For me the grotto represents a fantasy
realm: a natural or simulated space that blurs the boundaries between
architecture and nature. In this I am not alone. The ancient Greeks viewed grottoes
as highly spiritual spaces and adopted them into places of great religious
significance.[1]
They were temples to deities, homes to the nymphs, oracles and cyclops. Water,
a symbol of life, was often an essential component of the Greek caves.
The Romans then built on these
interpretations, the grotto beginning its evolution into a theatrical space.
For the Romans grottoes were spaces for showcasing their imperial might, often
through the illustration of significant Odyssean scenes.[2]
The grotto was then resurrected
in renaissance architecture where these spaces became even more theatrical,
particularly with advances in fountain engineering.[3]
Villa d’Este in Tivoli is a perfect example of landscaping that utilised
theatrical waterworks in close association with its grotto.
In 18th Century
Britain, the grotto became a must-have item; a place for showing off and/or
quiet reflection. However the grotto soon faded away with the emergence of the picturesque
movement, which discouraged built follies in gardens.[6]
Despite various interpretations
of the grottoes’ cultural significance, all seem to follow similar themes.
Naomi Miller believes that the grotto is a metaphor for the cosmos,[7]
whilst Shinto and Buddhism cultures treat the grotto as a metaphor for the
womb.[8]
One can therefore assume the grotto is intrinsically linked with life and inversely,
death.
Although I omit many other
examples of the grotto across time and cultures, allow me to introduce my
question: Can the grotto be reinterpreted into modern architecture? This
question for me is something I am currently researching as part of my final
year of masters. Considering the grottoes’ rich history it is a wonder it has
not reemerged as a fashionable theme within contemporary design.
Balmori’s article on
intermediate structures concludes by claiming
“…intermediate structures seem once again timely and relevant, though
not in the same form.”[9]
Yet this reference to emerging trends leaves readers hanging without providing any
evidence to reinforce this statement. There has been no significant return to
the grotto in architecture and landscape design, however this is not to say
that interest does not exist.
Figure 2.
‘Grotto Concept,’ 2005, Aranda/Lasch[10]
In another of Balmori’s more
recent written works, her interest in the grotto is evident through her
analysis of Aranda/Lasch’s installation ‘Grotto Concept.’[11]This
installation, a series of computer generated components fixed together to
create a pavilion-style shelter is not alone in evoking the grotto; Callum
Morton’s pavilion ‘Grotto’ is an artificial cave set in a baroque landscape and
a very literal interpretation of a grotto.[12]
Its internal rough-hewn stonewalls evoke the haptic qualities associated with
an organic cave.
Figure 3[13] shows the interior of Morton’s ‘Grotto’, 2010.
In contrast, James Turrell’s
installation ‘Akhob’ features “womb-like chambers,”[14]
a reading identical to the Shinto and Buddhism interpretation of the grotto. Although
enclosed in a shopping mall as opposed to a traditional grotto’s stonewalls, its
transcendental and illusory nature is comparable to the experiential qualities
of a grotto. The lighting used to abstract the space and confuse the visitor
seems resplendent of Miller’s interpretation of the grotto as a metaphor for
the cosmos. In this way Akhob is perhaps an apt illustration of the form a
contemporary grotto might take.
Figure 4[15] Turrell’s ‘Akhob,’ 2013.
The cave is even becoming
increasingly fetishized in the hospitality industry, a phenomenon well
documented online: be it an Italian or Kenyan restaurant, or a five star hotel.
Despite these contemporary
examples there are however few cited references of grotto inspired architecture
in contemporary design language, which warrants an investigation into whether
such concepts can be adopted beyond the pavilion or installation stage. My
argument, which will be explored in my subsequent blog entries, is that these
themes can be adapted into contemporary architectural language.
In
my upcoming blog entries I will continue investigating the materiality, themes
and experiential qualities of the grotto, and introduce my studio project where
I hope to explore the possibilities of grotto-like architecture through my
designs.
[1] Bowe, Patrick.
"The Garden Grotto: Its Origins in the Ancient Greek Perception of the
Natural Cave." Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed
Landscapes: An International Quarterly 33, no. 2 (2013): 128-38.
[2] Carey, Sorcha.
"A Tradition of Adventure in the Imperial Grotto." Greece &
Rome 49, no. 1 (April 2002).
[3] Pizzoni, Filippo. The Garden: A History in Landscape and Art.
Translated by Judith Landry. 5th ed.
Great Britain: Aurum Press Ltd, 1997. 1999. P 60
[4] image courtesy
Wise, Joanna. "Villa d'Este." https://www.flickr.com/photos/30377171@N08/2840530596/.
[5] Pizzoni, Filippo. The Garden: A History in Landscape and Art.
Translated by Judith Landry. 5th ed.
Great Britain: Aurum Press Ltd, 1997. 1999. P. 60
[6] Myers, Katherine.
"Shaftesbury, Pope, and Original Sacred Nature." Garden History 38,
no. 1 (2010). P.55
[7] Miller, Naomi. Heavenly Caves: Reflections on the Garden Grotto.
World Landscape Art & Architecture Series.
United States of America: George Braziller Inc., 1982. P.13
[8] Hardacre, Helen.
"The Cave and the Womb World." Japanese Journal of Religious
Studies 10, no. 2 (1983): 149-76.
[9] Balmori, Diana.
"Architecture, Landscape, and the Intermediate Structure:
Eighteenth-Century Experiments in Mediation." Society of Architectural
Historians 50, no. 11 (1991). P. 56
[10] Figure 2
courtesy of Sanders, Diane Balmori and Joel. Ground Work: Between Landscape
and Architecture. 1st ed. United
States of America: The Monacelli Press, 2011. P.172
[11] Sanders, Diane
Balmori and Joel. Ground Work: Between Landscape and Architecture. 1st
ed. United States of America: The
Monacelli Press, 2011. P.17
[12] Etherington,
Rose. "Grotto by Callum Morton." In dezeen magazine, 2010.
[13] Figure 3 courtesy of Etherington, Rose. "Grotto by Callum Morton." In dezeen magazine, 2010.
