Frontiers of Architecture 1 - Cecil Balmond (flckr set)

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This is the first in an ambitious, even extravagant series of exhibitions to be put on about Architecture in Denmarks Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. The First one about Cecil Balmond ran from 22nd June to 4th November 2007 and showcased the work of Cecil Balmond of Arups, the engineer behind many of the most innovative and provocative works of Architecture in the world right now.

The Exhibition is split into three main sections following the layout of Louisiana
FLUX covering fractals, RAINBOW, explaining in themes geometry in relation to Architecture and Structure and NETWORK, covering the building projects on which Cecil Balmond has been involved with.

RAINBOW

Rainbow gives the background of the concepts of geometry both the simple forms such as the cube which is built on with the more complex forms and fractal geometry generators that Balmond uses. These concepts illustrate the philosophy which informs Balmonds work. The boards are arranged in a curve mixing graphics, audio, video and models to great effect. You can’t be helped but be drawn into Balmond’s world.

FLUX

Shows models and films of fractals the generators of many of the forms that Balmond harnesses in his work. This room mostly without explanation shows the pure geometrical form generally without their application to building projects.

NETWORK

We see in Network the geometries shown in Rainbow utilised in projects for Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaus, Daniel Liebeskind, Anish Kapoor to name just a few. This is a fantastic room covering a who’s who of starchitects and installation artists. Truely Balmond is behind many of the most daring and innovative strutures in the world today. The models especially are fantastic and a perfect link between the structural concepts and forms that underpin them and the built projects, whether finished or not.

Also I must mention quicky H_edge an installation from Arups Advanced Geometry Unit which Balmond formed. Based on a cubic fractal tiling of space known as the Menger Sponge. Constructed of aluminium panels and stainless steel chain a suspended network of reciprocal load paths go up to make a rigid object infinetly configurable from just these two systems. In other words with a collection of small aluminium disks a set of stainless steel chains have been made to form a rigid structural system, its a beautiful thing to see.

What we get out of the exhibition is a refound excitement in the architectural project, and in geometry for its own sake, and that the leading proactitioners of Architecture are being assisted, provoked and inspired by this great engineer, which in turn gives you more faith in some of the projects on show here that can often appear whimsical and iconic in the worst sense. At least the engineering is filled with a sense of daring and wonder which will stand the test of time. A great quote from Toyo Ito sums up what geometry and form means to Balmond.

He has completely transformed the meaning of Geometry in Architecture. To Cecil, geometry is simply the path taken by a moving point. Squares and circles are nothing more than very special solutions to the movement of a point. But we are under the illusion that those special solutions are geometry. - Toyo Ito in A+U Nov2006.

The 2002 Serpentine Pavillion by Balmond and Toyo Ito is a perfect example of Cecils approach generating for the roof a set of rules which produces real randomness and pushes engineering into an artform. This is a breathtaking exhibition in its depth and breadth showing a creative engineer with a portfolio and commitment that few if any current Architect can match. Reading the wired article about him, after visiting the exhibition I also came to see the exhibition in another light. Perhaps that Balmond is a little frustrated that he is constantly hidden from the limelight or the major credit and that this exhibition is a chance for him to pt thi right in a small way. The problem of sharing credit in the design process I think will only get harder with time, but this exhibition goes some way to putting Cecil Balmond in the light he deserves.
Also see; bd review.

The Town of Kiruna in Sweden is cracking apart. Like an earthquake in slow motion the ground near Kiruna cracks and sinks in an ever widening circle which is beginning to tear apart the city. A huge Iron ore Mine to the west of the town has caused the earth to subside around the mine at an ever expanding rate, and like an earthquake, the earth displaces in an ever widening circle creating cracks and subsidence and destroying buildings. This slow motion earthquake will last another 100 years has already begin to encroach into the city and will reach the centre soon. What’s the solution? The town will have to move.

The Existing City
Kiruna is a climate adapted planned city started in 1900 and designed with small scale irregular streets and blocks after Camillo Sitte or Kevin Lynch. The winding streets protect the inhabitants from the bitter winter winds.

Kiruna was built as a ‘model society’ in line with ideals that had evolved in Great Britain, and it became one of the biggest Scandinavian social projects of all time. Town planning, housing construction, transportation and education were adapted to the climate and to the needs of the people, on a scale never before attempted. The construction of Kiruna became one of the century’s great social innovations, and something which still permeates the whole community and makes it a site of considerable socio-historical interest. -via Kiruna website

The Future City

The Mining company IKAB have with Arketekter Wilhelmson come up with a new city plan to enable the city to move. It is very interesting. As you can see from the graphics it visually is modelled on cell or microbe structures which define elongated city blocks while also remaining faithful to an urban pattern that’s not gridiron. The plan goes further IKAB published a pdf called New Kiruna outlining the vision for the city with ski centres and glass domed areas. How this progresses in the future will be of interest, as other cities and communities have to adjust to changing environments and deindustrialisation.

Sami Parliament

The Sametinget or Sami Parliament in Sweden is due to build a new parliament building in Kiruna from a winning competition design by Hans Murman Arkitekter earlier this year. As soon as they won apparently they were asked if the building would be relocatable. I’m not sure why this wasn’t part of the brief as the reloaction of the city is not a new problem. But it would be a shame if this gets in the way of the building of the parliament, as its a good project

Particularly interesting is the way that the building eaves start and finish in the ground giving no traditional elevation, shrugging off the snow everywhere, but also looking like an upturned hull of a boat or deformation of the land, something quite apt considering the possible fate of Kiruna, also worth noting the Ice Hotel is near Kiruna in Jukkasjärvi and Aalto won a competition to design Kirunas’ council building (1958) but the council decided to build something much less inspiring…..lets hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

Reading about the recent coverage of the bienalle and more specifically on the talk ‘My kind of Town’ which included a discussion between Rem Koolhaus and Alain DeBotton on Architecture, PartIV quoted something DeBotton said and which was taken up by rob about ugliness;

When at the end, he (A de B) said that he was “looking forward to being able to appreciate the ugly”, I don’t think he was being ironic at all.

and then rob found an excellent quote refering to myspace from ze frank’s the show;

In Myspace, millions of people have opted out of pre-made templates that ‘work’ in exchange for ugly. Ugly when compared to pre-existing notions of taste is a bummer. But ugly as a representation of mass experimentation and learning is pretty damn cool.

There is a question underlying this and possible meme, can ugly buildings make great architecture? If I can find an ugly building which I think is great architecture maybe that will go some way to answering the question. In the end it wasn’t hard to find, its the PA1 house by PPAG Arkitekken, (see A10 issue11). Its by most standards of Architectural criticism pretty ugly, it looks unfinished and slightly temporary and apart from the frames of the windows and doors nothing is quite straight. You may not like the external cladding which really does look like elephant skin. It’s a world away from a starchitects frontpage project, but I think it’s great Architecture whether you like the look of it or not.

It was built to a tiny budget with really innnovative techniques where the walls are made of reused plywood and coated in a PU coating which also acts as the insulation. There is no finishing on the inside, and on the outside the roof sheds off the rainwater without any drainage system at all. It’s what great Architecture should be, innovative conception and use of materials, and willingness to see the basic ideas through without using an alternative perhaps safer aesthetic. And in finding an ugly building maybe an answer to the first question can be made. Like other forms of beauty Architectural beauty isn’t just skin deep either.

ark magazine (3.2006) ran an editorial and some essays with an overview of Estonian Architecture. So I thought I would do the same, particularly as one of the most important buildings in independant Estonia,The KUMU art gallery, was designed by a Finnish Architect. Also Estonia and Finland are an interesting contrast in terms of Architecture and Urban policies, two culturally very similar countries that are running almost diametrically opposite urban policies. How these two countries compare and contrast is fascinating because of their cultural similarities and their policy differences. Something I will look at in future posts. But for now a quick introduction to Estonian Architecture in recent years which illustrate how different Estonian architecture is from Finnish architecture.

A quick overview of Estonia
Since gaining independance from USSR Estonia has more than any other country in the world perhaps embraced free market economics. That’s the first flat rate tax system in the world and a whole host of other free market policies. Official planning control in independant Estonia has been very weak which has meant an increasingly developer led atmosphere to urban policy. Tallinn for example is developing rapidly outside of the Old Hanse town core. Purely market driven projects without reference to greater social issues are built here like gated communities complete with guards or the destruction of public city space like Viru square taken over by a shopping centre development. But Architecturally my first impression is of a scene which is full of quality and maturing quickly, some of which I’ve included here.

Staking out your Identity.
In starting out as an independant country¹ Estonia is setting up both a commercial and cultural framework. Commercially its free market economics, and culturally its a set of new buildings and organisations to promote an ‘Estonian culture’ and historical viewpoint. The Kumu art gallery by Pekka Vapaavuori is a temple of art to fit the whole of Estonian art into one building. Whereas the Estonian National Museum ‘Memory Field‘ sited and preserving as part of the design an old communist airfield a physical ode to Estonias triumph over communism.

New Architecture
Not just in the big set piece buildings but across the spectrum of projetcs there is some great new work and new architects emerging out of Estonia. In contrast to Finnish Architecture which is perhaps a little intellectually conservative there are some really great projects not afraid of breaking a few rules. I have compiled by no means a full run down but more a representative sample of some recent work in Estonia which is a little more adventurous than its Finnish relation;
Museum of Occupations by Siiri Vallner and Indrek Peil.
Apartment Houses by Kosmos Architects
Semi-detached house in Lucca by Indrek Allmann of pluss Architects.
The work of 3+1 architects
Pärnu concert hall by COO architects

[1] Like Finland Estonia was briefly independant between the two world wars. Also check the
Estonian Architectural Review
Museum of Estonian Architecture
arhlitt
Estonian National Museum.
Article on Estonian housing.

If you go to Helsinki this summer you can get a very good idea of the current state of Architecture and Design in Finland by going to three exhibitions. There is the the Asuntomessut (Housing Fair) in Espoo, the 0405 Architecture Exhibition at the Finnish Architecture Museum and at the Design museum there is the Koskinen and Suppanen exhibition showcasing two of my favourite Finnish designers. Kotilo (Seashell House) by Olavi Koponen is probably the most interesting home at the Asuntomessut. A building designed by Koponen to be his own home. Literally designed around a fireplace of which almost all the spaces of the house are twisted around. The house has a grass roof and timber shingles externally in Larch from Siberia and internally of Aspen from Finland. Its also featured in A10 magazine #10. It definetly has a strong organic feel both inside and out but also perhaps a little surprisingly of a bohemian 70’s residence because of the carpeted stepped space and round orange bed! Definetly very little privacy and not for everyone, but a really spacious and open feel. Very much a departure from the norm and a small gem. See my flickr slideshow of it. Also by Olarvi Koponen Villa Len Villa Längbo Kotilo

Ideologies

For the Fascists line up the Olympic Stadium itself or perhaps something by Albert Speer. For the Communists we should take the Palace of the Republic. For Democracy we could take the new Reichstag by Foster and partners home of the German Parliament. The Palace of the Republic for a communist building (proto fascist in reality), is very reminiscent of Cedric Price’s 1961 Fun Palace project in actual brief and realisation, maybe the closest built example of its type in the world. Perhaps however its associations were too close in the past and it is being knocked down (bbc article). The language of the palace Architecture is actually adaptability and, you could whisper it, openness and by implication democracy, not something really in line with its communist clients.The fascist architecture of Speer and March so daunting in real life are doing much better by comparison however, the Olympic stadium for example gets a face lift for the World Cup and stages the Final. Is this because these buildings associations with their ideologies are safely out the way of living history? Late 20thC Architecture in the Democratic realm is well represented by the Reichstag conversion which is a wonderful fusing of new and old suggesting rebirth and continuity, equally however Potsdammer Platz could be read as the commercial public realms grand mistake.

World Cup

However back to the World Cup where the Allianz stadium may represent a relatively new type of architectural expression one perhaps looking for an ideology. The modern cathedral that is the Allianz stadium can hold 70 thousand peole worshiping at the temple of football at one time, it was built on time and budget, it can take cashless payment and with its hi tec skin can instantly become by changing colour any teams home stadium. Its use of the language of adaptability makes it a pretty cool advancement in stadium architecture.

Modern Games

The Allianz stadium is also the latest most advanced building in the line of modern sporting spectacles, where national politics, ideology , sport and commerce mix with modern media. It was of Course the Berlin Olympics which was the first modern world games which introduced the world to this strange mix and which neatly leads us back full circle. So I’ll be watching the World Cup and like every other football fan this summer all over the world participating, by proxy anyway, at the home of the sporting spectacle.

Note

In keeping with my new resolution to try as much as possible to provide kmz files to all buildings I talk about please see Pointingit which has a post to Herzhog & De Meuron and publishes a kmz file on the stadium.