about mimica frampton glavan principles |
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The 1990s were marked as a dynamic and unstable period. The pace of technological, economical and political development caused major changes in all fields of contemporary culture, including architecture.
Manifestation of these changes in the Croatian context was strong and intense. As a consequence, contemporary Croatian reality represents a very unstable environment for the architectural profession. The work of our office is naturally conditioned by these circumstances. Absence of a stable environment changes architectural production, whereas it can no longer rely on traditional models as it could when 'modernity' had a solid position.In such a dynamic and unstable context, one must create one's own set of values and reaction to the context. Our work in this environment is determined by a few basic principles. Don't Bother with the Future
Invention of the telephone incited curiosity of its impact on everyday life. One of the theories stood on a conviction that the telephone would with no doubt provoke the disappearance of concert halls. Concerts could be heard over the phone, so naturally there would be no reason to go to the theatre. Man's relationship to the future has been fundamental for all the major concepts of the 20th century. Concepts were based upon ideal models that were answers to future needs. Architectural models were no exception: fortune-telling played an important role. In the 1990s, this model was put into question.Although it took some time for the telephone to cause changes in urban life, the impact of contemporary inventions becomes quickly visible. We are confronted with radical changes on an almost daily basis: broad-band, mobile phones or palms, which one will prevail? Genetic engineering, should we do it or not? Euro or Dollar?… Unlike with the telephone, these innovations come and go, or mutate into new ones in a very short time (remember Iridium?). Predicting the future in this context is practically impossible and, in the end, irrelevant. Every model is responsive to the time in which it was created.Contemporary models cannot be based on future projections, but on the reading of a specific, current context. This reading must attempt to understand the nature of the processes of change and their immediate impact in the specific environment. The resulting models, to a certain extent, are similar to weather forecasts: they cannot be given for more than a week. Keep an Open Mind
The traditional scientific method is based on a linear process: identification of the problem, a hypothesis and an experiment, followed by a deductive analysis of results.This approach presumes the understanding of the context, and is based on the capability to forecast results. The contemporary context is volatile. Social and political circumstances, technology and working conditions, are no longer fixed but are constantly changing. In these circumstances, this method is no longer valid.Making hypotheses means anticipating development. In the contemporary environment, this has become progressively difficult, whereas contexts and available working methods are subject to daily changes. Instead of a method that uses predefined models and hypotheses, it has become necessary to approach problems with an open mind and without prejudices. With each new project, we are confronted with a new context, demanding the use of new tools and methods. Quite often, the answer to the specific question is unexpected.An open approach translates not only to a readiness to accept changes, but also to our willingness to be changed along the process. Define the Circumstances
In the present conditions, regional differences are not generated by the use of specific techniques or regional materials, but from the particular employment of global products in the local context. For that reason, each project demands a certain effort to find uniqueness and specificity of an individual place.Regional specificity is defined within the process of globalisation. There are an increasing number of products universally used. Across the globe, one find the same paper tissues, soda drinks, windows, chairs, sport shoes, elevators, etc.Due to the commodification of domestic objects, contemporary cities are increasingly looking alike. However, these processes have not changed the fundamental conditions that generate a city's life. The fact that kids in Hong Kong and New York play with a Spalding basketball, on a regulation-sized court with a seemingly similar skyline in the background, does not mean one can adopt the same design criteria upon these two places.Unlike objects and products, globalisation does not have a significant impact on basic processes that condition life of contemporary cities. Cities are still products of specific local conditions, and it is not possible to understand them with a single concept. To understand a specific situation, it is necessary to understand the underlying processes that define a place. Our projects, beyond their formal manifestations, are conditioned by a reaction to these processes. Comparing, for example, the urban processes in Croatia and North Europe, one can see similar phenomena: urban sprawl, the disappearance of industry from city-centres, the dispersed development of the cities, etc. However, the underlying causes of these trends are different. For example, in Croatia, urban sprawl results from the dispersal of programs throughout the fabric (as opposed to quantitative growth) and industry in Croatia is not merely moving to the periphery, but is vanishing completely.Misunderstandings of Croatian speculative projects are the result of misreading circumstances, based on a naive presumption that a change in the political system would bring immediate improvement to the economic situation.For that reason, reading of the circumstances is first and most important part of a reaction. This is especially evident in planning. Sustainability of the concept depends on the balance of existing features and their proper reading.
Work in a Group
WWWebster Dictionary
Main Entry: think tank
Function: noun
Date: 1959
an institute, corporation, or group organised for interdisciplinary
research (as in technological and social problems) -- called also think factoryThe US Space program has played a key role in the definition of a working method for the dynamic environment. Revolutionary was not the 'small step of a man', but the work method that was developed for orientation in an environment where no one had previous experience. The Delphi process, developed in the 1950s by Olaf Helmer and Norman Dalkey, scientists at Rand Corportation, is an iterative, concensus building process for forecasting futures. It has since been deployed as a generic strategy for developing concensus and making group-based decisions in a variety of fields.Success of the space program was also a success of a working method in which it was not necessary to begin with all hypotheses. An increasing number of architectural groups (unlike the 1980s) can be explained by employment of a think tank concept. Besides, group is the only logical working environment in a situation when one deals with increasing number of professions in a project. It is important to structure group communication processes in a way it allows a group of individuals, as a whole, to deal with a complex problem.Group work is at the same time simpler and relieving, provided that one renounces the traditional concept of authorship.
Condense the Solution
One of biggest problems for communication technology is the size of documents. For that reason, major efforts are directed towards compression - reducing the size of a document whilst maintaining it original quality and content. In essence, a compression method isolates data and avoids repetition; it is a process of simplification.Simplification is an important aspect of our working method. We begin by isolating the problem, and attempting to reduce the project to its minimal requirements.Simplification is necessary in order to translate an idea from one language to another. Architecture today acts through three different communication channels:
virtual: the space of media and communication,
legislative: the domain of standards, planning acts and permits,
executive: the space of practical people.Each of these channels has a different language. In order to act efficiently, it is necessary to understand the limitations and specifics of each channel. Today, it is impossible to imagine a project such as Chandigarh, which used the same drawings for the client, to obtain building permit, on the construction site and in an exhibition.The contemporary architectural project must be constrained to its primate idea: if not, its essence can be lost from one channel to another. Reduction is not simple. The difficulty of this translation is evident in attempts to realise conceptual competitions, such as like Europan.In practice, it means that a project cannot be based on an idea that is not visible in all three channels.
Use Existing Element
Icons of the modern tradition, such as megastructures of collective housing, 'landscape' office parks and mono-functional zoned areas, are no longer an answer to present needs; the picturesque flirt of the 1980's with the 'vernacular' even less.An unstable system is continually generating new typologies. Today, forms are derived mostly from neutral systems of communication or transport systems, from residues of theoretical models of the modern movement, and even from the hybridisation of traditional forms. Hybrid office spaces along highways and shopping malls with Cineplex are the products of such a system. These elements are not entirely developed as proper types, but remain 'generic' in form. The design process has been intrinsically changed. One can generate a 'new type' in every project using elements of the context. Our working process consists in finding contextual elements and innovatively assembling them in a final project. This routine resembles 'sample' usage in music, or the 'cut & paste' procedure in graphic design.
Dispose After Use
The progressive development of construction technologies and regulations reduces an individual's control of the whole process. A serious project usually includes a large number of professionals of different profiles. Twenty years ago, it would have been unthinkable in the designing of an office building to collaborate with a professional who calculates the amount of paper and aluminium cans used by the building. This is now our reality.Another circumstance that reduces control over the process is the nature of interventions. Present projects are located in over-built environments, with constantly changing conditions that cannot easily be influenced. Projects themselves are also very dynamic - and their lifespans are forever being shortened. In this situation, a project is rarely controlled from the beginning to the end. On the contrary, it is highly likely that after one completes a phase another architect will take over and quite possibly do something completely new. For that reason, it is necessary to define one's own part of the project, and carry on without sentimentality. An architect has a limited field of production, which is also limited in time: each intervention has a time limit.This is a relief: architecture is finally absolved from the burden of eternity.
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