Assigment 3Below are outlined four ‘driving forces’ for architectural/structural form. For next Monday, come up with other driving forces that you can think of or that you find in the literature. Collect some examples of structures built as a result of the driving force you describe. Be prepared to present your findings to the group.

Arch 528 Winter 2014Philosophy of structures."Beware of over-confidence; especially in matters of structure."

Cass Gilbert

Key issues: how people have given shape to structures in the past and why, and how to give shape to structures today and why.

Some reasons ‘behind’ a design:

1.“Precedent”, or “the concept of style”, or ”vernacular”

2. Structural ordering systems

3. Computer generated form and ‘natural’ precedents

4. Design/form driven by political reasons

5….

1.“Precedent”, or “the concept of style”, or ”vernacular”

The Youtube video shown in class about swallows building ‘adobe’ nests by a method similar to ‘rapid prototyping’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7dialqBwd4

Below a screen grab of the swallow movie: ‘style’ is completely derived from the material used (mud) and the method of deposition (by beak)

Mud dwellings in Africa. The style here is also derived from the material used (mud and grasses) and the method of construction tubali laid up by hand.

Habitat 67 can be seen as a hi-tech version of the two examples above. This method has not been copied, since it has a great deal of complexity hidden behind its modular exterior.

Revival styles: From Greek architecture to Renaissance architecture to neo-Greek architecture in the 19th century. The McGill Arts building takes as a precedent the Greek Doric style dating back to the 5th century BC.

2. Structural ordering systems:

3. Geometric ordering systems

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tvsQLeSK-U

Roman Amphitheatres planned on the bases of concentric ovals

The Roman Pantheon planned on the basis of a circle in plan and in section

Sancuary of Vicoforte in Northern Italy planned on an oval base, and spanned by an ovaloid dome

Palladio’s search for perfection in carefully proportioned rectangular lay-outs.

Palladio : Villa Rotunda

Felix Candela: refined structural geometry

Compare with Gehry’s geometry (or lack thereof):

3. Computer generated form and a ‘natural’ precedent- “Blob architecture”

“In other words, we regard our 3d model as a perfect representation of the building and we set the rule that at no point the file to factory process is subjected to abstractions like drawings.” Taken from:

http://www.oosterhuis.nl/quickstart/fileadmin/Projects/142%20Cockpit/02_Papers/040831-Hessing-Cockpit_paper.pdf

4. Design/form driven by political reasons:

Very large scale Nazi gathering in Nurenberg; design of the setting (including the vertical search lights) by Albert Speer, architect.

Tiananmin square, Beijing

The great axis, Washington DC