Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mat I COI'T' d
Preface Space and t e Arc it ct is t e ~Quel to ussons for Students i
Architecture p b ·&h d in l 91 . he s t·up of thi& s cond ok is
ana ogous to that of he first, ough this tim i con ntrat
on y ork of ne p~ t t n y rs. One g ~ i i i din
th wor of oth ts. from ll ov~r th~ wortd nd ftom v~r ~r •
Its m in the e is space. which lt illustrates with co ge of
i ems th t cross-r ferenc~ e c other fteely throu ou its seven
chapters. The focm. then, is ore that of a wide.. angle lens than
le\ ns . wi h a ev tole set ~ i ford ign ng ., proe ss o
thin ing and r arching.
1 Space 10
Rittveld's spm u
Carden wall of VE'Vey house, te Corbusier 11
• the idea of space • physical space • space and emptiness
• space and freedom • the space of architecture
• space apertence
'Mountains outside. mountains jnsjde'. Johan van der Keuken 1&
• the space of the painting
'Las menina$'. Diego Ve\Mguet zo
'Sketch for Bar in the Folie~ Berqere', £douard Manet 20
'Interior with ffarpskllordist', Emanuel de Witte n
'Louvre'. Hubert Robert 21
'Pantheon', Giovanni Paolo Pannini n
Compositions, Piet Mondrian 22
• space u a longing • apace and place
1-iuseu de Artt S.io Paulo (MUP), Lina Bo Bai<li 106 Gebaute Landschaft Freising, Munich 184
Pire!lj Towers. Milan 1!19 Competition for the Biblioth~gue de France, Paris 187
DenelUJC Patent Office. The Hague m Carre d'Art, Himes. Horman Foster too
• head and hand Haveli.s, Jaisalmer 192
Venetian pal~ces 196
Orphanage. Amsterdam. Aldo van Eyck 198
Kimbell Art Museum , Fort Worth !.{)uis Kahn zoo
Academy for the Arts and Architecture, Maastricht.
Wiel Arets 202
Unjycrsjty Librm. Gronjngen ?Ol
Duren housing oompl~x 104
Extension of Yandmttn department store. A11.1en 206
POUWO J ~ t
au tor
Space
Mat 1 co d
·etveld's space It· 1
192 • Bu •
a sob r, a'lmos
nd u r Uyc n .- .
·u 1 AC:r A. uc tt c-
Garde.n wall of Vevey house, Swit~erland I•·•J
le Corbusier, 192'·25
;·lJ
dominating lake Geneva and the taU range
I I
of the Alps beyond. The stone table resting
<Jgalnst the wall below the window opening
a,s it so often does in le Corbusier's many
........· .........~.~~~ .!I
terraces, confirms the sense of being ' ·
indoors in this external space as against
the immense landscape around.
On the face of it the last thing you would sheltered, relatively indoor place, you are pered vastness Into a view out and, thus
think of would be to limit this grand less absorbed in the immense totality and accommodated, or r<Jther brought within
prospect, yet you experience the openness the framed piece oftandscape gains in depth reach emotionally, this becomes the space
of the lake as too unprotected and immense. because of it. of a painting.
By looking through the window from a The window in the wall erops the unham·
•
SPACJ 1J
Ma'ter
• Tu JDu or srt.ca Spue is more an idu than a delineated space, though we flnd more to Interest us there; bacilli, par-
concept. Try to put It Into words and you lose lt. ticles, genes. That this 'negative' space falls to arouse In us
The Idea of space shnds for everything that widens or removes il sense of space says much about our Imaginative powers.
exirting limitations and for everything that opens up more Similarly, the mass of water below the surface of the sea is
possibilities, and Is thus t.he opposite of hermetic, oppressing, too solid to evoke a sense of space, though the deep-sea
awkward, shut up and divided up Into drawers and partitions, diver obviously takes a different view.
sorted, established, predetermined and immutable, shut In,
made certain. • suer AIID rxrn11111 Anything we cannot grasp we exper-
Space and certainty are strangers. Space is the potential for ience as emptiness. This might be a view into the distance
the new. acrou a sea without ships, without waves, without douds,
Space Is what you have in front of you and above you (and to without birds, without a setting sun, without visually recog-
a lesser degree below you) , that gives you a freedom of view nizable objects. The desert too stands for emptiness, despite
and a view of freedom. Where there is room for the unvcpected the contours of hills and valleys and its teeming Ute. Here It
and for the undefined. Space Is place that has not been appro- is the absence of people and objects, the desolation, that
priated and Is more than you c:an fill. leaves us with a feeling of emptiness. This feeli ng Is even
Space also comes from an openness to multiple meanings and strongerln the deserted city, where everything revolves around
interpretations; ambiguity, transparency and layered ness people. Without people, the space of the houses, streets and
i nstead of certainty. Depth Instead of flatness, a greater squares, the space In a physical sense Is emptiness, a void.
dimensionality in general and not exclusively and literally Emptiness Is a feeling too, one you experience the moment
the t hird dimension. you know or suspect that something precious Is lacking or has
Space, like freedom, is difficult to get hold of; Indeed, when left. but equally so when we are the leavers.
a thing can be gruped and so comprehended It has forfeited For us the emptiest thing imaginable Is the painter's blank
its space; you cannot define spue, you can describe it at most. canvas when our thoughts as observers are of pai ntings we
know. For the painter it Is space the moment he or she decides
• PB'ISJCALsun We call the macrocosm space, endless that it has to become a painting; the challenge to conquer it
space. Not emptiness, benuse we see it to contain objects In Irrevocably robs the canvas of its virginal state.
a structured relationship and perhaps In the firm expectation
that there Is something for us to find there. Spue travel sug- • sue• AlfD ranoox Though spue has a liberating effect,
gests that we are doing just that and so a spatial envelope Is It Is not freedom. Freedom Is unbridled, unlimited release.
added to our territory from where we can see the earth as an Spue Is ordered, targeted, even if that order Is emotional by
object with a outer shield of links enveloping ft. There Is nature and impossible to define. Fre·edom is virtual, existing
emptiness only when there is nothing to be seen or to find. only as something i n the distance that is not part of you, such
For physicists it is space to the extent that objects or phe- as a horizon that shifts when you think you have got closer to
nomena exist or rather move there.' Outside it., outside the lt. Or behind bars, In the minds of prisoners. f reedom Is
scope of their attention, there I~ emptiness. It is SlliCe something you feel when It Is not yours, you feel spue when
insofilr as we claim to recognize an order In It; whitever we you feel free. freedom presupposes independence, and that
are blind or deaf to, we vcperience as emptiness. Is il dead·end street. Space complies, seeks embedding; free-
The microcosm , as endless as this is, evokes no sense of dom devours, like fire, indiscriminately.' Freedom takes no
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account of things, has no respect. Is anti-social, antl-authorl- 'Space Is In Itself, or rather It Is In Itself pre-emlnentty, Its
tar1an: freedom cannot choose for with every act of choosing definition Is being In Itself. Each point of space Is and Is per-
It reducu itself; it Is a menu without end. Where everything ceived to be where It Is, the one here, the other there: span
Is possible and permitted there Is no need of anything. Space Is the evidence of the where. Orientation, polarity, envelop-
Is a supply, that creates a demand. Space has shape, it 15 free- ment are in themselves derivative phenomena that depend on
dom made comprehensible. one' s presence." Houritt Mec~ou-Poncy
'Freedom b amorphous.' S.W•~~<~~ O&IJ When we In the architectural world speak of space In most
Instances we mean a space. The presence or absence of a mere
Spue arouses a sense of freedom. Comparatively speaking, artlde determines whether we are referring to Infinite space,
the more space, the more freedom , and that whkh frees to a more or less contained space, or something in-between,
brings spiCe. neither endless nor contained.
footballers or chessmen that manage to achieve freedom of A space Is determined, meaning finite, and fi xed by its periph-
movement do so within the limitations of the rules of play: ery and/or the objects In it. A space ls meant for something,
that way they create space. When we talk about freedom we offers protection to something or makes a thing accessible. It
usually mean space. Feeling free means having the sp.ace you Is to some degree specifically made, maybe variable as regards
need. function, but not accidental. A space has something object-
like about it.• even though it may be the uact opposite of an
• n1 sr.t.n or uc•rnno•• Physically, space is shaped by object. We might then perceive 1 space as an object but In a
what It Is that surrounds It and otherwise by the objects negative sense: a negative object.
within It and perceivable by us, at lust when there h light. Sp"e In archlt.e cture primarily conjures up thoughts of exces-
sive dimensions, such as those of cathedrals by which one Is
'Our view crosses the space and gives us an Illusion of relief willingly Impressed as was the Intention, yet space Is a rela-
and distance. This is how we build up spue: with an upper tive concept. A void in a house o,.ny other Intervention that
and a lower, a left and a right, a front and a rear, a close by occasionally breaks through the dictatorship of the prescribed
and a far off. height of 2.1 metres in Outch housing, gives a sense of space,
If nothing obstructs our view, It c.an carry very far Indeed. as does an elrtra-spacious balcony, ten-ace, landing, stair or
But ffft meets nothing, it sees nothing: It sees only the thing porch.ln each cast it Involves relatively more than one expects,
It meets: space, that Is what obstructs the view, what catches more than we are used to: space Is beyond.
the eye: the obstacle: bricks, a corner, a vanishing point: Everybody has their own Idea of an Ideal space and we can aU
space, that is when then~ is a corner, when It ceases, when recall a number of spaces that once made a particular
you have to turn the corner that It may continue. There Is impression on us, yet who c.an describe exactly what it wu
nothing ectoplastic about space: space has edges, it is not that produced that sense of space?
simply everywhere, It does what has to be done to make the My first thoughts are of the great ball of the Assemblh In •
railway tracks meet long before they reach Infinity.'' Chandlga.rh designed by Le Corbusler, which we wue marched
GtorgesPerK through at speed after having handed In our cameras. The
gigantic black ceiling with Its recessed mushroom column
heads- now that took guts! And the reading room of the
LO
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St&.C! U
0
Blbllothique Ste Genevieve In Paris, the tall living room of life that opens the heart and the senses like flowers fn bloom.
••·u Charuu's Malson de Verre, the Mosque at Cordoba •.• Whereas for her, lffe was cold as an attfc facing north, and
the silent spider boredom wove Its web fn all the shadowed
Even though we cannot put Into words what makes a space comers of her heart.'•wru.,. n.~
fine or buuttful, you can say that it is alwllys a kind of
'inside' with depth and perspective, giving a sense of widen- 'She reached the parvis of the CathedraL Vespers were just
ing without adversely affecting that character of inside. You over, and the people were pouring out through the t hree doors
might call it a sort of balance between containment and expan- like a river beneath the arc:h es of a bridge; In the middle,
sion that is able to affect you emotionally. This involves all firmer than a rock, stood the beadle.
kinds of factors lnfiuendng the effect of space. such as 'She remembered the day when she had gone In there, tense
quality of light acoustics, a particular odour, people. and and expectant, with that grut vault rising high above her, yet
last but not lust your own mood. overtopped by her love.... She walked on, weeping beneath
It makes quite a difference whether you are alone in the large her veil, dazed, unsteady, almost fainting.'' W>t.,. R•ubort
u courtyard of the Alhambra, in the quiet of morning filled with
the scent of blossoms, the only sound being the ripple of the 'The nave wu mirrored in the brimming fonts, with t he begin-
fountains ruffiing the waters In the pool so that the flrst rays nings of the arches and part of the windows . The reflection of
of sunlight throw dandng reflections against the smooth the stained glass broke at the edge of the marble and continued
marble of the surrounding colonnades; or that the entfre court- on the flagstones beyond Uke a cheque red carpet. Broad day-
yard Is jam-packed with busloads of noisy tourists photograph- light shone In through the three open doors and stretched
ing In all directions with sweaty bodies and bare and hairy down the whole length of the Cathedral in three enormous
legs In clumping leisure footwear, garishly printed T-sh1rts rays. Now and then a sacristan crossed at the far end, making
and cute caps. The Galeria Vittorio Emmanuele In Milan and the oblique genufleJCion of piety in a hurry. The crystal chan-
the Square of StPeter's in Rome, by contrut. are particularty deliers hung motionless. In the choir a silver lamp was burn-
well served by the throngs of visitors they are so able to ing. From the side-chapels <lnd darker corners of the church
accept. Similarly, what good is an empty st.11dium? came ocusionally a sound lfke t he exhaling of a sigh , and a
People and spate depend on one another, they show each clanking noise, as a grating was shut, that echoed on and on
other their true colours. beneath the vaulted roof.
There en be no-one without some memory of being affected 'L6on walked gravely round the walls. Never had life seemed
or moved by the space of a building or city, where the visual so good to him . Presently she would come, charming and ani-
impression aroused other fulings or at least so acu!ntuated mated, glancing round at the eyes that followed her; in
them that they now come the more strongly to mind. flounced dress and dainty shoes, with her gold eye-glass and
That your own mood affects your appreciation of space is self- all manner of adornments new to his experience; and in all,
evident, yet not everyone can go on t o describe that mood, ilnd the ineffable chann of virtue s urrendering. The Cathedral was
certainly not as suggestfvely as Flaubert conveys in Hodomt like a gigantic boudoir prepared for her. The arches leaned
Bo~ory how your surroundings take on the colour of the frame down Into the shadows to catch her confession of l.ove, the
of mind you are projectfng. windows shone resplendent to light her face, and the censers
'Living fn town, amid the noise of the streets, the hum of the would burn that she might appear as an angel i n an aromatic
theatre CTowd, the bright lights of the ballroom- the sort of cloud :• Gu<to\'10 ~bort
ll u
• IPACI IXPilii"CI It Is often " ld: walk through It, film It, For the musician, the buitdlng c1rries the musi c. The com·
and the spatial i mage will unfold, yet the deepest Impressi on poser Hector Ber11oz, for example, simply coutd not h!Uigl ne
Is whtn even such acts fall to rnul what It was tuctty that how 1 spac.e could be eqerie.nced other than til rough the
brought on that feeling of space. music reso unctlngln it. Of a visit to StPeter's In Rome he
The essenct of spatialtty dOH not allow itself to bt defined but wrote: 'these paintings and statues. those great plllllrt,
at most descrfbad. Hence It gi ves ri se to an endless litany of all this giant architecture, are but the body of the building.
woolly statements about ~rchiterture, at best drcumscriblng Mu$ICIs Its soul, tfle supreme manifHtatfoft of Its
movements that can help us to at Least get some grasp of the exi stence." H• ctor 8o<liot
s ubject.
What makes us ttl Ink of things IS spatial? Spatbllty Is a feel- But along with tbese sensations In a literal space, we can also
ing, a sensation-. undergo, and particullrty when the thing experience a sense of space In a complex and so not l mmedl ·
we see Is Impossible to take In 1t 1 gl1nce and thus unsped- atety ctlstinguishable tapestry of voices.
fled. Or rather, that It hu such a layeredness about It thlt we 1n the choir I hu rd many voices, each of which seemed to be
art Incapable of surveying it In i ts entirety. It arouses expec- singing Independently of the rest; rising and fatting along
tations. i nvisible ladders to and over each other, sometimes pai ring
The senu of space Is sustained by the tack of an overall view off, someti mes crossing each others' paths like comets pulling
of th space you are l n. Even when we mean a space shut In a long tall of harmonies behind them, they kept each other
on all si des that Is surveyable In all its parts, there is, or at flo1tlng In equlllbrium, and despite the skilful em brangle·
least so It seems, always somethi ng around the corner. ments aU wu u strong and transparent as silver se~ffolctl ng
Pertlaps the feeling of space arises when the expected Image In space: •• rh..n doVr1b
and the Image you exp.rlence 1re not one and the same, In
the way that sou.nd becomes spatial when dlrt~ct and reflected A notion of space turns up In every corner of our consdous-
so und j ust fall to colndde at their rectivtr. So much for the ntss, In llnguage, danct, sports, psychology, sodology,
viewpoint of the spectator. economy; wherever movement Is possible, and so just as
There can be I!O doubt that the designer hu h.ad it all i n hh easily on the flat surface.
mind In one way or another, that Is, In measurements, mller- Space as experience has to derive from an Ur-feellng, an abil-
ials and qu11ity of light. For him, at some stage, th~e were Ity to Imagine a dimension that projects above basic rullty,
no more secrets; the architect must have had a picture l.n his an exposure to a reality greater thin we are able to conceptu-
mind of the space he was making, at least to a point, for the atlu. Sense of space Is a mental construct, a projection of the
question remains of whether the re sult as realized really ctld outside world n we experience it according to the equipment
agree with hls l dea of It beforeh1nd. at our disposal: an Idea.
Scale models and other three-dlmensl0111l representations help
us to form a picture, but - however realistically suggested - It
can only be an abstraction, deprived as It is of all those non-
vl sulll components that together shape our sense of space.
How three- dimensional Is space In fact. and how far Is exper1-
endng space the preserve of the rut, walk-all-over wortd to
which uchltecture belongs?
To understand more of the phenomenon 'space' we should
pertlaps leave architecture for a moment.
Spue does not by definition need to be literally three-d1men-
slonlll, nor literally visual by nat ure. We do, though, express
the space feeling In t.e rms that refer to visual reatfty. That
whkh Is flat, f ull, nanow or limited lacks, one feels, ttle ne-
ces"ry space, and so space Is more like feeUng stereoscopic-
ally than seei ng stereoscopically: a fuller, more complete
experience.
Dancers Indi cate areas by exploring a nd enfoldi ng them wlth
their moving bodies, without delimi ting them In a material
sense. This way they crute space.
Musfc has Its own spatiality, which moreover Is ambiguous by
nature. Not only ttle acoustiC5, which enable you to dose your
eyes and hear the space you are In, but also stereophonic aids,
such n c os, can help you pi cture 1 space. Making a space
audible Is strengthened when the sound comes from different
directions.
tl'A.C J \1
au tor
1 At D I AI C IU CI
Mountains outside, mountains inside (ul
Johan van der Keuken, 1915
'The way these mountains rise in oppos· rest during the day in gigantic sleeping 'But what the phot o shows more than any-
ition, inside and outside, as each other's b~gs, while simultan~usly, flying at nigh t t hing elie is how your experience of the
mirror image- this Is space u interprHed over the peaks looking in through the lit wor1d outside etches Its Impressions in
by Johan van der Keuken. window, one mountain is already up and your mind: the lithograph of your land-
'Of course, there are few painters who have about. Kape of memory.
not shown us how t he ext ernal space ofthe 'There is also a negative where mirror situ- 'So, in your mind, the external space is pro·
landsape ent ers the room, ttansforming at ions now seen from the other side must jrcted inside through t his rectangular lens
the world for us int o a more familiar im~ge . reside; again and again outside and night of the darkened room. into the space
Here, though, day and night are turned and day and inside are tucked one int o the inside yourself; your own s~Jace.'"
inside out, so that you~ how mountains ot her.
• 1111 SPACIor tBI unnnrc The fult p~ne of the painU!r then it Is Impossible to desaibe all the many ways in which
often contains more space than the thre~dimenslonal spue ever new openings are found t o attain lt.
of the architect. Condemned as he Is to the flat surbce, the The~ the experience of sp1ce goes much further thin j ust
painter constantly has space In mind. Giving expression to that seeint stereoscopically. Not being clearty ~id out or trans·
space Ia Indeed the perpdual concern of the palnterty art, pare.nt In our perception of It, this space has more t o do wltb
and It keeps finding new mechanisms to i1Chleve it. ~yeredness lind the curiosity this Incites.
A well-painted space can be just as suggestive as reality - For palnU!rs seek nothi ng other than to acideve ll spatiality
with this difference, that the painter chooses • nd fixes a of the flat surface, m1king it deeper, higher, thicker, more
moment where all the conditions - light, ambience, ftores- expilnsive or more trllnliplrent.
cence - are so perfect t hat you seldom if ever come ~cross And then we have said nothing yet about the mental space
them In the reality of ' nature' . He can compress several that the painting offers, witfl fts references, associations
non·-sfmuluneous eJqJeriencu Into one Image. He can luve and metaphors.
things out, arrange them, shift them, f o19t links between The following examples from the world of painting, seen
them o r strengthen t hem- in short, he can place the llllage through architect's eyes, shne the quality U.at they all
In the best possible light and so help the Idea t o come 1ppeal directly to t he uchl tect's sense of space.
across better. to Intensify the experience.
The pai nter Is able to locate you In space. Using the stand-
point he hu chosen, he can remove much from your view
to a rouse •nd sustain a sense of expectancy.
Perspectfve Is one of the means for reproducing re•llty. lt
Is through penpecttve that the artist is able to achieve the
most suggestive possible rnding of three-4tlmensional space,
and when you concentrate from the right position on the
i mage of spice thus constnJcted you c:an Imagi ne yourself
In that painted space.
But we must not become fixated on the effect this type of
representation of literal depth has as a standard for spac~
experience. For all their perspective, m1ny paintings, un1ble
to arouse" sense of expectincy, ~ave remai ned fult.
Sense of space Is born of colours set side by side, that give
the plane depth or set it In motion. And spact can be set
free In tflt p~ne, In a sideways direction, a.n d also between
two overlapping layers of pai nt.
Not only do painters succeed In rendering the space of our
reality, the opposite is also true, thilt reality Is a rendering
of the painU!r's space. We also experience space as we know
tt from Images given us by piilnters. Painters teach us to see
and in so doing shaJM our lmilge of space . By adding aspects
to It that our own eyes failed t o absorb, painters mas our
eyes and thus sll1pe the space of our reality. Once you are
heedful of the fKt that space Is the painter's ultimaU! goal,
HACI tt
Mat I COil" d
'Las Meninas' 1"1 'Sketch for a Bar in the Folies
Diego Velazquez, 1656 Bergere' 1..1
Edouard Manet, 1881
The subject of the painter depicted in What concerns the art historian here is
Velbquez' painting evidently is in front whether the image in the mirror is a reflec· If in reality mirrors have a somewhat illuso~
of the canvas. It even seems to be the tion of the painting in progress or that of effect in increasing the space. in paintings
spectator. The foreground is made part of the sitters. What interests us is that the real or photographs they renect a mirror image
the action as it were, an extrapolation for· space and the space of the painted reality in a more natli111l way. Not only do we se~
wards. So the depth of the painting then interpenetrate. in the upper right-hand corner the man face
lies in front of the canvas and reaches to You can keep on maintaining that a paint· to face with the barmaid as well as seeing
the rear wall of the room in the p11inting. ing gives an illusion of space, but the space the girt from the back, we can observe the
The complexity of the observer· observed 'in reality' is an illusion of another kind. entire theatrical setting behind the observer
relationship in and in front of the canvas Here the two illusions come with in a hair's that places the girl in the widest space.
keeps throwing up new philosophical breadth of each other. Although not without perspective, this is
ref\ections on the rela tivity of subject and not what gives the s.urfate its sense of
object. seen from changing vantage depth; or it may be the various vanishing
point.s ." points thatlend it an undefined, ftagmented
spatiality. Because the mirror draws the
world behind you Into the painting, you
the spectator are drawn into the painting
yourself."
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'Interior with Harpsichordist' 1••1 'Louvre' tuJ
Emanuel de Witte. ca. 1665 Hubert Robert. 119&
An effect of depth such as th at suggested in This depiction of the large museum gaUeJY
this painting~ one architects would love suggests an eff~ct of depth so refined that
to see in their buildings. For this, though, you might wonder whether observing real·
all the cards have to be right: the position ity through one eye would give you a greater
of the two figures, and the light entering feeling of depth. Projected on to your
through the windows strengthening the retina it would probably make little differ-
stage-set effect of the enfilade. With suffi- ence which 'illusion of space' you were
cient knowledge of architectural and house looking at.
typologies of those days it should be Perspective Is often spoken of disparaging·
possible to reconstruct the entire floor plan ly, as If it were a trick, but when applied by
from the painting. The actualspace ofthe someone who knows how to wield it, it can
house is encapsulated in the picture. be more convincing than reality.
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su.cr u
Ma'ter
'Pantheon' fu J Compositions ,,...,,
Giovanni Paolo Pannini, 1734 Piet Mondrian, Jtll/ 1917
The almost photographicaUy accurate iUus- widest of wide-angle lenses- and evidently lolondrian went to every length to shake off
trations that Pannfni painted of so many with greater ease Pannini succeeds in the effect of depth our eyes have become
buildings which dominated sixteenth-cen- avoiding altogether the distortion that aU too conditioned to through the custom·
tury Rome make him the greatest architec- becomes stronger with the increase in the a !}I perspectival effect in paint! ngs. Every
ture 'photographer' of the pa.s t (a shared angle of vision and cannot be corrected slanting line for him was automaticaUy a
first place with Canaletto}. At first gtance along acceptable lines in a photograph. reference to a rudiment of perspective. ln
he keeps strictly to the perspectival reality, He manages to combine in the sweep of Mondrian the spaee is exclusively in the
but here. witll the interior of the Pantheon a single static image a dynamic which plane itself, although in his later work the
in Rome, he is In fact achieving what the human eye is able to grasp by moving physical thickness of the painting began to
today's photographers accomplish with the through a whole series of images. play a part too. Then you see horizontal
and vertical bands overlapping and con-
tinuing over the thidcness of the support·
ing frame.
If in his 'cubist' period beginning in 191Z
we still see something like contained ceUs,
ln the peliod centring on t917 the compo-
sition of lines and colours become a more
open and spatial system with a laterally
inclined centrifugal movement keeping to
the plane of the canvas.
With the object-like rectangular colour
fields acting increasingly, with the passing
of time. as weights in the equipoise of the
constructed space, we can discern a remark·
able affinity with SchlSnberg's Klongfotbe
theory. Schonberg, a compo~r who was
also a painter. sought analogous balances
of units of sound whose duration, volume
and timbre. depending on which instrument
produced them. would evoke a new musical
spatiality.
In the De Stijl group where the thinking
and aspirations of architects and painters
such as Rietveld, Mondrian and Van Does-
burg complemented one another, the key
aspect was space. Never before had paint-
ing and architecture come into suc:h dose
proximity as in this period, with the pos-
sible exception of the Baroque. In the
Baroque, rather than being satisfied with
built space, they ultimately supplemented
it with paintings that presented the iUu-
sion of additional space.
In Mondrian's studio we can see paintings
hung on and in front of the waUs, making a
composition of the room. This composition
11 in effect constitutes a new pai nting of the
Individual compositions from whicl't it is
assembled.
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I"PAC:I lJ
• SPACE IS A. LONGING inward-looking, concentrated on the mentally and emotionally
newty :accessible area. This Is how our centrifugal usire m•kes
Sometimes on a puff of wind, the switch to centripetal attraction; space, appropriated and
sometimes In a storm familiar, becomes place.
they fly up, Desire with Its tensi on ilnd risk of the unknown. undefinable
a cloud of birds and unexpected tends to dissolve in i need for consolidation,
before the sun . safety, ill.ttachment, protection and delimitation.
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lu occupants/users. A loc~tlon then becomes a ' partlculu'
place coloured by occurrences past and present which lend it
assodatlons. When we say we are making a place, we In fact
mean making the space In such a way that the conditions for
Its fnfill endow It with the quality of puce.
lf place is an ultimate emotional appropriation of a spilce thiit
originally was unsignifled but is potenthlly signifiilble, we
can then s1y: sp.-.ce is a quality that contains the new, that can
be filled In to make a place, so that space 1nd place can relate
as 'competence' and 'performance'. Space and pl1ce are Inter-
dependent In that each brings the other to awareness, enables
the other to exist as 1 phenomenon.
Birds searching for food need to carry their nest In their mi nds
when passing outside their territory; there nn be no iidven-
ture without a home-base to return to. You have to travel In
search of space, to confirm the place you call your own; you
must return home to recharge for a new journey."
••
IPAU IS
Mental Space and the Architect
• DIIJOaliiG II A UOUGIT tiOCIU Too often WI! fi nd the Oeslgnfng Is a complu thought process of potentials and
crutive procus of the architect depleted as a succession of restrictions out of which fdtas are born along falr\y system-
fluhes of Inspiration that the privi leged evidently receive as atic lines.
a gift and othus vainly keep waiting for, as though Ideas are Mew responses issue from combinations and quantitles otfler
some kind of ltlunderbolt from on high . When you see arc.hl· than those we already knew. We do t.hings with wllat we have
tects continually out to trump one another wit.h new ldeu, in our mi nds, and more a nnot come out of t hem than went
you end up wonderi ng at times just where the hell they get ln. AU neuropsychological explanations notwithstanding, It
them all from. works the same as It does for the cook who can only use what
That .architects have to t hink primarily In forms Is rooted In a he has In his kitchen when putting his meats together.
misunderstanding. In the first plact, they must have an Idea Ignoring the fact that a good cook can do much more with hfs
of the situations as thHe affect people and organizations, Ingredients than a less gifted collugue.ln both cases tht point
and how sltuatlon.s work. From there concepts emerge: that Is to fill the pantry with as many Ingredients u posslbl.e so
Is, tdus regarding then sltu.tions take shape. Only ltlen u to have richer combinations and thus a wider range of pos-
does the architect envisage forms In wfllch all the above might slbilitlu at tflelr disposal.
be cast. Surprising architectural responses are Invariably ltle The Ingredients the 1rc:hltect can draw from are t he experi-
ultimate formulation of the results of a thought procus. ences he hu had throughout the ye~rs, tnd which he can
They did not appear out of t hin air, as gifts from the gods for directly or Indirectly relate to his profession. Considering
the parti cularly talented. that the range of his discipline Is Infinitely broad and Is
Architects , Including the seriously gifted, construct thei r literally about everything. that means a multitude of experi-
ldus, even if tflest are keys to utterly new Insights, out ences. So It Is lmportut for the architect t.hat he has seen
of raw material that In one way or another had to be already and heard a lot In his life. and anything that he did not tll·
present In t hei r mi nds. Nothing, after all, can be born of perience first-hand he hu a pretty good Idea of; that Is, he
not hing. must empathbe with every situation he has come across.
au tor
Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France (zs·n J
Le Corbusier, l9SO· SS
The chapel of Notre Dame du Haute in Ron- entirely new guise in the new light in whkh
champ marks a new period in le Corbusie(s Le Corbusier sets them. They were placed in
work and thinking. It was already notice- a new context, and so transformed utterly.
able in the Unite in Marseilles, and also In It is hard to comprehend today that they
the 'Manufactures' in St Die, that he had had been around eartier than that and were
closed the chapter of the dematerialized merely unearthed. It seems as though new
'heroi( period. Seen in retrospect there had forms are less invented than rediscovered,
been signs as early as the beginning of the interpreted differently and u.sed differenUy
thirties of a more grounded, sculptural too. We are able to understand where they
development. If the Unite in Marseilles can came from, but not what is so fascinating
~tiU be regarded as a beton brut variant about them and even Less why they are still
upon earlier ideas- in principle still exe· successful today.
cuted in planes with a number of strongly
plastic additions such as the pilotis and
the roofscape, while the colours in refined
patterns of soft hues become more primary
- the Ronchamp chapel is architecture of
quite another klnd.lt has much of a hol·
lowed-out sculpture that resolutely con·
founds, it would seem, the entire evolution
of twentieth-century architecture.
WhetheJornotyou find itbeautifu~ you may
wonder if that is the way to trown the top
of a hill, like a untamed species of Parthe· •
non. You can advocate or llilify it but Ills
impossible to ignore it; the influence it has
exerted on architectural history is prodi·
gious and still a$toundingly relevant
today.
Our main interest in the chapel is how '"d
when an architect like le Corbusier man-
aged to conjure up this wholly new formal
idiom.
The first sketches for this building see le u L~ Corbusier. sb tcbes of ViU1 Hidrli11us~ ltlJ
Corbusier harking back to travel sketches
made many years before, in which he noted
down things that ellidently affected him
and that he wished to keep hold or, sup-
posedly without knowing at the time what
possible good could come of them later. At
issue on this early occasion was a particular
way of bringi ng in light reflected down
through a curved shaft. much like air
through a ventilation shaft such as those
found on old sea vessels (which fascinated
me as a child too). The Uteral way these
found forms were ultimately adopted is
astonishing, embarrassing almost, if only
because one could not believe or rather
refused to believe it could be done so
simply. But every bit as astonishing is that
these forms (because forms and not just
Ideas have been adopted here) take on an
Ma'ter
• IIIOIKDnY, cuu1v1n A culture where conditions ~nd that respect. When the prime concern Is Indeed the ability to
nlues shift all too tully requires an unremittingly crit:lc~l shake off existing cliches and nch ttme face the task as an
attitude tow~rds outmoded concepts (~nd naturally towards unknown quantity, then the problem Is mainly a psychological
new potentials too). In lltenlly every sltuiltfon you hive to barrier that is going to need some demolishing.
keep uking yourself whether the familiar path fs still the If the old, well-known part belongs to our familiar world, the
most effective, adequate and/or advisable choice or that we new Is basically a threat. Whether it can become absorbed
ne threatening to become victims of the daily routine and and therefore accepted depends on the usociations it evokes
the str~ttjacket of elflsttng cliches. Each design decision it and whether these are regarded as positive, or at least not as
seems, tach choice we m~ke, needs sounding out every time negative.
against changing criteria, but all too often Inevitably calling A child, then, may see a flash of lightning, whose dangers we
for new concepts. This Is why we need Ingenuity and what know and to which we feel a certain Ingrained fear. u a kind
we usually term creativity. of firework with all the feelings of g1lety that brings. 'Alii
Put briefly, the beginning of the design process could boll have done throughout my life is to try to be just u open·
down to the following: First there Is a task, dearly couched minded as I was In my youth- though then I didn't have to try.'
or making a first vague appurance. You ne after an Idea that This Is a remark Picasso must have made In later life.
will give you a concept you can use to further elaborate the When plans emerged to keep the Elffel Tower after all- It w;u
design. looking around you and drawing from your memory originally to have been a temporary structure- a storm of
where the Ideas you once thought Interesting are stored, you protest blew up, most of all among Intellectuals who saw the
head off In search of analogies that might well yi eld iln fdtil. city disfigured with a monster culled from the hated world of
Though Identifiable u missing pieces of your jigsaw puule, Industry. And that when In the very latest generation there
then links are all too often transformed -disguised, in other wu almost no-one to be found who was not inspired by It as
words. The llrt then h of course to see through those di sguises. a presage of a new world.
Wt can auume that each new Idea and ntw concept must be a Whether you like a thing or not depends on the affection you
transformation or Interpretation, respectively, of something feel for ft. This Is not only something you have or acquire
else, developed furthtr ~nd brought up to date. later, you must have had It to begin with to have liked tht
There Is no way of finding out how the Idea came to you ; wu thing In the first place; affection Is as much a condition
It there illready, was It generated by old lmilges or only as a consequence.
strengthened, confirmed? This Is a complex Interaction of
suspecting, seeking ilnd recognizing, in the way tht ques·
tion a.nd answer vie for primacy.
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This project also stands out in that every· appearance, but behind which an utterly kinds of modifications of their own. Thes11
thing Is done to provide a maximum of different and more varied character emerges additions are nowhere to be found in artl·
space. Its access galleries are as broad as through personal use. Each component has cles about the building, yet it is these that
station platforms from which you enter a certain over-measure seldom encountered best illustrate the space opened up by the
your home with as little fuss as possible, in housing , which may be why it gives off construction.
much like entering a subway train, effi. such a strong sense of space. The inhabi·
ciently but anonymously. Only the doormats tants respond with an almost un·french
Identify the entrances as front doors and eagerness with additions of their own.
these ultimately are more image· defining Perhaps it was the restrictions imposed out
enn than the loud·and·dear graphics con· of considerations of architectural purity-
sistently derived from the world of trans· such as the architect's ban on adding to
portation that are also used to number the the crude concrete walls worked by an artist,
apartments. and the metal grid Landings between bed·
The balconies have perforated forward· tilt· room and bathroom- that in a presumably
ing sheet-steel spandrel panels which give unintentional paradox were tl1e very
the building its unmistakable elegant reason why tenants responded with all
0
Maison de Verre. Paris (,..,,
Pierre Chareau, B2mard Bijvoet and louis
Oalbet, U32
• Looking at the task before you in another light Is the same clearly revealed than in the art of the twentieth century. By
as looking at another task, and for th1t you need other eyes. being able to perceive a thing differently, our view O'f things
The problem Is that everyone Is constantly searching for rec- changes and the wortd changes with it.
ogniuble patterns that are interpreted as rapidly as possible, A mental clear-out.• ma king space In our minds by ridding
In other words, that gain a place in our famtll•n world. them of so much ballast thit once meant something to us.
And the more familiar our world, the way we have bull tit piece And If anyone was famllfar with disassembling and dearing
by piece, the more trusted Insights we h1ve at our disposal out associations, meanings and values. It was Picasso.
and the more difficult it is to avoid them.
Inventiveness Is In Inverse proportion to knowledge and
ex.perience. Knowledge and llllper1ence keep forcing us back
Into the old grooves of t he old record of meanings, the way
il knife keeps returning to the original striations In a sheet
of cardboard. Finding new concepts would not be difficult
if only It were easier to shake off the old ones.
Picasso's t9•2 combination of a bicycle's appeafl or disappears to be replaced by the across them, is clear from his studies of
handlebars and saddle as a bull's head is, bicycle, or a notion of bicycle. It may eyes that seemingly change into fish and
after Duchamp's ready-mades, one of the resemble the conjuror's disappearing trick, then into birds without effort.
most miraculous and meaningful art works but there is a touch of magic here too! Forms for him - and materials too! - were
of the twentieth century. Pica~so himself considered this work com- clearly free and stayed that way until
Wllile a 'normal' collage draws a new narra· plete only if someone. the thing having engaged, temporarily. in a particular chain
tive from disparate components each with been thrown out on the street, were to con- of meanings. or rather, 'system of signifi·
its own story, llere two parts of the same vert It back into a bike. cations'.
mechanism combine into a single new (and Yet the artist must have originally seen the On further consideration we can well imag·
different) mechanism that inevitably and animal parts in the cycle parts; he evidently ine that for Picasso it was but a small step
inescapably calls to mind the llead of a bull. s_aw them less strongly anchored in their for a plate to very literally signify a corrido.
Indeed. so strong is this association that it original context. This then is the lesson we The fact is, he was obsessed with bullfight-
is difficult to continue seeing anything of can learn from it: new mechanisms can ing and it was one of the themes that
a bicycle in iL ensue fTom another assemblage of parts haunted him the way another might see
Tile bike Is forced Into the background by freed from their original context by taking the arena as a well-filled dish.
the bull. Theoretically at least there must them up In a newchain of associations.
be a transition point where the components That Picasso was persistently able to see
are so caught up in each other's new sphere forms in their 'autonomous'- unsignified-
of influence that, in a sort of magnetic state, loosed so to speak from the relation·
impacting of meanings. the bull aU at once ship they formed part of when he came
~·
')
• fori!\$ thlft as It were from the one meaning to the other, Twentieth-century painters saw the opportunity to free forms
depending on the meaning that presents Itself In a particular and materials from their chains of meanings enabling them
situation through the usodatlons aroused by and thus linked to uke on other meanings and thus new concepts.
to the form. So we can say: form. association (t, 2, 3) .. mean- Creativity in that respect Is the capacity to see 'things' dlf·
Ing (t, 2, 3).' ferently by lifting them from their present context so that
lt hu to be so that associations attendant on a form are they lose their original meaning and, seen In a new context,
dependent on what you are doing, what Is occupying or maybe evoke another and so become something else.
preoccupying you; and whatever It WiiS that Impressed you So here In fact we have one thing that has been transformed
earlier and thttrefore sfgnlf l•s 5Qmlthfng to you Is forever Into another through what amounts to an Instinct on our
being projected on to one or other form, suppressing that part to read It differently. This Is the opportunity seized upon
form' s previous meaning In the process. by artists like Duchamp and Picasso, and Le Corbusfer for one
Thus we see the emphasis shift from the certainties of an succeeded In doing the same for architecture.
esQbllshed order entrenched In forms as fixed meanings,
to the perpetual dependence of each form on the context
in wlrich it figure~
IC 5n4LSPACI&JIOllfi: AJC:IIflC:t ) 1
0
• Forms and things c~n apparently adjust to a new situation where Is this: Is creativity something you can acquire or Is It
and be primed to accommodate a new and opportune purpose. entirely a question of aptitude? And although without apti-
looked at tltls way, creativity Is seen to originate In an tude you wfll obviously make little headway you could still
utreme capactty to adapt, In the sense that not only are you say that the euler it Is to pull apilrt forms and meanings, the
adapting to the potentials of things but at the same time greater the potentials for creativity; this means seeing forms
than things are adapting to suit you. more as nlf-suffident phenomena, open to more and ever new
meanings. Which brings us back to Picasso's abtllty to see the
'Regarding the form of the granlto washbasins we wanted to handlebars of a bicycle as form distinct from Its meaning.
build-In at various pl~ees in both Centrnl Beheer and De Drie The question now is whether you could cultivate this potential.
Hoven, l got no further than a list of conditions that this form and If so, how.
had to satisfy, such as filling watering cans and washing The precondition for crutlvfty Is that only the smallest
hands. The dimensions were In tact alre~dy fbed seeing that amount Is fixed for you, meaning that the largest 1mount Is
t.h ey needed building-In to the brickwork, and they hid to be open-ended. The more doubt you have about the fixed mean-
e<ut in concrete. But what on urth was the form going to be? ings ilnd established truths imprisoning you, the easier It Is
l tried to Impress my thoughts on the othrs and demon- to put these In perspective and the more curious you need to
strated the movement you mllke when washing your hands by become about other possibilities, other upects.
describing drcles In the air. Everyone knew that there was Creativity depends on the ability to open your eyes so as to
only enough money for something very simple and square at see things In other contexts and in particular beyond there-
the most. It was clear that this rectangular form was com- strictions of the arguments In the dosed drcle of the '~rchl
pletely at odds wfth the flowfng movement l had outlined and tectural wor1d' .
would be Impossible to keep clean besides. Until, illl at onc·e , It Is more a question of mentality than of Insight and teachers
a polyester hard hat appeared before us on the table. should perh1ps do something about thb by no longer scaring
Someone's straying eye had seen It lying in the cup bond. The students with all that dlsdpllne· bound Information and
perfect oval form, e;cactly the right size, Ideal as Instead using the time to challenge them to enlarge the drde
a mould, simple to Install and obtainable for free from the of their Interest, to see more, to bring In other 1spects: to
contracto r: (1916) arouse their enthusiasm, receptivity and curiosity, that they
uk more quution1 than they opect answers to, that they
The theory Is as follows: new organiutionsfmechanlsms/con- experience more of the worid, that they widen their fr1me of
cepts are found by steppi ng outside your task and relating It reference. Educ1tlon, and this Includes education of architec-
- i.e. by assodation -to other known tasks and applying them ture students, should before anything else unfold mental
to your case. The difficulty here is the usually limpet-like space so as to explore the unknown, the new, the other and
adherence of these known tasks to their 'original' meanings, put It wfthln their reach Instead of filling the space In their
something like a chemical compound with a strong affinity, heads with what we know already.
making It difficult for us to conceive of them as freed and Make them hungry Instead of nourishing them with Informa-
Interpretable. The space for crutivity lies In managing to tion .
forget, In demolishing foregoing prejudices and 1bove aU In
iln 1billty to un -lurn. A matter of learning to unl.eilm, then. • •nc••v•wa Perceiving Is the ability to extricate certain
The age-old question which Inevitably looms up here as else- aspects from within their conte.xt so as to be able to place
Mat I COI'T' d
Le Corbusier's sketchbooks ,,..,.,
'le Corbusier, in collaboration with many activity with the making of travel sketches ate environment that comprised his world,
others, particularly Pierre Jeanne ret. was -in which case le Corbusier has to have a world that made no distinction between
altogether responsible for the foUowing: been the eternal traveller. It seems that Dfficial Dr formal architecture such as that
'152 archite<'tura l projects, 72 of whlth were even in the most impossible situations of palaces. cathedrals and the like, and
executed he would be eagerly gathering material he an informal architecture of peasant huts,
24 urban plans needed or thought he might need some where temporary and transient things loom
419 paintings day. as large as solid, massive edifices 'built for
43 sculptures It is onl}' by looking at the thousands of eternity. Interestingly, there is no hier-
43 writings and books sketches in the Fonclation Le Corbusier. archy among the images le Corbusier col·
gobelin tapestri es, wall paintings. graphic often hastily done but quite as often metlc· lected. To him the difference between
wotl<, and of course furniture.•• ulously detaited, that one really gets an things were bricks of equal value with which
The significance of this dazzling display of idea of all the things he saw, Df his enthu· he built his new wortd. a world of new rela·
labour lies not only in the quantity as such siasm for just about every aspKt of life. tionships. If there was one architect who
but also in lhe sheer wealth of ideas it con- forever scanning his surroundings. Often saw his way to giving ex:ceptional shape to
tains. more written than drawn and intertwined the demands ordinarily informing lhe
In the explosion of idus that his investi- with their captions, the speed and the everydAy environment and so reconciling
gations gave the twentieth century Le Cor· c:ompact form they were set down In suggest them with the sweep of form that has
busier is comparable only with Plcuso: le a kind of personal shorthand. invariably accompanied great architecture,
Corbusier the architect is the Picasso of And le Corbusier saw everything - partlcu· then le CDrbusier was that architect. In
architecture. No other architect has taken !any the things painters notice and archi- every period of his work, he considered
the possibilities of the twentieth century tects tend to overlook: ships, trees, plants. everyday u~e and everyday experience of
and so comprehensively ex:ploited and sheUs, bottles, glasses, rocks, forks. hands. the whole and of each or its parts to be
indeed generated them. cats, donkeys. birds; and women, sitting. quite as spectacular as the form viewed in
It is generally known that le Corbusier standing, lying. their hands, their feet, isolation. The attitude towards his sur-
always carried a sketchbook around in their breasts.lots of furniture, all manner roundings evidenced by his sketchbooks is
which he noted down everything that of objects for everyday use and everywhere the same as that permeating everything
made an impression on him. the human figure in every imaginable situ- he ever built. namely an unremitting cap-
Thinking in terms of what is customary ation. acity to get into the minds of the people
among arthitects you might compare this Eviden tly it was subjects from his immedi- who were to use his buildings, what their
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actions, their eJCperiences would be. lt is being a good designer, but it is one of the to ideas or solutions so that these open
this ability to empathize that colours all conditions- no more. but no less either! your eyes to other possibilities, other para-
his work as his and his alone. ACorbusian Although all designers obviously have their digms, modes of organization, mechan -
building is already inhabited at the design own way of working there is, broadly speak- isms, and thus widen your horizon. Just
drawing stage, a quality that does not dim ing, a certain analogy in the thought as experiencing an unfamiliar cuisine stim-
with the built result. process involved. You might imagine it ulates you to new ways of preparing food
It is just this thought-provoking line - from going something like this: without actually knowing the recipes, so
jotting.s of observations by way of design All the images you absorb and record associations too can encourage you to
sketches through to the building as built - together constitute a collection stored in abandon well-trodden paths, suggesting to
that makeste Corbusier's work Ideal for your memory; a li brary of images. if you you that the answer to your problem might
study and consideration. You can see fTom like, that you can draw on when confronting lie in another direction altogether. The
his work the ins and outs of the design a problem. Often these images, memories increase here is not In the number of
process and how an idea is born. of things seen earlier, are immediately recipes but in your capacity to arrive at
The pioneering responses of a typical twen- 'applicable' in the sense that they inspire new things, new mechanisms.
tieth-century architect like le Corbusier you. Moreover, there is always the ten - The more you have been through, seen and
ensue from the fact that the images ab- dency to inadvertentiy relate everything absorbed and the richer the experience
sorbed everywhere and from every age are you see to what itis that is occupying you stored in your 1ibra,Y. the larger your ar-
not applied lock, stock and biUret but at the time. You are continually scanning senal of potential indications from which
transformed by being confronted with each your surroundings for things that might to pick a direction to head in. In short,
other, and so stripped of their original give you an idea of how to solve your prob- your frame of reference has widened. (Ttris
meaning that they an! free to accept new lem ofthe moment. (Thus we see Le Cor- Is why you can tell immediately from
ones. And it is the incomparably rich busier often accompanying his sketches the designs done by first-year students-
1ibrary' at hls disposal that is felt in every with explicit references to ongoing work.) regardless of their ability to organize. say,
corner of his wor1c as a positive charge. Usually, though, the images get stored in a floor plan- whether they had a experien-
rather than seen in the literal sense. your 'library'. and have an indirect Impact tially rich or poor upbringing simply by
Thus the wealth of ideas in le Corbusier's when consulted to help you devel.op an toolclng at the forms they use.)
a!uvre Issues from the rich library of images idea. This takes place through association, Being able to solve a problem along funda-
he had accumulated for himself. It would necessarily with some degree of analogy. mentally different Unes. in other words to
of course be folly to conclude that having Associations. as it happens, are seldom create another mechanism, depends on the
this wealth of eJCperience is the key to useful in a literal sense but bring you closer richness of one·s experience, much like an
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individual's linguistic powers of expression situation might not have something in it While on the subject. it seems dear that of
can ext~nd no further than his vocabu!Jry for you. all the means of recording besides writing,
allows. Nor should we forget that the one In prindple your material is everywhere, drawing ultimately is the most appropriate
person can get more out of a given ma- on the street, in the room, at all times. and, for our purpose at least. infinitely more
terial than th~ other. Being an architect is more than a profession, effective than, say, taking photographs
The forms we hive stored in our memory it is, before anything else, an 4ttitude whkh we all do at times.
consciously or unconsciously thrust them- towards your surroundings! In many instances photos are undeniably
selves upon us as we design. In fact it is It is crucially imporhnt, then. that you a more appropriate means to convince
very much the question whether there Is really are affected by what you see and others, in that the presented situation
anything at all you can think of that does hear. appears to be more 'objective' and there-
not derive from the accumulation of Being receptive to inftuences is something fore more plausible. With drawings, there
images in your mind. Could your output you can team up to a point. Whether or not is always the danger that the inevitable
possibly be more thM what you take in? something truly makes an impression on artistic pretensions will o~ershadow t he
Knowing many recipes d~s not make you a you is con tingent on earlier experiences, information that is to be conveyed.
cook, althOIJgh you would certainly have to the circumstances in which you had them However. the benefits for yourself of draw-
be f•miliar with them, deviate from them, and the anociations for you. (Travelling ing are that by looking at. things with
so as to arrive at culinary creations of your through Morocco the music you heard greater precision, and above aU bY becom·
own. everywhere had not the slightest effect on ing more selective in what you consider
A new idea can only be born out of dis- you; much later, at home, when the radio important. your ac.uity in recording will
mantling a previous one. suddenly p"yed the same type of music, increase.
Deiigning, despite all ideas. methods, then it did malce an impression and all the Drawing etches the images into your
processes, techniques and theories, is like imagery of that particular journey flooded memory.'
watching aircraft take off: however atten- back. Clearly the music struck home because
tive you are and however probing your it brought back positive memories.) So
aoalysis, to actually take off yourself is although we have no control over when we
another matter entirely. will be moved, and bY what, we can at least
And should it be so that your design fa cui· exercise our eyes by acquiring the habit of
ties ind~d sharpen as your collection of recording thi"gs on paper. Each of us
images increases. and that your abilities should be capable of evolving a personal
are indirectly determined by the we.Jith of way of formulating things, so as to be able
experiences you have managed to harvest - to retain "for personal use only' all those
then what matters above all else Is to use snat(hes of whJt we hear and see. and of
your eyes and ears and at least be receptive what goes through our minds during con·
in every situation and ask yourself if that versations and reflections.
• Even tod.ty Le Corbusler Is still t he grutest purveyor of Influencing Is i n the main an Indi rect and usually unconsdous
Ideas, concepts and images which, st ored In Ills schemH , are process of transformation, but you cAn also perceive In UICh
stfll being adopted by the Latest generations of architects, a way that, looking through the expnesslon of the form, IS It
whtthtr consdously or unconsdously. So what he hi mself were, you Cin sl ngl.e out what of It may be of use to you. You
accumulated from tile put gets Im perceptibly p1ssed on as are then Interpreting what you s~ In a new role that Is appo·
Inspiration and converted i nto fuel for modernity. site and applicable to you. Thi s Is how chuacterist ics come
A great many, mainly young erdrltects su little in the past to be selected with a more universal n lue than their original
with Its forms, materials and workl119 methods wlrich they stylistic manifestations.
regard u no longer applicable beuuse thes~ !Miong to another Unlike hbtorians, who tend to foreground trai ts that adhere
brief, with other Labour relations and for other sod1l contexts. typewise to a particular period, auhltects are more keen on
Might knowledge of put forms guided by nostalgia not those elements that do not. Becauu these have not lon thei r
encourage an edectidsm of old stylistic traits? validity they could weU be of use to us. And we visually extract
Yet tile oc~slons when lA Corbusler edopted histori~l forms whit we ~n use, Indifferent to what the orfgfnallntentlons
almost literally, IS In tile Ronchamp chapel - caU them direct may have been, and label It ti meless. It is the timeless that
i11fluences - ane few and f1r between. Come to that, everything we seek.
he borrowed. Of stole If you P«fer, b~came profoundly And tt.ese days timeless !Mans of aUtime. Elements unhlkhtd
modern through his l ntAtrventton, such as the use of coloured from a particular time frame ~rt those wttlla mort gene"!
glass, admired by alla11d sundry In Chartres Cathedral with· slgnlfl~nct and ever prtstnt In dlfftrent guises, eviden tly
out It occurring to them that It could be applied In a modem becauu they can be traced back to b:ulc human values which
setting. persist. If with varying emphasis, In the way that different
au tor
languages share an underlying gtntrative gr.wmmar. You need 'This transformation process, whereby the outmoded signifi-
history not just to see what happened when and where and cations fade i nto the background, and new ones are added,
how different or uni que 1t was and ff there are breaks In the must be ever-present In our worldng methods. Dnty by such a
thinking, but also to establish what It Is that fs unchanging, dialectical process. will there be a continual thread between
to recognize the underlying strucbl re of similarities tht past and future, and the maintenance of historical continuity."
we nn merely plete together. like a pot unearthed sh01rd by
shard. In the above quote dating from 1973 the emphasis Is mainly
History keeps unearthing different aspects of an unchanging on forms, conceived as ttme-depe11dent Interpretations of
structure under changing conditions. more universal 'arch-forms'. What we are co11cerned with in
'The only available escape from the fundamental limitations this book Is the kind of space those forms generate and for
of our Imaginative faculty lies In directing our attention more this we must expand the Idea of a 'Mush lmagfnaire' of Images
to the eJq~eriences we all have In common, the collective to lndude tfle space forms that they result ln. Whereas forms
memo.ry, some of It Innate (!)some of ft transmitted and always more or less btu the stamp of their time or place,
acquired, which In one way or another must be at tile but space- even ff thei r counterform - steps outside that time
of our common experiential world.... (W]e assume an under- and place, conceptually at least.. and h therefore less time-
lying Mob)ectfve• structure of forms- which we will call bound.
arch-forms - a derivative of which Is what we get to see In When considering architecture of other times or plues, we
1 given situation. nHd to turn our eyes from the things to the space thtH give
'The wllole Mmusft lmaglnalreHof forms In situations what- shape to, and look beyond what Is too specfffcally formed to
ever their tJme and place can be conc~ved of as an infinite distil the tssence of that space, thus shifting the emphasis
variety out of which people help themselves, In constantly from the architecture to what It Is that It manages to gener-
changing nrlety, to forms whlcb i n the end refer back to the ate in the way of views 1nd protection and whit can happen
fundamentally unchangeable and underlying reservoir of as a result.
arch-forms• ••• By referring each one back to its fundamen· The more you have seen or the more impnssions you have
tally unchangea ble Ingredients, we then try to discover what experienced In whatever other way, the bigger your frame of
the Images have In common, and find thus the •cross section reference. We can not be greedy enough In our crmngs as
of the collKtion~. the unchangeable, underlying element of 'receiver' of Images wherever, whenever, whatever.
all t he examples. which In Its ptu,.llty can be an evocative Everything can product useful associations; butterfly wings.
form-starting-point. feathers and fighter planes, pebbles and rock formations,
'The rfdler our collection of Images, the more precise we can Images that enlarge the spac.e at the architect's disposaL
be In lnctfcating the most plu ral and most evocative solution, And then there are 111 the Imaginable situations people can
1nd the more objective our solution becomes, In the sense find themselves In; you have to recognlle and Identify ttlese
thlt it will hold a meaning for, and be given a meaning by, to bring those people to the centre of attention.
a greater variety of people. Your ability to generate Ideas that lead to new concepts Is
'We cannot make anything new, but only reevaluate already contingent on the wealth of your frame of refertnce. And the
uisting Images, In order to make them more suitable for our wider the horizon of your Interests, the sooner you can break
circumstances. What we need to draw on Is the great MMusie free of the snare of architectural fnbrHding of forms that are
lmaginalre• of Images wherein the process of change of sig- doomed to keep reproducing while their substance diminishes;
nification Is ctfsplayed as an effort of human Imagination, and the greater your chances of avoiding the backwuh of
alway s finding a way to break through the esta blished order. tricks and trends everywhere about. It Is precisely by not
so 11 to find 1 more appropriate solution for (the] sltntion. thinking of architecture that you come to see 1nalogles with
'It fs only when we view things from the perspective of the other situations that Incite new ideas (by seeing 1t more as
enormous collage, that, with the afd of analogies, we can Xyou discover Its potential fitness for Y) .
ruolve the unknown ind. by a process of extnpolation ~rrlve Your frame of reference, as ft happens, also works fn reverse;
at solutio11s which can Improve the drcumstanns. In the design process. It Is by es~bllshlng wtllch potential
'Design cannot do other tllan convert the underlying and the possibilities are unsuitable as a res ponse to a particular task,
Idea of ever being able to start off with a clean slate Is the negative selection tf you like, that you become aware of
absurd, and moreover, disastrous when, under the pretext of the direction you must then follow. Hot only do you become
Its b~ng necessary to start completely from the beginning, more aware while working of what you are in fact looking for,
what already exists Is destroyed so that the naked space can criteria of quality also su911est themselves. These set them-
be filled up with Impracticable and sterile constructions. ... selves up IS touchstones that Inform you whether you have
The various signification s of everything that has taken place, 'arrived' or need to keep on searchfr1g: designing Is rejecting.
and Is still taking place now, are like old layers of paint lying Mort important thin being sure of what you want is knowing
one on top of another, and they form for us, In their entirety, at least what you don't want, and so to design h 111ost of all to
the undercoat on which a new layer can be placed; a new slg· keep looki ng a nd not be too easily satisfied with what you
nlflcatlon whldl will slightly alter the whole thing. find.
~ U AC£AIDTIIL41 CIIrtiC:f
Mat I COI'T' d
The richer and 111ore unlveml the Influences you concede, the Experience finds Its own way and every teacher helps It In
more mental etbow room you create for yourself. It Is a ques· this by being naturally Inclined to want to administer know·
tion of exploring everytlrlng there Is, everywtlere and of all ledge. bperience rests on knowledge and i11sight, wtlerus
time to discover how old mecbanisms can be transformed into experiment by contrast is out for discovery, finding the
new ones by trldicating the old !Millings and rebuilding them unknown . £xperience usumts that the aims are clnr. This Is
for new ends. It Is, then, a question of making your frame of not the cue with experiment. Yet all too often we seeldtas
reference u wide as possible. launched like unguided missiles with an excess of energy end
enthusiasm. yet the targets are vague or simply not there.
• axnu•••r·IXPIIUlfCJ The more experience you ilcquire, It would be fine if experience and experiment were to act u
the clearer the bigger picture becomes, but regretUbly It Is complementary categories, but unfortunately they oppose
also the cue that the closer your experiments bring you to one another Instead and that b the dilemma of the crntive
knowing what works, wflat Is flt &nd what Is not. ttee more your process.
open-mi ndedness dfsapptars and experience slowly but If only we could escape our experience.
surely stri kes home.
This process shows a certain analogy with the way space seems
predestined to make the transformation to place.
Accumullted pr~etfcalacqualntance letds eve11tua1ty to expe·
rlence, h1bituation and finally routine, u a result of repeating
fonnulas that have proved to be successfuL
In spit. of yourself, you measurw every new experience 1911lnst
the quality of 111 foregoing experienc•s of alike nllture, so
that your chances of finding something new that ls better than
wtlat you already know keep diminishing, and so for most
people the need to continue searching will dimi nish t oo.
So we see everyone doorMd by a natur1l process of selection,
so to speak, due to the tendency to follow self-made paths,
thus with a mi nimum of risk.
When this preferwnce for prelliously trod paths goes hand In hand
wtth a decrease In curiosity. It men.s that we areadaptfng more
and more as tfme goes by to the posslbiUtles, Instead of sm·
lng and explolti~~g these possibilities by adapting them t o us.
The more you experience, the more experience you gain. All
g1mered experience remains In pllce and wor1cs with you in
estllblishing values, and so influence.s your thinking and
irrevocably restricts ~our freedom. bperience Is what you
know of the world and because of It you adapt to the world,
wtlether you want to or not.
'Our brains persistently urge us to change our surroundings
in such a w1y thet we fit t here, but wtlen tile limit is reached
the reverse happens: our txpt<Utlons and needs are modified
until they fit the surroundings. The first happens In child·
hood, the second after that. Only artists manage to persist
In the first stage.''
First we make the world, later the world makes us. The arc hi·
teet's thinking, wtllch guides his creative process and produc·
tion, is controlled by the tendency to deepen and perfect his
nrller discoveries on the one hand iind to keep doing It dif-
ferently with the hope of making new discoveries on the
other. Tbat's how we move constantly between uperiment
and experience.
That Is to say, risks and danger (peric:ulum) obtain when we
embark upon experiment, whereas experience safeguards us
ag1inst them. ~
The more experience takes over, the more earlier weaknesses
will be eliminated and in time what we experience as quality
W'lllgaln strength.
au tor
Spatial Discoveries
• What we call spatial discoveries are mechanisms and Leek were working with discrete planu. Rietveld lifted these
concepts that Initiate essentially different conditions, with out of the two-dimensional surface and placed them as volumes
architecture the medium par excellence to achieve them. In space. This was a move, IS much dellberite IS revolutionary,
Architecture being eminently c:apable of upressing {and away from having the elements of a structure Interlock and
therefore 'formulating') Itself with spatial means. Tbls Is thus negatively Influencing one another, Instead treating
the field of activity that the architect shoul.d concentrate on them as pure volumes. El Lfssltzky would later return Rietveld's
categorically. certainly If he wishes to lay claim to a specific chair structure!! to the flat canvas. ,.
cu ltural task and if he wishes to produce somethi ng that One of Rietveld's motives presumably was that, armed with
changes the way people perceive, so thlt they see them selves the possibility of Industrialized production, he strove to con-
and their 5Urroundings In another light. Spatial discoveries st.r uct all the elements of his chair from a single plank, with
open doors with which existing systems can be disrupted and IS little material waste IS possible and enabling simple
new paradigms followed or perhaps even opened up In the uumbly of the parts thus acquired.
case of a new spatial concept. Whenever new spatial concepts emerge In re.sponse to new
In stead of limiting Itself almost exclusively to tbe outward challenges these ue often turning points. After that they
appeilrance of buildings and how they chilnge over time, become common property and then, ultimately, outmoded.
the history of architecture should concern Itself more with Customary solutions that were once questioned as to the pos-
chilnges in thinking and the changing possibilities and circum- si bility of Improvement, an be thoroughly unsettled merely
stances Influenced by those changes, ilnd that directly or by a shift In emphasis. This opens the door to new Ideas. These
indirectly formed both the need and the Inducement forever In tum lead to a new mode of organization and then Inevita bly
different methods of building, forms, techniques and thus to new concepts of space.
repeatedly provided the Impetus for spatial discoveries. Take the library: we all know the changes It has been through.
History Is ma1ked by moments of revolutionary breakthroughs. Beginning as the place where manuscripts were kept, It tater
We then say that the time was ripe to do things differently, became a place where single Imprints could bt studied, only
with other constructions, forms, t paces. Sometimes this hap- accessible to a select group of Initi ated sleuths, where Intel·
pens unexpect.edly, but often it Is ilnnounced long before lind lectual as well as material property needed expressing above
amounts to a final stage that In retrospect m<Jkes sense u everything else. These d1ys It Is a 'public' Institution, where
the logical conclusion of a route embarked upon earlier. In principle everyone fs welcome to rud or borrow books.
Take, tor Instance, Gerrit Rietveld's celebrated red-blue chilr So the Idea of a llbrary evolved from preserving texts to dis-
of uta. Jf In U03 or thereabouts we can observe the back seminating knowledge. As culture and scholarship became
,. becoming an autonomous element in chairs by Mackintosh and more open. both the space of the library and Its org1nlution
also Frank Lloyd Wright, Rietveld's teacher, P.J.C. Klurhamer, changed accordi ngly.
" continued this deconstruction throughout the entire chair. And so a lending llbriry, rather than being an Institution
Although cl urty Influenced by Bertage, Klurhamlll's design where you are obliged to know beforehand why you are visit-
Is definitely mort forthright and deliberate. • ing it, can be conceived of as a place that Invites browsing or
Rietveld, obviously aware of the work of his predecessors, searching so as to ttfmulate untllpected discoveries. The
rounded off the story In resolute and spectacular fashion. He resemblance to a large bookstore Is then so great that It is but
had also come Into contact with the painters of the De Stijl a sm1ll step to reorg•nlz:e it as such. Then, In a ch1ln reaction,
group, in which Mondrfan and more partlcularty Bart van der come the consequences (the consistent rule!! of conjugation,
n
"
5D IUCI AlCDTIJIA.K'"IIUct
so to speak) leading to~ new concept for this new paradigm. has now be~ome a millstone due to the necessary upkeep .
So we see that this new organization with Its particular spa- Give it up, that is, to the water. The very lind that took cen·
tial demands and potentials causes the spatial concept to turies to wrest from t.he sea is now being returned to nature
ch1nge. under certain conditions, 1 state of affairs that makes living
With the search function taken over by dlgltfz:td systems, along or on the water only too relevant.
such u the lntemet which Is there for everyone, the concept Again, we are being made dizzy with new Inventions. new
will evolve further- who know? - perlups to a retum to advances, computers. Other Ideas, In whatever field, keep
exdusiveness, so that reading rooms, those traditional meet- giving fresh cause to abandon what we were busy doing for
Ing places, might conceivably have a new future ahead of them. something else. We should seriously wonder whether It Is
A new p~radigm 1lw~ys muns that the paradigm It has come possi ble at all for there to be fundamentill chinges in nchi-
to replace Is forced Into the background: this automatically tecture that are not bound In some way to social changes-
Initiates the need for a new architectural idiom. Once this is changes in our thinking about human relations, that Is.
In place, everyone goes along with It and ft Is Impossible to It un also be that a change In society, even a small one, is due
Imagine that things were ever seen differently. In part to sp~tfal discoveries; these are the spatial discoveries
Throughout our history there have been shifts of attention thrt we architects dream of.
accompanied by shifts In terminology and Villues. Using analy- Yet the entire world-view does not have to c.hange for there
ses of our attitude towards categories of people that depart to be Innovation in nchlterture. It goes without saying that
from the norm such as the Insane and the lncarcerJted, Michel there fs repeated cause for change, particula rly on the
Foucault showed that there have been times when there were smaller Stille, to constituent parts of that world-view. In the
deviant eplstemes- that Is, coherent '·frameworks of discourse' designer's day-to-day practice these present an undercurrent
of general validity which define the conditions govemfng of Impulses to com~t up with new ideas from on~t project to the
actions and Judgement during a cemln period of history.' nut, Ideas that lead In turn to other concepts.
Systems of collective value judgements, repeatedly uposed New piltictigms need nohlways leid to other goals; frequently
as prejudices during time cycles of every conceivable form, these ne achieved by other means, often making more effi-
are suppressed by new ones that act as the soci~l progr~mme cient use of new possibilities. We see things differently and
and breedi ng ground for ch~nges In architecture. those same goals then appear in a new light.
That architecture Is also subjected to change and erosion of A culture develops because we, Influencing and Inspiring each
value judgements tran.splres from the most obvious examples other, continue to build step by step on what has come before
in practi ce. and theoretically It means an ever greater degree of perfection.
Measures that we take for gnnted such as the mot~ I and legally But the greater the perfection of 1 system or principle, the
underpinned obligation towards innlfds, simply did not exist less need there is for change and the more hermetic things
twenty-five yurs ago; at that time no-one gave it a thought get. Until all at once It transpires that we have been hammer-
although the phenomenon ftself has not changed. ing away at something thd Is long out of date. We need
The same ipplfes to our present ·d•y concem for the environ- enema! impulses all the time to upset the balance, sou not
ment and energy, when all at once the fear of relative scarcity to get bogged down In prejudices. And to keep all the options
took hold generally. open on space.
In the Netherlands these days there Is the desire to give up Prune 1 tree or bush at the right moment and It gives it 1
land -little though we have- that once yielded a profit but renewed vitality that you previously did not think possi ble.
SP4 TIU.-OIKO'IIIIII t1
So It seems that innovation not only generates renewal but not specifically aimed at the future there is no progress.
Itself has a renewing lmput,lf only because of the panathe muely change for change's sake; In which cue It Is about
it gives off In the process. the excitement of the new, the unexpected, the previously
Changes, small ones as well as big, are the sparks that feed unlmaglned, without the question of quality being fore-
fresh impul5es to the motor of archlti!Cture and k.ep It ticking grounded. New Is necessary. while the predecessors were
over. They enable things to happen that were not orl9inally rather hoping that progress would be m1de on the strength
within the frame of attention and therefore not among the of their discoveries. Not only Is each generation out to prove
options. itself and can only do that by declaring what thei r forebears
Whereas the panache of the Heroic Period of architecture was thought and did to be Invalid and useless and therefore out
unthinkable without the underlying social optimism, and the of date, but It 15 quick to lose Interest and keeps needing new
physical space produced wu more or tess equal to the psycho- things all the time. Which is why each new generation of
lQ91cal space that accompanied ft. these days It ls mainly the architects seltes on new needs, demands and challenges;
capacity of production that unleashes the optimism and gen- this gives them a welcome alibi for their craving for change
erates panuhe, it Is true, but il good dulless space. This Is and stimulates Inventiveness.
the very reason why It Is all the more importilnt for us to pick Exaggeration Is Inevitable. It could hudly be otherwise with
out and explore less naively and more levelheadedly what it is new upect.s being continually moved into the foreground,
that has changed In the wortd-view within which we operate. forcing old aspects Int o the background. A good many theories
New generations continue to draw motivation and enthusiasm get concocted not because they are better but simply beause
from the conviction that they ciln contribute to new formula- old ones have lost t hei r appeal: 'That's that out of the way.'
tions and newlmage.s. The upshot is that so much that Is worthwhile 'disappears' Into
Just as our economy seems unilble to function without growth, history, although there is admittedly plenty to take its place.
so too architecture cannot survive without change and It looks luckily, besides the InevitabiLity of the new, there is stlll the
as though the process of aging and replacement, not only of persistent feeling of 'there's always room for Improvement'!
buildings but equ;~Uy of values and ldeu, Is r1pldly g1thering And when ambition proceeds In concert with critical acuity new
momen tum . We sum to get even more quickly bored with discoveries ensue. It Is here that we must seek real, i.e. genuine,
wh1t was new yes1trday, and these certainly are golden years renewal and the only standard in architecture agai nst which
for young architects who, with a repeatedly new view of we can measure th1t renewal is the space that is freed by it.
things, ue falling over euh other to take the helm with new Everything that architects make en be judged 1ccordlng to
ideas and to create new Ghallenge.s that In tum require new this standnd.I would like to demonstrate that here using
responses. a number of examples of the incomparably large quantity of
With change and the perpetual challenge of regeneration as space yielded by twentieth-century modernism (a name
parameters of architecture, every young architect Is obliged with staying power, It sums), d~tsplte the scepticism often
to hurl himself Into this maelstrom. He has the opportunity voiced on the matter.
to shine and he hll5 to gr~sp that opportunity If he Is not to It Is only whetlt uchltecture generates other space, creates
fall by the wayside. We must remember that his dients are In other uperiences and satisfies other conditions which cause
the same boat, they too must stand out If they are to get work. sensibilities to change, that It signifies anything of value.
We are in fact all condemned to change. Whereas change and Architecture b more than just 1 free- ranging, narcissistic
renewal meant improvement by the old standards, if these are phenomenon.
.,Ati.U Olf.C:OYU IU U
'Scholastic information' r••J Open air school in the dunes
Roben Doisnuu, 1956 )1J •a4)
The image of the classroom as a hollow The wave of social engagement that gave the concept of the open air school was bom,
stone.space. shut off from the outside wortd. education a new perspective at the begin- and with it the dissolution of the great
where the children are for~ed to concen- ning of the twentieth century also forced a weight that had come to be expected of the
trate on the teacher and his blackboard, is rethink on the principles of school aTChi- building.s. The school building's dominant
as persistent as the Idea that what children tecture. How that the focus was on the less presence in the nineteenth-century notion
need at school before anything else is know- able and neglected children of the disad- of education was equalled only by its
ledge. vantaged urban proletariat. the first proviso demonstrative rejection now. as the most
The school building's organization, but also and obvious task af a school was to worlt on extreme consequence of the new spirit.
its outward appearance, helps In every redressing their poor physical condition. Yet save for this promise of fresh air there
respect to lend weight to this principle of Noble though these motives undoubtedly is little else we can discern in the two
education. The work of the architect repre- were, the persistent myth of a healthy mind photographs that Is new. With the classes
sents in concrete form this education para- in a healthy body was cenalnly there in the still arranged in the traditional fashion.
digm, which seems nineteenth-century to badcground. And however doubtful this with the teacher and bl<lckboard a$ twin
us though it is still found today all over the may be in medical terms. spatially this was foci, they seem hemmed in by phantom
world. The windows are set high enough to translated into openness and open air. The walls, and the space of the surroundings
limit the view out to freedom as much as more air the better, and that meant nothing with all its potential for adventure is, for the
possible. They serve merely to let in suffi- less than getting rid of those walls. Thus present at least. distinctly out of bounds.
cient light and only as much air as is barely
necessary.
For whatever it is that the three main pro-
tagonists in the photograph below are
thin lOng, the building merely provides a
backdrop. As close and unyielding as their
environment is, it fails to prevent them
from facing up to their situation as best
they can, and even turning it to their own
advantage .
••
Open Air School, Suresnes, Paris tn·nJ
Baudoin & tods, 1935
Built six years after Duikels Ofll!n air school Not just the design but the construction the new paradigm. Nothing illustrates the
in Amsterdam of 1930, the school inSures- and the materials are other than usuaL for idea of that optimistic period better than
nes likewise grew from the idea that team- in this new concept there is literally no the canonical photograph showing the
ing and working should really take place in trace ldt of anything even reminiscent of children at their studies - with a roof over
the open air, but took this principle a stage the hitherto customary mechanism of class· their tall space yet out of doors too owing
further.' rooms off corridors with a stair at each to the generously opened-out external
The school was regarded as an institute. in end. This response to a new set of questions walls. This is abidingly different from the
this case set up by a progressive-minded has landed us. so to speak. in an utterly chill classrooms with windows placed high
local councillor, that besldi!S imparting newwortd. to preclude children from being distracted
knowledge was also and more important\y Today schools fulfil yet another. wholly dif· from the teacher and the blackboard by
to bring the physical condition of partlcu· ferent role in society and, given the empha· goings-on outside, a set-up that is still
larty the weaker pupils up to scratch. Thus sis these days on sodaI training. we would today by far the most prevalent universally.
the school gained an aspect of welfare. This no longer know how to handle classrooms Interestingly, the children in the photo·
new paradigm was of course an imposed configured as autonomous, separate units, graph are sitting with their backs to the
condition and even a necessity for creating without a main assembly hall and without world outside, presumably in the interests
a wholly new conception of schools in which countless non-class-related ancillary spaces of concentration, so that it is the teacher
emphasis came to lie on collective facilities for groups of children. who benefits most from the space afforded
such as washrooms. dining rooms and But what still moves us today about the by the view out.
restrooms. Each class was conceived as a open air schools is the radical and funda- There are now plans in the pipeline to
physically distinct free-stand ing pavilion. mental way their architects responded to restore this unique school. but the chances
&S
s·• •nucuscovnua 11
•• ..
••
..
U IPACI AllD t i l Allt:lltlct
that the large glass folding walls that With its classrooms scattered across the doors, for play and games. and for resting
smoothly slid bacll to turn ln$1de into out· site as free-standing pavilions, the sc hool in the open air. The main impression one
side, will then be able to open are slim is a collection of fragments. Only the elon· gets of the entire complex, then, is of a
indeed in view of the enormous weight of gated blo<k of general facilities terminating built landscape.
the double glazing used nowadays, which the north side of the site gives the whole
would necessitate iln unduly heavy con- some im pression of being a large·scale
struction to support it. Institute.
Today's demands for insulation have meant a The pavilions are linked by footbri dge-like
cha nge in the way building.sa reconstructed. canopies which more or less keep you dry
This shift in priorities has clearly left its en route and can themselves be walked
mark on the spatial aspect. We certainly upon. The cohesion suggested by this con·
should not expect that the way space is tinuous system of aerial walkways. which is
used In the future will keep alive even a felt the sttongest when walking through the
reflection of how things were. The concerns foliage of what are by now extremely large
of future users Is so far removed 11om the trees, has more of a landscape than of
aims this perfl!ct machine of a building was architecture and buildings. This is strength·
designed to meet, that only the broad orga· ened by the explicitly functional layout of
nizational tines can hope to survive, if that. the grounds, with places for working out of
90
..
tl
IPATIAL DIIC.O'nll U t7
Ma'ter
9J
• After the fortress-like uhool buildings where children had other. This requires another concept of space that Is less ori·
no business to be out of doors except In the flfte~n-mlnute ented outwuds but Is all the mont present on the interior and
break, followed in the twenties and thirties by the concept of marked by a greater spatial openness among what were ori~
the open air school, it was the new ldeu on teaching of the glnally separate rooms.
sixties that most of all inspired an educational paradigm that ln this respect the concept of the following school designed
placed the school In another social context entirely. Where by Tlkls Zenetos was notably radical, though the scheme as
the open air school was mainly a response to a principle of bunt shows that the architect had to pull back on many points
health that did nothing to disturb the organization of class· vis·i·vls his original design.
rooms Into autonomous units, the sodal'paradlgm' that Is If the s.p atial concept In the next few examples follows
Increasingly determining how schools are organl;ted Is encour· developments In society, these developments art certainly
aging anew spatiill concept which plactli greattr emphuis on spurred on fn turn by the spatial potential offered by these
the area outside the classrooms where children can gather S(hools.
eith er spontaneou.sly or In an organized way. Steadily the
clusrooms are being relieved of their sanctity. At the same
time the corridors art becoming mort than just circulation
space and getting more closely related to the classrooms than
just by way of a small window in the door which only the
teacher can look through.
In the Montusori School in Delft' and later In the Apollo
Schools In Amstardam ' the classrooms are grouped round
a hall when at lust as many activities take plue as In the
clusrooms themselvu; It serves the uhool community
the way a mai n square serves a small town.
In todily's school social skills are coming to be just as import·
ant as the traditional subje.c:t matter, skills such as working
together, living together, learning how to get along with each
Ma'ter
School, Athens lu•ttl
Talcis Zenetos, 1959
The school in Aghios Dimitrios in Athens. world above. Though this arta is inhos· engine that can be started without a spark.
designed by Takis Zenetos, stands llke an pitable and unattractive, one look at the If today this seems like an overty optimistic
abandoned ship in tile clearing in this design drawing shows that It was precisely outlook, the Important thing is that the
modest residential area. But though dilapi· here that the idn underlying the d@sign of architect picked up on socially Innovative
dated, the clarity of form is still present, this school could !,ave been most perfectly ideas and has shown that one could stimu·
re~ealing at a glance tile e~c.eptional way expressed. late effectuation of these ideas with spatial
thi$ school is or9anized. rt was Zenetos's intention, the drawings means. Here the architect is not following
tn a departure from other schools, particu· tell us, that below the inner court tllere was a trend. but creating the space that invites
larly the larger ones, where clusrooms are to be a large auditorium for performances, and incites Innovation, space th at is thus
accommodated in wings like carriages in a assemblies and other activities involving itself a model for other society-related
train as are the auxiliary spaces, this one th e whole school. This formed a second, Forms.
groups them in a three· storey semicircle equally large courtyard set below the first To adopt such an up-front position Is risky
round a central open courtyard which is and suitable for better concentration and and obviously entails the danger of failure.
continually crossed by pupils and teachm for tile more deliberate and specifically In this case we are right in suspecting that
between classes. directed excllanging of ideas. the present local education. which is not
The open galleries along the uppermost The classrooms lying along the semicircular exactly known for being progressive. saw
classrooms 9ive a view, over their full periphery show a significant variety of no chance of making even partial use of the
length, of the almost circular in ner court space organization models dearly aUied to possibilities on offer,
to which they are linked by strategically the idea"s on education and educational Wh at has been left, th en, is an inspiring
placed staircases. This results in a smooth· theory that had taken root in the Si~ties. • example of an educational model that can
running if emphatically present circulation, This placed emphasis primarily on the still be read from the building as it is today;
with the mass movement between duses assumed inbuilt motiViltion of children who the formulating of a social ideal. The orga·
an ~pression of community. The staircases are curious and enthusiastic by nature nization of the space involves not only the
further link the basement level with the rather than needing to be incited -like an grouping of classrooms and other rooms
••
IPATlAL DIICOYIIJIS U
Ma'ter
••
•
.____,_ ••------
•-~
but also the construction. This Is dominated
by solid concrete beams with Improbably
large CAntilevers char.~cteristic of Zenetos's
work and which from a distance unmiSUk·
ably caU Ouiker to mind. also because of the
comparably explicit presence of the unifying
construction.'
The cantilevers stress both the openness
and the unity of the whole where partition
walls between rooms, and between them
and the shared areas and circulation zones,
seem relatively minor and tempor~ry add·
itions.
The most spectAcular outward· facing ele·
ment is undeniably the system of sun breaks
consisting of concrete blades. Making use
of the jutting cantilevers of the main beams.
they lm.pact as imposing lind expressive
'canopies'. The lower thtcilculated position
of the sun in the slcY, the further they extend
into space. Hent~~ these lmilge·deflning
" canopies express formwlse the course of
the sun throughout the school day - much
like a giant sundial. At no point does this
In built solar protection screen off the view,
and seen from Inside it Is tabn·for-granted
and unobtrusive in equal measu~. as is to
be upected In a country where the sun Is
a major influence on life.
The Influence of the dlmate on the form
of the construction is another recurring
theme in the work of this sciJndalously
underrated architect, who translated into
the Greek context the fruits of the mod·
ernist 'French· tech' tradition of, amongst
others, his teacher Jean Prouv~- a tradi·
tion that would later spawn Jean Nouvel.
IPATIAI. OfiCOW'IIIII 41
De Polygoon, primary school, Almere (1990-92) l•oo· mJ
In this school the cla5$eS are ranged along be closed off for remedial teaching or other belonging to the class. Added to that, the
an elongat.ed streetlike space, not. li~e aU more individual educational activities. entire length of the street is flooded with
preceding schools designed by us, grouped But there is room too for a number of extra dayllght through continuous strips of roof-
round a main hall. Flanked by the series of workplaces without prescribed functions lighu. These are so placed above the ~one
classrooms on either side, this aU-pervasive and suited to the variety of educational of 'bays' that together with the glass in the
space owes its spati al impact to the curved situations that can arise in a modem school tops of the bays, th ey mark out this thresh-
roof resolutely drawing together all its The classrooms aU have bay window-like old area as an activity zone. For the most
components. The open full-length strip in zones that open almost their entire length attractive workplaces are found where there
the middle comprises supplementary facili- to the central 'street', like shops with large is a concentration of daylight. Together, bay
ties laid out like a string of islands. This display windows. Naturally they can be and daylight zone are largely instrumental
strip of smaller open and enclosed spaces is temporarily dosed off if need be by curtains in shifting as much as possible of the activ·
interrupted by open plaza-like islan ds for or screens; had they been designed in ity- traditionally occurring along the out-
group activities serving four classes. These tlosed-off mode the reverse would not have ward-faci ng windows - inwards, to the
can be more or less screened off using slid- been possible. Besides enabling you to look internal street space. This means that the
ing panels. There is room for specialized in as you walk past (the classroom opened classrooms make a claim on the collective
activities such as handicraft. a library and to the 'street'), the street encourages work- interior space and, in effect, on expanding
a computer park as well as spaces that can ing outside your classroom while still their useful Roor area. Thus we see a com-
100
U SPACI4-JIDUI41CMI·Tia
0
paratlvely greater emphuis placed on
making active use of the central street
space. Although Inviting a more Informal
use educ;~lionally speaking than inside
the strict confines of the classroom, this
higll-Street·like zone can still be described
as a 'learning street'.
101
JPUl.U. DLK.OVJ.RlU U
Ma'ter
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• - •
11\
suutus As an alternative for cano11ies shelters which offer the children the Opl10r- all when it is very sunny. They are used
and other facilities at the front door and tunity to wait for or seek out each other at before and after school but also during the
dictated by the fear harboured by the the front door.' These shelters. consisting in fants' playtime as an oasis of cert,inty In
authorities that local kids would keep of a concrete sla b as a seat topped off with the vast expanse of playground.
hanging around there with less honourable a steel roof, are a fundamental attribute.
intentions, we designed free-standing They are popular when it rains but most of
114
UATJAt. 01S-CO'IIl1U e7
Petersschule. Basle, Switzerland (u .. m J
Hann~ Meyer and Hans Jakob Wittwer. 1926
This corn~tition d~ign for an eleven -cuss tiona! outdoor territory above a ground Dutch colleague and friend Mart Stam. The
girls' school in the old centre of Baste close plane without recreation space. It was to be issues that preoccupied him were t he more
by St Pete(s Church is one of the icons of a hanging terrace where children could play, down-to-earth ones like good lighting in
Modern Architecture, most impooUntly leaving the ground-level space free as th e classroomi, and he may perhaps have
through t he legendary perspective drawing public space. A.lthough this seemingly free- been the first to call for a more scientific
(drawn by Paul Klee. the story has it). floating untUever roof would unquestion- approach and objedivity in school architec-
Of course it is the terrace cantilevering an ably have produced an incomparable spatial ture. It is Interesting, then. how this show
astonishing distance into space that domi- sensation, that could not ha~~ been the of unquestioning faith in the potential of
nates the otherwise 1-airty low-pitched block. principal intention. All in all it seems that modern technotogy should so spectacularly,
its blatantly exhibitionistic construction Hannes Meyer, unhindered by a none too and for us inexplicably, overshoot the mark
presenting a braun contrast with the grut capacity for architectural expression, in economic terms.
lethargic rural surroundings in which i t was mainly concerned with what were then Hannes .Meyer is the last person you would
has~" placed. regarded as the basic conditions for better expect to find indulging in such a Light·
What first appears to be a spectacular if education and the role of the school build· hearted exercise. But even if a few square
fiirly redundant canopy was intended, ing in this endeavour. His was a strictly metres of outdoor space were merely a pre·
according to t he design report, as <lddi· orthodox stance, more severe even than his text and inducement for this constructivist
_ ,.
r- --
---------
'
-- -
'---
...
Mat I COI'T' d
show of stJength, it still means more than
just the desire to impress. The first-hand
influence of the Russian Constructivists is
unmistakable, witness Udovksy's restaurant
(1922) suspended from the rock face and •u
Lissitzky's Wolkenbiigel ('cloud-hanger')
project ohu• and their gravity-defying
cantilevers that sought to escape the earth·
bound state that symbolized the estab·
tished, traditional world.
Having said that. for aU their utopian
efforts to achieve primal conditions, these
were monumental projects. be it more of
an inverted monumentality.
The brash vitality and enthusiasm projected
by the audacious and challenging construe·
tion of this school design evokes the image
of a new world where the education is
better, where there is more concern for child
development, even though here it only
gets as far as expressing more physical
freedom. It was hardly to be expected
that this design . so outspokenly critical of
,/ the traditional environment, would win
the competition. lts message had too much
of a threat about it.
...
Ul
$PUIAL. DISCOYUIU 6 t
La Mai~on Suspendue/The Suspended Rouse tuo-mJ
Paul N~lson, l9l6· 38
Nelson regarded this design for a 'house of as more or less free· floating objects in the the hovering structures of E1 Lissitzlcy have
the future' as a study into how you might space of the box/ container defined by the to all intents and purposes become reality.
combine industrial means into a machine iJ outer walls. lealling the space of the house Here tectonic.s are irrelevant. unless we call
vivre in the footsteps of many at that time virtually intact. This keeps the ground ftoor it a negative tectonics. This extraterrestrial
including le Corbusier. Buckminster Fuller, entirely free, with no columns or other fairytale has its own laws - and that is
Eileen Gray, Pierre Chareau and Jean Prouve. 'obstacles'. exactly where the containe(s limitations lie.
The idea was that 'prefabricated functional This design presents a new notion of space, When all is said and done, it is, when seen
space units, lnde~ndent and changeable, a plan fibre enacted not between fixed floors from the outside, simp\y an object into which
were suspended within an interior space but in a box where complete freedom pre· you can retreat from the world in o space
formed by a fixed external envelope, creal· vails, not just in the length and breadth but masquerading as space.
ing their own Interior volumes and ever heightwise too. Inside, you are unaware that grallity is being
vafYing spates'.' Within the periphery of this box the greatest taken care of by the large joists which,
The message was that autonomous, indus· possible spatial freedom obtains. Yet this inllisible from inside the container, convey
trially fabricated units. each with Its own is determined unequivocally by that periph- the weight of the suspended units to earth.
partkular form and accessible along ramps ery. It is a world of its own, so to speak, It seems as though Nelson took Chareau's
thrusting through space. really could be bounded and inward-looking, unrelated to Maison de Verre as the model for this project.
replaced. what is outside ft. Grallity seems to have That house too consists basically of one
The various components of the house hang been suspended In this internal world, and extremely tall space with movable elements
...
o ' chnicat' r sonanc . Incid ntall # r hav b come reality~
there the constructivist co u ns are ge er-
aUy speak ng no i th ay. It too is
an inward· oo "ng mt rnal rtd scarcely 0
penetra ed by h orld ou i d . w y
All ~ now oft ·sa S sp ndu is th cutting through spac . i s opic l
jntfguing mo ("nth MoMA tn s r a k ps r pp ari g in designs ·
Yonk) m de, as ·t h ppens. b th ~a me countless 'I ri n s.
Oalbe it hout hom C areau and 81jvoet's
\ 1
U ..v rsity centre, a mo, S ede t' ·l 1
lift. As pl za • is id al l c
or univ 'si y c l br ·ons nd p ies and.
s p Uc pla c , \t s p c or
m
. be elabora ed in Everythmg nside the enclosed space
ins p s n b to"gs to th niv rsity. though h b ilt
..
...
_ _ .;,__ ---+-·
I • _;_
• "'W-•
P..... ..
I ' -. f 1
I
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t ~-• -
~-~ ._
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7 au~ A
space is as yet free, quallt.ltively and quan- space facing outwards because of the form. spatial envelope and a lOning into territo-
titatively. EquaUy open to interpretation is that is, resolutely averted from the plaza. A ries but dictates the urbanistlc capabilities
the eventual look of the sloping plAne form that shuts in, inevitably shuts out also. of the place: i.e. its competence.
mediating b.etween the 'building' and the This space r.tces onto the street. automatic-
plaza; whether it will have stairs as in a ally precluding it from belonging to the The pre-eminent e~ample for such a plaza
monumental entrance, like tiers of seats, university- an urbanistic certainty that just because of its unsurpassed attractions
or be terraced or raked. this form can deliver. unde.r differing circumstances is the Rocke·
Beneath this sloping plane there is leftover Here the concept determines not just a Feller Plaza in New York. There the spatial
1l7
$li'.11&L OIICOVUIU Jl
condi ions r th
com-
~room' of urb
fro wind n
ua
nz l)J
•
absente of separate floors as distinct units,
that transforms the ground plane into an
unbroken expanse, its spiral shape going
on to generate minimum visual distances
and maximum visual angles.
If the intention of the promenade orchitec·
turole is lacking here in the sense that by
being continuous the space does not essen·
tlally change. it lays all the more emphasis
on the succession of paintings and people.
Hi
'"
S:h!IAL DlSCOYYI IU 7S
Ma'ter
Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank,
Hong Kong tm·u•J
Norman Foster, 1931·86
0
...
140 ,.,
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.......
"
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Bari Stadium, Italy , ..,....1
Ren:o Piano. 1994
0
Escalator in Musee Georges
Pompidou, Paris lm·m l
Renzo Piano and Ridlard Rogers, 1977
lSI
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l l IP&.CI AIIDT&I &U.: I:IIIC:T
0
Ul
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IPUII.L DIICOVIIJ II l l
'White City'. Tel Aviv, Israel (Ln·u•J
P~trick Geddes, 1925
The expansive rl!'sidential area in the centre harmony of the ma11y windows, balconies
orTel Aviv known as the White City is and flu roofs sporting roof gardens, and
mark~ by an unimaginable number of rec· the reduced ground floor levels where free·
tangular hou1es. miniature urban villas of standing columns predominate.
three to five ~toreys In blocks six metres
apart In a supremely homogeneous devel· The coherent architectural effect among so
opment. much substance strengthens the urbanistic
This homogeneity Is further enhanced by idea whose quality is at least as outstanding.
the incomparable unity of their modern Patrick Geddes had already spent many years
architecture, born in the early lhlrtlei or in India working on various urban design
a rare like· mindedness among architects schemes, for New Delhi among others, when
suclt as Arieh Sharon, Ze'ev Rechter and he was approached by the British authori·
Dov Carmi. educated at the Bauhaus before ties to draw up a plan for Tel Aviv, rapidly
Ill
emigrating to what was then Palestine. swellin9 as a result of the by then steady
Although no individual masterworks spring flowof immigrants. Completed in 19lS, the increase in motorized traffic, which laid
to mind, together tltey managed to gener· scheme attests to an exceptional urbanis· low all other schemel of that period, was
ate a remarkable quality. This is largely tic vision that has in no way lost its power absorbed here with a minimum of effort.
owi ng to the strongly sculptural effect. the over the years. Even the overwhelming Geddes with his ga rden·city background
•••
a-4 SPACI U DTil U CB.rfi Ct
••••••
••••••• •••
••••
between quadrants. In a deliberate move,
its streets are less east-west oriented and
square to the coastline than parallel to it,
·=
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·
---J
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..... ,·.!·'i
giving rise to oblong quadra nts running
north-south. This meant that many more
.......
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.
•••
houses could be east-west aligned to maxi-
: mum advantage. Though this in itself illus-
- t I
--·
• ~ -~~
ft\.. ..., .. parked between the columns. Yet although street channels was done with great sensi-
the gardens have since been sacrificed in tivity and a fine focus. Every centimetre
part, there are trees in abundance and it is of ground was used to the full and clearly
these that define the unity of built devel- assigned as either private or public.
opment and architecture as well as that of Private gardens round the houses were not
the urban design. rega rded as additions but as essential com-
Gedde$' plan divide$ up the area with main ponents, and Geddes must have had great
thoroughfares set more or less at right expectations of the paradise the residents
angles to each other in what amounts to would make of it. For one thing, he expli-
a gridiron. Rather th~n ceasing abruptly, citly prohibited the use of fences between
the pattern locks pliantly into the surround- the gardens. Access from the inner ri ng and
ings, its lack of severity presumably the centnl clearing is gaintd by way of
intended to generate the grearut difference a staggered system of secondary roads so
Ill
0
... ,..
l-
attached to the primary sueet pattern as to blocks. The result is an urbanistic response
prevent them bel ng used for taking short as surprising as it is unique, whose impact
cuts. Unlike the 'mainways' these 'home- is enhanced by the supreme homogeneity
way5' were made as narrow as possible so of its architecture. But the plan's quality is
u to preserve the enclosure of the 'home first and foremost owing to Geddes' ideal·
blocks'. Ism. He managed to impl.ement his utopian
mentality, seemingly without undue com·
Although this entire part of the dty con· promise. pairing a moralistic patriarchal
sists almost exdusively of free-standing British coloniallsm with an undiscerning
single· and multi~family blocks, the whole ardour for this new idealistic state where
has an unmistakably urbane c.har.~cter. arguably anything was possible. And the
There is nothing to recall a villa park and fact that the result is still functioning well
despite the abundance or green space after seventy-five years only proves that
between buildings the sense of city blocks this is urban design of real distinction.
persists. This is undoubt~ly the con$e·
quence of strictly maintained building lines
and the relatively small space between the
au or" s
likewise. what was gained on the outside
at the expense of the inside applies equally
to the apartments. Their rear side is entirely
blankwalled, so that they are oriented in
one direction only, with no possibility of
being compensated by sunlighting at the
rear as in a traditional block.
'"
HI
Ill
••••
•• ••••••!•
,1' •
~
\. •
I·
• •
~
•
0 spending half their waking tife In the worlc-
place; they are. on average, longer at the
office than at home. This means that the
'builders' are obliged to make a place of
work where a thousand people can feel at
•
" • home. They must have the sensation or
/ being part of a working community without
\. • ' the feeling of sheer numbers taking over.
•
VARIA ILl AIID IXPAIJDIIU
rn a company like Centra al Beheer modifi-
\. p
;/ •
.. o{l
cations are the order of the day. Some
departments get bigger, others decrease
• and there Is always the possibility of having
• ,. •
to expand the complell as a whole. The
\. j
<zo
building should be capable of taking up all
such internal forces while conti nuing to
each new circumstance. Each component. space. No psychological thresholds to cross, extJemely large works paces is still only
theoretically, should be able to take on the and greater flexibility in conveying infor- possible with the aid of some or other fonm
role of every other. mation. of Jir-conditioning, the main problem being
The building. designed as ordered expansion, 3 The sense of togetherness: a division into Utat or the thermal load that complete
consists of: compartments as in the traditional system dependence on artifidalltghtlng brings.
1 a basic structure tltat impacts through· only tends to separate office workers.
out as an immuuble zone, and, compte· Being together in a single space rules out Even assuming that these problems can be
menting it, the feeling of being cut off from everyone solved. extremely large office spaces still
z a variable, interpretable zone. else. It is even not unthinkable that in a have certain not inconsiderable dindvan·
communal workspace a sense of together· tages attached that need to be acknow-
Office landscape or large articulo ted space? ness will emerge. ledged, disadvantages that cannot be
Two main types dearly present themselves 4 Antf-hierorchy: in the traditional system solved by technical means.
as examples among designed or existing a hierarchy obtains around what it means
office buildings: to have one's own room, the number of 1 the mossificotion effect: Though the idea
a the traditional rabbit-hutch system with bays that room occcupies, whether it has a of 'massification' is difficult to define and
displaceable partitions rug, and so forth. In point of fact all that i$ often splashed about regardless. we all
b the extremely large office space (BDro- these artificial differences do is CR EATE have some idea of what is meant by it.
grofttaum, Biiro/ondschoft) enabling desks DISTA NCl. Everyone can be observed by everyone else:
and cabinets to be arranged in complete 'You're never alone for a second'. for most
freedom. people it is difficult to be themselves In an
UAitAL DliCOVU.IU IS
0
environm~nt which continually calls for This departure-point we then translated The more floors there are that continue
adopting an attitude. The greater fr«dom into floor units. The primary unit is 1 ~ Jm. uninterrupted (or were filled in later), the
of action inherent in a greater flexibility corresponding with lt group oft, 2, 1 and 4 closer the space becomes to the afore-
mainly concems the organization. in other persons plus the equipment they n«d for mentioned type of the extremely large
words the work. Whether this gruter nee· the job. Four such units provided with clr· space. And yet there remains an essential
dom has anything to offer the people who wLition space il nd supplementary facilities difference, namely the pr~nce of the
have to do the work is doubtful. They may constitute an 'island'. This c4n in principle built structure. partkularly the relatively
have more frte1!om 111 choosing where they accommodate four basic groups (maximum: many columns- of hefty dimensions too-
sit and the position of their desk. but there 16 persons) as follows: which continue to define the primary surface
is no question of a genuine choice: the bill units and have a catalysing effect on how
of fare has not changed essentially and will the seating is grouped.
still taste the same! The problem we have Other thin one would exl)tct. the presence
touched upon here is - now that the social On average an island will contain 12 per· of many columns increases rather than
aspect dearly has the upper hand - that of sons, for example: diminishes the choice of possible group·
our individuality coming under fire. The
.:1..:. ings.
work is under threat too. for those who now
have trouble concentrating are going to
1 I 1
find themselves experiencing even greater The designed office spaces consist of many
difficulties in thAt respect. such islands. each with a surface area of 9 x
2 the sordines·iiJ·O·tin syndrome: There is 9m, set side by side and joined by 'bridges'.
absolutely nothing stopping us from lteep· The areas between the islands are either
ing those desks and cabinets coming until op~n - meaning open contact with the level.
th~ workplace is jammed solid. with suffo· below- or a continuation ofthe floor sur·
cation a real option. We may well roundly face. In other words these islands may be
condemn this as the wrong way to proceed. free-standing or •frozen togethe(.
yet when it comes to the crunch there Is The open areas (voids) between the fr«·
nothing more natural than to keep putting standing islands have the following conse·
off that long overdue extension. quences:
~ They give a strong feeling of alliance with
Tilt LAallt Altli CUUUD SPACE those working on higher or lower storeys.
At ( eotraal Beh«r our aim was to achieve In fact It adds a dimension to the Bi.lro-
a large s~ce, in principle without dividing grofltoum concept: the sense of wor~ing
walls but aho lacking the drawbacks listed tO<]ether in a single large workplace
above. becomes reolily.
We began from the assumption that to 2 lacking the possibility of being crowded
att.tln complete fte•ibility means paying out with desks. thereby ruling out the
the price io other respects. Besides. only sardines-in-a-tin scenario. these voids
limited use wil! be made of that flexibttlty possess a margi n that ensures an element
in the long run. However you organize it. of breathing space. In principle it is struc·
the users will simply k«p on womng in turally possible to fill in these floors later.
groups wh ich in terms of size are going to This would. however. bring back the danger
remain within certain limits. of ruching saturation point. The fact that
this always require~ alterations usually
The building coordinator of Centraal Beh«r. means in practice that such steps are only
W.M. Jansen, took this work hypothesis ;~s ta ken after the most careful consideration
a basis for a study he made of the company - also. one must assume. of the obvious
that provided us with stepping -off points drawbacks involved. So potentially. then,
of relevance to our brief. this margin can be transformed into useful
Proc«ding from three concepts- wort sit· floor area, but not as a consequence of
uatiorr. social group. furrctional group - it uncontrolled growth.
became clear thatthe great number. S«m· J The space will be strongly articulated in
ingly amorphous and elusive by being acti- p.trt through the system of columns.
vated at every reorganiution. is in fact Besides. this articulation, based as we have
quite clearly composed of groups which in seen upon a structure of functional and
reality will change little whatever that social groups, coincides with the 'articula·
reorganiution may be. tion' of its users.
Mat I COli' d
Villa vPRo, Hilversum J~&•·n•J
MVRDV, )993·97
---l ----
and constructions but spatially remained
bogged down in a paradigm of the most
spatial voyage of discovery.
The order of this building is almost system·
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'
~ ~· ';.III~
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f.lvourable ratio of net to gross floor surface atic in its diversity; anything is possible. ..:..."_ _ -r 1 ..: 1 'a
area.
The new building for the VPRO broadcasting
organization Is a villa in the sense that no
and there are indeed plenty or surprises In
store. That each of the various technical
1ayers' satisfies Its own intrinsic rational·
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two square metres are the same. Every ity can be read off from the drawn analysis
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single clich~ In office architecture and which charts each system individually. In
••-, -" J
organization has been knocked away except
one, the system of columns. Th is has
their built form, however, they manifest
themselves as a complex superimposition
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it:ltff ~
-....
•W,_, •
remained as an unnoticed, ~!most rudimen- that reveals nothing of the order prevaiUng 11 •
I I d,. ~;;... -~,..
tary relic from a distant past, and it really over the various components. (It is the •
I Jj
is the only traditional system that keeps
some control over this unruly design. There
reverse of a score of a musical work in many
parts whose individual voices only make ...
is no orderly stacking of floors, much less sense when sounded together.) Building). In the Villa VPRO the operative
anything resembling repetitive units within Leaving aside the withdrawn boardrooms, words are snug nus, conviviality, tumult
the concrete frame. This building is like an the usable space of the building unfolds as and communication. This single flowing
element of untamed nature evolving before a hiUy, uneven variant upon the type of workspace Is unbrid led and exuberant. with
your very eyes as an unbroken space office landscape conceived in the late Fifties a kasbah -like feel to It and seeming to tack
extending throughout the entire volume of (though it can be seen to a limited degree order. It takes to heart the modemi~t credo
the building. Views through and vistas yield as far back as Frank Lloyd Wright's larkin that anything not only can but also should
one surpri se after another. Countless thrill· Building and Johnson Wax Administration be done.
••
~
•
119
190
ltl IU
It must be said that the 'landscape' or more like a slice of landscape In the sense Defined by its internal space and not by its
(better still) 'nature' metaphor is on~ of a demonstration model or sample. This Is outward appearance. itls a building where """"'
applicable within the conA nes of the also the case with OM4'5 Educatorium in a sense of freedom and views out prevail.
orthogonally cropped blocl< whose section Utrecht whose entire anatomy is best seen In this respect it is perpetuating a typical
reveals the innards in its periphery, the from the stteet. Dutch tradition.
way blocks of stone hewn from a rock face Here in Hilversum the exteri or is quite liter-
reveal their layers at the cu t surface. ally a haphazard slice through the curved, A PLACE fOR TBI VPitOu
There is nothing here to suggest that the folded, perforated interior. What we see from Pa rt one of the preli minary study na med a
building ml~es Into Its surroundings; It Is the outside Is no more than a 'random' aspect. parkland setting (Deelplan ev) as the best
site for the Villa. Set in the grounds of the This upper limit was defining for the roof of cession of routes winds through the build·
European Broadcast Facility Centre (NOB), the new building. The area of natural land- ing linking the roof with the park.
it is an idyllic spot on a gentle slope in scape taken up by the Villa has been
magnificent natural surroundings. replaced by designing the roof as a fietd of
Thuoning plan obtaining at the time pro- heather: the ultimate garden of a house
llided the maximum permitted building line looking out over the land~'ape, the peat-
as well as a maximum height of 18 metres lands and the distant television tower.
so as not to obscure from view the crest of Beneath this roof are six 'layers'. ramps and
a local hill (Hil¥ersumse Heuvel). plateaus like a geological formation. Asue·
...
n ATI&L DIUOVIIIU 97
Space and Idea
• tal ovtDtllo COIICIPT Ardlitecture must be about $0111t· this way the Idea encapsulates the ou, so to speak, contain·
thing other than just arc.h ltecture. Just as die .,.Inter needs a l ng the essence of the project and guiding the design process
subject, so too the architect needs to h1ve sometlllng to say from start to finish. The concept. then, Is the idea transtated
th1t rises above tiM obscure jargon til at architects share with into space- the spue of the Idea, and bearer of the charactH
one another. But It must also rise above obediently following traits of the product u these will emerge upon its develop·
and Implementing some bri•f. M;any of our colleagues ;are ment.
happy when they muage to cnm everything In, withi n th• Daslgnlng, buicaUy, Is 1 qut .stfon of finding the right (read
budget and within the sltt boundaries. Though this lillY be appropriate) concept for the task at hand. But aU too often
an achievement In Itself. you cannot call It architecture yet. concepts, however duzling they may be In their own right. art
Moreover It Is debatable whether llnyone stllnds to benefit dragged into die proceedings and pftdted at the world with no
from It at this rtllge. thought given to whether the task In quast1on Ills anything to
Often ft seems to be something new but is In fact an age· old gain from lt.
formula that 1ppt1rs new when looked ilt differently; the Our wo rk needs placing in the context of socllrty, whether we
proverbial old wine fp new bottles. If ke lt or not, venturing beyond the safe haven of architecture
Actually every new design should by rights bring new spatial where we designers together attach meaning and weight t o
discoveries: exhilarating spatial ideu not encountered In formal i nventions. Admittedly, things always look good fn tht
that form before, In response to newly diagnosed conditions. country of the blind, but beyond Its borders tiM takers are usu·
You should be asking yourself each time what It Is you ru Uy ally few ilnd f~r between. Genuine spatial discoveries never
w;ant. whilt Idea -limited or expansi ve- you are trying to ensue from the mentlll cross-breedi ng fn the small world of
upress. If this Is a formal fabrication only, however lntertst· architecture. They have alwilys bHn Inspired by the wid« hori·
lng tlleoretlciiUy, Is It of any good to anyone, and If so, In zon of sodety as ll whole with Its attendant cultural changH,
whilt way? Again, though, what Is to be given up, sacrificed, whether or not lndted by social artdf or economic forcas.
what Is to be gained ilnd Whilt lost and for whom? Inevitably, With each new task - and this Implies components of a build·
tllese questions Imply what It ts you In fact expect of archl· ing, each and every ont of which can be regarded as a distinct
tecture, except perhaps lnrtllnt fame. task - you should alnys ask yourself what purpose It serves
On completing each design, you should once again u k your· In society, what Idea It reprennts and what, finally, Is the
self whether the result. despite a li lts efforts to look Inter· Issue It seeks to resolve.
esti ng, is indeed 111ore than merely built output expressible You have to fadlom out what Is, and Is not. required of a .,.r.
In so many square (or cubic) m•tres of building; while t here tlcular tuk; which conditions are genune to it and which are
is nothing wrong with that. neit her Is It a reason to call i t not. You nHd the ri9ht spedts of animal. so to speak, that
archit ecture, Itt alone art. This makes the self·satlsfactfon fits, or meeu, those condit ions that apply specifically t o tht
of u cllitects about tht import of their offerings more than Wk In question. Whether we are designing for snannahs with
a lfttle disconcerting. till trtts or for more swampy terrain will determine whether
Every new step In architecture fs premised on disarming and a giraffe or a crocodile Is the most appropriate choice of beast.
ouhpoken i deu that engender s.,.tial discoveries: call them But architects are U$Ua.lly all for designing a giraffe for a wtrt·
spiltial concepts. A spatial concept Is t ht way of a.rticulating land region and a crocodile to keep the tall trees com.,.ny.
an ldu In thrH·dfmenslonal terms. It is oaly as d ear as the Whit condftlon.s, we should be asking, form tile Immediate
Idea til at produced lt. The more explicitly It Is exprused, tile cause and the departure-point for the direction a design will
more convlndngly the arcllitect's overall vision comes across. tilke?
A concept un be defined as the mort e nduring structure for
a more changeable 'i nfiU'. It encapsulates aU the essential The assumpt ion that an Idea underlyi ng 1 design needs t o fit
features for conveying the ldu, arranged In layers as It were the tilsk does not meiln that the concept can be deduced from
and distinguished from all future elaborations as, say, an it. It all depends how you Interpret the conditions. for spatial
urbanlstlc idea, set down In a muterplan and interpreted at discoveries y01.1 have to move beyond the bound.s of the task,
some later date by sundry uctritects each In their own way. In other words beyond the surveya ble area, to bt able to SH
To concentrate the essence Into a concti)t means summarizing this In a wider framework and then Interpret It through Induct·
In elemtntilry form all the conditions of a .,.rticular task on lve reasoni ng In its enlarged context.
a particular site as assessed and formulated by the ;architect. The ldu that points the desi gn In a particu.lar direction needs
Trusting o n tile Insight, sensibility and attention he accords to be strong enough to frH the task from the conflnts of Its
the subject, the concept will be more layered, richer and conditions and overcome the dichti entrenched In it.
abiding ilnd not only idmlt to more fnterpreutlons but lndtt It Is Important that tht conce pt guides the elabor1tlon ote.ach
tllem too. distinct component If thtre Is to be cohesion between the Idea
It is the conditions u they obtain for that particular Wit thet of the whole and that of the co111ponents. Every design of con·
foster the Idea for a design and the concept distilled from lt. nquence presents a coherent narrative, built up u It Is from
Thost conditions dictate thatthe end-product sati sflts that Idea components that have something to N~Y Individually and In con·
and that Its special q ualities get expressed n ' hallmarks'; urt rather than contradicting 1nd cou11Uractlng each other.
au tor
Only by tn tng rou h h proj conststently and s nsi- fn the ay th1t a sculptor (M,cbel,ngelo, by ~u ccounts) was
tiv•ly an th architect safegu rd over ll quatfty a d pre ent once 1sked by an mirer ow he (Ould po bty now th1t a
the desfgn from being no ntor t in 1 gimmit • Ju thin of beautiful oman s o b found tnsid th unhe n on •
e num er of prize· tnntng comp o design , cho n for Of toune t e ns r i5 at he must ha had th form oft
ir · t tng und rlyin cone pt, t cocne a cropp r htn ttntshe-d flgur in is mi d to begin th. You an only tHuct
fi sh d o..~t. at mat s out ~ good ~r,c ited is that hts . thing wbea you kno ha ind at not to ~le•Ye ou~ you
sc e s only Improve by being -.one d ou tn, det1U. havt to know @••ctly w ere you are headed: you ave o h ve
Th~ ev ntual esign fs al 1 s •ntn tpretatlon of the concept.. a concept.
Anottler designe-r would prob1b y h.ve made 5omething Is , Omission is • dang rous usfness and · hether tess ts tnd ed
a a ev ryont h th ir o n ndivtduat wortd of assodattons to mote de nds n 1!" ly on the concept you h d to b gin , th;
thro tit. this is h t dedd s hat c1n go nd h t mu st y, o ome
ssumed II to si plidty. Simplidty is not an nd in t ~lf,
A concept has to be cball nging, must indtt r pon s. It ou ~rriv tit during tht design process hilf searching for
ust t ve room f,or multiple fnterpretattons and say as UHle •hat fs ~ssent alto your concep ...' leaving things out is less a
iS posdbl• about soluti:ons n • formal se se. or about fo ', ques on of red on nd ~r more J pro(e sof cone ntr~tion.
and concen rate aU e more on the sp ce.. It aU depends on h1t yo · an o t pres - n th th~
Thin ng 1n such proto- onn pt suppo an absmction ~bso ute minimum of s, bu s ct rly as po Sible
to ard th ynt c, such ictograms tch nc psu~te· out b~ng Uno off cours • It fs obvious t at ou can say
th ss c of me g • Co c pts, th@n, are fd•as ~)(prtsstd mort with more words, b,u t what the poet dots 5 to iml ge
s thtet· cHmensfonal td.ograms. just those ords fn just tha. order so as to expr S$ w at he
In practict of design. a gutdtng •d. a is seldom fort coming wants to say'' cle rly n s pr ds ly s pos ibl •
right' 1y.. irst f s noses to the grind~ttone on th stren b 'Where cooomy o mea s 1s conce ed, ard'l teet could l am
of f w v g uspi ons nd only ft r pe tst nt ne dtng uc ot only from nglne rs but l o fto th po : the ay
of your 1 tert : d wi h et t o,y rvt w of th.e fiel of in hie h s l cts hfs ords1nd stfiwrtur s th t,nto n-
conflict. your obj ctt gin,to su h • Tb bf , st te ces to achiev a mum po tr of e pres io and bta ty
da"g r ts t at of the rash solution whtcb you fl d yours lf of sound: 'Ia po st• t utte dt~ ounl prlds• qu~ to glomltrlf'
stuck with btfa e you no i . 1 groove th tIs U too diffi - (Poetry is as prKise as. g•ometry, Ftaubert) .. What we term
cult to esapt from. By contr~st anything see s possible poetry is partie larty th t utmost precision oft ough , hich
when drifting without a fix d cour but it on' lead you httt redudng i s me n c n lly incr s h yers of
nywh re. aning.'
Th cone pt 1ybe 1 comp.,ss, but i ish rcUy the fln 1des • E1c e for the form giving ardli d the~ is th tigh rop
n1tion .o f tht design p ces•. The ~nd· roduct can be nothing to b• trod betwten too mu·ch and too Uttte., be een 'u der·
other t an a d velopnae t nd •ntef1Jretatfon ~of that concept designed' and -ov.erdesigned' .•
he way one mi ght tpply or rende·r ~n overall vi-s on. 1Thln tng In that respect e engineer an serve as 1n ex mpte o t ,
tn terms of co cep , models, stt1 ies tc- deriving 1s thi archit ct; ft r 1tt, hfs ims ar si pt r 1nd fl d fir ty tn
des fro . seeking out thee sence of wh1t you 1re occupied ad anc • Ht skis ftf', y org ni t . cert in sp R
th- dot$ me th t is ad nger of that ab traction aU ~ minimum of mat rilL or t.h l t u r. 1 h ighL
oo qutc ly te1dfng to simptfflcation. Th t f ho . to ouch for t Jtttr, you usu U nHd compl constru ons ind
t0119plext . In stmpte fonnulis. Who has n r b ttn lured by mta.surts to achieve o tward simpUdty. Htre, too, simplicity
ht b~tt of stmpUd and ho ould not be indfned o ~re uce un fool yoll. for fnsta ce en rebuilding les van der
or r1tber distil untl only the es1 nee, e baste tdea. rem tns? ttobe's 8 rcelona P~viUon it proved a supremely complicated a '
s r n that th b rttn. dull a d poor. v arc tte<t rives luc rn ust Ita e r qutred moving heave and ore esp -
after simplid , even ff only because 'tnrth• would seem to dally e1rth .. Th strud11tll tour d~ force rids the building of
equal st pUdty. Sayin 1 a t to ru e some ag ~ery simp e" its objectness. With its seemfngl.y ••fer-thin roof ~nd the
is construed&$'" expression of extreme modesty. ay it spreads out across the surroundings, tne building
Unfortunately no·t every · t ·g th•t is si•pte is also true, p re conjures up vi OftS of 1 g1pnt1c ird that ha j t l nd ,
nd erene~ having h n tht u n : rfront sf n
y atchit ct.s th n that .t aving t incp ·ou Is 1 sul'i fire y the ~noun I 1 u t t rritory.
of g g to·h 1Y n. Mducflo" of1t ts or ' o n I ad
~u too tasily to ·~u skin and bon •- at hCt.Ssi~• cost. One you • co••t•utttvts• Showing ho a buUctlng f1 constructH is
have ae:qufred i taste for omitdn things you are t real d ~er a spectacullr t nvita on to all-embradng form. Although t fs
of succumbing to anor~xf• •rddttdurl. Th '~rt of omission' do 'expt~ ss th ssenc of co rtructtvism it do s not n c: s·
tons sts of leaving out only ose things t • are irrelev n sarily resul in sptce.
Form expressed along constructivist Unu Is 1 demonstrative function - ind the spitiil ch<~ncteristlc this brings to bear.
show of the pride its m1kers had in making and liChieving The more we are able to make, the more pressing the question
structures that were un1ttlin1ble (1nd less necessary) before of what our Intentions are. First you have to have an Idea of
then. They were therefore the symbol of a new era of new where you want to go before setting up a strategy to uhieve
and unprecedented possibilities. And of Its space, though the that aim.
sense of space was ultimately due to the el.e gance of ean
rather than the he1viness of effort. Which is why we prefer the
poind quiescence of the ballet dancer to the t.e nsed mu.s ctes
of the welghtlifter.
Attractive as It Is to show how things fit together, and legit!·
mate too, If only to keep them from getting too abstract and
therefore unnecessarily obscure, there comes 1 moment when
the aspect you wish to eJCpren begins to dominate all the
others.
In addition, structures and constructions have the tendency
to visually become Increasingly complex 1nd more 1nd more
difficult to understand , so tht their expression Imposes
rather than Informs.
This holds not only for expressing how a structure Is m1de,
but also as to Its purpose, which Is mo re likely to be con·
cealed In such Instances than revealed.
Just as modern technology Is no longer self-explanatory In
1 visual sense, so functions 1nd 11loatlons, volatile as they
1re, are suffering 1 m~rked decreue In Identity as time goes
by.
We will have to a.c cept that buildings, like household and
other 1ppliances, are showing less 1nd leu of their contents
and their workings, and starting to behave lntfea.s lngly like
urban containers.
Architects are continually competing to make the most buuti-
ful box. With control over the contents looking likely to dis-
appear, the form of the packaging has become more Important
that the form of the contents. 'L'esthitlque du miracle', as
Jean Nouvel puts it.
With the expression of how a thing fits together and what Its
specific purpo~e Is pushed into the bliCkground, the concern
for abjectness cedes to an expression of t.h e spatial idea-
activating, enfoldi ng and unfolding both construction and
...
"'
'"
102 ltACI AJtOl ltiAlC:I IfiCT
Brancusi ( l00-107)
0
Museu de Arte Slo Paulo (MASP), S!o Paulo. Bruit [>n·ml
Una Bo Ba rdi , 1957·68
The M ASP in fact consists of two buildings choosing, is of a stunning slmplidty and the gateway of urban dimensions, as weU
horizontally organized. The large horizontal furthermore unique. Meanwhile this sub· as by the expansive entrance to the terrace
gatelilce opening between th em has a free lime way of exhibiting has, for quite inex· which you reach by walking beneath it.
span of 7S metres. Upper and lower buildings plicable reasons, been replaced by a more The area above roofed over by the upper
are linked merely by a glass lift with which traditional layout. building is ohuch size as to encourage mass
you leave the tower building, where atmon The way this long space, with a glued wall gatherings and of course outdoor exhibi·
the entire adminstrative department is to either side and enormous square columns tions, both of which might extend into the
housed. for the upper where the permanent only at the short extremities, appears to open area beyond.
exhibition of paintings Is displayed In one hover In the air is of the same lofty order Wilen underneath the bulldlng, you feel
unbroken expanse. Orig inally ea.:h painting outside as was the original exhibition absolutely no sense of oppression due to
was hung off its own glass panel standing arrangement Inside. the immense presence above you. The large
in a heavy though movable concrete foot The prodigiously broad columnless gateway free-floating space reveals nothing of the
with the relevant information on the rear links the space of the traffic thoroughfare undoubtedly stupendous structural forces
of the panel. This supremely uncustomary running paraUel to the complex on one side operative wit hin the material of this build·
manner of displaying art worlcs, hanging with a parklike terrace on the other, that ing, though permanently invisible. There is
freely In space so that visitors un move looks out over the lower·lying part of the nothing ofthis to be seen from the outside.
between them in a route of their own dty. This view is further accentuated by The underside. the ceiling of the 'gateway',
• •
•
• • .
•
••• ...
...
UJ
gets its lightwelght look precisely by being would have been a constant reminder of how main pri nciples underlying the spatial con-
perfectly Rush with no exposed beams and difficult such a construction actually is. cept. Just as tl1e basic idea is clea r\y dis·
suchlike. lt is just this understatement, By underemphasizing the build-up of the cernible in the end-product, here concept
evidenUy, that ma kes a 7S·metre span look museumcomplex. the attention is more and development are virtually identical.
trifling whereas a major show of strength strongly focused on the totality and the
'"
In this competition design for a masterplan consequently takes the form of an urban yourself asking whether the shape of the
for the Pirelli factories in Bicocca (Milan) it blueprint, a framework of conditions, that potential newcomers might not derive from
was the existing built development - which can be filled In by so many architects, each that of the cooling tower. At the moment
needed preserving -including a classical with their own signature. that the cooling tower (or at least its form)
cooling tower, that prompted a concept to Taking the lone cooling tower as a stepping- starts to lead a life of its own in your mind,
match the proposal called for in the brief. off point, the idea emerged of a cluster of with its original function set aside, another
At issue was the question of how a provi· towers 011 a common platform with parking associition is likely to penetrate your con·
sionally unknown number of companies and feeder roads; a sort of mini-Manhattan sciousness. This then seems so obvious that
and institutions were to be accommodated of autonomous towers in relatively close the idea stays with you. Didn't the painter
in the immediate vicinity. The response proximity In a confined area. You then find Morandi spend his entire life depicting
llf
Ma'ter
... ...
_, I
~~ ~ 4a:·~·)_ , '
lU
need to be a number of basic conditions which would serve to reduce floor plans ovi!Cr
ensuring that there was sufficient similarity a certain height. This is not to impose
among the designs but also enough freedom restraints but most of aU to Cfeate a degree
of interpretation to achieve a wide variety of leeway, also for the less motivated devel-
in practice. opers, inciting them to interpret the basic
You could start with a large number of pos- concept so that It expresses their own par-
sible variations simply by stipulating a ticular brief.
maximum footprint and at least one indent
'"
IPA.U A.D lDIA Ul
Ma'ter
Benelux Patent Office. The Hague (199J) fm·ml
This design takes a banal standard office These atriums are where the external.space
type and opens It up with what in itself is penebates into the building.
an obvious design Intervention. The result? Freedom from the suffocating •
By splitting the building open lengthwise. effect of the endless labyrinth of corridors
in a manner of speaking, to generate two with room after room on either side charac-
corridors. each with rooms on one side only terizing the average office building. Once
so that the exterior space can visually enter outside your own room you can take in the (
between them, a new concept emerges. one entire building at a glance and also be ~een )
better suited to the need for communica- by others whom you might Rnd yourself •
tion obtaining in a building of this nature. dealing with in the future. Thi5 way, a
This intervention not only creates visual building's spatial organization can have a
contact among the building's users, It takes positive impact on communication. Having
the view from the central space of the world this face inwards strengthens the feeling,
outside and works it up Into a design more so than the view out. of genuinely
theme. working together with others.
The pnsages widen into a pair of atriums The primary aim when designing this build-
reaching up three storeys and roofed par- ing was to use a spatial intervention to
(
tially with glass. Each atrium leads in both escape from a cliche as persistent as it is
directions to a tellice abutting the sunken difficult to erase, one that invariably
floor areas of either the restaurant or the informs office buildings the wortd over yet m Sp.aa gonemed wllen a !10J1111l olllu pl.tn (A) Is broun open:
t~ corridors wldiOfllnlb • haU (a). I~ peru.,. thon shifted o•t ol
rec,eptlon hall cum waiting room. All rooms functions neither socially nor worlcwise and alignmMt! w h-Ill areas open up (c)
give onto galleries running along them . in fact is merely the cheap way out.
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• BUD AIID BUD Oo we think while we draw or draw while start anywhere, at random, he do.s not btgln without an idea,
we think? Oo.s the hand guide the h"d or the head the hand? 1 hypothesis, about what he expects to find, and where. That
Was there an Idea before we began designing or did the Ide• he may well ultimately end up with something other than he
arise during the design process? sought Is another matter.
At first sight this would appear to be 1 non-Issue. 'The architect's design proctu • hould, as such, be viewed
Of course you draw u you search and search IS you draw and more as a method of rese1rch. It should ttlen be possible to
this way you immerse younelf in the task. The longer you make explicit the steps of the process, so that the designer Is
work on a tuk, the more ctearty focused Its essence becomes. betttr able to realize whit he Is actually doi ng and what ru·
While proceeding you su bject all manner of references to sons are guiding him. Of course sometimes you may discover
scrutiny and so ultimately urive at an ldu and an approach. something seemingly out of the blue, but those rnomenb, for
'Begin, and the results will follow'. the architect at least, unlike the artist, are sca rce. Mostly,
The artist, unlike t he architect. can perhaps count on one of when you muster up enough courage and take the troub~ to
the themes he hu been nursing for some time to yield results be conscious ofit. the underlying thought procus will prove
In the end. In fllms of Picasso painting, he gives the tmpres· to be tess mysterious than that of the pure artist. We work
slon that his Ideas emerged spontaneously to be just as easily ucording to strategies to adlieve sp~tciflc alms, prtferably
erased and replaced by new ones. l1ter, when his endless with as limited me1ns as possible. We make use of practically
series of sketchbooks was published, It transpired that each all the resources and techniques which tilt researcher uses ln.
motif in his paintings was carefully prepared beforehand and for example, operational research.''
often even practised, as a perfomlng artiste would do. But for those who fUndi at the usually strict rules t111t scholars
The architect's tasks, other than those of the .artist, .are more wield with such gravity, we c.an look doser to home.
specific In the senst that each task makes Its own conditions 'The working method In the design phase In many ways restm·
r~ ulrlng an appropriate answer. Unlike the artist he is not In bles cooking. Even when the cook wor1cs without a recipt, he
a position to throw random ldeu about. hu a fairly clear Idea about what his alms are. and before he
The architect's Ideas concern less autonomous concepti which can start he must gather together the neces.sary ingredients.
In general can only be applied to the most spedflc drcum· If certain spices tum out to be missing from his kltd~tn cup-
stances, that Is, If those drcumstances did not produce them board, then the outcome wilt bt a different dish from what he
In the flrst ptue. had In mind. In the Slme way tile architect, bearing In mind
Tht danger of 'j ust beginning' to draw and design fn the hope the r~ulrtmtnts his design will have to meet, can draw up a
and e•pectatlon that something will come of ft. is that before shopping list of Ingredients, u It wtre, with which he intends
you know It you ue ruorting to well·trod paths or clldl~s. to ut to work.
This Is virtnlly unavoidable, as It happens, for It Is impossi- 'Cooking consists of a fairly complex set of utlons, under·
ble to envisage something that was not there to begin with. taken i n an order that is apparently without logic, nteast
You are borne on by what you already knew, because you your- without any logic that migllt correspond with the logic of the
self, but more particularly others you admire, have already end-product. For Instance, some Ingredients have to bt soaked
left a trail. The composer Hector Berlioz relates that. as pos· beforehand, or dried, cooltd. heated, thlckentd, or llqulfled.
slbly the only composer unable to play the plano. he was at be kept for a long time on a low heat. or stirred vigorously for
an advantage compared with his colleagues who were In the a short time on a hot burner, ilnd all these actions are under·
habit of composing at the keyboit rd, so tllat like it or not they taken in an order thit be~rs no resemblanct whatsotver to
were drawn by their hands to already familiar s~ uences of the order In whlth the final product is eventually served on
already fJmlliar chord.s .• the table. Slmitarty, the design phase proceeds In an osttnsi-
'(T]he tyranny of keyboard habits, so dangerous to thought, bly chaotic fashion, and we must not try to tmpose an artifldal
and ... the lure of conventional sonorities, to which all com· order onto the different stlge.s, because It doesn't wortc llkt
posers are to a greater or lesser e•tent prone.'' that. What we can do Is to keep In mind, tltroughout the dtslgn
We know that Mozart heard entire works In his head before process, the final product n we envinge It in lb totllfty, and
committing them to paper. This enabled him to tum tllose thus ensure that the initially fragmentary Image slowly but
endless journeys In bumpy carriages to his advantage. Why surely comes Into sharp and complete focus.
shouldn't architects design buildings 'in their head'? Are plans 'That is why you should, Ideally, concern yourself with all
and sections really more complex than the voices of, say, aspects of a design at the same time, and of course not only
twelve musical ln$truments, each with its own tlmbrt, such with how tverythlng fs going to look, but especially with
as need wtavlng together In a symphony? how it fs to be made and how It is to be used.
first you must have something in mind (heard or seen). call 'While absolute simultaneity t n the work on all aspects of
It an ldn: only then can you note It down - although of a design Is Impossible, It Is at least possible to spread our
course it is never quite as si mple as that. Drawing can bring attention evenly and alternate our focus of Interest witll due
out an Idea, give ft a t~uer outline U you Uke, but It must dellbe,tlon, so that aU the screws, as It were, can bt tight·
have been in your subconsdous to start with. entd In turn -<~little, not too much at 1 time- until the
It should proceed more like research. The researC'htr does not corrtct allover balance Is achlevtd In tht work as a whole.
Mat I COI'T' d
'T11e greatest danger constantly threatenl11g us is that. fluted poser can still more or tess envisage wtlat he has crutH by
u we often are on a small problem whose solution etudes us, checlcillg to hear what his composition sounds like on the
we spend too much time on that one problem, more because plano, the architect depends entirely on the elusive wortd of
of a psychol.oglcally felt necessity than because of a demand drawings, which can never represent the space he envisages
i nherent In the design. And pa.radoldcally, when an eJCteUent in Its entirety but can only represent se(l<lrate aspects thereof
solution eventually presents Itself, It often has a disastrous (and even so the drawings are difficult to re.td).
effect on the design as a whole. After all, the more convlndng 'T11at is why the average architect usually starh by getting his
that (partial) solution is, the stronger the temptation be<omes floor plln technically right. whereupon he may think up an
to adapt the rest of the design accorctlngly, which Inevitably Interesting section to go with It, after which he must finally
resu lts In lopsided development. complete the structure with facades that re111aln within the
'There was once a painter, who Sptilt an Inordinate amount of framework of t he possibilities of floor plans and elevations.
time on a portrait that he wu fl ndlng impossible to get right. Tills unsatisfactory state of affairs is malntalnH and even
Everyone agreH with him about that, and l nddenully also aggravated by the fact that the drawing, itTespecttve of the
about the fut that one feature, the nose, was outstandingly meanings It seek.$ to co111munle~te, evokes an Independent
good, unlike the rest of the face. This nose met all the aesttletfc Image, which threatens to overshadow the architect's
demands that could possible be made on it, It wu indeH the original i ntentions and which may even be interpretH by the
sole component t hat wu truly flnlshH . So It wu not surpris- maker hi mself In a different sense than Initially foreseen .
Ing that the (l<llnttr, falling Into his self-made trap, ke.pt on 'A comptluti11g factor Is that, due to tilt shur superabundance
altering the mouth, ears and eyes, e-rasing tllem time and of tills type of Image and our constant comparisons with
agilln from the canvas and starting all over again, In the hope antecedents, which has given rise to a sort of metalanguage
of portraying the right mouth, ears and eyes to go with the full of such t hings u lucid concepts, welt·posttloliH stair·
illrudy perfect nose. Until another artist came alo~~g and saw cases, Interesting sp.U.tleffects -In short an Insider's jargon
his predicament. He offered to help, and ~Sited for the palette of extensive qualification• which do not refer so much to the
knife. In one fell swoop he de.lt with tile problem - to Ule actual building IS to Its abstract graphic representation on
hotTor of our pai nter. He hH slashed the only successful fea- p.aper, i.e. to an exptctlltion.
t ure of the face. Once the handsome nose had gone, the only ' However absurd this may sound, we must In all seriousness
obstruction to the painter's abltfty to su things In their ask ourselves how many architects are actually capable of
proper proportions had goM, too. In the wake of Ulls destruc- reading their own drawings, that Is of interprating them with
tive deed came the possibility of a fresh beginning. an eye to the spatiality of Ule structure that they are suppo5H
'T11e complexity of tbe architect's design process and the under· to represent. u well as to the socii I and utilitarian ob}ectfvtJ.
lying thougltt pattern Is In a sense abo comparable to that Most architects read their drawings IS an autonomous graphic
of the chess player, wflo also has to deal with a great variety image, thereby Involuntarily ptad 11g them on a par with the
of possibilities and choices and mutually Influential factors. graphi c work of an artist. Thus the architect ca n n sai d to be
The chess player who becomes too preoccupied with the pos- the prisoMr of Ills own drawings, which SH.u ceand mlsleH
sibiliti es offered by one p•rticulu piece is punished with him br their own l mas-ry and which do not t ranscend the con-
disaste rs that will Inevitably occur etsewhere on the board. fines of the drawing board.''
And Just as tht dless player (like the cook with his efficacious The space we visualize relates to our drawings as a landscape
but appa.renUy random sequence of actions) keeps track of does to an ordnance survey map. Exactly perbaps, but two·
all the possibilities of the g•me, tbe architect too must develop di mensional and ~nost particularly Incomplete.
a manner of thi nking that enables him to monitor the range Oeslgnlng Is In the first place thinking, and then drawing as
of his attention so u to take In as fully and as simultaneously you think. It Is not just visualizing something t hat gots with
u possible •II the intetTelatH fields of interest. Only then what you are dr~wlng, but much rather rendering by drawing
can he arrive at • design In which the ctlfftrent aspects are what you visualize. Other than thtt, It Is a quutton of organ-
property and fully integrated In tlle whole. Both chess player lzillg your Imaginative powers as best you on. Designing Is a
•nd cook succeed In developing new strat.gies to dtal with quest that you went to have proceed with maldmun~effictency,
ever· chnging situations. and also the architect must be purposefully If possible.
capable of undertaking hfs design process ucordfng to such Therefore you should not fritter away too 111uch timt chasing
strategies, so that the form does not evolve without consider- fly-by-night 'solutions' t111t shortly after have to be dropped
ation for construction 1nd material, the organlution of a floor - there wu so111ethlng you overtoolced after all - for the next
plan not without conside,tlon for accompanying sections risi ng Impulse. All this leads to is depressing piles of sketch·
and the building as a whole not without consideration for Its ing p1per. It b better to Inn thl plptr and certainly the
environment.' ' computer screen <~lone and begin by thoroughly exploring the
'A p•rticular difficulty is facH by the archi tect ... he cannot field. Just u detecttv.s In popul1r Tv series ntH to first
re present his l deuln reality, but has to resort to represent- grup the plot before they take off after the villain, so t he
Ing them by means of symbols. just as the composer only has design process consists in pr1ndple of a like period of looking,
hh score with which to render what he he.ars. While the com- listening and fixing the conditions.
Mat I COil" d
Prior to resolving the task. you must develop Ideas proceed· Intentions; of what needs sayi ng; It is hypothesis. and pre~
lng from your Inright Into the full complexity of the task.• monition, There can be no quest without premonition; it Is
th~t lead you to a concept. j ust u the doctor di agnoses the a quenton of flndfng and only then seeking.
problem before embarking on a therapy. The concept contains
the conditions you wish to fulfil.. It Is a summary of your ' O'abort trouver, chercher apres.' Jea• Cocte••
.,.
Among the places people f~l most attracted Inclination in that direction, and were happenstance caused these girts, boys, men
to are those in the heart of the city where merely hanging around listlessly. Cartier- and dogs to come together in pairs; stand·
one can still see out to the surrounding Bresson, celebrated for his eye for the lng, reclining. sitting. It once again demon·
country. Just this brings them together, decisive moment, 'le moment d~ci~if', strates his mastery in illustrating the
even when they had no truly conscious recorded that one single moment when canonical in everyday life.
Ut
• • •unu AlrD aoct&L suca Wherever there ue complaints Now, at the outset of the twenty-fi rst cent~ry. we need new
about the new housing estates cropping up everywhere, that spatial discoveries to bring urbanity back to our new residential
they are too open and chaotic, then are Invariably ucompa· districts.
nied by descriptions of those old towns .with their sheltered Besides such examples of well-functioning streets as those
streets where you could get your bearings better than In the give n tn the eartler volume, Lessons for Studtnts In Archlttc·
new estates where there Is no street pattern to speak of. tun , here are a few more of socii I space in Its most e lemen·
The open cfty Is a typi cal twentieth-century achievement. The tary and upllcit form, s urvfvfng through t he centuries In the
product of general domestic requirements con soUdated In a most wide-ranging sltuatfons.' ln a sense they can be regarded
tight-knit and hermetic system of rules just about Impossible u 'arch-forms' of collective exterior space .with the best pos·
to avoid, It seems, butfrrevoc<tbly creating a sense of distance, sf ble conditions fo r soctallffe, be It of close· knit groups lind
it sl mply refuses to function, at leut not u a city. The sense so not really comparible .with the situation u It 1Hects mod·
of urb;~nlty Is lacking and It ts hard to feel it home there. ern city-dwellers. One exilmple thit Is most deflnftely tailored
The question Is: how do we bring back to ltthe quality of Interior to suit prevailing conditions Is our resi dential court develop·
of the nineteenth-cent ury city without Impairing the quality ment In Oilren i n Germany, which an be sai d to synthesize
of the suntiglrting, light inci dence, parking space, pl1y space the principles of the pt"rl meter block and those of the open
and the like? city.
IOtJAl.IPA£1., COllfCtlYI IPAC.l U l
0
Streets, Nias, Indonesia tm·m J
Villages ordered according to strict plan· fectlyon site. What, finally, wa:s it that is the cent111l po$ition of the L!rger house
ning s~ndards are the last thing you would prompted all this prodigious effort? occupied by the headman of the village.
expect to find in the middle of the tropical Most of these villages {many of which are The only central street where everyone
rain forest on a remote island to the west still intact) stand on flat mounds, tables in looks out onto is as much collective as pri -
of Sumatra. Two rows of majestic wooden fact, and can only be reached up stone vate space in accordance with a complex
houses In two storeys and with large roofs stairs set at the extremities of the villages system of zoning, little of which remains
stand consistently lengthwise along the and often of a great height. The village is visible to today's tourists. Outsiders were
street. The street itself is entirety paved comprised of a number of houses limited by expected to walk exclusively on the central
with smoothly polished stone slabs whose the size of the mound, a number established strip and only approach the houses when
provenance is unclear. Even less clear is beforehand and organized according to the occupants had given their consent.
how they were made to fit together so per- ritual religious criteria. The departure-point The villagers themselves could make use of
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the entire surface of the street right up to
the houses. though once again according to
strict rules and depending on the occasion.
Although the traditional system of meanings
regarding each place and the behaviour
expected there lives on and undoubtedly Is
revived in certain circumstances if only
superficially. there is little of it to be seen
in evel)'day life. This only brings out further
the exceptional quality of these streets as
elongated village squares and communal
dwelling spaces. Used as grounds for ball
games as well as for drying seeds and plants.
a stretch of street may suddenly become
draped with wa.shing that is soon dry from
the warm stones and is gone again quite
as suddenly.
One would doubtless be hard put to find
anywhere in the world a street where pri·
vate, public and collective use Intertwine
and mesh in such a taken-for-granted way
as here.
Here all efforts combine to give shape to
the most ideal street space imaginable: the
unbroken surface of smooth stones on whlch
rainwater soon evaporates. the absence of
ttaffic so that children can plAy anywhere
they choose, the stepped profile where vil-
lagers sit together on and around megaliths,
immense an cient stones that keep the
ancestors in their midst and also accommo·
date those confined to the central area.
An essenti;.t aspect is that all houses are set
lengthwise in an unbroken line on either
side ofthe street.
The large living rooms are on the first floor
overlooking the street where they are pro·
vided with continuous horizontal slits
through which the occupants keep constant
watch on what is going on outside. This
way it is possible t.o follow the movements
of passers-by the full length of the street.
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Whereas the wooden houses are subject to
deterioration and needed repairing or
replacing, this welcoming carpet of rising
stone steps represents the llmeless struc·
ture that also includes the ancesto~ in
their megaliths. As much collective space
as tht> horizon of social lift>. it announces
in no uncertain terms the end of your jour·
ney along the jungle path.
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(strangers) who migrated to this region from four public stairs.ln other words, with cer-
the north looking for better living condi· tain exceptions you are unable to proceed
tions. In these fortress-like buildings they directly from your living quarters to the
could protect and defend themselves against bedrooms except by way of the front door,
onslaughts and often lengthy sieges. across the public space. Evidently there is
Otherwise the surrounding walls are less need of privacy. though these are.
entirely blank with perhaps the occasional after all. large family groups. in China the
tiny window placed as high as possible.
Constructed of bricks of dried day, the
walls are one and a half metres thick at
the bottom and taper as they rise.
All dweUing units are located against the
outer wall, whereas the central area is
either open or built-up to some e,..tent. On
t.he ground floor are the living and eating
quarters and kitchens, all ranged in accord· •• •
anee With Chinese tradition round small
internal courts giving onto the open central •• •
area.. The bedrooms. like the storage rooms,
are located along the galleries above and
curiously can only be reac.hed from two or •••
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basic units of the ~ocial structure. Privacy, are the remains of religious places, in the past, and the fate of the landowners who
besides, is a privilege of the rich who are shape of open corners resembling miniature must have lived and ruled here in earlier
more in a position to indulge in it. as they squares along the galleries, where modest times and presumably built these houses.
have less need to rely on one another. ceremonies are enacted. In some complexes Divided into living units that all emerge at
The central area , whether open or clo~ed, there is space for a temple in the centre that a differentiated communal area, these hous·
is collective. Here the harvested crops are doubles as a theatre. Presumably these reli- ing complexes are in effect fully-fledged
prepared with some degree of collaboration gious activities are still not accepted by the towns which li ke medieval settlements
and stored in barns. Besides rooms set aside authorities and have been reduced during could hold out alroost indefinitely against
for production, there rna~ be schools, board· the last fifty years to their present marginal attackers. Their shape suggests a comparl·
ing houses and general cafe·like spaces form . Nor do we knowi!Jeactly howmuch more son with a built-up amphitheatre such as
where you can meet together. finally, there prosperous these communities were In the the one at Artes. IINIO
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enough left for playgrounds and for com- of the perimeter block with gardens inside urban design principle, with streets turned
munity ~ctivities that can be watched from and bounded by streets has been roundly into garden~ and the internal courtyards
all sides, as can the children who play here. turned inside out. in to enclosed city squares.
The private gardens have shifted to the Wllat we did for one block in Diiren was Thus the perimeter bloclc could be reintro-
outer side, confirming that the prindple developed in subsequent projects into an duced. be it in th is reversed state. This
...
UO IUCl.t.JDfll AIC8rTICt
precludH resorting to the none too urban
character of the open row prlncip~. but it
could also provide an alternative for streets,
as overloaded with traffic and par1ced solid
as they are. And not to forget the pedes·
trians who have to share the streets with
the traffic. to say nothing of play space
for children.
Though the open row development of our
new· build estates may provide enough open
space for traffic, pedestri ans and greenery,
there seems no way to combine it with the
containment and order brought by more or
le1s enclosed housing blocks with their clear
street pattern and concomitant sense of
urbanity.
By construing the inner courtyards of hous·
ing blocks as streets widened into urban
squares with a pre-eminently public char·
,., acter. and placing the1e built 'islands' in an
open, green environment with private gar·
dens and public parks, it should be possible
'" to assure a clear and accMsible ul'ban pat·
tern .
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Residential court projects ( 1995·97)
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ifo~ Munich 1111. M<l<lfl
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would negatively affect the image. so char· retained. So the result can scarcely be Besides accessibility for motorized traffic
aeteristic of an urban centre like Munich, described as undiluted urbanization. The all thrH schemes provide networks of
of clear-cut streets between solid blocks. dose proximity of green open space is paths for pedestrians and cyclists cutting
and that the city's explicit urbanity would eulogized as the one quality of such habi· dear acrOS$ the residential'islands' and
therefore suffer too. Evidently the scheme tats. through the bloc:ks, thereby dispelling the
was seen more as a Siedlung or suburban Here too we sought to design contained illusion of complete enclosure.
housing estate than as city. urban spaces lying li ke islands in an area
But wi th today's dweUlng criteria there is where everything is done to maintain the
no avoiding the greater distances between continuity with its surroundings.
buildings, and there are no more picturesque The project for Bertin-Pankow is accessed
inns or shops on the corner. In short. that by a central spine with branches leading
image of the city is an illusion however you off to the residential courts. This made it
look at it, and we must quickly find other possible for the surrounding nature to
images to prevent such illusions from pro· penetrate the scheme without being cut
ducing one failure after another. off by main road$. UOA
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0
nat~d by religious buildings until tb~ nineteenth century and the centre of the space. There is less c.oncem for one another
th~ emergence of the luge sheds, arcades and stations which mainly because those gathered there only see each other's
would take on unprec~dent~d dfm~nslons In the tw~nti~th. buks.
Th~se then began vying with public open space. fn theatres ind iudttoriums and also In stadiums the attention
Whereas people once gathered together in churches. but also is likewise centrally oriented. So essentially these differ little
In public baths or In the Stoa, now they do that In shopping from chure:hes In terms of social patterns.
malls. Our sense of space is attuned to things that Impress In aU these situations the building Is an aU·Induslve construct
through their sheer size. that encourages a shared concentration and a harmony among
those ilttendlng certain organized events. Important though
' Collective space is neither public nor private but much more thlsls, at least as Important for social life are the streets and
and at the same time much less that public space.' ' squuu, cafes, lobbies and other eumples of collective spaces
whose spatial setting has a catalytic effect on social contact.
Large spues, whether Inside or outside, where large numbers not just t'n geted ilt one and the same acti vity, but so that
of people congregate, may not only Impose but also give a everyone can behave In accordance with their own intentions
sense of like-minded ness or even of fellowship through their and movements and so be given the opportvnity to seek out
role of 'overarchlng' common Interests. their own spiCe In relation to others there.
The feeling of togetherness that collective spaces manage to Great though this feeling of togetherness Ciln be at organized
arouse can be dissimilar In social terms and we would do well events, these Invoke social contact it 1 distance only. Yet It
to note that difference. Churches as well as mosques, although is social contact that turns collective space Into social space.
less unambiguous, are almost exctuslvely organized about a What we need to find are space forms that ne so orgilnized that
central point where the message Is proclaimed, and with the they offer greater opportunities and cause for social contact.
eyes and the ears of the congregation tvrned to ft. All attention Spat.e s that enlarge the thances of encounter and have a
Is directed primarily at one point, which therefore figures u catalysfng e.fftct on seeing and being seen, and so contribute
tal Sc'"" lo fey..,ooo;t fooll>•U SUdfuM.• ~otteNIIM tlf Arhdon. krbn ~rnzo Pliono
without negatively affecting the private space. Again, the
relationship between inside and out dissolves but not beyond
the entrances to the different buildings.
So ttle building as dty is only putty about arcades and such-
like, though it does have something to teach us as regards
form and materiality.
What we are advocating Is th•t buildings tllat are used coUec·
tively In some degree are organized more like cities. The
underlying ingument Is that though they are not actually
public, they function in a practical sense as a part of the city
- much more so than, say, a dwelling-house.
So there is every reason for allowing buildings that play an
explicit part In urban soda! life to expreu that function to
the city allarge, and (one sincerely hopes) without recourse
to turrets and domes. The main Issue Is to make them look
inviting, and to draw attention to the fact that they can be
accessed by the public. It is of the essence, then, to make as
much u possible of the Internal urban organization legible
from the outside.
Though linked to the name of Eiffel. this Afour-millimetre thick sheet of glass sepa- of tand transport -the train - stripped baclt
station is little different basically from other rates the station concourse from the city to the most direct and minim al spatial
nineteenth-century examples. of which those square with its uams, buses and cars. On organ ization befitting it, and expressed
in London and Paris are the best-known. alighti ng from the train into the city's here as a new prototype of city gateway.
Railway termi nals ta~e you pa.s t the rear of bustle, the visual contact is complete and
the city and into its centre. They are the overwhelming.
end-points and immediate 'gateways' to the The station itself is reduced to a large hall.
city. to a much greater extent than stations with the necessary ancillary facilities
along the line. housed in built-on flanks which differ little
Here th e station concourse is no more than from the city buildings around them. Unlike
a large roof among all the other roofs, and the major examples, especially in England
covers the final section of track. It is almost where the stations were crystallizing points
part of the streets beyond. ba rely separated of urban amenities and grew into complex
from them by a glass screen virtually flush structures of great size. here we see the act
with the street elevation. into which the of entering and leaving the city by means
station slips with little fuss. of this new and fi rst large coUective mode
,..
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140 II ACI A D f lU AltC il lTIC7
Public baths ,...., .,
0
perso alcon actsom che sier.
o n ; n par •cul r
o ir o ·n ion b h
ch n dr ~ o
inti ate tters .. Tu, ·sh at ,s are still
b 1ng buH to a , e it on ore mod st
l ss acc~ssible than the Ro n
ho v"d n pr s nc and !)(U·
u us h " de such m rk on
· y nd on c" y li .
n1
.
to
your 1ng
sto columns co t ining
in •ch rie of temp r . res. s o er~
and ot er be eficient fad i · s obtain.
There are, besides, spaces for resting and
massages with large windows offering a
grand view of the green hillsides. Below
the water level is a world of steps and stone
benches and handrails along the walls
where, In the light of underwater lamps
and between fountains. bathers duster
together like water lilies. Here you are
overtaken by the decadence of a pampered
and hedonistic body culture In this so 'nat-
ural' world of pure materials where tile$,
symbol of hygiene, are not present for once.
Its romantic. almost cavelike look Is
equalled only by the sleek, resuai ned mate-
riality. This conjures up visions of Roman
thennoe and the life these held. Jf the social
contact here is not quite of the same order
as it was in the Baths of Caracatta, then
(leaving aside the isolated setting far from
city life) this can be blamed on the lac:k of
a tradition. No reproach can be laid at the
architect's door; he has fulfilled aU the
conditions and done everything to make of
this unique thermal bath a surprising city
of water.
101
,..
l09 ' Showers t wc.s' S•"eat sto-ne wlt!l Turkish Uto"ti al'ld PreJt tham.be.r; 42• C 4lrtdoor barb n• C ! Outdoor blth u • (
6 FCKinUin grotto "• C 'fin: bJth .,. C a Cold bath 11• C t Souftd,ng ' tb"nt 1.0 ~~ b:.Jt.h 10• C 11 Ra1 iptce u JU~!
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Theatre complex on Spui, The Hague (1966·93)
1>11 · 11~)
The theatre complex on Spui in the centre istic principle became decisive for the basic on what there is to see and hear; all this m
of The Hague form~ a cornerstone of a form. makes the foyer function better. m
concentration of cultural buildings also The heart of the complex is the I<Jrge theatre The film theatre opens both to the foyer
including the concert hall cum dance foyer. This can be seen and entered from and di rectly to the street with the bar up m
theatte across the stJeet and the city hall the street, with only a full-height, full- against the elevation. The projection booth
cum municipal library. length glass front separating the two. This thrusts into the foyer like a recessed bal-
Next door is the Nieuwe Kerk. a seven- foyer space is a glazed continuation of lhe cony. This centTal place serving aU three
teenth-century church (with a central forecourt and indeed acts a,s a sheltered film theatres is visible from the street in an
plan, curiouily enough; see pp. 212• 213) urban plaza. It is constantly host to myriad allusion to Ouiker's Cineac in Amsterdam of
that is also used for concerts. The theatre events including concerts. meetings and t9J3. The Cineac was the first true cinema.
complex adds a film theatre, a video receptions distinct from the shows in the conceived as a 'window on the world', where
cenue. an art gallery and a theatte caf~ to official theatres. The ambience here is usu- the glass watt rounding the corner revealed
its pair of auditoriums seating 350 and ally more informal. this being much l!asier the film projectors to those passing by in
120. There is in addition uoo m' of ret.lil to achieve here than in an environment the street.•
space plus 76 apartments on the upper specially designed for such events. Sited along the street and facing outwards.
floors. One elevation of the residential Set a ftcw tleads lower, with evident ramps this cafe/foyer with its zo m' of display
levels curves back in a quarter circle away ascending to the auditoriums and the long window is nothing if not inviti og.
from the building line so as to bring the low wall guiding the public to the cloak- The theatle complex as a whole is a city
distinctive Nieuwe Kerk out to full effect room, this sunken section is bristling with centre in miniature with an unprecedented
rather than hide it from view. This urban - visual information to focus the attention number of possibilities. It is part of a com·
I I
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Breda genetate a layered spatiality which
makes the pre:Sence of others f1!ll every-
where.
The heavily extravert, inviting character of
the foyer only serves to stress it:S informal
function. Like a 'grand car~·. you can walk
in at any time without necessan1y attend-
ing a performance.
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The table, a raised surface for arranging games and drama. It articulates the sense a mechanism whose effect is either word·
objects on and sitting round, is an elemen- of togetherness or maybe the lack of it. lessly intentional or innocentl.y uninten·
tary plaza, a surface for everything that likemindedne~s. discord, misunderstand· tiona!. Government leader1 prefer to sit
takes place between those sitting round iL ing, agreement wash across the table and more informally, in a salon or by the fire,
The table is pre-eminenUy the space to it is here that the rules of the relationship eltcept when it's contract-signing time.
dinch a deaL The sunoundings are there between and understanding among people That requires a table. This is round If the
too, but at a distance. The table top gener· are established and where things are dis· question of equality Is expected to cause
ates a form of concentration that makes it cussed, negotiated or sold. trouble. In the case of long tables the
difficult for you to switch off or tum away. Atable Is a socially veiled means of getting person sitting at Its head prevails. It is he
It kei!ps the group together. Afield of atten· into conve~tion, in some situations with or she who has the best view of the pro·
tion, the table is also an arena. a place for more impact than with standing encounters; ceedings. In the case of fixed tables the
str ded ~nd made materi t - the qual ty of sod t 5Pite.. room5, so h1·s to do with t pfl 1 nee ther of other . Space
Important o.ugh {tis o Ma e suffldent pl~ce-U ·• ~teas h t c~n nnounce the presence of 1 people eve hough ose p opl
:lnvit s Ort· or long• erm t ys wi h 'offici l' or in format ar~ o~ t pre5ent p'bysically.
attng f Hi • b tn I elf f not enough. If a bufld ng You can tso I nu nee t e bust tor p ac a ·d q1ui t n a bu td-
~~to function prop rty. tt is es tial hat tt i·s organbed t g b havJng tn~ peopl seem ftwer, O·r by ma ng fewer
so·that peopl· do ind d en<ou ter one anoth r. ·people mor~ manifest..
hen organlz; ng th,e desfgn, you ca go a lo g ay in inf1 lu· An1t·ogous to the idea of • •promenad · if<""fdtectur.tt ', 1s L
endng visu It et tionsbtlp$ and possibtUties or encountering Cor sier dl~s;cribei 1how sp1c~ is p rienc:ed hile p1 stng
or avoiding o ers. Strategi ~c si·gh lines, p ces for sojourn and through it, you can use spa. al•eans to r gth n and dr -
inter e on o dtcu a on 1tou es attic•da ed by in$erthtg ~atize the dyn1mic of moring peopl so that mor~ th tric l
vo~tds, l~ndings, brf g s, tig a d d de p1 • transp r ncy, (t. • t tensifle ) situations •ris that t d to draw p opl•
v1 ws out, vie throug and screens to conctat and protect- closer. Th• ay th s~pace is organized n fncreas tht chances
th~&e re :tom of the mtans ar(httetb J have ~t e•r ctispowt of encount~r fort ose in se.arch of otners orsomeo11n1e fn par·
This ban eSS@n aland ~ndu 1ring design htmt. cular, 1m ybe without them w 'ling to admit • or ven eing
awar o.f it.
esid s such fu1ndam n l d sign premiss s ther 1re a,lJo
p ctlcal 1procedures withoLit which you are lost. 1Pa oning, Sp1c throug its ~org nh:a ·on can hav an .a ra ·ng @ffe t
for exampte, s r uested tn e ch c: e by th flre brigad 1 cl bring ~or hold peopt ogeth r Uk ktnd of I c romag~
-a di.,a r for sp al contf ~ui - l· out U f tUng of nttfc ftetdt by ere• ng th conditions t best focus th lr
~ur•~an•t( thit an in rior s;pac~ might have h • atten1tion on tach other and ke~p t t ere.
Th• ~~ ue er is to saf u rd s at 11y the 'gre g•sturef
alongside the many smaUer rooms and pt•ces •nstde 1 buUcfing.
i ·o ut f1 Ung i nt~o t e trap· of suki,ng to repl c~te real
streets inside buitdings. it doe$ make senH to upi iliz on
e assodJ ons roused! by p rt c l t rc . ur t means.
In Lessons for Studtn'ts In· Ardtlt«tltrf I ·d scrib d ho dtfftr-
n~t m1te-rials and rtsourcea can str gt en t eft Ung of
efng .n side oro tsldt. This holds equally eU for the ambt-
ence that natural Ught i - particular can aeat~. • As .an exam~plei
overh ad light entering tn tong strips a·n stress e cti ere ce
b twe~n a1p1ss _ge n • st.,eet.
lAS
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Ministry of Social Welfare and Employment, The Hague (1979-90) (m·m l
0
ones found in so many large buildings. All ing by contrast the various layers are inter- other to generate the most favourable sight
too often it is just a static visually·oriented linked by voids, thereby adding a dimension lines, up and down at an angle, to Increase,
space with ffw real attractions. to the space or the c:entre. You might say at least visually, the chances of encounter-
It is essential that such buildings are so that the familiar evoative images from ing others. The upshot of this three-dimen-
organited in 'urbanistic' terms that all Fritz Lang's film 'Metropolis', where we feel sional high street was that roughly half of
activity is concentrated in this internal surrounded by the dynamic of a major city. the total surface area or the building (luck-
high street. Everyone inevitably returns to served as an association for this scaled· ily excluding the voids) proved not to be
this supremely logical connecting route down model of a multi-level urban space. for offices. If this seems more than a little
between the different shared facfllties. The various interacting levels of this cen· inefficient, it is more than made up for by
much as you are drawn to urban streets or tral tone are not identical or repetitive. the many activities accommodated there
squares that provide everything that makes Our idea was that every level should follow and so not requiring separate space else-
a city a city. its own course. so that you skirt the level where, such as meeting areas, places to sit
Layouts of cities are in effect flat- only below on your way across to the other side with clients and coffee corners.
rarely is a city accessible on a level other of the void. No two bridges across the void We removed as much or the brief from the
than lhe ground plane. Here in this build- are vertically aligned. but slip past each official domain as we cou ld to informally
house it in the 'street'. This space also takes
up a considerable proportion of the in~mal
circulation, there being almost nothing in
the way of corridors literally in the narrow
sense of the word.
Although the building was primarily
designed as office 'cells' it lends Itself
admirably "for more open configurations
should the need for these ari se.
The 'islan ds' of offices are so divided as to
leave a quarter of their centre open to widen
the passage at lhat point. This produces
an extra place for each Island that can be
allocated accordingly. Corridors have been
kept as short as possible and save for the
odd exception in the understructure they
are In principle no longer than is necessary
to reach between two adjacent linked
islands. All doors to rooms slide open and
shut. providing openings that are larger
than usual. We suspect that these doors will
come to be left open more often than if
... ...
lto IPACIAirDUilAIC-I lUCf
they had been the customary va.rlety,
incrusing the feeling of solidarity between
those on the island. looking at the average
office today, one is struck by the fact that
in general most of the doors are perma-
nently in the open position- evidently
they are there just in case. Sliding doors
create a considerable amount of extra
space. no luxury in a room of minimum size.
Besides the central coffee bar near the
restaurant there are coffee comers scat·
tered throughout the entire central zone;
subcentres at strategic points that act as
meeting places at 'neighbourhood level', to
co ntinue the city analogy. These facilities
,,.
are equipped as kitchenettes - with a fridge
and hot plates- and so duigned as to
function as buffets when manned by serving
personnel and as self-service counters when
not. Th is set-up deviates fundamentally
from that of the coffee bars in Centraal
Beheer10 {since removed, as it happens)
and in Vredenburg Music Centre (since mod·
emized)." Here in the ministry they have
an open configuration and a low table that
invites you to putt up a chair. In both situ-
ations. with and without personnel. they
are fully functioning. Equipped with small
movable tables, these places act much like
pavement ca~ in a city. They are mostly
found at wider parts to one side of the ci r-
culation routes, islands generally located
near clusters of meeting rooms, though
'passers-by' may easily find themselves
drawn there too.
Ul n•
IOC1AL JJ'AU:. COUIC1lvt 11'Atl Ut
Ma'ter
Foyer, stairs and bridges,
Chasse Thea tie. Breda (1995) l•u-mJ
...
and meet friends and acquaintances In the
interval or after the performance. The space
has. of course. to be primed and equipped ... ~, . '"' · - · @
as a multlphC1~of zones. places of differing
qualities. The wider the diversity of what is
on offer- different types of seating, tight·
ing, colour and decoration. tach with Its
own ambience- the greater the choice and
therefore the now of visitors constantly en
route, maybe even unintentionally looking ... •
for someone. Just as Important Is the fact that theie The exceedingly broad stairs reaching from
As this particular foyer has an element of areas are linked visually and so fully con- the ground to the first floor are in effect
amorphousness imposed upon It by utemal nected as to present tagether a layered ascending floors when people stop to talk or
factors. this almost automatically ted to a spatiality, where you are sunounded by even sit on the steps. These stairs have not
great varle~ of corners. These are spread others but for a void, so to speak. only a hlnction as circulation but also are
over three storeys suspended as discrete Balconies are always placed at such a dis· a place to linger, a thoroughly serviceable
balconies, linked to oneanotherln a contin· unce that the occupants of eath have a foyer surface In fact.
uous circuit by flights of steps and walkways. view of the others. The stairs leading on up to the balconies In
Ut
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J.OCUt IPACI, COLLICTTVIIUCI 1 6 7
Montessori College Oost, Amsterdam (1999) lm· m l
AS<hool for se<ondary education is popu· be made to feel as much at home there as We were successful in almost entirely
lated by children of an age when generally In their familiar stamping ground: the dty. avoiding compartmentalizing the 'collec·
speaking they prefer to get out of the house tonsequently we have organized the space tive' area; so there are no self-dosing doors
whene¥er they CAn to hang out with others of this school so that it conjures up assod· to constantly remind you of an intricate
of their age: something they are more likely ations with the d ty; a wide range of places branched system of Internal corridors. To
to do in the street than at school. Not only with a multitude of possibilities where you do this it was neassary to locate aU rooms
that. at the Montessori tollege there are no can hang around, assemble or meet up. in the periphery. with galleries alongside
less than 56 nationalities. most of which The emphasis here is very much on perform· connected to extemal stairways. These
have difficulty adapting and little motiva· ances, parties, handiwork and artistic galleries are not just emergency exits but
tion, not least because they speak little or offerings. as well as aU the things that can flank all classrooms where they double as
no Dutch. take place there outside school hours. In balconies as well as contribute to solar
For that reason alone we should be design· organizing the layout of this school of 1200 control.
lng schools that make a Less hair-r.tising to 1600 pupi Is we deliberately proceeded The front and rear of this hundred-metres·
impression than the customary labyrinth of from this dty paradigm by amalgamating long building are shifted a half-storey.
passages that most closely recalls hospitals as much as possible of the space beyond the This downplays the distinction between
and the like. containment of the das.srooms Into a large ftoors and makes for better communiCAtion
Though we architects have scar~ely any 'urban' area. The upshot h •large plaza. between different physical and organfza·
influence on the actual teaching, we can try linked spatially to the void ofthe classrooms tional components of the school. The dif·
to malre the setting in which this is done as block. Oriented to the south, this void ter· ference in height needing to be bridged is
inviting as possible. In view of all the men· minates at the top in a full-length semi· then a mere half-Leve~ it also improves
tal effort required of them, pupils should roofed terrace. visual relations between one level and
l ..
0
•••
SOCUU &UIMH / COLtlctUYI' RIJUi ll l i t
Ma'ter
another. All study areas overtook a single ties. This 'social space· has a streetlike rooms from one period to the next. they
communal hall. Extending the entire length character. though one that combines ease move li ke nomads th rough the building,
and height of the building and naturally lit of circulation with those necessary places continually 'visiting' and with no territo ry
from above, this is the interrtal traffic on whkh pupils can descend berore. of their own. It is this w~ry area, then,
artery off which are all toilets, cloakrooms. between and after classes if only briefly. that should be Inviting.
coffee comers and other communal facili · In a set-up where the pupils change class· The stairs between levels are deliberately
made broad like seating in an amphithe·
atte. Here lessons can be held outside the
classrooms; they are also ideal places for
pupils to meet, drawing them there like a
magnet. for that matter. wherever there are
steps in the city you can see just how pop·
ular such informal short·term seating is.
These study balconies each bridging a half· m
level were modelled on the hall of the Apollo
Schools.' 0 ln this school about seven times
as big as Its Amsterdam forerunners, the
amphitheatre or rather grandstand principle
has been rendered as seven balconies sus-
pended at various heights In the void.
Stairs. landings. voids and open spaces
everywhere are so related spatially as to
express to the full the presence there of
others, inviting encounters and impromptu
discussions •
.)Ill
m
IOCIALIPACI , COlliCnYI SPACI 171
Ma'ter
• IOilDJ"e COMJIGUIUD U CI TY A theme 1 keep returning to Regarded In • sociological light. to see t he dty u a house Is
is that of organizi ng the interior space in accordance with an too limi ted and, more to t he point, too narrow. City for us
urban hltfarchy. Tllls proce«ds each time from a central space Implies an openness to the world, the availability of choice,
In a more or less articulited form ranged round which are the space. bdtement, adventure. risk and danger are part and
rooms for living and worlcf.ng, all reached from the central hall parcel of lt. House by contrast presupposes containment, pro·
A crucillaspert here is t hat all internal drcuution should be tectlon, somewhere to yourself; where you c1n relix, rest,
confined to this central s pace so t hat everyone keeps return· reflect and gatller your wits togethe r. Tlle prlvuy behind the
ing to it and t he paths keep crossing . front door of your house Is a real luxury, one that Is seldom
Tllb call for configuring buildings u dties was first made flve found In the past when It wa.s the privilege of only the most
hundred years ago by Leon Battista Alberti In his D« n oedifl- wealthy.
cotDrlo llbrl: So, we would prefer to forget the dty as a house - unless It Is
' ... for If a City, according to the Opi nion of Philosophers, be a permanently open, thougb necessarily protected, bouse - If
no more than a greate House, and, on the other Hand, a house that city Is to fu nction on the social front.
~a little Ci ty; why may It not be said, that the Me mbers of Space for collectivity Is essentially open 1nd unprotected.
that House are so many li ttle Houses; such as the Court-yard, Sodal sp~ee, as still f ound lugely In many cent ral-city areas,
the Hall. the Parlour. the Portico, and the like?' " is t he very nub of the public domai n. We tod11y cu continue
'And Indeed vestibules, Halls, tnd t he like I'Uces of public to draw f rom • still considerable If rapidly shrinkfng supply
Recepti on i n Houses, ought to be llktt Squares and other open of classic examples of dties which- wh1tever their differences
Puces In Cltits; not In a remote private Comer, but In t he - can be ttKed back to the type of the central concourse or
centre and the most publlck Place, whtfe aU the other Members mai n street on which t he most Important buildings stand sur·
may readily meet: For here all Lobbies and Sta1r·cases ne to roundH by dweUing· houses.
teminate; here you meet and receive your Guests.' 11 Buildi ngs more orvanized to that model would acquire i ndoors
Aldo van Eyck would liter couch that u me Intention In more the quality tbat seems no longer attainable outdoors - at lust
general terms but. for me at least. far more persuasively. judging from most modem d ttes of buildings and struct11res
Alberti undoubtedly uw both house and dty as unlverul whi ch are too far-Rung. too autonomous.
models, but •side from t his metaphor his text c.1n be re•d as Although we must keep working with might and main to give
little more than 1 Cltl for articulation and partitioni ng u an our exterior spaces somethi ng of the endosure they once had,
Important etement of both building design and urban pun- tt remains of the essence that we make our buildings more
ning. We should t alte note t hat Alberti's urban plan ning wu urban whenever possible and even conceive of them as a model
enacted on a n extremety limited scale by modern itlndards. for the dty.
For Van Eyck, house and dty are each an extension of the The space left between built elements both i nside and ouulde
ot !Mr In a continually artlcuut ed wortd and at the same time is not autonqtfcally sodalspace. We must kHp searching for
a t ransform1tlon of each other (tree •leaf). space forms that make our buildi ngs mechanisms wtlere every-
Seen as part of the soda I paradigm of tiM dty, the daz:zllng sym- one crosses everyone else's path, a mechanism that b more
metry of this ~ying unfortun1tely falls to hold true. A bouse, t han 1 human storage system whose contents are condemned
and more especially a buildi ng for collective use, we may regard t.o solitary confinement.
as city. as 'urban', or even as a fragment of a dty, but not as 1
tiny dty with Its suggestion of functional completeness.
au tor
Dubrovnik, Croatia fm·ml
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IOCIAL .,AU, C.OL.UC11VIUAU t U
0
Anticipating the Unexpected
• Buildings, In my opinion, s hould be Interpreted as cities. there would only be ' th row-away' architecture left. lt Is only
At least they should exhibit the same distinction internally by proceeding from the one principle that change contains
between the shared realms - the streets and squares, so to the seeds of permanence that this dflemma can be resolved.
speak - and the more detached or contained spaces- the Though there fs something of a paradox here: that only the
'houses' and other 'buildings'. The sbucture of streets and enduring resists change, and resists the unexpected.
squares this generates i nside the building coincides with the The only buildings fn a condition to meet social change are
Internal circulation obtaining there, so that everyone gets to those organized more along urbanistic lines, In other words
where they want to be along routes that Intersect with others. having at their dlspos.l,llke a city, a main structure of streets
Such 1 structure makes a building fundamentally and pre- and squares as an ordering hand essentially unaffected by
eminently suited to social exchange between Its users or changes In use form. For all buildings, what matters Is that
i nhabitants. they are equipped with a good access structunt so that all
This wider, 'urban· spatial response to buildings fs significant rooms are stitched together by an elementary spatial 'skeleton'
also in terms of durability. Acity lasts much longer than a build· encompiSsing the entire building.
l ng because. although components are changed or exchanged, So It Is prH!mlnently the collective space of buildings that
there is a tendency to rtspect its public infrastructure: struts fu lfils the task of a continuous ordering network, providing
and squares remain while buildings alter or are replaced. that this space Is clearly and deliberately conceived as such.
Whenever you revisit a place after along absence everything For a building's construction ft fs essential- and thfsls where
is different; there are different shops, different names, the anlllogy with the city ends- that the main loadbearing
strange new buildings, the streets are fitted out differently. structure not only follows the collective space but expresses
But your memory finds support in the broad lines that rtmain: this with mul mum ch1rity. For If anything requires expressing
stfeet comers, views through, profiles -In short, aU elements In architecture and construction It Is the Idea of collective
that mai ntain the space struct'ure of the city. space, and then in a building order that articulates as much
It Is Impossible these days to conceive of 1 building capable the totality as an overs.lllng gesture u the small components
of resi sting the urge, the compulsion even, to alter fn the comprising this totality.
wake of ever-changing Ideas, ways of working, forms of organ· A clear spatial structure or Infrastructure promises durability,
fution, property trusters, modifications In zoning and lind beclluse of It makes more space in which to capitalize on
function, expansion, reduction, elrtreme demands made on the need for change, Thfs gives rise to space for time, and space
efficiency, burgeoning prosperity or simply the need to for the unexpected. An essential aspect ofthls tr~in of thought
look different. These are forces no-one can keep In check. Is the fundamental distinction made between a strong -
A building that Is unable to admit this much freedom of move- enduring- if not constant component, 1 'structure', and more
ment has a bleak future ahead of It, var1able- temporary - atcretions or rather lnfills comple·
That buiLdings age more quickly now than ever before has mentary to it.'
deprived architects of the baste certainty of making meaning· An essential part of structuralism as this relates to uchitec·
ful decisions, let alone believing In llnythlng like lin lmmu· ture Is Its capacity to milke a distinction between 'competence'
table basis. Yet It Is just thfs Instability among architects that (a form's potential forfnterpretatlon) and 'performance' (how
causes the useful life of buildi ngs and structures to extend no it is Interpreted In a given situation).
further than could be envisaged at the design stage. By kicking This entails that we can distinguish between structures and
away aU the certainties, as modern thinking fs keen to do, their In fills. Forms of a relatively grut durability have the
... ~ ~~ ""'"
180 Am ohitbt~trt, Aftn.. FraMe. A forti" mtditval timts, 1t ·~ sub~equentty
bullt W>IId ood fuottionod"' • ro,.pt•t. to•• uotilth toll! c.otury
Ma'ter
So In terms of data c.arrlers we should not seek to design ulf receive other meanings. The core of the matter rather Is
It wert a film or a record where the emulsion or grooves reuln whether thilt signlfiCiltion when stripped away and pliiCed
just one particu lar non·erasable flow of Information, but more In new circunuunces can be reslgnifled, and If so to what
as a video or a.udfo upe which is erasable and can be reloaded extent. We not only have to always give space to thfngs, but
many times with new Information. So though you can typify a do It so that they rebln It for all time. For this you need to
magnetic tape as flexible, It Is, at lent in principle, geared to see the space mentally, to reid It In other Wilys than whilt
reputed signification, to being Imbued with new Information, Is there: to decode as much as code; to unlearn, even more
and because an empty tape literally has no significllnce it than to tum.
emphatically Invites signlflc.ation. lt Is this Implicit c•paclty,
or competence, that we su as a space. ever available and sig·
nlflableln new situations.
Everything we make, construct or leave open should In filet
actively invite not only whatever ft was made for In the broad·
est sense, but also change and the unexpected. This fs th~t
space that the architect tin impart n a potential to every-
thing he designs and makes.
Space fundamentally Is not yet destined, not yet signified but
signlflable a.n d thus has the c.apacity to be destined and sig-
nified (In the situations that arise). Space Is a potential, a
commodity that can be acquired reptiltedly ilnd in different
ways, like the potential of an engine able to be activated In
ever new situations; or a mathematical equation In which dff.
ferent quantitiet can be filled In that satisfy the basic u.sk.
Just as a change of formula brings a change of idea, so a
potential and thus the space It repreunts Is limited at least
In the sense that It Is dependent on the concept underlying
the scheme In question. which one might regard as Its basic
usk.
What we call spice Is on the one hand the shaky equilibrium
of the slgnlflable, as yet unsignlfied - In that sense vlrglnill
- but on the other it resolutely invites this treatment and thus
Is In effect pre-db posed, pre-destined: there is this tug-of-
Wilr between the potential for signification and the use ohhat
potential: I call that making space and leaving sp"e.
An essential upect Is that that space Is always present in what
we do, as a permanent challenge.
Designing Is not about whether a thing Is determined by the
signlfic.atlon iltUched to it. or Indeterminate ilnd free to
Ma'ter
Extensions to Centraat Beheer,
Apeldoom (1995) (m-u.J
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Gebaute Landschaft Freising,
Munich, Ge.rmany (t993) [uHMI
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This is why, after an ingenious spine-like
·~• flexible SY$lem of prefabricated elements
had been developed for an initial scheme,
the next step was to arrive at a sound set of
rules that would enable the individual
building initiatives to be joined together
to generate the stipulated rows of develop·
•ol ment. This should ensure that the complex
can accommodate flows of people over the
roofs and. quite as explicitly, of water u a
'common right'.
As self-evidently simple as such utterances
about coUective right of use always have
been in agriculture. this is a complex issue
in our society. as strongly focused as it is
on individual private interest. In our society
all forces operate independently. and it is
these forces that keep splitting larger enti- •••
ties up into discrete objects.
I
...
Alibrary, certainly an extremely large one, into the building, flanked by the eod eleva· with partitionl into smatter spates, with
is not just a centle of culture for the city, lions of the prism-shaped library depart- the departments more open or inward-look-
but visited by so many people it wilL li ke a ments set square to it. ing according to wish. They can also be
dty theatre or concert halL come to serve These individual library buildings are per- changed when a new staff takes over. or
as a social centre. spicuously accessible from the interior combined to receive a department that is
It is usually quite an achievement finding street. where pavilion-like facilities lie like gaining in importance.
your way around a library particularly when islands containing cafes. information, cat- Level with the glass roof, above the library
you are unfamiliar with lt. This is why clar- alogues, shops and all the other services buildings, the entire compte~ (save for the
ity of organiution is of crucial importance. you would expect to find in, say, railway book stores) is conuined in a triple· height
Because such a vast concentration of books station concourses and airports. framework of general (office) levels. In
in such a wide diversity of academic fields Within the various sub-libraries, i.e. the contradistinction to Perrault's realized
c:rie5 out for channelling into areas of lea m· internal buildings, peace and concentration scheme, 'tumed inward like a monastery',
ing, as the brief in fact suggests. the build· can prevail. These sub-libraries can differ th is design opts for a concept that invites
ing is interpreted as a multiplicity of library enormously one from the other. As building the city in, under the la rge. aU-enveloping
buildings, grouped in serried ranks on the units they are glass containers whose inte- glass roof beneath which seemingly autono-
elongated piau space, the whole covered rior is open to change. They are provided to mous libraries are so articulated as to safe·
with an expansive glass roof. Like a vast this end with a greater or lesser number of guard the overall clarity of organization.
nco.de, this gland $treet draws the dty Roor1 that can themselves be subdivided The largest dimension of the glass roof con·
•••
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curs with that of the Grand Pilais while the
Bibliotheque Ste G~nevi~ve provided the
measure for the buHdi ngs arranged beneath
the roof.' This magnificent elongated space
shows in practice what your instinct tells
you is the correct unit of measurement.
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stilirs and t~races combines w1th the square
recesses of the Internal courts In a SY1tem
of plan·llke spaces strung together, eacn
with 1 city of roofs. At present In Bombay,
one of the fastest·growing cities In the
world with sky·high renu, ofAce spaces are
let to more than one party, each for a lim·
ittd part of the day. Its users. who share
the same address, telephone and writing
desk. alternate during the day and at night
It reverts to a place of habit<Jtion.
'Bombay. colon•al City centre: rirst floor.
third door left. Along an open·air gallery
I enter 1 m•d·sized architecture office:
Where the gallery widens about6 sq. m.
there stands a big metal box with a heavy
lock.
'Entering the office, eleven people are sit·
ting with one window and one door In
about 25 sq. m. Within this space a shelf,
close to the entrance door, divides the room
into two, into the entrance room with the
secretary and a meeting table and then the
working room. The ringing of two tele-
phones as constant background noise and
a never-ending storm produced by ventila·
tors, keep the paper flying.
'Although the office is rented out for an
enormous price per sq. m., the landlord
comes now and then to make his phone
calls. 1 p.m., time shift. The office closes,
the metal box opens and a five-person
family starts preparing their dinner on the
gallery. where they later also sleep. ln the
early morning everyone wanders back into
the metal box and the family leaves for
work.
'Here, on about JO sq. m. you find a family
living. an office running, a landlord check·
ing his es!Jite. Meanwhile, numerous guests
arrive, the chauffeur is waiting, tea and
food is delivered and the cleaning service is
doing itsjob, all during the working hours.'"
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Venetian palaces fm ·.,•l
The large Venetian dwelling·hous~. the whatsoever on how the buildings were the house, lts balcony directty above the
palaces, many of which line the Canal entered. (A unique uception to the Dutch entry loggia offering a magnificent view •ll ... a
Grande, were con>istently informed canal set-up is in Utrecht where spaces set across the Canal Grande. Emblematic of the
throughout the succession of styles by the below the public street were used to store Venetian palazzo is the great depth with
same spatial concept. A.s a type, roughl_y goods transported over water.") Venice is respect to the breadth and unlike the court·
speaking, lhey occup_y a pia~ in architec- the only city where the main entrance is yards familiar to us from the major palazzi
tu rat history that is utterty unique, if only right on the water and the houses are in Rorence and Rome we see h~.>re a division
through their siting directly on the water. acc~sed by a boat that Literally sails inside deplhwise into three wilh the gran salone
In outward appearance they might be com· into a loggia, or rather waterfront portico, the broad central bay flanked by two nar·
pared in some respects to the canal houses with the doors to the house proper set back rower strips of a succession of rooms all
of Amsterdam, the 'Venice of the North'. somewhat. TheCa' d'Oro (1•21) is perhaps giving onto the elongated central hall. It
But there the siting on the water is always the most subliml! example of this building is this central area of a most generous
indirect and although in seventeenth· and type. At the back, or in this case at the side height certainly by our standards, and
eighteenth-century Amsterdam water as a of the house Is a second, ancillary often repeat~ on successive floors. that
major supply route had no small measure of entrance. This has been known to burgeon indisputably dominates the house with the
influence on how the city and Its compon- into a rival for the main entrance so that rooms to ei lher side in abeyance to it, no
ents were organized, the O¥erriding is.sue you then have two more or less on a par. matter how spacious these are. It would be
was the transport of goods. People were On entering theCa' d'Dro a hall gives onto a hard indeed to find a more perfect example
conveyed almost exclusi¥ely along the stair leading to the gran salone on the first of Alberti's house like a city, particularly
quays ide> and so the water had no bearing floor. This encompasses the entire depth of if you imagine the central halls being used
for receptions and feasts like a main
avenue with the other rooms strung off it
like detached buildings. The way the Ca'
d'Oro and so many other Venetian palau!
are configured like cities to a simple and
perspicuous principle, implies an organita·
tion that is just as relevant and applkable
today. {Though we would probably be
inclined to create a greater spatial link
between the various Roors wilh voids and
stairs.) This main structure, as universal
as it is familiar. is eminently suitable in a
wealth of situations for as many different
uses. In such cases the outward character·
lstics of style are nothing other than 'form
interpretations' of a tlm~ess spatial order,
whatever their part in the look of the sue·
4ll
cessive periods. Although secondary to the
spatial organintion of these palaces, men-
tion should be made of the unique way
these interpretations of form are expressed
In the front facades.
Independent of the 'style' in which this is
done, the central 'street' zone is invariably
expressed externally as a clearly more open
area. often almost entirely of glass and
sporting balconies. The rooms to either
side of it all have their windows shifted to
the side walls with between them the win·
dowless section traditionatl_y reserved for
Rreplaces and ch imneys. This produces the
supremely characteristic 'hop, skip and
jump' rhythm in the facades that is exclu·
sively the preserve of Venice.
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The nistory of this 'house for children·. in Institute. Then came evidence of the build- interior has gone. a loss that would now
utual fact a tiny crty. has been a story of rng's greu powtt. or lither its capacity. ro seem ine.oublt, like so many stunning
changes from the outset. Even b•fore the take these changes of occupancy in its edifices now vanrshed from our Cltrts. And
building was approprined a discussion stride. Although now .... hoUy used as an yet potentially the space this building has
raged o~er how the prog11mme was to be office buildrng and with little of the former persistently m01naged to generate as an
housed in its variou~ unru. And when rn ambience left. a complete diuster it is not. open structure is prennt stliL ready and
1917 the instllsrr•~e regrme of lu then However unfomrnately rts intenor has been waiting lor a more propitious age.
occupants... ho .,.ere all set to demolish treated, as a structure it is still very much
large paru or lhe Orphanage. ume to an In controL Indeed. anything that has been
end. the burlding became a plAce of lurn- added can simply be removed ilgain. That
rng with the arnval there of the 8ertage urd. most of lhe sensib•ely crafted origrnal
,....", . '...
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• •
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space. the respiration, the spirit. the taste,
• • the feeling, the idea. the thought .
A void besets our collective memory and
0
our sight .
• • The brief pe.riod of optimism colouring the
n• history of Dutch architecture, the period of
• Rietveld. Duiker. Vander Vlugt and all those
others round and about them who played
such a major role - this period is drawn
into our own age by Aldo van Eyck's Orphan-
<lge. Conserving and sensitively attendi ng
to this building so essential to our devel·
opment, is not just the smallest gesture we
can make to its architect. but every bit as
I
much a question of our responsibility to
the latest generation of architects, of relay·
....... ing to them the story of this optimistic
architecture. (1987)
On approaching this museum, sited just it turns out that the space is not parcelled
outside downtown Fort Worth, it initially perpendicularly by vaults at all. For a start,
comes across as a mosque-like monument they are shells not vaults. and they only
left over from a long-vanished culture. begio three metres from the ground, above
The prominent barrel vaults vertically ter- which height they carve out oblong units
minating th@ resolutely horizontal compact of space. Below that level there are unham·
mass immedlattly conjure up images of
North Africa, of which the mosque at
pered views through so that the space as a
whole is much less directional and has a ...
Kairouan is the best-known example. much less coercive presence than it first
That is where le Corbusier must have got seemed to have from outside. The most
those vault forms that keep cropping up in important quality of these shells, apart from
his work. like le Corbusier Kahn seized the their great span, is that they reflect daylight
opportunity to strip these age-old familiar enrering in measured quantities through a
forms of their ancient attributes and rein· narrow slit extending over their full length.
terpret them from scratch though without The shells articulate the building into a
losing sight of their archetypical strength. number of idential spatial units that are
The main public entrance consists of a not determined as to function and can be
single large space, sliced in to parallel
stri ps by long vaults: at least It looks that
freely subdivided to suit every exhibition
and in theory could receive another alloca· ...
way from the outside. Once in the building, tion entlre.ty.
...
Rather than following the programme, the
building was merely inspired by It and ulti-
mately Is illustntive of a more universal
idea.
This built structure, as visually dominating
and as permanent as can be, is a setting for
the most va ried and unexpected use.
Kahn saw the opportunity of gathering into
his structure other functions such a.s a
restaurant and shop, with occasional inter·
ruptions In the shells to accommodate
tranquil inner garden courts.
Finally, it is worth noting Kahn's decision
to erect the building in el.ements whose
explicit synthesis of form and construction
articulates an elementary oversaiUng
structure as had been demonstrated earlier
by Van Eyclc's Orphanage and indeed was a
key aspect of the Centtaal Beheer office
complex built at the same time as the
Kimbell Museum .
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Academy for the Arts and Architecture, Maastricht ,.......,
Wiel Arets, 1989·9)
There can b~ few buildings in the Nether- there and who will enter into dialogue with
lands that were made with such sc.ant means; the architectural space with banal and bril·
glass. concrete, a smattering of steel and liant effects that will steadily infest and
precious little else. These elements together enridl this ac.ademy building.
comprise blocks as restrained as they are
severe, aesthetically under control aU the
way, without further prettifying and without
frivolity. There could scarcely be less, I
would think, and more would in fact be too
much.
You can of course refine your means and
choose them with such precision that the
effect is greater than If you were to use the
excess of means that architects in general
claim they have to resort to - mostly, it
turns out. because they haven't a lot to
say.
Most of all you need a great deal of care if
you are to tell it like it is with so few words.
First you have to know, during the design
process, what you are talking about; the
story only starts for real with the onset of
building.
\Ve already know that the Japanese can
perform miracles with concrete shutteri ng,
but that the Dutch can do the same should
...
be equally clear from this example. And all
that on a Dutch budget too! Here, besides,
Wiel Aret~ has taken aU the insulation and
security fanatics to the deane(s, emerging
with a building that is im maculate. The
absence of all appurtenances trains one's
attention on the clarity of the space, ele·
mentary as is it. like the provoc.ation of
a blank canvas.
It is no more, and no less. than a chain of
clear, bright and above all open spaces
which seem lO offer their services to any-
thing needing shelter - like the old ware-
houses meant for storage but just as good
to work or live in. Impacting on the city
like see-through containers, these academy
buildings are more or less emphatic.ally •.,
there. depending on the light- whether it
be daylight entering or artiflciallight radi-
ating out- accountable as this is for an
unceasing metamorphosis.
Tlme will no doubt clothe its invulnerable
nudity and soften and blur its hard archi-
tectural edges in an inexorable march of
marks and signs. like every place ofwofk.
It will adopt the colours of the artefacts
made there and of the people who work
.•
•
.• .....-...
••
•
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...
AlfTIClPUtwG Tit UIII.XPICT"ID IOJ
Duren housing complex.
Germany {1993-97) l.......l
U7
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...
A.NTJC.IPATUO 11.! O.U.ffttl-D 101
Extension of Vanderveen department store. Assen (1997) 1••,..,1
A $hlft in the building line gave this local anchored around the bloclc. The design which was steadily built onto so that now
department store the opportunity to extend proceeded from a 4.5 metre deep building it all but takes up the entire block.
its premises (to a depth of just six metres) combining a row of slab-shaped colum ns Thus we see an urban block evolving gradu-
so as to show a new face to the square which with cantilevering 1\oors, held clear of the ally over several decades into a single
It sharu with various riva lcompaniu. txisting department store by a 1.5 metre building, a conglomeration ofthe original
Here in Assen they are used to relatively wide void. small units which ccan still be recognized as
closed brick facadu, from which we con· The new building could be made consider· such today. They were so organized, not
eluded that the stark contrast of an almost ably higher than the old block behind it, only In terms of identifying form but also
all-glass construction would succeed in so that you can see right through the upper operationally, that they would keep their
bringing a metropolitan air to this provin· 1\oors. This lends extra emphasis to its free· independence at least in part.
cia I town. The idea was to have the new standing status. The new glass addition i1 admittedly on a
portion stand free of the existing block at This glass satellite is one step in a process larger sccalt than the existing, but this is a
the front. like a ship moored alongside with of successive extensions: the owners of fitting response to the new open space of
only 'gangplanks' lin king it to the 'quay'. what can now be described as a department the square.
Indeed, there could be more such 'ships' store began with a single modest shop Construction-wise it consists of a number
...
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of floors dillided into smaller areas by the
slab· shaped columns. This vast display
window with its glass skin shows off the
variety of wares to be found in a department
store like Vanderveen.
••o
net as opposed to gross ~nd ue soon Inclined to reg~rd every- both. Here we are not concerned with such specific instances
thing beyond the effective net surface area as a necessary as the entrance but have broade ned this principle to a theme
I!Vft that should be held In check. The architect who m;mages and a paradigm.
to keep the difference between net and gross surface uea u The In-bet-en, even If tlev.ted to an object (call It a nega·
small as possible is soon their blue-eyed boy. tive object; defined by its outline and wen from the other
This businesstfke attitude is only abandoned (at least In Hol· side, so to speak), remai ns an unstable phenomenon. We keep
land) when It's time to show off, to astonish, and even then thinking of it In terms of objectnen, yet just u its involve-
clients tend to resort to cosmetics rather than to space. ment with t he things around It persists, so too does Its subor-
Everything gets calculated In square metres; cubic metres are dination to those things. So long IS an entity qualifies u the
allen to the minds of legislators and financial backers. The In-between, it becomes. at the shortest notice, hemmed i n,
net of rules and standards Is drawing ever tighter In its defin- vulnerable, marginal. Secondary, dependent and In the most
Ition of what Is strictly necessary; that is, accommodating it favourable circumstances, connective. What is formed on the
In fixed meanings. SpiCe is categorically excluded from the other hand is fixed, solidified, defined. attruts attention
signified In that definition, and it Is just this space of the natur~Uy, is an object.
Indeterminate, the unupected, the Informal the unofficial. There is nothing against objects as such, were it not for the
that architects should be taking care of. fact that they draw the attention away from their surroundings
Space, then, Is that which manages to escape the confines of and focus It on themselves. Space comes about where the
the established, the specified, the regulated, the official and things are built and shaped so that they give ground, so to
so Is there for the taking ~nd open to Interpretation. speak, and reUnquls:h their priority by slipping i nto their
Most of ~ll. spue is between, the thing that buil.ding leaves context In such a way that built su bstance and surroundings
free, and that requires a radical shift In focus. Architects will acquire equal standing, and become as one. Before Picasso's
have to kick their object habit if they are t.o see things In their dishes there was Jujol's undulating bench clad with broken
t rue proportions. We have to become tess object-happy and plates In Ciaudl's Pare GOeU In Barcelona, the very dty that
shift our view from things, obj ects and buildings to what ties Picuso had departed shortly before.
In- between. 'Although JujolfCiaudl's plates can stilt be rud u such, their
This shift of attention, as obvious, fundamental and radical autonomy hu been seriously Impai red nonetheless. The lndl·
as It l.s , means that we are able to assign a value to the area vidual pieces are loosed as it were from their original bond to .,•••.,
between the objects that define our world, the in-between, engage fragmentl in their surroundings: there are new rela-
as great a value as that assigned to the objects that abut it. tionships to be read besides the unity of the original plate.
and put It on equal footing with them. In U$Sons for SWdtnts So you could see this as a form of cubism.''
In Archlt«ture we looked at ' DIS Gestalt gewordene Zwischen' The Cubists painted peoplea.nd things In fragments. llkeJujol/
(Iuber): the concretization of the in-htween, the in- Gaudfs shattered plates these fragments. being part of the
between as object,, such as the threshold between house and context. are absorbed and sharply defined by their surround-
street which, depending on how you interpret it, belongs ings. So, for instance, In Seoted Womon with Fon, an early
more to the house or more to the street and hence Is a part of Cubist painting by Picasso of uoe, it Is Impossible to tetl
In cezanne's still·lifes with their profusion The painter Pierre Bonnard was hardly a Like Bannard, Giorgio Morandi chose to
of fruit in dishes on tables. it is less and major innovator. Picasso and his friends l.eave to one side the entire dynamic of the
less the depictions of those objects that were unable to take him seriously: his life- twentieth century without taking even the
count ilnd increasingly the space between long preoccupation was with domestic slightest aspect of it as a starting point. He
them. Often it is just that intervening space scenes, whose benign warmth and harmony painted predominantly bottles, jugs and
that is Indicated and the apples or lemons in sensitively balanced colours illustrated pots, everyday objects for use which he
have become littte more than gaps among the lives and su"oundings of people evi - carefully grouped. You can see the same
the colour. We know enough about apples dently quite unconcerned with the tempes· objects cropping up in different paintings.
by now, their variety notwithstanding; what tuous goings-on in the wortd at large. And He regarded that grouping a.s the actual
they look like, how they taste, smell and yet his work was remarkable in another way work; the business of painting proceeded
feel. They are well·chartfd territory both than just being aesthetic and benign. For rapidly. Each combination of elements
Inside and out. recognizable. familiar. The though the objects featured in his palnti ngs invariably presents a tight-knit ensemble.
space that attracted C!zanne was that - tables, chairs and other items usually The aspect of buildings that his obj~cts
between the objects in their relative posi· found in rooms- are as a rule composed in po~sess makes it easy to associate the com-
tions and perhaps their relationship, but such a way that they are carefully embed- position with a d ty with the area between
above all else he was drawn by the form of ded in their surroundings, it is notable how the 'buildings' seeming to glue it all
the space-between, unnamed and without often the focal points fall between those together. In C~zanne's still·lifes too the
status. Cezanne was looking for the objects so that aU the individual compon- area between the fru it consti lutes a 'pubUc
unnamed, unslgnlfled form. He was able to ents, so to speak, are suppressed to realm' of sorts. In harmony and on a par
regard a form as a phenomenon in its own emphasize the overall cohesion. Though with the objects set in it.
right. By erasing the significations he could the objects do remain recognizable as What is remarkable about Mora ndi's still-
give the things back their space and give such, they have lost their dominance. All fifes, however, is that pots that are down-
them equal standing. Without being even elements of the painting at.tain equal right ugly or at least highly inappropriate
vaguely conscious of it, it was he wbo status. He made extremely large paintings are. when focused on individually, neutral·
invented the twentieth-century awareness which he then reduced In size by cutting !zed a.s objects within the composition as a
of space. them up, seemingly choosing to cut spedf· whole. If anything is dominant it Is the
kally through the objects so that they overall image: a city of bottles on a table.
would disperse as fragments, sideways
from the interstitial space. The working
method of this modest, reclusive painter
was as meaningful as it was bizarre in its
strategy of foregrounding the lndeter·
minate spaces between. In that respect
his departure•points can be descri bed as
cubist.
.., P•ul Ctnnnt, 5trlllift. ,...,
0
• ltAIIUIIM 4 Make buildings less like objects and they cambridge (uSA) and OMA's more recent Kunsthilln Rotter·
become, shall we say, more open. This ruulting gruter accts· dam).
siblllty comes from re.dl ng them as an assemblage of campo· You un find such an lnterwe11ving of private 'substance' and
nents on the one hand 11nd making them more a part of the public ~reas of streets as passages In andent towns which
greater totality of the dty on the other. have evolved through the ages such 11s those along the Medi·
This happens when buildings are conceived of as parts of the terranun Sea (but also ebewhere, partlcularty if you head
city, as a conglomeration of parts that enclose ur'ban coli«· east).
tive space, and when the oppositions between the building This 'kasbahlsm' has Inspired many hlll·townllke projects
(as an object) and its surroundings are c11ncelled. "otjust by such as emerged in the sixties. th• only built example of whltb
adapting them to each other, but by letting the building lnfll· ls In fact Moshe Safdle's Habitat In Montreal. This was an
trate Its surroundings whilst the surroundings In tum pene- 11ttempt to attain 11n urban substance of sorts though ln•vi·
trate more Into the building so that the one tends to become Ubly the net result Is still a housing block and an object, be
the other. tt with a frayed edge.
Decreasing the abjectness of buildings makes them less dis- So there are ways to make Interior and exterior as well as
tant In every sense. And as the opposition between built and private and public Interpenetrate. This dlslntergrates the
unbuilt decrnses. so too does the difference between Inside autonomy of buildings free-standing in the void they have
11nd outside. themselves caund- 11n 11utonomy that Is avoided ;as It Is In
Inside 11nd outside will never truly blend together, 11ny more every historical town centre where even the most Important
than degrees of public and private. Requirements of protection and Imposing edlfle:es stand side by side presenting a united
as reg~rds climate, property and fire precautions will always front to the equally dearty formed complementary space of
insist on more or less clearly defined transitions in the form the street.
of controllable entrtlnces. In the following 'classic' examples we will see that the Inter·
Building units can however be stripped of their Individuality venlng space is on an equal footing with the built space. Each
by having them physically engage more with one another and and every one Is proof of how 11 shift of focus un counter too
by blurring the bounds of public space so that the units them· strong a sense of abjectness. The projects of mine Included
selves sum to lose their edge. here are In a sense indebted to these works, In th11t aU seek
A first step In this direction came with efforts to physically to prevent the built elements from dominating, to the benefit
drive public space through private objects (arcades and shop· of the space between.
ping malls. for lnsunce, or Le Corbusler's Carpenter Center In
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'-
of • buiiAiint poottrtttd by strett:S ond _._. •
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only through letters. The consuuction,
though presumably done correctly, was
directed by local architects who had their
own opinions on howto go about it, which
Dr. Curutchet felt negatively affected the
quality of the underlying idea. Le Corbusier
himself never went to La Pl.lta and could
only have seen photographs of the results •
..,
,.,,
Ul: JfACl .t.WD THI A.ICIItlt'T
Piazza Ducale, Vigevano, Italy (sos·t.,l
Bramante, 1684
0
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....
~· take on the entire elevation as its fronL
As a concession it was prepared to go out
squares at Place Stanislas in Nancy• and of
course in the colonnades of the oval fore-
o er
o uins a g1 an ti t py pl .
li lo g c i ns o man- ad moun ains.
SlG
From he Acropolis"" can g in r ason- n en
.d of how of n of nou nd h oun -ntop., •ght ully
Gr pi i ht of b b rou~ es ssum s Parthenon
arb e co tours, e uaUing the a ocities erpetrated in the the surn
C()lo rs. 0 he
od fo e of r o . e
dt pt s ·tn r thtr or · i nu b r i mor
hoont th non .
l houg reron~tru 1o s b ·tt e-
these remains re merel e scraped are
p dia of a staggering num ro s ctures a OS
l as so l as t h Acropolis. lse; to n,
~s
i · h ir r t s ri y, ot s hie -o o n
if th y r sh p d by n tur , th turns tion, its l s ifts in o
Erechtheion, Greece (m·m J
...
•••
just a curiosity but without doubt the great· It is supremely difficult to tear one's gaze
...
the building order. this sculptural 'portico'
est surprise that the history of architecture. away from these fascinating female figures is a complementary opposite as gracious as
with its prodigious variety of columns, has who • although belonging together - have it is exuberant; more lyrical. and almost
to offer. their own individual personalities. Yet It is palpably close.
Wh ereas the columns of the Parthenon are this variety and the infinitely varied column
shaped by the sharpness of the Ruting, here sections that generate unexpected and
it is the folds of the gossamer-like robes capricious in-between spaces and, depend-
diaphanously draped over the figures that ing on the angle of vision. an endlessly
have that same effect and although of a freer varying intercolumniation. J ust this unpre-
form they are no less exact. Only the lines dictably changing. variegated interstiti al
have lost their severity. It is as if th~! hard space binds these columns together.
stone has become soft as only the sculptor Countermanding the consistent and stern
can manage, and the result is indeed as circumspection ofthe Parthenon with its
much sculpture as architecture; it is both. harmonious groups of statues framed by
"'
The space of the theatre of Epidauros, Greece ,..,..,.,
and so belongs among the very largest Astonishing though It may seem, the
This mega eKamplr of a Greek theatre was
places of assembly. Its auditory and visual acoustio of this space are so good that a
constructed in a natural hollow. completed
qualities were such as to aUow the greatest whisper on stage e~n be heard In the outer·
by the geometric precision of a matblt lining
concentration and Involvement In the perfor· most ring of seating- and needless to say
of sculpted rows of seats. The size of the
mance at Its centte, as well u generating without ampliAcation of any sort.
audience ilble to sit In this furrowed cone~v
the broadest sense of colle<tive experience. The association with stadiums might lni-
lty comH dosr to that of toda(s stadiums
~---At----------~·
,., ----------·~------------------~
tially suggest linu with the Roman amphi- landscape or rather having emergtd from iL Both involve the dialectics of individual
theatJes, but these were entirely free- Shaped by landscape and architectural and community, though one is the reverse
standing structures whose e~terior faced means, hete we have a place where an of the other.
the city. What is distinctive about Epidau- enormous number of people can assemble The monumentality of the pyramid is in
ros is the almost complete absence of an to witness an event together. Instinctively every respect outward-facing; there is in
'outside', altogether absorbed as it is in the the comparison suggests itself with the fact no interior. The tht!atre by contrast
pyramids as its absolute antithesis across has no outside, only an inward -facing, self-
the Mediterranean Sea. What was scooped regarding monumentality.
out in the Greek theatre, was piled up in Both exhibit a basic form of urban planning;
Egypt into artificial hills; there, built forms one the building. the other the town square.
erected with supreme effort took their place Endowing their surroundings with space,
in the landscape. each in its own context. they are part of
You might say that pyramid and theatre are the landscape, not Lent through their vast
each other's counterform, not that they are dimensions.
literally so in either form or dimensions. ft Epidauros is not an object that reveals its
is as ideas. more than anything else, that qualities on the outside. Its essence is the
they are complete opposites: if the pyramid interior, or more correctly, its capacity to
is the tomb of a single deceased person, the contain, and it Is this persistently underu-
Pharaoh lying motionless in silence and posed side of architecture that emerges
darkness for eternity, in the theatre all hete: not what it is. but what It is able to
living persons come at some time to cele- contain.
brate a supreme moment of social enactment.
...
- -- ~ '
••
Uil'-tiUWUJt 1P&U 2U
:l 0 ISP&( t A
Media Park, Cologne, Germany
( 1990) [no-m)
5>1
tecture with a capital Aand without.'" wide diversity of studios for various clients. reversals. There, however, the inner side of
The about-turn effected here means that It is this diversity that makes its mark on the block was unambiguously chosen as the
the rear elevations are now exposed and the outside world, white the uniformity of street side with the entrances placed there,
all sides are consequently front facades, the office side faces inwards. and a predomina ntly green area of pri"a te
while the interior courtyard rejoins the There were several versions made of this gardens enfolding the block.
public realm. The whole issue of inside and proposaL one of which allowed the internal
outside has become irrelevant. space to be roofed with glass as an atrium .
The segments of circle comprising the plan In that case, the result would have been
consist of a 'hard' immutable skin. like an uncomfortably c:tose to a system of arcades
arc of amphitheatre such as the examples and then the disadvantages would have
in Arles and Lucca, built to last and able to been foregrounded. for In activating all the
receive less enduring in fills. u sides. 'backs' as well as 'fronts', the dilemma
Whereas the enfolding arcs ca n house the arises of where to place the entrances.
ever essential offices functions, the This project looks ahead to the principle we
'paunches' were originally designed for a applied in DOren and other urban planning
Dormi ory Kurobe, J p n (1998)
24· J
This do m1 f of til v ,
T undr d or so
d d so e-roo
ents. T e r • besid s, commun l
f cili ·es includi g es rant and a
libra . T u1lding divides 1 ta a number
p d h th mot
s. on
i l b oc s po
r rb n
dormito •nto bloc
.
om a ng a
or'ttosf i othe
on y i ic
li ng uarters 1nto s1 se a rate b odes
link d b bridg , hos g rom on
bloc to oth
bo h i s. h
orridors str L
six iscre· e masses are anyt i 119 bu
11 rtica y or niz tached 'house~'
alt o g th ay loo tha way a first ..
Art i u•a ·o gh r , h y h r to
n organiz io al unit div·d d into s Ofl s
5 tched together by one r tt and thre s ir
o ers.
isid n t l po ion fu h ·net de
bathrooms in radi ·onalJapanese s e,
au
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washing and drying rooms and roof terraces
for general use. Th~ ind ividual rooms were
made tall enough to receive a meu.anine
apiece to be used as a sleeping balcony or
a rtudy balcony. This effect of height is
enhanced by having the vertically divided
glass fronts continue down to the ground.
Erasing the normal storey height is not just
a question of freej ng space. Though the
surface area including the sleeping balcony
is basically no bigger than is customary for
such rooms, it gives the sense of being a
compl~te if minimal house in whidl you
can easily create your own environment.
if only because of the question of personal
choice Introduced by having two distinct
living zones.
ua This means th< l t you can receive visitors
without continually having to tidy up;
it also makes habitation by two people
easier. Parallel to the Living units is the
restaurant whose line Is continued by
an elongated zone of garden and terrace.
Behind this Is a ldtchen and service block
and the technical area. The restaurant
zone forges a bridge between the resid~n
tial portion and the service block. and
gives lengthwise views across the rite
paddies to the distant hills. This zone.
opened up to all sides, invites all manner
of activities and is suitable for parties,
concerts and receptions. Also in th is zone
are the library and more private rooms for
talks, and a traditional Japan6e room .
This project is used to test ways of exploit·
ing solar energy. The sun breaks on the
most sunlit side are equipped with solar
cells. Instead of tacking on devices willy·
UJ
nllly it seemed sensible to collect solar
energy at places where the sun needed
k~eping out of the building, and convert
it into elmridty to help light the interior
at night.
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Ma'ter
IH
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rW•t iTWtU P AU Ul
Public library and Centre for Music and Dance. Breda (1991-96) (s•o-s•tl
...
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...
• ~··
Afurther factor was a group of mulberries that partially shelter the adjacent street room through to the courtyard garden
occupying the large inner courtyard that, (as in some Italian cities for protection resplendent with mulberries.
being a rare species, needing preserving against the sun). This generates a sense of The informality of the whole comes from
through thick and thin. being indoors, while accentuating the dis· systematically acknowledging and ceding
The upshot is an amorphous patch of built tinctive curve of the street without need· to those elements and conditions that have
fabric set at a respectful distance from the ing a fully curved facade for that purpose. determined and shaped the site through
trees that unwittingly form the hub of the Spacious views through beneath tbis jut· the ages. The main library space, unques·
design. The whole is held together by ting roof explicate the various functions tionably the dominant feature of the com·
columns following a square grid that bear and layers and the way they reLate. plex,locks into the surroundings on all
aloft a roof oversailing all the components; An inviting exterior is a prerequisite for a sides, consisting as these do of mainly old
the impression is of a tent with all compo· library. and you should at least be able to building parts, thereby accepting a sub·
nents assembled In a single large space. loo~ in from outside. Here a glass facade sidiary position.
The roof has generous cantilevers at places allows views in of the Lower·lying reading
Ma'ter
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pl 0
bar-
n
n
.
mq ~ 0
co
the unici al offices
as
y
cause
e up a posi ·on
t e area.
ewers
sp ce~
sur
ex ernall ~ maktng the roo in its capaci
o oni ; g e e n ct e bu· ding's
prindpat facad .
Th onl sp c l for pu ar of rc
c f'' th
S, th 0 \JlOUS SO l •
1on b ing to unfurl t h·s zone lin earl i e a
str t along th tr a di oriums.
T h ad of h uild n co
2f,O l r C A D 1 A e LT CT
...
then peek in under the large roof as a free-
standing ediR~ from a bygone era. Joining
it along this 'street' is the Rim theatre,
stitched to tile segment-shaped balcony
in tile foyer by catwalks.
The foyer zone, then, Is more than anything
else the space left between the various
masses whose siting was necessarily pre·
scribed beforehand, hence iu amorphous
charilcter. The periphery of this streetlike
space suggesu individual buildings. with
the brick head elevation of the old barracks
building with iU vertical traditional win-
dows welcomed as a free-standing element
In this interior urban elevation. strength·
ening the collage look more usually encoun·
tered on the street than in a building. The
street effect is further enhanced by the
e~tceptionally high ceiling undulating atop
the space In one great ftourish and giving
nc s
in l n th. Isn' s c sh p db i ·
periphery, en all b 5 id ,n done?
Th d o , p nti n all
n s d s of d
o columns~
ou
uc
into h b c •
ground.
fi sp c
o
.
arg1n
o tn oc so o r a n ion.
'" columns. pbud Sftmingty at raodorn
Ut
•
Gebaute Landschaft Freising. Munich, Germany (t99l) 1..,....,1
In this competition design the principle space than is necessary so that the foot- tying all the votumes together, commences
developed in freising for an entire neigh- path logically followi ng the river would be at the main entrance on the street and con-
bourhood was adopted again for what was btoclred by it? Buildings often take more tinues to the waterfront where ships can be
to be a monumental government building. space than they give bac'k! moored. Views out are of the water and
Here too there was a magni ficen t site, par- Our point of departure was to express the across it to the city centre. The strip of park-
allel to the river and bordered on the other three principal office wings parallel with land along the river remains undisrupted.
side by a hill with a parklike character. Was the waterfront as genUy billowing arch with the footpath continuing over the office
this to be the locus for the umpteenth bridges over the connecting hall set at right bridges as if through a publicly accessible
imposing block, talcing up far more public angles to them. This hall, the central space hilly terrain.
...
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I ·UTWU
a 1JII IIIVIIOIIII . .I lOlLI Wherns the hfstorital city Only accept It as such In thelandsc.ape. Aqueducts such as the
had autonomous buildings In exceptional cues, preferably Impressive Pont du Gard seem to be part of the nearby rock ,..
those of a so:cbl importance and thus for generill use, the formation, if only beciluse of the wutherlng of the superhu·
objectmanla of the twentieth century only seems to acknowl· man-sized stones the Romans used. There seems to be little
edge free-standing buildings and the urban character has been difference here between built and naturally evolved elements.
fr;agmented u ;a result. loth city and landsc;ape art disinte- As Is so often the case, It wu Le Corbusier who got on the u ...~
grating. What other way is there to ~spond to tbts dilemma scent of the Idea of continuous structures that could be laid
than to try to Integrate just that which hilS been fragment.ed , like 'horizons' through the countryside, their floors bridging
In other words to look for forms of Integration for buildings/ difference~ In height. and Inhabitable u belt dtles where It
built developmentand grounds/landscape ('building the site'). would be easy to Imagine roads being Incorporated.
So now we not only have city as buildi ng and building as city Remukably, this reversal produces 'negatlv•' buildings that
but also site u buildi ng and building as site. are stripped entirely of their objectnus. This Is why they slip
In spite of the persistent myth of nature•versus-cultu~. both so easily Into their surroundings and that Is the great l mpor·
landscape (in Holland at lust) ;and city are man-made, 15 tance of this idea (Ignoring in the present context the que~-
compositions of more or less built elements. The controlled tton of j ust how succeuful such Inhabited ribbons would be
chuacter of both demands that we should portion out tht built as an urban org.a nlsm).
elements evenly and It seems that we are willing to accept Allied to the aqueduct-like ribbon development are the
components of a more collective Import and emphatic pres· megastructural configurations of the Obus plan, likewise
ence more easily. designed by le Corbusler, that wind through the Algerian
We are all too quickly Inclined to see dominant connecting landscape like contour lines." Though this proposal opened
structures such IS bridges, roads and high-tension tables as the door to the notion of 1 residential Infrastructu re with
part of the countryside. w·hfle regarding blocks of flats or lndivlduallnfllls, the fact that this coutal 'viaduct city'
offices as disruptive: f;u more so than, say, grain silos and deprives the hinterland of a view of the sea Is enough to cast
other eye-utchlng objects that we consider to be more doubt on Its feasibility, however beautifully It seems to slot
necessary, which Is perhaps why they strike us less as a blight Into the landscape. Aspecimen of this type of residential
on the landscape. structur• elegantly undulating through the landscape, such as
While the city consists mainly of brick and stone with green the one rtiltlud by Alfonso Reidy in Rio de Janeiro, demon- m.m
elements In tow, the country Is the negative of this though strates the sheer opulence of this large-scale gesture so that
we tend to accept relatively more green In the city than brick you 1lmost forget that it contains mass housing for the very
and stone In the country. Green enclnes In the city, as it hap· poorest of that city's Inhabitants.• ln Reidy's scheme a central
pens, can never be large enough; green after all stands for street divides the building horizontally Into a superstructure
light and sp.ace. and an understructurl!. Running at half height through the
building like 1 ship's deck ilnd reached from the mountain
• Maouou s The more collective the Importance of a struc· slope by footbridgl!s, this street confirms thl! feeling that the
ture, the easier it is to interpret tt as part of 'nature' and building Is no discrete object but part of the mountain . Also
... •••
,.
241 SPAU' AW D IU AaCBlf!CT
found In Le Corbusler, this principle gained International the potential for attachment and therefore resi stance, the
m fame through MilrfO Iotta's conv1ncfng application of It In further the swing towards physical cover and menU! com pre·
hb private house at Riva San VItale In Tlcfno, Switzerland. hension together with a lesseni ng of the emphasis on v1ew
The sn1ktng 'deck' of Reidy's resfdentfll meg1structure g1ve and movement. If" smooth surface suwuts movement before
rise to a further If unexpected spatial sensation of seeing anything else. the more '1rtfculated' it Is, the better the con-
before you the inner bend of t he rur of the block and simul- ditions for p(JC,e -making and settl ement.
taneously having 1 v1ew through the same building of the This conception of the landKape ldu shows ceruln affinities
wor'ld In front of lt. In spatial terms this goes a step furthe r with the distinction tht philosopher &Illes Deleult made
than the extra quality of the curved blocks exemplified by the between smooth and striated surfaces." Put In Its most ele·
crescents In Bath.14 This effect moreover strengthens your menUry form , his concern Is the difference between planes
sense of being on 1n Inhibited mountllnsfde rather than In whose meaning h free-f\01tfng or nomadic, 1nd 'burers'
a housing block. whose meaning Is place-related or sedenUry.
So the building as landscape trades in its objectness to While on the subject we should attach no more meaning to
become a component of a major entity such u a rock forma- our references to philosophers than they deserve (architects
tion; theoretically It could dissolve Into Its surroundings are cruy about philosophers but tend to attach their Ideas
completely. too Utenlly to their own enthuslums) . The comparison h iln
extremel y superficial one. Buildings are simply less fold1ble
• t~•DICAPI AI nA:I:II OP SIIIUPICA•CI Jn places where and pliable th1n words 1nd im1ges, whether we like it or not•
there are no overty present objects, such as In a landscape, Landscape as It concerns us Is 1 structure shaped by man for
things and the space between them an prevail on equal foot- purposes of survfval1nd so constructed as to offer the maxi-
Ing, together with 41n egalltilrfan, non-hlerJrchlc division of mum IMng space and thus the optimum conditions for exfs·
1ttentfon 1cross the entire 'field' 1nd, consequently, of mun- tenet for all Its occup1nts.
lngs thilt tend to Impose when attached to objects. Wherever the surface Is rolling or sloping man douall he an
Landscape, In the sense used here, Is 1 more or less artfccu- to make It flat, meaning horizontal, by laying out terraces In
lated expanse with more or less protection (enclosure) 1nd steps. This artfcul1tion crutes better conditions for worki ng
potential for attlch1nent, and therefore more or Ius suited the lind and It gives more sp1ce. We can find 111 manner of
to be the bearer of meaning. significance, and Is therefore terrace forms In mountllnous areu throughout the world. '"
slgntfiablt. The principle is both simple and obv1ous: first you remove all
The less object-like and the more Intermediate, the leu the stones and rocks from the wild surroundi ngs and use them
expressive - not so much In the sense of Ius rich In contrast, to bui ld walls that cont1l n the fertile upper str1tum In
but less determined, less defined and more open to fnterpre· horizontal lanes. This 'natural' balance of materfal•nd ground
tation. simuiUneously wards off the threat of erosion, which hu
The smoother iln expilnse of lindscape, and so the less capa- Increased since the original vegetation was deared, and orga-
ble of enclosure, the broadtr the v1ew but the less plentiful nizes the water resources. The more w1ter th1t Is needed, the
the 'cover' (In Inverse proportion). By contrast. the greater more relevant the horfzontlllty of the terr~eu.
(j)
"'
-
.,, ...
III•IITWIIll' 1"1ACI U t
0
,,.•.,. In the rice paddles of the Far hst we can find inc:redibly this town, Holland, ire busy wasting space on an extensive
refined and sensitive systems, developed from the experience scale. These extension schemes for the large cities- garden
of countle$$ generations, that so determine the dimensions dties- produce neither gardens nor cities, and there is no
of terraces t:hat the required water capadty can be guaran- possible link when both components are lacking.
teed with an absolute minimum of dyklng in and, therefore, 'Architects are destroying place while creating a void, where
malnt.enance. there Is ilready so much void imd so little space. ln blocks
Terradng Is a means of defining territory and also provides which are spatially set apart at such a distance that the
cl;uity of organization and views. last but not least it presents shadow of one block does not even reach another, everyone Is
a close-knit sodal syst.em through the interdependence of its an outsider, lost between walls of unassailable smoothness
users who share t he upkeep of walls and dykes and look after whose Impermeability can never accept, but only reject.
the water resources. 'A flat unbroken floor Induces one to go on, a smooth wall can
only be passed; It keeps Its distance, withdraws, and offers
Each landscape will evolve studlly over time Into places; no resistance.
defined, described, won and defended, territorially determin- 'The first stage In the formation of enclosure is the resistance
Ing .tnd continually being redistributed and more intensively of floor and wall; it Is this resistance which causes one to
used due to new resources and standards. slow down or accelerate, which can Influence the rhythm of
As the capacity for place fncreues, so does the capacity for existence: I.e., the forming of our surroundings Into enclo-
sojourn and as Indeterminacy decruses, the space- not just sure: town.
physical space but also In the sense of leeway- decreases 'We must create enclosure; enclosure for shelter, shelter for
also. both spirit and heart. The larger the world becomes, ilnd the
The same holds for the city at least when sufficient ' homo- further men travel. the greater the need becomes for enc:losure,
geneity of heterogeneity' prevails- in this s.e nse landscape and part of our work Is to give the widest significance to
par excellence. On that point, the following tut dating from these two extremes by reconciling them to one another. Our
19&4 relating to Randstad Holland as an urban landscape is environment Is crnted: chiselled out, coagulated, stretched,
as relevant as ever. extended, like a fold In the ground, so that room Is made
' In Holland, more than anywhere else In the world , the Inten- available for everyone and everything.
sive use of the available surface mustalways be borne in mind, '"'Townn is the Integrity that results from the Intensive con-
for nowhere are so many people to be found together In so touring of the surface: it Is the total enclosure, brought about
little space. In such a way that the largest possible number of people can
'In addition. the need for enclosure must be gruter hue than be absorbed. Usually, the first lead Is given by the contours
anywhere, since nowhere Is the horilon broken by hills or of the ground itself. Even the most insignificant change- dlf-
woods, nor does the flat, soft ground co-operate In any way. ferenc.e In level. incline, hollow (everywhere that dust is
Thus, the uguments are evident for close and intensive build- arrested In Its flow and piles up) -Is formative of enclosure
Ing In this most open land In the world. and can be the prelude to town ... lirowth and change ire the
'It Is, therefore, the most Incredible piradox that people In only constant factors in the Image of the town , while every
...
U O JPACIAJf0111 AUIUUct
utnr·,-.
suge of continuous builcllng must be permanent. Threfore ilso not a little superficial. It may hold true as an implication
every new enaoacltment must be • complete contribution In of expansive, fluid, undulating, dynamic, 'nature' and space,
itself; a fulfilling of the time, 1n articulation of the surface. but is undeniably over the top when only nomadic approprfil-
' Here "articulation• means a disintegration of this surface in tlon seems to be at issue.
such a way as to give It size, enabling it to envelop everything Architects tend all too soon to mix their reality with metaphor,
that takes place within. Through this development, walls no with the risk that the building's performance on piper and in
longer function as partltionJO but as bases; the waU u enclo· rullty ire not a\wiys the ume thing.
sure. As such a process of articul•tion adv1nces, il town Ple1ted and folded planes may well express mobility and con-
becomes more concentr~ted, deepedn outline and of Increas- tinuity; a horizontal plane Is more likely to Invite one to stay.
Ing c.apaclty. little room In much space becomes much room. But pleats and folds add information (and therefore meaning)
Our st.arting point in planning must be the provision of opti- ind. like striited surfaces in relation to smooth ones-
mum capacity.'" depending of course on their position with respect to high
and low, up and down -are more receptive to meaning ind
• SPATIALLY IVOLVID PLANU Modem architecture is notably therefore spatial In the sense of their capacity to be read as
fascinated with continuous curved 1nd often folded 1nd raked place, or filled-in and thus determined and designated.
planes which in principle offer scant opportunity for atuch- We are saddled with the dilemma that our era has eliminated
ment. They produce little in the way of Interior quality; rather determinacy from our thinking. The uchltect.• and Indeed
than encouraged to remain in place, you are urged to keep architecture, has no standpoint to fall back on that can stabi-
moving. Not condltfons for sojourn then, but no commitment lize his arguments for and legitimation of what he makes.
either. This flowing architecture ndtes by the mere flct of There would be no problem here wen! it not that eventually
seeming in Its entirety to be il constructed reflection of our users remain uprooted In such circumstances of fluidity and
modem way of life, marked as this Is by fleeting points of flexibility, Incapable of becoming occupants. Flexibility may
appliCiltion, as incidents in a dynamic whole. be receptive to everything, but It Is unable to Incite and thus
Not only Is this 'liquid' architecture averse to offering quality too noncommittal to act as an undertying principle. Nobody,
of place. orientation In the spatial sense vanishes In this fluid the most nomadic architect Included, can function In the long
too. P1rticularly ilt thoSI! places where the columns stand at run other than from 1 home base, a reasonably stable point
ninety degrees to the raked surface, an effect of alienation of reference In his thinking; a horizon, if need be, that he can
ensues with reg~rd to the horizon and your sense of equilib· ultimately aim at.
rium . Here, the Instability of the modern world Is expressed Like the desper~te servitude of the slave to his dominating
using means that verge on the surrealistic. To compound mat- and oppressive mastcer, the modem irchltect Is a slave to the
"""'" ters, with floors merging seamlessly into ceiUngs th1t are lnmblllty he should in fact be combatting -if only he knew
also roofs, all famtlt~r ~rchltectural meaning stems to melt how.
•w..y •nd builcllngs increasingly take on the attributes of
landscape.
The reference to landscape Inevitably sounds romantic but
The slop~ near the Peruvian town of Cuzco enabling effective water management.
in the Andes were worlced by the Incas" In an architectural sense you could say
on an astonishing scale into exceedingly that the landscape haJ become more
long agricultural terraces resembling ac.cessible through this stepped articula·
gigantic sta irs. Theose terraces are Linked tion and therefore more habitable.
together by stonl's protruding from the Astructure has come about. both built and
endless stAcked walls that form minimal of the landscape. To us, it is a potential
sets of steps at regular intervals. These urbanistic principle capable of launching
built forms are an intervention in nature. a multiplicity of meanings. interpretations
The terrace walls hold the fertile upper and elaborations.
layer in place, combatting erosion and
•••
...
..,
Moray, Peru 1~...,.,1
On the plateau, quite unannounced by the tural laboratories has not been ruled out
surrounding landscape. is a hollow of glgan· either; after all. the deeper lying the land,
tic dimensions. The walls of the hollow are the cooler it is, so that variable conditions
lik4! the mountain slopes farther on, worl<ed for growth prevaiL
up. we may as.sume. with undulating lines for aU our efforts to fathom out the possible
into lower plateaus In accordance with a intentions of this grand work. a plausible
complex design of complete and almost explanation is as yet unforthcoming. AU we
complete circles. These shapes are terraces. can do is wonder at this magnific.ent undu-
at times concentric, at others widened,
with multiple centres. The hollow itself
lating hollow that is exclusive()' inward-
facing. unlike the extraverted agricultural ... •
''"
254 I,ACI &liD Ull AUIIUCT
Stairs and treads (m .· ml
Stairs are pre-eminently intermediate ele· smoothed over and often stashed away in that a stair so traverses a rpace that. while
ments. The only reason for vi:siting them is narrow shafts as obligatory means of link· moving. your view does indeed make that
to ascend or descend to somewhere else. ing levels without erasing the physical dis- journey a memorable one.
They connect levels. subsidiary like bridges tinction between above and below. Vou might instud construct a ramp but
to their job of linking, servant. dependent, Ascending or descending, from one floor to this involves a far greater length if it is not
space-devouring; they are circulation space another, you are moving through a space to be excessively steep and thus difficult
and not useful floor area or a destination which, constantly perceived from another to traverse. Aslope is most effective In
as such, open-ended and not an end. This angle, is sounded out, bringing about what extremely large spaces and then only when
is why stairs are all too soon ignored or we c<tll a sense of space. So it is important these are so articulated as to hold the
attention even during a long journey.
Regrettably there are too few architects
who are able to ac.complish this.
l.e Corbusier introduced his 'promenade
arc:hitecturale', the idea thit you move
through a space as if through a ~ndscape,
with ever new vista.s as on a mountain walk.
Ramps and sloping floors compel movement,
make lingeri ng difficult. Thus. they have
come to typify a 'nomadism' in archi tecture.
But for a stay of any length, we always seek
out the horizontal plane. Mountainsides
are made into terraces for agriculture,
wherever there are human settlements.
The treads of stairs, If the dimensions are
right, may permit standing stiUor become
places to sit, and ca n take on the role of
tiers of suts, thereby bringing people
together. When hewn or erected in unculti·
vated space, treads are a primary form of
articulation, a plaee for planting or build-
ing in the horizontal sense and cover from
behind in the vertical sense- they represent
the domesticating and appropriating of
naturals pace.
Stairs can be so developed that they unfold
the landscape; creating a sense of space
through
. ever shifting vantage points and
views through, they are space-makers par
excellence.
...
-
. . . . pr
...
••·.,twn• au a "'
Steps of Machu Pichu and outside stair of Apollo Schools (1980· 83) I••Ht:l
It can not have come about by sheer Composed from two unequal parts that now enjoy th e closest proximity without
chance. This regul.lr succession of steps together comprise a functional entity, it relinquishing their identity.
must, Like all others like !t. have been made resembles a face built up or two halves Th is set of steps exisu because of two com-
by the hand of man. We will probably never from different people. You are seeing two ponents, each of them attributive (though
know why they had to be at that exact spot. not-quite-complete objects simultan· they could each have been a stair in their
half acron an immovable rocky outcrop. eously, and tile quality they share prevaib own right) and together they form the sub-
and half next to it across material that is as a single composite image. Both have ject. But never an object - and this is what
a good deal easier to work with. adapted as best they can to the subjeCt and interests us•
...
--
~
\
--
Ul
t lf·IHWIIM tPAet Ut
Ma'ter
'Amphitheatre' treads,
Apollo Schools, Amsterdam
(1980-83) 20 (m ·m l
...
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~60 IP4CI 4 MD Ut .UC.I IU Ct
IM•I ttYU.• SPAU Jll
0
Anne Frank SchooL eight-class primary school, Papendrecht (t992·94) !••...,,,
...
...
Sft
•••
UZ SP·ACI! A»O Ut AkCAUflct
Stair in video centre of Theatre Complex, The Hague ( 1986-93 ) 16111.-J
The video centre is in actual fact only a from the upper floors like an installation the spedf!cally vertical use of a space with
m-Ho stairwell in the Hague theatre complex. such as those regularly showing tllere, it a severely restricted surface area.
Not thraading elastically through a large comes across as a permanent component
.... tree space as in Centraal Beheer, here in among the temporary exhibits.
the cramped though tall exhibition spate Besides forging a link between adjoining
of the video centre the height is sliced sto reys, this stair presents a diversity of
through with a stair pushed as far as possi· vantage points from which to observe the
ble into the corner. Cut loose. so to speak. art on show. It is a means of encouraging
''"
... ....
Ma'ter
Outdoor stair of De Evenaar primary school, Amsterdam (1984-86) ,...... ,1
In siting this school as a more or less ter necessary to make it a meeting place for
autonomous object in the middle of a local the local children .
public plaza, and somewhat brazenly in Public space for children should not be
front of the entrance to a currently disused confined simply to cut-and-dried play·
church rearing up like a threatening mon- ground apparat.us. Buildings in the old
ster behind it we proceeded from the parts of cities have appurtenances,
assumption that the school and the neigh - recesses, nooks and crannies and, not
bourhood would share this plaza space. least undefined space to play in. The plan-
In other words. it had not become just the ners and builders of today, fearful of irreg-
school grounds. ularities, seek to create a smooth, clean,
This public clearing, set centrally in a unassailable world of certainties and per-
densely populated residential area, is used spicuity. It is up to architects to incorpo·
to the full. especially by children whether rate aspects in their buildings that
from the school or from the houses around. contribute to transforming this world into
The entrance stairway, defiantly e~etending
into the plaza, has a key role to play here.
urban social space.
...
It functions not only as an entrance to and
exit from the school but also as seating for
those watching the local junior footballers.
In addition, this 'obstacle' offers the shel-
•••
ro trave!'ie this free-standing stair is to space, hovering almost, like a fragile sculp· modified somewhat during its assembly,
follow Jn oval spilillling movement that ture. bringing design and performance into
giv~s unhampered views in all directlons. The springy fe&ling resulting from a greater uncustomatily close proximity.
It allows you lo uperience space ven.l· sag lilan is normally acceptable, strenglh·
I
caUy. During office parties, preferably held ens this effect of floating. The design was
here In this atrium. it offers a fine view of made intuitively rather than hom calcula·
performances and other events. tlons. Based on paper models, which give a
This free·form stair with almost no repeat· good idea of the stiffness ohh!!et steel at
ing elements winds sinuously through the the critical points. the stan was in fact
Stair in Maison de Verre, Paris foo•·m J
Pierre Chareau, Bernard Bijvoet and
louis Dalbet. U 32
That steps are also able to expre~s inacces· to then descend into the building. and reflection', as Perrault's design report
sibllity and can be characteristic of a delib· The image that t he city has of the library is puts it, and is inspired by a monastery.
erately chosen concept of limited access is dominated by the four glass towers filled Clearly conceived as anti·space, it Is closer
demonstrated by the enormous plinth con· with its store of books. Not for books to look to the pyramids of Egypt than the Greek
taining the public portion of t he new Paris out of, but rather to be looked at. This theatre and certainly not social space for
library. You must first ascend it, climb up it building is pervaded with 'concentration life in the city.
••dt
Ill "TI>t ptojtctls • piecoof urb1n *"- • mirri1111UJI inst.JUotion, ll>t "Ins il -··of emotion, wbore objociJ and tl>t m• terialJ ofw!t;.f.thoy ore count for nothiog without tlltlithll
wt.id! mn.ctnd tl>tm. AI> initlorory wolk ocrou U.. footbridg11 Jluog o1110og tho lnnchn of t1>t ''""· >Omowhoro bot-• ~ •nd oar\11. Last of oU. t1>t 10ft prottction of undflrrowt/1,
with its oro1110S •Dd M11i119 sounds. "'""ioo' ..W. oo...tf •nd wfth onotl>tr world.' froratl>t competition tt:<t for tl>t- Bil>Uothi~ No_tlonaiA! dt froOO! (Oo•lrriqllt! Pomult. .....
'"
l tl iPAtJ A018.1 AU:BIJICT
Ma'ter
Roof of New Metropolis, Amsterdam ,.,••.,.1
Renzo Piano, 1992·97
Standing on the bank of the IJ inlet and less building-like from the city side and steps. The building constructs an attractive
founded on the car tunnel running beneath, more of a Land abutment·like continuation slice of public space like a hill in flat coun-
this science museum with its sloping roof of the bank, accessible to the public and try, offering an unfamiliar and surprising
is the tunnel's mirror image. Th e museum fadng the sun. view of the old centre of Amsterdam previ·
itself is a sealed box given the shape of a This makes it an attractillt! place to linger, ously only to be seen from the historica l
ship's prow for rather too obvious reasons. particularly for children who can abo find towers in its midst. This way it is contribut-
But the stepped roof makes the building water there, cascading down among the ing to the social space of the city.
'" .,.
I_. ..IITWUJI' SPAO Zl9
Library steps, Columbia University, New York 1..,1
Placing buildings ~onsidered to be impor- The change of guise into a tier of seating Just n with t he many kinds of stal11 and
tant on a pedestal is a regular theme in tem porarily makes of this stair a place. From steps that classically-influenced architec-
oosially org11nlzed architecture. Held being 'in· between' it has become a subject ture hu brought forth, here too it triln-
dear of the ground. elevated above us. the and aim in itself. tempor.tn1y rdegating the spires that the ca.,.city for interpretation
building is m11ked out u an object and library to the baclcground as a side issue depends on the situation . What was meant
singled out for our attention. Steps do and shifting the emphasis from the estab- as monumental can, depending on the cir-
admittedly suggest Jecessibility. but only lished. contained and solidified to the cumstances, just u euily uansmutt into
when distance has ~n created first. Informal. the inviting. the ephemeral. the opposite.n
619
0
Carrefour Rue Vi lin/Rue Piat. Paris
(no)
Ronies, 1959
6>0
Mat I COI'T' d
• Astudent who had been gi¥en • Problems are often regardrd as • Once a chemistry teacher had • Agroup of students on excursion
an extremely low marl< came to pits in which you get more and to cany out in front of the class were received at Alvar Aalto's
discuss tne matter with me prior more deeply entrenched, to the experiments set down in the telrt· office. They were imrited to ask
to doing an exercise. (The stronger point of suffocating. You could book as chemical equations of an him questions, and one ventured
ones you never see again, it's the better address yourself to moun- unmistakable simplicity. The to inquire as to whether he ever
weaker ones tnat keep tr.liling tains that need digging up. There results had to be spot on, bearing used a module. To which the
you.) His wor1< showed a total are for that matter no such things out in practice the theory in the master must have replied: 'Of
lack of understanding of archi- as problems. not in our profession book so that the pupils would, for course, in all my work.' The next
tecture. This was a hopeless case at least. only challenges. example. indeed see just a blue question, regarding the size of
who should never have embarked residue it the end of the experi- module. was inevitable. Aalto·s
on this training course to begin • Written accounts of projects, ment. He explained that they answer? 1 always work with a
with and this seemed the ideal even of the most excellent pro- often took himages to get organ· module of 1 mm.'
moment to impress on him that it jects. are all too often tedious in ized. Including bringing in all
would be better all round if he the extreme. This is because they sorts of elaborate catalysts so that • During a lecture he gave to
were to do something else. In tend to reproduce the design a process all too regularly doggrd students in Zurich Aalto told the
what turned out to be a lengthy process from the beginning, so by contaminants would at least Following anecdote to make clear
discussion of his work I made it that they culminate in the chosen have a semblance of simplicity. what kind of architecture he
plain to him, patiently and in the final form, much as a detective would prefer not have anything
proper manner, the full extent of story climaxes in the unmasking • Never burden a student with to do with: An insurance agent
his tack of understanding. From of the villain. Unfortunately this 'You could have done that differ· was rung up by a client in a state
his reaction It seemed that the is not the way projects worlc. The enUy'. And certainly not wltn 'You of complete panic who tried to
message had struck home, for he idea, the quest with forays to left should do it such and such a way'. explain how seriously his house
now appeared to fully grasp why and right, is only interesting when This may show how good a teacher had been damaged in the previous
he had received such a low mark. you know where it is all leading you are. but it's no help to a stu- nig ht's violent gale. His account
Then he came out with it: 'You to. The thought process does not dent. It wasn't your discovery was so garbled that the insurance
know, I had in fact decided to run synchronously with the events anyway. agent intenupted him with the
pack this study in; but now. after in the report you make of it, no demand: 'Sir. just tell me whether
this little talk, I can't waitto more than a meal is served in • Jean Arp was wrestling with the house is still standing, yes or
get back to work.' exactly the same order in which the problem of how to put no.' To which the stricken victim
it was prepared. What, for that together the two blocks of the replied: 'Yes, the house itself is
• Most teachers only accept what matter, would you choose to say perfectly smooth wood sculpture still standing. but all the archi·
they themselves consider to be if some TV reporter perpetually he was malcing so that they would tecture has blown away.'
good and tend to use that as a pressed for time gave you sixty come the closest to a single piece.
standard against wh ich to meas- seconds to get across to the view- Avisitor to his studio who evi- • 'An architect is someone who
ure absolute quality. It is known ers the gist of your project? dently did not fully grasp the tries to sell lemons to people who
that the composer Maurice Ravel. problem. suggested hammering want to buy turn ips.' S.van labdtn
when judg ing work by young a couple of large nails through
colleagues and coming across a them . The holes these would malce
composition he confessed to could easily be touched up so that
understanding nothing of, always absolutely nothing would be seen
gave it his approvaL 'To be able ofthe operation. Arp, tormented
to condemn a piece you must at by this proposal - obviously too
least have first understood it. and simple and too logical to dismiss
should it be beyond you r under- yet too Insensitive to accept.
standing it might be gibberish could only answer: 'Maybe so, but
but it might just as easily be a God sees everything.'
work of genius.'
0
• 'Whtn l first went to Paris, I did • ·one of Mies van der Rohe's • The world-famous conductor • 'Architectural design operates
so Instead of returning to Pomona pupils, a girl, came to him and Otto klemperer was feared Far and with innumerable elements that
College for my junior year. As said, •I have difficulcy studying wide for his unconventional, often internally stand in opposition to
I looked around, it was Gothic with you. You don't leave any shocking behaviour; a good many each other. They are social,
~rchitecture that impressed me room for self-expression. • He five-stir hotels refused to have human, economic, and technical
most. And of that architecture ask~ her whether she had a pen him because of his impossible demands that unite to become
I preferr~ the 1\.amboyant style with her. She did. He said. "Sign habits. psychological problems with an
of the fifteenth century. In this your name.· She did. He said. Music for him was the only thing effect on both each individual
style my interest was attruted "That's what I caU self-expres- that counted, and so his capacity and each group, their rhythm
by balustrades. These I studied sion." John~ for criticism knew no bounds.Jt and the effect they have on each
for six weeks in the Bibllothtque was In fact nrver good enough, other. The large number of differ.
Maurin, getting to the library • 'Artists talk a lot about free· something the musicians he con- ent demands and sub-problems
when the doors were opened and dom. So, recalling the expression duct~ were well awue of; they form an obstacle that is difficult
not luving until they were dosed. "fr~ as a bird•. Morton feldman were all too often getting the for the iKhitectural concept
Professor Pijoan, whom I had went to a part one diy and spent rough edge of his tongue. But it to break through. In such cases
known at Pomona, arrived in Parts some time watching our feather~ was the audience he cared for the I work - sometimes totally on
and ask~ me what I was doing. friends. When he came back, he least. with a contempt that welled instinct- in the following manner.
(We were standing in one of the said: "You know? They're not free: literi lly from the depths of his For a moment I forget the maze of
railway stations there.) I told they're fighting over bits of soul On one occasion. a cele- the problems. After I have devel-
him. He gave me literally a swift food." Jc>l\n ~ bra ted pianist hid j ust completed op~ a feel for the program and
kkk in t~ p~nts <1nd then said, a brilliant cadenza and just its innui!M!rable demands have
"Go tomorrow to Goldfinger. I'll • 'ScMnberg always complained before klemperer was to bring the been engraved in my subcon-
arrange for you to work with him. that his American pupils didn't do orchestra back in, he turned to scious. I begin to draw in a man-
He's a modern architect. • After a enough worlt. There was one girl him and pronounced.loud enough ner rather like that of abstract
month of working with Goldfinger, in the ctass in particular who. it for the audience to hear: 'Far too art. led only by my instincts I
measuring the dimensions of is true. did almost no work at all. ravishing for this lot: dr.~w, not architectural syntheses,
rooms which he was to modem- He asked her one day why she but sometimt$ even childish
ize, answering the telephone, and didn't accomplish more. She said, • Pet er v~n Anrooy was a com- compositions, and via this route
drawing Greek columns, 1 over- "I don't have any time. • He said: poser well-known in this country I eventually arrive at an abstract
heard Goldfinger saying, "To be "How many hours are there in the when I was young (one piece of basis to the main concept. a kind
an architect, one must devote day?" She said: "Twenty-four.- his that is stiU played on occa- of universal substance with whose
one's life solely to architecture." He said: •Nonsense: there are as sion is his Piet Hein Rhapsody). help the numerous quarrelling
I then left him. for, as I explained, many hours in the day as you put He also conduct~. at, amongst sub-problems can be brought into
there were other things thit into it." Jc>l\o ~ other things, the low-priced con- harmony." A\'Or A•ll•
interested me. music and painting certs for the young, specially
for instance. • 'One day when I was studying intended to give schoolchildren • 'The poet ha> his dealings with
'Five years later, when Schl!nberg with SchiSnberg, he pointed out some idea of whit classical music things, things have their dealings
asked me whether I would devote the eraser on his pencil and said, was <~bout. Such concerts began with him." &rrtS<Iritrbet~
my life to music, I said. "Of "This end is more Important than with a spohn introduction telling
course.· After I had been study- the other." After twenty years I something about the works on • 'There are painters who turn
ing with him for two years. Schon- learned to write directty in ink. the programme and their com- the sun into a patch of yellow, but
berg said, •tn order to write Recently, when Oavid Tudor posers. Van Anrooy was most tl>ere are also those who through
mu.sic. you must have a feeling retumed from Europe, he brought adept in explaining fairty intricate their art and intelligence turn
for hirmony." 1 explain~ to him me a German pencil of modern matters clearly and conciselY so a patch of yellow into the sun:
that I had no feeling for harmony. make. It can carry iny size of lead. that those totally unacquainted Pabt.o Pit.luo
He then said that I would always Pressure on a shaft at the end or with the subject could under-
encounter an obstacle. that it the holder frees the lead so that stand. Once he compared Mozart • 'What we photographers
would be as though I came to a It can be retracted or extended or and Beethoven as follows: 'let's don't capture immediately, is lost
wall through which I could not removed and another put in its take Beethoven's music, boys and for ever,' Htflri {Jtt1tf-Brenon
pass. I said, "In that case I will place. Asharpener came with the girls. You can just hear the strug-
devote my life to beating my head pencil. This sharpener offers not gle he's having, what an effort it
against that wall.- John C•9t one but several possibilities. That is for him to scrape his way into
is, one may choose the kind heaven by the skin of his teeth.
of point he wishes. There is no But then listen to Mozart, and it's
eraser." John c,9, as if he's just come from there!'
au tor
• le Corbusier was In the habit • It is crucial that first-year stu·
of having his often world-famous dents have the right approach.
perspectives set up by one of his What applies to everyone applies
assistants, who immersed himself to them even more; you should
in the master's handwriting. not be showing students just how
At the end he took over from the difficult it all is but how exciting
draughts man, who then served and also how easy, providing they
as a model to be intluded in the go about it the right way. Whet
drawing in the master's hand their appetites for knowledge
together with the suggestion of instead offeeding them lnforma·
a cloud. some green and perhaps tion. This is why the best task to
a bird. Tense and controlled in start with is to design a large dty,
equal measure as always. he com· with no restrictions and no prior
pleted the piece with his own information, preferably in groups
signature. Sferre Fehn, at that and in collaboration, and with a
time wor1<ing at le Corbusier's deadline of. say, two weeks.
studio, on one such occasion Teachers usually think in terms or
heard him mutter half under his increasing complexity and regard
breath: 'There. the footprint of such an assignment as more suited
the lion.' to the final year than to the
beginning. lheytend to forget
• Aldo van Eyck was less an that during their training students
impossible person than a person have admittedly heard about aU
of impossibilities. He had a pas· the complications and problems
sion for these and went to great but that these are insoluble even
for so-called expert urban design·
,,.
lengths so as to best accom-
modate the impossible. ers. In any case, who said they • The porter's lodge in the recep- looting at the floor plan as it
After a harsh expedition through had to be solved~ Why does every· tion area of Alvar Aalto's sanato- appears in every publication. this
Romania, impenetrable as it was thing always have to be resolved rium In Paimlo once drew porter's lodge Is nowhere to be
in those days, and arriving at forthwith? Afortnight spent by attention through its sleek seen. OriginallY it must have been
Brancusi's Column which was so first-year students on the task detailing, its pliant form resem· an open reception area whicl'l was
much more impressive and taller of designing a city once elicited, bling before anything else an later closed in, no doubt for prac-
than one could imagine (it was in the eighties at the Ecole inordinately magnified version of tical reasons. Did Aalto make this
literally measureless right there d'Architecture in Geneva. a great one of Aalto's magnificent vases. exquisite modification himself or
in front of you) he could only talk many of the basic concepts on Such sinuous lines. which the Is it the work of others? If that
of one thing: of then wanting to hand throughout the history of rest of the designing world tends last-named is the case. then I for
see the upper surface. He would urbanism, as a kind of ontogene· to splash about at any and every one would willingly allow my
also travel to the furthermost sis of types. For the students this opportunity, always have a most buildings to be adapted with ~uch
reaches of the earth to take Into was the most normal thing. definite purpose with Aalto. Thus. sensitivity.
his keeping stones gathered there Open·minded as they are, they his vases are eminently suited to
and later leave them at Cape Horn had expected nothing less. variation in use in that each curve
(to confuse archaeologists. he having enrolled at university or billow invites filling in individ·
said). Bring literally everything with the inten tion of tackling ually. so that what you really
into what you do; 'the world in serious matters such as these. have is a number of vases in one.
your head'. And know that you The student about to leave uni· Just as the vases holds flowers,
must persevere when faced with versity l<nows better. Relieved so too the porter's lodge receives
the Inevitability of the road you then! of ~o many habits, what, its visitors where the shape curves
have taken. exactly. has he been given in inwards. This elementary condi-
He WitS quick to say of others return? tion could not have been designed
that 'they tried hard. but not more precisely. certainly not in
hard enough'. the way it coincides with the
drum roofiight set at the very
• 'Don't ask for a rainbow, place you would expect it. One
fetch It!' Alclo ••• fytk would be hard put to conceive
of anything of greater beauty
and logic.
.,.
• 'I was invited one day to dinner 11ee-fllled garden in which the • 1 was labelled a revolutionary, a.s a puz.zle you feel obliged to
at the Corbusiers' apartment- birds began chirping at dawn. whereas my greatest teacher was solve if only lO keep up with the
they were living at the time in an '"Can you imagine, BrassaY, • the Past. My so-called revolution- others.
old building in the Rue Jacob- Yvonne said to me one day with ary ideas are suaight out ofthe These assignments never involve
and I expected to find an ultJa- tears in her eyes, ·we have to history of architecture itself!' problems, they are challenging
modern apartment with huge leave the apartment in Rue Jacob. U. CA><!Mifl more than anything else. They call
expanses of window and bare. Corbu has finally has enough of not for diligent draughtsmanship
bri ght lit walls, an apartment all the sarcastic remarks people • 'The artist doesn't make what but for an idea. a brainwave-
similar to the one he had designed make about it; he wants to live in othe-rs rega rd as beautiful. but in-miniature, and are expressly
for the millionaire Charles de a Le Corbusier building. He's only what he considers neces- aimed at bringing out the
Beistegui, the painter Ozenfant. putting up an apartment hou5e assignee's own ideas, intef"]lreta·
the sculptor Lipchitz. and many near the swimming pool out at tion and choice of site. Thinking
other;. Molitor, in the Rue Nungesser-et- • 1t is easier to pulverize atoms up a problem is possibly just as
'Imagine my surprise when I Coti, and he's set aside a duplex than prejudices.' Albtrt£i..Wn mentAIUy taxing as thinking up a
entered a fa1rly messy apartment on the eighth and ninth floor for solution. As a teacher you have
crammed with odd pieces of fur- us. with a roof garden. rve been • You are never too old to to extricate your;etf from all the
niture and a weird collection of to see it. You can't imagine what lea rn, it Is unlearning that gets stuff that constitutes ninety per
bric-A-brac. Even the huge draw- it's like! Ahospital. a dissecting more and more difficull cent of the architect's practice
ing table the architect used was lab! I'll never get used to it. And and that you are all too readily
so loaded with objects. books way out in Auteuil. far from every- • 'His works, which appear almost inclined to immerse your students
and flies that he was left only thing. far from Saint-Germain· to have been improvised, were in, to show them just what a dif-
with a tiny cleared area where he des-Pres, where we've been lfvlng frequently very slow In getting ficult business it all is. lnstud
could draw or write. I even won- for sixteen years: started and underwent many you should be looking for the
dered whether the old apartment 'They moved in 1933. And although changes. He often took one or exciting, challenging and, most
had a bathroom. However, it took Yvonne years to get used two years to finish a canvas, and importantly, the fun sides to
Madame Le Corbusier adored the to her duplex. the architect was he would sometimes return to it architecture that will arouse inter-
apartment. which was in the delighted with it. He especially years later. There is a story of how est and hopefully curiosity too.
heart of Saint-Germafn,des·P'f~. Uked the vast wa ll of his eighth- he once took advantage of a looking through the results of the
and they had been living there floor studio, made of raw stone. guard's absence from a room in take· home exams (example see
since 1917. She loved the rustic which became his "daily compan- the Musee du Luxembourg to pp. 282·283), a coherent Image
shutters that opened onto a tiny ion•.' Bmsll dash over to alter a detail that has taken shape through the
had bothered him in one of his years. There are always a few who
pictures with some paints and get totally stumped and a large
brushes he had concealed in his group of boring. decent. reason-
pockets.' Br.m~l oo Pim• fi<Hl..rd able students clearly divided into
those who went out of their way
• TAKE HOME ASSIGIIMliiT to resolve the task and those who
Part of the curriculum of the ploughed through it with an often
Faculty of Architecture at Delft remarkable dexterity. But there is
consists of so-called 'take-home also a select band whose respons-
tasks': written assignments that es are frequently surprising and at
students come and collect. These times even utonlshing.
are to be completed and handed
in fourteen days later, after which
there is a discussion involving
the teacher who set the task and
those who took it on.
The essence of the task is that
you can only resolve it property
through a combination of perspi-
cacity. empathy and enth usiasm.
It entails a written rather than a
drawn situatioo; much like the
physics problems you get at sec-
L
... •• ondary school. It is a situation
familiar to everyone, as intriguing
Ma'ter
IJI ltiiOt ··~~~ •niOI-CIIOHOHI
noon a"'""~ •"" 0!1/ern.noht•.,
r•two• •• w•o.. wlert ven •••n1
oon eonvoudlge "-ooko•••ottnll;
o•n bed en . . ., etelllno voa•
boet. .,... 1e t.-w.-n• .,." moeen1k
• TAIC I · NO MllXAM om na.r bev•n tt!t e••n. oet..
...... ...,. ..... "'••_... w-•"'-"U. ~
9SeptrmMr 1997
Profeuor Henniln HertzMrger 81
Module A4 , History iind Design •
....
GE NERAL In m;any designs too mu~h emphuis is unronsciously
given to the w;alls (the ronstruction).ln these terms the sp;aces
can M rtgl!ded as in-between sp;ace, residual areu left by the
placing of walls. The present task proceeds from a situation In •
which there is no need to place walls ta ma•e spaces, but insttild
where spaces can bt scooped out.
GIVEN Asheer cliff forms a right ilngte with both the horizontal
top face and these. into whi~h it plunges. At ebb tide. the plateiiu
is u metres iibove su level and the Willer 2 metres deep ill that
polnL The cliff face runs north-south with the ~a to the wesL The
climate Is subtropic;al iind almost always sunny. The difference
Mtwttn the tides is half a metre. The rodt of which the dfff bee Is
made is easy to work with, to hollow out. and at the same time of a
enduring quiility, that is. in principle no finish is required. On the
plateau there Is a road set not too far from the edge.
TASK Make the watrr accessible from the upper plateilu and devise
one or more added social spares. Suggestions: restaurant, caff,
sauna, chapel dentist's surgery, gallery for uhlbitfng irchaeologl·
cal or geological finds, and so forth. It is possible to build onto or
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• The climate at the university is the Gothic cathedral and the • 1N OU£M is a two·yearly Inter- in return when, their studies over,
overly determined by fear. Fear on Sagrada Familia, thus presenting national Design seminar. Ashort- it tlans11ires that design ing and
the part of the professors that quite differently grounded rela· lived school of architKture held realizing a building demands an
students wiU not get a thorough tionships of form. material and at the Faculty of Architecture in identical attitude where It Is again
training. and the students' fear of ways of spanning. Delft. it Is an explosion of team- all down to anticipating, dellber-
failing to satisfy the expectations Without referring to history as ing without t>ducation. This time .ating, seeking out conditions,
of the professors. And yet the two such. various eras and their spe- It Is the students that decide making (and keeping) appoint-
parties agree on one count: it has cific possibilities can then be which teat"hers they want to hear ments.
to do with being able to think compared, thereby laying low the and what the subje<ts are to be. The task is enacted in the city. It
about your subject of study, the unspoken but generally prevailing Students themselves are one is not primarily about building
rest is a question oflooking things prejudice that there is no place hundred per cent responsible for itself but about what building in
up. And because you are only able for the past in the maelstrom of everything and it is they who see the city does to space.
to think when you get pleasure the present. to it that the technical and aca- Those taking part come from all
from thinking. it is 'the pleasure demic staff warm to the idea of over the world, perhaps Initially
ofthlnldng' that should colour • 'Art Is the highest expression breaking plenty of rules for a attracted by names and by the
every task you are set. The best of an inner, unconscious mathe- week. And you should see what Nethertands, but also for the thrill
tasks I know of in this respect matics.' Gottfried Wtlhtllftl.eibnlz happens when you do! Work con· of actually being able to meet
are the following : tinues into the early hours and and talk with so many others in
1 Comparative analysis (intro- • 'Let's forgetlhe things and the building is turned inside out the same boat. The task is no
duced by Kenneth Frampton at only pay attention to the rela- to get at its hidden qualities. The more than a pretext and catalyst
the Berlage Institute) of build- tions between them.' G..rg•• ar>q.. daily routine is disrupted and the for coming into contact with
ings. Th is involves carefully cleaners are made aware of their others and having something to
choosing a number of objects that • We all know that an isn't truth. importance. discuss with them.
have to be of one type per analysis An is • lie that makes us realize Spectacular though the week of No·one really believes that a week
(i.e. railway stations. residential truth, at least the truth that is the seminar undoubted ly Is, it is is long enough to do more than
arus, schools) and expressly given us to understand.' merely the tip of the Iceberg of make a start on a barely under-
suitable for comparison. Groups rablo PICOSIO preparations attendant on each pinned plan, nor is that the prime
of students (this can only be done new I N D£5£M when twenty or so reuon for I ND£5 EM. The idea of
in groups) try to assess. on the • 'You must aspire the simplest individuals are kept b11sy for at results is chiefly to drive the
basis of what are initially self· solution. but no simpler than least nine months. Each time a process. The performance that
imposed criteria. the extent to that.' AIJMrt Einst~in group of students comes together needs generating is to get a group
which the different objects sat· to perform the Herculean task of of complete strangers. almost all
isfy those criteria and which score • 'The only way to find some- getting this event off the ground. of whom are obliged to try to
the most points. They therefore thing is not to look for it.' their own regu[at studies largely exprMS themselves In a language
have to think about how a build- .lor9f Luis a.,,., left to one side for the duration. other than their own, to formu·
ing fits together. why this Is so. It is only much later that they real· late and present an idea and go
and whether this really is the case. lze just what they have received on to defend it against all others.
The basic conditions that projects
have to satisfy are exposed
together with whatever unex-
pected and exceptional spatial
discoveries they may prove to
elicit.
2 Once again by dint of compari-
son, a number of preferably large
buildings or structures. whose
construction was of decisive lnftu·
ence on the undertying concept.
are eJQmined to ascertain the
degree of Influence the form had
DO
on the construction or indeed the "'
construction's influence on the
form. The exercise gains added
depth by the inclusion of exam-
ples from the past as well as the
present, suth as the Hagia Sofia,
l•l oplot as potitioAll q.Wity of rht ""'"' longeait. d.tn.' l't§t~ tn trois f",):JOC1 if tho, - · gloY... / .. if not!Wig hod • An:ord.ln9 ... tbt .......,. ia Willy ao..ii..
ofiUUii!l ol>jf<ts; (b) SpOot .. <ODtainOf fno..,... p;o.r t..s nola port.llls ouvtru. Do happenod./1 hut the wind /one! I """da (011.). L• Co•lr•dtr. Jlllau & Hod.so<l,
of oU !Niorill obji!CU. In......, (1), lpOCO ttmfd; .i aau~. au toad. un s&aist~n pas· w!oat ue/ th<rbiH>ings/ boruftmlol•ro. l.<>rodon '"''· Tllb ~ odition gifto
w!!hoot • ouwl.ol objttt b ll><oneel•o~. wt tn ta!Sint d...~t \'aatell'obllq.. I Tilt Mtd to 9" owoy? I Tbt tltslro to U.. noot WoJJM!ion. l\ltanUy t~l
In e&,. (b). • snoteriJI objo<t <>.non(, bo gimllll>rion d.. .U.Ot> p<'tsots. Lot lflltr>l lniW? f 1,.,,.,., •worf 1-toboln with tbo indisptc>Ubtt •...,..,. ~.
c""eeiv«< U UUUil'J ln •J>a<t: SpO<O !boa l!t nittll pmdlifnt imllol>il._,, Don• ~ the '"""''' port I iDcl t0 .-uth M<t/ w ' lkmllllltrt.Jborgtr. 'Do Sc~o
lpptti:S~J • rulity which Ia i. c:tJtli:A stnH c:hatur, oM bllpo d'~nt bNia!t; ft. des room Is bc-glmoing / to ..nllh asou.od Dt. ..,. to Cocbusiet. w.......rAU. oo. "·
u wporiof lb w ranen.IW<Icl4. htb dupoliMiltOrots. des p.utiPS IO!IIblt$ cit f it will bt yvurs lOOn./ Toaluft j1ut 1101. 'tlritlfft ln coqjtmrtioo with the pub·
spo<o <on<tPU or.ltu Ctfltic>N of tbt \'ftUH. UrkMppojt qllelqll*lois ..,..,. tntero.l./ 1teo! myselldliftlll'J, I bogjt!.l1ltog liution of the c~ltctod Jt<tcl\bool<• os
hUIIWl !Jnagitutloo. !HIM d..uod ,.,.. d.. nhalaboos de soupin, '"<
l• "'" to bt /10...,..bore rlio./ Housn " ' rl.linq Le Co<bwr.,, S.tetdlboob. m•·
r ....
tasilr co•Ptd'tf'R&ion of out..wnst t:lptri· d'•ne ¢Ut 4al r-Ntt, en rtpotcotUtt I out of Ol'J ~ I P<OPl• 110 walkU.g / "" l'l..a.~c-....) tMI.
e"GQ:, . "'"kilo -•IH!tov.t" mi ... t.ton. i •ocltr tbt Inti. IToa do not ,,. t-. I 1 fltrDRilltrt.Jborgtr, '11o.....,k f"'
1 lUttitlluhtr. a.d1n Uh1 Euiali1Uig. VeJ• pu :Mfit.UL mucb.ait iuptll dts RIUtl, You ll.l'iojust t.ll.tefod./ Then•••••lli"'"'J. 110ft hos~ form•~ For~JJA, tlrb. l , ttn.
Log Laltlbtrt Sc~- , Rf'idtlbor; ,,... Jai!Ub lJ .-ie M (ui 1¥~t- p.li'U •i boRne. 1 Tllt<t;, •llblt in tha oolddlt. / You will • Di<~ Hmtnicu. 0. ,..,,.,., .....;,,~.
• Go.orgts ..,..,,li~p~Dts dnpo<a. Edilloa!a tilt •Uiit ftllit teNt l l'ltfCI!t. cholltW\19, nlk I tow11ds tbo tlblt./ towu4s tilt opon ltctaitilt tho Uniftll!ty of GtorWt·
6ali\ft , ,•• 'llot,. rf9Ut p;o.rooart r..,.... •gkN, fpi>.at ~ •II> lol r~d< qui nOWl"JJ./ tow..udJ tht pl-t'tle'Dot af JOnow 9"'· ~ ttK. Kort:l.ousiJlibolf, Tlw
<! now donM I,!I...U.n du rellel tl de l.t &a suhaieat_.. - tt aft(: sa robe- i •ol.a.n.ts, / which bu begwl to ,....,/1114<19 objects, n.,.. ,....
ditti.na!. C'ut iinai qut noaiconstruisons &Or\ 10tgn.on d"ar.. tit botti.n a min~. G,.n,; 1 iu .n.gs b"t:l.og/ to tlw •ound of yow to Yi•1'11 toon. Spooe ""<11'111<1. Uni>mity
1·~; •-"" !lout elunl>u. one t""'t "''" d'~.JJ><01 dont il n'avait pu bt.ut. I Yousllollro,..c!Ditf I iDCII t.ltoU of I!Wtf!Dtl.. ""·
gzucbt et CIJW!' droitt. an dtv•nt tt un 6tr· godtt, .. dl.. ru..fb.bee ~-<tl•n 6t Ia begin to tum awoy.f Tilt bl.ad< co.ot you 'EI;otrltnu b t.ht ....r<Oillinq of pon,.,
~rt. m prfs et ur.. toln. Lonq~ Mn .,....,. ftrtu qui wccoabe. L'.,g&.. toaDIIf un 110 weuiDg,fwhere did JOY gtt it? I You 11M WOI4 •aperienc:to.. Jh.a.rt!i t (lOEIIOD
rtte ootrer~d.• notlt ugord portt ttt• b..d.all g!font.eoq... "' dbpoult lotocr told rot ooct/ WI C4M<>t r~./ 1 co« (jwr) with ·npert,....t•, ·....,m·.
loin. N.li$i'i\ nt ttaconttt ritn. il nt vail 4'olt.: '" voitts l'lncUN~ttrt JIOIIT ,..,.;w, ot•nd ot ttl. bad: I qf tht tOOIll •nd llmow and •p.,;touo. · To t~D<t iA tbt •<tift
~~; i1 ne voi' qo~ Clfl qu'Wltf'ctmtJe: d1I13l'Ombrt ll tonfi!'SJion d~ SOD H'lout: / If yva close,.,...,,..., you will know why JMtit r~rq.Wu tNt OQt Wfltllft to.rth buo
l'n~. (tit . . qui ........ tf11illd••• "" los v~tt.... respltodioiOJtnt poao ruaaoiMr I YOIIAttllort: 1 tl>ot to NTld io •spoet/ tbo u.l\llllliUu ond Uptd!UIII with tht
4Uoll>- built: l'ohst.ci• 1 4.. brlqun. """viu.go. rt t.. t.......Ua illilent bNiar Is lb for~ lima./ that to lorgtt time /Is tluslft lAd tho Wltoruln. To boooBittn
un Oll'Ji<, un point de lulu: r.. I>'K'<. c'm po•Y qu'ell•opporiiteoasno un ong•. .WU to forgot clt•t~./ Soon J'01I wiU tU.e off t.<pert - ro.utt ""''co ..,.,,_t
lilt
~~~fait WI&"'Jit , 'IUI•d ~(an He. IJ Ill- des p.rtu..... """' ~oat. I Soon the roorria w!Utmou/ pen,. of tho new.'
~ il !out toutMt pour 'lllf ta r.port•. t DavldCol.rm (llont./od.). AU/tb/U>w will k • >kla for,.,... body./ I t..el lilt
(> II'• non d'O<top!HIIIiqlle.l'eopoaee: (;ll and lfum. Ill• ,_oirsof-Jmlioz ill•
turning of bT..~ 1 arOilcd w!o&t.,. cx ~nn 1
On bonh, ~· no port pOS 4ono IW$ lf'S Mtl$, ,_,,.,, TbefoUoSodety, Londonn11. go!tlg to II'J./ IIoAow bJ tho WIJ f yva r.W.
(;l t.n b>ut •• qa'il f•ut fol.rt pow qutiH p.ua. yow hand I "'" hiYt notitN tJw flo,..,. 1 Frits. lln~,llftvef/1 JJR•J N4.
11ils lit clll'ft!N lit f9t 10 m~coatrtnt ~. to Ybeoo de Vries. H<l -~~...,, 6t lcrdi· I ool.h• ut.t../ They trill lie I to tht "'"'" a.rt laltkff, AauttN>m tttJ.
...1. Quoridq, Acnsttidlta ..... of ovr •crtion.J l•nd th• room's raap /..W • H.ic.hol FOI>Glolt• .!ltfWIII<r et Ptmi1;
· · -l'il1flnl.'
t Mourlet lltrltou·l'oD(J, L'lltl I( r~:zpl'ft, u. Ht'IIIW\ H.enzbetgfl. Joltatt wn ftr lie boloreus I lib • •Uaplt "'9·1 \'..,lit.. ""UsOtll'f dt t., pri=n, Sch-hotrs
WtloctGlllllNid •- · p. ••· .Ct~~ttn. Ci"'- <t pltologroplt<r. /llri tnttttd. /n....e b DOl hint tobotlont, romp lk>ols Inc.. ,.,..
• Goslnt Jlollben,#WdD"" itMJy. trorol. lfllttf'I.J 1111• / lltlnd It tho bock ol tho tOOII/ iWI I > ,_,.,~-.iiiAimiu.d>rJ•.
AI:Jn - 1 . hn11uin Booh. Hii'DIIINb· u Mi<lwl f-nlt, tosMOU It /41 ~.... ll<lm""' ....... , n.. Utbt ..,....,., pp,1..,._l...
W<IM, • • ttso. J>. ••· OriginJI t.at: 'A1.& Wtlons G•IU..ard ,..._ tbt chalt,/ abs.otblhg iU •u:>A<'f,l••d 4o Ibid._, pp, te-:»0_. "l., iU·Ut, 111.
Yillo. "'" lo b<uit "-• noes. lo llowdon· u l.uMw for Sl.....,u In AJthlt«tltll, willtw.tlow hsoll f anclrtlout tht dirk· f JlHd.• p~.I1,1U•t.-,U, • t. .. 21).-Jlt,)"Q,
...,..nt m !Mttm et 1.. <Wt~• du bel, pp. IHt. ,... I that • mfill tho <l>lil ~./ I r.ho!l t lnn111iclt. ~., S«i«y,
tlltt •'illtot 48 Hbtf:~ts cia It az,r aa 1• lbl'd,. p. an. bog..... / You 'IIIII SlY Jtno Ut bert./1 llatptt & ...,., ....,Totktm.
d.t'lott. au 1M""' (tJ>Ono<~itl!fllt.IWs lS Jbld.• pp. liO•ttn... cool>eu yoo soy it./1 coo ol.rooot htJI I """""pp. , .... , ...
tilt. ,. rit tfalt koldo tOO!N •• 11•••~• " lllid.. p. n. you,., lt. 1Soon yva will lib off""" 1 Md .. p, 11.
doni l.&ttJCAIM cst au non!. et t'f'llnlli u lUrk S\J&nd. 'Tba RDom'. 'lltis pom bt.d: <011 / •"4 tht ,_., w1titum I . .....,. ( J.Itl· l•••l .... bo>t rno.m for
ull9ciot olleodewo, litlit u tool.& .WU wu Tt&d o1t tM ~tior1 of Aldo 'IIJl will c l - l l - you{ and""' will ..... litis dfti9n. Ho othftwiso IIU:tlnqtllsll«<
I'CM~~cbre l tow Lt1 coiltt 4e $Oft c~u.r: !ytt , - ol hb !lflll.lchlldtt'tl, I toW bode of U.tt...,./ Your...,... wiU ll:i:cstll with tpe<:ialiort IOI.Uo.. UIIM>Ij>ltol
1 ailt.. p. 109. Oritlnalt..t: 'Ello orriVJ "Jonuny '"'· Sol«tfod l'on1ls. no k>n911 bo known./ "'"trill llllno./1 buildlnt.
sue I> p~ du P'itJ\'b. On IO<I<llt des At!Jod A. lnopf,lltw York UN. ltlnd II t.bt bock I and yva M .. just tO UmlrU, p. I$.
¥fptcs: lalwlo (llcoulait puiHUoi• pot· ftl &OOJI 1'1\ttttd. / Tbt btgjnnlll'J Is a11ovt to oro~~. I 1 WJtt-n 611<0<1 w!ottbtr ht <Wid h -
WI!.""""''.., fttwt post.<ttw l!Chu I sU.nd .. th• bode of ....... , iDd JOY I The l!ld II ift ~t. d<Do with • bit ..... !JTHn L< Cotllosier
"'"" pon\. ct."" ...lil\0. plus iOtl100bilo ho.. jost roteJO<I. / 1 IHI U.. dPI/IaU rttortri ~y: ' A ltw Slllb, if U..t'.
qu'an roc." tmlit It lttilft. A!on .ut w. ftuat tht .ai: I onto ID.Y cheob. I I tt.ltbt c.a.-rr•• '- u 11 cton.mrnto~ ""-m:it•r.t, Oolft
Ilp~ ~ jout bi. tout anDeUR tt ptein 1ft 1 ot lUJ\Iight on w wallt. 1 tlte n ..• J.rchhoct• re Foeolty, S.pwabtr tnt.
d'esptranees. tllo <Wt t~~t:t<o .0111 c..t,~o OIIU06t t ·=~d ... of ..-hil19 / , ... I y.., A1'1114A. lflm'tl 011tllo1rtp p~ t11l4 1J Ot wordi'tf vel" H11 wofldrtt lllrfP~,
gtude""' qYl (ttfond..Jlt deVJJtl olio ..-. Mt y.t ...,.,,of./ You 1\noj,..t ..;.,,,.., et ,..,.. M.uv.tl, 9'!mo Y... vno, Hllqrtu.~a 1_ .,,,
..,
Mat COI'T' d
6 l&i4., pp. IJ. ,,..,, Sn•uwa. Aldo \l'l:ln tyd'J Orpltor~. t Uuor.s. p. I'M.
c••nn • 1 R•ny H..,.•"· int•M.ow with A Mod11" HCN~•m~n!, ••• PtlbiW\m, • ll>Jd .. pp.........
loh.lt1 .,..n kt L-vi•.n. vuo Gtt.U, iott11d.rm ''"· 10 L.e CotlruJ.itr. Lt ml• ~lhtuH . PniJ
1 Cl. 8r.attt"tni· ·t~ Wlpl.iatt n'tst p.~s Ul\ u Octot-1 1tH. u S..the trxt (ltn) llttOWIJW>ylng the •-· p. ••· Oripd tnc 'Pont qu'lu\e
'but daM r~rt. a'I•&S. on •-'riw ~ t. tilt.pUOtt I ,_,._., p. K. t!Wgn 'll.utinosltMl G<·onitlfi<'JI- · t<hf\lo h.,...i:lcjlllto ("'lit qal cst t l•
,.,lgro sol rn s1pprodlant du '""' rhl d.o• t Net., pp.l).t. l•l.
4
U,....rsh<it•lllbiioth"k!' n&Mo: di~~Wnlion 4t POJ genu) • candi·
ch.,..: Cuol.l Gie<!IQo-'fl•lct.r, C..rutaorio to Ibid .. p. ze. 'By beiog in<luded iD lllo .m..n """o•lllo t:low <M~U· t:I\Dst.ll n) i pl.. 4t ri....
l•oi>Mi, l:.lilloN du Gnlfon. !ltucholol· u JbatL Ptl~ I u ·us. unt..uity is roqulr·e<! to oi)OII it..U up hi df modttt'lt. R y II C. qui ~ pt_tJrW;aiJ"I_t
Su.ine tna. u l.oon l!.rt:tiJt1 Albfrti. boo~ l. <boptn • tMte. md in thi.t wnst Kt'f.s~lbltity i• tiM la ju.U mnGrt..'
• l o1-,..,Hotbberger. 1ntoodw:tory SU.t<L of'*-" &toll Dlt Ardlir_~rurl'. MIT Preu_. tulanlsti< oqolv•lfnt of''*" wttlOi... IItmo.... p. 16>.
ntnl'. in J?l;r lc~t CGJJ_ie q J, Stwdfo Cllnbridge (!Wo.) ...... o~rl\al title: ocr• d••O<T•tic.t!ilt><lo. Tholilr.-TJ, by " llli<!.. pp. 101· 101.
~c,r,,. OUI Pubti.dvt$.• .RMlt-tdi!lllliU. De If A«!ifimrorio. cowng ACTMS ms .u the Uninrsit'(s u 11>/d.. pp. 101·110.
1 J..n No<,..l. ltrtur• • t til<! 11<1119• Oti;in•l lt•li•n tnt: 'E,. t "'oil dtllo !M ..ory and m~t .sits c~u. " ll>Jd,, PP• ~n.
ln1W'v1!!!, 10K. del Hl01ofl. e:hfo la C:lU.I ~ coae 11n.1 llJU.ndt could itl.s a 'g.AtrwJ:f to the city ind to u GUltt Dtl<'Utt ln<l f.U. Gaatta•L
• O.vidCairns (tnnc./ ld-).ALtfYo/Low (U••• e L.a. CoWl .. SUI Yaltb ON ptccOla OtfJ. tociety. Ub:;ui~s sbou:l41:10t Cfltfrdy lll4kt HiU•I'fqt...,.,i.H tdltioN do Mlnuit, •-·
•nd H••k. !'Itt Htr•"""
ofB«tor S.rlfor no_n si avti tortn i0itti!t1Wotlw lf" lfttllll>r.• fooclo•lilablt to tho,. hongry lor t....,t. " Her...n Btrtlbtrger. Tlto Pttllltilllf
rM~·IN1~ fht foUo Sotit'\-y~ Lol'\don ,.,.,_ dl un.a uw ,s oN> eut &t.tue pkc:olt <4!11 bot •lla wllot tbt ·~· ..,•• or Suditt of tbt tity', in W'orM A:-n*t1tfdurt 1.
p. 1 ), ~1at5c:mi: com.• .cl es.rapio l'~rio. it COl· thott who Jlf sbowing no jnten£.t. A Stod.io Boolu. London •-·
'My !.u.htr wuld not Itt 1110 ulct op lht t.ii<, t.o ..l>cla pronzo, it portJ<o. etc.: library it PDt OAly for tho 111Dtin1et1 but u ColloctiN ,..,. f<>r tho millly pooplu
pbrco; ot.h•rwut l ,\ohqobl nQ doabt h•v• tl balu.da.rt ptr ~c:atl.m.l o lU.fil• &l\iNid ltsell-wml ln tbot rospttt it inllabit:brg tho <ountty beforo tho Sps~tiolt
turned in.toJ for•itblllA! pi.anin iR oom· r&tn.u 11no so\o di lfll.t~H •ltm.tnti An· ahould. br' na.or! lik".t" aade1n boobhop C'O~t.
p•ny wlth forty thou,.nd othen.ll< h.t.d n<g9i• il d«oro t illlltrito dol\'opt<1.' ,.htt• J'OU ean tDttrwlt_h out p:mtdita- \1 krnlwd Rudof<kJ, Arrhietottcrt
110 i.nttntion of Dtkin9 mt &1'\ Rtilt, il.nd 11 Ibid., book s. <h•pt<t • · Ong1nat lt>U... lion a.nd dio<t>-.t< •II""" ol llun!J> ey >ritho•l Ardritaw, Tho llum~• of Modo.m
ht prob>bly f•ur<l t!Yt the piAno> would tut! 11elb t.JR I'atria, tJ. s.~ta e 9U arnbi· browsing. fomfttJ libraries wtJt not Aru, Hew York lMJ.
lake too stronq a !>old ol ..,, •...Sth.t I ••tl <onshnlli d•-• ..,.,. l•ttlallo .,..,... tospo<• uth., .,, to~y. mon of " t.oorwdo - ...to, Stotfo .Whr Cltt4.
woald bK'oll14 mort detopty inTOtved io stnso modo dw 1n unJ cittl i\ f6Jo -t t whl<h toft to no. obowtbrlovol ot Slott· UttTU, .,... U7t.
rouJi< Uo.an ~· w\lhld. I haN alt .. felt the ~ror>dl ri•U noo !!Ia. dot, ift po!lzil!N roolll! lilted ..Uit so "'411Y squ~.re lti<Uts ol tO LfJJ.OnJ, pp.tl) 2:U•. pp.&~~tu.
4
tack of thil•bility, On. llliWJ O«.a.ional muginilt, 1"-:onctiu a~~·· 8\1 in rocl<o: tilt Plojection of • <tnlllll til.,..,.· 21 ll>i4.. pp. lll·ln.
...utd bneiOW>d 11 O>t!uL 8ut when I lu090 ben t.anollis nlio ,w .Gtat. non ita tion of tf:fidaey but 110M too efficiut l l !bUt. pp. 101~107.
1hink of tiro! • ppolling qulntity a( p\ati • Q,U,tingum\IJ, ut tocunod» » ipsit tttce~· toJ tkt ~'9'0' ~of burun t.O~C'ioUI·
tudti lor whldl tltt pluo" dll\Y rospoP· unU Hgtlgt.mas:. • nftol, lt •rtbittctunt rpiKt ia the ootw•td
cibl• • 019•""t platit~ which Ia lf1Ds't proj«Uon of out ....,ul spa<e. tlltA
c•:se:~ woutcl nfWJ bt writtf'n if U\ti.t libtlri<-> lrt\ty tights ...titlt4 ta ....~>t<
..uthm b.id ontv pton 1.nd pipet to rely on i.pltiil th.nideriltl(! ant_th1t lilftl tik.t
and cautd Mt tH6Jl [0 their m.lf.it l»Qx. - 1 for my ~Moly o! SUu.<tutlllfmlll uchl· lll.t.lllory (lhlt wtrlciJ.,. roauol but w!Uch
1on onl7 olf•rop O!J9fltlto~ IO<Nft<O ttctur• SH p.ut I of LIUON /01 $tu.dtl!tS A\10 fOt"'UOtS g.s) &nd lJillCh laOfttil:t COQ•
whlch U.uq.ht et pttfortt lOWIIIIpcliSt UJ Ardut«'ttiift-. sckN,..,.,. md tll.\twhlcb,.. u~n.,. .'
trtrl·r Jnd in lilrTict! ~:nd tl'lut AWd mt t U..Ons.pp.M·.,.
lco11 tbt tyr•nny of keybo•rd h•bill. 10 ;. IOitJ.. pp... lll·US, CMAJ>TU J
d4Jtyrri)1U ta thQQ4hl. and troD th•luR 4 Jbfd•• p. U'5o.
of c:-onv-•n1ioN1 sonorities. to which 1.U ' In berth t~• Stulltnu' Hoose {U.S•"'· I>· 1 t..o vr.....,. portola ,.... from O.toils,
C"()CQpG!SeJ'S A.Jt to f c;te&ttt or tes~oer utttU ss) ....S l1o Dr>t n...n bolllt for tho Aas.ttrd.lm '""·
ptfJ~. lt is tT1:H' tbn t b• l'UZDff0\!1 PtQ~ ~de:rty (i~d.. pp. 1 ~,, U) ttw ftoor pl.aa.s U1'wtt•
who fmey mr:h t.hinqs art Uwa:y• \uwnt· rouW be druti<ally lltond ••d adapt«! to Wt c.ontliu the wil- p!ac.. ; of • 1110rt
illg their •b.."""' In mo: 1:ntt I ~>nnot ,.y lllHt today'• bo<Wng ....... nus .... fortltn t.nd. I /lathe_ .. bot.,..n /
it wouiu m~: !MnkJ t<> tho <Onueto •hlorton. Nony "'Y futgoro / ~- •.nothor bond.// Thoro
• 1&/d.. p. IJ. bui1d\DQI of tb>t ti!H (boarun.g the ootid llvts boUfHft I two wona of ..my ttn II
' Ht.ru.in He-rubrt~ttt~ 'Dwii9tdng •• tc.n atH putibon w•ll• tJw.n <IM....S 10 thott Uvtllrtt,...n / tllls m0<11ent ond lito
a.... reb' ill ll!f Brrlo9o c.~;.,, 1. flfi~nt) . .,.. •Nl>l• to witlutud ...0. ,.xt. /1 roroly bNr4/•nd borrlynf.ll/ •
5t.u.dio ·,~,-...._ 1M aew P'ffM:tl rHittt. t:hlfttfl l.!"'d SO Wfft df1aolis.hH, Mrt HMrltill thi.rd.// Tbtouth ,t, All It
010 PoNWI•"· Rort~rda• '"'· • 'Dos U,.,.trttt• tibt>dacht/ passld. 1 It Ntlifles .tnd llllt<t•/ wltal
1 from HrrN11 fl<orrdrvf~r. '11<1 orthitt<to Ac:c.cnan:tOd•ti:n9 t~ g~_:J)ledfct'. i.n ..-..t \Mt / wN1 din 1 nits • ho..ty ....n
hwuny ldNol wtt.t I.My<lr•wr.lo HffrttDn Hlor~(. Pro}#.tf~/Projfrtl~ Jot hNnt~ through"'" he•vr Mil / «•·
l7i<l ,.,CogrC4f/II.#Jr, StodoO ·..;·n. J,.,..,,b. 010 hbUahtts. lcttucb;a SH!., IW tho!\.., oi•UU I u.n-tndodrt•Uty tt
010 Pubtisben. Rotterdl.a \ttl. p.•• will./;, of drwd ..n. 9Jft.U sky. /r«lllios.
• SH note'· ,. ~t. p.uo .. ~pit -d.o I and w unlnt""de<! , ,.,.
t 'Dos Untnrorlttt m•1olouJ 4ttds.
eautu s Uberdi<ht/A<~:oi:Uf!Oda.tlJI(j tho r Ltuarufor .stvdmts in: Arcllit.ttrure.
unupc<'tld'.loll<"""• Btrtzl><f~. pp. lft-11t.
1 Lworr.a fo: Slwdenrt in Ntllitecntnr. Projt>it/l'roi«t&. , _ ,... ~- • • .) s.t F~m n~ l . 197).
pp ........ t U!JOIU. pp.tU•l4S~ • Wt oSIN. th1s tttra at rb• tblte in
t ~id ., p. J(U, ut n.,u, Htllkg. fomtaiSmlctfl, l r: T~llf'~• ttsf.lM-4..
_) /bfd" :pp . ..~., . l"CCIOI'I AJC.'r.it«tttrt. 1lh.ltt1.Mt. , FoniJfu. t~. p. -,-n
• Muuol ~ S<l~ M<lrllfs. 'tolltcU.. 'll'<• 11 CIJ.ucll.a Diu. <J!ldt16.tlon projf<'l tram 1 fon.tm 1. 1tf04l. P.P· l7l•l'n
b ntithtf pubUc not priY&tf b1,.t fat~rtor• U>o S..log• ln>UM• I Tlti> CO..pulet •10dol .... .....S. wi\Jl
ond fu ltnlllin publir '""'"'; u ""'"""'· ~p. tl1t. "'~'" rnthum by Chn.U.a JoruHn
S UuDIU. p. 61. u tfenn.tA lltl'tlberger in ft1llt'il a! Mit.
Mat COI'T' d
( V&IICUUI• V U .U
.,,. ll«nln Aout~ M._rk9TiftNlrASH hoasin9 prrojtct. &trti~ ruty schocX (Xbootwrereniqinq AIPrdtn~ Urb.\a doffi9n/ DA.Jtt-tp4a.n for SU1lauer
" " Gttd...rtf"S f:romt~t t v 0.\ft (tl>tn ' "' Prtauo Ewop1 Atcbittttwa, bout lknt~). Aenlottbctut H•l~l. S.run (o)
Oolft fot,udull<) f and.uione 1nrlktiJ. U l i J-d foJ the tmirt 1tM10 Studio t«''I. l • ti111'twod~ units: tn llrbt,_n 4n:tvn for QetMn~.n!J'' uta ip
SJ-. t .... Olm)1Kti(f Kllliotlrwijl< Ml~~ut'llco4, A~rt freisU>g. IIOU Mlllll<:h (o)
tHt"*J £dito1 of ton.m with Ald.a nn """"'lkrlig<' Flol9 (IMtb aJdlitttluro
un I t , _ K!nlrtr, of Sod.!l Wtifar. .n~ Roosmt p~ f9<Suol••" U..lbins<l
[yd. Bat.,.• •nd <Men lWHd) mr the Mlaliuy ol Sod>! Wt lfar• Empioytnellt. lb.t !Ugut (Blort u). l • riJJ! {o)
lHI-41 TN<.hout 1M A<odt~ of .,.,a tlrtp\O)'IOOIIt, The Hasue \--ta Dt Po\Y90<>0.IHI...rOOffl SVporvioor of ull>on do>lqn for Vnm
ArdutKt~t. Aa:utudim tttl • u Cobt (loy•l Institute of Dutch pri.""'cy school. AlJilett foort 4tve!opJHnt ~tan. Kltf4tibor9
lt10o-M P'rofnsor .At the TO Detfi A.rcbhKtJ_,. .twlld) fo1 thf' entln~ Q!Uvte- 1.-.o-93: u Sfm!l·<irtached hO\IlQ. Almete Do Eilanden Monteuori ptim.uy >ehool.
Sl- "'" l!OftOfaJY "'embfr olthe " " a.tonprijs (aw•rd flit concmt) f<K ,,...., Bone!ux Plttnt Offi<t. 1'llt U..;ue All>sterd~m
Acdtmio Ray>lt de lltlgiiJIIt tilt Klnbtry of Sam! Wtlf.tte and ' " '. .J blr.tuloa ta Willmd J>uk School U&.ua dntgn for u1maauruty cmtn_.
1 ,.....J Vili1ing JlOfe&sor a1: w.tral UllpoYJ!"!nl . Thtl!aqv• Ar•uttnfarn Ill\\-(•l
A&dJa_n U_NV.troitit:~
.A.Qetttl %2 &1\d Ci_ , .., Prllt Ill~'"'· Illrope•n ote.bl· 1...... t fh.HtrfCt-1lt ttCMI.Spui.. p.,~dl]o.ol bou.lng pro.rect. C.poll< .. n
tHt-u Vlsiti11Qptoftstor it the -•ro • .,,., for rchool·IM1dinv. fur 1'llt !!"'!"'· compin consistinq oi•J>Ort• d.mO..tl
Un~n!tf <It-~ (Sw\tmi• ..S) Sdtootfttt rUgtng Aetde.,h~ut &e1\tnlCI, mtnt~ o~nd rr:t.tU pstrnbes; th4!atre .nd Uthan dfolgn for Tot Ari• Pol\i,.ul> (It)
Sl- ' " ' llwor•JY ztmbtrof the tone Att4tt1h.oul film LoriUtin (Thutu .., hot Spui. Extltfls:iortlo DtO..rioop nouing lit>...,,
Oout.sthtr Atdliuk!M u•• City of Brtdi. Awitd lor Arc:hftt<!u.rt CiDeJn>thl!t!k H-. Tilmllu!J, Stlthtillg Alrrttre--Havtn
, _ . , , "tlttaot4in&ry Pfol•10of., the for t.beo Llllnry .and. Dt: Nieoun Ves.tt Cfontrf' ~j'khuio): World 1\'i~ Video Ctr>trt: 111<1 Til..,,._fftllingtr ( .. )
Unlvmitt d• G<mtw for~ and Musk (KIIli< •nd Danco St1oorn, The R•gue Ctntrt for tht Aru Resid<t!tlil building, cowtyo11d Hit Ytnt4
•- Chait011 0 oftht Btt!Jgt d.tparttl'l#llt}. 8tr d.i 1H-s.. , l.ibrny and De fbcuwe Ym Poart rnidtnti.olott•. Mtddflb•rq
llulitutt. Alul~tdUl ' " ' Ple=ios Vitri)Vil) ,. Tu.yectoda. C.nue for An ond Kusit ( K..It •nd o.mc. Urban g:rowth unit> lor v...,,.. ""'" dowel·
' " ' lll44criadc0rdcvm0ranjtl4Aau tnt~NrioNl for t.br rnt.Ut CJ!'IJ'fftl dtpiJto!t•t). arodo opmont ~lon. KJddeU.ilrg
(l oyal Dotdl l l\l9hthoad) 1"1..,.. AtUV fraft.k ptilnary l(bao'. Ho..U.g, <tffic.,, """"""'~ poolud park-
11.-u ' " ' fto3outry CDtRal>tt of thfl t UI UtliGI ..... noJCctl P•pondrttht In; twtitr for Plltit q11111~. ·•• RtttOij<n·
IIDyol !JutlMt af British Alchtte<u otto·u Extension to Ctnti:ui lltb..r. boult
Sl- ' "• Ro~o~Jry .,..,.bt, of th• RHiittd-b Ap.ldoorn Spuillom {>l ho~Uts), Vt;..ln9f'\
Abl!ttalt 4<, l u,..tt. lkrlln t ,.t..a. tltt-Nion t(l Li_n_m_ij. AJnrtrrd•m t HS-tJ ~ llombat1lon. liO·rlts•room Utbtn design for fonntr Bom.btnhm ;u u.
Siaa- '"-' iioaMJ.ry llllf•bt:r of tht (demotilhed •• n ) t t~MdW. it.hool. Al.mtrt Al.Jru!rt· Hntn
Acco4t~ dtllt Arli cHilli""!!O.O ttSt-66 Stt>donto'll.o""', W~lpe"I!Ul, >Ht1s o....eThettr•, 8rtcll Coovt,f.ion ~nd t:attn~ of ~tow offic:'f"
(l'lo....,..) AtruUicllm UtJ__.. Housing on Vrijhurvin Ealiln. b~a&g. v ...ru~...
Slat:• l ... aon.n•ry .ecaM:r·of tht 1- Moot,...n prlllOry uhoal. Dt!lt PJptru!1tcht Pmrwy tchooi llGd n hDuaea. Oeg,st~
io:Y"I l~corpo,.tion of Arrhitt<ll in ""' Route COl\Ytfli.cn. Linn .,,.... Elt..non to ulll•ry. Brecll W•ttt·llt>I.ISft rocv~, .. Poact o-tov....,t
Scotiutd 1.H7· 70 • uper!Jnrntd hooJH (Dioqoon tttl .., IUJ!wtt lbeittt, Ud<t! plan, Mlildelbat9
Si.aaR ' " ' Ronoti ry raeablrofthe. ty]IO). bcOI " """ Rotttrdl~1' Stt1m housi.n9 Offict bllildU\Q, C..mlquo <ito. Nautrl<ht
At~.U.d'Arthl-unde rra... , ,..., . bttnsion to lloot e!J<Iri Sohool. projt<t, ll6tLtllU.DUtt'I(D) IM 1\ous.et. Ype•butg
>Itt Riildu In do OrdHm do Dtl!t 1IH... Flnt phuo ot l .ijl,..r Konummt "uperi...m.l b011m. Yponbwg
-~ LHow (l<rylliMrb son ·n Ctnttult• IIHf offi,. bolll!.ing (with ~019.. llm<>IO.I>os), AOII..,ciiJ!t II....,., librouy 4nd mlllll<il'll •«h•-.
lm~tbOO<Il (wltll tut.u & ll"ltlllt\itr), 4PfldO<ml >ttl-to Amsttrcllllllt Jqurt '->Wi pro- At>tldoom
SiMt IIH f N tMt II tht lkrlage UM•74 Ot Drir HovtJJ ouu.:!nq bome. J«t. u unlit, I!J.itl<oe Erl!!ti.Si.,l\/ 1tnant\on of Orpiwu.s 1\eJ.trr.
lnllitlt~. A mst~cll., AO\SI~m . ...... Dt lOPf'wit~ ~li...ry Khoo\, Apol.cloom
st... 11000 Rtwu• ry d t.l.-n (nouble 41 U 7 2· 74 0t ~\m C:OIIU~u,mJty (ttltrt, Vtnlo Atl.ls Colltgt, ...,.nd&JJ arhool. floom
clwl! t>coptiotwlll) of HvoorniiiiiM'~ Dtotntor-Borgtl• UtJ· t J ExterWol"' to Vu u:Wrwetn dtput ~ ow• office buildin.g, Amlttrdf.m
(Cllltn!Oil) nn· n ~-ftbuJg Min~ Cenut. meftlltOtt, Asstn Study for <a.,pltx or bwltS.ngs
UlJtdtt IIU·tt SU•\• IWl II•Uri.t u•l boi>$Utg pto• (apc;~rU/It:iw••· chucctl. nunint homr ft(),
6 WA1UI 1t>I•IO ~.W.,.N.I ~hbo•r~ood ("' jKt ·Mock 7•1. llt11rn (o) lA>idatht¥Mn
hoos.s) In WtnbtCtk 2i ,,,.._. n z Dota~ltory/gut~UhC"Ut.
• - O!y of J.Mottclltm Awlt~ for 1177•11 Sf(:ond u t•nl'lon to Monlassari l ••obf City (To:t.,..lllotnotli•J Sc.dttlf••'"'ll:rd l>'oiort•
Ardlit•rnuo for the Srud•ntl' Hou,., S<nool. Oolft .,,... . Second (final) ~hoLW of Bi)U.er tKa M.onag<101t h.Clusi.ag
, ,_..u PavUkla1, bu!stopsa.nd nutktt
AJ!u"'' ""'
u1• t'ttmir~rij• for CtniTilllt.ho<t farilitlos !Qr ..,..,. <Vttdmborgpltin).
Monumtnt {w\tb ll«><9'f O.Uomllt$).
Arnrtmi>RI
' '" .. , , otlj..c:tivC"S rt:port on GtoniJUJtn
city aenut (With 0. Bon. LlmbooiJ.
olflco bmt&g, Ape! <loa• o Utrt<hl ....... 'Kijck ..., - Dijct' t-Ji"9 Oc..Uppl'l .. d.)
Fdt:-S<bt>madltiJiti.il for tbt tntirt t971~ Ha.,ulot.Dr&tr Houttuintn utb.tn projt(t. M•tl<tltein Noor~. Ootdr~thi Orb.ln ~· for city utension
.......
It><
regmt:ti tloo progl'J•IIt. Anttterc1&1t ....... ll<lwlNJ ~··feet. fro..,..JUplt~.
l .- ·11
.and structure pl.lrt, ~~tet
•- A.J. ••• f<t'rij' for V~nbutg ,,,....u lust'·J)Or~cht hous:i_nfi psojt<'t, Hidde!burt " " Cltycentr• plan, titldllonn
M..tc C.ntrt. Utr~ht IC.tutl (o) , ...... Sth!t tntiltor !!oust on Borne,. (with V• n den Blatt & lo.U..a)
• - Ett mitprijr (ipl<i•l . .orion) fot ,._., Apollo pr\nwrt S<hoolt, t.iland. A.m$ft:rdalf! tt71 Housinq,aholJ:I I nd pltkit~g neu
Vrtd1H1btU9 M"'i( C+ntr•. Uttt<ht AIIUtmWI! AJNterdut Monttllori School , .,,.,. Mt>nt....,ri Coll.fgoOoSt. s.K· MusiJ S.trUOI {lli.Utrt) .,d rfo.,..•!lon or
IHI M•rltelhochpnJs, City of Aol<t•rclltm .wl lf•U•ms P•rk SdiOOI ond>fll Khoot lor •P~»••· aiO pUpilo. Mvtl:s S.<rw01. Amhtll
Amtd for Arddttctur•. lot th• AJIO(lo 0. Ovtrloop nunins oom"' AmMcllm t.9n Planninq coruulb.nt tor Uai~mlty
•--u
t•-
SchooU. AOI.II.,d.lm AIJUU·ttliW_ft of GIOOlngtn
• - HorMlb.Jchprijs. City of ArutttciiOI UX. housing, B<tUn (o) ProJ«t• in P'tPG'gtilm/llndlr cot~Jtrvcti&:m .,,. Propowl for uni~rtdty libr~ry lnc:or·
AwMd for Alehltrctv.tto. fot Dt EwlWir JM4.... De EY't'tlUJ prim&ry JthDOl. HOil.JUig projert (n.,.·bulld. ,.. ....don). pot:adng ttth•ota~tuty rl'UU(h . Gtonlngtt~
priltwy school, AliiSttrd.ult Anl$tftda:a lfootdf1\4ij~. Dordrtcht lt>t lnllitut• fot l<oloqit~l i tiHtcll,
• - lti<h.ard Jleutr• Awild fur ,_..,, Htt G.in bowing pro)t<t Studr of u tt miioo (Ind. tldrd •llditod1Ull) -H ttfltn
Pro!.,s:ional u<flt..o.. («>6 one-!allllly boues ud Sllpatt· to Vfrirntnllg M witCf'Dh~. Utrl'dll ttn Urb.ln pll.l'l hn Sct!ottWbutvp&eiP
" " lkrllnor Alchittkturpttis, City of Altttts). Amnsfoe>rt Medio P•rk office tampln with .rudio< (tbt•n• •ll"'•t), Rotttrcll.,
Wort S..W. AwOJd for 1~ Lllldt nJiroUSf/ ltu·lt •--danroolll«xttn»on to pd ~ i.nd ho~. Cologne (o) tell Lalnary, Lo•ntm un 4 • Vecht
...
Mat co d
'" nS<l-' tQ nmij. A tt6&Jn- 011""' " : ~ ldoorn/U
otudljk J 'l. w {r ) l1 y nhlbiticl1
opT [Studtnti l(o r
t t 11'1 , Ainrtf'f flit [•Gl-
J9t0 HD!Uin 1" . t , Ht kJtiA/ lowin iwml a( tjty at Amsterdl Awud
d j l ....,. C:i f r Aldtit~K~Ufe) l •
Cl!fltf l
1. MJ urd c tif or poll!) Schook). lhr ~~ d il •
c tn A 1t~rd&m
f mll$i.(, lt\l .·~ JHS. V· 41))
..., tudy ro,. ti . ran fot • r.e> )_
fut, mulk. uch' ~KtU.l r t:). 'W tn ton 'i ttn'. fon:m' '1•~ . (\0.1.
1 ., Ul ~tudy fo' • $ QPiJt ,.t~~ d..t rn [P;ah . pp. • '
J1 (~ ) 1u ,.·• Dr 01 •too" 'Vt"K l••'~., d~r)} id", /cm.•~ t
1.~ J D utbt buiJdttl< • Jtoa n lll.!l. tu.ule. 00.... pp. 10, 1 4
dtl1 nrf; sa dfS1t hr t~ f nlbiU t ~$·, 1mL~ml o/.,l~
~UNtltia1t ptQ d.J/tm<i co pention.s
("' •l'irst P' ) 1 Fol!~bt~.., Q · r, J.o~ • ·JI)R.J (r )
1.-. Cit 111 c • · erg~n [Stddtr~t Hoa~J kitA t J '"no. ,
p. ~ -Jn
~,.. MaturipaL H•l • V.- tW asd 1 Ccntt fotnt~ u. ~ru(r) [.. l:h_ 'lwg \'Dar of ~er g owr ~~tch..i.t«t .L..i.
tM1 City H•U. Am..~~~ 'tie ~ trntil: Cmtrul Be ~rJ S ~b .. IJJ...~.fdn '"1·
. (o) I T . fl { H ( •11 LaoiO ,.. 11 · tJt
1M r Gunther utb WIK.I..lll. del l..:l't'Oto': (entt.ul B~ . BlLtoc.d· 'Flnlb Uty md l'olJVi! nt ·~ 11ria 19U,
f . fin.g ( D) Pit UJ.J
,,,.. U d gn f<~c eo 1 St1c liii~ o, A w I ""'"JI._,. Swf <1 Cit ,
c ntr ) , r>.illto• (D) rd" l'C"tur• Jtll4. 110. 1
tHA
(Dil )
tttt • Urblfl deslgn. ! dAn - Pm1JU ~
()l'\ c~ > 4Jd
1MI Offici. • Ji g lm era~ llltr. uM Mrw·build fm Wltnn.s. it w.riollS rom~ t tie 4lll1 uth.t!r p:ojed:l
Hamb (n) oUtrn nn \ nl
itH tl: lti
ft
ttes•
HHU-. 84tr1i~ ~~~) urti nltle$ 'n t " •
~, " U"*' d ~ n fo.a thn · hot! • e . lticoce~-Phelti. ~~1
bl.. r-y c). W'e Ku (D)
1••1• !he.&t.... !lsi or• ( ~)
(I) 1H1 Ur a cl for uN r ity co ·
ttl• U1 de~ ptu.. 0 {~}
M"1 (l} 87 t1r "&!
,,., 'l r ( 1t• ' UJb.ut d li .watiDf. t !ft~r ..- a t. no. • pp. .,
...
]F.Iinting1 • WHt 8nUr1 ( )
,
(.IKJusin • offices, ~' ·n l. ·,.uert.o~n ·
l>a h
)
I IMU.t t fr.a.n~
ub (r ) u.b. 20 .ntunti t t
~~,
U·
'Sc-hoo
J
t.~~'-C'O~ 1ssi.ts·, fo~
ld g fot Sthtm~ • We$l wuli<>t' 1 e .8J J el\ •• an~ JJJtJrm2l Hnl. no. !, . ) l JJl
Un {Dl Ho 1, pita lt fo m·.
19M IDJtJ un, no. 3
libmy of -~~ 11 ~ lrtril.lt'lg'.
COE'I( 1 0 tA• U14, 1'0. l I , ,_,
'Rolmtt!Mttn · ltoinltel•te<(. in """"' Monumfttt~ • AJ PubUthtn. R9t1~ct.a.m. Sl"mgr 11¢1<>. fttrodi!I'Pfr, B.itk~...-.. Vtni«; IN
ruu.n utDjW.,. IHfttli;lltftd. C.U.bach. ..... p. 1 (otlgln&Uypai>W.htd ullt! llule ttH. pp. M11 Cui!Arf'treuoo. Bnrt
IIUbrt • -· pp. •n .,,.,..,...,~•i• "'" A!do••• E)<t. !:en 'ACultutt o'f Space'. DtoZDgur. Gtchit'ft'(titt SiJI.ioo..la· rotonda. ltf(l~ l 11
'Do tnditl.t ... bot Nl..wolloawttt tn dt ,.odtrn _ ,• ...,.,. Sli<.b.tlng WoMn. + dairrt + adtu1r (t«iWi.R) 1m. no. 1. a ...... rut
nit•wt ..ooiigbi4'. lnttf11!etli1Jilt- · - .. ~ ••c~u~ ...., 9P· u , t~ Still lilt. >1100: 111
liOO 'B<rui Lob•oustt. ll rf•llution dt l'•rt'. II••-• nn Strq<oijk. H•unar. H41U11trgn, eur.... l'iorn, lmw4 tlj'toot • ..s
'lbo u.ocl!lloa bthlnd tbt "lltrolt Ptrlod" T«hniqwJ & ArdJftmuJt 1117/N. Blzlth»ldtr. llulo '"' '-tlo..!Mt
of R<Odm> udutonu•• in tht llt(htlt.Mf. ••• 1~. p., '14 Cor1Nsi•"'t "' aotllnclt', in Lr Ccr&ra;... KA~soa 4t Vtnt. Pari1 ' " "; l.t
$pGrio. S«<t!A ........ u . pp. ,.... Uft"odlptn<lt V•mt.lt<:toro noln C. voyogfl. ,.,.,.,.,.,.., for....,.r;o,.l. lloluaiY. loltett
(IIBt puhlhhtd f.a fJtlf7.,fdial1• •·••-) r u Dolft, • - r..d<tl"" Lt Coroudot. P>rll '"' Elfftl To-wt r, nu; 10
'Do tn.ditl.t ••• bot oit<u.. ~ on cit Til• 'fii<O ,.. .h&Ri.1,. of tho twoa.tltlll 'Anno Fronk B&AaschOO(. PtptndiOrht - Oot••Nw. bttert
nltuft IICIOiigll.oid', in llildt cit u..n ud <«ntUtyOf f ......oJ otcltr ud dilily Ilk! LOa ·S.iioS<hool ' Dt 8o01blrdon•. 'Scholostk iolor...lron'. t.,.; 10
ld1 KNgaar.•. Wit ll bo11g W'OCI' nftnfwbouw.', IronI Jidt> •0<1 ~ad ~. In Jtodrrnity AllYirle',Zod.illtt"t/,., no ~ 11.. pp. U2•l61 lhlhrOYIIIIL
IAt..-,.,BibOotl>Hk. Aft<t•nll• 1011,
pp.........
,.,_.lCII't..MUWJt ~nmism.e tn lk
a"'d Populo• C..lttlr<, Suildin; &oob,
Kt\11~ '*· pp . .,...
1lu S.~riidorbaus in llln<ltr.
1.«\ure by Hmun lltrtallorllfr', in T«<!•
~. ' ''" '' & Atr:lllt«nn't, liuoli, New
Yotk JtM. pp. l.» Ul
--........
f'I.Ael. Cr..U..; "'
Fount.UR. 1t11: n
lfddtt<t ~ur vlll Al<!o • .,.. £~·. .Aidlirltt.J, ttu. no. ~ . pp. ,._, ~a.... Clt.trltt &114 by
w..,f11h.a• 1111. ao. r. pp. ••·a 'Kvt St.l'lol~n In ID,..,. I!tt pl<oizub - llou$t, WI Angt!Mttoo; )1
'lltuha!Dookeo nolt Cooblaior'. bou'W'WW!k", Boow nat. no. u ... W· 10. u tllfel.G-
Wontlt/u·•• m :. no. 11. pp. u·u U.. ~" ildt -lotw!Jo •rrllkc«uur ~. Stmon ln kd.lptst, HUf191_tJ lilt; 1M
'Einlodenclt Archit<lttut. Slmlt LN>. 010 PabWhul. lotterdurt tHO. pp. tl·t• Eydt.AidOYU
no.f. pp . .,...., 'Vl!<Wwoo.rd'. in J an ~1.11. J. Dttitn. Orp~-. ~ter410t tm: ttt
lhl ""'nbon ri;i. llrrturt IIDltJ A. oto hblishctJ. R<ltttnlo,. 1990. ~P· a. 1 f•tter, ....._u
Dtl!t ""yt«hnk !Dow ro Dtl!t). tnr 'tlle Puhll< IHI.a'. A•ll IHI, pp. ll•« HOfl9 J:oag lOd Sh~ol a..nk. llor>g
( rtpriAttd lltr<b , ,.., 'M<1Q hot 'a - j < ,.....,., •~>tu~>Ueft?'. in COt\IQ 11..; It>
"Montcaori n111.00tt'. lltmt«•ri ~llardy.AMrrlllst. Dtlft tfllt. pp. tu. '" Coni 4'Art. Jllnu. Fr•n<t ,.,., ItO
HtdtdtU"90ft tHl. rut.>. pp. ll•ll 'hrtrodu<toty S!iitUioar illld 'Do ucbitoru G.tnllft. Clwbt
'\Joe"" Jw.bit•t;on AAwtnoUJII'. bt.ve any idet or wbtt tht)' ctawr. in Still ot' h:ris Oper• Ko•tt, sa-t •; 1t0
L'Arrllftrcnur d'Aujwrd'llui , ..,. !klltrlo!l"c.rlt~••· Stvdro •.,. •.,, O..W.o. htrl<k
no. l~, pp. ~l &.rlagl-lJUtitutt. ,.,.....,duo/ "Whitt CitJ. Ttl AYi•. tunl1t2'' : t4
'Une rtr'adl. cLt •imt. RouSits olnd strHts otoPu.btishtn. IDtttrdam stt.z, pp.ll·lO Ratlco
malt t~~eb othtr', Spulo t S«itf" 1'MJ, HttliW.IIII>rtlht-.gt'f.l.atoolu fot.lb.odonU llouki. rujiln. Chino; ...
no. n, 'PP· lO•ll iff Architfdllrt. 010 P'ubliahfn. llotttrdJM ......u.
'Aldov.utE'yd<'. $plllofS«<tt4 ,,.,, '"' (H:r" edltlon), ' " ' (....,..d r.Wed l•dl£: ltl
no.:&, pp. ao·tr oditi on). • - (lll.ild t..u..l ediuan). l.lha. Lotob
lltliiQtt lll4b11t rwimre lattn,tect•re notH Ib.bonted wmo.ns of~ IKtUre notf'S limbetl Art Mustua. fort Worth S9n~ tao
B,- D<tl ft Polyterh.ni< (...,... •• Dtlft). >to< ll'~Y p.w.lh.ed u '!Itt OJI'tRDUf lft.lcta..~¥&A4tr
'Oftr bouwt:undt. <IIi ulalrokkingrn ••• rijlc'. -.m.nt mke114 nri.m.tt \lt«o' •nd lfrgen bi.Juwn. bf.r~n blliten. ttn : u
donl:bo<lllor(. Dt GiM , .... no.l/1/•. 'Url.J10t!lg<110de wnrf. c.,...,. ud.4pan· AftntJdrll. g!J)bl\ Wlllage, '""' u o
pp. &l.O·tu. - fd.itiolu followed in ltfl. DaUm. LoCo,.._
v....,.
....
'Building0rde1'. Wa 1. tnt l'rfu. B01toa.
(4U<"IIslion - · ~ tluft wiMtts ol iD lu.il'ttt 11p ld»ooli Almtrt ttt•. pp. 10. 11 Unit6 <l'llolllt.-iion. !IOJooilt• .. Fronu
tbt111n Eckpri~ lltDIWII!trtlbergtl. H.,...011 Hemhtgu Projtm/l'rojtas/ un:.a
Jan knt~RI ••~ !IN Croowt\), 1\Jcl>il..- IM-Jffl. OtO Pubti$bl't$..lotterci.a.m lt+S Pt. c..-r. ~"· Lol'l.tu. Ar9f11rilll
rttllr/loult'Ftt tMl, no. t, pp. U·ll Ht lllt.ln lltrtabt-r91", Vo., ,....,., Vvr~ l,.t: llO
'MO:ntHScm r.n f~te' in J)f Ardtlt«ruar
"'·--~·'
1tt.ng1n ilbo7 Aldtitd tur • .ll!.ts Vftlag.
"ctll dt Hontn.soTfKhooL Kontm.ori IIIIIIich " " (tr• NI.otiort o! !.alo••
fo' Lot< gr1tt1 <ill. Vllkvrbonne. ~.,.,,.,
Uitgt'ltfl}. Allrtt:r<km.. lift, pp... 4l-M SnulmtJ I• An:ltitoro.rt) Frut'l 1u•~ u
'SWUWJWl!Uil<Ul.gtn•.IO Hel<)a r .... 'DMiglllrl9 llte..ll<lt'. lA Ill< 1<114gf
...
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Jop 't'a.om
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Of N1i. Gio J• 1 t ' 11t.at r"'Ot Uturg t t~J:~p
tiU M~ ith hltt c~n. XJ: 1.ill Gronm 11. •n
ltf , l.Anr c:u l.tn tfft. 01.10
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nttt'.rcUJii \Ytl1' W l. w
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Sfhool in AU,ttiS
l .tJt•T, ' T
urll•d tn V~. 5tntutl.tnd ~"1;
1991 uw the pubUcation of Berman Hemberger's uuons for Students
much an entity in itt own right. It charts the bac:kgTouncls to his work
of thelut ten yean and the ideas informing it. drawing on a wide
a reference.
Space is its prindpal theme, physical space but also the mental or
of space.