Abstraction in architecture—does it adds to or drifts away the essence of architecture?

As one thinks of abstraction, people would first associate the term with compound paintings and installations. These artworks, when presented in front of the public eyes, invokes a contradicting feeling. It allows a new method which is not quite comprehensive to be shown and allowed for different interpretations.

In Michael Young’s The Aesthetics of Abstraction, he talks about different understandings over the past century about the concept of abstraction, specifically how it relates to aesthetics in art and architecture. In the argument, Michael Young talks about the essence of abstraction and its effect upon an object. “Abstraction in aesthetics does not reveal an essence; it is amoral. It does so not by removing the superfluous, but by transforming specific qualities of an object.” . At the same time, Stefan Heidenreich holds contradicting view that “Abstraction is a refinement that subtracts the superfluous and consolidates the essential, thus a moral dimension.” I would align myself with Michael Young that abstraction does not necessarily reveals the essence of an object but rather examines the object for more interpretations and more possibilities.

First, abstraction has been playing an important role in modern architectural development from drawings to furniture and to housing. De Stijl is Dutch for “The Style”. It was a Dutch art movement back in 1917. De Stijl was promoted by a group of artists and architects. The leading artist and architect were Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg. The characteristics of such movement contains abstraction and simplification. These is this heavy usage of primary colors like red, yellow, and blue along with black and white. The goal is to reduce to the most fundamental form, or the starting point of an object. Therefore, plans, lines, and rectangles are dominating elements. As we can see from Mondrian’s paintings, no more realistic forms can be found. He said that “Art is higher than reality and has no direct relation to reality. Art should be above reality, otherwise it would have no value for man.”

Gerrit Rietveld was both a furniture designer and an architect. He was heavily influenced by De Stijl movement. He designed the Red and Blue Chair back in 1917. The coloration and shape were inspired by Mondrian paintings as the chair is also composed of blue, red, yellow, and black colors, with an emphasis on rectangular and linear forms. In 1923, Rietveld was invited to exhibit and teach and Bauhaus, which was a hub for new modern architects. Another outstanding piece from Rietveld was Rietveld Schroder house. The house takes advantage of the sliding walls which allows greater flexibility of space. The architecture also was inspired by his former furniture piece. In this pipeline, we can see the abstraction links different media together and informs design decisions.

The Rietveld Schroder House; Gerrit Rietveld

In current architectural studio, the practice of abstraction is still dominant. In modern architectural environment, some architectural terms are constantly brought out: ethics, epistemology, and aesthetics. Ethics revolves around how these ideals affect human behavior, the questions of morality. Epistemology is concerned with knowledge. Aesthetics describes the relations between objects by engaging directly with the qualities an object makes available. It is partially true that abstraction is a refinement that subtracts the superfluous and consolidates the essential. For abstraction in aesthetics may mean to take something away, but it also may mean adding something as well so that abstraction is not merely a movement of subtraction.

As Milton Stricker states that: Abstraction is essential in architecture as it is rooted in architecture nature. Art is an abstraction. Architecture is an art. Architecture is an abstraction. Here is an image of the architectural procedure for abstraction During the abstraction process, the familiar things are defamiliarized and recomposed into new arrangements and possibilities. The procedure of abstraction can be seen in nearly every architecture studio. Here I would like to raise a practice at class to further reinforce my point. The image shows the 5 abstraction phases of the same mountain image.

image: abstraction practice at an architectural studio

In this studio, students are asked to abstraction a mountain. Though we have photographs of a mountain, the shape of a mountain can be best understood when subtracted to simple line components. When looking at the mountain lines, it is not wise to say that it is an action of subtracting the superfluous, it is suggesting something more than the mountain itself. One can see the relationship between the bigger and smaller mountain hills and this relationship might implies some geometrical relationship of an architectural design. Later, these lines are recomposed for a studio project. Therefore, the lines cease to be mountain contours but something completely different. In Figure 4, the designed architecture is put up against the mountain which implies a different resolution between different moves of abstraction. In Figure 5, the image implies that not just restricted to architecture, the process of abstraction could connect two different topics together such as mountain and artwork.

Stepping back from the center of the argument, we shift to the point that concretization in architecture is dumb. Concretization in architecture disobeys the “realism” in architecture. A great architecture is a coherent piece which conveys structure, space, material, atmosphere, and logic. Architectural form is expected to be fallen under its function. Typology is formed. For instance, a residential building usually has repetitive, divided glass system while office buildings tend to have large curtain wall. However, in a concrete form architecture, such representations can’t be realized. The specific forms let architects to drift away from the logical structure and accommodate to the specific forms.

Scale plays an important factor in the realms of abstraction. It would go either way-to evoke an uncanny feeling or making the architecture looks dumb. For instance, in Sanya’s Lego hotel, one can see a massive, pixelated tree building. The whole building structure looks like trees with hanging fruits. However, these tree buildings look out of scale and provokes a daunting feeling. As the trees are constructed rather slab-like, there is an ignorance of the overall circulation and ventilation. The big site could have been better designed. Architecture should not be accommodating to a mimicry. Taking the same inspiration from trees, Tokyo for Tod’s utilized the tool of abstraction to convey the design outcome. This project obtains silhouette of a row of trees, once digitalized, appeared for the first time, making it possible for audiences to explore its intimate makeup and the relations existing between it and the birth of inhabited space, with all the overtones of visual secrecy. The concrete structure is derived from the branches of nearby zelkova trees. With the help of modern technology, the glass and concrete structure and put together without outstanding support. As we can see from the previous examples, abstraction could go both ways. However, any neglection of scale could lead to a daunting and unwanted result.

To achieve abstraction, one method would be “defamiliarization” by paying close attention to the artworks. Abstraction is an operation of decontextualization. This operation can be exemplified with some artwork. The artist Tauba Auerbach has produced several works which are difficult to differentiate mediums within the artwork. In the work folds, the artwork may be first conceived as painting, but it has the quality of sculpture and photography. The canvas is folded before applying paint. As the canvas has some dimension to it, Folds “have a feeling of being somewhere between sculpture and photography” When printed out and observing at a distance, the paintings are perceived as photographs. One would only be able to tell the difference by paying close attention to the art pieces.

Another method would be “decontextualization.” From Michael Young’s perspective, decontextualization is to “cut a fragment from one location and move it to another creates a disjunction from the conditions contingent for its original creation.” Collage serves as one of the examples. Materials from various sources are placed together to inform new interpretation. In the collage, the architecture firm shows its plan to design a “cathedral of football”. It draws inspiration from Westminster Abbey. The cathedral components are put against the modern design. Its imagery informs “a massive masonry language of heavy brick piers and soaring vaults.” Therefore, practices of abstraction in architecture do not move away the essence of architecture but provides more possibilities without decisive interpretation.

In conclusion, we can see the abstraction in architecture comes from art and art movements. It went through the forming ages of modern architecture and continues to be in practice in modern architectural studios. The act of abstraction can be achieved through defeminization and decontextualization. When looking closely at art and architectural piece, the abstraction is realized. As we move forward to the future, I believe that abstraction would continue to revolutionize architectural design practices.

Bibliography:

1. Michael Young. The Aesthetics of Abstraction. Aesthetics Equals Politics. MIT Press, 2019

2. Quote of Mondrian cited by Michel Seuphor, Piet Mondrian: Life and Work. Abrams, New York, 1956

3. Levine, Neil. Abstraction and Representation in Modern Architecture: The International Style and Frank Lloyd Wright. AA Files, no. 11, 1986

4. Oliver Wainwright. It’s beyond beauty or ugliness: Chelsea’s new stadium. The Guardian

Abstraction in architecture—does it adds to or drifts away the essence of architecture?

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