Peter Eisenman House II - Essay Example

Peter Eisenman House II and the Earth Mound House “… Cardboard is a term which questions the nature of the reality of the physical environment. Cardboard is a tem which attempts to shift the focus from the existing conception of form to a consideration of form as a signal or a notation which can provide formal information…” Peter Eisenman, 24, Inside Out: Selected Writings, 1963-1988. Peter Eisenman critics the trend that has pervaded in the development of architecture focused on the structure of architecture as cultural commentary and separates a consciousness about design emanating from the architect himself.

As Eisenman himself explained, there is an intention for every structure such as a wall aside from sheltering, supporting, and enclosing and in order for the wall to be considered architecture, it must overcome use and extrinsic significance (Eisenman, 67). This paper will proceed to compare the salient points of “Cardboard Architecture: House I and House II” to support or criticize the building (Appendix A) built by Sita Sanders of Catskills as a college project. Eisenman insisted on the notion of conceptual archituecture as similar to cardboard architecture for its underlying formal relationships going beyond mere shapes nor conventional signs but “a set of archetypal relationships which affect our most basic sensibilities about our environment,” (Eisenman, 25).

The same can be said of Sita Sanders’ house built to look like a mound of earth or a hill, complete with grasses that grew on its roofs. It was described as “…one-room straw-bale …right next to her mother’s house,” (Green, P 3). While it has doors, walls, windows, and metal beams that represent the conceptual house, it blends well to its environment, or the architect’s desire on how to make it look like and function – beyond a home but a response to pressing needs to address: global warming, extreme cold during winter, improvement of the natural habitat.

Conceptual architecture plays on the basic as presented by Eisenman: structure. Thus, Sanders’ building employed the basic structure of a home and arguably added only which she felt could be substantial and necessary without having to violate its function. The roof becomes a consideration of form that highlights an information and that is a call for action towards natural environment sensibility. 311 words Reference: Eisenman, Peter. Cardboard Architecture: House I and House II. Inside Out: Selected Writings, 1963-1988. 2004. Yale University Press. Print. Green, Penelope.

In the Catskills, Building Stone by Stone, Bale by Bale. New York Times, July 18, 2011, accessed from http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/07/14/garden/20110714-STRAWBALE-13.html. Web. Appendix: A: Sita Sanders’ house