Folly investigation — History, use and some precedents.
A small investigation of a key design intervention/device that will be harnessed in our design
Brief Outline of the history of follies and their definition
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose.
Follies began as decorative accents on the great estates of the late 16th and early 17th centuries but they flourished especially in the two centuries which followed. Many estates were blessed with picturesque ruins of monastic houses and (in Italy) Roman villas; others, lacking such buildings, constructed their own sham versions of these romantic structures. Such structures were often dubbed “[name of architect or builder]’s Folly”, after the single individual who commissioned or designed the project. However, very few follies are completely without a practical purpose. Apart from their decorative aspect, many originally had a use which was lost later, such as hunting towers. Follies are misunderstood structures, according to The Folly Fellowship, a charity that exists to celebrate the history and splendour of these often neglected buildings.
Follies are often found in parks or large grounds of houses and stately homes. Some were deliberately built to look partially ruined. They were especially popular from the end of the 16th century to the 18th century. Theme parks and world’s fairs have often contained “follies”, although such structures do serve a purpose of attracting people to those parks and fairs.
Application to our design
As stated in earlier blogs, the follies will play a large role in our scheme. We intend on having 4 follies which will span across sector 100, 1 possibly being on the green roof space of our design. The integration of these follies will be primarily to draw attention and connection to our re-invented library, sharing the same materialistic language of the library interior of light pink stereotomy. The follies however won’t just be visual bridges to the facility, they will each house soft functions, one will be dedicated to contemplation, one to eating/sharing a meal, and another to resting and relaxing. They each will have different forms and will be intended to impose a sense of curiosity and thus, soft determinism for engagement and interaction, which will hopefully lead to human interaction — reinforcing our overall goal.
~ NF ♜~
