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IS BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE A NEW STYLE OF DESIGN?

A LETTER TO A YOUNG ARCHITECT

Alexandros N. Tombazis

Meletitiki Alexandros N. Tombazis and Associates Architects Ltd.

27, Monemvasias str., GR-151 25 Polydroso Athens, Greece

meletitiki@hol.gr

ABSTRACT

The paper presents a series of thoughts on what architecture

is all about in the form of a letter from a grandpa

architect to young architects. The letter touches the subjects

of architecture, sustainability and energy efficient design,

learning from tradition, the relation of architecture to the

other arts, the use of technology and mechanical

installations, the holistic approach to design, the elements

of which architecture is composed, the constraints in

architectural design, the notion of less is beautiful and

many more, giving in this way some food for thought for

the younger generations.

1. INTRODUCTION

Dear Friend, dear Colleague,

I do believe that we all agree that architecture and

practicing architecture is one of the most complex

endeavours that one can be involved with, which means

that there are many many facets of it which one must

address. I have, however, today chosen to write to you

about one family of concerns only, which although so

important is unfortunately too often ignored, maybe

because it is less glamorous than some of the other

preoccupations of us architects.

These issues come with many family names which makes

things even more confusing. Thus it started being called

solar architecture and then maybe climatic design,

bioclimatic design, green architecture, energy conscious

design, sustainable design, eco-friendly design, eco-logical

design and so on and so forth. Some of these names I find

too restrictive, some even misleading, although many of

them are useful in conveying some part of the message. The

problem is, I believe, that they sort of try to convince us

that that kind of architecture is something different,

which of course to some extent it is, but in my mind at

least it is not. So please allow me to give no name and

just talk to you about architecture.

2. BODY OF PAPER

I am sure that you choose to devote your life to architecture

because you agree with what Confucius has so wonderfully

said: Look for an occupation that you like, and you will

not need to labour for a single day in your life.

I am also sure that you are not here for the money, because

if you are, the best you can do is to leave quickly before it

is too late.

I do wish however to tell you how I started to be

interested in these matters, because it sort of shows what I

today believe. I started because technology has always

interested me and back in the seventies I thought that solar

was some form of a new kind of (although so old)

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technology. Of course I have come to learn that

technology, although important, is for sure not the driving

force of these matters.

Remember that in Architecture you cannot just pick and

choose what interests or suits you, but you should approachdesign in a holistic way, drawing strength and inspiration

from all the elements of which it is composed, as for

example:

-History/Culture

-Social considerations

-Symbolism

-Function

-Place

-Sustainability/Energy considerations

-Climate

-Laws of physics

-Time

-Cost/Benefit

Remember that, in composition, everything is happening at

the same time, just as the separate components relate to one

another in a jigsaw puzzle.

Remember that in Architecture you cannot simply switch

on or switch off. Every move you make has consequences,

in the same way as do the moves in a game of chess.

Remember that Architecture is all about the synthesis of art

and technique. Luis Barragan wrote something very

beautiful: if there are many equally valid technical

solutions to a problem the one which offers the user a

message of beauty and emotion, that one is architecture.

Throughout your life you will have to learn to live and

work with a split personality.

Remember that technology cannot and should not be a

substitute but rather an important support to rational and

creative thinking. Technical issues should not intimidate

you, otherwise you will always be frightened by them and

they will never be able to serve you.

Remember not to be carried away by new inventions. You

should learn about and make good use of them. However,

never use them as a substitute or as an excuse for forgetting

the basics of what has preceded. Inventions should offer us

an added value and should not take away from what already

exists. Only you and not they can solve each and every

problem.

Remember to think of services and mechanical installations

only as back-up systems to buildings. They should not take

over the building itself. Indeed, they should speak onlywhen spoken to and when asked to speak!

Remember that building, which is what Architecture is all

about, means injuring our planet. So, be gentle, tread lightly,

for we have only one of its kind. Buckminster Fuller called

it Our Spaceship Earth a beautiful metaphor.

Remember that, although we are trained (and paid!) and

strive to build, we should, as far as possible, consider the

debate, paraphrasing Shakespeare, to build, or not to build:

that is the question.

Remember that Architecture should be all about inheriting

from the past and passing on to future generations a better

life and environment than those we started with.

But why should environmental issues be an important part

of our architectural concerns? Is it because we have to save

our planet, is it our obligation, is it because we can save

energy and money in running our buildings? Of course yes,

and for many other reasons too, such as increased comfort,

reduced pollution etc. But for one more and most important

reason, because I believe that there is an inner beauty in

thinking and designing in this manner.

I wish to speak to you about the evolution of the notion that

Less is Beautiful. In the time and works of Mies van der

Rohe it was said that Less is more.

Robert Venturi followed up with Less is a bore.

And E. F. Schumacher with Small is beautiful.

I wish to suggest that Less is beautiful in the sense that

we are concerned and responsible to choose what isnecessary, neither too little nor too much, but just what is

appropriate from every point of view, more than anything

else from the point of view of concept.

Remember the issue of economy of means. It all depends

on your objectives. Act accordingly, always choosing the

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most direct path. Larger, more complex and more costly

does not necessarily mean better very often it is the

opposite.

Remember to make climate your friend and not your enemy.

After all, it is much stronger than you are and can be veryvengeful. Designing with and not against climate is

something much deeper than simply saving energy and

respecting the environment, even though these factors, one

must admit, are important enough on their own.

You who have grown up in the world of your own Personal

Computer, much as I did in the time of handwriting and

hand-drawing, should remember another version of the

initials PC, that of Place and Climate. They always

go hand in hand, and are very much part of Architecture.

Come to understand the importance of place or topos, as we

say in Greek.

Remember to sense and feel the particular qualities and

values of each place. These should get under your skin and

should be your starting-point of design, whether they are to

do with the natural or the man-made environment. Listen

well to all the sounds before you make any decisions.

Consider the real design constraints as the starting blocks

and not the stumbling blocks of design. Since there cannot

be any design that is not the result of constraints, beware of

inventing your own fictitious ones, which would be

irrelevant and meaningless.

Come to learn and respect the basic theory and laws of

physics. They govern Architecture as much as they govern

our lives. Structure, mechanical and electrical installations,

acoustics and many other issues result from them.

It has been said that engineers are that species of animals

that knows more and more about less and less, until

knowing everything about nothing. Conversely, architects

are those animals that come to know less and less aboutmore and more, until they know nothing about everything.

Or, in other words, engineers are specialists, while

architects are generalists.

Remember that buildings are living organisms with

ever-changing needs. They are not the same during daytime

as at night, in summer as in winter. They need to breathe, to

perspire, to take off or put on clothing, to communicate

with their surroundings. They are just as alive as you and I.

The only thing they do not have is a voice to shout back to

their creator how stupid he has been, or legs to run away to

a safe place to protect themselves from where he hascondemned them to suffer.

Remember that foresight prior to the event, instead of

heavy doses of medicine when perhaps it is already too late,

makes both more sense and beauty. We too often rely on the

services engineers to act as surgeons, putting right all the

stupid mistakes that we have made in the first place. I find

that both a pity and a waste of their and our capabilities.

Remember that in Architecture you must know when to

stop, in the same way as a barber must, otherwise ...

Remember not to be seduced only by form at the expense

of everything else. Although form is the reason for being of

Architecture, it cannot be devoid of content, because then

one could speak about a dictatorship of form.

I recently read a saying which I found beautiful and very

much to the point. Form swallows function. I believe that

this goes much further than just the issue of function.

It really means that form has to be the result of many, very

many considerations and cannot only be a result of

aesthetics and our own egotism.

Remember that, contrary to what too often is the case, it is

very important that we architects approach our work with a

good dose of humility and a smaller dose of vanity and

egotism. Although it is understandable that artists have

some degree of egotism, without which they could not be

creators, we should remember that we architects do not

create only for ourselves. Remember that to the different

-isms that already exist in Art and Architecture and

already there exist enough you need not add one more of

your own, your own egotism.

We too often know theprice but not the value of the things

we deal with.

Remember, too, that in Architecture, there is usually more

than one solution. And more than one way of getting there.

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Learn that one can design from the inside out, which we

usually do, in which case the outside is the negative,

left-over space. But one can also design from the outside

inwards, in which case the inside, the building itself, can

be seen as the left-over space. This way of thinking is

sometimes a great help, giving you a new and creativeway of perceiving space. After all, what are the

elevations of buildings that surround a square? Are they

elevations of the buildings themselves, or elevations of

the square?

Remember that the beautiful interface of transitional spaces

has also to do, amongst other things, with time, and has a

lot to offer Architecture. One cannot always move directly

from white to black, light to dark, from inside to outside.

Intermediary shades are very often of the utmost

importance, from both the functional and the bioclimatic

point of view.

Remember that, usually, where there exist unlimited means,

very often there exist limited brains, and conversely, where

there exist limited means, there exist unlimited brains. It is

up to you to make your choice and act accordingly. Do not

complain if others have more at their disposal than you

have: make up for the lack by contributing ingenuity and

creativity.

Remember to understand the value and significance of

scale. In Architecture, scale defines nearly everything: it is

far more than just multiplying any given quantity n times.

Each scale has its own identity, needs and problems.

Remember that, although Architecture is in essence

sculpture, it is also much more.

Architecture is sculpture plus function, and then it is

sculpture plus function plus climate. I believe that only

when it incorporates these three elements, can we truly

say that it is Architecture. This is because, in principle,

sculpture can exist without serving a function, while

Architecture always incorporates the notion of function.Within certain limits one can move sculpture from place

to place, but if you do so in the realm of Architecture, it

will be a different object because of differences in

climate.

Remember that, in addition to the visible, there are many

hidden dimensions in Architecture. Make use of them.

Learn to feel, hear, smell and taste just as much as you see

with your eyes. Time, air and many other aspects are all

hidden dimensions to be understood and made use of in

architectural design. In fact it is a very good exercise if,

during the course of your design, you step back and take amoment to reflect on how your design relates to each

hidden dimension separately, and, of course, at the same

time, to all of them together, because that is how it works in

reality.

Remember that apertures, openings, solids and voids are

the language of which Architecture is made. They are not

merely elements of decoration or fashion, but elements of

such significance that, without them, Architecture cannot

exist. Think of them and use them as tools, in the same way

as does every craftsman.

Remember that balance and proportions are just as

important, maybe even more so, than quantity. Balance is a

matter of refinement and satisfaction; it is often critical to

the successful creation or ruin of your design.

Remember that in Architecture sound, shape and volume

are inseparable elements. It is easy to perceive shape or

volume, but sound is more difficult to define. They are,

however, siblings, created by the same parents. We

architects should speak about the shape of sound.

Remember that light is the soul of Architecture. Use it to

mould space from both inside and out. Hundreds of

quotations by famous architects exist glorifying the

importance of light. I consider light as the true poetry of

Architecture and ones preoccupation with it, a true love

affair.

Remember that the skin of buildings should function in just

as beautiful and rich a way as the skins of plants, animals

or human beings. We have to think of it in this way, a much

more profound way than just skin deep.

Remember that each material has its own properties and

requirements. Apart from practicalities, they serve so many

other important functions, too. Just as with human beings,

they must be able to coexist and work together.

Think of surfaces and textures as elements of a much

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higher importance and value than mere decoration.

Smoothness, roughness, reflectivity, absorption, hue, etc.,

apart from aesthetics, are of high psychological and

environmental importance. They are the inseparable

partners of light and sound.

And one more thing: remember to act like a giraffe. Keep

your feet sturdily on the ground, your head, brains and

vision high in the air, and your heart somewhere in between.

You will need these three precepts all your life.