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10 PRINT and the Textile Block Houses
- 1. 10 PRINT and the Textile Block Houses
- 2. Can programming be used to understand and interpret architecture? Programmer > Code > Computer > Output Architect > Construction Drawings > Construction Crew > Architecture Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 4. 10 PRINT Output Variations 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 10 PRINT CHR$(204+(INT(RND(1)+.5)*3)); : GOTO 10 Standard Corners 10 PRINT CHR$(198.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 10 PRINT CHR$(204+(RND(1)+.5)*3); : GOTO 10 Weave Corners and Diagonals Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 5. Weave Weave Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 6. Corners Freeman House Storer House Corners Millard House Ennis House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 7. Corners and Diagonals Corners and Diagonals Freeman House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 8. Corners and Diagonals Corners and Diagonals Storer House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 9. Corners and Diagonals Corners and Diagonals Millard House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 10. Corners and Diagonals Corners and Diagonals Ennis House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 11. The Myth of the Maze Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 12. Unicursal Millard House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 13. Multicursal Millard House Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 14. Daedalus or Theseus 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 10 PRINT CHR$(204+(INT(RND(1)+.5)*3)); : GOTO 10 10 PRINT CHR$(198.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 10 PRINT CHR$(204+(RND(1)+.5)*3); : GOTO 10 Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
- 15. 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10 Introduction > Patterns > The Maze > Conclusion
Editor's Notes
- I have one foot in the world of code from my childhood, and one foot in the world of architecture from my education. I believe that there is a bridge between these two studies that could help them understand and interpret each other.The processes are similar:A programmer writes the code that instructs the computer, which creates the output.A designer or architect creates the blueprints/construction drawings that instruct the construction crew, who creates the architecture.Both code and architecture consist of languages that create something visual when interpreted. Code is the language, and architecture is the result.Three theories of 10 PRINT can be found in Frank Lloyd Wright’s ideas about the Textile Block Houses.
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s innovative (although ultimately unsustainable) construction method of using textile blocks represents the same three premises outlined in 10 PRINT (weave, corners, and corners & diagonals).
- 10 PRINT essentially encompasses two branches: the code itself and the visual output it produces. The authors begin their introduction to the output by running through some examples of what happens when you change the integer in the code, and they assign each of these resultant patterns a level of visual interest. The WEAVE, CORNERS, and CORNERS AND DIAGONALS .
- The Weave in both 10 PRINT and the TBH is about interlocking units creating a more solid field. The combination produces a pattern that is not navigation but barrier. It defines the dichotomy of space, outside and inside. In 10 PRINT, the weave covers the screen in a “fabric,” knitting the pixels together in a way that can suggest a separation of space in front of it and behind it. Wright takes this approach more literally and instead of pouring concrete in place as he had done prior to these houses, knits blocks of concrete together with rebar to form the skin of the house.
- Corners more closely defines the actual pattern of both this iteration of 10 PRINT and the appearacne of the woven concrete blocks. But it is also identafiable in the pattern stamped into each of the four houses’ blocks. Each house had its own “logo,” a design stamped into several of the concrete blocks. These would be interlaced with plain blocks to create corners where patterns met. This takes the corner design of 10 PRINT and makes it more interesting when repeated. And it starts to reflect the final evolution of the maze.
- When diagonals are added to the 10 PRINT code, the pattern begins to resemble the final stage of the standard 10 PRINT code. In the TBH, Wright played with the diagonals by reflecting and mirroring the imprinted blocks, rotating them 90-180 degrees to create every more intriguing patterns. In the Freeman house, Wright takes advantage of the physicality of his material and punches out parts of the patterns to add another level of depth. The blocks are all oriented the same way vertically, but they are placed in diagonal patterns alternating with solid blocks, and are flipped horizontally.
- The Storer House is a bit more conservative in the complexity of design, and thereby placement/pattern, but here Wright alternates solid and vpid instead of orientation. He also adds filler blocks along edged that are related to the Storer pattern, but not exact replicas of it. These can be seen as the corners to the textile block’s diagonals.
- The Millard House is very similar to the Freeman house, but without the plain blocks to provide respite for the eye. This pattern almost becomes a hybridization of weave and diagonal.
- The Ennis House reflects back to the Freeman House with its complex pattern, but it retains enough of the square sense from Storer and Millard to allow mirroring along horizontal AND vertical axes.
- The final evolution of the code on which 10 PRINT was written inevitably evokes the recognition of a maze. 10 PRINT dedicates an entire chapter to the myth of the maze, and what its architectural heritage means both to the code and to the user.There are two types of mazes: the unicursal and the multicursal.Unicursal mazes have only one path to follow, no matter how complex or meandering it may seem. These types of mazes allow your mind to wander, suggesting contemplation and destination.Christian churches often featured unicursal mazes as the path to pennance. Believers were to walk or crawl along the maze as they reflected on their sins and asked forgiveness for them.Multicursal mazes include dead ends and multiple paths to the exit. These are the kind which inspire a sense of panic or tension, because they require much more effort to successfully navigate. The most well-known multicursal maze is the Knossos Labyrinth, where King Minos hid the Minotaur. The original intent of this kind of maze was to protect and hide a defective family member. But this idea of protection can be found in the space-planning of Wright’s houses.
- The main floor is where all of the public spaces are. They are easy to access and navigate.
- The Lower floor looks more labrynthine because it is all of the private spaces. Owners would know how to navigate these spaces well, and they’d be more protected from intruders (like Theseus). We are the Minotaur, comfortable in our own maze.
- The maze represents the knowable; that a challenge can be overcome when examined closely enough. 10 PRINT itself is not the only creator of the maze, the user is as well. By changing the integers as we did at the beginning and analyzing how the output changed, we can switch from identifying with Theseus discovering the maze to with Daedalus, creating new puzzles.
- The code/output of 10 PRINT and the construction system/design of the Textile Block Houses share similar visual characteristics, as well performative and experiential. We as users can look at the parallels to expand our understanding of the intricacies of both, and how they can be extrapolated to inform and influence each other.