A Chinese View of Nature

The design of this small weekend house for the architects, Alfred Swenson and Pao-Chi Chang, was developed from several sources. The first was a way of looking at nature found in Chinese landscape paintings of the Yuan dynasty. These painters, particularly Wang Meng, were not interested in the aesthetic enjoyment of nature; they saw their paintings as "lodgings for the mind." They were made with the same brush used to write poetry or literary works which gave them an intellectual and philosophical bent. Wang Meng sought to show in his paintings how the elements of a landscape were formed according to the "principles that governed nature", or Li in Chinese. His paintings employed different kinds of brushstrokes to suggest the various Li that formed clouds, trees, rocks and waterfalls. The architects thought: could not a building, as well as a painting be a "lodging for the mind?" We decided to make the Li the spirit of our design, after the manner of Wang Meng. Pao-Chi Chang decided that our design would also be informed by three references to traditional Chinese architecture: the dwelling would face south, it would be symmetrical about its north-south axis, and it would rise from an earthen terrace. But serious questions now confronted us. What are the Li of our time, and what would be the analogy to Wang Meng's brushstrokes in our building?

Site Plan

The site affords the house a sunny view of the alfalfa meadow; the vista is closed by a grove of large oaks. The pine screen was planted by a previous owner over 25 years ago. The break in the pine screen allows access for farm machinery to harvest the alfalfa. An access driveway from the road leads through the pines to a parking area, from there the house is approached on foot.

The Li and Anthropic Principle

The answers to these questions began to unfold in our encounter with the Anthropic Principle, which, roughly stated, means the physics of our Universe (as compared to other possible universes) must allow life and Mind to exist, otherwise we would not be here to observe it. This idea was put forward by the British astrophysicist Brandon Carter as a modification of the Copernican Principle, which asserts that the earth does not occupy a privileged position in the Universe. Carter's Anthropic Principle states that "...our location in the Universe is necessarily privileged to the extent of being compatible with our existence as observers." He named our Universe and others like it "cognizable universes" because they permit Mind to come into existence and to understand them. Our cognizable Universe is characterized by many fine-tuned attributes which are critical to life and Mind; it was these attributes we identified as the Li of our age, and they became other major source for our design. From these many crucial attributes, we selected a few to use as the basis for our "cosmic brushstrokes," to evoke our understanding of the Li of our time in our building in the spirit of Wang Meng's paintings. As architects, who are constantly manipulating the spatial qualities of buildings, we were fascinated to find that many attributes of our four-dimensional space-time are crucial to life and Mind.

Epistemic Space-Time Symmetries

Vitruvius tells us the symmetry of classical temples was symbolic of the bilateral symmetry of the external parts of the human body; we call this somatic symmetry. In traditional Chinese architecture, the axis of symmetry defined the pathway along which visitors approached the central architectural event of a building or building complex; we call this ceremonial symmetry. But the symmetry of our Casina symbolizes some critical attributes of our space-time; it is characterized by a number of symmetries which not only allow us to measure and understand our Universe, but also imply the existence of conservation principles that are essential to life and Mind. Of these symmetries, the simplest three are the symmetry of spatial translation, which implies the principle of the conservation of linear momentum; the symmetry of time translation, implying the principle of the conservation of energy; and the symmetry of spatial rotation, implying the principle of the conservation of angular momentum. Because these three space-time symmetries are necessary to Mind's understanding of our Universe, we called them epistemic symmetries. The north-south axial symmetry of our Casina celebrates these profound epistemic space-time symmetries that allow Mind to obtain its knowledge of our Universe, as well as the conservation principles they imply that are crucial to life and Mind.

The Coherent Spherical Wave Terrace

Another critical attribute of our three-dimensional space is that it allows the electromagnetic force to produce coherent, undistorted radiation in spherical waves. The sharp and clear quality of visual images and electromagnetic pulses in neural systems, which are possible only in three dimensional space, are absolutely essential to the existence of life and Mind. If our space had a higher even-numbered dimensionality, the speed of light is not constant and images and neural signals would be hopelessly blurred. If it had a higher odd-numbered dimensionality, electromagnetic waves could not propagate in a uniform spherical form over significant distances, and would produce distorted images and scrambled signals. We chose to celebrate these indispensable spherical electromagnetic waves of our Universe in the forms of the Casina's terrace. The boundaries of the terrace lobes are composed in a pattern of circular segments. These segments suggest horizontal sections through the spherical wavefronts, and the grass slopes and curved steps at the terrace edges further suggest their three-dimensional form. The regular pattern of the terrace paving suggests the coherent information content of this radiation in our Universe. The building is seen to rise from this assemblage of forms and patterns, symbolizing life and Mind's dependency on this crucially coherent radiation.

Terrace Level Plan

The Casina terrace is composed of circular arcs of different radii; the horizontal surfaces are covered porous paving with grass planted in the openings. Four curved stairways lead down to grade level; in between them the terrace descends to the surrounding lawn in grassy banks. These forms are symbolic of the coherent electromagnetic radiation essential to life and Mind, which is possible only in our three-dimensional space. The building rises from this terrace, enclosing a rectangular double-height volume in which a smaller mezzanine level is inserted. The mezzanine divides the volume into two unequal spaces, a larger salon facing south with a wide view overlooking the alfalfa field and oak grove, and the smaller dining area facing north towards the outdoor room defined by the pine screen. A staircase ascends to the mezzanine along the east wall. Under the mezzanine are located the kitchen and bathroom, as well as the library with its books and drop-leaf desk housed in an enclosed cabinet along the west wall.

Orbital Worldline Columns

Our three-dimensional space is also the only one in which stable gravitational orbits are possible. In spaces of higher dimensionality, our earth and the other planets could not maintain stable orbits about the sun; they would either spiral into it or move away from it due to asteroid or meteor impacts. A planetary orbit with long-term stability during the 3.7 billion years that has elapsed since life emerged on earth has been, and continues to be, absolutely necessary for the existence of life and Mind. We choose to celebrate this crucial attribute of our Universe with the orbital world line columns at the north and south elevations of our Casina. The path through space-time of a body in a stable orbit is represented by a helix, where the horizontal axes show the spatial rotation of the body, and the vertical axis shows its movement through the dimension of time. The term "world line" was introduced by the Polish-German mathematician Hermann Minkowski in his model of our four-dimensional space-time published in 1908. The central cylindrical shaft of the column is symbolically ornamented by two orbital world line helices, one right-handed and the other left-handed, placed tangent to each other, and supported by rods connected at their tangent points. At the capital of the column, each helix starts at a ring of slightly larger orbital diameter, from which it transitions into the stable orbit helix, which terminates at the column base plate. The column was executed in formed and welded stainless steel.

Column Elevations and Sections

The central shaft of these columns is a stainless steel pipe around which are entwined two orbital world line helices formed from stainless steel rods, one right-handed and the other left-handed. These helixes are symbolic of the world lines of stable planetary orbits, which are possible only in our three-dimensional space, and are so essential to life and Mind. The inner helix has a slightly smaller diameter so it is tangent to the outer helix at each half-turn; at these tangent points they are welded together, as well as to the central shaft with a short supporting rod. At the capital of the column, each helix starts from a ring of slightly larger orbital diameter, from which it transitions into the stable orbital helix, which makes 11 turns before it terminates at the column base plate.

Balmer Series Proportions

Yet another unique property of our three-dimensional space is that it is only one that allows the electromagnetic force to form stable atoms. If our Universe had a higher number of dimensions, stable orbits for atomic electrons would not be possible. Much the same as with gravitational orbits, hyper-electrons in higher dimensionalities approaching a hyper-proton would either continue on to infinity or, if it passed close enough, spiral into it. The stable matter necessary for planets and living things would not exist. The Danish physicist Niels Bohr published the first successful model of the hydrogen atom in 1913. The model predicted the existence of a series of stable electron orbits around the nucleus, which for hydrogen consists of a single proton. The innermost orbit acted as a "quantum fence" to keep the electron from falling into the positively charged nucleus. Bohr showed that as the single atomic electron of hydrogen jumped from one orbit to another, it emitted energy as it jumped inward to a lower orbit, and absorbed energy as it jumped outward to a higher orbit. The Bohr model's predicted absorption of energy by atomic electrons had been observed as dark lines in the solar spectrum 100 years earlier by the German optician Joseph Frauenhofer, who devised the modern slit spectroscope. The first examples of the bright spectral lines associated with the energy emitted by hydrogen atomic electrons were discovered by the Swedish physicist Anders Ângström in 1853. More bright hydrogen spectral lines were discovered, and in 1885 the Swiss schoolteacher Johann Balmer published a model showing a group of them formed a geometrical series; this Bohr's model also explained. In 1917, the German physicist Paul Ehrenfest showed that if the Bohr model was extended to spaces of higher dimensionalities, no stable atoms are possible. To visually celebrate the stable atoms possible only in our three-dimensional space we decided to use a set of proportions in our Casina established by the spacing of the Balmer series of spectral lines of hydrogen; these lines are direct evidence of this atom's stable electron orbits. These lines are spaced to form a geometrical series, based on the difference of inverse squares. We applied these proportions to a number of different building elements. They determined the spacing of the divisions of the panels of the exterior reflective glass fascias at the roof level and the balcony floors, as well as the spacing of the metal strips applied to the glass balustrades on both exterior and interior. These proportions were also applied to the spacing of window mullions, to the spacing of horizontal internal window muntins, and to the spacing and sizes of the exterior reflective metal rosette arrays on the east and west walls.

East and South Elevations Showing Balmer Proportions

The east elevation (top) and south elevation (bottom) of the Casina show how the Balmer Series proportions were applied to the division of various building elements; these include the reflective glass fascias, glass balcony balustrades, window mullions and muntins, and the reflective rosette arrays on the east and west walls. The spacing of the divisions of these architectural components (red lines) was determined by the spectral lines of the Balmer series for the hydrogen atom. These spectral lines are in turn the result of the emission of photons as the single atomic electron of hydrogen jumps from one stable orbit to another. Such stable electron orbits, which are required for stable matter and therefore crucial to life and Mind, are only possible in our three-dimensional space.

The Star Cluster Ceiling

The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation in 1965 by the American radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson opened a marvelous observational window on our early Universe. Subsequent measurements of this radiation by the COBE and WMAP spacecraft have revealed much about that distant era. This data shows that shortly after the Big Bang singularity, this radiation was not uniform, but had small fluctuations in temperature. The British astrophysicist Martin Rees and others have shown that the observed value of these temperature variations led to a critical initial graininess of primordial matter, as it emerged in the middle stages of the Big Bang era. Rees noted if these fluctuations were slightly smaller, the initial graininess would be too fine to form any structures at all. If the fluctuations were slightly larger, the resulting coarse-grained matter would produce more massive structures, including many black holes, all of which would be inhospitable to life and Mind. This finely-tuned initial graininess of primordial matter, which allowed gravity to condense it into galaxies, star clusters, stars, planets and ourselves, is celebrated in our Casina by the pattern of ceiling light fixtures, which we composed to suggest small-scale intra-galactic star clusters. These fixtures are arranged in two clusters, the larger one above the salon, and the smaller above the dining area, connected by two tenuous strands of lights that flow along the east and west walls.

Reflected Ceiling Plan

This reflected plan of the Casina roof level ceiling shows how the light fixtures are composed to suggest two-dimensional projections of the star clusters we see in our Milky Way galaxy. There is a larger cluster on the ceiling of the salon and a smaller one in the dining area, connected by wisps of lights along the east and west walls. Such star clusters are very small scale evidence of how the action of the force of gravity was able to pull matter together into galaxies, star clusters, stars, planets and ourselves. This diversity of gravitational structures seen in our universe, which is essential to the existence of life and mind, was made possible by the critical initial graininess of matter in our early Universe. If this graininess was less, no structures could form and the universe would remain forever dark. If matter was initially more grainy, gravity would form massive tightly bound structures, including many black holes, which would be inhospitable to life and Mind. The star cluster ceiling patterns celebrate this crucially fine-tuned attribute of our Cosmos.

Transparent, Translucent, Reflective and Opaque Elements

We developed the Casina's form not only from ideas, but also as an interplay of transparent, translucent, reflective and opaque elements, which interact with both natural and artificial light. This view of the north elevation at dusk shows some of these interactions. The full-height clear glass wall, which floods the dining area and kitchen with light during the day has now become a proscenium, revealing the artificially lighted interior; this can be quickly altered by closing the opaque draperies. The reflective glass fascia at roof level mirrors the darkening evening sky, while the interior mezzanine fascia reflects the dark wall of the pine screen. The translucent glass partitions and balustrades on the mezzanine, which admit diffused light to the sleeping area by day, now glow with transmitted radiation from the recessed strip lights above. The stainless steel orbital world line columns, which are intensely highlighted by daylight, appear now in softer and more delicate silhouette. The opaque surfaces, in shades of white and off-white, of the ceiling, wall and floor surfaces, which by day tend to blend together are now differentiated by the artificial lighting. At dusk the light fixtures on the ceiling direct most of their light downwards onto the floor, which reflects it back to the walls; the ceiling surface now appears darker and the star clusters are clearly delineated.

Mezzanine Level Plan

The mezzanine level is inserted within the larger spatial volume defined by the roof and wall planes of the Casina. This level is reached by a staircase set against the east wall; its floor extends outward to form two symmetrical balconies. The mezzanine contains a sleeping area defined by two translucent glass partitions and an opaque storage wall; beyond it is a bath with views of the landscape.

A Lodging for the Mind

The interior of the Casina is light filled, illuminated by day with natural light from the full-height glass walls. The dining area and kitchen, with its north exposure has a more open, cooler ambience, but the east angle glazing allows sun on the breakfast table. In the south-facing salon, the feeling is one of greater enclosure; the window wall's view of the alfalfa meadow is shaded by the portico which largely excludes the sun in summer, but welcomes it deep into the room in winter. The library under the mezzanine is open to both north and south views. We built our Casina as a lodging for the mind, a place to relax and let one's thoughts develop freely, always aware of the inner structure of both our surrounding space and the forces of Nature.

COPYRIGHT

All photographs, drawings, architectural design, and essay text and illustrations are copyrighted. Please contact Alfred Swenson (alfred_swenson@swensonchangcasina.com) for republication information.

Casina Photographs: Craig Dugan © Hedrich Blessing 2007

Casina Drawings: © Alfred Swenson 2007

Casina Architectural Design: © Pao-Chi Chang and Alfred Swenson 1991-2005

Casina Essay Text and Illustrations: © Alfred Swenson 2007

Casina: Design Evolution

Li or Principle: Symmetrical Comprehensive Four-Dimensional Space-Time
Cosmic Brush Stroke: Epistemic Symmetry

Li or Principle: Undistorted Electromagnetic Radiation
Possible Only in Three-Dimensional Space
Cosmic Brush Stroke: Coherent Spherical Wave Terrace

Li or Principle: Stable Gravitational Orbits Possible Only in Three-Dimensional Space
Cosmic Brush Stroke: Orbital Worldline Column

Li or Principle: Stable Atoms Possible Only in Three-Dimensional Space
Cosmic Brush Stroke: Balmer Series Proportions

Li or Principle: Critical Initial Graininess of Matter
Cosmic Brush Stroke: Star Cluster Ceiling

Swenson Chang Architects

Alfred Swenson
Alfred Swenson Pao-Chi Chang Architects
alfred_swenson@swensonchangcasina.com