Twenty-First Century Architecture Manifesto
Evolutionary Principles and Evolutionary Architecture Chenxin Cao 1283540 ABPL90117_2022_SM1
CONTENT 01
Introduction
02
Problem
04
Natural Selection & Practicality
06
Functionality VS. Practicality
07
Evolutionary Principles & Architectural Revelations
08
Motivational Psychological Egoism
09
Biological Egoism
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Architectural Aesthetics & Egoism
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Conclusion
12
Bibliography
Evolutionary
Introduction
Architecture became an integral part of human society in the subsequent evolutionary process. Contemporary architecture should adapt to its environment through a never-ending evolution and satisfy the principles of practicality and beauty. The theory of evolutionary architecture is always founded on the evolution of nature over billions of years, considering both the architectural form and external appearance of the building and its internal aspects. Architects should rescue inferior and superficial architecture by investigating and analysing evolutionary practice principles and natural laws.
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Millions of years ago, humankind's ancient ancestors developed the ability to make and use tools. This ability helped primitive man evolve far faster than any other creature.¹ Humans used tools to build their nests and huts; therefore, humans have created architecture during evolution. Primitive humans built rudimentary shelters from storms, and they built buildings using only pieces of wood, leaves and moss. The primitive hut is the prototype for all buildings of today ² and is the first phase in the evolution of architecture (Fig. 1). The buildings of primitive man lacked aesthetics but were practical and met the needs of their lives.
Fig. 1. Kachipo family house [primitive hut], 2009.
Guy A. Orban and Fausto Caruana, "The neural basis of human tool use," Frontiers in Psychology 5, no. 1 (April 2014): 310, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00310.
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Jackie Craven, “What Basic Components Are Necessary to Create Architecture?,” ThoughtCo, published July 3, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/primitive-hut-essentials-ofarchitecture-178084.
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Problem
Instalake Many buildings are used as billboards to advertise the city's economic prosperity. Architects concentrate on presenting the building's form at the expense of internal rationality and functional practicality. The contemporary architecture is no longer just a shelter from storms and wildlife as it was in the beginning but should be more practical and aesthetically pleasing. However, as the commercial economy developed, buildings began to symbolise the size of cities and countries and represent historical or cultural values,³ which led directly to the architecture being reduced to a tool for many cities to show off their wealth and technological development. Many buildings ignore the internal practicality to showcase the aesthetics of exterior luxury. Architects concentrate on the architecture's external form, overlooking the building's essential function. For a building to have the perfect architectural form, the internal space, structure, and function must cater to the external shape. As a result, many buildings become pure sculptures, toys or symbols.
The architect Louis Sullivan once suggested that "Form follows Function",⁴ but the 'Big Duck', which Robert Venturi once criticised, failed to deliver on this point. The Big Duck is a building that integrated and distorted internal space, structure and function to satisfy a symbolic need(Fig. 2) ; hence the building became an icon to attract attention. Many buildings still resemble the Big Duck. They prioritised outward expression's purpose and merely restored and emulated the appearance of 'something else' as the overall form (Fig. 3 - 5). These buildings were superficial because they only had an outline connection to natural organisms and focused on the external form. The buildings that focus only on the outward form cannot adapt to the changing external and internal environment long term, so they will eventually become obsolete and abandoned.
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Khaled Elhagla, Dina M. Nassar, and Mohamed A. Ragheb, "Iconic Buildings' Contribution toward Urbanism," Alexandria Engineering Journal 59, no. 2(February 25, 2020): pp. 803-813, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.01.020. 4
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Jackie Craven, "'Form Follows Function' Is the Most Famous Phrase in Architecture," ThoughtCo, published August 1, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/form-follows-function-177237.
Fig. 3. Denise Scott Brown, Collage based on a photograph of Robert Venturi.
Fig. 4.Fish-shaped building in India, 2016
Fig. 2. The Big Duck at Big Duck Ranch in Flanders, 2020
Fig. 5.Barry haynes, [Longaberger Building Headquarters].
Weird Figurative Architecture
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Natural Selection & Practicality
“Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive to breed successfully”.
“The characteristics that have enabled these individuals to survive are then passed on to the next generation.” - Charles Darwin5
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"Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection," Natural Selection and Evolution, OCR Gateway, GCSE Biology (Single Science) Revision, BBC News, Accessed May 12, 2022, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt4f8mn/revision/4.
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Not all buildings or architectural theories can be preserved and used forever; evolutionary architecture will help buildings adapt to their current environment and remain in touch with the natural realm. Some architectural ideas are used and reserved through time, while others are permanently obsolete. In the process of evolution, new architectural ideas and styles emerge, meaning that the immediate environment and the laws of nature will eventually eliminate buildings that cannot be adapted.
As the natural selection theory of evolution explained by the naturalist Darwin, the best-adapted species to biological and environmental characteristics in terms of features and behaviour has the best chance of surviving and transmitting these characteristics to the next generation.⁶ This view is well-accepted. We should apply the principles that have gradually developed over time through nature, just as our human ancestors built primitive huts for shelter from the storm. Therefore, the declaration of practicality has been at the forefront of architecture since its origins.
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"Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection."
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Conceptual Diagram of Evolutionary Architecture
Functionality VS. Practicality In human evolution, architecture originated for human shelters, such as a cave, a nest or a hut. The architecture interior encompassed all the activities of primitive man and met the needs of life at the time. Just as the evolution of the single cell in biology gave rise to diverse and complex species through division,⁷ humans classified these original huts according to their function; thus, the variety of building types that exist today has emerged.
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For the description of the internal functions of a building, functionality is different from practicality, as functionality means that things have many functions and can be used effectively in different situations. In contrast, the practicality should only benefit the user and should only be required to meet the critical requirements of the user. However, through billions of years of evolution, natural organisms have taught us that the only way to adapt to the environment is to change themselves, so practicality should be more important than functionality. Architecture must be practical to adapt to the natural environment.
Ker Than, "All Species Evolved from Single Cell, Study Finds," Adventure National Geographic, published May 3, 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ article/100513-scienceevolution-darwin-single-ancestor.
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Spindle Body Shape - The pelagic shark has an oval shape in cross-section. Fig.6. Triakis acutipinnae, Weihs 1981
Evolutionary Principles & Architectural Revelations Marine mammals are constantly adaptive evolution to better adapt to their underwater survival environment. The spindle body shape of many fish is the result of long-term evolution (Fig. 6). Marine mammals must have the ability to swim at high speeds, which facilitates their feeding and migration.⁸ The spindle shape helps them reduce the surface area of their body, reducing drag and erratic currents when swimming.⁹ Therefore, this adaptive evolution benefits to fish, meeting their survival needs. Architecture can apply the same principle of practicality, which means creating maximum capacity with minimum surface area.
Architects create significant momentum and a massive visual impact by designing their buildings in huge volumes or colossal and strange shapes, but the enormous architecture is not practical. They are designed for form and do not adapt to their urban surroundings. They will undoubtedly have substantial external curtain wall surfaces that require additional building materials. Giant buildings do not make minimal use of materials. Consequently, architecture needs to take a cue from natural evolutionary practices. Just as fish have evolved into spindle body shapes to increase their swimming speed, buildings can increase the practicality of their internal spaces by reducing the surface area of the building.
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Frank E. Fish, Howle Laurens E., and Murray. Mark M., "Hydrodynamic Flow Control in Marine Mammals," Integrative and Comparative Biology 48, no. 6 (Dec 2008): pp. 788-800, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icn029. 9
John J. Videler, “The structure of the swimming apparatus: shape, skin and special adaptations.” In Fish Swimming, (London: Chapman & Hall, 1993), 72-5.
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Motivational Psychological Egoism
Around 120,000 years ago, primitive humans learned to use polishing and drilling techniques to make necklaces and jewellery from animal bones and shells to dress themselves up during the evolution process.¹⁰ It proved that they already had an aesthetic concept and formed the awareness of beauty pursuit. Over time, humans began to identify and distinguish between beauty and ugliness. The aesthetics of evolutionary architecture differs from other architectural styles since it is not a style; it is more of an adaptive strategy and advocates motivated psychological egoism. In daily life, egoists have a terrible reputation. Psychological egoists promote the idea that there is no other motivation for human actions than pursuing one's purposes and maximising profit.¹¹ This theory also applies to evolutionary architecture. The aesthetic attributes of architecture are always determined by observing its exterior form, architectural context and the built environment. Evolutionary architecture has a distinctive aesthetic personality. The entire structure is often designed and made for its purposes, using motivated psychological egoism to escape the constraints of traditional architectural forms. Evolutionary architecture is motivated by the ability to live in harmony with nature, adopt only the best design for itself, and continually seek its own best interests to adapt to its surroundings and habitat, not be easily eliminated by natural evolution. Consequently, the form of a successful evolutionary building is visually pleasing to humans with its beautiful colours, forms and proportions; the architectural appearance should also be driven and motivated by its own purpose and internal use to achieve an ultimately satisfactory result.
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Megan Marples, "Humans Wore Necklaces Made from Shells More than 120,000 Years Ago, a New Study Finds," CNN. Cable News Network, published July 8,2020, https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-humans-shell-necklacesscn/index.html. 11
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J. Narveson, “Egoism and Altruism,” Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, (Jan 2012): 51-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-373932-2.00199-x.
Biological Egoism
Fugia nam aut ommost laborro corib Vibrantly Coloured Chameleons Fig. 7. Yemen chameleon, Baishev 2019 eosaepelest, corporr umquis experie
In the evolution of organisms, the formation of defence systems, attack systems and reproductive systems has determined their egoistic behaviour. They are motivated by the self-centred pursuit of their survival interests, not to be eliminated by nature. We can draw inspiration from the survival techniques of chameleons; the chameleon has evolved various adaptive features. Its sense of egoism is reflected in its ability to react systematically to harmful or beneficial things in nature, facilitating its survival and reproduction. As their body cannot produce heat, chameleons' skin colour can change in response to the temperature and natural environment, regulating their body temperature by absorbing and reflecting the sun's heat (Fig. 7).
In addition, skin colour is their unique 'language'; when a male chameleon meets a female it likes, its skin colour will brighten to signal its courtship.¹² Colour is practical and purposeful for chameleons. Chameleons choose their colours according to their needs. Moreover, many chameleons look like leaves or twigs in their natural state and aim to protect themselves from predators by hiding.¹³ Thus, the chameleon has chosen its appearance and colour through adaptive evolution for its purposes and intrinsic needs. Egoism can help organisms respond most favourably to beneficial and harmful factors. They need to be able to resist harmful factors and exploit beneficial factors to meet their survival and reproductive needs.
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Benji Jones, "Chameleons' Craziest Color Changes Aren't for Camouflage," National Geographic, published May 3, 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/ article/chameleoncamouflage-color-change-myth-news. 13
Jones, "Chameleons' Craziest Color Changes Aren't for Camouflage."
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Architectural Aesthetics & Egoism A successful evolutionary building, both for its internal function and purpose of use and its external form in response to environmental change, must make good use of egoism to maximise its response to the harmful elements of the environment, such as earthquakes, atmospheric pollution , and to apply the beneficial elements of the natural environment to the design concept. Many buildings have exterior forms chosen for their colour and shape according to local customs, urban habits, traditional culture, or the architect's preconceptions and personal thoughts.
Fig. 8. Fangyuan Mansion, Ccming 2005 An example is the Fangyuan Mansion, a commercial and trade office complex and a landmark building in Shenyang, China (Figure 8). The figurative shape of the Fang Yuan Mansion is based solely on the traditional Chinese culture of the 'ancient coin' and signifies wealth and business development.¹⁴ The design thinking of this building is not correctly integrated with traditional Chinese elements, resulting in a lack of aesthetic appearance. It is incredibly unwise to force the use of conventional elements as a 'highlight' of the exterior of the building. Selecting pretty colours and shapes just for beauty is the wrong approach. The serious disadvantage of this view is that the architect did not consider whether the building could be adapted to its surroundings and respond to the harmful and beneficial elements of the natural environment. External forms should not simply imitate nature or directly replicate ecological forms.
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"Fang Yuan Building." Alluring World, published May 12, 2022. http://www.alluringworld.com/fang-yuan-building/.
Conceptual Diagram of Evolutionary Architecture
Conclusion Like the natural law of survival of the fittest in biological evolution, buildings that do not adapt to their surroundings and meet their immediate needs will eventually be abandoned. The shelters built by primitive man were the first step in the evolution of architecture, rudimentary but practical. Evolutionary architecture analyses and applies adaptive evolution principles over several billions of years. Egoism drives architecture to respond to both beneficial and harmful environmental factors in terms of its purpose and internal needs and propose coping strategies that are best for itself. After billions of years of biological evolution, natural organisms have evolved from a single cell to the complex diversity of species today. Their tenacious and perfect evolutionary patterns are worthy of study and emulation by the architectural community. Evolutionary architecture can save today's superficial and ugly architecture!
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Bibliography Alluring World. "Fang Yuan Building." Published May 12, 2022. http://www.alluringworld. com/fang-yuan-building/. BBC News, "Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection." Accessed May 12, 2022. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zt4f8mn/revision/4. Craven, Jackie. "Form Follows Function' Is the Most Famous Phrase in Architecture." ThoughtCo, Published August 1,2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/form-followsfunction-177237. Craven, Jackie. "What Basic Components Are Necessary to Create Architecture?" ThoughtCo, Published July 3, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/primitive-hut-essentials-ofarchitecture-178084. Elhagla, Khaled, Dina M. Nassar, and Mohamed A. Ragheb. "Iconic Buildings' Contribution toward Urbanism." Alexandria Engineering Journal 59, no. 2 (February 25, 2020): 803-813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2020.01.020. Fish, Frank E., Laurens E. Howle, and Mark M. Murray. "Hydrodynamic Flow Control in Marine Mammals." Integrative and Comparative Biology 48, no. 6 (Dec 2008): 788-800. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icn029. Jones, Benji. "Chameleons' Craziest Color Changes Aren't for Camouflage." National Geographic. Published May 3,2021. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/ chameleon-camouflage-color-change-myth-news. Marples, Megan. "Humans Wore Necklaces Made from Shells More than 120,000 Years Ago, a New Study Finds." CNN. Cable News Network. Published July 8, 2020. https:// edition.cnn.com/style/article/ancient-humans-shell-necklacesscn/index.html. Narveson, J. “Egoism and Altruism.” Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Second Edition), (Jan 2012): 51–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-373932-2.00199-x. Orban, Guy A., and Caruana Fausto. "The neural basis of human tool use." Frontiers in Psychology 5, no. 1 (April 2014): 310, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00310. Orban, Guy A., and Caruana Fausto. "The neural basis of human tool use." Frontiers in Psychology 5, no. 1 (April 2014): 310, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00310. Than, Ker. "All Species Evolved from Single Cell, Study Finds." Adventure. National Geographic, Published May 3. 2021.https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ article/100513-science-evolution-darwin-single-ancestor. Videler, John J. “The structure of the swimming apparatus: shape, skin and special adaptations.” In Fish Swimming, 72-75. London: Chapman & Hall, 1993.
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List of Figures Fig. 1. Kachipo family house, 0.3MP. World_Discoverer. https://www.flickr.com/photos/world_discoverer/3395560850/. Fig. 2. Denise Civiletti. The Big Duck at Big Duck Ranch in Flanders.2020. riverheadlocal. https://riverheadlocal.com/2021/07/24/big-duck-celebrates-its-90th-birthday-on-july-31/. Fig. 3. Scott Brown Denise. Collage based on a photograph of Robert Venturi. ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/875022/9-weird-and-wonderful-architectural-ducks. Fig. 4. Fish shaped architecture of a building. 1000 × 636 px. 2016. shutterstock. https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/hyderabadindiadecember-12fish-shapedarchitecture-building-on-534302809. Fig. 5. Haynes Barry. [Longaberger Building Headquarters]. Wikimedia user Barry haynes licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.https://www.archdaily.com/875022/9-weird-and-wonderfularchitectural-ducks. Fig. 6. Weihs. Triakis acutipinnae. 1981. In Fish Swimming, (1993):74. Fig. 7. Yemen chameleon. 500 × 333 px. 2019. shutterstock. https://www.shutterstock.com/zh/image-photo/yemen-chameleon-isolated-on-blacklarge-620164016. Fig. 8. Ccming. Fangyuan Mansion. 2005. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ ccming/7615153/.
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Thank you for reading.