THE HOUSE OF ENGLISH COMMON LAW
or
The Tectonics of Ethics
Vol 1
Spring 2019
...do not make too many laws...
This project is an experiment to uncover the qualities and structure of the common law and translate them into a spatial organization wherein the tectonics and hierarchies of the construct correspond the principals and hierarchies of the common law.
The heart of the project is the cavern of within lays the central structure of “the sovereign individual”, which represent the foundation of the law. Above the cavern is “the canopy of the rule of law” which covers over the ruled precedents to make sure they have served the justice. Among the precedents, left of the cavern, are “voids of the law” – the problematic rulings which have not maximized the liberty of the individuals or have addressed the issues wrongly. All the way on the left, somewhat independently stands another structure signifying the justice. The reason of its being separate is that the justice is not the only goal of the law but rather an anticipated quality of it. If some precedents were “unjust” for some reason, the rule of law will someday overturn it with a new precedent. That is why the “Canopy of law” overhangs over the precedents and the justice as well. All the parts of the structure, signifying the structure of the common law, connect to the coven tectonically.
On the right side, on “the obelisk of the sovereign individual”, there are the portraits of the wise men mapped, which show their contribution to the liberty throughout the history.
Sketch 1: Plan
Sketch 2: Section & Axon
