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The Politics of Friends in Modern Architecture, 1949-1987”

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The Politics of Friends in Modern Architecture, 1949-1987” Title: “The politics of friends in modern architecture, 1949-1987” Name of candidate: Igea Santina Troiani, B. Arch, B. Built Env. Supervisor: Professor Jennifer Taylor This thesis was submitted as part of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Design, Queensland University of Technology in 2005 i Key words Architecture - modern architecture; History – modern architectural history, 1949-1987; Architects - Alison Smithson, Peter Smithson, Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, Elia Zenghelis, Rem Koolhaas, Philosophy - Jacques Derrida, Politics of friendship; Subversive collaboration ii Abstract This thesis aims to reveal paradigms associated with the operation of Western architectural oligarchies. The research is an examination into “how” dominant architectural institutions and their figureheads are undermined through the subversive collaboration of younger, unrecognised architects. By appropriating theories found in Jacques Derrida’s writings in philosophy, the thesis interprets the evolution of post World War II polemical architectural thinking as a series of political friendships. In order to provide evidence, the thesis involves the rewriting of a portion of modern architectural history, 1949-1987. Modern architectural history is rewritten as a series of three friendship partnerships which have been selected because of their subversive reaction to their respective establishments. They are English architects, Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson; South African born architect and planner, Denise Scott Brown and North American architect, Robert Venturi; and Greek architect, Elia Zenghelis and Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas. Crucial to the undermining of their respective enemies is the friends’ collaboration on subversive projects. These projects are built, unbuilt and literary. Warring publicly through the writing of seminal texts is a significant step towards undermining the dominance of their ideological opponents. It also appears that through the making of these projects, the unrecognised architects are able to convert themselves to being recognised as new figureheads. This thesis contends that as a consequence of the power within each of the three friendship partnerships, the architects are enabled to collaborate against the dominant ideology of their respective enemies and gain status. It also contends that a cycle of friendship and warring is the political system by which the institution of modern architecture has historically reengineered itself to suit the times. iii Table of Contents page Key words…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………….. ii Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………. iii List of illustrations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. viii-x Statement of original authorship……………………………………………………………………………………………………. xi Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….xii Chapter One An analysis of politics in architecture………………………. 2 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……….3-4 Motives ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………....……… 4-5 Contentions …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……….6 Original contribution ……………………………………………………………………………………………....…………. 6-7 Clarifications …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...……. 7 Definitions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7-10 Nomenclature………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Representation of history………………………………………………………………………………….. 10-12 Limitations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……… 13-20 Review of literature …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20-21 Background…………………………………………………………………….………………………………………… 21 Ideology and aesthetics……………………………………………………………………… 21-24 Truth……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24-26 Politics ………………………………………………………………………………………………….……. 26-28 Conflict……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29 Fame…………………………………….……………………………………………………………………… 29-31 Collaboration..…………………………………………………………………………………………. 31-35 Topic……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36 The Smithsons……………………………………………………………………………………….. 36-39 Scott Brown and Venturi……………………………………………………………………. 39-43 Zenghelis and Koolhaas…………………………………………………………………….. 43-46 Learning from the literature review……………………………………………………………….. 47 Method and thesis structure …………………………………………………………………………………………. 47-49 iv Chapter Two Making friends with Derrida………………………………………….. 50-53 A subversive text – Politics of friendship, 1997……………………………….………….……….…. 53-54 On “primary” subversive friendship……………………………………………..……………….. 55-59 The death of friends…………………………………………………………………..………………………… 59-61 The need for the enemy……………………………………………………………..…………………….. 62-64 Complaint in friendship ………………………………………………………………..……………………. 64-65 The institution, friendship and warring………………………………………..………….…… 65-69 Publishing names in the public sphere…………………………………..………………….. 69-73 The fraternity – fathers, brothers and sisters…………………………..…………….…. 74-76 Breaking secrecy………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………. 76-77 Chapter Three Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson, 1949-1993…………………………………………………………………… 78-79 Alison Smithson and Peter Smithson’s subversive collaboration……………….… 79-81 The Smithsons architectural inheritances………………………………………….………….…….…… 81-84 Collaborating on a subversive building – Hunstanton Secondary Modern School, Norfolk, 1950-1954………………….…………….………….….…………… 85- 90 Making friends in the IG…………………………………………………………………………………….…………….… 90-99 Collaborating on two subversive exhibitions – Parallel of Life and Art, 1953 and “Patio and Pavilion exhibit”, 1956…………………… 99-103 From IG to CIAM…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……… 104-108 Collaborating on a subversive design and a book - Golden Lane Housing Competition, 1952 and Ordinariness and light, 1970…………. 108-111 Making friends in Team X, 1953……………………………………………………………………….…………… 111-113 Team X war with CIAM…………………………………………………………………………………….……….….…… 113-120 The death of CIAM, 1959……………………………………………………………………………….………….……… 121-122 Collaborating on a subversive book – Team 10 primer, 1968……….…… 122-126 The architectural legacies of the Smithsons……………………………………….………….………… 126-130 Photo illustrated history of the Smithsons ………………………………………………….……………. unpaginated v Chapter Four Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi, 1967-……………….……………………………………………………………. 131-132 Scott Brown’s architectural inheritances………………………………………….………………………… 132-137 Venturi’s architectural inheritances………………………………………………………………….…………… 137-141 Learning from America………………………………………………………………………….……………………….…. 142-143 Making friends with Venturi……………………………………………………………………………….…………… 143-144 A subversive book – Complexity and contradiction in architecture, 1966………………………………. 144-146 Warring with Mies van der Rohe and Blake…………………….………………………………………. 146-150 Making friends with Scully and Blake…………………………………………………….……………………. 150-153 Warring with the Smithsons………………………………………………………………….……………………….… 154-156 Making friends in Las Vegas…………………………………………………………………………..…….………… 156-159 Scott Brown and Venturi’s “primary” collaboration……………………………….……………… 159-160 Collaborating on two subversive research studios, an exhibition and a book – “Learning from Las Vegas” studio, 1968; “Learning from Levittown” studio, 1970; Learning from Las Vegas, 1972; and Signs of life exhibition, 1976 …………………………………………………………………… 160-171 The death of Post-Modernist architectural philosophy……………………………….……….. 172 The architectural legacies of Post-Modernist critiques…………………………….………… 173 Photo illustrated history of Scott Brown and Venturi ………………………………..……….… unpaginated Chapter Five Elia Zenghelis and Rem Koolhaas, 1975-1987………………………………………………………………….. 174-176 Zenghelis’s architectural inheritances…………………………………………………….…………………… 176-178 Koolhaas’s architectural inheritances…………………………………………………….…………………… 178-181 Two subversive student designs – Berlin wall as architecture, 1970 and Exodus, 1972……………………………… 181-185 Learning from America………………………………………………………………………….………………………..… 185-187 vi Collaborating on a series of subversive designs – the Manhattan projects, 1972-1976………………………………………………………….…… 187-194 A subversive book – Delirious New York, 1972-1978…………………………… 194-197 Warring over Europe versus America……………………………………………………….………………… 198-200 Zenghelis and Koolhaas’s collaboration – early OMA, 1975 ……………….…………… 200-205 The death of early OMA……………………………………………………………….………………….…………..…… 205-207 The legacies of early OMA …………………………………………………………….………………………..……… 207-212 Photo illustrated history of Zenghelis and Koolhaas ………………………………….……….. unpaginated Chapter Six Learning from modern architectural history, 1949-1987……………………………………………………………………..……….. 213-214 “Primary” subversive friendship in modern architectural history……………………… 214-218 Inheriting from the fathers of modern architecture………………………………………………… 218-219 The Smithsons inherit from the European Moderns………………………………. 219-222 Scott Brown and Venturi inherit from the European Moderns and their progeny……………………………………………………………………….………………………….……… 222-223 Early OMA inherit from the Moderns and their progeny………………………. 223-225 Enemies in modern architectural history……………………………………………………………………. 225-228 Complaints in modern architectural history……………………………………………………………… 228-231 Collaborating with friends to war against enemies………………………………………………… 231-241 The ethics of friends……………………………………………………………………………………………… 242-244 Learning from the landscape………………………………………………………………………….… 244-247 Publishing names in the public sphere………………………………………………………………………… 247-253
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