STUDIO AIR 2017, SEMESTER 2, DAVID YI TAN 812975
CONTENT INTRODUCTION PART A. CONCEPTUALISATION A.1.
Design Futuring
A.2.
Design Computation
A.1. Design Futuring
VILLA SAVOYE & LE CORBUSIER Le Corbusier’s main idea of “The house is a machine for living in” and the “Five Points” had great effects on the history of modern movement in the 20th century. In his fundamental dogma of “functional architecture”, He stated that instead of attaching “meanings” to surfaces of buildings, the pure form made by new technology created “meaning” of architecture immanently. As the extension of the Dom-ino model, Le Corbusier clarified his ideas with pilotis, roof garden, free plan, free façade and ribbon windows which had been recognized as the “Five Points of a New Architecture” and applied to his major projects for the rest of his lives. The Citrohan House displays these five characteristics: pillars supporting the structure to free the space beneath the building; a roof terrace, transforming into a garden and an essential part of the house; an open floor plan to maximize the space; a facade free of ornamentation; and windows in strips that affirm the independence of the structural frame. The combination of these elements provides the great freedom for space utilization that reflects his understanding for functionism. CVilla Savoye, one of the most extraordinary works in the modern architecture, is an unconstrained response to Le Corbusier’s dogmas on the Five Points, especially the idea of free plan. Using columns as the supporting structure to transfer the gravity loads instead of load-bearing walls. It relieves the stress on wall structure that the external walls can be designed in any forms and leaves the inner organization undisturbed. Reducing the usage of normal
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walls to isolate the areas, rooms of various sizes can be placed into the structure freely. It is also possible to leave spare space based on demands on the landscape, climate or privacy. This building is free from structural constraint, size, position and even the voids volume in the space under the strategy of free plan can be determined by improvisation. It is obvious that his idea about planning of the design itself is dialectical that the consideration for convenience and practicability can modify the inherent order and symmetry . In this building, the core element of this system is the dynamic ramp developed from the idea of free plan breaks the traditional thinking on spatial experience. Separated layers placed in this building not only provide capacious internal space but also can be used for various functions. Therefore, the distance between different flooring slabs is no longer the important issue and the vertical dimension can be only realized by stairs and ramps due to his free plan strategy . The structure of Le Corbusier’s design projects usually follows the pure cube and the regular grid as well as horizontal and vertical axes. The ramp located on the axis that passes between the grids of pilotis creates a dynamic movement through the horizontal concrete slabs and provides a sense of spatial experience that has been expanded gradually. This internal curving form and curved-shape partitions creates the dynamic performances which contrast with the external planning with the ideal shape of “square box” . In this system, “floors surfaces are continuous and the spatial development predominately horizontal” . Le Corbusier creates an approach which is different from the treads made up of stairs and proofs his idea – “A stair divides storeys, a ramp unites them”. It emphasizes the significance of free plan that brings liberty as a kind of new pattern to the modern movement in 1920s .
FIG.1: VILLA SAVOYE
FIG.2: VILLA SAVOYE RAMP
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MAGENTA = Margin/Safe Art Boundary
A.1. Design Futuring
FARNSWORTH HOUSE & MIES VAN DE ROHE Mies van der Rohe is regarded as one of the pioneering masters in the modern architecture along with Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius. His famous “skin and bones” architecture made use of modern materials such as industrial steel and plate glass to define interior spaces. He strove toward the architectural style with a minimal framework of structural order balanced against the implied freedom of unobstructed free-flowing open space. His minimalist architectural style shows extreme clarity and simplicity and the famous aphorism “less is more” and “God is in the detail” have far-reaching influences on the development of modern architecture. The Farnsworth House, built in between 1949 and early 1951, was considered as an important unfolding that opened up a new way to Mies’s clear-span buildings. Representing the fusion of space and materiality, this clear-span building was constructed with pure glass and steel which is the principle of the building to create a pure space . In the later period of Mies’s career, he realized that structure formed by steel and glass represented the great power of modern technology. The immaterial idea of structure and technology inspired him to create the “free space” beyond the conventional understanding. The open plan of the Farnsworth house realizes the harmony between building and nature. Using the modern materials such as plate glass and steel to articulate the space freely that can open up the space and create
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connection to the landscape. Under the design of open plan and the use of glass, landscape can be viewed clearly from the interior and daylight can also passes through the glass that forms a communicative space between inside and outside. The relationship between building and landscape showed in the Farnsworth House diminishes the boundary between artificial residence and the nature . Using the strict order of symmetry and developing from his previous idea of open plan, a universal- space built with only columns and glass was created. In this building, floating roof and floor plane with cantilevered ends are supported by eight exposed steel H-columns as the structural frames, and the glass is connected to the back of the column that separates the structure and enclosure. It shows the structure and internal spaces transparently which is known as the famous “Skin and Bones” architecture. As the representation of Mies’ work, this building showed his understanding of open plan on single story, which is different from Le Corbusier’s multilayer models that share the space through layers. In Mies’ former idea of free-flowing open plan in the Barcelona Pavilion is to divide the large space into various small areas by using partition walls but still connect to each other. When all partition walls are removed, the whole universal space will be formed. In this area, any forms of space for any purposes can be designed freely without any restriction, similar with Le Corbusier’s idea on utilization of spaces for different functions. This idea is purer and more perfect than his previous one, which also verifies Mies’ key concept of “less is more” throughout his whole career life. Mies stated that “only in that way can a free space be obtained … (The free or open plan) is a new concept and has its own ‘grammar’” .
FIG.3: FARNSWORTH HOUSE
FIG.4: FARNSWORTH HOUSE STRUCTURE
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Obviously, as two of the greatest architects in the 20th century, the ideas presented by Le Corbusier and Mies van de Rohe affect the contemporary and later architecture. They have great influences in architecture movements including Functionalism, Brutalism, Regionalism, Internationalism, Metabolism, Post Modernism, and so on. For example, Oscar Niemeyer is considered as the follower and great promoter of the ideas of Le Corbusier. In his project – Brasilia Congress Building absorbed the urbanized idea from Le Corbusier and developed on his own by adding the curve line, the Organic Functionalism in his projects. Furthermore, Mies van de Rohe’s project for glass skyscraper presented in 1922 brought the evolution of skyscraper and the understanding of using glazing and curtain wall. AT&T Headquarters Building designed by Johnson Burgee was great influenced by the Mies’ Seagram Building.
A.2. Design Computation
In the contemporary society, computer has already dominated the process of architectural design. Since 1960s, Computer Aided Design (CAD) has been developed that provide a system program can help improve the process of 2-demensional drawing. In the 1990s, software programmes such as Rhino, 3DsMAX and so on create the possibility of 3D drawing and 3D modeling and develop the whole object-oriented design system. Consequently, these digital tools have the ability to bring creation, simulation and analysis of construction alternatives for various kinds of purposes. In the whole process of construction from project development to refurbishment, design data is considered as one the most important parts that produced by digital programme. Both data production and data communication are significant that represent the interdependence of Geographical Information System (GIS) tools and Computer Aided Architecture tools. Being used in the design phase, computer and software tools are capable to automate the repetitive calculation and finish the drawing works with specific data which has the positive effects on finding new solutions for design with a higher level of precision. It can optimize the design process in a faster and more effective way. (Design Building Wiki, 2017)
In the Digital Age for architects, it is a new approach to represent, to express, to generate and to build constructions by using digital information. As one of the most significant areas of the Digital Architecture, using processes and techniques identically can be employed to the industry but not simply the rediscover the complicated curving shape. Digital technology brings the possibility to create various complex shapes, finish the complex calculation with high speed through computer algorithms, which provides larger possibilities for architectural designs. It also enable a real images or a 3d model with the same information of the design to be set up that increase the relation between design and actual construction (Mafana, 2011).
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FIG.7: CATIA
FIG.8: GUGGENHEIM STRUCTURE
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FIG.2
There are examples that can illustrate the benefits of technologies and computing that can bring a completely new style and new way to think and to design. The Guggenheim Museum, located by the Nervion River in Bilbao, mixes the complicated, swirling forms and captivating materiality together responding to an intricate program and the industrial urban environment. This building change the way of people and architects to think about museum that also provides great economic success with over ten million visitors to its recognition. In the design process of the museum, 3D design software CATIA allows the complex calculations to achieve the twisting curves in the design by solving mathematical intricacy. Importantly, CATIA digitizes the information of points, surfaces and relates back to the real models made by Gehry to build on-screen models (Pagnotta, 2013).
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Another example is the London City Hall, designed by Foster Associates in 2003. It shows not only the great linkage between parametric modelers and their scriptable mediated variability and outstanding performance simulation software. As a paradigm of collaborative design, this digital system creates an environment for communicating the interactive digital generation and performance simulation (Oxman,2014). This advanced digital techniques of computer-modelling helps create the surface area that can achieve optimum energy performance by maximizing shading and minimizing the surface area exposed to the direct sunlight (ArchiTravel, 2013).
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