Lecture: Alejandro Zaera Polo 03.23.2012

Posted: March 23, 2012 | Author: daviddecespedes | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: alejandro zaera polo, architecture, lectures, notes | Leave a comment

Live tweeting [tumbling?] from Stamps Auditorium, University of Michigan…let’s do this!

Monica Ponce de Leon’s introduction

John McMurrough asks to notify the audience that this lecture counts for AIA Continuing Education credits [super important!]

Monica referencing establishment of Raoul Wallenberg Lecture Series, his work under Rem Koolhass, and later OMA

AZP explaining the title of lecture [envelopes]

Points to Yokohama as the point of departure for directed study of “the envelope”

Study of envelopes develops as a revision

Two mechanisms on which capitalism is placed [temporal and spatial]

What is late capitalism? [the ability to] extend time and place at will

Reality without borders, conducting business across the world with no barriers

Attempting to crystallize this fluid/liquid reality that we are just becoming aware of [referencing Yokohama]

The things we thought were gone…borders, barriers, were appearing with a violence, force

We are realizing the limits of the concept of unlimited growth [economic]

Limits have received renewed interest

The envelope is the part of the building that resolves 80% of the interface between interior and environment

Communities used to rely on the plan or section if the building, though those mechanisms are still important to a degree, but more possibilities are opening with regards to the envelope of the building

Certain uneasiness about viewing architecture as surface

“skin” is insufficient in describing the [exterior surface]

the envelope has had several theories throughout architectural history

envelope as environmental device, environmental, visual, hermetic

architects are deprived of opportunity to affect internal structures of building [social housing, office, shopping mall]

hypothesis: envelopes operate based on four basic categories, related to aspect ratio of the building

all categories have an implicit capability for political, transformative action

1st category: flat-horizontal x=y>z

usually host functions that need to develop on a horizontal space

has such a scale that is the most capable of solving nature

these typologies are also developing with the possibility of vegetating the roof

roofs are becoming new grounds, the ground is being challenged with this new typology

nature, artificial, ground

mall of america as one of the paradigms of this typology…vertical exterior surface is devoid of performance, no need to insulate, archtiecture in this void has to try to produce an architecture that is effect, devoid of any other performance than appearing as architecture

Project: shopping mall

note: our generation focused more on technical, economic structures rather than political

project sits next to Ikea

attempting to naturalize the building, palette used tries to grow out of the colors of istanbul, green, red, etc.

building becomes destabilized ground

elements [skylights, inhabitable roofs] are re-engagement between nature and artificial

2nd project: New Street Station, Birmingham, UK

context would qualify as progressive, urban, our role was simply to produce the ‘wrapping’ of the building to make it look good ::chuckles from audience::

how can we find an argument to do something with this surface?

tracks of station are below street level, building looks like flat office buildlng

trying to bring to vertical envelope some sense of what is happening inside building [information, trains, people]

Birm. is a city of crossroads, idea of station became connected in the project

Selective choosing of parts of outside that we wanted to show

surfaces reflect strategically based on showing specific things [sky, people]

the envelope is not necessarily related to interior, but engages the urban instead of revealing or adding of decor to surface, idea was to reflect what was happening in the city

2nd typology: spherical

not literally spherical, but typology that has same dimensions in length, width, height x=y=z

spherical typology is not functional, sphere has lowest facade ratio of any type, meaning the envelope is free of technical requirements, very iconographic, usually public buildings, usually have horizontal/vertical spaces optimized for specific public functions

examples [bird’s nest, etc.] 

communication, interpretation of surface shows latency of pattern usually of similar materials, disillusion of window through material texture 

project: Ravensbourne: College of Design & Communication

question is regarding the growing interest of the vertical surface

building could become silo of activity, dictated by urban rules, therefore doing something like wallpaper as surface

most important things of building: reconsideration of transparency [loaded term, but has certain political connotations, cannot be completely transparent b/c of not fitting in within urban context] and pattern [

introduction of equilateral triangle into pentagon

pattern can sustain array of windows

covering the surface with array of centers [like roses, gothic windows], series of polar arrays that begin to cover the ground

removal of tiles create holes, windows

within every level, two levels of windows, one for looking out, one for bringing in as much light as possible

unfolding of envelope to see all programs and thus scales of openings

scale of pattern changes with scale of window

experience of envelope is not about explaining what’s inside, turns it into a cube, transparent 

games have to do with qualifying the envelope, loading it with certain content, not deliberately explained

3rd category: flat-vertical x<y

“slab” [example: UN HQ]

90% of buildings built after enlightenment are this typology

Reference of Corb’s drawing [img]

flat, vertical envelope becomes explicit, all qualifications disappear, there is no front and back, building is simply occupied by slabs

this typology was perfect for the welfare state

vertical surface is device to produce environmental control of building

envelopes expressive of collective organizations, latent political consciousness that needs to represent plural, diverse, society

reference MVRDV project

project: social housing in Madrid

interested in how envelope is marriage of representation and performance, where each feed the other instead of simply layered on top

new policies enable differentiation, cultural, political

interested in producing differentiation

last typology: vertical x=y<z

mass, plan tends to be rounded, multi-directional

not su much about pattern, more about enclosure around tower

technical constraints are at a maximum

iconographic requirements, value are at a maximum as well

regulations [ref. Hong Kong] every room has direct relationship with the outside

buildings are literal translation of increased environmental exposure

shape of plan has great effect on inertia of lateral forces

global manual for highrises [work with students at Princeton]

last project: world trade center entry

trying to mobilize concerns of tall buildings, trying to produce new architectural expression, proposal for solution of new world trade center

how do we increase size of plan without making the building fatter?

buildings needed to represent some sort of collected effort

inspiration taken from different agents collaborating together to grow taller, gain strength

all of the towers are weak, flimsy, but connection allows them to grow taler than before

conclusion

i am a great fan of typologies, they generate a great discourse, emphasis on envelope is polemical proposal on generating debate on what is the most active element of the building, that can be most influential on the role of a building within the community

the relaitonship between facade and envelope, do you think the envelope has replaced the facade [or front wall] in its ability to reflect cultural or political conditions, or has the front just become irrelevant at a time when buildings have evolved into singular, detached objects

you spoke on the need for emphasis on the envelope,

what role does “facade” play as an anterior or front, new building is always single objects . in a time when contexts have evolved into collections of autonomous objects, therefore meaning 4 or more surfaces each taking on the responsibility of the front, 

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