UNFOLDING: A NEW METHODOLOGY

Dr. Jenny Quillien, Research Associate with the Laboratory of Anthropology, Museum Hill,

Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505, USA

ABSTRACT

“Lopsidedness is no advantage.”

Lao Tsu

The central theme of BASC 2008 emphasizes the relationships between architecture,

sustainability, and human community, and, therefore, by implication, the requirement to

satisfy all design constraints. With this focus in mind, let’s dismiss lopsided approaches that

do not take us toward holistic progress. First, eliminate ‘development’ as characterized by

image-driven, modular, large-scale construction through centralized and monolithic power

structures. Second, forget the current ‘star’ culture of professional architects with its

requirement for originality at all costs. Third, ignore nostalgic attempts to return to the

security of old forms that have lost the cultural and ethical principles that previously infused

them with life. Fourth, set aside any single-focus on sustainability which is attainable only at

the detriment of other concerns.

On offer is a new―untested but promising―approach sketched out in the recent work on

unfolding built environments. The inspiration for this new way of thinking is strongly

biological, stemming notably from current research in morphogenesis and autopoiesis.

Unfolding is sequenced growth. Germane to its dynamic are (a) the co-evolution of part and

whole, (b) maintenance of the whole through system repair, (c) the power of fine grain local

adaptation, and (d) adaptable, robust, economical forms that can accommodate contradictory

demands.

Not all, but some building traditions come close to unfolding and are, therefore, worthy of

study. The old architecture of the Arab World not only solved the climatic problems and

fundamental issues of sustainability through unfolding but did so with a combination of

beauty and physical and social functionality. Green builders in the American Southwest, a

bio-region similar to the Maghreb, are currently studying these vernacular forms for possible

adaptation to the American milieu.

INTRODUCTION: ELIMINATING WHAT DOESN’T WORK

Design work involves correctly identifying the constraints that must be respected. Our

conference points explicitly to the necessary interdependencies between architecture,

sustainability, and human community. Much of the construction going on today fails to take

into account the full range of considerations and, predictably lets us down miserably. Let’s

quickly ‘clear the decks’ of unsatisfying experiments that do not take us toward holistic

progress, and then turn our attention to more promising avenues of exploration.

In large-scale ‘development’ (either through private corporations or government projects)

building processes are streamlined for rationality, efficiency, and predictability. Assembly of

units according to a fully detailed blueprint allows for speed in project completion, the use of

unskilled cheap labour, and calculable returns on investment. The processes are enveloped in

legalistic arrangements and codes that further protect key agents from unforeseen events and

costly changes.

Figure 1: Construction site in Dubai. Figure 2: An image-driven world like the Disney world

of cartoons: a „one-reading-only‟ surface. “The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower

in Dubai will be a 48-storey mixed-use condo-hotel and residence with a 300 room five-star

hotel and 360 freehold residential apartments. Some of the amenities include exclusive access

to a private beach and yacht club with tennis courts, gymnasium and fitness centre, stylised

pools and gardens. The AED 2.2 billion (US$ 600 million) development will be the first joint

venture between Al Nakheel and The Trump Organization, whose chairman is Donald

Trump.”

Also part and parcel of today’s construction environment are the ego trips of professional

architects who hunger for the renown associated with signature buildings. A sharp distinction

is now made between those who design and those who build. Students in architecture, at least

in the West (and frequently students in other parts of the world are trained in a ‘western’

mode), must find ways to ‘stand out.’ These students learn to ‘sell a vision’ and construct

their charisma rather than delve into spiritual or technical traditions in order to find an inner

core of values from which genuinely worthwhile buildings might emerge.

Figure 3: A proposal for Dubai

high rises.

Figure 4: Star architect David Liebskind‟s signature

building for the Denver Art Museum.

Third, let’s acknowledge that buildings that have ‘life’ are the expression of a cultural

integrity that is also ‘alive.’ Buildings that capture our hearts are minds are those that capture

the vitality of the culture that gave them birth. Replicas and forms that hark back to days long

gone are delusional, trite and deadly. And fourth, let’s recognize that ‘sustainability’

solutions that do not take into account the needs of human community, fail to make for

‘liveable’ buildings.

Figure 5: Nostalgia. Jean Nouvel‟s

proposal for the new Abu Dhabi

museum

A NEW METHODOLOGY: UNFOLDING

On offer is a promising (but new and untested) approach sketched out in the recent work on

unfolding built environments. Here is the one approach where all design constraints of

building, community, and sustainability can be taken on board. Its inspiration is strongly

biological, stemming notably from current research in morphogenesis (the step-by-step

evolution of form and growth patterns) and autopoiesis (the dynamics of self-completion).

The parallels between biological growth and traditional architecture are more than just

coincidence. The question is, „Can these concepts take us forward as well as illuminate the

past?‟

Essential Characteristics

When we observe closely the morphology and growth patterns of sustainable systems, be

they natural or man-made, there is a ‘whole’ which moves forward in time incrementally.

The movement forward addresses the entire system, and, all the while, preserves and extends

that wholeness. Even though growth may leads to vast changes, there is continuity: one phase

evolves smoothly into the next. In the case of successful vernacular building traditions, we

find historical and cultural continuity, as well as morphological continuity with the land.

Constant adaptation and repair are in the local hands of those who build and work the region.

Growth through Structure-Preserving Differentiation

The basic mechanism of growth is

through repeated differentiation of an

initial ‘whole.’ Consider the first cell of

a fertilized human egg that goes

through an internal differentiation,

divides into two symmetrical cells

which then differentiate again and

again forming bones, soft tissue, blood,

and hair. Although the ‘final stage’ of a

Figure 6: An experimental building in

South Wales. Maximizing solar efficiency

comes at the cost of other concerns.

Figure 7: Differentiation and unfolding of a flower pistil: remarkable change

and yet each stage preserves the past.

new-born child looks nothing like the initial fertilized egg, there is a smooth unfolding where

each new development preserves the structure of the previous stage. Or, for another example,

consider how a flower pistil undergoes remarkable but smooth change. The same takes place

in the transformation of a valley hamlet into a town where differentiation leads to different

types of buildings and neighbourhoods, yet all still unfolds from the initial ‘whole.’

Figure 8: Amsterdam in the years 1340, 1425, and 1585.

Unfolded Forms Are Robust and Multi-Functional

At the core of unfolded morphology is the fact that evolution through structure-preserving

differentiation allows for more robust forms that can accommodate contradictory design

constraints. The human hip bone, for example, has evolved into a complex and subtle shape

that permits walking, running, sitting, crouching, bending, as well as co-ordination with other

bones and necessary support of a fair amount weight. The growth process actually assigns

new calcium to precisely the point where the growing bone is under greatest stress.

Successful, intelligent, multi-functional building forms, as in natural evolution, are the result

of accumulative learning and honing over centuries, rarely do they result from a single

individual’s effort. The roof-terrace is a form invented by many cultures. The roof in Native

American pueblos along the Rio Grande River (in ways similar to casbahs of the

Mediterranean basin), serves as roof, water collector, living space, seating area for observing

rituals in the plaza, sleeping area on hot nights, and a message relay station. The ‘step’ shape

of the building creates currents of warm air that heat the spaces for work and drying crops.

Figure 9: The multi-purpose human Figure 10: Taos, New Mexico. The multi-purpose

hip bone roof structure in Rio Grande Indian villages

Simple Rules Give Rise to Complexity and Uniqueness

Just as the simple rules of DNA give us children, similar, but each one utterly unique, and

just as rules of grammar and a finite set of phonemes allow us to create an infinite number of

new sentences, there are rules of autopoiesis (self-completion) in unfolding structures that

produce an infinite number of similar yet utterly unique forms in nature. No two daffodils

will be identical. The parts evolve from the whole and, in turn, determine the whole. In this

sense a flower is not made from petals, rather petals are made from their role and position in

the flower. The precise shape of the growing daffodil is not pre-determined but results from

the process and small differences in context. No mechanical process can duplicate unfolding.

What we can do is deeply understand the transformations behind unfolding and take

inspiration. (Christopher Alexander’s work, see reference, defines fifteen specific

transformations; however, a discussion of these would be far too lengthy for this article.)

Figures 11 & 12. The sensual beauty and uniqueness of a real daffodil

cannot be replicated in artefacts that use a modular assembly process.

In this new approach, we are working from the inside out and step-by-step, not from an

image-driven template approach. The final outcome cannot be precisely pre-determined. At

each stage new information will make itself known or felt and that information must be taken

into account in the envisioning of the next stage. Something like this was the process behind

the marvels of past architecture which continue over time to merit our affection and attention.

Now imagine what we could do with this process when we have all the power of technology

and computer simulation at our fingertips.

LESSONS FROM VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN THE ARAB WORLD

Bioregions represent an important item on the agenda of sustainability. Morphogenesis,

applied to a land will identify and respect internally coherent regions defined by watersheds,

geology, and climate. A number of vernacular forms from North Africa and the Middle East,

the result of centuries of accumulated learning, honing, and adaptation to climate are of keen

interest to the growing community of ‘green’builders interested in the American Southwest

where the landscape echoes that of the Maghreb. The essential characteristics of these

building traditions illustrate how respecting the collective constraints of architecture, human

community and sustainability can lead to surprising and delightful solutions.

Figures 13: Ibn Tulan. A timeless building of unfolded beauty

Mutuality of Relationships between Part and Whole

Architecture in North Africa and other parts of the Middle East emerged from a base of

shared knowledge of methods, materials, tools, and forms. Towns grew in a piecemeal way

with direct interactions of creation and repair between dwellers and dwellings. Structure-

preserving growth was through slow minor adjustments rather than spasmodic major ones,

maintaining the fabric of the whole. Building activities took place within communities of

interdependent people of a common culture and value system. Local economies were self-

sustaining and self-defining without central planning authorities.

Co-ordination between part and whole―necessary to truly resolving design constraints of

community and sustainability at larger-scales―remains a long-range but as yet difficult to

reach goal. Current experiments in the American Southwest remain isolated and small-scale.

Maintenance of the Whole through System Repair and Adaptation

Historical and traditional techniques were rarely costly in terms of materials or energy and

thus not only largely within the economic grasp of local populations but also directly within

the realm of their understanding.

Building materials were ‘green,’ coming from local renewable sources, requiring low energy

costs during production. The materials on a building site reflected the materials of the

surrounds. Using easily workable material, parts allowed themselves to be adapted and

modified according to detailed wishes of the users.

Of course, mud was the principle building material and since half the world’s population still

lives and works in adobe structures, improvements and knowledge sharing on adobe building

can significantly influence the quality and sustainability of the world’s built environment.

Adobe was introduced into the American southwest in the 16 th and 17th centuries by the

Spanish settlers and was soon adopted by the local Native Americans as well. Forms and

techniques remained primitive: most homes were simple one storey rectangles which grew

through additional rooms at the same pace as the families. By the 20th century adobe was

essentially replaced by concrete, modular pre-fab and frame construction and remained, until

recently, only on the fringes with the do-it-yourselfers and the wealthy who appreciated the

beauty of adobe and could afford to bring in foreign craftsmen.

The Power of Fine Grain Local Adaptation

In his work on the history of Muslim cities, Besim

Hakim demonstrates how the old building codes

based on abstract laws of intention (e.g., when

building a new home one must have the intention

of respecting the privacy of existing homes) were

infinitely more powerful than concrete

prescriptive mechanical codes (e.g., building must

have a setback of ten feet) which were developed

during the 20th century. The laws of intention

created a locus of freedom at the local level of

immediate neighbours who could devise very

unique and minutely adapted solutions to their

particular situation. It is precisely this possibility

of fine grain variation that produced the eternal

evanescent surprise and delight of these cities.

There is no doubt, that of all the points raised in

this article, awareness of the maladaptive nature

of current building regulations and zoning codes is

the most undeveloped. The needs of healthy

human communities simply cannot be well served

through uniform and mechanical rules.

Adaptability, uniqueness, and necessary

complexity arise from attention to the varied

levels of abstraction obviated by modern codes in

the West.

Figure 14: Dome ceiling in the living

room of Simone Swan, founder of the

Adobe Alliance.

Figure 15: Dar al-Islam. Local

builders learned about workable

materials at a mosque built in New

Mexico under the instruction of

Hassan Fathy.

Figure 16: Casbah of Algiers

Adaptable, Robust, Economical Forms Accommodate Contradictory Demands

Any living organism continuously adapts itself to the flux of its environment. Once

constructed, however, a man-made object can no longer adjust itself. This inflexibility of

human creation is at once its weakness and its strength. A design can succeed in uniting the

particular and permanent with the universal and continuously changing. Yet another design,

by failing to sense the forces at work or to create a harmonious union, can isolate and alienate

human life.

Consideration of the common sense of traditional solutions in North Africa and the Middle

East directly exposes the lack of appropriate forms in much modern construction. Consider

the following examples.

The layouts of almost all traditional cities are characterized by two features: narrow winding

streets that provide shade, and large open courtyards and internal gardens, an arrangement,

moreover, that provides drops in air temperature. Pedestrian lifestyles enhance community

and obviously limit the need for cars and non-renewal energy. In contrast, the unintelligence

and wastefulness of standard sprawl through the American southwest that respects neither

human community nor sustainability is legendary.

Figure 17: American sprawl Figure 18 :Moroccan Casbah

The principle of thermal inertia, a case of local adaptability, has been exploited

advantageously to provide dynamic heating and cooling of a building by selecting the wall

material and its thickness such that the warmth of the day penetrates the building only after

nightfall when it would be welcomed and is dissipated before morning. According to Hassan

Fathy’s technical referenced below, concrete has a thermal conductivity of 0.9, while that of

mud brick is 0.34, and since mud-brick walls run five times thicker than prefabricated panels,

they will have a thermal resistance more than 13 times greater than the prefabricated concrete

wall.

Window openings, to take just one illustration of adaptation of form and function to climate,

normally serve three functions: to let in direct and indirect sunlight, to let in air, and to

provide a view. In the temperate zones these functions are conveniently combined together in

the multi-functional window, the size, form, and location of which are determined by local

climatic conditions. The modern glass wall concept was introduced to provide an outside

view through the entire side of a room. In standard glass there is a different between

transmission of ultraviolet radiation and infrared or heat radiation. Therefore, (again from

Figure 21: Mashrabiya

Figure 19: “View of the indigenous

house” Leon Claro 1930

Fathy’s technical notes) when a glass wall of a

room measuring 3 x 3 m (about 10 x 10 ft) is

exposed to the sun's rays, it lets in 2000 kcal

(nearly 8000 Btu) per hour throughout most of the

day. This light strikes the solid material inside,

including the walls, floor, and furniture, and is

transformed into infrared radiation to which the

glass is opaque. The glass wall thus traps the heat

and massive refrigeration (energy and cost) per

hour is required to maintain a comfortable

microclimate in the room.

In hot arid zones, a difficulty is found in combining

the three functions of the ordinary window: light,

ventilation, and view. If windows are used to

provide for air movement indoors, they must be

very small, which reduces room lighting.

Increasing the size to permit sufficient lighting and

an outside view lets in hot air as well as strong

offensive glare. Therefore, it is more astute to

satisfy the three functions separately―a level of

adaptation not yet seen in the American Southwest.

To satisfy the need for ventilation alone, the malqaf

or wind-catch is a shaft rising high above the building with an opening facing the prevailing

wind. It traps the wind from high above the building where it is cooler and stronger, and

channels it down into the interior of the building. The malqaf is also useful in reducing the

sand and dust so prevalent in the winds of hot arid regions. The wind it captures above the

building contains less solid material than the wind at lower heights, and much of the sand

which does enter is dumped at the bottom of the shaft. With the wind problem solved, it

possible for the designer to concentrate on orienting his buildings with respect to the sun and

to more easily solve the problem of screening resulting from buildings blocking each other

since the malqaf is smaller than the buildings themselves.

Another successful form

unknown in America is the

mashrabiya which address five

functions: (1) controlling the

passage of light, (2) controlling

the air flow, (3) reducing the

temperature of the air current,

(4) increasing the humidity of

the air current, and (5) ensuring

privacy. Each mashrabiya

design is selected to fulfil

several or all of these functions.

Figure 20: Malqaf

THE MOST DIFFICULT QUESTION : WHAT IS A BETTER PLACE?

In nature, unfolding morphogenesis is the expression of an internal logic, i.e., the set of

instructions provided by a plant or animal’s DNA. The set of instructions proposed here,

broadly stated, is to (a) intuit the ‘whole’ which is the context for construction, (b)

understand the underlying structure of that whole and what needs to be preserved and

strengthened, (c) work in a careful sequence, decision n becoming the context for decision

n+1, and, in turn, decision n+1 becoming the context for decision n+2, ect., (d) establish the

differentiation which will most likely bring to life the ‘whole’ , (e) verify that the

differentiation is, indeed, structure preserving, and, only then, (f) make the next

differentiation.

The mechanics of architectural constraints and sustainability may be difficult but are not

insurmountable. Building traditions from the past may teach us a great deal, but to simply

copy them results in nothing but pastiche. The most difficult question is that of a current and

living cultural core from which a language for building can emanate. The Aga Khan asks this

question is terms of ‘What is a better place?’ Certainly in modern architecture in the West,

we are at a loss for an answer.

“There are many, many interpretations of Islam within the wider Islamic

community, but one on which there is greatest consensus, is the fact that we

are trustees of God's creation, and we are instructed to seek to leave the

world a better place than it was when we came into it. Therefore, the

question is: What is a 'better place', in physical terms? And that 'better

place', in physical terms, clearly means trying to bring values into

environments, buildings and contexts, which make the quality of life better

for future generations than it is today.”

His Highness The Aga Khan,

"Interview with Robert Ivy (FAIA)” Architectural Record, August 31, 2001

REFERENCES

1. Alexander, Christopher. The Nature of Order. Berkeley, California: Center for

Environmental Structure, 2003-2005.

2. Celik, Zeynep. Urban forms and Colonial Confrontations: Algiers under French Rule.

Berkeley, California: University of California, 1997.

2. Fathy, Hassan. Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and Examples with Reference to Hot Arid Climates (edited by Walter Shearer and Abd-el-rahman Ahmed

Sultan). Published for The United Nations University by The University of Chicago Press

Chicago and London, 1986.

3. Hakim, Besim. Arabic-Islamic Cities. London: Kegan Paul International, 1986.

4. Quillien, Jenny. Delight‟s Muse: on Christopher Alexander‟s The Nature of Order. Ames,

Iowa: Culicidae Architectural Press, January 2008.

5. www. adobe alliance.com.