Model & Mock-up

The Sullivan House: Blue and white terrazzo floor; tile mockup

01/01/1995

Mock-up

A final-stage test of one terrazzo tile, used as a sample for the final reproduction of 800 more tiles, which composed the terrace terrazzo floor.

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Katalin Bende, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA

Medium:

Array

Size:

10"x10"

Scale:

1'=1'

Content of

Construction Innovation

Sullivan House: Blue and white terrazzo floor 1995

Work of Art for Project, Terrazzo Work

Created by:

Christopher Alexander, Randy Schmidt, Katalin Bende

850 hand-made tiles with flower, cast in blue and white terrazzo, ground and polished for the terrace floor; mockups and experimentation for developing the flower mold and the way of making them were developed in a construction course, and the ...

References

Scientific Research

Ornament and Function as Products of Unfolding

Areas of focus:

Design and Building Process

Guiding idea:

Structure Preserving Transformations

Ornament arises as part of the design process, when a person is making and seeks to embellish this "something" while making it. It arises as a result of the latent centers in the uncompleted thing requiring still more centers, requiring ...

Projects

Sullivan House 1990 to 1994

Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Residential, Realized , Construction completed in 1996

Client:

Mr. & Mrs. Steve and Susie Sullivan

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Eleni Coromvli, Katalin Bende

Contractor:

Center for Environmetal Structure

Project cost:

$260,000

Project stages:

Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Use of full scale mock-ups Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout Direct construction management and on-site design decisions Budget and subcontractors under C.E.S. control

House reconstruction design and construction management. Concrete, redwood, fruitwood, plaster, terrazzo tiled floors and hand made metal detailed interiors.

Photographs