Iconography as a tool Michal Gorczyca April 1, 2008

Transcription

1 Iconography as a tool Michal Gorczyca April 1, 2008 This thesis is interested in the potential of iconography as a tool for realizing new and perhaps unusual architectural and programmatic configurations through effective communication of the image. This design method will be tested in the design of a mixeduse development located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, on Montreal s south shore. Iconic buildings have become a requirement in nearly every construction boom following the stunning success of Frank Gehry s design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Cities now look to architecture for captivating icons for marketing and urban revival. A detailed recording and regular updating of constructed and planned iconic buildings will create a catalogue of past and current trends. This information will illustrate the evolution and cross-referencing of icons. For the design of this project, a study of the currently accepted image of suburbia will be intersected with ecologically ideal, almost utopian conditions.

2 2 Thesis Premise: Icon The premise of this thesis is concerned with the implication of iconography in architecture. Iconography applied in the design process of a mixed-use development in the suburb of St-Bruno on Montreal s south shore will serve as the test bed, as it is stubborn to change and largely falls outside the architectural spectrum. The interest in iconography in architecture stems from the growing market demands placed on architects to produce iconic buildings. Following the stunning success of Frank Gehry s design of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, cities around the world have looked to the iconic building as a means for urban revival. The worldwide demand for icons has generated a great deal work for architects, or rather an enormous amount of work for a select group of iconic architects. The architectural flair formerly reserved for World Expos and Olympic Games is now used unrestrictedly to attract global attention, therefore an examination of the building as an icon in contemporary society is relevant. Assuming that architecture is society s physical expression, the rise of the icon is indeed indicative of our image-based culture. The race to build the next great icon may seem as futile as the race to build the world s tallest skyscraper, yet cities around the world indulge in it in marketing themselves. How does one distinguish between a good icon and a bad one? What should an iconic building represent? More importantly, I am interested in the potential of iconography as a tool for realizing new and perhaps unusual architectural and programmatic configurations through effective communication of the image. Icons are already used to encourage consumption of no small amount of crap, how can the icon sell ecological and social responsibility?

3 3 Primary Area of Study: Potential for Iconography in Suburbia Charles Jencks argues in his book, The Iconic Building, that the point of a democratic icon is to upset the context, overturn convention and challenge hierarchy (13). Jencks then explains the emergence of mass housing, following the Second World War, atop the modernists conceptual pyramid as an inversion of customary hierarchy. Le Corbusier s Unité d habitation became an instant icon for, and of, the modern movement as a result of the radical departures it proposed for collective living (25). Today, Everybody wants an icon writes Deyan Sudjic in The Edifice Complex (318). Jencks puts forth that iconic buildings intensify experience in order to be memorable, meaning great iconic does not imply a great work of architecture, but more importantly a captivating one (54). Peter Davey, of The Architectural Review, Rem Koolhaas, of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), for whom the global market rules and its incessant demand for urban change makes the content of building and concerns about quality irrelevant (77). OMA has inarguably exerted a strong influence on the current generation of Dutch architects, many of who began their careers at OMA. Davey states that Koolhaas influence has been such that the Super Dutch have been making living quarters for the poor (social housing) into architectural monuments for a decade. Davey then cites the example of MVRDV s WoZoCo housing for old people in Amsterdam where five considerable cantilevers, justified by site conditions and programmatic requirements, impact the finished quality of the main housing slab (77). Koolhaas influence extends to the methodology of the Danish office formerly known as PLOT, founded by two former OMA architects and now divided as BIG and JDS. PLOT s manifesto proclaimed that Beautiful details and individual moments get lost if nothing is at stake - if the PLOT is missing ( while the last line of BIG s manifesto reads In all our actions we try to move the focus from the little details to the BIG picture (

4 4 Program: Mixed-use development The proposed program is that of a mixed-use development, mainly consisting of housing but also including commercial, office and leisure functions. The focus on housing is based on the commodification of housing in the market, it is the most consumed and appropriated form architecture. Under the assumption that the icon increases consumption, it is suitable to approach housing from this direction. A general goal will be to design denser housing than that currently produced in the suburbs and position it in proximity to other functions. Also, a wide range of programmatic functions will hopefully push the design to manifest iconography as something other than an iconic object. This choice of program falls under the category of suburban community planning or housing development while hoping to learn from the pitfalls of tract housing. Densification of housing in the suburban setting is a challenge because of widespread acceptance and expectation of the suburban experience. An iconographic approach can suggest alternative models while maintaining a level of familiarity that saves the project form being discarded as too avant-garde or simply too weird to sell.

5 5 Site: Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Montreal suburb Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville is suburb of Montreal located on the south shore along highway 116. The municipality occupies land that once was a seigneury and recently de-merged from the urban agglomeration of Longueuil, after merging in The suburban site is interesting for its general lack of extended architectural history and availability of land. The suburban landscape is predominantly composed of monofunctional freestanding boxes, selling the image of an abundance of space, a space mainly consumed and experienced through mechanized transportation. The main reason for choosing a site in a Montreal suburb is suburbia s general aversion to density. In the case of Saint-Bruno, until recently apartment buildings were used either for low-income housing or nursing homes. An ageing population has created a demand for the convenience of condominiums, prompting the conversion of some apartment buildings and construction of new condo buildings. The largest building project in Saint-Bruno, since the construction of its regional shopping mall, is an assisted-living complex for old people. Curiously, the town is undergoing a densification to meet the demands of its existing, ageing population, while the demands of newer generations are met with further sprawl. Also, the choice of a suburban site will position this project in the discussion of the ecological responsibility of urban sprawl.

6 6 Mode of Production: Iconography as design process A mapping or charting of the worldwide proliferation of iconic buildings will serve to illustrate the magnitude of the iconographic phenomenon. To compile this date with some level of consistency, Sudjic s explanation of an icon as form follows image, not function (319) and Jencks definition of an iconic building as reducible to a symbol (22) will be used to filter search results. This information is important, as it will illustrate the interconnectedness and rampant cross-referencing among icons. Working within the iconographic framework, the intent is to use iconography as a design tool. According to Michiel van Raaij, the construction of a building is a recoding of a situation, which is preceded by the site preparations and surveying, or decoding (Remix Mies). For the design of this project, a decoding of currently accepted images of suburbia will be intersected with the ecological and urban ideals. In the process between decoding and recoding, iconography will be used as operating an image that both organizes the building and communicates easily to the client and general public (van Raaij). The combination of the initial survey with the decoding-recoding process also may call for the use of what Sudjic calls a license for weirdness (318). The introduction of a hypothetical client is possible.

7 7 Conclusion: Responsible icon I am interested in the potential of iconography as a tool for realizing new architectural and programmatic configurations through effective communication of images. A broad recording and regular updating of constructed and planned icons will create a catalogue architectural trends. This image database will serve as guide from which to draw or react. A study of currently accepted images of suburbia will then be intersected with the ecologically ideal, if not utopian, conditions. This method of production will be tested in the design of a mixed-use development located in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville on Montreal s south shore. The aim is to produce a responsible icon, using imagery to sell sustainability and programmatic complexity.

8 8 List of Primary Sources: WoZoCo Housing, MVRDV. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Hagen Island, MVRDV. Ypenburg, Netherlands, VM Housing, PLOT. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2005 Mountain Housing, PLOT. Copenhagen, Denmark, BIG House, BIG. Copenhagen, Denmark, Habitat Montreal, Moshe Safdie. Montreal, Canada, 1967.

9 9 List of Secondary Sources: Davey, Peter Bling, Blobs, Burgeoning: Problems of Figure. The Architectural Review, March p Jencks, Charles The Iconic Building. New York: Rizzoli. Friedman, Avi Planning the New Suburbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. Glaister, Dan Better out than in. The Guardian Koolhaas, Rem S,M,L,XL. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Ouroussoff, Nicolai If You Build It, Will They Come? The New York Times anted=1 Ruby, Andreas and Ilka Ruby, eds The Challenge of Suburbia. London: Wiley Academy. Somol, Robert en Whiting, Sarah Notes around the Doppler Effect and other moods of Modernism. Perspecta 33, 72. Sudjic, Deyan The Edifice Complex. New York: Penguin Press. The official website of PLOT The official website of BIG van Raaij, Michiel Remix Mies. Eikongraphia. van Raaij, Michiel Capitalism and Decadence. Eikongraphia. van Raaij, Michiel The Endgame of Minimalism. Eikongraphia.

10 10 Appendix: Figures Figure 1. ZZ Top

11 11