Structuralism as a movement in architecture and urban planning evolved around the middle of the 20th century. It was a reaction to Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne(or International Congress of Modern Architecture),CIAM-Functionalism (Rationalism), which had led to a lifeless expression of urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.
Two different manifestations of Structuralist architecture exist. Sometimes these occur in combination with each other. On the one hand, there is the Aesthetics of Number, formulated by Aldo van Eyck. This concept can be compared to cellular tissue. On the other hand, there is the Architecture of Lively Variety, formulated by John Habraken. This second concept is related to user participation in housing.
The "Aesthetics of Number" can also be described as "Spatial Configurations in Architecture", and the "Architecture of Lively Variety" as "Architecture of Diversity" or "Pluralistic Architecture".
Structuralism in architecture and urban planning had its origins in the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) after World War II. Between 1928 and 1959, the CIAM was an important platform for the discussion of architecture and urbanism. Various groups with often conflicting views were active in this organization; for example, members with a scientific approach to architecture without aesthetic premises (Rationalists), members who regarded architecture as an art form (Le Corbusier), members who were proponents of high- or low-rise building (Ernst May), members supporting a course of reform after World War II (Team 10), members of the old guard and so on.
Individual members of the small splinter group Team 10 laid the foundations for Structuralism. The influence of this team was later interpreted by second generation protagonist Herman Hertzberger when he said: "I am a product of Team 10." As a group, Team 10 was active from 1953 onwards, and two different movements emerged from it: the New Brutalism of the English members (Alison and Peter Smithson) and the Structuralism of the Dutch members (Aldo van Eyck and Jacob Bakema).
Outside Team 10, other ideas developed that furthered the Structuralist movement - influenced by the concepts of Louis Kahn in the United States, Kenzo Tange in Japan and John Habraken in the Netherlands (with his theory of user participation in housing). Herman Hertzberger and Lucien Kroll made important architectural contributions in the field of participation. In this context, Hertzberger made the following statement: "In Structuralism, one differentiates between a structure with a long life cycle and infills with shorter life cycles."
In 1960, the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange designed his well-known Tokyo Bay Plan. Reflecting later on the initial phase of that project, he said: "It was, I believe, around 1959 or at the beginning of the sixties that I began to think about what I was later to call Structuralism", (cited in Plan 2/1982, Amsterdam). Tange also wrote the article "Function, Structure and Symbol, 1966", in which he describes the transition from a functional to a structural approach in thinking. Tange considers the period from 1920 to 1960 under the heading of "Functionalism" and the time from 1960 onwards under the heading of "Structuralism".
Le Corbusier created several early projects and built prototypes in a Structuralist mode, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Although he was criticized by the members of Team 10 in the 1950s for certain aspects of his work (urban concept without a "sense of place" and the dark interior streets of the Unité), they nevertheless acknowledged him as a great model and creative personality in architecture and art.
Two different manifestations of Structuralist architecture exist. Sometimes these occur in combination with each other. On the one hand, there is the Aesthetics of Number, formulated by Aldo van Eyck. This concept can be compared to cellular tissue. On the other hand, there is the Architecture of Lively Variety, formulated by John Habraken. This second concept is related to user participation in housing.
The "Aesthetics of Number" can also be described as "Spatial Configurations in Architecture", and the "Architecture of Lively Variety" as "Architecture of Diversity" or "Pluralistic Architecture".
Structuralism in architecture and urban planning had its origins in the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) after World War II. Between 1928 and 1959, the CIAM was an important platform for the discussion of architecture and urbanism. Various groups with often conflicting views were active in this organization; for example, members with a scientific approach to architecture without aesthetic premises (Rationalists), members who regarded architecture as an art form (Le Corbusier), members who were proponents of high- or low-rise building (Ernst May), members supporting a course of reform after World War II (Team 10), members of the old guard and so on.
Individual members of the small splinter group Team 10 laid the foundations for Structuralism. The influence of this team was later interpreted by second generation protagonist Herman Hertzberger when he said: "I am a product of Team 10." As a group, Team 10 was active from 1953 onwards, and two different movements emerged from it: the New Brutalism of the English members (Alison and Peter Smithson) and the Structuralism of the Dutch members (Aldo van Eyck and Jacob Bakema).
Outside Team 10, other ideas developed that furthered the Structuralist movement - influenced by the concepts of Louis Kahn in the United States, Kenzo Tange in Japan and John Habraken in the Netherlands (with his theory of user participation in housing). Herman Hertzberger and Lucien Kroll made important architectural contributions in the field of participation. In this context, Hertzberger made the following statement: "In Structuralism, one differentiates between a structure with a long life cycle and infills with shorter life cycles."
In 1960, the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange designed his well-known Tokyo Bay Plan. Reflecting later on the initial phase of that project, he said: "It was, I believe, around 1959 or at the beginning of the sixties that I began to think about what I was later to call Structuralism", (cited in Plan 2/1982, Amsterdam). Tange also wrote the article "Function, Structure and Symbol, 1966", in which he describes the transition from a functional to a structural approach in thinking. Tange considers the period from 1920 to 1960 under the heading of "Functionalism" and the time from 1960 onwards under the heading of "Structuralism".
Le Corbusier created several early projects and built prototypes in a Structuralist mode, some of them dating back to the 1920s. Although he was criticized by the members of Team 10 in the 1950s for certain aspects of his work (urban concept without a "sense of place" and the dark interior streets of the Unité), they nevertheless acknowledged him as a great model and creative personality in architecture and art.
No comments:
Post a Comment