ALDO VAN EYAC

ORPHANAGE, 1954-59

FUNCTIONS
PURPOSE :- IT WAS BUILT TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT FOR DIFFERENT
FAMILIES FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN (ACCORDING TO AGE GROUP 2-4, 4-6etc.)AND
GIVEN TO EYAC BECAUSE OF HIS RISING REPUTATION WITH THE PLAYGROUND.
PRESENT VALUE:-ORPHANAGE WAS BEGAN WITH ENTHUSIASM AND ENDED IN
COLLAPSE. INTENDED LANDSCAPING AND ART WORKS WERE NEVER FUNDED, AND
MANY OF EYCKS LIGHT HEARTED AND PERCEPTIVE GESTURE TO ENTERTAIN AND
STIMULATE THE CHILDREN WERE REMOVED AS DANGEROUS DISTRACTIONS, WHILE
INTERIOR DETAILS WERE LOST BY THOUGHTLESS MODIFICATION AND OVER
PAINTINGS.

SYMBOLISMS
KNOWN AS CHILD CENTRED ARCHITECTURE.
MASTERPIECE OF ALDO VAN EYCK. IT ESTABLISHED HIM AS A LEADING FIGURE
ACROSS THE WORLD.
IT BECAME THE ICON OF STRUCTURALISMS-TEAM TEN REVISION OF
MODERNIST.


GEOMETRY
THE ORPHANAGE WAS PLANNED OUT ON A STRICT GRID WITH A MODULE OF
3.6 M WHICH SET THE BASIC SCALE OF WHOLE INSTITUTION OF A DOMESTIC
ROOM SIZED UNIT ,BUT ALLOWED THESE UNITS TO BE COMBINED INTO
SPACE UPTO FOUR UNITS LONG AND FOUR UNITS WIDE.
TRABEATED CONSTRUCTION OF REGULAR COLUMNS SUPPORTING REGULAR
BEAMS ECHOING THE CLASSICAL IDEAS THAT COLUMNS AND ARCHITRAVE
ARE ESSENCE OF ARCHITECTURE.
INSPITE OF FLAT OR NEUTRAL CEILINGS AN EMBRACING CANOPY AND
SHALLOW DOME OVER EACH UNITS USED FOR ROOFING. THE REPEATED
DOMES CARRY THE RHYTHM THROUH LIKE GAINT COFFERING,BUT EACH
CELLIS CENTRED ON ITS OWN CONCAVITY.


SCALE AND PROPORTION
ALDO SETS EVERYTHING TO THE SCALE OF CHILD . BASIC MODULE KEPT SMALL. IN
VERTICAL DIMENSIONS ALSO STEPS,SEAT AND TABLES WERE SET TO CHILDRENS
HEIGHT AND GLAZING BARS WERE ARRANGED TO GIVE BEST VIEW TO THEM RATHER
THAN TO ADULT.

COLOUR /TEXTURE
IT MARKS PREVALENT DISCOVERY OF TEXTURE AND MATERIALS CONTRASTING
EXPOSED BRICK WORK WITH CONCRETE THAT WAS SOMETIMES CAST-IN SITU OR
SOMETIMES PRE-CAST .
CONCEPT
A HOUSE IS A SMALL CITY AND CITY IS A BIG HOUSE.