book
How to Recognise and Read Mat-Building
Smithson, Alison
Architectural Design, 1974
housing precedent
housing Theoretical framework for mat-building typology; the organizational logic behind the school and housing module system
Smithson’s seminal essay defines the mat typology central to the primary school design. The mat typology is defined by a horizontal field of modular units that combine to create a continuous, adaptive ground plane. The typology traces through a lineage from the Amsterdam Orphanage (van Eyck, 1960) through the Gandhi Ashram (Correa, 1963) and Hertzberger’s schools (1970s-80s) to the Lahaina Primary School, extracting historical rules including aggregation rather than monumentality, environmental responsiveness, distributed program, ground plane as primary organizer, and incrementalism and modularity.