ARC 6989 Reflections on Architectural Design

Study of 'ARCHIGRAM'
ARC 6989
MAAD
Wenhao Sun
08/05/2011
Introduction
When I was standing in front of the Villa Savoye, which is a classical building in the last
century, and watching it carefully, I thought this White House has totally become a delicate
exhibits for everyone to visit and worship. Villa Savoye,as same as the Versailles and the
Notre Dame de Paris, has a souvenir shop, which selling something about itself. Villa Savoye
seems to use less than a hundred years to make itself turn into a building with classical
temperament, which is much more quick than those gothic architecture. This is probably the
characteristic of our age. The development and blending of economy, technology, media, and
other various elements accelerated our paces, architecture is also changing rapidly in a
critical process. Georges pompidou art center has already become a life container: different
people with different background arriving, leaving or passing the square, entering or going out
of the building, where their life and personality happened. It is difficult for us to describ its
state because of that it changing all the time. The previous controversy with its form now has
completely disappeared in human activities. Obviously, the building has no definite
completion status, just like consumer goods from our impression: transition, expansion and
collapse.
Therefore, the evaluation criterion architecture has become quite different from that of before,
more and more ways of study came out and various trends of thought and theory collided and
gave us different shock and inspired. Need less to say, Archigram is one of the most unique
group is last 50 years. It rose in the early 1960s. they were based in London, and the main
stage for their activities was the magazine that shared their name, Archigram. Published from
1961 to 1974, its avant-garde architectural designs and urban plans, combined with an
experimental editing style, ran counter to the main- stream architectural magazines of the era,
a unique phenomenon. Although their bold, utopian proposals were rarely brought to fruition
at the time, the ideas they championed greatly expanded the vision of architecture, directly or
indirectly influencing the architectural perspectives and spatial concepts that were to follow.
There is no doubt that now all areas of status, compared with last century from the 1960s to
1970s, had undergone tremendous changes, all sorts of social problems and contradictions
forced architectural schools frantically diversification, architecture have no longer led by one
or two authority anymore, the worldwide architecture activities unprecedentedly impetuous
and uncontrollable. Against this background, we can easily find that Archigram's numerous
proposals still have strong forward-looking and guidance today. Archigram owned a huge
number of proposals and concepts. I will try mt best to analyzing and exploring their design
and thinking method in this essay, researching the significance and influence of their projects,
and then contacting with this current society, talking about their roles and enlightenments for
us.
Design methodology
"Drawing is to architects whit writing is to authors." In Archigram's active period, they
published many theory articles in their magazines , in addition with plenty of pictures and
posters, to express their unique architectural ideas and concepts. First of all, drawing can be
motive of design and theoretical. As we all know that building will develop in retorts and
criticism, so the new theory really need a powerful way to vent, as peter cook said, to insist,
awaken, and reveal. Archigram often used some distinctive and exaggerated drawings,which
are filled with pop culture, to show to the world their thoughts, this method gave people a
great impact.
Plug - In city, 1964
For example, the Plug - In city was put forward by Peter cook in 1964, it combined with
Nottingham shopping viaduct and Montreal tower and then became such a maturing project.
Peter cook used a clarify axonometric view from above to expressed this concept, at the
same time he spent several bright color to distinguish different components: insert cabin,
sentence structure, equipment and traffic network and so on, we can see from the drawing
that the Plug-In City was hardly a familiar built form, and most of the viewers can easily get
the main idea from it. These similar advertising techniques, which are quite similar with
advertisement, are very attractive, also accord with contemporary pop art.
Sometimes, drawing may not tell us about the form and structure of urban or architecture, it
often becomes a powerful describing picture. In this situation, architecture intention could be
a process, which can make people involved, it also contains the change of environment and
cultural features, evenmore, different characters or culture with different background may
contact and interweave with each other very well in drawing by collage gimmick, and formed
new environment, it always expresses architects outlook for the upcoming world, or for
architecture a new definition of significance. Before Georges pompidou art center' s form
known by the whole world, the planning plaza, which occupy half areaof the site, has
demonstrated that human life and culture has already considered by architects . In 1968, for
example, archigrampresented their project, Instant City, into several stages: 1. Before ic-a
sleeping town. 2.descent. 3.event. 4.highest intensity. 5.infiltration. 6.network takes over.
Instant City, 1968
Here, the begining and ending of architectural and urban design have already gone, it is
described as a process or some segments. Drawing can easily express such kind of changes.
meanwhile, architectural form as a supporter was slackened, architects want to emphasize
that the activity, culture, entertainment, transportation and how these realistic elements work
and connect with each other. MAD's drawing project - China town was emphasizing only a
very aggressive architectural form, it is only a kind of static display, and we cannot see how
the city is running.
China town by MAD
Obviously, although archigram with plenty of illustrations and painting pounding the world, but
most of these solutions are basically paper buildings, which are difficult or cannot achieve,
those fantastic scene, scale, structure and users always let people feel panic and
incomprehensible. actually a lot of architects early works, such as Rem Koolhaas and Zaha
hadid, were all paper architecture. they mostly expressed architect's ideas and declaration,
directly or indirectly affect whole world architectural design, at this moment, these design
works were not for actual build out but just a theoretical exploration method. However,
however, these projects will be refused by investors or the government. When Ron Herron
mentioned Walking City, he said: yet in visionary architecture such concepts as prefabbed
apartments hoisted into position on a skeletal frame, to be plugged into prepared utilities, are
still considered impractical by most designers and builders. MAD once used a drawing of a
satirical metaphor the government's ambition which is in imminent danger in a skyscraper
competition, and need less to say, he failed.
800M Tower by MAD
However, most of the time in practical projects, they willuse some more realistic language and
technique to transform and response their declarations and theorys. Such as Peter cook's
project of Gas Council house in 1961, which is almost a completely dogmatic modern
architecture. The interesting thing is, John Hejduk, who was always using drawing for
architecture research and education, owned a lot of admirer. after he died for one year, one of
his design - walls house, was really built up in Groningen , but according to the people who
has visited this house, it is really a beautiful mistake, paper architecture should stay on paper.
Walls house by John Hejduk
Effect and significant
Archigram never avoid dependent technology and pop culture to carry on the design, they
think it will be the tendency of architecture development, it has great differences with then and
now many architectural schools. The original intention of Modern architecture no longer exists,
modernism became a kind of luxury fashion, a fake classical skin, it is quite like the Classical
Revival Movement. Modern form, material and function became a dogma. On the other hand,
archigram was unexpectedly interested in all the human needs. Peter cook boldly announced
the coming of Consumption Period: almost without realising it, we have absorbed into our
lives the first generation of expendables...foodbags, paper tissues, polythene wrappers,
ballpens, EPs...so many things about which we don't have to think. We throw them away
always as soon as acquire them. It is a sophisticated cosumer society, rather than a stagnant
society. Archigram define building as consumer products which can satisfy human
needs,such as politics, economy, science, technology, art, movies, pop music, fashion and so
on, and these things effect and control with each other. This forward-looking ideas gave us a
lot of inspiration and guidance.
It is probably of interest that whereas Archigram tried to make what is essentially an inert
object, a building, into something fluid the formal evolution of a contemporary building such as
the Guggenheim at Bilbao is an insert object.
- Mike Webb
The pace of change in the contemporary society is very rapid, many problems constantly be
produced, we have to response and conform to these changes as soon as possible.
Archigram always concentrated on a series of design which have ability to comply with these
changes, and try to predict possible problems in the future. In their proposals, city and
building were not passive objects, they have self-development, mobile or updated ability. In
Ron Herron's project - Walking City, he proposed building massive mobile robotic structures,
with their own intelligence, that could freely roam the world, moving to wherever their
resources or manufacturing abilities were needed. Various walking cities could interconnect
with each other to form larger 'walking metropolises' when needed, and then disperse when
their concentrated power was no longer necessary. Individual buildings or structures could
also be mobile, moving wherever their owner wanted or needs dictated.
Walking City, 1964
There is no doubt that Non-linear building is very popular nowadays, many buildings are using
a new and dynamic architecture vocabulary to decorate themselves, what is more, so many
architectural institutes using the latest software and construction technology to create
Non-linear form for coping with many changing contradiction of architecture such as the
daylighting, ventilating, heating and so on. but these buildings will remain inactive when finish,
their contribution is mainly subverting the traditional architectural form, becoming landmarks,
satisfying investors' business requirements, etc. Archigram advocated use change to cope
with change decades ago, they did not care about to overturn all the frames, send their voices
in a new political, cultural, management environment.
Arata isozaki mentioned that Japan's Metabolism Group, in contrast to Archigram, lacked the
perspective on the necessity of discovering counter-cultural values. As a result. It made the
easy identification with the ideas of managerial planning in the rapidly expanding city
economy, and ultinately found it self being manipulated in the interests of the government's
meretricious policies. We still remember that The Nakagin Capsule Tower designed by Kisho
Kurokawa never expected replacement and renewal since it built up, and in his old age, in
order to meet the existing system and various new demands, this building, which is his
masterwork, also faced to be demolished. Jean Nouvel had spent a lot of money in the Arab
culture center's south facade, trying to use a series of aperture - like equipments for improving
the architecture daylighting, it seems more like archigram's idea , but because of the technical
limitation, management and budget problems, It is no longer work well.
Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel
Walking city walking in the human world indomitably, their free and nomadic feature make it
beyond traditional urban settlements, which also cross the inherent boundary of city, and
become a free and democratic social unit. This huge fantasy apparently based on unlimited
energy consumption assumption, but the energy crisis and environmental problems until
recently expose that the unlimited energy consumption based technology civilization is
unsustainable: 'automatic' makes labour, material, capital and information of society can
circulate efficiently by automotive, aviation, communication or web technology. however when
the motor circulationon overstep the natural circulationon such as water, oxygen, and carbon,
and the energy production and environmental self-purification capability, 'automatic' system
will fail because of environmental degradation and underpower, and then release the hidden
hazard in technology totally. Walking city, just like the giant in Greek mythology who absorb
energy from our earth, must be based on the material and energy foundation which the earth
can provide. archigram have led architecture into a technology based time. nowadays, many
design requirements of environmental and sustainable also need the support of the strong
technology power, it is hard to say whether the situation produce some more problems.
Maybe, on the other side of their technological supremacy, it was telling us that we should use
a new round of thinking and eye to carefully examining and dreaming about our future, when
we have to consider more about energy and environment, and other such problems,
architectural development motive also should be changed accordingly.
Archigram use various drawing attract our eyes on kinetic potential. In their scheme, the huge
urban can deformation, walking, fly, or update and architecture has become the industrial or
consumer goods completely. They explored their thought in these ways because of the
background which lead by western philosophy. conceited people get some benefit from
developt technology and material thing,but they also lost some original skills and put
themselves on a wrong status in the nature, it is absolutely a spiritual deterioration.
Today, human society have entered a self-examination stage from a high-speed development
stage,the eastern philosophy which emphasizing the natural point seems to receive more
attention. In traditional Chinese natural point, People affiliated with everything in an equal
status of the nature, and the building should also be a modest attitude thing, which is attached
to human. This point of view seems to be more sustainable. Japan contemporary artist
Susumu Shingu use a very simple art equipment to capture the wind, which stimulate us to
feel the subtle change of nature. In this view, the advantage of technology is no longer the
main topic. Sometimes designers may try to arouse people's pristine thinking with a kind of
'inconvenient' design. The roll toilet paper, designed by a Japanese architect - SHIGERU
BAN,have a square column core, not a cylinder core, when we use it, we may feel that it is
really inconvenient, but the designer's 'environmental protection concept' has been conveyed
very well.
Toilet paper by SHIGERU BAN
Bibliography
Peter Cook, Drawing, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2008
Taipei Fine Arts Museum ARCHIGRAM ARCHIVES, A Guide to Archigram, Taiwan: Garden
city Publishing Ltd, 2003
Simon Sadler, Archigram: architecture without architecture, USA: MIT Press, 2005
Peter Cook, Archigram, USA: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999
Kenyahara, Design of design, China: Shandong people Press, 2006
Susumu Shingu, Wind Traveler, Japan: Fuso Publishing Inc, 2001
MAD, http://www.i-mad.com