My Narrative

It all began with looking at this painting I have admired for years, I began to think about the four characters that appeared in Nighthawk by Edward Hopper and was immediately curious about the man with his back to me. One thing that is fairly obvious is that he is alone, his body language tells me hes not in a good mood and the choice of clothes give the feeling of mystery.
I knew he was the person I was going to write my story about. After learning about the history of this painting It lead me to write a story in particular about what was happening at that point in time, in America and the war, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
I also read that it gave the city of sense of gloominess, defeat and anxiety. The people in the painting almost look as if they are mourning a loss. This gave me the ideas and so I began to write about that man in the suit inside the bar at night..
" He was torn apart, he had just lost his good man in the war, why was he there and not with his friend, why did he survive..all these thoughts keep him up late at night, normally going to the bar for a few drinks to numb the pain..those few drinks, every night..in the city of Manhattan, a short walk from his home, but was it home? or was it the bar that gave him that sort of comfort that home did. Was it the extremely bright, unnatural light above, was it really that comforting, it almost feels as if its too much..like almost forcing the comfort which is doing the opposite almost...or is it becouse this is a chance to see people doing what they normally do in a bar, converse, drink, perhaps find a companion, but most of the time its becouse the drink keeps him warm at night, the bar gives him a reason to walk out of his home every day, he knows his going too far but he keeps it cool, life can only go one way..down..down down like a spiral, sucked down like water forced down the drain. He knows its too late and im not talking about the time, he's hooked, he knows there's no escape, hes just a fish drinking in a fish tank, all glass around him, memory shortly fading,trapped.

Room & Narrative

Nighthawks
(1942) is a painting by Edward Hopper that portrays people sitting in a downtown diner late at night. It is not only Hopper's most famous painting, but also one of the most recognizable in American art. It is currently in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Nighthawks" may be Hopper's take on the term 'night owl' used to describe someone who stays up late. The scene was inspired by a diner (since demolished) in Greenwich Village, Hopper's home neighborhood in Manhattan The now-vacant lot is known as Mulry Square, at the intersection of Seventh Avenue South, Greenwich Avenue, and West 11th Street.

Hopper began painting it immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After this event there was a widespread feeling of gloominess across the country, a feeling that is portrayed in the painting. The urban street is empty outside the diner, and inside none of the three patrons is apparently looking or talking to the others; all are lost in their own thoughts. Two are a couple, while the third is a man sitting alone, with his back to the viewer. The couple's noses resemble beaks, perhaps a reference to the title. The diner's sole attendant, looking up from his work, appears to be peering out the window past the customers. His age is indeterminate.

The corner of the diner is curved; curved glass connects the large expanse of glass on its two sides. Weather is understood to be warm, based on clothing worn by the patrons. No overcoats are in evidence; the woman's blouse is short-sleeved. Across the street are what appear to be open windows on the second story. The light from the restaurant floods out onto the street outside, and a sliver of light casts its way into one of the windows.

This portrayal of modern urban life as empty or lonely is a common theme throughout Hopper's work. It is sharply outlined by the fact that the man with his back to us appears more lonely because of the couple sitting next to him. If one looks closely, it becomes apparent that there is no way out of the bar area, as the three walls of the counter form a triangle that traps the attendant. It is also notable that the diner has no visible door leading to the outside, which illustrates the idea of confinement and entrapment. Hopper denied that he had intended to communicate this in Nighthawks, but he admitted that "unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city." At the time of the painting, fluorescent lights had just been developed, perhaps contributing to why the diner is casting such an eerie glow upon the almost pitch black outside world. An advertisement for Phillies cigars is featured on top of the diner.

The conclusion can also be drawn that Hopper painted the emptiness pervading the city. This conclusion can be substantiated by the observation that three-quarters of the painting is empty and has no sign of human life in it.

Eilleen Gray - PARTI & POCHE + Model

PARTY DIAGRAMS

Enclosure, Program, Circulation, Structure & Geometry. Drawings done at a scale of 1:200.

Left: Program

Left: Enclosure
Left: Circulation

Left: Structure
Left: Geometry


The model my partner and I have done is the Eileen Gray, Tempe a Pailla house. It is made of card and the site of balser, also the board is mdf timber board for the base. The photos explain the making and the complete.


Stairs of the building


3d views of the house exterior


3d and elevation shots


inside the house (section)


Elevation and 3d


Early stages, house divided in two


Devided sections, stairs and different levels


top view and cross section


House in two, sections displayed


Elevations, both


Top view and 3d of complete model.

Eileen Gray - Tempe a Pailla

Architects of Ireland - Eileen Gray

Eileen Gray was born on 9 August 1878, into an aristocratic family near Enniscorthy, a small market town in south-eastern Ireland. Gray was the youngest of five children. Her parents, Eveleen Pounden Gray and James Maclaren Gray were of Scottish/Irish descent. Gray’s father, James, was a painter who encouraged his daughter's artistic interests. He took his daughter on painting tours of Italy and Switzerland which and encouraged her independent spirit. Gray spent most of her childhood living in family homes, either in Ireland or South Kensington in London.

Tempe a Pailla

The house I was given to study and work on was Eileen Gray's famous house 'Tempe a Pailla'. I learned alot about Eileen, a self motivated, modernist, furniture designer as well as Architect in a time where mostly men followed this specific career, having designed E-1027, a house for her and her partner and Tempe a Pailla, a house for her self, a pure act of selfishness, a space designed for her to dwell and work, it was a living/working machine as she wanted it, a space which can be constantly changed such as furniture having multi-purpose and so on. Eileen loved a challenge, it is believed it was why she chose such a difficult site. She built on existing structures which anchored the house, she was into ship Architecture, this would explain why her house was long and narrow with many decks for views and levels for storage, and the flag on top. Eileen was very social, she took advantage of the entertaining space for her guests and incorporated views of the city and the sea with balconies and large windows. However, she was also in a way private and enjoyed her space, this can be viewed on the plans of Tempe a Pailla on her choice to where she positioned her rooms, as the bedrooms, service rooms and courtyard were been tucked away at the back, revelling a tranquil view of the distant mountains.It was almost like the house can be split in half one side been public and the other been public. She made sure of this through her intention in the circulation, it allows you to enter the house and directly and be astounded by the view of the north in the living room that led outside to the pathway to her garden and down the stairs.Eileen treated the outside space the same way as she treated the inside space, she did this by having the same tiles, the same material inside and out. Eileen liked to take advantage of the sunlight, in fact she designed each room regarding to were she would receive the most sunlight or the least, she even incorporated a way in which she could control the light in certain rooms, in the bedroom a medium sized circle could be moved according to the amount of light she wanted to enter the room, almost like an eclipse, like she had her own sun to play with, it was brilliant.