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1 Syracuse University SURFACE Architecture Thesis Prep School of Architecture Dissertations and Theses Open Tectonics Steven O'hara Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Architecture Commons Recommended Citation O'hara, Steven, "Open Tectonics" (2014). Architecture Thesis Prep This Thesis Prep is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Architecture Dissertations and Theses at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Architecture Thesis Prep by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact

2 Open Tectonics Steven O Hara Professor Roger Hubeli 01

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4 Table of Contents Part 1: Introduction Abstract Thesis Definitions Organization Part 2: Explications Practice of jigging Project of the open assembly Theory of articulation Part 3: Manifestations Projections Site Program Part 4: Ambitions Bibliography 03

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6 Part 1: Introduction 05

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8 Abstract Tectonics is the project of following rules. It is the process of accepting what is given to us and making the best of it. We, as architects, assemble these predetermined components without question, albeit with potentially great results, but there is more latitude to these rules than we realize. What if our components were special? What if each subdivision of architecture was like a component on a spaceship; tailored and considered, necessary for the life of the project. What if its existence, experience, and investigation brought us life and curiosity? What if we felt like explorers of endless curiosity, every day of our lives? Tectonics is the science or art of construction, both in relation to use and artistic design not only the activity of making the materially requisite construction that answers certain needs, but rather to the activity that raises this construction to an art form. (Maulden) The means of producing the components of construction requires a process of design. It requires scientific experimentation, engineering, chemistry, physics, and more. But it is not architecture. This thesis holds that architecture is the effect achieved by the thoughtful and intentional assemblies and constructions of these components, for human use. However, when beginning to question these components, one must concede that the components of construction are too well designed and time-tested to be overturned by a single thesis. The tools which form and manufacture these artifacts are too well developed and proven over thousands of years to be reasonably questioned to any productive end. The manufactories and markets speak too clearly to waste time denying the practicality of steel, concrete, and lumber. But this does not mean that we must accept whatever they produce, it only means that we must intervene with greater knowledge of the practices of how steel is milled, how lumber is prepared, how glass is floated, and how these all interface. The invisible variable in this equation is the jig. It is not the material, it is not the tool, and it is not the design; it is the artifact which enables the interface of the three. It is here that the designer and the architect can produce variation in the closed world of tectonics. If the architectural potentials of construction components can be opened, and the problems of different assemblies can be solved, infinite new potentials emerge. The world of tectonics suddenly opens. The rules are changed, specialized, and simultaneously made more accessible. The linear relationship between the designer, producer, and constructor becomes cyclical, and the architect has the opportunity to choreograph the process. By understanding the materials, processes, design, and jigging of building components, the limitations of actualizing designs can be eroded, challenging the relationship between designer, builder, and user. 07

9 The idea of open tectonics will be explored through three lenses of practice, project, and theory. These lenses will be the criteria of decision-making throughout the design process. 08

10 Open Tectonics Practice of jigging Project of the open assembly Theory of articulation 09

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12 Part 2: Explications 11

13 Jig: (n) a device that holds a piece of work and guides the tools operating on it. -Oxford Dictionary FIXTURE FOR MATERIAL LIQUID MATERIAL The process of making and using a jig involves a design intention, a tool, a material, and a physical or digital object to serve as the guide and fixture. + GUIDE FOR TOOL PATH MOLD The jig is conceptually and practically distinct from formwork. For the purpose of this study, the jig will be the focus of research. = JIG FORMWORK 12

14 Jig definition Physical 13

15 A digital model or line drawing is also a jig, by definition. It guides the path of a mechanized tool. This thesis acknowledges a continuity between physical and digital fabrication, and the concept of the jig is an important piece in understanding this continuity. 14

16 Jig definition Digital 15

17 A particular jig corresponds to a specific tool. This necessitates an understanding of tool, material, and design goals to make use of the jig. 16

18 Jigs + tools Physical 17

19 Digital fabrication follows the same rules, with specific potentials and limitations of material, design geometries, and tooling. In order to emphasize the continuity between digital and physical fabrication, this thesis holds that digital jigging is a more accurate conception of the processes known as digital fabrication 18

20 Jigs + tools Digital Physical 19

21 The proper combination of jigs, tools, and materials enables repeatability, precision, and potentially irregular geometries for the actualization of a given design. In the production of architectural components, the jig is constantly present. 20

22 Jigs + tools + materials * *large hydraulic machine guiding placement of roller 21

23 Design intention, tools, materials, and jigs form a matrix of fabrication and production processes. Each must inform and be conscious of the other. This thesis will investigate the extent of the influence of design intention and jigging on architectural components, accepting the practicality of existing tooling and materials. 22

24 Jigs + tools + materials + information Matrix of relationships Design intentions Tooling Physical or digital jigging Material 23

25 Within the basic matrix of building production and fabrication, different projects demonstrate different hierarchies of value. The open tectonic project proposes a restructuring of this hierarchy within architectural discourse. 24

26 Jigs in architecture / / Tectonic Project Formal Project Open Tectonic Project 25

27 The tectonic project uses regular objects, methods, and geometries as a means to the end of following the logics, qualities, and nature in a spatial context. 26

28 Tectonic Project 27

29 a c b 28

30 Tectonic Project Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, S.R. Crown Hall Chicago, USA a+b c 29

31 The tectonic project values material and tooling most highly, with the jig as the next necessary (yet invisible) variable. Design intentions, while undeniably powerful, aim to architecturally manifest the existing logics of material, production, and construction processes. 30

32 Tectonic Project Design intentions 4 Tooling Physical or digital jigging Material 31

33 The formal project uses regular objects, methods, and geometries as a means to the end of actualizing non-regular formal and spatial aspirations. 32

34 Formal Project Frank Gehry, Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, France

35 a b c d 34

36 Formal Project a c b d 35

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38 Formal Project Design intentions 1 Tooling Physical or digital jigging Material 37

39 The open tectonic project proposes to shift the hierarchy of the fabrication matrix. Material must necessarily drive the designs, but the architectural intentions for the material has the opportunity to be in closer dialogue, due to the higher value placed on determining factor of the jig. 38

40 Open Tectonic Project Design intentions 2 Tooling Physical or digital jigging Material 39

41 The assembly of building components, no matter their nature of production, is at the root of architecture. The caribbean hut was Gottfried Semper s study of the origins and archetype of man-made space. The dinstinction between structure and cladding are important to the development of this thesis, and will be used as a means of analysis. 40

42 Archetypal assembly Gottfried Semper, Caribbean Hut Study,

43 The distinction between primary and secondary structure is essential to understanding the nature of building assembly. It is a practical reality of the creation of space, and of mediating primary structure and panelized cladding. 42

44 Archetypal assembly Primary structure Secondary structure Panelized cladding Assembly 43

45 As architectural components begin to be re-jigged, certain flexibilities must emerge in the processes of assembly. Pictured left is an example of a completely open assembly. Nearly anything can be added or subtracted, while maintaining the integrety of the design and construction. Pictured right is an example of a limitedly open assembly, which is able to be redesigned, changed, and modified within the parameters of its design and constructional integrity. 44

46 Open assemblies Shanty, Johannesburg, South Africa Circa 2000 Charles and Ray Eames, Case Study House #8 (Eames House) Pacific Palisades, USA

47 Assembly Assembly 46

48 Open system: no limitations Primary structure Semi-open system: construction limitations Primary structure Secondary structure Secondary structure Panelized cladding Panelized cladding 47

49 This exists in contrast to highly refined works of architecture, to which modification is difficult or impossible--technologically or architecturally. 48

50 Closed assemblies Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, S.R. Crown Hall Chicago, USA Frank Gehry, Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, France

51 Assembly Assembly 50

52 Closed system: design limitations Primary structure Closed system: design, technology, and construction limitations Primary structure Secondary structure Secondary structure Panelized cladding Panelized cladding 51

53 This thesis intends to position its assemblies along this spectrum, creating an architecture that is designed and intentional, while embracing the values of improvisation. 52

54 Open Tectonic Project 53

55 Detail as abstraction Detail as motif Detail as an order details details details whole whole whole details/ornament details/design details/order ASSEMBLY SUPPRESSED 54

56 Theory of details Complimentary to this thesis is an architectural ambition, which guides the directions and decisions of re-jigging. Edward Ford s theory on the categories of details is important in the consideration of new assemblies. The detail as joint is of particular interest to this thesis. This focus enables an architectural theory to guide the nature of the assemblies engendered by the study of the jig s role in the production of architectural components. Detail as joint details whole Detail as autonomous design details whole details/architecture details/architecture ASSEMBLY ARTICULATED 55

57 Drawing from David Pye s concept of energy transformations in The Nature of Design, the articulation of assemblies can also articulate statically contained energy within assemblies. The project of open tectonics seeks to enhance this aspect of spatial experience with the alteration of the components and their assemblies. 56

58 Articulation of energy Peter Zumthor, Stalinset Memorial Assemblies are articulated in a way that expresses the forces of and between components 57

59 There is energy contained in all structures, but as with assembly, it must be intentionally articulated or suppressed. Within this assembly, one can almost feel the materials and components straining to mantain stasis. 58

60 Articulation of energy 59

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62 Part 3: Manifestations 61

63 a * * b If the material (steel) and tooling (milling rollers) are kept constant, what latitude is there to change the design of a wide-flange steel section? The jigging, in this context, is the information guiding the placement of the rollers. 62 *large hydraulic machine guiding placement of roller

64 Wide-flange beam studies a b 63

65 Rollers could move in and out, creating swells and dips, moving in harmony or dissonance. 64

66 Wide-flange beam studies a 65

67 Depending on the speed by which the steel passes through the rollers, multiple nodes could be developed. 66

68 Wide-flange beam studies a 67

69 By varying the angle of the rollers, an ad hoc quality begins to emerge out of the rigidity of the I-section. 68

70 Wide-flange beam studies b 69

71 Typical assemblies and components provided a valuable starting-point in developing the focus of open tectonics. 70

72 Assembly studies Exterior cladding (protective finish) Vapor barrier Heat barrier (insulation) Exterior cladding (protective finish) Vapor barrier Structural rigid diaphram Structure Interior finish Heat barrier (insulation) Interior cladding (rough finish) Interior finish Trim (tolerance cover) Trim (tolerance cover) 71

73 If the fabrication of basic joints was re-jigged, how would this affect the openness of the assembly? 72

74 Open assembly studies 73

75 The idea of overlapping panels is a potentially fruitful area in the idea of openness. The construction, tolerances, and qualities are greater than precise reveals or butt-jointss. 74

76 Open assembly studies 75

77 In exploring the articulation of assemblies, as well as the energy within assemblies, specific materials were hypothesized as existing exlusively in compression or tension. This idea is consistent with the nature of a truss, and a mash-up ermerged. 76

78 Articulation study 77

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80 Contexts for intervention Syracuse Regional Market structures are clear projects that follow existing guidelines of components and assemblies. 79

81 The market halls were designed and constructed with varying proportions of architectural intention and utility. They range from the delightfully simple... 80

82 Contexts for intervention 81

83 82... to the sparsely grand...

84 Contexts for intervention 83

85 84... to the tastefully utilitarian...

86 Contexts for intervention 85

87 86... to the strictly engineered.

88 Contexts for intervention 87

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90 Part 4: Ambitions 89

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92 Ambitions My ambitions for this project are to develop a simple, cohesive, highly specific and developed design. Concetely, some of the products will include: Large scale axonometric drawings of assembly and space, large enough to feel human scale Large scale model, using non-representational materials, but materials that communicate, in miniature, the atmosphere of the space Many, many iterations for the three aspects of the project: jigging, open assemblies, and articulated energy Studies of site usage, to determine how openness ought to apply to the Syracuse markets And as a reminder to myself: DO DISCOVERY REALISM DON T INVENTION SURREALISM 91

93 Bibliography Andersen, Michael Asgaard. In Conversation: Peter Zumthor and Juhani Pallasmaa. Architectural Design 82.6 (2012): Web. Aranda, Benjamin, and Chris Lasch. Tooling. New York: Princeton Architectural, Print. Baste a, Eleni. Memory and Architecture. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico, Print. Bostwick, Ford, Shapes of Gray: Concepts in Concrete (2013). Senior Theses. Paper Burry, M. (2014), The Architectural Detail and the Fear of Commitment. Archit Design, 84: doi: /ad.1792 Cadwell, Mike. Strange Details. Cambridge, MA: MIT, Print. Corbusier, Le, Peter De Francia, and Anna Bostock. The Modulor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, Print. Ford, Edward R. The Architectural Detail. New York: Princeton Architectural, Print. Ford, E. (2014), The Grand Work of Fiction: The Detail as Narrative. Archit Design, 84: doi: /ad.1778 Hartoonian, Gevork. Ontology of Construction: On Nihilism of Technology in Theories of Modern Architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, Print. Hopkins, Stacey, On Memory and Architecture (1996). Thesis Prep. Paper Keetman, Peter, Armin Kley, Dirk Nishen, and Rolf Sachsse. Volkswagen, a Week at the Factory. San Francisco: Chronicle, Print. Kieran, Stephen, and James Timberlake. Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies Are Poised to Transform Building Construction. New York: McGraw-Hill, Print. Koolhaas, Rem, and Bruce Mau. Typical Plan. S M L XL: OMA. S.l.: S.n., Print. Merin, Gili. Peter Zumthor: Seven Personal Observations on Presence In Architecture 03 Dec ArchDaily. Accessed 04 Nov com/?p= Mihalyo, Daniel. Wood Burners. New York: Princeton Architectural, Print. Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Embodied Image: Imagination and Imagery in Architecture. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Print. Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley, Print. 92

94 Pye, David. The Nature and Art of Workmanship. S.l.: S.n., Print. Pye, David. The Nature of Design. New York: Reinhold Pub., Print. Schittich, C. (2014), Details Around the Corner. Archit Design, 84: doi: /ad.1779 Shim, Brigitte, and Howard Sutcliffe. Shim/Sutcliffe. Ann Arbor, MI: A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture Urban Planning, Print. Spatial Memory. Wikipedia. Sept Web. 28 Aug Zumthor, Peter, Maureen Oberli-Turner, and Catherine Schelbert. Thinking Architecture. Basel: Birkha user, Print. 93