Jacobsen Edificios Public Public Building: | een | | eropaer| | | ‘| | ' pee T IN j iN} ne 1997 /N nexus Textds dé/Texts by Ame Jacobsen, . Kind AerboAgradecimientos Félix Solaguren eascoa Acknowledgements Este nimero ha cortado con a ajuta de stints personas Y orgasms sin cuya colaboraion y comentarios hubira side imposblelevreltabao a buen término. Qusiera sear las siempre precisas puntuaciones de Lisbet Balslev Jorgensen, junto a las de Hans Dissing, las de Erik Mole y ls el profesor Jorgen Sesto, Los comenta ros de Tet y Brit Weitand juno als de Ke Vin. A Comissionat per a Unverstas y Recerc, CRT, dela Generalitat de Catalunya por ia ayuda que me concedi de ‘rante mi estancia en Copenhague para la realizacién de este trabajo Alafia de arqutectosDssingsWeiting (contnuadores de lacobra de Are Jacobsen), y muy en especial a Ech Lan y 2 Jess Stork, uenes han resto fundamentals para la reaizacien de este trabajo. “doe personal dea Kunstakademiets Bick ha demos: ‘rao, asinismo, suncrebepaciencia en mi constate Gear ‘bular por los archivos. Quisiera agradecer en especial la ama- bilidad de Claus Smidt, Hakon Lund y Jorgen Watz. ‘as fcidadesobtendas gracias al Dansk Design Center y ry especimerte a mibuen amigo el arqutecto Mikael Fu. [ida Prestegoard,aqitecta del rma Loui Pautsen. Alafia Fitz Hansen ya Suzane Meyer. [Peter Homblad director oe frma Stton. AN Angeles Negre arqutecta, qv con susreflexones sem tre me orece un interesante contrapunt. iierras Ara y Mara ugueteaban, aborts, por los espa- Cis dbaiads porate ce fe Jacobse, de Hansen, de Bindesbol, de Rau, de Utzon de Sorensen de Fisker, de Aigaard, de Hackman, de Petersen. Yd un mado muy especial a Johan Jacobsen y @ su encan tadora mer. number of diferent individuals and entities have contributed to ths issue, and without their colaboraton and comments it would have been impossible to bring the work to a successful conclusion | would tice to draw attention here to the atvays precise clarifications of Lisbet Baslev Jorgensen, together with those of Hans Dissing, of Erik Maller and of Professor Jorgen Sesto, and the comments of Tet and Brigit Weiand as welas those of Kiel Vindum, To he CRIT Universities and Research Board ofthe Generalitat de Catalunya for the grant which supported my stay in CCopentagen while working on this project. To the Dissing + Weitng frm of architects (contiuers of Ame Jacobsen's work, and especialy to Edith Lang and Jess Stork, ‘who have been of fundamental importance in realizing this undertaking To ll for the staff ofthe Kunstakademiets Bibiotek, for their incredible patience with my constant prowing around their archives. I would tke to express particular thank to Claus Smigt, Hakon Lund and Jorgen Watz for their friendliness. To the Danish Design Center forthe facies placed at my <ésposal, and very specaly to my good fiend, the architect Mikael Fut. To Ida Prestegaard, architect with the Louis Poulsen firm. To the Fritz Hansen fr, and to Suzanne Meyer. To Peter Homblad, director ofthe Steton firm. To MW? Angeles Negre, architect, whose simple refelctions atfored me an interesting counterpoint utile Ana and Maria played, totally absorbed, in the spaces rawn out by the architecture of Ame Jacobsen, of Hansen, of Bindesbol, of Ratu, of Utzon, of Sorensen of Fisker, of Abi gard, of Hackman, of Petersen ‘Anda very special thanks to Johan Jacobsen ands charming vie.REVISTA INTERNACIONAL ct : onl NUON oan eae! ose) pews one Fabresat Toon Su (491922 17 55 Foc (831 322 96 24 Praca Pract ‘ere n Pring sn Bree Grats A rt sobre papel Pred pon eas ene Daposto egat 8. 429281996 ISSN 1209047 Pre 3.500 pesetas NA cdo id ute GSA, 1987 Negi aot expanse teas seach, ce ‘mie aoe stone Sea oan nd {ete patncr aeaeop Sin Sper adnan creep ‘ewes, nrectonet, ene (i Sat dtm crea (estat an ac mode ‘Sie gin ent ‘iro eel prt GG ‘a ap 3228 et Fos(aua 322 9205 ee fal spice 2s FeAl ees itrindice Contents 7 18 28 34 42 52 58 66 4 86 98 104 12 6 126 129 Introduccién Introduction * ‘Arne Jacobsen 1902-1971. Arne Jacobsen 1902-1971 Lisbet Balslev Jorgensen Obras y proyectos Works and projects Steling Hus, Copenhague. Steling Hus, Copenhagen. 19341937 ‘Ayuntamiento de Aarhus. Aarhus Cty Hall, 1937-1941 ‘Ayuntamiento de Sallerad. Sollerad City Hal, 1939-1942 Escuela Munkegards, Gentofte. Munkegirds School, Gentoite, 1951-1958 Oficinas Jespersen & Son, Copenhague. Jespersen & Son Offices, Copenhagen, 1953-1955 ‘Ayuntamiento de Radovre. Redovre City Hall, 1954-1956 Edificio SAS/Royal Hotel, Copenhague. SAS Bullding/Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, 19561961 St. Catherine's & Merton College, Oxlord, St. Catherine's & Merton College, Oxford, 1960-1963 Banco Nacional, Copenhague. National Bank, Copenhagen, 1961-1978 Oficinas Hew, Hamburgo. Hew Offices, Hamburg. 1963-1969 Gimnasio Christianeum, Hamburgo. Cristianeum Gymnasium, Hamburg, 19661972 Banco Central de Kuwait. Kuwait Central Bank. 19661976 Embajada Danesa, Londres. Danish Embassy, London, 1969-1977 Biografia Biography Nexus Sobre forma y disefio en la actuaidad On form and design a the present time, Ame Jacobsen Discurso para la inauguracién de la exposicion de Arne Jacobsen en Aarhus. Speech at the opening of the Arne Jacobsen exhibition in Aarhus. Knud Aero Ee XR et, Copenoave ‘dt Bormade2G introduecin introsticion See ers a Soon Sees Seoemite Seco Saarioes ae ‘ae oun 98) Eos ‘rycen Va 1587 roo Bare Parnas Eleni sue eBay zane brn {Basin eetes agar Tat ‘es aa, Nonadirs cor Tete i con etc ours aca a be Roa {Sesion hein Soa ek Arne Jacobsen 1902-1971 Arne Jacobsen 1902-1971 Lisbet Balslev Jorgensen 1. Los paisajes de la infancia Son las impresiones y las experiencias infantile las que re- sultan fundamentals en la labor creatva del individuo aduk- to. La percepcion y el reconocimiento del mundo exterior es la base a partir dela cual el atsta desarala su labor expe- rimentando y proponiendo nuevos colores, nuevas formas y ‘nuevos ambientes espaciaes. ‘Ame Jacobsen fue un nfo que crecé junto al mar, frente at estrecho de Gresund, en un area de bosques de hayas y pequeris estanques que aportaban un bilo especial a esta zona dela costa danesa, Tenia una sensibildad que captaba estos pequerios matces del pasaje a lo largo del ia y du rant las distintas estaciones. Queria ser pntor. El nino era hij nico. ‘Als once aos sus padres le envaron a un internado no muy lejos de su casa donde recibiria una educacion basada ene! orden ya dscilina. Entre sus compaferos de clase se encontraban sus amigos Mogens y Fleming Lassen quienes, ya de muy pequeris decidieron ser arqutectos. La amistad Continud, pero segin Mogens Lassen se fue deterorando, tras sus respectivos matrimonis. Enla familia de Ame Jacobsen no haba artistas. Por conta, los padres de los hermanos Lassen eran aristas formados ela Academia de Art. Tras la muerte de a madre, el padre se vio forzado a abandonar el mundo dela pintura. Para los Lassen la Academia era el lugar idéneo de forma- cin para la gente interesada en el mundo del arte. Llegar a ser arquitecto era el reto soiado por los hermanos pues podkian disefiar casas para cientes acaudalados. Mientras, tanto, Jacobsen se dedicaba a pinta paisajes y flores que vencia posteriormente. Finalmente, y ante la infuencia de sus amigos, decidio converse en arquitecto. “Su padre me do las gracias" contaba Mogens Lassen, Elinternado de Naerum tenia el mismo entorno que los ale- \dedores de la casa de los Jacobsen. En sus ratos ibres los niflosinvestigaban, con todos sus sentido, los secretos que encerraba lanaturaleza. Ninguno de ellos era un estudlante brilante, pero el joven Arne destacaba en dibujo, Fenian en 1. The landscapes of childhood Itis the impressions and experiences of childhood which lay down the foundations of the work of the mature man or woman. The perception and recognition of the external weld isthe basis from which the artist develoos his or her work, experimenting with and proposing new colours, new forms ‘and new spatial ambiences. As a boy, Ame Jacobsen grew up beside the sea, by the ‘resund strait, in a region of beech woods and small ponds hich give a special luminosity to this part ofthe Danish coast. ‘Assenstve chid, he was receptive to the subtle nuances of the landscape, as these changed inthe course ofthe day, and from season to season. An only cid, he wanted to be a painter. ‘A he age of eleven, his parents sent him to a boarding school not very far from his home; the education he received there was based on order and discipline. Amongst his classmates were his friends Mogens and Flemming Lassen, who had already decided at avery earty age that they were going to be architects. The friendship continued into adulthood, although according to Mogens Lassen it waned after their respective marriages. ‘There were no artists in Arne Jacobsen's family, but the parents of the Lassen boys were both artists, trained atthe ‘Academy of Art, although after the mother's death, the father was obliged to give up the world of painting. For the Lassens, the Academy was the ideal place for people with an interest in at to receive a training; forthe brothers, becoming an architect was a cherished ambition, which would ‘enable them to design houses for affluent clients. Meanwhile, the young Jacobsen was devoting his efforts to painting landscapes and lowers, and seling his pictures. Finally, thanks to the influence of his fiends, he decided to become an architect. His father thanked me,” Mogens Lassen was later torecall ‘The Naerum boarding school stood in a setting very similar to that of Jacobsen’s home. In their free time the boys explored, using all of ther senses, the secrets of nature. None of them was an outstanding pupil although young Arne ‘excelled at drawing, The three were united by a total decication to their shared interests. They constructed machines, and, ‘measured and drew houses. ‘We were curious. That is the only way to discover the secrets of buiings and find out how they function,“ Mogens remarked. There was.no teacher in the world who could divert them from thei ambition, and the zeal with which they devoted themselves tot. Ther great capacity for selection allowed them to absorb all the knowledge they needed. On leaving school, at the age of 16 or 17, the three friend's were accepted for a course in construction. in Denmark at that time, when there was no higher schooHeaving certificate, to be admitted to Architecture Schoo! it was necessary to Complete a rior period of training at building schoollearing some specific trade. Jacobsen enrolled in the brickaying Course, and this was to serve him well in ater years, winning him the rea respect ofthe men wno worked on his buildings. ‘As an apprentice bricklayer he spent a summer working in Germany, and as a student he visited that country whenever he could; he fetta particular attraction for the Bauhaus and ‘everything that was coming out ft. n 1963, in @ speech he 130news 2G, Lecture delivered by Ame Jacobsen on the occasion of his receiving the Fritz Schumacher prize, 1963, from the F.V.S, Foundation in Hamburg, at the Higher Technical School of Hannover on the 6th of December 1963. On form and design at the present time ‘Asa young architecture student | used to take every opportunity to travel to Germany, whenever the little money at my disposal would allow me to, filled with enthusiasm for German culture and a profound admiration for the Bauhaus in Dessau. At that time | would never have dreamed that attention would be paid to my work here. That happened for the first time during the Third Reich, when unfortunately | was obliged to abandon my native land, and for the second time, on this present occasion which is for me so profoundly moving. Yes, times do change rapidly! There is a need for greater trust between people, as has so often been said, although it can never be said too often; not through isolation and a posteriori, but through collaboration and the exchange of ideas. The possibilities for collaboration between nations have never been so great as they are today. Modern technology is helping us to arrive at a clearer vision of our mutual problems, and through this a better understanding of others. We aspire to a universal society and hope that people's egotism will diminish, generation by generation. World-wide exchanges help us to overcome national obstacles. This does not mean that national and regional cultural particularities are going to be eliminated; quite the contrary, it will be up to us to collaborate to protect them. This will not be too difficult, given that what we most appreciate is precisely the remote, the cherries in our neighbour's garden. This is an optimistic view, since at the present time there are numerous indices pointing in the opposite direction, although in our profession we have to believe in a positive development of the future, since it is only on this basis that we can continue to construct. . Many people think that to be a good architect you also need to have a philosophy of your own. | do not believe this is necessary, but | am conscious of the facility with which a journalist ‘helps’ an architect, pushing him into adopting a philosophical position. | have had the opportunity to observe this on repeated occasions, and if they were to ask me today, | would answer that | have no com- plete philosophical vision. | think such a thing is a little dangerous, an obstacle to a natural architectonic understanding, a distancing from reality, an intellectual building that ages too quickly and that might cause us to lose our contact with the world we live in now. Architectural philosophy can all too easily become something one clings to in order to guarantee one’s own vision, a pillow on which one can sleep marvellously. The ideas upheld by the Bauhaus 35 years ago are still valid at the present time. Functionalism, thank God, is still alive, and if we abandoned it we might very well find ourselves on the dangerous path that leads to an architecture without ends, a zwecklos architecture. Dangerous, because architecture >2G ews -* conseguido crear verdadero arte haciendo abstraccién de la funcién, pero en este caso, :no se supera la frontera entre arquitectura y escultu- +a? Cuando al comienzo he manifestado que en realidad no tengo una filosofia especial, quizé no sea del todo cierto. Las ideas de la Bauhaus sobre la relacién entre funcién, técnica y estética estén tan arraigadas en nuestro pensamiento, en nuestro trabajo y en nuestras convicciones internas que, en la actualidad, son la base sobre la que trabaja cualquier arquitecto honrado, Vivimos en una época en que el sobria funcionalismo an se manifiesta ‘con mayor fuerza que en los aos 20. Pienso en la construccion industriaizada, Aunque se plantea la duda de sieste campo, que ain se encuentra en su estadiainicial, en el futuro lo cuttvarén los arquitectos 0 6lo os ingenieros. Creo que los arquitectos nos tenemos que involucrar en él. Nos tenemos que enfrentar a este problema y profuncizar en este trabajo. Abandonarlo seria renunciar a un campo de importancia vital y tendria graves consecuencias. Sélo nos quedarian aquellos proyectos ‘monumentales en los que la prefabricacién no fuese rentable. La cons- truccién de edificios de viviendas, oficinas y fabricas se aleja del disenio artistico. En Dinamarca ya se construyen industrialmente hospitales, es- cuelas y universidades que, si bien han sido proyectados por arquitec- tos, estén sometidos a los condicionantes econdmicos de la construc: cin. Nuestros fabricantes exportan una buena cantidad de casas prefe- bricadas, sin fantasia ni espntu, aunque técricamente satistactorias. En Dinamarca estas casas atin no pueden competir en cuanto a precio con la construccion convencional, pero aparentemente si pueden en el ex: ‘tranjero, lo cual seguramente se debe a la cotizacién de nuestra dvisa. Sihablo de este tema es para advertr a mis colegas alemanes de los peligros que implica retrasar el momento de involucrarnas en este cam o, y recomiendo encarecidamente afrontar estos problemas en la ense- jianza para que nuestros jévenes, bien preparados, resuelvan estos im Portantes problemas junto con los ingenieros, e incluso puedan recon uistar una parte del terreno perdido hasta ahora. Hace unos afios se crticaba, con razén, l falta de planficacin urbana, En general, esto ahora ya no es necesario, aunque también hay que {decir que se empiezan a encontrar algunos planes que han sido victimas de la prefabricacion: lo mas barato es hacer que las grias de montaje avancen en linea recta y, por lo tanto, jse hacen avanzar en linea rectal «Por qué en una época en la que crcula tanto dinero se sobrevaloran tanto las medidas de aboro econémico legando a sacrifcar la calidad, sobre todo de aquellos aspectos que no son cuantificables materialmente? Enla construccién prefabricada tiene una importancia decisiva reducir al ‘maximo el nimero de elementos distintos. Es “ideal” que solo haya dos © tres elementos diferentes y entonces el trabajo del arquitecto solo cconsiste en “combinarlos” adecuadamente. Pero, por ejemplo, si a un no le quitamos las piezas de su juego de construccién y slo le dejar ‘mos dos o tres, enseguida perdera interés en el uego. A pesar de estas tristes perspectvas de futuro no podemos volvernos de espaldas y con- 132 is a conditioned or gebunden art, and must carry on being so. Only @ very few great talents have managed to create true art by making an abstraction of function, but in such cases, do we not cross the frontier between architecture and sculpture? When at the beginning | declared that in fact| do nat have a specialized philosophy, perhaps that was nat entirely accurate. The ideas ofthe Bauhaus with regard tothe relationship between function, technique and aesthetics are so deeply raated in aur thinking, in our work and in our imermost convictions that, atthe present time, they are the basis on which any honourable architect works. We lve in an age in which sober functionalism manifests itself with even more force thanin the twenties. | am thinking of industrialized construction Although there is some doubt as to whether this fel, which is stil in its initial phase, will be cultivated in the future by architects or only by engineers. | believe that we architects have to be involved init. We have to confront this problem and explore this work in depth. To abandon it would be to give up a field of vital importance and would have serious consequences. We would be left with only thase monumental projects for ‘which prefabrication was not profitable. The construction of apartment buildings, offices and factories is moving away from artistic design. in Denmark, industrial construction is already being used for hospitals, schools and universities which, although they were designed by architec, are subject to the economic factors that condition construction. Our manufacturers export a considerable quantity of prefabricated houses, technically satisfactory but devoid of fantasy and spirit. In Denmark they stil can not compete with traditional construction in terms of cost, but apparently they can in other countries, which is surely due tothe rate of ‘exchange of our currency. IF1.am speaking about this issue itis to alert my colleagues to the dangers implicit in putting off the moment of getting involved in tis field, and | earnestly recommend confronting these problems in the architecture schools, so that our young people, wel trained and prepared, may resolve these important questions together with the engineers, and even re ‘conquer some ofthe ground that has already been lost. ‘Afew years ago there was justifiable criticism ofthe lack af urban planning. In general, such criticism is no longer necessary, although it also needs to be said that we are beginning to find plans that have been victims of prefabrication: the most economical approach is to have the assembly ‘cranes move forward ina straight line, and so they do move forward in a straight ine! Why ist hatin an age in which so much money i circulating, ‘measures for cutting costs are so overvalued, tothe point of sacrificing Quality, above all in those aspects that can not be materially quantified? Decisive importance is given in prefabricated construction to reducing to the minimum the number of different elements. itis ‘ideal for there to be ‘only two or three different elements, and the job of the architect then consists simply of ‘combining’ these in an appropriate way. But, for ‘example, if we take away pieces from a child's construction set, leaving ‘only two or three, that child wil lose all interest in paying. In spite ofddenar la nueva manera de construir tal como han hecho, por deseracia, ‘algunos arquitectos;seriaros reaccionarios, Nuestro trabajo ha de con- sisi en concentrar nuestros conocimientos y nuestros esfuerz0s en uno {de los campos mas importantes de la arcuitectura, el de las proporcio- nes. Cuando se trata de combinar muchos elementos iguales crece la importancia de las proporciones. La creciente implantacion de las nue- vas técricas de prefabricacion es insatisactoriaestéticamente y creo que, en parte, se debe a que no se ha ofecido la oportunidad de colabo- racin a los buenos arquitectos. Antes citicaba la monotonia de determinados planes urbanisticos y aho ra quiero ensalzar el trabajo positvo de determinados organismos en la rmejora de la accesibilidad al paisaje con fines de acio y descanso. Se abre el paisaje mediante nacionalzaciones o gracias ala generosidad de los propietaris, y con ello se oftece a la poblacién la posibildad de dis frutar de la naturaleza. Pero, {se toman suficientes medidas para des- pertar una conciencia social que impida que esta poblacién se convierta en una “plaga de la naturaleza”? Las prisas en nuestras ciudades aumen- tan da a dia, se huye de ellas para relajarse, pero una vez en el campo encontraros radios portals en vez de ruiseiores. En los lugares de ma- yor belleza se organizan lugares de acammpade. Las tendas son de color ‘ojo, naranjao azul y de tonaided chllona, lo cval no responde al entor- no. Enlaeleccién de colores cada vez mas lamativos se busca manifes- tar el propio gusto personal. Esta imagen, ya de por si fea, ain empeora mas debido al color plstico de los demas elementos del camping. Es incomprensible que se hayan relegado los bontos y tranqulls colores ‘rises y marrones, establecidos con métodos cientficomiltares para subortinarse a la naturaleza. El exceso de contraste entre colores prt marios, tal como encontramos en la actualidad, amenaza con embotar nuestra sensibiidad natural de los colores. Piensen en las diapositivas a color. Los cuatro colores los vemos tal como nos fs ofrecen los fabrcantes de peliculas. Por ejemplo, un cielo Agfa, Ferrania 0 Kadek, es uno mas bonito que el otro y todos ellos son completamente diferentes. Uno de los colores mas inquietantes y ordina- Tios es el color dels “cerditos de mazapdn” que se necesita para repro- ducircaras, brazos y piemas. Aqui se ha encontrado exactamente el ‘sano color de la carne, que espera el pibico. Han tomado alguna vez na foto en color de uno de los barrios miserables de una gran ciudad para transmitral familiares lo inhumana que puede ser la vida all? Yo lhe intentado en el Pakistn. Los niios sucios y mal vestidos, las calle juelas mis miseras, producen un efecto romantico. Los falsos colores sintéticos muestran lo contrario ala realidad. ‘De todas maneras esto no es lo més peligroso dela fotografia en coor. Creo que, poco @ poco, estamos adoptando una concepcién equvoca- a, sitétca, de los colores que dificuita la experiencia de la naturaleza pura y pronto ya no estaremos en condiciones de percibir sus valiosos valores. La naturaleza se desvanece ya que inconscientemente a com- paramos con las imagenes que tenemos en casa con unos colores mi 134 these depressing prospect forthe future, we can not turn our backs and ccondemn the new way of building as, unfortunately, certain architects hhave done; that would be reactionary. Our work must consist in ‘concentrating our knowledge and our efforts in one ofthe most important fields of architecture, that of proportion. When itis a matter of combining a large number of identical elements, te importance of the proportions increases. The growing incorporation of new techniques of prefabrication is aesthetically unsatisfactory, and believe that this is due in part tothe fact that good architects have not been offered the opportunity to become involved. Amoment ago | criticized the monotony of certain urbanistic plans, and | want now ta praise the positive work of certain bodies in improving the accessibility of the countryside for leisure and recreational purposes. ‘The countryside is being opened up by means of natonaizaions or thanks tothe generosity of landowners, and in this way the population is offered the possibilty of enjoying nature. But is enough being done to awaken 2 social conscience that will ensure that this population does nat become a ‘plague of nature? The hustle and bustle of our cities increases from day to day, people fle from them to relax, but once in the country we find more transistor radios than nightingales. Campsites are set up in the places of greatest beauty. The tents are red, orange or blue, in strident tones, which is not appropriate to their surroundings. Inthe choice of ever more striking colours, people seek to declare their personal taste, This image, ugly enough inset is made worse yet bythe plastic colours of the other items of camping equipment. It is beyond comprehension thatthe pleasing, tranquil shades of brown and grey, which scientific and military methods have established as blending in well with the natural ‘environment, should have been dismissed. The excess of contrastbetween primary colours, such as we have now, threatens to dull our natural sensitivity to colours. Think of colour slides. We see the four colours in the way they are offered to us by the film manufacturers. For example, an Agfa, a Ferrania or a Kodak sky are not all equally petty, and they are all completely diffrent. One of the most disturbing and vulgar colours is that of the ‘marzipan pigs’ that is needed to reproduce the colour of faces, arms and legs. Here they have found exactly the healt flesh-colour the public is ooking for. Have you ever taken acolour photo of one ofthe slum neighbourhoods of a big city to show your family how inhuman life there can be? | have tried it, in Pakistan. The dirty, ragged children and the most miserable alleys produce a Romantic effect. The false synthetic colours present the ‘opposite of realty. : At all events, this is not the most dangerous thing about colour photography. | think that, litle by litle, we are adopting a mistaken, synthetic conception of colours that is an impediment to our experience cof pure nature, and quite soon we will no longer be capable of perceiving its priceless colours. Nature is vanishing, as we unconsciously compare ‘t with the images we have in our homes where the colours are muchcho mas “bonitos" y radiantes. En otras palabras: nos estamos convi- tiendo en adictos al color. Cuando hablaba de la conservacién de nuestro paisaje y de nuestras ciudades me he referido al signficato campo de trabajo del urbanismo. En el futuro, este campo deberia encomendarse, en gran medida, alos arquitectos, pues de forma lamentable citimamente los politicos prefie- renallosingenieros. Creo que es un error. La estética, que para nosotros los arqutectos es un aspecto fundamental, no puede descuidarse en la planificacion de las ciudades y el paisaje. La percepcién de un medio es de importancia decisiva, es una disciplina que el urbanista valora. Por ejemplo, os urbanistas han de ocuparse del gran problema del trafico y ‘aqui encuentro que, debido al afan por crear plazas de aparcamiento, a ‘menudo se olvida la imagen urbana. Donde antes habia plazas entre las casas, ahora hay espacios vacios, sin estructurar, junto a los que se levantan edficios. Las calles peatonales que titimamente estén en boga aparentemente han de sustituir el ambiente de las antiguas calles, pero Creo que estos conceptos no se complementan. La pregunta de quién ha de ser el coordinador del trabajo en equipo, ‘necesario para desarrollar los trabajos de urbanismo, se discute lamen- tablemente con pasién. Viimos en una época caracterizada por latécni- cca en la que, por desgracia, no se considera que la estética sea una {uncién. Sélo al amparo de relaciones bien resueltas estéticamente, y no cexclusivamente perfectas desde un punto de vista técnico, pueden cre- cer personas equilibradas, ilusionadas y alegres. Sin embargo, los polt- cos ain siguen creyendo que la estética es un ujo que no nos podemos permit. Cuando se descubra el grave error que se comete con ell creo {que los polticas admitiran que el aruitecto ha de ser el coordinador de este trabajo de planificacin. Enel planeamiento a gran escala no se puede olvidar la vvienda y sus detalles. Si contemplamos los edficos con os que hemos lenado nues- tras cludades después de la guerra hemos de admitr que no hemos ido mas alld del punto donde ya nos encontrabamos en la época de la Bau- haus. A pesar de ello, creo que debido a a extraordinaria evolucién de la técnica disponemos de materiales de construccion que gracias a Su ca- lidad ofrecen la posibiidad de mejorar significativamente la ejecucién y reyelar con clardad la construccién. Esto es lo que ha llevado a una arquitectura en la que la construccién es el aspecto que domina estética- ‘mente. A veces nos quejamas cuando no podemos mostrar con claridad pileres y jdcenas y tenemos que revesti el edficio con una cortina, un muro cortina. Los edificios de oficinas, mejor 0 peor proporcionados, son el tipo que con mayor frecuencia aparece en nuestras ciudades, cquizé demasiado a menudo. El piblico se ha cansado un poco y noso- tros arquitectos seguramente también. Creo que el edifcio con muro Cortina, bien proporcionado y bien detallado, se ha convertido en una tipologia que presta buenos servicios, sin embargo, creo que por el ca ‘ino que hemos recorrido hasta ahora no se puede llegar mucho mas lejos. Seguro que se ha aprendido de estas edficaciones y en el futuro news 2G, ‘prettier and more radiant. nother words, we are becoming colour addicts. When | spoke of the conservation of our countryside and our cites, | referred to the important field of work of urbanism. nthe ftir, this field should be entrusted to a large extent to the architects, although, regrettably, the politicians have tended o at to prefer engineers. think this is @ mistake. Aesthetics, which for us as architects is fundamental, ‘must not be neglected inthe planning of cites andthe landscape. The perception ofan environments of decisive importance, itis a dscpine ich the urban designer values highly. For example, the urbaists need to concern themselves with the great problem of trafic, and here | find that, as a resut of the enthusiasm for creating carparks, the urban image is frequent overlooked. Where there were once squares between, the houses, now there are empty, unstructured spaces, alongside which, buildings are constructed. It would appear thatthe pedestrian streets, which have been so much in vogue recenty are to substitute forthe atmosphere of the old streets, but | feel that these concepts are not complementary Lamentabl, the question of who should coordinate the work ofthe team required to carry out urban design projects is debated with passion. We lve in an age characterized by technology, in which, unfortunately aesthetics isnt regarded as function. tis onlin the context of relations that are aesthetically well resolved, and not merely perfect from the techrical pont o view, that people can grow into balencee, hopetl and happy indhiduals. Nevertheless, the pltcians continue to believe that aesthetics is a ur we can not afford. When they realize the grave eror thats being committed here think the polticians wil admit that the architect has to be the one to coordinate the planing task In drawing up plans onthe large scale, the house and its details must not be overlooked. If we consider the buildings with which we have filed ou cis since the war we have to admit that we have not progressed beyond the point we had already reached during the Bauhaus period. n spite o ths, | think that as a result of the extraordinary evolution of technology we now possess construction materials that can offer, thanks to thei reat quality, the possibilty of significantly mproving the execution and clearly revealing the construction. This is wht has led to an architecture in which the construction is the aesthetically dominant aspect. We sometimes complain when we are unable to show te pars and beams clearly, and have to cover the building with a curtain, a curtainwall. The office building, more or less wel proportioned, isthe type that appears ‘most frequenty in our cites, perhaps too frequently. The public has grown a ite tired oft, and no doubt our architects have, too. While | thnk tat the building with a curtan-val, wel proportioned and well detailed, has established itsel asa type that does good service, I believe nevertheless that the road we have been following up to now can not take us ver much further, Certainly we have learned from such buildings, and inthe future they wll continue to be needed in many paces. By breaking up th large curtainwall and utilizing the new forms of construction it wil be 135también se necestarén en muchos lugares. Fraccionando ls lrgos muros cortina y utiizendo las nuevas formas constructivas se podré dar un aspecto mas interesante a esta arquitectura dura y algo rigida. 'Hemos visto cémo el brutasmo, por ejemplo, desarrllado en gran parte fen Inglaterra y por Le Corbusier, ha mostrado nuevos caminos. No soy ningun gran admirador de este estilo aunque en algunos lugares podemos ‘encontrar ejemplos hermosos. Me produce un efecto al mismo tiempo brutal, paraddjco y roméntico. Defiendo siempre el funcionalsmo puro y ‘tengo que decir que considero a Mies van der Rohe como el arcuitect vivo mas importante, y a nosotros, arquttectos que trabajamos normalmente, nos proporciona un ejemplo excelente de cémo se consigue una arquitec ‘ura clara, sana y claramente comprensible sin aiadidos ala moda. Esta arquitectura de la que he hablado no abarca la construccién de viendas que es la tarea mas significativa a la que hemos de enfrentar- nos. La construccién de viviendas es un concepto completamente supe- itado a las exigencias econdmicas y, lo que ain es peor, alos polticos. Por lo menos asi es en Dinamarca. Los polticos imponen un paro a la ‘construccién, lo welven a levantar y lo wuelven a implantar. Con ello

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