hOUSE oF pLANTS
is a hybrid building that combines the biological with the structural and the natural with the artificial.
1. Tektonic comes from the Greek (τεκτονικός tektonikós) and means “related to architecture”. The architect and art theorist Gottfried Semper (1803-1879) understood the term tectonics as “the art of assembling rigid, rod-shaped parts into an immovable system”. If the essence of architecture lies in tectonics, we understand buildings as compositions, arrangements, assemblages, as heterogeneous entities composed of different parts.
2. Along tectonic principles such as proportion, scale, repetition, rhythm, contrast, texture, color, position, form, alignment, balance, symmetry and asymmetry, reduction, distribution, accentuation, dynamics, static, perspective …….this act of deliberate joining negotiates the parts with the whole until articulated sentences reveal a composition or an architectural narrative.
3. Through precise articulation, these tectonic compositions become vivid and understandable, not only for recipients and users after the completion of a project, but also for the artificial intelligence, which becomes an active collaborator in the ongoing design process. It neither asks essential questions nor makes the necessary decisions, it merely helps us to navigate through our ideas in between (midjourney).
4. Imagine planning comes from planting, what would that mean for buildings? Ikebana is the mastership of flower arranging and an independent art form in Japan. The relationship with nature, the tracing of a cosmic order and ultimately the personal feelings of the designer almost seem like a counter-concept to architectural efforts. Like a sensei (a teacher), the meditative and precise design method of ikebana leads us through the exploration of the tectonics along materials and geometries between nature and artificiality, sometimes physical, sometimes digital, from heaven to hell.
5. The concept of discontinuous continuity is not a contradiction but marks the cut as a place where dependencies are still evident but have been dissolved. Discontinuous continuity refers to an original contextuality that is no longer directly present, but to which the cut refers.
The design process will involve a “deep dive” into both the digital and physical realms, using nature, tectonics and Artificial Intelligence as a guiding principle. The studio’s goal is to create a circular design process that leads to new tectonics of space.
1 Gottfried Semper The Four Elements of Architecture
2 Atlas of Novel Tectonics Reiser+Umemoto
3 Chat GPT, Midjourney, Stabble Difussion
4 see Ikebana
5 Marc-Antoine Laugier The Essay on Architecture
This course will take place weekly at the seminar room of the ./studio3 at the 2nd floor. First meeting on 13.03.2023, 10.00h
