Architecture and its Meditations
Caitlin Daly Misuse of Theory
Fold, objectile, smooth, straited are all seemingly banal words that have enraptured the architectural discipline for the better part of the 21st century. Whether or not the initial intention of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guatteri had been to create such a multidisciplinary melee with their books A Thousand Plateaus 1 or The Fold 2 is not necessarily the point. An author's intentions, once a book is published, is usually disregarded by a populace that is looking for an answer, any answer, to the problem that they are currently facing. In the case of Deleuze and Guatteri, their books coincided with the rise in technology and the economic crisis of the 1990s that left many architects wondering where we go from here. Deleuze happened to have been perceptive enough to combine a series of factors that would become prominent within society in such a way that was at once straightforward, yet open-ended enough to leave ample room for interpretation. His analysis of Leibniz's calculus (which was to become the foundation for computational language) opened new avenues of expression, new forms of thought, and new modes of thinking within the architectural discipline, simply by pointing out that there was a new way or a new mode with which the world could be viewed. Words and obscure expressions inspired the search for new forms, and architects began to look for continuity through a different mathematical lens (utilizing calculus instead of geometric based mathematics- typically), one that could be best defined by computers, in an age when computers were coming into their own. 3 Had it not been for this coincidental timing, would architects have paid as much attention to the words of Gilles Deleuzes? Probably not, the impact of words is only as powerful as their ability to influence change, intended or not. Therefore, the question becomes, where does the intention of the author, and the understanding of their audience differ. How does their work become misused to fulfill the needs of one, and what are the unintended outcomes of those abuses? The point of where to begin this search, like any other point of inquiry, is the perhaps the most difficult. The most trivial, yet difficult, starting point for this redefinition is the redefinition of space. At a time when divisions in society occur in the most banal of places, even space became divided, no longer was there a simple division, yet there was a division all the same. Spaces for movement, spaces for rest, smooth and straited, seemingly simple, yet vastly complex. One
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Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1987. A thousand plateaus. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. 3 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p91 " To a large extent, our calculus is still Leibniz’s, and the mathematical component of Deleuze’s work on Leibniz, prominent but previously ignored, then sprang to the forefront—together with the realization that differential calculus was for the most part the mathematical language computers still used to visualize and manipulate all sorts of continuous forms. As Deleuze had remarked, Leibniz’s mathematics of continuity introduced and expressed a new idea of the object: differential calculus does not describe objects, but their variations (and variations of variations). ... By a quirk of history, a philosophical text by Deleuze accompanied, fertilized, and catalyzed some stages of this process. Without this preexisting interest for continuity in architectural forms and processes—the causes of which must be found in cultural and societal desires—computers in the nineties would most likely not have inspired any new geometry of forms." 2
constantly colliding with the other, threshold after threshold, space exists to be transversed. 4 Somehow, space has to been transformed into an object, it must be encapsulated, and enraptured by the motion of building, the building itself needs to become-something. Even the manner in which smooth and straited space are defined, in and of themselves, tend towards their useful, even if it is misused, transition into architectural form. "In straited space, lines or trajectories tend to be subordinated to points: one goes from one point to another. In the smooth, it is the opposite: the points are subordinated to the trajectory.... In the smooth space, the line is therefore a vector, a direction and not a dimension or metric determination. It is a space constructed by local operations involving change in direction." 5 Thus, space becomes relegated to a series of points, numbers, coordinates, and directions; formulations of thought that are controlled not by the overall entity of what the object is, but the individual moments that are to create it. Each point, each moment becomes in itself significant, there is a necessity of meaning placed in its location, its value; intentionality of every moment of the design is what drives the architectural project forward, how smooth, how straited is this space to become, those are the questions that must be answered with the placement of every point. Perhaps, this very reading of space is the challenge to the premise of the author's intention. Does space actually need to be anything, does it actually hold multiple meanings and can it be formed in such a complex manner? This diversity of spatial meanings, perhaps, can be best understood through the notion of multiplicity. The meaning and utilization of the multiplicities is immensely significant in Deleuze's work. Multiplicity, at its core, is a replacement for the philosophical concept of an essence, or the
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Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1987. A thousand plateaus. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p474 " Smooth space and straited space - nomad space and sedentary space - the space in which the war machine develops and the space instituted by the State apparatus - are not of the same nature. No sooner do we note a simple opposition between the two kinds of space than we must indicate a much more complex difference by virtue of which the successive terms of the oppositions fail to coincide entirely. And no sooner have we done that than we must remind ourselves that the two spaces in fact exist only in mixture: smooth space is constantly being translated, transversed into a straited space; straited space is constantly being reversed, returned to a smooth space." 5 Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1987. A thousand plateaus. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p478-479 " In striated
space, lines or trajectories tend to be subordinated to points: one goes from one point to another. In the smooth, it is the opposite: the points are subordinated to the trajectory. This was already the case among the nomads for the clothes-tent-space vector of the outside. The dwelling is subordinated to the journey; inside space conforms to outside space: tent, igloo, boat. There are stops and trajectories in both the smooth and the striated. But in smooth space, the stop follows from the trajectory; once again, the interval takes all, the interval is substance (forming the basis for rhythmic values).6 In smooth space, the line is therefore a vector, a direction and not a dimension or metric determination. It is a space constructed by local operations involving changes in direction. These changes in direction may be due to the nature of the journey itself, as with the nomads of the archipelagoes (a case of "directed" smooth space); but it is more likely to be due to the variability of the goal or point to be attained, as with the nomads of the desert who head toward local, temporary vegetation (a "nondirected" smooth space). Directed or not, and especially in the latter case, smooth space is directional rather than dimensional or metric. Smooth space is filled by events or haecceities, far more than by formed and perceived things. It is a space of affects, more than one of properties. It is haptic rather than optical perception. Whereas in the striated forms organize a matter, in the smooth materials signal forces and serve as symptoms for them. It is an intensive rather than extensive space, one of distances, not of measures and properties. Intense Spatium instead of Extensio. A Body without Organs instead of an organism and organization. Perception in it is based on symptoms and evaluations rather than measures and properties. That is why smooth space is occupied by intensities, wind and noise, forces, and sonorous and tactile qualities, as in the desert, steppe, or ice.7 The creaking of ice and the song of the sands. Striated space, on the contrary, is canopied by the sky as measure and by the measurable visual qualities deriving from it".
notion, or idea that explains the identity and fundamental traits of an object. 6 It is this concrete universality of the multiplicity that is significant, that each set contains within them a grouping of physical attributes, processes, or tendencies that distinguishes that set from another. These sets of attributes allow for manipulation, and adaptation within a system, and can be then are used to create vastly different forms and spaces. 7 Deriving space from a set of information, forming a multiplicity, was at one point an arduous task, however, computers have redefined the way architecture is designed, and the ability of computational mathematics that the computer offers opens new possibilities for the architect to design in a new manner. No longer constrained to searching for seemingly simple solutions to problems confronting the built environment, architects delved into this new frontier with wanton abandonment. Questioning where precisely the architect stood in this new system of design, the experiment was to allow the computer to assist in the design process instead of the necessarily controlling all aspects of the design, to establish, or invent, principles through which the design could be executed. Somehow, to establish a system that ensured that this new method of design was not completely random, or haphazard, but based on calculated skill. 8 Skill that is at once opposed to, and similar to the traditional forms of architecture, manipulating the built environment into a new form that encapsulates this new vision of the world. A vision that is "...a rational, examining gaze rather than a passionate glance or stare of wonder." 9 In essence, to code the building is one based on the executive and formative program that generates the form, an affect or an experience that will become the built space. This code somehow is supposed to supplement and assist the designer in developing the complex form that is a building by allowing them to input as much, or as little, information as they can, or choose, then arbitrarily determining the solution for the remaining parts. Random freedom and unpredictability of the code is, in theory, part of a generative process that allows new ideas to form. 10 6
De Landa, M. 2004. Intensive science and virtual philosophy. 1st ed. London: Continuum. p9 " In the first place, one may ask what role the concept of a multiplicity is supposed to play and the answer would be a replacement for the much older philosophical concept of an essence. The essence of a thing is that which explains its identity, that is, these fundamental traits without which an object would not be what it is. If such an essence is shared by many objects, than possession of a common essence would also explain the fact that these objects resemble each other and, indeed, that they form a distinct natural kind of things." 7 De Landa, M. 2004. Intensive science and virtual philosophy. 1st ed. London: Continuum. p21 " From a Deleuzian point of view, it is this universality(or mechanism-independence) of multiplicities which is highly significant. Unlike essences which are always abstract and general entities, multiplicities are concrete universals. That is, concrete set of attractions (realized as tendencies in physical processes) linked together by bifurcation ( realized as abrupt transitions in the tendencies of physical processes)...the difference realizations of a multiplicity bear no resemblance whatsoever to it and there is in principle no end to the set of potential divergent forms it may adopt. This lack of resemblance is amplified by the fact that multiplicities give form to processes, not some multiplicity may be highly dissimilar from each other, like the spherical soap bubble and the cubic salt crystal which not only do not resemble on another, but bear no similarity to the topological point guiding their production." 8 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p67-68 "The true character of the Leibnizion game - and what opposes it to the roll of the dice - is first of all a proliferation of principles: play is executed through excess and not a lack of principles; the game is that of principles themselves, of inventing principles. It is thus a game of reflection, of chess or checkers, where skill (not chance) replaces old gilts of wisdom or prudence." 9 Tierney, T. 2007. Abstract space. 1st ed. London: Taylor & Francis. p37 " When rational humanist thought replaced a divinely ordered universe, the loss of center could also have suggested that the center was dependent on the position of the viewer (the subject). The gaze through a mathematical frame, as it were, was secular, static, unblinking. It was a reductive gazed with an abstract coolness that signified a detachment of the viewer's emotional response. This was a rational, examining gaze rather than a passionate glance or stare of wonder." 10 Tierney, T. 2007. Abstract space. 1st ed. London: Taylor & Francis. p111 " In order to begin the design process, the designer enters the currently know requirements, as well as his or her ideas about the design problem, into the program by creating a new
Nevertheless, is this coding, and random principle really a reflection of "skill (not chance)" 11, when the computer is actually involved in formulating the design; is that not a reflection of chance? To have a portion, any portion left unresolved by the designer, is that a demonstration of skill, or does the skill lie in knowing what information can be left out and still enable the creation of a building? In fact, not long into this endeavor the fact that computers could create indefinite numbers of curves based on a single set of formulas created an obsession within architecture for the smooth surface. Building after building was formed in the shape of an amorphous pile of curves, one after the other, designed differently, yet all alarmingly the same. 12 Perhaps, this highlights the greatest, and worst, asset of the computer modeling software, its ability to analyze such complex topological processes, forms, and trajectories with an ease that makes creating complex space seem simple. Removing the challenge in understanding and grasping the complexity of spaces, the transition between spaces and the systems that create them, which alters our understanding of the space. No longer does the system of representation seem to matter, the standards for defining space have been broken down into a set of points and coordinates (x,y,z) that locates a single position in a series of positions that will result in a completed object. 13 Subsequently, space, this entity that is supposed to encompass and encapsulate the identity of architectural form is reduced to a series of numbers. In spite of this, no matter how smooth the surface became, the industry still grasped for a reason, or at least the hint of an idea, to justify this pursuit. Technology might have allowed the form to be manipulated into ever-changing shapes, but the question that has always perturbed the discipline is why; with the how at hand, there is only the matter of understanding its use. A simple statement, a simple word, The Fold, offered such justification, yet that word has vastly altered the way in which architecture is viewed and utilized; a book 14, that contains a wealth of ideas and statements that have been understood, and misused, by countless individuals to create a new form of architecture. The opening line, in and of itself, can be misused to advocate the use of programming in architecture, "The Baroque refers not to an essence but to an operative function, to a trait." 15 constraint structure to restrict the space of possibilities for form growth. Everything that the designer left undecided, or might have forgotten to decide, is decided randomly by the software. The random settings and the degree of tolerances left by the designer allow for necessary freedom within the generative process, resulting in unpredictable or unforeseen results." 11 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p67-68 12 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p90 " Conversely, given a mathematical function, computers could visualize an almost infinite family of curves that share the same algorithm, of which the parameters can be changed at will. Architects discovered that smoothness, first defined as a visual category by the theorists of the picturesque at the end of the eighteenth century, was also a mathematical function derived from standard differential calculus.25 ... In this context, it stands to reason that Deleuze’s theory and history of ontological continuity should inspire an architectural turn. Computers, mostly indifferent to queries on the nature of Being, can easily deliver tools for the manipulation of mathematical continuity. These new tools could be directly applied to the conception, representation, and production of objects." 13 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p33 " Regardless of the interfaces and the conventions chosen to represent them, all geometrical points controlled by recent 3d cad or animation software are, at their root, a set of three coordinates that locate each point in a three-dimensional space. As a result, a coherent object designed on a computer screen is automatically measured and built informationally—and the computer can actually fabricate the same object for good, if necessary, via a suitable 3d printer. ... The range of its possible eventuations, in two and three dimensions, at all scales, and in all formats, includes the fabrication of the object itself." 14 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone 15 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p3
When taken out of context, this statement seems to sum up the notion that architecture, even at its most opulence, is the product of a formula that space can be broken down, stripped to a series of numerical values while retaining its cultural value. How, of course, that question still needs to be answered. Several characteristics of both Baroque architecture, defined by Deleuze, and the fold provide potential avenues of pursuit, yet two apparently contradictory statements that provided the most fruitful endeavors. Defining the fold as, "A fold is always folding folded within a fold, like a cavern in a cavern. The unit of matter, the smallest element of the labyrinth, is the fold, not the point which is never a point, but a simple extremity of the line. That is why points of matter are masses or aggregates, as a correlative to elastic compressive force. Unfolding is thus not the contrary of folding, but follows the fold up to the following fold." 16 Deleuze created the notion that space is constantly in motion, or should appear to be in motion, furthermore this idea of constant folding and transvering of the fold reflects the notion of smooth and straited space. By creating space that is folded, or folding onto itself the transitional spaces between smooth and straited, movement and sedentary, can be challenged, manipulated, redefined; all the traditional notions, forms, and formulas of architectural space connected and influenced through a single idea. Yet, there needs to be a level of caution when transitioning between these types of spaces, smooth and straited space are not meant to express, or articulate space the same. 17 This warning, however, was disregarded, for the most part, by the architects at the end of the 20th century. Searching for evermore-curvaceous forms, with more and more folds of matter juxtaposed together, or folded onto itself, architecture became characterized by topological geometry. Curvaceous and ubiquitous buildings became a formal statement 18 more than a spatial investigation, the utilization of technology and the attempt to express an idea left that form lacking the integrity of the initial words. Despite this, by searching for articulated spaces, Deleuze's statement, "Baroque architecture can be defined by this severing of the facade from the inside, of the interior from the exterior, and the autonomy of the interior from the independence of the exterior, but in such conditions that each of the two terms thrust the other forward." 19 seemed to adhere within the minds of designers. What became important was the way in which spaces affected, or were not affected, by certain functions, operations, and attributes; each area's individual ability to be defined by an operation, or characteristic was essential to the definition of a 16
Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p6 Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1987. A thousand plateaus. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p 498 " Traits of expression describing a smooth space and connecting with a matter-flow thus should not be confused with straie that convert space and make it a form of expression that grids and organizes matter." 18 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p 40 " The blob itself quickly became a visual and notional trope of the end of the twentieth century. Toward the end of the decade the fling of digital architects with topological geometry further amplified this tendency toward formal continuity. By 1999, from car design to web design, from sex appeal to fashion magazines, curvaceousness was ubiquitous,74 and from the Guggenheim Bilbao on, curvilinearity was often singled out as the diacritical sign of digital design. The new organicist and morphogenetic theories75 that crossed paths with the mathematical ones around that time would eventually become staples of digital design theory." 19 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p28 17
building. Space was defined by a multiplicity of differential values and processes communicating with one another to establish a system of design, to establish the built environment. 20 Still, the notion of the fold and its affect on space is generally misunderstood, and misused throughout the architectural discipline. One reason for this misinterpretation, perhaps, is the ambiguous definition of 'fold' itself, given that the clearest articulation is that the fold is to be a 'point of inflection in a continuous function' the idea of folding itself is more enticing than the actions which the word is supposed to convey. 21 Concepts, many times, are themselves more convincing than the actual products that they tend to produce, the notion of folding and bending architectural form was itself too intriguing to ignore. Yet again, the question remains what exactly is a fold, what does it mean, and how should it to be represented. Given such an ambiguous, malleable definition, every architect took it upon themselves to define their own view of how the fold interacts within architecture, thus to say that architecture can be interpreted as having folded, one must asked been folded by whom. Did the fold retain a notion of the folding process, or is it formal, is it a symbol of continuity, of motion, or does it even provoke the idea of a fold? 22 However, is this really a matter of interpretation, or do these tendencies lend themselves towards misuse on the part of the architect; given that, the original definition itself was an abstraction. More to the point, architecture is an abstraction of concepts, whether they are derived from an external source or not, however, with such variety of interpretation, where does the true intention of the author lie. Or does it no longer matter once their words have been appropriated by another.
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De Landa, M. 2004. Intensive science and virtual philosophy. 1st ed. London: Continuum. p78 "In other words, what matters about each space is its way of being affected (or not affected) by specific operations, themselves characterized by their capacity to affect (to translate, rotate, project, bend, fold, stretch). Without this caveat, we could run the danger of circularity, since the extensive properties of the bottom level would be used to define the other levels as well. ... Unlike the metaphor, however, this virtual continuum cannot be conceived as a single, homogeneous topological space, but rather as a heterogeneous space made out of a population of multiplicities, each of which is a topological space on its own. The virtual continuum would be, as it were, a space of spaces, with each of its component spaces having the capacity of progressive differentiation. Beside this multiplication of spaces, we need a way of meshing these together into a heterogeneous whole." 21 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p 39-40 " Additionally, Deleuze’s often nebulous definitions of the “fold” (originally, a point of inflection in a continuous function) and Deleuze and Cache’s descriptions of the “objectile” (originally, the notation of a parametric function) were more enthralling than the mathematical formulas from which they derived. Without Deleuze’s timely mediation, few architects would have found high school calculus so highly inspiring. Regardless, Deleuze’s and Cache’s objectile ranks to this day among the most apt definitions of the new technical object in the digital age: the objectile is not an object but an algorithm— parametric function which may determine an infinite variety of objects, all different (one for each set of parameters) yet all similar (as the underlying function is the same for all)." 22 Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press p 87 "Eisenman’s reading of Deleuze’s fold in turn retained and emphasized the notion of forms that can change, morph, and move, and of a new category of objects defined not by what they are, but by the way they change and by the laws that describe their continuous variations. ... Yet, in spite of the use of several formal stratagems, such as Thom’s folding diagrams, the “folding” process remains purely generative,15 and it does not relate to the visual form of any end product. Forms do not fold (actually, in all of Eisenman’s projects featured in “Folding in Architecture,” they fracture and break), because most buildings do not move. When built, architectural forms can at best only represent, symbolize, or somehow evoke the continuity of change or motion."
Intentionality, perhaps, is the most operative word within the design culture today. Whether guided by the intentions of a set of words contained within a book, or composed from a series of mathematical calculations to derive a built form, the intention of the author is the question that every designer faces. Authority and control over the use, and interpretation of information, are no longer solely determined by the creator of the original thought 23, the manipulation of ideas and forms has become the very method by which design evolves. Yet, this evolution of thought just might be the truest interpretation of a Deleuzeian idea, that an "...event is voluntary when a motive can be assigned, such as a reason or change in perception." 24 occurs. Altering the modes of perception through the utilization of new mediums and technology, the practice of architectural design has established a precedent for defining space as part of an event. Spatial qualities of a building have become revitalized by the influx of concrete and abstract concepts of reality; visions derived from formulaic perceptions and nebulous theories. As our understanding of this new method of design expands the difference between what can be stated and what is being interpreted shifts; space is always an object that will remain absence or obscured, and exist on the edge of intelligibility. 25 Re-envisioning the way in which designs are envisioned, technology has expedited the shift in spatial, and formal redefinition within the architectural field. Whether the actual intentions of the authors are upheld and fulfilled, or if they are misappropriated and misused, the point, in reality, is that by searching for justification for a new method of production, an answer can be found. A pursuit, however, truthful to its original source, when it produces original thoughts, or objects, is, in the end, perhaps the only accurate use of an author's work possible.
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Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. p5. " As a consequence, the author of the original script may not be the only author of the end product, and may not determine all the final features of it." Although this quote is referring to digital files and algorithms, the same principles can be applied to the general question of authorship. Especially given the constant, and variable nature of philosophical practices within the design field. 24 Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. p69 " But the predicate is an event, and appears in the subject as a change of perception : the event is voluntary when a motive can be assigned, such as reason or change of perception." 25 Tierney, T. 2007. Abstract space. 1st ed. London: Taylor & Francis. p.79 " Since absence cannot be stated, one interpretation of spacing is that the demand of reading is to occupy the space between what is there (text) and what is absent (concept). Spacing is always outside the figure of the text. This absence is necessary but not described. However, the ground, when recognized, has presence, yet it is contingent, existing at the margins of communications."
Work Cited Carpo, M. 2011. The alphabet and the algorithm. 1st ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. De Landa, M. 2004. Intensive science and virtual philosophy. 1st ed. London: Continuum. Deleuze, G. and Guattari, F. 1987. A thousand plateaus. 1st ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Deleuze, G. 1993. The fold. 1st ed. London: Athlone. Tierney, T. 2007. Abstract space. 1st ed. London: Taylor & Francis.