Program: Journey through space to life or death

The Mayan Ballcourt marker creates an atmosphere for the elite. It is an atmosphere in where the winners thrive in victory and the losers submit themselves to ritual sacrifice. The client for whom this space is created is a victorious and glorified ball player. He is among the elite but is revered by even the other elite to a state of near godliness.

In preparation for the game of life or death, he passes through a series of spaces that not only create an environment that aids in his preparation, but also that preserve the stateliness of his being. He is a part of society, but only in physical being and never truly can be an average citizen.

The first place that the player inhabits is an intimate space where he prepares to take on his opponent. It is also a place where he contemplates the possibility of losing and self sacrifice. Being the glorified ball player, he also has a responsibility to his teammates to keep up their morale and inspire them with his experience and confidence. It is a small space in which he feels the presence of himself and the task that lies ahead. The next place that the ball player occupies is a place for he and his teammates. He meets with his team in preparation for the game and to discuss tactics and perhaps 'pray' to the gods to grant them the ability to perform. While this meeting place exists as a gathering space, it remains an intimate place of bonding among teammates and anxiety over what is to come before exiting out into the main arena where the struggle and the expecting crowd awaits him. When he exits the gathering space and enters the arena where he is immediately under the pressure of the game. It is where the winner is decided and the loser is sacrificed. This is a public space where the people can view the game from their seats and cheer them on. The ballcourt marker divides this space in half, yet also acts as a seam that joins winner and loser in an ongoing struggle to the death.

The ballcourt marker, winner takes all

The ballcourt, the site where the first organized team sport took place, was a place of high tension and tough competition, to the death. It was considered to be a ritualistic and religious aspect of Mayan society as well as a place of competition.

The ballcourt marker was placed in the center of the court and embedded in the ground. It divided the two teams and provided a center for the court. The players adorned themselves with protective gear, as well as ornamental jewelry and headdresses. The games were often long and exhausting, resulting in a winner and a loser, the latter being painted in red stripes and sacrificed as part of the ritual.

The players on each team view one another as equals but the tension between the opposing teams remains evident and unmasked. The atmosphere that surrounds the scene of a ball court is one of great excitement, but also carries with it a looming sense of anxiety, for each player knows that upon entering the court, their lives are at stake. Every action that surrounds the ball game is full of intent and passion, never hesitant or trivial. The ball court marker is the apex of all passion, intent and tension that revolves around the sport since it will ultimately divide the winners, victorious in the glory of their win, from the losers, who will be sacrificed in a ritualistic ceremony.

Integrated articulated edge

The edge of the constructions that frame the central space consist of multiple edges that form one fluent barrier to cradle the space. The edge I have constructed is that which runs between the Governor's palace and the Cemetery Group. It has multiple extrusions and depressions which make the space feel as though it is in motion. The articulation aids in giving the space directionality and emphasizes the "motion" of the edge. This diagram shows how the edge relates to the central space, the way in which it joins with the Governor's palace, and its relationship with the topography.

Diagramatic Reconstruction of the articulated edge

The edge of the constructions that frame the central space consist of multiple edges that form one fluent barrier to cradle the space. The edge I have constructed is that which runs between the Governor's palace and the Cemetery Group. It has multiple extrusions and depressions which make the space feel as though it is in motion. The articulation aids in giving the space directionality and emphasizes the "motion" of the edge. This diagram shows how the edge relates to the central space, the way in which it joins with the Governor's palace, and its relationship with the topography.

Ruin Map

This map is an exploration of the superimposed constructions that leave an imprint of a clear itinerary around the central anchoring space and the way they are cradled and shaped by the topography. The topography lines create an organic feel in the way that they structure the constructions that work themselves into the land. This is contrasted to the highly controlled and intentional space in the center that seems to anchor the constructions and path which surrounds it. The bottom three images show a progression of hierarchy. The one on the far right shows the overall large mass contrasted to its interior, compartmentalized spaces in the two to the left. The idea of memory is also present in these, particularly the middle image, since the spaces bleed into one another leaving their imprint on the preceding construction.

Diagram: Itinerary

Uxmal was an organically formed city. The buildings sprawl so that they are not in a set pattern, but somehow still manage create an itinerary through the site. The orientation of the structures helps in creating an anchoring space that serves as the center. In this diagram the abstract, nebula like tones give way to various directions that have been extended to show how the itinerary creates that same space in the center to anchor it, shown by the shaded space. The darkest line weights show the most influential edges in creating the anchor. As the line weights decrease, the lines become more arbitrary but still serve in structuring the itinerary.

Diagram: Intention

The intention of a building can often be subject to change, based on its occupant. Camillo's Memory Theater successfully demonstrated this concept through the images on the gates as one entered the theater. The meaning of an image was subject to change based on the celestial progression in which it lay, or could take on a new meaning based on the viewer. Buildings in Uxmal are theorized to have had various functions, leading us to believe that based on the occupants, they could serve various functions. This characteristic of a building makes its relationship to its inhabitants even stronger because they are able to "shape" the building to their specific need and use.

Diagram: Hierarchy

A simplified version of a Pyramid of the Magician section is able to show how the overwhelmingly massive structure is broken into fragments to create a hierarchy of space within the pyramid. Divided by the construction periods in this diagram, the various levels are designated by the dashed lines that interrupt the solid black line. As the pyramid rises to the heavens, the hierarchy becomes smaller and more "selective" implying an exclusivity to the inhabitable space.

Diagram: Stream of Memory

A memory imprints itself upon something and informs what is to come in the future. The layers of this diagram can exist as separate entities, but converge at joints, making them nearly indistinguishable from one another; they are strengthened by the presence of each other. Created in layers to give the illusion of depth being tied together by the joints where they converge. These areas of converging layers represent what I can only describe as joints in time. They are the areas in Uxmal where construction from the past meets its successor, one informing and relating to the other in harmony.

Theory: The ways a building adapts to its occupant

Theory : Proportion and the compartmentalization of space

The site is designed with a variety of large gathering spaces, as is common in Mayan architecture, in addition to more personal and intimate spaces, organized around private courts with an emphasis on living area. The hierarchy of the buildings can also be considered a "sub theory" of my original memory theory; the structure of the hierarchy of spaces creates intention within the buildings and the overall area of Uxmal. By compartmentalizing the space, a progression of space becomes purposeful and the form of the building joins the function for which it was designed.

The basis of this theory stems from the Vitruvian idea of proportion. Architecture only holds meaning when it enters into a relationship with the human form. When a human inhabits a space, the experience inspires its function. Therefore the progression of hierarchy is thus: form creates the experience of the occupant, which in turn inspires the function of the structure, making the human form that which links form and function.

Theory : A House of Memory

The core idea of a ruin is that it holds an indelible imprint of something that once existed, like a series of superimpositions that are connected through joints in time, seen through progressions in its design and structure. Uxmal, when translated, means "thrice built" or "thrice occupied" suggesting that which is the very nature of a ruin. Archeological finds have shown that the ruin has five stages of construction, seen primarily through construction of the Pyramid of the Magician, that are layered upon one another, yet related in such a way that each progression can be distinguished, but not separated from the others. In this way, the site acts as a "House of Memory." Although portions of the original buildings and landscape have been destroyed, they have not been erased and their memory linger and aid in the structure and composition of future constructions.