UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE &PLANNING

KASHMERE GATE, NEW DELHI-110403

DISSERTATION

GLOBAL HIGH-TECH ARCHITECTURE DOES NOT EXIST

DISSERTATION GUIDE

MR. VERENDRA WAKHLOO

NAME OF STUDENT

RAMEEZ RAZA GESAWAT

(0351731605 )

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University

KASHMERE GATE, NEW DELHI-110403

Dissertation Title

GLOBAL HIGH- TECH ARCHITECTURE.

Approval Certificate

The following study is hereby approved as a creditable work on the approved subject, carried

out, and presented in a manner sufficiently satisfactory to warrant its acceptance.

It is to be understood that by this approval the undersigned does not necessarily endorse or

approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusions drawn therein, but approve

the study only for the purpose for which it is submitted and satisfies himself as to the

requirements laid down by the dissertation committee.

Name of the student Name of the Guide

Rameez Raza Gesawat (Mr.Verendra Wakhloo)

(0351731605)

Batch 2005-10

Date: 11-01-2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the course of my dissertation there have been a number of people who have been

greatly helpful with their personal capacities in various ways. I take this opportunity to

express my deep gratitude for the co-operation and patience they have shown.

I am grateful to my guide Mr. Verendra Wakhloo for providing me with invaluable inputs

and encouragement, helping me tirelessly throughout the process and having complete faith

in me. This work would not have been possible otherwise.

No words can express my gratitude to my parents and my friends for the constant moral

support and for having faith in me.

Thank you,

Dated:

11th

January 2010

CONTENTS:

PART 1:

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Method of Approach

1.3 Scope of study

PART 2:

2.1 Globalization

2.2 Brief History

2.3 Effects of Globalization

PART 3:

3.1 Technology

3.2 Technology and Globalization

3.3 Technology and Architecture

PART 4:

4.1 Defining High Tech

4.2 High Tech Architecture

4.3 Principles and Ideologies of High Tech architecture

4.4 Brief History

PART 5:

Conclusion

PART 6:

6.1 India International Centre : case study

6.2 East Gate Centre : case study

6.3 Beyler‘s foundation museum : case study

6.4 Menara Mesiniaga : case study

PART 7:

The Way Out

PART 8:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PART-1

1.1 INTRODUCTION:

HYPOTHESIS:

Global High-tech architecture does not exist.

Globalization is a phenomenon that has been taking place since man started trading. But in

last two decades with the increase in the Communication system, Internet, Transport system

and many other technological developments this has happened at an extremely large scale

and at unbelievingly rapid pace. If we explore the historical background of this phenomenon

we will find that there are three main eras of globalization.

The first lasted from 1492-1800, when Columbus set sail, opening trade between the old

world and the new world. During this era the countries were globalizing in the search of

business under the royal monopoly.

The second great era lasted roughly from 1800 to 2000. In this era multinational companies

went global for markets and labor. This era was powered by the achievements of industrial

revolution and many other technological developments like telegraph, telephones, the PC,

satellites, fiber-optic cable, and the early version of World Wide Web. It was in this era that

we really saw the birth and maturation of global economy.

Around year 2000 we entered a whole new era of globalization. The uniqueness of this era of

globalization is that in this era there are individuals and group of individuals are globalizing.

Peoples now can collaborate and compete globally, and the dynamic force which is these

enabling individuals and groups to go global is not horsepower (as in era 1), and not,

hardware (as in era 2) but software. All sorts of new applications in computer programs – in

combination with the creation of global fiber optic network has created a global platform on

which people from all corners of the world can collaborate and compete, thus making us all

next door neighbors.

Today when one orders a computer to a call center, he get it in around 7 days and it doesn‘t

matter that in which part of the world is that call centre located, where does the parts of the

computer are produced and assembled. It also don‘t matters at all that where does the

software are manufactured and at which place they are downloaded to the computer, all

these activities happens just as the order is booked on the phone or internet and the payment

is given by the credit card.

This is the global world in which we are living today, and with opening of the market

economies, many MNC, BPO, malls, banks, and fast food restaurants have started to open there

branches, all over world. This affects the lifestyle and the culture, and these changes the

aspirations of the people. This development has impact on the various form of cultural activities

i.e. music, art and architecture.

This has opened up the challenge to revaluate the architecture which reflects the status of a

particular society. This demands an investigation of present architectural trends.

In order to demonstrate development of their society, many individuals are trying to produce

architecture which is technologically inspired. New global market gives us an opportunity to

choose and develop materials and technologies.

In this ambition of showing development of society- many architects are just replicating the

image of architecture, produced somewhere else, and those buildings stand as aliens in that

region.

So there is a need to analyze the tools, which one should use to create architecture of a place,

which expresses development of that society and is part of its surroundings. This dissertation

focuses on particular one style of architecture which uses technology as a source of inspiration,

and will explore that how can one use its principles and tools to create a region responsive

architecture.

1.2 Method of Approach:

1. This study starts the task of investigation by understanding the phenomenon of

globalization, and its effect on present architectural trends. This study also

investigates the role of technology in these changing trends.

2. Further the study investigates critically the globally accepted technology inspired

‗High Tech architecture‖. Study concludes that global hi tech architecture does not

exist and there is a need to develop Regional High Tech architecture.

3. The study finally tries to find out the instances that how an architect can indigenize

the principle of High tech architecture to the local conditions.

1.2 Scope of study:

1. Analysis and conclusions are done on the basis of the text read through books, published

and unpublished articles.

2. Case studies are restricted to analyze the extent of the integration of technology to the

local conditions.

PART-2

2.1 Globalization:

Globalization (or globalisation) describes an ongoing process by which regional

economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network

of communication and execution.1It is the socio, political-economic condition that cut cross

boundaries between countries and decisively controls the faith of those living between each

of them. The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or

popular culture through acculturation. 2

Hence it is the process of transformation of local

or regional phenomenon into global one. It can be described as a process by which the

people of the world are unified into a single society and function together.

It refers to that process whereby geographically distant events and decisions impact to a growing

degree on local life style.

―Refers to process of change which underpin a transformation in the organization of human

affairs by linking together and expanding human activity across regions and continents.‖ 3

People around the globe are more connected to each other than ever before. Information and

money flow more quickly than ever. Goods and services produced in one part of the world

are increasingly available in all parts of the world. International travels are more frequent.

International communication is commonplace. This phenomenon has been titled as

―Globalization‖. 4

1 From website: - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization.

2 From website: - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization.

3 definitions from Impact of Globalization on the Local Built Environment and the Emergence of Architectural

Anarchy in Nigerian Urban Centres. 4 http://www.emarketing.ie/resources/glossary.html#g

.

2.2 Brief History:

Globalization is not a new phenomenon; it is as old as the history, starting with the migration

of the people across the great landmasses. Thomas L. Friedman in his book ‗The world is

FLAT‘ explains the brief history of globalization by dividing it into three great eras-

Globalization 1.0 (from 1492-1800)

Globalization 2.0 (from 1800-2000)

Globalization 3.0 (from 2000 0nwards) 5

The first lasted from 1492 until around 1800- when Columbus set sail, opening trade

between the old world and the new world. Shortly before the turn of the 16th century,

Portuguese started establishing trading posts (factories) from Africa to Asia and Brazil, to

deal with the trade of local products like gold, spices and timber, introducing an international

business center under a royal monopoly.

The second great era lasted roughly from 1800 to 2000. This time it was not the countries

which were going global they were the multinational companies. These multinational

companies went global for markets and labor, spearheaded first by the expansion of the

Dutch and English joint-stock companies and the industrial revolution. As there was a need

for finances and large investments these Companies started making joint ownership through

the issuance of shares of stock. It was in this era that we really saw the birth and maturation

of global economy.

5 Thomas l. Friedman: The World is Flat:

Around year 2000 we entered a whole new era of globalization. While the dynamic force in

globalization 1.0 was the countries globalizing and the dynamic force in globalization

2.0 was the companies globalizing, the dynamic force of globalization 3.0 is the thing

that gives it its unique character is the new found power for individuals to collaborate

and compete globally. 6

Today all of us are on a single platform, and can watch others

performing, hence the world has become flat. And, in the previous two eras it was driven by

Europe and America, but this era has brought an opportunity for the developing countries

like India and china. Hence, giving them greater access to developed countries markets and

technology transfer offered improved productivity and higher living standard.

2.3 Effects:

Globalization has various features which affects the world in several different ways. Thomas

L. Friedman in his book has examined the impact of the "flattening" of the world, and argues

that globalized trade, outsourcing, supply-chaining, and political forces have changed the

world permanently, for both better and worse.

And these changes can be broadly diffferentiated into economical, political, and social

changes, which have their impacts on the architecture of the place, which can be seen

worldwide.

As a result of globalization, the visible economic changes: -

More countries were incorporated in the world trade system.

New investment patterns created a diverse flow of foreign direct investment and

inclusion of third world countries in this pattern.

6 Thomas l. Friedman: The World is Flat:

The formation of global sourcing multi-national enterprises, led to the searching of

cheap resources for a replacement in their production process. 7

These economic changes have resulted new trend of architecture with new spatial building

categories like B.P.O.’s, banks, techno poles. These new buildings have changed the

culture and the lifestyle of the people. These buildings also use the latest technologies, which

makes the work easier and faster.

The social-cultural changes: -

The migration of labor.

A change in the lifestyle of the people.

A shift of work patterns based on services rather than production.

Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity.

Cultural transformation in society due to the permeability of political boundaries.

Increasing desire for goods and services, accompanied by unmet expectations. 8

New architecture services have been rendered to take care of these social changes of the

society. New activities have brought new trends in society like coffee shops, fast food

restaurants, hotels and many more have added to global image of the city. Their

architecture represents the global image in society as they demand a specific design in their

look due to the technological innovation in the field of commerce. All these new buildings

had created their own universal aesthetic image all over the world.

7Unpublished Dissertation Draft, Sushant School of Architecture, D-219, Nomita Sawhney..

8Unpublished Dissertation Draft, Sushant School of Architecture, D-219, Nomita Sawhney..

Most urban buildings—housing, offices, schools, hospitals, museums, theatres, malls etc can

embody indigenous architectural traditions, but they also can be high-profile, non-traditional

architectural symbols contributing to a city‘s global profile, and nowadays they are built in

such manner. These developments require a certain infrastructure and building techniques

which needs an advanced knowledge of technology.

In today’s trend of globalization architects can easily examine the architecture which

has been produced at different parts of the globe. And can choose or borrow ideas to

build. Many stylish products and materials—glass, aluminium, stainless steel, copper,

titanium, countless varieties of natural stone—used to clad and finish buildings are readily

available throughout the world. If they are not available locally, they can be ordered and

imported, as happens with increasing frequency.

For developing countries use of the advance technology, new materials in creating new

architecture is one way to show progress in this advanced world. Therefore these

countries have tried to create an architecture (based on technology), which will reflect a

global identity and to show their growth and development. But many architects are just

replicating the architectural style for their buildings.

INDIA CHINA AUSTRALIA

ARAB AMERICA EUROPE

INDIA AUSTRALIA ARAB

And these buildings have no or very less relation with the surroundings. This new identity

has affected the regional identity of the place as it is more focusing on its global image and

for that try to create architecture which is unique, innovative and different from its

surrounding.

PART-3

3.1 Technology:

The word technology comes from the Greek technología — téchnē, 'craft' and logía, the

study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline. 9

It May be defined as the

study of techniques for making and doing things.

Techniques are methods of creating new tools and products of tools, and the capacity for

constructing such artifacts is the determining characteristic of man like species. 10

Charles Darwin suggested ―the question of survival always depends upon the capability of

an object to adapt to the changing environment.‖

And in the Webster dictionary technology is defined as – the systematic treatment of the

process. So, the systematic and creative technique to adapt to the changing environment can

also be coined as technology.

To protect himself from the inimical elements of nature and to sustain himself, Man has

always developed and invented technology. Necessity is the mother of invention…As the

history exhibits, man invented the control on fire, which fulfilled his needs for more sources

of food. This invention was probably the beginning of use of technology by the man to fulfill

his needs. And till now mankind is generating new technologies and using them to fulfill his

needs and desires.

3.2 Technology and Globalization:

9From website: - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization.

10Unpublished Dissertation Draft, university school of Architecture and Planning (GGSIPUL, Puneet Narang.

Technological developments are conceived as the main facilitator and driving force of most

of the globalization processes. With technology, the world has changed drastically. The

invention of the script can be considered as the first technology of communication that

contributed to globalization. With the script man could transmit and store information that

could speed up further technological developments. The use of wind power, horse power and

later steam power helped to go global. Invention of the print machine with moving letters

by Gutenberg was the most important revolutionary technological development, which made

possible even a larger global geography. After that: The emergence of the newspapers, the

invention of telegraph, Telephone, radio, railways, motor vehicles, jet planes, television,

the PC, satellites, fiber-optic cable, and the early version of World Wide Web. All these

put the world to go in new era of globalization. It was in this era that we really saw the birth

and maturation of global economy. And now the new inventions in software and all sorts of

new application – in conjunction with the creation of global fiber optic network that has

made us all next door neighbors.

Globalization—can now be said to have coevolved with rapid and pervasive

technological innovation. By this it is meant that changes in technological advancement

appear to have helped to create increasingly global markets and other institutions.

Survival in the new global business market calls for improved productivity and increased

competition. Due to the market becoming worldwide, companies in various industries have to

upgrade their products and use technology skillfully in order to face increased competition.11

11

Thomas l. Friedman: The World is Flat:

So these more global institutions also modify emerging technological innovations, along with

the universities, government agencies, and other organizations, to develop further more

technologies.

Hence both the globalization and technology goes hand in hand, by the development of one the

need and opportunity for the other is also generated.

3.3 Technology and architecture

From early times it is visible that to produce any artifact or any form of aesthetics you

required skills, tools and material. In which skill was the skill of the craftsman involved in

the work, tools were the hammer, chiseler, paints etc and the materials were wood, stone,

mud, etc. in today‘s world the skills are the intellectual of the engineers and the scientists

involved, tool is the technology (hardware and software), and materials are the processed

materials.

A building is an object that defines and encloses space, expresses the socio-economic and

environmental value of its time more than any other art form. In architecture, the main

objective has, most of the time, been to create an enclosed space, which is a volume or zone

conceived for a certain purpose. Moreover, the purpose and the characteristic of a space to be

created is only established when it is physically enclosed. The physical enclosure which

defines a space is the structure and the medium required to build the structure is material.

Every material has its own constraints due to its inherent structural qualities. Technology is

incorporated to define space, exploiting the intrinsic properties of the material. The

final outcome of this phenomenon is the resultant form. And this form has aesthetics and it

expresses a meaning. The meaning of any building form is also expressed by technology,

applied to exploit the properties of material and build a structure to define space.

If the built form reflects the process of the building, then technology is understood to be

expressed.

In other words, the expression of technology can be defined as the technique to develop a

structural enclosure to define a space, conversed through a medium of a certain material,

reflected in the building form. Example:

Stone in Greek Parthenon, stone in Gothic churches.

After industrial revolution, a new architecture evolved rapidly under this influence where a

building was designed to express its technological inputs. Nervi believed: “The attempt to

reconcile architecture with art will fail, as long as technology remains unrelated to the

process of a good design.”

Crystal palace represents the first use of the industrial technology in building. 12

This

building marks a major change in architectural history because the proportional discipline

and components shapes and sizes were determined off site.

Today with the help of science and technology architecture has attained unlimited potential,

many architects feel that the use of a new technology and material will eventually produce

great spaces of orderly magnificent of expression, in an endless variety of form of elegant

and graceful beauty. This approach has given birth to many styles of architecture, and among

them the style ―Hi-tech architecture‖.

12

Collin Davies: High-Tech Architecture

PART-4

4.1 HIGH-TECH

As a term, ―hi-tech‖ does not feature in any dictionary.

So basically it is made of two terms:

HIGH + TECHNOLOGY = HI-TECH

(High level of technology)

Within a construction system, technology has been taken to a combination of two factors:

Materials

Technique

i.e.

Technology= materials + Technique

Carrying from this equation it follows that both the material and the technique of its use and

application contribute to the level of the technology.

If technique can be extended to design analysis, it suggests that a ‗Sophisticated technique‘,

which applied to a basic, raw-material also increase the level of technology, hence Hi-Tech.

It also follows that an industrially produced building system implies, by default that it has

been made under a higher-level technological process, and can qualified as HI-TECH

because the very act of processing it imparts a ―HIGH-TECH‖ aspect inherent to that

material.

4.2 High Tech architecture

All of the High Tech architects agrees at least one thing: they hate the term ―High Tech‖ as

in the early 1970s ―Hi- Tech‖ was often used as a term of abuse by architect but as the term

passed into more regular use it lost its negative connotation. High tech in architecture is

much more different from the high tech in industry. And the high tech architects prefer to use

the term ―appropriate technology‖.

In architecture, the main objective has, most of the time, been to create an enclosed space.

These spaces are to be made best suited for their functional requirement (for which the

building is made) and the systems used (like structural system, environmental conditioning

system, service system, communication system etc) to make these spaces work properly

contribute to the Hi-Tech components of the building.

And the high tech architects try their best to incorporate these systems into a broader theme

in most efficient way. And during this process the expression of the building is an output of

the strategies applied by the architect. The built form in the High-Tech structure reflects the

process of building making and function. So, High tech is an “approach to building

making”, one that arises in the 1960’s and 1970’s and continues to develop today.

4.3 IDEOLOGIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE HIGH-TECH ARCHITECTURE:

Purports to adhere to a strict code of expression and embodies ideas of industrial

production. It uses industries other than the building industry as source for both technology

and imagery, and puts high priority on flexibility of use.

The pioneers of high tech believe in the “spirit of the age” and it is moral duty of

architecture to express the same. They wish their buildings to be judged by the same criteria

of performance as any other tools of everyday life. So they want them to be functional and

efficient not artistic or symbolic. They believe that there should be a functional justification

for every design decision (honesty in expression). For example Nicholas Grimshaw‘s Ice

Rink in Oxford, this building brings in mind the romantic image of a sailing ship. Where the

expression could be gained by many ways, but in this building it has a justification i.e. the

low bearing capacity of the subsoil.

Ice Rink, Oxford; Architects: Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners

The high tech architect argues that buildings are no longer need to be built of the

cumbersome and imprecise materials like concrete, mortar, bricks and mud when the same

time can be made out of light precision components of metal, glass or timber fabricated

in factories and bolted together on site.

Mass production:

High Tech architect choose machine both as a source of technology and imagery.

Machines are usually mass-produced, they are either mobile or portable, and are made of

synthetic materials, such as metal,, glass and plastic. These characteristic have became the

reference point of the high tech architecture.

Walking City, Rohn Herron.

Buildings may not be mass produced component but they can look as mass produced, or at

least capable of repetition, cannot de portable but can be easily dismantled and moved.

Norman Foster‘s Sainsbury centre for visual art, Michael hopkin‘s brewery in bury St

Edmund looks like the machines sitting on the ground.

Buildings cannot be mass produced, because to reach the same level of the sophistication it

will take a very long time to design only one building. But the mass production of certain

building materials has increased steadily.

Doors, windows, curtain walls, raised floors and suspended ceiling, flooring materials,

and furniture are being mass produced. The best example for this is the HSBC bank by

Norman Foster. In this building he managed to raise the real quality of sophistication of

building technology.

Floors are suspended from the 2- storey high ―coat hangers; at HSBC bank, Architect: Norman Foster

Structure and services- glorification of technology:

Exposed structure and services are the most viable distinguishing features of High Tech

architecture, even though not all of the high tech architects expose the structure and service

of their building as a matter of course. The various elements of a high tech building- the

muscular steel structure, the smooth, impervious skin, the deliberately exposed pipes and air

ducts- are expressive of their technical function.

centre Pompidou, Architects: Richard Rogers Lloyds building, Architect: INMOS Factory, Architect:

and Piano Richard Rogers and Parteners Richard Rogers and Parteners

Space and flexibility- (the omniplatz)

Form of the complete high tech building is often remarkably inexpressive of its intended use.

The concept of space in high tech has been redefined as -Omniplatz

A high tech architect would say ―what we are providing is not an enclosure- room or a hall

or a spatial sequence- but a serviced zone. it might be internal or external. The possible uses

of this zone are maximized by providing facilities of various kinds- air,

Heat, light, power and something to fix partitions to on regular grid.‖ collin davies

Plan Section Plan

Lloyds building, Architect: Richard Rogers and Parteners Centre Pompidou, Architects:

Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano

Most modern office blocks allow a degree of flexibility in the placing and moving of

partitions. But high tech architecture takes flexibility a stage further. It introduces the idea

that not just partitions but also more permanent elements, like walls, roofs and structural

frames should be demountable. External walls are the common subjects for these exercises in

additional flexibility. The elevation, like the plan, becomes an abstract grid that can

accommodate a number of different functions: an insulated panel, a door, an opening

window, or a metal louver when the function of space changes, configuration of the external

wall can respond accordingly. And because it is an assemblage of tough dry components, the

change can be made in a matter of minutes with simple tools and no mess. Flexibility is an

abstract concept which is quintessential to the high tech architecture.

It is much less common for structural elements such as frames, floors or roofs to be made

demountable. But the idea is often implied in the form of the building. The centre Pompidou,

Lloyd‘s and the HSBC bank are all ―incomplete‖ forms.

All these buildings are open-ended and incomplete, so that floors and other elements of

structure could be added or taken away without destroying a perfect composition.

The plug- in pod:

This device in high tech architecture combines various preoccupation with flexibility,

demountabilty, renewability, and mass production.

Parts of the building can be produced anywhere and then can just fixed to the main frame of

the building. The best examples are the Lloyd‘s building and the HSBC bank, in the Lloyd‘s

the pods contain toilets. The equivalent pods at the Hong kong Bank are slightly different,

both in function and expression. As at Lloyd's, they contain the toilets, but they also contain

the localized air handling plant. In the HSBC bank the air handling plants are made

unpluggable. In fact, however, they too are permanently fixed in place, and the stacks of

pods have been clad in a continuous aluminum skin so they do not even look unplug gable.

Prefabricated Modules: Lloyds building Toilets pods being hoisted in place Nakagin Capsule Tower

At Lloyds building

High tech buildings imply a revolutionary, rather then a traditional view of the city. These

building generally consist of carefully wrought, individually crafted and highly engineered

parts that raise the individual industrial components of the structure to an art form.

High tech architecture inverts the nineteenth century ―historical picturesque ideal‖ (follies in

aristocratic landscaped gardens, for example) by exhibiting a nostalgia not for the past, but

for the future (a ―picturesque inversion‖).

4.4 Origin Of High-Tech Architecture:

A number of theories have been put forward as to why this style of building have developed

in Britain rather than, say, Germany, America, or Japan. Perhaps it is nostalgia for the great

days when the Empire was serviced and maintained as much by engineers as by

industrialists, politicians, and generals. Perhaps it is a continuation of the tradition of Pugin,

who demanded "that there should be no features about a building which are not necessary for

convenience, construction or propriety" and "that all ornament should consist of the essential

construction of the building.‖ Perhaps it follows from the British professional tradition that

requires architects to concern themselves with, and be responsible for, the technical details as

well as the spaces, forms, and surfaces of their buildings. Or perhaps it is merely a reflection

of that British literal-mindedness that sees architecture not as high-flown art or philosophy,

but first and foremost as technique. Perhaps, perhaps not. They are only theories, yet there is

something indefinably British about High Tech

To see the origin of this style of architecture we have to go back to 1779 and the construction

of the first iron bridge over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. It is an all-metal

prefabricated structure, completely honest in its use of materials and structural forms, but

designed as much for elegance as for practicality. It can be titled as the “first high tech

structure”.

Above image: Cast Iron Bridge over river Severn

This may seem like far too remote a source for an architectural style born in the 1960s, but

the bridge is still standing and we should not underestimate the influence of eighteenth- and

nineteenth-century engineering structures on architects.

Decimus Burton's at Kew Gardens of 1848, the long-span iron, steel and glass roofs over

the great railway termini built throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, Eiffel's

tower and Contamin and Dutert's Galerie des Machines built for the Paris Exhibition of

1889, and of course Paxton's legendary Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition of

1851 - structures such as these are enduring influences on today's High Tech architects. They

represent an alternative mode of building, based on industrial technology rather than

architectural tradition.

Decimus Burton‘s Glass house Paxtons Crystal Palace Eiffel Tower

High Tech architecture shares their confidence and optimism and also, to a large extent, their

relatively primitive technology. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century it was to

remain an alternative rather than a mainstream mode of building. Exposed structures can be

traced back to Meis Van Der Rohe with decorative steel Pilaster in Seagram‘s Building.

The perspective sketches of Sant' Elia's Citta Nuova exhibited in 1914, are among the

earliest depictions of an architecture that glorifies the technology of concrete, steel, and

glass, and which gives dramatic external expression to lift towers, girder bridges, and

elevated walkways. The similarities to the more sculpturesque examples of the High Tech

style, especially the work of Richard Rogers.

Sant Ellias sketches

"We no longer believe in the monumental, the heavy and static, and have enriched our

sensibilities with a taste for lightness, transience and practicality. We must invent and

rebuild ex novo our modern city like an immense and tumultuous shipyard, active, mobile

and everywhere dynamic, and the modern building like a gigantic machine. Lifts must not

longer hide away like solitary worms in the stairwells...but must swarm up the facades like

serpents of glass and iron”. Sant Elia

The Centre Pompidou and the Lloyd's building would be quite at home in the Citta Nuova.

With the Russian Constructivists we come even closer to the precision of High Tech, the

Constructivist equivalent of Sant' Elia's visionary drawings; or at Alexander Vesnin's project

for the building in Moscow of 1923. This bristles with proto-High Tech motifs, such as

diagonal steel cross-bracing, lifts in glass shafts and even what appears to be a satellite dish

on the roof (in fact it is a searchlight). We can even begin, at this point, to trace direct and

acknowledged influences on High Tech.

In Western Europe, the influence of Constructivism was felt most strongly in the

Netherlands and is most visible in the work of Mart Stam, who collaborated with El

Lissitsky, the chief propagandist of Constructivism, and Johannes Duiker. Duiker's partner,

Bernard Bijvoet, was to collaborate with Pierre Chareau in the design of the in Paris,

completed in 1932. This building is a curious assemblage of mass-produced, machine-like

components with a flexible plan and an external wall made entirely of glass lenses. In 1959

Richard Rogers visited the Maison de Verre and he now acknowledges it as the building

that has had the most influence on his architecture.

Chernikovs Fantasies Maiso De Verre By Pierre chareau

While Chareau and Bijvoet were designing the Maison de verre, Jean Prouvé was developing

the first system of replaceable wall components for lightweight metal houses. Prouvé was to

continue to develop his own, peculiarly French, metal and glass architecture right up to

the 1970s. The extent of his influence on British High Tech can be gauged by Norman

Foster's remark when he invited Prouvé to visit his office: "We would never have done all

this without you." Meanwhile, Buckminster Fuller was proposing an even more

thoroughgoing application of advanced technology in his Dymaxion House project of 1927,

a hexagonal structure of lightweight metal and plastic suspended from a core of mechanical

services. If anyone deserves the title "father of High Tech" it is Fuller. His comprehensive

and knowledgeable use of materials and technology borrowed from other industries (the

Dymaxion House proposed an adaptation of techniques used in aircraft construction at that

time), his insistence on a global view of building performance (architects, he said, should

know not just how big their buildings were, or how much they cost but also how much they

weighed), and his refusal to have anything to do with the conventions of traditional,

academic architecture - these have all been built into the ideological structure of High Tech.

Dymaxian House

The group called Archigram (Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, David Greene, Denis Crompton,

Ron Herron and Mike Webb) began to publish and exhibit spectacular theoretical projects

that clearly displayed many of the features of the High Tech architecture of the 1970s and

1980s: the indeterminate forms, the mass-produced, expendable, plug-in components, the use

of technologies from the emerging aerospace industry and, above all, the idea that architects

had a duty to increase personal, environmental choice. Architectural historian Robin

Middleton has remarked that in the 1960s Archigram did for architecture what the

Beatles did for music.

Plug in city: Peter Cook A Walking City: Rohn Herron

The Smithson‘s' Hunstanton School, designed in 1949 and sometimes described as "Miesian

brutalist", was one of the very few British postwar buildings to be accorded any respect by

the 1950s avant garde. It had a curiously formal, Palladian plan, but what made it

revolutionary at the time was the way it displayed with complete honesty its materials – steel

frame, brick infill, precast concrete floors, exposed electrical conduit and pipework, and a

proprietary steel water tank raised on a freestanding steel frame like a campanile.

James Stirling's Engineering Building at Leicester University, designed in partnership with

James Gowan in 1959 and completed in 1963, is another historical marker in the

development of British Modernism. A powerful composition in red tile-clad concrete and

patent glazing, it combined constructivism, nineteenth century engineering, and the colours

and textures of red-brick city of Leicester in such an utterly convincing way that it made

James Stirling's international reputation almost overnight.

PART-5

5.1 Conclusion:

The contemporary modes of development and urbanization demand an architecture that does not

rely on traditional practices. The present day economic structure provides an opportunity to

transform a local resource into global one and vice-versa. The principles of the High-Tech

architecture as observed in the study promise to create buildings with higher level of efficiency

and performance.Such buildings are built all around the Globe expressing their technical

achievements. But this style cannot be called as ―Global High-Tech‖ architecture as all of its

leaders Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Hopkins belong to one

region, share the same educational background which was influenced by the evolution of

architecture in that region. From its history of origin it can be argued that this architecture is the

continuation of British and French tradition of engineering and building materials. These high

tech architects have taken this tradition to a new stage. So it is a ―Regional- High Tech

architecture‖ or ―British-High Tech architecture‖.

Many individuals around the globe are just replicating the image of High-Tech architecture

which is not correct as High Tech architecture itself emphasizes on the use ―appropriate

technology‖. However one should understand that even the ―appropriate technology‖ should also

be sensitive towards the surrounding. These buildings have no or very less relation with the

surroundings as they do not express the development of the architectural tradition of that area.

So there is a need to develop a regional High tech architecture.

Similar conclusions can also be drawn from Darwin‘s theory whish describes that- ―organism

undergo minor modification to adopt themselves to the changing environment in order to

survive, Hence giving rise to different species‖. Therefore, as British tradition of engineering

gave birth to British high- tech architecture, each region will give birth to its own regional

high-tech architecture.

It does not mean that we have to develop the tradition all from the basic we can have a

different approach as Kenneth Frampton asserts about critical regionalism that – ―While

aiming at fostering local character and identity, critical regionalism constantly remain open

to and can selectively accepts elements and ideas from other sources‖. And the principles of

High Tech architecture can be excepted globally.

So a different approach is needed in which. On the one hand is the taste of high tech

architecture- to explore and rethink the structural principles and define new geometric forms

and structural order, to achieve a new level of sophistication to integrate space, structure,

skin, and the services into all over scheme, and On the other hand is a genuine, and not

merely formal, gratitude to history and nature.

By indigenizing the tools of hi-tech architecture to the local conditions, we might be able to

evolve new construction techniques, new materials, new structural orders, new strategies to

integrate structure, space, and services and doing this we might be able to create new spaces

which have never been evolved or explored till now.

Similar approach has been tried by many architects around the world. The next chapter of

this dissertation will focus in finding out that how does these architects have tried to

incorporate new technologies to traditional building techniques. And will also find out that

till what extent did they indigenized the new technology to the local because the depth of this

extent will change the expression of the architecture produced.

The centre is composed of

Stein‘s characteristically

individual articulated blocks:

46 guest rooms, a lounge and a

dinning room , a programme

block of library and offices,

and a auditorium, all grouped

around two great courts and connected by porticoes at ground-level and rooftop verandahs.

All the main rooms (offices, library and guest rooms) face approximately north- south, the

preferred orientation in the Delhi‘s latitude, except for the dinning-rooms and lounge which

overlook, an exceptional view of the Lodi Gardens. The height of the building has been kept

below the base of the domes of the nearby tombs.

Reinterpretation of the traditional form and spaces:

All the functions are gathered around the courtyards and green, which binds the whole site all

together. The verandah beneath the guest room provides a frame view of the Lodi tombs, the

pool and the shaded green on the rare side of the guest room, provides an informal meeting

place under the shaded green. This shows a true analysis of Indian life as all of its old

edifices were designed around the courtyards.

India International Centre Architect: Joseph Allen Stein

New Delhi, INDIA (1959-62)

pool on the rae side of the built and open interplay verandah

guest room

Structure and Materials:

The consistent expression of the

structure provides a modular discipline

within which the infill materials are

freely placed to perform their various

functions. Massive materials hold the

building to the ground, while lighter

materials and more delicate

construction meet the sky. The concrete frame is filled in with several types of cladding

(local stone, pre-cast concrete panels) and shading devices of various sizes, materials and

degrees of operability, an attempt to maximize appreciation of the indoor/outdoor

relationships.

Shading Devices:

The range of shading devices for the project- trellises, ground level and rooftop pergolas,

jalis, vertical sliding louvers. Depending upon the task at hand, the shading devices at IIC

range from relatively monolithic sunshields, like the pre-cast vaulting for the entry portico

and rooftop pergolas, to an operable lightweight device- the vertical sliding window louvers

in the dining room. The most precisely detailed and co-ordinate of the devices are the design

for the jalis and the vertical louvers.

These strategies helped Stein to achieve a modern synthesis responsive to the Indian context.

The East gate- Centre

is a shopping centre

and office block in

central Harare. The

nine storey high

complex is actually

two buildings linked

by bridges across a

shady, glass-roofed atrium open to the breezes. In this building Mick Pearce has used a

passive cooling strategy applied by the termite mounds in the local area, he

sophisticated it and made feasible for a 9-storey high commercial complex.

Macrotermitine termites construct

mounds that maintain a constant

internal temperature due to their

structure and interaction with the local

environment. Several factors allow

mounds to stay 87° F inside--the

optimum temperature for the fungi

these termites cultivate--while the temperature ranges from 35° - 104° F outside. For

instance, the mounds thermal mass has sufficient heat capacity to buffer the internal

East gate - Centre Architect: Mick Pearce

HARARE, ZIMBABVE (1996)

environment from heat gain during the day with cold accumulated over the night;

narrowing shafts rising through the mound channel and accelerate the release of warm

internal air out vents at the mounds’ top; and openings at the base of the mound allow

cooler, denser air to flow in replacing warmer air as it rises. These principles informed

the design of the East gate Center, which uses about 35% of the energy required for

temperature regulation as similar conventional office buildings.

Fans suck fresh air in from the

atrium; blow it upstairs

through hollow spaces under

the floors and from there into

each office through baseboard

vents. As it rises and warms, it

is drawn out through ceiling

vents. Finally, it exits through

48 round brick chimneys.

During summer's cool nights,

big fans flush air through the

building seven times an hour to

chill the hollow floors. By day,

smaller fans blow to changes of air an hour through the building, taking advantage of

what Pearce calls "the coolth in the slab." For winter days, there are small heaters in the

vents. This is all possible only because Harare is 5,400 feet above sea level, has

cloudless skies, little humidity and wide temperature swings -- days as warm as 88

degrees commonly drop to 58 degrees at night.

To keep the harsh highveld sun from heating the interior, no more than 25 percent of the

outside is glass, and all the windows are screened by an unusual form of sunshade: racks of

cement arches that jut out more than a yard. These deep eaves also added to the regional

character of the building.

The Fondation Beyeler consists of three parts: the Berower Park, acquired by the Riehen

authorities in 1976, the 18th-century Berower Villa, which houses the restaurant and offices,

and the museum recently built by Renzo Piano.

The elongated building covers the whole breadth of the narrow plot of ground situated

between a busy main road and a protected area of farmland. It combines two contrasting

motifs: long, solid walls and a light, apparently floating glass roof. All the external walls are

clad with red porphyry from Patagonia (Argentina).

The building is supported by four 127 metres long parallel load-bearing walls placed at

intervals of about seven metres. The two end façades are made of glass and look out over the

park. On the road side, the museum is completed by a windowless wall that protects the

building and on the inside of which the Art Shop, cloakroom, toilets, etc are located. On the

opposite wall there is a winter garden with a view of the surrounding countryside.

Beyeler Foundation Museum Architect: Renzo Piano Building Workshop

RIEHEN, SWITZERLAND (1992-1997)

Located between the longitudinal walls, the exhibition rooms dedicated to the permanent

collection are arranged in a well-proportioned pattern that can be altered if necessary.

Another distinctive characteristic of the

Foundation Beyeler is the absolute serenity of

the exhibition rooms, which is unmarred by

any technical or design details and is

enhanced by the sensitive interplay between

the walls, the ceiling and the light-coloured French oak floor.

The transparent roof, with its highly sophisticated

technology, provides the whole of the interior with

the natural light so desirable for viewing works of art.

Unlike conventional top lighting, this roof allows the

zenithal daylight to filter into the building‘s interior

in its natural state instead of homogenising it and

making it diffuse and milky.

The simple elegance and detailing of the lit ceilings

hides a five-foot space above, in which electrically

controlled louvers, artificial lighting and the roof of brise-soleil are used to control the light

in the galleries.At the building ends the glass roof extends generously beyond the glass walls

and a further row of pillars, over the reflecting pool and the real-life water-lilies outside.

There exists a harmonious balance between the

materials used throughout the museum. The

vertical walls clad with porphyry from Argentina

convey an impression of heaviness and durability.

A projecting steel structure has been suspended

over them horizontally like a flying carpet. It supports the glass of the transparent roof and

the 900 brise-soleil that protect the interior against direct overhead sunlight.

The internal requirements associated with the Beyeler Collection's characteristics and sizes

have been sensitively reconciled with the site's external constraints. Piano has described his

task in the following words: "A museum should attempt to interpret the quality of the

collection and define its relationship with the outside world. This means taking an active, but

not an aggressive role."

The Menara Mesiniaga is the headquarters for IBM in

Subang Jaya near Kuala Lumpur. IBM asked for a

building which was a high-tech corporate showcase for

their highly visible site and high-technology industry.

This building has 6-classrooms, a demo center, a 130-seat

auditorium, lounge, cafeteria, and prayer rooms.

Ken Yeang designed this building as an example of his

bioclimatic skyscraper practices and principles. Subang

Jaya is near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The climate is

considered tropical and the temperature, heat and humidity in this region are fairly similar

throughout the year. The day and night temperature vary little. Artificial landscape was

created to shelter and insulate the lowest three levels from the morning sun. Parking is

located below the building and the elevated green.

Response through form:

The building is 15 stories tall and circular in

plan. Yeang designed this built form to

include : 1- a sloping landscape base to

connect the land with the verticality of the

building;

Menara Mesiniaga Architect: KenYeang

SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA (1989-1992)

2- a circular spiraling body with landscaped sky courts that allow visual relief for office

workers as well as providing continuity of spaces connecting the land through the building.

Sun and Shade:

The facade is a ―sieve-like‖ filter

(instead of a ―sealed skin‖). The

louvers and shades relate to the

orientation of the building. They

allow or reduce solar gain. The

deep garden insets acts as a

thermal buffer and allows full

height curtain walls on the north

and south sides which can also be kept open for natural ventilation - as a response to the

tropical overhead sun path. The core functions are located on the ―hot‖ side, the east.

Sun screen on the facade East side elevation Sun path

Sun Shader Garden Inset

Connection through Green:

The vertical planting provides fresh oxygen at all levels and helps the building for cooling. It

is Yeang‘s vision of the tropical garden city and it uncovers ―the relationship of buildings,

landscape and climate . . .‖ transforming the impact of high- rise development in the

ecosystem of a city. The spiral landscape helps in the passive cooling and also marks a

connection that integrates the building with the physical context and natural history.

The building is equipped with a Building Automated System which controls energy features

including air conditioning and is utilized to reduce energy consumption in equipment. The

building is sensitive to and in harmony with the local environment, as well as reflects the

company's aspirations to be an industry leader.

The Way Out:

The emergent regionalist architecture as noted in the case studies seeks architectural

significance through relating its built form, open spaces, aesthetics, organization and

technical assemble, landscape integration and material to a certain place and time. This can

be said as a vital connection that links technology with the local conditions. The extent of

indigenizing the technology to the local character also varies in all of the four case studies

which gave them a different expression. Now with the help of the advanced technology these

connections can be evolved further to a great extent. Many more new links can be explored

to produce architecture which will demonstrate both the technological developments and

identity of the region.

Several more connections can be like:

New materials can be developed by the biological and chemical treatment on the

available local materials.

New structural orders and geometric forms can be developed by analyzing the

architectural heritage and the cultural traditions.

A contemporary connection in design through the selective use of the current

technological developments achieved in different fields.

New construction techniques can be generated from the available local materials.

A forward connection can be drawn in which design consideration includes an

anticipation of likely consequences of the changing world.

These connections would be able to create an architecture which has never been

explored.

PART-7

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Thomas L. Friedman,The World is FLAT- a brief history of 21st century

(2nd edition , Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006)

2. Collin Davies, High- Tech Architecture

(Thomas and Hudson ltd.,LONDON, 1991)

3. Kingston WM. Heath, Vernacular architecture and regional design (Elsevier Ltd., Oxford, 2009) 4. Bill Addis, Creativity and innovation, structural engineer’s contribution to

design (A division of Reed Educational and PRoffesional Publishing Ltd., 2001)

5. Kenneth Frompton, Critical Regionalism. Six points of an Architecture of resistance

(Article)

6. Stephen White, Building in the Garden

(Delhi Oxford university Press, Oxford, New York, 1993)

7. Sustainable High Tech Architecture, Akhshat Bhatt, 2001, TVBSHS (unpublished

dissertation)

8. “Globalisation attempts to introduce a level of “sameness” and “standards” across

the globe, but in the process adapt itself to the local context in a manner which

superficially at worst and sensitively at best, reflects the regional identity of the

place”. Nitin Sharma, 2009, USAP (unpublished sissertaion)

9. Is Technology acts as a catalyst of Design?, Puneet Narang, USAP, 2009,

(unpublished dissertation)

10. The contemporary city, Shaily Gupta, SPA Batch – 2004 (unpublished

dissertation)

11. Expression Through Structure, Akarsh, USAP, 2008 (unpublished dissertation)

Websites:

1) www.globalisationguide.org

2) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

3) http://www.emarketing.ie/resources/glossary.html

4) Richard rogers and Stirk Harbour official wedsite

5) Renzo piano workshop

6) Norman Foster and Partners official website

7) Ken yeang and T R Hamzah official website