Analysis of Geometric Topology and How It Creates Spatial Figure Grounds

The interaction between the constructs and the ground of the site create what is known as a spatial figure ground. The embedment of the constructs in the ground cause an axial figure ground to appear where the mind perceives the spaces between the constructs as mass and the actual constructs as part of the ground. In my analysis I built and edge emphasizing the southeast corner of the nunnery quadrangle. This location is important in that it lies at the intersecting of the main vertical axis and the horizontal axis. In addition to this, a smaller scale figure ground is created within the quadrangle of the nunnery. I composed the model of a number of vertical and horizontal linear elements to represent the general shape of the figure ground and the nunnery while the angular planar elements create a contrast representative of the topography of the site.

Theory: Geometrical Topology

Topology is the study of spatial properties that are preserved under continuous deformation of objects. More Specifically, geometrical topology which is concerned with manifolds and how they are embedded into other manifolds. It is by this definition that I derived a thesis for my diagram.

The map of Uxmal is a diagram of a study of geometrical topology based on the interaction between ground and constructed mass and how their relation creates a spatial figure ground. Because the constructed mass of the site interacts so much with the topography, it is almost enveloped by the ground to become a part of the ground itself. This interaction creates what is known as a spacial figure ground, where the eye perceives the space between the constructions as mass and the constructed mass as part of the ground. The spatial figure ground helps to emphasize the skewed axis of 14 degrees due north that the site has. In addition to this, it better emphasizes the axis of the governor's palace which sits at a different angle from the rest of the site.

Theory: Exterior Space as a Figure Ground

The buildings at the site of Uxmal react so much with the actual topography that they almost become a part of the ground itself. This creates the sensation of a figure ground, or a different perception of space, where the spaces in between the buildings inform the path of the inhabitant. The particular figure ground of Uxmal has a main vertical axis that is fourteen degrees off north. The vertical axis is accompanied by a somewhat horizontal axis that separates the site into four main quadrants.

Theory: Interaction between Constructed Mass and Topology

Mayan architecture is known for buildings that mimic the surrounding ground conditions. However, in Puuc architecture and specifically at the site of Uxmal, the buildings not only mimic the ground conditions, the buildings are built as a direct response to the slopes and hills in the topography of the site. Puuc "is derived from the Maya term for 'hill'" (wikipedia.org). To solve the problem of building on sloping hills of the Uxmal site, the Maya designed and built structures that were a part of the natural landscape.