Learning from Our Roots

by: Francisco G. Zambrano

  

          Throughout history, there have always been problems regarding expansion for places to live and work. For a time, there was room to expand out into, but as time goes on, this is becoming less and less possible. In the past and still to this day, we have simply torn down buildings and just rebuilt on the site. The problem with this is that you end up with rubbish that is no use to anyone and is then placed elsewhere that could have been used for something better. We, especially architects, must consider architecture as preservation or the changing of a building. We must find ways to reduce the waste and work with what we have. This is where we enter the modern heritage or the new “modern way of thinking.” Our modern identity shouldn’t be about everything being new and clean, but rather low cost, low tech back to our roots, making use of what we have or what is already there.

The building we were obsessed with.

            

          There are many ways to do so, though extensions and additions are the most common. The approach that we focused on in class was that of creating a parasite. Now, in architecture, a parasite is not harmful but rather a dependent addition. Most additions are basically blended into the existing structure. The difference with a parasite is that it stands apart from the existing structure in a great way. It’s funny though how we were once obsessed with these structures when we were young. This parasitic structure that I am referring to is the classic tree house. The tree house was a parasite in that it used the tree, as it’s base structure that gave the tree house its height. One modern building that takes this cue, in a sort of way, was the Hotel Everland that was designed by Sabina Lang und Daniel Baumann. This hotel is basically the tree house that is then placed on top of existing buildings so that the hotel has amazing views and a great height, without having to have an actual tall base. In this way not only are they saving materials in order to build the height for the hotel pod, thing, but they are also saving land. 

The hotel uses the building as its "tree"

           

          

The roof was used as a usable outdoor
living space.

          Another project that takes this sense of a tree house, but in a somewhat much less direct way is the Didden Village designed by MVRDV in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This structure moves the private living spaces from inside the existing structure, and moves them to the roof. This not only frees up a lot of room inside the existing building, but also creates usable space on the roof. Now you might ask, why did they not simply make a complete indoor addition and blend it with the existing building like normal people? By leaving the private living spaces in little houses and the rest exposed, it creates usable outdoor space that was once not there. This adds to the experience of being in a different place. Then the blue is very important to this structure because the structure has to make a statement and act as its own. It is somewhat of a sculpture. 

 

These stairs remind me of the
way you access a tree house.

          

          Now moving to the inside living spaces, where the staircases enter from the private spaces. The twenty-centimeter distance between the staircases and the floor emphasizes the difference between the two types of architecture. The way that the staircases enter, add to the reason for preserving the existing structure. To some, the staircases interrupt the movement of the space, yet I believe that they add to it. The staircases, besides the fact that they are completely independent of the existing structure, are able to divide the space in a respectable manner by not intruding and being in the way. Without them I feel that the space would be too big and not homely.

           

In contrast with the Didden Village,
these stairs are dependent of the tree.

          It is amazing how a parasite in the architecture world returns life rather than the customary function of a parasite.  This is what I feel where our modern heritage should head. We should try to add and preserve buildings and bring them back to life rather than just destroy and rebuild or add and blend. We should learn to highlight the old with the aid of something new. 
We must learn from the existing buildings and find ways to preserve them and learn from their mistakes and find ways to fix them by making additions, changes, extensions etc. rather than destroy and forget.

”If the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and the world has wasted a great deal of time.”  

~Russell Hoban

Parasite?

By: Khris Kirk

When a person hears the word "parasite", they normally think about an organism that feeds off another organism, and normally causes serious health problems. A parasite is viewed in a very bad eye and must be immediately killed, that way a person or animal does not get sick. However, when an architect hears the word "parasite", they envision something completely different. An architect will view parasite in an architectural way, which is where parasite architecture fits in. Parasite architecture still exemplifies the term "parasite" by having a structure connect to a pre-existing building. Parasite architecture is a new modern style of architecture that builds onto a current building and takes a different style in comparison to the style of the original building.  

A great example of a parasitic building is Parasite Las Palmas by Kortekine and Stuhlmacher. This prefabricated house is an excellent example of how a parasitic building should be. The Las Palmas is an old industrial warehouse that is no longer used and is the host building for the Parasite house. The Parasite house latches onto a portion of the existing infrastructure and feeds off the life source of the host. In other terms, the parasite house uses the services of the host building; water supply, sewage, and the electrical insulations. The parasite structure can be seen for miles with its bright green painting against the gray surrounds. A person from far away can tell that the Parasite house is not a part of the original structure and can be viewed like biological term parasite, since it is growing off its host. 

The Parasite house was designed for an exhibition in Rotterdam. The building was built with prefabricated wood that was laminated for protection. The panels of wood were precut to size and delivered to the sight to be built. The construction of the Parasite house took three and a half days, which is extremely fast for building a house. The Parasite house was only suppose to remain on the site for a few months, but ended up standing from 2001-2005. During that time frame, it became a landmark in Rotterdam. When it was finally taken down, the Parasite house was taken into storage to be used again at a new location.

Kortekine and Stuhlmacher tagged the word “parasite” to mean prototypes for advanced ready-made amphibious small scale individual temporary ecological houses. They take the term parasite and give it completely new mean. The Parasite house still keeps true to the biological meaning while exemplifying the new meaning that Kortekine and Stuhlmacher have bestowed upon it.  Kortekine and Stuhlmacher are paving the way towards a new method of living. There is no reason to tear down structures that are already standing. One should just add onto the existing infrastructure. By having the prefabricated wood, the material of the parasite house is all recycled and sustainable to last through the years. Also, by having the living space smaller, it allows for more space for other parasite houses to be built. Parasite houses may start popping up everywhere as a new means of cost-effective living, reusing current structures, and ground breaking architecture.   

Links:

Parasite House, Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten.
http://www.kortekniestuhlmacher.nl/?q=/node/9

A Non-Mutual Relationship

By Jordan Grant

The topic of parasitic architecture was one of the most interesting to me that we’ve seen in class; to see abstract forms clinging to the sides of buildings or perched on rooftops is surely amazing and interesting. But these forms that are becoming increasingly popular have a name that raises another question- are they truly parasites? If we view the urban jungle like an ecosystem found in nature, perhaps the effects of parasitic architecture might be explored more in depth.

A typical parasite found in nature.

A parasite (loosely described) is a living organism that finds a host and lives off it in a non-mutual relationship. These two organisms are of different species and the host suffers at the expense of the parasite. A parasite is different than a predator because a parasite is usually much smaller than its host, and it’s different from other organisms in the fact that they do not create a symbiotic relationship; the parasite only takes, never gives.

What’s more, parasites in nature can have a drastic effect on their hosts. They most often infect or influence the central nervous system, with the most common effect being a shortened lifespan for the host. So is the name for parasitic architecture just an unfortunate namesake, or could these pieces of architecture be having a detrimental effect on their host buildings or the urban jungle?

The Rucksack House, clinging to a facade.

Based on the lecture, I see a few different types of parasitic architecture evolving; permanent versus temporary and cost-effective versus sustainable (although one is not mutually exclusive of the other, they seem to be often in competition). For example, the Rucksack House is a small room that hangs off of an existing building’s façade and is accessible through a window to add 9 square meters of space to an apartment. Like a parasite found in nature, the Rucksack House leeches to the existing building’s structure and must attach to its central nervous system to at least gain electricity. It’s a temporary structure made of a steel cage and plywood that hangs on steel cables.

Project Orange's parasite.

This project has many similarities to one by Project Orange- but unlike the Rucksack House, Project Orange has created a permanent parasite. It’s still a group of steel blocks that bites through roof of an existing brick building, relying on its structure and stability.

My mind immediately begs the question “Are parasites destroying their hosts? Even more, are they going to cause decay in the urban fabric?” It seems that there is a delicate balance between how much of a structure architectural parasites can inhabit, and if that balance is wrong then the parasite would be doing what it does in nature- shortening the lifespan of the building. Even more, all these “temporary” structures seems to be constructed of low cost, durable materials like steel and concrete. Will the use of these finite materials in temporary structures have a detrimental effect on the environment? It seems to me that temporary structures should utilize recycled/recyclable materials, or at least renewable materials that can be replaced in the same lifespan of the parasitic structure that consumed them.

The Dresden Museum of Military History by Daniel Libeskind.

Perhaps parasitic architecture is just unfortunately named and really does have a helpful, useful role in contemporary architecture. I’m sure that many of my peers will have written about the positive effects that parasitic architecture can have. I have faith that these parasitic structures could become an innovative way to reduce our environmental footprints while improving the quality of life. However, my limited research shows that very little commentary has been made as to the unwanted side effects or risks associated with attaching parasites to our cityscapes and potentially shortening the lifetimes of our buildings. Architects must be aware that we build and inhabit in a very delicate ecosystem here in the urban jungle, and introducing too many parasites that haven’t been well designed could have a detrimental effect.

Sources: http://www.dezeen.com/tag/parasites/