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Embracing the problem instead of resistingto the changes
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E P H E M E R A L I T Y I N A R C H I T E C T U R E
B R I A N N O V A N T O
Twenty-first Century Architecture ABPL90117Manifesto of Ephemerality in ArchitectureBrian Novanto 396832Tutor: Juan Blanco
we are built to lastnot
Meulaboh, Indonesia, after tsunamiby Jusup Sukatendelhttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/3274315
why build with suchpermanence?
View from Kuala Lumpur Towerby Brian NovantoPrivate Collection
thepremise
The first cave was built to shelter men from nature, providing a
basic protection against the rain and the sun. As architecture
was developed and revolutionized through the years,
architecture was designed and built with strength in mind in
order to perform and take charge over nature in the name of
human comfort. We concrete-pave the earth, glaze building
structures, and revolutionize air-conditioning technologies.
The advances of engineering technology also brought about
the capability to manufacture and fabricate buildings that can
have more space, withstand more natural forces and go taller.
Moreover, in megacities today such as Mexico and Hong
Kong, residential towers are built in the densest manner
possible to accommodate the demand for housing, leaving
very little room for the earth to breathe.
Architecturehas always been
a primary means ofhuman survival
Today, the notion of environment is critical in architecture.
What has sparked a great concern towards the environment is
the fear of nature's response towards environmental damages
the human civilization has caused in the forms of natural
disasters, deviance in climate and temperature, and
threatened existence of flora and fauna. These changes in the
natural environment have been occurring since centuries ago,
but the speed rate and the magnitude of destruction is never
this alarming. Inevitably, the changes in environment occur at
the cost of built environment. The result ranges from
destruction of buildings up to human casualties.
THE NATURE OF NATURE: CHANGINGSouth Cascade glacier in Washington state (year 2000, left, 2006, right).
Photograph: USGS http://static.guim.co.uk/
In response to the great changes in nature, great architecture
thinkers has placed the environment as one of the top
priorities on their lists. All of the recently designed buildings
claim to be sustainable, carbon-neutral, self-sustaining; strive
to get ranked with stars and diamonds; and believe that they
coexist well with the environment. However, the means of
passive and active solutions are still designed within the
traditional course of architecture, namely the substructure-
superstructure formula.
The substructure-superstructure formula is vertically strong
and capable of fulfilling the commercial demand but utilizes
rigid joints with breaking points which do not allow flexibility to
adapt and respond to environmental threats.
Traditionalarchitecture formuladoes not qualify for
human survival
Such permanence means that the slightest degree of change
in the environment will break the structure and affect the
ecosystem as a whole. The dense nature of land use for
buildings which stand on their own individual foundations will
cause a domino effect when struck with natural or man-
caused disastrous phenomena. It fails to do its job and
crumbles instead of serving its purpose as shelter, causing
human casualties as a result. Such cases are the Queensland
flood, landslides, Christchurch earthquakes, the rise of sea
level, etc.
ARCHITECTURE NOW: SUBSTRUCTURE-SUPERSTRUCTUREDeep & permanent footings of Petronas Towers, Malaysia and Burj Dubai, Dubai.
http://www.allaboutskyscrapers.com/images/structure2.jpghttp://www.everybodygoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/burj-10.jpg
the failureof architecture:casualties
Christchurch EarthquakePhoto by Martin Hunter/Getty Imageshttp://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/christchurch-earthquake/
The latest “sustainable architecture” strategy has proven to
solve anything but the problem. With the consumerist
agenda still intact, the manufacturing of new sustainable
materials and the use of newest and sustainable engineering
technologies easily make ways and provide excuses for the
construction of new buildings, forcing us to demolish existing
buildings and clear more land. Furthermore, skyscrapers
and big structures are built to be firm and static on the
strongest foundations, with the most rigid joints and materials,
incorporating the newest technology to withstand the test of
time. The problem is that before they serve their intended
lifespan and purpose, they will have been replaced with newer
structures. More waste, especially construction waste, can
only mean more threats to the environment.
Ego of permanence+ consumerist mentality =
further destructionof nature
With the very state of nature which keeps on changing at
much faster pace and larger scales, why do we still build as if
our buildings are going to stand forever? Architecture has
always been designed to solve, and not embrace, the
problem. If the problem keeps on changing, it is best to solve
the word “changing” rather than “problems”. I would like to
propose a method to sustain the quality of architecture as a
means of human survival and to sustain the life of
architecture beyond its use, by rethinking the joints between
architecture and foundation as well as the joints between
architecture, time, use, and place.
THE EGO OF MEN: PERMANENCEHeight comparisons of the tallest buildings in the world
http://factoidz.com/images/user/Burj%20Khalifa%202.png
constructionof onecosts destructionof another
Hong Kong densityhttp://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblkr_wxvnuqbOv1qzfme7o15_00.jpg
Hong Kong isometric map on Google Earthhttp://26.media.tumblr.com/px84Uj64upv4ke0h648mnjwvo15_00.jpg
Peter Cook's “Archigram” portrays one of the earliest notions
of 'disposability', 'indeterminacy', and 'impermanence' in
architecture. He had the courage to change the whole
architectural scenery, albeit unsuccessfully. The difference
between Archigram's ideas and the ideas of ephemerality in
architecture lies on the issues that are to be addressed.
Archigram's ideas were born in the cultural context of the
1950s, while this proposal is trying to address the
contemporary and future issues of natural environment.
Archigram's ideas failed to materialize due to its
technological limitations during that period and the
nonexistent sense of urgency on the matter.
precedent
This proposal shares the same spirit but different faith with
Archigram, as the context has now shifted from culture to the
environment. Although the technology for Archigram's ideas
might be already available, this proposal takes the idea further
and requires further advances in engineering before
practicing the ideas on the ground of today and the future.
ARCHIGRAM’S PLUG-IN CITYIllustration by Peter Cook, Maximum Pressure Area, Section
Smith, S., Archigram: architecture without architecture, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2005, p.15
theproposal
Architecture must not be cast into the ground, but must
separate the building from the footings and let the footings
form a set of interlinked grid with a running system of essential
services such as water, gas, and electricity. Footings are
permanent, built of the strongest suit, and interconnected like
a rhizoid system below and above the ground. This grid forms
the universal domain of architecture which buildings can
anchor themselves to with impermanent joints like a parasite.
The impermanent connections to the foundations allow
buildings to have temporary nature, such as being removable
and reconfigurable.
1Detach architecture
from foundation
AFF
AFF
Ephemeral architecture comprises all forms of architecture
which are designed to be separated from the ground;
flexible, reusable, and reprogrammable; as well as built to
achieve the lifespan of their use. In other words, it has a
temporary domain, lifespan, and use. It celebrates changes
in its form, function, and location. It also leaves no footprint
from its removal or movement. The lifespan of the architecture
is only as long as its intended use. It is built to not last.
This idea marks the shift of focus of architectural research from
“creating” to “removing, mutating and recreating”. This will
accomplish an architecture which transcends time and space,
as it becomes four dimensional. The fourth dimension is its
function, the most important aspect of architecture.
Ephemerality in nature
is solved byephemerality in
architecture
AFF
Architecture forms are formatted to have horizontal links one
with another to brace the structures and channel shared
services, albeit temporarily. Architecture becomes an
ecosystem on its own and grows as more connections are
formed. This system groups a number of standalone units into
a regional network of a neighborhood, providing temporary
but strong structural connections that are capable of
expanding the structures, sustaining natural forces, surviving
conditions of natural disasters. A network of connected
architecture units will float on the water and endure the force of
earthquake.
2Connect architecture
to architecture
AFFA A
The ground level of architecture must be given back to nature
and be freed from concrete-paving and private vehicular
traffic. The horizontal network of bridges form multi-level
passageway for pedestrians and vehicles to move from one
building to another and largely within the city. The ground level
becomes the vast area of park that supports human lives and
activities. This opens up a great opportunity to regrow the
environment and bring back the harmony between men and
environment which has been lost.
3Connect foundation
to nature&permanence
AFF
AFF
AFF
cars&pedestrian
pedestrian
TREES BUS&TRAIN
pedestrian
From using static joints of in-situ materials such as brick and
concrete, we move on to discard the permanence in
structures. The quality of architecture shifts towards being
determined by the capabilities of being taken apart, kept, and
reconstructed in another place. The only way is to redesign all
joints to be non-permanent and organic, and the elements to
be modular, structural and allowing reconfiguration. It is
required to rethink the materiality, from the status quo of
permanent fill and joints to impermanent fill and flexible joints.
4Detach architecture
from permanence
AAAAAAAAAAAA a system of light
hollow structures
(beams and columns)
with water as the fill,
filled after the whole
building is configured.
Finally, architecture is defined by its intended time and use.
The formula encompassed in “ architecture” will have to
exclusively confirm to a particular agenda and nothing else. It
believes that reconfiguration follows any agenda of the
habitants, therefore an architecture's life is defined as
chapters. It is acceptable for a building to have a very short
lifespan as long as it can be reconfigured to form the next
structure. Reconfiguring a building means to start a new life
and cycle, but never to reach the final use and end in
demolition.
5Connect
architectureto your agenda
This idea positions architecture in a way that it is not arrogant,
and that the power of nature is superior to that of architecture.
It is acknowledged that nature has the power to tear down the
tallest of buildings and rip apart the most solid of walls. In
responding and adapting to the environmental changes,
ephemeral architecture focuses on returning the ground to
the environment and rethinking the life-end phase of
structures. The two permanent elements in architecture are
only the environment and the foundation; and the rest is
ephemeral. In comparison to sustainable architecture, this
offers a better future. Although the current technology might
not have the capability just yet, I believe it only takes a shift of
engineering research focus to materialize this visionary
proposal in the near future.
Embracing the probleminstead of resisting
to the changes