New Architecture and Technology

190 Pages·2012·8.01 MB·English

New Architecture and Technology
The drawings prepared with the application of a computer-based
program were made by architects Krassimir Krastev and Cornel
Prahovean under the guidance of Professor Mihaly Szoboszlai (at
the Department of Architectural Representation, Technical
University of Budapest, Dean: Professor Bálint Petró) and this
book’s author and supported by the Hungarian Foundation for the
Development of Building.
New Architecture
and Technology
Gyula Sebestyen
Associate Editor: Chris Pollington
Architectural Press
OXFORD AMSTERDAM BOSTON LONDON NEW YORK PARIS
SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO
Architectural Press
An imprint of Elsevier Science
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP
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First published 2003
Copyright © 2003, Gyula Sebestyen and Chris Pollington. All rights reserved
The right of Gyula Sebestyen and Chris Pollington to be identified as the
authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Sebestyen, Gyula
New architecture and technology
1. Architecture and technology 2. Architecture, Modern – 20th century
I. Title
720.1'05
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 0 7506 5164 4
For information on all Architectural Press publications
visit our website at www.architecturalpress.com
Composition by Scribe Design, Gillingham, Kent, UK
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Trends in architecture 1
1.1 An overall survey 1
1.2 Stylistic trends in new architecture 10
1.3 Post-war regional survey 17
Bibliography 29
2 The impact of technological change on building materials 31
2.1 General considerations 31
2.2 Timber 34
2.3 Steel 35
2.4 Aluminum and other metals 37
2.5 Brick, stone and masonry 40
2.6 Glass and structural glass 40
2.7 Concrete and reinforced concrete 42
2.8 Plastics, fabrics and foils 45
Bibliography 47
3 The impact of technological change on buildings
and structures 50
3.1 Some specific design aspects 50
3.2 Selected types of building 62
3.3 Structures and components 79
Bibliography 88
4 The impact of technological change on services 91
4.1 Ambience and services 91
4.2 Climate and energy conservation 91
4.3 Human comfort, health and performance requirements 96
4.4 Heating, ventilating, air-conditioning (HVAC) 96
4.5 The lighting environment 99
Contents
4.6 The sound environment: acoustics 104
4.7 Revolution in the technology and control of services 105
Bibliography 107
5 The impact of invisible technologies on design 110
5.1 Some general considerations 110
5.2 The changing image, knowledge and cooperation of architects 110
5.3 Fire engineering design 113
5.4 New methods in structural analysis – design for seismic areas 113
5.5 Heat, moisture and air quality affecting architectural design 116
5.6 Technical systems of buildings: ‘system building’ 118
5.7 Computers in architecture and management 119
5.8 Architecture and industrialization of construction 120
5.9 Management strategies 121
Bibliography 123
6 The interrelationship of architecture, economy,
environment and sustainability 125
6.1 Urban development 125
6.2 Economy 129
6.3 Environment 130
6.4 Sustainability 131
Bibliography 136
7 Architectural aesthetics 138
7.1 Introduction 138
7.2 Size, scale, proportion 142
7.3 Geometry 143
7.4 Recesses, cavities, holes, canted/slanted lines and planes 145
7.5 Colour, light and shadow 146
7.6 Articulation 148
7.7 Theory and praxis 149
Bibliography 149
8 The price of progress: defects, damages and failures 151
Bibliography 155
9 Conclusion 156
Bibliography 156
Index 159
Preface
The author of this book has spent most of his bridge devised by Robert Mylne. These cases
professional life actively engaged in building are well documented to say nothing of many
research and construction technology progress. other similar events going back several hundred
He has immersed himself particularly in the years, but where do we find literature concern-
international aspects. Many of his publications ing modern technology’s impact on present-day
discuss topics in these fields. One of these has architecture? But perhaps we are being unjust
been his recent book Construction: Craft to here. There are some eminent publications (see
Industry, published in 1998, which surveys for example: T. Robbin, Engineering a New
achievements in building science and construc- Architecture, 1996, Yale University Press and A.
tion technology progress. Following its publi- Holgate, Aesthetics of Built Form, 1992, Oxford
cation the author felt the need to go further University Press) but the interwoven develop-
with the objective of surveying trends in new ment of recent technology and architecture
architecture and the impacts of technological certainly merits further analysis. This precisely
progress on new architecture. is the intention of this book.
This work, then, should be seen as the contin- Architecture has always had two seemingly
uation of Construction: Craft to Industry. contradictory aspects: a local or domestic one
Whereas the earlier book surveyed building and an international or global one. Both aspects
research and technological progress, this one have recently become even more pronounced.
reviews the impact of technological change on Local or domestic architecture has been cross-
new architecture. Given its broad scope, the fertilized by international trends and interna-
book does not aim to treat individual sub-fields tional architecture has been fed inspiration by
in detail; it restricts itself to highlighting general local traditions. Architectural and engineering
trends. This also serves to explain why no consultancies, contractors and clients set up
attempt is made to cover all or at least many global and regional offices capable of simulta-
of the earlier publications about various neously servicing the global and the local
subjects in the book. market. On the other hand, local designers and
contractors increasingly affiliate themselves
It has been repeated almost ad infinitum that with large national or international practices.
architecture is as much an art as it is an indus- Identification of architectural trends has been
try. Regrettably, most of the books about this rendered more complicated by the tremendous
form of human activity tend to focus on one or diversification of functional requirements and
the other aspect and seldom on their interrela- by the architects’ ambition to design not only
tionship. If, however, one does come across a to satisfy various requirements but also to
book on this relationship, it concentrates, with bring characteristics of the buildings’ environ-
certain notable exceptions, on the past’s histor- ment into harmony with the features of their
ical styles. We may be enlightened about projects. Finally, one should not forget that
Brunelleschi´s solution for the Dome (i.e. Santa architects themselves undergo change over
Maria del Fiore) in Florence, or the new type of time so that their projects may reflect changing
centring for the London Blackfriars masonry aspirations.
Preface
We commence our analysis by a survey of late have no direct impact on architecture, are not,
twentieth-century architecture (Chapter 1). or at least not at any length, discussed. The
book does not contain detailed case studies but
Chapters 2 to 4 discuss various aspects of the
it lists a great number of realizations with
impact on new architecture of technological
examples of the various ways technology
progress: Chapter 2, building materials; Chap-
impacts on new architecture.
ter 3, buildings and structures; Chapter 4,
services. Then follows in Chapter 5 the impact No distinction is made between References and
of invisible technologies: research and science, Literature and both are included under the title
information and telecommunications technol- ‘Bibliography’. The Bibliography primarily
ogy. Chapter 6 reviews the interrelationship of covers the publications consulted by the author
new architecture, urban development, eco- during his work on the book and, even so, have
nomy, environment and sustainability. Chapter usually been restricted to the most recent publi-
7 deals with the new phenomenon of architec- cations. The Bibliography may be considered
tural aesthetics, while Chapter 8 outlines the not only as the source of References but also
price of progress: damages and failures. as recommended further reading material.
Finally, Chapter 9 provides a summary.
The author had to limit the number of illustra-
Technology basically influences architecture in tions. Obviously, a book with such a broad scope
three ways. Firstly, technical progress affects could feature many more illustrations than it
architectural design directly. Architects now actually does and those that are included have
make use of computers, achievements in been restricted to an illustration and visualiza-
natural science, management knowledge, and tion of the book’s text. For many of the captions
take advantage of assistance emanating from a particular method has been employed. The
various engineering disciplines. Secondly, archi- main text of the captions defines the illustration
tects have to design buildings while taking into and following this are the technical details and
account the modern technologies of construc- features to which the author specifically wishes
tion: prefabrication, mechanization, industrial- to draw the attention of readers. The illustrations
ization. Thirdly, architects design buildings in are positioned within the framework of the
which activities with modern technologies take corresponding subject matter as the illustrations
place, which means that requirements on the within that chapter or section, but their number
buildings are formulated. This book covers all is not generally indicated in the text because in
three aspects of the interrelationship of archi- most cases there is no reference specific to an
tecture and technology. On the other hand, illustration; it is only the common subject area
those problems of technological progress that that links them to each other.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to express his appreciation manuscript and for his substantial assistance in
to all those who contributed in their different final editing. His notable contributions to
ways to the preparation of the book by infor- Chapters 5, 6 and 8 are also gratefully acknowl-
mation, illustrations or other means. edged. Much of the final wording is attributable
to him.
The author records his gratitude to Julius
Rudnay who was kind enough to read the first Highly valued editorial contributions were also
draft of Chapter 1 and to make a number of received from Agnes Sebestyen, Judit Adorian
useful suggestions. and the team at Architectural Press.
The author wishes to thank Christopher Polling- Naturally, the author accepts sole responsibility
ton for his exhaustive revision of the draft for any remaining errors or other deficiencies.