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Seminar 3 - Qiyuan Xue - 20 Fenchurch Street

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Seminar 3 - Qiyuan Xue - 20 Fenchurch Street

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1. Design concept & History
‘Function follows form’
‘What matters is the interaction of form and users’
‘It will be able to play as many roles as possible in the service of various users’
Structuralism had its origin in the CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture) after World War II. Individual members of the small group Team 10 laid the foundations for Structuralism and the influence of this team was later interpreted by Herman Hertzberger.

2. Central Beheer office building (Herman Hertzberger) ‘city within a city’
Orphanage in Amsterdam (Aldo van Eyck)

3. Characteristics
Reinforced-concrete frame and concrete-block structure
Configuration with units of structure and grid
The structure does not refer to the physical one but the structure of order within the building.
Spaces are flexible

4. Reflection on society of the period
It was a reaction to Rationalism’s perceived lifeless expression of urban planning that ignored the identity of the inhabitants and urban forms.
‘Architects nowadays are pathologically addicted to change. So let's start with the past for a change and discover the unchanging condition of man.’

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New Brutalism is not only an architectural style; it is also a philosophical approach to architectural design, a striving to create simple, honest, and functional buildings that accommodate their purpose, inhabitants, and location.

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Background: Post World War II
- An architectural movement started in the late 1950s to propose constantly growing and adapting plug-in megastructures where the living cells would be reduced to prefabricated pods clipped on to vast helicoidal skyscrapers.

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Yaodong is a kind of traditional dwelling form which date back to thousands of year ago. They are usually constructed with rammed earth, the local material in the Loess Plateau area, and formed with specific structure. Yaodong has different types, and most of them are carved out from hillside, with an arched opening and courtyard. It is specifically suitable for local landscape and climate, which keep warm in cold weather and cool in summer.

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1. What is unique or distinctive about them?
There is a larger (expanded) eave of the building which usually eave over the pavement.

2. How do they relate to the local area?
It rains a lot in Taiwan and the southern Min of China (Fujian). This kind of arcade provides the convenience for the pedestrian during the rain.

3. Do they have historical significance

4. Are they valued or important for local people/visitors?

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A Hakka walled village is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China. Walled villages are typically designed for defensive purposes and consist of one entrance and no windows at the ground level.

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Bamboo roundhouse

This is a traditional split bamboo plaited roundhouse by the Sidama people of Ethiopia. The dome, with its pointy top, is designed to shed heavy rainfall where a circular dome would have a flat region prone to leaks. Bamboo once played an important role in the rural economies of East Africa but indiscriminate clearing of natural bamboo forests have resulted in losing natural resources and many of the traditional building skills. You can find out more about traditional bamboo construction at The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan.

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1. What is unique or distinctive about them?
Tall and large white wall were built to surround the two-story residential buildings. The houses in the south are often connected to each other, and the fire wall in the middle is for fire protection consideration. The courtyard area is not large, and the tall buildings make the lighting and ventilation openings in one house. And waters flow freely between houses that create the sense of connection and fluidity of the place.

2. How do they relate to the local area?
It is built along the river and above the water, which is convenient for fishers to run their boats and for farmers to grow their water plants. People who lived there will do their laundry and cooking along the river. This geographical advantages support the economy of the area and create a gorgeous scenery of the place, which is called "The Land of Fish and Rice 鱼米之乡"

3. Do they have historical significance?
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it became a distribution center for its grain, silk, ceramics, and handicrafts, and it became a giant town in the south of the Yangtze River.

4. Are they valued or important for local people/visitors?
This is ranked as the top water town in China. Not only it withhold the heritage of water town and its architectural styles, the culture and atmosphere of water town is also kept and developed to become one of the most popular tourist attractions.