Sebastiano Giannini: Floor plan of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, ca. 1730
Borromini's little church, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, in Rome is a 17th century masterpiece that demonstrates the idea of the interior as a form of conceptual carving. The plan is intricately constructed with complex geometric arrangements and layers, yet the overall effect of the plan with the resultant thick poché walls suggests the spaces are carved from a solid. The variety of spaces made in such a small corner site produces a highly ornamental interior that is bound by a fluid structure. The whole wall translates into an undulating movement and becomes a medium which is alive and ready to be inhabited.
Historically, buildings are organized by compiling geometries in architectural plans. Borromini's plan bears attributes to the experiential disjunction between the adjacent spaces of the building and the interior's response to the site's boundary conditions. It is almost like the plan begins to take on the attributes of a building's section: a clear set of relationships through a building visible through experience. The importance of a section as a key drawing tool in understanding how space is contained is crucial : especially to see what cannot be revealed once built.
Author, Building section studies, 2008
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