Building Ideas: An Introduction to Architectural Theory PDF
Preview Building Ideas: An Introduction to Architectural Theory
Building Ideas An Introduction to Architectural Theory Jonathan A Hale JOHNWILEY&SONS, LTD Chichester· New York • Weinheim • Brisbane. Singapore. Toronto Copyright © 2000by JohnWiley& SonsLtd, BaffinsLane, Chichester, WestSussexP019 IUD, England National 01243 779777 International (+44) 1243779777 e-mail(forordersandcustomerserviceenquiries): [email protected] VisitourHome Pageon http://www.wiley.co.uk or http://www.wiley.com All Rights Reserved. No partofthis publicationmaybe reproduced, storedin aretrievalsystem, ortransmitted, inanyform orbyanymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanningorotherwise, except under the termsofthe Copyright, Designsand PatentsAct 1988orunderthe terms ofalicenceissued bythe CopyrightLicensingAgency, 90TottenhamCourt Road, London, UKWIP9HE,without the permissioninwritingofthe pub lisherand the copyrightholder. Library'ofCongress Cataloging-in-PublicationData Hale,Jonathan. Buildingideas: anintroductiontoarchitecturaltheory/JonathanHale. p. em. Includes bibliographicalreferences and index. ISBN0-471-85194-9(alk. paper) 1.Architecture-Philosophy. 1.Title. NA2500 .H235 2000 nO'.1-dc21 99-052985 British LibraryCataloguing inPublicationData Acataloguerecordfor this bookisavailablefrom the British Library ISBN0-471-85194-9 Typesetin 10/12ptTimes byWyvern 21 Ltd, Bristol Printedand boundinGreat BritainbyBookcraft(Bath)Ltd This bookisprintedonacid-freepaperresponsiblymanufacturedfrom sus tainableforestry, inwhichat leasttwo treesareplantedfor eachoneused forpaperproduction. Contents Acknowledgements vii Noteon the Bibliography ix INTRODUCTION TheoreticalPractices 1 PART 1 The QuestionofMeaning inArchitecture 9 Chapter 1 Architecture as Engineering - TheTechnological Revolution 11 Chapter 2 Architecture asArt - Aesthetics in Philosophy 47 PART2 ModelsofInterpretation 91 Chapter 3 The Returnofthe Body - PhenomenologyinArchitecture 93 Chapter4 SystemsofCommunication - Structuralism and Semiotics 131 Chapter 5 Politics andArchitecture - The MarxistTradition 171 CONCLUSION Towardsa Critical Henneneutics 213 Bibliography 225 Index 235 Acknowledgements This book grew out ofa seminar course Iwas lucky enough to teach at Drexel University, Philadelphia, in the summer of 1996. I must ini tially thank Paul Hirshom for the opportunity to try out some ofthis material, as well as alivelygroup ofstudents for their input and inter estin the course. The researchfor the book began at the Universityof Pennsylvania, under the somewhat formidable guidance of Joseph Rykwert, Marco Frascari and DavidLeatherbarrowwho together man agedtoopen up arichhistoricalbackgroundto manyofthedebates in contemporary architecture. I am also indebted to the Thouron family for their generous financial support, which allowed me the oppor tunityto undertake postgraduate study. I must also thank my undergraduate teachers for their inspiration and encouragement, particularly Patrick Hodgkinson, Michael Brawne and Peter Smithson, without whom even thinking about architecture mightneverhaveoccurredtome. TedCullinandeservesaspecialmen tion for providing me with the experience ofenjoying the way build ings are put together, as well as the opportunity to combine practice with teachingina stimulating and supportive environment. I would also like to record a vote of thanks to all those who have influencedmythinking invariouswaysovertheyears, aswellasthose who have made a specific contribution to the making of this book, including Tim Anstey, Stephanie Baker, Mark Beedle, Tom Coward, David Dernie, Mary Ann Duffy, Terrance Galvin, Bill Hutson, Neil Leach, Christine Macy, Donald Wilson and, in particular, all my col leagues'atthe UniversityofNottingham. Iam indebted to Maggie Toyand everyone atWiley's for their confi dence in the ideabehindthis book. Lastly, Imustthank myparentsand also mywife,Jocelyn Dodd, for beingthere and for stillbeingthere, !I I I Note on the Bibliography To assist in the use ofthis book as a set text for architectural theory courses, alistofsuggestionsforfurther reading has been providedrel evanttothemescoveredineachchapter.Thefirsttwosectionsineach list - described as "background" and "foreground" - relate to the approximate division within each chapter between the philosophical and the architectural material. Both sections typically refer to readily accessiblesources, eitherforreferenceorfurtherreadingonatopic of particularinterest. The third section includes suggestions for possible seminar readings, which have been chosen to highlight key issues in thedebatessurroundingeachtopiC. Theseare alsoselectedfrom read ilyavailablesources, usuallyfrom anthologiesofarchitecturaltheoryor commonlyaccessible journals. I 'II III I I[ ·1 II !I. il " Introduction Theoretical Practices In"a chapter called "Demonstrations" in his book Monsters of Architecture, the architectural theorist Marco Frascari describes the relationofdrawing to buildingas follows: The traditional interpretation of this translation is that an architectural .draWingisagraphicrepresentationofanexisting,orfuture building,The present modern and post-modern condition of understanding ',' . these translations is that buildings are representations ofthe drawings that precededthem,l A glance at the recent history of significant events in architecture would confinn the importance of "things-other-than-buildings" in the dissemination of architectural ideas. The Victorian rediscovery of Greek polychrome decoration - upsetting centuries of scholarship basedonthe assumptionofa "white" architecture - isone suchevent of historical importance which emerged from documentary sources, rather than the fabric ofthe buildings themselves. More recently this phenomenon has taken several surprising twists, not least due to the growingimpactofphotographicrepresentation. Oneofthe mosticon ic and characteristic of twentieth century buildings is the Barcelona Pavilion designed byLudwig Mies van der Rohe. Built in 1929for the InternationalExposition, the Pavilionwasdemolished in the following I Marco Frascari, Monsters oJ Architecture: Anthropomorphism in Architectu.ral Theory, Rowmanandlittlefield,Savage,MD, 1991,P93 [emphasisadded), 2 Building Ideas yearalongwith theothertemporarystructures. Fromasetofblackand white photographs - some carefully retouched for effect - the build ing became known across the world through publications on modern architecture. Nearly all subsequent commentary on this "touchstone" of modernity was made by those who had never seen the building, except in these much reproduced photographs. Asimilarprocess has taken place in the spreadofforeign influences in America, such as Frank lloyd Wright's famous inspiration by the architectureofJapan, afterseeingthe Ho-O-DenpavilioninChicago at the 1893 World's Fair. From the 1932 MOMA show called "The International Style" to the same museum's 1988 exhibition on "Deconstructivist Architecture" - both of which have had a huge impactonthe productionofarchitecturein NorthAmerica - theinflu ence of other media on the transmission of architectural ideas can oftenfar outweigh thatofthe experience ofthe buildings themselves. Whetherin books, films orexhibitions, oras partofageneralcultural debate, architectural concepts exist on a plane distinct from their embodiment in particular buildings. This is not to say that the two realms can ever be separated from each other, merely that "built objects" form just one component within a larger network of "archi tectural phenomena." .DanielLibeskind'sdesignfortheJewishMuseuminBerlinisaprime example ofthe,reputation ofa building preceding its construction by severalyears. So many publicationshave presentedthis projectatvar ious stages during its''completion that, like the Barcelona Pavilion, it hastakenon:alifeofitsoWIithrough drawings andphotographs.This situationcanlead.toadisenchantmentwith,theapparenttransienceof our "media society", such as implied byJean Baudrillard's book enti tled The GulfWar DidNot Take Place, where he suggested that the "news event" had become more important than reality. Amore pOSi tive understanding ofthis newfluency ofideaswould accept that the mediaeventis also a validcomponent ofreality. Likewise, inarchitec ture this idea is an important factor in our understanding, which is always the resultofa "collision" between imaginationand experience. The publication ofpolemical projects has also increased rapidly in I..
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