Aalborg Universitet The Tectonic Practice In the transition from the predigital to the digital era Schmidt, Anne Marie Due Publication date: 2007 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication from Aalborg University Citation for published version (APA): Schmidt, A. M. D. (2007). The Tectonic Practice: In the transition from the predigital to the digital era. (1 ed.) Aalborg Universitet. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: October 06, 2021 FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEGEMENT Architecture frames much of our life as built matter and tangible buildings. Likewise architectural ideals are often described and discussed in terms of the architectonic edifice that we are confronted with as the finished product.R ightly so, one might add, because the final judgement of architecture can only be in terms of the human experience of lived life in a building. Architecture is, however, much more than what meets the eye. It is also a practice that draws on technology and develops ingenious solutions in the process of creating our urban and architectural environments – it is a tectonic practice. In a time where partnering, lean construction and other management concepts call for an explicit understanding of the management of the architectural practice it seems fit to develop an understanding of how architectural ideals are created through practices that use and develop technology. This tectonic practice is what present research project revolves around. What is sought here is an understanding of what characterises such practices, what enables and obstructs it. The aspects touched upon ranges from the aim of the project to the actors and design tools involved in the creation. The introduction of the digital technology as a design tool is touched upon in this connection in order to discuss to which degree this technology is a potential to the tectonic practice. The hope is that this will enable architects, engineers, project managers and others involved with the building industry to consciously manage building projects, organise collaborative practices and create design tools that will support the creation of architectural quality and not only make building more effective and economic. The study consists of four parts. The first part, the introduction, explains the scope of the work as such and defines the research question that is worked and describes the method by which this is sought uncovered. The second part, method, concepts and limitation, explains the methodology and unfolds the concepts used in the research question and thereby limits the study. The third part, the tectonic practice, is two essays that examine the tectonic practice in two case studies of Sydney Opera House interior design with respect to actors, design tools and approach. The fourth part concludes the study by discussing how the tectonic practice can be supported in the future for instance through the development of digital design tools. During the course of this study a number of people has helped and encouraged the study through various means and I would like to thank them all for their support and contribution: my supervisors Adrian Carter and Poul Henning Kirkegaard for interesting discussions and supporting mentoring along the way; Jørn Utzon for his inspirational approach to architecture, Jan Utzon, Richard Johnson, Andrew Nicol, Joseph Skrzynski, Gregg McTaggert, Mat Morell and Norman Gillepie for their time and patience in shedding light on the design process of the Opera Theatre; Niels Jordan and Philip Nobis for discussions of the Minor Hall; Eoghan Lewis for his passion about the Opera House; Karl Chrisitiansen for his passion about tectonics; Peter Blundell Jones, Michael Barron, Marshall for their time, interest and qualified critique of parts of the writings; Fergus Fricke and the rest of the Sydney acoustics lab as well as the PhD students at Architecture and Design for discussions on the scope of the research; my colleagues at Architecture and Design and my family for their support. Last but not least I would like to thank Allan Rasmussen for celebrating victories and mourning defeats with me and for his never failing interest, encouragement and presence. TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 11 The mutual relationship between technology and tectonics 1 THE TECTONIC PRACTICE 1 The master builder era – inception of the tectonic tradition 1 The Industrial Revolution – the continuation of the tectonic tradition 16 The Modern Movement – initially driven by tectonics, later rejecting tradition 18 Post-modernism – re-introducing tectonic thinking 21 Challenges to the tectonic practice in the post-industrial era 22 RESEARCH FOCUS 24 The tectonic practice as collaboration 24 The digital era as an opportunity to the tectonic practice? 2 The discussion of technology versus human actors 27 Positioning the study in relation to other studies of tectonics 28 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH QUESTION 1 Objective: to support a contemporary tectonic practice 1 Research question 2 METHOD AND CONCEPTS METHODOLOGY - TO CHOOSE A PATH 7 Tectonics is equally a concept, built edifices and a certain practice 8 THE CONCEPT OF TECTONICS 9 The tectonic practice 40 Selecting the cases 4 Data collection 44 INITIATION OF THE CASE STUDY - PRACTICE: BETWEEN ACTORS AND DESIGN TOOLS 4 Actor and practice – the individual conditioned by structure 46 Design tools: Artefacts as an extension of body and mind 0 CONCLUSION 53 READER’S GUIDE 53 THE CONCEPT OF TECTONICS 7 Tectonics – creating oases of order and materiality 9 Carl Bötticher – tectonics is a relation between expression and building principles 60 Gottfried Semper – tectonics is how different materials provide different expressions 6 Modernism – structure is the truth hidden beneath the architectural expression 67 Frampton - reintroducing the symbolism of structure 68 ONE TRUE TECTONIC APPROACH? 71 THE RENEWING POTENTIAL OF TECTONICS 74 CONCLUSION AND LIMITATION 76 THE CONCEPT OF TECTONICS IN THE DIGITAL ERA 79 From fascination to critical assessment – the background of digital tectonics 79 Introducing the concept of digital tectonics 80 Digital Tectonics – focusing on practice instead of built edifice 82 Touching all three tectonic approaches 84 CAN THE BUILDING PRINCIPLE APPROACH BE SUPPORTED BY THE COMPUTER TOOLS? 8 Understanding the practice of tectonics in the digital era 87 CONCLUSION 91 THE TECTONIC PRACTICE THE MINOR HALL CASE 9 The Opera House – a tectonic case 9 Getting valid information about a controversial project 98 MiNOR HALL DEsiGN DEVELOPMENT – THE UNREALisED INTERIORS 101 Utzon seeks acoustic design advice 10 An architect’s understanding of sound 104 Jordan’s hesitance on design 108 New consultants and new design tools 110 Achieving a tectonic Building Principle 112 Sophisticated standardisation 11 WHAT MADE UTZON ABLE TO CREATE TECTONICS IN THE MINOR HALL? 117 Building Principle tectonics – enabled by actors with the right tools 118 Jordan and the inspiration from classic auditoria 119 Cremer, Gabler and the creation of ready-to-hand design tool 120 Utzon and the tectonic intention 12 CONCLUSION - ACTORS SUPPORTING THE EARLY DESIGN STAGES ENABLE THE TECTONIC PRACTICE 124 THE OPERA THEATRE CASE 127 From dismissal to re-engagement of Utzon 127 Conservation or refurbishment 129 The Opera Theatre – two out of six refurbishment projects 10 THE OPERA THEATRE - UNDERSTANDING THE EXTENT OF THE PROJECT 12 Third time lucky? Stepped clouds billowing again 14 Redefining the fan 18 The cunning curves of the ceiling 19 Towards a shoebox shape again 141 Computer simulations solving the details of the design 142 An Utzonian Opera Theatre 14 Heritage listing open to future changes 147 BUILDING PRINCIPLE TECTONICS - ENABLED BY ACTORS WITH THE RIGHT DESIGN TOOLS 147 Richard Johnson, Jan Utzon and the realisation of Jørn Utzon’s intentions 148 Arup Acoustics – a design oriented practice 10 6 Design tools supporting each profession 12 CONCLUSION - ARCHITECTS AND ACOUSTICIANS AS CO-DESIGNERS 153 CASE COMPARISON 17 The similar tectonic edifices of theM inor Hall and the Opera Theatre 17 The dissimilar tectonic practices of the Minor Hall and the Opera Theatre 18 THE TECTONIC PRACTICE – DESIGN TOOLS AND ACTORS 19 Crucial stages to support 166 Actors and the ability to enable a tectonic practice 167 Design tools and the ability to enable a tectonic practice 169 The digital turn of design tools 172 CONCLUSION - ACTORS AND DESIGN TOOLS ENABLING THE TECTONIC PRACTICES 174 CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES 179 SUMMARY 179 OVERALL CONCLUSION 184 THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL DESIGN TOOLS ON THE TECTONIC PRACTICES 186 Tectonic practices with traditional technologies supported by the development