The architect I chose is Josep Lluis Sert, and the work I will analyze is «Casa Sert», located inside the Hardvard University in Cambridge, Boston, United States.
This exclusive house is one of the most unique designs of his career. The excellent distribution of the spaces using Patios as the house axis is one of the main characteristics of the house. He mixed lights and shadows in a special way and he used a strong relationship between INTERIOR and EXTERIOR with huge windows and extensions.
Using the ideal measurements of Le Corbusier´s Modulor, he finally got comfortable rooms for a more harmonious life.
SITUATION & HISTORY:
Its trapezoidal plot has an area of 925,5 m2, but without counting the patios, the house area is 202,35 m2. We need to add the basement area, which is 72m2, right down the bedrooms.
The house was built in a short period of time, starting the July 1st of 1957 and at the beginning of 1958, he was already living there. This unusual fast process couldn’t be possible without the American construction system Balloon Frame.
It is an introvert house, a system of interiors, with or without a roof, built in accordance with the human dimensions. In this way, Sert materializes the Albertan ideal, which says «Every house should be like a tiny city, and every city, like a big house».
SPACES:
“Cuanto más escasos y más caros van siendo los terrenos en las zonas urbanas, más atención deberíamos prestar a los tipos de casa mediterránea con patio (…). Las razones son bien sencillas: colocando unas vallas prácticamente encima de los límites de la parcela se aprovecha mejor un terreno que ha pasado a ser muy valioso. Además, tanto los espacios interiores como los exteriores son más privados y tranquilos. Y por último, todas las habitaciones pueden tener vistas agradables, independientemente de lo que haya más allá de los muros.” (J. L. Sert, 1958).
Talking about the house distribution, the access to it is located in a hall that goes to the public part and also to the private one. The living room, located in the right part of the plan view, is as big as the bedrooms (which means that both places have the same area and that creates a classic symmetry and harmony). The central Patio is the main visual center of the house and you can see it from every room. It is made of 20,5 cm2 concrete and shingle and it is in a lower level with a 25cm step. It is called «The room without a roof».
CONCEPT:
“Como un puente entre los ríos Tigris y Charles, he aquí las vistas de mi casa de Cambridge, en el área de Harvard. Tiene dos lados, como una gabardina reversible. El exterior es de ladrillos rojos e incorpora unas vallas de madera; son los materiales más comunes en la ciudad. En el interior, en cambio, es completamente blanco. Antes de decidirme por una casa con patio de una sola planta estudié varios tipos. Gracias a los muros que los protegen, los patios se pueden utilizar perfectamente en días fríos y ventosos pero soleados. (…) Es una casa que debía entenderla como un queso gruyer –con mas agujeros que queso, mas patios que casa.” (…) “Un periodista quiso saber a qué estilo de casa creía que pertenecía la mía, y le contesté: ‘¡Escriba casa-rancho pompeyana!’.» (J. L. Sert, 1958).
Sert, like every other architect, had some difficulties at the time of design their own houses; he presented around 15 different models of plans and rooftops.
He always had the idea of exterior walls in mind. In his house, we can find a square patio with an special tree in the middle. It is a patio-object and it separates instead of unifying.
The main inspiration of the architect, the shapes, and the feeling it gives; All of that is part of the main idea of three patios that respect the urban environment and a delicate style to the most direct environment of a neighborhood.
