PART TWO The Modes of Architectural Communication Monsieur Jourdain, Moliére’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme, was rather surprised to discover that he had been speaking prose for forty years ~ ‘without knowing anything about i. Modern architects might suffer a similar shock, or doubt that they've been speaking anything as elevated as prose. To look at the environment is to agree with their 56 doubt. We see a babble of tongues, a free-for-all of per- sonal idiolects, not the classical language of the Doric, Tonic and Corinthian Orders. Where there once were rules, of architectural grammer, we now have a mutual diatribe between speculative builders; where there once was a gentle discourse between the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, there is now across the Thames, the Shell Building shouting at the Hayward Gallery, which 57 grunts back at a stammering and giggling Festival Hall It’s all confusion and strife, and yet this invective is still language even if it’s not very comprehensible or per: suading. There are various analogies architecture shares with language and if we use the terms loosely, we can speak of architectural ‘words’, ‘phrases’, ‘syntax’, and ‘semantics’. | will discuss several of these analogies in turn, showing how they can be more consciously used as communicational means, starting with the mode most ‘commonly disregarded in modern architecture. Below 56 SAN FRANCISCO CITYSCAPE, 1973. With various skyscrapers, including a trussed rectangle and the tangular building. known affectionately as ‘Pereiras’ Prick’ (ha designad the Traneamer Corporation) Below 57 The SOUTH BANK, London, 1976. With largo chunks devoted to different functions: left ¢o right: The Queen Elizabeth Hall. Royal Festival Halland Shell Tower cary on their distinctive form of garbled conversation. Each chunk sends out a single, if muted, message that itis an important’ monument of some unspecified kind.THE LANGUAGE OF POST-MODERN ARCHITECTURE ‘Metaphor People im in terms of a similar object more unfamiliar a modern building is, the more ‘ompare it metaphorically to what they know. This match jother, oF aphor. The they will iably see one building in terms of a in short as a me perty of all ing of one experience to another is a property of 9 ive. Thus when thought. particularly that which is ere pre-cast concrete grills were first used on buildings in the late fifties, they were seen as ‘cheesegraters’, ‘beehives’ chain-link fences’; while ten years later when they be same the norm in @ certain building type, they were seen in functional terms: ‘this looks like @ parking garage From metaphor to cliché, from neologism through constant usage to architectural sign, this is the continual route travelled by new and successful forms and technics. Typical negative metaphors used by the public and by critics such as Lewis Mumford to condemn modern architecture were ‘cardboard box’, ‘shoe-box’, ‘egg-crate’ filing cabinet. ‘grid-paper. These comparisons were sought not only for their pejorative, mechanistic overtones, ut also because they were strongly coded in g which had become sensitised to the spectre of This obvious point has some curious implication, 88 4g Utne shall 300 ne Implication became apparent when | way Japan and the architect Kiso Kurokawa, We wg iin his new apartment tower in Tokyo, made from 402%! shipping containers, which had a most unusual ced shape, They looked lke stacked sugar cubes, or gq era ike superimposed washing machines, beceuss yea a Cubes a had round windows in their centres, wigs Mi this metaphor hod. unfortunate overtones #ea yaa Kurokawa evinced suprise OF livin They: or aa intho wees. I've built these bird nests for ineranring, men who visit Tokyo, for bachelors who fly in evans often with their birds.” A witty answer, perhaps mage on the spot, but one which underscored very niceh Left 58 CONCRETE GRILLS, now the sign of arking garage, were first used on offices in ‘America in the late filties. They wark here to carry the external loads and mask the cars While the ‘cheesegrater” is now no longer Perceived as a metaphor, the precast grils on rare occasions still used for offices. Whether it signifies garage or office depends fon the frequency of usage within a society Opposite 59 KISHO KUROKAWA. Natagin Copsule Building. Tokyo. 1972. 140 boxes were riven to the site and lifted onto the two concrete cores. Each habitable room has buitin"bathoom. stotape, deck cal ina. The metapher of stcting tore Me Brcka or suger eee ha e-omerged eet posed it in 1923. The overtones of ts tmoigvous: to some. tey” have ahwaye Ohashi). . : : %i ¥ | lies: iv= s because they et these historical elements sini ack atv. For rane Loya Wngnt and Waller Gropa ihe se of htoisal_slements even signified lack of Imegry and carecte, An erchitectwho used the smb gras pcbabiy insincere and cenainly snob = ths Etta Oren were # ind of pretentious Latin, nthe day vamnaculst of indus! Suing and x0bet Sniry From these. lster bulking tasks. Unie nauage. they hoped, could bo constucted, a sort of Espeonto of trose cultural usage babad on funetons types, These signs would be indexteal (ether decy rune, like aon, eae eomidos), OF 88 iconic. in which case the form would be a daar offs ‘nction (a ructuraly-eheped bridge, oF even Ventas cs) Moce'nshoeural words woul be ited The only problem with this approach is, howevet that cos schtecal words ae symbole ane? ea wha lero na conventional. ro natu Te Symbolic san aomirtes the ndenial ond iene 34 Eien thes inter depend somewhat on krowedge 4 mention fhe caret terprteton, Thee wes & stein toe! mite atthe ery bate ‘ote engage oud wes tbo may te SME hoped bcos no nina language cathy afl nest on inane convertors, on symbolle ss a shh can be understood diet, wateut He 12 00 wang ofc msen aa ae the symbole sgn i ther weatment ofthe pied 8 whch “convent signies. home’ in Nonna Puri The modern echect degurded ti uae | ‘hey ayetomataly misundenteod Ne ase wor thuing thet pchad Yots mean shee ine foc as than at symbol an schy! cole te se aymballc sin the modem elie gat rere hom as powerul meanings o be Used nama ‘SBtaigntforwerd way only to cate the attention of an fac expressed a desi todo, then ono ho o speak the ‘feneage av charged athe sme tine then both wl be ‘Theis pacts what has happened wih moder housing Stated examples, Amore. promising approach forthe tmodan srehtert. oF soci inteventonst would be To Snes werent ay of ite for aileron tate cltares road spesking. thee group ae lasifie in soc: economi terme by sonlogiats and markt feathers ven though there a lot of overlap and boreving bermeangroune, ane there ar other ores at wade The Ieaeemsto me more exact to speek smite groups than ‘lose based taste cultures, because thous groupe ch ‘Share preteroncos of meaning hae fe ard conhiuty of tha own, which Te ony ighy coloured by soci conomie background. Basically, emote @ouDs a1 Soran unwerse of signeaton and have ferent owe ofthe good if. ill meniton sve vrsion ofthe opuar house which sping fam these elfeent groups 1 The desl of many workings families i 1 by 2 detached small mouse,» bungsiow rough stat 1 Cera aes thy tow. Teva exposed ne ouses se secuty ora, sparon (a etd In iing). and ain coma enon (Cepreroted by cortoming more or ss tthe nor the rea Levicown In amerca, 09 te tea Home Exhton in Brain ar wel as most Bulengs in bth eur cater to ths semove group rou be ala ‘onenative or conarmist. sensible of peti bOURO sow wc nal ane chsCe =) ee “edinerecke) {lke Heose, NumbaZZELL DOIN BS — Uy ONEPr cornu between goeraions nd sarees Whip the fe guess is hat ch "100.000 sions ‘does nat urn out bet“al inguih la itor ‘loments,t doesnt matter 9 much what these 3 i ice sense of V5 hole of the neo-Clesical for his n"Sve! ochiects have made hesant steps this theoecalundertondingrby ove ho single stances rset ste parking Gatape. The stand joke Was ‘nd Abomenie Pal Rudolph, and Le Corba: and one the page wae the ue of varour sutures ard mates Sty were ingrained withthe Pars nation tat one ‘themony the clei ideal that. pat cannot Ss acoed ‘or subvactes wthout turing the intersted whole, Thee wet even oer sumption which his bul Sve asses La Coruter Mad sad, the “ster are 9 let Frank Loyd Wiign ens Water Gropiv beloved that @ Single ss expressing the charac and inte ofthe ches mat ain hs won tern he von ‘Scary and ck ot convicion nn "TE ‘han at powous times), Ft mised evs re nod communication 2: the Pasael baling shows and se 7% rohitet mst master at east thee o fou to atiulae any compl Dulding today, stpecly fhe fe 0 design th Secondly, the convection of any patieular style with sincerity water tise Intnatianal Style orth ad he seth of Handmade Houses, is 0 matter of Mistry ond mnt sorathing eemaly wu, By tat eps Process of Nstorcal inversion. we have actually afived ‘a boston wher consstney and Puram do not equal i meray. but ute te revraHow hae ti _ ced ional Style has been accepted on 3 massive saleby hove who bul ci iis now te omental sive of then Ges ni, ueaucrcy, at leat fr its lage-sale cies and eM broducts Coca-Cola, Xero, ‘Sn house sive and corporate brand image. They di not intond this ot course, but inca they could adverse Snasince they had to work within a consume society. the Iain way of seling that reputation wast develop singe ‘ecogrisebe style which could be. porveyed tough ‘magazines, books and TV. In short thor autentiy, 9m ‘het sncaity neat, became a marketable commas, ust {that of Peateo and Che Gumsra de the is ‘The tolowers ofthe "nase ae led inthe same dee ton. with the veut that we ean now recog the Sale sive. 'the brand mame ef Ruokawa. and Tange the Siiing manner, ard so Toth. How does a lent oF ome know hich on to pick? They choose om bok oracle which show his style isingushed from ‘hose of compattors. Originality and estineiveness or “Tho roel of this hidden procoss of the massing of ‘putaions, hae been to produce a recognisable 26 the eto, medolo-clss architects: H tends towards Univelenea because ofthe prssutes tomar cOrssOny. I's mad op from rapetive geomet, divorced from ‘most metaphors excapt that of the machine, and pureed gs commen to semiote OUP Ot vulgarity and ces than that of architec The enionmant which i {fend by sucha stutian ia one wher every bung ‘Sa monument to the architects consistency ata an pproorat ta the Job othe wan retina "The soves involved are obvousy comple. A achset must toa cen exer, Govelop Ne own wey ot ong ‘ingen ovn det and mannerisms” but these, no Temger guaran or signify autor as thay tendo to do before the evant garde was incorporated no con~ ner eoloy Ana if he practice now produces esse tying iosyem seule, evinced 6 ‘Sng lnguege. thon today the afer sneary can ie measured by his aby to asin va phat oye. Constancy equals unconscious yp. (fe Canora, eonstious elt), nEVOLUTIONARY TREE