Thematic Theories of Architecture Thematic theories are treatises which aim at the fulfilment of one principal goal, usually at the cost of other customary goals of building. Theories which aim at fulfilling simultaneously several simultaneously several goals, goals, perhaps all the the goals that are known, are discussed on the page Theories of architectural synthesis. synthesis . Para Paradi digm gm (=s (=sty tyle le)) of arc archi hite tect ctur ure: e: Doric, Ionian and Corinthian style and their varieties in ancient Greece and Rome
Romanes#ue and Gothic styles. Renaissance, baro#ue, rococo, neo( Renaissance, baro#ue, classical style *arge constructions! bridges and halls. +'tructuralist+ +'tructuralist+ styling styling -which emphasies the structure/. l2"rt 3ouveau. )ersonal styles of styles of architectural geniuses! Gaudi, *e Corbusier etc. 6unctionalism. 'ystems 0uilding from prefabricated components 1cological architecture energy architecture energy collectors etc/ 'ymbolic architecture. )ostmodernism and Deconstruction
Basi Basicc pres presen enta tati tion on of of its its theo theory ry::
itruve! De "rchitectura libri decem. It was mainly itruve! documentation of earlier architectural traditions. $edieval anonymous tradition of tradition of trade guilds has not survived to us% minor fragments are the following! illard illard de &onnecourt and 'chmuttermayer. "lberti! De re "edificatoria. 'erlio, ignola, )alladio... Galilei! Discorsi e dimostraioni matematiche intorno a due nuove sciene. &ooke, 0ernoulli, 1uler... iollet(le(Duc! Entretiens iollet(le(Duc! Entretiens sur sur l'Architecture. l'Architecture. The The book showed logical basis for new form languages but it did not create them yet. 3otice also 4wen 5ones and 5ohn Ruskin. The teaching of Gropius and 0auhaus. "dolf *oos. 3eufert *oos. 3eufert 789:/! 789:/! 0auentwurfslehre The lectures and e;emplars given by $ies van der Rohe and others.&abraken others.&abraken.. Eco-philosophy by Eco-philosophy by &enryk 'kolimowski 'kolimowski was was one of the pioneering works. 3orberg('chul!! Intentions in "rchitecture, 5encks... 3orberg('chul Robert enturi enturi!! Comple;ity and Contradiction in "rchitecture
'ome of the theories in the table are now certainly outdated and have little interest to a modern builder, but some contain still valid information about i mportant goals of building, notably on the #uestions of functionality, functionality, construction, economy and ecology. The last(named, still valid theories can be seen as building-specific branches building-specific branches of the general the general goal(specific goal(specific theories which pertain to all types of products and are listed in)aradigms in)aradigms 4f Design Theory. Theory .
Vitruve $arcus itruvius itruvius )ollio, the author of the oldest research on architecture which has remained till this day, worked during the reign of emperor "ugust. &e wrote an e;tensive summary of all the theory on construction that had been written so far! Ten Books on Architectur Architecturee De architectura libri decem/. &e seems to have been a learned man, he had a thorough knowledge of earlier Greek and Roman writings that have now been lost. There is a list of these works in the introduction of book II% most of them described a temple. Two Two of the writings were about proportions, and as many as nine writers spoke about the +laws of symmetry+, which in modern ter minology mostly mean the systems of module measuring. itruve2s itruve2s book consists almost only of normative theory of design. &is rules are usually based on practical points or reasoning% sometimes sometimes he also motivates them by saying that this has always been done, i.e., with historical tradition. itruve discusses not only one theme but several practical goals of building, each one of these these in a separate chapter of the book. book. The treatise can be seen seen as a collection of parallel thematic theories of design. itruve itruve gives no method for combining these into a synthesis, he only presents a classification I!9!
durability firmitas/
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practicality or +convenience+ utilitas/
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pleasantness venustas/.
This remained a model for almost all posterior research of architecture! buildings are researched mostly as combinations of characteristics, rather than as holistic entities. In the course of time, a particular, rather independent theory was developed for every group of characteristics, as we will see later. The aesthetic form rules of itruve itruve influenced greatly all subse#uent writers. The are based on Greek traditions traditions of architecture, and also on the the teachings of )ythagoras ca.
=9< 0C/, according to which harmony is created by applying the proportions of whole numbers. This was based on earlier observations of the tuned strings of instruments and also on the proportions of the human body% and now itruve wanted to apply the same proportions to architecture as well. The supreme criterion was, however, the estimate the public gave of the work. " building was beautiful if its appearance was pleasant, it was in accordance with good taste, and its parts follow proportions lat. proportio/ and the +symmetry+ of measures the unusual definition of symmetry is found in I!II!>/.
The Middle Ages $ost documents remaining from the $iddle "ges have to do with the monastery institution. The convents erected a great number of buildings. &owever, their archives contain surprisingly few descriptions of buildings or pro?ects. There are numerous building contracts, but usually the building is only defined by stating its sie and that it shall be made +according to the traditional model+. 4n the whole, there was little interest in mundane values like the #ualities of architecture. +There2s no accounting for tastes+ lat. de gustibus et coloribus non disputandum/ was the rule of thumb of 'cholastics, which did not favour the development of the theory of arts however, you could see 't. "ugustine on this/. 6ortunately, the libraries of the monasteries preserved at least some fragments of the architectural theory of anti#uity. The practice of architecture was, first of all, based on tradition dating back to anti#uity, and, starting from this tradition, both the Romanes#ue and the Gothic building style developed over the centuries, presumably with hardly any or no literary research. The only documented presentations that have remained till this day are the +sketchbook+ by illard de &onnecourt from 7<9= and the +0ooklet on the right way of making pinnacles+ (Büchlein von der Fialen erechtigkeit! picture on the right/ by Roriter, printed in Regensburg in 7>@:.
Ahen the knowledge of *atin and even literacy degraded, the importance of traditional knowledge in building increased. Traditional knowledge was learned by doing, in the guidance of old masters, and it was probably not written down anywhere. 0ut tradition could be rather binding and precise in the closed guilds of builders. It also became rather homogenous throughout 1urope because builders apparently moved from one town to another, depending on where the building sites were. 'ince the beginning of the 79th century, craftsmen in the building trade started forming guilds German! 0auhBtte/. These guilds probably gathered a great deal of traditional information related to construction, but it seems to have remained a professional secret of the guilds and the masters, and they preferred not to publish it. 1ven if it was written down, these notes have been lost.
Classical Theory of Forms Renaissance brought about a new interest in the feats of anti#uity, especially in Italy. "ncient works of art and survived buildings became ob?ects of study, and a search for writings dating back to anti#uity started. In 7>7@, a copy of itruve was found among the manuscripts of the monastery of 't. Gallen. The word about the manuscript spread fast to the circles of architects in Italy and was soon met with enthusiasm there. *eone/ 0attista "lberti 7>>(=< and printed in 7>@=.
*ike itruve, "lberti wanted his book to include all that was needed in the design of buildings and all the knowledge that was generally known and applied at that time. 0ut what he emphasied most was the decoration of building e;teriors which was a usual task of architects at that time. That is because a great number of modest medieval churches and dwellings had to be modernied in such a way that at least their facades would be representative and fashionable. The architectural style of imperial Rome like the triumphal arch above/ was usually preferred in these renovations. To give structure and decoration to facades, "lberti developed a clever system of classical pilasters and architraves which could be superimposed on any earlier smooth surface. "lberti used the name +ornamentum+ 2e#uipment2, 2decoration2/ for these architectural elements. 4n the right, you can see an e;ample of this +ornamentation+! the church of 'an 6rancesco in Rimini. )arts of the original, plain building are still visible, because the commissioner, *ord of Rimini 'igismondo $alatesta, died in 7>:: before the work was finished. 6or a long time, the classical system of the +orders+ on the right/ became the most visible contents of architectural theory, although it also emphasied the composition of building masses and rooms and the concepts of proportion and harmony. The classical style is aptly called 2mannerism2 in some countries.
Ariters after "lberti complemented their works with still richer illustrations, in which the precision and glamour of classical form details was brought to perfection. Theory books of architecture started resembling fashion magaines. The purpose of the works was usually to present the +rules of art+ to designers in as easily applicable form as possible, and the reasons were only briefly commented on. This purpose was often stated in the name of the book, too. 6or e;ample, the name of the work by 'ebastiano 'erlio was #egole generali di architettura! picture on the right. Giacomo 5acopo/ 0aroi da ignola is another distinguished author. In his book #egola delle cin$ue ordini 7=:
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the idea of )ythagoras that the proportions of small integers meant harmony
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the proportions and other instructions provided by itruve
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the e;ample set by earlier buildings and
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general good taste, whatever that meant when interpreted by each writer.
% $uattro libri dell'architettura by "ndrea )alladio 7=@(@/ is the father of modern picture books of architecture. It contains little theory but all the more pictures on buildings skilfully designed by )alladio. They were there for even less literate architects to copy. It is not surprising that Italian architects took the architecture of their Roman ancestors as their ideal. *ikewise, it is natural that 6rench theorists were more critical. The first of them, )hilibert de l24rme ca. 7=7(7=/ proved with measurements that in the )antheon the Corinthian columns were dimensioned according to as many as three different proportions. &e therefore re?ected the doctrine of the absolute beauty of measures and e;plained that the measurements of a column depended on whether the column was large or small in sie or whether it was placed high up or downward in the building. This meant that the actual form of the column did not alone determine its beauty% the final impression of beauty was only created when somebody was looking at the column. This principle which later developed into perceptive psychology inspired de l24rme to continue the list of ancient column models with his own inventions there is one e;ample of such a column on the right/. "ccording to the model provided by Renaissance theorists, general presentations of the classical rules of architecture were issued especially by teachers of schools of architecture. Aorks printed in 6rance were widely read in other countries, too. The most important of these were! •
6ranois 3icolas 0londel! &ours d'architecture 7:=/
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Claude )errault! rdonnance des cin$ espces de colonnes 7:@9/
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5ean *ouis de Cordemoy! )ouveau trait* de toute l'architecture 7:/
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$arc("ntoine *augier! Essai sur l'architecture 7=9/
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5ac#ues(6ranois 0londel! &ours d'architecture n.7/
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5(3(*. Durand! +r*cis des le,ons 7@<(=/
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5ulien Guadet! El*ents et th*ories de l'architecture 78
"longside with listing classical +orders+ of columns, the writers analysed other formal characteristics of architecture, such as the balance, scale and rhythm of building blocks, rooms and components. Re#uirements of usage and maintenance were covered fairly briefly. $any of the theorists of architecture successfully tried out their hypotheses in the buildings they designed. &owever, they knew no method for inspecting systematically the results provided by these e;periments. That is why the classical architectural theory progressed fairly slowly and eventually failed to correspond to the re#uirements of modern society.
Construction Theory 6rom times immemorial, available building materials and tools have determined or at least modified building forms, as can be seen in many surviving e;amples of vernacular architecture which have been created without the help of architects or theory. 1;amples! Building material: "morphic material! soft stone, snow 'heets of skin or te;tile, and poles. *ogs of wood
Ensuing architectural form: 'pherical vaulted construction! the igloo, trulli 'outh Italy/, nuraghi 'ardinia/
Cone shaped tent(like constructions. 0o; shaped construction
The era before written construction theory produced some admirable buildings. 6or e;ample in $esopotamia a stone vault with a span of over <m has been standing well over two millennia and e;ists still today. 0ecause its shape e;actly duplicates that of a catenary curve, we can assume that its design was based on the invention that, whenever a catenary is turned upside down, the original stretching forces become replaced by compression only and all sidewise forces remain absent. This means that the shape can be copied to stone masonry which is well able to resist pure
compression but not stretching tension. It thus seems probable that the builders used a mechanical analogous model instead of those mathematical algorithms that we use in modern construction. The method certainly necessitated some verbal instructions which today would merit the name +design theory+ even if it was never written down. The sei-circular vault was known to ancient Romans, while its theory was still in rudimentary level as itruve has only one sentence to say about it! +Ahen there are arches ... the outermost piers must be made broader than the others, so that they may have the strength to resist when the wedges, under the pressure of the load of the walls, begin to ... thrust out the abutments I!II!>/. 3ot a sentence has survived to us about the theory or the models which were used in erecting the magnificent vaults of medieval cathedrals. The treatises that survive are of somewhat later origin! e Th*/tre de l'art de charpentier 7:</ and e secret d'architecture d*couvrant fid*leent les traits *tri$ues 7:>(7:>
The name +engineer+, which comes form the *atin word ingenium - +genius+ or +a product of genius+, +invention+, had already been used in the $iddle "ges for skilful architects. 3ow this word was adopted by $ar#uise de auban when he founded a building department, Corps des ingnieurs, in the 6rench army, in 7:=. In that time, it was usual for military engineers to design castles, town plans and even churches. This new profession specialiing in construction #uestions got organied fairly #uickly and in 7>, a special school, 1cole des )onts et Chausses, was founded in )aris. Central figures in developing the mathematical construction theory were Robert &ooke 7:9=(79/, 5akob 0ernoulli 7:=>(7=/ and *eonhard 1uler 7(7@9/. "ll of them published several books. 6rom 1uler onwards, the theory of elasticity of structures developed side by side with mathematical theory. 4n the other hand, new innovations of practical building were made and published in books, e.g.! •
)ierre 0oulet! l'Architecture prati$ue 7:87/
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Ailliam &alfpenny! The art of sound building 7<=/
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6rancis )rice! The British carpenter or a treatise on carpentry 799/
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Ailliam )ain! The Builder's copanion! and 1orkan's general assistant 7=@/
The publication of theoretical progress and inventions started also in building magaines in the 78th century. Thus the most important publisher of the theory of the reinforced concrete techni#ue used to be the ?ournal of 6rancois &ennebi#ue2s construction company, e B*ton ar*.
The most conse#uent applications of construction theory are today large edifices like bridges and industrial halls. The shape of any large construction must be simple and healthy, or else the costs skyrocket. 1;amples of lofty constructions which also are great architecture created by engineers are the bridges of $aillart on the right/ and many e;hibition or athletics halls. 4n the left, a restaurant building with a span of 9m, constructed by Aeidlinger and 'alvadori. The situation is slightly different in the design of modern office or residential buildings. Their architecture is not as much dictated by constructional principles. The reason is that modern building materials, notably steel and reinforced concrete, are so strong that almost any architectural form is e#ually feasible. "nyway, many architects have wanted to create distinctively structural or +constructivist+ forms% Curt 'iegel 78:/ presents an e;cellent overview of these in the book 2trukturforen der odernen Architektur which is also the source of a couple of graphics here.
Personal Styles 'ince the times of Renaissance, all the renowned architects and theorists in 1urope had taken it for granted that the +form language+ of new buildings, i.e., the systems of columns and decorations had to be copied from anti#uity, where they had already been brought to perfection. The only thing designers of new buildings then had to do was to combine and modify these elements in order to fit them to the practical re#uirements and resources of each commissioner. 'ome sporadic protests e.g. the defence of the Gothic style by Goethe! 3on "eutscher Baukunst / had been heard. 0ut they did not affect the mainstream of design.
The first theorist who set out to create a totally new system of architectural forms independent of anti#uity was 1ugJne iollet(le( Duc 7@:9/. In his book Entretiens sur l'architecture lecture 7, p.<8/, he states that +what we call taste is but an involuntary process of reasoning whose steps elude our observation+. +"uthority has no value if its grounds are not e;plained+ p. >=@/. Given the fact that the foundations of modern architecture cannot possibly be the same as those prevalent in Greece < years ago, iollet(le(Duc saw as his mission to develop a new architecture which would be based, in the same way as Descartes2 philosophy, only on facts and reasonable conclusions reached on the basis of them. 1;amples of his deductions idem/! •
+" door ought to be made for the purpose of going into a building or going out of it% the width of such door ought therefore be accommodated to the ... number of persons who have occasion to go in or out% but however dense a crowd may be, the persons are always under seven feet in height% ... To make a door five yards wide and ten high is therefore absurd.+
+" column is a support, not a decoration, like a friee or an arabes#ue% if then you have no occasion for columns, I cannot understand why you furnish your facades with them.+
+" cornice is intended to keep the water from the face of the wall! if therefore you put a pro?ecting cornice in an interior, I cannot but say that it is unmeaning.+ iollet(le(Duc tried to put his theories to practice in his own design as well. In it, he was carried on to bring the theoretical logic of the constructions so far that few people would consider the product beautiful. 4n the right, you can see a sketch of a concert hall which would be built of brick and cast iron elements. 4n the left, there is a detail of steel constructions in which a striking impression of beauty has been created by the clever design of the indispensable diagonal trusses. The decoration has thus a rational foundation, as iollet2s theory dictates. "lthough iollet(le(Duc could not create a timeless architectural style himself, he showed others the philosophical foundation and method that they could use to develop even radically new form languages. 4wen 5ones was another important writer that inspired young architects to create new formal styles. &e studied the methods of e;ploiting an eternal source of architectural forms! nature and especially the forms of plants. The result of his studies became the first design instruction on the use of ornaments originating in nature! raar of rnaent 7@=:/. 4ne of its 9 rules no 79/ states that +flowers or other natural ob?ects should not be used as ornaments+, instead acceptable are +conventional representations founded upon them sufficiently suggestive to convey the intended image to the mind, without destroying the unity of the ob?ect they are employed to decorate.+ "nd rule 9= says that +imitations, such as the graining of woods, and of the curious coloured marbles EareF allowable only when the employment of the thing imitated would not have been inconsistent.+ "fter the Gothic style, the first architectural style independent of the tradition of anti#uity in 1urope was l2"rt 3ouveau. Its origins included the philosophy of iollet( le(Duc and the rules and e;amples of 4wen 5ones but no considerable theoretical research was done by the creators of this style. It may even be that, because of the world war, the hegemony of +5ugendstil+ became so short that people never got as far as to do research. In art, it is often so that the works of a new style first come about
without any e;plicit theory, guided by the intuition, and only after a few years do their principles become clear to such an e;tent that they may be worded. The e;ample set by l2"rt 3ouveau encouraged some of the most skilful architects of our century to create their private form languages. The first of these was *e Corbusier , who also presented a short written foundation to his system of proportions based on the Golden 'ection/ in the book 4odulor 78=7/. Its fundamental perceptive psychology base was presented already 78<9 in the book 3ers une architecture! +"rchitecture is a brilliant, orthodo; and original ?igsaw pule of masses combined in light. 4ur eyes were created to see the forms in light% light and shadow reveal the forms. Cubes, cones, balls, cylinders and pyramids are primary shapes that light so e;cellently reveals% the picture they give to us is clear and perspicuous without indecision. That is why they are beautiful forms.+ "longside with l2"rt 3ouveau, *e Corbusier based his style on the study of natural forms of plants. Characteristic of *e Corbusier is that buildings are understood as giant sculptures see e.g. the Ronchamp chapel, on the right/. "s a contrast to many other creative talents, he also tried to write down the theoretical postulates that he followed in his creation, although this research was mostly done rather sub?ectively, without verifying how the new doctrine or the ensuing new forms were received by the general public of architecture. &e published in 78<: a paper es 5 points d'une architecture nouvelle where he declared the cardinal rules of +new architecture+. They were as e;plained by Kenneth 6rampton, 78@, p. 7=/! 7. +)ilotis+ or columns elevating the building body off the ground,
<. The free plan, achieved through the separation of the load(bearing columns from the walls subdividing the space, 9. The free faade, the corollary of free plan in the vertical plane, >. The long horiontal sliding window or fen6tre en longeur! =. The roof garden, restoring, supposedly, the area of garden used up by the house. *e Corbusier illustrated his += points+ by pairs of sketches above/ where the traditional model was shown on the right and the new style on the left. The theoretical proposals of *e Corbusier, and also his sculptural buildings, received at first much attention among 6unctionalist architects, but fresh theories were soon put forward by other authors. 'ome of these pronounced an e;actly opposite notion! the core and cru; of architecture is not the sculptural pattern, but instead the building interiors. These can be seen as +negative solids+, as voids which the artist divides, combines, repeats and emphasies in the same way as the sculptor treats his +positive+ lumps of substance. The most notable treatise on this topic is Architecture as space by 0runo Levi 78>/. The +personal styles+ of architects are not necessarily based on laws of nature or on logical reasoning. $ore important is that they e;hibit a coherent application of an idea which also must be so clear that the public canfind it out. "n advantage is also if the style includes symbolical undertones.
Functionalism The intended uses of new buildings have certainly influenced their ar chitecture long before the emergence of first architects or theories. 1;amples of this can be seen in ancient vernacular buildings!
Intended use of building:
Arrangement of building, as generated by the use:
"n independent family% co(operation with neighbours is coincidental " group of families in collective housekeeping " family and domestic animals.
4ne room detached house. " group of sleeping rooms around a central kitchenMdining room " space for people and another space for the animals in close connection.
$any of these ancient tacit traditions of building became documented already in the first treatises of architecture. The usability of buildings is one of the three cornerstones of itruve2s theory, and he writes tens of pages about it. 6rom Renaissance onwards it did not receive as much attention from researchers% most of them ?ust mention in one sentence this re#uirement. "t the beginning of the <th century, some more e;tensive studies on it appeared, e.g. the following! •
*ouis 'ullivan 7@=: ( 78<>/! rnaent in architecture 7@8
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4tto Aagner 7@>7 ( 787@/! 4oderne Architektur 7@8=/ among others
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6.*. Aright 7@:8 ( 78=8/, several short writings.
Despite the influential slogan of 'ullivan, +6orm follows function+ no coherent theory of functionalism was created before the 78<s when it started to unfold in the 0auhaus school headed by Aalter Gropius 7@@9(78:8/. The results are well presented in the book Bauent7urfslehre 789:/ by 1rnst 3eufert who worked as an assistant to Gropius. 4n the right is an illustration from it, showing functional space needs in a hospital. +6unction+ of the building meant to the first developers and supporters of the 6unctionalist theory mostly the physical re#uirements primarily dimensions/ that were necessary to carry out the practical corporeal activities in the building. +sychological needs of the great public were largely ignored. Ahen it thus became necessary to refer, for e;ample, to the concept of +beauty+ it was usually defined on the basis of the functionalist doctrine, for e;ample as being e#ual to good functionality or to high #uality of fabrication. Gropius defined!
20eauty2 is based on the perfect mastery of all the scientific, technological and formal prere#uisites of the task ... The approach of 6unctionalism means to design the ob?ects organically on the basis of their own contemporary postulates, without any romantic embellishment or ?esting The 0auhaus 0ook no. pp. > ( /. If a layman happened to have other ideals of beauty and he or she wanted to have more decoration on a building, these wishes were often disregarded as +bad taste+. " manifesto by "dolf *oos 78@/, rnaent and &rie! had great influence on architects. *oos declared that people who liked ornamentation for e;ample, if they wore tattooing/ were either immature, primitive or even antisocial. In contrast, cultivated people prefer unadorned, plain surfaces, he said. "ccordingly, functionalist architects avoided decoration of buildings and favored simple geometric forms. 6unctionalist architects understood how essential it is to base their design on empirical research. $any findings of these studies are still valid and widely applied even by those architects who have long ago abandoned the rectangular formal language of functionalism. &owever, research on the psychological needs of building users was slow to speed up, which was regretted by several of the pioneers of 6unctionalism like 'ullivan, Gropius and 0reuer/ in their more mature age. 6or e;ample, "lvar "alto wrote in 78> in the ?ournalThe Technology #evie7! During the past decade, $odern architecture has been functional chiefly from the technical point of view, with its emphasis mainly on the economic side of the building activity... 0ut, since architecture covers the entire field of human life, real functional architecture must be functional mainly from the human point of view. ... Technic is only an aid ... 6unctionalism is correct only if enlarged to cover even the psychophysical field. That is the only way to humanie architecture. "alto 78, p. 7= ( 7:/.
Systems Building from prefabricated components In accord with the vigorous tradition of handicraft of 0auhaus, 6unctionalist architects tried to respect not only the functional re#uirements of the consumers but also those of the construction industry. They soon learned that the productivity of building was greatly improved when as many building components as possible were produced in permanent factories, instead of making them on the building site in awkward places and in unpredictable weather. The economy of mass production, in turn, advocates designing the products so that they do not vary too much. The corollary regarding the completed building is that it should be composed from identical components as far as possible. "t least the components should have uniform dimensions and if there must
be variation between them it should be of a kind that creates minimal problems for the factory. The theoretical basis for architecture using prefabricated identical components was largely adopted from the science of normative economics about which a description is found elsewhere. The philosophy is very much the same as was used in industrial conveyor belt production of cars, for e;ample. There were even architects who wanted to turn this into an aesthetic ideal. The new prefabrication(oriented style of architecture propagated itself not through an e;plicit theory or treatises, but instead through the medium of e;emplars, bold novel designs by innovative architects. "mong these perhaps the most influential was $ies van der Rohe, director of 0auhaus from 789 to 99 and of the department of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 7898 to 78=8. &e had designed all the main buildings of the school and had ample opportunities to profess the philosophy behind their architecture. &is catchphrases +*ess is more+ and +ne;t to nothing+ describe his attitude to surface decoration. $ost of $ies2 followers were gifted with less subtle taste of detail and the prefabricated style of building soon became known as +match(bo; architecture+. The design of many a suburb was largely dictated more by the radius of the crane than by the needs of the future inhabitants. "bove it was said that several 6unctionalist architects wished to have more research on the psychological needs of customers, but the work was slow to catch on. 4nly lately some architects have realied that for gathering people2s preferences there are easier methods than surveying large populations and translating the findings into theoretical standards. )articularly in the conte;t of systems building there is a uni#ue possibility of inviting the future building users to participate in design so that they select suitable prefabricated components among the range that has been prepared by the architect. The method is discussed under the titleCollective Design, and in many countries it is already in operation in the commercial production of one(family houses. 6or high(rise apartments the method is not as common, despite of the proposals published by 3.5.&abraken 78
Ecological Architecture $aking a shelter from bad weather was certainly one of the earliest goals of building, and it has also later affected the building forms. 'ome e;amples!
Climatic incentie:
1;cessive cold 1;cessive heat Too hot in daytime and too cold during the night
Ensuing architectural form: "irtight, isolating outer skin. In the centre a source of warmth *arge roof to give shadow% large openings in the walls to allow ventilation
Thick heavy walls
In the Aestern countries room air conditioning is now so common that we have almost forgotten the above foundations of architecture, see e.g. 4echanisation Takes &oand , by 'igfried Giedion 78=/. 3evertheless, lately the ecological imperative has again come to surface, the natural resources of earth dwindling and the people in developing countries starting to contend their share. &enryk 'kolimowskiwas one of the first to e;amine the practical conclusions from the situation. There is not yet much literature on the principles of ecologically sound architecture, but more is certainly in preparation. It goes without saying that the theory of ecological architecture can be based on the findings of industrial ecology which lately has made great progress. The physical appearance of ecological architecture is often dominated by large sloping panels which gather solar energy. These are placed on the roofs and along the southern walls. "s a contrast, the cool side of the building is characteried by the absence of large openings, and the windows on this side can be covered for the night. " diagrammatic e;ample of such a building is seen on the right, from the book Energiak8sikir9aE1nergy &andbookF 78@9/. "nother approach in ecological design deals with building materials and aims at minimiing the use of not replenishable raw materials. This means preferring such building materials as wood, stone, earth and recycled material like used bo;es and barrels, and naturally it necessitates a peculiar style of architectural design as well.
Building as a Message The oldest notes on architectural symbolism preserved until this day were issued by itruve I,II,=/. The instructions told about a suitable lat. proprius/ style of architecture for the temple of each god. The style suited to the temple of $ars, the god
of war, was the austere Doric system, whereas the graceful Corinthian style decorated with leafy branches corresponded to the fle;ible nature of enus, the goddess of love. 4n the right, you can see a drawing from the 7=th c. by Giorgio $artini reflecting itruve2s idea. "llegorical symbolism was popular in several fields of medieval culture, but hardly any original writings e;ist on how this symbolism was precisely understood in architecture. Ahat is known is that some church buildings were built to symbolie either the +vault of heaven+ or +heavenly 5erusalem+. In other cases, the model was the temple of 'olomon or the liturgical calendar. The pillars of the church were put there to symbolie the prophets and the apostles. )roportions were sometimes considered important not because of their beauty but because of the numeric symbolism hidden in them. During Renaissance, symbolism suited to church buildings was developed further. )alladio I,II/ thinks circular forms are fitting for churches because they symbolie the unity, infinity and ?ustice of God. 4thers thought that proportions and forms of the human body were suitable for a church because, according to the 0ible, the human being had been created in an image of God. Giorgio $artini e;plored this idea in the sketch on the left. 1tienne(*ouis 0oulle 7<8(88/, teacher of architecture at the )aris school of construction engineering 1cole des )onts et Chausses/ presented rather original ideas on the symbolism of building. &e told his students to design +talking+ 6r. parlant/ architecture, i.e., for e;ample, the house of a saw owner had to be designed to resemble the blade of a saw. +0uildings should be like poems. The impressions they create to our senses should produce analogous feelings to those produced by the use of those buildings.+ "rnheim 78, <=/. In the 78th and <th century, architectural theorists did not write much about symbolism, but architectural design got a number of symbolic models of forms of buildings, which became conventionalied. Aayne 4."ttoe 788 p. <9...97/ has written the following list of them! •
$athematical analogies (( geometrical shapes cone, ball etc./( proportions
•
0iological analogies (( organic shapes shell, mushroom etc./( vigorous e;panding/ style of construction
•
Romantic architecture which appeals to feelings/
•
o
e;otic language of form
o
ancient morphology
*inguistic analogies o
architecture - words N grammar
o
e;pressionism and symbolism
•
$echanical analogies a building is a machine/
•
"d(hoc analogy a building is a combination of such material which can be found on the site/
•
'tage analogy! the building is a stage of life.
GBnter 0andmann gives in the book %konologie der Architektur 78=7, p. : ... :7/ the following list of typical architectural symbol(vehicles and of the methods of their study! •
The architects! intentions of creating symbolic works are often best visible in the first sketchy proposals for the building.
•
The builder!s intentions regarding symbols and signs are sometimes e;plained in his letters to the architect and in his selection between alternative proposals.
•
'ymbolically salient properties of buildings include! o
o
The physical position of the building in respect to neighbours and to the rest of the community. The orientation in respect to compass bearings especially churches, where the entrance normally faces west/.
o
•
•
The decoration of the building, especially on the western and eastern facades.
The typical symbolic forms for various types of communities can be found by studying e;tensively the historical periods and geographical areas where these architectural forms occur. The ne;t #uestion is7hy a certain form was so popular in certain communities. The phylogenetic deelopment of a certain architectural form i.e. its development from a building pro?ect to the ne;t one/ can be worked out by historical(morphological studies. In such a study it may turn out that the form was originally motivated by factual use of the building. 1ventually this original use may have ceased and thereafter the remaining architectural form may gradually have accumulated symbolic meaning.
"rchitectural signs often refer to social or political relations. "n introduction to such studies can be found in +olitische Architektur in Europa vo 4ittelalter bis heute edited by $artin Aarnke 78@>/. )entti Tuovinen 78@=/ has studied the symbolism used in architecture. &e has presented a fairly simple method to design the symbolism of the town. The model has been adapted to the scale of town planning but its principle could probably also be used in the design of the symbolism of one single building. Tuovinen 7<8.../ states that e;pressive, that is, e;plicit symbolism is one aspect in town planning. It can be defined with words and designed by an architect. In the process of design, this verbal description is first turned into an +ideal model of the symbolic system+ and in the end, in his artistic design work, the architect once more recodes the message into the geometric form language of the town. Tuovinen 79/ suggests that the ideal model of town symbolism be achieved in such a way that the symbolic elements at hand are first made into a chart, see picture on the left! In the ne;t phase, the combinations chosen for the chart are made into a diagram showing the symbolic system% part of the e;ample can be seen here on the right ibid 79
which the symbols planned for the town are then inserted. In the end, the structure of the symbols shown by the diagram is transferred to the town plan, to be eventually carried out. Rudolf "rnheim 78/ has studied the subconscious symbolism of the forms of buildings. +The strongest symbols are derived from the most elementary perceptual sensations because they are connected with such basic e;periences of the human e;perience which serve as a basis for everything else.+ <8/ "rnheim found that dynamic forms which referred to movement were the most e;pressive forms of architecture, whereas if architectural forms imitate the forms of other ob?ects too clearly e.g. if a church is built in the form of a fish/, this is bound to disturb dynamics and e;pression. 'ometimes you hear people say that consciously planned symbolism is bound to remain trivial and that in the end, it decreases the artistic value of a work. In fact, psychological research of art has shown that +too easy+ symbolism is not valued aesthetically% in other words, the intensity of the aesthetic pleasure produced when one perceives a symbolic message depends on the intellectual effort preceding the moment of discovery. The problem a researcher taking an interest in symbolism constantly faces is that the capacities of individuals in the general public to interpret symbols vary a great deal. 'ome symbols are +archetypal+ or common to all people, but most of them are learned in communal living, and these differ a great deal from one individual to another. The problem is that a work of art should deviate from the e;pectation of the public to some e;tent otherwise it would be trivial/ but not too much then it would be incomprehensible/. In many art forms, this has meant that there are two genres of art! +the art of the people+ and +the art of critics+. "nother solution has been to design the symbolism of works in such a way that it is +double coded+! certain messages are directed to the general public and others to art connoisseurs. Aorks are thus made multicoded and multisensed in such a way that it allows different personal interpretations.
Postmodernism and econstruction
In his book &ople:ity and &ontradiction in Architecture 78::/, Robert enturiopposed to simple +matchbo; architecture+. &e analysed numerous esteemed historical architectural masterpieces starting from the works of $ichelangelo and noticed that $ies2 motto was mistaken. It was the other way round! +*ess is a bore+, said enturi. "rchitects have always pursued contradictory aims and it is this e;actly tension that creates the final en?oyable, e;#uisite result, enturi e;plained. It would be too trivial to follow simply and logically ?ust one goal, for e;ample the clarity of construction, as did the structural school of architecture. 4n the contrary, many famous architects have wanted to show their skill by hinting that all the rules are there to be broken. &istorical e;amples are the 0aro#ue columns in the sketches on the left and the right from 'iegel 78: p. 8/. +I welcome the problems and e;ploit the uncertainties. 0y embracing contradiction as well as comple;ity, I aim for vitality as well as validity.+ +I like elements which are hybrid rather than +pure,+ compromising rather than +clean,+ distorted rather than +straightforward,+ ambiguous rather than +articulated,+ ... redundant rather than simple% inconsistent and e#uivocal rather than direct and clear.+ ... +I am for richness of meaning rather than clarity of meaning ... " valid architecture evokes many levels of meaning ... its elements become readable and workable in several ways at once.+ enturi2s aesthetics demands a lot of the spectator! if the spectator is to read the message of architecture in several parallel ways, he should know the conventional interpretations, i.e., the main points from the history of architecture, in advance. "rchitecture becomes thus an art which can be fully appreciated only by other artists and educated critics, not by laymen (( a deplorably usual case in modern art. If the spectator is up to his task, he has e;pectations of the ob?ect of art. &e relates the work to known references! to other comparable works of art and historical styles. The +competent+ observer is also able to estimate if the work obeys these styles or if it deviates from them on purpose% and if there is such a deviation, he knows that he is supposed to find out the purpose and the message of the deviation. 6inding this kind of clues, especially if it is not too easy, is conducive to the feeling of +eureka+ which is one of the basic factors of aesthetic pleasure. The pleasure is still more e;#uisite if, in addition, the clue is +double coded+! for instance that it simultaneously includes a boring, matter(of(fact statement and an
+ironical+ hunch which tells that there is something hidden and unusual to be found behind the +boring+ element. This trick has been used in music for a long time% it is not uncommon that a ?uicy tango is simultaneously a parody of all previous tangos. The 7eaning effect used by the theatre of 0recht serves the same purpose! it makes the spectator not identify himself too trivially with the work and implies! +this is not reality, this is art+ and thus makes the spectator do some personal, aesthetic thinking. enturi e;emplified his ideas with a witty series of sketches called +1ntrances+ 78/. 4ne of them is on the right. $oreover, he applied his theory to numerous new buildings and thus became the founder of the architectural style called postmodernism. Deliberate contradiction received some philosophical support in 5ac#ues Derrida2s several writings between 78: and 78<, where he points out the inevitability of ambiguity in all human activity and especially in written te;ts. Ahen applied to architecture cf. 0roadbent2s analysis of it, 7887/, Derrida2s ideas were taken to mean that there is no need to aspire to consistent and harmonious general pattern for a building. Instead, the principle of deconstruction or 2deconstructivism2/ states that it is all right if the architect lets the eventual contradictions in the builder2s goals shine through the finished design as well. 1ven when the briefing documents i.e. the building programme/ include no apparent contradictions, the trendy architect may concoct artificial contrasts in his creation, ?ust to make it more interesting. Typical contrasting features in avant(garde building in late < century were beams, detached rooms and other large building elements positioned so that they clash or penetrate each other at odd angles, creating an illusion of a recent collision with an aeroplane. 4n the right, Laha &adid2s proposal for +Lollhof 9+ in DBsseldorf from 0roadbent 7887, <:/.
"nother usual trick was to
manipulate the grid of construction which since 6unctionalism had become a conventional instrument of design giving crystalline structure to modern buildings. Typical for deconstructivists was to use simultaneously two or even more/ interlocking grids which departed from each other by a few degrees. This created at once a multitude of clashing points, each of them then presenting to the architect a new and uni#ue problem to be solved ingeniously. Regrettably, the building grid itself disappears in the finished building, and conse#uently most of the sophistication around it remains visible only for connoisseurs.
