Mark Burry: "Between Surface and Substance"

In the article "Between Surface and Substance," Mark Burry attempts to reconcile the differences between conceptual surface constructs and the intellect and craft of substance. In recent times, digital technology has provided for a separation of surface away from substances. Surface becomes a digital construct, while the crafting of physical form becomes the container for substance. In recent history, just before the advent of digital modeling in architecture, we have Le Corbusier's chapel at Ronchamp and Earo Saarinen's TWA Building. These two buildings represent the fusion of surface and substance, the conceptual molded into physical substance. These two works serve as examples of how to best utilize the technology available today. In the transition from surface to substance, Gaudi's Nave Roof for the Sagrada Familia Church illustrates part of the challenge in turning concept to reality. The mathematical work done to give form to the surface cannot hold to create a surface with thickness. While the exterior is mathematically derived, the interior surface is offset to provide for uniform thickness, and does not follow the same rules. However, this adjustment does not significantly interfere with the realization of the idea. A studio project undertaken by staff and students from Gehry Partners, MIT and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to design a reading room for the Melbourne Botanical Gardens illustrates this problem in a more modern way. The designs were done as conceptual constructs. They were realized by those not involved in the design process; however, the conceptual digital models contained intersecting forms containing thin forms not possible in reality. The resolution was the addition of thickness at these thin points that allowed concept to become reality without undermining the concept itself. Deleuze's term "perplication," meaning "cross-foldings" between complex repetitions, illustrates another element of the challenge between surface and substance. Perplications can take form as concept through digital modeling; however, though they can be rendered to look like a realizable surface, these constructs cannot exist in the physical world. The Aegis Hyposurface of dECOi Architects illustrates another part of the challenge. The idea of a wall reacting to it's environment in real time was easy to document in conceptual digital realm. When they won the competition they entered their design in, they were presented with the challenge of how to make their surface reality. In making the form physical, compromises were necessary; one compromise of note is the surface construction. No uniform material can react as the digital construct, but the piecing together of triangular plates with rubber in between made their surface possible. The point Burry is making is that today's digital technology should be used to make the processes that went into Le Corbusier's chapel at Ronchamp and Eero Saarinen's TWA Building easier than they were before, rather than attempting to separate the richness of the concept and the beauty of craft.

As the technologies of digital modeling become ever more sophisticated, there exists great potential to either unite surface and substance, or widen the chasm between. Physical limitations are becoming better understood, and more realizable in the digital world of the conceptual surface. These limitations cap concepts to better hold them to the principals of reality. The potential for the union of substance and surface lies in the ability to remove the bias carried with the word "limitation." The negative connotations of limits can be lifted by the notion that these are not limitations so much as guide points; something to work from, rather than work to. In following the guide points established by physical reality, there is the potential for the conceptual surface to become the kind of well crafted substance that evokes symbolism characteristic of the world and environment in which it occupies, as opposed to serving as a reminder of the limits architects must deal with in the world of construction and design.

Umberto Eco: "Travels in Hyper Reality"

In the essay Travels in Hyper Reality, Umberto Eco discusses issues pertaining to the area of reproductions. Eco begins with a description of holography, and the realism it gives to a three-dimensional representation of two women. Holography and it's potentials allow the creation of a form of hyper reality, in which the representation, or "fake" is more real than original itself. In America, the dedication to the representation of important moments in time, or "memories" provides for places dedicated to them, such as museums, establishing "fortresses of solitude" where, much like that of Superman, people may reflect on the past. The representations attempt to approximate the real to the point of creating a reality better than the original. The representation of Johnson's Oval Office is not only accurate, but made to be prettier and last longer than the original. Taken to the next level, this level of detail not only represents real memories, but "memories" out of the works of fiction. The care to detail given to the Oval Office is passed onto Alice's encounter with the Mad Hatter in Wonderland. The realism of both blurs the distinction between what is a reproduction of reality and a reproduction in fiction. Upon seeing displays of both mixed together can overwhelm the senses and confuse the real and the fake. At the highest level, these hyper realities don't merely attempt bring the real to life, but to make a production that reduces the real to being unnecessary, as in the case of wax reproductions of the Last Supper.

The concept of creating hyper reality has a large showing in architecture. Many would be quick to draw the conclusion that modern technology, specifically digital modeling, is what has made this possible in architecture. However, hyper reality has been present in architecture since artists attempted realistic representations of buildings both existing and non-existing. For architects today, attempts at creating hyper reality are often part of a ruse to show a proposed building in a way better than what could be achieved in the physical world. These hyper realities show an attention to detail ranging from hard edges to clean floors showing no sign of building use. These images are timeless; they will not dirty with use, weather over time, or change configuration because of the whims of the building's owner. At the next level, these pristine models incorporate the fourth dimension, and are able to break the barriers of static imagery. Now, the fake ages as the real, becomes dirty, gets used, and ultimately breaks down. Now the model can imitate all the facets of reality, and at a level better than reality, through the modeling of the ideal. But, hyper reality falls short in one area of architecture; architecture is space making, and one can not physically occupy an image, even if they can plant themselves within with photo software. In the end, hyper reality can represent imagery better than the real, but spatial experience.

Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani: "Versioning: Connubial Reciprocities of Surface and Space"

In their article "Versioning: Connubial Reciprocities of Surface and Space," the principals of Office dA, Monica Ponce de Leon and Nader Tehrani, define and explain versioning as it applies to the works of their firm. For Office dA, versioning, with its connotations of integration, means integrating surface and space. Surface and space are, more often than not, treated separately from one another. Herzog & de Meuron are architects who have developed highly detailed skins, showing innovation at its best; however, these skins cover off the shelf spaces found throughout modernism. Gehry's development of space has made him a household name in the world of architecture, but he clads these forms with metal panels that have been used for many spatially unimpressive buildings in the modern era. The work of Office dA sets up architectural alibis, where program, site, and fabrication lead to the development of rational systems. Their works are based on arbitrary decisions crafted into strong, rational decisions. The Tongxian Arts Centre project provides and example of this process. The building is cast in concrete, but based off a brick mould. They use a Flemish bond, and remove the headers; in this concrete construction, the spaces left behind become arbitrary, and can be adjusted to break away from conventional building. These adjustments allow for the compression of expansion of not only the wall surface, but the spaces contained within. The surface manipulation defines the space; a relationship where coexistence is essential.

This type of versioning has many potentials in the field of architecture. One of the most important being the reinforcement of symbology in architecture. This level of integration can allow symbols of space and the build form to become more evident. Gehry's work would benefit highly from this design approach. His organic forms would become a more full bodied experience, selling itself for what it is both inside and out, as opposed to being hidden in the metal panels covering other, less symbolic buildings. There are many levels to which this integration can be taken. An extreme case would be the Death Cube K bar described in Anthony Vidler's article in Warped Space. This bar's insect-like cladding reinforcing the idea of corruption the bar stands for. While the symbolism in this example is rather negative, it is the idea of being able to use this level of integration for symbology that is important. In this form, versioning can give architecture the chance to reveal what before could only be hidden within the fabric of space and form.

Ingeborg Rocker: "Versioning: Evolving Architectures - Dissolving Identities 'Nothing is as Persistent as Change'"

In the article "Versioning: Evolving Architectures - Dissolving Identities 'Nothing is as Persistent as Change,'" Ingeborg Rocker discusses the evolution of presenting ideas in architecture. Frank Gehry and Peter Eisenman are the earliest precursors of the development of technology as a means of informing and altering architectural production. Both architects look at the two pieces of this technology puzzle, the conceptual and programmatic implications of the digital medium; however, neither one of the two consider both at the same time. Rocker defines versioning in architecture that links software configuration management and engineering data management, establishing architecture as a processual data-design, continually processing projection and convergence; architecture evolves through the process of different/ciation. Differentiation is the precursor to any presentation. The precursor of differentiation is different/ciation; behind it, there is nothing. Differentiation is necessary for any difference. Differences are fundamental to evolution in architecture through versioning. Differentiation is part of the process of repetition. Repetition in this instance is not repetition of the same, but repetition of difference. This ongoing repetition is the engine to this evolution of architecture.

Versioning as a system of integration is becoming more prominent in the architecture profession today. This integration of the different design elements is a fundamental of BIM, Building Information Modeling. Versioning and BIM bring together the different members and aspects of the design process to work together and produce a more refined product. At its highest level, the virtual realm of BIM and versioning imitates reality to its details. This is reality in the virtual realm. The difference between reality in the virtual realm and virtual reality is that in the former, all the rules of reality are near perfectly imitated as best as they are currently understood, while the latter typically holds to a specific set of rules aimed at creating one or few specific representations. This reality in the virtual realm allows for a new step in the design process. While versioning and different/ciation in design are not a guarantee for positive developments, the lessons learned through versioning and different/ciation in BIM and other applications can be used to make adjustments to design that were previously only possible through physical construction.

Elizabeth Grosz: Architecture from the Outside: "The Future of Space: Toward an Architecture of Invention"

In her essay on the future of space in architecture, Elizabeth Grosz discusses the common ground between the study of architecture and the study of philosophy. This common ground, which forms the basis of her essay, is the idea of the new or virtual, the latent or becoming. Architecture is described as the art and science of the manipulation of space. This manipulation of space must occur through time, and use two kinds of time. One of these kinds of time being time that comes before space and time, the idea of a space-time difference. This difference gives rise to the idea that space does not evolve over time, but that space evolves from time. In order for this idea to hold, the idea of time as a succession from past to present is re-presented as past and present needing to be in contact with one another, existing simultaneously; the present and it's past exist together, present succeeds present, past succeeds past. The past as memory is a virtual representation of that which formed the present. The past is the virtual, while the present is the real. The virtual derives its limits from the real, while the real embodies these limits. The past is dependent on the present and vice-versa. The two must touch in order for one to "travel" to the past, the virtual. To travel to different points in the past, one often must return to the present. It is the dependency the provides for the evolution of space.

To apply this to architecture, one would have to define what constitutes the real in architecture, and what constitutes the virtual. The virtual of architecture is plans, sections, perspectives, etc. The real of architecture is the built environment. The virtual must follow the limits of the built world in order to be viable as a built form. The built world must evolve from ideas represented by the elements of the virtual world. The virtual and real constantly interact. The experiences in the world of the real inform the planning of the virtual, and the experiences in the virtual inform the world of the real, allowing each to evolve. New forms are derived from old forms, adapted to new desires. This reinforces the idea that everything in architecture has been done already, in some way or form, and what is considered "new" is merely an interpretation of that which already exists. The evolution of the virtual is based in the rules of the real. Current technologies allow the virtual to take many new forms through the complex math this technology can utilize. However, the limits of the real, such as the ability of a form to stand through time, remain in place. The virtual adapts to these limits in ways it could not before, and thus allowing the built world to do the same. The real and virtual worlds continue to evolve within themselves, and from each other, constantly molding the ways in which architecture forms space.

Greg Lynn: Folds, Bodies, & Blobs - Forms of Expression: The Proto-Functional Potential of Diagrams in Architectureral Design

In the article "Forms of Expression: The Proto-Functional Potential of Diagrams in Architectural Design," Greg Lynn discusses diagrams using the works of Ben Van Berkel as a case point. Lynn makes a point that the type of diagrams he refers to are not representational of ideas, but are conceptual tools. Lynn attempts to prove Van Berkel to be a Proto-Functionalist with regards to how he approaches architecture. Van Berkel's work is described as non-linear with respect to progression from the diagram to concrete constructions. Van Berkel's work looks into the vague influences in architecture. These vague influences being elements such are structural concerns and hidden infrastructures, elements that are not readily quantified in the initial design phases of architectural works, yet have a clear effect on architectural form. These vague influences are anexact in nature, being able to be broken down to their individual influences, yet not readily described as a conceptual whole. The word vague is a cue to how these forces are not so easily quantified and determined. In design, these influences present the chicken and egg problem; design must be carried on with respect to structure, but structure cannot be quantified without a corresponding form. These vague influences have been historical understudied by architects, but Van Berkel's work is done through a process that conceptualizes these influences via the diagram.

What separates Van Berkel's work is his use of abstraction in his work. What separates Van Berkel's version of abstraction from the traditional version is that his version is not reductive of an idea. Rather, his is an abstraction that is generative. These abstractions generate the form, rather than the form generating the abstraction. These abstractions represent the technological aspect; they present an understanding of technology in cultural and social contexts, as opposed to concrete, tangible forms. As the diagrams build on and feed off one another, eventually a diagram is produced that breaks the barrier between this form of technology and the concrete assemblage.

The idea of diagrams being the building blocks in architecture is nothing new. The recovered sketchbooks of architects long past can demonstrate this fact. However, the conceptual, generative diagram is a different approach. These diagrams generate form, rather than impersonate it. In a linear process, these diagrams would be meaningless abstractions. It would be next to impossible to directly generate form from them. Working in a kind of cycle, where the diagram evolves to bring in more concepts in approach to a form brings forth a process that attempts to reconcile the chicken and egg problem between architectural reality and architectural form. This idea of working with these vague influences has the benefit of allowing form to merge with structural necessity, breaking down the wall between drawn ideals and built forms. This method makes it possible to design forms that can be built, as opposed to idealized forms which only server the purpose of falsely advertising the reality of built form.

Greg Lynn: Folds, Bodies, & Blobs - Probable Geometries: The Architecture of Writing in Bodies

In the essay "Probable Geometries: The Architecture of Writing in Bodies," Greg Lynn discusses architecture and writing as is pertains to descriptive geometries within architecture. Writing is presented as being an anti-architectural art, in contrast to the pure forms found in architecture. Writing is presented as heterogeneous and indeterminate, while architecture consists of ideals based on proportional systems. These proportional systems are given reason by relating back to the idealized form of the human body, a tradition that has been in place since the times of the ancients. Proportional geometry is presented as being important to governing the forms of buildings; without symmetry and proportion, there are no rules in architecture.

In contrast to this view that architecture must have proportions to have reason, Lynn brings up anexact forms. With respect to geometry, anexact forms are not exact, or wholly able to be simplified, but are able to be reduced on a local level, meaning these forms are not inexact. This leads to blob architecture and general anexact forms. While idealized, classical, proportional architecture is exact, blob architecture is anexact. The different sections and parts can be reduced to a rule set, while the form as a whole cannot be reduced. It is through anexact forms that architecture takes a step towards becoming more heterogeneous, more like writing. These anexact forms are not a complete departure from the former proportional systems; even anexact forms can be traced back to nature. Geological forms are also anexact, as geologists are discovering ways to make convincing representations of geological forms through anexact geometry. A common method for breaking down the anexact forms of architecture and nature is through the section; section planes break forms down into understandable two dimensional forms, readily able to be analyzed. One instance of this representation in architecture would be Le Corbusier's Maison Domino. It is through the analytical potential of the section that anexact forms can be studied and applied to architecture, bridging the gap between architecture and writing.

Lynn presents writing and architecture to be fundamentally different, however, both writing and architecture have their rule sets. Take works of fiction, plots build up to a climax, and settle down into a conclusion. This approach is a fundamental to works of this type. However, the rules of writing are not as restricting as the formal rules of architecture; this is where the difference lies. Lynn's suggestion that blob architecture can bring similarity to the professions of writing and architecture is right on the money. Blob architecture is more free form, but has a distinct, yet open ended, rule set. Works of writing follow some rule set on some level; sections of works could be labeled, and rules exist to suggest a proper order for sections fitting these labels. Blob architecture can also be broken down into component parts. These parts, as do the parts of writing, also have suggestions for how these components should be tied together. Given the generic rule sets available to both writing and blob architecture, perhaps the two professions are no longer as different as they once were.

Neil Spiller: Towards an Animated Architecture - Against Architectural Animation

In his article "Against Architectural Animation," Neil Spiller discusses the consequence of using animation in the field of architecture. As a person who has looked through many student portfolios in his time, he becomes worried when a student presents him with digital material, as opposed to drawings. Though Spiller himself is a technology enthusiast, stating the many benefits technology has for architecture, he is worried about the use of animation in architecture. He fears that architects are becoming more concerned with making a good animation, rather than creating good spaces.

Architects in today's world are limited by how new applications of animation are in architecture. The typical animation software was meant for film and graphics industries, not architecture. In a sense, by using this software, and architect is asking an apple to be an orange. This leads to a tendency for those using the software to play around more with the features of the software, as opposed to the architectural forms they are attempting to represent. These users "push all the buttons at once" to see what happens, and labels it as a final product. Such representations do nothing to give another insight into architectural form. They may be pretty to look at, but they say nothing; they are mindless eye candy, rotting away the mind as sweets do one's teeth.

The graphics in these animations also lead towards a representation of ideals, made possible by the less restrictive rules of cyberspace. Clients presented with these pristine models are seduced by the graphic aesthetics, and assume the built version will be the same. In the end, built form can only approximate these animated forms, often ending up as deformations of a digital ideal, as real world influences, such as gravity and context disturb these idealistic bodies.

Another shortcoming of architectural in the virtual world relates to the approach on must take in order to represent architecture virtually. A high level of detail must be known; dimensions must be known down to small features, such as bathroom stall width. Such a level of detail is not necessary for the creative proportions brought about through relatively simply mathematics to create an aesthetic that architecture has held since the time of the ancients. Such picky details detract one from such grand simplicity to the point where one loses sight of the big picture in favor of the small. This over-attention to detail removes the ability for others to speculate and reinterpret; there is no room for the imagination when all the details are given.

For animation in architecture to work, one must "dumb it down." Architects employing this technology must focus more on the whole. Attention to overall form, not the width of an armrest, should take priority. Animations should not seek to answer all questions about architectural form, but, rather, should answer some questions, while raising others, allowing for speculation, allowing the minds of others to attempt to reach their own conclusions. Architectural animation should be nothing more than a trailer, as opposed to the whole film. The architecture and films industries are two separate, inherently different entities; their representations and re-presentations should be different on the basis of the fundamentals these industries hold.