Editorial comment – Chapters 2 and
2.6 A general view
It has been said we get the government we deserve, and it may also be said that we get the buildings we deserve. Tom Wolfe (1983) observed that for much of the twentieth century those who commissioned and approved buildings were persuaded to accept designs put to them by architects in spite of their unsuitability – designs driven by the opinions of a few influential thinkers, opinions that somehow became treated as immutable laws. Auberon Waugh, reviewing From Bauhaus to Our House, described the products of these laws as ‘monstrosities of ugliness and ineptitude’, and in doing so voiced the feelings of many who have no love for the offspring of Le Corbusier and Mies that inhabit cities all over the world.
Building design at the beginning of the new millennium is, then, less constrained stylistically than at any time in human history. Architects have an unimagined range of materials and systems available and are free to draw on the full spectrum of previous styles and elements and use them in any combinations that they may choose. The historical styles available of course include the Modern, as the transition from Modern to Post-Modern was not as drastic as it may sound – as Klotz (1988, p. 128) put it (paraphrasing Venturi and Brown): ‘The protest against modernism is not a determinate and rigid “No”; rather it is a “Yes, but”.’
Increasingly we can expect to see building design shaped by the need to curb energy use and slow the use of resources. These constraints need not necessarily be reflected in the visible design, i.e., how the building looks, and in fact there is often a conscious effort made by designers, as they try to meet the demands for more environmentally sensitive buildings, to avoid producing buildings that ‘look green’. In practice, however, the addition of photovoltaic arrays and extensive sunshading, which are characteristic of many of the new low energy buildings, do make some mark on their overall look. Similarly an increasing awareness of the energy ‘bound up’ in building materials and components (embodied energy) and attempts by designers to look for and use less energy- intensive products may exert some influence on the appearance of buildings. This is likely to be minimal, however, as commonly used materials such as steel, concrete and glass will not be displaced but rather be recycled or re-used.
Visually most buildings will probably remain largely undistinguished and all but undistinguishable from the bulk of those around them, based on a simple vocabulary of materials, forms and finishes. A shopping mall in Woking may not only look very similar to one in Sydney or Seattle but will even contain a significant number of the same shops as the multinational character of franchises and chain stores becomes ever more apparent.
The public’s demand for space for homes, businesses and recreation will be met mostly by construction that is driven by market forces and the need to build quickly in order to satisfy demand. How many of these buildings will, in any sense, stand the test of time remains to be seen; some will go the way of Pruitt Igoe, others will be regularly refitted internally and perhaps be given a new façade at intervals, some will fail due to poor construction or specification of unsuitable materials or bad design detailing. Certainly there must be some concern about the durability of many new buildings – for whatever reason many new buildings begin to look shabby very shortly after occupation, and the increased use of colour on building exteriors must raise questions about the long-term effects of weather and pollution and the maintenance that will be required if they are not to look tawdry in just a few years.
2.7 Conclusion
The value that those who build will ultimately gain from their buildings will vary but the initial design will only be one of a number of the factors that contribute to eventual value outcomes – changing tastes, scarcity or oversupply of alternative space, changing demographics, competition from other parts of town, traffic patterns – the list goes on. The majority of factors on the list are essentially beyond the control of the building owner, which emphasizes the basically risky nature of construction. However, if designers look back at the successful buildings of the past there are basic attributes that appear to have contributed to their endurance: simple planning and the use of durable materials combine to produce buildings that follow the principle of ‘long life, loose fit’. If ‘low energy’ is added to that formula then there is good reason to suspect that the buildings that result, regardless of the ‘ism’ that may be tacked on to them and therefore regardless of their superficial outward appearance, will be valuable assets for their owners in the longer term.
References and bibliography
Jencks, C. (1981) The Language of Post-Modern Architecture. Third edition (New York: Rizzoli).
Klotz, H. (1988) The History of Postmodern Architecture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press). Nuttgens, P. (1997) The Story of Architecture. Second edition (London: Phaidon Press).
Opel, A. (ed.) (1997) Ornament and Crime: Selected Essays (Adolf Loos) (Riverside, CA: Ariadne Press).
SGH (2000) Glass Failure on the John Hancock Tower, Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, Inc., www.sgh.com/practiceareas/buildingtechnology/hancock/hancock.htm
Venturi, R. (1966) Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (NewYork: Museum of Modern Art).
Venturi, R., Brown, D. and Izenour, S. (1972) Learning from Las Vegas (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press).
Watkin, D. (1992) A History of Western Architecture (London: Laurence King Publishing). Wolf, G. (2000) Exploring the unmaterial world. Wired.
www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.06/koolhaas_p