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Pedagogy

DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES:

1. The building as a monolith
2. The building as layers, or concentric levels
3. The building as skin
4. The building as assemblage
5. The building as frame
6. The building as fit

Development is difficult to generalize about.

General to Specific

Concept  to Realization

Parti sketch  to  Working drawing

Diagram  to Detail

Development strategies are almost always conceptual, rarely literal.

Strategies are useful in guiding the development process, in providing consistency in material assignment and detailing. Such strategies almost always break down at some point yet they are still usefull for giving order to some of the most basic development decisions.

While there are many strategies, here are three. They are most often applied to masonry buildings but they are not restricted.

The building is conceived as a solid block of masonry, with spaces carved out.

May be thought of as "a bar of soap" which, when carved away, simply reveals more of the same.

Some examples:

• Gallaretese housing, near Milan, by Aldo Rossi, 1969-76
• The East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., by I. M. Pei
• The Wilson Commons, the student union, at the University of Rochester, also by Pei.
• The model (not the buildings) of Weissenhofsiedlung, Stuttgart, Germany, 1927, by Mies.
• Wolf House, Guben, Germany, 1926, by Mies
• Danteum, Rome, Italy, by Terragni
• The Palazzo della Pace, Parma, Italy

The building as a succession of thick layers, or rings

The building within a building within a building

May be thought of as the "Russian Easter Egg", or the "Russian Nesting Doll".

Two examples:

• The Library at Exeter Academy, by Louis I. Kahn.
• The Architecture Museum, Frankfurt on the Main, Germany, 1978 by Oswald Matthias Ungers.

The building as a succession of thin layers which can be cut or pealed away.

May be thought of as a "loaf of bread", with a crust on the outside and a softer center.

Masonry as veneer, as cladding. Probably the most common type.

Examples:

• Temple Brith Sholom, Cortland NY, 1968, by Werner Seligmann.
• Olean Central Fire Station, Olean NY, 1980, by Werner Seligmann.
• Center Ithaca, Ithaca NY, 1981, by Werner Seligmann.
• Science and Technology Center, Syracuse NY, 1986, by Koetter Kim, w/ Michael Dennis
• Dorothea Shaffer Arts Center, Syracuse University, 1986, by Koetter Kim
• The "aqueduct" housing project in Pisa, Italy, by Massimo Carmassi.
• Laurelwood Hospital in suburban Willoughby outside of Cleveland.
• Gallery in Frankfurt by Axel Schultes.
• Office building outside of Binghamton by Bob Geddes.
• Proctor Munson Williams Art Museum, Utica NY, by Phillip Johnson
• Casa del Fascio, Como, Italy, 1932-36, by Terragni

There is a subset of this strategy which is the detachable facade.

• The Rodin Museum, Philadelphia PA, 1929, by Paul Cret and Jacques Greber .
• The United Fund Building, Philadelphia PA, 1969, by Mitchell/Giurgola Associates.
• The Banca Popolare di Verona, Verona Italy, 1973, by Carlo Scarpa, completed after his death by Arrigo Rudi.

The building as either:

a. An assemblage of elements, the "kit of parts" or "the building as collage".

b. A building with certain elements pulled apart, the dismembered or "disassembled building".

Examples:

• Bank of England, London, by Sir John Soane, 1788-1833
• Most any building by Morphosis
• Most any Meier building, such as:

The Ulm Exhibition and Assembly Building, Ulm, Germany, 1986-92

Museum for Decorative Arts, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 1979-85

• Kunsthal II, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Koolhaas, 1992
• Olean Central Fire Station, Olean NY, 1980, by Werner Seligmann.

The building cartesian frame or tarten plaid.

The building as frame may also be thought of as a losse fit building type.

The building as frame is often associated with enclosure as screen, membrane or filter.

Examples:

• Willis, Faber and Dumas building, Ipswich England, by Norman Foster, 1974
• Casa del Fascio, Como, Switzerland, by Giuseppe Terragni 1932-36
• Cartier pavilion, Paris France, Jean Nouvel

The building as either:

a. "tight fit", most often the building with specifically tailored spaces.

b. "loose fit", most often the building with universal space, loft space.

Examples of tight fit:

• Most any house by Richard Meier
• Most any house by Gwathmey/Siegel
• House E.1027, Roquebrune, by Eileen Gray, 1926-29

Examples of loose fit:

• The Menil Collection, Houston, TX by Renzo Piano, 1981-83
• George Pompidou cultural center, Paris France, by Piano & Rogers, 1971-77
• PAT center, Princeton, NJ by Richard Rogers
• Salk Institute laboratories, La Jolla, CA, Louis I. Kahn, 1959-66

It is possible for buildings to embody both principles.

Examples of loose and tight fit:

• The Codex World Headquarters, Canton MA, by Koetter Kim & Assocs, 1983

Many buildings by Richard Meier such as:

• Swissair North American Headquarters, Melville NY 1991-95
• Hypolux Bank Building, Luxembourg, 1989-93
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain, 1987-95