SELLING ICONIC ARCHITECTURE
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Selling Iconic Architecture
ARCHITECTURAL THEORY AND PRACTICE Politecnico di Milano School of Architecture and Society – Master Degree in Architecture Academic Year 2016-17 Professor: Prof. Arch. Ivo Ivica Covic Tutor: Nicola Petaccia with Jacopo Reale, Claudia Scaravaggi, Mehdi Zaiani
Group 12 Amrita Matharu Andrea Piantoni Kabilan Sathyamurthy Tânia Leite 3
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Selling Iconic Architecture
Abstract KEYWORDS Iconic, iconification, architecture
power,
innovative
In the past the monument fulfilled the need to create buildings symbolizing power through impressive constructions, but in the last ten years, there has emerged a spectre, “the spectre of the Iconic building” which has vanquished the monument replacing the void left by this historical landmark. The power has shifted from the deities and the kings, to economic power, with buildings meant to make a splash and generate money, with aftershocks in the form of “effects” (as for Gehry’s building in Bilbao). Any project which tries to be unusually expressive in today’s world has the potential to be called an icon, but strongly exposed to the world of media, is quickly replaced by the next icon. Anything can be iconic, of any function and typology, as long as it stands out in an original way. This idea is constantly repeatable, making it easy to reproduce, but also making it lose its uniqueness. What emerges from this research is the importance of the appearance and the skin in selling iconic buildings and the fact that this element can be used in a great multiplicity of interesting ways, among them “the wrap” (Koolhaas), “the shell” (Gehry), “the sculptural element” (Hadid) and “the decoration” (Herzog and De Meuron). These “selling methods” have all the same purpose: creating an easyto-remember image for the contemporary age that also works as an advertisement for the architectural firm.
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Research Essay In human society, there has always been the need to create buildings symbolizing power through impressive constructions. It was the monument which fulfilled this need in the past. Terrestrial objects with thick walls, they were few in number, and their objective was permanence. It had no interior, the purpose of its thick walls was to protect what was seen as a sacred space. In the last ten years, there has emerged a spectre, “the spectre of the Iconic building” which has vanquished the monument. ² The reason for the icon to exist is the void left by “the crisis of the monument”. ² The power has shifted from the deities and the kings, to economic power. The icon driven by the demand for instant fame , is meant to make a splash, to make money and most of all create a spectacle so powerful, that it has aftershocks in the form of an “effect”. The dictionary meaning of the icon is “likeness, image, portrait”. In architecture it embodies a 2D image, an image so small and easily recognizable, that it can be said “to have a distinct silhouette that could be reduced to the size of computer icon”. ³ It can be easily multiplied, creating a multiplicity of icons, each holding its uniqueness only for a moment before being dethroned by the next “new thing”. Within this multiplicity of images, it is important to understand the meaning of the icon along with the factors which define, sustain, and sell it in the contemporary world. Any project which tries to be “unusually expressive” in today’s word has the potential to be called an icon. It strives for fame and recognition, and achieves it as well, but exposed to the world of media and the multiplicity of information and images, is quickly replaced by the next icon. In its desire to be famous, it lacks the sublimity of the previous
Selling Iconic Architecture
landmark of architecture, the monument. As the new form of production in the post-modern world is arguably the production of images, it can be said that the icon is the product of our times. Perhaps image is the conclusion of architecture today, but architecture is always a form, a form which goes beyond its image. The iconic form has no interior, no spaces, no purpose, no thickness. ¹ It is pure appearance, with the skin that must act as a spectacular display, it is exceptional, but in a way of generalized exceptionality. ¹ Herzog and De Meuron, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas and Frank Gehry are four vastly different architects with the commonality of creating expressive forms. Koolhaas, Gehry and Hadid have the ability to create an “effect”, a change reaction, probably the most important ingredient to an iconic building. With their different design strategies, inspirations and backgrounds, they arrive at a solution of a form which is easily recognizable immediately, as theirs. Their design strategy, or “selling” strategy is so set in a particular pattern of iconism, that their forms are immediately recognizable as theirs, similar to the computer icon of the building. Click the button and out pops another architectural form, with faint variations, but very much recognizable as “a Gehry”. By analysing these architects, it becomes clear how Gehry’s buildings stress out the importance of the skin/the shell that usually behaves in an independent way from the functional programs. Zaha’s works are iconic themselves mainly because they are treated as fluid sculptures. For Koolhaas the functions lead the design, but then are tightly wrapped in a skin which unifies their staggered shapes. Engaged in this repetitive pattern of the grand 7
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Research Essay idea, a typology for the grand idea emerges: for Koolhaas, “the wrapped box”, for Gehry, “the cool shell” and for Zaha, “the floating sculpture”. For Herzog the repetitive patterns are disrupted by the fact that as soon as they establish a pattern, they seek to “reinvent” themselves, making all their projects quite different and difficult to recognize as “a Herzog”. Though their knack of reinventing themselves itself may be called a pattern, what stands out in their works is their love of the skin, which fulfils in full measure, the definition of the spectacular skin in iconism, and makes their typology that of the “decorated box”. Herzog could however be called the most phenomological of all of them, as his works seems to stem from a deep seated to react to his environment, also probably making him the least iconic. His work also famously does not photograph well, failing the image test of “iconism”. It is difficult to place Herzog and De Meuron into this iconic box, as their work typically does not truly fulfil the idea of being easily recognized, their work is probably more iconic for the architects than for the rest of the population.
same building being reincarnated many times, in order to achieve the “iconic effect”. NOTES ¹ Chair Josep, L. M., & other authors, v. (2009). Iconoclastia, news from a post-iconic world (Architectural Papers) (Vol. IV). Actar. ² Jencks, C. (2005). The Iconic Building. New York, NY, United States of America: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. ³ Pipinis, J. (2014). A Toolbox for Iconic Architecture. 5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft. Delfth.
The work of all four, though exceptional, is also simultaneously engaged in a generalized exceptionality. The icon of the monument which was iconic because of its typology, has now been replaced by the iconism of the architects “grand idea”. The idea is mired in a fixed pattern, a pattern which has found economic and cultural success. Anything can be iconic, of any function and typology, as long as it is following the pattern of the idea. This idea is constantly repeatable, making it easy to reproduce, but also making it lose its uniqueness. Perhaps, the danger of the success of the iconic is this, that the pattern quickly becomes comfortable, and becomes a tool, with the result of having the 9
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Selling Iconic Architecture
Theoretical Definitions
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Selling Iconic Architecture
Theoretical Definitions The iconic building
Monument
A spectre is haunting the global village- the spectre of the iconic building. In the last ten years a new type of architecture has emerged . Driven by social forces, the demand for instant fame and economic growth, the expressive landmark has challenged the previous tradition of the architectural monument.” (Jencks 2005) An iconic building is created to make a splash, to make money, and the normal criteria of valuation do not apply. (Jencks, 2005)
Defintely terrestrial, a monument was like a rock or a mountain that rose up to dominate the plain. A monument had an interior, the purpose of its thick wall was to protect what was seen as a sacred space. Within those walls the boundaries of space were tattooed and covered; it was no longer the representation of construction that was offered, as on the outside, the walls were transformed into gold and wood into pictorial representation; light and, perhaps more importantly dark, marked what was to be seen and what, despite exsiting, went unseen. (Matteo,2009) The monument ( exceptional) versus the case of generalized exceptionality (today’s icon) (Matteo,2009)
What is icon? In the contemporary world, a project that aspire to be exceptionally expressive (almost all) is commonly called an Icon. An Icon, etymologically, was the representation of divinity by means of painting. (Mateo,2009) A more recent definition of icon is also relevant. In computing, the small symbolic picture of a monitor look like the options they represent. The iconic building usually, but not always has this same compressibility .(Jencks, 2005) The word also carries a harmless denotation, equally important, referring to such things as a footprint in the sand. This has direct likeness to the foot that caused it, a similarity in some respect. An iconic building as we will see has many and often divergent likenesses to the most bizarre and contradictory things. This is a primary reason they are often so powerful and amazing . (Jencks, 2005) Ancient Greek word means “likeness, image, portrait”.(Pipinis,2014)
Scale There was a hierarchy of public worth , not perfectly agreed and finely graded to be sure, but akin to that of everyday dress and civil dress. (Jencks ,2005)
Time If we agree that iconicity has dynamic temporal and social aspects, it would make sense to consider iconicity not as a permanent physical feature of the building, but rather as a status that can be gained, maintained, lost and regained within various constituencies over time. (Pipinis,2014) The moment of iconicity is fleeting. (Matteo,2009)
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Theoretical Definitions Iconoclasm
Bilbao Effect
The tradition of the Icon includes its antagonist, the Iconoclastic movement, which destroyed all representation of divinity by arguing that they destroyed its essence. (Matteo, 2009)
As Gehry says about the icon, “In a way I did open that door, since Bilbao, I get called to do “Frank Gehry buildings.” They actually say that to me, we want a “Frank Gehry”. I run into trouble when I put a design on the table and they say, “Well that isn’t a Gehry building.” It doesn’t have enough of whatever these buildings are supposed to have – yet. (Jencks,2005) It shows that if you can take a rustbelt city like Bilbao and transform it, then the iconic building works wonders for the city. The economics drive the icon in architecture today. Gehry didn’t mean to blow them away, the trickle of icons became a flood, the mixed metaphors poured through it- the I word set the market price for landmarks. (Jencks, 2005) The “ Bilbao Effect “ Prompted a new perspective about the strategic power of architecture in formulating a globally valid expression of prestige – this not only for the clients, but also for the involved architect as well, Museums and fashion stores were the first commissioners of ‘Iconic architects’(Matteo, 2009) Jencks attributes contemporary interest for iconic architecture to two driving forces – The economic interest inspired by Bilbao effect and the crisis of the monument.(Pipinis, 2014)
Typology Architecture history shows that the development of types is essential to the architectural system (C. Norberg- Schulz,1963,207) You can browse through any work of architecture in history and look for different perspectives, and you’ll always find some “pattern” or other. Some historians call that typology. There are many architects who aren’t really aware of their own pattern.(Herzog and De Meuron,2012)
Power Architectural theorist Deyan Sudjic criticizes this genre for its order-less soaring individualism in a collective urban landscape and speculates that it might die with economic depression.
Pattern Of course, a recognizable style makes it easier to establish yourself on a market — as we know from other products. But the way the market works also means that eventually you’ve seen enough of it. For sure, some architects suffered because they were predefined by their style and had to carry it with them, like hunchbacks. Every architect and, indeed, everybody has a hunchback, a pattern. (Herzog and De Meuron,2012)
Expedients Suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance. (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)
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Theoretical Definitions
Selling Iconic Architecture
Phenomenon A process has been initiated between the iconic building and the figure of its iconic architect that is leading to the question whether the rise of the iconic architect phenomena has been responsible for the over-demand and overproduction of iconic buildings.(Matteo,2009) Walter Benjamin wrote that the classical definition of the aura of art was the unique phenomenon of a distance, whereas the contemporary world changed the conditions of this phenomenon. Indeed iconic buildings are ill equipped to stand up contact and close phenomenological analysis. (Matteo, 2009)
Context Despite the monuments limited number, or perhaps because of it, they drew together the world around them, they established relations with their surroundings (or forced others too) (Matteo,2009) The place for the Icon is as flat base and a background. The desert is suitable, but water is even better: it reflects and reproduces the form. Since an Icon is , almost exclusively, form, this multiplying effect intensifies its essence. The place is also the sky: blue, with some clouds. It may incorporate- in its renderings, as a sensitive adaptation to the place- a particular luminosity: more intense in Dubai, colder in Moscow(Matteo, 2009)
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Design Strategy
Selling Iconic Architecture
Our goal is to understand firstly what the iconic building is, secondly the reason and need for the icon and their multiplicity in numbers to exist, and thirdly to critique the intention of the architect to create an icon and the parameters which govern the result. We aim to understand which design decisions create an iconic ‘effect’: the repetition of the architects trademark style in many successive iconic buildings. Our research will be both deductive and interpretative in nature. To define what is the contemporary icon, we will be using a deductive strategy, referring to existing theories on the icon and the factors which characterize it. We will also trace the evolution of the icon from its cultural predecessor, the monument, and the reason for its existence as well as its validity. The second part of the research strategy will be using interpretative reasoning. We will by taking case examples of the work of four architects, based on the number of ‘impressive’ building done by them, and also by their contrasting design principles. We will identify a series of parameters to analyse their work with the aim to identify a ‘grand idea’ which repeats as a pattern in their work marking it as iconic. By comparing the patterns and the grand ideas of the works of these contemporary architects, we aim to understand the current state of the ‘iconic’ building, the factors which sustain and affect it, and the reason for the modern icon to exist.
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Our bookshelf
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What was iconic?
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Selling Iconic Architecture
“In the past, building and other constructions representing singular moments for the community were called monuments. Their origin was expression of power, celebration of ritual or collective affirmation. They were normally solid(permanence was their rather unlikely objective) They were few, in a proportion of perhaps one to 100 ( 100 being a more or less homogeneous continuous mass of dwelling and services, and one being the new and special object).” Matteo, 2009 “In the past important public buildings, such as the cathedral and the city hall, expressed shared meaning and conveyed it through well known conventions. They stood out from the background- th houses, shops and factories- as poetry rose above prose, the statesman above the citizen. Some old towns retain these relationships of power and meaning today.” Jencks, 2005
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What is iconic?
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Selling Iconic Architecture
“An icon is almost exclusively form. The icon has no thickness, it is pure skin. It knows itself to be pure appearance.The skin must be spectacular, Has no spaces, no interior, interior is of no interest, The icon has no purpose, The icon is dispossessed of the sublime dimensions it once embodied.” Matteo,2009 “In the last ten years a new type of architecture has emerged . Driven by social forces, the demand for instant fame and economic growth, the expressive landmark has challenged the previous tradition of the architectural monument.” Jencks 2005
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Multiplicity
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Selling Iconic Architecture
In the contemporary city, everything is potentially iconic- that means expressively autonomous and disconnected. Mass culture calls for closeness, and for repetition instead of uniquenss. Matteo, 2009 Sooner rather than later, new icons will appear and erase the first ( or at least try). The creator of icons, in his energetic, unceasing travels around the galaxy, does not tend to return to what was in the past was a desert, the base on which the Icon was built. This is now inhabited by new barbarian colleagues that perhaps reduce the initially imagined effect ( or do they reinforce it?) Matteo, 2009
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The Shell
Drawing Sydney Opera House
http://facadesconfidential.blogspot.it/2012/05/sydney-opera-house-decoding-glass-walls.html
Sydney Opera House under construction http://www.davidmoorephotography.com.au/ 28
Selling Iconic Architecture
Nowdays everyone wants to have an iconic building. A powerful way to represent a person, an institution and even a city. At this point, the typology of these buildings, many times used as public or semi-public facilities, can have similar functions. With this, how can a public library differ from another public library? How can a museum be diferent from the others? Even if the buildings have the same programme, even if the organization of it is different, what we can clearly say that is different is it’s exterior. Even if these buildings were never meant to be seen as just shells, the visual geometry, to an outsider, is the best way to distinguish all buildings of the same typology. And it’s with this that a new identity is created.
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The Shell
Modern Interpretaion of the Shell 30
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Definition of Parameters
FUNCTION Understanding building typology STRATEGY
The strategy used in the development of the conceptual scheme of the Project | THE BIG IDEA
SCALE Project reference scale DIAGRAMMATIC Design development process and translation of PROCESS conceptual scheme. INTENDED MEANING Expectation from the architect THEORY ART CONTEXT
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Reference to the architecture theory related to the Project.
Understanding the art works that influenced the architects.
Relation and Impact of the design outcome to the neighbourhood.
Iconic Architects
Selling Iconic Architecture
Gehry is the architect that is more Herzog and De Meuron uses the shell known for his use of the shell, that is as a powerful decoration, but well detached from the functions, mostly fitting the functions and not with the relegated to common boxes hidden by intent to hide the iconic envelope
Zaha hasn’t got a proper shell, but its the form of the building itself, the Koolhaas uses the shell as a unifying sculpture, that is both interior and element that stresses the importance exterior. In this case the shell is also of the functions and follows them the structure and the function
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CONCERT HALL
LIBRARY
OFFICE
RESIDENTIAL
MUSEUM
FRANK GEHRY
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REM KOOLHAAS
HERZOG & DE MEURON
ZAHA HADID
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FRANK GEHRY
Frank Gehry The Architect
Masterpieces
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gehry#Architectural_style 40
Selling Iconic Architecture
Gehry’s style at times seems unfinished or even crude, but his work is consistent with the California “funk” art movement in the 1960s and early 1970s, which featured the use of inexpensive found objects and non-traditional media such as clay to make serious art.
“pushing the door over the edge!”
I get called to do “Frank Gehry buildings”
Quotes on O’Gehry’ style
Source: (May 28, 2015) Frank Owen Gehry. achille, Paris, France: retrieved 2015-09-14 Jencks, C. (2005). The Iconic Building. New York, NY, United States of America: Rizzoli International Publications Inc. 41
Frank Gehry Art and Media
Funk Art Movement
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_art 42
Selling Iconic Architecture
Frank O’Gehry - “The Simpsons” TV series
Source: http://donatellafinelli.altervista.org/gehry.html http://www.urbanarchnow.com/2014/03/a-simpsons-architecture-tour.html 43
Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Bilbao, Spain
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Source: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenheim_Museum_Bilbao 44
Selling Iconic Architecture
The curves on the exterior of the building were intended to appear random; the architect said that “the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light”.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was immediately hailed as one of the world’s most spectacular buildings in the style of Deconstructivism (although Gehry does not associate himself with that architectural movement)
The “organization of the artist” is a method used by architect Frank Gehry that places the artist in control of the design throughout a building construction and deliberately eliminates the influence of politicians and business people on design.
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Source: Aggerwal, Artika. “Frank Owen Gehry”. Retrieved August 18, 2011 Lee, Denny (September 23, 2007). “Bilbao, 10 Years Later”. The New York Times. 45
Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Conceptual Scheme
Shell
Ground Floor Plan 46
Regular shapes (main functions)
Selling Iconic Architecture
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Regular shapes
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Final Design
Design Strategy Scheme 47
Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Conceptual Scheme
Autopsy 48
Selling Iconic Architecture
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Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Strategy
The structure of the shell 50
Selling Iconic Architecture
The shell 51
Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Context
Guggenheim Museum | RELATION 52
Selling Iconic Architecture
Guggenheim Museum | OPPOSITION 53
Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Context
Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao not only changed the way that architects and people think about museums, but also boosted Bilbao's economy with its astounding success. In fact, the phenomenon of a city’s transformation following the construction of a significant piece of architecture is now referred to as the “Bilbao Effect.”
Definition of the “Bilbao Effect”
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/422470/ad-classics-the-guggenheim-museum-bilbao-frankgehry 54
Selling Iconic Architecture
Personal experience
When he was a child, Gehry’s grandmother took him to a Jewish market in Toronto to buy live carp to make gefilte fish. “She’d put it in the bathtub,” he has said , “fill the bathtub with water, and this big black carp—two or three feet long—would swim around in the bathtub and I would play with it. I would stand up there and watch it turn and twist...”
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Frank Gehry
Guggenheim Museum | Design process
Concept - Hand Drawings
Design - Physical Models
Design Process
Source: http://www.gehrytechnologies.com/en/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Project https://priceonomics.com/the-software-behind-frank-gehrys-geometrically/ 56
Selling Iconic Architecture
Final Design - Digital project based on CATIA
(Computer Aided Three dimensional Interactive Application) 57
Frank Gehry The Expedients
MATERIAL
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SHELL
Selling Iconic Architecture
SHAPE
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Frank Gehry
Theorethical references | Deconstructivism
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Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s, which gives an impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building. It is characterized by an absence of harmony, continuity, or symmetry. Its name comes from the idea of “Deconstruction”, a form of semiotic analysis developed by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Architects whose work is often described as deconstrutivist (though in many cases the architects themselves reject the label) include Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Bernard Tschumi, and Coop Himmelb(l)au. Besides fragmentation, Deconstructivism often manipulates the structure’s surface skin and by creating non-rectilinear shapes which appear to distort and dislocate elements of architecture. The finished visual appearance is characterized by unpredictability and controlled chaos.
Definition of Deconstructivism
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructivism 61
Frank Gehry Analysis
FUNCTION
Museum
STRATEGY
Shell, Architectural Rendition
SCALE DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS INTENDED MEANING THEORY ART CONTEXT
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Urban Hand-built Models Abstraction, Landmark Deconstructivism Funk Art Opposition
Selling Iconic Architecture
THE COOL SHELL
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Frank Gehry Models
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Frank Gehry Notes
_ MASTERPIECES _ the displayed projects are the most famous built by Gehry, chosen to give a general idea of his architectonic style and to show why studying him is fundamental to understand the “selling of an iconic building”. The first thing we perceive is the importance of the curved shapes, the shells and the materials used to built them. We can also underline how difficult it is to understand the difference between the two most famous buildings, Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, that clearly created what is now called the “Gehry Style” and are probably the main reason for the success of this architect. _ THEORY _ Deconstructivism is a movement of postmodern architecture which appeared in the 1980s, which gives the impression of the fragmentation of the constructed building and is characterized by an absence of harmony, continuity, or symmetry. _ FUNK ART MOVEMENT _ This regional artistic movement comes from Dada and Surrealism art movements, most of all for the use of inexpensive found objects in their works, but they differ from them in the attitude and aim of their art. The social value is not so important, while the personal experience and feelings are expressed in a sloppy and thoughtless way. Gehry is related to them first of all because of the sense of incompleteness and freedom of his works, but also because of the historical period they share and the complexity and ambiguity of their pieces. _ THE SIMPSONS _ An entire episode of the famous satirical show is dedicated to the complex personality of Gehry and his most famous project, confirming and contributing to the iconicity of his work. _ DESIGN STRATEGY _ Looking at the ground floor plan of the Guggenheim museum it is easy to understand how the iconic shell of this building is something completely detached from the main functions that take place in more rational and simple volumes hidden by the complexity of this exterior element. There is a lack of relation between the shell, the main functions and their surroundings.
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Selling Iconic Architecture
_ THE SHELL _ The complexity of this element and the high costs are the main reasons both for his success and the great amount of criticixm. The shell is a structural element created by a load bearing grid designed by a complex program called CATIA: The building’s walls and ceilings are loadbearing, containing an internal structure of metal rods that form grids with triangles. CATIA calculated the number of bars required in each location, as well as the bars’ positions and orientations. In addition to this structure, the walls and ceilings have several insulating layers and an outer coating of titanium. Each piece is exclusive to its location, determined by the CATIA software. Essentially, the software digitizes points on the edges, surfaces, and intersections of Gehry’s hand-built models to construct on-screen models that can then be manipulated in the manner of animated cartoons. _ THE CONTEXT RELATION _ Its quite hard to understand the grade of opposition to the context held by this project, mainly because, even if the architect himself states his opposition to the surroundings, there is a clear relation between the curves of the building and the river, the historical buildings and the city itself. Gehry’s work can be called the ‘the cool shell’ as his design methodology is consistently of detaching the outer skin of his buildings from the inner traditional functional spaces, creating the wild iconic effect which has proven to be so successful in Bilbao.
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HERZOG AND DE MEURON
Herzog and De Meuron The Architect
Project Examples
Source: http://www.archdaily.com 72
Selling Iconic Architecture
our approach is phenomenological
We never wanted our architectural works to be seen as artworks.
Architecture is a kind of “social sculpture” part of the city
architecture as experience
our designs come from observation and description
our buildings always look so different from each other
tradition doesn’t exist anymore we dont have a personal style
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Herzog and De Meuron Theory
Phenomenology
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects 74
Selling Iconic Architecture
Joseph Beuys
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects 75
Herzog and De Meuron Vitra Haus | Germany
VitraHaus
http://www.archdaily.com/50533/vitrahaus-herzog-de-meuron 76
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Herzog and De Meuron Vitra Haus | Germany
VitraHaus 78
Selling Iconic Architecture
vs large conventional museum
small intimate scale house typical of region
multiple small houses stacked
Autopsy
http://arqa.com/ 79
Herzog and De Meuron Analysis
FUNCTION
Showroom
STRATEGY
Architectural Rendition
SCALE DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS INTENDED MEANING THEORY ART CONTEXT
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Regional Form, Stacking, Transition Symbolism Aldo Rossi & Robert Venturi Phenomenology Relation
Selling Iconic Architecture
WELL CONSTRUCTED DECORATED SHED
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Herzog and De Meuron Models
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Herzog and De Meuron Notes
Defining the Iconic - The well constructed and decorated shed As spontaneous architects they react to the situation and context, lacking the baggage of a fixated methodology or manifesto. The fact that they lack the rigid framework, sets them free , resulting in a variety of varying architecture, making it difficul to pinpoint one They are architects of the the heart rather than the mind ( hence the lack of a manifesto), willing to be spontanous and intuitive. However the backbone of their work is that they construct well. ‘‘The other persistent essentiality that runs through Herzog and de Meuron’s work emerges from the architects’ acute understanding of construction as architecture’s most basic and catalytic condition. They build ideas whose formal characteristics often surprise precisely because of this essentiality’’(http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2001/essay).’ For some, Herzog and de Meuron are obsessed with materials.Much has been written about the architects’ proficiency with materials, to the extent that their work might at times be perceived as an obsession with tactile properties, surface, or textural potential. To some degree this can be true. Jacques Herzog has even expressed a predilection for fashion, clothes and textiles. He is quick though to differentiate Herzog and de Meuron’s position on this matter: “It is not the glamorous aspect of fashion which fascinates us. In fact, we are more interested in what people are wearing, what they like to wrap around their bodies…. We are interested in that aspect of artificial skin which becomes so much an intimate part of people.” For Herzog the repetitive patterns are disrupted by the fact that as soon as they establish a pattern, they seek to “reinvent” themselves, making all their projects quite different and difficult to recognize as “a Herzog”. ‘Our projects really are very different and, in a way, unique solutions. However, it’d be wrong to say that architecture can be reinvented with every project, as it were. You can browse through any work of architecture in history and look for different perspectives, and you’ll always find some “pattern” or otherThere are many architects who aren’t really aware of their own patterns, just like most people don’t know their patterns in private. ‘ They also admit to be aware of the pattern in their work, and wanting to break
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it as soon as they become aware of it. ‘ Of course, a recognizable style makes it easier to establish yourself on a market — as we know from other products. But the way the market works also means that eventually you’ve seen enough of it. For sure, some architects suffered because they were predefined by their style and had to carry it with them, like hunchbacks. Every architect and, indeed, everybody has a hunchback, a pattern. Because we know that and can observe it day in, day out — also with us — we try to work against these patterns to find a fresh balance or open up new horizons. That might be what you mean by “reinvent” or “avant-garde.” For us, it’s a way of working, but above all a way of life. The awareness of and reaction to this pattern and obsessions that worry us all might be unusual for architects. ‘ Though their knack of reinventing themselves itself may be called a pattern, what stands out in their works is their love of the skin, which fulfils in full measure, the definition of the spectacular skin in iconism, and makes their typology that of the “decorated box”. Herzog could however be called the most phenomological of all of them, as his works seems to stem from a deep seated to react to his environment, also probably making him the least iconic. His work also famously does not photograph well, failing the image test of “iconism”. It is difficult to place Herzog and De Meuron into this iconic box, as their work typically does not truly fulfil the idea of being easily recognized, their work is probably more iconic for the architects than for the rest of the population.
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ZAHA HADID
Zaha Hadid The Architect
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/769187/exhibition-zaha-hadid-at-the-state-hermitage-museum 90
Selling Iconic Architecture
“I believe that every project should have a very strong idea,� the iconic architect Zaha Hadid said in one of her final interviews concept of fragmentation and with ideas of abstraction and explosion
de-constructing ideas of repetitiveness and mass production
style virtuoso of elegance from focus on drawing, abstraction and fragmentation to what architecture should be, which is more fluid organization
changing general notions of space - socially and culturally
layered structures or powerful moving lines
Source: http://nypost.com/2016/04/12/famed-architect-zaha-hadids-interview-just-3-days-before-she-died/ http://www.designboom.com/architecture/zaha-hadid-interview-quotes-dies-aged-65-03-31-2016/ http://www.arcspace.com/features/zaha-hadid-architects/ 91
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid + Suprematism
A painting in the ‘Peak’ series by Zaha Hadid
Source: http://www.arcspace.com/bookcase/zaha-hadid--suprematism/ 92
Selling Iconic Architecture
Malevich’s Tektinik. Painting by Zaha Hadid
Source: http://www.arcspace.com/bookcase/zaha-hadid--suprematism/ 93
Zaha Hadid
Suprematism | Kazimir Malevich
Black Square, 1915, oil on linen
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprematism 94
Selling Iconic Architecture
Suprematist Composition White on White, 1918 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suprematism
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Zaha Hadid
MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts | Rome, Italy
MAXXI Museum, Rome
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects 96
Selling Iconic Architecture
Prominent cultural buildings, especially contemporary art centres, are the perfect vehicles for stating general architectural positions. The particular institution of the contemporary art museum is able to give discursive space to the building as architectural manifesto. After its completion MAXXI remains a theoretical project in the sense of projecting an architectural manifesto demonstrating the capacity of a new architectural style: parametricism. Parametricism offers a new, complex order via the principles of differentiation and correlation that is clearly distinct from the principles of separation and repetition that characterized modernism. The purpose of all architecture is the framing and staging of social communication and interaction. The purpose of all art is to experiment with new forms of social communication that project an alternative view of the world.
A Built Manifesto
Source: http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Texts/The%20Meaning%20of%20MAXXI.html 97
Zaha Hadid
MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts | Rome, Italy
Concepts
Source: http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Texts/The%20Meaning%20of%20MAXXI.html 98
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Zaha Hadid
MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts | Rome, Italy
Concepts
Source: http://www.patrikschumacher.com/Texts/The%20Meaning%20of%20MAXXI.html 100
Selling Iconic Architecture
Autopsy
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects 101
Zaha Hadid
MAXXI Museum of XXI Century Arts | Rome, Italy
MAXXI Museum, Rome
Source: http://www.archdaily.com/43822/maxxi-museum-zaha-hadid-architects 102
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Zaha Hadid Analysis
FUNCTION
Museum
STRATEGY
Formalism of Striation
SCALE DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS INTENDED MEANING
Geometry of the immediate urban context Sculptural flow, Fluidic
THEORY
Parametricism
ART
Suprematism
CONTEXT
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Urban
Relation
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FLOATING SCULPTURE
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Zaha Hadid Models
106
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Zaha Hadid Notes
Defining the Iconic - The Floating Sculpture Hadid’s designs embody a unique ideology in every project with respect to typical and critcal architectural parameters. The key factor that make her works remarkable could be traced to her days as a student at the Architectural Association in London. “Courageously she set off on a course to realize ideas, such as fragmentation and layering, never built by the Suprematists themselves” says Joseph Giovannini. During the early days, Hadid created layered illustrations as alternate methods to translate her ideas of spatial characteristics into built form. The evolution of design language is evident and always aimed at challenging the boundaries of design in terms of methodology and spatial exploration. Her design language is a clear deviation from the prominent modernist architecture movement and has created an alternate paradigm in architecture theory. Today, it has lead to the development of multiple architecture practices who have successfully produced landmark buildings based on a similar architecture approach. Majority of her works have achieved Iconic status due to the unique design approach. The buildings posses a sculptural character where the form of the building is the result of the interior volumes. Unlike other architects who make use of a secondary skin to shape the buildings, Hadid’s works are results of sculpted volumes. There is a certain lightness to the built structure due to the use of natural and organic design elements like flowing lines or planes which also give sense of continuity. “Air is Hadid’s element: she floats buildings that reside aloft.” Despite being sculptures, the ideology of her work is rooted with response to context. The scale of the context is critical. Certain buildings are controversial due to political reasons, but the successful projects aim at creating a functional and unique spatial experience to the users which immediately become landmarks. Zaha Hadid has undoubtedly created masterpieces that reflect the time, context and building typology where the “design favoured open forms rather than closed, hermetic volumes; it offered breathing porosity rather than sealed fortification”.
Source: http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2004/essay 108
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REM KOOLHAAS
Rem Koolhaas Theory
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Post-Modernism
Megastructure
Metabolism
“His major public buildings (...) are all designs that suggest movement and energy.” Rem Koolhaas is profoundly interested in programs. One of his first concerns is what actually happens in a building. This factor turns to be then a primary generator of it’s form. “It seems as if a study of his work is best begun by establishing the fact that he is deeply concerned with how simple “space” can be transformed into an “environment” which has a distinct effect on the human condition. It is Koolhaas’ focus on layering programmatic elements that leads an environment of interaction (with other individuals, the architecture, and the exterior environment).” “The best works that explains Koolhaas philisophical embrace of Metabolism in his unique post Modern worldview are the Casa da Música, Seattle Library and the Chinese Central Television Headquarters. Ideas of megastructures that emerge almost organically to serve our time’s needs.”
“It’s very simple and it has nothing to do with identifiable goals. It is to keep thinking about what architecture can be, in whatever form. That is an answer, isn’t it?[...] continuity of thinking in whatever form, around whatever subject, is the real ambition.”
Source: In “The Architecture of Rem Koolhaas” by Paul Goldberger “Rem Koolhaas: An Architecture of Innovation” by Daniel Fox; 2008 http://study.com/academy/lesson/rem-koolhaas-biography-architecture-projects.html Interview with Jennifer Sigler in Index Magazine, 2000 115
Rem Koolhaas
Metabolism - A Japan movement
Kenzo Tange; “A Plan for Tokyo 1960”
http://www.tangeweb.com/popup.php?id=8&lang=en 116
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Kurokawa - Nakagin Capsule Tower
http://www.ecole.co/en/classics/kurokawa/
Kiyonori Kikutake - Hotel TĹ?kĹ?en
https://www.japlusu.com/news/what-was-metabolism-reflections-life-kiyonori-kikutake 117
Rem Koolhaas
Seattle Public Library
Seattle Public Library
https://eueminhairma.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/seattle-central-library.jpg 118
Selling Iconic Architecture
Before startig to work on the Seattle Library project, Koolhaas initiated a long study of libraries and their updated definition in accordance to our contemporany society. “As a first step in the design of the building, Koolhaas rethinks the programmatic issue of the public library. This approach is to comb through the original program “reshuffling” and reorganizing the different areas according to similar functions” “In Seattle, he is trusting in a powerful form of copper mesh in a glass façade to create a physical space exciting enough to make the library, once again, a kind of common room for a larger community. Here, as in so much of his work, he is using architecture to create real space that will be compelling enough not jus to exist in the age of virtual space, but to ennoble it.”
This way, the Seattle Central Library focuses on the idea of creating a new space for the circuation of all kinds of knowledge. “Instead of flexible, multifunctional spaces, the scheme involves spatial compartments defined for a more specific performance within a tailored flexibility. He thus arrives at the diagrammatic section of the library, consisting of five units of stability and regularity, on the one hand, and four intermediate areas of instability and irregularity, on the other.” The building’s faceted volumes are created through these design strategies.
Source: Ingrid Bock: “Six Canonical Projects by Rem Koolhaas” p. 263 119
Rem Koolhaas
Seattle Public Library
Organization study of the building program
http://www.archdaily.com.br/br/624269/biblioteca-central-de-seattle-oma-mais-lmn/53cd11a3c07a805e0800030b-biblioteca-central-de-seattle-oma-mais-lmn-diagrama-programa 120
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Informational Diagrams _ Program
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371406300497818670/ 121
Rem Koolhaas
Seattle Public Library
Plan - 3rd floor
https://lmnarchitects.com/case-study/seattle-central-library-curtain-wall-design 122
Selling Iconic Architecture
Section
https://lmnarchitects.com/case-study/seattle-central-library-curtain-wall-design 123
Rem Koolhaas
Seattle Public Library
We can say that what makes Koolhaas’s buildings iconic is his approach to the function. He begins with a lengthy study of the functions of a building which he stacks and staggers. These volumes he coversw with tightly with a facade giving a faceted shape to the volume.
Seattle Library section diagram
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371406300497818670/ 124
Selling Iconic Architecture
Seattle Library facade unfolded - The Wrapper
https://lmnarchitects.com/case-study/seattle-central-library-curtain-wall-design 125
Rem Koolhaas Analysis
FUNCTION
Library
STRATEGY
Superposition of Functions
SCALE DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS INTENDED MEANING THEORY ART CONTEXT
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Urban Sections, Combining programs Contextual, Iconic Functionalism Metabolism Relation
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THE WRAPPED BOX
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Rem Koolhaas Models
128
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Rem Koolhaas Notes
_MASTERPIECES - The series of photos show some of the most famous works of Rem Koolhaas. Through them we have a clear idea of the architect’s design process. _ THEORY _ Through technical elevations and sections we can understand the concept of the project and the architects design theory of functionalism. _ METABOLISM_ A biological term, it describes the anabolic and catabolic process of a living body. Used too in urban sociologist Ernest Burgess’ article ‘The Growth of Cities’ (1925), Burgess used the term ‘social metabolism’ to explain the process of growth and transformation of cities. Metabolsim began as a post-war architectural movement in Japan. It focused in the idea of fusing architectural megastructures with the organic biological growth of the country. Internationally presented for the first time in the CIAM ’59 by Kenzo Tange, it’s base idea was exploring new concepts in urban design. An idea of the future city habitated by a society of masses, characterized by big scale, flexible structures and a growth similar to an organic one. In a certain way they were influenced by the ideas and drawings of Archigram. _ DESIGN STRATEGY _ By looking at the sections of the Seattle Library we can understand perfectly the design strategy used by Koolhaas. The stacking of the functions and the tight wrapping of it with an external skin gives us the form of the building. In this way, we can see how the functions and the outer volume are related to one another _ THE WRAPPED BOX_ The skin of the volume is tightly connected to the interior space. The faceted external facade of the built project is a result of the internal staggering of the stacked volumes. _ THE CONTEXT RELATION _ The Seattle Library is one of Koolhaas’s works that actually doesn’t break with the city scale and relates to the context.
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Analysis
FRANK GEHRY
REM KOOLHAAS
Guggenheim Museum
Seattle Public Library
FUNCTION
Museum
Library
STRATEGY
Shell, Architectural Rendition
Superposition of Functions
Urban
Urban
Hand-built Models
Sections, Combing programs
Abstraction, Landmark
Contextual, Iconic
Deconstructivism
Functionism / Metabolism
SCALE DIAGRAMMATIC PROCESS INTENDED MEANING THEORY ART CONTEXT
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Funk Art Opposition
Relation
Selling Iconic Architecture
HERZOG & DE MEURON
ZAHA HADID
Vitra Haus
MAXXI Museum
Showroom
Museum
Architectural Rendition
Formalism of Striation
Regional
Urban
Form, Stacking, Transition
Geometry of the immediate urban context
Symbolism
Sculptural flow, Fluidic
Aldo Rossi & Robert Venturi
Parametricism
Phenomenology
Suprematism
Relation
Relation
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Analysis The advent of the icon can be claimed not be a new phenomena, though it is called the new “sceptre”, which has come to haunt us. It existed in the earlier guise of the monument, buildings which were symbols of power and celebrations, and marked singular moments for the community. The crisis of the monument, led to the formation of a void in this essential need for human beings to celebrate power, leading to the resurrection of the monument as an “Icon”. The Icon, though a reincarnation of the monument, fufills this need to display power in a significantly different way. A product of the contemporary times, the icon is considerably governed by the media, and its importance as an image and impressive photograph governs much of today’s iconic architecture. It can be said that an Iconic building must photograph well, and if it doesn’t, such as Herzog and De Meuron’s, it is criticized as not being truly iconic. However architecture, above all, exists in the physical dimension, and exists as a form. The form, in the case of the monument, was governed by the typology of its function. Our aim through this research was to analyse the factors which govern the form of todays iconic architecture and indeed make it sell. The governance of the function has been discarded, replaced 134
by the architects ‘grand idea’. The function of the project is no longer important, and is instead replaced by the grand vision the ‘iconic architect’ (or in the making) has for his iconic project. By analysing the work of the four iconic architects, it became clear that though each architect had a grand vision, they went about reaching this grand vision in significantly different ways. Gehry, created the iconic cool shell, Koolhaas, the wrapped box, and Hadid, the floating sculptures. All three architects , were caught in the rhythm of a particular pattern of their work, a form which would reoccur in their work in several reincarnations, rising like a phoenix from its ashes, again and again. The work of all three , though exceptional , is also engaged in a generalized exceptionality. Herzog and De Meuron on the other hand breaks this pattern, for as soon as a pattern is identifiable in their work, they quickly break it to form a new idea for their work. Even so, a love for material and skin is clearly seen as a continuous strand of homogeneity in their work, perhaps as they design their architectural form to showcase the facade. In conclusion , the modern icon fulfils the human need to create a spectacle and showcase of power,
Selling Iconic Architecture
while making a splash, however it exists in a multiplicity of icons, making none unique. The ‘Iconic architect’ exists in a danger of being trapped by the economic success of his grand idea for his ‘Iconic building’, causing it to be regurgitated for many subsequent reincarnations. The danger of the success of the iconic is this, that the pattern quickly becomes
comfortable, and becomes a tool, with the result of having the same building being reincarnated many times, in order to achieve the “iconic effect”. This explains why contemporary architects focus on creating icons with experiementation and exploration of building forms through exterior elements like shells and skins.
THE MONUMENT THE ARCHITECTS “GRAND IDEA” THE SELLING STRATEGY
FRANK GEHRY
REM KOOLHAAS
ZAHA HADID
HERZOG & DE MEURON
A COOL SHELL
THE WRAPPED BOX
FLOATING SCULPTURE
WELL CONSTRUCTED DECORATED SHED
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