Architecture as Engineering - Article Example

Architecture Architecture works in many ways to help shape and define a culture. Rather than simply erecting a specific building, the work of the architect can contribute to the advancement of a society through its artistic achievement, engineering or technical advancement, political statement or through a variety of other means. Like art, what a building communicates about the customs and culture of the time in which it is built depends somewhat upon how it is viewed and used by the people around it. Similarly, what it is able to achieve in terms of political or other statements is dependent upon the reactions of these same individuals. A prime example of this is the new Brighton Jubilee Library, completed in 2005, which represents a culmination of ideas and concepts that speak eloquently of its position and use in society as well as illustrating several of the concerns the modern world is facing regarding the use and construction of a facility such as this. Public reaction to the building has been strongly favorable on many different fronts as the building serves a great number of practical and aesthetic needs while remaining an accurate representation of contemporary times. Thanks to the complexity of its design, the building is capable of communicating its ideas in a variety of ways that can be interpreted differently depending upon the viewer. Its very construction illustrates the materials of which it is made and showcases them at their greatest strength. Although the building can, and has, been interpreted from many angles, including its presence as an artful piece of architecture in the modern world, the Brighton library can be seen as a shining example of modern engineering in its use of new materials and up-to-date technology as well as demonstrating the role of politics in architecture in the various ways in which the building has been designed for user participation. In considering these roles – architecture as engineering and politics in architecture – it is important to understand not only how the building itself demonstrates these concepts, but also some of the background information and key thoughts regarding these ideas. Architecture as engineering actually grew out of the philosophy of the mind, in which the evolution of thought and the proper approach to science was speculated upon. This process started with medieval thought into the various processes of nature, both outward and inward. Copernicus made the startling revelation that the sun was the real center of the known universe while Vesalius began investigating the various ways in which the human body operated (Hale, 2000, pp. 34-35). Both of these observations shifted scientific thinking from one based almost exclusively upon the theistic knowledge gained from scriptural writings to one based more upon the mechanical processes involved in nature. This concept was more clearly delineated in the works of Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon nearly 100 years later. “Bacons inductive method, which he sets forth in his Novum organum, is composed of two parts: the negative process and the positive process. … These are the principles, both positive and negative, which Bacon proposes as the basis of modern science and which should lead man to conscious discoveries and hence to domination over nature” (“The Philosophy of Francis Bacon”, 2006). This was an approach that would become intricately linked with architecture through the formation of the Royal Society by members such as Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. This same type of approach took place nearly simultaneously in France with the musings of Rene Descartes, who published his findings in 1637 in his famous Discourse on Method. To arrive at the highest truth possible, Descartes made the conscious effort to separate his knowledge from his senses: “Thus, as our senses deceive us at times, I was ready to suppose that nothing was at all the way our senses represented them to be … But I soon noticed that while I thus wished to think everything false, it was necessarily true that I who thought so, was something” (Descartes, 1956, pp. 20-21). This separation of the mind from the body had a similar mechanizing effect upon the sciences occurring in that country, leading eventually to Claude Perrault, a mathematician, who was instrumental in “reducing mathematics from theology to engineering” (Hale, 2000, p. 39). Building off of all of these concepts, Hegel theorized that the spirit is only able to grow through a series of evolutionary steps in which it seeks to express itself outwardly in order to know itself inwardly. These steps progressed from natural religion in which people worshipped natural formations, to the religion of art in which people created things to help express their ideas, to finally culminate in the word of God, which requires no outward visual expression at all. In order to save architecture from its relegation to a merely ‘primitive’ art form, as Hegel would have it, Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc developed the argument that architecture had a second role in society, as a technical rather than artistic endeavor. “Throughout the history of architecture he saw a fundamental principle, in the application of reason to the satisfaction of needs, and this substantiated his case for architecture as a science and saved it from its fate as a historical curiosity. It was this principle which he felt should be applied in his own time, making use of new materials and advances in technology” (Hale, 2000, p. 43). As architectural thought progressed through the remainder of the 1800s and into the 1900s, this concept would grab hold and influence many of the structures to be built in the mid-1900s and into the 21st century. The Brighton Jubilee Library is a good example of how this mode of thinking has evolved from the open-ended structures that were first conceived under this architecture as engineering framework into a completely usable, functional as well as aesthetic design. Based upon the ideas of Viollet, the building represents form following function in both its interior and exterior design. Because the cost of the construction was funded by Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Funds, all of the materials used had to meet the standards of Viollet’s economy of means criteria as well. Like Walter Gropius, combining the basic tenets of Viollet and Ruskin, the early initiators of the movement, the building is “light (i.e. skeletal), simple (i.e. minimal) and straightforward (i.e. explicit)” (Hearn, 2003, p. 246). Several of the main characteristics of architecture as engineering are evident in this structure, such as allowing many of the prime building materials to remain exposed, illustrating the importance of an honest expression of structure, and providing easy access to so-called servant areas that require more frequent replacement or maintenance than other, more permanent areas. Although several of the functional aspects of the building are hidden, they are only hidden because of the importance of this location in the function of the more technologically advanced functions of the building itself, such as in the heating and cooling system. Like the concepts of earlier structures such as the Pompidou Center in Paris, the Jubilee Library allows the means to dominate over the ends of the building, but the way in which this is accomplished has been highly refined. More than simply allowing the actual building materials used in the construction of the building to be seen and celebrated, the Brighton Library has taken the concept of architecture as engineering another step forward by ensuring most of the materials used have at least a double function in the daily operation of the building, either by meeting specific user needs or to contribute to the overall function of the building’s processes even as they work to contribute toward the overall enjoyment of the aesthetics. As one approaches the building from the outside, this concentration on the engineering aspects of the building can be immediately discerned. The four storey building features an outer façade that seems all glass and beams and blue tiles made of local building material. Despite the seemingly technological old-school approach, this library actually features a stunning new approach to the use of old materials. The blue tiles are an economical alternative to tin used in similarly funded buildings while the glass sheets work in mathematical precision with the tiles to maximize the use or disuse of natural sunlight. “Heating bills during winter months are further reduced by the library’s magnificent south-facing glass facade, with louvres specially angled to allow in winter sun but deflect it in the summer” (“Jubilee Library”, 2006). Also visible from the outside are three large wind towers placed prominently on the roof of the building. “These are an integral part of the passive cooling system, drawing warmed air up and out of the structure. … High efficiency heat recovery units capture heat from lighting, PCs and people, recycling it back through the system” (“Jubilee Library”, 2006). According to one of the designers, Nick Lomax, the towers are designed to “add to the flamboyance of the city skyline” as well as to “use the breeze to draw excess heat, especially in summer, up from the spaces below” (Glancey, 2006). The entryway itself does nothing to hide the construction of the building, but neither does it reveal explicitly how the building remains standing upon first glance. Consisting of little more than glass panels, the public room just inside the front doors extends three floors up and allows in an astounding measure of natural sunlight. Closer inspection of the interior, however, reveals the trick behind the magic. Once inside the doors, one can discern the tall concrete columns that both accentuate the height of the building and the wide open space in the center as well as support the ceiling high above. Somewhat reminiscent of the design by Franklin Lloyd Wright in his creation of the Johnson Wax headquarters building in Racine, Wisconsin (Hill, 1999, p. 186), the columns are brought out into clear focus and integrated as part of the design by being provided with fluted crowns that work to help support a soffit ceiling that allows more daylight to filter into the building without allowing it to glare down on the visitors. While allowing these supports to remain completely visible, further celebrating the engineering that went into the design of this structure, these eight columns also serve another purpose. The exposed concrete of these columns, as well as the specially designed hollow-core concrete slabs that comprise each floor, plays a major role in the collection and circulation of heat and coolant. Warm air is allowed to rise through the columns and be sucked out of the building in warm weather while natural cooler air is filtered down through the evening hours with the help of the wind towers on the roof. By allowing the concrete to remain exposed, the building is able to draw heat during the day and pass it to the outside while slowly filtering cooler air into the rooms and keeping the building at an even temperature. This process is reversed in the winter with the concrete working to collect heat from the sun during the daylight hours and slowly releasing it into the rooms in the evenings. The heavy use of glass both outside and in provides for the uninterrupted transfer of light throughout the building, reducing the need for artificial light during daylight hours as well as providing a pleasing, floating appearance to users, again combining the ideals of function with form for an imminently comfortable setting. This comfort level of the building for the users of it is an important aspect of the concept behind the politics of architecture. As with the idea of architecture as a celebration of engineering, the politics of architecture requires some historical information in order to be understood in its proper context. Primarily brought forward by the thinking of Karl Marx during the 1800s, but not published until the new century had well begun, the underlying concept behind architecture, according to Marx, should be the resistance or education of the many regarding their domination by the few. “The key issue is the idea of architecture as a mode of ‘resistance’ and transformation, with the power to effect change through its direct impact on the environment” (Hale, 2000, p. 172). In outlining his world view regarding the relationship of capitalism to the proletariat, Marx indicated that people are necessarily torn between expressing their own individuality and creativeness and subduing the same in the interest of feeding their families because of the constraints placed upon them by their surrounding society. This relationship between the materials used in production (raw materials, labour used and machinery required) and the ways in which the work was organized formed the basic building blocks of society. In ancient days, Marx argued, each man could be assured of a place in society because of his unique contribution to the whole. However, with the advent of the machine and the breakdown of tasks into smaller and more accomplishable tasks, the pride and indispensability of the worker disappeared: Supposing that we had produced in a human manner; each of us would in his production have doubly affirmed himself and his fellow men. I would have objectified in my production my individuality and its peculiarity and thus both in my activity enjoyed an individual expression of my life and also in looking at the object have had the individual pleasure of realizing that my personality was objective, visible to the senses and thus a power raised beyond all doubt (Marx, 1975, p. 31-32). In the process of industrialization, then, Marx argued that the individual had lost this sense of purpose as well as the all-important sense of humanity that ensured a capitalist system would fall to proletariat uprisings anytime the system became overbalanced. Interpretations of these writings in the years following publication have varied widely, but have often come to the conclusion that the worker has been reduced to an object through a variety of means. According to Georg Lukacs, this objectification made it necessary for society to have some sort of educative force within it if the proletariat was ever going to rise up out of its oppressive social structure. Thinking along the same lines, Antonio Gramsci argued that the objectification of the common man takes places thanks to the willful dissemination of ideas from the superstructure through the proletariat that convinces them they are better off if they stick to the prescribed plan set out for them in such a way that they are convinced that they came to this conclusion of their own accord. “One of [the state’s] most important functions is to raise the great mass of the population to a particular cultural and moral level, a level (or type) which corresponds to the needs of the productive forces for development, and hence to the interests of the ruling classes” (Gramsci, 1971, p. 258). Expanding these ideas, Walter Benjamin wrote about the tendency of the modern culture to so objectify the human being that the worker becomes little more than an additional commodity for the ruling class, worth as much as the ruling class says he’s worth based on relatively arbitrary values that have little to do with the work he performs or the value of his individuality. These concepts were traced out in the practice and intent of architecture being created. “A new architecture had evolved in iron and glass, which eroded the distinction between inside and outside space. This perfectly suited the status of the new ‘commodity fetish’, which relied on a similar breakdown between consumer and consumed – the disorientation at work in the new space of the arcade served to support this confusion between subject and object” (Hale, 2000, p. 182). Michel Foucault brought these concepts specifically into the world of architecture with his essay on the Panopticon, a circular prison building that allowed a single guard standing in the central tower to oversee all of the prisoners housed in the outer ring. In particular, he calls attention to the psychological effect that took place on the part of the prisoners, making them self-regulating and submissive to the dominant structure and rules. He related this same process to the design of other buildings, particularly factories and hospitals, as well as to the organization of cities, regulating all of life according to the rules of order prescribed and preferred by the ruling classes and reducing the ability of the common man to feel or express his own individual freedoms (Hale, 2000, pp. 189-191). To combat this overwhelmingly submissive mindset, several philosophers argued that it was the responsibility of the architect to devise means of communicating resistance to these ideas within the current system. By carefully constructing abstract spaces, in which the individual was encouraged and enticed to call on their own creativity to interpret and appreciate the space, it was argued that the common man would awake again to his own sense of self and self-worth, being further inspired to insist upon his own worth as a human being instead of another commodity on the market. That this concept is indeed a threat to the established system was seen in the designs created by Christopher Alexander, who introduced new design concepts into Japan as a means of doing just this. “We see the Japanese (construction) companies aware, for the first time, of the fact that our intentions to implement system A [a Pattern Language system], might have serious consequences for their own future in Japan. What we were doing … in its pure form posed a threat to the whole Japanese construction industry” (Alexander, 1985, p. 19). In recent years, the movement toward awakening the common man from the slumber in which he has been living has taken on the shape of Green Architecture, a shape that is eminently expressed in the design and function of the Jubilee Library. Despite the cold iron and glass feel of the outside of the library, the building itself manages to convey instead a soft, welcoming feeling to its guests, partially because of its careful attention to the current concerns of the day that have remained largely ignored by the capitalist corporations of the world. The way in which the building takes advantage of natural lighting from above and to the south only begins to illustrate the various ways in which it has been designed for user comfort and minimal energy usage in mind. “The top floor is a floating floor, linked by bridges to the perimeter accommodation, allowing light to flood from the roof-lights above to the ground floor below. It is the main reading area with reference and information stock, and the perimeter accommodation includes a study area and a large computer suite and separate learning centre” (“Jubilee Library”, 2005). The use of daylight as a means of reducing the environmental impact is accentuated by the several skylights that run around the main halls as well as the automatic sensors embedded everywhere allowing artificial lights to be triggered only when absolutely necessary. In addition, the library was deliberately positioned with a south-facing front to maximize the potential use of natural light and to capture the greatest possible benefit from sun-generated heat during the winter months. “The sun’s energy is gathered through the spectacular south facing front glazed wall in winter, with built-in solar shading and automatically opening vents to reduce solar gain and glare in summer” (“Jubilee Library”, 2005). As is evidenced in the careful consideration of energy use in terms of available lighting, energy use has been minimized throughout the building with a design high on thermal mass and its solid, heavy structure. Exposed concrete floors are created with hollow cores that store heat throughout the floors and walls to be slowly released into their surrounding areas. This heat is collected from the equipment, such as PCs and lights, as well as people using the facility and re-used to heat the building when necessary. In addition, concrete on the outside is able to collect the heat of the day and transfer it to the inner reaches of the library to maintain consistent air temperature. Air conditioning for the building is accomplished in a similar way, with the sea breezes outside being collected by the three large wind towers positioned on the roof. These cooler breezes are then circulated down into the building at the same time that the warmer air is drawn to the outside. Finally, although it isn’t as obvious, the toilets in the facility operate through the collection and recycling of rainwater from the rooftop. Built with very limited resources, the library stands now as a shining example of the dedication and hard work of a number of professionals who refused to sacrifice the creativity of the design to the constraints of the budgetary process. Although the building did come in at budget and on time, it nevertheless reflects a high degree of beauty and imagination that would make Marx proud. The front area is described by Glancey as being “quietly dominated by a glorious, temple-like building-within-a-building that, raised up on concrete columns and crowned by polished concrete vaults, houses the upper floors of the library. These vaults made me think of some half-remembered Egyptian temple” (Glancey, 2006). According to the designers themselves, the effect they were trying to reach included the conveyance of the idea that this was both an important building housing serious materials as well as an accessible public institution meant for all users to enjoy. Thus, although politics dictated a small budgetary allowance for the construction of a large building and current design practices place a great deal of emphasis on the engineering rather than the aesthetics of a particular work, the architects of the Jubilee Library in Brighton were able to mesh all of these concepts with a design that served the common man and his need for aesthetic beauty in a world dominated by mechanical thinking. The library can be seen to strongly grasp the importance of showing the structure in engineering and materials used as it proudly displays its support columns, glass and tile curtain walls and concrete slab supports. It meets with the budgetary constraints of the political powers that be in its use of inexpensive and locally acquired materials even as it focuses attention on the need to create ‘Green Architecture’ that reduces the building’s impact upon the environment through a variety of means that also function to reduce the cost of daily operation. Yet, even as it accomplishes all of these feats, it remains an aesthetically beautiful building that inspires the creativity and the imaginative use of the structure by the local population, encouraging thought and reflection by its simple existence. It becomes easy to see why this building has been the focus of much discussion and the recipient of numerous design awards. In its successful construction, it has accomplished more than many buildings ever hope to achieve. References Alexander, Christopher. (August 1985). “Battle: The History of a Crucial Clash Between World System A and World System B.” Japan Architect. Tokyo. Descartes, Rene. (1956). Discourse on Method. New York: Bobbs-Merrill. Glancey, Jonathan. (2006). “Sweet and Low Down.” Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 30 August 2006 from < http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,11710,1426989,00.html> Gramsci, Antonio. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Hoare and Nowell Smith (Trans.). London: Lawrence and Wishart. Hale, Jonathon A. (2000). Building Ideas: An Introduction to Architectural History. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. Hearn, Fil. (2003). Ideas that Shaped Buildings.. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Hill, Richard. (1999). Designs and Their Consequences. New Haven: Yale University Press. “Jubilee Library.” (2005). Designing Libraries. Retrieved 30 August 2006 from < http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk/view/index.php?id=434831a73024a> “Jubilee Library, Brighton.” (2006). The Concrete Centre. Retrieved 30 August 2006 from < http://www.concretecentre.com/main.asp?page=1207> Marx, Karl. (1975). Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts. Quoted in David McLellan Karl Marx. New York: Penguin. “(The) Philosophy of Francis Bacon.” (24 August 2006). Center for Applied Philosophy. The Radical Academy. Retrieved 30 August 2006 from Read More