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Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

Thesis · June 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25675.05925

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Ebrar Mihrimah Öksüz

Marmara University
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Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

Complexity, contradiction and ambiguity, which are the concepts we use frequently in daily
language, need to be translated into positive even though they have negative meanings. Because the
energy emitted by these concepts can reach a much more disturbing point in architectural design. For
this reason, if there is complexity, it should be simplified, ambiguity should be clarified, and if there is
contradiction, it should be eliminated. These concepts, which have a negative place in our daily life,
were introduced to the architectural literature by Venturi. Robert Venturi despite the negative effects
of the countries' economy after the Second World War, the acceleration of industrialization
movements and the lack of housing, which arose with the migration of people from villages to cities
in order to earn money, mass housing was built in buildings that are quite plain and functional, away
from ornaments. It took a stance against the period and mentality in which it was made. Venturi
opened a new page in architecture by answering "less is bore" in response to the "less is more"
understanding of Mies van der Rohe, one of the most important names of this period. In this period,
Venturi expressed the view that ornamentation could exist instead of plain and sharp forms in
architecture, which was defended by the modernist movement. In addition, he suggested adding
historical references to architectural designs. He proposes to design in line with the wishes of the user
in response to the claims of modern architecture to transform society. Thus, he put forward the idea
that the designed structure should have a meaning rather than being perfect. Robert Venturi brought a
new breath to architecture in response to the understanding of architecture pioneered by Le Corbusier
and Mies van der Rohe, and he explained the architectural design concepts he laid out in his book
"Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture", in which he wrote the design teachings he created, in
detail through the buildings he designed.

According to Venturi, the structure contains complexities and contradictions. According to

him, the structure is both complex and simple, open and closed, large and small at the same time.
Based on the idea that the designed building may be good for some people but bad for another person,
Venturi argues that the design of the building should be unique to the person, and therefore the design
of the building should be flexible. For this reason, the elements in the structure should be easily
transformed into another element. In order to realize the concept of flexibility in space, he explains
using concepts such as interior-exterior, intermediate zone, orientation, hierarchy and complexity. He
aimed to bring this concept to the fore by considering a different variable in each design he created.
Thus, he gave the answer of a different concept in each design. For example, in the Guild House,

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windows of the usual proportions but much larger than usual are used. Another example is the North
Penn Visiting Nurse Association, which he designed with the claim of being both simple and complex
even within a limited budget. Robert Venturi brought each of the design concepts he created to the
fore in the buildings he designed. However, the design should not be shaped around a single concept.
This situation is a threat that may cause the flexibility feature of the designed structure to disappear.
For this reason, during the design, pre-decided upper-scale integrations should be dissolved, and the
contradictions from complexity to simplicity should be eliminated one by one with the free will of the
designer with rules, methods and principles to lower scales, and it should develop from ambiguity to
certainty. In addition, the principle that will enrich the design and take it to the next level is the
inclusion of historical references in the design. Only in this way can design go to the next level and
reach the point where it can appeal to everyone at one point or another. The material used is as
important as the emergence of the design is valuable. Robert Venturi showed his sensitivity on this
subject at the Sainsbury Wing National Gallery. The gallery is a design in which steel, stone and glass
materials are used together and concepts such as English classicism, symbolism and spatial context
are brought together. The designed building should not be for a movement or a person, on the
contrary, a structure that is flexible enough to evolve into different functions, that every user feels
comfortable and that can win the appreciation of each user, can be achieved by blending different
design theories, historical references and material diversity, and an ageless, ageless structure can be
obtained. In his book, Robert Venturi not only explained which concepts should be led by the design,
but also defined the façade decorations that emphasize the function of a designed building from the
outside and that the function of the building can be read "directly" from the outside. While he defines
a building as having a form that we can read directly as "ducks", it is a "decorated shed" for the
function of the building to emerge with the façade ornamentation defines as. Venturi prefers
“decorated shed” among these concepts. However, sticking to a single concept in the design approach
will damage the flexibility of the design, as I have mentioned before. Design concepts should be
considered as a whole and these concepts should not compete with each other. Otherwise, it is a
possible end for the competing concepts to reveal different meanings at different points of the
structure and create an effect beyond the desired one. Since this effect will occur independently of the
designer, it may damage the concept of flexibility in the structure.

Although the concepts and materials of the design stages are the elements that will feed the
design, the prominence of a chosen concept or material compared to other concepts or materials
causes the society, which is the user of the design, to turn into a singular subject. These concepts and
materials should be used very carefully and proportionately during the design process.

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 REFERENCES:

Venturi, Robert. Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, NewYork: The Museum of Modern
Art, 1992.

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