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University of Calgary
PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository
Graduate Studies Legacy Theses
2002
Direct experience: exploring an architecture of Bauen
Mazurick, David P.
Mazurick, D. P. (2002). Direct experience: exploring an architecture of Bauen (Unpublished
master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/11355
http://hdl.handle.net/1880/39419
master thesis
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Direct Experience: Exploring an Architecture of Bauen
Master's Degree Project Submitted by David P. Mazurick In partial fulfillment of the requirements for The degree of Master of Architecture
Faculty of Environmental Design The University of calgary June 26, 2002
Supervisor: Prof. Marc Boutin External Advisor: Dr. Geoffrey Simmins Dean's Examiner: Andrew King
The author of this thesis has granted the University of Calgary a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute copies of this thesis to users of the University of Calgary Archives. Copyright remains with the author. Theses and dissertations available in the University of Calgary Institutional Repository are solely for the purpose of private study and research. They may not be copied or reproduced, except as permitted by copyright laws, without written authority of the copyright owner. Any commercial use or re-publication is strictly prohibited. The original Partial Copyright License attesting to these terms and signed by the author of this thesis may be found in the original print version of the thesis, held by the University of Calgary Archives. Please contact the University of Calgary Archives for further information: E-mail: uarc@ucalgary.caTelephone: (403) 220-7271 Website: http://archives.ucalgary.ca
With sincere thanks to the following people for their contributions not only to this project but also my time here.
-To my Supervisor Marc Boutin. Thank you for your true dedication, rigor and friendship during not 'Only this thesis, but during my entire period of study. I am looking forward to sharing many more adventures with you in the years to come.
-To my external advisor Dr. Geoffery Simmins. Your insightful comments and open mindedness have allowed this project to explore directions it most certainly would not have taken without it.
- Andrew King, for accepting to act as the Dean's exanimer. Your insight into Bauen and Mies was invaluable.
-To my classmates. It is hard to put into words what we have shared and endured during our time together. William, Felicia, David and Ben - The friendships I have forged with you are sure to last a lifetime. I can not wait for the day that BM Architects opens for business.
-To Marino, Aldona, Shelagh, Jackie, Bob and John for fixing and more importantly continuing to have patience with me as I frantically pleaded for solutions to all my problems.
-To Mr. Bill, well buddy, It is impossible to say all you have done for me during our time together, but I am sure that without your help and more importantly your friendship I would be locked away in some mexican prison. I don't know how you do it, but there is a special place in Heaven waiting for you.. Thanks Mr. B.
-To the boys, Cecil, Curtis, Craig, Dan, Dean, Mark and Rod. Thank you for taking care of the 'Mouse' well I was off chasing my dream. All of the times you took care of it, feed the thing in the back seat and got me another mean more to me than I can ever tell you.
-To My family, for encouraging me to pursue my dreams and helping me in whatever way they could.
-Finally, to my Mom and Maries. Thank you for helping me get to this pOint, without your unconditional love and support I could not have chased my dream. I love you.
The Master's Degree Project provides us the opportunity to pursue issues that are important to
one's self while at the same time relevant to contemporary society. This document focuses on a
number of topics within the context of the broad subject of globalization, culture, technology and
architecture. The project is specifically informed by the realization that through the means of
information technologies, cultures around the world are becoming increaSingly homogenized
resulting in a condition where once relevant signs and symbols no longer carry the same
significance that they originally possessed. Therefore, I feel it is important to qualify my
intentions in the creation of an architectural sensibility that responds to this condition, and in
doing so re-engage the senses and create unique, individual, and personal experiences.
Mindful of this idea, this thesis examines the concept of bauen in the creation of a universally
architecture of direct experience. By utilizing what is inherent in architecture (light, structure,
materials and order) bauen responds to the loss of meaning in today's global society. The
development of a neutral architecture that utilizes structure, materials and imprintability is the
means through which the concept of bauen is able to achieve this.
Although the prinCiples developed within this project are applied to the design of a community
library in Saskatoon it must be understood that they are applicable to any architectural program.
This Masters Degree Project offers a theoretical investigation of the built environment and shows how an
architecture of direct experience creates an active relationship between a building, its context and its user. In
this investigation, the introduction of bauen as the continued exploration of ideas related to the work of Mies
van der Rohe, develops an architecture that reclaims what is central to its essence: light, structure, material,
and order. Through the development of these ideas, I will define an architecture that consists of a coherent
form that is, employed to establish an active engagement of the human senses; that is an architecture of
direct experience.
This investigation into the re-engagement of direct experience through bauen is important because
information technology, through the means of signs and symbols, produces a passive relationship between
meaning, and the user. Within a cultural context, the significance of signs and symbols in a multi-cultural
world have come into question, resulting in a global society that is bombarded with meaningless information.
In contrast, direct experience engaged through the spirit of bauen can be significant. What is presented
through the four characteristiCS implicit in bauen. neutral tableau*, structure*, materials* and imprintablity*,
stimulates immediate individual knowledge and beliefs, without external validation, offering meaning through
atmosphere rather than aesthetics. Through the design of a public library for the city of Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, bauen is explored and applied in a contemporary urban context.
*Terms defined in introduction, pages 11-12.
Globalization
Information Technology
Direct Experience
Atmosphere
Bauen
Preface
Abstract and key words 1
Introduction 7
Chapter I - cultural context 13
a. Globalization 15 b. ProfuSion of Signs and Symbols 19
Chapter II - critical architecture 27
a. Direct Experience 31 b. Bauen 35
Chapter III - precedent studies 41
a. Donald Judd 43 b. Mies van der Rohe 51 c. Herzog and deMeuron 59
Chapter IV - design intervention 65
a. Site and Program 67 b. Library Design 75
Conclusion 85
Selected Bibliography 89
Image Credits 95
This project offers an inquiry into the loss of direct experience caused by the homogenization of cultures and
the human condition in our contemporary world. The discussion begins by showing how the spread of
globalization by the means of information technology (among other phenomena) has resulted in the loss of
meaningful experience, while acknowledging that there exists a much larger investigation of these
phenomena that cannot be discussed within the scope of this project. The document examines how the
development of bauen within architecture can create meaningful experience within this homogenized global
context. The investigations into bauen will form the framework for the architectural exploration manifested in
the design of a Public Library for downtown Saskatoon. Four chapters outline the proposed argument: I -
cultural context, II - critical architecture, III - precedents, IV - design intervention.
In the first chapter, I propose that teday's world is characterized by increasing globalization, a phenomenon
that transcends national borders, projecting the values of a specific culture onto other cultures and building a
new frame of reference or world order for all other cultures. Specific to how we interact with this world is
the mediation of experience due to the continued rise of the virtual world, the electroniC image as opposed
to the real. I then put forward that in order to design an architecture appropriate to this phenomenon, we
must understand the conditions brought about by new technologies.
From this point the discussion focuses on the aspect of homogenization of our current culture that results
from the profusion of signs and symbols brought about by the dissemination of new information
technologies. This chapter looks at how we associate meaning, how media conveys meaning, the collapse of
space and time, and how the homogenization of cultures has reduced our ability as a global SOCiety to
maintain meaningful experiences.
I then hypothesize that if globalization has created a world that has become homogenized by new
information technologies and unlimited access to an over-abundance of meaningless representation, a
shared, meaningful understanding of signs and symbols is impossible. What must be investigated are ways
of communicating universal meaning and experience that do not use representation.
The second chapter explores a critical architectural solution towards the creation of meaning and experience.
Based on an essay by Ignasi de Sola-Morales, "Mies van der Rohe and Minamalism", this exploration is
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structured by a discussion on the use of architecture's own inherent logic or bauen to create an immediate
and personal response within the viewer. I will then develop the concept of bauen, and discuss how it
reconnects theory and reality in a quest for an architecture of direct experience.
In the third chapter I have chosen to study one artist and two architects within the context of direct
experience and bauen: the work of Donald Judd, Mies van der Rohe and the Swiss firm of Herzog and
deMeuron. In the review of these projects, I discuss how the work creates direct experience through the
utilization of the four characteristics impliCit in bauen: neutral tableau, structure, materials and imprintability.
From these interpretations I refine my own architectural strategies, in response to the homogenizing effects
of globalization.
Chapter four will explore in more detail an architecture of bauen, using the proposed Saskatoon Public
Library as a case study. I begin with an overview of the site and program. This includes a Site analYSis that
will form the context for the design of the Saskatoon Downtown Public Library. I attempt to answer how
architecture can respond to the context of globalization and generate a meaningful experience within the
viewer through the four issues related to the architecture of bauen: neutral tableau, structure, materials and
imprintability.
Finally, the conclusion critically discusses the findings of the investigation in terms of discovering an
architecture that captures the spirit of the times. The conclusion provides the opportunity to gauge the level
of success the project achieves in responding to the homogenizing effects of globalization through the
exploration of bauen.
To further clarify the intentions of this thesis, I feel it is important to provide a conceptual definition of certain
terms as they relate to the discussions contained in this investigation.
Globalization: A dynamic and abstract idea brought about as a result of significant transformations in the
availability and access to information technologies, and the movement of goods and people, producing the
global dissolution of contemporary social, cultural and phYSical boundaries, resulting in a homogenization of
traditional local cultures.
Information Technology: Any electronic tool that aids in the access and management of cultural flows.
These can be accessed at any moment, from any place on the globe. However, it must be understood that
although information technology is rapidly spreading throughout the globe, it is most likely to be accessible
from 1st and 2nd world countries.
Direct Experience: The generation of meaning through the direct engagement of the senses, creating an
open-ended dialogue between the viewer and the architecture. This allows for the viewer to generate his or
her own meaning from the experience. Meaning in this way is felt (atmosphere) and not read (aesthetics).
Bauen: Bauen or spiritualized building, is the creation of a clear and simple construction logic,
elevated to an expression of pure form, that is complex in its experience. Based on the ideas of
Mies van der Rohe, bauen as understood within this investigation, completley removes itself from
its German roots. This new perception utilizes structural and material properties to create a
clarity of understanding within the architecture, reconnecting theory and practice in an
architecture of direct experience. It does this by editing architecture down to its simplest forms.
Central to the creation of meaning within this archiecture is the exploration of the following four
ideas:
1) Neutral tableau: designing in such a way that what is produced makes no reference to anything
outside of itself. The experience produced comes from what is there and nothing else; the
architecture presents rather than re-presents.
2) Structure: The design of the structure gives order to the architecture. It is the starting
point for the building design and everything evolves from the structural order. However,
the definition of structure is not limited to the clear understanding of columns and beams,
but is an enhanced understanding of how the overall structure makes all elements equally
apparent, physical and completely understandable from their combined effect. It is a
double visibility. The elements of the building are clear, but at the same time, they are
subordinated to a new total unity of structure. The shape, volume or material surfaces
are something in themselves, they are straightforward and, have the ability to create a
spiritual response within the viewer.
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3) Materials: The investigation into and development of material characteristics in order to produce a
new understanding of their potential to create spatial atmosphere and meaning. Through the
rejection of conventions in architecture I develop an idea of materials that are not preconceived, but
are defined as the design process unfolds. By these means the overlooked raw materials of what
surrounds us is allowed to reveal a new understanding; something subtle, slow and surprising.
4) Imprintability: The use of neutrality in architecture allows it to become animated by both site
influences and the patina accumulated through the use of the architecture. The utilization of natural
phenomena and patterns of use allows the architecture to evolve over time and to transform it,
giving the viewer a new understanding of the architecture.
S) Atmosphere: Atmosphere is the total impression we get from an experience, the feelings it creates
and the memories it may bring back. It has the capacity to awaken our imagination because it
allows the viewer to undergo personal feelings that are accessible only through spiritual reflection
and study. Architecture based on direct experience is able to create atmosphere because it engages
all five senses and generates immediate, intuitive and instinctive reactions. This being the case, by
actively involving visitors and engaging their senses through the practice of bauen, they are able to
construct their own feelings and meaning within the architecture.
Globalization is difficult to define because it is a dynamic, abstract idea, and yet it seems to affect everyone
in some form or another. In Media and Modemfty, (1995) Thompson refers to globalization as the activities
that:
1) Take place in an arena which is global or nearly so ...
2) Are organized, planned or coordinated on a global scale, and ...
3) Involve some degree of reCiprocity and interdependency, such that localized activities situated in
different parts of the world are shaped by one another. 1
Today's world (figure 2) is organized by increasing globalization, transcending borders, projecting the values
of a specific culture onto other cultures and building a new frame of reference or world order for ali other
cultures. The result is no longer dictated by the unique, the authentic or the specific but by the universal; a
unity without diversity. Globalization has its own dominant culture, which is why it tends to be
homogenizing. Culturally speaking, globalization is largely, though not entirely, the spread of Americanization
- from Big Macs to Coca-Cola to Mickey Mouse (figure 1) - on a glObal scale. Globalization is seen as a
process in which global media, consumer culture -promotion, and the consumption of life-style products,
images and identities- flatten the world. Local cultures and traditions that provided forms of particular
identity, practices and modes of everyday life, and that fortified against the invasion of the universal, are
eroding under the pressures exerted by globalization.
The homogenizing process of globalization is not new to the world. In previous eras it happened only on a
regional scale. For example, the Romans preserved much of the Greek culture and blended it with their own
traditions to give us the classical ideal. Their military conquests (figure 3) brought an empire to Rome and for
nearly a thousand years all roads literally and figuratively led to Rome. This empire evolved into the greatest
the world had ever known up to that date. Year after year, thanks to its military and political victories all
around the known world, Roman culture eVOlved, influenced by the usage of customs from the conquered
populations. Today, much like in Roman times, cultures are being conquered by an army, not of soldiers but
of technology.
To design architecture within this context of globalization requires an understanding of the matrix of global
and local forces, of forces of domination and reSistance, and of a condition of rapid change brought about Figure 3
Figure 2 A new understanciing of the Earth createc1 til rough globiliization.
The Roman Road to Globalization
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The homOgenization of our current culture results, in some ways, from the profusion of signs and symbols
brought about by the dissemination of new information technologies. Electronic media and information
systems tech[1ologies are shaping and channeling culture, making the world less dependent on intentional
statements of meaning like face-to-face interaction. Technological adv?,nces increase cultural complexity
especially regarding how we as individuals now understand information. Cultures around the World are
becoming one big culture. In order to understand this increasing tomplexity and simplification it is essential
to first understand how m~ning is assigned to signs and symbols that make up our everyday lives. 2 In his
1992 book fJJJi1JJJlLCQmR/J:Xjty, Ulf Hannerz defifles our need a6 humans to give 'meaning to what makes wp
ou!r everyday lives, Mannerz defines this process as the externalization of meaning, and observes:
Forms are only rendered meaningful because the human mind contains
the instruments for their interpretation. The cultural flow thus consists
of the externalization of meaning Which individuals produce through
arrangements of overt forms, and the interpretations which individuals
make such a display, those of others as well as their own. 3
In other words, nothing in the world has inherent meaning. The only way for a tulture to ~ffectively
exchange and understand meaning of assigned signs or symbols is for the culture to have a consistent way of
interpreting them. The defining feature of media is the use of technology to achieve an externalizqtion of
meaning (signs and symbols) in such a way that people can communicate with one another without being in
one another'S immediate presence. Through a system of symbols, each medium creates its own potentialities
and enforces its own cO\1straints on the management of meani[1g in its way of communicating between
groups of people. 4
It can be arg!Jed that in the past diversity between cultljres was eaSier to mai.ntajn because many $ocieties
remained isolated by means of space and time. These regional cultures used srr'lall-scale technologies like
drum language and smoke signals, as one example, as well as face-to-face commUnication and oral flows of
meaning in order to communicate. The manner in which they decoded their information was only
understandable to that specific culture. Culture within this model was distinct and was able to protect the
traditions, identities and modes of life of specific groups of people from others. 5
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Figur~ 4 satellites: One method for the spread of informatiOn
Today, space and time have been redefined, allowing cultural flows to be easily accessed and extenSively
managed. Information technology encircles the globe, with a degree of organization that is increasing daily,
making connections that are becoming ever simpler and faster. The distributive implications of information
technology (telecommunications, satellites and the Internet) is that the production of signs and symbols can
occur in one place, their simultaneous consumption and discussion in another; and since media has the
ability to record, Information can be stored for later use. This new global access and cultural management is
resulting in the dramatic transformation and homogenization of cultures everywhere. In today's world,
information technologies inherently mediate the source of signs and symbols froril their reception.
Therefore, when representation becomes divorced from the original source, it becomes meaningless. For
instance, an important cultural event that takes place in India may mean little or nothing to thoSe in Canada
who are watching it on eN Newsnet.
Information technology makes individual societies become more alike. This is because information
technology distributes an abundance of signs and symbols that create information overload and information
anxiety around the globe. Tne significance of this, especially related to a multi-cultural audience, is that signs
and symbols no longer have culturally specific meaning attached to them. The global language we are all
learning to speak is constructed by the manipulation of the media through information technologies and is
little more than an ability to recognize the trademarks of consumer culture. Our world is no longer one
concerned with individual human experience, but a realm of consumer culture that distributes products,
images and ideas throughout the globe. This popularization of information technologies means we are
bombarded with information mostly generated with the intent to sell products. Circulated by global cultural
distribution networks, events such as the Gulf Wqr, social trends and fashion, as well as cultural phenomena
like Michael Jorden, Entertainment Tonight and Hollywood films, constitute, as Paul Willis argues, 'common
culture'. With few exceptions, all of us who inhabit the planet at the beginning of the 21 st century are
consumers of, and participate in, the global phen.omena know as popular cultj,Jre.
The media's manipulption of information technology blurs the distinction between image and reality, leading
to a world saturated by Simulation. This growing preoccupation with images and image-making in
contemporary society induces a sort aT numbness. Images flood the senses and obscure other, perhaps
deeper, concerns. Things lose their meaning in a world that is seduced by the allure of the specta(le and
where reality has been drowned in a sea of images. A good example of this concept appeared during the
television coverage of the Gulf War played out live on CNN, which resembled a video game demonstration
more than the objective coverage pf true happel1ings. Media is portrayed as reality i3nd the distinction
between fact and fantasy is blurred, and according to Hannerz everything directly experienced has been
consigned to a depiction. He writes:
Because there is such a proliferation of messages from everywhere
in the media, global culture is characterized by a multipliCity of
perspectives and voices. It is a thing of shreds and patches.
JuxtapOSition becomes the prevalent experience as you zap your
way around the television dial, or wander aimlessly through the
Internet. When you have heard and seen everyt~ing and
registered the contradictions, irony and skepticism make up a
more likely stance than commitment and piety. 6
Although global culture is characterized by a multipliCity of perspectives and voices, the end result is
superficial and meaningless. Hannerz asserts that a technology such as television creates a passive
relationship between the viewer and the medium. Communication with the technology is one-dimensional,
saturating the user with numbing experiences. It has become the opiate of the masses. The central impulse
of commercial television is to transform only two things: The audience's viewing habits and its buying habits
and not to create any meaning. 7
Today, global integration and homogenization increases every day, as more walls are erodecj and more
cultures are absorbed. There is no longer a First, Second or Third World. Now there are only two worlds:
the fast and the slow. 8 The fast world is wide open; the Slow is the world for those who either fall by the
wayside or choose to live within a world of their own. (They are those that find the fast world to be too fast,
too scary, too demanding or too homogenizing.)
Figure 5 Gulf War Television Coverage: Reality drowned in a Sea of Images.
Figure 6 Gulf War 'relevision Coverage: The Allure of the Spectical.
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HeadlineNews .. ,), "'- , ',! ! ,
Figure 7 CNN: You're 24 Hour, Up To The f-linute News,
Figure 8 Cartoon Media Commentary
TI.I ......... we .... bV TOM TOMORROW
En fIIIIl AlII fU ";10 MfWS,. I
In a multicultural world, signs and symbols come into question, If globalization has created a world that has
become passive (or at least experienced in a mediated manner) and homogenized by new information
technologies and unlimited access to an over abundance of meaningless representation, the next logical
question is how can one counteract this occurrence and create and communicate deeper understandings of
meaning? A meaningful and shared understanding of signs and symbols is impossible, so it is important to
invest in another method of creating meaning and experience that does not rely on representation.
Endnotes
1 John Smith, Media and Modernism: A Social Theory of Media (Cambridge: Poly Press, 1999), p. 150.
2 Marshal McLuhan, UnderstandiQfLMedia: The Extensions of Man (London: Routledge, 1997), p. 3.
3 Ulf Hannerz, Cultural Complexity: Studies in the Social Organization of Meaning (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992), p. 4.
4 Hannerz, Cultural Complexity, p. 16.
5 Hannerz, Cultural Complexity, p. 20.
6 Hannerz, Cu/tural Complexity, p. 19.
7 Hannerz, Cultural Complexity, p. 30.
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Even though contemporary culture is able to embrace a wide spectrum of experience, this ability is being
undermined by the homogenization caused by globalization. Human experience, as the conscious
engagement of all our senses in the recuperation of meaning, has become flattened by the contemporary
overload of signs, symbols, and images. This then begs the question, what direction does architecture need
to take in order to re-engage the senses in today's world?
Architecture needs to critically counteract the phenomenon of homogenization and loss of personal and
collective meaning and return to the ideas and issues that address the essence of architecture; an
architecture of first principles. I will argue that through an investigation into bauen, incorporating the
related ideas of the neutral tableau, structure, materials and imprintability, an architecture of first
principles can be created, engaging the user in an active experience that stimulates personal meaning.
Within our contemporary global context, an abstract and neutral architecture can respond to the condition
of globalization by accessing our collective memory through the means of direct experience. In this way
the architecture creates an immediate and personal (spiritual) response within the viewer, that is in
opposition to the homogenizing effects of globalization.
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In order for architecture to be meaningful in a culture that has been immersed in passive experiences and a
profusion of disconnected signs and symbols, one strategy is for the design of a building to not reflect
anything outside of itself. By removing all extraneous references, architecture can be conceived as a neutral
tableau. Through this approach architecture has the potential to regain a full definition of human experience
through the engagement of the five senses. In order to effect this, architecture should not rely on
iconography but return to those qualities inherent in architecture itself. Fundamental to the creation of this
architecture is the elevation of atmosphere, as opposed to a reliance on aesthetics. The experience must
relate to its own inherent logic and 'use. Through the formulation of the neutral tableau, significance is found
in the material practices of architecture that relate directly to human experience. In this architecture,
meaning is ultimately constructed by the viewer rather than by narrative or representation. Through the
elimination of visual forms of reference within architecture, atmosphere is allowed to grow out of a personal,
spiritual dimension. Meaning is ultimately constructed by the viewer rather than by narrative or
representation. Architecture of direct experience evokes an immediate, intuitive and instinctive reaction in the
viewer. In an interview with the Internet magazine Archidea, the Swiss architect Jacques Herzog describes
how such an approach is fundamental in his own architecture:
The experience relates to very basic forms of human behavior,
such as knowledge of a door, of a floor, knowledge about what is
big, what is small, thin, cold, what is above and below. Simple
things that nobody will ever forget, innate experiences ... our aim
is to create a simple and clear situation, where intuition, so to
speak, guides the visitor through the museum and not a host of signs. 1
When architecture engages the human senses, it then can be understood universally. This universal
comprehension can be achieved within architecture by incorporating and developing unexpected conditions,
creating a clear dimension of the newr of something surprisingr something questioning, and even something
unpleasant. This creates not a scientifiC absoluter but a humanist one, where the logic of the building allows
each viewer to construct their own meaning within the architecture. This kind of design has the ability to be
enlightening and be understood universally because of the questions it poses to the viewer regarding our
contemporary world. It forces visitors to react to and form their own opinions about what is presented to
Figure 9 The Musical Dialogue of Jazz
Figure 10 The Spacial Dialoge of Soccer
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them as opposed to passive representation. For example, someone in an industrialized nation may
understand an industrial material like copper differently than someone from the third world. In both cases,
there is no division between thought and feeling; the copper stimulates immediate individual knowledge and
beliefs, without external justification. This interconnection is important to the idea of presentation; feelings
are legitimate because they have been developed through, thought and thought is felt because it has been
simplified and remembered and believed through feeling. 2 That being said, it is possible that by embracing
the nonfigurative and using it to advantage through presentation, that an archite<..ture of direct experienc~
can be created that is independent of external validation.
Only through the presentation of the neutral tableau can a universal architecture occur. In J1Le.JnviSlble in
AKbile.ctJJJJ;, XY2 architect Ole Bouman argues the advantages of the idea of presentation rather than
representation:
Representation is by definition monological; it is the fixed creation
of a subject. Presentation, like play, is dialogical, it opens up and
involves the playing off of one another of playmates. When a jazz
band improvises it is like play. So is football [soccer] when it's
working, when a team is really knocking the ball around, creating
openings, running with the ball, moving into space. 3
Presentation rather than representation creates an architecture of the senses by re-engaging them
through a dialogue between the architecture and the viewer. Instead of being a passive experience, what
occurs through presentation is an interactive, open-ended experience.
Through presentation of the neutral tableau, architecture has the ability to respond to the condition of
globalization and can create atmosphere by reengaging the full definition of human experience. If
architecture is to create direct human experience without reference, it must do so through structural and
material practices. In this way, by actively involving the visitor and engaging their senses through the
practice of bauen, viewers are able to construct their own meaning within the architecture.
The concept of bauen, or spiritual building, reconnects theory and reality in a quest for an architecture of
direct experience. By the use of the term bauen, I am building on the ideas related to the work of fVlies van
der Rohe, in which architecture reclaims that which is central to its essence: order, structure, material, and
light. Through these architectural attributes bauen can foster direct experience, producing atmosphere and
imprintability. Bauen is the elevation of a clear and simple construction logic into a pure architectonic
expreSSion, one that is complex in its experience. Bauen utilizes structural and material properties to create a
clarity of understanding within the architecture. Materials are clearly articulated, and at the same time
subordinated to a new total unity of structure. In this way the aesthetic experience is not vague or puzzling
because the viewer never loses sight of the exact physical nature of the source. The overall composition of
the architecture has two results; it makes all elements equally apparent, and it makes them completely
understandable from their combined effect. The shape, volume or material surfaces are something in
themselves; they are straightforward and invite a spiritual response within the viewer. In uniting the whole
and its parts, the architecture uses the geometric to create a deliberate, non-gestural emphasis on materials
and structure.
By utilizing the concept of bauen, direct experience is created: presenting rather than representing, and
offering atmosphere rather than aesthetics. Meaning here resides within the architecture's central and
constructional elements. Our relationship to this architecture is immediate; our senses react to the logic in
which the materials and structure are constructed and the manner in which they are transformed. Tangible
physical objects produce perceptions within the viewer through an immediate and personal experience. In an
interview with the architectural periodical Archidea, Jacques Herzog explains the significance behind this
practice: "We try to expose materials as clearly and simply as possible, without narration, without any
intention other than placing them in front. This is how everyone, in a kind of global language, can
understand materials." 4
Bauen as an architectural strategy reacts to the emerging global condition caused by technology, which, as
discussed, is creating the loss of meaning and experience. By simply offering its own materiality, construction
and space, and by distilling forms and materials into an essence, the work is immediate and spiritual. The
architecture attains an honesty because it begins and ends with itself. In his article, "Mies van der Rohe and
Minimalism," (1997) Ignasi de Sola- Morales describes how Mies utilized the power of materialism within the
37
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concept of bauen. "In Mies the realities are, from the very outset, material for the work of architecture .. .. the
materiality of the building form the very origins of its spiritual signification. The architect does not adapt the
forms of the materials to previously established laws or conventions that have to be imitated or reproduced."
5 What is produced does not refer directly to the past, the surroundings, or a particular style, but is a
neutral architecture that acts as a catalyst for experiences that seem both familiar and strange at the same
time. Through the means of the transparency of the construction logic and the economy of form, architecture
fabricates a new sensibility from its own inherent building logic.
Through this new sensibility, elements central to architectural experience and its material presence create an
atmosphere that engages all five senses within the viewer. What is produced is an abstract object that does
not edit out complexity but instead allows an unfolding of building uses and site influences onto a strong,
singular form - an imprintable architecture. The materials are transformed into something else where
phenomena play against it, reform it, and give it new meaning. The work of Herzog and de Meuron illustrate
these principles as described Jeff Kipnis in his 1997 article for EI Croquis entitled "The Cunning of Cosmetics".
By beginning with more traditional and tactile materials such
as glass, wood or concrete and then manipulating them in
non-traditional ways, Herzog & de Meuron is able to inSist on
the reality of the building while never allowing it to settle as a
reliable and perSistent presence. In other words, they do not
dematerialized a concrete form by replaCing the concrete: they
dematerialize the concrete itself. 6
The experience of architecture is transformed through changing natural phenomena as an active participant
in the creation of atmosphere and therefore meaning. TI1is allows the architecture to continue to evolve over
time. Imprintable architecture communicates a world of unadorned forms and architectural spaces in which
there is a real intimacy with the lives of ordinary people. The interplay with natural phenomena reveals the
kind of experience that is intended to focus our vision on what is most real-that is, the essential quality of the
materials and the space. By re-engaging the viewer, architecture has the ability to react to the
homogenization of experience caused by globalization.
Architects such as Mies van der Rohe, Herzog and de Meuron and the artist Donald Judd have explored and
continue to explore meaning based on direct experience. The work of these designers responds to a
common cultural framework - meaning within globalization. They have developed an approach that is a
counterpoint to the homogenization of experience. By way of the neutral tableau and an intense study into
the nature of materials and structure and how they may be imprinted apon, this body of work allows for
universal meaning.
Through more detailed examination and analysis of works from Mies van der Rohe, Herzog and de Meuron
and Donald Judd, I will refine the concepts related to bauen, and demonstrate how they are responsive to
our contemporary condition and work together to create a universally-unclerstood architecture of direct
experience. This exploration into bauen and the re-investment of architectural "sensibilities" that are gleaned
from each precedent study will be structured in this order: neutral tableau, structure, materials and
imprintability.
39
40
Endnotes
1 Archidea, http://www.pritzerprize.cbm/2001anncadv.html(May 12, 2001)
2 Donald Judd, Donald Judd: Zeichnungen = Drawings, 1956-1976 (New York: New
York University Press, 1976), p. 20.
3 Ole Bouman, The Invisible in Architecture (London: Roemer van Toorn, 1994), p. 22.
4 Archidea, http://www.pritzerorize.com/2001anncadv.html(May 12, 2001)
5 Ignasi de Sola-Morales, "Mies van der Rohe and Mininmalism," In Situ: Crttical Explorations in
Architecture, 2 (2000), p. 50.
6 Jeffery Kipnis, "The Cunning of Cosmetics," EI Croquis (1997), p. 23.
Donald Judd (1928-1994) explored an art of first principles that engaged the user with a sensibility that was
immediate and comprehensible (spiritual), and in doing so, secured a claim to the spirit of the times. I
propose that Judd's work can be interpreted as being relevant within today's global society that is immersed
in passive experience and overloaded with meaningless imagery. Judd established a clear geometriC and
material paradigm that guided his work so it could be experienced as visual, spatial and tactile phenomena in
the creation of atmosphere. I am including his work because he related a clarity of form within his art, this
concept can be utilized within architecture. By working with what is central to architecture: light, structure,
materials and order Judd created a relationship with the viewer that was intimate, personal, and open-ended.
These concepts will be discussed and analyzed through projects (1970-1986) including two "untitled' works
and "Copper and Light Cadmium Red Enamel on Aluminunt'. Four intentions in the work of Judd that define
the framework for direct experience within the concept of bauen: the neutral tableau, structure, materials,
and imprintablity follow.
In order to engage direct experience and sensation within the viewer Judd created work that was composed
of real sensory interaction. By removing all extraneous references he conceived his art as a neutral
tableau. Judd did this through what he defined as the "maximization of simplicity", eliminating the
characteristics of his art one by one, and then seeing whether meaning (art) could still survive. 1 This
process sought the minimal characteristics needed for art to work as form and object. What remained for
Judd was the essence of art, something that must be present if we are to speak of a work of art, or an
architecture of bauen at all.
The elimination of all references aims at preserving only what is essential in a work of art. In editing the
work Judd attempted to take representation out of the art-making equation, allowing him to communicate a
nonfigurative art that presented instead of represented. This intention is clear in this 1970 work Untitled
(figure 11). Like most of Judd's work, this piece is simply Untitled, avoiding any aSSociations that a name
might imply. Here, as in an architecture of bauen, the neutral tableau, materials and structure come together
to create a direct experience within the viewer. In this work each of the forms in the stacked series of objects
is seen from a slightly different perspective. By asking us to experience only what is there, Judd created art
without any hidden significance. The forms are enticing because they are made of simple components that
are clearly stated and detailed, or as bauen is defined, they are the elevation of a clear and simple
45
Figure 11 Donald Judd, Untitled, 1970, Spacial Exploration Into The Neutral Tableau.
construction logic into a pure expression.
The work IS comprised of 10 - 6x27x24 inch boxes fastened to the wall and spaced at 6 inch intervals. Each
box is stainless steel with blue plexiglas on the sides and front that has been fabricated with precision into a
hard-edged, geometric form, with no trace of the artist's hand. By doing this, less is said and more is left
unsaid. The viewer must consider their own viewpoint, both physically and intellectually.
This sculpture enters the viewers experience as a single form and then slowly comes apart in the viewer's
mind into its different aspects and decisions. The art is comprised of both the objects themselves, and the
space or void between them. 2 The elements of the work focus on creating a direct experience that does
not rely on the signs and symbols of reference, but is open to interpretation by the user. Through pure,
immediate, specific and unmodified sensation, Judd's work portrays immediate emotions and immediate
sensations. The use of materials and geometry within this work create strong singular forms that due to their
neutrality elevated the importance of all five senses within the viewer, giving the work a clarity of
understanding that is almost universal. Only through the sequence of observing, reacting to and recording
Judd's art was the viewer able to experience this kind of emotion. So, by basing his work in the neutral
tableau, Judd transforms a simple shape into an object that rewards further contemplation, and brings the art
to a primal level where it asserts its own reality instead of copying another.
When based in the neutral tableau, structure and materials are two of the methods within the concept of
ballen by which Judd was able to create direct experience. The shape, volume or material surfaces have the
ability to create a spiritual response within the viewer because, as discussed earlier, they are straightforward
and present only themselves. When simplifying the contrast between the whole and its parts Judd used the
geometric form to create a deliberate, non-gestural emphasis on materials and structure. 3 This is
characterized in Judd's Copper and Light Cadmium Red Enamel on Aluminum (1972)(figure 12). In this
work, a copper box three feet high, five feet square, is open from the top to the aluminum bottom. The
bottom is painted light cadmium red; you cannot see the red until you look into the piece, but it is implied in
this particular instance by the copper through reflection. The work is interesting because instead of moving
around the piece in order to locate a point from which its structure is comprehensible, it is necessary to move
towards it for direct experience to occur. 4 Through this method his work enters our experience as a single
form that comes apart into different aspects and deCisions. The overall composition of this work makes all
elements equally apparent, physical and completely understandable from their combined effect. What is
produced is a total unity of structure, where the materials are clear in themselves but are subordinate to the
whole. Judd's continued use of structure and materials in his work provide a good illustration of how the
concept of bauen is realized. With this example he was able to utilize structure and materials to display his
understanding for how a simple work of art can stimulate an open ended experience.
In bauen, materials have meaning in themselves and help foster direct experience. As illustrated in the last
example, Judd understood the power of materials and realized that if he accepted the inherent qualities of a
wide range of materials he could use them in a new way to create a clear physical presence within his art.
By simply combining essential geometry with common industrial materials he could produce exquisitely
complex results. The enhancement of the materials properties must be developed through their use, if the
concept of bauen is to create a direct experience. For example, in Copper and Light Cadmium Red Enamel
on Aluminum the red from the base seems to rise, and as you look inside, you see this reflected aura first,
before seeing the cclour. The spread of colour into the metal is an illUSion, but its effect is real and
traceable. The interior planes of copper are altered by the presence of the red. This is a way of seeming to
coat the box without physically manipulating the surface. The red from the bottom creates the condition
where the thick sheet of copper functions like two surfaces, itself and as an imprintable surface. This
transforms the material and pushes its definition, creating an inspired understanding of the material within
the viewer, stimulating spiritual reflection and study. 5
By investigating structure and materials, Judd realized that an art work's relationship to its surrounding
conditions could develop interesting and complex meaning. Within bauefl this is the concept of
imprintability. In Judd's work, phenomena play against the materials and forms, reforming them and the
art, creating a new means by which the work could be understood. Never was this intention more obvious
within Judd's work than at the Chinati Foundation installation in Marfa, Texas. Here his 100 untitled works in
mill aluminum (1982-1986) were installed in two former artillery sheds. The size and scale of the buildings
determined the nature of the installation, and Judd adapted the buildings specifically for this purpose (Figure
13-14). He replaced derelict garage doors with long walls of continuous squared and quartered windows,
which flooded the spaces with light. Each of the 100 works has the same outer dimensions (41 x 51 x 72
Figure 12
Donald Judd, " Copper and LiglltCadmium
Red Enamel on Aluminum; 1972, Material
and Structural Exploration
47
Figure 13 Donald Judd, 100 Untitled Works, Marfa1982-86. Art Utilizing Natural Phenomena.
Figure 14 Donald Judd, 100 Untitled Works, Marfa, 1982-86.
inches), although the interior is unique in every piece. The Reynolds Mill in McCook, Illinois rolled the
aluminum especially for the series. Each piece was manufactured, shipped, and installed over the four-year
period. What is interesting about the art, and important to the theory of imprintability in bauen, is how the
surface of the work changes with time. It does this because its mirror-like surface reflects its environment at
any given moment, creating an imprintable art. The lack of detail prevents us from associating the forms
with any specific time or place, and presents the sculpture as an abstract universality.
The concepts and works that have been discussed are crucial to understanding how the concept of bauen
works to create an architecture of direct experience. By exploring an art of first principles, Judd creates
something neutral. We real ize now the strength of the work in our own context. Through the concepts that
gave structure to bauen: neutral tableau, structure, materials and imprintability, his art reflected only itself
and regained the full definition of human experience. By engaging the user through immediate and
comprehensible (spiritual) art he was able to access the collective memory by way of direct experience.
Endnotes
1 Brydon Smith, Donald Judd: a catalogue of the exhIbition at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 24 May - 6 July, 1975: Catalogue raisonne of paintings, objects, and wood blocks, 1960-1974 (Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1975), p. 16.
2 Smith, Donald Judd., p.209.
3 Smith, Donald Judd, p.2B.
4 Smith, DonaKUudd, p.29.
5 Smith, Donald Judd, p.1S.
49
The re-engagement of direct experience through the exploration into bauen acts as a counterpoint to the
homogenizing effects of globalization. The architecture of Mies van der Rohe is typical of the creation of
significance through this means. Mies was able to successfully create an architecture of first principles. His
buildings transcended the limitations of form and elevated architecture to a level seldom attained. Through
an evaluation of Crown Hall, I will define the framework of direct experience and discuss the exploration of
bauen in terms of the neutral tableau, structure, materials and imprintability.
The first intention is characterized by the creation of direct experience through the means of a neutral
tableau. Mies labored to create an architecture of extraordinary refinement that communicated the non
referential expression of a clear and rational order. As the art of Donald Judd showed by analogy, non
representational language is a key element to the concept of creatmg an architecture of bauen. Mies's
investment in the concept of bauen reflected his belief that uncompromising logic lead to truth, and that
truth lead to beauty, or in the words of Sairse Augustine, "beauty is the splendor of truth." 1 His architecture
produced meaning through direct experience, engaging the viewer on a primal level as opposed to deriving
meaning from predetermined signs and symbols. Bound by the concept of bauen, Mies expressed only the
inherent qualities of the structure and materials, utilizing the neutral tableau and allowing the architecture to
assert its own values and existence. The result was a simplicity in form that allowed personal investment on
the part of the viewer.
This leads to my second intention, that is, that structure is the basis of bauen. In overcoming exhausted
traditional form-concepts where meaning was assigned and not generated, Mies was able to develop the
basis of bauen: a new architectural sensibility that was in harmony with modern technical means. He based
his work on the objective use of those means. His use of steel skeleton construction (skin and bones) in the
1940s and '50s was marked by technical proficiency within his work, and througl1 this proficiency an
architecture cleansed of aesthetic formalism in both function and structure emerged. Mies's understanding of
skeleton construction was important because it was the basis for his building logic conditioning all other
aspects of the building's design and construction. Crown Hall (1952-56), located on the Illinois Institute of
Technology campus in Chicago, exemplifies this concept.
Crown Hall, like most of the architecture t..,ies designed after coming to America, can be characterized by an
IIln IUUu.slQI '!l" •• ~! 1!I"'~im-:l'~_ I.lnl. MIUIIU! I~U , f(~"" ~ .: ,; '" '"'~ ~~~~ ~Ilii;;:", ... iii~' In Wi 1iIUiifHl~~~~~ II ff
, ~,-~ . ,t;.:- P~' ( • '-
-- -- - .----~~~~~~.--:-... -Figure 15 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1952-56.
Figure 16 LudWig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1952-56. Structure as the Basis of the Architecture.
53
Figure 17 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1952-56. Developement of the External Skeletion and the Open Plan Design.
Figure 18 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1952-56. Interior of Open Plan.
54
architectural potential of prefabricated steel building sections. Bauen, as a sensibility, assumes not only an
understanding of structure but also the development of its characteristic order (figures 15-16). Mies
understood the steel frame box in this new context, giving architecture the freedom to choose how a
structure could be employed. The steel frame eliminated the need for load-bearing walls and allowed
columns to be the primary support system (figure 17). r-1ies regarded structural clarity as means to
architecture, he approached each project by first determining the structural system appropriate for the
building type. 2 The specifics of the space configuration and plan were deferred to a later stage because all
of the architectural elements grew out of the structural order. For instance, the structure of Crown Hall was
based on outside columns, where the roof is carried by girders making the interior space free of any interior
supports.
With the steel structure acting as structural frame, Mies was able to organize and articulate interior partitions
with total freedom. In Crown Hall the structure could be simple in appearance but complex in experience
(figure 18). The characteristic order of the structure allowed the building to be developed as a universal
space capable of being entirely flexible or adapted to any other function at a later date. The architecture
emerged out of the structure and allowed the space to be subdivided by low, movable partitions, which
create new and flexible spaces. The movable, freestanding partitions are only as high as the lower window
section, and although they divide the hall into two symmetrical halves along the short axis, do not interrupt
the continuous flow of space characteristic of Mies's architecture.
Another feature produced by structural order is that the way exterior and interior walls could now be of any
material. This relationship with the structure that was of considerable architectural importance. For
example, the glass curtain wall in Crown Hall was positioned behind the exterior supports. Of even greater
importance, the curtain wall was free to be placed between the columns, behind the columns, or in front of
them; each placement presented its own special technical limitations and architectural opportunities. 3
With the development of a new architectural sensibility Mies captured the spirit of the times by way of
modern technical means. As seen in Crown Hall, his understanding of construction created a clarity of
structure and gave it a characteristic order from which the architecture could emerge. The nature of
structural order allowed a new freedom of material development and experience. By following a specific
logiC of building or bauen, Mies was able to create a neutral architecture where direct experience could
occur.
The understanding of material characteristics and their potential is fundamental to the third intention of the
framework of direct experience through bauen. Mies believed that no architectural design is possible until
the materials of the design are completely understood. 4 Through the logiC of b-auen it is not the material in
itself, but how the architect develops and integrates the material into the architecture that creates
understanding and experience. Through his exploration into the nature of materials Mies found beauty in
their use and generated value and meaning within the architecture. This sensibility allowed the viewer to
experience the material for what it was and nothing else. In his book Less is More, Ignasi Sola Morales
elaborated on the impact of materials and the atmospheric effects that they produce on the space itself. He
wrote:
The essence of space is not determined by the mere presence of
limiting surfaces but by the spiritual principle of this limitation.
The true task of architecture is to let the surfaces articulate the space;
it is not the building that is the work of art but space. 5
A good example of the material principle of bauen at work is displayed in how Mies developed the use of
reflections and the absence of shadows out of the nature of glass (figure 20). Steel skeleton construction, as
discussed earlie~ made way for the development of the curtain wall. The materials that made up the walls
could now be utilized for the effects that they created within the architecture. In Crown Hall the building skin
between the ground and the horizontal wind truss is set back to the inner edge of the truss. Vertical mullions
divide the set-back glass skin. This strategy made tl1e building appear light, an impression further
accentuated by the transparency of the glass. The subdivided curtain wall was reinforced by translucent
glass in the lower section that generated its own experience but at the same time managed to maintain the
sensation of weightlessness above. By developing the characteristics of glass in two separate ways Mies was
able to create on open-ended experience within the architecture.
In order to emphasize the character of materials and to achieve an architecture of bauen, the materials must
Figure 19 LudWig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1952-56. Curtian Wall Developement, Through Structure and t-1aterials.
55
Figure 20 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago,1952-56. Exterior Reflections Animate the Architecture.
56
be of the neutral tableau. Different materials were available for the skin of Crown Hall and different materials
were researched. Finally, metal and glass were chosen as cladding materials because of their neutral quality
(figure 20). As well, Mies van der Rohe's inclination was to use natural tones; he was very cautious to never
to use bright colours. If he had to use coiour, he utilized a small palette that consisted of white, off-white,
black, and off-blacks because they had a minimum impact on ttle imprintablity of the architecture. All
external steel at Crown Hall was painted charcoal black to accentuate this neutral character. Mies took
advantage of material texture and colour as architectural means to create a direct experience within his
construction logic.
These examples are the result of a straightforward logic of building and are consistent with the spirit of
bauen. In removing the overabundance of meaningless architectural representation Mies developed an
architecture of first principles in Crown Hall where the materials came to express their ideas with refreshing
directness and SimpliCity. 6 The understanding of this element of bauen is crucial to the development of my
next discussion.
The fourth intention within the framework of bauen is the creation of an imprintable architecture. By
employing the neutral tableau Mies's investigation into the nature of materials and their relationship to site
conditions and use allowed him to create an imprintable architecture, that is, the play of phenomena against
the materials and surfaces of the architecture. Mies utilized imprintability primarily through visual means,
allowing nature to imbue his architecture with life and colour. For example, nature became a major part of
the indoor spatial experience by allowing the exterior glass walls to transmit the changing seasons, clouds,
sky, and leaf patterns. Suddenly the landscape became the space where you lived. In Crown Hall, nature
imprints itself on the building. The life of the building unfolds before the eyes of the viewer. The design of
the translucent glass curtain wall is in tune with the height of its occupants. Through this configuration, the
interior of the building accepts the shadows projected by the exterior landscape as a subtle and poetic
reconnection to its external enVironment, becoming a screen where the path of the sun and the changing
seasons can be recorded. This being true, the inverse can also take place; as the occupants of the building
shift positions relative to the translucent curtain wall. TI1e fleeting shadows produced by the user imprint
themselves upon Crown Hall and create a true residual patina. :7 Through the concept of imprintability
within bauen, the neutral form used within the architecture focused this natural phenomena into a new
consciousness. By developing his materials and surfaces in such a way Mies brought the architecture into the
realm of the spiritual. 8
In the work of Mies van der Rohe a non-representational architecture produced direct experience through the
idea of bauen. By engaging the user through the means of the neutral tableau, structure, materials and
imprintability, his buildings were able to create architecture that produced immediate and individual
stimulation. Through these processes Mies's architecture secures a claim to the spirit of the times and can be
seen as an important consideration in my proposed alternative to globalization.
Figure 21 Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Crown Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, 1952-56.
57
58
Endnotes
1 Ludwig Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe (Chicago: P. Theobald, 1956), p. 12
2 Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, p. 34.
3 William Curtis, Modern Architecture: Since 1900 (London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996), p. 271.
4 Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, p. 40.
5 Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, p. 22.
6 Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, p. 21.
7 Hilberseimer, Mies van der Rohe, p. 60.
B Werner Blaser, After Mies: Less is More (New York: Van Norstrand Reinhold, 1986), p. 186.
Figure 22
The work of the Swiss firm Herzog and deMeuron offers another good example of the spirit of bauen due to
its creation of an architecture of first principles tllat can once again regain a full definition of human
experience. What Herzog and deMeuron wish to design is a clear, understan,jable sensibility within their
architecture that can serve as a lens for a critical perception of our whole culture. This is accomplished by
developing a universal language that is basic and comprehensible for everyone, everywhere. As discussed
previously with the artwork of Donald Judd and the architecture of Mies van der Rohe, architecture needs to
gain access to our collective memory through the means of direct experience. By appealing directly to
sensations, the viewer can form their own interpretations. Through this means, according to Jacque Herzog,
the architecture becomes famil iar, resembling something you have seen before, something you feel you have
known for the whole of your life. 1 In the previous precedents I have discussed at length the concept of the
neutral tableau and structure that define the framework for bauen and the creation of direct experience so
there is no need to re-examine them. I will now discuss the two remaining intentions-materials and
imprintability-in the work of Herzog and deMeuron.
Herzog and deMeuron, Dominus Winery, Napa Valley, 1997. Elevation.
To express anything in architecture implies construction, and this implies dealing with materials. In order to
develop the elements of materiality that help to define the concept of bauen, Herzog and deMeuron realized
that they must first understand the nature of the materials they are working with. By rejecting hierarchies
and understanding the logiC of materials and processes, they were able to develop new ways of using them.
Through this process they could explore a materiality that was absolutely raw and posed both a spiritual Figure 23 Herzog and deMeuron, Dominus Winery, Napa Valley, 1997.
quality and immaterial value (the elements of atmosphere). Therefore, the architectural quality lies Within the Materials Study Model.
work itself and is a result of a specific encounter between the viewer and the material with which the building
is constructed.
The Dominus Winery (1997) (figure 22) in the Napa Valley provides a good example of how the
characteristics of stone are utilized to create a direct experience for the viewer. Herzog and deMeuron
distinguish the fa<;;ade of the building by creating a mortarless wall of stones placed within a gabion (a wire
mesh container used in river engineering to maint:?in the structural integrity of a riverbank). The gabions are
filled more or less densely as needed so that lower parts of the wall are almost impenetrable while upper
sections allow light to pass with relative ease. This configuration combined with the jagged nature of the
stones (figure 23-24) creates unique patterns of light and allows varying degrees of natural light ( figure 25)
61
Figure 24 Herzog anc! deMeurofl, Dominus Winery, Napa Valley, 1997. Wall Section Detaii Deveofpment of Material concepts.
Figure 25 Herzo9 and de~/leuron, Dominus Winery, Napa Valley, 1997. Material Development into an Architecture of Atmosphere.
62
to enter into the rooms during the day and artificial light to seep through at night. 2 Herzog and deMeuron
use the gabions as a kind of stone wickerwork in order to create varying degrees of transparency, so the
stone walls become more like a skin than a traditional masonry wall.
By challenging the way in which we think about materials within the concept of bauen, new meaning can
strike at the elementary sensibilities of the viewer. Impressions of hard and soft, rough and smooth, light
and dark fully stimulate the viewer's sensorial experience. The surface material's presence engages both the
mental and the physical perception of the viewer at the same time.
By investigating issues site-by-site, circumstance-by-circumstance, Herzog and deMeuron create an
architecture that is subtle and intriguing. What fascinates them is change and the ability for architecture to
imprint this change upon itself. The simplicity and neutrality of their architecture makes visible the changes
in nature and its effects on their bui ldings and brings to light the last intention in the creation of direct
experience through the concept of bauen: Imprintablity.
The previous section on Mies van der Rohe, and more specifically the discussion of Crown Hall, examined
how the direct experience of the viewer can be enhanced through the creation of an imprintable architecture
within the concept of bauen. By considering nature as part of the design, a building can be animated by
different forms of appearance and perceptions, which make it responsive to its surroundings. Mies showed
that the changes a building undergoes under the influence of the seasons, the light, the aging process of
materials and the elements creates an architecture with extraordinary potential. These potentials can be
compared to the incredible variety of faces found on the surface of a body of water. Depending on weather
and light, water may seem as smooth as glass or it may produce dynamic and unique reflections. Herzog
explains their fascination with imprinting natural phenomena on architecture:
To me this variety which we call nature is absolutely captivating;
mountains, the sky, or forests have this ability too. And this variety
is also a fascinating source of architectural expression. A building
can have a simple shape that can generate very different
appearances depending on the weather and light. 3
An example of how imprintability works within an architecture of bauen is a project Herzog and deMeuron did
for the Ricola Company. Here an effect is produced simply with the wash of water on the wall. The
materials employed in (figure 26) the Ricola Europe SA Factory and Storage Building (Ricola II) in Mulhouse
Brunstatt, France (1993), are not chosen for their abstract perfectibility, but for their inherent physical
properties. When the concrete wall is wet it appears as reflective as a mirror. This effect is especially
powerful because it is not only beautiful but raises questions in the viewer about the material itself. When
the wall dries it is still beautiful, imprinted in a wash of residue creating a natural history of how the water
flowed down the surface of the wall.4
In the same project, Herzog and deMeuron explored how a material could be utilized in order to allow it to
adapt like an organism to what it encounters. They investigated transparency and its interplay with the sun
and the lights inside the building. The distinctive exterior walls are made of translucent polycarbonate
panels, a common industrial building material, which allows light to filter through. Using a silkscreen process,
these panels are printed with a repetitive plant motif (based on a photograph by Karl Blossfeldt) that
becomes less visible as daylight diminishes and assumes the characters of a more substantial and elegant
material than polycarbonate. 5 (figures 26-27)
In today's world that is increaSingly flooded with meaningless imagery and experiences, the architecture of
Herzog and deMeuron is a positive response to globalization. Through the return to an architecture of first
principles, Herzog and deMeuron were able to secure a claim to the spirit of the times and in doing so gage
the full definition of human experience in arcilitecture. Via a neutral tableau, structure and materials, and
imprintablity, their architecture pursues direct experience and my proposed notion of bauen. Herzog and
deMeuron were able to gain access to collective memory by way of direct experience and an understandable
construction logic that engaged the user through immediate and comprehensible (spiritual) stimulation.
Figure 26 Herzog and deMeuron, Ricola Factory and Storage Building, Mulhouse-Brunstatt, 1993. Patina Describing Weathering Patterns.
Figure 27 Hezog and deMeuron, Ricola Factory and Storage Building, Mulhouse-Brunstatt, 1993. Interplay of Natural and ArtifiCial Light.
63
Endnotes
1 Theodora Vischer, "Interview with Jacques Herzog," ArchItecture of Herzog and deMeuron. (New York: P. Blum, 1994), p. 28.
2 Herzog, "On Materials," Domus, (Nov. 1994), pp. 74-77.
3 Kipnis, ''A Conversation with Jacques Herzog," EI Croquis. (1997), pp. 7-21.
4 Herlog, "On Materials," pp. 74-77.
5 hllii.Ja09.15.129.143/2001Qhotogallery/index.htm (July 19, 2001).
The selected program is a new building for the Saskatoon downtown Public Library Association. The site
chosen is located on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River in the south downtown region of Saskatoon
within the Central Business District. This area known as a re-developing community, recovering from years of
neglect by the city, as well other issues common to inner-city neigl1borhoods. The existing diversity of form,
the mixed nature of activities tl1at exists within the neighborhood, combined with a willingness to regenerate
suggests that this community is an appropriate location for a new public library.
The site is currently the location of Friendship Park in the heart of the city's urban waterfront, and has long
been recognized for its significant role in bringing p€ople to the riverbank. The site was chosen as the place
for the new Downtown Public Library for four reasons. These are:
1) An urban downtown location with accessibility to communities on both sides of the river. From
Downtown, you can reach virtually any area of the city in less than 15 minutes by automobile.
2) Proximity to the river valley and access to the Meewasin Valley Trail System. This system links 14
neighborhoods to the Downtown with pedestrian/bicycle trails that run along the river edge.
3) The city's south downtown redevelopment plan that has been developed to take advantage of the
unrealized potential for increased residential demand in the downtown core, and to have a large impact
on the vacancy and absorption rate patterns in the city. Through a combination of marketing, incentives,
and enhanced downtown amenity strategies, the city of Saskatoon hopes to improve downtown security
through 'around the clock' activity, enhanced business vitality, increased property assessment,
infrastructure and service efficiencies, and reduced development pressures for established
neighborhoods
4) Proximity to the city's existing social and cultural sectors.
The downtown location is important to the conception of the new Library. Libraries are public places; the
chosen site for the new Downtown Public Library would enable the institution to gain public exposure as well
as the needed density for the public programs involved within such a facility.
Choosing a site in close proximity to the river and the rich arts-related neighborhoods would also aid in
increasing public exposure. Saskatoon is proud of being a river city, pointing to its international acclaim as a
developing world-class waterfront. The site chosen on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River, between
Figure 29 Province of Saskatchewan Within a Canadian Context.
Figure 31 Site Map
Figure 30 Site Within the City of Saskat<
69
Figure 32 Site Photo Facing South From Downtown
Figure 33 Site Photo From Mewassin Trail Looking North Towards Downtown
Figure 34 Site Photo From Park Looking South
Figure 35 Site Photo of Park Looking West.
Figure 36 Site Photo looking North onto Fourth Ave.
72
the Broadway and Victoria Bridges, realizes that the city's urban waterfront has long been recognized for its
history of special events and occasions that enrich the quality of life for its citizens. Its location is
approximately 3 blocks south of the Centennial Auditorium, home to the Saskatoon Symphony, traveling
ballets and musicals, and social events. It is also just across the river from the Broadway arts district, home
to the many theatre, film, busking and comedy festivals, a repertory cinema, a theatre company and two
small galleries.
The site chosen offers the right amenities to an institution of this magnitude and scale. It is bordered by
three different edge conditions. Nineteenth Street runs along the northern perimeter of the site, acting as a
border to the Central Business District of Saskatoon. Overlooking the site along the downtown edge are a
collection of three and four storey office buildings and two towers, a twenty-five storey hotel and a twenty
storey condominium compiex. To the east is the Victoria Bridge, and to the west is the Broadway Bridge.
Just beyond the Victoria Bridge is the location of a new reSidential and commercial development expected to
begin construction within the next year. To the south is the bank of the South Saskatchewan River, buffered
from the site by the Meewasin trail, running parallel with the river for the length of the city. The combination
of the three edge conditions, the future surrounding development and the existing communities makes it
appropriate for a building of a significant scale to be placed at this location.
The program was developed to accommodate the scale needed for this type of library and is based on the
existing requirements and standards of the Saskatoon Public Library Board. The library will have a much
broader mission than providing loans and reference services to library patrons.
We are now living within the information age, and have become a knowledge-based society. Work and
leisure alike increasingly revolve around a command of various forms of knowledge. The fact is that today's
economy is built on technical and scientific knowledge and these knowledge-based industries are the fastest
growing economic sector in canada. However, despite the rapid growth of the Internet, the number of
books published in the world increased by 33% between 1991 and 1996 (from 645,000 titles to 858,000
titles). 1 Very few individuals can, by themselves, obtain all the documents they need for their cultural
activities or work. Everywhere, new libraries are becoming the community meeting place embodying and
meeting these changing needs, offering new resources to all, not just those who are best prepared, by
education or fortune, to cope with the change.
The program selection was devised in accordance to the existing program and future needs of the current
Saskatoon downtown library facility and is as follows:
public space: adults stacks audio/video area/digital
children area circulation desk coats exhibition areas foyer lecture theatre mUlti-purpose room periodicals reading areas reception area reference area stage water closets
general administration: chief librarian office circulation sLipelvisor Circulation workroom kitchen mechanical/janitor's room staff office staff room storage
commercial: cafe
445 .7m2 365.8
124.0 12.0 23.5 499.0 64 .6 352.0 124.0 147.6 117 .0 94 .0 95 .2 ]25 .0 166.5 Total :
24.0 24.0 71.4 30.0 55.0 24.0 24.0 108.3 Total:
Total:
2755.9m2
360.7m2
239.1m2
Grand total: 3355.7m2 Total (30%) 1006.7m2
73
An architecture based on direct experience has the ability to respond to the condition of globalization by
accessing our collective memory through the means of bauen. My design creates meaning through these
methods. I will now discuss the four design intentions in the design of a Library for Saskatoon/
Saskatchewan/ that define the framework for direct experience and bauen: neutral tableau, atmosphere,
structure and materials/ and imprintablity.
The library is comprised of three distinct elements: a folding ground plane/ a louver system, and a central
core. These elements work together to incorporate three functional areas: northern sector: sociable public
space (cafe, galleries); southern sector: learned public space (book stacks/ audio/video, digital, magazines/
reading area/ theater); and the central core: private space (library services/ multi-purpose room/ offices, and
children's area). The central core separates the northern and southern sectors/ and acts as an axis through
which the viewer must move around and through in order to gain access to various spaces. One intention of
the architecture is for the viewer to move through the building as a procession/ incorporating movement in its
spatia! dimenSions.
The sociable public elements of program face a downtown full of activity. The orientation of the building
responds to this condition by creating an area were a high level of public interaction can occur without
disturbing the learned spaces on the other side of the central core. Traditionally qUiet, the learned space of
the building consists of public elements of program that require little or no interaction between irs users.
Because of the nature of its program this area is orientated to the vista of the serene Saskatchewan River,
and allows the maximum filtration of natural light into the area. In fact/ the area is sited so that it faces
directly south, to provide a panoramic view of the river valley between the Broadway and Victoria bridges.
In order for the project to respond to the homogenizing effects of globalization/ the architecture must not
compete with our increasingly complex world. It must instead address an increasingly confusing visual
landscape by making a case for simplicity and clarity. An effective strategy for clarity was utilized by the artist
Donald Judd. By analogy in this project I eliminate the characteristics of the architecture one by one/ then
see if the architecture could still survive. Through this process the minimum characteristics needed to create
form could be achieved. Only by removing all extraneous references can a neutral tableau be atta ined.
Figure 38 Plan Parti
Figure 39 Section Parti
1
77
Figure 40 David P. Mazurir.k, Lamp, 200l. Materials Study, Wood Veneer in Wood Frame on Copper.
Figure 41 David P. Mazurick, l.amp, 2001. Materials Study, Wood Veneer in Wood Frame on Copper.
Figure 42 David P. f\1azurick, Lamp, 200l. Materials Study, Wood Veneer in Wood Frame on Copper.
Specifically, for a neutral architecture to be clear to the viewer and generate self-reflection, it must consist of
simple components that are clearly stated. This can happen only when the viewer can identify how
the "structure" of the building works. The overall composition of the architecture works together to
produce a direct experience; however, all three eiements (ground plane, louver system and wood core) are
equally appan:!nt, and completely understandable on their own. The materials are clear, but at the same time
they are subordinated to the unity of structure. By simplifying the contrast between the whole and its parts,
the architecture uses the geometric to create a deliberate, non-gestural emphasis on materials and structure.
The architecture is able to accentuate the essential structure by keeping the different planes or elements of
the architecture in separate materials. For instance the library design breaks down as follows:
1) Folding Ground Plane: Polished Concrete.
2) Wood Core Curtain Wall: Birch Veneer on Glass.
3) Wood Core Objects: W' Birch Plywood sheets on 2"x4" wood studs.
4) Wood Core Structure: 10" Glu-Lam beams.
5) Horizontal Planes: Birch Plywood Sheets.
6) Vertical Planes: Polished Concrete.
7) Louver System: Treated Spruce 2" X 6"s wood planks.
By using these different materials, the shape, volume or material surfaces are straightforward and can create
a spiritual response within the viewer. The exterior walls of the building are almost entirely of glass, the
minimum form of enclosure. This transparency lets the viewer see inside, where the architecture can
showcase the manner in which the pieces are assembled and therefore convey a clarity of understanding of
the entire building. Architectural elements such as handrails, ramps and connecting plates are deSigned to
be as transparent as possible, having as little visual impact on the building as possible lending focus to the
main architectural elements. In this way, the architecture is never obscure or mysterious and the viewer never
loses sight of the exact physical nature of the source of their experience. What is created is a clear and
simple construction logic that is complex in the experience of it.
Materials have meaning in themselves and can transform and increase the reading of familiar forms. By
accepting the inherent qualities of a wide range of materials the building can use them in a new way to
create a clear physical presence within the architecture. Our senses react to the logic in which the materials
and structure are constructed and to the manner in which they are transformed. This creates an immediate
and individual response. For example, the size of the panes of glass determine the distance separating the
structural wood glu-Iam columns and beams of the wood core. This structural logic, taken to the next level,
begins to determine the location and size of the spaces, cutouts, ramp supports, walls and floor plates within
the core. This distance is then used throughout the building as a horizontal and vertical grid to create a
construction logic that determines all spacing between various construction elements.
The same construction logic is used to support the horizontal plates. The depth of the floor is determined by
the thickness of the long-span steel beams. By covering the beam in a plywood skin, it reads as a simple
object in interstitial space and at the same time the space between the beams can act as a plenum for the
HVAC distribution system or ot/ler mechanical functions.
The construction logic for the location and spacing of the louvers is determined by the position of the sun
throughout the day, relative to the building. On the east and west sides, where the sun is lower in the sky,
the louvers are placed in such a way that they have more vertical layers with wh ich to control the sunlight.
Likewise, on the south side, where the sun is higher in the sky there are more horizontal louvers (Figure 43-
47).
By focusing attention to materials and methods of construction the architecture can translate a clear
understanding to the viewer. This results in an architecture where less is said and more is left unsaid,
creating a Situation where the viewers are asked to think about their own viewpoint, both phYSically and
intel!ectually.
Through a primary investigation into materials and geometry the archited:ure cultivates its relationship to the
surrounding conditions, allowing these conditions to imprint themselves upon or animate the architecture.
What is produced is an abstract object that does not edit out complexity but instead allows an unfolding of
building uses and site influences, creating an imprintable architecture. By designing a neutral architecture so
that phenomena can play against the materials and forms, the understanding of both the materials and the
architecture is reformed, creating the means by which the work is understood. This is apparent throughout
::igure 44 Rear View of library
'igure 45 Front View of Library
the building design.
For instance, during the summer months the exterior concrete plane is covered with a thin sheet of water
and becomes an instrument of nature, acting like a mirror on calm days, reflecting the sky and the immediate
surroundings (Figure 47). When the wind blows, it causes the surface to ripple, disrupting the surface so
that the light from the sun and the moon glints on the plane of water. The proximity of the library to the
Saskatchewan River and the "boundless" plane of water allows for an illusion at specific locations within the
building. Here the two bodies of water appear to come together as a continuous mass of water.
During the winter months the plane becomes a snowfield filled with drifts that are formed and created by the
interaction between the hidden concrete topography and the force of the wind. Anywhere there is an
obstruction the snow will drift. By strategically placing barriers or maintaining voids, the drifting snows can
imprint itself upon the site. As the snow drifts pile up they begin to create shadow on the surface and as the
wind blows it leaves patterns in the snow. These then interact with the winter sun.
The inner edges of the concrete plane are designed so that the water or melting snow that sits within the
boundless plane is allowed to slowly spillover the edge. This continuous trickle of water or slowly melting
snow runs down the wall, OPPOSite to the lower interior spaces, flowing into a concealed drainage system.
During the day the wall is lit by sunlight from above and in the evening the wall is lit from below. The wall is
designed so that when illuminated and combined with natural phenomena, it becomes dematerialized and is
transformed into a living object.
The louver system that surrouMs the building is developed in a series of tlorizontal and vertical
configurations. These configurations interact with the sun, creating an imprint of the passage of time on the
building. As the sun moves around the building throughout the day, it casts a shadow that transforms as it
moves. It changes from vertical shadows to horizontal and back to vertical throughout the course of the day.
The louvers themselves form a dark figure on a illuminated ground of sunlight. At night, the opposite
occurs; the louvers float on a band of light, disrupting the light that is trying to escape from the building,
appearing from a distance as a dark figure on an illuminated ground (Figure 51-53). From the inside of the
building the louvers seem to almost glow, reflecting the light from the inside of the building back into it.
The transformation within the architecture stimulates the sensorial experience of the viewers. It engages the
mental layer of the viewer's perception and at the same time the physical layer engages the body.
Manipulating the architecture so that it creates atmosphere as opposed to aesthetics allows a sensory
response within the viewer: This is achieved by creating a deeper understanding of the materials and
structure with which the architecture is constructed. This is displayed through the manner in which the
library's simple three-story core is sheathed in a flush horizontal course of glass panels that are covered by
sheets of wood veneer, giving it the appearance of a solid wood object. What appears to be a virtually
impenetrable wood skin becomes a spatially deep fa<;;ade, its taut membrane visually vibrating with optical
activity. Each veneer-covered glass panel allows light to penetrate it from both sides depending on the time
of the day. The rectangular glass panels are held in place by mullions connected to the structural skeleton of Figu/'e 46 Site Influences - Shadows - Reflections
the core. The wood veneer is then placed on the exterior side of the glass that is fastened to the glue lam
beam structure inside. In sunlight the wood walls glow on the inside of the core and become a device to
capture the shadows of the library patrons as they go about their business. At night the precise geometry of
the glue lam beams and columns, and selected elements of program, cast shadows behind the wood veil.
Window cutouts glow white when penetrating the wood skin or produce glowing figures on the dark
shadows of the selected program elements behind the wood envelope(figure 58). In intense light, walls tend
to dematerialize. The wood skin is chameleon-like and responsive to changing light; the skin can appear
heavy and visually impenetrable on one side or light and ethereal, delicately revealing its inner layers on the
other (figure 59) .. By transforming a simple shape like the central core into an object that rewards further
contemplation, it challenges the way in which we think about materials and how we relay information.
Through this process, architecture can reach the viewer on a primal level in which almost everyone can
understand it for what it is. Through this means the materials are allowed to reveal something subtle, slow
and surprising (Figure 54-59). It strikes at our very understanding of what something is, stimulating the
senses of the viewer and creating direct experience. This prevents us from associating the architecture with
any specific time or place. It presents the architecture as an abstract universal, ensuring that it responds to
all the complexity of globalization with its mere presence,
By utilizing natural phenomena as an active participant in the creation of atmosphere, such phenomena
becomes a tool to transform the architecture. This practice allows the architecture to continue to evolve over
Figure 48 Site Influences - Reflections
Figure 47 Site Influences ,. Reflections
81
Figure 51 :;Ite 1I1fltIPI1(e~" :,houuv,
time, Imprintable architecture communicates a world of unadorned forms and architectural spaces in which
there is a real intimacy with the lives of ordinary people. The interplay witl1 natural phenomena reveals the
kind of experience that is intended to focus our vision on what is most real - that is, the essential quality of
the materials and the space.
Through an intensive investigation into the creation of a Neutral Tableau, Structure, Materials and
Imprintability, the design of a Library for Saskatoon has helped to define a framework for direct experience
and bauen. The architecture can secure a claim to tile spirit of the times because it manifests a sensory
experience for the viewer that is immediate, personal and open-ended, This reengagement of the senses is a
proposed alternative to a global condition that is constantly bombarding us with meaningless imagery and
passive experience.
Figure 52 Night Transformation, Front View, Core Lighting Effects. Figure 53 Louver System Lighting Effects.
Figure 54 Night Transformation, Core Lighting Effects. Figure 55 Core, Night Transformation
83
Figure 56 Rear View, Louver System Lighting Effects.
Figure 57 Louver System Lit By Core.
Figure 58 Core Lighting Scheme
Figure S9 Core Lighting Detail
I hope that this theoretical investigation is able to inform those who read it in a manner that
provokes a heightened awareness and contemplation that reaches beyond these pages. By
definition the term conclusion suggests an end. Through this investigation my eyes have been
opened to the world around me. I see this thesis as the opportunity to continue the concept of
bauen as I journey into the reality of building within the real world.
The goal of this thesis was to provide a greater understanding of how the homogenizing effects of
Globalization could be counteracted through the theory and practice of architecture. As discussed,
this is simply not possible through the principles of Post Modernism. Because its modus operandi
was based on fragmentation, recombination, juxtaposition and collage of signs and symbols, it
exhibited an inability to project new forms and meanings. Theory and practice became separate
and exclusive entities. Postmodernism resulted in an architecture that gave up its ability to directly
engage the forces of the present or to project them into the future. However, via an architecture
of direct experience, universal meaning could be created and architecture could return to a search
for meaning within our everyday happenings. Through an exploration into the concept of bauen,
the reengagement of meaningful experience is possible because it provides an architecture that
has the ability to reach deeper than surface styles and touch the viewer in a very personal
manner.
The artist and architects that I examined as precedents shed the symbolic iconography of Post
Modernism in an attempt to create an experience that is of itseld and nothing else. Each of the
projects that were examined followd the criteria of bauen: neutral tableau, structure, materials,
imprintability and atmosphere. However, each was able to create its own unique direct
experience and was able to raise our awareness of the world in which we live in.
The architectural insights that were reached are demonstated in the design of a downtown public
library for the city of Saskatoon. A unique, personal understanding of architecture is capable of
resisting the homogenization of a world that is bombarded with meaningless signs and symbols,
but offers only one option and is by no means the defender of architecture within contemporary
society. This means that even though the library embodies the aspects of study that attempts to
87
create an architecture that reengages human experience, this solution may not be appropriate to
all architectural projects. What was learned, is that through the investigation and understanding
of the world around us, architecture has the ability to respond, and to create something relevant
to its time.
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Figure 01 : Disney Characters, April 22, 2002, online @ www.cataumet. net/carolyn/ ginnytypes1.htm Figure 02 : The Earth, April 22, 2002, online @ www.rummet.dk/4._DanskIndsats/marsintro/ body _marsintro.l1tml Figure 03: Roman Soldier, Apri l 22, 2002, online @ www.camelotintl.com/romans/army.html Figure 04: Satellite Technology, April 22, 2002 @ online: koti.mbnetJi/"'aquarius/ spacestore.html Figure 05: Gulf War, April 22, 2002, online @ www.gulfweb.org/ photos/ coker/ 21.jpg Figure 06: Gulf War, April 22, 2002, online @ www.gulfweb.org/ photos/ coker/ 1.jpg Figure 07: Headline News, April 22, 2002, online @ www.cnn.com Figure 08: Media Cartoon, April 22, 2002, online @ www.thismodernworld.com/ .. ./1991%20archive/ 91GulfWar.gif Figure 09 : Jazz Band, April 22, 2002, online @ csu1.spcomm.uiuc.edu/Projects/ Sunbeltxxii Figure 10: Rivaldo, Apri l 22, 2002, online @ www.fcbarcelona.com/team/ default.sps?languageID=9 Figure 11 : Donald Judd Work, April 22, 2002, online @ www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmnj whatsart/ juddS.html Figure 12: Donald Judd Work, April 22, 2002, online @ www.lincoln.k12.or.us/toledohs/ artts/don.htm Figure 13: Donald Judd Work, April 22, 2002, online @: www.chinatLorg/english2/coilection/ judd_aluminum.htm) Figure 14: Donald Judd Work, April 22, 2002, online @ www.televentures.org/ mar24.htm Figure 15: Crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @ www.pitt.edu/ ... tokerism/ 0040/mod2.html Figure 16: Crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @ www.cr.nps.gov/nhl/designations/ 08-07-01/sld01S.htm Figure 17: Crown Hall Plans, April 22, 2002, online @ www.pitt.edu/ ... tokerism/ 0040/ plans.html Figure 18: crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @ www.bluffton.edu/Nsullivanm/ iit/iit.html Figure 19: Crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @ www.galinsky.com/ buildings/crown/ Figure 20: Crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @: www.bluffton.edu/Nsull ivanm/iit/i it.html Figure 21 : Crown Hall, April 22, 2002, online @ www.iit.edu/publications/ catalyst/FaIl99/Answers.html Figure 22: Dominus Winery, April 22, 2002, online @ www.arquitecturaviva.com/ Noticias.html Figure 23 : Herzog and deMeuron, EI Croquis, 84 (1997). Figure 24: Herzog and deMeuron, EI Croquis, 84 (1997). Figure 25: online: www.guardian.co.uk/ .. ./galieryguide/ O.6143.196818.OO.html Figure 26 : Herzog and deMeuron, EI Croquis, 84 (1997). Figure 27 : Herzog and deMeuron, EI Croquis, 84 (1997). Figure 28: Saskatchewan River Valley, April 22, 2002, online @ www.movingto.com/ Saskatchewan.htm Figure 29: Map of Saskatchewan, April 22, 2002, online @: www.clo2.com/ reading/ webltr.html Figure 30 : Map of Saskatoon, April 22, 2002, online @ www.lights.com/accom/frames/ restaurant/ sea rchJ html Figure 31 : Site Plan courtesy of Mewassin Valley Authority, Saskatoon. Figure 32 : Photo by author Figure 33 : Photo by author Figure 34: Photo by author Figure 34 : Photo by author Figure 36: Photo by author Figure 37 : Cad drawings by author Figure 38: Sketch by author Figure 39 : Sketch by author Figure 40: Model and photo by author Figure 41 : Model and photo by author Figure 42: Model and photo by author Figure 43 : Model and photo by author Figure 44: Model and photo by author
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