15-Oct-22

telling stories with

diagrams and
diagram models
Hanoi Architectural University:
Spatial Stories - 1st Assignment

“the chart above, created by the French civil engineer Charles Joseph
Minard, which ingeniously combined both a map of the campaign
and a visual representation of the number of men remaining in
Napoleon’s doomed army. The thickness of the line is proportional
to the number of men in the army (one millimeter equaling 10,000
men), with the beige section representing the offensive toward
Moscow, and the black line the retreat. Below, Minard also included a
second chart showing the temperature on various days during the
retreat (Minard used the Réaumur scale for his temperatures, as was
commonplace at the time. Converted to Celsius, this makes the
coldest part of the retreat a whopping −37.5 °C)”

Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

https://cartographia.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/minard_napoleon.png

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Take note of techniques that you can use in your diagrams: color
coding, using line thickness, relating a map diagram to track with
a second linear diagram. You could draw or model coded
circulation diagrams using line thickness for intensity . . . You
might add time scales (for morning, lunchtime and evening . . .)

When a building is being built and when a
building is in decay it tells the story of its
making . . .
(paraphrasing Louis Kahn)
(the process story unfolds in the
images, from special measuring
related to geometry to the sequenced
collaboration of people.)

In this presentation you will see examples of

types of spatial stories. After each type is
presented you will be asked to make a
diagram or sketch of the type.

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In his landmark book, “The Image of the City,” published in 1961,

Lynch asked people to draw their city for a visitor, paying
attention to their own everyday paths and major landmarks,
without reference to geography.

Of course, each person’s map, both in Lynch’s book and Lupi’s

exercise, was different—but that did not mean that one map was
more accurate than another. Rather, each person was telling a
different story through cartography.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/can-data-be-human-the-work-of-giorgia-lupi?utm_campaign=aud-
dev&utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_052619&utm_medium=email&bxid=5be9dc7124c17c
6adf435ce3&cndid=2117912&esrc=&utm_term=TNY_Daily

spatial stories
narrative in architectural situations, from the
environmental to the functional; from the cultural
to the poetic
1: historical narrative of the growth of a landscape, first
into a scattering of village enclaves, and then as it became
city fabric of streets and alleys (diagram historical maps or
use map overlays from different periods)

2: use narratives, like the kitchen diagram in the

presentation (within a single use and / or between uses) –a
function diagram indicating relationships of sequence and
movement Spatial Stories: Hanoi Architectural University: 06 May 2019

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3: material narratives that explore how materials are

taken (from the earth, for example) and how they might
ultimately be returned there.

4: narratives of spatial sequence / experience

5: narratives of occupation (can be over a day, a year, a

century, or a millennium)

6: narratives of light, heat, water and wind as they change

during a day and a year

7: user (the people who live there) and / or architect

(you) narratives / biographies

8: circulatory narratives linking architecture and

landscape architecture / inside and outside

9: architectural concepts and metaphors inspired by /

aspiring to equivalence with narrative media [like
literature, film, music, dance]

10: the story of how a building was made; the sequence

and the processes . . . and / or how a building decays, and
/ or is recycled.

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1: historical narrative of the growth of a city:

consider why the changes happened

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1870

2020

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http://saigoneer.com/saigon-buildings/2966-photos-this-is-what-vietnam-looked-like-in-
1880

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Can you make a diagram that explains a story

about a picture? Or about the diagram by
Hoang Phuong, shown above?

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http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/vietnam-in-photos/111152/exclusive-photos-of-hanoi-s-old-quarter-in-1990.html

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/vietnam-in-photos/111152/exclusive-photos-of-hanoi-s-old-quarter-in-1990.html

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http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/vietnam-in-photos/111152/exclusive-photos-of-hanoi-s-old-quarter-in-
1990.html
Can you make a diagram that tells a story about this picture Over a day?
Over a generation? Can you take an old picture and a new one to tell a
story of change over time?

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/vietnam-in-photos/111152/exclusive-photos-of-hanoi-s-old-quarter-in-1990.html

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1775 Boston Map over 1995 Aerial Photo

http://www.futureboston.org/painting.htm

1914 map of Boston

http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/4
81290/Boston+1914+Business+Section+Ma
p/
map showing change in
Boston’s form from land-fill
over its history.
http://ajmoran.blogspot.com

Can you color-code a map of Hanoi using this

technique, i to show where the city has filled
in old lakes, river edges and canals?

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2: use narratives (within a single use / space and

between uses / spaces)
consider why the sequences work the way they do

sports diagrams – narratives of movement in space . . .

Can you used color-coded diagrams to show how different

families / family members circulate in an alley? How they
move from inside to outside, from washing to drying, from
cooking to serving, . . .

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“Fundamentally, circulation and use-space represent the significant dynamic and

static components in all buildings.

Use-space is the primary focus of architectural decision making relative to function,

and circulation is the means by which that design effort is engaged. Together, the
articulation of the conditions of movement and stability form the essence of a
building.”

Pause, Michael (2004-11-12). Precedents in Architecture: Analytic Diagrams, Formative Ideas, and Partis (Kindle
Locations 295-298). John Wiley and Sons. Kindle Edition.

Can you tell stories

about how people in the
alleys and streets you
study use their spaces
to do the jobs they do,
and to complete the
functions they engage
every day?

the kitchen work triangle based in part on work sequences . . .

http://www.preservationproperties.com/Blog/Kitchen-Layouts-The-Work-Triangle

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Can you diagram how

public and private
circulation works in parts
of your alley or street? Is
there a shop in part of a
house that is also a living
room? Do people do
personal work on the
sidewalks or on the alley
floor (like food
preparation, rice cleaning,
wood cutting, . . .)

p. 85, Evans, Robin, (1997), Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

comparing plans according to the circulatory narratives

between uses

3: narratives of spatial sequence / experience

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From Harved EdX lecture by K. Michael Hays

From Harved EdX lecture by K. Michael Hays

Can you diagram places in your alley or street where you might naturally stop and look,
rather than continuing walking? Maybe when turning a corner? Or passing through a
threshold?

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You have done

sketches like
this before – can
you make a new
one that tells a
story?

spatial
stories
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WRPKwyE76i0/SwLR6lK8tEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TdEYJ8J8EY4/s1600/cullen2Gordon
Cullen
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WRPKwyE76i0/SwLR6lK8tEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TdEYJ8J8EY4/s1600/cullen2.jpg accessed 01 Dec
2011
.jpg accessed 01 Dec 2011

Can you diagram

arrival at a special
place in a house or
an alley?

Grant Hildebrand’s diagram of the characteristic circuitous sequence towards a

sheltered place of refuge and prospect in Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses . . .
Cover image of The Wright Space by Grant Hildebrand, http://www.betterworldbooks.com/wright-space-id-0295971088.aspx
accessed 17 Apr 2012

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Villa LaRoche analytic model (top right: student project, Jonathan Bell)

foregrounding circulation sequences by

‘unfolding’ them
or straightening them, in order to understand sequence more
clearly

4: narratives of occupation (over a day, a year, a

century, and / or a millennium)

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http://www.architectural-review.com/14-
drawings-that-changed-
architecture/8657619.article?blocktitle=Featured
&contentID=7573

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5: the sequence of light / light’s heat as it

changes during a day and over the year -
consider how change in light can affect use

http://wiki.naturalfrequency.com/wiki/Sun-Path_Diagram http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/ha-noi.html

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Angle of sun elevation from the horizon

dates
May 28, 2014

of day

http://buildingadvisor.com/b
http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/ha-noi.html uying-land/design-issues/

Can you tell a story about how use

changes when light changes?

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6: user and architect narratives / biographies

A letter from Joseph Lindon

Smith to his parents in May
1891, showing him
returning home to New
Hampshire from Mexico

http://hyperallergic.com/189073/the-
illustrated-correspondence-of-artists/

Archives of American Art, Smithsonian

Institution, and appear in ‘More Than
Words’ by Liza Kirwin, published by
Princeton Architectural Press)

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Frank Lloyd Wright was the son of a preacher father and

a mother who told him he would become an architect.
She taught him to appreciate music and weaving. She
gave him geometric toys to play with that likely helped
him develop fluency with geometry at an early age.

Le Corbusier was a painter as well as an architect,

painting every morning before going to his architectural
office. He always carried a sketchbook and would sketch
often during his travels.

Mies van der Rohe was the son of a stone mason. He did
not think his clients could tell him much of value about
their needs. He thought that an architect of ability should
be able to tell the client what they needed.

When a building is being built and when a

building is in decay it tells the story of its
making . . .

(paraphrasing Louis Kahn)

“Great architects build structures that can

make us feel enclosed, liberated or
suspended. They lead us through space,
make us slow down, speed up or stop to
contemplate. Great writers, in devising their
literary structures, do exactly the same.”

“Writers as Architects”, Pericoli, Matteo;

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/writers-as-
architects/?emc=edit_tnt_20130804&tntemail0=y

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7: circulatory narratives linking architecture,

plant life and landscape architecture

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbc-drawing.cgi/Imperial_Villa_Katsura.html/Katsura_Site_Axon.jpg
accessed 13 apr 2012

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Hiding and revealing:

One tradition in the English landscape is to introduce a view of an important space or

form, but then have the view disappear as one continues along the sequence. Later
the space or form that was introduced is encountered again, from a new perspective.

Literary passages:

One tradition in the Japanese landscape is to introduce scenes of literary origin at key
points in the circulation sequence, from within the landscape and from the building
interiors looking out.

urban story-boarding

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in Field Study, you did some urban story

boarding by drawing spatial sequences
– can you take this process further, do it
better, make it more complex, and yet
more ordered?

Gordon Cullen’s Townscape

approach to analyzing the
experience of cities does so by
visually telling the story of a
sequence of experiences . . .
Like a filmmaker’s storyboard Gordon Cullen
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WRPKwyE76i0/SwLR6lK8tEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TdEYJ8J8EY4/s1600/cullen2Gordon Cullen
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WRPKwyE76i0/SwLR6lK8tEI/AAAAAAAAAFw/TdEYJ8J8EY4/s1600/cullen2.jpg accessed 01 Dec 2011
.jpg accessed 01 Dec 2011

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stories, linking refuge and prospect

Grant Hildebrand’s diagram of the characteristic circuitous sequence towards a

sheltered place of refuge and prospect in Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses . . .
Cover image of The Wright Space by Grant Hildebrand, http://www.betterworldbooks.com/wright-space-id-0295971088.aspx
accessed 17 Apr 2012

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http://empoweringthematuremind.com/empowering-developers-through-science-and-psychology/

unfolding stories of experience

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Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe

http://barcelona.unlike.net/locations/301494-The-Barcelona-Pavilion accessed 17 Apr 2012

Locations 1123, 1139, description of circulation and circulation diagram, Barcelona Pavilion, Mies van der Rohe, Psarra,
Sophia, Architecture and Narrative, New York: Routledge, Kindle Edition

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functional sequences

Villa LaRoche analytic model (top right: student project, Jonathan Bell)

foregrounding
circulation sequences
by ‘unfolding’ them
p. 85, Evans, Robin, (1997), Translations from Drawing to

or straightening them, in order to

Building and Other Essays. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

comparing plans according understand sequence more

to the circulatory narratives clearly
between uses

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"I used to classify my books in two categories: architecture books and other books.
Then I realized that my first category mostly dealt with architecture as an
aestheticized formalism, whereas the second category posed cities, buildings and
settings as integrated with life and human character.”

Pallasmaa, Juhani (2012-04-17). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (Kindle Locations 1770-1772). Wiley. Kindle
Edition.

8: tectonic concepts + metaphors based on

“buildings and settings as integrated with life
and human character” as well as inspired by /
aspiring to equivalence with narrative media
[like literature, film, music, dance]

from a study of one of Beethoven’s symphonies . . .

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choreographed in space like a dance

Scores for spaces - the sequences again laid out in a straight line . . .

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composed from a novel or a movie

Alfred Hitchcock storyboard

from the movie Vertigo.

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http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi- http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbc-
bin/gbg.cgi/Imperial_Villa_Katsura.html/34.984054/135.70967/18 drawing.cgi/Imperial_Villa_Katsura.html/Katsura_Site_Plan.jpg
accessed 13 apr 2012 accessed 13 apr 2012

Katsura Villa, Kyoto, Japan

Prince Toshihito, the founder of Katsura, was born in 1579. He was a younger brother of the
Emperor Goyozei. At an early age the boy was briefly adopted by the national unifier Hideyoshi
Toyotomi as a son and heir, but separated from this relationship after Hideyoshi sired his own.
Toshihito, as a prince, became the head of a new line called the Hachijo family, but it was a
rather poor branch without much resources. To improve this situation, it was proposed in 1615
that he marry Sen-Hime, the widow of the second Togukawa shogun, but little interest was
shown by both parties. Instead, he took a wife from the Miyazu family, a dignified but not
particularly wealthy family, winning the marginal income of 3,000 koku per year (about 15,000
bushels of rice).
The Prince was never fascinated by ostentatious wealth. From an early age he showed great
interest in the Tale of Genji and other literature. When some land along the south bank of the
Katsura River passed into his hands, he was no doubt aware of the literary significance. In the
chapter of the Tale of Genji entitled "The Wind in the Pines" it is written:
Far away, in the country village of Katsura, the reflection of the moon upon the water is clear
and tranquil.
Possessing the exact spot of land mentioned in his favorite book, the Prince set about
constructing a villa modeled on the pond gardens of the Tale of Genji. Katsura also figured in
other ancient literature. The Prince probably knew that at one time a graceful mansion stood at
the spot, modeled on the villa of the Tang poet Po Chu-i. Using both of these as a precedent, he
set about constructing his own villa.
The limited resources of the Prince compelled him to exercise restraint and fiscal discipline.
Accordingly, the first Katsura Villa seems to have been little more than "a teahouse in the melon
patch"--for most of the area had given over to melon fields. But by June, 18, 1620 the Prince
had made enough of an impression that he wrote in his diary: "Shimo Katsura teahouse built.
Guests come often." By June 18, 1624, the Prince had apparently devoted considerably more of

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http://web-japan.org/museum/garden/garden03/garden031.html accessed 13 apr 2012

http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbc-drawing.cgi/Imperial_Villa_Katsura.html/Katsura_Site_Axon.jpg
accessed 13 apr 2012

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The Katsura complex is composed of the shoin, or home, and five teahouses, all surrounded by a
carefully planned garden. These gardens, influenced by the The Tale of Genji, are integral to the
entire design of the complex. Within Genji a garden is mentioned where light is beautifully
reflected off of a fresh snowfall. This idyllic setting influenced the design of the garden where
plants, trees, and natural forms were all placed to create or deny views. The idea of reflection
took the form of a pond in the middle of the complex and proved vital in the design of the
shoin.
The orthogonal geometry of the buildings at Katsura is shifted sixty-three degrees to the
east to create views towards the rising moon. On perhaps the centerpiece of the entire
complex, the Moon-Viewing Platform provides the ideal place to view this celestial mass. The
platform was based off of a passage out of Genji stating, “in the country village of Katsura, the
reflection of the moon on the river is clear and tranquil.”

http://www.infobarrel.com/The_Katsura_Imperial_Villa_-
_A_Brief_History_Of_This_Japanese_Treasure accessed 13 Apr 2012

Bernard Tschumi,
Manhattan
Transcripts, black
and red diagrams
based on studies of
film images . . .

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Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts, based on studies of film images

http://www.tschumi.com/media/files/00574.jpg accessed 01 Dec 2011

Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts, based on studies of film images

http://www.berfrois.com/articles_images/manhattan-transcripts-example.png accessed 01 Dec 2011

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can the architect’s forms capture

Calvino’s “spiderweb” narrative of
relationships?

Excerpt from Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino,

http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/citysum.htm accessed 14 Apr 2012

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9: the story of how a building was made . . . In

construction / in decay

spatial stories
narrative in architectural situations from
the functional to the poetic
1: historical narrative of the growth of a city (the Ancient Quarter evolving)
2: use narratives (within a single use / space and between uses / spaces)
3: narratives of spatial sequence / experience
4: narratives of occupation (over a day, a year, a century, a millennium)
5: how change in light sponsors changes in use, over a day and over a year
6: user and architect narratives / biographies
7: circulatory narratives linking architecture and landscape architecture
8: tectonic concepts and metaphors inspired by / aspiring to equivalence with
narrative media [like literature, film, music, dance]
9: the story of how a building was made . . . In construction / in decay

Spatial Stories: Hanoi Architectural University: 16 April 2014: Eytan Fichman

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tell stories with

diagrams

Make a diagram and write a sentence in response to each of the 9 notions of

narrative listed below, addressing how you see each notion in relation to your
alley and street; 9 diagrams and 9 sentences in total.

Make sure you are DIAGRAMMING A STORY.

For example, a materials diagram does not tell a story. A sequence of

drawings of the assembling of materials into a wall does tell a story.

Note: This work will be part of the portfolio of work evaluated for establishing
your grade at the end of the semester.

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1: historical narrative of the growth of a city of streets from a

scattering of villages
(neighborhood map diagram[s] showing change over time;
what happened to cause the changes?)

2: use narratives (within a single use and between uses) –

function diagrams that TRACE sequences of use, first one than
another, or back and forth from use to use (can be like the
circulation to use diagrams or the kitchen diagram in the
presentation); maybe explain the time sequence of several uses
/ users. This can reflect information from interviews by people
living in the alley, or from watching people in the alley over a
period of time. Sometimes you have to try to imagine parts of
the use narrative that you cannot see. IMAGINE the paths of
use.

3: material narratives that explore how materials are taken

(from the earth, for example) and how they might ultimately be
returned there.

4: narratives of spatial sequence / sketches and text that

story-board experiences (similar to the Gordon Cullen
sketches of city experiences in sequence) like the ones you
already studied a bit in your alley. Tell a story.

5: temporal narratives of occupation (cover a day, a year, a

century, or a millennium – how a room is used over morning /
noon / night or how a street has been used over a century or . .
. ); learn what you can from the people who live there and from
historical documents available to you. Show CHANGE.

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6: the sequence of light and the heat from light, as it changes

during a day (can be an east / west section diagram through
the alley). You can draw the light in the alley, at one location,
as the sun moves. How does this connect with life stories of
use / users? How does the change in light change use, over a
day and night; over a week; over a year?

7: user (the people who live there and their histories) and /
or architect (you) narratives / biographies (stories of how
the alley was divided over time in a family or stories from
your memories that affect how you see the alley or that the
alley reminds you of)

8: circulatory narratives linking building architecture and

landscape architecture / inside and outside, including how
people use plant material in and around their dwellings as well
as how urban conditions outside comprise a hard, urban
landscape (is there a place to look at nature from inside the
alley? A little garden? A view of the sky? A place where is it nice
to watch the rain or feel a breeze or feel the warmth of the
sun?

9: architectural concepts and metaphors inspired by / aspiring

to equivalence with narrative media [people who are like
characters in a story; sequences of views you could imagine in a
film; light that reminds you of a painting; sounds that develop
like a piece of music, turns and spins like in a dance . . .]

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10: the story of how a building was made / when a

building was made and how the materials could
be re-used when its useful life is over . . . how was
it constructed, from foundations to roof; how old is the
construction? Can you see columns or beams
exposed? Have you seen a similar building being
constructed? Does the decay of a wall reveal how it
might have been made. . .? Was one built over another?
Can you do research online to learn more about the
construction of houses in Vietnam?

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