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CONCRETE – Surface Tectonics

(Submitted for the elective by Sabastiano Brandolini)

Neha P Korde |M.Arch. (Theory and Design) | TD 0909 | 2009-11 | CEPT university, Ahmedabad
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INTRODUCTION

Understanding the term “tectonic/s”

The dictionary meaning of the word “tectonic/s” is as follows,

 tectonic as adj. 1 of building or construction 2 of the

deformation and subsequent changes of the earth‟s crust.
 tectonics as n.pl. (used as singular) study of earth‟s large-scale
structural features
 architectonics as adj. 1of architecture. 2. of the systematization
of knowledge

On other hand, we can see architectural definition as,

 tectonics as 1 the art of building. 2 a pictorial composition

which takes into accounts the structural qualities of line and
surface
 architectonics as having the spatial qualities, properties and
language special to architecture1

ETYMOLOGY

The term tectonic, originally from Greek, derives from the word tekton
signifying carpenter or builder. It is being taken from the Sanskrit root –
taksan, referring to the craft of carpentry and to use the axe. In 5 th
century BCE this meaning went further evolution from something specific
and physical to a more generic notion of making. The role of tekton
eventually leads to the emergence of the master builder or architekton.2

In the early 19th century BCE, neoclassicism brought the concern for a
better understanding of Greek Architecture; the concept of tectonics was
discussed to greater depth and precision of meaning. This has been
remarked on by Adolf Heinrich Borbein, in his 1982 philological study.
„Tectonics becomes the art of joining.‟ Art is here is understood as
encompassing “technique” and the tectonic tends towards the
construction or to which its usefulness has been achieved. In this, it
invites judgement over art production and simultaneously indicates the
point of departure for the expanded clarification and application of idea

1
Davies, Nikolas. Jokiniemi, Erkki. Dictionary of Architecture and Building
Construction.Architectural Press,2008.
2
LeleMeeta, Tectonic Form (Expression of construction), unpublished thesis done in B.Arch. from
CEPT University, 2002
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in 19th century art history. As soon as an aesthetic perspective – and not

a goal utility – defines the work and production of a tekton, then the
analysis consigns the term tectonic to an aesthetic judgement.

One can trace through the history the lineage from the seventeenth
century retranslation of Vitruvius by Claude Perrault, in which Perrault
rejects Renaissance ideals in favour of universal, Cartesian cultural
values. This had a strong influence on French architectural thinking.
Perrault‟s contention was that style belongs to the realm of arbitrary
beauty, whereas symmetry, richness of materials and precision of
execution are the only indisputable constituents of a positive and
universal form of beauty.

The rise of tectonics can be traced from France, England to German Enlightenment period of 1750-
1870, so heavily in thrall to antique Greek culture; this provided a model for the emergent nationalist
spirit finding expression in German arts.3

Gottfried Semper was to endow the term with similar connotations in his
categorical break with the Vitruvian paradigm. Semper announced this rupture
with the publication of his Four Elements of Architecture in 1852, wherein a new
ethnographic theory of culture divides the primitive hut into four basic elements;
1. Earthwork, 2. Hearth, 3. Framework/Roof 4, A light-weight enclosing
membrane

Semper went on to classify the process of building into two basic procedures;
into the tectonics of the frame, in which light-weight, linear components are
assembled so as to embody a spatial matrix and the stereotomics 4 of the
earthwork, formed out of the repetitious stacking of heavy-weight units. As also
we can see in the introduction of the book – The Space in Architecture – by Elias
Cornell (distinguished Swedish architectural historian) that the distinction
between in architecture central aspects tectonics and stereotomics. Architecture
is tectonic in the external appearance, in its construction; it is stereotomic in the
spaces5.

3
Beck Haig, Cooper Jackie,Reviewing Kenneth Frampton- Studies in Tectonic Culture,(UME-5,1997)
4
That this stereotomic nature implies a load-bearing masonry of some kind is indicated by the
etymology of stereotomic, breaking down into stereo: stone and tomic: cutting. This
tectonic/stereotomic distinction was reinforced in German by the fact that the language
differentiates between two classes of wall, between Die Wand, indicating a screen-like woven
fabric and Die Mauer signifying a massive fortification
5
Nilsson Fredrik, New Technology, New Tectonics? – On Architectural And Structural Expressions
With Digital Tools, (Tectonics- making meaning), Chalmers University of Technology
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Christian Norberg-Schulz explains: „Since remote times architecture has helped

man in making his existence meaningful. With the aid of architecture he has
gained a foothold in space and time. Architecture is therefore concerned with
something more than practical needs and economy. It is concerned with
existential meanings.‟

The idea that architecture can make human existence meaningful resonates with
us. For architecture to be existentially meaningful, we consider that it must
express its place and time in various ways: through being responsive to climate
and topography; being sensitive to the typologies familiar to the people of a
place; using the building materials and construction techniques of a place.

By existential meanings we are referring to the tiny revelations of the fact, or

purpose, of one‟s own existence (and mortality), or to the heightened
appreciation of connectedness, or indeed isolation too perhaps, that we at times
derive from experiences associated with nature, art, literature, theatre, religion,
music and also architecture. These perceptions don‟t need to be epiphanies.
They are most often simple experiential moments of unconscious awareness and
understanding. (Haig Beck, 2011)

Tectonics means in Cornell‟s definition - “clearly built with constructive or

building elements and parts, either they are necessary or only figurative”.
Stereotomics means suspended, embracing or hollowed. The tectonics and
strereotomic are seldom undiluted, but are often found together.

The Swedish philosopher Sven Olov delineates the history of the concept of
tectonics from i.e. Heinrich Hubsch, Friedrich Schinkel, Karl Bottischer, Gottfried
Semper, August Schmarscow to Frirtz Neumeyer and Kenneth Frampton6.
Frampton studies the constructive and structural ways architectural spaces
necessarily are created by, but it is not only about insights in constructive
technology but about its expressive potential. He emphasises the built first and
foremost is a construction that later becomes an abstract discourse on surfaces,
volumes and planes. He makes with reference to Semper's distinction between
symbolic and technical aspects of building, an interesting distinction between the
representational and ontological aspects of tectonic form. Also there is a very
strong argument that our built environment is produced in an interplay of three
aspects - typos, place'. typos, building type; and the tectonic. The tectonic is
according to Frampton the aspect best suited to counter present tendencies to

6
ibid
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legitimize architecture in discourses outside its; own discipline 7. Still, the

interpretations done by all these, they all start from the sense of a “loss of place
but the conclusions they draw are radically different.

In last decades, tectonics was to some extent formulated as a defensive concept

in relation to the machine age as the philosophy of it has also being used as a
instrument for critique of the modern technology.

The structural engineer Dan Angstorm has argued that tectonics has been a
fashionable word among architects but the concept has been used indistinctly.''
Teutonic architecture manifests and elucidates the constructive function of a
building as a support for a spatial idea. It creates constructive readability.''
(Angstrom 2004) Tectonic architecture makes parables to other constructions
and alludes to values outside a scientific conceptual sphere. Tectonic
architecture makes use of techniques (bearing structure, elements and details) to
create experiences and associations. The construction is here part of the
building's idea content, a part of the manifestation of the intentions of the
architecture.8

The concept of tectonics refers according to Anne Beim in her tectonic visions in
architecture to meaning of construction in architecture and ''tectonic vision'' is
defined as: divisional investigations into new materials technologies structures
and practices of construction as means to construct (new) meaning in
architecture's (Beim 2004) Beim states that tectonics today mostly is used to
describe aesthetic issues materiality and the intentions behind constructive
solutions which means interpretations of technology and construction beyond
mere instrumental definitions Building technology and construction practice can
become a matter of signification - tectonics - but only when handled consciously
and intentionally.9

7
ibid
8
ibid
9
ibid
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UNDERSTADING OF STRUCTURE AND CONNECTING IT TO THE TECTONICS

Since the emergence of new technologies, there has been always an overlap
between the technology and it‟s experimentation in our field of architecture
which can be seen through history from a simple building typology – a
primitive hut to a modern house. Building construction today is a significant
part of manufacturing culture and a measure of its mastery of natural forces,
in that it is closely linked with technology. The process of making and the
ultimate piece of creation, static or changing, are the actual & tangible
realities of architecture.10This process is being described as the – technique -
which is limited to the field design of architecture with respect to this
research.

Pompidou Centre, Paris

The concept of structure contributes to the „coming into being‟ of a building

with other two major aspects - construction and form. It operates at all levels
– from the growth of a town to the organisation of spaces in a building to the
pattern of laying tiles on a floor. Whereas construction involves processes,
the mode of making, individual as well as collective, material and their
properties, functional as well as aesthetic and joining of parts. With the
making of place we enter the domain of architecture.11

FORM AND SPACE

The characteristic that distinguishes a work of architecture from all other

man-made structure is the communication of experiences and ideas through
its aesthetics. Here we encounter the notion of expression. Thinking of as a
form of expression, one can think of expression as having two components,

10,
LeleMeeta, Tectonic Form (Expression of construction), unpublished thesis done in B.Arch.
from CEPT University, 2002
11
, Beck Haig, Cooper Jackie,Reviewing Kenneth Frampton- Studies in Tectonic Culture,(UME-
5,1997)
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substance - contributing to the process of making a building and its ultimate

form. Substance in the process is the “subject matter” that has to be
conveyed, it can be specific meanings and interpretations deriving from the
context, the functions and the techniques to build. These specific and
concrete meanings comprise the substance, which finds manifestation in the
form. Form is thus the abstract expression of qualities we experience of a
space.

The experience of being within or around a space also goes parallel with the
feel of how it has been built consciously or unconsciously depending on the
built environment one is in. But that feel remains in one‟s subconscious mind
and also become unimportant unless and until this process of – what has
been built and how it has been built - is being portrayed by means of design
elements which can also be the structural elements in the language of
design. And this can be referred to as the concept of tectonics. One of these
elements – material - is being overlooked to have a different notion towards
the concept of tectonics through its visual and tactile qualities.

MATERIAL: AN AESTHETICAL REVELATION

In Studies in tectonic culture, Kenneth Frampton has demonstrated through

two centuries of material, how architecture is grounded in a tectonic logic that
produces its own aesthetic appeal, irrespective of style or time. 12 Here we
come across the another perspective – material – as a medium contributing
the look – aesthetics - to a building through its inherent qualities such as it
strength of bearing load, adaptability with other material to merge or to
emphasize, adaptability to sustain with the climatic context, availability at the
site locations and off course the arrival of new technologies for its application,
simultaneously. Any material can be seen as a physical entity whereas the
aesthetic measures include scale, proportion and other virtual phenomena
which deal with the individual appreciation of the beauty of the space through
our experience.

12
Beck Haig, Cooper Jackie,Reviewing Kenneth Frampton- Studies in Tectonic Culture,(UME-
5,1997)
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CONCRETE – A different perspective through its tectonics

The attention which has been taken in account by concrete is enormous in

and from the fifteenth century till the date. We can see a number of architects
practicing with concrete handle it as a primary tool to give a shape to their
ideas, which has two opposite characteristics at a same time - one is a very
raw and subtle look and second is a finished one which can make an identity
of the built space. At a first glance one can feel these qualities of concrete - as
a material and even as a structural element too.

When we perceive any space with respect to the use of material in it, we see
and experience primarily its (material) tactile qualities rather than its
substantial qualities; unless and until the outer expression outer the material is
the same as its ingredients. In this manner, one can define two physical
characteristics of a material i.e. Outer skin of the material and secondly the
ingredients it is made of. Outer skin of a material we can put under the
surface of the entity which we feel visually or by touching and experiencing it!

As we are indulging into the materiality of a material, the basic use of it to

construct and then after to give a unique character to the built space created.
Today, with the help of technology, we have found a solution for an instant
surface experience by the technique of cladding. It gives the visual effect of
any desired material without disturbing the basic materials used in
construction but at the same time it restrict the efficiency of the original
material and also exploring it to its extent. Therefore the stress will be given to
exposed concrete more than its structural qualities and strength.

EXPOSED CONCRETE

Basically, we distinguish between two types of exposed concrete depending on whether the
outermost, thin layer of cement directly adjacent to the surface of the formwork is retained
or removed. We can see various types of surfaces we get though the technique of
formwork being adapted in the image below and which can be broadly divided into two,

- Cement “skin” retained

The pattern of the formwork and the formwork ties determine the appearance.
Joints in the formwork can be dealt with in various ways – from the simple
“butt joint” to the “open joint” to covering the joints with various strips and
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tapes. The holes created by formwork ties are filled with concrete
subsequently, left open or plugged.13

- Cement “skin” removed

The outermost, thin layer of cement can be modified or completely removed

by using various manual or technical treatments. The cement “skin”, the
surface layer, is worked or treated to reveal the aggregate.

Few observations have been taken as a database to minimise the technical aspect of
looking at Concrete as a material from the book by Andrea Deplazes – Constructing
Architecture – Materials, Processes, Structures as follows,

1. Despite the fact that exposed concrete is designed and developed

according to rational and technical arguments, seemingly irrational
construction processes flourish.

2. Exposed concrete represents the outcome of various transformation

processes and metamorphoses that have left their mark (a kind of “memory”
of or former states).

13
Deplazes Andrea, Constructing Architecture – Materials, Processes, Structures, Berhauser
2005, Pg. 66
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3. A precarious congruency exists between outer form and “inner life”. The
thin surface layer of exposed concrete seldom plays the role of the
iconographic mediator.

4. The quality of the concrete surface characterises the building as a whole

within its architectural theme. It tends towards either the archaic or the
abstract.

5. Form is defined as the pre-effected synthesis of various influencing factors,

with technological immanence rarely correlating with cultural permanence.

6. The concrete form is relative to the internal flow of forces. This flow is
interpreted either as a system in equilibrium based on constructional and
spiritual factors, or as a stress model with foundations in natural science and
reality.

7. Every kind of concrete shows a face.

All the observations say how the concrete gives a definition to a built environment in several
different ways mainly through its visual qualities externally with respect to its colour - grey,
texture – rough or smooth, predefined marks of formworks, scale of the surface, form etc.

Generally, naturally obtaining grey colour gives it the flexibility to blend with any other
material and its colour like brick – red, wood – ochre to brown, steel – silver, stone – grey
to black or glass – transparent. And even blending the built mass with the landscapes
becomes very easy to digest as it gives a very rough feel and strength as an entity.

Through the example of New Campus at IIM, we can see the blending of concrete with
other materials experimented through its design and different qualities as described above.

IIM Campus, Main Entrance

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Blending of different materials and landscapes

Material in a built space

Punctures in the concrete slab and different patterns made out of it