Contemporary European Architecture: Shawna Hammon

Showing posts with label Shawna Hammon. Show all posts

11/20/12

Less Becomes Nothing

By Shawna Hammon

Lecture – “Temporary Architecture”

"It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". - Antoine de St-Expurey

A few semesters ago, I teamed up with NC State studio mate, Jessie Braverman, to produce a prototype we lovingly dubbed the Folding Modular Retreat (FMR). We envisioned that this piece of temporary architecture could be used as disaster relief shelter, a child’s playhouse, a dog house, or a camping lodge. We sought a patent for it, and it is currently being reviewed by NC State’s Office of Technology Transfer who is in contact with industry partners to see if there is interest in development of the invention. The design won first place in its category at the Graduate Student Research Symposium last spring for our research on the prototype – we built a full scale model and lived in it 24/7 for a full week. During this week long occupation of FMR, we observed many issues, particularly with waterproofing, that needed to be reviewed and developed in later iterations, but there is certainly potential for this product.

FMR @ the Prototypes Show

It was with this experience on my plate that we began our lecture on temporary architecture. I was quite excited to learn more about its application throughout history and around the world. But I was not prepared for the sharp emotions that overwhelmed me through the next three hours. I believe I felt everything from awe and delight to disgust and revulsion with our profession. Please allow me tell you why.

To me, architecture is not just about designing something beautiful, but it must be functional. We do not want buildings that are as pointless as tea pots with no bottom, no matter how aesthetically pleasing that tea pot may be, we will eventually want some tea. Buildings are no different – it could be fun to walk through a building that exhibits the latest technology – for about 5 minutes, then we wonder, how do I occupy this space? What is the point? Especially during this economic crisis, why do we continue to design and build temporary structures that serve no function?

Perhaps the most popular examples of temporary architecture are the German Pavilion in Barcelona by Mies van der Rohe, the Venice Biennale, and the Eiffel Tower, to name a few. These are not disaster relief solutions and yet we hold them up as architecture examples to follow.

“Less is more.” – Mies van der Rohe

Barcelona Pavilion

While I know there is something to be learned from Mies’ Minimalist ideals, I feel like he has taken away so much from his pavilion that he forgot to leave the program. Less is more, but what does it mean to create a space with no function. If this exhibition was about the relationship of architecture and intentionally served no function, what kind of message is our profession conveying to the world? Are we excessive?

Less is More installation by Pravdo.com

I had the pleasure of seeing the Venice Biennale this year and it was one of my favorite experiences, but I cannot help but feel like it was a vice that I should feel guilty for indulging in. After all, we are in one of the worst economic crisis of our time and yet, we built these pavilions to show off our “mad skills” to other architects and the public. This hardly seems like a noble thing to do, how many people could we have helped if we had put that money towards disaster relief. How many houses could we have built with Habitat for Humanity with that money? Did someone walk away with so much knowledge from this exhibition that they will make a real difference in the future making the capital invested truly worth it? I have a hard time believing it is so.

And then there is the Eiffel Tower, which was certainly a flex of the technological muscle of its time that led to greater developments and technologies so that allowing it to remain as a beacon to tourism seems acceptable. This was meant to be a temporary structure, but it was so successful and became an icon in Paris, that the city would hardly be the same without it.

What does temporary architecture say to the general public about architecture? Does this stuff just fuel our egos or is it helping us stay ahead? I stand by my conviction that architecture should serve a purpose and do something to better the communities in which we live, but I do wonder which exhibit at this years’ Biennale will be the next Barcelona Pavilion – which of these spectacles will we put on a pedestal for all time?

“Keep it simple stupid.” – Kelly Johnson

Sources:

http://www.pravdo.com/less-is-more-2011.html

11/13/12

A Postcard: Tuscany

By Shawna Hammon

A Postcard – Tuscany

So it is here we arrive at the reason I am in Italy with Clemson instead of in Prague with my peers from NC State - Florence and Rome. This group trip was the highlight of my adventures in Italy thus far, particularly because we were given the freedom to explore most of these places on our own and in our own way. As a result of this freedom I was able to make discoveries and experience things I never would have if we had been on scheduled tours or herded around like sheep as we had on past trips. From the Etruscan caves in Montepulciano to a razed tower in Siena to Sunday Mass in the Pantheon, this trip was by far my favorite.

The Etruscan cave was an accidental discovery while looking for some good wine. A sign on Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano on Via Ricci promised some local wines for tasting. We went in expecting the tasting counter to be just inside, but instead found ourselves going down, down, down steep underground staircases into the depths of the multi-story foundations of the Renaissance palazzo. Eventually, we came out into the wine cellar far below the surface, where there were stacks of huge barrels in a series of towering, narrow brick vaults. The pictures could never do this image justice. A path through these barrels eventually led to the tasting shop, which let out onto Via di Collazzi. We tasted two wines and I purchased a bottle which I am saving for my graduation party in December – I can’t wait to open it!

Wine Tasting at Montepulciano

On another fine free afternoon Denver, Tyler and I came upon the razed tower in Siena. At first we admired it for its odd stairs, which one of the guys likened to Squidward’s nose (a character from Sponge Bob Square Pants), but once we made our way around it, we realized it was once one of Siena’s eighty-two towers soaring above the city. The tower was primarily constructed of red brick and the structure at the base vaults over two basins of water, which an older gentleman was giving to his dogs despite the non-potable water sign. The sun was setting quickly on us, so pictures are limited, but this was one of our most exciting discoveries made just outside of town along the wall.

The remains of one of Siena's famed towers.

I came to Rome, in particular, with a strong desire to do what the architectural masters of past had - to study and sketch the ancient ruins, objects, and sites until I fully understand the classic orders and proportioning systems. Unfortunately for me, much of these ancient ruins studied by the likes of Alberti, Borromini, Bernini, and Brunelleschi, were razed by bombings in 1943, so ancient ruins were limited. Also, these masters spent years in Rome making detailed observations. Burnelleschi spent ten years here with his friend, Donatello. I had a dream that this would be me, perhaps not years, but spending a semester sketching and absorbing all the knowledge of the ancients. However, Genova was a more affordable program, so I had to make the most of the four days I had in Rome.

Pantheon in the rain.

Make the best of it I did, Sunday Mass in the Pantheon proved to be one of the most breathtaking moments in Italy. As the rain fell through the oculus and splashed on the floor while the priest sang a hymnal, no words could describe how momentous and unforgettable that experience was. So while I may not have gotten to study in Rome for the years or even four months that I had wished, I am looking forward to visiting Rome many times in the future. I’m sure each time will bring new surprises and I will see things in a different way as I mature into being an architect.

Sources:

http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/tuscany/montepulciano/index.html

10/29/12

Architecture Advertises

By Shawna Hammon
Lecture - "Strategy & Identity"

Our buildings have become billboards! When did this happen? Using architecture as a billboard is not a new phenomenon, but why does it seem like all of our buildings are suddenly advertisements for the latest and greatest technologies or product lines? I thought we designed buildings so that form follows function; we are not supposed to create forms and hope that we can fit our functions into it – looking at you Gehry.

Using architecture to demonstrate the power of a company is definitely not a new idea, take, for example, the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen in 1930 and later the AT&T Building by Philip Johnson in 1984, these buildings, even to this day, still function as they were meant to, but are blatant advertisements for the men or companies that funded them; somehow this idea seems more romantic when the building still serves it purpose.

Chrysler Building AT&T Building Hearst Tower

A more recent example of this trend is the Hearst Tower by Norman Foster in 2006, called the “most muscular symbol of corporate self-confidence” by The New York Times; it was the first skyscraper to reach completion in New York City since 9/11. Joesph Urban designed the Art Deco style base, which was meant to be capped with a soaring tower; Foster realized this tower 70 years later with the new and old “colliding with ferocious energy.”

Another example of architecture as a flex of the corporate muscles is the Vitra Campus, a furniture factory campus in Switzerland; it is akin to an architectural playground. It identifies itself as an “experiment in powerfully communicative architecture,” but what, exactly, is this architecture saying? The website proclaims that “Vitra stands for an architectural concept that unites buildings by some of the most influential architects in the world.” The Vitra are “collectors” of architectural objects by the likes of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Alvaro Siza and the list goes on. Why are they collecting these objects? Simple, all of these objects are part of the shrine of power that Vitra has created. Some of the pieces in this collection, but most especially Hadid’s Fire Station, have been accused of lacking a function entirely because the spaces are impossible to use or do not adequately serve the program they were built for. The Fire Station has since been transformed into additional gallery space, but Vitra commissioned this work by star architects not entirely for functionality, but more for the status symbol the work brings to the furniture factory. Perhaps Vitra is also attempting to elevate the status of the factory worker, similar to the AEG Factory by Peter Behrens and the Fagus Shoe Last Factory by Walter Gropius, with buildings that do not scream “factory.”

Vitra Factory Campus

A final example of this deliberate use of architecture as a means to advertise a product or brand can be seen in designer brand flagship stores such as Prada and Louis Voutton. It is disgusting how much money these companies can dump into these stores. This flagrant use of building as an advertisement for the product and power of the company is likely expected by its clientele.

Although as a profession Architects do not advertise in the traditional sense via TV or radio ads, our buildings do advertise our wares or those of the clients we have designed for. Frank Gehry, among others, is a prime example of this. How laughable would it be to see advertisements, like those of lawyers, on TV for architecture firms “Let Gehry design your next iconic structure. No fees charged until you are completely satisfied!”