Transparent Plastics: Design and Technology PDF
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TRANSPARENT PLASTICS Simone Jeska TRANSPARENT PLASTICS DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Birkhauser I Basel \Boston Berlin GraphiCdesign:nalbachtypografik,Stuttgart TranslationintoEnglish:GerdH.StiffkerandPhilipThrift,Hannover ThisbookisalsoavailableinaGermanedition: IS8N87B-3-7843-7488-3 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:200783320B BibliographicinformationpublishedbyDieDeutscheBibllothek DieDeutscheBibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutsche Nationalbibliografie;detailedbibliographicdataisavailableinthe Internetathttp://dnb.ddb.de. Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpart ofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,re-use ofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinother ways,andstorageindatabanks.Foranykindofuse,permissionofthecopyright ownermustbeobtained. ©200BBlrkhauserVerlagAG Basel,Boston'Berlin P.O.Box133,CH-4010Basel,Switzerland PartofSpringerScience+8usinessMedia Printedonacid-freepaperproducedfromchlorine-freepulp.TCF00 PrintedinGermany ISBN87B-3-7643-7470-8 www.birkhauser.ch 8B7654321 PREFACE 6 A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLASTIC BUILDINGS 8 MATERIAL AND FORM - "FORM FOLLOWS MATERIAL?" 24 TRANSPARENT PLASTICS BETWEEN INTELLECTUALISATION AND TRASH CULTURE 30 EXHIBITION I BMWBubble, ABBArchitects Bernhard Franken 40 EBo Bologna, MCA 46 "Light Building" Mobile Pavilion, AtelierKempe Thill 52 Cyclebowl, AtelierBruckner 56 RESIDENCES Apartments and Studios in Cologne, BSK+ 64 Naked House, Shigeru Ban 70 LuckyDrops, Architecture StudioTekuto 76 HousingProjectin London, Ash Sakula 82 Cite Manifeste, Lacaton SVassal 86 House and Studio inAlmere, Arconiko 92 Semi-detached Houses in Mullheim, Pfeifer.Kuhn 98 CULTURE AND SPORTS Museum of PaperArt, Shigeru Ban 104 Catholic Church Christus Konig in Radebeul, StaibArchitects with GunterBehnisch 110 DBUConference and Exhibition Pavilion, Herzog + Partner 116 AllianzArena, Herzog Sde Meuron 122 RESEARCH GerontologyTechnologyCentre, BadTnlz, D.J. Siegert 130 RocketTower, Nicholas GrimshawSPartners 136 Festo AGTechnologyCentre, JaschekSPartner 142 Glasshouses, Graz,VolkerGiencke 148 APPENDIX Bibliography 154 Index 156 IllustrationCredits 159 6/7 Since the mid-199Gs,synthetic materials - primarilytransparent or translucentplas tics - have once again been making their mark on architecture. Artistically curving tension structures made from transparent plastic membranes, but also industrially manufactured plastic sheets are readily used instead of heavy glass constructions. But the transparent plastics not only represent a less costly alternative to glass. In addition, they evolve their own particular qualities that become evident through the lightness of such constructions, the variety of forms and, last but not least, their aesthetic effects- the upshot ofunusual[acade arrangements and structures. /// This book is intended to provide the readerwith an overview ofthe potential uses of transparent and translucent plastics in architecture, and demonstrate the broad range of both constructional and architectural opportunities. Lightweight, cost effectivesynthetic materials are particularlysuitable for use in the jacades ofware houses or temporary pavilions. Tension structures made from transparent mem branes can serve as climate-control envelopes for animal enclosures, glasshouses or extensive biospheres, and are idealfor long-span atrium roofs as well as conser vatories and sunspaces providing intermediate climate zones for the adjoining inte rior spaces. In the meantime, they have become almost a standard solution for the roofs to large sports arenas. But in housing, museums and schools,too, where high demands are placed on the imperviousness, insulation and durability of the walls, synthetic materials are being used more and more. /// Depending on the type of building and the interior climate requirements, single-leaf, multi-leaf or multi-layer [acade constructions can be chosen. These differfrom conventional wall structures and open up the way for experimentation by the architectural avant-garde. External walls are turned into air collectors or reduced to athickness of just afew millimetres. plastic sheets are glued to the supporting construction to form a minimalist design, membranes are attached with Velcro tape, which allows them to be removed and washed; high-tech insulation systems are available, or translucent insulation is im provised DIY-style. Facades become moving, adaptive "skins", large sections of which can be opened up to the outside, or react to solar radiation levels. New pro duction methods are tried out on double-curvature plastic sheets, and tension structures imitate natural phenomena and become efficient minimal constructions. /// At the same time, transparent plastics quite obviously serve as a source of inspirationforthe artistic rendition ofthe[acade- coloured artificial light,pigments, PREFACE printing or coloured infills provide an effective advertising medium externally or-a changing play of light internally. The alienation of everyday articles or the use of waste products create provocations and challenge our visual perceptions architecture becomes art. /// The projects shown here represent onlythebegin ning of a new development;the potential of synthetic materials is illustrated in the introductorychapterwith the title "Transparent plastics between intellectualisation and trash culture". Plastics are notonly destined to be part ofthe new,digital design and manufacturing process, which renders possible mass customisation in archi tecture,but are also idealfor use as "bionic" building materials and are beingtested from the point of view of sustainability. Demands for efficient constructions and adaptive building envelopes,which adjust automatically to climatic conditions,de termine the themes here and in the end lead to architectural designs that respond dynamicallyto dynamic processes. /// These tendencies in contemporaryarchi tecture, which are leading to a gradual renaissance for synthetic materials, are un derstandable when we consider the relationship between form and material. The chapter entitled "Form follows material?" presents an overview of developments and the change in the meaning ofform and material in architecture,which has led to a breakdown in the formerly clearly defined form-material relationship. In architec ture,form and materialhave nowbecome autonomous parameters,opposites in the shapes of the digitally created form and a materialfetishism,which focuses on the sensual qualities of the material. /// But the fascination of synthetic materials and the willingness of architects to experiment with such substances are not new phenomena, as the chapter "A brief history of plastic buildings" reveals. Since the mass production ofplastics began in the1920s,these materialshave awakened the imaginations ofarchitects and engineers alike.Nevertheless,theircurrentvisions of the future are less euphoric and less idealistic than those of the early pioneers of plastic buildings. Once again, it is not the material itself that dominates or consti tutes the starting pointfor a design. Instead, architects are seeking the right mate rialfortheir architecture,whichfollows conceptual design approaches or notions of form, and are aiming at atmospheric, sensual or provocative effects. In doing so, immateriality and ambiguity- the characteristics oftransparentplastics- frequently harmonise well with such design approaches and make plastics the current building material of choice for the architectural avant-garde. B / 9 £ OO~D~[? CriJ 0~ 1]@ ~)J @[? ~[S£~1]D~ OOlliJD[S[Q)D~@~ Synthetic materialsfromthechemistrylabhavealways hadsome thing remarkable about them. Even the alchemists of old were searching for a synthetic substance supposedly more precious than gold because itwould unite allthe positive properties ofthe conventional "natural"materials.As plasticswere inventedin the 19th century and went into large-scale production in the early 20th, it seemed as though this vision had become reality.Archi tects and engineers linked their hopes and dreams to this "mira cle material", which apparently could be given all conceivable characteristics. It combined lightness, strength, transparency, thermal insulation capacity, light permeability and loadbearing characteristics, and opened up a world of infinite shapes. Plas ticsenabled plannersto thinkin terms ofbold,futuristic architec tural and urban visions and to revolutionise architecture through technoid spatial forms or organically curving engineered struc tures. They were likewise a symbol of a better, promising future that would know no housing shortages nor climate problems and II/cherdBuckminster Fuller'S"OymexionDwelling Machine"of1927wasthedevelopmentofhISIdeefore dojustice to the needs of modern society in every respect. III mobile,lightweighthouse. The architectural applications conquered by the new plastics were just as diverse as the plastics themselves. Plastic sheets could be used to buildfolded-platestructures,or shells and pan els for room modules or modular constructions; nylon ropes formed long-spannets,andmembranesofeverykindwereinflated to form dome structures, or stretched across an existing load bearing framework. III The history of the development of plasticbuildingscan be understoodonlyin the socialcontextand by referring back to the countless experimental designs of the visionaries and artists. This is where the fascination of the syn thetic materialfinds expression;and in the end itwas mostlythe bold visionaries who determined the direction of practical every day building, whether in the formal-aesthetic or the technical constructional aspect. In the discord between pragmatism and utopia, a number of remarkable plastic butldtngs emerged, each of which,however,represents amomentaryrespitein thisongoing journeyof development. 1 SeeJoachimKrausseled.),R.8uckminsterFuller,ReinbekbeiHamburg,1973.p.133 2 Theideaofalightweight,mobileandatthesametimeprefabricatedhouserunslikeathreadthroughthe workojBuckminsterFuller.Usingthesameprinciple,hedevelopedthe"StreamlinedOymaxionShelter"in1932,aresidentialtoweronacircularplanwithastreamlined,transparentenclosingfacade whichshieldsthetoweragainstthewind.Arejinementandjurtherdevelopmentofhisideasresultedinthebuildingojaprototype,"WichitaHouse",in1945/46. 3 Kieslerunderstandstime-space architectureastheembedmentojthechronologicalaspectoflivingintothespatialdesign;thehouseshouldnotbedividedintoself-containedrooms,butratherintojunctionalzones,whoseuseand sizeshouldremainflexibleandchangeable.FrederickKiesler,Notesonarchitecture:theSpaceHouse,in:SiegfriedGohr,GundaLuykenleds.l,FrederickJ.Kiesler.SelectedWritings,Stuttgart,1996, pp.23-2B 4 Theplastichousesofthe1930swereproducedbytheirmanujacturersforadvertisingpurposes.SeeArthurQuarmby,ThePlasticArchitect,London,1974,p.21.Intheearlyt940s,with ABRIEF HISTORYOFPLASTIC BUILDINGS THE BEGINNINGS: THE STUFF DREAM HOUSES ARE MADE OF The triumphant advance of plastics inarchitecturebegan with the rapid progress in plastics research and the onset of the boom in manufacturetowardstheend of the1920s.Theallureofthese syn thetic materials provided creative minds like Richard Buckminster Fuller and Frederick Kiesler with impulses for their architectural utopias. III Buckminster Fullerdesigned his "Dymaxion Dwell ing Machine" in1927.It was a"featherweight", mobile-house that couldbe transported inone pieceto anyfarawayplaceand setup in afew hours.The name "Dymaxion", a concoction of dynamic, maximum and tension, is the expression of his intentions. Just likethe advocatesof "white modernism",BuckminsterFullerwas inspiredbyautomotive and aircraftproductionand sawthefuture of architectureinthemass productionof industriallyprefabricated buildings. But incontrast to his colleagues,hefocused on energy conceptsandmobilearchitecture.JoachimKraussedescribesthis conceptual approach as follows: "Within the constructions, the distributionof buildingmassshouldmake wayforanorganisation of energy-exchangeprocesses,the sturdy statics supplanted by ephemeral dynamics."I "Dymaxion" consisted of a loadbearing aluminium mastfrom which thefloors,hexagonal on plan,were suspended by means of steel ropes made from piano wire. The centralmastsimultaneouslyservedasaserviceshaftnotonlyfor heat and power,but also for water and ventilation.The floors of the house were made of pneumatic membrane assemblies and thefacadewas conceived as adouble-leaf,self-supporting plas ticenvelope- transparent,translucentoropaque- with avacuum in the cavrtv.? III Whereas the transportable plastic house was forBuckminsterFullerpartof aglobalsocialutopia,Frederick "SpaceHouse",FrederickKleslor,1933 Kieslerlinked the design of an organically curving plastic house into his "time-space architecture" theurv.? He designed the "Space House"fortheModernageFurnitureCompanyin New York in 1933.The house was to be moulded completely in plastic so thatthewalls,floors,ceilingsand columnswouldmergeintoone. The interior extended as a continuous space over several levels and could besubdivided into individual areas or segments as reo quired bymeans of movable partitions.This streamlined building anticipatedthe architecturallanguageofthe plastic buildings of the1970s,with theiraptuseof synthetic materials. III How ever,the practices of everyday building in those days were in no wayableto takeup the ideasofthevisionariesand turn theminto reality.Thematerialshad notyetbeenfullydeveloped,theirprop erties had not been verified and their structural behaviour was stilluncertain.Nevertheless,from thelate1930sonwards,initial, cautious attempts were made to establish the new materials in architecture"- adynamic thatwas interruptedby the outbreakof World WarIIbecausetheplastics industrywas forced to concen trate on supplying productsforthe war effort. aviewtotheimpendinghousingshortage,theBritishdevelopedconceptsforprefabricatedhousesmadefromplasticsconsistingofself·supporting,multi-layersheets[see"Theall-plasticshouse", in:BritishPlastics,April1944) 5 Archivematerialonthe1946fair:"Theplannedplastichouseforexportinordertosecurefood suppliesandrebuildingactivities"[buildingarchivesoftheBerlin AcademyofArts];publishedinDerBauhelfer,No.6,1946 6 Theprefabricatedplastichouse"Deutschland"wasdesignedbyHansScharaunandKarlBottcher. 7 UlrichConradsandHansG. Sperlich,FantasticArchitecture,London,1963.Gaff'suse01plasticsisnotcontrarytohis"organic"form01buildinginwhichhemakesdirectreferencestonature,thenaturalsurroundingsandthe characterofthematerials. B ThehousewasfundedbytheDailyMailnewspaperandexhibitedattheIdealHomeExhibitioninLondon. 9 "Thegeneralconceptionofthehouse:Theroomsflawinto oneanotherlikethecompartmentsofacave,andasinacave,theskeweredpassagewhichjoinsonecompartmentwithanothereffectivelymaintainsprivacy."CatherineSpellman,KarlUnglaub[eds.], 10 / 11 ~[S&~uD~ ~G{]~[S[S~ & [j\] @) ~G{]~~u~ THE POST-WAR YEARS AND GERMANY'S ECONOMIC MIRACLE - THE PLASTIC BUILDING BETWEEN PRAGMATISM AND EXPERIMENTATION FROM THE HOUSE TO THE ROOM MODULE III in the industrialised countries,the shortage of housing in the post-war years led to ayearning for the prefabricated house.This method of building,whichhad beenestablishedafterWorld WarI,encour ages standardisation,mass production, transportability and the straightforward assembly of prefabricated elements. The new syntheticmaterials seemedpredestinedfor thismethod of build ing,and comparedto conventionalprefabricatedtimberand con crete elements theirlowerweightwould helpto reduce transport and erection costs - an important advantage.A certain plastics euphoriawas evident;some even proclaimed it to be the dawn of theplasticsage,whichled to considerableresearchand develop mentactivitieson aninternationalscale.Abuildingtradefairheld inBerlinin1946exhibitedanumberof prefabricatedplastichous es which were intended to be produced in large numbers in the HousoinUlbono.illinois,BlucoGall.1952:pOlspoClivOV'OW following years in order to overcome the shortage of housing at o/gmdonsldo home and at the same timefor export in orderto help German in dustrygetbackon itsfeet.5The initiator of this studywas the in ternationalCommitteefor Building6 Housing,composed of archi tects from the US and the UK as well as Germany. Five national teams of architects designed Single-storey, modularhouse types madefrom plasticsheetswith afloorarea of65m2,which could be arranged as terrace or semi-detached houses."The pragmat ic approach of thisstudywasreflected inthe designofthehous es, which matched those of conventional house types. III Buckminster Fuller's "Wichita House" was less conventional. It was both aprototypical prefabricated house readyfor mass pro duction and at the same time, the first time Fuller had been able to realise his vision of a lightweight, transportable house. How ever,the house was made chiefly of aluminium, notplastics. be causeFullerhad acquiredaformeraircraftassemblyplantforthe production, which was equipped for metalworking operations. Theonlyremnantof his materialsconceptfor"Oymaxion"was the wraparoundwindowsmadefrom double-leafPerspexsheets.The ThopOlspoctivoviow01thoInlOllOIshowsrnespllolconnocllng IIImpandthosusponded-'iVingspholos-/dlowlng:Helboll industrially prefabricated aluminium and plastic elements were Gloonbolg/. intendedto bedispatchedasabuildingkit to all partsofthecoun try. Oespitethe greatinterestshownbypotentialbuyers,mass pro duction nevergotgoing;the plastics industry,which was primar ily concerned with the manufacture of everyday articles, at that time showed no interest in the mass production of houses. III PelelSmithson:ConversatlonswithStudents,NewYork,2005,p.43 10 Thearchitects'prioritywastofindnewhousingconceptsforurbanliving.Besidesthe"HouseoftheFuture",theydesigned severalotherhousetypesbetween195Band1958basedonsimilarconcepts:massproductionincontemporaryconstruction,Integralgarden,open-planlayout,built-instorageandworkingspaces, etc.arethefeaturesoftheirhouses. 11 ThehousewascommissionedbyCharbonnagesdeFrancetogetherwiththeengineersCoulonandMagnant,andwasalsodisplayedinTheHaguein1956. 12 ThehousewasfinancedandproducedbytheplasticsmanujacturerMonsantoChemicalCo.andremainedonshowfor10yearsatDisneyWorldinCalifornia. 13 Schein'Smobile100mmodule (1956Jcanbeseeninconjunctionwiththeglowingcaravanfashion.Startinginthemld-1950s,caravansmade[rommouldedglassfiblehadbeenproducedintheUK.Themobileplasticroommodules werenotintendedjustforholidayaccommodation,butcouldalsoprovidelivingaccommodationforfamilies;furthermore,theycouldbeequippedandusedforanytypeofmobiletask[e.g.exhibitions,
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