditions.

Many of the traditional town square and shopping streets

that are part of a places character are slowly dying.

However no vernacular towns provide the sense of

enclosure and variety that shopping centres boast.

People enjoying being able to get out to a place where

they can feel part of something bigger, part of society. A

new type of retail forum in Ireland that uses sensitive

control of form and order to establish sheltered shopping

areas could set a standard for other types of public

architecture in Ireland. If people are encouraged to travel

by foot through a considerate public architecture the

streets can feel lived in. This new retail forum must also

be accompanied by an amenity to serve the town. A work

26 | P a g e


live scheme for the new development would also help to

keep eyes on the streets to create a sense of security at

night.

27 | P a g e


Proposed Site :

Figure 25.

The proposed site to develop the new public forum is located at Kennedy avenue, in

Carlow Town. Carlow Town centre has no defined town centre. The sites highlighted red

are both part of my initial proposal. Carlow town although the 14th largest Urban Areas in

Ireland has very few facilities and amenities. It has a library and a visual Arts centre. The

council are currently searching for a new site to put the library as the current building is

not adequate. As part of the scheme I would like to integrate the library into it.

Figure 26

This map highlights what is considered to be the traditional centre of the town. This new

scheme of exposed and enclosed spaces would hopefully encourage foot traffic through

the town centre and reverse the growing trend of closing businesses in the block.

28 | P a g e


Figure 27

This map highlights the Famine Fountain. A sculptural fountain dedicated to the Irish who died

during the famine. On Saturday’s a farmers market herds around this fountain. Its numbers have

grown in recent years and the space is now to small to accommodate all of the Stalls.

Figure 28

Car Parking

29 | P a g e


Figure 29

Famine Fountain

Figure 30

Hadden’s shopping Centre. Most of the small business and shops

have moved out of this building. The rear of the building as

actually entered on the first floor as the street level is 3-4 metres

higher than the car park in the image.

30 | P a g e


31 | P a g e


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