Idea of Narrative

"A getaway meeting place for a fashionably young woman who has the desire to escape the entrapment of modern life"

Edward Hopper: Chop Suey (1929)

Artist reviews: Edward Hopper and his painting Chop Suey

Modern realism is a twentieth century art movement that occurred in America and Britain. It is defined mainly by the innovative ways the artists produce everyday scenes. Consumerism and modern life were big influencers on this movement. The painting Chop Suey (1929) by Edward Hopper displays the similarities between the consumerist topos of modern realism and the synonymous movement of Pop Art. While Pop Art was influenced more by consumerism through products, planned obsolescence, advertising etc, modern realism focused more on everyday life with modern living as a back drop.


Chop Suey depicts two women inside a restaurant. They sit not relaxed facing each other and at a table by a window. Outside the window is an advertisement that in its entirety, based on title of the painting, says CHOP SUEY. The sign is red with large letters with red, orange and blue light bulbs. The woman and the sign make two halves to this picture. The restaurant itself is dark. The only light appears to be coming from the window. By the ladies there is a lamp, but it is unlit. In the background another couple sit, the man almost in complete darkness. The woman facing the viewer is staring outwards from the picture with black eyes, rather than at her friend. She is in plain clothes, and has an attractive yet plain face. In this half of the painting the palette is dark and neutral with blacks, greys, whites and browns.
The other half, the sign is red. The brightness of the red seeps into the darkness of the restaurant through the wall colour as seen in the window area, and a red coat hanging on the wall. The window has a panel in the bottom which blocks the view of the couple if they were to look outside. In the background there is a ladder visible.
Altogether these two sections connote some interesting dichotomies. For example, there is an opposition of living versus detachment. The bright sign and light outside represents the vibrancy of modern life whereas inside the women are detached from this by the darkness, by the window panel, and by the desolate expressions on the main woman's face. This 'emotional detachment' conveys a second dichotomy; acceptance versus escape. The expressionless woman, and the darkness around the other figures suggests entrapment by modern life. The viewer looks from inside the restaurant, trapped with the subjects. The coat on the wall hints to the outside. However it is unworn, left on the wall. Its owner is not obvious. The motionlessness of the people in the scene represent an acceptance of this entrapment. In contrast the ladder, just visible from the window, connotes the possibility of escape. However it is inaccessible.

Overall Chop Suey appears to depict a view of modern life that is desolate but also matter-of-fact. The influence of consumerism on the city are depicted here by the sign in the window. However the emotional detachment of the woman represents a blaze attitude to this changing scenery. The people are kept in the dark here while the light comes from the outside. The strong palette emphasizes an eerie atmosphere and a feeling of exclusion, of isolation.

http://www.www.helium.com/items/779643-artist-reviews-edward-hopper-and-his-painting-chop-suen

Project 2: Room & Narrative

You will transform a painting of domestic interior scene, either from a 17 th-century Dutch painting or that of Edward Hopper in the early 20 th century, into a series of inhabitable rooms. The ambience, or the spatial and textual qualities, of the painting are to be explored in architectonic and yet expressive manners. You are encouraged to uncover the original narrative of the assigned painting, or to superimpose a narrative onto the painting, and then to 'materialize' this narrative into a 'receptacle' that is inhabited by human figures. The meaningful roles of windows and doors will be studied in order to understand the significance of the demarcation between the internalized room and the outside world. You will begin to 'contaminate' architectonics with envisaged human occupation in this project.

Model Photos

Model Photos taken at day of Exhibition

Final Parti/Poche Submission

Shows us the idea of combining public spaces with private spaces to form spaces that make the client feel as if it actually is a private space and to allow the client to investigate different paths he/she can take when trying to move through more architecture.



This was the level that I constructed for the model, In my opinion was the most useful in understand the division of spaces and forming a connection between spaces, this poche also captures a lighting scheme between spaces. The black walls represent construction of these spaces that essentially divide the villa into public and private spaces.


This section tries to capture the lighting scheme that allows the villa to light up in different ways. The light source are shown, through the windows. Howvever, intersecting walls can impede this light source and create some darker, more private spaces. By looking at the key playing walls we can see the division of light and how it passes throughout the walls. This poche also shows the connection between each floor and the architecture that the client may see along the way.
I chose this section because I think that it shows the most ideas behind the building and it encapsulates the light scheme developed with the construction of walls and floors.



This parti allows us to see what is the most basic underlying connection between two levels that enhances the experience of the client as he/she walks from one level to another. 'ramps engage client with architecture' starts to get a feeling of what is going on.



This parti presents us with the different paths we can take once we reach the first level. As we exit the ramp we become faced with a decision to take one of three paths which assists in the division of spaces. This circulation also helps us understand the connection between private and public spaces and how to get there.



The roof line doesn't fall into place like the rest of the villa, however it does play a role in keeping a connection between the villa itself and the surrounding environment. In this parti we can see that Corb has placed curved walls strategically to keep a connection between the villa and its environment.



Shows the divsion between public and private sections which is outlined by a grid geometry which helps form spaces or rooms within the villa. Squares are the most basic shape in the villa with the spaces being cut out of the square matrix to form more intricate spaces.



Displays the relation between the ground floor and the underlying grid structure. Specifically the ground floor not only plays an important entry role but also plays a role in supporting the structure above with poles. Again there is a sense of connecting private to public spaces y including exterior spaces that make you feel as if you where actually inside the villa.



In this parti, we can begin to see the distinct connection between private and public spaces with the inclusion of subspaces that divide the private space. Walls help in interfering with light, however the windows along the sides of the villa have no problem in transmitting a large quantity of light to even the deepest corner of the villa.

Constructing the Villa Savoye Model

Pre-final submission (normal quality)