Deep Space, Thin Walls: Environmental and Material Precursors to the Postwar Skyscraper.

While architects have always had and (will likely always have) grand and forward thinking ideas, the reality of the built environment is that the economics of materials and technology, scientific progress, and the social and political values recorded in the building code are often what drive our buildings aesthetic and form.  However in an age of triple glazed windows, High-efficiency HVAC, and exciting new building technologies like Mass Timber – the future is ever bright.

Sullivan, Tall Office Building Artistically Considered

Form ever follows function.  It is a natural law.  Look at nature.  From the birds of the air, to the plants in the field, to the trees in the forest. Form and Function are as one.  Inseparable and completely natural.  So should it be in the practice of architecture. The tall office buildings form is a result of their function and character.  Broken into three parts naturally. Rising nobly from the dirt of the ground to sky above. The first and second floors – a place of significance and accessibility.  The infinite number of working cells – similar and unchanging just like their function. The attic again a specialized place protecting the building from inclement weather and housing necessary service. To Sullivan, the the main characteristic of a tall office building is loftiness or nobleness, and as such their function and form are one.

Sullivan, Tall Office Building Artistically Considered Critiqued…

While I agree with Sullivan that in the practice of architecture, the natural law of “form ever follows function” is a cornerstone tenet,  I don’t think the buck stops there nor is it acceptable to use it as the sole justification of the form and appearance of our buildings.  I would assert that we, as a society, want more from our built environment that simply function.  We want beauty and intrigue.  We want novelty and nostalgia.  We want sustainability and stewardship. However all these come at a cost – and the answer as always is “who’s going to pay?”.

“space,” in Words and Building

While the “usage” of the word space in the English vocabulary may be tracked back clearly to the discourse among German aesthetic theorists – The definition of space, whether in architecture or not, has no such clarity. Of the plethora of definitions and analyses presented, they can be reduced down to three main ideals. Space as Enclosure, Space as Continuum, and Space as Extension of the Body.  Some theorists hold the ideals to be mutually exclusives while others embrace all three in their definition and application.

Kagawe Prefecture Government Office

In the west, tall office buildings may have been following a similiar, predicable script, But in Japan, Kenzo Tage with his Kagawe Prefecture Government Office felt no obligation to follow completely along.  While the tower is functionally still an office building, with the lower levels serving as a public, accessible, open space and the floors of the tower going up holding office spaces, and a roof with some mechanicals, the Kagawe Prefecture Government Office has a more subtle read.  The distinction is enhanced by the layout of the office building being broken into three distinct and separate forms.  A low, two-story building, an eight-story tower, and a central courtyard.

Kagawa Prefecture Office Building, Building & Tower

Kagawa Prefecture Office Building, Plan

Takeaways

• Economics, material and technological progress, and buildings codes heavily influence what is feasible
• Following natural laws can be quite helpful – even in regards to aesthetics
• Semantics are important and can influence not only our practice and discourse, but our society as a whole