When the illusion breaks

Should technical installations and construction elements be exposed, or hidden from view?

Having them exposed makes cleaning difficult, and creates unwanted visual distractions. Having them hidden, it is more difficult to understand the connections of  i.e. surveillance systems.

But with all illusions, people may start believing that what they see is all there is.



Sometimes the illusions break, by coincidence or intentionally:



In this case, the fake surveillance camera is supposed to indicate that it is connected to a larger system of cables hidden inside the wall. But the wall is rock solid.




Here, what appears to be a concrete wall is actually just a wooden wall with a thin layer of concrete:




Sometimes systems break down and reveal their inner workings and shortcomings to the audience it was supposed to serve:





It may be good that these things happen, because we are being reminded that illusions are a big part of our surroundings. The knowledge of how these illusions work can then be transformed and manifested in our personal life.

Alchemists of sound - BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Anyone interested in the connection between sound, mathematics and geometry should make themselves familiar with the works that was made in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1958 until 1995. The full documentary can be seen here: http://www.ubu.com/film/bbc_alchemists.html

Some of the people interviewed also points out interesting facts about the general public's reaction to unfamiliar music and sound. The same reactions has been observed when it comes to modern architecture: traditionalists criticising something that does not correspond to their conventional  understanding of reality, which often are based on symbolic interpretations rather than objective reality.

Oskar Hansen / Open form symposium at Bergen School of Architecture August 31 and September 1, 2012

Program for the Oskar Hansen Symposium at BAS

 

The program for the Oskar Hansen Symposium is now ready. August 31, and September 1 are dedicated for Open Form lectures and workshops at BAS. All interested are also welcome to join the diploma censors lecture on August 30th from 1700-1900. This is a presentation of the diploma exhibition 2012.

OSKAR HANSEN SYMPOSIUM  2012  - AT BAS AUGUST  31. – SEPTEMBER 1.
- THEME: DEMOCRATIC ARCHITECTURE.
INTRODUCTION on August 30.  at 17.00 hrs, in the main lecture hall:
PRESENTATION OF THE DIPLOMA WORKS OF THE YEAR, by the international team of assessors.
THE OSKAR HANSEN ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM OF OPEN FORM,-  OPEN FOR ALL TO TAKE PART,             
will be joint with the summer seminar for the BAS Teachers, in mutual relation of 50/50.
 The symposium will be the year link of the BAS course, joining the diploma graduation and the matriculation of the new 1.year students, on September 1, which will be concluded by the welcome Speech of the BAS Rector Sixten Rahlff.
THE SYMPOSIUM PRESENTS ISSUES OF OPEN FORM (OF) - GREAT NUMBER (GN), FOR  A DEMOCRATIC ARCHITECTURE.
The members of the OPEN FORM 2 group (OF2) present the basic steps of Open Form teaching at BAS, and the crucial foundation elements of OF in practice. All the participants are invited to take part in the discussion and clarification, of the BAS target and the purpose of Open Form, in ideology and practice.
BAS is an alternative school of Architecture. Its program and clarification have to be discussed and developed continuously. The teachers of BAS are obliged to its ideology, program, and aim.

PROGRAM:
August 30.
17.00:  Presentation of the Diploma works 2012. By the Team of assessors.
August 31.
09.00 – 12.00: Session 1 – OPEN FORM, IN THE BAS STUDIES. THE SUBJECT BEFORE OBJECTS.
 The didactics, the backbone of the course, the progression, and methods. Discussion on Democratic Architecture vs Expressions of Power. The meaning of Open Form.

12.30 – 16.00: Session 2 – BUILDING ALONG FJORDS AND THE VALLEYS – URBANIZATION.
The Values of the Landscape and Settlements, and a new Architecture.

16.30 – 18.00: Session 3 – NEW BUILDINGS OF OPEN FORM, DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND  G N. Public buildings, new student housing, student projects, in the city. Aims.

18.00 – 20.00: BREAK FOR DINNER.

20.00 – 21.30: Session 4 /BAF MEETING – ARCH.MNAL TERJE GRØNMO: GULATING LAW COURT.
Its new building in Bergen, in site, function, and expression.  O F Dem.expr.

September 1.
09.00-12.00: Session 5 – PHD of OPEN FORM. NEW AND NECESSARY / PART 3.

12.00-15.00: MATRICULATION CEREMONY for the new BAS students of the year.

Interiørregler for Bergegrendskollektivet

Overordnet regel er "alt til sin tid og sitt sted".

1. I hver sone kan det kun plasseres objekter som er relevante ift. sonens funksjon.
2. Dekor og symboler på objekter må oppfylle ett eller flere av følgende kriterier: [a] selvrefererende (til bruken, stedet og/eller prosjektet), [b] naturmotiver (men ikke i en romantiserende kontekst) [c] geometri/abstraksjon.
3. Personlige symboler er bare tillatt i privatsoner. Et objekt som inneholder et personlig symbol er likevel tillatt i felles soner så lenge det er i bruk av eieren.
   
   

Nonconventional use of materials

All materials have their own different logic, i.e. bricks and wood. According to some (more or less) popular architectural theories, a material should only be used according to its own logic. The reason for this is that the visual presence should show the actual construction, and not in any way act like an illusion of something else. But this implies that the viewer is a uninformed and thoughtless idiot who blindly accepts any illusion as the truth, and never question anything. Room For Space disagrees with this way of thinking. We do not disregard illusion, but enjoys playing with it.

Turning the logic of brick building upside-down.

A wall disguised as a roof

Concrete shaped like a wood construction. The material structure and functional structure follows different types of logic.

Concrete walls shaped like wood. The illusion has been made so obvious that it adds a quality to the building.

We believe that this type of deconstructivism is good, and that it helps understanding that rigid dogma-based rules is not the only answer, neither to architecture nor life in general.



Nonconventional use of materials by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The kitchen at Bergegrend

Organizing chaos through plural form.

The two form systems singular form and plural form both deals with organizing form elements from chaos, but builds on totally different types of form logic. Singular form sets one standard that all other forms must relate to. Plural form is about making all forms relate to each other (through the discipline of Visual Structure).

Just like with music, complex and multi-layered form systems in architecture are more appealing to some people than others. The question of form is not a discussion about modernism or traditionalism, masculinity or femininity, rationalism or intuition etc. It is a question of how each individual like to organize their own thoughts and world wiew.

Nidaros domkirke before restoration

Unfortunately, restoration works often has removed later additions in favour of singular form.

Palazzo Contarini della Scala or Dal Bovolo before restoration

Architectural drawing of proposed Field Museum building, no challenge for the viewer at all.

Dynamic relations between facade elements can only be achieved trough variation. In the next example, the dynamic expression is created by the different facades together, even though each individual facade is based on symmetry.



La Grande Place, the old houses, Brussels, Belgium.

Organizing chaos through plural form by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Audiovisual structure: - "Synchromy" (1971)

Norman McLaren was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). His film "Synchromy" (1971) is a brilliant example of transferring the patterns of sound to a visual medium.

http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/video/McLaren-Norman_Synchromy_1971.avi

DONALD IN MATHMAGIC LAND (FULL SHOW)

Explanation of the main concepts of Room For Space

Visual Structure - from Oskar Hansen and Svein Hatløy - is the most important concept. It defines forms and their connections in terms of:

scale
similarity/contrast
dynamic/static
continuity/simultanity

etc.

(For a full list, se Oskar Hansen's book "Zobaczyc Swiat" [ISBN 83-89145-70-7 & 83-87321-78-8] or attend the Visual Structure courses at Bergen School of Architecture.)

These terms can also be applied to Material Structure and Functional Structure, but these two do not have to be connected to a visual structure. As Chi Ti-Nan and others have pointed out, i.e. the wireless networks in a city creates an invisible functional structure, with no connection to the physical pathways of communication.
A visual structure may have more than one material or functional structures, and these can change over time. The main function of an object may be to serve a specific intention, and also several subintentions. When recycling an object, it is given a new set of functions, while its visual structure often remains the same. This means that some of its previous valid functional structures has become invalid, and some of its previous invalid structures has become valid. It also implies that any object has an unlimited number of potential functions. These potential functional structures may even be intentionally hidden in the object in its original context, and revealed when the object has been put into a new context.

The connections between an object, its functional structure and its intention is shown in this scheme:Through variations in visual, material and functional structures the object's set of intentional and subintentional uses can be controlled. Using the principle of Open Form, all potential connections between object, function and intention are possible. Using the principle of Closed Form, only specific connections between object, function and intention are allowed.

The concepts of visual, functional and material structures also makes up a set of mental references:How these mental references are programmed will affect the way we "read" and understand visual, functional and material structures and the connection between these. "Rothe Aphotek" in Berlin can be used as an example:


Most people are habituated to read letters and text, so they will notice this visual element first:


Architects and artists will notice this visual element first:


In this facade, we have at least three layers of visual (functional) structures, each connected to specific intentions: The textual element tells about the use of the building, the vertical field of stucco ornaments tells about the building's history, and the facade as a whole creates the buildings' visual identity in the cityscape.
(To be continued)



Explanation of the main concepts of Room For Space by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Room For Space photos

Looking and seeing

What does it mean to see?

Seeing is understanding.

Once you have learnt to see, you not only look at the surface, you see through, you see behind.

You no longer look at separated elements, you see the connection, you see the whole.

Seeing is awareness.

Seeing is being awake, even in your dreams.

(Originally written december 30, 2007)

Looking and seeing by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Norway License.

Looking and seeing: Becoming aware of the color spectrum

Billboards and advertisements often uses bright colors for catching our attention. But the same colors can be found both in nature and the city jungle. It is only a matter of becoming aware of it, so that you no longer feel any need to look at advertisements.

If you have a window facing the sun, you can create "rainbow dots" in your interior by using a glass prism placed on a small mirror. The rainbow dots will move during the day according to the angle of the sun.






Being surrounded by slowly moving rainbow dots in your home or workplace, you will become subconsciously habituated to their appearance. This will help you in discovering and enjoying the colors and light that appears in the city:




Looking and seeing: Becoming aware of the color spectrum by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Norway License.

Subconscious reprogramming method: Repackaging of everyday products

Many products comes in packaging that are specially designed for that product, like the Coca-Cola bottle. The main intention of the bottle's form is to keep the liquid inside. The sub-intention of the bottle's form is to make a subconscious connection between the shape of the bottle and the Coca-Cola brand + logo. To break up this inner space (mental) connection between logos/brands and form, repackaging can be used as a tool.



In this example, two steps are shown. The first step is simply to remove the logo or brand name from the soap bottle. The connection soap (content)- form (context)- brand (symbol) is reduced to only soap (content) - form (context). By repackaging the soap in another bottle the original connection between product (content) and packaging design (context) has been removed completely.

As an extra bonus, the top of the Heinz ketchup bottle has a bigger hole than the original Zalo bottle, so that you are forced to consciously change the amount of pressure used for squeezing the soap out of the bottle. Your old habits are being broken up and new ones are created.


Subconscious reprogramming method: Repackaging of everyday products by Sølve N.T. Lauvås is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Norway License.

Visions Of Architecture

People today live their daily lives in visual surroundings that subconsciously both suggests and affirms that the workplace and the home are two separate realities.

But this is not true, there is only one reality and this "reality split" is nothing else than a mental construction. Thus there is no logical reason to have one fixed set of visual references for work and another one for leisure, unless someone consciously want to, with all its consequences.

It is every individual's responsibility to shape his or her surroundings so that it stimulates one's thoughts and emotions in a desired way.

The difference between workplace and home in terms of visual preferences 100 years ago was not as big as it is today. At the norwegian knitting industry museum at Salhus, the old factory are full of examples of how industry architecture and what we today think of as "elements of home decoration" are blended together. However, there is a symbolic connection involved that have to be viewed in an historical context. Hand painted decorations on industry machines is a prime example of "art as a background of events" opposed to the now seemingly dominating view of "art for art's sake". (Both a defining factor and a consequence of the "reality split" in the Western world.) Why would an industry worker want to have different visual preferences for the workplace and the home? Industry workers of that time was proud of their job, and did not have to construct the illusion of a separate reality at home. It is said that the employees at Salhus were doing hard work all day long and that the working conditions were not good, but just the fact that they were able to marry and have families makes me question this fact. Had they been doing real hard work every day all year long, they would not even have had an opportunity to have a love life. We also know from historical research that employees that were pushed too hard reduced their effectivity instead of increasing it. The workers at Salhus lived their real life both at work and at home, and their visual surroundings confirmed this unity.

Unfortunately, it seems that many people today do not feel the same pride in their profession as the Salhus workers did, and tries to compensate for this by using instruments of visual structure to create a mental construction of "being someone else" at home. They have a right to do so (for themselves) if they wish, but the trouble occurs when these sets of visual references are forced upon others. As Oskar Hansen wrote: "The decision is taken in my name. I am standing next to the process". But I firmly believe that many people could gain a lot from bringing the symbols of the strict disciplined routines of their workplaces into their daily lives, and vice versa. Architects can help in this process. Architects today who thinks that their job is to dictate their clients' visual preferences (unless, of course, they are asked to) are only feeding their own ego and have missed the point of their correct place in society: the architect as a servant, not a master.

I want to bring the neutral and pure practical-aimed "industrial" designs back into the homes of ordinary people, where they can be changed and modified by the residents. With freedom also comes responsibility for one's own choices of visual preferences. Architects can help people learning this. If there is a need for a round corner, make it. If there is a need for a straight wall, make it. If you're not satisified, rebuild.

Stop dictating by "being artistic"!



Visions Of Architecture av Sølve N.T. Lauvås er lisensiert under en Creative Commons Navngivelse-Ikkekommersiell-DelPåSammeVilkår 3.0 Norge Lisens.