The Extreme Generative Approach and the Acquisition of Identity

Dr. Zhao.Jinsong, PhD.

School of Architecture Tianjin University, Tanjin 300072.

E-mail:arch_zhao@163.com

Prof. Yang.Changming, PhD,

The Academy of Architectural Design and City Planning of Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072.

Abstract

By analyzing the phenomena of extreme simplicity and over complexity in contemporary architecture, the passage shows the extreme generative approach is an effective way to make architecture own identity.

The acquisition of contemporary architecture identity has a certain connection with extreme generative approach. Extremity is a way to clear up and break through the routine existence. In the process of clearing up and breaking through, architecture goes beyond life and gives great shock to people. The pursuit of the architecture’s identity lies in the pursuit of the state that cannot be reached by ordinary people and a way to be identified from the routine state. In the extreme generative process, the extreme simplicity and over complexity are always polar in the architectural language and play an important role in forming the identity.

The philosophical basis and main thread of extreme simplicity are summarized by someone as “decrease”, “purify” and “deny”. In fact, what it has decreased is the element, what it has purified is the detail and what it has denied is the concept in a general sense. While the new element, detail and concept which are beyond this limit will be of special aesthetic meaning. The concept of extreme simplicity has also been explained as a test for psychological limit by some other people. Factually the so-called psychological limit is the understanding to the objects’ original concepts. To break through the limit of this concept means the breakthrough of the intermediate state of objects’ existence. It is just in the process of breakthrough, the objects will have changed and gained special meaning and accordingly have identity.

The extreme complexity is also the endeavor to break through the intermediate state. The extreme complexity have two meanings. One is extreme complexity, which means to go beyond the ordinary understanding and elicit new one. Another is extreme repetition, which tries to imply infinity by the repetition of quantity and to be the metaphor of endlessness by an extremely large quantity.

The generative process of contemporary architecture includes two features of being extremely simply and over complicated. On one hand, they weaken the meaning of a certain element by the means of extreme simplicity. On the other hand, they strengthen the meaning of a certain element by the means of over complexity. In this way, the delicate comparison will be formed and the identity will be obtained.

1.Extremely Simple Color and Over Complicated Composition.

In one kind of generation, the extremely simple white turns color into an easily handled element to weaken the general sense of color on one hand, while on the other hand, the over complicated structure turns form into the element, which cannot be understood easily, to strengthen the form’s meaning. In fact, weakening and strengthening are ways to clear up and the result of clearing up is to obtain the specific identity in architecture’s poles of extreme simplicity and over complexity.

For example, in the works of white school, architecture expresses pure poetry by extremely simple color element from one aspect and emphasizes the rhetoric of formal language by extremely complicated structure. Peter Eisenman’s early house design experiments and Richard Meier’s The Getty Center are the same.(Fig. 01- Fig. 04)

2. Extreme Simple Elements and Over- Complicated Combination

Many contemporary architects stress the return to architecture’s basic concepts and elements, and they frequently simplify the elements into the extremely basic geometrical structures. We can also find the support of extreme complexity behind the extremely simple design. Tadao Ando’s works are good examples. His works always give us visual shock in the form of extreme purity in the flourishing metropolitan. He intentionally reduces the architectural words to the minimum while at the same time he forces the structure of language toward another extremity of complexity. In his architecture, the extreme simplicity of these basic elements always go along with the over-complexity. Such as his works Church on the Water and Children’s Seminar House, both of them are of the dual features. (Fig.05- Fig.07)

In the generative process of such works, the extremely simple form is the easily handled part, while the complicated combination is opposite. The former one clears up the meaning of elements and the latter one emphasizes the meaning of combination. In such a process, the original static architecture elements are put in the dynamic comparative environment and according a new sense and strong identity can be obtained.

3.Extremely Simple Body and Over-Complicated Details

In the increasingly complicated cities, the extremely simple body is an effective way to obtain identity. The simplification of architecture structure sometimes can create special architectural expressive force. However, the simpler the body is , the richer details are needed to be the support and background. This complexity successfully endows the simple body with rich connotation in the form of decorative effect.

Take Dominique Perrault’s French National Library, Berlin Olympic Velodrome and Swimming Pool as good examples, all of them give us striking visual effect by using extremely pure geometrical structures. On the one hand they express the sense of purity and disappearance by these geometrical structures, and on the other hand, the complicated details have become the foil to the power of pure body and serenity. We can view the main body when we are far away, while we can see all the details when we are close to it. So we are both surprised with the architect’s bold choice of pure body and marveled at those complicated details beyond imagination. Such architecture, beyond our imagination and the boundary of intermediate state, impressed us deeply in the strong comparison. (Fig.08- Fig.11)

4.Extremely Simple Material and Over-Complicated Combination

The purpose of going beyond ordinary can also be realized by the extreme generative approach with simple material. Swiss Pavillion in Expo 2000 Hannover is Peter Zumthor’s masterpiece to challenge the limit of timber. The architect produced the most complicated effect by those simplest material, which breaks our concept of using timber. Tadao Ando’s Museum of Wood and Fay Jones’s Thorn Crown Chapel have the similar expression. (Fig.12- Fig.15)

Materials are originally the tools for building architectural works, while they turn into an aesthetic pursuit with a unique cultural background when they are expressed in the way of the extreme generative approach. The approach of using material repetitively, instead of the material itself, bears the discriminating connotation and content of identity.

In conclusion, the key of obtaining architecture’s identity is to convey the information which is different from those routine concepts while the extreme generative approach is one of the effective approaches to this aim.

Fig. 1-15