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    1/31

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    THE FUNCTION

    OF

    FORM

    Author:

    Farshid

    Moussavi

    Published

    by

    Actar and

    Harvard University

    Graduate

    School

    of Design

    www.actar.com

    www.gsd.

    harvard.ed

    u

    Edited

    with

    Daniel L6pez-Perez

    and

    Garrick

    Ambrose,

    Ben

    Fortunato,

    Ryan Ludwig,

    Ahmadreza

    Schricker

    With contributions

    by

    Richard

    Galbraith

    of Sandy

    Brown

    Associates

    on

    acoustics;

    Jason Guteratne

    of

    Halcrow

    Yolles

    on structures

    Copy-editing

    Mary

    Wall

    Graphic

    design

    Reinhard

    Steger,

    Actar

    Pro

    Editorial

    support

    Albert

    Ferre,

    Actar

    Mario

    Ballesteros,

    Actar

    Anna Tetas,

    Actar

    Digital

    production

    Leandre

    Linares,

    Actar

    Pro

    Oriol

    Rigat,

    Actar

    Pro

    Printing

    lngoprint

    Distribution

    Actar

    D

    Roca i Batlle

    2

    E-08023

    Barcelona

    T +34

    93

    417

    49

    93

    F +34 93 418

    67

    07

    office

    @

    actar-d.com

    www.actar-d.com

    Actar

    D USA

    158

    Lafayette

    St,Sth

    floor

    New

    York, NY

    .10013

    T

    +1 212966

    2207

    F

    +1

    212

    966

    2214

    [email protected]

    All rights

    reserved

    O of

    the

    edition,

    Actar and

    The President

    and Fellows

    of

    Harvard

    College, 2009

    O

    of the

    work,

    Farshid Moussavi

    O

    of the

    drawings,

    their

    authors

    lsBN

    978-84-96954-7s-1

    DL B-3 1364-09

    Printed

    and

    Bound

    in the

    European

    Union

  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    engineers,

    cost consultants,

    project

    managers,

    landscape engineers,

    construction

    managers,

    acoustic

    engineers, lighting consultants, and so on.

    A new

    binary

    process

    has emerged: architects endow

    a

    built

    form

    with unique sensorial

    qualities,

    while engineers and

    technicians address

    its

    technical requirements.

    This

    disconnect

    between

    needs

    and desires results in over-specified and over-complicated built

    forms,

    and does

    not

    allow the

    design

    process

    to respond effectively to urgent

    problems

    which

    are

    the

    outcome of

    a variety of

    causes, or to

    potentials

    that may reside

    in multiple

    spheres,

    whether

    climate change,

    urban

    sprawl, the decompression of the urban industrial city,

    housing

    diversity, or digital tools

    and technologies.

    Such

    hybrid

    concerns cannot

    be

    addressed through binary thinking. They

    require

    a change in

    our approach toward materiality,

    away

    from

    an

    understanding of material as exclusively

    physical

    and tangible,

    to

    include

    both the

    physical

    and the

    non-physical

    -

    climate,

    sound

    or economics

    as

    well

    as

    wood,

    steel

    or

    glass.

    This expanded notion of materiality

    -

    one could describe

    it

    as "supramateriality"

    -

    liberates

    built

    form {rom

    a

    dualist approach that separate ideas from

    substances,

    objects

    from

    subjects,

    and

    production

    from

    perception.

    Today,

    abstract

    and

    dynamic materials

    can be

    precisely

    measured and

    visualized with

    the aid

    of

    digital software,

    and

    merged

    with concrete materials used to

    produce the

    design of built

    forms.

    lt allows built

    forms

    to address multiple

    causes and

    hybrid concerns, and it allows us to

    redefine

    the role

    of

    function

    in built forms,

    aligning

    it with the way it

    is

    understood in other disciplines.

    ln mathematics,

    biology

    or computer science,

    function

    is

    seen as a unique, transversal

    process,

    performed

    by a medium that is specific to that discipline

    (for

    instance,

    a differential equation,

    an

    organ,

    a browser). Multiple inputs or materials

    (numbers,

    cells, content) are combined

    in

    a specific

    way to achieve a single output

    -

    a singular

    form

    (a

    specific curve, an organism, a body

    of

    information).

    lt is the

    singularity

    of the resulting form

    that

    embeds it with a specific function.

    ln

    architecture, diverse materials

    (physical

    elements, context, climate, economy)

    are

    combined

    to

    produce

    a built

    form,

    the medium being an assembly

    of

    physical

    elements.

    Each

    built

    form

    or

    assembly

    of

    physical

    elements

    functions or

    performs in

    a specific way as a consequence

    of the

    way in which

    the diverse

    materials

    are combined.

    That is, the function

    of

    each built form

    consists

    in a transversal

    process

    in which the

    production

    of

    forms and the

    performance

    of forms

    are

    combined, resulting

    in a singular form.

    Per[form]ance

    of

    form

    ln his

    essay

    "Critical

    Architecture",3 Michael Hays outlined two

    possible positions

    for architecture

    to adopt

    vis-d-vis

    culture: architecture

    is either an instrument of culture, or it

    is

    an autonomous form.

    Drawing

    on the work

    of

    Mies van

    der

    Rohe, Hays defined a

    "third

    position"

    in which architecture

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    could be used

    to determine

    the external

    appearance

    of objects and

    relate

    them to their

    context.

    ln the same

    period,

    Viollet-le-Duc

    advanced

    his

    theory

    of structural

    rationalism,

    which concerned

    itself

    with functional efficiency

    and

    the honest

    expression

    of structures

    and

    materials as the basis

    for the external appearance

    of

    forms.

    For Modern

    Movement

    architects

    such

    as Walter Gropius,

    the

    machine aesthetic and

    the techniques

    of

    mass

    production served as

    the

    inspiration for

    built

    forms. Later

    in

    the twentieth

    century

    Aldo

    Rossi

    proposed a system

    of structural

    and spatial

    typology

    as another

    objective

    basis

    for style.

    Conversely,

    approaches

    that

    focused

    on

    the

    intellectual

    processo

    rather

    than the

    practical

    result

    include

    much of the

    literature on

    disegno,

    which

    was elaborated

    by

    Leon

    BattistaAlberti

    in

    Florence and

    was later taken

    up by

    Vasari.

    Disegno

    meant

    more

    than

    the

    practice

    of "drawing"

    and

    more than the

    modern

    notion of "design"

    (in

    the sense

    of

    composition

    or

    pattern),

    although

    both

    words have been used

    to translate

    it. Crucial

    lo

    disegno

    was the

    intellectual

    idea or

    concept

    present

    in the

    mind of the artist.

    The

    principles of

    perspective

    enabled

    artists

    and

    architects

    such as

    Leonardo

    da

    Vinci

    and Andrea

    Palladio

    to create

    their

    own ideal

    visualization

    of

    an

    object

    or scene,

    as

    distinct

    from

    its actual appearance,

    and to

    place it in a harmonious

    relationship

    with human beings.

    Discussions

    of architectural

    character,

    led

    in the

    seventeenth

    century

    by

    PerraultT and

    in the eighteenth

    by

    Boullee,

    Ledoux

    and others,

    sought

    to establish

    a

    new language of

    forms

    -

    a "speaking

    architecture"

    (architecture

    parlante) based on simple

    geometrical forms

    -

    that

    would enable

    people

    to

    grasp the

    purpose

    and

    character of buildings.

    ln

    the twentieth century

    Le Corbusier,

    in line with

    these

    earlier

    ideas, advocated

    the use of

    simple

    geometric objects that

    could

    be easily

    grasped.

    His

    use

    of the

    Modulor as a

    universal

    system

    of

    proportion for the elements

    of

    a

    built form,

    conceived

    in relation

    to

    the

    human

    form,

    and

    the

    tracds

    r6gulateurs

    -

    the outlines

    of existing

    buildings that

    he drew

    in search

    of the

    rules

    of their

    visual harmony

    -

    reflected

    his

    interest

    in the

    way forms

    would be

    perceived rather than

    the

    way they were

    produced. Later

    in the twentieth

    century,

    the CIAM

    group, including Siegfried

    Giedion,

    Josep Lluis Sert

    and

    Fernand

    L6ger, and

    others

    such as

    Alison

    and Peter Smithson

    (New

    Brutalism) and Aldo van Eyck (Structuralism),

    were

    more

    concerned with collectivity

    than the

    production

    of the object,

    and

    attempted

    to

    incorporate

    a humanistic

    approach

    into

    the

    design

    of built forms.

    Deconstruction,

    promoted in the

    1980s by architects

    and architectural

    critics

    such

    as Bernard

    Tschumi, Mark

    Wigley and

    Philip Johnson,

    aimed

    to supplant

    purely

    object-

    or subject-oriented

    systems

    by creating a direct

    confrontation

    between

    them.

    The technique

    of

    collage

    was

    proposed

    as

    a

    way

    of acknowledging

    the differences

    -

    and the

    disjunctions

    -

    between

    object

    and subject

    that

    were being exposed

    in the

    post-modern era.

    ln

    this

    approach,

    Wigley

    wrote,

    "forms

    are

    disturbed

    and only then

    given

    a

    functional

    program .

    . . lnstead of

    forms following

    function,

    function

    follows deformation."s

    Such

    deformations,

    however,

    when

    uninformed

    by a

    functional

    program, ultimately

    resulted in a disconnect

    between

    objective

    and subjective

    concerns.

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    milk

    or cream

    as

    well

    as

    sweeteners,

    Starbucks can

    make

    your

    coffee in

    70,000

    different ways,

    Denim

    jeans,

    once a ubiquitous uniform,

    have been

    diversified into

    cuts,

    wash-types and designs.

    Now

    they can be low-rise or ultra-low-rise, stone-washed,

    black, blue

    or

    white, flare-leg,

    boot-leg

    or straight-leg,

    with front

    pockets,

    back

    pockets

    or both, with or without studs, with

    or

    without

    colored stitching, branded or

    not,

    etc.

    ln

    the automobile

    industry, sensorial

    qualities

    are being incorporated into the design of cars

    to multiply the options available

    to consumers.

    The

    appearance of a

    Fiat

    500 can be customized

    in over

    500,000

    differeni

    ways by the

    addition

    of accessories or interior and exterior colors.

    Volkswagen cars, whether

    you

    are considering

    a

    Polo

    Maich, a Polo Blue Motion or a Polo SE,

    may all be

    pretty

    much the same as technical

    systems, but they can be differentiated by endless

    options,

    including

    color,

    upholstery, internal

    lighting,

    sound

    system, or

    the shape

    of

    the

    rear lights. Such

    variations

    may

    not change

    the

    way ihe car functions

    technically,

    but they diversify

    the

    perception

    and sensation of driving it.

    lndustry

    crossovers have created another

    genre

    of differentiation,

    from internet caf6s

    and

    music

    store caf6s to crossovers between different

    fashion categories.

    ln traditional

    tailoring

    and

    sportswear, decorative

    motifs,

    inscriptions,

    humor,

    textures and

    patterns

    which

    are typical

    of one have

    been transferred

    to and merged with the other.

    This interaction between two

    very

    different areas of fashion

    has not

    only

    introduced

    decorum

    to sportswear

    and

    comfort

    to traditional tailoring, but has fostered a

    multitude of novel fashion identities.

    Differentiation

    has

    also

    played

    an

    important

    role in the

    sciences

    and

    in

    the engineering

    of new

    structures

    and materials. All

    proteins

    are constructed

    from only twenty simple molecules of amino acid.

    However,

    the number of molecules and

    the

    sequences

    in

    which

    they are

    assembled

    determine

    the different

    proteins,

    each wiih a different

    function, enabling an organism to

    function in

    different

    ways. The

    multicolored

    flash of an

    opal

    is

    created

    by

    the

    organized

    self-assembly of

    identical

    building blocks.

    ln

    this case,

    the difference

    in

    size of small spheres

    of

    quartz

    crystal

    that measures

    only

    in

    thousandths

    of a millimeter determines the

    wavelengths, and therefore

    the

    colors, of the reflected light. Similar

    principles

    underlie the design

    of

    photonic

    materials

    that direct

    the communications signals

    in

    the

    bundles of

    optical fibers

    that form

    the

    backbone

    of the internet. Even more intriguing, millimeter-scaled

    metal rings

    and

    other shapes are being

    assembled into

    special cloaking

    devices,

    whereby different orientations

    and

    slight

    variations

    of

    these elements can make the objects

    placed

    inside them invisible to the

    outside world.

    Finally,

    in

    the emerging multidisciplinary field of supramolecular

    chemistry a new

    family

    of molecular

    structures is

    being created

    from a

    small

    set of molecular

    building

    blocks,

    or sub-units.

    Designed

    with special connecting

    points

    on

    their ends, these sub-units

    have a unique structural

    outline and set of electrostatic charges

    which enable them to link up

    with

    complementary

    points

    on

    other sub-units.

    The way these connections

    are made can be altered by a change

    in

    the chemical environment, making

    it

    possible

    to create a

    variety

    of supramolecular

    structures

    Oppos te

    page;

    nflatable dresses from AW03 Kinship Journeys by

    Hussein Chalayan.

    Photos

    courtesy

    o1

    Hussein Chalayan.

    *

  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    of novel forms, culture

    will become stagnant

    and

    homogeneous.

    The fundamental

    challenge for

    architects and

    other

    producers of culture

    is

    io

    imbue

    the

    production of forms

    with

    a diversity

    of

    goals

    and causes

    which are not solely

    market-driven,

    thereby contributing

    to an environment

    that connects

    individuals to

    multitude of choices.

    Though

    practicing

    in very different stages

    of the

    capitalist

    era, Mies

    van de

    Rohe

    and

    Rem

    Koolhaas are two architects

    who

    have

    succeeded

    in diveriing

    market-driven

    causes towards

    architectural

    goals. Mies, who witnessed

    the advent

    of

    Fordism, recognized

    its huge

    potential

    for the

    building

    industry.

    Modern steel-frame

    construction

    enabled built

    forms to be liberated

    from the solidity and opacity

    of

    premodern

    construction,

    allowing for the

    development of

    a new,

    freer relationship between the

    interior and

    exterior

    of a building.

    Adopting

    the

    elements

    of Fordist

    building culture

    -

    the

    repetition of

    prefabricated steel

    components

    -

    Mies created careful

    architectonic assemblages,

    embedding

    spaces

    with an opennesst

    transparency

    and tranquility

    that would contrast

    with the chaotic

    nature of the

    city.

    ln

    each of

    his buildings,

    Mies dissected

    the

    tectonics

    of the frame

    (slab,

    rolled angles,

    channels,

    l-beams,

    and

    H-columns)

    and the enclosing

    skin differently.

    For example,

    in

    some

    of

    his long-span

    structures, the

    beam

    is

    placed

    inside

    the space, while

    in

    others

    it is above

    the

    roof.

    These beams

    could be

    part

    of a system based

    on

    a one-way frame, a two-way

    frame or

    a space

    frame; the exterior

    skin, almost

    always made

    of

    glass,

    would fill the spaces between

    the

    frame,

    which in turn could

    be

    left

    as

    raw structure

    or embellished

    with additional columns

    attached

    to

    it, in order to embed

    it

    with

    an

    affect of

    verticality.

    Mies

    sometimes

    used

    l-shaped columns,

    and

    cruciform columns

    at others;

    the

    junction

    between

    the columns and

    the beams or slabs

    was detailed

    in

    different

    ways, but always revealing

    the difference between

    the two elements.

    Such

    variations

    were internal

    to the frame,

    however,

    and

    did not alter its

    form. According to

    Mies, form

    was abstract,

    devoid of

    building

    problems

    that

    he was interested

    in.

    Mies believed

    that

    "it

    was not the

    task of architecture

    to invent form

    . . . it was a

    question

    of truth"le

    directed "towards

    a spiritual

    purpose"'2o And, with regard to the

    similarities between

    the Bacardi

    building and

    the

    National Gallery

    in Berlin,

    he

    said

    he refused

    "to design

    a

    new architecture

    every

    Monday morning. The Greeks needed hundreds

    of years

    to

    complete the Doric Column,

    and

    it's all to do

    with completion."

    lnstead,

    Mies focused on

    creating

    ideal

    spaces

    through the

    repetition and

    variation

    of the steel-frame

    system.

    The

    success

    of

    this approach, he believed,

    was to be

    measured

    by

    its

    "beauty"

    and truth.

    ln

    his

    essay on

    the Ugly, Mark Cousins

    has written

    that,

    "from

    antiquity

    and

    massively reinforced

    by Christianity,

    we inherit a

    philosophical

    trinity

    of

    the

    Beautiful, the Good

    and

    the True" and

    this trinity has survived

    in the

    grouping of the

    negative

    of these terms

    -

    Ugly, Evil and

    Error

    -

    which

    "produces

    the theoretical

    basis

    for

    persecution and stigmatization".2l

    "True",

    for Mies,

    meant building according

    to the

    logic of materials;

    "good"

    meant serving

    the

    purpose

    for

    which the building

    was intended.

    Accordingly, a

    building

    made in this

    way

    would

    be "beautiful".

    Given

    the multiplicity of contemporary

    culture,

    it

    seems

    inevitable that the

    idea of truth or

    beauty

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    other,

    albeit

    in

    different ways.23

    ln

    order

    to explore

    forms as multiplicities, designers

    need to

    focus on their

    affective

    funciions.

    We are very familiar wiih the affects

    Mies

    pursued: rationality, order, lightness,

    disappearance.

    It

    is

    also

    well known

    that

    he

    was interested

    in more than

    merely the raiional assembly of

    architectonic elements, or the

    most efficient

    means of assembling

    a

    structural system.

    Rather,

    he

    sought the appearance and experience

    of

    rationality.

    He

    saw

    in

    the steel

    frame an opportunity

    to create ideal, free spaces

    which

    avoided

    both the "chaotic"

    affects of

    the modern metropolis

    and

    the heayiness and representational

    figuration of classical

    architecture.

    Mies well understood

    the affective

    potential

    of architectural

    forms, and

    in his

    works these affects

    are

    finely tuned

    and

    directed at eliciting

    a singular and

    clearly defined

    experience.

    The simple

    repetiiion of

    the

    steel

    frame contributes to the

    appearance

    of rationality.

    The

    way the elements are

    combined

    is

    always

    visible and the different elements

    of the

    forms

    remain

    distinct. Columns

    never

    merge with slabs,

    the

    mullions of the frame

    never merge

    with the infill

    panels. There

    is always a

    connecting element

    or

    a change in color or

    material.

    Mies's

    interest

    in

    controlling

    the

    perception of

    rationality

    in his buildings is illustrated

    by

    the Seagram

    building

    in New York

    (p.

    74). He designed

    this building

    to be viewed

    from Park

    Avenue as a

    pristine,

    slender,

    vertical tower.

    ln

    fact, considerable

    effort

    was

    required to embed

    these affects.

    The tower

    has an

    irregular volume. The three

    modules that,

    viewed

    from Park

    Avenue,

    appear to

    make up the

    depth of the tower

    were in fact

    extended

    at the back

    by a

    further three bays

    to house ancillary uses.

    These were introduced by stepping

    the

    volume

    in

    to

    preserve

    the slender,

    three-by-five-module

    extrusion

    facing Park

    Avenue.

    Had

    Mies simply added

    the ancillary

    spaces as

    an extension of the

    bays

    on the Park Avenue

    frontage, the tower

    would

    have

    entirely

    different

    proportions, being six

    bays

    deep, with

    only

    five

    bays

    on

    Park

    Avenue. Not only

    would this

    have

    transmitted

    an affect of

    stumpiness

    rather than slenderness,

    it

    would also

    have

    changed

    the orientation

    of the tower away

    from

    its

    entry

    plaza

    on Park

    Avenue. Mies disguised

    the

    functional

    requirements of

    the building

    in

    order

    to produce

    a

    simple, extruded

    form,

    Even

    though

    he

    varied the

    tectonic

    elements of

    the

    steel frame

    -

    its

    "ornaments"

    (joints,

    seams

    shapes,

    colors,

    depth)

    -

    the

    combinations

    were

    systematically controlled

    in

    the

    interest of conveying

    the sensation

    of

    rationality.

    Certain

    parallels

    could be drawn

    between

    the way

    Mies's

    forms work

    and

    gym equipment, The

    typical

    piece

    of

    gym

    equipment

    is fixed and

    one-track-minded,

    developing

    a

    single

    muscle

    at

    a

    time

    through

    linear or isolated

    patterns

    of movement.

    A bench-press

    works

    your

    arms, a

    butterfly-press

    works

    your pecs,

    over

    and over again.

    The exercises

    require

    no coordination

    or concentration

    Opposite

    page:

    History

    Flow,

    designed

    by

    IBM's Watson

    Research Center,

    is a

    tool for creating

    images of the evolution

    oJ a

    text and

    the interactions of

    mu iiple

    authors.

    The iliustration above shows

    the Wik

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    abortion and chocolate.

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    vers

    ons and lhe

    colors

    track the contr butions

    of rndividual edltors.

    The form

    o{

    the resulting

    pattern is intrjnsic to the

    material

    being combined at

    a

    g

    ven moment, reflectlng lhe transversal

    nature o{

    Wik

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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    uses

    the

    frame

    in

    a

    non-repetitive

    manner,

    resisting

    a

    simple

    delimitation

    of interior-

    exterlor'

    The

    WTC tower

    complex

    uses

    the

    frame

    in

    a non-extruded

    manner

    to

    create

    an upside-down

    figure

    with a

    stepped

    profile which

    is reminiscent

    of

    art

    deco.

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    Street

    (p'

    76) stacks

    tower

    blocks

    on

    top

    of

    one

    another.

    Looking

    up at

    the

    tower,

    you wonder

    if

    you

    are

    looking

    at

    a series

    of

    weightless

    towers,

    floating

    towers,

    or

    a

    pile

    of

    heavy

    boxes

    about

    to

    fall

    on

    top

    of

    you

    -

    or,

    indeed,

    if

    this

    is

    a

    giant looking

    down

    at

    you' since

    the

    three

    blocks

    resembte

    the

    legs,

    torso

    and

    head

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    a human

    being.

    For

    Rem

    Koolhaas,

    coherence

    . .

    .

    is

    either

    cosmetic

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    result

    of

    self-censorship .zs

    ,n

    of course

    does

    not

    mean

    that

    forms do

    not

    need

    coherence

    or that

    design

    is by

    nature

    not

    an act

    of censorship

    (selection).

    The

    work

    of

    Koolhaas/OMA

    questions the

    image

    of

    coherence

    in order

    to

    avoid

    limiting

    the

    building's

    affective

    possibilities.

    Other

    projects that

    perform

    as a

    multiplicity

    are

    documented

    in

    this

    book.

    One

    example

    is

    the

    Yokohama

    lnternational

    Port

    Terminal

    by

    FOA

    (p.

    392).

    Although

    St'

    John's

    Abbey

    by

    Marcel

    Breuer

    (p.

    352)

    or the

    Air

    Force

    Academy

    Chapel

    by SOM

    (p.

    386) also

    use

    a

    folded

    plate

    structure,

    they

    simply

    repeat

    it

    to

    produce

    a

    single,

    undifferentiated

    space

    and,

    consequently,

    a single

    percept,

    triggering the

    same

    affects of

    pleating, axiality

    and

    uniformity

    throughout.

    The material system

    of

    yokahama

    lnternational

    Port

    Terminal

    is

    a

    hybrid

    composed

    of

    steel

    folded

    plates and

    pairs of steel

    girder bridge

    systems,

    which

    together

    make

    it

    possible

    for the

    form

    to

    vary

    along

    both

    its

    length

    and

    its

    width

    to

    cater

    for

    varying

    programmatic,

    circulatory,

    structural,

    and

    services

    requirements

    as

    well

    as

    those

    of

    the

    predetermined

    asymmetrical

    foundation

    piles.

    Girder

    bridge

    systems

    allow

    the

    orientation,

    geometry

    and

    length

    of the

    circulation

    system

    to shift

    in

    order to

    accommodate

    disparate

    requirements,

    while

    the

    folded

    plates shift

    in

    orientation,

    scale

    of

    folding

    and sectional

    profile

    to accommodate

    different

    spans

    and

    changes

    to

    the

    girders. The

    hybrid

    nature

    of

    this

    material

    system

    results

    in

    a complex

    form

    providing

    spatial

    variety

    as

    well

    as

    multiple

    percepts and

    affects.

    The

    parking

    1evel

    transmits

    affects

    of

    flatness,

    pleating,

    openness

    and

    axiality,

    and

    ef{iciency,

    while

    the

    terminal

    level

    transmits

    arching,

    pleating,

    diagonality,

    asymmetry

    and

    purposefulness'

    and

    the

    roof

    plaza

    transmits

    undulaiion,

    smoothness,

    landscape,

    valley,

    mountain

    and

    perambulation'

    These diverse

    affects contribute to

    a

    variety

    of percepts

    -

    origami' landscape;

    a

    whale,

    ship

    deck,

    pier or wave

    -

    and

    ensure

    that

    ihe

    terminal

    is

    not

    reducible

    to a

    single

    interpretation

    or

    meaning'

    Similar

    explorations

    of the

    diagrid

    by oMA

    and

    FoA

    have

    generated

    other

    novel

    forms'

    Since

    the

    triangular

    members

    of

    a diagrid

    can

    distribute

    gravitational

    loads

    as

    well

    as

    lateral

    forces,

    they

    obviate

    the

    need

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    the conventional

    vertical

    columns

    on the

    building

    perimeter,

    allowing

    more

    freedom

    in

    the

    floor

    plan,

    and

    the

    construction

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    tubular

    forms.

    Two

    examples

    of

    tower

    forms

    that

    explore

    the

    characteristic

    elasticity

    of the

    diagrid

    are

    30 St,

    Mary

    Axe

    (p

    120)

    and

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    Hearst

    Headquarters

    (p.

    102),

    both

    by

    Fosterand

    Partners.30

    st.

    MaryAxe

    (swiss

    Re) uses

    the

    diagrid

    as

    part of the

    main

    load-bearing

    system,

    and

    the

    diameter

    of

    its floors

    varies

    in size

    to

    produce

    a

    tower

    with

    a conical

    profile. The

    diagrid

    is

    carefully

    designed

    to

    transmit

    affects

    of

    latticing

    and twisting.

    The

    cross-bars

    -

    composed

    of

    a series

    of two-story-high

    triangular

    A-frames

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

    24/31

    Modernism

    sought

    a

    new

    approach,

    a

    rational

    system

    for determining

    the

    relationship

    between

    whole

    and

    its

    parts, based

    on

    principles

    derived

    from

    the

    processes

    of

    mass

    production'

    Mies

    van

    der

    Rohe's

    Seagram

    headquarters

    is

    an

    example

    of

    a

    building

    based

    on

    modern

    industrialized

    building technology,

    using

    glass and

    steel frame

    construction.

    Although,

    as

    mentioned

    earlier,

    any

    number

    of

    silhouettes

    could

    have

    been

    derived

    from

    the

    steel

    frame

    system,

    Mies

    pursued

    the

    simplest

    option

    in

    order

    to

    achieve

    the

    image

    of

    rationality.

    During

    the same

    period Le

    corbusier,

    with

    his

    idea of

    the

    Modulor,2s

    sought

    to establish

    a

    universal

    proportional

    system

    of

    relating

    the

    different

    elements

    of a

    building,

    from

    three-dimensional

    space

    to

    structural

    modules,

    sections

    and

    elevations.

    This system

    relied

    on

    the

    human

    eye,

    posilioned

    at

    a

    predetermined

    height,

    rather

    than

    the

    intrinsic

    dimensional

    requirements

    of

    its

    constituent

    parts'

    Thus

    the

    Modulor

    was also

    essentially

    an

    idealized

    system

    of

    visual

    control'

    A

    very early

    example

    of

    the

    bottom-up

    approach

    to

    form

    can

    be

    found

    in

    lslamic

    architecture'

    in

    which

    a

    system

    of

    mathematical

    formulae

    governed

    the

    repetition

    of

    geometrical

    figures

    to

    produce

    whole

    surfaces.

    ln

    the

    1g60s

    and

    1970s,

    functionalism,

    as

    proposed by

    CIAM

    (Dutch

    structuralists

    such

    as

    Aldo

    van Eyck, Herman

    Hertzberger and

    Piet Blom),

    and

    later

    by

    Team

    10

    and the

    Metabolists,

    advocated

    the

    use

    of modules

    that

    could

    be

    repeated

    to

    produce

    an

    architectural

    whole.

    The

    capsule

    Hotel

    in

    Tokyo,

    by

    the

    Metabolist

    Kisho

    Kurokawa,

    exemplifies

    this

    approach'

    The

    fourteen-story

    tower

    conlains

    140

    individually

    articulated

    capsules

    stacked

    around

    a central

    core,

    with each

    capsule

    designed

    to

    be detachable

    and

    replaceable.

    However,

    this

    idea

    of

    flexibility

    is

    limited

    to the

    possibility

    of replacing

    the

    capsules

    and

    the

    whole

    is

    essentially

    an addition

    of

    identical

    parts, As

    in

    other

    bottom-up

    systems,

    it cannot

    respond

    to

    specific

    needs.

    During

    the same

    period,

    Louis

    Kahn

    and

    Robert

    Le

    Ricolais

    produced

    alternative

    modular

    systems

    in which

    spatial

    and

    structural

    requirements

    were

    related

    topologically.

    The

    intention

    of

    this

    topological

    approach

    was

    to enable

    the

    parts to change

    shape

    while

    retaining

    the same

    properties'

    Bui,

    because

    such

    changes

    were

    limited

    to

    needs

    that

    were

    internal

    to

    the

    system,

    they

    resulted

    in

    isomorphic

    wholes'

    Both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to the genesis

    of

    form were based

    on

    essentialist'

    idealized

    views

    of

    the

    world.

    Geometric

    systems

    of

    proportion,

    perspective,

    typology,

    the

    Modulor,

    the

    geometrical

    tiling

    of

    lslamic

    architecture,

    and

    functionalism

    were

    all

    based

    on a

    priori,

    ideal

    principles

    that

    either

    repeated

    the

    parts

    or

    subdivided

    the

    whole,

    in

    response

    to

    concerns

    that

    remained

    internal

    to

    the

    given system.

    Furthermore,

    since

    the

    parts

    and

    the

    wholes

    were

    conceived

    as

    fixed

    geometric

    aggregates,

    they

    could

    not

    combine

    to

    modify

    each

    other'

    Transversal

    systems

    This

    book

    proposes a

    transversal

    approach

    to

    the

    production

    o{

    forms'

    ln

    a

    transversal

    system'

    a

    base

    unit

    assembles

    a

    variety

    of

    causes

    and

    concerns

    into

    a

    complex

    supramaterial

    whole

    -

    an

    amorphic

    rather

    than

    hylomorphic

    whole;

    that

    is,

    the

    way the

    elements

    combine

    is not

  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

    25/31

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

    28/31

    This

    split began with Plato,

    for whom abstract, intelligible ideas

    Forms)

    inhabited

    the

    world

    of

    pure

    reason,

    while

    sensible and

    physical

    things

    forms)

    were

    a refleciion and imitation

    of

    these

    archetypal Forms.

    The

    question

    of

    whether

    the

    physical

    or

    the non-physical

    has

    priority

    has

    preoccupied

    succeeding generations

    of

    philosophers.

    From

    the

    seventeenth century

    onward

    philosophers

    began to challenge the

    transcendental

    tradition in

    philosophy.

    However,

    despite their disagreements

    over

    whether

    the

    physical

    or the

    non-physical

    provided

    identity

    and meaning to forms, all of these

    critiques maintained,

    in one

    way

    or another, the fundamental

    distinction

    between

    ideas

    and matter. Every form

    was

    a

    replica,

    and identity

    remained

    singular, complete and atemporal. The idea

    of repetition was

    therefore

    controverstal,

    since a

    form

    that represents

    a

    pre-existing

    ideal

    lacks the capacity

    to evolve

    or

    to

    generate

    a

    new

    identity. Deleuze

    offers a solution to this

    problem

    with his

    conceptual

    framework

    of the virtual and the

    actual.

    According

    to

    Deleuze,

    nothing

    exists

    outside the world

    we

    live in;

    there are

    no

    transcendental

    ideals. Our

    world

    is

    composed of virtual forms

    and actual

    forms.

    Virtual

    ideas

    are differences

    in

    themselves, and these

    differences are like intensities

    that

    differentiate

    them

    from one

    another.

    Virtual forms

    are

    therefore not ideals detached from

    reality,

    but abstract ideas

    not

    yet

    actualized. Owing to their abstractness,

    they can be interpreted

    in

    a

    variety

    of ways

    to

    produce

    a

    variety of

    sensible

    forms, a

    process

    that Deleuze has

    referred

    to

    as

    differentiation.

    There are therefore

    two types of difference:

    an

    intensive

    difference

    that relates

    to

    difference in

    kind between

    abstract

    ideas,

    and an extensive

    difference that relates

    to the

    degree to which

    one sensible form is

    different to the other. This

    degree of difference is

    explicated

    as a

    simulacrums2

    that in

    turn affects us in

    specific

    ways. A

    simulacrum is not, however,

    the

    representation

    of another thing

    for

    example, the representation

    of an ideal

    form),

    but an

    image

    whose

    identity

    depends

    precisely

    on the difference between

    the virtual and the

    actual.

    We

    therefore

    need

    abandon the

    polarity

    of

    simple

    v. complex

    repetition, which

    considers

    simple repetition

    as mere replication. Difference is to

    be

    measured

    noi only in

    spatial extensity

    -

    that

    is,

    the

    way

    a

    form

    is

    spatially varied

    -

    but also

    in

    the intensity

    of

    a

    form and according

    to the

    specific way it

    affects us. Architects

    can embed the environment with

    difference in

    two

    ways:

    by

    producing

    different

    kinds

    of ideas for built forms

    and by exploring dif{erent

    ways

    of

    actualizing

    ideas

    as built

    forms,

    Current architectural investigations

    are mostly focused

    on

    internal geometrical

    variations

    of forms,

    rarely

    focusing

    on

    how

    the ideas they

    embed differ from

    other ideas

    or on how

    the built forms they

    produce

    differ from

    other built forms. Yet

    two forms

    that actualize

    an

    idea

    differently but involve no internal variation

    can embed the environment

    with

    a

    greater

    degree of difference,

    by affecting us

    in

    very different ways,

    than two forms

    that are

    internally

    differentiated

    but

    actualize

    an idea in

    the

    same way,

    thus transmitting identical

    affects.

    This

    book

    explores the idea

    of architecture

    as a

    continuous

    process

    of creating novel forms

    and ideniities

    through

    the

    repetition

    and differentiatron

    tessellation)

    of virtual forms.

    ln doing

  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

    29/31

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  • 8/17/2019 Moussavi Function of Form

    30/31

    environment where they are

    to

    be

    actualized to

    produce novel forms. Forms

    in

    this

    way motivate

    the

    generation

    of other forms and

    they

    perform transversally, addressing

    locally multiple criteria

    and concerns

    which

    may

    belong to different

    geographies or time

    in history.

    We

    no longer need

    to

    think

    in terms

    of

    irreconcilable

    oppositions

    -

    mind v. matter,

    people

    v.

    objects,

    production

    v.

    perception, raiional

    v.

    sensorial,

    old v.

    new,

    difference v.

    repetition.

    Our environment includes

    all of these and

    this

    necessitates an

    ecosophical 33

    practice

    that

    considers all forms of ecology

    together,

    whether environmenlal,

    mental

    or social. This calls

    for

    a

    transversal

    design

    process

    that bypasses

    the

    traditional top-down

    or bottom-up approach.

    A transversal approach,

    in which causes and

    concerns

    that are immanent

    in

    the environment

    are

    combined to

    generate

    forms, enables

    us

    to

    harness the transformative

    power

    of contemporary

    reality. Moreover, it enables us to

    incorporate

    greater

    levels of complexity

    within

    built

    forms,

    allowing

    multiple

    inputs to interact simultaneously

    on the same

    plane

    to

    generate

    a

    multitude

    of novel forms, each

    with

    unique

    expressions,

    sensations

    and affects.

    Because such affects

    and sensaiions are conditioned

    by individual

    experience,

    their reception

    is inevitably different

    in each

    case,

    and therefore

    multiple. Thus the

    environment acts

    as

    a

    social

    matrix in which

    built forms

    provide

    a

    link between

    individuals with

    different views. Given

    the increasingly

    plural

    nature of

    society,

    the affective

    character of buili

    forms

    can

    play

    a

    powerful role

    by

    embedding

    the environment

    with multiplicity,

    providing

    society

    with the

    means to conduct an autocritique.

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