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Within The CityPhenomena of Relations

Design Quarterly 139

Steven Holl

Contents

2 0

Introdu ction

Case Study

Space/Parallax/Perspective

Serni-Automatic Programming

Correlational Charts

Matter/Tactiliry

Porta Viuoria, Milan

+

Introduction

Rising f rom a ce ....sr fa

the l urface

4 5

The beginning driJts off.tite end oanishes.There is neiüier start nor finish;I am in tire pause,1 neith er end nor begin,whatl soy ...the city in iu circular[everrepeats and repeau.Octavio PazIn the middle 01 this phrase ...

New York Ciry, 4 October '987, 10 prn:

Walk ing clow n Second Avenue, 1looked upastonished by a huge projection of whitelight . Cast onto the underside of a lo", cloudcanopy over the city, the lum inousparallelogram hovered dir ect ly above askyscraper on 53rd Srreet. Th e frozen plan eof white light defined a space between thebottom of the clouds and the building topsof th c ciry. Suddenly a lower nying puff ofclouds blew through thi s space, ces ting afree-form shadow across the whitepa rall clogram .

The new urban space of thi s incidentis only one among a ph enomena of relati on s.Time, matter, space and light iruermeshwith the activities of a modero city forcingus to reconsider assumptions oí urb anplanning.

Large modero cities characteristical lyare composed of isolated buildingscnveloped in residual space. To reorder andcreare urban space, we must go heyondmaximiz ing floor-area ratio s or building onthe lost lines of a ciry grid. Plan imetricorganizauon is insufficient in a ciry of tal lbui ldings. Spa tial percep tion anddevelopment in an urban set ting require athree-dimensiona l, secrional approach thatgives primar)' importance to the views ofperambularing res idente who traverseshifting ground planes , experiencmg thc ciryfrom m ultiple fram es of reference. In thisway, new volume tr ic spe ue l compositio nscan be projected, even ir the current

poli rical -economic hegemonv of landspecula tion forestalls the search for abroader view.

T he underdeveloped periphery of thecer ner city can provid e sites for the symhesisof these new spa tia l composiuons. Berwecnthe center ciry and the counrryside anintensified urben realm will spriug up, ecoherent mediator between the extremes ofthe metropolis and th e ag ra ria n plain .

lndiscriminete consumprion byspeculative development systema tica llydefaces the landsca pes of Europe andAmerice . Not dense enough to be urban, notopen enough to preserve the rural , sprawlconf lates ciry and lnndscape into a thinhomogenei ry. Yer what remains of th ewildern ess mu st be preserved ; eg rarianlandholdersshould be aided in their effonsro rcsist the peuy encroachment ofspeculators. ln the midd le zone berweenlandscape und ci ty, there is hopo for a newsynthes is of ur ban life and ur ban form o

lmensirv of experience in th e ciry isequivalent to sereniry and silence in a Iorest.BU[ur ban viralit y dependa0 11 programma ticand spa tiu l intensificarion. Programmaucconsciousness. essential to spatia lcomposirion, is crucial to ule quality ofurban life . New programs an d new modesof organ iza lion inevitable in an evolvingsociela l SLrUClUre mUSI find an equivalclllsubstantia lity in urban fOrIn. Urba o spaceapproached from lhe simullaneousinl eraction of program, section, an dmaterial inte rre la tes to fonn a psyehologica lfield. From lhis slandpo illl , m e erea tio n o(urb an space is a philosophical rd leclion .

The wordless silence of a rchitec lura land urban fonn has a phi losop hicaJeq uiva lclll in phenomenology. Resisting thelanguage-based approach o( thedeconslruclivists, its focus is on theexperientinl. Perccpli on and the senscs a reintertwin ed with the material, space andlight of urban form o

"Space/ Parallax/Perspective"discu sses motives for the conce ptio n ofurban space th rough perspecrive and meove rlapping of spa tia l and perceprual ficlds.

"Semi-Automaric Programming"anempts to speculate 0 0 the range ofprogram s that could inhabit a projectedurban field.

"Correlational Charts" diegrams am nge of possibl e urban bu ilding secrions.These a re chu rted as a form of secuo na linvesrigation , for further explo ra tion.Diverse releuouships of section here suggestequa Jly diverse relati onships oí program o

"Metter/ Tactility" brings the au itudeof relati onships down te the sce le ofmaterials and cons truc tion . Moving fromthe macro : urban space, LO the micro: theconsuucrion detail ; we heve [umped overthe scale in which archi tectura l order isclea rly ser, i.e., the individua l bui ldin g.Thus th e u rle Phenomeno 01 Relat ionscha racte rizes th is study as th oughts thathover around the edges of architecrure;thoughts that need th e precision oí anarchi tecrural idea Ior activa tion.

A test of these ideas is seen in a projectconceived Ior th e Porta Vinoria sec tor onthe periphe ry of Milan . lni ria ted as panof th e Xvll Trien na Je of Mil án, it illusrratesa speci fic investiga tion o( a ll area 0 0 theperimeter of t.hat. city.

1 _

fig. I

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6 7

Space/Parallax/Perspective

What is tak en into consideration bv theperceiver in studying the spatial fieldbetween buildings?T he individu al buildingdoes not monopoliz e one's thoughts.Conceruration is on the rela tionshipsbetween buildings: the terrain , thesky, light, axes of movement.

In a four or five story city, urban spacecan be envisioned at the ground plane in asimple "figure-ground" plan . Urban spaceis reconciled to one horizontal plane(x-y space, fig. 1).

At a metropolitan scale, sections ofbuildings are man y times grea ter than thedimensione of plans. Urba n space is form edby vert ical groupings, terrest rial shifts,elongated slots of light, bri dges and verticalpeneuarions of a fixed horizontal.

Urba n space has a horizontal dimen ­sion transformed by vertical rela tionships.The vertica l ("'z'" dim ensi ón) is equa l to ormore imp ortant than the horizon tal. T hisperpendicular spaua l order is amplified bya ran ge of sta tion poin ts from various levelsof the ground plan e (fig. 2). From the upperfloors of a tower, a roof terrace, a subwayplatforrn or an und erpass, urban perspectivein the "a" dim ensión is exper ienced on ashifting ground plane (fig. 3).

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For a building lo be motionless is thecx ception: our pleasurecomesfrom mooingabout so as lo makc the building 11Iove intum, while we enjoy all these combinationsofíts parts. As theyoary ; the colwnn turne,depths recede, ga Lleries glide: a thousandVlSlOns escape. . .Pau l ValérvThe Method o/ Leonardo

The exper ience of parallax-c-the cha nge inthe a rrangement of surfaces defining spacedu e to the change in position of a viewer-c-istransforr ned when movemen t axes leavethe horizon tal dimension o Vert ica l orobliq ue direcu ons of movemeru throughurhan space mu ltiply its experience . Spatialdefinition is orde red by angles of percep ticn.

T hc edge s, conto urs and surfaces ofthe strucrures tha t define ur ban spaces(redefi ned in parallax) must be consideredin terma of the phenomenon of light. Herethe idea of "Facade" is lOO limi tin g. Theexperience of curved urb an space generatedby the slight rotation of ind ividua l plan arfacades is inseparabl e from the par ábola ofsu nlighton its boundary . T he movemen t ofsunlight exerts rela tiona l forces on epa ua ldefinit ion that engage the body of astationary building. Forces of sun, shadowand the reflecriviry of material s imeract .

The defi nition of city spaces a l nightdepends on ellipses of projected light,glowing glass facades, and thetran sformation s ind uced by miSISand rain .Adense complex oí blockscut by a ca nyonstreet by day is redefined by nigh t asshimmer ing prisma oflight in a chia rosc uroof shadows. T'here a re astonishing effects ofvapors of fog al nigh t when clo ud s of whiteligh t surround the tops of liglued towers, orgolden gauzelike ribb ons radiare into thenight sky. Beyond drawing-b oard geometry,the actu al spatial definit ions of the cityare interlocked in a web of reletionshipswith movemcnt, parallax and light.

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Poteruia l alignmen ts, partial exposures, andoccuharion of sugges tive elements are a l1implied in a perspective view. Here meappe ute of me field of visión invites tb eperceiver l O invem . Th e nex t perspecuveview is provoked by me preceding view:spaual perspecuve drawings are not somu ch pictorial as th ey are indica uve of aroute complete with parallax. Ccnsider anactua l experie nce in a mod ero city: risingfrom a subway through a caviry ro anun enclosed surface, me dom inant view mayconrinue up a tower; me head rihs beck ,ene steps forward and up, th e sense of spacecennot becaprured in a plan drawing. Fro ma fixed position, sin ing on th e temh f100rlooking out over a space aboye fou r storybuildi ngs surrounded by a rwenry story seroí blank party walls, one is un aware oí theplan dim ensi ón, or th e streer space. Aninvigoraring view oí the contained urbanspace high aboye th e street berween urbanblocks is anim ated by shifting strips ofsunlight or birds flying daredevil betweenoblique gaps in buildings.

Envisioning urban space in perspecuvalviews assumes a perceiver inserted into acond ition meant ro suggest and involve theimagin arion in envisioning whet liesbeyond . T he poiruof view of the perceiverin an open I ield is not f ixed . T he perceive rhas the authoriry to re-cemer. to isola te hisor her own visi ón within th e organiza rionplanned and expected. Rather th an theestablishment of a single center with asymmetrical hierarchy (as in fifteenth­cem ury Europe), or reconcilia tion ro (helack ofany Iocus in a chaos of f decentering"{today's deconstructivi srs], a re-cen teringallows for proj ection Irom a center ineac h ind ivid ual. T hereare m ulliple centersand multiple viewpoints in me urban 6eld.A city sector is not mad e Cor a mass of10 , 0 0 0 ; il is made for 10,0 0 0 indi"idua lsouls. Each has the ea pacity to manifest aspiril and in turo an imate th e psychologicaJfield oCurban space.

T he prob lem of proposing urban spacefor a merropoli ran sector whose programelemenrs, a rchi tectu ra l parts and socialaspects a re as yet unk nown (an d mayalways be in some sta te of flux ] leads US l O

propose beginning from a perspectiva!experience of bounded space. Thedisrribuuon oCelemenrs in a field with asense of enclosure is imagiued (mm th epoin t oCview of me perceiver . Obliquevertica l or hori zontal axes of movementalter mis field of view as it overlapswith other fields . Instead of a pri ori plan sprojected later iruo perspecu ve drawings,perspective views are mad e and cestbackwards imo plan fragmenta (fig. 4).A point oCview, a point oCexperience ofthe urban 6eld , is reconciled to movementsof the body and changes of perceprion.

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Serni-Automatic Programming

Modem merropolitan life is charac terized byprogrammati c flucruarion : rurbulem shiftsin demographics, wobbling changes inth e desires of resrless populations, and thealternarion of local and regional politicalwings. Even a t th e scele of a single building,the inirial program bri ef is rypicallyshakenup and reorganized during the planningprocese. \l'hen a portien of program is takenaway, the architect is often involved ininven ring new programs to occupy th ebuilding envelope.

In case of programmaric Iluctuarion,thi s disquietude ca n be teken as anedvantage. Is prograrrunatic indeterminacya disaster for an y architect who as pires toa relati onship of form ro funcrion ? WiU theprofusi ón of m e decorative skin app roae h­with its unrelated histo ricist pastiche-e­preveil simply as a solution COI' imemalindeten ninacy?

Let th e arc hitec t project spaees andbu ildin gs wit h a conscious irnention ofprogrem mari c richness. T he pal pita rion ofthe intemal funct ions in the large projcctun furls again st an open thought procesaof programmatic associarion. T he openassociation of spa tia l sketches to progra msuggcs uons (action images) is fertilizedby gathering and juxtaposing.

We would not call for a new disorderedarchitecture to match the diso rder ofculture; such duplication echieves no otherdimension, but simply expresses anaffirmation of the cbao uc. Rather, we wouldpropose experime nta in search of neworders, th e projection of new relati onships.Thi s is not to transpose our stu dy imo asystem or method, and yet m e energyinherem in m e opening up of relationshipspresems us with a contin uiry of orderingth at compela reflection .

Cons ider the experience of ree ding acomprehens ive moming oewspaper. Hereis indica tion ofan ordering of life in sociery.Perheps the Iollowing untenahlejuxtaposition should be paralIeled in urban

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terms: beside an anide describing abillion-ton Iloaung island oí ice with rwelveresearch bu ildings that is driítingeround the Iorth Pele , is an anideon the construcrion oCa 24 COOl diam eterwater tunnel , and a piece on th e aus terityprogram ofa religious cult. Nexr ro a columnon insomnia and the sleep moveme nt oíplams ia a huge d iagram oí the "Paci flcRi.m- trade nerwork, an article on Japanesefactories in Mexico, and a photograph oC ahole in the ozone layer over the South Pole.To prccisely rranslete thoughts nndfeelings sparked by incredu lousrelarionshi ps is as problemmatic asrranslaring an English word into all ofthe world's 2796 langueges. Precision ofthe ra rioual gives way to inruition;subj ecrive dimensio ns gro und physicaldimensione.

Semi-a utoma tic programmingquestions, compares and contemplares di­verse combina tions without decisive claimst O insrrumentaliry. Jts purpose is to seroneto think .

A spa tial arrangemenl, a smell and amu sica l phrase may be imagined simul­rancou sly. Depend iug on th e ewa renessand imaginauon of the perceiver, aniniti al visual 6eld can provoke subjec tmatter , and imply programs. We couldspeak oC the soun ds implied byan array ofbrinle linear COnTIS, or the way a viewsmells.An individual 's cultura l associations,rccogniuon of material s and imagination oftheir properties, and the physiologicaleffects oí space and enclosure all preseruindividuallimirauons.T he perce iver's an gleoí vi sion an d preconception is potentiallyopen lO tbe ad hesion of unforeseenassoci auo ns. Rather than allowing prejud iceto be a primar-y subjective de termi naru,one eould induce program associa uons byheightening th e possible numbcr oCprogram s ro occupy an urban setring.

lsola ted buildings of a single function.the nOnTI of thesuburban , are scercein th ecompression of a ciry where abutmem andconnection oC buildings cause fun ct ionslO iruersect . Various urban bu ildi ngrelat ion shi ps ca n be organized in enana lytica l chart suggesring correspond ingprogrammatic relations.

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Correlaciona! Charts

A table of t l.inks and Correla tions" suggestsclassificetion: analyzing interrelarionshipsof erchitectural form in the modern city. lfthe simple recons rirution ofbistori c buildingtypes is Irusrrated by rnodem urbancomplexities, th e interrelational propertiesof th ese complexities may be a way ofrethinking urban fonn and programo

Corre lations draw anemion towardinterdependent characteristics in an urbanfield . Diverse building secr ionsand programrelauons are a kind of preposiuon al cha rtsuggesring me inrrinsic inrersection ofprograms as a bond, fastening or disjun cuveforce . This analytical observari on differsfundamental ly Irom that of the typologicalstudyof the ciry. Here the miner link is thebesis of a primary internal ord er (allowingfor programmatic flux). Overlapping ra therthan separeted, funcuons inhabit hybridbuilding forms. The relation berween thingsis the focus, rather th an th e obj ect-rype. T hezero point of such a relational chan is asecuon at the surface of the earth. Webeginwith the four primary rela tionships: underthe earth, in the ea rth, on the earth, andover the ear th . A second condition ofrelation extends the analysis to the seconddcgree, and so on toward a correlauve cha rt.

Despite the regularity of thisnrrangement, each individualcross-producthas a diffe rcnt implication. Each diag ramsuggests a condiuon thet, however, is toovaguc to be identified immediarely . Tobe developed in another form, me conditionis sounded Ior its sectional implication s.Vl hat is open, closed, connected ordetached directa rhe analysis and clarifiesan implied programo

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Matterffactility

Th e space of a single room, like the vastspace ofa ciry, is defined by juxtap osiu onsof man er. The stuff of which something ismade has emotive qu alities. Thetransparency of a membran e, the chalkydullness of a wall, the glossy reflecrion ofopaque glass and a beam of sunlightintermesh in recip roca ! rcla tionships,formin g the pa rticular phenomena of aplace. Civen an architect ural idea, therela uonships of construction materialsimpose a dimension that penetratespercepti on through mauer to tactili ty.

Mauer iruer locking with the perceiver'sscnses provides me detai l that moves usbeyond acute sight to tacrility . Fromlinea rity, concavity an d tra nsparency tohardness, elesucity and da mp ness, meheptic realm opens.

But this is a time of simulacru m, inwhich most thin gs exist in order to representsome thing else. Mind -numbing replicasprolifera re. Profitable mis-direction ofhuman crea tivity has turned whut was mererep lication into an intemal tran splenunionof cultu ra l dim ensiona. On a dom esticsca le, jerry-buil t houses wu h grotesquefacades stand as miserable imiuuions oftheir more d ura ble models.

For the imagisr, simularion is the aim.What ca n be done with painted cardboardor facsimile plastic is expedient to thcdesired view. Wide-an gle distortion of acolor-corrected photograph becomes thefinal synthesis of an urchitectura l proj ect.Th e ma terial and tacrile dimensione ofarchitecture are erased by the colorphotograph . Spat ial proporuon s distendedby tenses are now planned with the lensas an end . Uncritical end ambi tious, theimagist-ar chitect has allowed archi tectu reto becomc simulation, oblivious tesensol1' essence.

I f the imagist practices en erchitectureof "concealment," resistan ce takcsform in an archi tectu re of "revealing."Architecture of rnauer and tacu liry aims for

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a " poecicsof revea ling" (Martin Heidegger)."Revealing" requires an inspira tion ofjoinery. A sense of the relauon of detail tornass estab Jishes a surface imensiry anddeli cacy from the micro lO the macro sca le.Parallel to the emouve aspecr of pcetry- theemorive side of huma n nature is ero used byproportions and the tacrile dimension oInitial conce pt provides ..he intellectualdimension that is given emotive form inmaterial and detail . T his relationship in 8

work establi shes an emouonal rie, in apsychological sense, lO the experience o(architectu ro. In a cultu ral sense, a decisiveaffirmation, even at the smallest seale, canbee r out un argument for architecrure overmere building [although this work ismargina l in today's socie ry of simulariou).

The link of perception th rough marter10 the tecrile is taken up in an effort 10 crearequaliues over quanrities. Through anawa reness of the necessity of eraft inconstru crion, we questio n the concepl of ou rarlo In ancient Creece, nrt was fused withthe resks oClife. The word techne referredsimuhaneously 10 an, to a sense ofphil osophy, and to the skil ls of a craftsman.

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Site

A Ireight rai l yard, now in disuse (part oí the old rai lroad belt aro und Milán}, bordered byblocks or housing of differeru rypes, the site Iron ts anta "Largo Marinai d'Italia,"a ragged park on land reclaimed Irom a poultry and vegetable market.1t is in the nineteenth­century gridded portion of Milán , outside the historical cerne r.

Program

The only fixed program is th e new " Passame" subway sta tion. which is th e ca talys t provokingthe rethinking oí the area. Other functions lO be loce ted at the site include a bus sta tion andgarage Ior thiny bu ses; an air terminal starion from the airpo rt of Linare (which can usethe Passante system for interconnecrion ): hotels : offices; and sorne housing. The proposalis also meant to provok e considera tion of other program s for the reclamation of thismetrcpolitan site.

Urban Stra tegy

Fro m a dense center, Milán unfolds in circles ringed by a patchwork grid that fina lly spra wlsragged ly into the landscape. Aga inst this ccntrifugal urban spra wl (from the dense corc tothe light perip hery} a reversal is proposed : ligh t and fine-grai ned toward the center­heavy and volumerric toward the perip hery .This proposa l proj ects a new outer ring of dcnsityand intensiry, adjoin ing the rolling green of a rccon stituted lan dscape.

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For the existing park, Largo Marin ai d' Italia, a giant pond is proposed to reconcile the parkwith its name. T he Palazzina Liberty is restored as the Dario Fa Pavilion and is access ibleby rowboat only. A series of floating walkways connects a seaman's exhibition : residentialapartments hover over tin y objects: an Dar , 8 hom , a carving. Old sailors discuss the artifactswith pessing visitors; stories are the material oí the floatin g exhibition.

Al the edge of th e pond is a large metronomelike Monument to T oil, in memory oí theloading and unloading of goods tha t once filled this site. As the slow movement ofeach pipebeam reaches the end of a beat, a drop of water is emiued from its top oNearby, an aviaryhousing two wbite claves juts out of the park, br inging light to an underground assemblage.

Across Viale Umhria, in a Carden ofSo unds, the park infiltrates the urban area. Withinthegarden is a seasonalchildren's zoo whoseanimals requi re a variery ofcages end enclosures(the goat, the chicken, the cow, etc.}.Other Iiule programs are implied by the titles of var iousureas: The See-Saw, Fishing, The Picnic, The Water-chute, The Sleigh, La CommediaItaliana, The Octopus, I-Iun ting, Fireworks, Bocci Ball.

To the south of the site is a large public Botanical Carden with gless-roofed forms in asprouting diversity paral1el to the vegetation within . Over the sIoping earthen {loor of theinterior areureas for experimental botany , checker and chess tables and meeting tablee.Th ese are scattered throughout the green density oí the vegeta tion. On the ground of theeastern portion is a darkened hall containing a cinema that dissects its interior.T he publicis exposed to back-p rojection 0 0 constructed objects , multiple separation and othercinematic experimenta.

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Bounding me Botanical Carden is 8 large public fouruain that is negotiated via stonesteps and passages inrerwoven with cascades of water.The fountain opens onto a long basinIor aqua tic activities and barge-borne tbearrical events. Al tbe edge of this opening is a hotelIor unh appy lovers .The plan has no interior corridors , ra ther all me rooms of the hotel areset back-to-back. One large glass corridor belts the building. Al the top is a crookedcafé-louuge and a wiry rruss conta ining a Iootbridge l O a suspended chapel. 011 the northeesrporti en oCthe site a water channel is Ilanked by rudimentary housing íor the homeless.

earby, a public gymnesium is organi zed in a strip interwoven with spectator áreas.To thewest is a school of the humaniries. hs central block of lecrure rooms is banded by studyroom towers; visiting professors live in the upper portions. From the main building, a walkwayconnects to two wedge-shaped interrelated workshop-studios. To the west a ram p cyclesthrough a two-pa rt correlating faciliry, leading upwerd into spaces more and more remete,arr iving al a mechanical rooftop simulating teleological suspensión.

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EUII -Jrf'&/ Site Sectio.. Near Via F. Hezzonico is a sancruary of the muses filled with ancien t stone fragment e.A modern cinema is inserted from the east. Th e puhl ic can move hack and forth from celluloidsimulation to stone materialiry.

The new suhway sta tion opens to the west onto an elongated gap. Here the visitor passesthro ugh several acuvities, rising throu gh an elliptical passage to the Carden of Sounds.Bureaucret ic and administra tive activities (formless and always in flux) are given specificurh an charac ter in a thin tower, a four-sided pentagon, a double-flux slab (whose sectioncan he altered} and large gulleries along the water basin. The three lobbies of these workarees are connecred by a centra l neck-shaped space.

Across Viale Muguello, to theeast, larger progrnms fit into the existing city fabric.T heai rpon connection stauon sits there; adjacent is the bus garage, housed below a public arenaand velodrome.

Of these specific ideas, several might be realized, and yet the overall srrategy andintention depends on noneof them.T hey serve only as examples for the figure in the land scapeof this ciry forwhich the unknown is a source of optimism. To affirm the joyof me presenr,to find lines of escape, to subvert en overall urban plan from within-c-via architecture-e-ispan of projecting 811 open futu re as a source of freedom.

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