What is the relationship between form and function in architecture today? How are new uses, technologies, and materials changing the relationship them? Use contemporary case studies, use quotes from 3 articles to support your point of view. Please reference them properly.
ARTICLE READING
LECTURE 06
Here are two examples, showing the concept of form follows functions. buildings forms that are design according to the function required, which includes the Bauhaus School and Louis I Kahn's work (Top), and also the famous work by le-corbusier
Form and functions have long been in the debate as if either one of them should be considered more than the other, or vice versa, or even if both are as equally important. In my personal opinion, I agree that “form ever follows function” (Louis Sullivan). In order to understand what they really meant, I think it’s important to first understand what are the relationship between form and function. To do that, we must first know what does form really means in architecture today, and how does it relate to the function of a building.
When it comes to a building that you are most impressed with, what do you think of it? To me, it is of course, visually attractive. This is where the function of forms come into play. Forms serves a purpose of an architecture visually in some way. It is a final output of an architecture. But I think what the question here after all this, is, does the forms of the building serves its purpose not only to the users and the building itself, but also fitting into its surrounding. That is where it relates to the functions of architecture. Space and action are inseparable, and “for any relationship between a building and its user is one of violence” (Bernard Tschumi).
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But how does it both relate, especially when, in today’s architecture, there are whole lot more of uses of building, technologies and materials changing the relationship between them. And to support my opinion earlier, here is what I thought, the first thing in the design process is always to determine the purpose, or in this case the function the building is needed for, only then comes the design of spaces that are developed according to your function requirements. It is the relationship of people to building, “buildings themselves were described as acting upon people, or social material (Adrian Forty). And with the new technology, materials and uses, there are certainly more ways to your design which I felt that it opened to lot more possibility to apply a form that follows function. For example, using material as a medium to impinge directly on human behavior.
Guggenheim Museum, By Frank Loyd Wright, famous for his concept of "form follows function", Wright design this museum in a way that it perfectly portrait the use of forms and space in accordance to its functions.
For examples, I think one of the famous work that best enveloped the principle of form follows function, is none other than Guggenheim Museum, by Frank Loyd Wright himself who have worked for Louis Sullivan before. Why do I think so? I felt that, first of all, the form of the building is not what you’ve seen before, and I think it’s interesting to see how Wright is able to implement the principles of “form follows function” into it.
Even though with the irregular form of the building, this principle is thoroughly visible in the plan for the Guggenheim Museum. According to Wright’s design, visitors would enter the building, take an elevator to the top and enjoy a continuous art-viewing experience while descending along the spiral ramp. Wright’s design for the Guggenheim has sometimes been criticized for being inhospitable to the art it displays. However, over the past five decades Wright’s design has housed a wide variety of exhibitions, from traditional paintings to motorcycles to site-specific installations by contemporary artists. According to former Guggenheim Director Tom Krens, “great architecture has this capacity to adapt to changing functional uses without losing one bit of its dignity or one bit of its original intention. And I think that’s the great thing about the building at the end of the day.” From this we can see how Wright, uses the form of the building to creates an interaction with the physical and social surroundings. So in my opinion it is a great example to end with.