The Function of Style by Actar Publishers

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THE FUNCTION OF STYLE

FARSHID MOUSSAVI Edited with Marco Ciancarella, Jonathan A. Scelsa, Mary Crettier, Kate Kilalea

FUNCTIONLAB

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Contents

Acknowledgements

The Function of Style

Functions RESIDING

WORKING

130

RESIDING AND WORKING

210

LEARNING

238

READING AND RESEARCH

294

VIEWING EXHIBITIONS

352

VIEWING A PERFORMANCE

426

WATCHING SPORTS

470

SHOPPING

520

TRAVELLING BY AIRPLANE

548

THE FUNCTION OF STYLE Farshid Moussavi

What is style? Whether used to identify an individual architect’s oeuvre, or to indicate some common features in a place or a period, “style” has historically been the word employed. Embedded within this usage are several dubious and conflicting assumptions. Firstly, that style consists in the repetition of formal elements. Second, that style is the product of an individual personality or intellect. Third, that style relates to something larger and less tangible than the actual buildings which embody it. Sameness: The definition of style as similarities between the formal elements or characteristics of the architecture of a region or an epoch presupposes an aesthetic unity that does not exist in contemporary architecture. Some built forms transmit affects of curvilinearity, others of crystallinity; some transmit multiplicity, others unity; some transmit cellularity, others openness; some transmit dematerialization, others weight. But it would be inaccurate to describe this diversity merely as eclecticism because these built forms, despite their formal differences, have many internal similarities both to each other and to earlier forms of the 20th century. Many museums, for example, have a parallel enfilade of exhibition rooms which is similar to those of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas (1972), although some shear the enfilade, while others bend and bifurcate them, or bend and stack them. Many residential complexes have continuous rows of external balconies which are similar to those of Gallowgate towers in Glasgow (1968), although some are curvilinear in plan while others undulate or twist. Many educational blocks have an internal atrium which is similar to that of Gould Hall in Seattle, Washington (1971), although some twist or step in section. Many office towers have an arrangement of peripheral atriums which are similar to those of the S. C. Johnson Wax tower in Racine, Wisconsin (1935), although some stack, bend or twist in plan. In both internal organization and external appearance these projects are similar yet different. Intellectual Autonomy: Defining a particular style as the exclusive domain of a particular architect implies that architects work in a relatively isolated and autonomous manner. Given the widespread dissemination of ideas in contemporary architectural culture through the internet as well as more traditional media, this is unlikely. Any contemporary definition of style must therefore take this sharing into account. Representation: If we consider buildings to represent ideas, to be signs which can be “read”, we imply that there are signs which are widely shared – more so than is in fact the case in contemporary society. Such a point of view also ignores the presence of built forms in aesthetic

experience, as well as the context in which they are experienced. Buildings are not abstractions, nor do they ever exist in a vacuum. They are physical objects which are perceived within the context of the functions or activities of everyday life that they host, such as working, residing, watching or playing sport, etc. The process of design is consequently inundated by requirements such as the need to provide personal security and address climate change; the need to respond to the planning regulations of government bureaucracies, which demand ever higher levels of performance from built forms; and the need, in the wake of the internet, to differentiate actual space from virtual space in buildings for shopping, working, learning, doing research, or watching performances. Since many of these concerns call for expertise far beyond that of most architects, the practice of architecture has become imbricated with many other fields which address specific matters such as space planning, security, rights-of-light, fire engineering, sustainability engineering, façade engineering, or health and safety consulting. The everydayness of built forms means that their aesthetic value, or the agency of their style, must be located within a framework that connects their physical presence or form to the concerns of everyday life, such as the relation between the provision of privacy and the shape of the balconies in a residential building; the shape and position of the core of an office building in relation to the leasable areas and therefore the types of tenants which can be accommodated; the curvature of the glass panels in the curtain wall of an office building and whether they might reflect sunlight on to the surrounding buildings. Within such a framework, the aesthetic experience of built forms is always linked to the everyday activities they host. Thus it is essential to interact with a building to gain a sense of its aesthetic qualities – its unique physical nature: to move through it, to participate in activities and events inside it, to work or live in it. The distinctive external cladding of Renzo Piano’s New York Times headquarters, which transmits a sensation of laddering, and incites people to engage in “buildering”, is unlikely to have been part of the building’s functional requirements, or the consequence of specifications recommended by technical experts involved in the cladding design. Equally unlikely is the possibility that the ”blade-like” walls of I. M. Pei’s East building at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, whose affect of sharpness is so seductive that the edges have been partially erased by visitors rubbing their hands against them, could have been part of the museum’s functional or technical requirements. The low-lying handrail in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York invites visitors to recline on it. Given the speed with which people often pass through a museum, as if they were walking along the aisles of a supermarket, it is surprising how many visitors to the Opposite: People climbing on the external cladding of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s building for The New York Times, the most distinctive feature of which are ladder-like horizontal rods shielding the floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall.

ACROS Fukuoka 1994

Schweizer Fernsehen 2007

Saxo Bank 2004

Villa VPRO 1994

Willis Faber & Dumas 1971

CT General Life 1957

Sozawe 2009

Reynolds Metals 1955 Ordos 2010

Stock Exchange 2006

Warren Petroleum 1957 CCTV

Middelfart 2010

Lever House 1951 Al Hamra 2006

2002

The Bundle 2002

Orgelpipan 2010

Sears Tower 1969

Promecon 2009

WTC

1964

Friedrichstrasse 1921

Gazprom 2011

Wolkenb端gel 1925

GM Technical

1955

Johnson Wax 1935

Ministry of Transport 1975

Seagram 1958

Leadenhall 2003

Shanghai Tower 2014 Guosen Securities 2010 Statoil 2008 Actelion 2005

30 St Mary Axe 1997

Petronas Towers 1991

Tezozomoc 2008

WORKING 1921–2014 This chapter traces the evolution of the conventions and underlying principles in the design of workspaces since the early 20th century. Slab The GM Technical Center in Warren, MI, USA (p. 137), envisioned a shallow slab building with interiors that could be easily divided into individual offices. This produced a workplace flooded Carabanchel with natural light, and provided privacy and natural ventilation, but the internal corridor leading 2007 La Defense to the offices was long and dark. The following projects address this: Promecon, Fredericia, 2011 Denmark (p. 139); Middelfart Savings Bank, Middelfart, Denmark (p. 141). The Ministry of Transport in Tbilisi, Georgia (p. 143), envisioned the Villaverde workplace as a series of slabs 2000 that were interconnected high above the ground. This created terraces for the offices with views of the city, and ensured that the large complex would cause the least possible disruption at ground Weissenhof level. However, the designers failed to harness the intersection of the slabs to generate any new 1927 conditions, such as social facilities for the offices. The following projects address this: Actelion Absolute Towers Business Center, Allschwil, Switzerland (p. 145); Statoil Office Building, Oslo, Norway (p. 147). 2006

Silodam 1995

The Wolkenbügel complex in Moscow, Russia (p. 149), envisioned The theInterlace workplace as a series 2009 of connected slabs, or horizontal skyscrapers, lifted high above the ground, with views of the Ivry Sur Seine 56 Leonard Street 1970 city. However, the cores supporting2006 the offices were used only for circulation and structure. The following project addresses this: CCTV Headquarters, Beijing, China (p. 151). Gallowgate 1963

Tower

Kanchanjunga 1970

U 1

The World Trade Center in New York, Aqua TowerNY, USA (p. 153), envisioned the workplace as a tower in 2006 the form of a structural tube, which meant that interior would be uninterrupted by columns and therefore highly flexible. But the density of the structure on the periphery restricted the size of the Mirador 2001 City windows and constricted views of the city. The followingMarina project addresses this: Al Hamra Tower, 1959 Kuwait City, Kuwait (p. 155). Ilot M2 2012

Shore Drive The Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper design for Berlin, Germany (p. 157),Lake envisioned the workplace 1951 Tower as a transparent tower with a steel structural frame and a fully glazed façade, carefully corrugated Cayan 2006 on plan to provide the offices and the central core with abundant natural light as well as views St. Mark's of the exterior. However, the division of the plan into separate segments 1927 reduced the flexibility 57th Street of the interior space, limiting the possibility ofTower different work arrangements and interaction Scotts 2010 Celosia 2007 address this: Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, between employees. The following projects 2001 Project R6 Malaysia (p. 159); Gazprom Headquarters, St. Petersburg, Russia (p. 161); Orgelpipan Tower, 2011 Stockholm, Sweden (p. 163). 23 East 22nd Street

2008 The Johnson Wax Research Tower in Racine, WI, USA (p. 165), envisioned the workplace as a world within a world – a translucent tower with stacked double floors that were open to each Immeuble Villas other by way of corner atriums. However, not only were these atriums small, but they were visually disconnected from the exterior, which meant that they could only engage employees within1922 their own context. The following projects address this: Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China (p. 167); Guosen Securities Tower, Shenzhen, China (p. 169); 30 St. Mary Axe, London, UK (p. 171); Tezozomoc Tower, Mexico City, Mexico (p. 173).

P 1

AFFECTS 172

Rotundity, Latticing, Twisting, Vertical Undulation, Complexification, Communication, Transparency

STYLE

Working / Tower / Central Core / Peripheral Atrium GREGORIO VASQUEZ AND MANUEL WEDELES

TEZOZOMOC TOWER

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

173

2008

17 28

63rd floor

The atriums are used as vertical gardens. 42nd floor

INTERACTION The atriums provide opportunities for informal gatherings and interaction between employees, and the fully glazed perimeter maximizes visual interaction with the exterior. 380

1500–1800m2/floor

The two ellipses taper and rotate at different intervals along the vertical axis.

1500–1800m2/floor

OCCUPANCY PATTERN The floor sizes in the upper half of the tower are smaller than those in the lower, making each suitable for different uses.

Tezozomoc Tower is an 83-story tower housing offices, a hotel and residential floors. The twisting form of the tower is based on two elliptical plans which rotate around the core, diminishing in size towards the top of the tower and intersecting three times along its height to generate peripheral atriums. These atriums are used not only as vertical parks but also as air ducts that filter and clean the air to recycle it back into the atmosphere. A diagrid structure on the perimeter of the tower, in combination with the central core, enables the floors to be columnfree and highly flexible. The interior spaces of Tezozomoc Tower therefore transmit affects of rotundity, latticing, twisting, vertical undulation, complexification, communication and transparency.

AFFECTS 202

Terracing, Interiorityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Exteriority, Verdancy, Panorama

STYLE

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium EMILIO AMBASZ & ASSOCIATES

ACROS FUKUOKA

FUKUOKA, JAPAN

203

1994

1500-2500m2/floor 2500-3500m2/floor 3500-5000m2/floor

INTERACTION The terraced garden on the exterior and the atrium inside provide opportunities for employees to interact.

OCCUPANCY PATTERN The building is designed for multiple uses and tenants, and is highly flexible.

Terraces containing an array of gardens for meditation, relaxation and escape from the congestion of the city. 62

The north, east and west facades are glazed.

ACROS Fukuoka is a 15-story terraced block set above 2 stories of below-level parking. It accommodates administrative offices, an exhibition hall, a museum, a theater, conference facilities and retail spaces on four sides of the polygonal floor plates arranged around a circular atrium. These are reduced in size on successive levels to produce a wedge-shaped or ziggurat-like planted façade – a “step garden” – that slopes down toward an existing park to the south. Residents and visitors can zigzag up the stairs, through the greenery, to visit a belvedere at the top of the building. On the interior, the glazed central atrium receives diffused light through clerestory glazing between the reflecting pools on the terraces. The interior is also shielded from the ambient noise of the exterior by spraying jets of water that connect the reflecting pools. The terraced garden therefore serves as an amenity for the exterior while also benefiting the interior environment. Acros Fukuoka therefore transmits affects of terracing, interiority—exteriority, verdancy and panorama.

echnical

GM Technical

Promecon

Promecon Middelfart

Middelfart

Working / Single Slab

gel

Wolkenb端gel CCTV

CCTV WTC

Working / Slab Tower

Shanghai Tower Johnson Wax

Al Hamra WTC

Al Hamra

Working / Tower / Central Core Working / Tower / Central Core

Guosen Securities Shanghai Tower

30 St Mary Guosen Axe Securities

Tezozomoc 30 St Mary Axe

Tezozomoc

ral Core /Working Peripheral / Tower Atrium / Central Core / Peripheral Atrium

Ordos

Warren Petroleum

Reynolds OrdosMetals

Saxo BankReynolds MetalsSchweizer Fernsehen Saxo Bank

ral Core Working / Block / Working Central Core / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium Working / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium

Schweizer Fernsehen

Common Threads: Interaction

Ministry of Transport

Actelion

Statoil

Working / Multiple Slabs

Friedrichstrasse

Petronas Towers

Gazprom

Orgelpipan

Working / Tower / Central Core / Corrugated Floor

Seagram

Leadenhall

Lever House

Stock Exchange

Working / Tower / Asymmetric Core Working / Tower / Podium

CT General Life

Villa VPRO

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Courtyard

Willis Faber & Dumas

Sears Tower

The Bundle

Working / Tower / Bundled

ACROS Fukuoka

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium

Sozawe

GM Technical

Promecon

Middelfart

Working / Single Slab

Wolkenb端gel

CCTV

WTC

Working / Slab Tower

Al Hamra

Working / Tower / Central Core

Johnson Wax

Shanghai Tower

Guosen Securities

30 St Mary Axe

Tezozomoc

Working / Tower / Central Core / Peripheral Atrium

Warren Petroleum

Ordos

Working / Block / Central Core

Reynolds Metals

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium

Saxo Bank

Schweizer Fernsehen

Common Threads: Occupancy Pattern

Ministry of Transport

Actelion

Statoil

Working / Multiple Slabs

Friedrichstrasse

Petronas Towers

Gazprom

Orgelpipan

Working / Tower / Central Core / Corrugated Floor

Seagram

Leadenhall

Lever House

Working / Tower / Asymmetric Core

CT General Life

Stock Exchange

Sears Tower

Working / Tower / Podium

Villa VPRO

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Courtyard

Willis Faber & Dumas

The Bundle

Working / Tower / Bundled

ACROS Fukuoka

Working / Block / Multi-Core / Atrium

Sozawe

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