E P H E M E R A L I T Y I N A R C H I T E C T U R E

B R I A N N O V A N T O

Twenty-first Century Architecture ABPL90117Manifesto of Ephemerality in ArchitectureBrian Novanto 396832Tutor: Juan Blanco

we are built to lastnot

Meulaboh, Indonesia, after tsunamiby Jusup Sukatendelhttp://www.panoramio.com/photo/3274315

why build with suchpermanence?

View from Kuala Lumpur Towerby Brian NovantoPrivate Collection

thepremise

The first cave was built to shelter men from nature, providing a

basic protection against the rain and the sun. As architecture

was developed and revolutionized through the years,

architecture was designed and built with strength in mind in

order to perform and take charge over nature in the name of

human comfort. We concrete-pave the earth, glaze building

structures, and revolutionize air-conditioning technologies.

The advances of engineering technology also brought about

the capability to manufacture and fabricate buildings that can

have more space, withstand more natural forces and go taller.

Moreover, in megacities today such as Mexico and Hong

Kong, residential towers are built in the densest manner

possible to accommodate the demand for housing, leaving

very little room for the earth to breathe.

Architecturehas always been

a primary means ofhuman survival

Today, the notion of environment is critical in architecture.

What has sparked a great concern towards the environment is

the fear of nature's response towards environmental damages

the human civilization has caused in the forms of natural

disasters, deviance in climate and temperature, and

threatened existence of flora and fauna. These changes in the

natural environment have been occurring since centuries ago,

but the speed rate and the magnitude of destruction is never

this alarming. Inevitably, the changes in environment occur at

the cost of built environment. The result ranges from

destruction of buildings up to human casualties.

THE NATURE OF NATURE: CHANGINGSouth Cascade glacier in Washington state (year 2000, left, 2006, right).

Photograph: USGS http://static.guim.co.uk/

In response to the great changes in nature, great architecture

thinkers has placed the environment as one of the top

priorities on their lists. All of the recently designed buildings

claim to be sustainable, carbon-neutral, self-sustaining; strive

to get ranked with stars and diamonds; and believe that they

coexist well with the environment. However, the means of

passive and active solutions are still designed within the

traditional course of architecture, namely the substructure-

superstructure formula.

The substructure-superstructure formula is vertically strong

and capable of fulfilling the commercial demand but utilizes

rigid joints with breaking points which do not allow flexibility to

adapt and respond to environmental threats.

Traditionalarchitecture formuladoes not qualify for

human survival

Such permanence means that the slightest degree of change

in the environment will break the structure and affect the

ecosystem as a whole. The dense nature of land use for

buildings which stand on their own individual foundations will

cause a domino effect when struck with natural or man-

caused disastrous phenomena. It fails to do its job and

crumbles instead of serving its purpose as shelter, causing

human casualties as a result. Such cases are the Queensland

flood, landslides, Christchurch earthquakes, the rise of sea

level, etc.

ARCHITECTURE NOW: SUBSTRUCTURE-SUPERSTRUCTUREDeep & permanent footings of Petronas Towers, Malaysia and Burj Dubai, Dubai.

http://www.allaboutskyscrapers.com/images/structure2.jpghttp://www.everybodygoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/burj-10.jpg

the failureof architecture:casualties

Christchurch EarthquakePhoto by Martin Hunter/Getty Imageshttp://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/christchurch-earthquake/

The latest “sustainable architecture” strategy has proven to

solve anything but the problem. With the consumerist

agenda still intact, the manufacturing of new sustainable

materials and the use of newest and sustainable engineering

technologies easily make ways and provide excuses for the

construction of new buildings, forcing us to demolish existing

buildings and clear more land. Furthermore, skyscrapers

and big structures are built to be firm and static on the

strongest foundations, with the most rigid joints and materials,

incorporating the newest technology to withstand the test of

time. The problem is that before they serve their intended

lifespan and purpose, they will have been replaced with newer

structures. More waste, especially construction waste, can

only mean more threats to the environment.

Ego of permanence+ consumerist mentality =

further destructionof nature

With the very state of nature which keeps on changing at

much faster pace and larger scales, why do we still build as if

our buildings are going to stand forever? Architecture has

always been designed to solve, and not embrace, the

problem. If the problem keeps on changing, it is best to solve

the word “changing” rather than “problems”. I would like to

propose a method to sustain the quality of architecture as a

means of human survival and to sustain the life of

architecture beyond its use, by rethinking the joints between

architecture and foundation as well as the joints between

architecture, time, use, and place.

THE EGO OF MEN: PERMANENCEHeight comparisons of the tallest buildings in the world

http://factoidz.com/images/user/Burj%20Khalifa%202.png

constructionof onecosts destructionof another

Hong Kong densityhttp://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblkr_wxvnuqbOv1qzfme7o15_00.jpg

Hong Kong isometric map on Google Earthhttp://26.media.tumblr.com/px84Uj64upv4ke0h648mnjwvo15_00.jpg

Peter Cook's “Archigram” portrays one of the earliest notions

of 'disposability', 'indeterminacy', and 'impermanence' in

architecture. He had the courage to change the whole

architectural scenery, albeit unsuccessfully. The difference

between Archigram's ideas and the ideas of ephemerality in

architecture lies on the issues that are to be addressed.

Archigram's ideas were born in the cultural context of the

1950s, while this proposal is trying to address the

contemporary and future issues of natural environment.

Archigram's ideas failed to materialize due to its

technological limitations during that period and the

nonexistent sense of urgency on the matter.

precedent

This proposal shares the same spirit but different faith with

Archigram, as the context has now shifted from culture to the

environment. Although the technology for Archigram's ideas

might be already available, this proposal takes the idea further

and requires further advances in engineering before

practicing the ideas on the ground of today and the future.

ARCHIGRAM’S PLUG-IN CITYIllustration by Peter Cook, Maximum Pressure Area, Section

Smith, S., Archigram: architecture without architecture, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 2005, p.15

theproposal

Architecture must not be cast into the ground, but must

separate the building from the footings and let the footings

form a set of interlinked grid with a running system of essential

services such as water, gas, and electricity. Footings are

permanent, built of the strongest suit, and interconnected like

a rhizoid system below and above the ground. This grid forms

the universal domain of architecture which buildings can

anchor themselves to with impermanent joints like a parasite.

The impermanent connections to the foundations allow

buildings to have temporary nature, such as being removable

and reconfigurable.

1Detach architecture

from foundation

AFF

AFF

Ephemeral architecture comprises all forms of architecture

which are designed to be separated from the ground;

flexible, reusable, and reprogrammable; as well as built to

achieve the lifespan of their use. In other words, it has a

temporary domain, lifespan, and use. It celebrates changes

in its form, function, and location. It also leaves no footprint

from its removal or movement. The lifespan of the architecture

is only as long as its intended use. It is built to not last.

This idea marks the shift of focus of architectural research from

“creating” to “removing, mutating and recreating”. This will

accomplish an architecture which transcends time and space,

as it becomes four dimensional. The fourth dimension is its

function, the most important aspect of architecture.

Ephemerality in nature

is solved byephemerality in

architecture

AFF

Architecture forms are formatted to have horizontal links one

with another to brace the structures and channel shared

services, albeit temporarily. Architecture becomes an

ecosystem on its own and grows as more connections are

formed. This system groups a number of standalone units into

a regional network of a neighborhood, providing temporary

but strong structural connections that are capable of

expanding the structures, sustaining natural forces, surviving

conditions of natural disasters. A network of connected

architecture units will float on the water and endure the force of

earthquake.

2Connect architecture

to architecture

AFFA A

The ground level of architecture must be given back to nature

and be freed from concrete-paving and private vehicular

traffic. The horizontal network of bridges form multi-level

passageway for pedestrians and vehicles to move from one

building to another and largely within the city. The ground level

becomes the vast area of park that supports human lives and

activities. This opens up a great opportunity to regrow the

environment and bring back the harmony between men and

environment which has been lost.

3Connect foundation

to nature&permanence

AFF

AFF

AFF

cars&pedestrian

pedestrian

TREES BUS&TRAIN

pedestrian

From using static joints of in-situ materials such as brick and

concrete, we move on to discard the permanence in

structures. The quality of architecture shifts towards being

determined by the capabilities of being taken apart, kept, and

reconstructed in another place. The only way is to redesign all

joints to be non-permanent and organic, and the elements to

be modular, structural and allowing reconfiguration. It is

required to rethink the materiality, from the status quo of

permanent fill and joints to impermanent fill and flexible joints.

4Detach architecture

from permanence

AAAAAAAAAAAA a system of light

hollow structures

(beams and columns)

with water as the fill,

filled after the whole

building is configured.

Finally, architecture is defined by its intended time and use.

The formula encompassed in “ architecture” will have to

exclusively confirm to a particular agenda and nothing else. It

believes that reconfiguration follows any agenda of the

habitants, therefore an architecture's life is defined as

chapters. It is acceptable for a building to have a very short

lifespan as long as it can be reconfigured to form the next

structure. Reconfiguring a building means to start a new life

and cycle, but never to reach the final use and end in

demolition.

5Connect

architectureto your agenda

This idea positions architecture in a way that it is not arrogant,

and that the power of nature is superior to that of architecture.

It is acknowledged that nature has the power to tear down the

tallest of buildings and rip apart the most solid of walls. In

responding and adapting to the environmental changes,

ephemeral architecture focuses on returning the ground to

the environment and rethinking the life-end phase of

structures. The two permanent elements in architecture are

only the environment and the foundation; and the rest is

ephemeral. In comparison to sustainable architecture, this

offers a better future. Although the current technology might

not have the capability just yet, I believe it only takes a shift of

engineering research focus to materialize this visionary

proposal in the near future.

Embracing the probleminstead of resisting

to the changes