6. Architecture has always been about the form. The form is the mass, shape
and geometry that embodies the concept and idea of an architecture. It is the
form in architecture that appeals and captures the eyes of the audience. It is
the form in architecture that exhibits the first impression. Herein, I put for-
ward the attitude of aformalist in architecture for the execution of my mani-
festo which is titled "Architecture Form-ology".
-
8. -
As opposed to the endless debate between the two modernist and post-mod-
ernist architecture dictum of "Form Follows Function" or "Function Follows
Form", I propose anew dictum and propaganda in architecture that is "Form
Follows Form" and "Ideas Follows Ideas". The propaganda preaches the idea
of Form-mimicry and Idea-mimicry that is noticeable in recent contemporary
architecture projects. The aim of the propaganda is to manifest and improvise
pre-existing architectural forms and ideas through analytical studies of exist-
ing architectural works.
To further exemplify and substantiate the theory and propaganda of "Form
Follows Form" and "Ideas Follows Idea", Iwill include examples of contempo-
rary architecture in the latter chapters of my manifesto which shares resound-
ing similarities to one another; in terms of the Form or the Idea.
10. -
"Architecture is the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought
together in light. Our eyes are made to see forms in light; light and shade
reveal these forms; cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders or pyramids are the
great primary forms which light reveals to advantage; the image of these is
distinct and tangible within us without ambiguity. It is for this reason that
these are beautiful forms, the most beautiful forms." 6
Three Reminders to Architect: Mass in Towards aNew Architecture by Le Corbusier
11. Architects like Bernard Tschumi stresses on the idea that Concepts and Ideas
should predate Form in architecture. Looking at Bernard Tschumi's manifesto
titled "Architecture Concepts: Red is not a Colour", he came up with the
maxim of "Concept-Form" which implies that the architecture form should be
informed or influenced by the concept or idea.9
Tschumi's Acropolis Museum
is an example of this maxim where the concept of establishing adifferent re-
lationship between the street grids and the orientation of the Pantheon has
inspired the form of the architecture which is configured in the format of 3
volumetric stacked cubes that are oriented in different directions.9
Acropolis Museum, Bernard Tschumi
-
12. -
As opposed to architects like Bernard Tschumi who imposes that the archi-
tectural idea or concept should precede the form, I feel that the architecture
form should precede the concept. An architect can establish an idea or acon-
cept, but how does that idea or concept gets translated into the architecture
form? How does the form reflect the proposed idea or concept? Hence the
terms Form and Ideas in architecture denotes aconstant dilemma to archi-
tects when designing. Who is to say which comes first; the form or the func-
tion or the idea? Should "Form Follows Function" or "Function Follows Form"?
Let us deviate from this dilemma as I propose that in architectural design, we
start out with aform that is based on aspecific idea or concept. Aform that
is reflective of aform of another idea. "Form Follows Form". "Ideas Follows
Idea".
14. Forms in contemporary architecture can be seen equivalent to trends in fash-
ion designs. Bjarke Ingels of BIG architects whom call his approach to archi-
tecture in his manifesto (Yes is More) as "Pragmatic Utopianism" stated that
the field of architecture has been historically dominated by two different
design approaches; the avant-garde of wild ideas and the extremely pragmat-
ic boxes. 5
The recent trends in contemporary architecture can still be seen
categorize into that same twocategories which is the Pragmatic Form or the
Avant-garde Form.
The Pragmatic (Seagram Building by Mies) vs the Avant Garde (Ontario Museum by Libeskind)
-
15. The avant-garde in contemporary architecture can be viewed as a form of
style or a type of 21st century architectural movement like the modernist
movement in architecture during the 20th Century. Products by "Starchitects"
like Zaha Hadid or BIG architects indefinitely falls into the category of the
avant-garde.
Architectural avant-gardes like Zaha Hadid has established themself as a
form of branding that is similar to fashion brand like Chanel or Gucci. The
spawning of cheap imitations or copies of branded objects like Chanel or
Gucci is all too common. Now, the act of imitating is also noticeable in the
field of architecture where the spawning of various look-alike building can be
seen all over in different context.
Architecture Plagiarism: comparison between Meiquan 22nd Century Project and Wangjing SOHO
-
16. -
During aTEDxTalks series by Daniel Libeskind, he mentioned that 11
When I'm
designing, I think not just about an object, function or technological or even
cultural but something that has to do with a memory".7
Architectural forms
are always reminiscent of something; be it aparticular object or memory. The
act of imitation or mimicry in architecture may be based on the conscious or
the unconscious mind.
I call this issue or approach in architecture as Form-mimicry. Antoine Picon
suggested the return to the idea of Organicism or Biomimicry in the current
digital age of architecture; using nature as amodel and emulating the same
principles that is governed by nature in digital architecture.8
Form-mimicry is
similar to this idea and that is to emulate a specific design approach to
form-making in architecture.
18. Architecture is an Evolution of Forms; aForm of Evolution. Form follows Form.
-
19. The invention of the wheel by the Sumerians was based on the idea and con-
cept of amechanical device knownas the potter's wheel. The wheel was in-
vented in order to aid the moving of heavy objects from one end to another. 1
Mankind has thus begun to improvise the idea and mechanics of the wheel
through many generation of experimentations. The invention of the wheel has
then sparked many other inventions like the gears in clockwork or the ferris
wheel. 1
Architecture design process should be seen similar to the process of
the evolution of the invention of the wheel. Much like Bjarke Ingels whom
called his approach to design in architecture as an evolution of ideas rather
than the revolution of an idea. 4
Evolution of the Sumerian's Wheel
-
20. -
Therefore, while the modernist and post-modernist movement impose the
dictum of "Form Follows Function" or "Function Follows Form" I impose the
dictum of "Form follows Form" and "Idea follows Idea". It is apropaganda that
suggest amode of drawing ideas and inspirations from past or existing works
and improvising it to fit a particular context. It is also a propaganda that
preaches the understanding of design techniques used in contemporary ar-
chitectural designs. Like Bernard Tschumi who acquired inspiration through
analysis of film making techniques, the trends that are blooming in contempo-
rary avant-garde architectural design can be seen as a form of techniques
like the ones used in film-making.
To understand this idea of"Form Follows Form" and the idea of the evolution
of forms in avant-garde architectural designs, I shall use afew examples of
recent contemporary architecture in the typology of the towers. The following
images are a few examples of different tower done by different architects
which is very similar to one another.
Rodovre Tower by BIG Architects (Left) and RT&O's The Capers (Right)
21. HSB Turning Torso by Santiago Calatrava (Left), Beach and Howe St. by BIG architects (Middle)
and Contorted Cayan Tower by SOM
Max Reinhardts Hause Project by Peter Eisenman (Left), Beijing CCTV by OMA (Middle) and
Keelung Harbor Service Building by Neil M.Denari (Right)
New Art Museum by SANAA (Left) and De Rotterdam by OMA (Right)
-
22. -
Note the similarities shared amongst of these towers. All these towers are the
products by different architects in different context yet they share acommon
typology. There is the Jagged Zig-Zag typology exhibited by the Rodovre
Tower by BIG and The Capers by RT&O or the Shifted Volumetric Cubes typol-
ogy exhibited by the New Art Museum by SANAA and De Rotterdam by OMA.
As mentioned earlier, these typologies of form should be seen as aformat of
design techniques applied to ahypothetical vertical cuboid form. These wide
arrays of design techniques seen in contemporary architecture form should
then be studied and explored so that one could consciously apply these tech-
niques in their future architectural endowment.
24. Architecture is an Evolution of Ideas; an Idea of Evolution. Ideas follow Ideas.
-
25. Apart from Form-Mimicry, Idea-Mimicry is also prevalent in the field of archi-
tecture. In the figure below, let us observe the envelope of the two 11
Decorat-
ed-sheds" by 2 different architects. Both projects implemented the exact
same idea or technique of manipulating the fagade panels in order to create
afaint image of the portrait of aperson when viewed from afar.
Facade of BIG's Arlanda Hotel (Left) and ARM's Swanston Square (Right)
Rem Koolhaas' idea of the malleable ground surface in his 11
Strategy of the
Void" was depicted by an image of his hand lifting up the ground plane. In
Peter Eisenman's 11
Ten Canonical Building", he compared Koolhaas' image to
another image depicted by Corbusier that featured the same idea which was
Corbusier's hand pulling out the modular units of his Unite D' Habitation. 3
(Left) Rem Koolhaas Idea of the malleable surface (Right) Le Corbusier's idea of the modular
-
26. -
The idea of the modular plugged-in apartment units by Le Corbusier might
havealso been the source of inspiration for Peter Cook's idea of the Plug-In
City in which the idea of an urban environment where modular residential
units would be "Plugged-in" to these giant mechanical infrastructures.2
(Left) Le Corbusier's idea of the modular (Right) Peter Cook's Plug-in City
That image and idea of Le Corbusier's hand pulling out the ready-made apart-
ments has continued to spawnnewideas in contemporary architecture such
as the Project R6 by REX which was also depicted by an image of ahand ma-
nipulating the form of the building.
(Left) Le Corbusier's Concept Diagram for Unite D' Habitation, (Right) REX's Concept Diagram
for Project R6
27. Bjarke Ingels of BIG architects embraces the idea of recycling or reusing ar-
chitectural forms or ideas in his practice where he encourages the act of re-
using old iterations of architectural models, which are archived in his office,
for different future projects. The 'Ren' building by BIG in China, for example,
was areiteration of aprevious scheme that was rejected byadifferent clien-
telle. 4
BIG Architects' models archive storage in their office
-
28. -
This illustrates the point that architectural forms and ideas do not appear out
of nowhere, they are the product of evolution of pre-existing architectural
forms and ideas.
30. -
Thereon, in this competitive industry of architecture, should originality be
taken into account in the design aspect? Mies Van der Rohe once stated that
"It is better to be good than to be original". In my opinion, originality in ar-
chitectural design is but an abstraction of its meaning as nothing should
really be deemed as original.
In short, architects or architectural students should learn to know their prece-
dents before embarking on a project. To craft a beautiful architecture, we
shall look at the propaganda of "Form follows Form" and "Ideas follows Ideas"
in order to manifest ideas and inspirations from existing architectural projects
and improvising the manifested ideas on a given context. The new and im-
proved architecture that you would leave behind would then set the new
benchmark for future architects and designers. Yet another sequel of "Form
Follows Form" and "Ideas Follows Ideas". We shall treat design in architecture
as an evolutionary process for the many generations to come.
31.
32. END NOTES
1. Bradfield, J. 2013, The Invention of the Wheel: How Ancient Summerians
Got Humanity Rollin'I, viewed 10/11/2014,
http:// antiquity now.or gI 2013I0 8I 20I kids -bIo g-the -in ven -
tion-of-the-wheeI-how-the-ancient-sumerians-got-humanity-ro11 inI
2. Cook, P 2013, AD Classics: The Plug-In City/ Peter Cook, Archigram,
viewed 10 November 2014, <http://www.archdaily.com/399329/ad-clas-
sics-the-pIug-in-city-peter-cook-archigram/>.
3. Eisenman, P2000, Strategies of the Void. Rem Koolhaas, Jussieu Libraries
1992 - 1993, Ten Canonical Buildings, Rizolli: New York.
4. Ingels, B 2009, Bjarke Ingels: 3 warp-speed architecture tales, onlinee
video, 29 September, viewed 10 November 2014, https://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=4AYE3w5TWHs
5. Ingels, B 2009, Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution.
Taschen.
6. Corbusier, L1931, Towards aNew Architecture, Dover Publications.
7. Libeskind, D2012, Architecture is Language: Daniel Libeskind at TEDx-
DUBLIN, online video, 19 September, viewed 10 November 2014, https://w-
ww.youtube. com/watch?v=yEkDosanxGk
8. Picon, A2013, "Digital Design Between Organic and Computational Temp-
tations", Architecture in Formation, 92-99.
9. Tschumi, B2012, Architecture Concepts: Red is Not aColor. Rizolli Inter-
national: USA.
33. IMAGES
Properties of Architectural Forms (from "Form, Space and Order" by Francis,
D.K.Ching)
D.K.Ching, F. (2007) Form, Space and Order. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, inc.
Acropolis Museum, Bernard Tschumi,
http ://www.icmc14-smc14.net/venues/acropoIis-museum. htmI
Seagram Building by Mies Van Der Rohe,
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110914/REAL_ES-
TATE/110919949/no-takers-for-49-stake-in-famed-seagram-bldg
Ontario Museum by Daniel Libeskind,
http://www. e-a re hitect. co. uk/i mag es/j pg s/to ro nto/roya l_o nta ri-
o_museum_daniellibeskind010507_11.jpg
Architecture Plagiarism: comparison between Meiquan 22nd Century Project
and Wangjing SOHO, http://www.designboom.com/architecture/pi-
rates-aim-for-the-star-chitects-in-china/
Evolution of the Sumerian's Wheel, http://antiqui-
tynow.org/2013/08/2O/kids-blog-the-inven-
tion-of-the-wheeI-how-the-ancient-sumerians-got-humanity-ro11 inI
Rodovre Tower by BIG Architects, http://www.big.dk
RT&O's The Capers, http://www.rtnq.com/the_capers.html
34. HSB Turning Torso by Santiago Calatrava,
http ://www.e-architect.co. uk/wp-content/uploads/201 0/03/turn-
ing-torso-sweden .jpg
Beach and Howe St. by BIG architects,
http ://www.dezeen.com/201 3/06/18/twisted-skyscrapers-roundup/
Contorted Cayan Tower by SOM,
http ://www.dezeen.com/201 3/06/18/twisted-skyscrapers-roundup/
Max Reinhardts Haus Project by Peter Eisenman,
http://afasiaarq.bIogspot. com/2011/09/peter-eisenman. htmI
Beijing CCTV by OMA,
http ://www.ctbuh. org/TalIBuiIdings/FeaturedTalIBuiIdings/Ar-
chiveJournal/CCTVHeadquartersBeijing/tabid/3322/1anguage/en-GB/DefauIt.
aspx
Keelung Harbor Service Building by Neil M. Denari,
http ://www.archdaily.com/274687/keelung-harbor-service-build-
ing-neiI-m-denari-architects/
New Art Museum by SANAA,
http ://www.designyourway. net/blog/inspiration/20-muse-
ums-that-are-fine-architectural-exampIes/
De Rotterdam by OMA,
http://www. dezeen.com/tag/rotterdam/
35. BIG's Arlanda Hotel, http://www.big.dk/#projects
ARM's Swanston Square, https://urbanmelbourne.info/projects/mel-
bourne/swanston-square-551 -swanston-street-carlton
Rem Koolhaas idea of the malleable surface &Le Corbusier's idea of the
modular, Eisenman, P. Ten Canonical Building 1950-2000
Peter Cook's Plug-in City, http://www.archdaily.com/399329/ad-clas-
sics-the-pIug-in-city-peter-cook-archigramI
Le Corbusier's Concept Diagram for Unite D' Habitation, http://www.archita-
kes.com/?p=1687
REX's Concept Diagram for Project R6, http://www.designboom.com/archi-
tecture/rex-architecture-project-r6-yongsan-international-business-district/
BIG Architects' models archive,
https://www.youtube. com/watch'7v=4AYE3w5TWHs
