Writings 2012- 2014 Izzy Savage
The Commissioned Store is Still Architecture (2014) The Book as an Appendage (2014) Contemporary Sublime Landscape (2014) Complexity and Contradiction or Just Capitalism? (2013) Pavillion de l’Esprit Nouveau and Stahl House: Standards in Prefabrication Homes (2013) CCTV Headquarters manipulating the Grid of Traditional China (2012)
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The Commissioned Store is Still Architecture December 2015 History + Theory V Advisor Rebecca Choi In the Netherlands, the government has a tradition of supporting the arts including dance companies, orchestras, architects, and artists. (Seigal) In 2010, organizations Sculpture International Rotterdam (or SIR) and Hart van Zuid commissioned visual artist Erik, van Lieshout to create a piece that connected art with the people from Rotterdam. Van Lieshout’s other work includes drawings, installation, and video. The work is often appears very rough and crude both formally and in subject (see Image A). Some works can deemed controversial, “go[ing] beyond the limits of vulgarity and the most uncensored reality of society”. (SIR) In his video pieces this partially comes from the subjects who he is talking with. He does not censor them or counter what is being said, those being interviewed can vary from crack heads to Nazi sympathizers, subject leading in additional layers of off color material. Though these adventures enter in to dark realms van Lieshout often bring as curious and playful light (see Image B). (Subotnick) The Commission in context of his previous work is quite tame and is more personally invested since it is the region in which he grew up. Those who interviewed were not the community’s delinquents, but instead the everyday shopper or worker (from the perfume sales girl to the restroom attendant). The artist selected Zuidplein, an area in Rotterdam he grew up in, to work. (SIR) He began by simply recording the Zuidplein shopping centre (one of the first malls in Rotterdam built only 30 years ago) (Halkes 8) and the interactions with the shoppers and workers there. After finding it all “boring” he decided he wanted a shop of his own to 1
Image A: Drawing from behind a woman only in stockings crawling towards decapitated man by Erik van Lieshout as part of show “Signs of Life and Death” (2009) at Gemak in Amsterdam.
Image B: Erik van Lieshout playfully posing with a pornography magazine for documentary “Dutch Masters in the 21st century”
The Commissioned Store is Still Architecture connect with others and make art. (Commission 12:4953) Through the video he brings us through the process of creating the store and then interacting with the people again but now in a new light as a “shopkeeper”. The product of this two month process was the “Commission” which was then displayed in as part of an installation in various museums and galleries including the Hayward Gallery in London, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Art Collection Fund in Rotterdam.Though claiming to be acting as an artist in the creation of the store, van Lieshout is truly working as an architect, this blurred area between art and architecture has been similarly explored by other artists as well.
Image C: Crudely put together video installation of Erik van Lieshout in 2003 at the Frieze Projects.
When looking at the store it in the same manner is rather crudely put together similar to other installation pieces (see Image C). The plywood was cut free form using a Jig Saw, creating unique planes for items to be displayed. The items displayed were purchased for 150 euros from a friend who considered everything as junk (and was right). The items range in variety including: burned out light bulbs, rusted bolt, frayed electrical wires, a broom, sticks, dead plants and dried brussel sprout stalks. Though the placement of the objects appears to be careless and random, it is actually the result of the intimate interaction between van Lieshout and his mother, placing the objects around the store. The walls are covered in writing, typography, and drawings most striking are wall size two portraits. The first was of assassinated farright Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn (see image D), who had extremely controversial opinions of the opposition of multiculturalism, immigration, and Islam in the Netherlands. (Dutch) The ther is of Rem Koolhaas on the cover of L’uomo Vogue (see image E). The portrait is then blocked by a large metal railing elevated on wood with a cast shadow creating an up turned curve across his upper lip, the architectural piece creating an upturned mustache, playfully making him out to be a old fashioned villain. The portrait is continued to be degraded by penetrating Koolhaas’s eye with tubing to allow water to trickle down from his eye ike a fountain. Being the only full size portraits in the store, van Lieshout is causing visitors to compare the two persons. It causes one to think of Koolhaas as on of villainous character. A visitor even comments his experience with Koolhaas’s. He notes Koolhaas’s influence with young international talent as simply being used as cheap labor for one to two years, as part of his design machine, but at least resulting in a boost in the young people’s careers. (Commission 41:49) In this instance Fortuyn and Koolhaas are are both shown in connection to Dutch international relations. Fortuyn, who wanted to keep as many people out especially Muslims, set beside Koolhaas who only used international talent to inexpensively support his own architectural empire. 2
Izzy Savage Image D: Still from Commission at 35:32 showing a “customer” peruse the store in front of the image of Pim Fortuyn while telling Erik van Lieshout, “That doesn’t work in Zuid. You can’t have a picture of Pim Fortuyn here.”
Image E: Still from Commission taken at 36:22, showing image of Rem Koolhaas on the cover of L’uomo Vogue with an elevated handrail casting a shadow across the image.
Image F: Still taken from Commission at 9:18. This map is drawn crudely in marker writing scum wherever delinquents from the conversation appear then scribbled out and/or covered in duct tape. As the elderly men talk about gangs and such roaming the streets, trash is written in the streets of the abstract map.
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The Commissioned Store is Still Architecture
Image G: Lawrence Weiner, 2000, As Far As The Eye Can See
Van Lieshout also used text to make interesting comparisons with in the store. Throughout the earlier part of the film he uses cutaways to handwritten signs to emphasize words such as “Utopia” (Commission 0:55) and statements such as “With my Dad to Zuidplein./ My Dad’s from the 60’s. Activism. Demonstrating, etc.” (Commission 5:13) Or crudely made diagrams (Commission 8:50) such as one made based on the conversation with two 76 year old men who were explaining the undesirables that had moved to the area. (See image F) These cutaways emphasize ideas, idealistic ones such as the earlier ones or fearful ones such as the diagram from the conversation with the elderly shoppers. These are placed around the store as both a process of the community, the past which was idealistic and the present which is more fearful. At 8:46, the handwritten signs are placed into context by the sign “Lawrence Weiner??” Weiner is a conceptual artist who created large scale typographic images to create artwork.(Buchloh) The juxtaposition of Lawrence Weiner’s name in quickly jotted handwriting, is making fun of Weiner’s work (see image G), elevating van Leishout’s roughly written signs to the same level as Weiner’s carefully crafted pieces.
Image H: Still from Commission at 28:00 showing the storefront of Erik van Lieshout store at Zuidplein Shopping Centre. The signage reading “real luxury is buying nothing”.
Beyond handwritten text, signage is also an important to the store. On the storefront he makes a sign saying “real luxury is buying nothing” (see Image H) This is places where typically the name of the store is placed. This statement has many meanings, but one correlating to a later statement from a worker at Douglas saying “people buy to fill up their emptiness” . (Commission 31:02) In context with this it implies that it is a luxury not to have emptiness to need to fill by shopping. Looking around the mall he begins to pick up on the idea of signage and display that also fills the mall, saying, “Zuidplein is so used to lettering. I’ve got to use text, too.” (Commission 31:58) Afterwards he gets the idea of playing with the typography of the adjacent Saturn signage saying “Stingy makes happy”. He then goes and makes a panel in the sign read “Erik makes happy” in the 4
Izzy Savage same typography. This is his playful way of undermining the current system of advertising and manipulating it to show its silliness. Even though when creating the store van Lieshout claims to be working as an artist, he is really acting as an architect. First by his own statement “its not art until its sold” (Commission 24:24) the store is already not art. SIR and Hart van Zuid paid for the film not the store. The store is just a tool in order to develop the film. So if the store is now clearly not art, then the definition is left to its default of what a store is, architecture. Even without his own categorization of art the space is formally and functionally a store, though not the typical. This leaves van Lieshout working as an architect crafting the space and identity of the store. Like previously mentioned the Dutch government is very fond of commissioning work within the arts. Artist even when commission art paid afterward when the piece is received by the client. In this case the organizations paid beforehand so that he could create the piece and the organizations will receive duplicates of the film and in no way will recieve the store. Even though van Lieshout makes fun of Koolhaas throughout this project (even afterwards in other pieces, see Image I), though they are both working as architects, being commissioned to create. Engaging urbanism ideas in the store also sets it apart as a piece of architecture. To be in closer contact with the community van Lieshout creates the store as a place of interaction between people, less than let the people see art. He even a one point removes the dried brussel sprout stalks for being “too much like art.” (Halkes 46) The next level of van Lieshout acting as an architect was curating a show of things. All of the objects were selected and arranged as to be part of the store. Claes Oldenburg in the 1961 experimented with the idea of the store here he curated a show of things in format of “The Store” (see image J). This may appear to be working as a curator but through the use of the store it brings it into the world of the architect. (Showing 7) Sylvia Lavin in “Showing Work” argues that by logic of “If Shakespeare argued that the world is a stage and Rem Koolhaas argued that the world is a mall, today we must add that the world is an exhibition, and specifically, an architectural exhibition.” By curating “work” then creating an installation to display that “work” it becomes an exhibition, it becomes architectural when the it is not defined by “questions of spectacle and spectatorship, the political economics of the museum effect, and a host of other institutional effects” and instead is left with only the tasks of “curating, collecting, and shopping.” (Showing 8) This brings van Lieshout into the realm of architectural exhibition. Similar to architects curating with models, drawings, and writing, he similarly has the objects, diagrams (such as the scum and trash diagram), drawings (displayed portraiture), and writing (cutaway signs that he has displayed around the store). 5
Image I: Sculpture at Art Rotterdam in 2011, Erik van Lieshout agitates against Rem Koolhaas.
Image J: Claes Oldenburg sitting in his store surrounded by objects made from canvas and chicken wire.
The Commissioned Store is Still Architecture
Image K: Sturtevant (right) at her The Store of Claes Oldenburg, 623 East Ninth Street, New York, 1967.Photo: Virginia Dwan.
The format of the store is not unique to van Lieshout and Oldenburg. Artist Elaine Sturtevant specifically copied this format directly from Oldenburg. Sturtevant’s work is based upon being able to emulate the works of pop artists. Feeling that Oldenburg was a pinnacle artist and trying to pay respect to the artists that had given her opportunity to show her work at his Happenings. In April 1967 she proceeded to create “The Store of Claes Oldenburg by Sturtevant.” (See Image K) (Hainley 3) The previous mentor Oldenburg was outraged along with several artists, the public was equally upset, a large group of children even went as far as Sturtevant and attempting to make sure that her “store” would not run its course. the community previously had ties to Oldenburg’s store and were outraged because of the appearance of disrespect for the work and Oldenburg. At her opening only close friends attended appearing also as protection against other possible vandals. (Hainley 4) The success of the store publicly and critically was close to none, since ties were closer to Oldenburg and many could not see past that. (Hainley 8) Though this is a direct copy of Oldenburg, she was still operating in terms of an architect by means of an architectural curation, only this time of someone else’s work. Beyond the scope of the store, pavilions also straddle the line between art and architecture. Pavilions are created full scale on site but are “no longer viable as either an interface between art and world or as an installation of the “real” in this hybrid situation...The most important of these generate a complex interaction between art and architecture that produces objects, of which the pavilion might be one, that seek to be situated within complex and extensive networks.” The photographs of Thomas Demand creates temporary pavilions of paper and photographs them in their construction and destruction. Even more so like an architect he tours the city looking for the proper site for his environment, not just settling for the given museum space. (Vanishing 5) In the example of “büro” (See Image L), an office like environment was found and kept as natural as possible with the exception of the papers that were scattered around the room emphasizing the existing disorder but was all temporary. The change in environment based upon the temporary installation of paper. Besides the similar use of installation as an architect, both Demand and van Lieshout are similar in their aesthetic and use of materials. Demand is more neater but both use everyday materials placed in a way to create a new correlations. Demand does this in “büro” similar to how van Lieshout does this in his object displays.
Image L: Thomas Demand, büro, 1995 © thomas demand, VG bildkunst, bon 2009
Coincidentally, Joep van Lieshout is another contemporary Dutch artist acting in as an architect, possibly even more so. Joep works full scale creating actual pieces of architecture, such as a clip on of6
Izzy Savage fice extension (see Image M). Even within installations Joep creates an infrastructure for a futuristic world where many volunteer to be slaves. Most are “useless” for the ew society so they are slaughtered and used as food, those left are either physical labor, or become educated. To support this idea he created drawings (image N), models (image O), and some full scale mock ups (image P). (Lootsma) Though all of theses artists work in very different realms, they frequently cross over the line into the world of architecture. This line between architecture and art is most fascinating to curators and critics, (Showing 9) but architects should be aware of the boundaries of architecture that are being pushed as part of avant garde art. The constant question of what is architecture and what it can do drives architects to new innovation that at some points begins to push back into the realm of art.
Bibliography: Buchloh, Benjamin H.D. “Conceptual Art 19621969: From the Aesthetic of Administration to the Critique of Institutions.” Oc tober 55.Winter (1990): 10543. Google Scholar. Web. 20 Nov. 2014 Commission. Perf. Erik Van Leishout. Sculpture International Rot terdam and Hart Van Zuid, 2011. DVD. “Dutch Politican’s Killer Is Eligible for Early Parole.” The Gaurdian. The Gaurdian, 2 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Hainley, Bruce. “Store as Cunt.” Art Journal 70.4 (2011): 85109. Pro Quest Research Library. Web. 20 Sep. 2014. Halkes, Petra. “Melanchotopia.” C: International Contemporary Art 113 (2012): 4546. Art Source. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. Lavin, Sylvia. “Showing Work.” Log No. 20.Curating Architecture (2010): 510. JSTOR. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. Lavin, Sylvia. “Vanishing Point.” Artforum international. 10 2012: 2129. ProQuest. Web. 20 Sep. 2014 . Lootsma, Bart. Superdutch: New Architecture in the Netherlands. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2000. N. pag. Print. “Sculpture International Rotterdam.” Sculpture International Rotter dam. N.p., 22 Sept. 014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Siegal, Nina. “Dutch Arts Scene Is Under Siege.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Subotnick, Ali. “Biography.” The Hammer Museum. UCLA, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. 7
Image M: Small fiberglass office extension, Clipon (1997) for the director of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht bolted onto the exterior. In collaboration with Klaar van der Lippe.
Image N: Drawing by Joep van Lieshout of Slave University as part of Slave City. (2005)
Image O: Female Slave University, 2006, by Joep Van Lieshout
Image P: Joep van Lieshout, Saw Mill Cheese maker, 2013, Wood, metal 57’6” X 16’ X 9’6”
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The Book as an Appendage December 2015 History of the Book Advisor Guy Bennett Since childhood, images either drawn or spoken have recreated the home. the depiction of home has become an important representation of identity. The way that one’s home is described is not only a reflection of the circumstances in which one grew up in, but a window into the person themselves. The description of the home that any person gives is based upon the current perception of the past. The perception becomes dreamlike as time and spaces distances one from their childhood home. When documenting that perception, the author exposes their intimate thoughts and themselves as in their vulnerable past. In both Andy Seidman’s San Fernando Valley Suite and Macy Chadwick’s The Topography of Home the space of their childhood homes are loosely copied space in the form of the book as a cathartic release to cope with the distance from their hometowns. When describing the home greater insight is derived of the author. In Akiko Busch’s Geography of Home: Writings On Where We Live, the home is described as an “architectural appendage.” (Busch 4) An appendage is a kind of extension from oneself. In this context Busch is looking specifically at the house as a home. Home though does not need to be defined by only a house. Chadwick and Seidman both describe home (Chadwick on the cover and Seidman on 9
The Book as an Appendage page 9) as a general area. This makes the entire space an extension of themselves. Since the home is an extension of oneself, it can be inferred that when reflecting upon one home it is a reflection upon one’s internal past. In the examples of Seidman and Chadwick, the reflection is articulated through the creation of books. In Georges Perec’s Species of Spaces and Other Pieces space begins “with words only, signs traced on the blank page.” (Perec 13) So to describe a space another kind of space is created on the page to copy of the original. If simply words on a page is able to constitute space, then added imagery is able to enhance the space that is on the page. The books are a kind of simulacrum, a manipulation of reality, (Baudrillard 8) since the object of the books are not to dutifully represent the locations. (Baudrillard 6) This purposefully dream like copy of a finite space, defined as home, is by-product of existential daydreaming. (Bachelard 184) Since the book is a kind of space and is often a blank space, then it is the perfect medium to duplicate the space. The space duplicated is not actually the space but that of the day dreams of space. The space of daydreaming is that of an infinite space. (Bachelard 183) The reasons that one may recreate is based upon experiences and activities, such as moving away from home. (Smith 147) Moving away from home for an adult may not seem like a significant event, but since home is an appendage, then when moving away one loses it. San Fernando Valley Suite is a collaboration between Anthony Seidman’s prose poetry and Jean-Claude Loubiéres’s book arts. The light blue colored book was created by Loubiéres is a collage of several pages bound with Smyth binding. The pages are divided into repeated sections. Each section begins two facing pages scattered with small windup monkeys and a mysterious large blue colored square in the upper right corner. The square is revealed on the next page to be a close up of a palm covered in colored paraffin wax. The following two pages contain the text, the first is the French translation on a transparent page and the second is the original English version. The text is the prose poetry reflecting upon his past in his hometown of the San Fernando Valley. Each section is concluded with a sequential number in the upper right hand corner, totalling eleven sections. The physical attributes are very calming and somber with details that makes one slightly uneasy such as the uneven spacing of the text. At the time of the book’s creation, Seidman had returned to Los Angeles after spending a few years writing in Mexico. In the text, Seidman’s home town is described with great disdain, specifically critical of the artificiality of the greater Los Angeles area. Since the page becomes the space (Perec 13) which is a duplicate space of the original, (Baudrillard 8) then because the original is an extension 10
Izzy Savage of Seidman (Busch 4), the book is then a duplicate extension of him. The space of the poem and San Fernando Valley even begin to blur together with Seidman’, “At first, the poem is indistinguishable from my blood.” (Seidman 1) This is noting the closeness Seidman has to the topic of his writing. The book’s space duplicates the artificiality by the symbolism of the wind up monkeys and the dirt and smog with the paraffin wax. (Loubiéres) The transparent pages and paraffin transparency also gives the illusion of depth, pushing it closer to the idea of space than a simple two dimensional object. What triggered Seidman to recreate the space was his time in Mexico which he describes as, “I had to live in Mexico- in its rawest border town in the Chihuahua desert- and spend four years writing…” (Seidman 5) With the distance away from Los Angeles, the priorities for Seidman became apparent, which began to point out the insignificance of the fakeness of Los Angeles. Though he criticizes the artificiality, by creating a book, he participates in the neverending cycle of duplication. Though Seidman’s duplication is based upon a skewed reality, the artificiality of Los Angeles are duplicated from ideas that are no longer grounded in reality. (Baudrillard 8) Even though Seidman clearly does not like his home town, the distance from being in Mexico prompted him to create a replacement, a more tolerable form of the San Fernando Valley, now a suite. The suite became the replacement appendage for Los Angeles for while he was away, even though he hates the place, it is still a part of him. Without the extension there is an emptiness (Smith 49). Also in a blue cover Macy Chadwick’s Topography of Home is a book she made after moving to Oakland, California from her home town in Rhodes Island. The pages consist of Mohawk Superfine and Blue Butcher paper with topographic and street maps of Oakland and Rhodes Island overlayed. Windows with hand stenciled blue abstract images on silk tissue overlay the adjacent pages allowing to see the combination of the map and blue images. Reflective writing of memories of Rhodes Island float on top of the maps. This book also acts as a recreated space of Rhodes Island that allows for Chadwick to reflect. She moved to urban Oakland from the suburbs of Rhodes Island. The significant change made her look for an outlet to recreate her home spaces. Being a book artist the book was the natural choice. The space was not only created by the words on the page but also by the layering of images. The layers of maps overlaid onto each other creates the illusion of depth in a two dimensional space. The windows create changes based upon what pages are open and the transparency adds depth the the book. This space becomes a duplicate of her home which is an extension of her. In her own text she writes, “I plot the locations of significant events, all these parts of me, an intricate network recovered under my skin.” (Chadwick 3) Her connection to her hometown 11
The Book as an Appendage and her body is specifically significant. Since the book is a copy of her body’s extension, the book is therefore a duplicate extension of her body. Chadwick truly misses her hometown in Rhodes Island, to cope she created the book, always able to carry the copy of the space with her. The significance of the books being created as a result of distance significant. Since the home is an extension of oneself then the books are an exploration of a distance from a part of one’s self. The event is significant enough that in order to replace that appendage, one feels the desire to replace that appendage. In order to replace it, the space must be duplicated. In the case of Seidman and Chadwick the space is recreated by the creation of not just writing but a book. The space of the book is enhanced through the use of transparency within the pages, and layering of images and text. The depth adds to the illusion of space from the books. The spaces are duplicated by symbolically duplicating them. Seidman copies through the symbolism of the monkeys and paraffin wax. Chadwick more literally duplicates the space of her hometown in Rhodes Island by layering maps of her current status in Oakland and in her hometown. The representation of the space is a kind of duplication that allows the space to be transportable in the form of the book. These books are able to duplicate and transport a space on a personal level, but not all books about places can do this, even if done with a personal touch. In Terry Horrigan’s Aeolian Islands, the islands are described in terms of the wind. The book is made of folded paper to create a sing, weaving binding. The simple pages using primary colors is reminiscent of a children’s counting book. Since to create space on the page one only needs to begin with text, the book already has several pages of depth. The space is reflective of a particular place, but is not a duplication of the space but is instead a simulation. (Baudrillard 12) A simulation is not based in reality. The means in which the islands are described are not by physical means but by relatively arbitrary means of a counting system and abstract measurements. The descriptions are very abstract. Since it is a simulation rather than a duplication, it is not able to really represent the space. The Aeolian Island are also not an extension of the author by means of the home. Because of these factors, this book by Horrigan does not offer as rich of insight into the author as the more personal books of Seidman and Chadwick. Instead the book is a transportable simulated space. The exploration of the book as both space and as an appendage for an author is useful when looking at the relationship between the author and the book. The book is a kind of space that can travel and constantly be that space. When looking at books that are represen12
Izzy Savage tation of home, the book then become the space of the home and then the duplicate extension of the author. With these perspectives, a new relationship of the author and the book is developed. This personal connection is also useful when looking at books that are of pure text. The same relationship can be placed between the two. When recreating a space through words based on an event the connection to the author is stronger. When that space is the home the book is not just a space, but now a extension of the author just like the original space was but now a duplicate.
Annotated Bibliography Bachelard, Gaston. “The Poetics of Space.” Google Books. Goo gle, 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: U of Michi gan, 1994. Print. Busch, Akiko. Geography of Home: Writings on Where We Live. New York: Princeton Architectural, 1999.Google Books. Google, 7 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. Chadwick, Macy. The Topography of Home. Oakland, CA: In Ca hoots, 2009. Print. Loubiéres, Jean-Claude. “San Fernando Valley Suite Question.” Message to the author. 25 Oct. 2014. E-mail. Perec, Georges. “Species of Spaces and Other Pieces.” Google Books. Google, 23 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. Seidman, Anthony, and Jean-Claude Loubières. San Fernando Valley Suite. Paris: AdèLéo, 2004. Print. Smith, David Horton., and Nancy Theberge. Why People Recre ate: An Overview of Research. Champaign, IL: Life En hancement Publications, 1987. Print. 13
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Contemporary Sublime Landscape April 2014 History + Theory VI Advisor Gustavo Leclerc The experience of a garden evokes reflection and emotion in the participant. By the hand of the designer the forms and colors overlaid set guide the participant through a journey. That is different from a building where more frequently one travels to see the program contents of a building while a garden the experience are the desired content. This frees up the circulation from a linear path which is destination oriented to a loop proving further that in a garden it is the experience that is the destination. Since the experience is the highlight of gardens then, the experience of the user is highlighted more specifically. The experience of a contemporary garden is inspired by issues of today; sustainability and technology are the most pressing topics. These topics are inspiring both a sense of joy and fear. This is the sublime. Gardens such as Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne by Taylor Cullity Lethlean and “Flowing Gardens” at Xi’An World Horticultural Fair 2011 by Plasma Studio are examples of Contemporary Sublime. The sensation of the sublime was a fascination in relation to Picturesque (a painterly beauty found in gardens that appeared to be nature) in Britain the late 18th century. Though the relationship was clear what that relationship was debatable. Some such as Edmund Burke felt that the Beautiful and Sublime were opposites and could 15
Contemporary Sublime Landscape
Example of a Picturesque Sublime Landscape by Karl Bodmer
Movie poster of Blade Runner
Pollution from factories
Chinese citizen demonstrating poor air quality
never be mixed. This was due to Burke’s association of beauty with pleasure and then sublime with fear. (Finley 141) Through Burke’s perspective sublime also had a sense of power because power “instilled the idea of fear and danger deriving ‘all its sublimity from the terror with which it is generally accompanied.’” (Finley 142) Lastly he associated Sublime with both silence and excessive loudness because both causes and is the result of great terror. (Finley 143) Though Burke does not feel that the Sublime and beauty cannot be mixed the opposing descriptions of the topics are accurate. Reverend William Gilpin (work published 1783 to 1809) broke through with agreement that “the Picturesque based on the association between nature and art but incorporating the dual principles of the Beautiful and the Sublime… [which] could be intermixed” (Finley 144) This opens up the discussion for combining more contemporary theories with the sublime. In Post-modern times the idea of the sublime have been inspiring to artists rebelling against the order and rules of the modern. In the late 1980s and early 1990s grunge was at its peak in the art and music, elevating and exploring filth and pain. Embracing only the sublime and ignoring the possible combination with beauty, products of this time were very rough and dark. In contrast to that more recent work utilizes 3 element of the sublime such as its power and fear but connects them with pleasure and beauty. (Bell) This could be seen in relationship in the increased awareness of technology and environmental sustainability. The rapid increase of technology has influenced the world heavily socially and culturally, changing the way that people communicate and live. So far the benefits of technology have been beneficial but since the thought of advance artificial intelligence there has always been a fear associated with technology. Popular movie Blade Runner articulates the fear that is associated with fear and ambiguity of a future with highly advanced artificial intelligence. In the movie the fear that the replicants (highly advanced robots) will rebel and kill their creators, they were given a short life span so that they cannot possibly plan a long-term uprising. This movie also shows the ambiguity that this technology has the potential to have a gray area, with replicants possibly not being evil but had the potential to be good or neutral creatures. Either way the dark tones of the movie suggest the sublime attitude towards technology. The ambiguity of morals with technological advancement is not the only way technology brings terror into the world. The way that they technology is created incorporates issues relating to fear of the future. The factories in which technology is created creates pollution destroying the local and global environment. In the local villages the air quality is not tolerable resulting in residents needing to wear masks for filtration. Globally these factories increase air pollution 16
Izzy Savage adding to global warming. Technology in all ways evokes the sublime in the potential for the products themselves and in mess that is leftover from the creation of these products. The issues such as these evoke the sense of sublime and are articulated in projects of today, including landscape. Panoramic view of the Red Sand Garden
Detail view of the Red Sand Garden
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Melbourne, Australia has several exhibition gardens that display the diverse beauty of the Australian landscape. The gardens red sand gardens, exhibition gardens, arid garden, and Eucalypt Walk. These gardens are all native plants that naturally survive on little to no water. The arrangement of the plants and hardscape elements are in overwhelming colors and forms. Though beautiful the arrangements feel overwhelming. The overwhelming feeling in nature is a common event in Australia with the danger and scale of the wildlife and weather. So looking back to the gardens the beautiful composition is in a sense a lovely arrangement of terror inspiring habitats. It also is a demonstration of 17
Contemporary Sublime Landscape the potential if people are not sustainably more responsible. Like the desert the gardens are large and beautiful but so large that one feels the sense of being overtaken. The size of the gardens the primary factor in the influence of fear into the participants. Even though the garden is on the same ground plane as the path of the participant a sensation of falling over the edge is created by the contrast and edge condition from the path to the garden. Though the forms are very contemporary the landscape is absent of influence of technology. The parks strong visual presence engrains the potential to the future that with the increasing lack of resource that technology will be a drastic change. The park acts almost as an alarm, not of the end of the world but one of a new day, giving the world the loud clear warning of the new day, not the end of it. Panoramic view of the Red Sand Garden View over gardens demonstrating the intensity and compactness
Aerial view Flowing Gardens centered on the bridge that connects the two sides crossing the freeway.
A little further up in Xi’an China in 2011 the Flowing Gardens were designed by Plasma Studio, for the International Horticultural Fair Complex. This garden is designed as a “synthesis of horticulture and technology where landscape and architecture converge at a sustainable and integral vision� (Cilento) The massive amount of land (37 hecacres) functioned as a recreated estuary that was destroyed earlier by factory pollution. Though there was a diverse program everything flowed together with the vein like system that was created 18
Izzy Savage to move the population through the park very similar to how streams move water through an estuary. These gardens have a very direct connection to technology the plants on exhibition are displayed by use of new construction and agricultural technologies. This park is also very overwhelming in scale and technology but instead of a sense of fear of loosing technology by demonstrating the absence, it is shown through the direct illustration of its necessity. The halls and gardens need the technology developed for their function. The terror that is generated here is not in the feeling of vast emptiness but in becoming over filled. All space is filled and accounted for an overlay of jungle and science lab. Instead of the dominating influence of nature the power of man is shown. Similar to the replicants of Blade Runner, man’s influence becomes and ambiguous in moral but definitely powerful. The natural estuary was destroyed by man’s lack of attention to pollution but then is later recreated as an estuary and horticulture garden. It demonstrates the power that technology can both take and give life and that with it a lot can be accomplished. Though the project is restricted to just the site the geometry and crossing of the freeway also alludes to the potentially expansive nature of this kind of future with technology. Contrasting the typically open feeling of nature or gardens, this garden is very compact in relation to other contemporary public gardens. This configuration could be a glace into the future of what “nature” will be with overpopulation, instead of wide open landscapes, open space will be even more scarce so the land that is available will need to become utilized as compactly as possible. The use of the sublime in gardens shows the concerns and worries of the times. The concern about technology and the future of the Earth are issues that are continually trying to be solve not just through technology alone but through the agriculture and landscape. These developments allow for people to think differently of our future weather the influence of man over nature will win as in the Flowing Gardens or as in the Royal Botanic Gardens where nature wins. The point is not which will be the fate of the world it is that it is a concern of today and by combining the beautiful and the sublime the explorations of these topics evoke more emotion that is necessary to either solve the problem or prepare for the outcome.
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Contemporary Sublime Landscape Bibliography Bell, Julian. “The Art of the Sublime.” Tate. Tate, Jan. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Cundall, Peter. “Episode 14.” Gardening Australia. ABC. Ultimo, NSW Australia, 20 May 2006. Television. Transcript. Ellender, I. (1998). The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne: an archaeological survey for Aboriginal sites in the Australian Garden. Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Cranbourne (Vic.). Finley Gerald. “The Genesis of Turner’s ‘Landscape Sublime’” Zeitschrift Fur Kunstgeschichte 42.2/3 (1979); 141-65. JSTOR. Web. 25 Apr. 2014 Hunt, John Dixon. “The Picturesque Legacy to Modernist Land scape Architecture.” 2014.The Picturesque: Studies in the History of Landscape Architecture. N.p.: n.p., 1992. 282-303. Print. Lavin, Sylvia. “Sacrifice and the Garden: Watelet’s Essai Sur Les Jardins and the Space of the Picturesque.” Assemblage 28. N.p.: n.p., 1996. N. pag. Jstor. Web. Patrick, John. “Fact Sheet: The Australian Garden.” Gardening Aus tralia. ABC, 20 May 2006. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. Robinson, Sidney K. “The Picturesque: Sinister Dishevelment.” 2014. Restructing Architecural Theory. Comp. Marco Diani and Catherine Ingraham. N.p.: n.p., 1988. 74- 79. Print.
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Complexity and Contradiction or Just Capitalism? December 2013 History + Theory III Advisor Shannon Starkey The world is full of complexities and contradictions that only increase over time and spreads into every aspect of architecture. One of the most influential aspects is spread to urban planning, or lack of. Los Angeles is Reyner Banham’s example of the post-modern city, but since the 1970’s more contemporary examples have arisen in newly cosmopolitan cities such as Mumbai as well as St. Petersburg, Shanghai, and Dubai. Mumbai as well as the other cities has a history of being juxtaposed and mixed with western cultures. The current progression of this in Mumbai has led to infrastructural problems that resulted in two extremes the slums that surround the work of Hafeez Contractor. Contractor is one of India’s most successful commercial architects, designing elaborate and luxurious buildings that have no social impact or originality and are built based on client’s desire. The work of Hafeez Contractor demonstrates the complexity and contradiction in contemporary Mumbai’s capitalist infrastructure. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Robert Venturi, examines several projects analyzing the different lenses of complexity and contradiction. The more significant of these lenses is both-and and either-or. Architecture created by both-and is more consistent in 21
Complexity and Contradiction or Just Capitalism? its contradictions since it is accepting of both and by having multiple complex elements and double meanings it results in greater interest[1]. The either-or, is where the designer chooses between the options, resulting in inconsistency in elements and violent adjacencies making it more difficult for one to understand the ideas[2]. These ideas of complexity and contradiction are illustrated on an urban scale with Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. In this book, Banham demonstrates how Los Angeles is the postmodern city. Within this he breaks down Los Angeles into four ecologies Surfurbia, Foothills, The Plains of Id, and Autopia. In relation to infrastructure the ecology of Autopia and the note on Downtown is of particular interest. Autopia is place where one is both in a private place (the car) and in a public place (freeway). It’s where the most time is spent and is considered the only means of transportation instead of using boulevards and streets. It has become a part of the culture to complain about the traffic, discuss the route taken, and how long it takes[3]. Unlike most cities the Downtown of Los Angeles is very insignificant. This arose due to the growth not being centralized but more similar to patches that grew and overlapped. Even when looking at the growth of downtown, what was the center (Olvera Street) is now the far corner. The historical significance of it (Olvera Street, Chinatown, Bradbury Building) aren’t actually old in comparison to the Los Angeles area. Downtown really has no sense of importance, Banham goes as far as saying that the Freeways are the monuments, not Downtown. These complexities arise because of the large size of Los Angeles and how it grew to the size it is[4]. Banham’s work tells of how Los Angeles is a wonderful city of laissez faire and how it is so accidentally great[5]. However Los Angeles was not created based upon these coincidences that grew together and melted into each other. Los Angeles’s growth was based upon a political competition from San Francisco and San Diego over influence. Influence comes from money which comes from renters. So the three cities were basically in competition to gain the best means of transportation. San Francisco had transportation from both the bay and from the railway and San Diego had the bay. Los Angeles however had neither but the desire for growth lead to some political maneuvering to gain federal backing to create the world’s largest artificial harbor. From there means of transportation grew to the train station and the famously large freeways. The political push came from land owning men who were seeking renters and higher rents, do by creating better means of getting to Los Angeles, it increasing the amount of people that increases the demand for housing, which increases income for the owners, resulting in more power to start the cycle again to achieve more money and power. This is the 22
Izzy Savage growth machine. But people do not move without a job, so there is a great amount of investment in creating jobs to cause people to move. Truly all decisions such as culture, safety, schools, climate, all goes back to business and attracting people to stay and rent[6]. Banham’s perspective on Los Angeles does not have consequences. The easiest of which is the transportation system of the freeways have become outgrown by the even larger population and also creates a large amount of smog. Though the complexity is praised by Banham, it was at a somewhat manageable state in the future it may not be so. In Kazys Varnelis’s Complexity and Contradiction in Infrastructure, he points out that the only reason that people have been able to keep up is because of the increase in communication technology. Varnelis believes that when the complexity of infrastructure surpasses the complexity in communication technology that there will be a collapse[7]. So since Los Angeles is the postmodern city, what is the city that represents the complexity and contradiction of today? In the book The History of Future Cities, Daniel Brook answers the question with St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Dubai. Mumbai is what will be focused on here. Mumbai began as Bombay, created by the British as a Second London. The city was first built up by having the largest train network in Asia lead to the Terminus in India, similar to Los Angeles’s artificial harbor. The structure of the government in Bombay was to have the British government have the ultimate authority but to have Indians put in position of authority. They also encouraged educating many of the locals, finding that when educated with western ways the people sided with the British instead of rebelling. The result of this combined government lead to the combined architecture called Bombay-Gothic. This kind of both-and lead to sharing the ideas of the government through its buildings such as in the Victoria Terminus. In this building one sees the structure of a traditional British Terminus but it is articulated with local materials and detailing. This is very similar to the local politics of British structure done with local people. The British treated Bombay like a home away from home, updating the local technology as fast as possible; in 1865 Bombay had telegraph before London had. The communication technology is increasing as the complexity of the society is increasing. The progress continued immensely until an economic downturn in April 1865 due to the Civil War in the United States of America. With the lack of economic growth both the locals and the British began to question the influence of government in Bombay. This power struggle pushes back and forth until 1947 when India finally gained their independence from Britain[8]. By the 1980’s Bombay has become a thriving stock exchange, film industry and is a major airport hub. But in 1987 an economic down23
Complexity and Contradiction or Just Capitalism? Victoria Terminus[9]
turn in the US results again in problems in India. What were overregulated labor laws become under regulated, low wage English speaking work force is laid off, and Hindu-Muslim tension increases. In 1995 Shiva Sena gains control of Bombay. Sena has strong power over the Bombay film industry and is a part of the Marathi Nationalist Party. The Nationalist Party is the creation of Bal Thakeray, a xenophobic, political cartoonist, aggressive patriot, and admirer of Hitler. Under Sena Bombay is renamed Mumbai after the Hindu goddess Mumba Devi to be less British. Places of significance were also renamed to be more Indian such as the Victoria Terminus became Chhatrapati Shiraji Terminus and all Airports renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji. The renaming of the Airports has led to some difficulties with transportation. Sena restructured government to benefit industries he had ties with in the name of creating a utopia. He also arranged the public needs such as sanitation, parks, and transportation management to be handled by private sectors in order to separate him for the poverty, decay, and dysfunction. This is an example of an either-or government, where either the private sector is responsible or the government is responsible, instead of sharing the responsibility between both sectors, similar to earlier government[10]. The poverty is growing due primarily because of the ease of transportation. Because there is no longer any travel restrictions within India and transportation has become so inexpensive, people now have the ability to move when needed. People that feel the necessity to move often to Mumbai where it was rumored to have jobs, similar to during the Great Depression in the United States people moved west in search of jobs. When the people arrive there are no jobs and the proper housing that is available is too expensive resulting in living in the slums. The conditions of the slums are horrible with sanitation problems such as one working toilet available for every thousand people[10]. Yet in and around these slums there are elaborate projects being built, primarily by Hafeez Contractor. Contractor as the name implies comes from a long family history of builders. He is the most successful commercial architect in India. He works only to please 24
Izzy Savage Mumbai Slums[11]
the client in the most luxurious way possible. He primarily works in residential, which is booming in Mumbai[12]. The residential market is exploding because of a law one to build a new construction as long as two thirds of the current residents agree and there rent stays the same. There is no cultural stigma of having a house surrounded by poverty so often the slums grow up and around the large apartment buildings[10]. Contractor’s work revolves around pure capitalism, and gives the client whatever they want resulting in what appears to be complex juxtapositions. His work is also a reflection of the government’s stance on capitalism, making all the public problems private problems to maximize the money that is coming in from taxes. Resulting in complicated city planning having the slums and the wealth apartments intertwined throughout Mumbai. Instead of the laissez faire the city is structure based upon what every will make money for the owners. Obvious there are consequences of having an infrastructure set up as such. The state of the slums and crime rates are horrifying. Without a change to a less capitalist focused government these problems may not be solved unless leaders are shown how this is hindering them financially.
Imperial Towers by Contractor[13]
Contractor’s work demonstrates that though at first things appear to be complex and contradictory in reality it is a simple either-or situation that shows difficulties in sharing ideas of the two sources. Since there is no real meaning or idea behind the work, except capitalism, it is simply juxtaposition. Since his work is consistent in following “Spaceship” building at Pune Campus what the client wants his work is thriving in the government that is by Contactor[14] so capitalist focused. But there still are these harsh juxtapositions, for now they are stable but that is only because the means of money is keeping up but if that begins to fail everything that was supported only by capitalism will begin to fail as well. 25
Complexity and Contradiction or Just Capitalism? End Notes 1. Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, (New York, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1977), chap. 7. 2. Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, (New York, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1977), chap. 8. 3. Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, (London: Allen Lane, 1971). Chap. 11. 4. Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, (London: Allen Lane, 1971). Chap. 11. 5. Varnelis, Kazys. Psychogeography and the End of Planning. Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles. The Architecture of Four Ecologies, “Varnelis.” Last modified December 08, 2005. Accessed October 23, 2013. 6. John Logan, and Harvey Molotch, Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place, (London, England: University of California Press, 1987), chap. 3. 7. Kazys Varnelis, “Complexity and Contradiction in Infrastructure,” Varnelis (blog), December 03, 2009. 8. Daniel Brook, A History of Future Cities, (New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), chap. 9. 9. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Victoria_ Terminus,_Mumbai.jpg 10. Daniel Brook, A History of Future Cities, (New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), chap. 10. 11. http://indiawires.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/mumbai-slums.jpg 12. Harshad Bhatia, Architect Hafeez Contractor Selected works 1982-2006 (Mumbai, India: Spenta Multimedia, 2006) Introduction: Architecture Forever. 13. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/ImperialMumbai. JPG 14. http://www.aras.com/Community/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/ CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/aras_5F00_user_5F00_blog.InfoSys_5F00_India/6036.IMG_5F00_3986.JPG_5F00_s.jpg Bibliography Daniel Brook, A History of Future Cities, (New York, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), chap. 9. Daniel Brook, A History of Future Cities, (New York, New York: W.W. Norton Harshad Bhatia, Architect Hafeez Contractor Selected works 1982-2006 (Mumbai, India: Spenta Multimedia, 2006) Intro duction: Architecture Forever. Kazys Varnelis, “Complexity and Contradiction in Infrastructure,” Varnelis (blog), Decem ber 03, 2009. 26
Izzy Savage John Logan, and Harvey Molotch, Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place, (London, England: University of Califor nia Press, 1987), chap. 3. Nangia, Ashish. “Complexity and Contradiction in Urban India.” Asia Times Online, March 10, 2009. Reyner Banham, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, (London: Allen Lane, 1971). Chap. 11. Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, (New York, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1977), chap. 7. Robert Venturi, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, (New York, Rohan Kalyan, “Fragmentation by Design: Architecture, Finance, and Identity,” Grey Room, 44, no. 2 (2011): 26-53, Varnelis, Kazys. Psychogeography and the End of Planning. Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles. The Architecture of Four Ecol ogies, “Varnelis.” Last modified December 08, 2005. Ac cessed October 23, 2013.
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Pavillion de l’Esprit Nouveau and Stahl House: Standards in Prefabricated Homes May 2013 History + Theory II Advisor Sergio Figuerdo In the Modern Era, traditions of buildings came into question. People began to wonder how and why things functions and look the way they do. Types of queries such as these were raised because of the continuing advancement in technology in building materials and in expanse in factory ability. A perfect structure for reinterpretation is a house. A home is a necessity all people need, so by questioning something needed the outcome becomes more relatable and applicable to real life causing it to give more of an impact. The Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau (Pavilion of the New Spirit) in Paris, France, by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret (1925), and Stahl House (Case Study House #22) in Los Angeles, California, by Pierre Koenig (1959) both are interpretations of what the standard home should be. Le Corbusier looked to find the truth of society through architecture. He traveled and worked at many firms resulting in a variety of experiences to support his search. (von Moos 26) Part of Le Corbusier’s solution for the truth is the New Spirit. The New Spirit stems from the philosophy that a new life and energy needs to be a part of the advancing times and that this could only be determined by the artist, or in this case, architect. (Gronberg 59) His interpretation of what this New Spirit should be began with the rejection of the popular Art 29
Pavillion de l’Esprit Nouveau and Stahl House: Standards in Prefabricated Homes Nouveau and Art Deco, as these fashionable movements did not change the interaction between person and the building at all, like the solution he was looking for. To publicly translate his dismay for the decoration from these a new style in architectures, Le Corbusier designed The Pavilion for the 1925 Decorative Arts Expo in Paris. Due to the building’s lack of ornamentation in such an opulent era, it was not well received. (von Moos 25) Le Corbusier argued that the building’s inherent beauty was all that was needed as the natural aesthetic of common household objects replaced architectural embellishments.(See image A and B) (von Moos 26) He treated the Pavilion as a model home of these principles and for a line of future mass produced homes. The idea was that if homes like this could be affordable, mass-produced, and pre-fabricated, more people could have access to good design. (Gronberg 61) In order to expose the truth through architecture, Le Corbusier began to employ strategies of simplicity that he extracted from his studies and past experiences. Due to his masterful use of minimalism and materials the Pavilion would have been a sound candidate for mass production throughout Europe. (Passanti 438) Image A: Image shows the exterior of the Pavilion of the New Spirit.
The Stahl House (See image C and D) was completed 34 years after the Pavillion. Pierre Koenig was in a way attempting to produce the New Spirit of the post war environment in Los Angeles. By this time, Le Corbusier’s radical ideas were now normalized and reinterpreted. Many began questioning how should a dwelling react to the social issues, economy, population boom, and lack of housing due to the war, were raised. (McCoy 55) In Los Angeles a group of architects were asked to be a part of a series of case study homes that were to amend the housing situation. Koenig’s vision was similar to the Le Corbusier, in that he wanted homes that were affordable, mass-produced and pre-fabricated while also being articulatImage B: Image shows the interior of the Pavilion ed through the use of steel. (McCoy 69) Steel was an important material because of its inherent qualities and storong availability. of the New Spirit. 30
Izzy Savage Before he designed Case Study House #22 he designed the Bailey House (Case Study #21, 1959, See image E). This home was much more industrial and not as elegant as the later Stahl House. Yet both buildings clearly exhibit their core elements of mass production and steel. (McCoy 70) Image C: Image of the Stahl house from the backyard looking across the pool area.
Image D: Image shows the living room of the Stahl House cantilevered over the edge toward Los Angeles
Image E: Image shows the Bailey House from the perspective from the driveway.
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Pavillion de l’Esprit Nouveau and Stahl House: Standards in Prefabricated Homes
Image F: Image shows Villa Savoye. This house is an excellent example of Le Corbusier’s five pillars of architecture.
In a later project of Le Corbusier, Villa Savoye (1931) (See Image F), his early truth of architecture was defined as the five pillars of architecture: pilotis, roof garden, free plan, free façade, and horizontal windows. (Passanti 439) At the point of the Pavilion, his search for this was still in process though variations of the five pillars can be found. As the structure of the pavilion is elevated slightly on pilotis it can be seen running through the exterior as well as along the interior, allowing for the free façade and plan. The roof garden is preceded by a courtyard with a single tree that extends through the roof. The square windows of the Pavilion later are developed as long horizontal windows. This illustrates the beginning of a process leading to the final five pillars of architecture. The primary goal of Le Corbusier was to create a project that was affordable, able to be mass produced, and prefabricated. (von Moos 28) He felt the most logical step was to create a multifamily unit made from precast concrete panels. The Stahl House similarly had the same goals of affordability, mass production, and prefabricated homes with the additional requirement from the Stahl family of not obstructing the view toward the city. (Thornburg 2) The overlapping elements from the Pavilion were created from the post-war environment of people with not a lot of money and a need for a lot of homes. Koenig continued his use of steel and glass that was prefabricated to counter the issues at hand. To not obstruct the view the house was designed in an “L” shape that is open to the city, and closed to the road for privacy (this can be seen in image C). The home’s shape allowed for access to the yard, which was primarily taken up by the pool. (McCoy 26) Le Corbusier felt that a part of the New Spirit in architecture was to create and international style. Trying to achieve a true international style became large part of the first half of his career. In the second half he created more site specific projects that contradicted his theories created in his earlier work. But in the Pavilion he worked hard to refine the structure so that it could that could be duplicated and placed into any environment. (Gronberg 59) Around the time of the Stahl house the idea of international style had already been investigated, it was more interesting and practical to create a regional articulation of a modern style. The Stahl House is an articulation of Los Angeles life, though it’s strong connection between the house and the outdoors. This can be seen in the movement from the bedrooms to the rest of the house. One must go outside, under the large flat eaves of the roof and enter the desired room. Also allows access to the warm weather with many windows and cooling through large glass panes shaded by the roof. Unlike the intent of the Pavilion, this house could only be placed in a location that is similar to Los Angles, but certainly not in any place where cold weather is much 32
Izzy Savage more severe or more public. The homes were meant for mass production, not as tract homes but rather a model home of what could be ordered as an individual’s pre-fabricated home. (McCoy 26) By utilizing industrialization in design, the idea of efficiency is prominent among this movement. In the Pavilion, efficiency was supported by creating a multifamily unit that employed concrete as a main material. This way space and materials would not be wasted by creating multiple buildings for multiple families. In the 1920s concrete was still a relatively new material in building construction, especially in residential design. Though the Pavilion was actually built of plaster panels it was intended in replications to be concrete panels. Despite its plaster construction it was still very durable and at the end of expo damage was very minimal. (Gronberg 59) Concrete also is a very efficient material because it can be cast into basically any form. In 1950s Los Angeles space was not considered an issue, allowing for the typical one family residence that was desired by most Americans. This made a single family unit was not out of the question. (McCoy 55) In the post war environment there was not a shortage of materials but a surplus of specific materials that were used in the war effort. Steel beams were the primary material, that’s surplus was being utilized. Steel, with its durable nature and ability to support a massive amount of weight, rendered additional material for the structure unnecessary. The steel and construction methods used proved to be so durable that it wasn’t until recently that minor repairs have been made to the structure. (McCoy 70) Le Corbusier specifically addressed the topic of ornamentation when he juxtaposed the Pavilion with the 1925 Decorative Expo. At the time it was unheard of to be so minimalist and he was highly criticized for it. (Gronberg 59) By the 1950s lack of ornamentation was not a shock. The inherent qualities of materials were accepted as beautiful and decoration was not desired. Also technology continued to rapidly advance trying to keep up with the desire for the most advanced products. The aesthetic designs of the products were also progressing. In rooms such as the kitchen the new appliances were the focal point of the kitchen’s design. In fact the kitchen Image G: was highlighted in the home; through the appearance that it was a Image shows how the kitchen appears box that was placed inside the structure (can be seen in Image G). to be a box placed inside the home. This demonstrates the advancement of technology and that inherent beauty of products were becoming more acceptable and even desired. (McCoy 55) Due to the pilotis in the Pavilion a free plan was able to be created resulting in the plan being broken into individual family housing units. The Stahl house utilizes the columns to create an open floor plan. Both use the skeleton structure to create their desired plan. 33
Pavillion de l’Esprit Nouveau and Stahl House: Standards in Prefabricated Homes A free plan Le Courbsier utilizes because of its independence from the structure, maximizing a diversity of possibilities for the plan. In the Stahl house an open floor plan was considered more efficient because it allowed for different arrangements inside the home as well as air ventilations during warm weathered months. Both use of plan helped maximizing efficiency in the design of a standard home. Both projects utilize many factors to create their ultimate affordable, mass-produced, and prefabricated homes. They created homes that were both minimalist in design but also in luxurious details. They took advantage of abundant resources that were both strong and durable to create a long lasting home without costing the clients an excessive amount. Due population growing at a rapid rate homes were becoming more needed and needed quickly. The Pavilion was an example of tract multi-family houses and the Stahl House was an example of more of a catalog house. Due to the recently ended wars there were many factories that were not in production of war effort resources. Seeing the efficiency of factory produced products, standardized homes were able to be prefabricated in factories and then assembled onsite. Also with the left over materials from the wars, units were designed with the thought of the excess materials standard size and proportions. The New Spirit Pavilion introduced a perspective on housing that utilized the materials and technology of the 1920s, demonstrating the power of prefabricated multi-family units. The Pavilion also shows the beginning process of Le Corbusier looking into the five pillars of architecture. Later the Stahl house rearticulates housing through the materials and technology of the 1950s, focusing on the use of mass produced post war materials. Both projects created a new standard of their time in mass-produced dwelling modules that lead to future structures being rethought based on efficiency.
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Izzy Savage Bibliography: Gornberg, Tag. “Speaking Volumes: The “Pavillon De L’Esprit Nouveau”” Oxford Art Journal 15.2 (1992): 58-69. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. McCoy, Esther. “Arts & Architecture Case Study Houses.” Perspecta 15 (1975): 54-73.JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr/ 2013. Passanti, Francesco. “The Vernacular, Modernism, and Le Corbusier.” J ournal of Society of Architectural Historians 56.4 (1997): 438-51. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. Thornburg, Barbara. “Koenig’s Case Study House No. 22 as Home.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. Von Moos, Stanislaus, and Margaret Sobiesky. “Le Corbusier and Loos.” Assemblage 4 (1987): 24-37. JSTOR. Web. 13 Apr. 2013.
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CCTV Headquarters Manipulating the Grid of Traditional China December 2011 History + Theory I Advisor Sergio Figuerdo In 2002, Central Chinese Television, or CCTV, held a design competition for the $600 million contract to design their new headquarters (McGuigan). The headquarters needed to incorporate all aspects of the CCTV network from production to administrations (Bussel). The winner of the competition was Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren of Holland’s Office for Metropolitan Architecture, or OMA (Bussel). The building was completed in May 2012 with a budget of about $1.1 billion (OMA). Their design consisted of two towers that are connectImage A: CCTV Headquarters
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CCTV Headquarters Manipulating the Grid of Traditional China
Image B: Concert hall in Porto, Portugal
Image C: Seattle Public Library
ed on the ground by two shorter buildings and in the air by an “L” shaped bridge, this creates the appearance of a loop. The structural supports that make this shape possible also are used as a skin that covers the entire building (See Image A) (Bussel). Part of the inspiration for the design came from the attack on the World Trade Center; Koolhaas asked himself “How can you make a high-rise building that’s not about height? How can you make a high-rise building that can define a place rather than simply occupy it?” (McGuigan) The answers to his questions were form and the grid. Koolhaas manipulated the form, using the concepts that he had used on his previous buildings, “have a degree of simplicity but show their complexity in the way they are used in or at a second glance” and also to be “flamboyant conceptually but not formally” (Lubow 32). The grid is a concept that he has spent a lot time analyzing, particularly when looking at Manhattan in his book Delerious New York (Esperdy 11). The grid, in the history of architecture, created a new set of values and strategies in both design and creation, but also created limits, set by the grid of city blocks that is designated by the government (Esperdy 11). This new approach has lead to the “culture of congestion” otherwise known as Manhattanism (Esperdy 11). With these philosophies his work has been attention grabbing, such as the Concert Hall in Porto, Portugal (See Image B), the Seattle Public Library (See Image C), and the Dutch Embassy in Berlin (See Image D), but nothing has quite been on the scale of the CCTV project (Lubow 32). Additionally it was his first time constructing for Beijing, leading to new cultural considerations (OMA). In fifteenth century C.E. Beijing’s most well-known headquarters was the Forbidden City (See Image E). The Forbidden City’s and Traditional Chinese
Image D: Dutch Embassy in Berlin
Image E: Forbidden City Beijing, China
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Izzy Savage Courtyard Home’s design are based on the ideas of Confucius, balance between buildings surrounding open space, symmetrical layout, and clear separation of spaces, which leads to a layout that is very grid like (Antoniou). When designing the CCTV Headquarters Koolhaas took the idea of the grid, which is used in the Forbidden City and Traditional Chinese Courtyard Homes, and manipulates it throughout the structure, leading to a cohesive space. The manipulation of the grid is not unique only to the CCTV headquarters; the Forbidden City uses similar principles. In ancient Beijing, the city was organized in a grid with two large rows, which ran based on the carnal directions, dividing the city into four quadrants. The Forbidden City is placed where the main roads intersect at the center of the city. Similarly the CCTV building is at the center the industrial district, both buildings through careful placement in the city, are given importance that would be lost if placed elsewhere. The size and placement of the Forbidden City allows for it to be seen from any spot in Beijing, but it is impossible to see the entire structure or the entrance. This gives the structure a mysterious appearance elevating its importance (Antoniou). The CCTV headquarters is mysterious in hiding its entrances to non-tourist areas, similarly adding a level of mystery (OMA). A common element between both the Forbidden City and the CCTV Headquarters is the separation of the common and the elite. In the Forbidden City, only members of the royal family may enter (Antoniou). The CCTV building segregates by having different routes through the building, one for employees and one for tourists. Additionally, the VIP offices are above everyone in the bridge between the two towers, causing them to both physically and administratively be above everyone. The entrances to these excluded areas at both structures are not only extra hidden but it is a bit of a maze to reach (OMA). The CCTV Building’s layout of space is very similar to that of the Traditional Chinese Courtyard home (See Image F). In the Courtyard home the rooms are organized around a central open space (Gaubatz). In the CCTV Building everything is organized around the large open void in the center of the structure, almost like a vertical version of the Courtyard home. These spaces can be manipulated depending on the purpose. In the Courtyard home the walls between rooms can be added or removed depending on the needs of the family (Gaubatz). In the CCTV building walls can also be changed on any given floor to support the production of the network. Of all the rooms the most important is placed at top of the open space. In Image F: the Courtyard home it was the house of the patriarch of the family Drawing of a Traditional Chinese Court(Gaubatz). At the top of the open void in the CCTV headquarters yard Home is the VIP offices, again showing importance both physically and socially. In the traditional Courtyard Home the entrance is not cen39
CCTV Headquarters Manipulating the Grid of Traditional China tralized on the street facing wall, but is offset to the side to allow for privacy to the family (Gaubatz). Similarly the CCTV entrance is not centralized but is offset on the side of the building, keeping it a very private space. Besides the offset door Traditional Courtyard Homes are extremely symmetrical in layout, keeping with the Confucius tradition (Gaubatz). The CCTV building is symmetry is skewed due to angles, but if simplified into ninety degree angles the symmetry of the building is much more apparent (See Image G). The Courtyard homes use exterior hallways that are under the overhang of the roof that circulates around the courtyard (Gaubatz).
Image G: A visualization of the CCTV Building if it was all 90 degree angles.`
Image H: A drawing of a 3D grid
The form of the CCTV building is very elaborate. When looking at the overall form of the structure, it appears as if Koolhaas skewed a three dimensional grid and selected a shape from that grid to become the form of the headquarters (See Image H and I). Due to the unique grid, the perspective of the building becomes distorted, at certain angles the building looks as if it were flat instead of a solid form. Due to the grid being manipulated and the large angled bridge that connects the two buildings, it appears that the building might tip over, when in reality it is securely structured and attached to the ground (OMA). Its pronounced form also draws attention to itself, being heavily contrasted with the surrounding skyscrapers which generally have the basic form of a rectangular prism. The building’s central void also acts as a picture frame of the cityscape (Bussel). From one view it specifically frames the Television Cultural Center, or TVCC, also designed by OMA (See Image J) (Bussel). The TVCC building was designed to support those visiting as guests of CCTV. The structure was due to be completed in May 2009 but was almost destroyed in a fire in February 2009, resulting in the building needing to be built again (OMA). The size of the headquarters is inter-
Image I: Lines of structure highlighted to show the grid like quality of the structure.
Image J: The Television Cultural Center being seen through the void of the CCTV building during construction.
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Izzy Savage esting because height was not the goal of the structure, but rather to accommodate all necessary programs, size was a necessity. The size of the building is also important to emphasize the engineering feat of the form. If the form was only three stories tall the impact would be diminished but by building the structure with 44 stories it is still large enough to be considered a sky-scraper without emphasizing height (OMA). The manipulation of the grid also is integrated into the facade of the building. In general, basic steel and glass skyscrapers already have a visual grid, due the striped pattern of the floors seen through the glass intersect vertical structural supports (See Image K). This “natural grid” is taken one step further with the integration of the crossing cantilevers that form a distorted grid. (See Image L) The cantilevers are shown on the outside and appear as simply a part of the aesthetic design, but they are a necessary part of the structure. The change in the cantilever’s grid tightens where structural support Image K: Demonstration of the general grid patis needed most such as where the bridge connects to the towers. tern on skyscrapers. The two grids link together to create an interesting façade that relates to the overall form, creating a cohesive space. Image L: Example of the “natural grid” and distorted grid overlapping.
The idea of the grid does not only apply to the building itself but the environment in which it was placed. Since the headquarters is in a city environment it was placed on a 25 acre city block, which is carved by the network of streets (OMA). The courtyard below the headquarters is connected to the structure due to the design of intersecting grids created by planters which mimics the actual building. (See Image M) The courtyard keeps an industrial feel by being primarily concrete with sparsely placed planters. This courtyard also invites the public into the space of the headquarters by being around 41
Image M: Shows courtyard below headquarters.
CCTV Headquarters Manipulating the Grid of Traditional China the building and even taking the tourist route through the building. The areas in which the public can visit in the building are separated from those who work at CCTV, maintaining a relationship between the public and the private. The CCTV Headquarters houses a high production network and is complemented by a very cohesive design using the basis of a grid, giving it a dynamic appearance. The structural supports form the skin of the building and appear to be made of a manipulated grid. The courtyard below the structure is a collage of grids that act as public space, and by hiding the entrance to the headquarters, there is a separation between the public and the private. The Forbidden City is similar to the CCTV building by separating the elite from the common while still being very visible. In the Traditional Chinese Courtyard House grids are used to organize space around an open area much like the CCTV building. The CCTV headquarters’ successful cohesiveness is created by the use of the grid which has proven itself a good design principle in previous structures.
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Izzy Savage Work Cited Antoniou, Jim. “The Forbidden City in Beijing: China’s Hidden Heart.” The Architectural Review 209.1250 (2001): 70-5.Pro Quest Research Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. Bussel, Abby. “Office for Metropolitan Architecture / CCTV / Beijing.” Architecture92.3 (2003): 34. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. Web. Esperdy, Gabrielle. “Defying the Grid: A Retroactive Manifesto for the Culture of Decongestion.” Perspecta 30 (1999): 10-33. JSTOR. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. Gaubatz, Piper. “Changing Beijing..” Geographical Review 85. (1995):79(18). eLibrary. Web. 01 Dec. 2012. Luboq, Authur. “Rem Koolhaas Builds.” New York Times 9 July 2000, sec. 6: 30-41. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. McGuigan, Cathleen. “Rem’s Chinese Puzzle.” Newsweek 13 Jan. 2003: 57. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. OMA Projects. OMA, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://oma.eu/proj ects?Type=0&Category=0&OrderBy=Location&Dir=asc>.
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