Architecture That Respeaks Mythology a manifesto/picture book by
ANLAN CHEN
“Shakespeare said that art is a mirror held up to nature. And that’s what it is. The nature is your nature, and all of these wonderful poetic images of mythology are referring to something in you. When your mind is trapped by the image out there so that you never make the reference to yourself, you have misread the image. The inner world is the world of your requirements and your energies and your structure and your possibilities that meets the outer world. And the outer world is the field of your incarnation. That’s where you are. You’ve got to keep both going. As Novalis said, 'The seat of the soul is there where the inner and outer worlds meet ......”
“... Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth--penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words. Beyond images, beyond that bounding rim of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told.”
Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth 1
No
architecture has existed since the 21st century, or to be precise, since the beginning of the digital architectural age.
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The viral application of computational tools has split the profession into two - the practice and the discipline, where the latter is increasingly developing itself into a cult*, though still labeling itself architecture.
SimShun Q4 River Thames Pavilion (Gao et al. n.d.)
*Definition of 'Cult': 1. It isolates its members from the rest of the society; 2. It claims special knowledge and morality; 3. It demands strict obedience; 4. It has an auto-referential philosophy; 5. It creates its own language, incomprehensible to outsiders (Salingaros, 2002)
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With that being said, then how should one define architecture?
Among the numerous schools of thoughts which have all contributed to the architectural discourse with their own definitions, it is fair to say that the one which felt closest to most architects’ hearts as well as laypeople’s understandings, has to be the three basic principles proposed by Vitruvius - firmitas, utilitas, and venustas, famously translated into their English counterparts firmness, commodity, and delight.(trans Cesariano1981) The three elements share a mutually-dependent relationship in that missing one of them a unified architecture would not be achieved.
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commodity
delight
firmness
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Beyond Gravity
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AA Emergent Technologies Studio (Chen et al. 2010)
Undeniably with technological advances in almost every aspect of contemporary architectural practices, firmitas and utilitas, have been brought up to an unprecedented level where formal and functional complexity can be systematically studied and resolved. Nevertheless, venustas, literally means the salient qualities possessed by Venus which would arouse the emotion of love, has evaded the scrutiny of modern science and technology; even though it has always been considered the element that have the most impact on the human psyche. Instead of being carefully researched and designed as its counterparts, venustas has become merely incidental outcomes after the design process. In the parametric era its existence does not matter. According to Vitruvius, building without venustas is anything but architecture, technical or functional objects at most. (trans Cesariano1981)
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To
understand why digital architecture fail to capture venustas, one has to turn to classical Greek philosophy for two concepts...
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(Neokortex 2008)
Topos the perceivable place; Logos the meaning - anything that is
accessible to reasoning or understanding. In Republic VI Plato suggested that logos could never truly represent topos, for no matter how adept we are at transforming a territory or an object into something that logos could master or study, it is in the nature of logos to select. Therefore to think of topos, some of its features will forever be elusive to our minds. (trans Emlyn-Jones 2013)
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(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2009)
In Critique of Pure Reason, Kant took this notion one step further into his understanding of the concept ’representation’. What Plato considers elusive to logos, Kant explained it as the subjective and the unconscious, whose existence could not be denied but could never be fully conceptualized or represented either. (trans Meiklejohn 2009)
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Therefore as the core of any computational tools is essentially the very act of reasoning. They are by nature incapable of capturing things that could not be conceptualized or represented in our languages, which realm venustas falls into. Furthermore since the contemporary design process always starts with conceptualization and ends in representation, it is also impossible to communicate, not to mention studying or teaching, the translation of venustas from the architect’s mind to the eventual occupants'. As Kant has famously summarized - a concept can only represents an object through other concepts. Things that complete a work of architecture such as beauty, sensations, psychological connections‌can never be improved upon or even articulated to keep up with their conscious or objective counterparts, namely firmitas and utilitas.
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So
shall we just give up on the search for a language that can speaks the elusive, letting the gap between topos and logos forever be?
Or
could it be that there already exists such a thing within our culture, but has rarely been brought up or been related to architecture?
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Plato, again, has the answer...
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Mythos
,
or mythology, fills in the gap between logos and top
"And lo! towards us coming in a boat An old man, hoary with the hair of eld, Crying: 'Woe unto you, ye souls depraved!'
Plate IX: Canto III: Arrival of Charon.
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Gustave DorĂŠ's illustration to Dante's Inferno (1857) *In Greek mythology the ferryman of Hades who carried souls of the newly deceased across the River Styx that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. Here, Charon is shown coming to ferry souls across the river Acheron to Hell.
pos.
It simulates logos in that there is a certain degree of truth or argumentation in it. Whereas it differentiates from logos in that the truth is neither permanent nor absolute. Without the performance of telling the story, unlike the truth being articulated via logos, the meaning behind the tale cannot exist. Campbell defined mythology as clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life, which are metaphors for what we are capable of knowing and experiencing within.(Campbell 1988) The similarity among mythologies around the world seems to suggest that the whole of mythology could be taken as a projection of the collective unconsciousness. They are, according to Jung, instruments to discover the collective dreams which are inherent in our human psyche.(Jung 1998) One would argue that this is precisely why people find myth mesmerising and reminiscent, for not only do they have resonance within our innermost being, they also borrow elements which we all are acquainted to as symbols. Mythologies speak the unspeakable. And they are, in essence, social conventions whose validity relies on to what degree does the mass agree with them. Therefore as Plato discovered, they could be used as persuasive tools to convey elusive messages, venustas – hence a perfect apparatus for architects. (trans Emlyn-Jones 2013)
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One
of the biggest questions that belongs to the realm of the subjective and the subconscious is where do architects find their inspirations?
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As a design profession architecture distinguishes itself from traditional art or science in that there is no existing model in nature where architecture could study and imitate.
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Therefore before bio-mimicry was discovered, architects like Laugier and Semper had no choice but to resort to myth to provide a foundation for their architectural discourse. The imagery of the ‘primitive hut’, supposedly man’s first building, was invented to present a straightforward narrative from savage beginnings to the perfect form in society and architecture as a natural evolutionary process.
While the simplicity of the elements echoes with the general belief that houses were first made for shelter. It is possible that the validity of the proposal lies in that it may has somehow reflected our nesting instinct. Therefore it somehow appears righteous and godgiven to the public when first published. Moreover the constructed hut possesses a sense of order in comparison to the chaotic and dangerous nature of the natural world, which, one would argue, resonates with the quest for rationalization during the Enlightment Age.
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It was used as a justification for the rediscover y of the Greek classical principles through reducing buildings to its basic elements: column, entablature and pediment.
Frontispiece of Marc-Antoine Laugier: Essai sur l'Architecture 1755
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The
myth of the primitive hut left a great impressions in generations of architects to come...
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Utzon, for example, founded the notion of the ‘platform’ based on the hut as the ideal
origin of architecture. In the sketches for the Sydney Opera House, he illustrated his idea of the platform, which define human presence by making raised level for building and for human activities in the landscape. (Weston 2002)
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Inspired by Mayan temples, he remarked that
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“By building the platforms on the level of the roof of the jungle, the Mayans had suddenly conquered a new dimension that was a worthy place for the worship of their gods. From here, they had the sky, the clouds and the breeze, and suddenly, the roof of the jungle was transformed into a great open plane."
Unlike Laugier, who invented the myth of the primitive hut all by himself; Utzon based his myth on the Mayan platforms which was used to perform ceremonial rituals to the god. The elevated platform, found in numerous ancient civilizations all over the world, celebrates the sky ceiling. It is a common metaphor found in most mythologies - by arriving in an elevated place of prospect, men are expected to find unity with nature, to become one with it and share its invincible strength. De la Saussaye (1891) once commented that: '"..the symbolism of temple buildings sometimes seems to refer to the structure of the world, sometimes to the religious relationship of men to the gods." By adopting the ritualistic platform, the Sydney Opera House thus become transcendentally beautiful and borderline religious - Venustas grows from the mythic metaphor, completing the building as a true work of architecture.
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Then How
how can we respeaks mythology in the digital age?
can we apply elements from the vast repertoire of mytholog y to reunite architecture and venustas?
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One example in today's architectural discourse is the rediscovery of the Gaia Principle. In Greek mythology, Gaia is the primal Greek goddess personifying the Earth, in other words, the Greek version of the"Mother Nature". By portraying the earth as a living being in their mythology, in Greek's view the earth itself is an integrated whole rather than disconnected elements assembled together.
In the 1974 James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis transformed this mythical notion into what they called a ‘neo-Pagan New Age religion’ - the Gaia principle; which simply states that organisms tend to interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a self-regulating, complex system that maintains the conditions for life. (Lovelock & Margulis 1974)
Detail of Gaia from a painting of the Gigantomakhia (War of the Giants), ca 410 - 400 BC
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This view no doubt has impact on or coincides with the emergence of ‘sustainability’, ‘biomimicry’, and the ‘city as a living organism’ today. However apart from utilizing technological advances to build a better environmental system, it is possible to incorporate venustas into the design process also based on the Gaia principle. One way would be to place architectural elements according to the compositions found in natural landscape. The position of platform, sky and clouds by Utzon is one example. Another example is the Salk Institute by
Louis Kahn, where The two laboratory
blocks frame a long view of the Pacific Ocean, accentuated by a thin linear fountain that seems to reach for the horizon. The composition seems to imitate that of the mountain and ocean scenery, which evokes a pristine and mythical atmosphere in the negative space between the buildings.
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Salk Institute
Afterall, as the architect commented himself, he considered architecture as 'the embodiment of myth'. During the design process of the Performing Arts Theater, Fort Wayne, he stated that (Conklin n.d.): "I am designing a theater for Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and every year I’ve learned something new in which I had to take a position of humiliation, because I don’t know the problems and mechanics and I tried things which proved to be not correct. Every time I was told it wouldn’t work, it wouldn’t work -- then finally I had a design that I thought was very good. It looked pretty, and I was satisfied -- until one day I realized when I went backstage, everything was chaos; it was like the passing of Napoleon when he conquered Europe -- the dressing room, the rehearsal room, the green room -- and I thought that nothing remained that could honor the action. "
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He came to the psychological importance of the actor, and he thought that the attitude and the ambience for the actor is really critical to his performance. And so he makes this architectural proposal: that he was going to build a house for the actor, and it was going to be out in the country in a serene world. The actor who was about to perform went into this house and thought about the great thoughts of his life, looking out at the scenery, and while he was in that mood, the house itself is moved into the public plaza and attached to the back of the theater. Then at the appropriate point, when he is called to perform, he just walked in a stately fashion from his place of abode and thought down into the stage and performs. Therefore the actor, as in any mythical rituals, empowered by the architecture becoming one with it - the nature of the architecture is connected to the inner-nature of the occupant.
Arts United Center
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Nevertheless, Gaia could also be introduced into other aspects of architecture. It could be incorporated solely on a metaphorical level, such as morphological symbols on both the interior and the facade to remind its habitants of the interlinked relationship between all natural elements. This could be as literal as the as the Metopes on Parthenon, or as abstract as flows of sand in the Japanese gardens which reminds its visitor of the journey through life. On the other hand, the organization of functional spaces could also be a metaphor for the Gaia mutual-dependency. It is possible that with such architectural programming when one travels through a building he/she is also instantly connected to the other space as well. Furthermore, as Joseph stated that the psychological function of mythology is to myth must carry the individual through the stages of his life, from birth through maturity through senility to death. Space dedicated to different age groups may have different architectural languages or styles, which are appropriate to the psychology of that group and encourages personal growth.
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Therefore
I pro cl ai m t h at f utu re architecture should bring back the venustas by re-introducing mythology into architectural design and thinking; whether this is realized through adoption of morphological symbols, using landscape-like composition or metaphorical architectural programming.
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References Campbell, Joseph 1988, The Power of Myth, Random House LLC, 2011. Chantepie de la Saussaye, P.D 1891, Manual of the Science of Religion, Cornell University Library 2009. Conklin, Williams, n.d, LOUIS I. KAHN: ARCHITECTURE AS THE EMBODIMENT OF MYTH, from <http://www.sarcc.org/Kahn.htm> Jung, C. Gustav 1912, On Mythology, Princeton University Press, 1998. Kant, Immanuel 1781, Critique of Pure Reason, translated by Meiklejohn, J.M.D 2009, Cosimo, Inc. Lovelock, James E & Margulis, Lynn 1974, Atmospheric homeostasis by and for the biosphere: the Gaia hypothesis, Tellus. Series A, Stockholm: International Meteorological Institute. Plato, Republic, Volume II, Books 6-10, tranlated by Emlyn-Jones, C.J 2013, Harvard University Press, Boston. Salingaros, N.A 2002, Twentieth Century Architecture as a Cult. Available from: <http://www.intbau. org/archive/essay3.htm>. [4 Nov 2013].
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Images Front & Back Cover: Postcard of Château de Puivert, Quercob, France, from motion picture 'The Ninth Gate', viewed 4 Nov 2013, from <http://davidjrodger.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/the-ninth-gate-occult-and-tarot-like-symbolism-in-theengravings-by-aristide-torchia-and-lucifer-plus-wider-meanings-of-the-movie/>. Page 3. Gao,Y, Yang,H, Santos, L & Rosales, D n.d., SimShun Q4 River Thames Pavilion, viewed 4 Nov 2013, from <http://nodeygao.blogspot.com.au/p/simshun-aa-drl-research-gap-pavilion.html> Paage 6. Chen, C, Guo, K, Jiang, Q & Radhakrishnan, R 2010, Beyond Gravity, viewed 4 Nov 2013, from <http:// projectsreview2010.aaschool.ac.uk/html/units.php?unit=78&name=854> Page 9. Neokortex 2008, Parthenon, photograph, viewed 4 Nov 2013, from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parthenon-2008_ entzerrt.jpg> Page 10. Janiak, Andrew, "Kant's Views on Space and Time", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2012/entries/kant-spacetime/> Page 14. DorÊ, M.G, Plate IX: Canto III: Arrival of Charon, engravings from Dante's Inferno translated by Rev. Cary, H.F 1890, viewed 4 Nov 2013, from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Dante_Alighieri_-_Inferno_-_Plate_9_ (Canto_III_-_Charon).jpg> Page 19. Eisen, Charles 1755, Frontispiece of Marc-Antoine Laugier: Essai sur l'Architecture 2nd ed, viewed 14 Nov 2013, from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Essai_sur_l%27Architecture_-_Frontispiece.jpg> Page 25
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