The beginning

On the most simple level the projects presented here are intended to fulfill the requirements of a kindergarten. At the next level they represent an investigation into the roles of order in design. In these projects I have chosen to deal with four orders inherent to architecture. The most basic is the order of material, fundamental and inescapable. Linked to this is the order of geometry, which must be sympathetic to the order of material, but goes further in establishing an overall pattern. Giving additional meaning to the overall pattern is the hierarchical order of the spaces. Finally, the social order animates the hierarchy with the abstract notions of the individual and collective. The core of this thesis lies in the integration of these orders into a coherent system, a deep structure adaptable to a variety of conditions. This deep structure gathers the orders, allowing for the necessary freedom while giving the equally indispensable restraint. The system provides a vehicle, an operational method from which one may approach each new circumstance. The following pages present the physical manifestations of this deep structure at several scales. From the realm of the site to the geometry of small objects the single overriding structure gives order, bringing together disparate elements into comprehensible wholes, intensifying the experience and ultimately infusing the whole with a spirit, architecture.