Paul Goldberger discussed in his book “Why architecture matter” that “the new architecture “is often hard to accept. It’s only seldom seen as beautiful. It’s not easy to all of the great architects such as Frank Gehry, Frank Llyod Wright, Corbusier, or Mies Van De Rohe, or other great architects.
This book “Why architecture matter” showed basically reasons of loving architecture, while there are distortions between architects and people it this case, users, or clients, or visitors, or people that just see it for outside. In this case, the distortions will be shared in this article while I put a reflection, simple one, to connect Bachelard’s Poetics of Space and my experience while designing simple circle window which might illustrate the richness of thoughts in making architecture.
In each case, he illustrated a condition that artist broke through convention and changed our notions of what a culture can produce until their breakthroughs which now pleases us that There were almost always initial unpopular and vastly misunderstood. It’s like imagining, Frank Llyod Wright’s house leak or that Le Corbusier’s weathered badly or that Frank Gehry’s are difficult to construct.
For example, the example in this book is Le Corbusier’s extraordinary Villa Savoya, completed in 1929 in Poissy, a suburb outside of Paris, was the subject of angry exchanges between the architect and Madame Savoya, who considered the house “uninhabitable.” she lived in it for more than a decade, her discomfort is understandable, It was also happened in Mies Van der Rohe’s case by Edith Farsworth, who like the savoyes commissioned on the greatest houses of the twentieth century and once living in it, found it woefully impractical. Goldberger illustrated that The Savoyes and Edith Farnsworth were unlucky because they had to live woth a work of art at every moment, a nearly impossible task, he stated.
Goldberger put a premise that the rest of us have the luxury of looking at these houses only when we want to. Some people, of course, are capable only by looking at houses in practical terms. He continued, when the glass house, designed and owned by Philip Johnson completed in 1949, there was a story when one woman visited this then shocking piece of modern architecture and said ” very nice, but I couldn’t live there.” and Philip answered ” I haven’t asked you to, Madam, It was Johnson’s reply.. and then he concluded that few great houses are uplifting works of art to the people who live in them which are often incompatible with the demands of daily life or ordinary people.
As what Gaston Bachelard believed in such poetic of space, the more intimate objects what could be imagined in deeper level, it’s sometimes missunderstood that this premise that private houses are designed for all people. these example illustrated by Goldberger, summed that the conditions were made by and for clients.
The need to include the function is a must. In my case it’s simply like when I decided to have circle window in my family room, the question is, can it be opened, how it will be opened and what are the construction difficulties. When I tried to neglect the functional in my mind and put more into clearer form, I will neglect the opening and choose to make it frameless window, and I believe it’s easier for me but downgrade the window’s performance. It’s simply about working more detail towards functions of how you use the space. The solution was to change the glass into polycarbonate sheet which made the construction finished in just less than a week because the hinge will be smaller, the window will be lighter when I open it, and it will be more practical for the steel welder to construct on site while minimize the building cost.
There are the layers of thoughts that could bridge practical uses and more avant garde ideas. Goldberger’s thought could enhance how the architect, will have the authority to be avant garde but anyway the bridge will make it easy, will position architect ant users in the same ground.
note :
Image of Bachelards quote : https:// s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ac/59/da/ac59da282e70cd88b07b87a1a7e2aac1.jpg
Featured Image by © Liao Yusheng: http://www.archdaily.com/67321/gehry-residence-frank-gehry
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