An essay describing this project is available on the
Positions Web Page

Structures of Memory, opening September 18, 1999 and running through January 30, 2000 at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, presents new modes of depicting architecture developed by Andrzej Piotrowski, associate professor of architecture at the University of Minnesota.  Starting with the idea that new technology could be used not only to assist architects in the process of design, Piotrowski uses computers to capture attributes of a building that structure our perception of its physical form and its meaning.  Architecture is usually represented by floor plans, elevations, details, or images that do not capture the way in which it is experienced.  Piotrowski's images focus on representing that experience.

One of the most important questions Piotrowski faced was determining the essential elements when the experience of the  whole  building  is  recalled.   This  is  crucial  because  a building is not the assemblage of equally memorable experiences.  Buildings consist of parts that can be seen one at a time.  Our experience of a building is based on a particular succession of experiences that structure our memory of that building and create its symbolic meaning.  The photographs resulting from his research meld the sequence of encounters we have with buildings into one evocative image.

Piotrowski studied buildings in Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States.  In each case he visited the site and identified which attributes have the strongest impact on how we experience the architecture.  He scanned hundreds of photographs taken of each building into high-resolution graphic files and assembled them electronically.  He recorded the assembled images on large-format photographic films.  Structures of Memory features 11 photographically printed, large-scale images.

One of the works features the Pazzi Chapel, considered a masterpiece of the early Renaissance period, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century in Florence, Italy.  Its architectural space consists of three volumes.  Linear elements, such as the row of columns supporting the front porch and pilasters, flat vertical elements made of dark stone that project from the walls, create a superstructure which unites all the components of the building. 

Piotrowski determined that in this building it is the geometry of these lines that is most important in creating our sense of harmony, serenity, and formal perfection.  In the image he created, the columns and lines of the different spaces in the building are layered to reveal their relationships.