The inclined plane is one of the six original simple machines. It is remarkable for being a less tiring way of crossing vertical distance. A ramp and a steep staircase connecting the same heights will impose the consumption of the same total energy when traveled, but in the case of the ramp the energy is distributed over a longer horizontal distance which makes it more comfortable to travel and creates a more decent experience.
The experience of traveling a ramp is one of the more important elements in its implementation in a design nowadays. People are more angled towards the fastest way to move around. With the presence of the elevator, escalators, and stairs seldom will a person bother walking up an inclined ramp just to reach another floor. This is why a ramp must always do something. It must always have a purpose, a function, spatial significance.
The above ramp by Le Corbusier in India has a remarkable identity. The ramp over looks a large courtyard, and even the inner side of this ramp can see onto it through the smooth openings subtracted from the walls. These opening take an odd, artistic from but they essentially serve to connect the pedestrians with each other and the courtyard in a humble yet effective way. The presence of this ramp is loud and bold telling whoever walks in the space that this is their way up.
In Villa La Roche, Le Corbusier adopts a contrasting approach to the idea of a ramp. Here the ramp is very humble. From the living area, it is perceived as a simple color plane making its presence very light. The significance of the ramp only comes in when a person wants to rise to the upper level. At this point the link from ground floor to first floor is visible via the ramp, and one moves to access it. Le Corbusier pays great importance to the context of this element in his designs. While in a more public space it is important to stress the ramp in all its weight, a home calls for a more discrete and functional application. This ramp overlooks the house freely and moves in just one direction, another simplistic feature that has an accurate effect.
Frank Lloyd Wright reveals an entirely different perception of what a ramp is and does. In his Morris Store, he weaves the ramp around a central space allowing the viewer to experience this space from a complete circle of points and a variation in height from the first floor til the second. Here the emphasis is entirely on the central space, different from the Guggenheim Museum in New York where the inner side is for light and the outer serves for the display. In the latter, however, there is a reference to the interesting aspect of communication between the various pedestrians and the relationship with all the parts of the architecture. This is very similar to Le Corbusier's ramp which was first discussed. Here from any given point one can overlook a significant portion of the entire exhibition space through the other side of the ramp. All of the museum interacts with itself through the central atrium around which the ramp is smoothly knitted.
The High Museum by Richard Meier, shown below, is once of the best illustrations of how to interact with the space while traveling vertically. The ramps are light and transperent, and the opposite directions are separated with a wall that has regularly arranged openings framing what there is beyond. From the atrium one sees one side of the ramp and through the wall is able to observe exhibited items in certain situations. The openings also play a role in the access of light to the atrium. The beauty of this ramp is in that there is purpose to walk through it. There is always something to see when one is on the ramp, automatically a reason to chose it over a closed staircase or confined elevator.
How could a ramp take shape in a library?
The above study was performed to understand how ramps could be placed and used in the design of a library. The rear wall overlooks a garden, while ahead of the front side of the ramp are the levels of the library. There are two elements to be seen, and a filter could beautifully be allocated between both directions of the ramp. The filter will create a feeling of suspense. When standing ahead of a ramp and seeing a filtered view of a garden behind, one is automatically tempted to experience this ramp for the purpose of viewing the garden in an uninterrupted manner. Since the building is a library, the more characteristic filter that could be placed is a book stack. A grand book stack rising with the height of the ramp emphasizes the educational property of the library. Looking through the different heights and arrangements of the books will create a beautiful imagery of the garden beyond or the library beneath depending on which side the viewer is on. As such the ramp in itself becomes a part of the library. People search for volumes along it, lean on the edge gazing into the garden, or stand aside browsing the contents of a book. Here the walkers-by almost become the secondary users of the space.
