3- A Universe of Discourse: Keywords

I would like to use this week’s blog post to discuss Chuck Hoberman, as I haven’t mentioned him in a post yet. Hoberman was the focus of our first assignment. I took inspiration from the way that he combined his skills in architecture, engineering and I.T. to produce amazing structures. This was clearly demonstrated when he said: “If a 1 metre spherical cluster … blossoms open in space to become a 10 metre geodesic globe that circles the world and radar devices beam their signals off it to tune their functionality - to me, it transcends a purely practical functional description”. The primary purpose of Hoberman’s work with NASA was to create a satellite, with no emphasis on aesthetics. However, Hoberman believed that the way the structure expanded made it a beautiful thing. I agree with him in this way, as beauty is not limited to aesthetics, but also the way something is engineered.

Hoberman also once said “Why should the building itself be static?”. A pioneer in the use of digital technologies in the field of architecture, Hoberman challenged the traditional view of buildings being static structures. The Iris Dome is a structure that can be erected when needed, to suit environmental conditions. Similarly, the Simon’s Centre featured movable facades, again adaptable to the environment. These innovations clearly demonstrate a challenge to traditional architecture and I believe these innovations are crucial for architecture to remain a relevant and leading form of art and engineering.

2-The Archaeology of the Digital: Openings

In our class this week, I was challenged by the notion that computers and software limit a designer’s creativity. My first thought was that this is a true statement, as my opinion was artistic flair would not be able to be depicted on a computer screen. The discussion in class challenged this way of thinking and I realised that computers were simply another tool that designers can use to convey their ideas; just like a paint brush or pencil. This was also demonstrated through the group research task, where Eisenmann, Gehry, Hoberman and Yoh all used computers to create amazing structures that would not have been possible without the use of computers.

Another concept that interested my in this week’s readings was the interaction of physical and virtual in public spaces. Antoine Picon’s Introduction, explored how our experience of the world can be changed through digital technology. He also discussed the idea of environments adapting to individuals and the importance of the individual. This concept excited my imagination, with venues adapting to the event, for example, using one of Chuck Hoberman’s movable structures at a sports stadium to adapt to weather conditions. Picon addresses a limitation of this concept, which I disagree with. He states that “In a more and more individualistic society, collective systems of value may prove difficult to preserve”. I do not believe this is the case, as people have always had different concepts of value and I do not think that this is a new concept. I believe quality architecture will remain, despite individual preferences.

1-What is Theory? The Digital Turn in Architecture: a History of the Recent Past

Le Corbusier's text, Toward an Architecture, conveys his thoughts and concerns with the introduction of machines in industry in the early 20th century and the phasing out of manual labour. He states that families have changed: "the father no longer teaches his son the myriad secrets of his craft" (Le Corbusier, 1924 pg.295). Machines have revolutionised many industries, with architecture still yet to be impacted. Le Corbusier's view was a negative one, where he believed the dominance of machines in society would reduce human creativity and flair, leaving humans almost redundant.

Philippe Morel's text, Computation or Revolution, takes a more positive angle. At the time of writing (2014), machines were a fully accepted part of society and industry. The next "revolution" is robotics. He discusses how robotics has benefited many industries, for example, "drones used in precision agriculture" (Morel, 2014 pg.84). He wants the architecture industry to embrace new technologies and predicts that "the time will come when architectural design and construction will only be taken seriously if entirely automated and checked by a computer." (Morel, 2014 pg.86) Morel acknowledges that architects were slow to embrace machines in Le Corbusier's time and doesn't want the same thing to happen with the proliferation of robotics.

Mario Carpo's introduction to The Digital Turn in Architecture 1992-2012 discusses the use of computers in architecture. He explores how computers allow designers to design and build like never before. He refers to Charles Jencks' term "nonlinearity" (Carpo, 2013), essentially the randomness of nature. Carpo states that science cannot predict nonlinearity, yet computers can simulate it. He suggests that this has revolutionised architecture.

References

Carpo, M (2013) “introduction,” The Digital Turn in Architecture 1992-2012 : 8-14.

Le Corbusier  (1924/1928/2007) “Architecture or Revolution?” Toward an Architecture, pp.291-307.

Morel, P (2014) "Competition or Revolution?", Architectural Design, Special Issue: Made by Robots: Challenging Architecture at a Large Scale, Volume 84, Issue 3 (May/June 2014), 67-87.