Reading7 The possibilities of contemporary design Q&A

“As technology becomes more sophisticated, more of the human input is delegated to the tool, first, typically, the power source and then gradually the controls, until we arrive at the fully automated black-box machine from which – at the touch of a button – ‘finished products’ magically appear […]
As less and less embodied knowledge is produced during both the educational and professional experience of the practising architect, it is no surprise that [..] Venturi’s ‘decorated shed’ has become one of the dominant architectural paradigms – a supposedly functional but anonymous box wrapped in a slick and seamless signifying skin […]
Given that so much of our productive life is spent in front of a computer screen, it may be that a newly re-embodied digital interface may yet allow us to rediscover it.”
- Hale, Jonathan. 2012. "Architecture, technology and the body: from the prehuman to the posthuman." In The SAGE handbook of architectural theory. Eds. Crysler, C. Greig, Stephen Cairns, and Hilde Heynen, 513-526. Los Angeles: SAGE

Q) Reflecting on your own design challenges with this project, is it possible to create an educational facility that is not “a supposedly functional but anonymous box wrapped in a slick and seamless signifying skin”?

     At the very beginning when our ancestors walked out of the cave and built their first refuge with branches or stones, the shelter itself could not escape the limitations of gravity. From Vitruvius in the west to “Construction Methods” （营造法式）in the east, ancient architects worked tirelessly to explore the possibility of using stone and wood as materials to overcome the limitations of gravity. The flesh and blood eventually decay, while many great architectures stand for thousands of years.

    From the birth of glass, it began to be used as a building material, from flower windows in churches to greenhouses, and be combined with steel to support commercial streets or exhibition halls. In contrast, the history of glass curtain walls is not long. The 1918 American Khalid Building was the first building to use modern architectural curtain walls. Taking this as a starting point, the explosive growth of the glass curtain wall has become the most mainstream facade form in modern cities.

     Due to technical limitations in China, it was not until the main venue of the Guangzhou Trading Conference in 1981 that the use of glass curtain walls began. But nowadays, countless towering towers wrapped in transparent clothes stand on this ancient land.

     The benefits of glass curtain walls are obvious. Good lighting makes the room full of light and the space seems more open. People can directly see the outside scenery inside the building, can enjoy the beautiful scenery in a transparent space, and bring people visual and spiritual comfort. This is beyond the reach of traditional window and wall systems.

     On the other hand, when the height of the building continues to set a new record and the branches of steel are extended to the sky, the glass curtain wall becomes the most advantageous form of high-rise facade due to its lightness of structure.

     Now, when building a hotel or office building, the first thing that comes to mind is the glass curtain wall. When designing an airport, you can't even imagine other alternatives (at least I can't).

     Returning to my own design, first of all, I think that as a biological building, it is not necessarily a building that has a connection with the glass curtain wall. Some laboratories and storage rooms even require no direct sunlight. This brings me the possibility of exploring other facade forms. At the beginning of the design, I tried to use the arch to achieve the unity of the foundation and structure.

     In the mid-term report, many people, including myself, felt that simply repeating different variants of a single element was too formal. I think this reason is complicated. First of all, New Zealand is not like some European cities that still retain many buildings with round arches windows. Therefore, the arch does not appear as a unified form of vocabulary with the surrounding buildings. It is more like a tribute to the degenerate elements Venturi said. Modern building structures no longer have to rely on arches to support a very high space. (You only need to make the beam bigger.)

     On the other hand, the arch itself is not very suitable for a space for research and technology. People's impressions about scientific research are influenced by science fictions and films which are full of a sense of the future. The arch is just the opposite, and the contradiction arises here.

     I think this psychological contradiction will cause people to question why so many arches are used in the design of a biological building. To take the opposite example, if an arch is used to design an art gallery or museum, or an office building uses glass curtain walls, it will not be questioned.

     But does this mean I have to give up the arch? Not too. The arch can bring large-scale possibilities to public spaces, just as it was invented. Therefore, I will use this element to shape my public space, and at the same time use its cultural characteristics to neutralize the futuristic science and technology laboratory part.

     Therefore, when I look at this issue, first of all, I don't think that the glass box is bad. It just reflects people's objective needs for lighting and space. But this is at the expense of the facade characteristics of the building, and the building loses its sense of recognition. One cannot psychologically associate the same glass curtain wall with different functional spaces. From seeing flower windows to churches, from seeing bucket arch （斗拱） to Chinese wooden palaces. Today, A is glass, B is glass, and C is also glass.

     So my thought is also very simple, re-establishing the relationship between the form and function of the facade. Concrete arches are used to shape public spaces, libraries and lecture halls. Use glass curtain walls to shape scientific research laboratories, greenhouses and offices. The result of this idea remains to be tested in the final report.