is structured based on the red series in horizontal order, and the total height corresponds to the blue series. Le Corbusier establishes a theory for the project. This theoretical work is strongly present in the project´s development, where even the smallest detail is subject to a regulated decision-making system, valid in aesthetic principles through the Modulor theory. The Modulor regulates and establishes the system of measurements. I would like to refer to three points mentioned by Le Corbusier re-
Since the end of the last century, this community has taken refuge in Toconao to preserve and spread their ancestral culture, which they feel is threatened by changes in their way of life caused by population growth due to increasing tourism in the area, which has made the neighboring town of San Pedro de Atacama a world-class destination, and by lithium mining. Having achieved recognition as an Atacameña indigenous commu- nity in 2006, the Tocona people obtained state resources to rebuild old School No. 7 on a 4,800 m² site to accommodate 480 students from other nearby villages scattered around the edge of the Atacama salt flats, with a focus on interculturalism. Remembering architect Glenda Kapstein, we ask ourselves, among other things, what are the elements that tie architecture to its location, so that it becomes part of the landscape and, in turn, contributes to the memory and identity of its inhabitants? Through participatory design processes with the Lickanatai commu- nity and Kapstein's research, we reproduced an Atacameño worldview in the project, adjusted to the scale of the village. A non-Euclidean geometric grid houses a set of low-rise volumes, offset to make room for small gardens that provide shade and humidity to the environment, clad in liparite stone (volcanic rock) to regulate thermal inertia and give continuity to the craftsmanship that works with this traditional and identity-defining material. The project is a building with a continuous facade, minimal open- ings, and hermetic to the outside, like the high Andean houses that are grouped around a central courtyard from which the large hills can be seen at all times. These hills are sacred and considered living beings that provide protection and security, which is why they are the object of payments or offerings in sacred places. For the Lickanatai, this is a sacred fact. Their worldview is centered on the earth, reflecting a deep relationship between man and his natural environment. !
the stratified structure of the wall, while at the same time presenting an order that constructs a series in the horizontal sense. The ability to be cut and separated from its context places the Panel Window within the order of the object, specifically the architectural object. The degree of design abstraction based on the Modulor numbers gives rise to its internal structure. The numbers 27 - 43 - 113, corresponding to the red series, form the grid that measures the horizontal order. Based on repetition and variation, without rhythm, it constructs the series, which cuts the wall vertically. The measurement 366 determines the single height, corresponding to the blue series. These four measurements, mainly, and the determination of the third in the last one, construct the internal order in the panel window. Basically, these four measurements measure the solid or opaque elements of the window horizontally, and the thirds that determine the subdivision of the 366 height, construct the horizontal stratified struc- ture, which acts as a support in the placement and displacement of the opaque panels that make up the Panel Window. Its dual conception, based on linear elements that determine the layout, forms the structure or mesh, which in itself has two formal and structural readings: container or contour and stratifying divider. The presence of the opaque panels forms a composite order, which differentiates it from the Undulated window, which, based on a single element, with a linear shape 366 high, constructs the undulating panel based on its separation, determined by measurements from both the Modulor's blue and red series. The Panel Window basically works with Modulor measurements in two dimensions: in the composition of the plane using the red and blue series, horizontally and vertically, respectively, in relation to the undu- lated window, which has a mixed linear serialization determined by the blue and red series. The Panel Window works with Modulor measurements in two di- mensions on the plane, and when transferred to space, it constructs a volumetric representation of the plane, which, on the scale of the constructed object, has two sides, breaking the apparent symmetry of the unit for the first time. The Panel Window has two faces: from the inside and from the out- side. This first order is with respect to the plane of the wall. However, the Panel Window itself is always interior, creating the condition of the window that is looked at and measures the distance, in frontality and foreshortening, in detention and displacement. This study is based on the analysis of the element, the exercise, or the possibility of cutting and separating it from its context and meaning, to be subjected to a possible scientific analysis. The Panel Window is cut and separated from the plane of the wall. What it does is look at the level of the object in a decontextualized proximity. The thesis is structured around the work of an architectural element: the Panel Window, which has a high degree of autonomy and complexity, similar to that of a work of art, both in terms of design and construction. This means that it raises issues that are measured from the structure of the whole, as well as in the definition of the detail. This is basically due to the use of the Modulor in the Convent architecture, specifically in the Cloister. The problem posed by its incorporation is the degree of autonomy at the different project scales, the Panel Window being one of these. The scale of the Panel Window can be repeated within the whole. This simple condition allows for simultaneous measurement on two scales: that of the window element, which is measured as a whole by inscribing the measurements that determine it, and that of the series, which is initially measured by repetition and measures the whole or fragments of the whole. Initially repetitive, because the Panel Window is apparently one, but has 13 types and, on top of these, variations and derivations that originate from a single one: the Panel Window type A, which is the
garding observations about the origin of the Modulor. “What is the rule that orders and links all things?”
Based on this question, he reflects as follows: “I am faced with a prob- lem of a geometric nature; I am in the midst of a visual phenomenon, I am witnessing the formation of a being within me. The lion is known by its claw, but where is the claw and where is the lion?” He then recalls the words of a gardener who had said to him when visiting a modern villa in Brena: “You know, this is very complicated; there are all kinds of tricks, curves, angles, calculations; this is very wise.” One day, while looking at a postcard image of Michelangelo's Capitol, he intuitively observed an admissible truth: “the right angle directs the composition.” This same proof is later confirmed in a painting by Cézanne. Le Corbusier, then, not confident in his verdict, says: "The composi- tion of works of art is governed by rules, which can be sharp or subtle, conscious, and also trivially applied stencils, and may even be implied by the artist's creative instinct, as a manifestation of intuitive harmony, as was almost certainly the case with Cézanne, since Michelangelo was from a different nature, inclined toward deliberate and preconceived, wise designs...". Window in the Cloister Within Le Corbusier's architectural proposal, his exploration of the subject of the window is of great relevance, as it can be representative of the different periods of his architecture. This ability to represent architectural purpose places the window in a crucial position, highly dependent on the development of his work, but at the same time, with great autonomy, the window itself being a complex architectural problem. This autonomy, mentioned above, led to Le Corbusier's invention of the Window. These will be a reflection of specific architectural problems that will provide a response, both proactive and exploratory, based on theoretical foundations and characterized by a constructive proposal. Panel Window It is important to examine the concept and evolution of the panel window by reviewing three works by Le Corbusier, namely: The Villa Schwob, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, is used conceptually to cover almost the entire facade, forming a single large panel. This is the first work published in Vers une architecture, indicating that it faithfully responds to the new ideology that stems from Le Corbusier's attention to the international scene and Perret's new rationalist analy- ses, all of this following an article published in 1914 entitled Renewal in Architecture, (1) in which he announces his abandonment of the study of Swiss regional architecture and ornamentation. Later, in Maison Jaoul, he worked on a system consisting of several of these, creating a composite facade. Le Corbusier, in the Maison Jaoul (1955), according to Stirling, the design “was an affront to those sensibilities that had been nurtured by the myth that modern architecture would manifest itself in the form of flat, smooth, mechanized surfaces within an articulated framework”. For Stirling, the Maisons Jaoul, “were justifiably considered to be in direct opposition to the rationalist tradition of the Modern Movement”.
in Le Corbusier's work: the problem of Determination and Indetermina- tion in architecture. To this end, the work focused on creating a survey that would enable the study of a project and, through the elaboration and development of representations, create a theoretical construction. Presentacion The hypothesis is that the Panel Window in La Tourette displays a high degree of design determination, which allows or tolerates a high degree of construction indeterminacy. The terms determination and indetermi- nacy are part of the issues surrounding architecture and construction, or theory and technique, and, to be more specific, the design and con- struction aspects that each project faces. Project determination itself is only one specific aspect of architectural design; it defines the formal principles and establishes the parameters of measurement. In other words, it defines the form and scale of the project. The degrees of project determination in La Tourette evoke the work of ideal forms: Modulor measurements, the conception of clean geom- etries, and the arrangement of the building's parts. Ideal relationship, real relationship Project relationship, invoice relationship Drawing relationship, construction relationship Relationship of anticipation, posteriority. The La Tourette Convent At the La Tourette Convent, we are faced with a composition of building volumes, each with very different characteristics, seemingly unrelated but complementary in the overall design. Upon reviewing the building, we see that the cloister rises like a terrace, a horizontal volume, in contrast to the chapel, a vertical volume. At La Tourette, considering the conceptual vision of these two volumes, we notice a rupture and separation, a clear individualization that iden- tifies diametrically opposed orders and readings with great autonomy. This autonomy of the volumes acts as the first trigger for the study, as it facilitates identification and reveals their different formal, spatial, and functional characteristics. This thesis delves into the volume of the cloister, because through the study of the horizontal volume walls, the problem of the window is analyzed. These appear as a dual condition of being both a wall and a window at the same time. There are three windows in the cloister that are in this situation: the horizontal window, the undulated window, and the panel window. In this study, the panel window is specifically observed. The Modular in La Tourette Le Corbusier worked directly with Modulor measurements in La Tourette. The order of the measurements of the Panel Window and the undulated window is determined by Modulor measurements. The Panel Window
THESIS
The Windows of The La Tourette Convent: Determination and Indetermination In Le Corbusier's Architecture By: Germán Squella Correa In tribute to Le Corbusier, on the 60th anniversary of his death, we publish some excerpts in these pages from the thesis presented by architect Germán Squella to obtain his Master's degree in Architecture in 1994 at Universidad Católica. The thesis was supervised by Rodrigo Pérez de Arce. The committee was made up of guest professors Fer- nando Pérez, Emilio Duhart, and Miguel Eyquem. Introduction This thesis stems from two circumstances: an interest in studying Le Corbusier and his architecture. Given the breadth and complexity of the subject, a strategic approach has been taken to study it based on a single architectural element, the Panel Window of the La Tourette Convent. Then, the idea of continuing and delving deeper into the subjects developed in the Master's program, specifically in the selection of a topic: Architectural Determination and Indetermination. This was approached from two perspectives: representation and the exploratory mode in the creation of form in project development. This interest in Le Corbusier and his architecture led me to study this particular work in depth. The Panel Window embodied a dilemma present
Conclusion The Panel Window is an autonomous architectural element that fits into
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