manifesto against over packaging

7/31/2019 Manifesto Against Over Packaging

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ABOUT THE MI NI MUM I N A HUMAN DWELLI NG

MANI FESTO AGAI NST THE OVER PACKAGI NG

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Cristian Suau,Postdoktor NTNU


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Thinking about the minimum appears as a manifesto ofElementarismagainst over-packaged architecture, exploring unexpected trails ofspatial production and provided new flexibility and interoperability.Richard Serra said, "the biggest break in the history of sculpture inthe twentieth century occurred when the pedestal was removed." Interms of minimum living, what happens to architecture when thefoundation is removed?

Minimum means removing all what an architectural project mighthave as superfluous, redundant or unnecessary. Search on theessential living means to regret both symbolic and dysfunctionalcomponents, by identifying potential obstacles; exploring feasiblearchitectures; looking at another potential low-technologies andcomponents and defining architectural guidelines.

A minimum architecture is all about an individual approach towardsan elemental shelter. It is related to a sort of essential activities indomestic scale. Additionally, a minimum architecture is a sheltertreated in a radical and on edge way. It poses as a system inchallenge to traditional methods or attempting to solve a cutting

edge problem under extreme environments or social contexts.

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THREE BULKY BUI LDI NGS:

There are some examples in Europe and other latitudes of over packagedarchitecture, a sort of architecture with exaggerated dimensions and a gap ofunnecessary space, according to the actual needs. Clearly those cases are notrecommendable!

1. The Railw ay Stati on, massive structure that contains a rise building andcreates a sort of useless urban void in the downtown. For instance, in OsloSentrum Station all the railways split the urban tissue in segregate zones.Nowadays, an elemental railway station might be conceived as a human scalespace, well protected climatically along platforms, e-tickets, and operated by

additional transporting systems.

2. The Chr ist ian Church. This meditation space should contain an elementalspace-frame based on a worshiping space and surrounded by benches or the like.In any case, it must be concentric instead of axial; a single height is required.

3. The Publi c Library. Within the culture of the superabundance or the welfarestates heroism, library has conceived as a clumsy mega-building. A sort ofcontainers on containers that store up mostly academic knowledge in packs so-called books. Nowadays citizens do not have time or enough interest to godowntown. Also we consume less information in paper format. This system mustbe decentralised, non-hierarchical and rapid.

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HOUSE AS LI VI NG SYSTEM I N MOTI ON

The limit of architecture flows between what is stationary and what is inmotion. The ability to move, change or adapt are prerequisite for life. In thecase of architecture in motion, there are 3 facts that can play a significant

role in its potential development:- The expanding functions of data transmission- Variable divisions of interior space- Flexible furnitureWhat might an elemental house be like? A house design for light andflexible living could be one which during its occupation might be movedfrom one place to another or be changed in its shape or structure. Walls

might fold; floors shift; staircases extend; lighting, colours and surfacetextures metamorphose. Parts of the house could leave the site and return,or the entire building could collapse, float, inflate up or simply transport toa different location. What are its basic guidelines of design?In the design of an elemental house, seven parameters have to be takeninto consideration:1. Location2. The use of solar energy, daylight and natural ventilation3. Structure (space-frame)4. Circulation (flows and access)5. Skin6. Service spaces7. Divisory elements

8. Mobile Furniture

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HOUSE AS PAVI LI ON

The pavilions primal condition lies in its light and temporary quality. Itmeans the pavilion characterises as a nomadic space with a lightweightframe structure. It allows high flexibility in order to provide multiple

assemblages and a quick dismantling.

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Cristian Suau,

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BUTTERFLY VERSUS ELEPHANT-TYPE BUI LDI NGS

Architecture can be understood as light or heavy spaces. By definition,pavilion means butterfly. Butterflies are lightweight animals with powerfulwings of large area compared with their bodies. Their sense organs varyfrom eyes for vision to antennae for smell. Butterflies are quick to respondto their environment. On another hand, elephants are not lightweight. Iftheir environment changes, they also change but only after a period oftime.

The butterflies-type building. They will have highly responsive skins with agreat deal of transparency and will react quickly to changes in solarradiation, light and temperature, by altering their properties. They also willhave ventilation openings that vary according to constantly changingneeds.

Parts of their envelopes will capture energy and generate power or heatdirectly just as some butterflies use the sun's radiant heat to warmthemselves up so that they can get the full owned of their muscles forflight. Instead of maintaining a constant body temperature by internalmeans, butterflies arepokilothermic. Their indoor temperatures vary with

those of their surroundings.

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Cristian Suau,

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1. MI NI MUM OF SPACE

The dimensions of the Japanese capsule hotel are 0.8m times 0.8m times2.0m each. IKEA suggest the idea of a home like-coffin! It is the minimumspace to sleep and if you need to take off your personal clothes, you shoulduse the common fitting room like in a gym. Instead of lease per days or

weeks, these capsules are leased per hours.

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Cristian Suau,

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2. MI NI MUM ENERGY

Buildings have to be able to protect their occupants against climaticconditions. Clearly the most sophisticated control systems occur inlatitudes with extreme climatic behaviour: rainfall versus rainless and

warmth versus coldness.

How can we deal with flows of solar energy and recycling/reused ofbuilding materials in elemental houses?

If we examine the spectrum of so-called sustainable or ecologicalarchitecture, we see a deep-eco attitude in one hand and a high-techapproach in the other hand. Both refer architecture in time but in verydifferent ways.

Smart architecture means minimum energy, a wider concept than justsustainability or ecology. It is interactive and represents an interfacebetween its users and the surroundings. It is efficient in terms that it does

more with less [1].

[1] Do more with less. The concept must be explored over and over again. In some cases, it might lead toFLEXIBILITY and, in other cases, to DURABILITY.

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3. MI NUMUM ECOSYSTEM

A system is merely defined as a combination of elements that interact witheach other and with the surrounding.

Referring to ecosystems, the elements always include living organism, whatthey produce (oxygen, food or waste) and the energy input that is required.The main point is that all bio-elements contained in the system are able to

feed on each other somehow.

Usually building in cities provides dwellers with a comfortable and functionalinner climate. Some building can react to sunlight with shutters or to heatup with valve systems. The feedback principle has certainly the potential toreduce energy consumption, if it is applied properly. Shelters should be able

to react to changes by adaptation and self-repairing. It means connectivitybetween different housing systems by using green and low-value materialsand components.

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Cristian Suau,

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4. MI NI MUM PERI METER

In terms of manufacturing and functional criteria, the rectangle is the figurethat by keeping the maximum of area used the minimum of perimeter andthus it minimised useless parts. Of course, this is not applicable in terms of

mathematics where the circle contains fewer perimeters than other surfaces.

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5. MI NI MUM AMOUNT OF BUI LDI NG MATERI ALS

Environmentally, how much of which materials should be used? The issueis reducing the embodied energy. Building manufacturers have a strong

cost incentive to reduce the amount of building materials used. Not onlyare raw material costs reduced with lighter or smaller components, butdistribution and storage costs are also saved.

REMARK! Light weighting has to be considered in the context of the entirelife cycle of the building materials! It also means that a very light designsolution may not be desirable if is not possible to utilise again, when

strength and durability factors would become important.

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Cristian Suau,

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6. MI NI MUM VOLUME FOR LI VI NG

It will be like a box shape similar to a matchbox with the dimensions tosleep one person. An opening is built to allows ventilation, visual contact

and thus avoid claustrophobia.

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Cristian Suau,

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7. MI NI MUM OF ASSEMBLAGE

Only using timber shipping boards, bins and tensile stripes assembles thePHS framing. These components are provided by the packaging industry.

Neither cranes nor scaffolds are used to connect walls with floors or roofs.

In terms of structure, the PHS A-FRAME consists of an elementaltriangular structure based on combinations of two or three timber palletsthat are both connected by pallet bins and embraced by packaging stripes(metal or plastics) along the panels. Thus, the PHS A-FRAME performs asa collapsible and tensile structure that does not require additional and

complicated connectors.

In terms of thermal insulation, the cavities between the top deck and thebottom deck of the PHS A-FRAME is fully insulated. Depending on theclimatic context and local feasibility, the types of insulation utilized in thecases are grouped into batts; rigid or semi-rigid.

In terms of installations, its hollow allows easily electric wiring, plumbingpipes and ventilating ducts. If the climatic context requires a thicker thermalspan -for instance, in cold lands-, a removable thermal skin covers the PHS A-FRAME. Summarizing, fundaments of PHS consists of:1. Self-bracing by structural tensile stripes2. Potentially, movable cantilevers are possible

3. Simple triangular geometry for fitting-out and faade.

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Cristian Suau,

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8. MI NI MUM FAR

A remarkable example can be found in an observatory plan, a place fully-organised by the radius of the telescope tube that is rotating as a 3D-compass. The results are a circle in plan and a semi-circle in section. Onshort, a semi-sphere, a dome, a platonic vault. Something similar can befound in the automobile layout or pram design or recently in the

Saddams hideout.

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Cristian Suau,

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9. MI NI MUM OF PERMANENCE

A minimum of permanence means taking a place with you. Also it means aplace easy-to-carry, portable and collapsible. The best samples are found in

light structure as a collapsible umbrella or parasol or blow up castles.

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10. MI NI MUM MANI FESTO

A fascination with the art of portable architecture is not new. Groups, suchas Archigram in London and Utopie in Paris, were exploring portability inEurope in the 1960sa trend that peaked around 1968 with the coincidence

of the Utopies Structures Gonflablesexhibit in Paris and the premiere of theArchigram Cushicleproject in Milan. Together, these groups (both drawingtheir names from progressive design journals) set a precedent for a newavant-garde, a forum for innovation and criticism outside the boundaries oftraditional art and architecture.

Though the history of elemental architecture has been very welldocumented, little effort has been made to asses a variety more recenthousing work as a coherent whole. In the 1990s, the work of artists likeLanglands + Bell, Jorge Pardo, Vito Acconci, Glen Seator and RachelWhiteread incorporated architectural ideas into discussions of contemporaryart. Portable structures are anti-architecture, a manifestation of a nomadicinstinct that negates the domesticity and permanency so implicit in most

architecture.

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Cristian Suau,

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WORKSHOP 30.03 31.03 01.04.2005

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Cristian Suau,

Postdoktor NTNU

manifesto against over packaging

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