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Provoking the Sublime Through the Expression of Structure in Architecture

Hoelker, Joseph
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1592136387553552

Abstract Details

2020, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
The sublime is a powerful and mysterious experience often seen in nature, and architects regularly attempt to capture this experience in their work. Architects who have been proven successful in provoking the sublime in architecture have consistently integrated the expression of structure as a major part of aesthetics in the design. In Edmund Burke’s treatise, A Philosophical Enquiry Into The Origin Of Our Ideas Of The Sublime And Beautiful, he originates the sublime to natural experiences, and centers his arguments around nature. In Burke’s treatise specific terms with architectural connotations arise from these experiences such as Terror, Darkness, Unknown, Infinite, Scale, Texture, Material, Color, and Sound. Specific architectural precedents are analyzed and purposefully paired with these terms, and each precedent presents certain qualities in the architecture that produce the sublime. The projects represent a broad spectrum of sublime experiences where the structural strategy is unique to each project, illustrating a particular aesthetic rarely found in architecture. Although the precedents vary in program and concepts, the aesthetics within the space depend on the expression of structure in the design to provoke the sublime. For site consideration, the investigation focuses on a space that has existing qualities of the sublime, while allowing for improvement or additions to the site that can amplify the sublime experience. In Cincinnati, Ohio, Eggleston Ave. is home to a vast expanse of overpasses. The massive structural system supporting the network of overpasses appears endless. Sublime qualities are clearly apparent on the site, and the design project largely became about the interaction of the structure on the site and how to reinforce the sublime atmosphere existing. The conglomerate series of highways covering the site offered a great opportunity in the design to respond to this context through a programmatic element that would utilize the transportable nature of the site. With the increase in the desire for same-day shipping and an expedited shipping and packaging process, a fulfillment center paired nicely with the site. With the addition of a three million square foot distribution center just twenty minutes away from the site, a large sortation and receive center is required to preserve the same day shipping system currently operating in the area. Sortation and receive centers operate solely to expedite the shipping process by preparing and sorting certain goods that are fully prepped to be sent to the customer or nearby distribution centers. The site is completely covered in massive concrete piers and distribution centers are immense structural skeletons housing smaller structural elements. The multiplicity and boundless nature of the structures analyzed, the site, and the expansive fulfillment center program compounded to form a sublime narrative fulfilled throughout the project. The framework of precedent analysis informs the structural and architectural strategy in the design to ensure the sublime is provoked throughout the design.
Michael McInturf, M.Arch. (Committee Chair)
Elizabeth Riorden, M.Arch. (Committee Member)
94 p.
Architecture
Sublime; Architecture; Distribution Center

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hoelker, J. (2020). Provoking the Sublime Through the Expression of Structure in Architecture [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1592136387553552

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hoelker, Joseph. Provoking the Sublime Through the Expression of Structure in Architecture. 2020. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1592136387553552.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hoelker, Joseph. "Provoking the Sublime Through the Expression of Structure in Architecture." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1592136387553552

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1592136387553552
146
© 2020, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Provoking the Sublime Through the Expression of Structure in Architecture by Joseph Hoelker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.