Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
POST FUNCTIONALIST APARTMENT BUILDINGS
AND
URBAN DESIGN
by
Anastassia Mangenaki
A thes i 5 submi t ted to the
Faculty of Gt"aduate Studies and Reseat"sch
- 1
in partial fulfillment
of the 'requirements fot" the degree
of Master of Archi tecture
SChool ot Architecture
McGïH Un ivers i ty ,
-1986
, ' . . ---~-
~
c
CONTENTS " l
"
, ,
Abstract ~J
Résumé
List of l 11 us t rat ion 5 "-
Ac k now legment 5
Foreword
r~TRODUCTION: THE_ DWELLING AND THE CITY
PART l - THEOR!
CHAPTER 1: THE' URBAN 'SPACE AND ITS COMPONENTS
1<.1 The Urban Space
1.2 Components of the Urban Space
- '1.3 Urban D~sign, ,
,1.4 The Apartment Bui)ding')
1.5 Urban Design Theor"y
CHAPTER l l : HIST6RICAL REVIE-W
2.1 Insulae ''''
2.2 Residential'Square's
2.3 New York' an'd London 'l'enaments
2.4- Str:eet-Wise A~artments
2.5 Ant i -Street trends
2.6 The peripheral Block
-r l,
,1 , ) ,
ii
page
iv·
-f./"
vi i
X- i i
1
21
, 22
. 25
, 26
- 28
34
36
,38
'42
44
46
. , , , .
o
, ."
. '
"
'1
l'
"
:,0' , 1
"
l '
, '"
, ,
i i i
2.7 The Freestanding Building 50
PART II - POST FUNCTI ONUI ST PROJE,CTS
CHA,PTER l l 1: THE PROJ ECTS
3.1 Ga11aratese Quarter 57
3.2 Royal Hint Squilre 64
3.3 Roosevelt Is]and CompetltlOA- 73
3.4 The Vinetaplatz Block 270 83
3.5 Perlmet,er Block on Schiller-,strasse 87
3~6 South Friedrichstadt "91
3.7 Les Arcades du Lac 101
3 • 8 The Spa ces 0 f Ab r ~ x a 5 l 05
3 • 9 N o-i s y LI Il 0 ,
CHAPTER IV: 'PLANNING I,NTBNTIONS & O~SIGN METHOOOLOGY , "
4 • l f> l a n nî n 9 Cri ter l: a - 1
116 , ~.
4 • 2 On Typology l' 125'
CONCLUS IONS , ,
1. 'l'he City as Focus ,and Pur,pose 'o'f ,Design 132
( , ,
f, \ . ,~ ~
\ . ,
2 "'Developmen t of an Urban 'Al'."chi te'crure ( .. 1"
, fil '
3. H~.5tory as, a .Legit~mate Source i ;'
4. p61itica~ and symbo'dc ;~mpllcations , . ,
5./ HO,usi,ng as' Generator· of Urban Space'
6. F 0 t: rn-Ma k i n 9 Pro ces s Pot en t i al'
135
142
144
148
149' .
, :' NOT,ES"'and REFERENCES 152 l ,
"
l3I BLIOGRAPHY 160
.' f , ,
, . , , '
.......... __ .... ______________ ~--------------------~,'---,--------w--.
• . ..-' .
, \
,-
iv
ABSTRACT , , r
, "
" ,
1 •
TJ1is thesis -argues for 'the idea Of apartment
bui ldi ng-type aS genera tor of a viable urban ("
envïrè~ent . Tt t races the, historical origins of
apartment-bullding design with the main emphasis placed
on a study of the Modern Movement, which brought a new'
ideal of urban space, and, agalnst which recent
projects are situated.
To shoH the cxtent of the problem and the locality of
the sol ut 1 on s, . va 1: i ous examples from different
countries, cultures, and historical backgrounds are
. examined.
&
The projects discussed here arè of seminal slgnificance
since they indicate that there have been, and still can
be, alternative solutions to the s'tra i ght forward
a t t i tude towa rds the bui ldi ng program, prov iding
simultaneously solutions to the destroyed environmeot
of. our cities. These latter Post~Punctionalist
apartment building p~o j eets represent different
approaches to ,the most spread-out high~dens i ty housing
prototype as st ruet ural ppint of departure for urban
design.
The thesi s attempts to prove that the 4 •
post-functionali?t pr/?jec ts can offer solut ions for
both the apartment and urban spaee, as weIL as to
exàmine the means by which thi~ can be made feasable:
... 1' --
tI
"
RESUME
o
\
" .
·'.e-
, (
v
La propos i t i on de la thèse vi se a dément rer la
signification du design d'immeubles d'appartement en
tant que généra teur d'un env i ronnement urba in v lable.
Le document ret race le 5 or i 9 i neS et le développemen t de
ce type de bâtiment, mais place l'accent sur sont
rapport avec le Mouvement Moderne, celui-ci fondé sur
un nouvel idécll en ce qui il trait à l'espace urhain.
Le s pro jet s cl i sc u tés. son tex Ci ln i nés pa rra ppo rte t en
juxtapesltlo0 de cette idéologIe nouvelle.
Afin de démont rer l'étendue 'de la' pr-oblémat,iqu'e e·t , .
l'emplacement des diverses solut.ions les examples ont
été choisis parmI' des pays, c1,.l1ture~ et conte'xtes
historiques dIfférents.
Ces projets sont considérés com(ne- étant' d'importance
séminale, car tous illustrent" à ,leyre' manière, tant
dans le pa s s é qu'a u j 0 u rd' hui, des solù'tions, qu'i
simultanément abordent l'e problème du programme
h l f . l d' t ~ arc Itectura d'une açon slmp e et lrec e, en meme
temps qu' 11s fournissent un méchanlsme correctif ·à
l'environnement urbain saccagé. • 1
, '
Les projets de bloc-appartement' pOS't-fonctionalistes
repté sent~n t un approc he " ,1 , ,
prototypiques d'ensemple
, a l ter na tif, a u x S 0 '1 ut 1'0 n s , 1
1
domIciliaire a haute densité
répendus a travers la ville moderne. Somme toute, ils
'.
:
c'
-..
, "
, Q vi
, "
proposent un différent point de départ organisationnel
en ce qui a f f e ete le des i g n ur ba in.
Finallement, la thèse tente de prouver que le
bloc-appa rtement pos t - fonc t i ona1 i ste peùt 0 f f ri r de
,meilleurs résultats, tant an niveau de l'unité
d'habitation individuelle qu'a celui de l'aménagement
du milieu urbain.
, 1
" , ~.. 't." •
l, . .'
. "
\
,'" , '
-' '
"
- ,
'-'"
\
"
c:
: ,
, .
"
..
, <
"
1 ' , -,
, ,
o
>.
'.
LIST OF ILLl)STRATIONS
, .
, ,
\ ~ f
t. .' ~, (\ ' J~
'. , '.
l NTRODUCTI ON
fig.l Plan voisin by!>e Corbusier, 1922., (5. Cohen, Physical Context/Cultural Context: In'cluding it aIl, Opposltions 2, 1'974, p.13) '.
fig.2 Distribu'tive"studies for dn appartment, by A. Klein, Berlin 1928. (L. Benevolo, History of Mod~rn Architecture, Cambridge 1971, p.519)
fig.3 Place des Victoires. Turgot's plan,' 17344 (H. Saalman, Hàussmann: Paris Transformeà, New York,' 1971, Illustration nO.64).
fig.4' Qua'rtier de la Villette. project by Leon K(ier, 1976. (D.Porphynos, éd., Leon Krier. Houses, Palaces, Cities, London 1984, p.74)
PART l CHAPTER 1. THE URBAN SPACE AND l TS COMPONENTS
.' fig. 1.1 Figure-gro'und drawing by Leon Krier. (O. Porphy'rlos, Op.Clt, p.76} .
CHAPTER II: HISTOR1CAL REVIEW
fig. 2.1 Insula ot Roman Ostia, lst/2nd cent :'~ IiD. a. A HO,using Quarter:. (J,P. Ward-Perkin's, Roman Arcthitecture, New York, 1977, p.l75) b. Gismqndi's reconst'ruction of an Insula. (Leonardo B. DaI Maso/ Roberto Vighi, Lazlo ArcheolQgico, Firenze 1975, p.95)
f,i~l. 2.2 Bath. Residentlal Squares. il. Plan of Royal Crescent: and Circus. (paul Zucker, Town ànd Squaq~, New York 1959, plate 76) b. North side of Queen Square, 1729. (John Summerson, Architecture .ln Britain 1530-1830, Baltimore 1954, p.l37) ,
fig. 2'.3 New York Tenemeflts. a. New 'York apartment buildings according to sucçesive regulations •
. ~·:(L.Benevolo, op.cit., p.217). b. Ernest Flagg's model tenement, 1896. (Kenneth frampton, The E:volution of Hou~ing Co~cepts 1870-1970, Lotus no.10, 1975, p.25) c. Broqklyn Ri verside Bui lding'. (Norbert SChoenauer, 6,000 Years of Housing, New York 1981, v.3, p.236)
fig., 2.4 Street-wise appartment ,buildings. a. ,Edinbourgh. ~partment building 011 Castle Street, 1870. b. Paris. Apartment building-. (N. Schoena.u~r, op.cit.,
>, ~ "
'\ .. ,
, ,
l" 1
, -.
, -- ' .
~, :
•
:
viii
p.250, 252)
fig. 2.5 Eugene Henard's "Boulevard'à redans", 1879. <t(. Frampton, op.cit., p.25)
f~g. 2.6 Peripheral Blocks. a. Berlin. Housing blocks after the la'" of 1897. {K.Frampton, op.cit., p.,25) b. Ber lage' s project for Amsterdam, 1917. (L. Benevolo', op.cit., 'vol.l, p.363) c. Vienna. Karl Marx Hoff. (L.Benevolo, op.cit., p.510)
fig. p. 29) 1921 •
2.7 peripheral Blocks. (K.Frampton, op.cit., a. Rotterdam. Spangen Housi ng by M .Bri nkman, b. Paris. Immeuble Villas by Le Corbusier, 1922.
fig. 2.8 Harlow, London. View of a tower development. (L.Ben-evolo, op.cit., p.692)
fig. 2.9 Housing in rows. a. Amsterdam. Expansion of 1935. (L.Benevolo, op.cit., p.605) b. Gropius diagz;am demonstrating tpe advantages of high rise over ~ow r~?e in a paral1el row. d~ve1opment. (w!Gropius, Sc,ope of Total Architecture, Wor1d Perspéctives 2, London 1956, fig.40) , ..
PART II CHAPTER III,
fig. 3.1 Gal1aratese. Site plan. ('1. Futagawa, C. Aymoninol A. Rossi, Housiog Complex at the Ga11aratese, Global Archi tecture, no.45, (~977), p.,42)
-fig. 3.2 Gallaratese. Elevations. a. Carlo Aymonino's
, -build i ng. b. Aldo Rossi' s buildi ng. (K. Frampton, "Place, Production >and A.rchitecture", in AD, vol.52,
,,", <7-8/19~2), ~. 38,39)
,fig. 3.3 'Gallaratese. a. Plans. (D. Morton, Tendertza, Progressive Architecture' 10:1980, p.50) b. Sections. (Y. Futagawa, op.cit., p.42,43)
; fig. 3.4 project for Echternach br Leon Krier, 197'0. (Leon Krier, in A. Grumbach, ed., The Krier Brothers, Lotus no.l1, (976), p.75)
fig. 3.5 Royal Mint Square, London. Site Lcation. Krier, in A. Grumbach, op.cit., p.89)
,
(Rob'
fig_ 3.6 Royal Mint Square. Leon Krier's competItjon entry. a. Site plan. (D.' Porphyri6s, op.cit., p.2'B) b. Axonometric. (Leon Krier, in A'. Grumbach, ed., op'. ci t ., p. 86)
fig. 3.7 Royal Mint Square. Leon Krier's competition ~
, ,
o
" 1
ix
_/entry. Plans, sections and elevations of dwellings. (ibid., p.84)
fig. 3.8 Royal Mint Square. Rob Krier's competition entry. a. Site plan. b. Axonometric. (R. Krier, in A. Grumbach, ed., op.cit., p.89,93)
fig. 3.9 Royal Mint Square. Rob Krier's competitlon entry. Types of dwelling units. (ibid., p.90)
"
fig. 3.10 Roosevelt Island. The competi~ion site facing ,Manha t tan _ (S. Stephens, Rooseve lt Island Hous i ng Competition. This side of Habi:at, Progressive Architecture (7:1975), p.59)
fig. 3.11 Roosevelt Island. a. Site plan b.'Photo of Bickford, eds, Robert A.M. 1981, p.99,102)
Stern's competition entry. the mod el . { P. Ar ne Il & T., Stern 1965-1980, New York
fig. 3.12 Roosevelt Island. Stern's competition entry. Perspective ~ketches. a. Pedestrian Walkway. b. Park and hig;,~rlse buildil]9_S. (ibid., p.IOl)
fig. 3.13 Roosevelt Island. The apBrtments. a. Plans. op. c i t . , p . 100 ) b. Sec t i on s p.61 }
Stern' s competition entry. (P.Arnell, T. Bickford,
(S. Stephens, op.cit.,
, ,
fig. 3.14 Roosvelt Island. ungers' competitlon entry. Site plan. (V. Gregottl, O.M.Ungers, Lotus no.l.!, (1976), p.38)
fig. 3.15 Roosevelt Island. Ungers' competition entry. a. ~A,xonomet ric. b. B10ck typo1 ogy. ( ibid., p. 38,39)
fig, 3.16 Si te plan.
Roosevel t l sl and. (ibid., p.41)
OMA's competltion entry.
fig. 3.17 Roosevelt Island. OMA's competitlon entry. Axonometri c. (i bid., p. 40)
fig_ 3.18 Vinetap1tz Block. a. Ground t100r plan. b. Axonometric. (J. K1eihues, Open and C10sed Housing B1ocks, Lotus no.19, (1978), p.71,72)
fig. 3.19 Leon Krier's. plan for the Tegel Housing'\ Competition. (o. Porphyrios, op.cit., p.90)
fig. 3.20 p.94 )
rtlnsula Tege1iensis" by Leon Krier. (ibid'.,
fig. 3.21, Perimeter Block on Schillerstrasse, Berlin. a., Ground lloor plan. (K.Frampton & S. Kolbowski, eds,- "a.M. Unger's. Works in Progtess, New York 1981, p.44) b. ' ....
fi
(
x
The interior yard. CC. Je-ncks, Abstract Representation, AD vol:53, (7-8/1983), p.39)
fig. 3.22 Perimeter Block on Schillerstrasse. View t rom the 5 t r e et. ( C. Je n c k 5 ,op. dt., p . 4 2) fig. 3 . 2 3 Perimeter Block on Schillerstrasse. Sections. (Frampton, Ko1bowsk~, op.cit., p.49,51)
fig. 3.24 South Friedrichstildt. Development phases. (Rob Krier, Berlin: South Fnedrlchstadt, Lotus no.28, (1980), p.69)
fig. 3.25 South Fr l edrichstadt. The area deslgned by RDb ,Krier. (Frampton & Kolbowskl, Rob Krier. Urba1 Projects, New York 1982, p.l02>
fig. 3.26 The White House. a. Plans. (C. Jencks, Free Style Classiclsm, AD proflle serles, Londen 1984, p.67) b. Elevations. (K.Frampton, S.Kolbowski, Rob Krier, op. ci t ., p.l 0 8 )
fig. 3.27 Schlnkelplatz. a.Plan square. (A. Ferlega, Rob Krier. no.39, (983) 1 p.l06, 107)
b. Vlew trom the Schinkelplatz, Lotus
f~fJ. 3.28 Schinkelplatz. Apartments plans. (Rob Krier, op. ci t ., p. 70 )
fig. 3.29 Les Arcades du Lac. a. Plan ot the district. b. Pl an of the Quart i er. (C .Jenc ks, Post -Modern Classicisrn, AD vol.50, (1980), p.54,57)
fig. 3.30 Les Arcades du 'Lac. Elevations. p.55,56)
(ibid.,
fig. 3.31 The Spaces of _ A.braxa,s. Plans. (B. Bergdoll, Subsidized Doric, Pt"ogressive Architecturé (10:1982), p. 76)
fig. 3. 3 2 Th e Spa ces 0 t Palace. b. The Theatre.
Abraxas. Elevations. (ibid., p.79)
a. The
fig. 3.33 Noisy II. a. Site Plan. (H. Lipstadt, Modern i ty f or Ete rn i ty , prog ress l ve Archi tec ture (10:1982), p.80) b. Aerial Perspective Sketch~ (K.Frampton, Modern Architecture and the Crirical Present, AD vo1.52, (7-8/1982), p.94)
fig. 3.34 Noisy II. The stepped buildings along the promenade. (H. Lipstadt, 1982)
fig. 3.35 Noisy II. a. Plans. (Lipstadt, op.cit., p.el) b. ElevaJions. (Frampton, op.cit." p.97)
'".', < ,
o
:
-' ,
, r;" "
/~ ,
l,
"
" ,If
xi
CHAPTER IV: PLANNING INTENTIONS and DESIGN METHODOLOGY
fig. 4.1 Space Typology by Rob Xrier. (Frampton, Kolbowski, Rob Krier. Urban projects, op.cit., p.14)
fig. 4.2 Typological Combinations by J.N.L Durand. (J.N.L. Durand, Precis de Leçons d'Architecture, Paris 1809, plates 10,20)
CONCLUSIONS
fig. 1 Urban Porticos.
f ig ~. 2 Wall s.
fig. 3 windows.
-'
" ,
c
xii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1 wiSh to express my gratitute to Prof essor Adrian
Sheppard for his valuable advice and _guidance,
tt}r'Ougho.ut every stage of the research and writing, and
especia11y, for his,perseverence with my at~empts at
communication.
Special gratitude is extended t~ Miss Maureen Anderspn,
of School of Architecture, for her administration
assistance and encouragment.
Thanks are a150 due to Mr. Thomas Hawkes for editing
~j5 thesis, and to George Panetsos for his constant
ass i stance.
Fin~lly, l 'would 1ike to thank my mother , Christina,
and my si ster , Fon i , and to the Hellenic 'Canad iar;!
Associatioo, and McGill University for their financial ,
support ~.
, 1
o
o
, "
\ l
FOREWORD
Lately, the expansion'of the cities an'd th'e need to'
adjust te ne .... changes in the built enviroment, have
. ~produced a concern with urban morpholagy and 'its
connection ta building typology. In esserlce, the
obje,ctlv~S of such a consideratlon are: a more precise
d~finition of urbanity and a greater preoccupatIon wlth
the design of the elements of the bUIldIngs themselves.
Urban morphology 1S seen as the most 1 appropriate
context within which ta d 1SC'U55 tne historical .
evolution, the t r a ilS f o'r,ma t ion l, as weIl as the
potentlality for the' çreatlo,n of new buildIng tJ'pes.
Recent projects have, u5ually 'demonstrated.Cl general
disc6ntent with ou~ present enviromen~, and have ~ake~
this disenchantment as theIr po in t ,0 f depa r t ur,e,
, maintainlng that modern architecture has not been able
ta solve the urban probtem wIth the houslng medIum.
'Thes~ projects are dÇ>minated
- explanation of urban artifacts
by the denlal of
in terms of fl:Jnc,tion, l
and maintain.9 clear positIon agalnst the prevalance in
J"unctlonallsm' of the cause/effect 'relàtlOnshl'p between
requirements and form. They, also, propose solutions
WhlCh slmul taneously' r.espond ta the need for mass
housing whi le ma i n ta i,n i ng concern wlt-h the \
~reconstruction of the urban form •
." .,
1 )
,.
. )
1 -
-.
,1
(
.'
" ,
" .. , i' \ 1
"
c •
r : ,
, .'
,,'
"
,c . ,
"
, l 2
This st udy i ntents to discuss thOSè of the recent
projects wich deal with apartment buildings ,and h'o-w the
apartment building design affects the urban enviroment.
It will also explore the nev a~titudes, preoccu~ati?n~,
and the priorities involved in the' design process.
.'
'~'.
",
, .. ~.' -
" ,
"
"
.,'
- ..
"
\ \
.'
.'
, , .'
- ,
" "
l'
"
, ,
"
.) \ ,"
, "
" ,
'. , " \
" "
"
-'-, .
" " . "
,"
"
. ,
, ,
. '
.. , .
':
o
l"
" '
" " ,
, 1
"
INTRODUCTION:, THE' DWELLIN~ AND THE CITY
, ,
, ' l ' - ,
, ' , ,
Architect~~e, througheut ItS h~storYI has attempted te
'cr~ate an ~p~ropriate envirenment for human iife"and te
anticil?8te the thoughts and Dctlons of human' beings.
In éontradistinction to thlS, th~ lively environment of
the' city has aIwa}'s been attractive bec'ause it offers,
w i t h i n c los ~ pro x i mit y, a 9 r e a ,t var 1 et y 0 f f a C 1 lit i es,
'em.ployment Oppot"tDnlties" ent~rt";linm,ent, and 'soc-ial , ,
cç>n.tact. H'eretofore, throughout the historyof the
urban environment, different forms of cltles appeared, , , in Çiifferent times, as ldeal, ~ each one expresslng the
spirit of the era w~thin wlch it wa5 produced.
The cIty itself 1,5 a spatial system formed of ,
components, eat:h \oth, its owh, characterlstlcs. The
residential district, covering the _major portion o~ the
,urban su r face r i s 'i n ' i t 5 e 1 f fun da me n ta l to the
compesi~ion of the city: A city cannot be sald to ,
exist, by definltion t If the resldential' aspect lS
absent. Where the resldentlal function was initially "
subordinated to other urban artifacts '(such ,as castles t
ports, etc.), a, modification of the urban structure
éventually occured wich gradual1y confered increasing
importance on the indiv~du~l dwelling.(l)
-' , The reverse is also valid: th~ dwellings cahnot create
a pit y by themselves. The history of citles, and recent
"
"
t
\
c-
, ' , . ~-\
"
, ' ,
.-/ 4
urban aT?alyses f teach us thp : the cul turpl, etonomiç,
political, or admin~strativa functions of cities always
prevail over their housing , fl.Jnction. This i5 preci~~ly
w~at distinguishes the' city from a mere ~gglomératton
of dwellings, howev~r impo'~tant they may be. (2)
.. , ~
The ,tesidenti,al district i~ intirnqte2..y bound up wi,t'h ,,'
the nature of the clty and its' evolutlon. l t '. is ,
constituted of parts which, ln turn, surnmarlze ,the
image of the city. ln social, terms, it i 5 a
morphological'and structurai unit characterlzed by~ a
certain urban landscape, a certain socIal cont~nt ànd J'
i t 5 ,5 pa c i fic function.(3) The residentlal district is , -
actually thél,t part of the, cd:y mos't expenenced by the, , ,
inhabitants and is the rnost infl'uential in theif lives .. /
1 t i s ,i mpo r tan' t t 0 the succeS5 of-' residenti·àl l '
neibourhoods that th~y be related ta the existence of
,public services and colect i ve facillties. ,The , ,
vi.abilityof a c;ity depends. ,)Jpon'.the relation of its ,
dwellings to its syinbClIC, political" and ter,ritorÎal
\ dimensIon.(4)'-
(
- . . \, . " IlntrlnSlc t'o the cÇlncfept of the city.
:Mo?t of the pro,totypehigh' denslty housing projec,ts \ t • ~ <
have their origin in, reform mOVements in Ùrban Planning
or ,in Architecture. A' continu0uS évolution has occu'red 1
ln the attèmpt· t'a compromIse two, seemingly, opposing
, require(nent's of a '-'home" in a quiet envruntnent, close'
'. ,
\ ' "
o
. ' '.
-.
"
\ . .
,-,
" , ,
{' .
, "
, '1 5
to natl,.lre, wito', the need 'to live withi,n 'the lively
urbÇl.n env i ronmen t. The M9,dern Movement ln
Atchite,c'ture, maïnly. developed after 1920s and defined
as:
" ..• a 'universal' lnternatiolial style stemming from the facts of, ,the new constructional means, addequ'ate to a new industrial society, and having as its goal the transformat~Qn of society, both in' its taste, or perception, and social make-up", (5)
brought about blg changes. The new way of life in
geI!eral, and the single èlwelllng . in particula,r" was of
prima ry concern to most, pioheèrs of the modern
movemen t • AU the meetings 'of the CIAM in fapt'
concentrated their attention on the que~tlon of t~e
single dwelling unlt and t~e urpan enVlroment .
To understand more fully the prima ry' role of 'the
dwell i ng un i t among the building ta 5ks' -0 f the moder-)1
m~vement , i t is necessary to ta!ce a closer look at the
t,~rm, espri t nouveau, or "new sensibility" as useo by
S. 'Giedion. The dwellln'9 unit WqS related to the
complementary demands for human freedom and identitY • .. Freedom primarily meant th~ liberation from the
absolutlst sy~tem5 of the Baroque age. In spatIal terms
lt implied el new "openness and continuity",' in contrast
to the dominated space of the Baroque enVlronment.
The seatch for identlty was of central importance to
the Enlightenment, and, 10 general was ~nterpreted as a
"'return to nature" and a related search
"
.-
c , .
" 1" '
(,
, 1
f'
6
"essentials". The new human identity is obtained
through a re~onciliation of nan and nature. The
,dwelling 'is, in fact" basic t'Q man's identity. The new
freedom, and the consequent democratic society,
intuîted by the Enlightenment can only'be realized by
giving the dwelling a central position in human
society. The ~odern Movement gave th~'dwelling this
central posit~on. 1 Modern architecture takes the
,dwelling as Its pOInt of departure, ind aIl other
building tasks are considered ex~ensions of ' the
'dwelling.
p05iti~istlC splrit 'of twent~eth centu~y, > • -
WhlCh
influenced the tnodernist- ideology, appeareq ~n housi'ng
p~ojects through two equivalent fronts: the scientism
of the des i gn process and its socio-ecohomiG
messianism. Design was' equa ted with ana1ysis,
classification and ,programming'. Priorities were
foundamentaly qisplaced' ~ow~rds production,' projecting ... ~ t
concepts Of efficiency, function and scientisnl 'as the'
o~ly "corrèct" paramet-er for judgèment. At the same'
time, A~chitecture thought It possible that by becoming
a sc ience and by adress i ng the env i rome~ta l : prob1ems i t
could sort' out the' class conflic!9. A.rchitecture
a11yin9 itsel~ with'the economic and social sciences, ?,
it institutionalized the tradition of research gro~p$, ,
wl)ere ' the coIlect ion qf "social data" and ,the
"multicolored scientific urban a~alyses had as their
,-' '. "
"
i ,
"
"
"
" "
, "
, J
.. j ,
, ' , .: .. 1
7
task "pu-blic service", the "hygienic rejunavation of .....
the -envir-o{1lent" and the "ma.ximization of hapiness"(6)
T~uS, for' Modernists, the primary' nucleus of town
planning is a housing celI , '(a single dwelling unit), . .
and its insertion in a g~oup, formi,ng a hoùsing uni't of
efficient size. Interrelationships ~ithin' the u(ban
space 1 bet'ween dwell i ngs, workplaces, and places of
reaction, will be established wlth this housing unit as
the start~ng point, pointlng out once again, the
importance of housing as the major part of a city.
E~ery crite~ia of modernist-functlonallst thought ie
logically justified with these' consideratlons. In this
way, the house was broken, ideally', into a ser'ies of ,
elementary manufactured Items and planning was done in
.stages:' first, the various parts were worked out; then
their combinat ions wer~ studied. In ,the same way, a
district would be broken up {nto a'series of, component
parts: residen~ial units, roads, 'public buildlngs. The . c'ity was conceived of as an 'aggr~gate of districts, ,
gathered together ln groups, according to the 'scale of
function. (7)
The -idea ,of the Unite ,d'habitation ,15 perhaps the most
importa~t hypothe5is ln present day' town planning } ,
thoug!'tt:
nIt can be fqrmulatèd', in purely functional term~~ J it was a question'of "fil1in9 the gap, between the
dimensions of' the m'odern ' city and those of the ,
,1
l " , '
c
~. !
'.' ,
- ,>
1 •
.single building, and ,therefore of not conceiving ~f the city in terms of houses or public services, but -of in troduc i ng a 'sub-mul t iple, or a ser ie 5 of suS-multiples, ~ithin which there should be a single block or an articulated system of buildings." (8), '(fig.l)
Among the priorities of Modernist thought on urban
planning was a 'solution for the social problems of the
time: 't'oofing for the eçonomically deprived classes;
the provision of green areasi lei sure spaces in high
density areas; the classificatIon of types of traffic;
and the organi~ation of mass-production according to
the new technological achivements. As L. Benevolo ha$
observed:
! lQ.l PIKn Volsin
1,. '4 ) .
"
, \
bY ~e Corb~~ier, 1922. <s. Cohen,
" -
• 1
.. '1 " ,
o
__ 1 _
. ' ..,
"
" ,
"
9
"The fea~ures of the minimum dwel~ing' were laid down by reference also to the sociology of the
-time: It was noted that the area of the apartments~ in accordance wi~h the sani,tary ~xperts opInions, could be considerably reduced, while lighting, ventilation and possibilities ·(ff ~unlight should be further increased; it was shown ~hat the growing emancipation of the individual within the family made it advisable to provide a ~room, no matter how small, for every adult member of· the familly". (9)
The housing of ,large populations in high-dênsity areas,
with a satisfactory concentration of amenities, without
prohibitively raislng building costs, was thus madé
possible. In the apartment itself na man was able to
fully develop his life functlons wlthout experienci~g
limitations due to his dvelling".(lO) Theie,M3s also-8
clear organization of the space into zones, defining,
~J 1
1. f \. ~
\
. , ..
, J
a
Oistrlbutlve
A.ltle'in. lIerlln l'l •. .. ' " -
--
stud,I~. !or
(L.lltnevolo.
.. ,:;
i . . --.. -'. ", • ,1;: \ 1 1 ... ~
.....:.-_ .... _-,.::'.!:--
a n
" "
br
,·ff t
, '
o'
, '
, '
l,l'
" .. '
1 .-
"
••
(
; ( ; c
't'r ...
10
clearly: pUblic (entrance, living room), operative
(kitchen, laundry), and private (bedrooms) areaSi
adjacency to complementary activitiesj and privacy for
ëach member of the household. Space for personal
activities was provided, with aIl the facilities for
sleeping/resting, dressing/ undressing and persona1
hygiene standardized. This improvement of the quality
of the everyday life was the main achievement of modern
movèment. (fig.2)
The simultaneous application of . aIl the above
'principles has not always been feasable. There is a
disparity between our present en~ironment and the
manifestations of Modern Movement. We have to ask ta
what extent the concept of the new dwelling was
understood and interpreted in the different
countries/cultures, i.e., Italy, Germany, U.S.A, by the
differrent planners and architects. Different projects
gave emphasis to different - priorities. The final
quality varies according to the type of building, the
cost, and the elaboration of the particular elements.
It is more usual to find b1eak and unusep spaces r,
inst~ad of landscaped parks sùrrounding the buildings.
However, the prototypes projec ted' thr'ouqh modern theory
and pract ice vere to be universaly applied,
independantly of the regional conditions. The two
extreme levels 1 urban -structure -on one hand and
___ ___ ..JO
-
11
building structure on the other, were mainly
,,·0 emphasized. The consideration of the environment,
through the bipolar scheme of dwelling unIt/city, or
architecture/city planning, left no room for the
consideration of forms and relationships regarding the
intermediate levels of the urban environment, -the
streets, neibourhoods, or quartiers. 50 the intention
to gi ve space over to public use, through i ts
disassociation "from the indlvidual", worked ultimately
against its expressed purposes. This largerly happened
through ignorance of the Intermedlate forms of
individualizatlon of the space, forms \lhich correspond
to transitive social structures, wich, in turn, allow
the configurat~on of the people into a whole.
Space intepded for common usage became effectively a
no-man's-land. By suppressing the elements of
conventional urban space, -the street, the square, the
", building lot, clty blocks, monument, etc., the proposed
new city model would destroy for the Inhabltants any
possibility for identification or recognItion starting .' J
from communication. On the other hand, the strict
funct iona1 separat ion and apportionment of the
environment, the ~trong consideratIons glven te
questions of equality and economics, (exactly laid out
by the zoning techniques), the standardization and and
industrialization of the structure led to a .' ... "
homogeneous, isotropie and fragmentary space, resulting
. \ , "
(
• 1
r-
12
in the elimination of any continuity, individuallty, or
hierarchy. The new model city lost its monumentality'
imposed, either through its hierarchical layout, or~
through the enr ichment of the archi tecture i tsel f
(though fÇ>rm, function, symbolism).
The ci~y cannot deprlve ,itself of symbols -if only ~or
the simple purpose of providing orientation to the
inhab~ants, and facilitating its perception by these.
While the historic city i5 wholly covered by a network
of symbolic hierarchles ln WhlCh sympollc context and
cultural aspirations, housing and monuments, are set ln
relation to each other (opposed or associated to
produce signiflcances and dlfferences), the city-model
proposed' by the Functlonalists brake with this
dialectic and became, instead f monumental in the manner
of the Marseilles Unite d'Habitation.(ll)
The experience resulting from the application of Modern
Movement theory, on one hand, and the appeal of the
traditional c~ties, on the other, demonstrates that, ,-
nei ther the standards (green ratio, circulation
syst-ems), nor the soc ial and economlC planning, are
adequate for the provision of the quality of urban life
that is con~lstantly sought. The city 5hould be treated
primarily as a spatial arrangement in which, beyond its ~
primary function,' the community, the inhabitants, and' ,
the ;articulation of public life are taken into
.. \
, '
o
'.' . , ,
,. <'
"-
,"
"'" .d. ~
,~ , -, '(' ,
./
• L "
.'
" ."
'"
.... '0\ .. , ,
13
consideration. Furthermore, the binary relationship
bet ween bui Iding typology, and urban morphology, should
be reestabl i shed. Arch i tee t ure should acqui re i t 5 ro le
on the form of the city, both as theory and actual
design.
Rec-ently, new projects have appeared by arehitects who
have conf ronted entrenched urban planning
!lIq.J 1'1acfe des
Saalilafl. 1'71)
- -.-..-:.-.:; - -
, '
• H •
, .'
14
philoshophies, promising new solutions t 0 th i s hous i ng
c problem. These new projects deal wi th a str~te9Y
dependent upon the establ i shrnen t of stable formaI
categories, drawn from the analysis of existing cities,'
and the way t hey are used, as the ag reed ba sis of
fut ure ae t ion. (fig.3) Great importance has been
attached to the creation of a strong public realm, in
physical and visual terms, as essential to the sucees
of any urban design project.(12){fig.4) The twin
concepts form/function are now replaced by the
linguistie twin concepts of signifler/signified. As a
res.ul t, the monosemantic relatlonship of form to
funetion is lnvalidated and, in i t 5 stead, the
multivalent relationship between forrn-and its reading
is proposed. The architects of these recent projects
are i nterested in the f orgot ten ca t egory 0 f "typ.e n,
fiq.4 Quartier de 1 la Villette. Project bY [,eon !trier.
l''7~. (o. PorPhYrloll. l".)
" -
-.
" , •
"
,
"10 "
. \
f 15
typology of piece~ and of connect~ons, these arch;tects
are able to bui1d practücal, elegant towns. The
concept of type has become the theoret'ical link
accounting ,for the reco?nizal;>illty of sensous form.:"
(13) The design <;lf housing, has become 1ess generaJ..ized "
and mote attuned to the problems of sp~cific locatiolls'"
and part icular users.
BACKGROUND,
1 -
" '
, 1
It is not easy to ctetermiJ'le with histodcal eérta'inty .
the peculiar profile of Post-Functionalism as the
'des ign thought . which rejected the axioms of.
functiona1ism on one hand, and, on the other, gave
functiona"lism the role of the enemy agalnst, and around
which, the new positions are formulated. Jencks
writes, in Modern Movements in Architecture:
", ••• the failure of Modern Architecture to generate ,convincing urban development, and.' communicate effectively resulted [in the development in the 60s J to the developmen t of, a ci ty- bilsed morphology, ,known as contextuallsm, as weIl as, of a richer language ot' Architecture, based on metaphor, hi stor icall ima'ges' and w i t . As to con textua 1 i sm the key ideas \"-ere produced by Ald<l> Rossi's "Architectura della. cita"- (1966); Rob
.Krier'.s "Urban Space" (1975): Collin IR~we"s, " l' C è> Il age C i t Y " (, 1 978 ) :' a n cl Le 0 h Kr i e r ' S , ." Ra t ion a 1
Archi tect ure: The Reconst ruc t ion 0 f the European. City" (1978)', O.M. Ungers é\nd Leon Krier provided further theory and compelling urba'n . 'imag i nery ft • (14 )
,.H~reaft~r, a multi-directional approach was " ,
folloWéd
r )j 1'"
, f
1 1
1
"
,"
.,
" 1
, ,
'. r
16 ,
wi thiri. the context o,f the Post-Modern Movement of which
post-functionalism 1S a pàrt,' and a wide spectrl:lm of '
stimulants and proposaIs became available. Two indices
seem to be fundamental to the establishment of the new
tendency: The Archi tettura Rationale Exhibition at the'/
Milan Trienale of 1973, and the Ecol e Des Beàux Arts
~xhibition of 1975, at th~ Museum of Modern Art fn New
Yor k.'
"Neq-~ationali~~rn" and "n~o-'rei;llismn are the two main (
Ideologies which have produced a similar reaction to
f'unctionalism viewing i:t as a negative and' regressive
ideology. The former school of thought depends Ion the
idea t ha t arch ltect ure 'can be genera ted on l y through a. -
return to it..,elf as an autonomous and pure dis'ciplinei
the later cares only for the immed:iate present, for
such other aspects 'ana man.ifestations of culture as pop. 1
art, advert i si ng 1 cinema,~and industrial des~gn to
which i t' exposes, archi tecture, . and -draws
'Contempbrary' a r'chi tect~ral ':- thought shows - that 'th~
ideologies of scientism and messianism ?re but a
fantasy. The task of archi tecture now seems to be
twofold: On the one hand, it reestablishes architéqt4re
as an art, t:enouncing every alliancè' with science's,'
epi st imological na ture; , /
'~nd' on the other
, , 1
, ,
repud_iate~ aIl messianic premises,' " thus a,ss ign i ng, \to , <
J.
" '
l'
, "
/
'. " '
----------------------~--_ .. _~.
, J
,0'
" " , \~ , ~ ..
, \
'-- ..
, . _- l'~ ~ f
. ' , " .. -
. ,
>, 1 ~
.. 'e'--, \
T
!- ' t ... ,
1 '
, '
'" / -,
, ; , ,
,', 1
'17 , , . ,
archi tecture' j the non-he'roio, yet critical, , ' role of
ideolqgical comme'ntator. " , , .
> 1
"
These recent ideGlo:gies, are· '10t anti-functiona"lÏst.
They re!spond to " func t io~' i~ the sa~e way that.
characterized the l~th century e~lectic command' of
. hi stor ical styles i they a Iso propose a forma l i sm marked'
by à strict utilitarian predisposition.
J
The rese'a rch ~o date includes a review of the
publications qf the new proJeets, criticism of specifie
examples, and a theoretical, philosh6phical urban
consideration of them. 'There lS no eomprehensivè
résearch on hous1ng projec~s examined frpm this point
of- view. AlI of the 'mat'erials refe~ exèlusively to the
'ci~y as a whole.
, '
RANGE AND SCOPE OF THE TOPIe. ,
l, ...... ") /
J.
...
, , This study. 'deals with the apartment bu i l~d i ~,g in .. ' the
urban setting, wher~ ~builaing,a~d urban space are
brought together .. Mor,€: specifica.lly;' it, deals ' with
\1-rb9 n design as a study of a totality' of buildlngs -a5 ~,
a' pie ce a f a ci t y. As 5 U ch, i t nec e s sa I"'l 1 Y 'd e aIs w i t n
, the' relationship, among semi-private l and
.,
'. publ'ic"spacesj'. the mean~J1g of such relationship~ to the
de-si,9nation of urban space; an~' with the role of the - \
apattmerit building to the coherence of u~ban structure •. J, •
:,1,
~
-'
-'
f-
"
-
.' ".
,,' ,
" .
';
n
.'
, ., \ \
"
'.
'" -, ,
l ' 1
1
,1 , ,
'( (,
" . . , . .
18 , .
The ob~ective of this study wi Il "bè to determine /
- 1 crite'da r t'Or the 'evaluaclon of the privat,e and. pubfic
,space of the.~ multiple 'dw~llin'g unit and to. seek and , - ,
, identify 'the new1y established, or ree.stablisheçi, urban \ / ... 1 ~
l ,criteria' as these' relat~ to' the derived architectural . ' '
potency of building' type. The, 'study will'aiso se~k to ,
, deterrline the aesthétic and functional priorities of "
the new high- density housin9 projects, ,and, finally, ,;
to def i ne and test, the urban charaeter'i stics of",
,. architécture in 'genera1.(16)
, ' ;Th.,is thesis' is âivided 'into two parts: 'theory and
~ practice. The f irst part eontnins an. analysis of the'
"
.' theoretiéal ,issues 'at'tachèd to the· concept of' the
apartment buildJ.ng as a multi-family living space, in - '
which each family lives ,separately and Independantly;
~ and to tbe concept of the urban desi~n as an ~~portant , • and cruc'ial source of a ut~or i ty for' appropriate,
building solutions. A historiea! revie~ 'of the
evolution of, apartment building typology and' i ts
rela t ion to 'the urban space concept 1 i 5 i nc 1 udèd.
. In the ~econd . ,pa rt, cone rete examples of
post-,functina,list 'housin-g projects, will qe' ,examined.
Each 'exampIe will be examined t a)f rom, the poi n t of vi ew
of the city -i.n' terms of ident~fi.cation of the principal
,forçes,at play in ,the-city; b)from the po~nt of view Qf , ' , ,
, ' ,
"
, ,
l '
1
" ,
"
o "
, (
19
the immediate 'sec-tor i and c).from the point of 'v i ew of
,.the site. This sradual approach 't 0 the subjec t: i s ft"
useful for practlcal reasons . (The qUàlity of "urban .
artifacts" (17) has nothing ta do with this div',isian).
The' achièveme:nt" the failure, or, the new reality
promised in the post-functionalîst projects, wi 11 be ,
examined: from thé point cf VleW of ,tMe intentions and-
~he, priodties of t~e archl tect/planner; hom the
'consideratïon' of the architectural elements (as ,
expressIons of the architect's intentions), s\,lch as the
street-building sections, the access point SI ànd the
outdoor extentions; and tram an arlalysls of the factors , ' ,
whicb have influenced p0st-functionallsm
t:lstory, Soclety' anr::: cons~ructJon.
"
, (
l ,
l ' , "
1
"
1 !
, \
D
, " , ,)
"
, ,
1 . ,
, )
)
" :
l,
such as
, ,
l,
, \
, , ,
) -
1 _ 1
"
-~-.. --~------~-----:--:-----~--~ "
20
( -- , , ?
" , . , \
"
" ,
.~, l,
'J
, ' ",
\'
d' -: -" - " ,
"
,- - '-" l,
... - \
. . , ,
. \
"
PART of'le l ,
"
THEO~Y :
ê.
.' , ·r
~ ,
" -
,1 <,
"1 i.. ,- 1
2( "
.<'
~-~----
• _ 1 •
'-
,- (:>
" "
. )
~.'.
, "
21
CHAPTER 1,1 THE URBAN SPACE AND ITS COMPeMENTS
1.1 The U~ban Space
\ \
'.
r '
" ,
In a researeh topie sueh as this, dealing with the
urban envjronment, it is first necessary ta define the
term "urban spaee n:
By the term, is meant a1l types of external spaees
con ta ined between buildings in town and other
1 oc a 1 i t i es. The ur'ba n space i s seèn as spaee for
movement in the open air, and col1ects all the
activities which the individual performs outs1de the
familiar territory of his own home, sueh as going ta
• work, transportatIon in general, 'trade, recreation,
leisure,activities, or sports •
However 1 an· ex ter {la 1 pub 11 C spa c e i s no t a 1 w a y·s <, -
"urban" . Specific'sociorogical and formaI. ,attt,ibutes
define it as urban.
In other words: A city 15 a system' in which life
reveals a te.1dency ta polarize, ta be unf;14d in terms \ r1 \
of soc,iaI aggregations which are, ei ther :publ ic or
private. As Hçns Bahrdt states: ' / /
,
/ -
. "from the sociQlogical point of wlew, .the more strongly the polarization is exerted and -the closer the interchange between t'he publ ie and privç:lte spheres" the more urban the life of an urban aggregate is. In the oppOsite case, the" character of a\ city of an aggregate is of a lesser .. degree."(l)
However/ Rob Kr i er in Urban Space, expl,a ins the term
from the point of view of perception, stating that:
.1
- "
,.
=
"
"
- 22
,"the çlear legibility, of space's geometrie eharaeteristles· and aesthetic qualities is the
, 'Parameter whieh al10w5' us consiously to percrlve ,ex~erna1'spaeè as·"urban'". (2)' .
l.~ Component~ of the Orban Space.
'# ..,\
"
c " ,
-,
Components of the urban' spa~e are 'the stteets, ' the
squares/open public spaces~ and, the bloc ks. ,-
',Modif.ications of the relationship of the se components
\ is the ,subjeèt of differ~ht archite~tural movements~" .,
The str-eet is the" framewo'rk for' the distribution' of
. . .,.to be per-cei.ved, as pa I7t ~f a network'.
~
..
In purely r-esidential arE~as, the object of th is
res~~rch" st reet,s a re un i versa lly seen as a reas for,
publ ie ,c i rcula t ïon and ree rea t i on. As such, the fac tors
which have an importan t role 1,n the functional
cbherence of the street are: the way ln wh i ch houses
~:re approached from the st reet; the relationship
betweer. the ga rage 1 the pa r k i n 9 -1 0 t 5 1 and the house,S
and the street; the relat~onship between the ath}.et ic
areas and the stree t; the v i sua l appea l of the space:
and the aesthetic quality of the adjacent houses.(3)
The square is gèneraly produced by the grouping of
buildings around an open spaee. Origina11y it
façilitated qefene~', but 1ater acquired merely symbolie
val ue. Paul Zue ker consider s i t as" the very heart of
" .
, , ....
-----------~ ----~-
o
, -'do
. .. ~ ,
, ~-~ :-'
< '
"
, \
• J
~-
, ..
, "'-
1 < • L .' ~ . , .
" ,
"
"
23
the ciiy ••• its phY~ical'and psychological funct ion i s
to ma ke the commun i,ty a commun i ty and not ':J
merely an
aggregate of individuals". The square i5 not an old
city pattern. Zucker goe5 on to 'say: "The needs and
demands of the past may have been fewer and less
complex, but they were as basic {or the-determination
of the' final shape as they' are now •• ' .. As a matter of
fact, the city planner 0 f the past faced the same k i nd'
of problems as does the city planne r of
" [coach/ca'r, royal spectacles/politrcal rallies] ..••
\, One can say thi'l t plann i ng in space t oday i s hardI y more
, -, ,
,)
, 1
.'
functi:onalistic than it was' l~n earlier centuries". (4} ,
-Specifie visual and kinesthetic relationships organize
a space into a square. The occut;' ,
firstIy,
.,f ut:lct ions
can be endowed with meaninqful
(residential, commere laI or' cultural
activities); and secondly, when it is situated in the
right piace, wlth the appropr ia te approacnes f, in
relationship to the overall town layout' . As the
-in~'ersection of two or mO,re' roa'ds~ for example, the,
square 15 a fixed point of orientation, a ,meeting
place, and 50 on. ( 5 ) ~
In modernist town planning, the ,square lost such
meanings, and was replaçed by' large çountrified areas.
The building block i,s - the keystone e1ement of urban 1
_ èompos i t10n. ' There 1 1 :;
i5' -a dialectical rela'tionship".,.
"
..' , ,
-,'
•
, ,
l " 1
, 24
between bui lding block and urban space. The bui lding
block, is either the instrument of ' street and square
formation, or it results from a pattern of street!? and
squares. As far as its significance is concerned, at
times it appears as complementary, and at times as
alternative, 'closely connected to the great themes of
socio-:economic histor'y and the ac c ompa n yin 9
t~chnological advances.
The building block can be interpreted as a homogeneous
section of the urban fabric compl~tely enclosed by
roadways, according to the traditional city pattern;
o.r, as a connecting eleOlent between the c,ity as a whole
and the single house which composes it.(6) Its
'definition varies according to the trend of the time.
The la ter !
definition is
than one interpretations.
loose enough to accept more
Analogous to thi 5 i 5 the problem of form. Leon Kr ier,
whose views are based on the traditional urban
-'~'~ environment, states that the building block, in order
i ',to become 'urban', should hav.e well defined qualiti'es /
, - of si ze, volume.., orientation t typology, order and
,comlexity.(7) These typologi cal and morphol og ical
elements depend on a number of different , . '
'\1 'considerations, including social criteria", and will \
- , La f'fect both the layout and the form of the bui Idings
These ele'ments are subjec:t of the urban , \
\'
'~ \ \~
'1
, " .
, -
, -
, "
..
, '
25
design and the theories related' to it. ,c
, , 1.3 Orban design
U~ban desig~ is a very fashionable concern of our days.
Its popularity is related to i ts rejection by the
modernists, and to a variety of new developments. Urban
design is common ly un de r s tood ln terms of its
relationship to context; it addresses the needs of a -
part' of a city, as a totality of buildings, but has
no,thing to contribute to the true formation of the
city. Urban design deals wlth the configuration and
construction ~ a homogenous, coordinated, continuous
environment, one that presents itself with the
cohe rençe of a landscape. l t see ks law, rea son and
order as these arise from a plan, or a general
projection of how things should, or could, be.
Bernard Huet states: "Urban design consists in defining
four monumental elements constituting the urban fabric:
the layout, hierarchies, plot division and finally
rules of spatial organization". (8) The layout is the
organization of. public spaces without flattening out
thêir multifunctional complexity. The layout is always
character i zed by techn ical, functional, symbolical
hie~archies. The distribution of institutions and
serv ices over the ter r i tory should be in ha rmony w i th
a hierarchy which clearly expresses the idea of the
-
.(
l
26
city society creates for itself. The dimensions of the
layout is an essential pa't"ameter. The operative
subdivision into building l?ts regulate!fthe built form
and closely connects it with the typology of the
buildings of each period. The spatial organization
covers a set of spatial r,uIes ordering. the visible in
public space. The last'two r necessary, but not
sufficient conditions in themselves for a new approach
to urban space, relate to the authority that guarantee's
urban des i gn , and to the techn i cal supe 'Cv i sion
controlling the design in time. (9)
The layout lS connected with architecture to the extent
'that it is a technical art of space which makes use of
" architecture as a means to its fulfillment.
The apartment building, as the subject of this thesis,
and the "lain type of high-dens i ty housing to be found
in a city, is to be understood as prime contributor to
the form of urban space.
1.' The apartment building -',
/.4
The apartment building, even from its first appearan'ce
in ancient Rome, was conceived, on the one hand, as the
type of multiple-dwelling building best corresponding
to the constantly changing land values ana to the·.
economic necessi ty of grouping people in heavy
concentrations (urbanization), and on the other,
, ,
o
r
"
,,'
1
; "
/ "
'. .~,...
"-"
\. ..,;
"
~f
"
.. r .
" , '.' N , . " "
" "
. • '
27
provided 4wellings with certai~ amenities and utilities
not generally affordable to the single fami 1 y un i t.
That i s, with a similar number of dwell i ngs bu il t on a
similar area of ground, more people could 1 i ve more
c..onveniently, and more economica lly, and with less ,
domestic rêsponsibility, than living in single fal1lilly
~.units detached to each other.
Th,.e great spread of this type of builc;iing, however,; . \
occured ln our cent ury. l ts development is closely
connected with the Modern Movement and that movement's
concerns with the problem of functlon. The apartment
building was seen as the nucleus of the city which ,
could efficiently fulfill t'he modern req.uirement for
hygienic, decent and comfor:table liVIng conditions. It
was a1.so the solution to the need for affordable rentaI f
housing, for a continuously growing urban population,
while responding to the needs of various types of
families ( i.e .. , senior citizens/ bachelors/two person
families), Paul Samuel explains: " ... it was to be a "
relaxing haven from the ten,sions of earning the living,
from noise and worry and strain. It should provide
bea ut Y , conven i ence, security, and privacy for the
family living in it".
Apartment building design was also analysed in site
planning, apartment layout, structural, mechan ical an,d
électrical components, and exter ior appearance. (10)
{'
'C
"
o
Everything was made to improye the,' living quali~~
within the apartment. Apartment design had a great
impact on the conf igurat ion of, the adjacent'
environment. Urban design never consisted of a' final
image, but wa s th~ der i va t ive of the pr"ocess of the ,~
application of standards required
the apartment.
1.5 Orban design theory
for the servicïng of
Different approaches to the theory of urban design have
been tri ed up to now. The essence ,of a 11 those theo ries
has been the relationshi~ between the building a~d the
street. Before the emergence of ,the Modern Movemen~
(c.a. 1910) 'the idea of building in sympathy with, and
relationship to, the 'site and the street constituted
the governing cpncern' of urban 'design. (11)
'.
The rationalization and triumph of the street occurred
in the era immediately preceeding the Modern Movement. _. r
The city was viewed as a unified mechanical object;
the junctions within this system were closely studied \
and rationalized. The street incorporated the machine
and inter.grated culture and nature a~out its axis in an
ideal harmony. Such exarnples as Haussmann Paris,
C.Sitte Vienna, Stuben Germany, Otto wagne~ Vienna,
Berlage Amsterdam, have become weIl known.(12) , ,.
\ \
"
- .(
. '.
, ~
" - .... \
'.
"
','
: r
"
1 .'i.
, "
. ., , ~ -,
\ -
, '
, ,
"
l '
\ 29
In these projects, typolqgical studies were made of
-house types, apartment types, bloc k types, etc., and
(many var ia t ions were' explored' th roughout. These
studies encompassed the - geometry of street
intersections, street sections, and configurations of
spatial enc losure s, classified in ope'n or ,c losed'
categor ies, regula r or i r regula r, cS impIe or cornplex. ,\
1n the.....--advan;ed industrial
bUi~ng block ~as cornpletelY
city, the form of the ,
disolv~d~ New methods of
production, the changing status ')f urban property, 'and , \
; r
, 1
,the growing Importance of hygienié considerations, were :-,
"
~ ' .. ,
the main causes of the d,estruction of the tradltional'·-,
building block. Simultaneously, ,they' resulted in the ,
dest rue' t,i on of the
urba~ environment~
heretofore accepted scale of ,the
It was ln 1922, in Le Corbus'ier's
"Cl,ty for three million ,inhabi tants", that the street
was totally abandoned. This city was a projection of
rational analysis, through the'an~lysls did not in~lude
-t~e street arnong 'its objec,ts, nor did it g,ive the state~
a ,central role as an agent of change. ,
Smithsons~ entry to the Berlin Competition pt -'1958
r,eveals a shift of emphasis: In Smithsons'
street reappeared as a lrne~r a modi f ied
version of "the street-in-.the-air" of Le ,Corbusier's 1
"City for th'ree mill ion,". T~e suggested street network
" ,by Smii:hsons' ,linked ~unctional "~lusters" abov~ a ro~d
( , d'
, '. ,. \
, 1
"
'"
.,
, '-
\
<,
,1
J-
JI
'j ,
, "
, . \ \ "
G, 1 , '-~
" /
" ~,-.
'"
, .
JO . grid, instead of runnin,g the peri,phery of, reQent
housing blocks allowing for the hori~ontal segregation
of transport routes"and city functions.(l3)
. , 1
, \
\ ,
Further refinement and rationalization of this mode;!, '. 1
" ,
although s'ubtle,- was to follow. It was a,t 1 this t~me
that a deep concern emerged about urban context. ~y
definition, a build~ng desi'gn should fit with, reSpond 1
t6, ~ediate its surroundings, and possibly complete a ,
,patt'ern'"implicit in thE: street layout, dr, int t'oduce a
new pattern. Different approaches developed in
dlfferent countries. AlI of these concentrated on
buUping typology, contextual' patterns,' hierarchies of
'.public spaces and, inevitably,:with urban projects.
, "Figure-ground" drawi~.gs had now become '-thre standard
representational technique. As a tool of analysis, they
deal immediately with the urban st ructure of a giyen \
'context.(fig. 1.1) The " . figure-ground preoccupitions of
, \ the contextualists gave ris~ to several studies of
(
building typology., With this larger ur ba n v i ë w, .
" buildin~s could no longer be considered in isolation.
These studies attempted an empirical analysis to reveal
tpe systems generating urban space.(14) Typology became
a deslgn technique, a vocabulary to help manoeuvre . , ,
among the various problemi' that would come up. This
vocabulary is ' worked , . out during' the
i,
attempt to
formulate the .various criteria and, hence, a
\.
. \,
\
'{-"' ,
, \
,f
, (
/,
o ,
, "
"
-- , -;-
" )
'/.
, -
.1
\.'
,~- ,
) ,
\ ,
-
- ,
\ ~',
"
, 1 ~
( <~
'. ,
""1
L _
) .
31
,! 1 Q , l . 1 flQUre-Qround dra"lna by Leon u.
morphology.
Case studies in concepts of urban design illustrate an
enormous' variety of attitudes and preoccupatio,ns a~ong,
ufban designers. However, these studies ca~not give'by
their very nature any clear i'ndicatlon' of ,future
- directions. As design philoshopies, aIl deal wlth
important and oEten overlaping concerns. They _are
distinguished with respect to the vocabulary ~nd syntax , "
.. , ~f a rchi t ec t ure that are issues of culture, hlstO,ry,
'and' of n language fi •
\
::- One can dinstinguish tw6 major appfoaches in thes8'
directions being taken: that of ~h~ rationafists; that < 1
~ of the contex~ualists. The former generally encompass
~~proaches d~ve~oped in the 1ate' 1960's <~nd in the , ,
1 1
\ .
1 •
- .., \
\ \
, ,
.. 1 ~ /
\ j, 1
1. • >
" ,
, '
.," ..
1 , ,
, '
, '
, "
"
l "
1
,;
l'
\ ,\", ...
l'
, '
JI} •
\ ,
32.
~ . 1970'5" ànd is representecl ,in ,Europe by the Krier , ,
br-others 1 ' A.,Rossi and o.M.Uhgers, ancl in the U.~.A/ hy
"John'Hejd~k and Peter Eissenman. The 'latter denotes' , ,
the major curie~t of theught preyalent in the 1960's in
t1nited States, and lS "ep~tom'îsed ,by the pas i t ion of
Robert Venturi. (and the Grays: R.Stern and ~h. Moore) ,
The term neo-rationalists bas been . coined . 'te
d~stinguish this group from the rationalists of the end
. of ninenteeth century 1 , i ne 1 ud i n g' th ë Italian'
Rationalists of the Modern Movemeht.(15) , , "
What differentiates rat l ooa J ï st 5 trom
contextuaÙsts i5 thelr study of history.
the
Th~
rationalist$ revive the historical vocabulary of forms
'and solutions 'of existiJlg cities. !nsteao, of denying
history, they propos~ to accept't~e past form5' and . .
typologies ~s given, pnd to design ,from .this although'
or:"lly in an analbgous manner".' Their Vlew i5 that t'yp~s . '
, an'd ,forms' ar'e . ,
de'ad vil tl)ou t a mode rn ' mean i ng, 'and tha t'
th~sè"tetms 'could be ~collaged" together (as Piranesi 1 '
,/c~lQ~ged ~oman monuments without reference to their
past 'or pa 5 t ru 1 es) . (16) Ra t ion al i st s are e,S peç i a 11 y l, _
"conc~rned with typological ~èaign and orb~n morphology~
The è'ity -itself' i~' fp'r \them the source of le9itimate
,ar;c,hitect'ur~al:- design: hist1ory,' ra,ther than ,Cotbusian
(ul'1~t i~'n ,or ec Otl9my, would have" thus ~ been the i'r source" l , , ' ~ , , l,t
, . of u.rban types. Thè oJ:dering 'system of 'the city ~the
1
s,quares,. streets" q,uart-ers, t r~nsportà t i on .sys tem's ",
1 • , ,
, '
" ' l'
','
" , < , , ,
"
"
"0 : ) \
> >
"
"
:
','" ,
, , ,(
- (
, '1
, , '
, 1
f, 1 <.. J
." .. '
\'
, e
.... \
• ~ J
~ ... r J r
, "
,1 '
r,
i,
33'
(whether publi~ or private), and' the pedestrian
network- t90k grea~ emphasis as ~ire~tly' d~riving from
nistory.
, , 't'he contextualist ernphasis is on "continuity and' ,the
t \ t \
v~ta~i~y of tra4iton. In th~s contextuafi~t vi~~:
. "the' hi~toricaf city is not';composed pf fJlaterial, 'but is a history of human utoplah aspira~ions and the failure ~nd defarmation of ,those aspirations byeveryda'Yi empirical- experience. The ,delicate balane e and' d ialeet ic bet ween (aspi ra t i on ,and actuality'~italis~s this history".k17)
Thus the latest thedrles Rut forward considerations
other than ,Junctlonal ones. The f?rm-maklng 'proCle9s,
the ,represen ta t;ion' architecture; , ,
the formaI of "
~omplexities of modern ,
experlence, et~:, became the
major dete-rminants. One ll1ay ar,gue' tha.t aEter a certain
point il1 ,the p,lanning process, <;>ther than functionai l '
criteria, whlch will explorè, c-bme, to sutface rand allo/ll , '
us to make , JudgemEmts , .
about the, final' form'of
o '
"
\ .,1
cities.
{ [' ~ i
r l
, ,
, "
.'
.'
. l' !"-,
. " ,
i
. ' , ,
, 1
, ,
, .
• '1
'.
,1
, ,
. ,
l,
"
<', " -, '
"
, ,
! " " ,\ "
'~ . \
, . '~ 1
" " ., , . ,
. '
l'
'r 1 - "
1 ~- J 1 ,
" , ,
'. .
, ,
r, !
\ \
l ,"' ..
"
~ ,
" -, ,
34 '1
CHAPTE~, II l'HI STORI CAL REYI EW . -,( '"
~n the ,following' histùricàl survey th~ main , ,
~t~ges-types of apartment buildings, and their relation 1
to the immediate ""rban 'context, are examined.
"
2 .. 1' Insu1~
"
,1
, 7
, "
"The _ first weIl dùcumented example 'of apartmel)t l ,
buildings, ,as multi-level edi~ices-dwelling§ of
multiple families, are Eounà ~n antiquity, in Roman 1
Ostia,' the portus of Rom~~
These apar:tment' buildings, the insulae, were flrst te
, pr:ov j,de ,shelter to the hundreds'of temporary settlers , , ,
6r the port us, as vie Il as to the poor: pe rrnanen t
residents. These b\f1 rd i ng type Latet"' became a
'cQnvenience f~r the upper tlasses too.
:'The simplest and oldest plan is the buldln9 of upper;
5t~ries dwelling un~ts over a row of shops on a street " '
front. A simple development of this plan was tO set-two
Aarrow blocks back tO back. Passages jOlned the two
streets adjacent to the block, and divided the building •• 1
lnto two groups. Wnen th~ insula developed, , ,
in dept}l,
and could 'nct be adequately lit from street frontages,
inner' courts were added. Separate accesses were
prQvided Eor each apa~tment, these being entered
directly from either the street or from the peristyled
'- ,
;: \
, '
\
' .. 0
, , ' , , . ' '
" .. ' >,
1
!
! " ,
i' 1
1 , , ,
'.
"
. '
(,
, i.
, \
\ '
\ ,
"
, ,
, -.
, '
'i::::::::1= =, ==-.--!i'_ - .
4. A HOU'51tlQ Quar~l'r (Wara-P , e r Il t n 5
"fIDnOnnô 0- CJ
• b '. G ,~' 5 ln 0 n d 1 Il S R e ~ , , • Vil1hl, _onstrU~ l , 1 5 ' ' t 1,~ n' a ~ 4 n Dol "alo.
" 4 1 q. '~. l lllt/lnd " D .
c
'.
"
l,
~, ~-~~~_. ,
l'.
, ~1
, , y J --
),
. i
" " .'
.. "
-! "
36
: ,t~uttyards.(fig. 2.1a) The insula faced the street and
drew its main light,from the street, generally through
large windows. The disposition of the windows wa$
based uniq~ely on the needs 0' th,e rooms or çorridors
they served, not on the design of the elevation. They
i~entified each apartment.The street was used for
distribution f or i'e nt a t ion, economic and socjal
~ exchange. Th0s, there developed a strict relationship
between b~ilding type, form of property, and the form
of public space, t· i.e., the street). (fig., 2,.lb)
y (
From ancient times onvard, many apartment buildings
appeared, in different areas, Qot as the systematic
type of housing of high doncentrations of populatipn,
but as incidental derivative$ of pee uliar local
conqitions. "
? '
, In mediev~l ti~es, ~hen'the expansion of cities vere ~
piohibit~d by the fottifications, needs were' met witho'
iri an upward growth of the buildings and in the
creation of apartments e.g. 5trasbourq: 1580-1870).
2.'2 1Reaident,ial Squares
,)
During the Renaissance, in Europe, and 'in ,Eng~and and \, (
France in particular, c'onsiderable-building .activ~ty
developed from in the reconstruction and the extention
of exi'sting tOli'ns. _ T,his survey will focus on the ba,sic \ • ~ ~r
f
.J " , "
;
"
, "
"
"
\
o
•
, "
, .
'"
37
a Plan o! Royal Creacent and Circu5 P. Zucker. l'S')
b. Ii-orth Side o! Queen Square. (J.SUlIllleraon.Ql" •
)
l Q .' 2. la" t hi,! • a l d • Il t l a l S q u -. r ••
,,' . -
','
, -.
•
-..
1
38
planning principles of that era. wide a venues,
straight streets with vistas, the cheè ker-boa rd
p'atterns of ancient city buildings, and the extensive
use of squares and groups of squares, not merely
monumental, market or traffic places (but also as
domestic Gr residential squares), which were, then,
broadelyapplied, are also today's main vocabulary of~
urban design.(lS)
The concept of a residential square was a new and
epoch-making idea. The residential square provided for
a peculiar form of housing. Initially, it grew out of
an effort to jOln the homes of the aristocracy with
that of the king. Many dwelling units were connected by
a uniform architectural treatment of the facade. Later
lt became the model for speculative developments ori a
grand scale. In England, the trend was established and
raised the status of the residential square very close
to tnat of the contemporery apartment building
project~: A series of town houses were built with
uniform facadesi their future tenants were to own them
as leasehold rather than freehold property. An example
,of this is to be seen at Queen's Square, in Bath, 1727, ,
whose architect and developer was John Wood the
Elder.(l9)(fig. 2.2)
2.3 Mey YO,r" cand London Tenaments
The next systematic development of apartment builqirrgs
o
" '.
L'
,~l. J
•
Q
'\ - ' , ,
, .
, . .
" '
" .
, '
" -
\
39
takes place in the Second half of nineteenth century,
as a solution to the question ~f accommodating the
workers in the newly-developed urban centers, such as
in New York or London.
The very early forms of workers' tenaments represent
the most barbarian aspect of mass housing. In New York,
a typica~ form of tenament housing contained dwellings
having a series of narrow rooms arranged in line (the , . so called l"railroad flats"). A central staircase and
hall gave access to a four-room-deep apartment, with
only the front livlng room having direct access to
daylight and fresh air.
Restrictions by the New York Health Board and the
Tenament House Act of 1867, prevented the further -construction of unventilated rooms. This led to the
development of the "air-shaft" buildings. The three
room deep fIat now had its innermost rooms ventilated
by means of sma1l windows opening onto the chimney-like
ai rsha f t. ( 20) '( fig. 2. 3a )
G
In London, the conditions were no different. After the
terrible experience of sIums (back-to-back and low-rise
tenaments), multi-storied model tenaments for worker
families appeared, first in the city of London. The
model buildings were of acceptable quality but few vere .1, .....
èonstruct:ed throughout the rest of ,the nineteenth
\ ,
(i
"
)5
40
1 A 1
~lfm~ 1 1 UTI.:r.-; ~ AtDlT
1 " "
1 M.o' ..... • ~ a" 1 ...
..... ... . " " P. " ....
a. New Tork aPartm~nt bUlldlnQS acCOrdlnQ to sucees VI!
reQUlatlons :L Benevolo, l , , l
..
b. ~rne.t
l' , 5
~laQQ' 1 model tene~ent.
Brooklyn Rlversl~e BUlldlnq. ( H •
f 1 Q • 2 • ~ New Tork Tena~ents
'.
. -
, ot 1
K. ~ra~pton.
Sehoenauer 1 ,. • l )
",
>,
-, '
\ "
41
o century. Such a model was used fo r Bloomsbury, designed
tJ in,1850 by Henry Robert. It was a five-story high, .. U-shaped building,. enclosing a large court yard. l t
consisted of a series of flats accessible from an open
gallery in th~ rear. These galle ries overlooked the ,
courtyar-d and were 1 inked to each other- and to the -
street entrance by a wide staircase. Complementing the
·tr-aditional London street appearance, the facades of
the 'building were well-designed wîth bri-c-k walls and
la rge double-hung windows.
Much t lme passed unt i l the legislation of spec if le
measures for the improvemènt of this type of housing
(measures which, also, influenced the form to a ".
\ co r respond i ng degree). Thus, the introduction of
minimum standards of required space, access, lighting,
ventilation, and sanitary installations, created ë;in
'; opportun i t Y for the f reeing of sPélce and the graduaI
~preading of bui Idings. , J.
In New York the improvement resulted in an apartmen.t
building of the court yard type, one which provided
light and vent i 1ation to aIl tne habi table spaces.
Ernest F1agg' 5 project of, 1896, for the Housing Coune il.
beeame the model project for the following 40 yen r s.
The Dunba r l\partmentS, by Paul Lawrence in 1926, and
:,the Harlem Ri ve r Homes of 1938, are considered 1 to be
-0 "
\
sorne of the best examp1es of this mod,e 1. ( 21 ) ( fig. 2. 3b) '-"
~-~~~-----------------
c
. ,
F
"
42
The last decade of the nineteenth century, ,in New York,
saw the emergence of the "park te,nament". This period
marked the beginning of the per imeter blocks 'in this
count ry, an example of which is the Riverside l ,
BuiJ:dings, in Brooklyn (1884). The distinction of ,
these perimeter blocks lies primarily in the provision
of a la rge open space or par k -i n the middle of a
cluste'r of buildiogs. They are aIso, only two rooms
deep. Park tenaments were actually windows of hO,pei and
they remained on1y a hope.(22)(fig. 2.3é)
2.' Street-wise Apartments 1 European Apartments of I9th Century
Apartment buildings 'soon providèà suitable dwelling
space for the a f fluen t as well. By the end of th~
nineteenth century, apartment living was very common in ,
'large European cities. Edinburgh, in Great B'ritain, . ' was one of these. An apartment buildIng on Castle'
street, typical of those i~ Edinburgh, had four
dwelling units, with two "maindoor houses" having .their
own street addr ess a t the lower I eveIs, the other two
uni ts above, being r~pched through a cent raI
staircase.(fig. 2.4a)
In France, bui ld i ng regulat ions ensured re'Iat i vely high
standards for multi'ple dwellings that clearly set, them·
apart f rom tenaments "
in other parts of Europ~. _ A , ,
typicai Parisian corner apar,tment demonstrates the ...
intrinsic char..acteristics of middle-class urban living.
Il
o
.,' ....
e·,
r
" ~I L
43
, .
, 1 a. Edlobourq. APartment b 1) 1 l d 1 n <:l 0 n C,a s e street
b
i Q
. "
Par ï 5 Apartment
l_'
z.' Street-wise aPartllentl.(N. Schoenauer
'-
."
1 , • 1 )
• ,1 ','
)1
, \
l' l'
'. '
"
," ~I
,
, , , .' 1
•
1
L
-,"-
--- 1 , r
(1 " 1
44
, ,\ ( ,-Tl1e"size of the 'apartment building was relatively small , ,
by today's standards, but the dwellings themselves werè '" 1 1 l ,
, - J .-' ~
• \ 1 1
quite la~ge.(fig; 2.4b) , -,..-- ( " / 1 , "
, ,/ • 1
, 1
.. "r ~ \ l' l ~
The' 'street \ , , ~
, . elevations of apartm~nt,
.' • l , -bUlldlngs in
\. '. ~'n.ineteenth-century Paris, as weIl as those of the other
Europeah cities,' were lavishly articulated and were'
almost palatial in appearance, ln marked contrast to
the monotonous and dready facades, usually associated
, \ - ,),_1 with apartment bui Idings of a later era. '1 1 p \1
Workers'
,te.n~ments' in ParI s, as well as those of Berlin , the -' ~I .... ri \, .;.. ....... , ~ t "" .....
"r~ ".. so-; called "réntal barra.Çks" 1 had the sàme mean facades
"
, 1
" , , '
and layout that ~ere'characteristic of tenaments in aIl
large cities affected by industrial growth.(~3),
2.5 Anti~Street Trends: Set Back-off Modela , r
Before the turn of t'hi s century, Eheoretical aspects
related to the 'de'sign of the urban environment were
undergoing ch,ange. In an effort to' impr-ove housing " ~
conditions, in France as weIl as in England, new street
forms were pro,posed. In Pa'ris, in 187~, Eugene Henard -
tried to redefine the typical boulevard of Haussmann,
proposing set-back models and garden court yards opening
" d~rectly to ~hé sidewalk (boulevard a redans) ( 24 ) •
(fig. 2,.5) S imi 1a'r concepts were being proposed in
Lonqon by Unwin and , Parker, who used the set-back
models to create a picturesque ef fect ln their Hamptead
Garden Sùburb project of 1906. This tradition was
"
, "
1
, -'
1 '''11
, -O~
f ••
1 l ,_ 1 1..,
.. -
-'
" • J \
. -'
, ,
'" '-
r " .-
i.
o "
,1 45
- ,
, ,
"
",
" " ,
, 1
• < 1 i q '. 2. 5,
u q e Re.,. e n Il r: d'II
o l,I'l é '1.11 r d ~II r e ci a n ~.:l< ... ;w.UiioiIa..::. ( po r Il 111 P t 0 r1, 'l,' 1 5 )
eventua1ly cont.inued by Le Corbusier, who, in 1915,'
'designed - the Domino Houses, . . housing-complexes which
"
1 ine. All these projects were avoided the s~raight
consc{io~~ly, br,eak'~ng the continuous building 1ine as a
reaction to the traditiona1 concept of the street.
These tr~nds aimed' a11 the total transformation of the
city into a park.. Some- years· later, Ameriean
architects, adopting the European rationa1ism f proposed ""
simi1ar anti-street models. This trend became dominant '.
in the prototype hous ing projects submi tted by the
New-York "housing a uthor i ty in 1934.
" "
, 1.
..
,- . ,-
r
'C ,- ,
r '
c
1 46
2.6 ~e P~ripher~l Block
, "
'"
(,
. : .....
;
,- \ , t n , Cen t raI Europe 1 and in the Nether lands
j
particular, apattment buildings 'followed a different \
course, one wh-ich aimeQ at maintaining the traditional , "
street cpncept: The peripheral block was developed with - 1
~ts semi-public interior c'bu~tyard was developed.
Aècording' to a reformative law of 1897, in Berlin,
i rregu:La r cour tyar:-d? might be \con ta ined wi th in a la tger
'~eripheral block whieh re-a1ighs the whole development
with ~he st'reet.(fig. 2.6a)
H.P. Berlage',s projeet, of 1917, for the' extension of
Amsterda~ South is representative of the trend.
L.Benevolo descF{be5 it as: '
na district of uniform roads formed. of the in'termingling of certain symmetrical motifs' j
'suf f ièien tly' èomplex to a void the usua1 dready division into square block's... from 100 to 200 met res long and 50 w ide, four s torey5 high and with an enclosed garden, to be treated as an a(chi tect ura'l whole... The use ô f the bloc k, the
'un.ity of the materials and the di5cretion of the Dutch architects who executed i t, ,produced ,a comfortable, ci v i,li zed and order ly di st; r iet w i th, a ~on.t,inuity rarely found in 50 extensive a complexe Though i t inc 1 udes plenty of green spaees, the general effec-t is not' countrified; quite the reverse". (25) ffig. 2.6b)
Until the mid-twenties, thi 5' moClel wap totally
,i ,àcceptable. Two of the la 5 t' exampl~s, to f ollow t hese
principles, were the the Karl-Kreis Hof f and the Karl
Marx Hoff (1927) ln Vienna, and the Tusschendi jken
(1919), , ,
, ,
1
-\
o
'- 1 J 1
,1
,\ \' '--,
,
\
, ,
, '
"-
. ' , ,
1 47
, l'
1,'
, '\
r "
a. Berlin. HouslnQ
b 1'0 cils Il ~ ter
b. BerlllQ\I's project tor Allsterdam. L.lIene v olo.l"l)
1
:: Vie n na. K a r l H a r J. ~H 0 ! \L.Benevolo.l,71 1
1
!1Q. 2.' PeriPheral 1I1ocks~
" -
l ,
1
l, 1
J l, fi
- .... ~ " ,
'r'
'l',' :
48
and Kiefhoek 1(1.925) projects by J,'J.Oud, for Rotterdam.
, . , '
" Cfig_ 2.6c) In the latter case, the architect ~.;ls.
,1argerl:X wO,rking with isolated rows of terraced
pousing, and a recogniza'ble ,unit y in 'ter'ms of the l, - '. , \, ,
coni~gu~ation of urba~ space is·maintained. The ~odel
\" :ltself received' many modifications.' The. Spangen , '
Complex des igned by Michel Br i'nkman (Rotterdam, 1921) , ,
is an in terest i ng' 2.7a) It is
signi f icant for i ts ,enrichment' of the interior
court yard and for its e l e v,a t e d . 1. st r e e t 11 decks,
connecting aU' the perip?eral uni,ts to the publ ic
facilities located i'n the center. The perimeter plan
re-aligns the whole development to the existing street r
\ l"
grid. It is significant, also, for the introduction of
the gallery-access type of building. (26)
The perimeter block tends ta become an autonomous
organ i sm· w i th i t s own system of distributioh,
corridors, access balcon ies, -all campet i ng wi th the-'" \
streyts. The street is reduced to a system of accesses ,
of which the number of entrances i5 independant of the ,
number of the residential units. The relationship
between building tYI?e è.nd 'street, beyond the formal
aspect, becomes dictated by external legislation over
fi re regula t ions 1 etc. The large perimeter blocks
might be ,usefuI, or bea ut if ul, as 'i sola t ed examples:
but as repetitive urban systems, thei r resultant " .
street patterns 'became a spatial megastr.uct~re which
• ,
"
\ .
1
"
0 1 1
\
-,
'. ,,-
c::
0
/,
l"~
1
1 1
,
l,
'l!;
... '
, .. . '
, .
, 1
49 " ,
"
l'
f,
, 1
1
a. Rotterdall1. Spl1nQen HOU!llnQ ,bY H. IIrlrklD.l1,noi
.,,1
\
':" \ .' r, ,i-
'=
l'
b. Par i s 11l111euble villas bY [.e Corbusier.
f i q 2 • , FI~rlPhe r a 1 Il l oc: kil. ft. l'r •• Pton 1 f , S '-
c
, ,
0,
';
, ; , \
. ,
, . 'pr<?v~d to be socially disruptive.(2'7) Le Corbusier's
projected version of- a peripheral eourtyard block~ with
deck,acces$ (Immeuble villa~)·con$tituted a stand-pa'int , ,
in the evolution of the European housing prototypes.
, (fig:,. 2.1b} In the "City for three million" of 1922,
each bui ,Id ing bloc k sur rounds a wide publ ie green space
while' its,bulk is projected, or set bac/<, within' a '. continuous park. However, Le Corbusier wavered over
the' concept of per.i pheral bloc ks. vi lIe Rad i ~use, the
revised 1933 version of the "City for three miiiionn~ , '
was a continuous band of "one line" housing, with
successive set-backs. Through this praject he developed
the housing tower, or the free standing i ndepenclant
un i t, which eventually was to r,adically affect thé
w~ole,concept of modern urban space.
2. '1 Thè l'reestandl,ng Building
: ' \ ''',
, ,
The tower w~s ~sed, in the' 1930'5, as mediwm for low
incorne housing in Sweden an'd Holland, and was ado.pted
as the bqsic prototype, by the Ne~' York Housing
'Authority between 1934-65. In British 9rbanism, the'
tower waS part of the mixed dev-elopments of the post-war , 1
,period. 'ù ,permitted high-density areas 'on constricted
plots and '0, ~igh percentage of apçrtments with' double
exp?sures, reaching, 100% i n, the case 'of tne
'pointblock. The open 5p~ce around the'building allowe~
for ~ore Iight, ~ore air and wider views, e~pecially ,on \
the upper floorS.(fig. 2.~}
- \
: .l
o.
, "
1
l
, , "
'i'
, ',\
~-
1
"
f i 9', ::. a H il r l 0 v ,
(Bl!nevolo. 1'71)
[. 0 n don. vie v ~o! il
51
tover developl!lent.
-In the mid-twenties, there was a conceptual change in
Germany regarding the housing si te plan. From a bloc k
" arrangerrien t fac i ng di rectlyon to the street, t 0 the
'.-
, .'
/' 1 " (/
open rows of identical length, set endward to the
streét and arranged apart a t a standard di stance.
La ter 1 the ev 01 u t ion 0 f th i s pa t ter n i ne r e a s e d the
height of this typica1 element. The elavator mainly
cc)O't'ributed to this deve1opment.(28) (fig. 2.9a)
Th i' 5 rat ion a 1 pa t ter n 0 f r 0 w s w i th h i 9 h ris e bu i l d i n g 5 1
was advocated for its potential to release ground, and
the availabiJity. of its sky view even for the ground
floor leve1 resident, as was demonstrated by W.
Gropius. It
pattern in
proj ects.
was,
most
a10ng with the tower, the prevailing 1
1
post ~ar, hig~-density housing \ '
(fig. 2. 9b) \ \ )
c
,-
è, 1
.J 1
L~ ,
52
On the whole, these projects were close1y connected te
funct iona1 i st ideology. The l>treet pa t tern waS to
'serve the auto, the service trucking, and the emergency
vehicle, which could be brought as close as possible to
the entrance of the building. The main objectives of
the street design were now the discouragment of through
traffic, the ease of policing the area, the so-called
safety of the pedestr ian as well as the dr i ver. ,The
, adequate functioning of utilities in the streets was an
additional objective in street design. Walkways were
ta bring the inhabitants as directly as possible into
the dwelling. Intersecting vehicular traffic was ta be
reduced as much as possible. Considerations of privacy
influenced the location of walks.
It was deemed desirable ta keep them far enough away
from the buildi ng to a llow for planting and to place
,the pedestrian away from the windows of the lower floor
tenants. Ten feet was a minimum, but twenty feet or
more was desirable. (29)
Providing sufficient off-street park~ng space was to
become one of the major prob1em to be confronted. This
addi t iona1 requi red space cor responded to approx imate1y
one third of the, area of an average apartment building.
In addition ta resident parking, off-street space was
to be prov ided for serv ice vehic les. Wha tever park i ng
was needed was to be located according to criteria of
,
o
\' "
, ,
,',
a. '\lI1sterdalII. ~xPansion of 1'35. (Benevolo. l'"1)
a
"
1.
b
TI .. , " '-Hl
~ 1i!1--~
T
1 :e :Il ... ;;
1
1
.'I,a'l ,,) l '·9CO
:
,,' -l"l'l!!).j ~'l'~'~~"~').J~J L~l.o/sr+ ~~~~j .. ~ ~ftc on- b\l,ld,nl"I. ~~ê~~~§,::==~~==~:JJ __ -=J
1 Ij'JIll A 1,,700!"!!".--••••••••• ~
, • 1">,
( '1
1"->"
'1
53
~
:0 ~,--------------~----------------------------------------------------------~ \ 1 "'l ~ ...
.. b. G r 0 "i u s , :rî • e ove r
dlaQram dellonstratinQ th.
lov rlse ln a Parallel l' , ,
q, 2.' HOUllnQ in Rovi
".
advandaq •• of lliQh
rD. "ev.loP.ent
c
/
54
convenience to a building entrance. Considerations for
providing the resident with a more secure feeling
resulted in the provision of' a minimum number 6f ,
ent rances, in order to sepa:rate pri va t~ and publ ic
activities as best as possible, and toma i nt a i ft a
friendly distance between buildings. wi thout encoaching
upon privacy.(30)
" ,
Although we f ind this pattern often repea ted today, aIl
over the world, new concerns have started to appear. In
Europe, Rob and Leon Krier, and O.M. Ungers accept
streets squares and blocks as the on1y val id city
pattern. Their recent projects are illustrations of
'these ideas. Sorne of the more radical architects have
tried to express their philosophies of life through
the bui Idi-ngs, - such a s the Abraxa s-France, by Rica rdo
Bofill. In USA, Manhattanism i s approved and i s
extented on housing projects. It i s the se old and new
concepts which are the subject of this,research •
. , \ .'
" ·t 1
" .' "(
r.~ ;
y '"
o
-,
o
" ~,
. ,
"
"
55
'. PART Il " ..
POST ·PONCTIONALIST P~CTS
c -56 .
CHAP'l'BR III 1 TH! PROJECTS
The projects selected for examination in this study do
not cover the whole spectrum of post-functionalist,
t'hought. The existing material is quite extensive and
is spread over many different case studies.
Subjectivity, as weIl as availability of material, has
propably omitted from this study many other important
projects.
AlI the selecte~projects pose questions of urban form,
and they are examined regardless of-- the success of
iheir proposaIs. They show different interpretations of
th~ basic constituent elements of urban form that have
already been discussed. AH represent contextually
responsive solutions, either with adaptation or with
contrast to the existing physical (object) environment.
Their very diversity suggests-the validity of a general
concern. The referen t ial f orm used ranges f rom the
tradi tional European city to contempora ry Amer ican.
The analysis of each project varies according to the
significance of i ts pa rt ial development - and i ts
relation to this study.
Theo first reaction against the principle by which form
is supposed to follow function, with the assertion of
. the morphological st~ucture of urban form, is that of
the Italian Rationalists. Aldo Rossi offered both'the
.. '.
-\ \
~,
r
Atl o
0'·
theoret ical base (w,i th his book, The
the City), and .the first example of a
approach to formaI composition. f
"
·57
Architecture bf highly ordered
3.1 The Monte Amiata Ho'tls 1ng project f.or the
Gallaratese quarter i is one of the first
post-functionalist projects and is examined first. The
Gallaratese was designed by A.Rossi and C.Aymonino, in
~he northwestern outskirts of Milan, during Italy's
"economic miracle" of the late 1960s. (1)
Gala ra tese was a very importa nt pro j ec tin 1 ta ly., 1 t
began to use once aga1n elements others than housing
units by including colonnades and porticos, which were
a kind of luxury in the late 60s. On the other hand, it
also contained the contradictions of an architecture
with an extremely simplified program trying to be
ur ba n • 1 n t' h e end i t i s jus t 1 i ter a t ure.
Urbanistically, as specifie gesture, Galaratese can be
seen ~s an example of contextualism. The predominant
design strategy is the completion and 'resolution of
physical aspects of an existing urban condition: the
site and its surroundings. These conditions are s~en as
resolvable in a building, but they depend directly'on
-,'
the inclusion, or accomodation, of other existing. .,
buildings which are seen both as sett'ing ·the problem,
and as collaborating in its solution. It is considered
-'
'> ,
58
as part of the city of Milan and refers to i ts urban
c structure through the urban elements qf archi tecture.
Priority has been given to a building type choice which
affects archi tectural des ign and which aims to
reestablish the city through the memory. The complex
was desi gned a 5 a ser ies of four separa te, but
connected, buildings. It was sponsored by a private
real estate company and was intended to be a showca se
project, with al,)artments available only on a rental'
ba sis • ( fig. 3. l )
" o .. • • _ 110.,
( ' .
. ~,
-. -----~
'r
!lQ, 3.1 Gallaratt!se. Site plan. (l"utaQaW4. l"')
o
o
','
1
o
59
The neighbourhood where the cornplex is located, in the
Gallatarese Q1,.larter-, . is typical of rnany post-war
deveJopments in Italy~ with unrelated lü-to 12-story
hous ing blocks stand i ng a lone and sca t t:ered a t random
throughout a barren _ landscape. There is no
cohesiveness, no focus, no sense of place te be found
anywhere • -
For Ros$ i this was an occas 10n to eveke 1
the
'archi tecture of the tradi tional Mi lanese tenement,
av.o'id'ing the use of powerful urban forrns, moderating
the contradiction with the given urban context: The
scherne [J i s composed throughout ln purely geornetric
forms, yet it does not appear as comrnited to rigid
rationality. It consists of four buildings, two of ,
wpich are' double-Ioaded hall structures forrning an
obtuse and joined by a half-circular
amphi thea ter. The third 1. IS a similar structure an.d
extends between the two. These thr~é, .;lnd their.-
connec~ions, were designed by Carlo Aymonino. The
fourth is paralleL to the-' third and has been designed l
by Aldo Rossi.
. . C.Aymonino' s buildings are ,ti,ed toge"ther by â series -of
urbanistic components that
"triumphal" public entrances, and outdoor court yards
and plazas, aIl of which'come into focus at the public
amphitheater. A whole rang~ of residential models hav~
, 1
." .
a Carlo Aymonino' 5 buildinQ,
Aldo Ro •• r'. buildinq
l • 1 G. l' l 1 rat. • •• ! l • v • ton Il
(]
" . ,
60
( It [P r a:m pt 0 n 1.'-.1)
:
"
,-
J,' ",'
"',
",
.11
, '-
,-
o
f
i
'.
, 1
' ..
I_~ r;
"
(
'f ,1
"
:
"
'i'
61'
been applied in a comp1ex stepped s'eGtion, out of which
the' big cylinders ,of the lifts protrude at , regula r ,
intervals. Cour ~ya'rd. flats on ground level, duple~
, flats on the upper floors pa 5$ i 1)9 through the
gall~ry-like organisation of the.mid4le 'floors, provide
opportunities for urban relationshipp ~nd individuality
among the apartments.(fig. 3.2a)
Ros,'S i" 5 building is 'Cl counterpoint to Aymonino'~ wi th l'
its plain vol ume. l t sits atop a 1:ong gallery of flat ! 1
èolumns, panctuated only by a series' of windows ènd
l,: openings that follow a, circumscribed re'gulating order,'.
,l The entrance is emphasized, by four _ monumental columns !
within the gallerYoHere the type of linear porticqed
t "
house is offered.axiomatically as a typologyo
The .gallery on the ground floor level, as _ weIl as the
galleries on the upper levels (which provide access to
the apartments) are, for Rossi, representative of the
old Milanese house, and a "type" of reference in this
build'ing.(2)(fig.3.2b)
The plans of tAe apartments are funct ionaly
articulated. Despite the various ' t~pes that exist in ,1
Aymonino's buildings, an emphasis is observed: on
special hOllsehold facilitieso In Rdssi's building, ail" "
tpe apartments have gallery access with , '
art i cul a t ion. ( fig, 0 3. 3 )
, , ,
" , ,
.. .
clear zoning :
' .
(
\
"
"
, '
" , • f
, . ·1
" , "
.. /~ ,
, ;-
, 1
62
;. ,
\ r ~
--!.."7;:-"'iJ
,~
~!
,1:." r --, =+=====l .... , 'I~ /i>C ...
1101151'15 bu Id nQ Aymon no s bU11dinQs
\ '
1 TYP cal " ,u nit 5 Pla n 5 o Horton.
\'
,,,
, ,
b. li e c t 10 n !k { T E' U tllQII" il .l".1
"
"
t i q J' • l .. G. lia 'r l't l'se
" . , "
l,
. " ,"
o
, 1 , .
'.
" . ,
'r
','
,) ,'"
, J
" '
'.
, ,
. ,-, 1
1 :
63
The mooà 'that the m?rphological urban studies had
initiated in Italy· for the intergration of al! nèw
develqpment into the' morphological , ' , fabri c of the
t radi t i onal city, rece i ved its niost explicit.
elaboration in the work of the Luxe'mpoùF~ a'rchitects'
Rob and Leon Kr i et'.
, The project for Echterni)ch', Luxembourq,1,970, where a
continuous ,building with a,pitche.à t'oof' con't~~ns shops,
apartments ,and a 'school} shows cleatly the new 9tt,itude
,to ,reestabI.ish the tradit"ionaî -street and square. It
will not be'e,{amined here because of the peculiarity of , ,
i t s progr,amd'f-ig'.o' 3.4) . '
"
. .
f 1 Si, .]. ~ p. r 0 ) e ct! 0 r ~ c h t Il r n'II ch., ' b y I. I! 0 n K r 1 Il r, l' 7 0 •
(L. Krle!:'. 1'7,'~
"
., "
7
1 •
- 1
" ...:
64 " '3.2 The Royal Mint Square Housing Competition, in
London, 1974, gave the Krier brothers the opportunity
to further express their views on urban ,structure
connected to ~ousing projects, and to establish ,
th~rnselves as representatives of European L'
Neo-Rationalism.
Each of the Krier brothers had participated with a
sep~rat~ entry. Their proposals had in common the
treatment of the city by establishing a . well defined
urban block; their differences were seen in the
treatment of the block itself.
!i~. '-;5 Roy Il,1 H 1 n t Squar~. .' L o' n don. SLte 1 loclltlon. ( G r u m b ,II ch. l , ., 6 J
This project was designed ~or the dpcks~ east of'~ower
of London. Small areas had, in the meantime, been
replaced with new buildings. The docks were 'mostly in a
state of di srepa i r due to neÇJlect by the ci vit' 1
administ;-ation.,( fig. 3 .. 5) /
1 , - , \ ..
- ,
'.
o
, , -,:: Ji
,~
" ,
" "
.'
, .
'0
,"
'. ') 1
-"
, , . "
1
" '
,-, ,
.-'
, \
65
The basic architectural material was, however,
extraordinarily important 'and could be adapted to other
urban functions. Parts of the old docksides had been
filled in with earth, by order of èivic autharities. In
this way, as R.Krier states, the district was in fear
of losing one of its most fassinating qualities.(3) The
fabric of the.competition site had been so far defined
by the geometry of the docks' railway •
L~on Rrier~, s'intention was, "to create an ensemble of
architectural and spatial hom~geneity and harmony, to
propose a type of housing ~hich by lts very form would
suggest ways of ovecomi ng the shortsighted
programming".(4) He proposes two perimeter blocks,
, trian9ular in plan, forming a central pedestrian avenue
which cuts diagonally . through the competition site.
ThiS pedestrian avenue forms an iconical square in the " middle, and is direeted towards the tube station
becoming an important short eut between the city and
the redeveloped docks. (fig. 3.6a) The image of an
averyue is strength~ned by the width, (wider than the
surrounding streets), the flanking colonnades, and the
',row of trees on the axis. For the fitting of such
ere~ents in a housing project, teon Krier ~tated that,
"in' this projeet we found it ,impossible to design a ,
scheme which would be a perfect expression ~f housing,
bousing being o~ly a fragment of what we actually "
, r
l '
"
/
~\
-~-(~i/ 1 .
66
b. AaonO •• trlC. (Grumbach. 1"')
fiQ. 3.,
entro1. Royal Hint Square. Leon Krler'i :o.petition
o
()
, --
67
wanted,to suggest, i.e., a part of a city". Thus , as -,
C~. Jencks no~e5, "the city fabric is stitched together
in a new/old way. Here the London block is kept, along
with S011le existing buildings, while a set of public
facilities is placed on the diagonal, pedestrian route
and given a monumental, classical expression".(S)(fig.
3.6b)
The buildings are four-story walk-ups. On the first two
levels next to the ground, the apartments, flats or !
" maisonnettes, have direct access from the street, under
a colonnade. Those on the third and forth level have
gallery access on the third level. The ~allery is
parallel to the street looking towards i t, and
complementing it. There are staircases leading to the
gallery in a short distance, from each othèr, and,
because they are open on two sides, they form optical
connections between the streets and the less public
court yards. The elevçtors are Ot minor importance.
They are located on the four ends of the diagonal
central street, to
parking area, r'ight
has direct
additional
access
function.
,1 ,
be used in special cases only. The
below the dia90nal central st reet,
from thi 5 street, giving it an
( fig. 3.7)
The multiple individual~entrances on the ground level,
the staircases, the gallery running along the street, 1
the entrance to the parking area, are e'lement-tools
----' -----------------------
c
,
"
...
(J
,
c
68
oc:: ~" , ... ,1"1
~.! ...... I."n... ""'11 ?"'_III!'lQe.. \" .... ,11
'-« ...... 11 -"_':" c....". ..... , .......... ~ , __ -"to
M'
) a 0-- a r:: a J! ..... 1·1'1'.. ." ..... 1. , (;- 0 .J -..."...---.,.1
'- -,_ ........ --.-,~
'J
'~ '. ~·i~~ 7
,::' ~-1 Il ,,~~::j" --
.....
!iQ. J.7 Ro,v'al HInt Square, Leon Kriet"'s entt"Y,
Sections and ElevatIons o! dllelllnQS, (Grumbnch,
enriching the eleva t ions of the buildings and the
experiences of the pedestrian, and creating a close
relation between the public and the private realm, .and"
thus, making L. Krierts architecture urban.
v
\.
s
o
o
"
- p 69
Rob Krier, in his project, uses the same urban
vocabulary (blocks, streets, squares), but differe~t
buildi ng forms. Along w i th Leon, he shows tha t t hose
basic elements of the space can be art iculated in
di f ferent schemes, in a clear architectonic way, and
give a series of variants, signi ficant for the
identification of a place, the orientation of the
inhabitants and the visitors and the individualization
of the houses. (fig. 3.8a)
The architect' s intentions are expressed through ho
theses, as stated them in one of the publications of
the project. The fi rst thesis i s:
"Loss of urban space in town planning in the 20th century. The street and the square are the elementary types of space in this system, for which read 'c. i ty'. The st reet i s connected wi th the orientation, and the square is the intersection of two- streets, pole of calm, pole of intersection" •
The second thesis is stated thus:
" ••. this type of space, street and square, J1Iust be used again in modern town planning if we don't want to give up the idea of the 'city' as a system of constructed public space".(6)
Rob Kr i er proposes ares t ora ti on of the street system
within the blocks by a system of lanes and squares
close to traffic, in order to strengthen the pedestrian
use of the system. These spaces constitute the-places
which will enable the urban commun i ty to move, live and
cbmmun icq.te. j
(fig. 3.ab)
"
(
Il. Site Plan
b. Alooometrie
t i q. l
entry.
• , ~ 0 y a l H l n t 5 q U Il r e .~
Gr~lIlbach. 1'76'
Rob
/
o \"" 1 .... /
70
Krter's comPetition
o
l
o
71
There are two types of ~uildings: Three~story walk-ups
with flat apartments (terrace housing); and five-story,
mul ti-core walk-ups with L-type apartments. The
eleva tors are completely el iml na ted, mak i ng the
upper-floor apartments inappropriate for the elderly
and the handicapped. In the terrace house there is the
option of subdividing of the cells. The form of the
layout is individual. hl. T ere lS choice in poss~ble
access to the street and the courtyarq. At the ground
floor level, "there is an arcaded portico towards the
street, covered overway with gardens at the beginning
of the upper-level apartments. The access to the
apartments is through a gallery parallel to the street
and looking on to it. AIl the movement is on the street
level, intensyifing its function, while, in contrast,
the facade,s overlooking the gardens are equipped with
~uiet balcon ies.
The L-type apartments are ei ther fla t, or are
ma i sonnettes. The importance that R. Krier 9 ives to
the entrance of an apartment as an urban element is
seen in the details of the upper f loor entrances: The
core is extended leftwards and rightwards providing an
open gallery é,lccess to the apartment. (fig. 3.9)
The parking area, as in L. Krier's project, is at the
underground level, below the çentral street, with
multiple exits to it.
~I
72
(
!lQ. J.' ROYlIl H1nt Squarel Rob Krler's entry. Types a! c d v e l lin q uni t 5 . ( G rua. b Il .: h. l' 1 6 )
_.~_~_~~'l. ___________________ *
o
• >,
o
3.3 The
in New
73
Roosevelt Island Hou~in9 Competition of 1975,
York, refers to an urban enviroment quite
different te that of Europe. American Centextua~ism
here dea1s with the physical and cultural context of
New York, using as referential forms apartment
buildings of Modern Movement, or the urban grid plan of
the adjacent Manhattan •
!lq. l.lO Roosevelt Island. The co~Pet! t Ion sIte !a= lnQ
Manhattan. (5. StePhens. 1'15)
1
(
'1
c
',74
~mong the many entries, three have been selected to be
èHscussed here: R.Stern's; d.M. Ungers'j and O.M.A's ,
'(R. Koolhaéis and H. Zeng'el i s) . All are highly
contex t ucll i st. They recogn i ze, responde ta, -and i nval 'I.e
th~ surrounding city fa~ric, yet' are different fram
',each other.
Roos~velt Island is': 'a long, npr'row (200m wide.', on'
average) i sland in the East Ri ver, hetween, Manhattan and , '
Queens. The a rchi tect tir~ of 'the island consists ,
of a
series oi large U-shapes opening towards the river on
both sides ,of a longitudinal, pedestrian spine. (7) The
competition " , site' is on the nort he rn end 0 f <j::h'e.
" development, a location which corresponds to the area
oetween 71st and 75th Streets of Manhattan. (fig. 3.10)'
Stern' s entry was a warded the fi rst pd ze . Al though
its' image is a combination of fairly conventional
elements of an ordinary and identifiable, American
apartment building, the project deals with the
application of an urban type -the street-which is
dominated by social and architectural allusions to a
promenade. The solution, as Stern states it:
"introduces a pedestrian street running longi tudi nally thraugh the si te and cont inuing the diagonal offsets of the street pattern established in the earlier stages of the island's development. Our s~reet, 'Octagon Way', gives access to the apartments as weIl as to such various communi ty f unct ions as meet ing rooms, a day care cent re, two public schools, laundry eooms and an ~mphitheater. It provides the principal pedestrian
1 Il'' " \,
75
0, J •
'i:,
.' Il. 5 te plan
be, Ph 0 t 0 of th. III 0 d el
0 f i Q 3 • 11 nooleve l t 1 11 l Il 0 cl • 5 t Il r 0 • li cOllpetition • n t r y
( p • ... roell , T. Il l C k! 0 rd • l , • 1 )_
(
'?
~
, , ,
, , ,
; ,
76 '
, , '. - gâ.te~ay to Oc tagon Par~, park and . . "
1 ,recreation 'area planned for the island n .(8) (fig.
o 3.11 )
l'
Two types of bu i 1dings a're proposed: apa r'tment tO'W,ers 1
placed a t the wa ter' s edge to take advanta,ge of the
river view' and to' minimize their apparent ,bu1k,
providing apartments of various types, and 6- or
8-story buildings which' provide residents with a
comfortable relationship to the ground level. M9ny of
,the latte r have te rraces or balcon i es.
AlI apartment tower~ and "town houses" enter directly -
~ from Octagon Way .. (fig- 3.12) The transit$ion zone
comprising the entrances ta the apartments, gives, a
visible third dimension to., 1
the pedestrian movement and
enr i ches the elevations. Actually, it .ex tends the , \,
street upwards, further intensifying i t . We can say
that the funct ions, rather than the geome~ric
characteristics, give the urban quality, to the street.
Besides the diversifi-ed treatment of most of the
apartment facade s, this vertical transition zone
enhances the sense of identity and privacy for the
individual apartment dweller, thus fulfilling one of
the main intentions of the architecte This feeling of
individuality is further strengthened by the diversity
of the apartment ~ayout. In the towers, the apartments
of each floor are different from e~ch other.(fig. 3.13)
, , ' ..
, >
':
o
~ -" :I~
.... :.:-...
b. Park and hlQh l'Ise bUlldlnqs
.', • l"
-- ~
77
flQ. J.12 Roosevelt Island. Stern'D camPet 1 tian entry.
Perspect IV~ sketches. (P .... rnell " T.l!ick~ord. 1"1)
L
)
L o.. -ri.. 1
'Hiqh-rise
1 1
THllle lEVEL. lOW RISE lUXURY
SECOND lEva. lOW AISE !.AIDDLE INCOME
•• Plan •• (P. Arn'ell r. T. lIickt~rd. l,al)
, Ir; ,i ~
~
.. !V-
I 1 1 - /' .
HIGH INCOME
b. Sections. (S. StePhens. 1'75)
78
o 10" 20' 1 1 1
fiq. l.13 Roolevelt Island.
The aPllrtll4tnt ••
Stern'" cOlnpet,t,on entry.
, , )
o
o
79
While Stern respects the micro-environment of Roosevelt
Island, Ungers proposes a miniature Manhattan. (fig.
3.14, 3.15a) The pl."oportion of the Manhattan grid
streets i s ted uced to fit t w e n t y e i gh t entirely
different blocks around a shrunken Central park.
Gtegotti mentions that: \ . n ••• in' this way, the lack of relationship and 1 connect ion w i th Manha t tan i s coun terac t ed. One :does not live in Manhattan but in a Manhattan, a l' laundered' vers i on of the real th i ng, mi n us sorne iof the obvious nightmares".(9)
The Jroposed' "catalogue of types of accomodation" to be
developed by individual architects, built of dlfferent
materials, in this project is of great interest. These
',are types of bu i ldi ng s whose enve lopes are to fit and
define the building blocks, i,n the proposed urban
pattern." According to Ungers', the 'loft type', 'the
'standard type' ( w i t h f i xe d pla n ) , and the' pa 1 a Z Z 0
type', are the generators of the scheme. The derived
types ar:'e towers, tel."race walk-ups, cOl1rtyards, tower
walk-ups, terrace court yards , tel." race duplex, tower
court yards, and so on. (fig. 3.15)
_ J", .. • .... l -
' .. =msc_w u ber' -.,
f l Q • 3.1' R005ev~lt IS.and. Unqers' COlllpetltlon entrY.
S 1 t e plan. (V GreQott 1 , 1 , )
Î
80
c
a. Alonollletrie
b. ISlocks TYPoloqy
!IQ. l.15 Roosevelt Island. Unqers' :ollpetltlon entrY.
(v',GreQottl,1"6)
l b. "
\ ) 1
o
./
l
81 ,
Similarly to Ungers, ~.Koolhaas and E.Zenghelis propose
a "compressi on and fusion of e lemen t sand stra teg i es
which have evolved in the rncther island Manhattan". (10)
The new area is an extension of the Manhattan grid
across the East River, c~eating four new streets. (fig.
3.16) Along " the streets, ' they propose <y' rows of
"synthetic brownstones" (the traditional New York Town
houses once built of local stone) built thîs time of
the most heterogenous materials, such as glass, rock,
marble 1 and plastic. These 'are parts of a large
composi t ion of such prototypes as the slab, the tower
and the river block. (11) Apartment inteI;'Îors were not
ava ilable to a rlow f urther exami nat10n of th i 5 proj ect.
(fig. 3.17) ~
_ .. .L
t 1 q. l. l' Il 0 0 Il ~ y ~'l t 1 s l /1 n d . 0 HA'. c: 0 .. P. t 1 1 Ion e n \ r f .
Slte Plan. :V.Gr~Qottl. l"')
-
•
o
82
~'
0'
, l
"
~ '1: ....... . , •• w V
( 1\.'.,,,!
"', \ .'., ,\
" \ 1" /- ,1 l,
\ ,/ : ' \ ~
\
1
1 ~
l'
.1 v
., .
!lQ.3,1'7 Roosevelt Island, OHA's competition entry,
A li 0 nom e tri C, (V. Gre CI 0 t t i, 1" '.1
A- new/old urban idea which has reemerged among the
rationalist architects is the old notion of the ,
perimeter block and the enc losed pedest r ian a rea
su.rrounded by an architecture that maintains the ,street
line. J.P.Kleihues, R. Krier, and O.M.Ungers have been
instrumental in reviving this archetype, examples of
which have been built in Berlin.
-.
c
---
,
83
3.' 'l'he Vinetaplatz Black 270, was designe..3 by Joseph
P.Kleihues, in 1977, as a specifie respollse to the
resident ia1 fabr ic of Ber 1 in-Wedding. l t was seen in
the context of the evaluation of the residential block
as a po.tent ia lly \ acceptable type of bui 1di ng for modern
living and urban planning.(fig. 3.l8a~
This project is part iculrly remarkable, \:7, through it, Kleihues tried to resolve one of the most
intrinsically negative aspects of the type: its
tendency to become hermet ic and to develop an internaI
distributive system competing w-ith the traditional
street. This was achieved by increasing the number of
stçli rways and mak i ng them access ible f rom the st reet,
from the cour-tyard, and also from the underground car
park,' through open i ng the four corners and .prov idi,ng
. for inner and outer access to the sta i rway and elevator
halls; through open ing the courtya rt i tself on al!
sides, (i.e. passagé-ways on ground level in the
north-eastern and south-eas te rn corner s of the
-bui ldi ng, four-stor-ey pasage-ways in the north-western
and south-western corners and broad passages on the
south-western side). The requi red parking space is
provided in an underground level, and is accessible
from one side only. (fig. 3.1Bb)
All the apartments look out on both sides of ,',- the
buildin,g, onto the street or the square, and onto the
. \ .1 li
,1
-e
a. A,"Onollletrlc
~ .. ~, ~ . : .. ' ,> , . t
.1.
l' j
--, ,--'
b. Ground !loQr plin
fiC!. '3.11 VlnetaPlatz Block. (J. Klelhue •• 1"11
. , "
-
c .
\
.'
"
85
communal court yard. The plans are satisfactorilly
articulated, without long corridors and conflicting
functions, providing ample living spaèe but the minimum
standard space for the bedrooms. (12)
Leon Krier, who was working in Kleihues' office when
this scheme was first developed, while trying! to
resolve the problem of the size and articulation of the
semi-public and public spaces, proposed, in the Tegel
Competition (1980-83), the "insula tegeliensis" ,
instead of a peripheral block, peripherally arranged, 1
3-story detached buildings defining an urban block in
the total, and six streets 'and a square within this " (?
block.(l3)(fig. 3.19, 3.20)
f f Q • • 3. 1" " L. 0 n. 1\ ri. r ' • • n t r y , , u·:C''O'1I P. t i t 1"0 n . ( D • Po r p h Y rio 1. 1 " •• )
for' Teqel HO,u,1 in q' r
,4. \ .' ..
.. ' "
j
" -<
·e
i
f
1
~ ; "-
'-
1..'
fiq, 3.2'
P 0 r Ph-Y rio l " , . l
, "
"
-';In'IU~.
1-' ,'. )
:
",
_ T • q 1. i ". n l ,1 ' ••
l .. '.
) -
b}' " 'L.' 0 n
, 1
86
, \
.t;I '.
tJ tJ
tJ lJ
n
C~~ rT "
c~
~~~ c::::::J ;::;:::J ~8 '
'=1 :,,~: 14 .. "
~ 1 ~-=J. 1 pi .•. , , .:lJ ••. !. 1
, It r l,. r • (D,
'. < 1
- "
c'
•
87 -
3.5 The project for a perimeter block, on
Schillerstrasse-Berlin, by O.Mathias Ungers, in 1978,
shows an ef fort in ,gnother di rect ion, towards the
improvement of the type of th.e perimeter block by
turning it inwards.
There was already..- a building existing on the lot, a
remnan t of the damages of wa r • l t was inco~porated
into the new scheme in an attempt to preserve an
intimate scale, despite the unfavorable orientation and
a noisy location.(14)
As the archi tect states: "Thi s proj ect was an a t tempt
to complete the hi storical urban fabric by.(relating the
new work to the el:evations of, adjacent structures 'and
thereby create a unified block". (15)
Towards fulfilling the above expressed intention,
Ungers proposes a single un i t art iculà ted around' a
large court yard, almost like an enclosed square. This
court yard" enter~d from the street through one. main
gate and one secondary gate, provides garden space for
the' entire house while providing access to the'
stai rways and the apartments. The corner ent rance, ~
exagerat~~ in . provides to two-story Slze, access one
apartment. The gro~nd- f loor level is occupied by
malsonettes with -~ndividual entrances, accessible. " . '
ei ther dir~ctly from the street .o~ from the common
- 1
~ . ,
'.
l '
88
o "
l ,
, , a. G r 0 un a ! 1 000 r Pl a'n • - -r K • l" [" a ID P t' 0 n " S. K 0 1 b 0, V !I lt 1. 1" 1 )
, ,
, r
. : , " r,
o , J
" 1
'f i q ~ , 3 ~ ~ 1 , P. ~ 1 ~ e. F • F B l 0 c k I, • ..
on ,5 c h:l1 l • [ • t ra •••. ' 8. r 1 in'. '" 'fi 1 \. ~ , , 1 • r
'\ J'
> ' l' , .' . "
l , p.= ... -,
, .
..
0' •
" ,
• .'
. -.
,/ III
'n }
',1
, > 89 1
t~ court yard. (fig. 3.2l)~'
4 l ,The trea tment i s clearly in opposi tion to t~e r~ominant traits of typica1 19th century Berlin buildi~,9 which
had its 'main facade on the street, while the c~urtyard 'functioned 'as a mere light well. (16) In .. ,
this ).way,· \
however, Ungers reached the other extreme, as can-been
. seen in the Spangen Complex (1921), where the court yard
g~thers aU the circulation, isolating it from the
st r,eet where i t or iginally belonged.· He further
streng'thened th,is opposition by making the street
fronts resemb1e a big wall, with the service spaces ,.
immediately behind i t. The reduct ion of th~· width of .. the bui lding was , , . ,a main contributor 'to thi~
ef'féct.(~ig .• 3.22,: 3.23) -'
CI
. -,,~_ .. ~-
,,)] Il, ., 1111 J)ll JI
-.... -1111 el',I', 1
J J j J . '. 1 1
) ... 1 ..... ---
, >
, .. ~
, "
',1
, , , "
,0
• -,
. "
: -----90
------
--------.....,,----
! " , 1
1
!, : '~. ~
B l 0 c k o'n 5 è: Il i 1 l, ers t ~t:" Il S 5 e., , Sec t ions'" ( It , l' r a III P ton, s. k 0,1 b 0,. ski. ~ , • l ) , ,
'1
This resulted in ,a single-handied 'bui Idrng 'wich i9l)tr~d ~ , (~ J
possibi i i,Ùes . for
Furthermor,e, h~
ample' light 1 and cr'oSs ventUation. l" 1.'
el iminated the double fàc~'qes' of t·he , ~. ~ ..
eX,isting building by addil\9 a vO,lume. p~ralrel to' it • .. , "
The apartments are spacious, but' the resid~nts f are . .
obliged to make l'ong ~alks fr'om " • J' 'i
the', one to . the. other 1 1_ '
end of the house., The project'S are" cont~overs ial itl . - . .. )} , J j •
t~at th~y introduce a model' 'which both pres\~rves the
, 'st,re~t., . while simu,l taneousÎ'y . t~rn~n9
"
\ , ,
1 '- .
, ( ,
away . , '. . o •
, . ,
f~om it. -.
r (
,
.'
.'
\ n
, " , 1 t ~ , "
. , .
1
• -
1 If
f
... ~~ ___ , .. -:-"",,_.r-----
.-.
91
3.6 South ,Priedrichltadt in Berlin, is an area which ~
was proposed for' r~c.Qnstruction forthe Berl in
International Exhibi t ion (1 BA). Rob Kr ier took the
opportunity to make a design of his ideal plan for the
renewal of a city w i thout a manda te to do 50. The
significance of the project lies in it~~nd in~ the manipulation of the urban constituents.
-The" district' s structure clearly bears the imprint of
the,city's 19th century layout, the old plan of 1732-38
dest'royed by wars and subsequent reconstructions. The
whole developmen t i s t riangular in shape and i 5
characterized by a plaza at the vertex of two sides of
the triangle. Wi thin this general t riangular plan , a
second gridiron system is inserted with the third side
of the triangle as the generaror line. (fig. '3.24) Rob
Kr ier suggests the r~spect of the ma in "accents" of the
old urban ground plan. He a ims a t the reestabl i shmen t . ,
of a clearly l~gible urban structure. He corrects the
gigaJ)tic blocks in the southern part, by using measures
pr,eviousl~ applied to the blocks in the northern area,
and restric'ts ttie hight, of the buildings (no,more than
6 storeys, wi th no more skyscrapers) to' the size of the
court yards of the ,dwell ings (no much Iess than 40x40m).
Thus, between the great straight avenues that' link the
Mehringplat.z with ,the northern area, appear attractive
resident ial areas ,that retain their 'individual
,character, thanks to the different spatialcomposi-tion
:. , .
. (
e
.. '
e,
92
a. Berlin. 1150 , b. rriedrlchstadt. 1940
c. Priedrlchstadt. 1''75 d. P'rledrlchstadt. ldeal plan
tlQ. 3.Z4 South f'riedriehstadt. Devel<lPlIlent Pha •• s.
'R'. , Kr rI! r. l" 0-)
~'\
of the streets and the squa,reS. A fundament~l point in \
this idea1 plan is a ring of greenery not far from t,he
p1aza, 90m wide, where i t .would .be possible to p~aèe
the most important public buildinw, ,a~ determinants -
f,or the enl~vening of t.he area. (17) ",
o
c
--.
--
• o
SchlnllelPlatz ~
White HouI. ___
:!-- -
\.
----- ~-------
•
f i Q. 3. 2 5 Sou t h, l' rie cS rie h • t a cS t. .r h ~ are a
-' : ".- ~. Kr 1 e'r (K. l' ra .. P ton , S. K 0 l b cl v 1 It i, l" 2 )
93
-~ -- -= ,..
- ---
•
pesiqned by
ln 1980, Rob Krier took the manda~e to design in detail:,7
of a minor area of the whole development of South
Fr iedr ichstadt • (fig. 3.25) His gro,:!nd pJ..an--was to be a -' '
basis whereby' varipus ,German architects would submit _\~---
l ._
bui'léling des~gns fo~, d~fferent, parts of the pr,ojec~ •
1 t was a~ eft'ort to put 'an end, to the mass- production
• 1
(5, '1 , .
-',
1
1
J
f
,-
/
-
.. 94
of dwellings, nearly always designed by a single Ç'
architect, and a welcome alternative to the typical
social housing built in Berlin during the last twenty
years.
The master plan must be seen in rela\i,Or to the
historical structure, and, in contrast to"" the recently
built free-standing, high-rise towers in isolation flrom
their surroundings. There \5 an effort to reintroduce
i nto the area a st r uctura 1 qua li ty wh i ch recogn i zes and
mediates between those twin polarities (private vs
public; individual vs the collective)" "so that", as R.
Krier states, "every occupé)nt will be ab 1 e toi den tif Y
a multiplicity' of his own home, ..• (and) 50 that
differently-shaped houses ~111 once again -as in the
past- constitute the image of the) street, en,livening
and enriching it". (18)
(
These ideas have been t ransf e r red to the projec t by
well defined urban blocks, in a clearly delineated
area, introducing streets and urban squarfi!S faced with
a constant building wall. Rob Krier' s projects .
reintroduce collective spaces to the inner block and
investigate every possible variation and alternative in
the plan.
1.
The whole area reads as two major complexes and, in. !
turn, both complexes can be interpreted as a Ser ies of
r 0
'.
--95
individual b~ildings. At the same time, a unit y that
emerges as much from refering to the same .themes, and, ,
from having to resolve the same problems, as from a
utilization of the same language. Facsimiles of the
f acades of the mac ro city, range f rom the work of
Schinkel (cited by Krier) to that of the most recent
periods 1n European architecture.(19)
Rob Krier designed two sections, one in each complex:
the "White House" on Ritterstasse, and a part of
Schinkelplatz. The buildings are of special interest
because of the inter i or a r rangement of the apartmen ts.
The White House, part o~ the Ritterstrasse complex,
marks the centre of the northern edge of the long block
on the Ritterstrasse. He effectively employs color and
~ texture as a means of visually separating the building
f rom i ts context. He set s bac k the central port ion
f rom the st reet wall and c r-eates a br idge between the t
two halves of the complex and a gateway into the
" .. pedestr~an laneway leading to the Berlin Museum. The ..
fprmal treatment of the elevation reinforces this point
of view. This gate was meant to be an inviting ge~ture
allowing a view into the collective outdoor space
within the block, yet, one whico. one dares not enter.
Krier sees the space between the two wings as . the
transition area -from the public to the semi-private
space.(20)(fig. 3.26)
,-
-e
a. Plans IC. Jencks. 1"0 1
\ Il Œ ---------• •
t t
• " •
b.
! i Q. ,. 2 ~ l' h. Wh i t. If 0 U,I.
----~----
/
-- ._.--J .1
III J • j
•••
\
1
96
, 1
l" 1
1
1
...-,
•
(
•
-----
97
The bujlding is a four-story high. The apartments are
access ible f rotn t he inter ior open sp~ce of the bloc k,
through two cores of vert ica 1 ci rculat ion. Al though
most 'of the apartment plans are repeated, the treatment
of th'e"' faca-des di f fers from apartment to apartment. A
classical attitude is recognizable in the whole
composition of the palazzo-li'ke building (U-sh~pe,
.symmet ry and regula r, rhythms), whi le modern i st elements
include the flat roof, and the abstract . whiteness of
the plast~red walls.(21)
Th~ buildin~ ~f the Schinkelp1atz project occupies one
of the sides of the so-called plaza. The plaza has a , .
• r ~ides" ,ànd, regula r layout, enclosed on aIl its
"establi~hes 'an important urb~n-spatial ,landmark
between th~, Merhr ingplatz and the Oran ienstrasse" .' Ï t , .
measures J.Om . x 30n:a and is open at the .center of i ts , . ,
four ~ides, thus connected to the con~er9ing streets by ,: .
'passages through ground f loor: Dia~onal pàths at the " , '
corners also connect' the pubÙc square, w i th the
residenti~l court yards. Th~ place convey~ special
memQries.'Two of Schinkel's buildings stood in ~he same
âJ;'ea before .. the' war,'. Rob Krier made use 'of the
principa'l compositional elements of the buildings to ,
design the .frontages faèing the squa;-e, and ,thus, as
A. Fetlega"states: '"Ut') calls- to mind the migr'ation OJ , r \ ... /
classical fragments; a'iterea in thei r materials and
. ' ( ,
~ " . " , . ,
/
0:1
98
,
, c
a. plan
, .
b. v{.; froll the aq'uire
e 1 q • S ohl •• • 1" \ ,
.' ~
)
, " 1
. .."
C
o
'".~ ,f .' . . . , , r , ,
" "
99
connect ions, onto the facades of mi dd 1 e -c l,a s s houses
around the end of the 19th century".(22) (fig. 3.27b)
The residential units in both buildings, varying from
one bedrpom flats to ~our-bedroom maisonnetteè, tend to
be hiera rchically organ i sed, not only . \ .
in terms of Slze·
and sequence, but a Iso in respect to shape. AlI the . '
individual sleeping areas ar~, accessible only throu~h
the group living spaces, even in the case of the
maiso,nnettes. This may be seen as a problem or 'a , benefit, dependin9' on fami~y habits:
"The ,inter i ors of the houses imi ta te th~ 'phenomena of the city, tak iog the urban squa,re as the m'odel .for '. the ~iving room; . then other squar,e~, octagonals, 'rQt undas, e~c., a re set around, these.
, The apartment de.velops with slight alteration just as takes place in ,the relationshir:> bet.ween public spaces and residence". (23)
In Sèhinkelpl~tz hqusing, the individual character of' , .
each apartment' was achieved through the shape of 'the
central living,room, which was designed as ,~q4are,
rectangula~, elliptic~l, circular or polygonal.' (fig. . "
3.28-) Rob Kd.'er sta tes ft thi sis not a case of li
J
geomet ri,cal fet i shi sm, b\J~ s imply a log ~cal deve.lopment . .
of. the concept of 'a principal room, the heart of home"
"t9 which \.. $e~onda'ry ones a,re connected. (24) ,Almost aIl
result in .. , awkwàrd' gepmetries~ .in the' peripheral rooms . .
;' and give 0 no ,~ndicat'ion as to how, the central room could • : ~ ... '.~ ',"' \.. !. ~
. _ " " actually be furnished or used ,,(every room' has at l~ast .. ,'~ ~ ~.. , • t.J' , 1 li ~
, "fo~r( .d,oors, each r -in. à ' cil f.ferent wall ),(25) Krier.' s: (J- l ".JO. ~ .....
"Jnsi$~ence" on ~. c'en,tra~ and f~rmal'ly~appointed. l,iving ., . . ' , t
" , . . , "
- , 1
... ~ J'
)' ',: • 1
"
'-
"
/'
"
.. • "
< , "
- 1
\, 1
1-
" -
-c , ,
i' / 1 ~
100
.1
, .
" iCI,' 3.%1 SC:hinltelplatz,
r 1 \' '
" S'. ft CI l.b 0 V ski. l' • 2 )
, " A, par ,t ~ e n t s,. P l il n s .
J:'.. 1 r
'volu~e., ot,ten seems, to" " iinp,ope unneèessary " . f,ormal ~'
, l'
·corjstrai,n.ts bn', th~. achievame~t "of a convenie'nt ;plan. • J ~, ~ .
1
1 .. \ "'" - - }
Most çf thé, afO-l<elJ\en·tio~èd 1 ..". J " ~ "o;.{t '\ ...
"
, , . .lnto
w'i th 'r
";
','
"
. , exi'sting cîtj~s wit&
l 1.
r > 1 ",
, 1 t
." . .'
fntervent ions 1
, , ',exqmples were \ \
.' ~.
hi stories, - 'or '... ,
short "·qr long
St. ,Quen t-i~-: . '
, '
" ~ ,
'. /'
\ \
, " , /
-e
"-
. ,
',1 \
'i
, '
, ,y
- ' .-, "
~ ,
!
101
en-Yvelines, -and Marne-la-Va11e, gave the opportuni ty
to Ricardo Bofill and Taller de Arquitectura to design -
"Les Arcades du Lac ft, and "The Spaces of Abraxas",
respectively, and to express o • •
thel r Vlews regarding the
def in i t ion of urban form and the use of hi story.
"
3.7 Les Arcades du Lac is a proje~t for the Quartier de,
la Sourderie, in the new town of St
Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. lt was worked out in the
late 1970s by Ri cardo Bof ilI and Taller de
- , Arqui tec~ ura.' Al though i t . i s weIl kno'wn f or the
çlJ:lssical, vocabulary of the facades (which will not pe
discussed in· this study), deep urban conside'rations "
'. have determined the layout. 1 .'
, , T~o: . m~j'or' 'e.lements ' characterize , f
'boulevârd ' and. a large 'lak'e ( 60x300m,)-, which were-
.' dèt~rmihed by ,Pancho, Ayguaviyes, the , éoordin~tor , ~ \
'arch i tect of the whole deve 1 opm~n·t • Bof i 11 and Taller', ~ r:' _, \
" de t A~quite~tura,- in contrast' te' . t.hè surroundinq '\ ~ _ \ ,!... ' ~, _ ~ f • ~ " J
formlèssness, ',emp10y ',an intentionally -·simple urban' , J'
l'Ietwork " of ,bioèkS-,~ streets, squares;' ba',sed 'o.n the' ;' . ", -. \ ,
·'~,i91!.t ~n'gle, "Bke'the sy~tèm .~mployed.ih"to~n~ in"~he' ( \ /J ' _\. !, ~ \ .( • •
'past "l' ',de'f inin"g the t:wo ma.jo~ u-rbfn -~lèD\en/ts' and l ' l ,
~ -) -' ~
, lntroduci·ng, 'what 'has been descri bed as a "seed" ,
/ ,orga(lizaHo~ for the surrounding Pt"ojec:~~. (~'ig. 3.29'T '.", ~ " _1 ~,
.' 1 .. ~ _ 1 1 \
< \, ,~ l
\ ' ,
f , .
'. \
, 1
, ~ \ '
:
" . "
, . , ,
, ,1
, ,
... ,. 1 .....
-
\
, \
-1 \
"
-. , f 1 ri" L. c (Janet.,
\ l
'.. . ,
,\ '
Ji~J,
" ..J
; ,
!-'" --1': , · ..... --.Jl, ""--"~'
, 1 ~, . . t·, i'})'-
~~~:J~ ~'.:) .' -l, Il'-=r-Ji ;, , ',,--, ... 1 \i;
~ ..
1 ~ .0)'
. .'
, 102
, . .
, .
--'
d
•
, "
-~urthermore, they have composed
103
a dense mass of
bui Iding, la id out along rigJd axes, wi th ordered'
facades and uniform parapet lines, set among formaI ,
,ga'rdens and cr:o'ssi,ng an artificial' lake. They have , ,
cr~ated an "ordered ga~den", interp~etin9 in t~eir ~w~ , ,
way the garden cities so familiar to,Fren~h Hist9ry, by , -
.. proposing a'nd inhabi ted garder) in which the t'reatment
, ,
,
"of natural elernen,ts li ke the lake or vegetatlop " - .
constituted the essentialJgiven factors. (26)
Bofill says: "
"O-ur concern 'was to buï Id ' an archi tect ural ' 'object' which would be a çounterpoint and eOPtplement - to _the lake project .•• a dwell i,ng' space which - would be ordered along, a ~~raight· l~~e· situatèd above th.e water - level· and contrasting with fhe network of \the. garden city~ This
< objeètive corre$ponaed -to a serie.S of'- ideills developed in. the- Taller de Arqui tectura: ari.
: obsession with lines, points or arçhes as dwelling . : pla'ces; w,ith a *ine ot: a vidd,uct 'as a dw'elling place; above water or crossing a v,alley betweEm
': mountains;. a way' of entering a land~cape or , mar king a terri tOfY" • (2.7) "
.P.~:,Hodgkinson, partner of Taller de 7 Arqu itectura'" se~s
the·' project' 'as a counterp~oposal,of .mass~ im~ge and , l ,
pla i n'ly urban and ~sssoc ia ted w i th 'local . , , id~n~fty,
hi stor'y and her i tage, ~to \ ,. ~ 1
the decompos i.t ion of French
new 'to'wns. (28) (fig'. 3.30) ~ \ ,
" 1"- c.oritr~st to the' soc ial, simbol iç 'and cons.t r~ct ~ori~l , ,
consideràtions' for· the éxterior of tpe buildings 'arld'
the' a'rt iculat ion. of public Ispê\ces,. almost n~' a't·te~t ion , 1
,ha s been gi ven to the inter ior. The'.apartments '~r~ .
-
" ~ 1
\ , \ . , , \ , , ' ..
__ .. J"'f'
, '
-_ .. -~-
,
r
•
, "
f q, 3.30' L •• A,rcade.
1" 0 ) 1
~,
:'
\ -
104
, '
du La c C. J .'n cil. ; .'
-
••
105
ordinary and functionally articulated, where feasible:
but the,re, are apartments wi th akward dispo'si tion. of
windows anÔ,balconies foll~wing the exterior order.
3 .. 8 'l'he Spaces of Abraz8s, in' Marne-Ia-Vallee, Fra,nce
(1978-82> , represent another .'interpreta t ion of the
"historical· city". Now emphasis is gi'ven to its
symbolic dimension. The project brings instant histary
and ident i ty to a f>lace where archi tect s have revelled
in the opportun i t ies of tabula rasa. Marne-la -Vallee
is one of the most recent suburb of Paris. It is an
i~different, meaningless environment, consisting of
fo~r clusters, eaarr-centered on a rail
---. " / One of these· Glusters lS A~~~~
" The pro'posal, is based on the belief that:
road stat ion.
"urban design' in our era will take the structure, :if not the dimension, of the historical city into acc~unt. It will however, invert the symbolic values. Everyday life will take the center of the stage, whilè the public edifice and facility will.
"recede i nto 'the ,bac kground" • ( 29 >, .
So in Abraxas, a place lac king drama, Bofill and his ,
par,tn:r.s place the fesidents on an urban stage. They
propose a 9-story Roman Thea t re, a 19-story Palace and
a central Triumphal Arch. The Arch forms the center and
. fo~al ,point of the complex and is called, by Bofill, "a
sta9é ~urtain that shelters exhibitionists". The inner
si,.d!! of the Arch of the Theatre def ines' an Amphi theatre
on four· levels. The vine-drape~ Arcb.. -romantic and not
"
, .
,,.~ "
,. -,
.. !
THIRD FLOOR PAl.M:E'
l'
, EIGHTH, NINTH TENTH FLOOR ARCH
106
, '
1
" .-1
'.
\
•
107
t~iumphalï as_ Bofill,insists- provides the principal
stage set, and the Palace, a monumental classi'cal
backdrop.(30)(fig. 3.31)
The palac'e, according to Berry Bergoll, is an archigram
megastructure got up in classical dress for a night at
a theatre, complete with internaI streets and gangway
galler ies leading to indi vidual apartments.
1 n the whole pro ject, empha si s i s gi ven to the
classical composition of the facades. The level of
success, and the means· used, are beyond the subj~ct of
this st udy. However, The gene raI l~yout i S tC learly
formaIistic. The theatre- describes an arch slightly , ,
largeF than' a ~emi ~c i rc le, "abut ting ,the rect~ngular
geometries of the Palace at an unresolv,ed ang~e."
(31)(fig. 3.~2)
" The development' is controlled by a imaginary linear
central axis. The axis is emphasized by a monumental
vista, a fu'tnelled p~rspective gli~psed through the
Arch, the Palace and the Theatre. The archi tectural
forms used, in order' for the vista to be achieveB, are
huge cuts in the buildings (mo're than- five-story high),
the "urban windows" as Bofill calls them. The vista in
one direction is "a beaut~fully modulated . -and
controlled sequence of framed r, composi,t ions and
polychromatic progression from thet masonry pinks of the
ti
-
108
a. The Palace
b. 't'be The.tr.(interior conclve)
f i q • 3. 32 't'he SPac •• o~ ,AbrIIIS. Elevltlon •• • •• B.rqc501l. 1" 2 )
·c
•
109
Palace to the deep browns of the Arch, the view finally
opens through the Theatre into the landscape beyond"
(32); while towards the other direction, the vista ends
quite abruptly with a garage.
The urban intentions of the architects can al~~ be seen
in the different treatment of the Theatre's two
facades. The exterior convex tries to dedine an
enclosing surf~ce, having quite austere facade. It is
characterized by three superimp,osed tiers of paired
columns, aIl of equa1 size and indeterminate order.
The interior concave, in contrast, is enlivened by a
parade of refiective glass bay-windows. However, yet
the result is quite vague.
From the layouts of the apartments, it is clear that
Bofill and Taller have designed Abraxas from the facade
in~ard. The plans are an afterthought, forced into the J
overpowering forms conceived as a vast urban sculpture.
As a consequence, there are ?
apartments poor in scale
and detailing, whereever the generai layout was not
flexible, bay windows in the bedrooms following the
exterior order, but there are also apartments more
generous in layout, and pleasant in the double
orientation of their floor-through plans. Aithough the~
generai structure of the building is a slab one, the
architects have avoided the long corridors, providing
instead muiti-vertical cores. Berry Bergoll states:
-~:~.~~~----------------
•
•
110
"such inattention to the private aspect of the design makes one sceptical of Bofill's frequent sociological polemic. Exalting daily life with such theatrical bravura, he has in fact made but few concessions to i ts enrichment beyond the view from the window."(33)
The parking needs are covered by a four-storey concrete
garage which forms a most unceremonious link bétween
the 'Spaces of Abraxas and the town cent re. A dense
planting of trees would,as a later addition, partly
obscure the pa r king lot.
3.9 Noisy II project, of 1980, by Henri Ciriani, for a
district of Marne- la-Vallee, tries to establish (by
reinterpretation) traditionaLurban fOlrms (streets and
promenades) using a slab-blo~k typology. His project
along wi th Stern t s entry for Rooseve l t Island
Compe,tition, demonstrate that forms employed even by
Modern Movement can define -qualified urban space,
t ranspos ing thus the problem of urban i ty from the block
typology to the details of the building i tself. "The ~
space is 'he~dt by architecture", and in this case, the
building wall ïs a generator of street space. (34)
1 t is adressed to a random resident ial fabric of a
qispersed '"new town".(tig. 3.33a)
Ciriani places his project in the context of9- the ,
gene'ral recent debate around the intrinsic values of
the urban forme Himself, a defender o'f modernism,
-
111
:
N lr ~ 300,' 100m
!
a.S te plan ( H • LiPstadt l , • l )
.'
'1
, f
b. Aerial PersPective sketch . 1t.P'ramPton.
• t i Q • 1
..
,-,
"
o ,.
112
recognïzes the two major problems of Modern Movement as
being the "functional segregation and the erection of
built objeets floating in a homogenous space", and
tries to solve them from within.
He refuses "to take shelter in the nostalgia t'or the
historie towns, beeau'se he finds tl)a't mimesis in
arehiteet ure ean onl,Y theat r icali se the reali za t ion of
t~e spaees i t engenders" • He separa tes thus hi s
position from that of the architects of the projects
already discussed. He uses the acquired knowledge of
thé Modern. Movemen t, whi lé "he fa kes 'notes f rom the
lessons of the, past". The "slab" is for him an ,idea.l , .
t05)l for .reinterpréting -by anal~gy- the already
experieneed urban forms.(35) (fig. ~.33b) . "
His intention was to create an "urban pieee" which \.
<' "must eonstitute an "inside" and·communicate through an
·"outside". The proposed complex cohs i sts of three .. -slabs forming a T- shaped figure wh i ch, in turn, 'forms
:: . , both ~the ,structure aQd the boundary of the space. The .\
fore-par~ l ,a l inear bui lding, IBOm lon~, fune t ions as
an "urban ,front-"; ,i n rela t icin to the, area it -
\ d,~marcates, and defines- a boulevard along' wi t.h ~he , "
linear hui lding. on, 'opposi te si te, also designed by
Cir~_ani, ; in a different development.(36) The second
line~,t building ~is split' into two wings perpendicular
to t,he fi:rst one.' A lar9~ portlco at the ~ntersection.
"
o~ the two 'buildings marks' the entrance to the domestic Ir ,
"
• .'
\ \ .. ' y'
113
element of the 'ensemble. The wJngs present
stepped-back terraced walls a10ng a promenade that
leads f rom local node to a community garden. l t. i s thi s
stepped confi~uration that "e,ffects a fusion between
the facade of the building ana the, 'interior - walls
-petween spaces" and represents another-interpretation l • , •
61 ,the tradi t ion~l 'public squares' whïch f~or Ci rian i i s
a-~hollqw in a ful1y-oc~upied ~~ea~.(fi~. "3.34)'The
"
NoilY II. Tb. stePP.-a flQ.3.3 ... i_
t be Pro ••. n a cS •• - (H. {-iPlt,_dt. 1,a2)'
, ,
L
" \
,
-,
' . • ... _ 1
l ,
\'
\ \
.' ,
, ,
,\
,-,.
\ . , '
';.' 1 ----- ---- --------------.-----,------
\ ,
114
whole deve19pment can be considered as a
self-sustaining urban fragment, like the perimeter
block, and open to further development suggested by the . , linear and lateral extension of the streets.(37)
The requiremen~ for ,
'" , an "urban front" are
, , , /
, '. .~ '1
met. wi th the -'
basic shape' of the, for~-buildin9,.cQmposf!d of-"c:o'lumns" .' ;
--(balconies ory,e over anoth~r) and a frieze çprojected
"
last read as,~' tradit~onal " , . \
po~~lcd. Neverthei~ss~ the two wing~ . seem to' be exempt ',. ., ... ~ ~
~rom participatin9. ,in the_ game of 'street' front,age,-, (38) ~ "'<
The '.
ruling.a~is ~e~elt serv~s. as , '
prom~nadè 'and, tht! , , , .
wings are 'entered from outer -sides t'hrough e<n t r: les
mark.ed by various types of arches. ' (fig. 3.3'4,b) , "
"
The,residential units'are , ,
planned as j9ined rounp...:like
towers; ,this ,form allows for.' succesive diagonal ,è
~raduation a'nd angled windows, and lets in sunsliine '- -;
; " , > I~,
.la~erally • The fnteriors , of the apartments , (60" vary
models for 300 ünits) but aIl -are based on a~corri9'or .
distribut'ion \
s~ste~= The spati,l ...
quality ~s better "
, "
.)
-{shorter corridors,
" t 1,(
, \
spaeious roomsi in the. ii~~"r-tmen,ts" 1
alloea te(;1
. 3. 35a) ,
. ,',
"
" to .) the f inanc ia11y upper ,! ~ ,
" '... .
~, \
classes.
';
" (Og. '. '.
, ' .. . " ~
" , -. '
,.
, . . "
, 1
l
','
, ' ':.
, ,
c
", ,.'
l, . ' tç' , " ..... ,
.';. ~". , .
"
" ,
"
" .
, 1
~ .
1 115
,
\.
\
,PARTIAL FIFTH AND FIRST FLOOA!I
\,
, P,.RTIAL TYPICAL FLOOR 2Q,6m
D. Plans ( H L Pstadt 1 tl2) " i'
" 1:1'" w •• t !l .... vat~on (ft prallPt.o n . l' .. 2 -"
.~
"
f ,1 ~ . 2.. '1 . No ;';'.y 1 1 : , ; ... "
V,
~
'. "
;' .'. r
'. ~ \ ,-
•
1
f ~
116
CHAPTBR IV. PLANNING INTBHTtOHS , DESIGN MB'l'HODO~:J
-4.1 Planni~9 Criteria ,\
J
, ,
"
\ .
,\
-'1 "
, , The projects examined represent evocative 50,1 ut ions to ,
a 'Variety oe u-rban situations and programs. ';l'hey a're
explorations of the dialectic ',bètween' the buildings and : .
the 'urban space, as well < aS of the contrib'ution of
'housing in the coherence of the urban structure. The
plann ing cri ter ia ot most of the 'projec t!;f are ideas,
opinions, theses ,~n genera1 urban spa'ce, èxpanded to
sui t hous i ng problems. , ,
. ,
Mos't o'f the archi t~cts, whose projects' have been ,
~
e?tam~ned in this~ paper, have developed a theory of
des i gn upon which 'they have based 'the i r pr,ojec.~ 5. The
, sign i ficance ~f ,
thes'e theor ies compared to" the' ~hole ft ~'
work of each arch~tect, and the va1ue 0f the thèory ,
~tself, vary between the archit~cts~ For, e'xample, Aldo ,
"Rossi 1ays emphasis on theory an'd has presented t.exts
of treatise value, for) 'conte'mporary, archi tecturai', l '"' "
. education. 'The Krier brothers, who emphasize t,heory,,"
l des~ gl1 projects tnat are idea1 appl icat i ons' of, 'tnei r , ,
.' tl'leories. It is noteworthy that the, ma jori ty, of the
" 'spat ial concepts which Rop Kr ier proposes, are
'ïdèalistic, since, 'these have been wor'kèd out wlthout:;
. any mandate. Neverthel,ess, a11, his suggestions are
. thorougl;lly ,"pract i~al"; ,'tha't ,i s, ' techn icaÙy, ,\lega1,lY "
~nd '.f i l'l~nc ially reali st ic, accGrd,ing ~ô 'the a~chi tec~ .,
"
" . '" , ,
, "
. "
l '
, , J • , .
'. ,',
" . " ,
r.
" , ,
/
, .' Il .. J "
, ,
"
"
o , .
• > , )
, ~- ~
" ,
" \
) ... "
"
t, \
, "< •
117
There are also architects, such as J'.P. Kleihues and R.
Bofill whose theories are clearly complementary to , the-ir practice. Their theoretica1 texts are limited., ,
the tl:lese condi t ions ( ïn thh , 1
AS a ~onsequence of
chaPt~.r'\,' which deals
cr i teriè together w i th
with the archi tects plannîng
the theoreti~al extentions of A . . .. ,
t~e projects), these pro~ects are not analysed equally,
nor studied in depth. The projee,ts examined here are ..
selected" as be ïng representat i ve and helpful to a
c 105er and more accura te v iew po i nt. They must be see~
as part ial , or thorough, appl icat i on of these ~heor i es.
Sorne may never be realized. , They are, neverthe1ess'( . ,
si9nific,a~t fO'r their proposaIs, and their potency as J
stimulus for a wh?le variety of long
research.
term scienti,fic
"
The Iilroposed, forms of',ur'ban' space are 'not prototYpical. 1 r , r, Ir" l ..
Their' pedigree c~n Qe', traced back. to, a' series of
hi storical exampl~s,. which acteq , ,
as 'sources ., of \ ,
inspi rat i on. Archi tect\ilral ,.'history i 5 'not' be ing , ,
considered at.' the level of the individual , monument or 4' , . .
building, b,ut as" t,l}e study of the ~hole urban fabr ic, " . ,
of the or'dinary anonyrnous buildings wh'ich, form the . " , ,
fle'sh of thè city', 1Ith~ skin'of'its spaces",. l '
l ,\ " ' ,
'L~o!, Kri7~ statés, , , ,
~ , , , .'
"
, ,
,."~he. deb~te' ~h'ich bot'h' Rob~rt', . Krïer 'and ,;r myse'lf :' want 'to ,ra,ise with' oùr' projeé:::t,s i 5 " ,tha"t 'of, urban'
'- ,'.morphology as:, agf!inst ,the~ " z\o~in'g -- of . ,·the " ' "
-.
" " . )
.' ,
, t
. ,
JI
" , !, • • '1 ~ , -,
-'
..
'::1~_ ', •.
, ."
'.
118
planners ••• The design of urban spaces, both traffic and pedestrian, linear and focal, is on one,hand a method which is general enough to allow flexibility and change, afld on -the other hand pI'"eéise enough 'to c,reate both spatial and built conti-nouity within the "'city ••• We· try in our projects to reestablish the dialectic of building and publ ic realm, .. of sol id and void, of' the' bui! t organism and the spaces it necessarily creates around itself".(39)
In the works of the Krier . brotht!'rs the new vision of
the city certa inly " incorporates ,
components impl iC,i t 'i,n the typological approach to
old' city. Rob 'Krier's bui'ldings, acco'rding to
a~~h~t~ct,' are ~~pected: ,
"to part.icipate in a dialogue wi th the substance' of,te past and 'not to stand disconnected from the basic structural elements of the, town as they do' tdday sustaining their own peculiar existence in permanent isolation. Ever'y flew urban building must' ,obey the overall structural logic and, provide a formal answer in its design to preexisting spatial
,condi t ion~" (40) ,
RO~ Krier' s fascination with historic cities deri ves :;
, ,
from the' almost infinite var1'~ty of spatial ,forms ~nd
th~' bu.i lding' which shape them • . ·,.,.t)--The wish te:> cut oneself off from the heritage of " the past is ex~remely shc;>rtsighted. By çloing so,
, one dèprives oneself of thousands of yeàrs' worth ," of experiance. The logical and attractive building types and spatial structures le~t to us by anonymous archi tects have bee'n improved upon t~e countless succeding generations. They have matured into master pieces e~en in the absence of a single creator of genius, 'because they were' ,based op a perfectly refined awareness of building 'requirements using simple means". ' , -'
Thi·s Îs the way thijt the architect understands the
tradition, an~ his method of design. He considers'
, " tradition'as the
"
',.
--
. ,
vehicle for passing on 1.
techrical and
,. " ~/ , ~
,',
"
o
&
,',
. ~ -'
• '.
119
artistic knowledge, and he useS previously established
types of space and buildings to compose contemporary
cities.(41)
Oswald' Mathias Ungers says that the first criterion of
" hi s des i gn. i s the dialect ical process" seen ~s a
permanent confrontation between rea1i~y and the ,
ellvi ronment 1 and the acceptance of spec i fic economic,
,S9ci~1 and historical conditions. Design is determined
by the specifie task of the building, by the
" -iA-te-rgra't i on of new structures into· an existing
"
context, and by the intensification of the place. By
this first ,criterion., he places hi"mse1,f among. the
contextua1ists, whose main considerations 'are the
ar'chitècture-as-found and the rationalia'zation.'of an
,existing reality~
1
Ar~O Rossi 1 s,
a~chitecture is
andr. Carlo Aymon~no' s,' approâch to
ration~li'stic. It ~is-· based on ,
par,i~ular analytical method and on a hi~hly ordere~ \
approach to formal compos i t ion'_. This. method is ,.
described in a véry private and personal Itext, "The
Archi tecture of the City" tiy Aldo Ross i • The
rationa'lism is seen primarily through the résults o( ,
the i r method of analysis of the city, invp1ving the
Rossi, refering to his". project 1
cQncept of typ01ogy.
for Gallaratese says, thaë: "there is an analogie.al .
relationhip with certain"engineering work "
, . ,"
"
/ "
" , •
'. \ l.'
>.
0
-, ,
"
. , .
, "
.'
, ,
a
~.
1 1
120
freely with both the corridor typology and a related ,
f eel ing l have always exper i~nced in the Archi tec ture
of the tradi't ional Mi lanese tenements". (42) 0
For Ross i, "the most complete expression of
architecture is the cIty", s~en as the object of
investigation. In order for him tO.,thoroughly analyse ,
architecture, he analyses the city. He defines typology
exc lus i vely w i thin the field ~ of urban _ analys ~ s.
Aymonino diSCUS~city sayings "an urban planning
:project ShOUI( never be. e~clusively the t,own planner's
p!,-,>vtnce ••• t)ie archi tectural scale ought to be the - /k
"~instrumen~of every town planning proc,ess aimed at ,thé/' r
1 \ '
transformation of the physical enviroment"._ (43)
/ " /
, '
~ Joseph Paul Kleihues' prQject~ are ma i n ly ~ n Bù li n, a .
city with a specific historYr,"the Berlir:t of s_tone~, as - ',::-",1' '
has been defined by Heg~emann, anq identi f ied with !
j)loc~ structure and Oéirrow internaI C ourtya r,ds. His , ,
theory Ï's related to his aspects regarding t,h~ "'t
. "re.cons~-ruction of a city destro~ed" ( not the
,"repqiri~g" of the damage done to a city razed to the
ground" as f
. ' many had understood>'.
6i ty plan and ,,j, ts controll iJlg , function over the laY0l:'t ,.
ot urbà'l1 space i s now ,the ,start i ng poi n t and also the , -
fir"St' promise~for "reconst ruct i'on"" .' (.44) Th~! concept ual , -
a im emerges, namely, to. ~eestabli sh ,the plan's l " jr
l ',' " ,
,géometry, the 2-dimens iodal aspec;t of the city, and the 1 "'
\ :=;z--\ . . , ~
" " ~
l' ~
.1 ~ , 1 ~~ -------
'" .,
_e
121
fi rst step of the design process. 1 n implem~nlt ing new
building regulations, the aim wil,l be to 'guarantee an , .
ident i ty of place and 'the en!:' i chment of ~he new image.
The identity ,of the' a~ea is characterized br ,its
'stereometry, the third dimensio~ of the city (the \
height of the blocks)'. In the case ,of Berlin', the
persui tled, ~tereome\t ry i 5 thàt of the bloc k structure' ,
wi th three- to four-story higb buidi ngs i nheri ted f rom
the per iod st retching, between the end of 19th century f
and the beginning of the 20th. '
The - l '
new projects, should reca Il the essence cT the
historical city and not create a ,replica of its
reality. The city' s nostalgic reproduction is not
approved,:
desi red.
instead, a cri t ical reconstruction
The new projects shoUld- improve,
is
old
conditions. This is not,contrary to the preservation
of melJlory. ,The two- to ',three-story 'block dat ing from, -
the eighteenth 'century was replaced by five-story
,1 "aevelopment by the erid of , .
'-. ,
the ninet~enth.' Block 270 is
Kle i hues' idea 1 per imeter -bloc k • (4 §.) "
l "'"
. What càn be, deduced l from 1 the r
a forement ioned etamples
a,nd the expressed intentions of the architects is that: , ,
-These archi tects see' the ci ty as a formaI strdcture / ' \
which " can' ,be- understood through i ts continuous
historical development.
/
:', ,1 , ) , , , .
-
__ .. __ l
•
122
-Archi teet ure i 5 no longer perce i ved a 5 the eonc~rn
of a single artistie event proposed by the avant
garde, or as an industrially produced objeet. 1 t
is, rather, to bOe consideped a process in time, of
bui lding a t all the di fferent sea les, f rom that of
the single dwelling to that of the city.
-There is an approach, underlining the relationship
between the elements (buildings) and the whole
(city), and proposi ng a morpho log ica 1 method of
ana1ysis for understanding archi tecture, which has
formed the basi s for a continued deve10pment of
typo1ogical studies. Furthermore, the typological
analysi sis used pr imari 1y as a te rm of reference to
underscore the virtue of the proposed design.
!)
lt has been observed up to now that in aIl the
different approaches to urban problems, there i s a
common assumption: that arcbi tecture can become an
ur,ban element which is' conditioned to incorporate
environmental functions. Opposed to this is the usual
notion of architectu(e as objec t . The projects
demonstrate that this notion of architecture, as urban
organizational system, can become"a wall, a stair, a
terraee, a roof, a. street, a bridge, a plateau, a
~edestrian system, or a ho1e in the ground"; or 1 as
Ungers expresses it, "the urban éharacteristies of
•
•
architecture".(46)
The projects also demonstrate that there is a plural~ty
of 'solutions, a wide spectrum,~ archi tectural
interpretations of one and the sa me element. Ungers has ~
included the last in his planning criteria. He further
explained this by stating that: /"--. '
~implicit to that/is '--s'catalogue of alternatives, ln contrast to ,/ the usual attempts at an ideal solution. The projects are better characterised as
t fragments and partial solutions of a very specifie
'.
area, than ideal realisation of a platonic idea".(47)
For Ungers, criteria such as flexibility versus fixity,
or objectivity versus subjectivity, process versus
obj ect, form versus content, are "pseudo-ideological
hang-ups ft • (48) Rob Krier' s 'space typology', 'house
typology', 'facade typology', 'typology of houses on a
street corner', are nothing other than catalogues of
var iat ions. (49) The same i s valid for. the whole of hi s
work. (The projects tha~ have not been examined here
are hardly di f ferent expressions of the same ideas).
The exami ned project sare explana tory of thi s ideà.
Many of them elaborate on t~ sa me litype". The
'solutions are, however, different. Royal Mint Square,
vi netapla tz, the Block on Schi llerst rasse, are a Il o
elaborations' on the "perimeter block".
These very recent tre~ds are clearly opposed to the
\
"
,e
124
Modern Movement, which adopted the func.tionalist view
of the city, in which urban design implied a definition
of the city, in formal terms, as a homogeneous product.
This attitude is related to a variable politi'Cal and
cultural system; i.e., to a descriptive view of the
city, divided by functions, and classified by dominant_
activities. Since the functipnalists ~egard the city ".
and its growth· as divided by filnctions, standards are
~sed for analysis" ,and as criteria, for future
proposaIs with the' different functiohs found within the
city. T~ model ol architectural design should be found
in the producti6n process i t'self. The ci ty thus
achieves the 'second typ6logy', that of the industrial
order, ,symbolised by the machine.(50) Or, as W.Gropius
stàtes, in a 9radual evolutionar'y procedure the hand .
building proeess ',of old is being transformed into an
assembly proe~ss of re~dy-made industrial parts s~nt
f rom "the fact9ry to the site. (51 )
l t i 5 impQrtant to 'use archi tee t urai typo'logy in order
to achieve a sound solution.- Typology is a revisited
cqncépt, which wes rejected aga in and again by modern
theorists. It suggests that the area of pure" intuition
must be based on a knowlege of pas:: solutions applied
to related proplems, 'and that 'creation is a process of
adapting forms derived, either from past needs, or from
gpast aesthetic ideologies, to the need of the present.
'.
•
•••
.-
.--1
125
The typologies concerned are those of the city, those
~ rela ted to the street and square, tne boulevard and
arcade, the park and house, the institution and
. equipment, the court yard and steps, and 50 on. It is
the spaces and the forms resulting from the appropriate
combinat ion of such elements that will be able to shape •
and to transform the environment. Anthony Vidler talks .
about a "third typolpgy". The fundamental attribute,of
ihis third typolog~ is the adoption of the "traditional
city as the locus-of its conc'ern".(52)
"
4-- • 2 On Typology
Each 'one of the examples presents a solid vi~w, a " .
thes i s on 'the use of . the' , ~'ype' in archi tectur-e toda"y,
and, thu~~ on the n~t~ri and iden~itylof archi~ectu~e • • . ,
The questions that rise immedia-tely refêr to the nature ,
of "ty'pe", to its use. ~nd.- 'value i'n architectural
dise ipline.
-Roger She;wood, "in Modern· Housing prot,?types, ,state's ..
that the' building'type is the way."i~ wh~ch,the various
dwelling units can be combined 'into different building
forms, determined by the site, orientation, héight and
the ~ .. QI,i rcula t ion systems.
Rob Krier, in 'Urban ProJects, presents '"spac~" ,
"house" , "houses on a street corner" , "facade"
~~
"
"
'.
-.
12,6
typologies, which are "clearly' concerned > wi th the L
constituent elements and their different combinations. j
Functional articulation has no place in these. 'Rob
Krier's typological, alternatives are patently conceived
with an end in view similar to that of Durand, although ..
(according to K. Frampton), the overall i nten t appears '
to be mqre modernistic and crea t ive t han the "
conventional variations of the former.'53) According to
Durand, as it appears in Mon s article on TypolQgy: , ,
"The architect disp .es of elements -columns, pillars~ foundations, vaults, and 50' on- :which have ta ken form and proportion throùgh their relationship with mat,erial and with use •.. Durand says that the arch~tect' s task is to combil'1e these elements, geperating more ~omplex entiti~s, the ,parts of which will -'at the end, through composition- be assembled in a single bui lding. ( 54)
Thus, the" type was transformed by Durand i nto a niet hod
of." compos.i tion based on a gener ic geometry ofax i s
superimpos~d on a ~rid. 'r
, ,
,Moneo disagrees with" Framptbn about the use of typology " "
by Kr ier brothers ana states:
" •.• the ç i ty tha t they draw i s a complex space in which the relationship and continuity between the diffèrent scale of elements is the most
. charaçteri st ic f ea t ure. But they a re in real i ty providing only a 'typological view'of this city: they aré not buildi~g the city itself by using the Eoncept of .type ••• the, concep~ of type that was observed in the old city is used to structure the
'hew forms, providing rhem with formaI ëonsi stency"'( 55)
The o'bservations that accompany the alternative facades
in :the "Facades Typology", in Urban Space go little
1 , 'c ~
'1
_-----~-------__;----------____=_-:-.~ T '" -,
'.
127
•
"
, ,
f i Q • • • • 1 5 Plie e 'T y ,p' 0 1 0 Q '1 b J Rob K r le r (K. po r Il .. P ton , S.
• Itolbo".ki. l"J)
\ , .
. '- .... "" ... DI ,A.aftZ. D f.mmC"E1
-- -~ ~
. n': ?f i
1 II 1':1 j 1 l '"Il , ..
··tJMJ· - 'W
• ! -
dCO>e ""~~I " . .
'fGi -;rl -r .. ..-..--:--.-.. \,-. -" '1 1 1 r.' .
fiq. 4.2 TYPoloqical Cosbin.tlpna bY J.N.L. Dut'.nc!. '(Durand. 110')
\ "
c
. ,
"
•
~ --,
129
further than merely describe that which is already """!. :
.
displayed in the axonometrics. The fact that a
comparable range of perceptual consequences cannot be
ascribed to many of Krier's alternative schemes attests
to the . limi ts of arbitiary permuta~ion. This'
permutative principle may le'ad to' an arbi t r~r:Y :
forma,t ions and ,to a "disjunctive , 1
assembly .... of , .-
~eterogendus elements.j56~
~ r , , \
Aldo Rossi's defi~itlon of type is the most broad and ~
general. He states:
"type is 'a ponstant' and 'mariifests itself with a 'cha'racter of nec-essi ty; but even though 'i t i 5
.' -, prèdetermined, i ~ react~ : diale~ct ically ,wi th technique, function and !ity1e', as weIl as' wi th both, the ,collective character and the' indivi'dual moment of'the ar~hitèctural artifact. Eacb'time a certain plan is chosen; dial~~tical themes are put 'i"nto play wi th the archi tecture':, of the buildi.ng, .wi~h its constructional technique, and, with 'the collective that, participates in the life of that
, . "
, "
~ ,. 1/
bui 1ding •• , .,Ult,ima teIy, we can say tha't type is the, " ,'very idea of architecture, tha:t whic,h .is cIost!st
to i~~ essence. Ih spite of changes, it .ha~ al~ays imposed ,itself,on the "feelings and reason" as tb~ principle Qf a'rèhit~cture and of the, c;ity". (57'), . \
"
. ( '1
Thu~" for Rossi, one ."of the'" key. fig~res ',.0'; ,~'~,e
so-called ne'o-r~t'io~al,isJtl "~n EU~~P~,' '"'~he l'og,ic, ~f <archïte"çturar,' for'm lies' within, a ". definit,ion "of"
• \.,. \ 1 .. " . ~
ba5ed on" the' juxt~pési t ion of àt"e~ory and reâson'''.-
t'ype
Thàt l' ,"'
is: as archi tecture reta'in5 the memory of those f,i'rst, . , ( , (
, moments in which man' d~c la re'a and ~stabfi ~hed hi s ' 1
prèsence. ln the world' through building activity, 50, \ , " ,
~ype. reta i ns the reason -of ,>
forin
- ,
"
, ,
. ,
. :
1
- i ..
,.' \ :_~.~ __ ~~ __ ' _'~' ~~' -' -~-,-,----'_: ~~--'\--,! . ..
, ,
1·'
, '-
:
•
. 1
, , c'
, .,
, '
.;;-! \ .',
, ,
130
according to Rossi' s explanat ions, is functionally
. - indifferent. The type defines and preserves the
internaI logic and forms. There a.re' pr,imary 'and . '
. per!l'anellt types who commun icate only w i th, themsel ves , - . "
and their iç:1eal contexte The cor.ridor, ~for' exampl~, is ... , .
indi f ferently t~:e. prôgram a ,primary type, usa'ble . tè of \ -
.' indi v idual ' house, st ugent- residenc~
-an to a, or a ~ , \ \
, 'school. (58)'
Aldo Ro~si and his; circle déveloped a .theory on
ty~6109Y, which shows in the concept of
typer.' as' first postulated by Quatremere de . Quincy'at li ' :F'"
the end of 18th centu~y: Quat,eme~e, recognis~h9 a
,between . type ano t'he discipline of "
a,rçhi teture (as the original , reason for 'form in ' ..
~
architecture) , identifies type "with the logic of form, " . -
[elem~n~al and primitive), çonnected with,reasory 'ana , ,
use, 'a~d, othrought hi stor.y, ~henever an archi~ectural . . ). ,
~- 'object was relàted' to ~ome fo'rm, la kind of logic ;was [ ~ ~ .' .
/implied; cr~ating a~deep bond with ,the past."(59) ~ .l ,~ ~,
'~ . .... ,~
iurthe~mo~e, ~Carl0 Aymoni-n.o di st ipgui shes' some ~ !' l '
~~hâ'ràct,eI"istics" of .builcÜng typologies ,which allow us . .'
. tb' better identify'these. :Ttlese are the singlene;ss of . j l ",'" ~
"
t~eme, Jthe indiffetence' to c6nteit, and the dvercoming~ ;;. }", , .. ;; ~ <! ~ J ~
of. buildin~ code r~gulation {to the extent thi type i5 " , " 1 \
characterized precisely by its own ~rchit'ectural 'forni).
~e.n~ e" a~~ .Ross i ' put s i t·,' t he co'n~ ept 'o'f t'ype/ i's " de f i ned
, 1 ;1 } i
l ,
l • i -1 .-1
1
, , ,
.. ' \
,. 1 1
..
l, •
, '
•
•
"
or
! • \" 1
, ,
,
•
"'il
131
as something chaut" i s permanent and complex, a logical
principle that is pri.or to form" and to aIl that
,const i t utes i t. Rossi, adopting the ideas of Quatremer.e .
de 'Qui ncy, consiqers type as somethi~g not to be ,
imi tated or copied , since everything in the, ty'pe is
more or' less v'ague. Everything is precise arid gi,ven -in
the, '"mdde~"", one of, the many explanations 'of ,a type.
"
'Although Kl~ihues does not go into·. depth ip the {;}. ,
~nalysis Of the concept of the type~ he considers type
as ,something thàt imPlles the idea of change and
transformation. The transformation of. a type becomes a
way of interpreting the past,\ 'the old city, and of
looking at the. future, at con,temporary 'design.
H,?wever, R.Mone,o, c6mmenting, on,. the use of 'type~
today" states that:
"the relationship between, city and place, qity arid time, that was earlier r~solved by types has been broken ~ The city toa t grows by, the succes ive' ad,dition of single elements, ea,ch with its' ,own integrity,hàs been lost for ever. Typology topay ha~ come to bè understood simply as a mechanism of
·composition. The so-called 'typological' research todaY'merely resQlts in the production of images,' or in' the reconstitution of traditional typologies. In the end can be said that it is a ' nostalgia for types that gives formaI consistency to these works .," (60) ,
\
\ '
"
.'-"'" .
• 0
• j
" . ,
"
<,
o
"
, .
•
132
CONCLUSIONS
(
~rchi tectural foims . reflect the archi tec,t s' ,judgement·,
of the natural world and the built envir9nme~t, and it
1,'
, "
judgmental> aspec,t of ' .'archi tect'ure that , ~
is at \ is this'
issue ih current 'architectural projécts. "
, " <
Su~gestin9 the diyergence f
between c intention and ,
e~pt~ssion as weIL as the potentiat 'f~r multiple
~xpr~ssiqns',-of,thé: same idea, the'criti,cal' a~pects oi the 'examined p,rojets can be brought to the ~ollowing
, . '
generai observat,ions: These' 'observations . ' disèuss
~simultane04sly controlling id~as, implications as weIl ~ ~ ~ ~ ..
as proposaIs for new u~ban housin9 '~~ojects~ ~ "
1'. 'l'be City ,as P-ocus and Purpo;se of Design , -' , "
,,,
, 1
"
First, the selected pr.ojects. are in themsel~e5 a . \
~\
critique of
9 i ty,; .the'y
Modern' s Archi tect,ure ~ s dést ruc:t ion of 'the -J . ~ f )
pr'opose i ts 1 re-est'ebi ishment "by repres>~nt ing, , .( 1: c , j
considered responses 'to c.,ri~ical ' Jrb'~n issué-s" of our •
, citiés. , ,
, " ,ful',l~\tionàl and
\ j,~ ..
"
refused t,Of' acéeJ?t' the 1 ... ; •
tec~nolo91cal premlses , "
which lfere }
the
Modern Architecture hypotheses. The"t city is ,
now 'the focus anq purpose of design, the giver of " • 1
,- meaning; individual 'buildi;ngs are born, out of its QJ;"der
l, , ~
.' \ - ,
and re~~irem~nts. All·th~ single buildings belong to ,
, ,'larger families and groups firom
"
1 !
J' , ~. .. ~
.' __ ". • 1
, , ,
1 ."
Il ,
which they derive, and . ,
"
"
"
f t
, .
l '
, f
, 1
•
".
• -- ---.---
133
to whom they give meaning. Architecture is only about
, re1ationships and about differences, and, tiy
def inition, can never be merely self-referential or~
self-infli~ting; ~hey are never isolated works of ar~ "
in, and of, ~themselves.
, ,
AlthQugh they share certain common goals, each approach' . ~ " c
!\as its own characteristics.
~eon Krier ,is interested in the luxuries of urbanisme
He spares :the conveQi~nces! if- these are attained at
t~e expa.nse' ~f " luxur ies. Kr ier' s "luX'ur ies" aré of the
'weIl planned, modest prencict: the tree, the- walled
street, the overlook; the pleasure of walking or the , ,
splendour of sitting in an intentional public spaçe,
contemplating a public ~onument and the dialog4e 'of . ,
buildings with a landscape.(l) 4
1 "
Rob Krier's. projects illustpate a ci~y of tree-lined
and arcaded streets, of a kind of fiousing that provides, ,
;: human . scale 1
and individual identity. They are not
drawings ')
of a lost ~ity, although they , evoke that , .
f. '1 lmage; rather, they are the dra,wing of, the _ideali"'~ed """- t
cfty of tomorrow and, in this sense, they are utopian.
(2) R. Krier' 5" sophisticated un'derstanding of the , .
~ ;,petimeter" block; the court yard house,' the urban wall .of
the street, and the,sq~are, makes ~is housing project
the' e).egant resul t,' of a thorough study of urban forme
fI... (,.
'.
, ! j
\ \
.-
. ,
\
• ; ..
134
Kleihues' projects along wi th others "const i tute ·the
first coherent attempt, since the war, to rebuild in
b~ocks ~ligned on the street, and therefore represent ,
an objective element of discussion in the polemic that . .
has lasted since the 1920s regarding the open or
c losed, terraced or block typolog ies. "'( 3)
But the efforts to reestablish the urban structure are .. sometJmes dis~utable. The Abraxas Spaces is a local
solutioD whiéh cannot reach the status of an urban
prototype for it does not offer any solution to more
general urban problems. l t was an effort to
reestablish the structure of the historical city with
elements others than those which traditionally o
constitute the city (streets, squares, b~ocks). The
'theatre' , or the 'palace' , are not u'rban
configurations but si'ngle, artistic-events !:iuildings.
The tension and drama dominant in the project are due
to the pecul iar vocabulary. Ilsed on the eleva t ions.
The "The~t"re" of Abraxas Spaces might evokes the Ci rcu.s •
in Bath. There is a differance that puts them apart. ~
The Circus is part of ~ completely developed system of
blocks and streets, while the "Theatre" is an
autonomous figure.
The conceptualization of
dense areas, of buildings
the city as "fabric", withL 1
interrupted{' by carefully
designed and defined p~blic spaces, has again come to
. \
1
1
..t
J ,)
o
, .
•
-
135
the fore, with the --.requisite respect for existing o
structures, street frontages, views, axes and 'patterns
of movement. !
Architects,recognize the complex spat'\al range ~ .'
which 1
exists between public requirements, on one hand, and
pr i va te needs on the other. They attempt to provide
solutions, although not always successfully, which
contain a sequence of passages through a ric~ typolqgy
of space. Thus, in these projects, urban images often
emerge comparable to the sequence of movement in a
t radi t i onal city: n f rom the public piazza, along the
avenue, down the street, into the semi -publ ic
court yard, through the communal foyer,'up the stairs
and in to the pri va te room n • ( 4) A complete recall of
the above schema i s feasab1e only on the scale of a
district, as in Rob Krier project for the SQuth
Friedrichs~adt. Both entries for Royal Hint Square,
and Stern's entry for the Roosevelt Island Competition
are partial applications.'
The complex linking of the different parts of the afore
mentio~ed schema provides sometimes an ac~omodation of
the conflicting public and private domains, offering a
the unpredicta~le_ and a loca'tion for
intermidïate transition: / L ...
2. Development of an Orban Archi tecture'
These projects bring into focus sets of architectural
/
()
• . '.
136
elements that shou1d be considered determining of the
response of buildings to the ure ... n morphology.
Formalism - geometric plans combined with a utilitarian l' 1
~ approach- in general, piazzas, straight planted streets '.,.t
1
, "
ending in triumphal arches, colonnades adorning main
squares and streets, avenues, vistas,\open stairw-ays, !
galleries open towards the streets, wa Üs, palace
imitations, symmetry and monumentality- are the
rediscovered architectural tools in the design of urban
space, tools dated from the periods of Renaissance and
Baroque.
The projects examined demonstrate the potent ial
richness of these transi tional spaces, of the process
of going to one's apartment ~n a typical floor, through
soc ial and architectural allusi ons, even to a
promenade. . Rob and Leon Krier's sect ions for Royal
Mint Square, as weIl as that of the Roosvelt 1 sland
Co'!'pe t i t ion by Stern, are indica t ive of the
manipul~tion of the problem through the arch i tectura.i.
detai ls •.
As has traditionally been establis:hed, the entrance w~y o 1
i s the element of grea test importanci' Port icos are
used in different scales'yThey indica~e entry to areas
of different demands in privacy and domination.
1 n the case of city sectors, whole bui Id i ngs ta ke the
f orm of a port ico, as the "Whi te House" in South
Friedr i stadt • _
." 1
137
,
o -
"
, ~
\
4
1 {
• fiG. 1 Intrlne ••
•
138
The entrances to the blocks are indicated by two- to
three-story high openings, located on the center of the
sides of the block, as (Ungers' perimeter block for
Schillerstrasse), or on the diagonal axis, (Kleihues'
Vi netaplatz Block). ,
The entrance to the building, and to the apartment, in
part icular, is mainly amphasized.· The terri tor.ial
relationship of a house's front door with the street is .
a determining factor. The horizontal development, that
is usually applied in these pro-jects, facilitates
separate entrance to each apartment from the street, or
from galleries parallel, and open,- towards the street.
(Gallaratese, Mint Square, Stern's entry for Roosvelt
Island competition). The vertical circulôtion is given
equal importanc;:e in plan, as the apartment itself. It
is freed from the main body of apartment either' -
internally or externally. The number of stairways are
multiplied (Vinetap'latz; Schillerstrasse; Q.&paces of
Abraxas) and become important morphologic,al e1ements of
the facades and of the sections.
In the case of high-r i se developments, apartroent
entrances often occur in sepatate or hallway alcoves.
(R. l .C. -Stern, Rit ter'Strasse )-- The long, li near, and -
bl i nd corridor s are systemat ically avoided bythe
multiplication of' the vertical cores even ~t the '"
expense of .construction and maintenance cost. (Spaces
. o~raxa~') It Î's this strategy which al"ows for the
.... -----------------------~-----'"- -
( •
f
139
creation of residual spaces having an identity and a
sense of place, conjuctive to the circulation nodes,
that • might be critica1ly compared with the typical 1
spec'ulati:;re obuilder's apartment buildings. -The buildings in question also affect the urban space
by means of thei r street-building sectional
relationship. with a recess in ,the 'building at the
pedestrian -leve1, in the form of an ar.cade for
" ins,taflce, the pedestrian is inserted into the body of
the building, and all the while a ple9,sing urban scale
is created. Arcades, first used in ancient markets,
still are attractive to the pedestrian prividi~g on one 1
han,?, protection ·frC!m tthe weather, and a more intimate
relationship with the building' ori the other.
\
Th.e walls of the buildings are of great importance.
:t'he y are the tools t'hat define the streets, 'when
. treated. as two dimentional elements or Ule blocks, when \
developed in three dimensions. The change of di rection'
in a wall, (the "turn") is an opportunity for special
treatment. The wall can clearly articulate a corner
(R.Krier's White House, Bofill's Les Arcades du Luc,),
it can receive an entrance to the block (K1eihues'
Vinetaplatz Block, L.Krier's R. Hint Square) or simply
to' the building (Ungers' Pe"r imeter Block on
Schi llerstrasse) •
The wall is a means to give the building a face-like
" -
, 140
! ,.
o f i q • 2 Wall.
---
1;, ~~I
,,
l '
III •
.. - -
\
f i q.' l W,l n do ••
'"
141
,"" 1 \ 1
o
,- -
/
142 i)
expression as a metephorical manner to communicate -
with, and contribute to the image of the urban space.
In the function,alist apartment building, the main - .-
-, - . \ -"
entrance is emphasized while thé rest of the building's
facade i5 often limited to a monotactic arrangement of
,windows, usually with a gradati-on of windo~ sizes which
suggest' the repet i t ive di versi ty of rooms behi nd them.
Thus the window emerges as the identifing icon of the ,
this building type.' Now t~e window provides a formaI
opportunity in its Qompositional . use for ,
int~nSifiGn of individuality, as in Stern' s
is altered,' and the fact of alteration proJect, r lt
provides he desirable idendi ty of a spec i f ic ~
iridi vidua'l bui l,ding, as in that on Ri t terstrase, by R.
Kr ier,.
These recent ~rojects describe the roI es arc~itecture ..
plays<in sustaining city life. They also demonstrate
"that even without extravagant. buildings, cities can
appear beautiful and breathe desire. But to speak of a
beautifu1 ~ity is also to speak of good architécture" \ ,
' ... (5) This assertion seems definitive for aIl Enlightment
treatises on archit~cture; a beatiful city means good
architecture and vice versa. / 3. History as a'Legitimate Sour se
As it has already been m~ntioned, architects throughoui
,- .
i _
, '
, '
(
•
143
the world are finding new. impetus in their search for
appropriate urban a rchi tec.ture precedents ' from
,archi tectural hi'story, theory and practice, that rise
_ above th~ generatin~ context, Qf a specifie program and
location to inform designers of :concerns that' continue
to be ressenÙa 1. ' These .
hi storica1 models range in
sc~le' fro~ that of ~ single building, to an entire city;·
they ,also range intime, from the Class ï'cal era to, the
most - recent, from contemporÇlry innovatio,n to thos~'
sol.ut ions t,o arch,i'tectural problems: that endure de~Ji te -
technolog ical advance. , , .
. ' , ,
Th~s, remarka,b1e ,opportunities- .. are available to the
archi tect 1',,' >l ,
to deve1,op ~'t. urban arcmectur:e
BemoJlstrating both or~e~ ~~B~r~~ty·. résponsiv. to
var'iables of th,e, city's str~et configura'tion, the
blii~dinc;Js and i,ts }ln~ue 'cha~act~r:{its \ , }
dens i ty of i ts '{
open spaces a'nQ .'
continui,ty, and to'-i;ts ci t izen pr i vate , \
li ves • ,/
, / , ' . The, traditional cit,y may become not on.ly the sourcè' of
'ideas', but al'so the sourcel o'f.' a method, ", a,point c;>f r ' - r
referance, o..f accomoda t ion and change, staD'i 1 i"zed by ,
the or,ger of cont inui 'ty of .-;
The current app'eal of the
e;1:eva t'ions, the bird' s eye
generators, ) . returni~ng ,
'archi tectural att i tudes • -~
\
" .
1
urban morpholog~es •
ty~olog i c::,~l ~pproaches , the
perspective have bec pme the
design to " , , pre-Mode,rn
1 .
,
- 1
r
,
l '
o
.-
144
'Together, ,
these forms~ processes, and ideas are seen to
have a ren'ewed potential for endowing today' s urban
archi tect ure \ri i th a leg i t imac'y absent from ,the'
architectùre OI t~e recent pasto b ,
, , '
~i!laI1y, : the stùdy of th~ projet:ts opens \:lp 1 t-he v 1
,problem' of t.he fir5~ histc)[·.ical: judgement of. thi~ ne,~ ,
,genera.tion of a'rchitects .. It is of great -interest that \
they, apply their. findings' from their' investigation into
hist.çrica,lly ac·cepted. urban" prototypes on housing , .
·projects. Thus, they will make, the. residential distrïct 1
a. "moment., a piece of . the city, contributing to its
overal image. They will, furthermore, reconfirm the
" architectural potency of the building type ,of housing, 1
- which will, in -turn posses a distinctive, even dramat ic (
presence ,to our- urban environment.
.,'
4. Po~i t·ical a,nd Symbolic . Implications
1 •
E~ery decision about architect,ural design (and urbar:"
design in pa'r'ticular), ,in,volves a political action,
whetqer i ntended or not. Modern Archi tecture, , , , .
r'ej~è t ing any dogma and authority, sought to be .. democ,ratic':' AS Schultz has observed:"
, 'J . ' "I·ts values and forms grew out of daily lUe, as abstraction s of man' s understanding of na tU'rè ••• lt was opposed to the prior. arèhitectu~ which was determined f,rom "abQve", and the dwelling only reflected the significant forms developed in
".connèction with church and palace." (6) . l .
The post-functionalist projects .çire directed agàin
, . ~
.... ",
~
-1 . , , ~-
-
-----------:-------;---~~- .-~ , ' '
•
•
" ,
145
towards the "devaluat'ed" by the modernists symbols of
bourgois (7) society. T~ey introduce a chal)ge of.
id~olog i cal identi ty, é1SS0~ ia'tion of ~orms _ a,nô program \ , ~ .
"uhder' consideration., " ,Archetypes ,once'. considered
excl'u'si've ~6: the upper9lasss ,~all in to ,co~mon' usage:
Thus, elillli,na"'tio? of"ciaJ~s-distinctio~ ~s ach'ieved.
, HOw!ver, ,al! t~e ~,represeJ~a t i v~ n : form~ ,o,f "the Européa'n
ih 'the bu'llding facadEi .. ~ < \
Through the , ,
faca~e, the '~aS5umes , ,
Entrances, port'i'cos, 'arcades, symetry, dJversity, are ~ .
elements both of the, ~ingle, dw~i,ling; unit and l'of: ~he~ . "
pUblicl space'. , \ ,
1 1
~ '\ 1 ,
l,
, , " "
partners/., proj ect., ':' ~r..es ~Arcades
~eJ;~nterpretat ion bf-<,the ' Palace
t·~ /Bofi?11's:~ \
'Lac"; Ùà .,.... , ~ formal < 't" 7
Vérsailles., The imposHion of classical order on thé \ ...
• ~. ' " " 1 E!*ten,sl,ve street\ facades, and i ts extension out, into
t,he _ landso,~pe (' ,,~~call both ,the bouleva rds of Pari sand , ~ l'
the .' p~~'èe of Versa iiles. The "Spac es of Abraxas" ~
lTon~i~t, , 'o-f a "Palace", a "Thea t re" , and a cent raI" >
"
triumphal.i'Arch" intending to be "~stage curtaïn that ~ ~r g •
sh~'l ters exhibi t ioni sts" . (8 r)~' Thèse are forms which are ~ { t ~ '.' .;-
related with tbe,'b:o'urgeô'ïs'<beti'avior and status. The , < ~ \, '. i - t
l.. , • ~ J, ~
"pala'ce Type" fs~ among the;' ~ generators types of the
houses of RQ'osevel t 1 sland Competi t ion project by
Ungers •
, ,
"
','
~~-~ --~------------
o
, ,"
, •
•
146
The post-functionalist projects pretend to be
democ ra tic. Thiey, generaHy, to ,the
prevailing need ta 'provide,'mass housing at l.'ow cost , , , .
r
but t'hey, ar~ opposed ~o' ~h~ strippeèi-do,wn aes:thetjic of
"lo~, ~ostlf of the: Intetnati:onal Sty+e' of 1920s. Some , 1
. ' of them are, projects_ for" mass-housing "ot workers , of
•• 1
, .~inimciaÙyl depriv~d classes. 'Bofill,
1
for example 1
~I 1 ... (
uses" factory-produced, pr~9ast elements prevalent in , 1
, , 1
French const ruct ion, elÇlborated wi th a c lass ical formal , '
vocabulary. ( 91
. '
Further", t;hraugh these archi tectural express ions' can be
seen one of the primary concerns of the ':
Post-fuÏlc;tionalists, intentional or not,' of the role' f .J 1 ;: 1 ....
tbat may b!!l \ , '
played by vol ume and mass in the sy,tJ)bol k r -1;: ~,
establi shmen~ of the "home- If•
<
In the Modern Movement the housés' have "no' '.
ripresentati ve rnask" • The façade of an • 1
, apartmen~
, ! building is either uniform (due to the" un i formi ty of
J
f\1nctions behind), or entirely', absent (as ,in the
facades of Frank Loyd Wright),. "The house on1y' forms a ,',
framework for 'basic vi tal! functions/ and _ are, ,
therefore, des i gned If from the ih,s ide out", Thi s was the
tunc'tionalists t rna:jor purstli t. and deemed by them t;o be (1
of the great'est value: to abolish th~ traditional
represen ta t i ve function of the dwell ing and," in i·ts ;.
stead, to aliow for a new freedom of action in daily
lite. In, the new houses sleeping, eating, conversatiqn, '\.
'. '-
. ,
• J
',", ,
."
"
•
c
, .'
\ \
•
l , .
, . ,
147
play gain an essential meaning and dignity.(lO)
Symb6lism, with regard to housing, took another,
'dimen~io~ in the Bofill and Tallet de Arquitectura -
projects. .' Through 'them, the archi t~cts see that
." i t' was possiblf) to bui Id symbols '-as theatres., temples, triumphal a.rches" which in the future could be transformed into habi table communal spaces. •• that.' Lt, was important to be able to use the vocabulary and elemehts or architecture of the past' and to bring these wi thin the reach of the. whole ,of. soc i et y , 1;>efore developi ng a new symbolism, only possible in the authentically moÇlern society of the future~. (11)
Rob Krier goes 'further and attempts to reestablish even
the interior of the European upperclass ' dwelling witn
elements such :as the gate-way, the entrance-hall, and l '\!}
, '
thfaxial "successîon of rooms. But almost -aIl resul t
! in a.n awkward geomet'ry of the per ipheral rooms ~ Leon
'Kr ier is ., more succesfull in' â s imi far effort~ in. the , \ ,
T~gel' ~dusing project •
. In their intentions, these
bui'ldin'gs '~ake, ~,a ç: lear ga ~ n, : but not a complete on~.
. - The l?'roj'e<;tS conce'ntrate on eJeternal a'ppearance and
literaI symbole There' are, n'o plans wi th â. complex
. ,spatial' focus, as opposed to' the formaI ~ In geherql, , 1
the apartlT.e'nt plans' are invariabl:y open,. sch~matiç" and
relatively neutral with respect to room size and
seqùe'nce., . Some exep~ional and lS,cHated' cases,. such. a§ ,- ,
thQse of Rob and' Léon- Krier, "do not al,ways resul tin , " \ -: l,
, . , . ,
, '
-~
148
satisfactory plans. Stern attempting to give identity
and privacy to the individual apartment dweller,
designs facades and volumes at the expense of the
plans. Bofill, preoêcupied wi th order and proport ion /
o~ the exterior, does not always provide reasonably
~enerou~ a~d weIl proportioned rooms.
5. Housing as-Generator of Urban Space
Housing, in both Funetionalism and Post-functionalism,
çontr ibutes to the image of the urban spaèe 1 but in a
âifferent ways. In Functionalism, the final image of
space derives from the successi ve appl ieat ion ~f
standards (width of streets and sidewalks, circulation
systems, fire seeuri ty, etc.). By. contrast,
Post-funetiolalism gives priority to an intentional
ieonic form; housing is the means to achieve this forme
In other words, the starting point of design differs in
the two movements. The Functionalists start from the
housin unit (whose improvement is the main intention):
it in a well-artieulated lnterior'
a poor urban environment. The
Post-function~list start from the image of the urban
space of streets and open publ ic
, spàc~s) : which makes these projects
attractive, is the visual- and
spa~e •. ç! exper i ence- enrichment
of the public
, . \ .
1
, "'
•
• ~:\;, .. ~;Y; ~ oC •
149
6. p'orm-Making ProcesB Potential
Asser't i n9 tha t fune tion and tèéhno'lcfgy const i tuted the
basis for the, generation of form -in architecture,
functionalism t~ereby exlud'ed contemporary academic
conceptions of meaning and symbolisme runctionalism,
by ïnsisting on the use of analytical and inductive
methods of design, left ' a vacuum in the form-making
process. This or iginated automatically forms which
were the equivalent of basic operations. However, when
a designer works within the framework of a thoroughly
Nineteenth-century rat i onal i sm, he decides to be
governed by ef fectual factors, whereby purely pragmatic
planning and cost considerations confluence to create
simple volumes, regular enclosures and cores. The more ~
rigorously the general physieal, or ma thema t ical,. laws
are applied to the solution of design problems, ~he
less i t is necessary to have a mental picture of the
final forme
The exclusion , by modern arehi tee t ural theory of
typologies and its belief in the freedom of intuition
can, at any rate, be partially explained by the more
general theory of expression deve,loped the turn of the
cent ury •
Post functionalism, instead of considering architecture
as an autonomous discipline, introduces the question of
meaning and representation within the proeess of
• -
" •
o
"
o -
150
design, in a systematic and consc ious way. Thus
provided for the tools in the cit"y-form making process,
indeed for a wide spectrum of potential forms. The
typological problem-solution process, which is mainly
applied to the projects examined, is a given system of
representat i on in order arch i tecture, and, there fore,
city to be conceived. In this respect, architecture is
a "language": as in any language, it is impo"Ssible to
concei ve of i ts construct ion a priori, and a
presupposi t ion of the language i tsel fis nessesary.
Similarly, a plastic system of representation, such as
archi tecture, has to presuppose, the ex i stence of a
given sy~,tem of representation. (12)
. Emphasis on formal values, reinterpretation of the \
aesthet ic tenets "of prev ious eras, intensification of
individualism, and intimat,e relationships between the
t.ownship and the private building are the main trends
appearing in the post-functionalist housing proj'i!cts.
'.
.--
~
•
---
152
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
... '
1) Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of tbe City (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1982), p.70.
2) Bernard Huet, "The Ci ty as' Dwell i ng Space", Lotus no.41, 0/1984), pp.6-17.
3) A. Rossi, op.cit., p.65.
4) Bernard Huet, op. ci t ., pp. 6-17 .
5) Charles Jencks, ,Modern Movements in >architecture, new edition including a post-script on Late- and Post-Modern Architecture, (penguin Book, 1985), p.3.73.
6)Demetri Porphyrios, "Sketch on Post-Functionalist Architecture", Architecture in Greece, annua1.edition, no.12, (978), Athens, Greece, pp.6a-85, (pp.68-69)
7) From Charte d'Athenes, as quoted Benevo10, History of Modern Architecture, MIT Press, 1971), vo1.2, p.538. w
'S) ibid., p.732. • 9) ibid., p.536-36.
in Leonard ( Cambr i dge :
10) Stated by W. Gropius, as it ·appears in L. Benevolo, op. cit., p.542.
Il) Bernard Huet, op. ci t •
12) David Gosling, "Definition..s of Urban Design", in arbanism, AD profile 51~ first published as part of AD~ v.54, (1-2/1984), (London: ;1.984), pp.16-25.
13) D. Porphyrios, op.cit.
14) Ch. Jencks, Mbdern Movements in Architecture, (;, op.cH., p.374.
15) Mario, Gandelsonas, "Neo-Functionalism", Oppositions no.6, (1976), Cambridge, MIT Press'I editorial.
16} Term used by O.M.Ungers, in "P1anni,ng Criteria", in_~ vittorio Gregotti, ed., "Oswald Mathias Ungers", Lotus n 0-.11, ( 1976 ), pp .12 - 41 , ( p. 13 ) •
-17) Term used by Aldo Ross i, in The Archi tec t ure ol the Çïty, op.cit .
c
•
PART II THEORY
1) Aldo Rossi, The Architecture (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1982).
2) Rob Krier, Urban Space, (New International, 1979), p.1S.
3) i b id. pp • l 7 - 2 2 •
153
of the Ci ty,
York: Rizol1i
4) Paul Zucker, Town and Square, ;(New York: Columbia University Press, 1959), pp.1-2.
5) Rob Rrier, op.cit., p.19.
6) Enrico Guidoni, "Street and Block, Middle Ages to the 18th Century" , (June/1978), p.4.
From the late Lotus n.19,
7) Leon Krier, "Urban Components", in Demetri Porphyrios, ed., Leon Krier. Houses, Palaç~s, Cities, AD Profile, (London: 1984), pp.-43-50.
8) In Aldo Rossi, op.cit.
9) Bernard Huet, "The City as Dwe11ing Space", Lotus n • 41 , ( 1/1984 ), pp. 6 -1 7
10) Samuel Paul, Apartments-Their Devel opment , (Ne/w York: Re i nhold C~rporation, 1967), p.6.
Il )Grahame Shane, "Contextual ism" 1
(11/1976), p.676-679.
Design and Pub1ishing
AD vo1.46,
1,2 ) (1979), =-r-----;-
, "The Revival of the Street", Lotus n.24, pp • 1 0 3 -113, . ( p • 1 05 ) •
13) ____ , "Conteoxtua1ism", op.ci t.
14) ibid.,
1S) The empiricism and f1exibility implied -in dealing with physica1, cultural, and architectural imputs to the process of design, and the relativity of value judgement on one hand, and the fact that .the trends in discussion are preserntly under development on the other,. resul ted to a variety of terms. Almost each of the theoretician dealing with thé subject uses his own terminology.
v Stuart Cohen in his article, on Contextualism, after exluding "inclusivism" as a term for contextualism, he ,proposes the term of "physical contextualism" foc the ~ontextualism of objec~s (which is· close to
. ,
• • 154
rationalism) and contextualism of con text ua 1 i sm)
"cultural contextualism" for the images. (which is close to american
1
Mar io Gandelsonas, in hi s edi torial in Opposi t ions "Neo-Functionalism",'" use the terms "neo- rationa)~ism" and "neo-realism" to describe the two main ideologies. It is of great interest the approach by Mario Gandelsonas who sees both neo-rationa1ism and neo-rea1ism as possible parts of a wider movement of neo-functionalism. His termino10gy is based on an analysis of the miin concerns of each tendency. "The early ideology of funotiônalism embodied both notions of realism and rationalism: the former can be seen in Le Corbusier's use of the "object-type", and the later in a consistent logic for the generation of forms in architecture, a logic that was implied by such ideas as "the plan is generator" or "regu1ating' 1ines"". AIso, functiona1ism was essentially based on a simple and embryonic idea of meaning. But w.asn't developed in depth because functionalists' work "was firstly an attact on the symbolic architecture of the Academy and secondly, because there existed no rigorous theoretical context that would a1low such a development .. "
16) Grahame Shane, "Çontextualism", op.cit.
17) ibid.
18) Norbert Schoenauer, 6,000 Years of Housing, 3 VOlSf (New York: Garland, 1981), vol.3, pp.138-143.
19) i b id., pp. 14 5 -16 9 •
20) i b id., pp. 213 - 238 •
21) Kenneth Frampton, "The Evolution of Housing Concepts 1870-1970", Lotus no.10, (1975) pp.2.4-33.
22) N. Schoenauer, op.cit., p. 223, and L. Benevolo, op.cit., p.217.
23} ibid., pp.239-254.
24) Kenneth Frampton, op.cit.
25} Leonardo Benevolo, History' of Modern Architecture, (Cambriôge: MIT Press, 1971), vol.1, p.365
26} K. Frampton, op.ci t.
27} D. Porphyrios, ed., Leon Krier. Houses, Palaces, Cities,op.cit.
28} K. Frampton, op.ci t.
,
•
• ,v
..
155
29) P. Samuel, op.cit •
30) ibid.
THE PROJECTS
1) David Morton, "Tendenza" progressi ve Archi tect ure, (10:1980), pp.49-S5.
2) ibid.
3) Antoine Grumbach, "The Krier brothers", Lotus no.ll, (1976).
4) L. Krier, "Royal Mint Square", in A. Grumbach, ed., "The Krier Brothers", op.cit., pp.83. \-
f
5) Charles Jencks, Modern Movements in Archirtectùre, new edition including a post-script on Late- and POst-Modern Architecture,(Penguin Book, 1985) p.375
6}Antoine Grumbach, op.cit.
7)Vittorio Gregotti, "O.M.Ungers", Lotus no.11, (1976), pp • 12 - 41 , ( p. 37 ) • .
8), Peter Arnell, Ted Bickford, editors, Robert A.M. Stern 1965-1980, Towards a Modern Archi tecture after Modernism, (New York: Rizzoli, 1981), pp. 98:-103.
9)Vitt9rio Gregotti, op.cit.
la) , ibid. , "
Il) ibid.
12) Kenneth Frampton, edi tor, "Vinetaplatz Block 27Q", AD, vol,52, (7-8/82), pp.lOO-lOS.
13)Demetris Porphyrios, Houses,Pa1aces, Cities, p.95,.
guest edi tor , Leon AD Profile, (London:
Krier. 1984) ,
14)Kenneth Frampton and Silvia Kolbowski, editors, " O.M.Ungers. Works in progress i976-1980, IAUS 6, (New
York: Rizzoli, 1981).
15) ibid. \, , -'-" /,/
16·) Alberto ,.Gr imoldi; ft An Archi tecture lfàs Found"" , Domus, no.634', (12/1982), pp.l0-13 •
17) Rob Krier~ "Berlin: South Friedrichsta~t", Lotus
, '
o
•
•
..
no.28, (3/1980), pp.67-73 •
18)Gerardo Brown-Manrique, "International Housing", (10:1982), pp.73-104
"The Whi te Progressive
156 '
House" , in Architecture,
19) Joseph K1eihues, Ber1i~ese projects", (p.30)".
"The IBA Influences and Other Lotu? no.41, (1/1984), pp.18-30,
~ 20) Gerardo B.Manrique, op.cit.
21) C. Jencks, Modern op.ci t., p.387
Movements in Architecture,
22) Fer1ega Alberto, "Rob Krier Schinkelplatz", Lotus no. 39 , (198 3 ), pp. 1 03 -1 07, ( p. f 0 3 ) •
23) ibid.
24) R. no. 28,
Krier, "Berlin~ South Friedrichstadt", (3/l980),pp.67-73.
Lotus,
25) Deborah Berke, "Rob krier and the Utopian Tradition in Housing", in K. Frampton' S. Ko1bowski, eds., Rob Krier. Urban Projeèts, op.cit. pp.10-13.
'" 26) R. Bof ill, in C. Jencks ed·., "Les Arcades du Lac", in "Post-Modern C1assic ism, AD Prof i I.e 28, vol. 50, (5-6/1980), pp.53-57. 1
27) ibid.,' p. 53
28) P.Hodgkinson, in M.J .. Dixon, "Wage-Earners Versailles", progressive Architecture, (10:19'81), pp. 94-97, (p.96)
29) -R. Bofill as it appears in Berry Bergdoll, "Subsidized Doric", in "International Housing", Progressive Architecture, (10:1982), pp.74-78. (p.74)
30)Berry Bergdo11, "Subsidized D~ric", ibid.
31) ibid.
32) ibid.
33) ibid., p.78.
34) Henri Ciriani, in K. Frampton, ed.; "Henri Ciriani, Noisy II", in "Modern Architecture and t.,he Critica1 Present", AD Profile, vol. 52, (7-8/1982), pp.92-99.
35) .ibid • ""
\ . ~
1 1 /
.'
( .
• /
"
"
157
36) Noisy III, see: Helene Lipstadt, "Modernity for Eterni ty", in "Internatfona1 Housing", progressi ve Architecture, (10:1982), pp.SO-85.
37) H. Ciriani, in K.Frampton ed., op.cit. '- .
38) H. Libstadt, "Modernity for Eternity", op.cit. --,,"
39)A. Grumoach, op.cit.
40)Rob Krier, Urban International, 1979)~
Spa ce ,
41) i b id., A pe n dix, p. 1,69 •
42)Aldo Rossi, "CQDception and pp. 74 -7 6 , ( p. 74) •
"An Ana10gical Real i ty" , AçU
(New York: Rizzo1 i r' •
•
43)Carlo Aymonino, "Matter and Materials", Lotus no.1s, (June/1977), pp.4-17, (p.4). . ,
. 44)J.P.Kleihues, "The IBA Influence, other Berlinese projects", Lotus no.41, (1/1984), pp.18-29.
45)Conference at the university of Montreal by J.P. Kleihues, March 1986.
46). O.M. "pngers, "Planning Criteria", l in Vittorio Gregotti, ed~, "Oswald Mathias ungers" Lotus no.l1, (1/1976), pp.12-;41, (p.13).
47) ibid.
~8) ibid.
l " 49 ),. K .Framptop & S. ,Kolbowsk i, eds., .Rob Kri er. - qrban Projects 1968-1982, IAUS S, (New York: Rizzoli" "1982), pp.14-17.
... <t" •
50) David'Goslin9, "Definitions of Urban Design" in "Urbanism",'AD P~ofile 51, first published as part of
,AD, vol. 5-4, (1-2/1984), (London: 1984), pp.16-2s,. 'and Anthony vldler, "The Third Typology", Opposit~on~, no.,7, O'linter 1976), pp.1-4. h
"The term· "second typology" dinstinguish it frpm the "first of the rationalist philoshophy initia~ly formu1~ted by Logier natura1 basis for design was to
has been cojned to typology" developed out of the' En1ightenment, and proposed that a
be found in the model , of pr im,i t i ve- hut. ,
51) w.Gropiu~i· as it appeares in ~.Benevol0, op.cit."
1
. \ , ~
•
"
o . \
158
p.785 ...
52) A. Vidler, op.dt.
53) K.Frampton ,"Krier in Context", in K.Frampton & S.Kolbowski eds., 'R.Krier. Urban, Projects, op.cit.,," pp.2-9.
, ~
f •
. 54) R.Moneo, ~OI;l TypologylJ., Oppositions no.13, (summer' 197~), Cambridge, MIT Press, pp.23-45.
5~) ibid,. .. ,
56) Kenn'et'h Frampton, "Krier in Context", op.e-it~, p~~;
S7), A. Rossi, The Arphitecture of thé City, (Cambridge:.' MIT Press, 1982). ,
l ' 58) Ra fae 1 Moneo, Op' Typology, IOP. c,i t ~,
~9) For a survey-of information on typological theories 'and treir evolution, see Rafael' Moneo, On Typology,. op.ci t. • ,.
L!; .; -
60) R.Moneo, op.cit. ,
" CONCLUSIONS
o t ' j
:l)Jaquelin Robertson, in D. Porphyrios ed., Leon Krier • • Houses, Palaces, Cities, op.oit.
~ .. Q
2) (Utopiaqism' not with the .eaning that appea~ed in Modern Movement·- as, an instrument for social change ),~ ,_ Deborah Berke, "Rob\K~ier and the Utoplan Tradition in Housing"J in Rob Krier~ Urban Space, op. cit.
\ , ~
3) J P. Kleihues, ~Clos~d and Open Housing '~locksJ, Lotus, no.19, (Jutie/1978), pp.62-78.
"
,4) Steven' Peterson, "Space and 'i Ant i -Space", The Harvard' Architecture'Review, vol. l, (Spr~ng 1980), pp.89-l14, (p.92) .
5) Stated' by France..sco Milizia, às it appears in A. , Ros'si, The'Architecture of the City, op.cit., p.53 , t ... {\ ,
6)Çh~istia~ Norberg-Sêhult~, "The Dwelling and the MGdern Movenent", Lotus, no.9, (Feb;/1975), english t~xt pp. 20,~-207. . , ~.. <)
"
~ '7) The ter@ bourgois should be understood with' the French meaning of middle class.
r
f'
, ,
. '
•
..,1 ':'
"
159
8) See note no.27 of "The Projects" section.
9)The titles of different articles on Bofill and Taller de Arqitectura projects show the political. questions that these projects raise:
e.g. "Wage-earners' Versailles" by John Morris Dixon,' 'Progressive Architecture, 10:1981; ,
IISubsidized Dorie" by 'B~r,ry Bergdo11,' f'rogressi ve A,rchitecture, 10:'1982; ',', and Peter, Hodgkinson hfm,self;, calls his project "Versailles for the People".~ ,~
1
10.) Ch. Norber9-~chu1tz, op.cit.
11)Ricardo Bofill, May 1980, in K.Frampt'on, ed., "Les Arcades du Lac~, in "Post~Modern .C1assicism", AD Profile 28, vol.5'O. '.(5-6/1980>;-' pp.53-57.
12) Alan Colqùhoun, Essays in ,Architectural Critic~sm, (Cambridge: MIT Press 1981), pp:48-49.
\'
, ,
,.
• • 0 . . , ,
" . , / . '. 1
. . .' . ." '. "
<--.' .
' .. . ' . . ,: \ '
) 1
1 1
. . . " , } ..
\
, 0. '.
1 •
\ '" ~
, \
, '
1 • . '. , r , "
, . , \ \ 1
" . , -,.
"
. ,
, .
'.
, ,
. . " ,
, , ,
. :
. ,
.'
" /
, ' \
" • r
l, .' ,,' ,
1 •
, ,
" ,
~ ~. ~, \ J
, l,
1 1
. \
\
"
•
, '
, \,
, J'
, ,
_e
" 160
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IN'l'RODUCTIOH
/
,BENEVOLO, LEONARDO. History of Modern Atchitecture. 2 vols: Cambridge: MIT Press, 1971. ; .
CONRADS, ULRICH. Programs' and Manifestos on ~Oth Century Architecture,. Cambridge: 1970. r ,..
. . GIEDI,ON, S·I,EGFRIED. Space, Time and ,Archi:tecture: The Growth 'of a NewTradition. Cambridge: ~969.
Co
HUET,. BERNARD. "The City as -pwe11ïng Space, Alternatives ,to the Charter of Athens". L-otus, 00.41, (1/1984)" pp. 6"'17.
JENCKS., CHARLES. Modern Movements "in Architecture. New Edition inc1uding a postscript on' I..ate- and' Po~t-Modern Architecture. penguin Book, 1~85.
PORPHYRIOS, DEMETRI. "Sketch Architecture". Archltecture Athens, G'reece, pp.Ga-8S.
- . on a: Post-F'unctionalist
i n Gre ec e no. 12 , (1 97 a ) .;
ROSSI, ALDO.' The Archi t:ect ure of the Ci ty. Cambr idge: , MIT .Press, 1982. '
SCULLY, VINCENT. Modern Architecture. The Architecture of DemOcl'acy. NeloT York: George Braz i 1lier, 1961.'
THEORY , ,
\ \
. COHEN , STUART. ,"Phy,sièal Contex/Cu1tur.al -" 'Contex', Including it AlI". Oppositions no.2,' (Jan\lary 1974),' pp. 1- 3 ~. , ' "
COLQUHOUN, ALAN-. _"Rational (6/~975)," pp.36S-370._
A'rCh,itecture" • .
AD vo-l.45 . . " , t
-' , 'FR.AMPTON, KENNETH. Modern' Architecture, . A Cri tticàl
': Hi. s~ory. New YorK:' Oxford Uni ~ers~ ty 'Press',_ 19'80.,':'
-=-==--="'=~, "The - ,Evol\1tion- of. Housing 187P-1970".- Lotus n',10, (1975)", pp.-24-33.' ,
, :GOSLING, DA:YID ,and' MAITLA"ND, BARRY. Concepts of u'rb~n Design. Lçmdon: Academy Editions, 'New York: St. Mat'tin pre~s, l:9a,~'. , - ,
, ' , , Urbanisme. AD Profile 51, first pUblished as part. o~ AD,volume 54, 1-2/19B4. Lpndon 1984.
GEROSA, ~IERGIORQId. ' !'Archit,ectonic' Elements for the" -Urban Typology. "'Le Corbusier''l914-19~7". Lotus, no.24,
, " , 1
"
, ,
1 0 -,
•
"
, ! ..
,e
161
(1979), pp.120-127. , \
GUI DONI , ENRICO. '"Street and B10ck. ,From th~ Middle Ages to the Ei9ht--eenth ' c_entury". ,Lotus' no.19, (June/1978), pp.4-19. "
HELMUT, _ ENGEL,. '"Ungers O.Mathias". t Lotus' no.13, (1976), pp~48-55.
à KRIER, ,ROB. 1 nternat ional,
u
Urban Space. 1979.
New York: Rizzoli
LE CORBUSIER. Vers une Architecture. Paris: Vincent, Frealand Cie, 1958. English translatron; Towards a new A~hitecture. Architectural Press 1946.
NORBERG-SCHULTZ, CRISTIAN.' "La ~asa e il Mo.vimento Moderno". ("The Dwel1ing and the Modern Movement"). Lotus no.9·, (Feb./19'i5), pp.28-37., English text pp.203"207.
o
PAUL, SAMUEL. Apartment's. The~r Reinhold
Design and Development. New York: Publ i sh.i ng Corporation t 1967.
1
PORPHYRIOS, DEMETRI, ed. Leon Krier. Hg.uses,Palaces, Ci t i ~s. AD ,Pro~ i le. London: 1984. '
SAM, DAVIS. The Form of Housing. N~w York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1977.
SCHOENAUER, NORBERT •. 6;000 Years New York: Garland, 1981. , ' ,
SHANE, 'GRAHAM. "The' Revi val of, no. 24 , ( 1979 ), ,pp ~ 103 -113 • '
, ,
of. Housing. ~ vo1.s'. '
the Streét". Lotus '" ' .. >
__ ~_' "Contextua1ism"., AD vo1.46, (11/1976) , pp.676-679.
, ' , , "Theory -v Pract ice" • ,pp. 680-684.
AD vol. ~6, (11/1976) ,
, S~HUMACHER, TOM.
'Transformations'" .' "Contextualism: Urban .Ideals anQ
Casabell'a no'. 359-60, pp. 79-86. , , , , , - ,
SCULLY, VINCENT. "The" d,eath of tpe s,tre,et" < Perspècta (-1963 ), pp • 91 ~ ~ 6. . '
- l'
SHERWOOD, ROGE~., }fbdern ' H<;>usi ng Ca~br idge.: Harvard ,'Un i ver"si t,y Pre,~s,', 1978'.
Prototypes.
'SI 'r.TE , CAMltLO. : City PJa~ning. 'Ae,cordin'g to princip1.e,s • . New York~, Random Hous'e;1965.
• ) ; . .
.. l,"" " .. '.'
'1 ... , ~
, .
J
" ,
, , ,
o
"
, -, ..
162
ZUCKER, PAUL. Town and Square. New York: Columbia University, Press, 1959.
PROJBCTS
GALARATESE QUARTER HOUSI~G c
MORTON, DAVID. "Tendenza'. Progressi ve Archi tect ure (10:1980), pp. 49-55
FUTAGAWA, YUKIO, ed. Carlo Aymonino/ Aldo Housing Complex at the Ga11aJ;atese Quarter, l taly 1969-1974. '-Gl,o.bal Archi tecture series. (1977). Tex~ by Pierluigi Nicolin.
,
Rossi, 'Mi lan, no. 45,
ROSSI, ALDO. "Concepti'on and Reality". AçU no.65, (5/1976), pp.55-l20~
ROYAL MINT SQUARE'~OUSING "GRUMBACH, ANTOINE, . ed.. "The Krier Brothers". Lotus no .. Il i 1 976 ), . pp. 65:'" 9 3 •
FRAMPTON, KENNETH & KOLBOWSKI, 'SILVIA, eds. Rob Krier. Urba.[1 pr6jects,1968-1982. IAUS 5. New York: Rizzoli 1982. ' . '
ROOSEVELT ISLAND 'COMPETITION ARNELt, "PETER & BICKFORD, TED, eds. Robert A .M. Stern
"1-965-1981), Towards a Modern Architecture aiter Modernism. ~ew York:, Rizzoli, 1981, pp.98-l03.
, STEPJ.tENS, SUZANNE. ,"Roosevelt 1 sland ~sing ,Competition. This side " of Habitat". Progressive Ar~hitecture (7:1975), pp. 58-61 •
. '"TheoWork of Robert A.M.Stern and John S. Hagmann". AçU (10/1975), TOkyo, pb.85-150.
\
'. GREGOTTl, VITTORIO, ed.. "O.Mathias Ungers". no.11, (1/1~7(6), pp.12-41.
Lotus
VINETAPLATZ BLOCK 270 . -FRAM~TON KENNETH, ed. "Vinetaplatz Block 270" , in
"Modern Architecture and the Critica1 Present". AD vql.52, (7-8/1982), pp.lOO-105.
,v KLEIHUES; JOSEPH, P. "New Approaches to Life in the
. Inner City"" in Doug Celland, ed., "Post-War Berlin". AD no. 11/12~1982, pp.66-69.
" ' ~~~~~, "Closed and Open no.19, (June-1978), pp.62-75.
PERI METER BI.O.cK ON SCHI LLERSTRASSE
• • Housin-g Blocks". Lot us
• '.
"
JENCKS, CHARLES, Schi 11erstrasse, Representation".
163
ed •• "O.M.Ungers, Perim7ter Block on Berlin 1978-82", ln "Absrtact
AD v.53, (7/8-1983), pp.38-42.
FRAMPTON, KENNETH and KOBOWSKI, SILVIA, eds. O.Mathias Ungers, Works in progress 1976-1980. IAUS 6. New York: Rizzoli, 1981.
GRIMOLDI, ALBERTO. "An Architecture "as Found"". Domus no. 634, ( 12 -1 982 ), pp. 10 -13 •
URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH FRIEDRICHSSTADT, BERLIN
'. ,
FERLENGA, ALBERTO. "Rob Krier Schinkelpltz". Lotus no.39, (983), p.l03-107.
KRIER, no. 28,
ROB. "Berlin: South (3-1980), pp.67-73.
Friedrichstadt" . Lotus
KRIER, ROB. "City Divided into Building Lots". Lotusno.28, (3-1980), pp.74-82.
FRAMPTON, K. & KOLBOWSKI, S., eds. Rob Krier. Urban projects. op.cit.
BROWN-MANRIQUE, GERARDO. J "The White House", in "International Housing". ~rogressive Architecture (10:1982), pp.90-94.
, JENCKS, CHARLES, ed.. "Robert Krier, The White House, Berlin-Kreuzberg 1977-80", in "Free Style C1assicism". AD Profile Series. London: 1980, pp.62-67.
LES ARCADES DU LAC DIXON, MORRIS, JOHN. "Wage-earners' Versailles". Progresssive Architecture (10:1981), pp.94-97.
JENCKS, CHARLES, ed. , Post-Modern Classicism.
pp.53-57.
"Les Arcades AD Profile 28,
du Lac" , in vol.50, 1980,
THE SPACES OF ABRAXAS
NOISY II
BERGDOLL, BARRY. "Subsidized Doric", in "International J:l0using". Progressive Architecture (10:1982), pp.74-78
JENCKS, CHARLES, ed. A~qi tectura, Palace of Marne-la-Vallee, 1978-". pp.42-46.
"Bofill Rïcardo & Abraxas, Theatre
AD, - vol. 52,
,Taller de and Arch,
(1-2/1982),
FRAMPTON, KENNETH, ed. ~Henri Ciriani, Noisy II", in "Modern Architecture and the Critical Present". AD vol. 52, (7-8/1982), pp.92-99.
LIPSTADT, HELENE, "Moderni ty for Etern i ty" , in
:: l '
o
164
"International Housing". Progressi ve Archi t~cture (l0 : 1982 ), pp. 80- 8 5 •
ON TYPOLOGY COLQUHOUN, ,ALAN. Essays in Architectural Criticism. Modern Architecture and Historical Change. An Opposition book. Cambridge: MJT Press, 1981.
DURAND, J.N.L.. Précis des Leçons d'Architecture Données al' Ecole Polytechn ique. Pa ris': 1809.
EISENMAN, PETER, "Post-Functiona1ism". Oppositions no,.6, (1976). Cambridge: MIT Press. (editoriaU
GANDELSONAS, MARIO. "Neo-Functionalism". Oppositions no.5, (Fall 1976). Cambridge: MIT Press. (editoriaU
'ttRIER, ROB. "Elements of Architecture". AD Profile 49, v.53, (9/10-1983).
MONEO, RAFAEL. "On Typology". Oppositions (Summer 1978), pp.2p-45. Cambridge: MIT Press. ,
no .13,
QUATREMERE de QUINGY. "Type". Introduction by ~nthony Vidler. Oppositions no.8, (Spring 1977), Cambridge:MIT Press, pp.14 7-150. , .. >
VILDER, ANTONY.- "Thé third Typology". Oppositions no. 7, (Winter 1976), Cambridge,: MIT press, pp.1-4.
, '"The idea of· ~pe". Oppositions no.8, ~i~sp-r~i~n-g~1977). Cambridge: MIT Press, pp.95-115.
1
- ,
/
