Are parasites really that bad?

 Seth Oliver

“Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all aloft.” - Audre Lorde. This statement is true to almost everything in life. But the real kicker is where it can apply to our wondrous profession of architecture. The word “parasite” often has a negative connotation surrounding it like a fog of toxic fumes. However, in architecture, the building and design of a parasitic piece should only be to help and engage the original work. My favorite examples of this are of similar nature but executed in different ways. The first is called Legal Illegal by Manuel Herz Architects . The second is called the Didden Village in Rotterdam by MVRDV. Both are great works and make a difference in the way I think about the word parasite and how to use it when designing in existing conditions.

                Legal Illegal. The name even suggests a dichotomous relationship to make anybody take another look.  The very red and very obvious addition to this apartment resides in Cologne, Germany. It follows all the building codes but also breaks the normal convention of thought when putting an addition to a house. It added significant amount of space but also the extra “wow” factor that the architect was really aiming to achieve. Sitting between the existing walls makes it a real part of the building rather than just a plain addition. The floors it added are all concerned with natural light and openness between all the existing and new levels. It not only sits on top, it actually engages the core of the existing building. So it acts as a true “parasite” and attaches itself into the building to act as once cohesive unit. Yes the new part stands out with the different angles, shapes and then the bold primary red, but it works as a complimentary part of the overall neighborhood. It adds to the apartment rather than distracts from it. I believe this is an excellent look and something to aspire to in the future. Working with the history to celebrate it as well as the foreign piece it the mark of a well developed design.

                Different but yet the same thought, the Didden Village by MVRDV captures the attention of those everywhere in the city of Rotterdam. Rather than being an abstract form between existing walls like Legal illegal, the village is literally 2 “cottages” on top of an apartment building. They look as if they are just sitting there to match the blue walls to the blue sky. The three houses are actually bedrooms for a family; a master suite and two children’s rooms. They fit like a village with door opening to the roof to convene for meal times and such, but also connect to the apartment below. The stairs are what impress me the most from this project. The children’s staircases function as a double spiraled stair that ends up being a center piece in the living-room below. The stairs are covered and come down through the ceiling but never actually touch the floor. I feel it is a way of respecting the existing architecture. I can appreciate for trying to fit into the apartment but also standing out to rest of the world. It uses the same function of color as the last project, but it becomes a separate piece. Instead of judging the work as a whole, the houses on top lend themselves to be the spectacle. I still love this work and it makes me consider how to address a different way of parasitic architecture.

                 

                So in I have figured out that I am a fan of parasites. The point of them it to engage what was existing and make them better. The styles may be different but I think that is the true art of architecture.  

Parasitic Architecture: Defying an Illegal Connotation

Parasitic Architecture: Defying an Illegal Connotation

by Joel Pominville

Legal/Illegal, Manuel Herz Architects, Cologne, Germany

Parasite [par-uh-sahyt], an organism that lives on or in an organism of another species, known as the host, from the body of which it obtains nutriment. In biology, this can mean anything from harmful parasites like cestodes, the common tape worm, to non-harmful parasites such a the cowbird who simply lay their eggs in other species nests for them to be cared for by the host bird. The definition of a parasite can be translated into an architectural language as well. In the same way, a structure is designed to be in, on, or around a preexisting structure that acts as its host. The word parasite definitely carries a negative connotation in biological conversations, and this can be true in architecture as well. However, by studying a project such as Legal/Illegal by Manuel Herz Architects, one can see how parasitic architecture can be used as a piece of complimentary architecture and not just as an opposition to the host structure.

For many years after the Second World War, Cologne was in a bit of an urban planning crisis, and more specifically, Bayenthal, a suburban housing district in Cologne. The crisis was the families of the city were moving in exponential amounts to the countryside, no longer content with the living conditions within the suburban fabric of the city. The proposal sent forth by the Bayenthal district was to instead bring the countryside inward. The way in which this would be exectuted was to bring countryside living conditions to the city. They planned to expand city streets and allow for more pedestrian traffic. However, financially, this was not feasible in such a low-density area. There was only one more solution to the problem: architecture.

Section Perpendicular to Street

This is how the project by Manuel Herz comes into the discussion. If architecture is the solution to the housing crisis, then there needs to be more than what was there before. However, because the monetary funds are not there to completely demolish and rebuild, there needs to be a connect between the existing and the newly created. When discussing such complementary architecture, the idea of ‘parasite’ comes to mind. To use an existing structure as a host to create a new structure in, on, or around that host. I see Legal/Illegal as a sensitive but innovative creation of parasite. First, it is necessary to discuss how law created the form of the volume seen in the section. In an area dominated by housing regulations, the volume conforms to all the setbacks, heights, and entrance rules. However, the sheer volume of the structure contains more floor area then is allowed in that area, the volumes extruding from the surface cause harsh shadows on the nearby buildings, and even the fire regulations are slightly overlooked. There in lies the Legal/Illegal title of the project. Looking at the project in elevation with the adjacent buildings give you an image of a building that is initially seen as a violent, opposing parasite. However taking another look at the form was all I needed to convince me this work of architecture fits in very well in an abstract sort of way.

             

Diagram Showing Continuities Between Existing and New, by Joel

            
             If you take a look at the main elements of the buildings adjacent to the Herz design, you start to notice some sort of continuity between Legal/Illegal and the two buildings beside it. First of all, the two buildings only have two floors above the height of the arch. The Herz building has a reading of only two floors, or window openings if you will, above the arch. The openings are also very similar in size. In fact, the Herz entrance seems to be an average of the entrances of the adjoining buildings. The depth expressed on the façade seems to be just a less subdued depth than on the adjoining facades. Of the parasitic architecture studied in class, I believe the Legal/Illegal building designed by Manuel Herz found a way to address the ‘host’ site while still pushing the suburban area ahead with its innovative and maybe disruptive design. Bravo Manuel Herz.

References:
Architect Pages

http://www.manuelherz.com/legal-illegal-cologne

Dictionary Entry

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/parasite?s=t

Pictures

http://www.archdaily.com/133678/legal-illegal-manuel-herz-architects/

Illegal's Not so Bad

Sarah Wilson

Illegal's Not so Bad
An example of why having a lot of gall can be a good thing.

                It took two years of negotiations before construction could begin on Manuel Herz’s apartment building in Cologne. It wasn’t a matter of meeting regulations—quite the opposite. Herz flatly refused to obey them, and not simply for the purpose of defiance alone. Herz’s eventual victory in the construction of his ‘illegal’ building achieved liberation for architects everywhere.

               

       The dual name Herz gave to his building “Legal Illegal” refers to the two divisions to its form.  The first section on the bottom floor is the ‘legal’ part of the building, confining itself calmly inside the gap provided by the two buildings that flank it. This volume is clearly defined and, as if not to distract from its neighbors, is transparent and orthogonal.  As a ‘legal’ volume, it adheres to all building laws, regulations, norms, and rules, even going so far as to terrace itself in the back in order to not cover the whole site, as the development plan dictated.

              

         A few stair landings up, and the character of the space changes completely.  Far from being straightforward, the ambiguous angles and faceted surfaces create a strangely shaped space that pokes out from between the neighboring buildings. The exterior has a defiant, fire-engine red materiality that blatantly calls for attention. Harnessing sunlight through windows that jab out cheekily, the interior lights up to display bright white walls that move and bend as a reflection of the paunchy exterior.  The illegality of this volume comes in a few forms. First, the compiled square-meters enclosed within exceeds the maximum floor space the German urban masterplan allows. Second, each piece of the faceted surface on the exterior casts a shadow onto the neighboring sites, which is also prohibited in German planning law. The volume extends over the municipal building line and, as it that weren’t enough, over the historical moment (the gate) in front of it as well. This overall disregard for building codes earned this second level the title ‘illegal’.

           

     As a realized piece of architecture, this building became not only a symbol of defiance for architects, but a symbol of spirit for the people. Important to note is the calculation of Herz’s flouting; it had purpose. It was not a gag flung willy-nilly into the face of law, but a design whose carefully planned surfaces and jutting facades spoke volumes of the state of affairs in construction. The upwards transition from reserved confinement to unbridled freedom referenced the German building regulations that had become too greatly controlled and the need to break free from them.  “Legal Illegal” expressed Herz’s belief that such systemized control of public construction was causing more harm than good, and that a wider margin for creativity, not confinement, was needed. This sort of expression is a physical dose of the human condition. While we find some comfort in norm and regularity, there is an intrinsic need for individuality and, occasionally, an inherent trend towards resisting authority.  The victory of “Legal Illegal’s” construction after a two-year battle was won for both the architecture community and the populace they served; Germany has likely not seen the last of such creative cheek.