Frame and Generic

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I
BERNARD LEUPEN
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\ study into the changeable dwelling •

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proceeding from the permanent
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010
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Fra me and generic space
!11111 1~ II ~I II ~I
T4 11 - CQL - BEOX
II
Bernard Leupen
Frame and generic space
010 Publishers. Rotterdam 2006
Conlendo su to a deeechos oe autor

Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de autor
Con tents
Foreword 7
In trod uctio n 9
1 The issue s involved

:\ house from 1810 14
A ho use from the post-war reconstruction era 16
Determ in ism or cha ngeability 17

Dwelling and the perma nent 19
Co nclusion 1 0
2 Method o lo gy
Frame 22
From element to layer 26

Five layers 31
Fram e and d iscon nection )1
Five layers. five frames 34

Co nclusio n 43
3 The relat ed d eve lo pment o f structure . s ki n and scene ry

Disconnecting two she lls o f a sing le do me 47
The developmen t o f the scenery into a self-sufficient layer 50
Structure plus skin equals fra me 53
The skin gains its independence 56
The steel skeleto n beco m es a fram e 62
Th ree layers on equal foo tin g 68
St ructure and scene ry 72
Structure and skin 76
Interplay o f structu re, ski n and scen ery 85
Skin and scenery 95
Co nclusio n lOO
4 The develo p ment of services a nd acce ss

Fro m fl ues to servan t zones 106
Pipes and cables as liberators 109

An appliance as fram e 111
Servan t spaces 112
T he access gains independence 121

Vertical access 126
Contendo su 10 a derecnos o, auter

Ho rizontal access 133
Practalizat ion of layers 14 6
Co nclus io n 14 6
S The frame and the changeable dwell in g

T he specifics of housing I SO
Big projects. big assemblies as frame 151

Frame and support 1(\1
Compart me ntalization and base bu ilding 16;

Service runs as stepping-off po int for the frame 175
Dwelling design and scenery 185
Co ncl usio n 197
6 Comb inat ions and d eli berat ions

Co mbinations 200
Series of co mbina tions 20 1

Deliberations when designing 216
Fra me and tech nique 22(1
Conclusion 221
Ge neral conclusion 22 2
Epilogue 2 26
Ind ex 2) 1
Sum mary 235
Bibliography 24.\
No tes 249
Credits 2 S6
Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de auter

Fo rewo rd
The phe nomenon of disconnection and the notion of creating freedom are
themes that have fa scin ated me fo r ma ny years. I even mad e them the subjec t
of designs I subm itted to two competitions. STAWON (1983) and Oosterdo k
( 1984). ln 1996 1 decided to turn my fascination into a Ph Dthesis. A co nference
held that yea r at Delft o n ' Doc to rates in Design and Arch itect ure' pro mpted
me to write my fi rst d raft. Max Rlsselada proved a stimulating thesis supe r·
visor with his vast knowledge of archi tecture. As my day-to-da y supervisor he
co uld always be reached, even when I was on holiday in Brazil. In 1987 I had
a sked w iebe Bijker to go through the manuscript of my book on the f l-plci n
residential qua rte r in Amsterdam. not knowing that he was an experienced. cdi-
tor. It was he who taught me how to go about writing a book. His many critical
and methodological co mments were an inspiratio n to me when engaged o n this
thesis. And now. two printers. o ne com puter and one scanner later, the book it-
self is ready. It would never have achieved its presen t form without the co un t-
less opinio ns and co m ments from many colleagues. friends and acquaintances.
First. there a re the many discussions I had with architects wh ose wo rk has
contributed. in some way to the thinki ng on cha ngeability. I engaged in animated
co nversations with Herman Hertzberger on freedom and polyvalence:'. with
Ruth Visser o n the poten tial freedorns offered by the tunnel structure and with
Sjirk Haaksma o n the Casco project. Liesbeth van der Pol shared with m e her
enthusiasm fo r fl exibility; I spo ke with Margreet Duinker and Paul Salo mon s
abo ut the freedoms in the ir housing schemes and with Paul de Vroom and Eva
Huiigen about the double floo r in their project on Oostelijke Handelskade in
Amsterdam .
Mikel van Geld eren and I exchanged ideas at length about the frame con -
cept a nd the reu se of old industrial build ings, d rawing o n his expe rience as an
ex-sq ua tter activist. Ho rtence Herema drew my attention to the wo rk of Ber-
nard Cache. A particu lar exp ressio n of thanks must go to the offi ce of Aldo
and Hannie van Eyck for giving me the o ppo rtunity to co nsult their archive on
the Orphanage. I have had instructive co nversatio ns with Io hn Carp and Ype
Couperus abo ut the rise and fall of SA R and about O HO M . Frank Bijdendijk, the
di recto r of Het Oosren housing corpo ra tio n. and I had illum inat ing talks o n
the subjects of flexibility and sustainab ility. J d iscussed . among o ther things.
the permanence of the co nc rete frames of Zonnestraal with Hubert Ian Henket
and fan Molema and exchanged views many times with Henk Mihl on the sub -
jects of Schinkcl, Semper. the tecto nics of the skin and representatio n.
Ruben Srnudde made the analytical drawings for me. analyses that became
inc reasingly accurate during the co urse of our many talks at the Star studio. Chris
Smeenk was a tremendous hel p in checki ng th e accuracy of the bibliography. II I

, .... ... ( ... 0 C I " ( . ' C l • .o. C (
The hook as a whole wou ld never have ach ieved its p resen t precision wit ho u t
the u nti ring rem arks of criticism and enco u ragem ent from lantc l.cu pcn and
Pricdje w itzcnhausen.
T he n there are the ma ny colle agu es, friends and acq ua inta nces WhH u po n
enq uiring aft er my well-being were in variably regaled with an acco u n t of the
fra me conce pt. It is thanks 10 these b rief exchanges at the coffee maker, on a
su n -d renc hed terrace or J uri ng a recept io n that I was able tu fi ne- tu nc 1Tl )'
ideas.
Lastly, I would like to thank th o se who too k pari in the stud io fur generic d wel-
ling m odels in the academic yC'1f 2000 - 2001 . Th is stim ulating experiment, which
explo red the fra m e concept, would no t have had such inspiring results wit ho ut
the in p ut of I he visiting professors l .i csbctb Brink, Alcx Brouwcr, Nyn kc loos-
t ra, Steve Reid. Lara Sch rljve r and Jaw van het Spij ker. The inven tive designs
of the studen ts d id the rest.
[I [
Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de auter

Introduction
The average lifespan for a dwelling lies somewhere aro u nd 10 0 years - a length
of ti me too daunting for even th e most enthusiastic futurologist. I House
designers are faced with the task of giving form to the en closure that, for those
100 or so years, is to provide shelter for dwelling. an act ivity that is co nt inually
subject to cha nge. Many m utat ions in house hold make-up and the assoc iated
spatial rituals occ ur in th e co urse of time.'
Flexibility an d chan geability are the keywords when faced with the unpre-
d ictable. Flexibility beca me a theme in Western arch itecture when architects
embraced mass housing at the onse t of the l oth century. It was th e issues sur-
ro unding the ' m ini mum dwelling' that initially stim ulated the th inking on
fl exibility in th e 1920S and '30s. The aim here was to make the most effi cient
use of space. Sliding doors and foldaway beds enabled homes to have different
a rrange men ts for day a nd night use. In the Netherlands Mart Stam and
Iohannes va n den Broek were amongst those who designed dwellings proceed-
ing from these idcas.s O ther architect s developed co ncepts for open , tra ns-
form able living spaces. Le Corbusier's plan libre a nd th e 'support' co ncept of
the Founda tion for Arch itectural Resea rch (SAR) a rc key examples.
The 1960s and '70 S bro ught renewed interest in flexibility in th e Nether-
la nds." T his was fi red by th e increasing co mplexity of the housin g market and
the call for bila teral decision -making with futu re occupants when designing
homes. Many studies into fl exibility focused on the changeable, on movable
partitions and variation in the int ernallayout .
This present study takes not th e changeable but the permanen t as its depar-
ture-point. T his, I hope. will o pen up new perspectives. The perman ent, mean -
ing the more d urab le co mpone nt of the ho use, constitutes the frame within
which cha nge can take place.
Although the fram e concept can certainly be applied to urban design , I
shall restrict this investigation to individ ual build ings.
This is in the fi rst place an architectu ral and structural study, based on
research into bu ild ings and designs for buildings. I have in addition readily
drawn fro m architecture-h istorical so urces, yet th e touchstone for an under-
standing of how the frame works ultimately lies in the building itself. My
assu mption is that much knowledge of a rch itecture, and the workings o f
build ings in particular. is stored in buildings and designs.
These case stu d ies do not. however, read like a text; rath er they contain
many kinds of in formation . To get at this information I have devised a ' kit' of
analytical tools whose stepping-o ff point is an exploded viewshowing th e parts
relevant to ou r analysis of the design. After the process of d issect ion I d iscuss
the rel ationship between those part s an d the way they work. '01

My research in to the porentials of the fra me concept has lent th is book the fol-
lowing structu re. It begins hy ela borat ing UIl the issues involved. Ta king the
domest ic histo ry o f two q uite d ifferent d wellings. I d escribe in chap te r one
how u n predic table life fo r a lon ger period of time in a dwelling can be, and
how a dwelling ca n facili tate o r indeed hamper the man y changes inhabitatio n
can go through.
In chap ter two I p res ent the cat ego ries required fu r mr analyvis. drawin g 0 11
stud ies o f the literature. These ca tego ries art' structure. skin, scenery, JCU 'ss
and services. This chapter also in trod uces a nd expa nds u po n the co ncepts o f
frame and gener ic space. I lake generic space to denote the space d efi ned by
the fra me in wh ich cha nge can occur. Each o f the fi ve ana lytical categories « m,
in principle, co nstitu te a frame. This chapter concludes with five exam ples o f
such fra mes.
In cha pters three and fo u r I expand furth er o n the co ncepts o f fra me a nd
generic space and o ther allied co ncep ts. In chapte r th ree this ta kes the fo rm o f
a descript io n o f the evolution of structu re, ski n and scene ry in to au to no mo us
layers. In chapter four I trace the development of the two remainin g layers,
se rvices and access, alo ng the road to ind ependence.
Cha p ter fi ve focuses o n ho using an d explores the o uter limi ts o f fl exible
d .....elli ng. The projects are exam ined fo r signs o f a frame an d, if present , how
the frame works. In this cha pter the frame concept for ho using is flcshcd nul
fu rther and ap plied using the ideas o n changeab ility and fl exibility developed
by others.
In the fi nal chapter I explore the frame concept in term s o f its applicabilit y
to design ing dwellings. The met hodology I use 10 this end p roceed s from .\2
possible com binatio ns for a frame. O u t o f these 32 combinat ions I have assem-
bled a nu mber o f so -called comb inat ion series. In o ne such series. fo r exam ple.
the frame is d efined o n the basis o f a structu ral wall. I d istinguish fo ur series in
all, in eac h case exam ining ever), possible combi nat io n. none bei ng ruled ou t
befo rehand . Even combinations that wo uld seem fa irly po intless in view of the
cu rren t sta te of b uilding tech nology haw been d escribed to com plete the tra in
of thought and because o f thei r possible relevance in the fu ture.
I have chosen to end the hook with an ep ilogu e whic h describes in a mo re
lyrical vein how an architect co uld use the fra me co ncep t to design a d well in g.
I have d eliberately refra in ed from illustrating m y narrative. I ca n imagi ne that
an yone reading th is final passage will have thei r own images to d raw upon .
Had I decid ed to illus trate it, m y images wou ld have acted as icons in supp ress-
ing the reader's own imag ina tio n. m uch like seeing the film aft er having read
the book .
Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

T his study can be placed in the successio n o f studies do ne into changeabilit y as
conducted by the Fo undation for Archi tectural Research (SAR) and others.
T he method o f design analysis used in this stu dy builds upo n metbods devel-
oped at the l'acul t ~· u t' Archi tecture at Vdft Universit y of 'lechnolog v, I am
referring in pa rti cular to xt ax Risselada's analyses of the ....ork o f le' Corbusier
an d I.o os· and to the series of 'architectural stud ies' of new buildin gs con-
ducred by Lccn van Duin during the 1911os,7 Alongside Ihe'SC, Rein Ce unsen,
Sybrand Tjalllngii and the present author compiled in 1983 a manual on how
to cond uct architect u ral and struct ural anaJy~.·
Conlendo su eto a derechos de autor
The issues involved 1
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Two d wellin gs. will scrvc to gil'l~ an ini ' ial sketch of the is-sun involved. The
firs' cxc ra plitics the old tr adition o f Dutc h architecture and the ,,-x.>II.lth.·
pe riod of recons truction in the wake of the Seco nd world war.
A house from 182 0
T he fi rst of o ur two examples was bu ilt III abo ut 11110 ( lip 1 and 2). Ih con-
struc tion is sim ple; two brick boundary walls with a centre-to-cen tre dis ta nce
of of metre; so pport rhe lim b.·r beam 'lours of th.. fou r ' I u rey~ , T ho ulth nu t a
broad measu rement. this dis ta nce has sufficed for centu ries. T he hou se i~
e nclosed at the fro nt a nd back b~' brick facades set 10 me tres apart. l\o, h f,,,,,d.'S
have sash wind..ws, 111e floor area' of 311 m ' each arc re,•chcd from ,I sl,'cl' vcu -
Iral circular stair. Vario us a uthors sec in this a D utch shipbuilder's touch." T he
ho use has a tiled rtI,A supported hy a rched trusses o f a rvpe dnl)(n r <l hr
Ph ilibc n 1-'<' t.O nnc. T his construct ion. too, h,l' its o rigins in sh lpbuilding.
T he hou se was built simulta neo us ly with rhe adicining ho use to its right.
The two were o rigin ally inha bited hy the owner of a brewery a nd hi~ .k puty
man age r. The o wner's ho use. the one adjoining our example, o riginallj- had
the sa me l100r plan bur in mirror im age. Togethe r.th e fro nt facade' o f Ihe two
ho uses presen t a svmrnct ncal composi tion crowned with J co rnice. T heir
frontage be tra ys no thin g of rh.. diffe rences betw•-e n the two. 'ierrhc righl-ha ndde la
Descripción
exam ple. the owner's ho use, is o ne m etre deeper. casa
Ll Il I.· is known " f the tirst IUn f.·aTS of th e house's exis tence. Th.' .i<'r uly
m an ager's fam ily live-d o n the raised m ain fl oo r. T heir hou se WJS e ntered atth e
fro nt thro ugh a wide doorway. as wide as the win do ws. Next tu rh.. j -rnetre-
lall cntra nc.. is J sm all room. T he kitchen w a ~ al the rea r. The ",x·.,nd ,'<or.·y
had spac.. for two bedroo m s, anti und er the roof was a part itio ned -off room
whic h in all probability was .... here the maid slept.
Ano ther middle -class fam ily un doc btcdlv oc cu pied th.. hour... after rh..
d..putv manager's filmily, and then anothe r a nd rhen ano ther. . . Duri ng that
li me there had been little change in rh.. house's intern al arr ange me nt. Th e
arrival (If th e electric light and the installation of an indoor water d ose. w..re
amo ng the highlights of the house's histo ry up un til rhc 1940S. Noth ing mu ch
changed in ternally d ur ing the war either, save fo r a hole in the internal st n ,,-
IU ral wulllevel wit h the cra wl space. r-:"w bricked in '.gai n. rhis " 1X"ni ng was
there as an ..scare rout.. fo r those in hiding from the occupying forces .
hnm lhe 1'I511S onward s, however, the house W"Ill throu gh its fair sha re of
cha nges (fi g. I) . A ~Hvers m i t h moved in ,,"J made it h i. rld( e of wor k. T he
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alcove on the second floor was co nverted into a shower cubicle and th e house
was extended into the garden on the kitchen side. Th e silversmith set up his
workshop in the small room next to the front door, the latter being made extra
secu re with steel plating.
In the beginning o f the 1960s an actor took over the silversm ith's house. His
friend , a ballet dancer. moved into th e extension at the back. The sanitary facili-
ties were overhauled. A small kitchen and an extra bathroom were added on the
first lloor so that the seco nd floor, after itself acquiring a small kitch en, could
be let separately. The ground fl oor was broken open to house an art gallery.
In 1988 it was all change again. An architect, an artist a nd a child of school
age moved into the house, which by now was in a so rry state. Their first con-
cern was to co nvert the first lloor into a large living room cum kitchen/diner
(fig. J ). Everything was broken away a nd the rcth -century plaster ceiling with
its mot ifs of acanthus leaves resto red to its former glory. Th e extension and
ground -fl oor kitchen were co mbined into a stud io room and part o f the
form er art gallery space was set aside as a darkroom. O n the sleeping level, the
con oa recbos dE uo
El El
4 Ilou!o(" In-m thee third kitchen mad e its exit and a ba th was installed in the ba throom. Wh en
J'l "' - "' ~f mOll '
.., lK1ion "",.iod.

after two years it transpi red tha t the quality of the roof was not up 10 scratch•
PI, n. S....K t': the boarding was replaced and given a layer of insula tion. Openi ng up the roof
Cllou_ rnl ru m
was a good o p portun ity 10 raise it ~I ig h lly to create J spac io us workpla ce fo r
p. M
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S H" ..,,", f....m Il\c, the archi tect wi th room fo r his books.
pt"'-"'" R'C. ... .
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CIlu.,wcrnlrum
A house from the post-war reconstruction era
19S51 p. M
Our second example is a block of tlats hu ilt at the end of the 11) 5U5. Its floor
plans arc efficien tly organized in accordance wit h the la lest insight s into time
and motion and m ini mum ho me needs. C O Il Cn "I C bou nda ry walls su pport
co nc rete tloor slabs. Each flat is d ivided across three bays. The widest bay con -
tains the living room and the master bedroom, sepa ra ted by a part ition that is
pa rt cu pbo ard un its and pa rt glass. The central, narrower hay contain s a chil -
dren's bedroom, the kitc he n and service d ucts. The narrowest ha )' contains th e
sta ir hall, be hi nd which is a room that can belong to o ne or other o f the two
adjacen t fl at s.
T he distance between boundary walls is ba sed on an anal ysis o f the fu nc -
tio ns on hoard: 3.55 metres for the living room an d master bed room, 2.7 metres
for a seco nd large bed room and 1.8 metres for the kitchen , wit h eo cm for the
sin k u nit and 1. 2 me tres for two people to be ab le to pass one an utha (fi g. .- ).
All uni ts a rc reached fro m a com m unal sta irhall. The fl ats arc stacked five
sto reys high (fi g. 5). At the foo t of the building, ha lf-tucked undergro und in
the basement, a re the storage spaces.
The first occu pan ts are young workers' fam ilies from the slu ms across tow n
or elsewhe re, drawn there by the freshness an d o pen ness a nd the green sell ing.
con U Od au or
Toda la actividad
se realiza
T here are th ree g rowing child ren in this pa rticular fa mily. And though it is a (eminentemente en
la mesa del
bit short o n space at times, an d all homewo rk and arguing gets done at the comedor)
d ining table (the bedrooms ( an o nly he go t warm with an oil stove in emergen -
d es), they enjoy living there. It is a time of increasing affluence. Every room
has its own gas stove set up against the o uter wall. T he kitchen is beco m ing
clu ttered with appliances . Wash ing a nd drying machi nes have taken the place
o f people in the bath room. The Lavet - a co m bination o f sit bath , washing
machine a nd wash basin invented by the fi rm of Ocriet - was removed long
ago.
But all attempts to make the balco ny a part o f the house have fo undered o n
the implacability of the housing co rporatio n. In ternal alterations are no help
either, as reinfo rced concrete lu rks almost everyw here behin d the wallpaper.
Occupan ts with mo re mo ney to spend leave, enticed away by spacio us new-
bui ld elsewhere. Their place is taken by occu pan ts unable to permit themselves
tha t lux ury.
Sp urred o n by the will to expa nd their propert y a nd make it cost-effective,
the housing corpo ra tio n has no further in terest in these fl ats, though they are
not yet 40 years o ld . There is little that can be changed anyway, the neighbou r-
ho od is go ing to seed a nd the fi rstlong-term vacancies are a reality.
It is Wed nesday Decem ber mh. a win t ry d ay. He a rr ives home late from his
cleaning job at the local hospital. There o n the mat lies an envelo pe from the
ho using corpo ra tion. In it is an invita tion to a 'd iscussio n evening: Its o pening
wo rds? 'The neighbourhood is to be de mol ished , please come a nd d iscuss the
red evelo pm en t programme with us:
Determinism o r changeability
Now that the tidal wave o f V (S EX housing'? has broken over the Netherl ands.
D utch dwellings not yet 40 years old look likely to be priced o ut o f the ma rket.
Not that these dwellings have ever been o n the poin t o f collaps ing o r exhibit
seri ou s structural sho rtco m ings; the threat of d emoli tio n co mes solely because
they were b uilt to provide post -war acco m modation and fail to satisfy curren t
deman ds on the ho using market."
T he great sho rtage of ho using after the Seco nd Wo rld War set in train a
colossal bu ild ing production against m inimal pro d uction costs. Effic iency and
fi tness fo r pu rpose were the catchwo rds. T he funct io nal analyses develo ped in
the 19305 offered a serviceable instrument with which to ad d ress the enormous
task ahead . /171
Contendo su to a derecnos o, auter

6 V.n Ti,"" .. ud ,
into. CM m InImum
For exam ple, in the Netherlands willcm van Ti jen made studies of the activi -
..........rmrnll f\C'-
(~r, 1" d"Tnf"lK ties that take place in the hom e (fi g. e ). He reco rded home life in terms n f
lifr, !M....( I!': lV......"
mea surements and flow diagrams." In Germany C rete Schu tte-Li hotzky dcvel-
I9\lJ l r· ~'Il
1 lllu>lt.loor> from o ped the Frankfurter Kucb e. a kitchen likewise based on ergo nomic ana lyses.
Fun< li.. nr&r ltll>rl<l '
These stud ies crystallized in the post -war Nethe rl ands in two docu ments:
.r..~n ...n dr
""",in", !M...... 1t: 'fu nctio nal principl es of the ho mc' v (fi g. 7) and the so-called ' Prescriptio ns
U'rorm... 1'110 ) p. I]
and Hints fur Housing'. I .. Th is last-named government law, which had tu he
adhered to by every subsidized dwelling in the Nethe rlands, co nstituted the
brief for reco nstructi on -era housing.
The ergonomic anal yses and part icularly their rend ition in the Prescript ions
and Hints give us a picture of the typical post-war famil y, For a lo ng time these
requ irements were given physical fo rm in many recon struct ion -e ra d wellings
in reinforced co ncrete. The kitchen of o ne such d wellin g ca n he see n in the
previous sectio n (fi g. 4).11 5 dimensions ad he re to the above Prescriptions and
Hints. Wedged between a large serv ice co re and an internal struc tu ral wall of
reinforced co nc rete, there is no way it ca n he altered .
A contradict ion presents itself. The more precisely \\'C arc able to determin e
the req uireme nts a ti!'ofy at its inception, the greate r the cha nce
that a discrep an cy arises bet ween th e dwell ing and its use in the- futu re. Put
an o ther way, the grea ter the precision with whic h a rchitects were able to det er-
mine the measurable aspects of dwellin g and record the m in a design, the
grea ter that design's disregard for the incalculab le and un measurabl e aspects
of dw elling.
The ergo nomic research methods of Van Tijen and many o thers were in-
[II J spired by the time and mot ion study methods of Fredcnck Taylo r." Andlysin g
Cont S oa r
all the act io ns necessary to housekeeping and adding u p the minim um meas-
u re ments resulting from these ana lyses, gave the m inimu m d imensio ns and
su rface a reas for a home.
Analyses like these are worthw hile as lo ng as they relate to those parts of
the house where ergo nom ics a re of great im po rtance. Without th is work we
today would have no efficien t kitchen systems and no well -o rgan ized bat h-
rooms and sta ir land ings. O ne problem . ho wever. is that ergono mic a na lysis
maps just one aspect of domestic life. Its capacities fail to extend to describ ing
the d ynamics of in habita tio n and its rituals in relat io n to do mestic space."
Instead of freedom. ergo nom ic analysis brought determi n ism to the design;
a d eterm inist fu nct ionalism. Regarding this b rand of fun ct io nalism . Her man
Hertzbcrger has said that 'if there was an ything to wh ich these concepts were
not resistant. it was tlme' "
Interestingly. the 18 20 ho use described earlier is still in use even tho ugh it
has no basis in ergo nomics. One can argue that the reconstruction -era fl at was
smaller and was u nlucky in its choice o f surro und ings. But the d ifferences in
usefulness in the lo ng term between these two d wellings can not be ascribed to
this alone. T here arc two other ways in which they d iffer. The house from 18 20
is the result of lo ng experience and trad itio n - a trad ition the mod ern ist archi-
tects of the reco nstructio n period regarded as the very source of the many a il-
menl s a ffl icting rc rh-centu ry mass ho using. They saw a need for a new dwell -
ing type with its ro ots in ligh t, ai r and space. Ergonomic a na lyses seemed a
pre -em inen t mean s of developi ng this new type.
Man y so lutio ns fro m the past were rejected durin g this sea rch for a new
dwell ing type. By break ing in part w ith the exis ting seq uences o f types, the
expe rience stored in them was lost. Every house in o ne such seq uence is a lin k
in an evo lut io nary chain in which step by step. year by year, cen tury by cen tu ry,
the type has adapted to the d ynamics o f life, to the spatial rituals. Such expert-
cnce is at least as im po rtant as the res ults of ergo nomic a na lyses.
Dwelling and th e permanent
If a d welli ng is 10 sta nd the test of time it has to be able to acco m modat e every
imaginable kind of inhabitatio n and use. O ne solu tion lies in enab ling certain
part s to be cha nged. for instance the in ternal layout. To design the changeable
portio n. we need to k now so mething of the expected changes in in ha bita tion .
As most d wellings have an average useful life of about 10 0 years, d esigners are
faced with the impossible task o f pred ict ing ho w their dwellings will be used in [' 91

a d istan t fu ture. Many d esigns based on th e changeable. therefore. arc sol u tions
tu a problem tha t is u nknown at the time and m.IY never even mater ialize.
Now. we could sides tep the cn tire issue hy design ing d well ings ....·il h a short
lifespan. throw-away home.. . o r sem i-perm anent projects that can he d em olished
as soon as they no longer suffice. Two of the m any arg uments ..gain st pursuing
such a st rategy on a large scale. however, are the d rive to du rability and th e
avoidance of ca pital dest ruc tion . l ~
In m y perspect ive. as expla ined in the corn ing chap ters. dwellings able to stand
the test of tim e should proceed from the permanen t. fro m that part o f the
d welling tha t lasts longer. The perma nen t d efi nes the spat't.' fo r change witho ut
passing commen t on that cha nge. This m eans d esign ing for the unknown
instead of p red icting the u n p redictable.
Concl usion
This study is grounded in the supposi tion th..t dwellings have an average life
span o f abou t too years. Ho use d esigners are faced wit h the task ( If giving fo rm
to a shelter fo r dwelling for a per iod duri ng which household make-u p and the
associa ted spatia l rituals can go th rough major. as yel unknow n changes.
In tak ing not the changeable but the endu ring, the permanent. as a departure-
po int. I seck to o pen u p new perspectives. Designing o ut of the permanent
mea ns design ing for the un kn ow n. Th is is not a question of chart ing that un -
known aspect. hut o f d eveloping the permanen t o ut of a part icular perspect ive
on dwelling so as 10 create freedo m fo r the unknown .
[20J
Contendo su 10 a deescnos auter

Methodology 2

T he perm anent in a dwel ling or b u ild in g co mp rises th ose part s o f it t hat ca n
su rvive for generations. th at m ake u p the framewo rk with in which ch ange can
occur.wThis framework I generally p refer to deno te with the wo rd f ml1lt' (l >utch:
kader). Wi thout a fram e there call he 110 q uestio n of ch angeab ility. Freedo m
- and the ability to cha nge is a fo rm o f freedo m - will d est roy itself witho ut J
bou n ded framework . l " In th is chapter I will exp and UpOIl this f rame concept.
The procedu re
In o rder to explore th e permanen t I will first b roach the issue of what the per-
manen t ca n en ta il in a struct ural and architect ural sens e. I will t hen exam ine
how the perman en t can give free do m to change.
T hi s phase o f resea rch gives us the fr ume concept. I shall develop th is CHn -
cep t fu rt he r by analysing a n um ber of case st ud ies . In not lim itin g myself in
t h is p hase to housin g a nd exam in ing a wide array o f gen res, I intend to exclude
few possib il ities.
T he ca se studi es. m ost o f wh ich are fro m th e p ast 2 0 0 yea rs, an: analysed in
te rms o f ho w they fu nct io n , in terms o f th e relationship between t he frame
and the changea b le. f o r t h is I requ ire an ana lytical tool , as t he fra me concept
is fi rst an d forem os t a design conce pt. I shall d evelop t he th eo ret ical u nderp in -
n ing necessa ry to co nstructi ng t h is 1001 in th e foll owing p a g~.
Frame
In d eveloping th e fra m e concep t I haw taken inspi ratio n fru m th e Fren ch
archi tect an d p h ilo so pher Bem ard Cache. In h is boo k E ertb M O\'C$ l l, wh ich is
lavishly illust rated with sketch es and photographs o f h is own furn itu re (fi g. M) ,
Cache co n ten ds t hat arch itectu re is the art o f the frame."
Ca che's book is a classification o f im ages as these rela te In an arch itect u ral
project." To thi s end he d istingu ish es three ca tego ries: j"j1t·( tjeJn, ~'('ft or and
fra me. Cache t hen sets out to ascertain wh ich ab stract p ri ncip le in fo rm s th e
concrete build ings t hat acco m m od ate o u r lives. Pu t anot her way. what is
'arch itect u ral' in a b uild in g? His co n clu sio n is that ' arch itects d esign fra m es: U
In h is book Cach e expan ds on t h is as follows: 'The t h ree abst rac t fu nctions
o f t he frame p resuppose a for m t hat is ind epen den t o f its co n ten t. An in terval
sep arates th e order of ca uses fro m that o f effects. But the m ore a fram e shows
itsel f to be in dependent from its co nte n t o r its fu nction, t he m o re o n e m ust
b ri n g o ut the principles o f its formal auto nomy' :"
In t he fi rst two sen tences Cache con siders together th e forma l a utono my
lu l o f th e frame an d th e in dependence o f its co n ten t, th at wh ich is fra m ed. His
Contendo su to a deescnos auter

statement, rather than setti ng
freedom and detcrmi nacy in
opposi tion. suggests that they
ca n be mutually strengtheni ng.
As I stated at the outset of this
chapter. freedom needs a fra me-
work.
Unlike in Cache's next sen-
tence. however, my co ncern is
not just th e independence of th e
frame but also that of the co n-
tent determ ined by the frame."
In th at sense th e frame for me
fulfil s yet another role: th e
frames frees. The frame frees its co ntent in that it is separated from it; o r, as ""'.... '"
Il6rwt<1 <:«ht.
Cache himself says in th e first sentence of the text quoted above: 'An interval Sour.;c·: W...Kht
199"11P. 69
sepa rates the order of ca uses fro m th at of effects.'
Thus. for example, a non -load -bearing part ition wall ca n be placed at will
th anks to th e presen ce of the structure, the load-beari ng part of th e build ing.
It is not the wall itscl fbut the struct ure th at allows the wall to be freely placed
by relievin g the wall of its load -bearing ca pacity. O r in a more general sense: it
is the un changeable th at creates co nditions for changeabili ty, th e permanent
th at frees th e temporary. This permanent aspect is the frame, and it defines th e
space within which change can occur." O ur co ncern, th en , is space th at can
be bounded architecturally. This boundary is determined by th e materials of
wh ich the frame is made.
Hertzbcrger is another to contend th at the ability to change is by virtue of
the permanent; tha t changes in use can be effected witho ut needing to resort
to structural or architectural measures:
' Flexibility th erefore represents the set of all unsu itable solutions to a prob-
lem . On these gro unds a system which is kept fl exible for th e sake of th e chang-
ing objects th at are to be acco mmodated within that system would indeed
yield th e most neutral solution to specific problems, but never the best. the
most appropriate solution. The only constructive approa ch to a situatio n that
is subject to cha nge is a form th at starts o ut from th is cha ngefulness as a per-
m anent - that is, essentially a static - given facto r: a form wh ich is polyvalent.
In other words, a for m that ca n be pu t to di fferent uses without having to
undergo changes itself. so th at a m inimal fl exibility can still prod uce a n o pt i-
mal solution."
con U Od au or
' .... ... 1 " " 0 C I .. I . ' ( ' . "( 1
In the above quo tatio n Hcr tzbc rgcr stresses above all else that the permanent
- in my ter minology, the frame - onl j- wo rks well if the fl exibility in use i~ a
result o f polyvrl1(·lla ·. Hy polyvalence l tcrtzbcrgcr means the q uality of spaces
that enab les the m to be used in d ifferen t ways without needing to make archi-
tect ural o r .s tructural changes. In his eyes, a b uilt-in ab ility 10 cha nge ca n only
lead to neutrality.
Kinds of changeabili ty
Befo re discussing in greater depth the space det ermined by the frame and in
wh ich change call take place, we need to esta blish which kinds of cha ngcabili t y
ca n be defined. I sha ll limi t myself here to changeability d uring use. N Pricmus,
from th e perspective (If the ho using ma rket. ide n tifies three ma in catego ries (If
ada ptability: adaptability by mov ing house, throu gh alteratio n and through
use. Only the last two are relevant tu m y research.
In the catego ry 'adaptability through alter ation' Priem us d istingu ishes the
following th ree subcatcgo rics: ' the ability to expand o r sh rin k, va riabi lity. an d
fl exibility: By the fi rst Priemu s means the "hility tu aller the ..ize ofa dwelli ng.
Variabili ty he takes to mean the possibility of havin g the dwelling modified by
a n expe rt. Flexibility for him concerns sim ple inte rven tio ns tha t the occu pan ts
themselves can ca rry o ut. In 'ad aptubility through use' Pricmus o nce again dis-
tingu ishes three subcatego rles: ' flexibility of co m pone nts. jn ulrifunction ality,
and po lyvalence:
Flexibil ity of components fo r him pres.u pposes facili ties insid e or uu acbed
to the dwelli ng tha t are able to abso rb a share of the funct io ns of living. The
fu nctions Priem us na mes in clud e cells fo r bathing and washin g and dryin g
clo thes. guest rooms, hobby roo m s and creches. Mult ifunctionality a nd poly-
valence in Pricm us's perspective bo th relate to the possibility of using one
d wellin g in d ifferent ways, With multifuuctionality, the dwellin g ca n be vari-
ously inhabited without need ing to chan ge its internal layout. Priem us reserve..
the- conce-pt of polyvalence to deno te changeability hy mean s of pa rti tio ns and
sliding d oo rs,jU
The d efinitio ns proffered by Ghijsen agree in part with those of Pricm us."
Ghijsen refers to neutrality in regard to spa ces where the furnit ure ca n be
arran ged in more than o ne way: and. like Priem us, to polyvalence where th e
relat io nship between two spaces ca n be changed using slidin g part itions or
doors. In that sense G hijsen and Pricrn us differ from Hcn zbcrgcr, In the tl'xt
o n polyvalence q uoted abo ve Hertzbergcr d efines that co ncep t as the ability
10 change use without the need fo r sliding d oo rs or walk " Van El sdonk and
Fassbin de r fo r thei r part use the term 'spa tial fl exibility for ad aptabilit y

9 mu.ooilln fo,
tbe 1\C'.-dqIl<lf1c'U of
through alteration and 'functional llexibility' for adaptabi lity through use." Unn-nwl ~udic>o,
Here too we may speak of parallel co ncepts. 1 ~. An~
OU",-.m.nd ,..,no·
To avoid getting bogged down in unclearly bounded concepts I have decid - mrtric. 50,,«:11"
ed to use the term polyvalence to describe all forms of adaptability through (Wood JoOl l pp. 4~
..nd fl l
use. In add ition. I use th e term alterability (o r the alterable), a combination of
Pricmus's co ncepts of extendability, variability and flex ibility. Out of th ese I
have di stilled the following three definit ions for my research:
Alterability Intern al alterations, varying from changing th e position of a
door or moving or removing a wall to revising the entire internal layout.
& teml" bility Enlarging the surface area of a dwelling without co nseque nces
space-wise for surro unding homes (independent extendability) or with conse-
quences for surrounding homes (dependant extendability). This expa nsion can
be forwards or backward s, sideways or upwards. Such enlargements can. in
part , be effected without extend ing the foundat ions (that is, o n the roof or at
the expense of a loggia o r roof terrace). Any enlargement at ground level, how-
ever, will require additional found ations.
Polyvalence Multiple use of spaces without a rch itectu ral or structural
mod ification or at most a change of internal a rrangement using revolving and
slid ing doors and sliding partition s. This is a co ntinuo us process. Changes ca n
lake place yearly, daily o r at every possible moment.
Generic space
The fram e defines the space in which th e change occurs. When working up
th is concept I took my inspirat ion from Rem Koolhaas's statement acrom -
parryi ng his design for the headquarters of Universal Studios in Los Angeles.»
Koolhaa s describes this office building as follows:
'The re was always a not ion for a block (.. . ) the white space - in the
Cont S oa r
model - will always be t he gena -
it - un modified o ffi ce accomm o-
datio n , T h eft' wo ul d be an inva -
sio n of element s, elemen ts of a
bro ad typolugy t hat always had
a d ifferen t relationsh ip wit h the
generic office space, that wo uld
Frame create an d accommodate t he

spec ifi c: ·l~
10 l'r ,... ipl hh.. In h is d cscription he lll,lkcs a

fI ~h ... 4 11<1!U' ..
d ist inctio n between the gene ric
..-' spaces a nd the s pecific part s o f t he bu ild in g; between the large floor area s for
genera l a nd consta ntly cha nging use - ' I he gen eric u nmod ifi ed o ffi ce accom -
m odation ' - a nd t he sp ecific o bjects in t he b u ild ing - fo ur towe rs. each with its
own typolo gy (fi g. 9 ), In m y researc h the fra me represe nt .. t he specific. It th ere-
by enco m p asses t ho se elements that d etermine th e bu ild ing fo r a long tim e,
T he ope n space d efin ed by the fra me signifies th e generic, t he unspeci fied : it is
gen eric space (f ig. ro) .
We ca n d ist ingu is h th ree kinds o f generic space, corres ponding 10 t he ki nd
o f freedom o r ab ility to chan ge possessed by each , T he th ree kin ds o f ch ange -
abili ty d efi ned above - the alterab le, t he extend able an d t he polyvalen t - <I re
related to t hese th ree ki nds o f ge neric space.
Altt'mblt' space If the generic space cont ains a n assem blage of elements
th at can be changed, we may speak o f altera bilit y,
Extendable space If the generic space is n o t bou n ded o n all sides we m ay
speak o f extendabil ity,
Polyvalent space If t he generic space con tains no archi tec tu ra l eleme nts
a nd its fo rm and d im ensi o ns invite d ifferent kind s o f use, we Illar spea k o f
po lyvalen ce; in suc h instances t he ge neric s pace is it po lyvalent spiKe_
In p ract ice more th an o ne kin d o f ch angeability (;111 be p resent sim ultan -
cou sly, fo r exam ple the alt erable a nd the extendab le.
From e lement to laye r
To explore th e effect o f t he fram e and its relat io n to the ge neric space we

req u ire a n a na lytical 1001 , a spa tia l d ivision o r classification wit h wh ich to
an alyse t he case st udies to be resea rche d . Every b u ilding m ay be regard ed as an
[ z6 1 assem b lage o r co m positio n taken fro m a set o f a rchitect ural d ..m t·'Jt~ wh ich

include stairs, windows, wall s, roofing,
piping and ducting, switches and kit-
chens.Jf> A number of such eleme nts
ca n play a particular role in a part icu-
lar situation. For exa mple, rafters, roof
•
boa rds, battens and roofing tiles con -
st itute a roof and thus provide shelter.
For a better understanding of the
frame's com position and the different
kinds of fram e to be distinguished we
have 10 divide th ese elements into
gro ups. To the end I studied. a number
of texts by architects and architectural
theorists who have made similar cat-
egorizatio ns in the past.
Lau giee's primitive hut

For th e rsth-century French architect
La ugier th e prim itive hut (fi g. 11 ) was
th e primal form of architectu re. In his n n... l"imilM
h" l. (rnnlu.r;«, of
analysis of this shelter he distinguishes two assemblages of architectural elements ull[tKT', boo".
each with its own part to play: the branches suppo rt and th e leaves protect. Sourcr. I Fr, mr 1on
'Some fallen branches in th e forest are the right material for his purpose; he 199i ) r."
chooses four of the strongest, raises them upright and arra nges them in a
square; across their top he lays four other branches; o n th ese he hoists fro m
two sides yet another row o f b ranches which , inclining towards each other,
meet at their highest point. He then covers this kind of roof with leaves so close-
ly packed that neither sun nor rain can penetrate. Thus, man is housed,'?
For Laugier th e primitive hut's co mposition of structure and protective
layer lay at the basis of all architecture. To the primitive h ut the rsth-ceotu ry
a rchitectural historian Quatremere de Qui ncy adds a furth er two 'original
types': the cave and the tent. The cave he relates 10 hunters. th e tent to shep-
herds and th e hut to fa rmers. Quatremere places the three major ancient cul-
tures against the background of these three archetypes. In his eyes, th e cave is
the basic type of Egyptia n a rchitecture, the tent th at of Chi nese a rch itecture
and th e hut of Greek archi tecture.P
Quite aside from whether Quatremere is too eager to tie th e archetypes to
cultures, we might wond er whether th e primitive hut and the tent really do
differ essentially in their architectural and structural composition, even though
conte S 0 a oerecto oe L f
'I
11 A p r uf !rul],
m AI....n U... It. ly.
o ne.' is transportable and the other nn l, ·W Bo th derive (rum the.' same.' primal
Monoh'h il: .1","1-
mll" Suun;r. form, both an: assembled from the sa me categories (a structure of bran ch es or
( M ul kt i nd V~
trunks and a skin of leaves, fabric or animal skins). In the cave we.' ca n recog-
11/7'6 ) p. YI
I) Srmpc'•• ,lIu>I ' . · nize the prima l form of monolithic building, a prima l form discernible in,
l i" n in Iin' ~i1 in
say. the trulli (fi g. 12 ). In these all-stone ed ifices. supporting ,1I1d separating arc
dm In:h nltl;....
und Id.l" n',.; .... indelibly hound toget her. So we have red uced the number of basic types 10
K.. n>lC'n. l1tC'
two: the hu t and the cave.
CI.ihbnn hul.1
I....{;....' h h,tt·
i liun ", l~ l.
Sempe r's four elements
~n;C': l ~J'C'f
1 _llll'oJ) 1'. ,., The rcrh -ccmu ry German architect Gottfricd Sempe r, proceeding fro m the
prim itive hu t (fi g. 13 ), distinguishes four 'elements':" In his perspect ive these
represent the fou r basic elements of archit ectu re: hearth (Herd), earthwo rk
(Erdaufwu rf) , roofwork, that is, the roof includi ng its SUP P Orl structure (Dach )
and enclosure, the cover ing memb rane.' (Umfriedig ung)." O n the.' face of it
Semper is build ing U(l{)f1 Laugier's theory,
In expanding upon this theo ry, however, Semper co ncentrates mainl y o n
the wa)' these fou r elements arc produced and on the an cien t crafts they relate to.
when pondering this last-named aspect Semper wri tes: ' Fro m wh ich an cient
techniques did the ho use's enclosure evolve! From none other than th e art of
dressi ng {the walls), that is, weaving and wickerwork':" The other three Semper
likewise relates to craft tradit ions; the heart h 10 cera mics and metalwork, the
earthwork 10 maso nry and the roof to carpentry.
This focusing u n industrial arts migh t give the impression that Semper is
defining his elemen ts solely in terms of prod uct io n and materials. Yet a key
co mponent of his theory is the concept of StoJ!W(·"I,scl. H Sem per is referring to
the phenomenon whereby a change in ma terial and mode nf manufacture
makes no difference to the outward appearance." To illustr ate this idea Semper
describes how the form al idio m of the primit ive hut's cladding g rew out of the
way this cladding was woven . fi e goe s o n to rela te this weaving techniq ue to the
formal idiom of the alab aster ca rvings on the facade s of Assyrian architec-
ture.o
Cont S oa r
In dwell ing at length on how the
cladd ing for the primit ive hut
was prod uced, Sem per seeks to
show where the formal kinship
amongst differen t means of pro·
du ctio n o riginated . According
to Haag Bletter the Stoffwfclrsd-
thcoric shows th at Semper's ele-
ments were defi ned no t only by
how th ey were produced but ' 4 Woo.. M.aJ.a1nC'
Loos'. t.rdn><>m,
also by the role they themselves played: SouKr. (GI.....
' Further proof. if more were needed, that Semper was not a materialist o r a IVjl ).r.... ,
Darwi nian, is his so-called Stoffwechseltheorie (untranslatable; literally "the-

ory of cha nge in ma terials" ) a nd his interest in lingui stics as a po ten tial model
for the evolution of man -made forms:""
Haag Bletter suggests that th e elements represent symbol ic functic ns" and
to th at end introd uces th e no tio n of 'symbolic fun ctionalism'.
l oos and 'Bekle ldung'

Although Semper's four elements are valuable as a mea ns of catego rization,
th ey are not entirely adeq uate for my pu rpose. For one th ing, Semper's system
makes no distinction bet ween fa cade cladd ing and the claddi ng in th e in ter ior.
Half a centu ry on, Adolf Loos in describing the relationship between claddi ng
and structure elevates th e internal space to a category of its own.
'T he arch itect's general task is to provide a warm and liveable space. Ca rpets
are warm a nd liveable. He decides for this reason to spread out one ca rpet o n
th e fl oor and to hang up (our to form the walls. But you ca nnot build a house
out of ca rpets. Both the carpet o n the fl oor and the tapestry on the wall require
a structural fra me to hold th em in the correct place. To invent th is frame is the
architect's seco nd task,':"
Fo r Loos, the structure is a practical issue to he resolved independe ntly of
th e other design problems. What is hid den behind the wallpaper is o f another
order entirely. loos, then, places cladding {'Bekleidung' ) hierarchically above
th e structure.
Again, at first glance loos seems to be expanding upon Sem per's ideas.
Semper too places the emphasis on claddi ng and relates it to textiles and car-
pets. For Sem per however cladding is one co mponent of his four elemen ts, as
being essential for enclos ing and protecting the co nstruction. Semper's refer-
ences to textile a nd ca rpets are symbolic and have to do with his ideas about
Cont S oa r
t he o rigins o f t he tecton ics o f t he exterior. the skin. Lo o s's concern is with th e
bui ld ing's in terior space, th e scenery.
Th e layers of Du ffy and Brand

Today's b u ild ings are im possible.' to fi t exactly in to the above-n am ed catego -
ries. Se m per's sym bolic n ot ion of'' bea rtb' no lo nger suffices fo r our extensive
systems of p ip ing and d ucting, a ir co n d itio ning a nd heal ing. H is concep t was
m ore in tend ed to indica te the symbolic centre o f a house or bu ild ing than th e
ac t o f heati ng. For my p urpu sl' here, services gives a better indic atio n of the
role played by t his assemblage of elements."
The catego ry o f services is of recen t o rig in . I! wa s not t hat long a ~o th at they
made their ent rance. In t he in t rod uc to ry essay o f t he spec ial issue.' of t.honnnv
cl i'arcbitccturc d ed icated to t he Un ite d'Habitarion Le Corbusicr compares
t he Un ite to t he villas of Palladio a nd re ma rks:
' Bu t rea der. the re is a far m ore st riking d iffere nce: inside the house T ill' H. ~.
A R F. NO P IPF,S . No to ilet, sink, wa sh basin s, hot water, co ld water, gas, electri -

city, telephone, hcat i ng, e h':: ~"
T he only 'service' t hey had in those d ays was a place where the food was
prepared , a nd even th is was o ften left u nspec ified b y the archi tect. Jt was o ut (If
th e inc reasing need for co m fo rt an d hygiene tha t till' services evolved into il
category o f t heir o wn .
In t he 19 9 0 S real estate m anagemen t W.IS the sou rce of new insights into
ways (If orga nizing a b uild ing. Prancis Duffy, an Engl ish arch itect specialized
in offic e bu ild ing d esign , developed a ca tego rizatio n based o n the dcp rcciation
period s in t he o ffice secto r. T his d ivides t he build ing into th ree layers: "h ell,
services and scenery," By "hell Du ff)' menu s as m uch the structure as the en -
clos ing cladd ing . Scenery co m p rises the internal subd ivisio n and finis h - liter-
ally. t he sett in g in wh ich the acti o n takes place. Duffy's inter p retat ion (If the
word services agre~s with my O W I1,
The American architect Stewart Brand . who is specialized in rccydi ng bu ild -
ings, draws li p a si milar system o f categories. He is expa ndi ng upo n D uffy's
ide as bU I d ist in gu ishes mo re categories. layers as he calls t hem (fi g. IS). li e
d ivid es b u ild ings in to site, st ructure, skin. services. space plan and stuff. "
Here, site (earthwork], struc tu re (the lo ad -bear ing elem ents), skin (t he cover-
ing and pro tecti ng membra ne ) and services ( hea rt h ) largely reitera te Semper's
system o f su bd ivisio n. Brand's spacc plan is synonymous wit h Du ffy's scen ery
and co incides in part wit h l oo s's Bekl eidung. La stly, st uff covers no n -a rch itec -
ru ral elemen ts such as fu rnit ure.
[Jo J To be ab le to describe tod ay's apartmen t build ing m eans add ing anot her

,-I ............' "
- . ~J'!l:. ~ I'
, -,
-
-
-
.fLX>'ItZ
YJN
SRtJC7VU
-
- srn
'. " ' S n... ""'"'
Ortinnt..,. t1r.nd.
catego ry. T he comprehe nsive access system s - stairs. corridors. galleries and
S<JuKr. 1t1r....t
lifts - such as are found in large residential buildings., have evolved during the I<Jo9.4 I p. I)
•• Iuo/dms ...
20th centu ry into an assemblage in its own righ t. For this reason, and more
....rooir... al~
especi ally as th is study is ult imately co ncerned with housing blocks, I ha ve ......
defined fll'(~SS as a fifth category.
As this study is lim ited in the first instance to buildings. the non -architec-
lural ca tego ries of sile and stuff are of no help 10 us here in elaborating the
frame concept.
Five layers
Weighing up .111 these considerations, I arrived at a system of five 'layers:" Each

layer is composed of a collection of architectural elements. Thus. for example.
the skin can be assembled from the facade cladding, roof covering, windows,
roof light and external doors. As wit h Semper, however. it is not the architec-
tura l elements themselves that defi ne a layer but the function or role an aS5Cm·
blage of elements fulfils as a whole. Every building can be regarded as an
assemblage of these layers (fig. 16). In figure 17 each layer is accompanied by a
description of their role. La ter in this chapter I shall describe how, in theory at
least, each of these layers can constitute the frame.
Frame and di sconnection
A layer becomes a frame by freeing another layer. the layer it frames. Rut this
framed layer is only free to change once it is disconnected from the layer
fram ing il. w In the example of the column and the wall it is the struct ure (the
column ) that frees the scenery (the wall ) on condition that the two (an be dis-
connected.
" 1lw *"- lPmo D Structure
wil" I,,", drfIni
1 _ .and n mt.>h
Structu re (col u m ns. bea ms. Joad -bea r-
ing walls trUSoM'S and st ructural tltklrs l,
The structure t ra nsmits the loads to the
ground,
" Skin
Skin {cladding for faca de, base and roof ].
The skin separates inside and outside
and at the same time presents 1Ill' build-
ing to th e outside world.
" Scenery
Scenery (internal cladding, internal
doors and walls. finish of flours. wall!!.
antJ ceilings ).
The scenery orders .and MU nth, the
space,
d Services
Services I pipes and cables. appliances
and special amenities), The M'rVi(Clo rcg-
ulatethe supply a nd discharge of wa te r.
energy, in fo rmatio n and air and include
the nt'cc!'>Sdry "pplian't'!'> and the !>pau'!lo
primed to accept th ese.
/ Access
Acct"!'os (lolairs, corridors, lifts. t:allerin).
This l.a" t'f ta kes care of the J,ccn.\ihilil)·
of th e spaces and/er the individual
homes.
""
Disconnectio n
Discon nectio n is an essential condition for the frame. It is by the act of dis-
connect ing that a layer obta ins its indepe ndence, The moment the fra med
layer is no longer indi ssolubly linked with the fr ame, it is disconnected. A con-
d itio n for disconnecting a layer is that the layer in quest ion sho uld perform no
du ties belonging to another layer. In add ition. d isconnection can o nly lake
place if the layer to be disconnected can be separated physically.
Return ing to the exa mple of the d ividing wall and the structure : the
momen t the structure ca rries the entire load. the dividing wall can be discon-
nected and moved aro und at will, Laugier's prim itive hut is an example of
disco nnectio n between structure and ski n. unlike, say. the monolithic tru ili
where all layers are fused together.
Such is the frame's independence at times with regard to another layer that
wc may speak of a tru e separation between the two layers. Then there is abso -
lutely no physical link between the two. This is a situation th at rarel y occu rs in
pract ice. As a rule, layers combine in seaml ess tan dem or at th e very least are
te-nuo usly linked at intervals. Co mplete d iscon nection is not a realistic o ption
in structural and arch itectural terms.
Articulat ion
A fra me's au tonomy ca n be increa sed by articulating that frame. For exam ple.
the impact of a co nc rete skeleton Ca n be heightened by making it visible or
perceptible. Architectural expressio n gives the permane nt its own character.
Articulation not only makes the frame more independent; more importa ntly
perhaps. it makes the permanent more significant and therefore more endur-
ing. This bri ngs us bac k to Cache's statemen t:
' But the mo re a frame shows itself to he independen t from its cont en t or its
function, the more one must bring out the pri nciples of its formal autonomy'»
Cache a rticula tes the frame purely to free it, bu t for me th e independence
of the con tent (that which is framed ) in relation to the frame is as important
as the autonomy of the fra me itself. In that sense . articulati ng the frame free s
what is inside it.
Disconnect ion crea tes the cond itions for freeing the content with regard to
the frame and thus e nabling the content to cha nge thro ugh time. In this set-up
the frame represents th e en d uring and permanent. an d the content the change-
able and fl uid, Looked at thi s way. a bu ildi ng is no longer a single en tity ..... ith a
single lifcspan but an assemblage of entities of layers. each with its own devel-
o pment , its ow n dynamic and its ow n articulation ." This fact is co nfirmed
da ily in the practice o f use and reuse. (nl

ex cision
/'"
T
j
J'
/t / Disconnection
,. I>.",.",,,",,,,,,,, Excision
and " 'i.... n
Where there is d isconnection t here will also he an excision. The excision marks
the border along which the ch angeable layer is disconnected from t he frame
(fi g. 18 ). Cache describes it as an in terval: 'An in terval sepa rates the o rd er of
causes from t ha t of effects." ? Where there is di sconnection between t wo layers
there will also be linkage. After all , disconnection is seldo m com p lete. Th is
makes it nece ssary to define for each excision exactly wh ich two layers have
been di sconnected . exactly where the di sconnection h as been effected and to
what d egree the two layers a re sti ll linked.
The excision can be razor-sharp" but it can also have d imensions a nd be
material or, alternatively, co m p rise a space. Thus, fo r exam ple. th ere is reserve
!io pace in a partial disconnection between the int ern al and external form s of a
Baroque ch u rch." The excision between an 18th · century plaster ceiling a nd
th e timber beam floor above it consists fo r the m ost part of a m inima l suspen -
sio n frame - a few nails and some wire - whereas that between, Sdy, a non-
load -bearing brick fron t facade and t he load-bearin g walls consists o f mortar
join ts a nd wall ties.
Five layers , fiv e fram es
At the end of chap ter one I co n tended th at the development o f the permanent,
the frame, wa s not abo u t determ ining t he unknown - a paradoxical ta sk - hut
about developing a perspective o n dwell ing fro m wh ich to he able to define a
pa rticular kind o f frame. Hildc Heynen conclu des h er book wit h a d escript ion
of what such a perspective on dwell ing co uld en tail:
' In addition to the age-old sense o f security and secl usio n. dwelling takes
[HI o n a n ew level of m eaning tha t has 10 do with porosit y and transpa rency, with
cont S oa fOC a ,
ada ptability and f lexibility. Seen as a transitive verb. dwelling takes o n a more
active mean ing of making an environment for oneself and making oneself at
home all over again. " Dwelli ng" has to do with "enclosing oneself," but in the
modern condition this calls for a gesture that is continually renewed. Dwelling
means the permanen t quest for an ever-new enclosu re, because no dwelling
ca n be more than momentary at present: dwelling is continually permeated by
its oppo site,"?
Hcyn cn pits the more or less static perspective on dwelling as seclusion
against a more act ive and dynamic one in which dwelling is an act, a deed
whose direct object is the home.
The static perspective will lead to a solution in which th e shell, cocoon or,
in architect ural terms, the ' base bu ilding', will constitute the frame, whereas in
the dyn am ic perspect ive this shell will belong instead to the changeable. To be
able to explore these d ifferent potentials of a frame I have chosen to assume
that every layer is capable o f co nstitut ing a frame. The idea that d ifferent per-
spectives can lead to different kinds of frames holds not only for ho using bu t
also for other built genres.
I shall now present fi ve examples illustrating how each of the fi ve layers
defined above can be a fra me. Each exam ple is accompanied by a descr iption
of how the layer in question constitutes a frame. T he case studies add itionally
show what disconn ection can entai l, where the excision is situated and what
shape it takes, Where there is a frame there will also be a generic space. How
that generic space is defined and what kinds of freedom it contains, will also he
d iscussed in each instance.
D Structure as frame: Am sterda m Wa rehouse

In the mid tc th-century Ne therlands large warehouses were built with a struc-
ture tha t combines timber beam s and cast-iron columns (fi g. 2 1) . Each of these
columns sports a capital with a large opening to receive the heavy wooden
beams (fig. 19 ). This hybrid system constitutes, together with the perimeter
wall , the principal structure. Such is the set-up informing the warehouse build -
ing on Oostelijke Han delskade east o f Amsterdam Central Stat ion .
After being relieved of its original purpose, this warehouse was converted
in 199 9 by the a rchitect ural practice of Meyer en Van Schooten into a gallery
space where makers of design furn iture could exh ibit their work. The make-
over shows most dearly how this structu re acts as a frame under differen t cir-
cu msta nces.
In the building's original set- up the struc ture descri bed above generated one
large open space suited to the temporary storage of goods in the Amsterdam 1)51

••
19 Mcyn ~n \', n
S< ho<> .~n , ~OIlYn"
won of "'''~ ..
huild.n.. ..oO M .
hik lI. ndo: l..u.k,
AmolnoJ,m ( I'W'Ill.
Caol · iron wlumn
......t , uM">rt in..
nm...........'m
10 M~l"". nI V, n
~ ....Ol~n, "" rc"'
......... c.... ...,"';,>0.
Am.ttrd. m ( I'W'Il1
'1 M..,.n ~nV,n
S<ho<'ttn, "'. ....

honu .. ( On V'C''''k>n. docks, The large open floor areas a re relieved o nly by a grid pat tern of slende r
Am ....,.bm 11'W'll1.
cas t-iro n columns. In the bui lding's initial capacity there was no quest ion of
P"n. So".~: (Md ;"
19'N l p. 9i disconnection in the sense described above, sim ply because there were no
ot her layers o r assemblages of elements present in the building other tha n the
structure.
Given the freedom offered by the structure in q uest ion - the frame - it is
possible 10 adapt the bu ild ing fo r an ent irely different pu rpose, B)' add ing the
layers of access (stairs, lifts), services (sa nita ry faci lities) and scenery (several
parti tion s defining a small restaurant amo ng o the r th ings) the building is pe r·
fectl y equi pped to perform its new du ty (fi g. 20 ).
The addi tio ns are uncon nected to the fram e save for a nu mber o f struc tur-
ally necessary struts. The excision between the fra me and the new scenery is
fai rly diversified , A number of new elements stand freely in the space; others.
suc h as the block co ntaini ng the lift. stairs and washrooms, arc set again st the
facade. In all ca ses the new add itions (access. services and part of th e scenery I
can be removed without impacting on the fram e.
The structure wi th its distincti ve cast-iron colum ns is deployed in th e new
set-up as a pro mo ric nal rool fur the co mpa nies doi ng the cxhibit ing.?' 11 frees
the inte rio r for all mann er of subd ivisio ns and defin es th e gene ric space, in
conte oo S 0 a oerecro u0
which scenery and services can be placed at
will (fig. 22).
"l Skin as frame: SUV A. Basle

In Basle in Switzerla nd th e architects Iecques
Herzog a nd Pierre de Meuron were faced with
the task of renovating and enlargin g the office
of th e Swiss Institute for Accident Insurance
( SU VA). The choice was between demolishing
th e existing office building and erecting a new
one, o r modifying and enlarging the building
on si te.6 l They opted for the latter.
In order to upgrade th e performance of
th e old brick-faced building a nd see to it that u M,.,n m " .an
So<:hoolm. w.~-
old and new became a single entity. the architects designed a faca de for th e
h.... w (o"""ninn.
new extension. a second skin that could also be wrapped round th e old build- Amotndlm h _ l.
nw otnKl uU
ing (fi g. 23). Set well back, this curtain wall combines with the existing fro nt-
drtinn!M Ift'"k
age as a so-call ed climate fa cade." New and old skins are linked only by metal -,N"
anchors at th e lloors. The excision is situated in the narrow air gap between
old and new facades, punctuated periodically by th e cla mps holding th e new
facade in place.
Three kinds o f glass panel have been used in the outer ski n: prismatic panels
to keep out di rect sunlight. clear glass panels. and panels screen-printed with
th e fi rm's name (fi g. 24).
The fi rst gro up of panels is computer -controlled and changes with th e sun's
position in the sky. T he transparent panels can be hand-open ed for ventila-
tion. The pa nels bearing lettering a re im mobile (fig. 24). All th ese d ifferences
in th e treatment of th e glass of th e outer skin articulate the whole distinctively
and elevate it above the average glazed facade.
The special resonance of thi s facade can be bes t appreciated at the corner of
th e buildi ng. where th e original po rtion meets the facade head-on. At the head
of th e old building is a san dsto ne sculpture. The new, second skin follows the
building line of th e new portion sited round the corn er. This building line
makes an acute a ngle with th e fro nt facade o f the old portion. At the corne r the
new facade, wh ich is fully integrated with th e new-build, parts company with
the volume behind it. forming a second skin round th e old bu ilding. Level
wi th the sculpture. the gap between skin and old buildi ng is even qu ite co nsid-
erable. The space in-between emphasizes the skin's independe nce.
With th is double facade. th e new outer skin takes over th e task of the 1n l
Cont S oa r
, ••• , \\ ..
,.'
.'•
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It, ··,.:..
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,.,., j.•... ,
... .... ,.. \I-\ -,
• .~
I)I kn"tt & d~

Mru r..n . i ll ..... ,
.....>ko (lyltll · ,WJ).
GnM.lnd f1oo. plan
...ilh 1......1d bu,ld ·
in,al ' M htKlo m
.nJ Ihe- MW .. in, ,,
an .nlll~ beh ind it .
!iooun;t" (trw..., and
k rru.odo M.'QUO:I
I IW} 1 p. 11II
I" lirrros &. <k

Mruron, ""V...
I"...II (I~- 'W}).
F...,adrdrl"il . nd
_lIon ."fhc, wh'lf
i1 r lKT u,,", on Ih..
s~ .. of I,", lOp and
bonom wir>d<N" ;'
..... firm', na"W...,·
J'C'.'....ly imrrmlrd
In unall k nCTinll.
Sovnr. ( ~ .....nd
Frr....ndo Maf<luct
' W J ) J'I'. Ill .nd 118 ,
'-
!I
cont s oa a r
old facade beh ind it of being wat ert ight and
weatherproof. This gives the arch itect the free-
dom to ret ain the old building.
Though the second ski n serves the existing
bui ld ing well, there may co me a time when
the old port ion must ma ke way for a new
bu ilding, ret aining the seco nd skin as it is
now. Behind this facade lies the gene ric space.
Here o ne is free to insert a new portion to
repl ace some or all of its predecessor (fi g. 25).
\. Scenery as frame: D.E. Shaw & Co

O n the aot h floor of a skyscraper on 45th Street
in New York is a yo ung trading firm whose
spec iality is the shift ing intersection between
technology and the international finan cial
&sir It~·l'it'l}l.
market s, with which the fi rm is networked . TM . kin Inn the
form "lit in' nn.al
In the centre of th is two -storey office Steven HolI designed a double-height
"'''OM'' of lhr ....u.....
hall (fi g. 27). This spa ce, wh ich represents in reality the largel y virtual compa ny, bd llnJ it
has cladding that lets in light fro m o uts ide o nly indirectly (fig. 27). Consisting
of plasterboard mounted in metal framin g, this cladd ing is set ba ck somewha t
from the exte rn al fa cade like a box-within -a-box (fi g. 26). The openings in the
cladding are shi fted with regard to the o penings in the facade. Bright colours
applied to the back of the cladding are projected back by the light entering
indi rectly th rough the cavity between the two surfaces. This effec t is strength -
ened by the wate ry reflect ion in the black resinous fl oor.64
Although the above strategy is key to disconnecting the cladding fro m the
facade, the essential space-de fi ni ng feature lies elsewhere. More important
than that is the way Holl creates along these lines a supremely atmospheric
space whose dimensions, proportions and form provide great freedom as to
ho w it is used ; it co uld just as easily serve as an oyster bar. This freedom obta ins
in side the gene ric space defined by the frame. The frame o wes its character to
a play of light and colo ur, thus co nstituting a rare form of scenery with a great
potential for pe rmane nce.
As there are no o ther layers or parts of layers to be discerned in the gene ric
space. wc ca n describe it as bein g in a state of polyvalen ce (see cha pter two,
p. 26 ). This gen eric space, then, is a polyvalen t space (fi g. 28). The question
now is: where is the excision, the disconnection! Wc might sec fi t to local e this
at the borderline between space and shell. However. as there are no furth er 1391
Cont S oa r
" 11..1.1. U.L ~h~w
& CA~ .... York
(' W I-I".,I).
Vr ,,,," irk o f liPJI
m lry. S.. u', <,:
( ~,... ~nd
fno .......... M n qun

IWfo)p. ul!
a1 u eu. Il.E. Sh...
& Co, s.... \.... k
(' ''''''' -I''''''I). lnl(1" ltlr
"f lull
I' 11..11. 11,1'_
Sh.w
& Co, S.... V..rk
IIwH 'I', u I. TM
knM'l"y Je,1i..... a
ru1 r ....kn l ' p.. t
a9 Silry and
I"rouvr. "t.,..' n •• .,
A!hI (,,,,,,, ).
CVI..... y ",,>dtl
n rooing11lt 1\>" f'.
, ,,n >l ' ''''I;', ,n. Rt-
, n not. u.;I K,n by lilt
Rll.OC'l..u prni«1
"roup. l 11.... h "u h y
of A"hil«tuf'l'.
I l1 l k lh
)0 S,Ivy.nd
I"fuuw . M.,..",
AIh.I pro,",1 ( ' '1'10).
PI.n. , t oU . """ .
I ~ ... ~.)lul h ·
" ,om. 4 wc. S .nd
6 ku,lltn. 1 h'-"'ll
......m•• •nd "'bnt·
room. S..umr;
U1uhtr .nd SInn ·
tf,/II" ' '''71 1 r- w
J' Silvy . nd
Vrnu Yl. M.,..
m
AIh.o ( uJi'» . TM
>otrvK" fr« lilt
inl""",, ........I . nd
co mplete or pa rtiallayers inside the frame, there is in fact noth ing to disco nnec t
boundary of Iht
l!" nt ric 'p..., . n.J and therefore no excision. I shall return to this project at the end of chapter three.
budl mlu.....
)1 Sil..,. . nd
PmU\T. M.,... n d Se rvices as frame: Maiscn Alba
An... I ,,,,,, ). Son: IK>n
In 1950 Maurlce Silvy and Jean Prouve designed a house that so ught to add ress
IluouLd! lilt l.d,l,.",
rort. Soumr: II lu,," the ho using shortage among the poorest segment of the Frenc h populat ion .
. nd SltiOC'U-" 1'1I711
T his Maiso n Alba is a consiste nt example of a ho use with a servant co re."
p. ..
The core, wh ich co ntains all the services (fi g. JO), frees the surround ing
space of these elemen ts and the aspects a ttendan t o n th em suc h as wiring, pip-
1401 ing a nd ducting: all elements that might prevent the space from bein g fr eely
Cont s oa r
8
2 \
o
-, -=.c:::;-. -._.-.-.
7
9
II.--.:JJi;;L- - - .J
I
c'
,
•
-•
' .
•
,-
subd ivisible. Articulating th e core as an independent en tit y emphasizes its
ability to free the space.
Sitti ng o n th e foundat ion slab, the serva nt core punctures the skin alone
point only, where the gas and ventilation flu es protrude thro ugh th e roof
(fi g. 32). The free-standing core has been di sconnected on all sides fro m the
scenery. Three doors effect the link-up between the core - the frame - and the
scenery. These doors act as th e excision between the frame and the changeable
component of the house.
The space surround ing the core is the generic space within which st ruct ure,
skin and scenery ca n he placed at will ( figs 29 and 31). As this generic space is
only partly bordered by th e frame. legal boundaries help to define th e generic
space. such as property boundaries and planning rules (building line. zoning
and envelope ). In the analytical drawing (fi g. 31 ) the boundary of the generic
space has been made equal to that of the built volu me for si mplicity's sake. In
principle thi s is a case of extendability; th e building envelope and the lot
bou nd ary defi ne the extent o f th e generic space.
con U Od au or
,/ Access as frame: rue de l'O urcq
On the ru e de l'Ourcq. in the Il}l h arrund issc-
mcnt of Paris. Philippe Gazeau designed a
block of flats for employees of the French
- postal service." To fi t th e req uisite 26 unit s

onto th is small site Gazcau began b y relin -
tluishi"g some of the available space. Making
an o peni ng in the foremost part , he placed in
this interveni ng space a system of stairs and
terrace-like pla tfo rms (figs 33 and jal. Leavi ng
part of the site open 10 the street allows the
rear portion to ' breathe: so that the sill' can he
built upon to the full depth.
Gazeau chose 10 make the open access zone:
a key componen t o f the project . II certainly pre-
dom inates when seen from the street and even
more so from the inner side of the block.
Stairs a nd platforms are of steel with wood
r
•
J floors . Three lattice girders support (he large
,
J " terraces or landings un onc side, ami on th e
oth er arc themselves held in place by the block
-"""" of housi ng. The platfo rm s arc so constructed
JJ r.a/C"~\l.n...,';nlt. as to incite communal use.
nu: ok I'O U'(q. f";o ,,,,
(IYII.. l, l'I.on u nJ
Although access to the uni ts ca nnot be enti rely di sconnected fro m th e
_ 1i"n. Snut(C': blocks in structural terms, the long platforms enable un its tu be variously
(Gu u u 1" .. 1
en tered . Th is is because the position of the fron t door and the com position of
PP·]o-71
the un it plan arc no t di ctated by the means of access on this occasion. The
excisio n, located between the platforms and the brick wall. enables the uni t
plan to be changed at any time.
In th is exam ple, the generic space is only partly defi ned by the frame, being
bou nded by it o n the access side alone. The rema ining boundaries. as with the
Maison Alba, ens ue from th e contextual envelope a nd th e property boundary.
When ma king the analytical drawing I have again assumed that this e nvelope
coincides with th e bu ilding volume as it is now (fig. 35). A larger envelope
would once again introd uce the aspect of extendability.
Cont S oa r
" "
,
-
.
Conclusion H Gut.... hou.. n(l..
rIM' lk I'O.. rcq. Pn i.
( I 'II9~ l. k.r wllh
The permanent const itutes the frame within which change can take place. The t..kt,.un. So\Jl\C(';
le..,..... t'il'9'4 l p. ""
fra me defines the space for change. While the frame is specific, the space inside
IS Gut.".hotPin(l..
the fram e is general. its purpose unspecified: it is generic space. The more we rIM' lk l'(lImq. PUP
(r 9'l~1. n.c, nu >l'
are able to artic ulate the permanent and give it meaning, the more space the ..:U'u frrn 11 pt"; .
changi ng aspect has in which to unfurl. To describe this I use four key con- """ of d.... nllr.",,"
.nd IIw "n ill';nlntU/
cepts. namely frame, taya. disconnection and excision. b,...,
Designing out of the perma nent means designing for the unknown. This is
not a question of charting that unknown aspect, but of developing the perma-
nent out of a particular perspective on dwelling. T his perspective can help us
deci de what kinds of freedom the perm anent sho uld enable so as to make
room for the unknown .
In th e introduction I stated the wish to base my research in the first instance
o n kno wledge provided by designs and realized b uildi ngs. To be able to ' read'
thi s knowledge from th em it is necessary to analyse th ese projects. For th is I
have developed in th is cha pter an analytical tool tha t di stinguishes between
th e following fi ve categories:
!J Structllre' (colum ns. beams. load-bearing walls, tru sses and structural l1oors;
th e load-bearing com po nent of th e building). The structure transmits th e
loads to the ground .
~ Ski" (facade, base and roof). The skin separates inside and outside and at
the same time represents th e bu ildin g externally.
\ Scenery (cladding, internal doors and walls, fi nish of floors, walls and ceil-
ings). Th is scenery defin es th e space including its visual and tactile quali ties. I<4JI
Cont S 0 a
d. Services ( pipes and cables, a ppliances and specia l ..tm cni rics}, The- services
regula te the supply and di scharge of water, energy and air and also incl ude the
ap pliances nec essary to them and the spaces primed 10 accept these.
/ Aen'ss (stairs, co rrido rs, I ifts, galleries). This lavcr take s ca re nf the .r ccessl-
h il ity of the spaces a ndlor th e ind iv idua l ho me').
In p rincip le I d istinguish between three catego ries o f dIl1l/,~t'tl b i1i t)~ the
1I1tl'mMt', the extemiuble and the polyvalent. Th ese I hrccforms o f changeabilit y
ca n he linked with three kinds o f gen eric space. Sho uld the generic space con -
lain a layer tha t (an be change-d, we- may d escribe it as alterable. Sho uld the
generic space no t he borde red o n all sides, we- ma y descr ibe it as extenda ble.
Sho uld the ge-neric space- con tain nu o the r layers altho ugh it invites differen t
use-s th ro ugh its fo rm and di mension s, the-n it P U SSl' SSl' S polyv alence; the
generic space is then a polyvalen t space.
''''
Conlendo SU eto a derechos de auter
The related development 3
of structure, skin and
scenery

Fra me. layers. d iscon nection and excision have O<lW been defi ned h u t no th ing
has been sa id about how these con cepts relate tu o ne: a no the r, I roes a frame
have to be just o ne layer. can several fram es be o perative in a bu ild ing. wh at is
the relatio nship between the layers <IS defi ned, art' all layers always p resen t,
what exactly d oes a fra me d o ?
A n um ber o f case studi es, for the most pa rt a rr anged in histo rica l o rde r.
have been chosen to shed ligh t un these q uestio ns. These case stud it's demon-
strate how a layer. or an assem blage of layers. can work as a frame by freeing
o ther layers of pa rti cular dut ies.
In this chap ter I shall lim it myself in the fi rst instance 10 th ree layers -
structure. skin and scenery. Services and access will he add ed 10 these in a
subseq ue nt chap ter.
Prelude
Technical advances over the Yt'ars have made it possible for layers to fu nc tio n
inde pend en tly o f one ano the r. T he seq uence of Case: stud ies disc ussed below
sketches this de velop ment in which structu re, scene ry and ski n gain independ -
ence, rejo in in new coalitio ns and then free themselves aga in. The concep ts o f
layer. fra me. d isconnection and excisio n will he: expand ed upo n further as we
p roceed .
In chap ter two, we used the theories o f Q uat rcmerc de Qui ncy 10 pit the
mono lithic mode o f b uildin g aga inst a mo re skeleto n-based co nstruction .
Each o f these b uilding met hods has its own a n tecede n ts. Skeleton co nstruct io n
as encounte red in the tim ber-fra med ho uses o f med ieval times, CJ Il he traced
back to the pri mi tive hu t. Monolith ic co nstruc tion. which we ca n trace ba ck to
prim itive rock o r limestone shelters suc h as the cave and the trvtli, has its
seq uel in stone- built mo n u mental b uild ings (see chapter two. p. 28) . T his sec-
o nd met hod was the most prevalen t for monu men tal build ings throu ghout
most o f Eu rope un til the rcth centu ry.
With the arrival o f cast iron. steel and concrete came a new generation o f
b uild ings in wh ich struct u re a nd skin co uld fu nction inde pe nd en tly o f o ne
a no the r. Th is new genera tion. together w ith the a rchi tectu ral exp ression o f the
indepe nd en t layers. would develop d uring the co u rse of two cen tur ies. I will
d escribe this d evelopment using d esigns by. amo ng oth ers. Schin kcl.Labro uste,
Sullivan.Le Cc rbusier, Duiker. "'1it's van der Rohe, Va n Evck, Hertzbergcr, Holl,
and lbos and Vitart . Rather than constituti ng a historical acco unr. thcsc rcp rc-
sent steps tha t a re o f im po rtance in d evelo ping my theo ry.
At crucial mo ments in the chap ter m y analyses of the case stud ies are
cap tured in a d iagram showing the frame an d the gene ric space (fi g. .\6). In
Contendo SU eto a derechos de auter

.. ..... . 0' n Ol' e t
1..c:.. lT1n l " ......
N~h..l.,f llw fu rm' lI, e' or I""". (0.",1". lI,,,,, Of 1,,_ p ..,.e .. l l"
TWof n<loion Ihe f,..... Ihe . ..."" k I p ace
(no M ;n IIw C'W'IlI
of polyv.okIKl )
36 LIvnd of ...1I,l-
1yti<J.I d i.o.tl r~ m.
examples where there is no frame. the layout of the diagram has been mod ified
RndinS from k fl 10
acco rd ingly. ri(th l.lhc four <01·
umnJ I've: IIw
n...rm' of IIw projlct
(, nd the If<hiln:I).
llw n'lu", ,,hlw
Disconnecting two shell s of a si ngle dome
fr.mc. di'OOll nn: '
lion and c"" ioion;
IIw 1a)Tf orl.lycn
An ea rly exam ple of the disconnec tion between two portions of a monolith ic dcfin,n, llw frame;
building is the design for the dome of the cathed ral in Floren ce. While the IhuOIllrn lohhc
Itl'nIIio: JJ'<I'"~.nd
Cathed ral was bein g bu ilt. the Floren tine guilds enga ged o n this work were
dw kindot ch. nltC·
faced with a majo r co nstructio nal problem. The cathed ral design included a . I:>ilily {poIyv. ln ll•
• h".hk, cllcnda-
dome whose d imensions had been equalled just o nce before. in the Pantheon hkl.lf ,lay" io
in Rome ( 118- 26 BC). It was decid ed that the dome. which was .42 metres across . n Kulalcd Ihio io
indiulld in bold
(the Pantheon was 42.7 metres). should not be spherical but instead be assem -
'r..
bled fro m eight tapering facets (figs 37 and 38).
There were grave doubts as to whet he r the gu ilds were ca pable of rising to
th is challenge. So in 1418 it was decided to hold a co mpetitio n. Those taking part
were not o nly to sub mit a design for the dome. but also design the tools neces-
sary to im plement it. The architect Filippo Brunelleschi won after fi rst having
co m mitted to paper a met icul ous account of the job req uirements (the build-
ing spec ifica tion ). Bru nellescbi's account o pens with the following five po ints:
I The dome co nsists of two layers resting on an octago nal plan: An inne r shell
with a pointed arch profil e whe re the segme nts of the circle begin a fifth of the
baseline in. 7 feet th ick at the base and 5 feet thick at the top.
2 An o uter shell protects the inner from the elements and gives it a greater
radiance and lightness; th is measures 2.5 feet at the base and 1.5 feet at the to p.
3 Between the two shells is a a -foot gap which accom modates the stairs access-
ing the dome.
4 A skeleton consisting of ribs )('1 with in the vertical faces: o ne along each
edge line and two within each face of the oc tagon; these are 14 and 8 feet wide
respectively. 1471
con U Od au or
,•
"
•
~
•
••
J1 IIru...,lk...h i,
OOmC' ofIMs"nU
M•• i.o Od f inrt .
5 These rihs are supported (held toget her ) by horizontal lie rings 2.\ feet
FI..' m...• 11..10). aparl.67
~ion 1howinjl
What is most interesting about thi s design is that Bru nelle...chi solved the
;n......nJ ou'"
oMll•. Sou"",, technically well-nigh insurmountable problem of the great span and the un-
(w In I_ I p. l "
usual co nstruc tio n using curved planes. by dividing the dome into an inner
). lI'ul>C"lk"hi.
.I",,", "I the: s"nt. and a n o uter shell. Between these two shells he placed a number of ribs 10 dis-
Mol... dd F,,,. t .
tribute the forces (fi gs 38 and 39), 10 so clui ng Brunellcschi red uced the weight
Fklft'TKt (' 04 Jo l.
eu,...·. yUu",' · of the dome and saw to it that the forces were effectively transmitted down to
mc:1 rK. Suu r' r.
(s".ko:nnl i 199j l
the drum on which it sat. To resist outwa rd thru st, the ribs an." fastened togeth -
p. .. er with horizontal tic ri ngs o f sto ne and metal cramps.
The in ner shell jo ins with the ribs a nd horizontal hands as the struc ture.
Ribs and hands together co nstitute a framework set on the o utward (ace of the
inne r shell. Co nstructio nally the inner shell acts as a coffer dome as used in the
Pantheo n. but then tu rn ed inside-out. The o uter shell serves in th e fi rst place
to hide the rihs a nd hands and hold them together. It additionally suppo rts the
roof covering o f tiles in bak ed c1ay.M
The dome as real ized is co nstructed of two shells o ne placed over the other
and pa rtially disconnected. T his discon nectio n is not such. however. that it
allo ws inner and outer shells to cha nge places in th e co urse of time; indeed the
two are fa sten ed together by the ribs a nd. what is mo rc.f b c o uter shell huld s
the ho rizo ntal band s in place (fi g. 38). The excisio n h. located in the space
between the two shells where it is Interrupted in places by the ribs. the timber
ba ulks co nnecti ng the inner a nd o ute r shells of the dome, Once in place, the
Cont S oa r
) . RnllwUn.:hi.
""odd ~ Itv I.n·
ICTn ...., Itv 60nw
clltvSanuMw
dtl flO~, fln«nu
h . ..). In it _ <an
<l<onrwd,n.
ir.""'" dw rot.
IhIWf
and OUIC'I dw8L

Souru: t M.noa
._l.r- u
two shells ca n nu longer function separately: they have forfeited their auton -
omy and co mbine with th e ribs as a single co nstruction. Ahhough the inner
shell and the rib s take up most of the load transfer, the outer shell plays a
significant part here too.
The quest ion now is which of our layers arc in play here. Before tha t time. a
non -timber dome was custo marily constructed of a single overa rching ma ter-
ial. usuall y brick or stone or, as in the Pant heon. a Roman version of rammed
co nc rete. The dome overarched the whole and also acted as a floor co mpone nt
of the structure. The cladding, if an y. of ceram ic tiles or co pper and the means
of fastening it in place. belonged to the skin. In the Florence dome. however.
the o uter shell is not o nly the cladding but also performs secondary duties o f
the structure.
As neither shell is subord inate to th e other. neither act s as the other's frame.
All th e same. th eir partial d isconnect ion did permit Brunellcschi great freedom
during the design process as well as during co nstru ction (fig. -40 ).
Brunelleschi's analysis of the problem, which led him to part ially disconnect 1. ' 1
' ..... 1 .... D C . " UIC " " Cl
DO". O' ' '' I U_'"

..... , .. OH " Oil
j U U" . U •• CM' )
1);!Iu ..nn«tion
hc1Wffn I.....' .lwll..
"""' .....
b ...·........., . pa.o. r
hc1Wft'ft In...... Ad
oUI" wll. ,nlr . -
nrptrd In pLo<n .".
,..
In.........
••
the two shells.. itself m arked a disconnection between in tellec tu al an d physical
act ivit y.. b etween th inking and d oing.w For the fi rst time ever, the designer had
taken over the respo nsibi lit y o f the co ns t ructio n wo rk w itho ut taking pan in it
himself.
O nce a rchitects b egan working independently an d distinct from the guilds,
design ing was no longer dictated by t he t radition of th e sto nemason alone; th is
marked the onset of th e Ren aissa nce. From th en o n, design ing was a n intellect -
ual act ivit y in wh ich sea rch ing for new inro ads and new solutions wa s as im -
portant as building upon trad ition. At the sa me tim e Bruncllesch i's d esign
o pened up the possibility o f disconnecting the form o f the inte rnal space of a
buildin g from t he fo rm of its mass.?"
The d evelopme nt o f the scenery into a self·s u ffi cie nt layer
If Hrunelleschi 's design shows no signs as yet of a layer.. mu ch less a frame.. the
following case st udy shows the process of d evelopment, and the change in
effect. fro m a layer to a frame.
T he timber-framed ho use fi rst evolved in Nort h Western Euro pe d uring
the Late M iddle Ages. It co n sisted o f a timber fra mewo rk pl aced o n a narrow,
d eep lo t so as to take up as little street lengt h as possible. Like t heir co m mo n
predecessor. the prim itive hut, th ese hou ses were assembled fro m t wo d ist inct
layers: t he st ruct u re. consisting of a timber skele to n, and the skin, com bi ning
an infill o f wattle and d aub for the walls with a tiled roof. After th e g rea t fi res
in the cities. th e timber posts o f the st ruct u re were replaced with brick fire proo f
wall s.
cont S oa fOC a ,
r
.,
,
,
.
"
••
.
' .. •
4' E.£nr .,.. h <rn ·

fUry dw..Ui"ll·h"u....
<onolll><l",n 10011 in
VM-w. Sou Kr. (7.. nl ·
" w jl '"j) p. l"'4
41 PwI" dor H<n:h..
intrrlor uf l;rth \:C1I'
lI.ry .t-lhna ·hou...
( 16Sl'1. SouKr.
{K.,hIftI IW61
4) Front room uf
Htff'° ar_hl ltlo8.
Am.. rntam. Mural
pai nkd by I4cobdor
Wit (fif;U,"' and
IOU( "ioU<brron
nand""!",1(1111·
11}41. Soun:r.
fSpift. Kki;n ~ a1.
1991) p.IJO
Originally the structure of these houses was left visible.The space was hound - 44 Sol.. K.... in
ed with basic materials: oak boa rds and joists fo r th e ceilings. timber boa rds i ku0 [U"_ hr 41J.
AmuncUm.Plutrr·
or flagstones fo r the fl oor and watt le and daub or brick for th e walls (fig. 41 ). ........ ndKulpru~
Between 16 00 and 18 0 0 th e interior changed dram at ically. In th e rzth -century by!.tn VIfI Luo:hlr ·
Il'n (11)6) . Sour«:
Netherla nds it beca me custo mary to cover th e brick walls with a thi n layer o f (Spa. Klrijo ~ al.
plaster (fig. 42). Du ring the co urse of that century the ceiling joists also were 199t ) P. l l
concealed behind boards or painted over. "

As the 18th century dawned this transformation of th e Dutch interior
gathered pace." The basic structure was hidden away; the ceiling's structural
components d isappeared behind a plaster ceiling, a separate construction of
plaster. reed and batte ns suspe nd ed from th e joists. The structural walls
became clad with wood panelling and stretched linen. 7J
Though at fi rst the timber-clad untreated beams still referred to th e
Cont S oa r
arrangement of parts of the t imber skeleton. the cladd in g would grad ually
beca me disco nnected fro m the structu re behind it. with th e a rr i v nl o r plaster
ceilings, s hee ts o f stretched linen and wood panelli n g the cladding look 011 a
Iifeo f its own as a ne w layer, the s(e ne ry, T hi s layer d efined bo th I he dimcn -
sio ns of th e space and the visual and tact ile qualities o f its boundari es ( fi gs 4.\
and 44 ).
T he scenery was almost e ut irel y disconnec ted frum the struct u re. AI th.u
li m e fa stened with jU.~ 1 wire and n ails to the u nd erlyin g layer (t he excisio n lay
behind th e wa llpaper a nd plasterl . fhc scen ery n eeded the st ructu re me rely as
a means o f stayi ng in place. At th e sam e time it reli eved the st r uctu re of its
d uty of h elping to d etermine the fo rm , colo u r and textu re o f the en closure.
The space defined byt he scenery ca n, its form and dimension s permittin g, he
regarded as a polyvalent space, a space wi th its own personality, owing to rh"
dimension s. fo rm . co lo u r and textu re u f the: scener y, y«.""1 capable of many lI H ' S,
T he effect ca n be co m pared 10 t hat of t he hall Srcven 11011 designed fo r the D,E.
Sha w office: it is a pa/yt-'alcllt ["'tilt' (set' chap ter two, p. 40 ), Th is is no t to say,
however. that po lyvalen ce is hy its w t)· natu re det ermin ed by the scenery, hut
that scenery articu la t ing th e bou ndary of a space dOL'!> serve III streng then the
effect o f th e fra me.
T he t8th cent u ry brought wit h il " new generat io n of arti sts who mad,' the
embellish ing, pa in ting and sculp t ing of interio rs the main foc us of thei r art ,
O n" of the hest know n painters o f that time i~ lncoh de Wil, fa mo us for the
so -called witjt"s ( a play o n h is name, which means 'white' ), s mall grisaillc over-
door pan els. T hi s ad d it ion of paint in gs and sculptures gilYC the s,,:c llcrr its o wn
visual id io m ,
In the rcth cent ury. sccnl'rr in t he above S,' IlSl' developed into the stand ard
claddin g of middle-class ho uses, Nouvcl d esc ribcs the misan tl'tlrn' and dur-
abilit y o f th is ki nd of scenery using the exam ple of a house U Il a Parisian
boulevard:
' I.iviI1 g o n a l laussman n bouleva rd yo u r home has mould ings, SPol":l'S in all
the ceilings, You m ay not like t hem . b u t rarely do they crac k: ,4
It is p recisely th is art iculat ion of th e cladd ing th at co m ma nds respect. and
th is respect (o r th e cladding t hat incites one 10 keep using the "pil( e in ques-
tion. So we see tha t a rticu lat io n heightens the effect of t h is kind of frame,
The pr inciple of claddi ng and the Modern s

In his text rhls Prit/zip sier Hekleidlltls: (sec also chap ter two] Loos d escribes t he
relat io nship between the enclo su re of thc space I wh. u I ca ll sccuc ry } an d the
st ructurc. t ' In h is d iscou rse Lo o s proceeds from t he needs (I f the o ccupiers.ft

is th ey who desire a soft, warm
envi ron ment - in othe r words,
ca rpets and tapestri es;" •
At th e time when Loos was
proclaimiugan independent clad- I
d ing to be th e stepping-off point

for a rchitecture, Berlage:" and
Horta were designing buildings
whose enclosu re of space once
aga in co incided with the struc- 45 fkrW~. IM
ture. ln both Berlagc's Henny villa (fi g. 45 ) a nd Horta's own house (1898- 1901) lI~nn~ "ill., Th~
11. 11""' ,.11<,I8 1.
structural brick walls bounded th e space. New, more fi nely fi nis hed building Ihnln ll n,,,m ...IIh
brid, ...11.. S" UIl:C':
m aterials such as glazed brick and o rn ate ironwork enabled scenery a nd struc-
l Si'W'lml>frllo fI..d.
ture to integrate (fi g..n ). This was a develo pment set in tra in by Labro uste's ~.1. 1\l7S ) p. }li
Bibliothequc Sainte-Gencvieve (see below) and of great infl uence on the pre-
cursors of Modern ism. largely th rou gh the wr itings ofViollet-le-Duc. It seemed
as though th e new insights into a rchitecture signalled the provisio nal end of
scenery as a n independent layer. I say provisional. for scenery was to retu rn in
another guise, as we shall see later on.
Structure plu s sk in eq uals frame
It was not just the scenery but also th e structu re and the skin that were to
evo lve into independent layers. T he ad van ces m ade by these two last-na med
layers are intimately con nected. Once the st ructure gains independen ce the
skin is freed, and vice versa. O ne material that enabled the structure to gai n its
independence was cast iron.
The cast-I ron col um n: the fi rst ste p toward s a freely subd ivisi ble s pace
Cast iron was first used in th e structu res ofla rge buildings at the end o f the rath
cen tury. In 1792-93 th e cotton-spinner WilIiam Strutt had a six-sto rey fa ctory
bu ilt in Derby in England. " O n plan, this cotton mill consists of a masonry
shell with cast-iron colu mns placed in it. Timber beams rest o n the wall at one
end and on the cast-iro n columns at th e other. Resting in turn upon these
bea ms is a brick vaulted fl oor. The brick walls of th e mill give it its stability.
This co nst ruction would he used more th an a century later in the Netherlands
for building warehouses (see the Ams terda m Wareh ou se in cha pter two ).
The structure with its cast-iro n columns allowed Strutt to create th e large, [511
con U Od au or
••
•
,• vi rt ually uno bstructed open spaces
, •• necessary to house h is water frames >,
, ••
I la rge spin ni ng m ach in es powered by
•• I
• •• water wheels,
,• • •
• Four yea rs later an un related mill
was built at nearby Ditherington. Here
the tim ber beams were replaced by cast-
- .,'- - - . - -- iron ones. Th is Flax Mill was the fi rst
building to have an entirely iron skele-
ton . T his p rin ciple soo n became popu -
• lar as it was assumed to be fully fi reproof
,I
- (for a similar construction see fig. 46).
.".-
It is the structu re that allows the
English spin n ing mills to be used and
. 6 hlrh" . n. organized with great freedom. The
En~IW! rdinn'}'
extent of the internal space is defined by the constructio n. part icularly by the
f1&4d. Srd nJ
~fl1inl cun ",, · b rick structu ra l o uter walls. Here sk in and struc tu re coinci de; these two layers
linn. SoufCr: lGM"
arc partially integrated and in my terminology constitute an inl(gmlrd [ ",mt',
dion.~ ) p . • u
Structu re and skin together d efine a single large o pen space, the gene ric
space. Here th is gene ric space fa ils to free any other layers beca use there is
noth in g tha t can be described as independen t scene ry. The refore, this gene ric
space is a po lyvalen t space.
Bibhctheque Sainte-Ce nevieve: arti cu lating an iron skeleton

The Flax Mill remain s a utilitarian bu ilding with no artic ulation at all. Cast-
iron techno logy however has m ore to olTer a rch itec tu rally. O ne of the fi rst
m onumental bu ild ings to be based o n the techn ical principles o f the English
spi n ni ng mills was erected in Paris. In 1838 the Fre nch archi tect Henri
Labrouste, trained at the Ecolc des Beaux-Arts, was com m issioned 10 d esign
new prem ises for the Biblio theque Sainte-Genevieve. As the b uild ing was also
o pen in the eveni ng and equ ipped with gasligh t fo r th at purpose, La b ro uste
decided to apply to it the fi re p roof co nstruction of the English m ills.
Labrouste's bu ild in g combi nes a lo ad -bea ring m aso nry shell with an iron
skeleton to o vera rch the grea t hall. T he skele ton co ns ists of cas t-i ro n col u mns
span ned by arcuated ribs asse mbled fro m cast- iron elemen ts. The col u mns
sta nd in the cen tre of the space o n sto ne pedestals (fi g. 47). The ot her end of
each rib rests o n a bracket projecting fro m the perimeter wall. The storey-height
stone pedesta ls, decorated with portraits of writers, d efin e in gra nd style the
1541 principal subdivision of th e great hall. An adva ntage of th e co nstruction
Cont S oa r
Labrouste used . aside from aspects of
fire prevention, is that th e ironwork
co uld be made at the same time as the
surro undi ng m asonry shell was being
co nst ructed, shortening the overall
co nstruction time co nsiderably/"
., 4 7 Lat>rou.tr.
8ihliothtq....
It is th e span that sets Labrouste's library apart from the English spinning
SoIintr·Gmrvih-r,
mills in constructional terms. Whereas in the latter the fl oor slabs are supported by P.ri, (18}1·lssol.
lnl....ior. Sourcr.
stra ight iro n beams, Labrouste overarches the vast reading room with a double
IPt..;u k 1'i&.11.
ba rrel-vaulted roof borne aloft o n cast-iro n arches attended by a plastered iro n e'"
filigree (fi g. 48). A lightweight roof co nstruction of iron shee ts placed over the 4' u.hrntIol:~.
8,b1iod'ltq....
vaults rests in parr on th e a rcuated ribs. The roof has a zinc finish." s..inl~·~,
hrio ( l lI}I. ,,,,,).
The inclusion of arched ribs brings with it an additional structural prob -
IWof construction
lem. Unlike stra ight beams, these ribs without tie rods exert a lateral thrust on of (Bt·iron .."hood
ribs. S"urcr.l Hcru·
the struct ural fa cad es. Labro uste has strengt hened th e surround ing structural
bnJrr IWI l p. 1.41
wall to take up this thrust.
At th e places where o penings for windows have been hewn. the solid wall
transforms into slab-sha ped window piers broad enough to take up the lateral
forces exerted by th e vault." The window o penings are partially built-in to
create recesses for th e book stacks . The surrounding masonry shell is as much
part o f th e structure as of the skin. Here, as in the English mills, skin and struc-
ture present an integrated frame (fig. 47)-
Though Labrouste fash ioned the masonry shell in th e prevailing neoclas-
sical idiom, he was forced to develop a new formal vocabulary for the cast- iron
co nstruc tion. T he open-wo rk ribs help to keep th e weight down . as well as
allowing Labrouste to give them a more refined appearance. The fili gree of
slender cast-iro n bars are a rranged in a formal idiom of geo metrically stylized
organic mot ifs.
A frame for civic ce remoni es

Although th e arc hitectural treatm ent given to the fa cad e (the skin) of th e 1nl
Cont S oa r
~'C I"'C. "
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n in
..
Bibliotheque Sainte-Gcncvieve is quill' different to th at given to the iron parts
of its structure, construct ionally th e facad e is indel ibly bound to th e structurc.
The integrated fra me of skin and structure defines the polyvalent space, just as
il d id in th e English mill s.
Labrouste's great merit th erefore is not pri marily that of developing a new
techn ique o r creating a new kind o f fra me, but rather of introducing th is tech -
nique into the province of monumental architecture, The way Labro u stc articu-
lates th e iron construction and the masonry shell of the Biblioth eq ue Sainte-
Ge ncvieve accentu ates th e frame's inde pendence a nd strengt he ns its effect ."
Robin Middlcton suggests th at with his design for the library's iron constructio n
Labrouste created a new decor (read frame) appropri ate to the civic cere monies
of the 19th century '", a gene ric space for rcrh -ccnru ry rituals.
The s kin gain s its ind ependence
In the foregoing exam ples, skin a nd structure M C still part ially integrated. SIL'r
by step the skin, and particularly th e facade, would gain its independence. The
following case study shows an initial step along th is road,
The exceptio nal qualities of the English spin ning mills were notlost o n the
Germa n architect Karl Friedrich Schinkcl. In t826 he travelled to England where
one of the places he visited was the Stanley Mill in Gloucestershire (fi g, 50).
Schinkcl's jott ings show that he had been parti cularly interested in the co tton
mill 's unusual co nstruction."
O n ret urning 10 Berlin Schi nkellanded several com missions where his new
IS6) insig bts came in handy. O ne was for the Berlin Acade my of Archi tecture or
Cont S oa r
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,
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Ba uakad emie (18:u -t836). Fascina ted by the freedom an iro n skeleto n offered ,
Sc hinke l sought to apply his newl y acq uired knowledge in this co m missio n.
However. the build ing was to be erect ed en tirely in brick to show off thc tcch-
nica l achievemen ts of Prussian industry.llI\ This meant thal Schi nkel was unable
to apply his English experiences literall y. Nevert heless, the way Schinkcl treats
the facade is semina l for the further develo pment gene rally o f the relat io nship
be tween skin a nd skeleton. It is pa rtly the fact that he was forced III use o the r
materials that makes this design interesting.
His fa scination with the skeleton fi nds some reflectio n in the rat io nal grid
informi ng the design ; a grid defi ned part ly by br ick colu mns and partly by
structural walls (fi g. 52 ). It is the brick co lumns that reflect the idea o f a skcl-
eto n the most. Besides the infl ue nce o f Engl ish mills. the grid-like co mposi-
tio n of the plan betrays the strong influence of the rat io na l principles o f the
French arch itect and theo r ist Durand.v
There is another experience Schinkel gained fro m visit ing the English spin -
ning m ills that he worked in to the Bauakad emic. His jo tt ings show him to
have been fascinated by an older m ill in the Sta nlcy Mill co mplex dat ing fro m
t761.M O rigi na lly two sto reys high . th is build ing has a timbe r structure with
sand-li me bricks in the facade (fi g. 51). W indo ws placed between the colu m ns
were to fl ood the m ill with dayligh t. Benea th the windows is a brick surface in
stretcher bo nd. This bu ild ing is describ ed in the literat ure as o ne of the fi rst
factory bu ild ings with a 'p ier and pa nel co nstruc tion'P" It is not clear as to how
much th is still applies to the old mill. wh ich has since bee n made taller. Unlike
the lat er factories described abo ve, this one exhibits a ser a ratio n. it d iscon nec-
tio n, between load -bearing and enclosing elements.
O ne requ irement fo r the design of the Ba uakadem ic was that it was tu have
large windows for daylight to pour in. To achieve this Schi nkcl d rew on the
elcvatio nal co mpositio n of the old m ill at the Stan ley Mill works. He designed
a facade of pilasters with large areas of fen estr at io n in-bet ween. Unlike in the
old factory at Sta nley Mill. however. Schinkcl's windows reach not fro m col-
u mn to co lum n hut include a narrow strip of bric kwo rk between co lumn and
window. O n clo ser ins pection, it transpires that there a rt' in fact nu columns
placed in the facade: the facade itself is load -bearing. $0 altho ugh the facade of
the Bau akadcmic resembles that of the old m ill cc mpositionally, it dev iates
fro m it structu rally,
Schi nkel, who had to show the quality of Prussian brick in the facade. saw
himsel f faced with the followi ng problem. na mely that the brick-making ind us -
try in early rc th -century Prussia was unab le to burn bricks tha t were visually
pleasing. Until then, th is problem had been solved by giving facades a plaster

fin ish. However. the Bauakad emie had to show what could be do ne with
Prussia n brick itself. To this cnd Schin kcl ap plied a construct ion uncusto mary
u ntil the n. He clad the facade with a thin layer o f brick specially selected for
that purpose. No t o nly that, the bricks left visible were given an extra pol ish."
A photo grap h taken shortly after the Second World War shows a structural
wall clearly visible behind the da maged cladding (fig. 53 ).
Although placed like a second ski n right up against the structural wall, the
brick claddi ng ca n nevertheless be desc ribed as having become ind ependen t.
At the sa me time. this cladd in g sugges ts the presence of a structure: the brick
seco nd skin represents the column structure desired by Schlnkel but not applied.
In reality, this ski n conceals a structural wall.
Ski n and re prese ntation

As demonstrated by the fo rego in g, the skin, o nce indepe nd ent . can rep resent
ano ther layer, in particular the st ructu re. For the relations hip between struc -
ture, skin and wha tever it is the skin represen ts. the following descriptio n o f
this relatio nsh ip - d esign ated by the term tectonics>can clarify matters:
'The co re of the concept of " tectonics" lies in the mysterious ra ppo rt
between the ability of things to be assembled and our percept io n o f those
things. It concerns the rela tions hip be tween the physical o rder informing wh at
is built and the structure o f what it is we are pe rceivin g. T his relationshi p.
between how a b uilt object manifests itself and what we sense when looking at
it, has its own d ialectics. We d o not perceive everything that can be assembled
in the tech nical -co nstructio nal sense and may be o f use, as pleasing o r even
attractive - and vice versa,'?'
Here Neumeye r is denoting the relatio nshi p between making and percciv-
ing. be tween how a build in g is organized an d how our perceptio n of it is struc-
tu red . At the same time he is iden tifying an exchange between co ns truc tion
and pe rception.
Th us, for exam ple, Schinkel's pilasters refer to the co nstructio n. the column .
The pilasters themselves have no st ructural d uties to perform , and are in fact
merely a com pone nt of the brickwork skin. No r are there columns d irect ly
behind this skin : it is the wall that is load -bearing. The pilaste rs are therefo re
onl y represent ing a symbolic construct io n, they rep resen t col um ns that are
no t act ua lly present. This game of referral is o ne that goes back to the Ancient
Greeks. In the Greek stone tem ples?' various elements refer to the principles o f
the ea rlier wood tem ple cons tructio n. In Schinkel's case howeve r it is not the
detailing of the struct ure, but an o ther layer - the skin - that refers to the struc-
tu re. Nor is it referring to the actual load -bearing st ructure hut to a symbol o f 159)

'."',f( ".. DC,,,, .,e,...<: .
bearing, the col umn. T hough this princi ple is on ly present here in a rudimcn -
tary form. the skin wo uld inc reasi ngly take o ver the role of o ther layers in the
years to follow.
The example of the Bauakadcm le like w isc ma kes clear that not ,,'wry layer
ca n represent every other layer, It is particula rly the two wit h .1 planomctric
cha racter - the skin a nd the scenery - that are able to represent and refer to
o ther layers. How, fo r ins ta nce, can a column represent the skin ? It is the f'KI
that o ur perception needs struc tu ring, as Ncurncycr points out, that brings
arc hitects to represent a buildi ng's order in its skin and scenery. It is thi s need,
besides. tha t brings them to show or represent the structure in the facade. fo r
there is no better representat ive of a building's order than its structure,
The skin protects the structu re

Despite the im portan ce o f Schi nkcl's exper iments wi th bric k to bring abo ut
the skin's indepe ndence. there was no future in brick struct urcs for large build -
ings. Skeleton co nstruc tions. and initially iro n o r steel skeletons, would take
ove r th is role. By then , however. a num ber of fi res had shown tha t unprotected
iron structures were less fi reproof than had o rigi nally been su pposed. Iron
adm itted ly is inco mbustible hut it loses its strengt h at high tem pe ratures.
...(U"H...... ,. "
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Wh en steel skeletons were ma de to reach from front facade to rea r ....'all and
enco mpass mo re than o ne sto rey. a new problem emerged. Applying a steel
skeleton d id creat e more freedom for the skin o n the one hand . bu t o n the
o ther the skeleton needed the skin to prot ect it agai nst fire.
When Gustavc Eiffel built the to wer that bears his name for the 1889 World
Exhibition. he was demonstrating the poreruials of rolled steel sections. At that
1"1 time too the Reliance Buildi ng ( 1890 - 189 5) was "'(l'C1",J in Chicago to a design
cent S 0 a recbc dE
by Da niel H. Bu rn ham & Co. n Rurntum 31 Cc>.
1l.o'I"1'I(~ "'"khn~
T his ra -sto rey building is proto-
Oic.., (11lofO· 1"I11.
typical of skyscrapers built using S....Kr: (Fr. mr"'"
1'iIl,) r . IIJ
the Chicago construction system,
that is. a steel skeleton dad in
terracot ta."
Here the steel structure is
wrapped in fi reproof terracotta
• and the facade clad with terra-
co tta elements (fi gs 55 and 56 ).
This withdraws from sight the
actual struct ure. the steel skcl-
eton. Not just a question of fi re-
proofing. the terracctta facing
also serves to give the building
more body. In the eyes of the architects of the Ch icago School. amongst whom
Burnha m and Louis Sullivan, a building o ught to have a solid presence." Thi s
meant solid materials rat her than glass and steel. ter racotta and sto ne being
particularly appropria te for the purpose.
The advantage of tcrracotta elements is that these can be tailor-made to fit
the steel sectio ns (fi g. 56). Moreover. they can be decorated in any way desired.
Unlike the skin of Schinkcl's Bauakademie which is still fully fastened to the
structure. the cladding of these first skyscra pers is. in a sense. disconnected
from the structure they conceal. The excision is situated at the interface
between the tcrracona elements and the steel skeleton or, as in the bay of the
Relian ce Bu ilding, in the space between the fa cade and the column clad in
fi reproof material (fi g. 56 above and left ). This act o f disconnection brought
the facade's independence a step closer.
All the same. there is little to he seen of a freed fa cade in the bu ildings of the
Chicago School. The protecting role played by the skin necessitates that this
sho uld follow the structure behind it in both place and form. At places where
this is not possible. the struc tu re must be protec ted separately. as can be seen
in the detailing of the holy of the Reliance Building (fi g. 56). So although skin
and structu re are in 01 sense unconnected. they remain fundamentall y related.
Scenery makes its comeback

The arrival of the iron skeleton. and later the steel skeleton. fi rst of all brought
the possibility ofconstructing floor areas that are almost en tirely free of obstacles
and ca n he stacked to 01 g reat height. The English spinni ng mills had been
• • - 'I" •• •
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S6 K", n h~ ", &. ( ·... informed hy an o pen . polyvalent space: the offi ce bui ldings in Chicago hy co n -
Rtharl<.. !>.. ,!dUI({.
trast are an expressio n of the nee d 10 divide the large open space into rooms.
' 1l "~1 (l!lo¥'· , ~ ),
T,,,,, 1. ",.,1.01 .... • As the skeleton o bvio usly co uld no t pe rform this task. a nother layer needed call-
loon Ih " ~ l.:aok
ing into play, and non -load -bearing pMI itio n walls wen: the answe r (fi g. ; 7).
,1(1\ v.
w-..-OTljt "'_ IM This sees the return of the scenery in ano ther guise. whereas in the 181h -
Inu.,oIU rI",n,n lt
century dwell ing-house the: scenery was mainl y used to d ad the: span.', he re it
....,... tw.rn .... ~
ro<.Ind Ill.< Mft'! largely se rves to div ide it. T hese non -load -bearing dividi ng walls have bee n
iJa millll' I.. tt; ,,,ni-
discon nected from the skelet o n. T he excision between wall and column allows
u l _II<I... l hn'lI!th
t..v ....111> lh.. 1... , . - no n-structura l elements to be cha nged or removed in the co urse of time. The
.olUckmmh
"",.,n on . qc.hl ,
steel skeleto n thus defi nes the generic space in wh ich the scenery in its new
R'ltlll: <o«li<... guise can be placed at will.
lhnlutth ....,1I,_ d . v
l ik 11..." <, 'IlI. UlUlIt
'1~ "".o m .. ..... " CC':
The stee l skeleton becomes a fra me
The danger that a steel struct ure might colla PSi,.' duri ng a fin' is of lesser co n-
cern in the case of low-r ise build ings, $0 when applying a steel skeleton 10 a
single level the steel ca n be left un protected . This means thilt the steel siru cturc
in low-rise build ings ca n be freely a nd open ly a rtic ulated.
As early as 19 22, Mies van der Rohe had revealed his fascina tion for the steel

(> ~ ii 11
. .
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s' 51 II<.Irnh.m 31 c....

R<oIi.11Kr bu ;Jd m~
skeleton's capacity for architectural expression. a fascination that would fi gure
Chiap> ( 11I9O-1~ 1.
prominently in his America n period . He would write: Ground f1oo, and
trric"! UPI'" floor.
'Only skyscrapers under construction reveal the bold constructive thoughts, SouKt: (G rubor.
and then the impression of the high reaching steel skeletons is overpowenng.w Pranrl dIm )
p. If>
Art iculating the steel skeleto n

Mies van der Rohe's fascination wi th the expression of the steel skeleton firs t
gains shape in a num ber of low-rise projects he designed after emigrating 10
America in 1938. Among them are th e non-reside ntial b uild ings at l11 ino is
Institute of Tech nology (nr} and th e Farnsworth House.
Co m missioned 10 design a ca mpus for th e n 'r, the new university of technol-
ogy in Chicago. and having analysed the prog ramme. Mies came to th e co nclu-
sio n that the university buildings should he develo ped o n th e basis of a mod ular
arrangement. T his would mean that teaching spaces. laboratories and offices
could he ho used in the same system . The repeatable modules therefore had to he
eco nom ical and efficient to construct. Unlike Aldo van Eyck 9fl Mies felt that the
architecture of such fl exible devel opment should have a strong character. Mies
even puts thi s forward as a co ndit ion for fl exibility: 'Only a clear expression of
th e structure co uld give us a n architectural sol ution which would last.'97 16)1
"
59 ~h.... un Jn
••
RUM ,en_ n 1l.1I.
When co nfronted with objections th at an excessively characterful archi tecture
I1 T,Olio:..1tU ( l ~
'¥\fI I. ~n;~ might soon become unfashionable. Mics responded as follows: ' I was not afra id
(S~ h l ~s l
p. IU
60 M,n u n .kr
of that . The concept wou ld no t become out moded fo r two rcasons.f t is rad ical
1U"w.<:,.,....n 11..11. a nd conservative at o nce. It is radical in accept ing th e scientific a nd tcchno-
11 T. Chi, ..!t'> ( I~O;O
logical d riving a nd su stai ning forces of ou r lime. 11 has a scientific character,
,~ I. Sou.( r. l!'"''''
~ 1~ I ) r· JjO hut it is not science. It uses technological means. hut it is not technology. It is
• • M .... un ok.
Ito ne. Cmwn H. Il,
conservative. as it is nol only co nce rned with a pu rpose hut also with a mean -
l! , . O io:allO lt~· ing. as it is not o nly concern ed with a function but a lso wit h a n expressio n. It
10K6I. Crown U..1l
is co nse rvative as it is based on the eternal laws uf architectu re: Order, Span ',
unJrr <on.' "",' ",n.
!'oclUKr. (Sl'.K1 h Proportion.? "
' vii S) p. ISO
O ne o f the must expressive buildi ngs that ,\ 1ics designed accordi ng to th is
prescription is Crown Hall. T hese premises for the facult y of architecture on
th e li T ca mpus a re based on the modula r principles of ca mpus design . In
Crown Hall Mies was able to apply his ideas abo ut articulating the skeleto n at
a greater scale (fi gs 59.60 an d 61 ).
The structu re is it steel skeleto n assembled from four ma mmoth trusses
spanning the full depth of the bui lding. Suspended from these powerfull y
articula ted and all-defining tru sses is a seco ndary steel structure. The two join
as a stable framewo rk with the skin held inside.
con U Od au or
6a Mwn . n der
Ra...... I...kc ~'R
This skin co nsists of a fl at roof a nd enfolding steel-fra med glass walls. T he roof
I>rM . J'llIrn .
ha ngs fro m th e enorm ous plate girders and th e glass panels are placed aga inst OIiClp> ( I" ·I'J'II).
Tb, ..cd Wlc10n
the inner face of the steel skeleto n. which is o utside th e envelo pe and in full unckt wnslru<:tion
view. The fra me. here composed of th e structure and th e skin. defines a large .nod intllll'lion or
thu,,".in ..ilL
generic space whose scenery of a few non-bearin g walls and movable elements
Souru; ( S~h
determines the intern al layo ut. Th is scenery - wha t th ere is of it - is fully I~ l rr- l1.nod lto
unhitched fro m the all-enco mpassing fra me.
The s kin as protection and re presentat io n

Fire prevent ion had always bee n a stu mbling block to articulating th e skeleto n
in mult iple-storey buildi ngs. O ne way o ut was to represent the structure by
taking Schinkel's experi ments with the Bauakademie a step furt he r.
When Mies van de r Rohe was com m issioned in 1948 by th e American
develo per Herbert Greenwald to design two apartment buildings on Lake
Shore Drive in C hicago. he found himself for th e first time in a posit ion to
explore his fascination with the skeleto n in a high-rise capacity.
Unlike in the buildings. fi re safety regu lations prevented Mies fro m
l IT
exposing the steel skeleton of the Lake Shore Drive apartments (fi g. 62). He
was forced 10 protect the steel against fi re. a problem his co lleagues had been
faced with for more than half a century. However. Mies was adamant abo ut
showing th at material. whereas Sullivan and co horts. in using a terracotta
cladding. had merely referred to th e building's structure.
So as to ren der the steel skeleto n palpable in th e fa cade Mies developed a
system of steel f-bearns and plates fastened to the exterio r of th e steel skeleto n.
Th e space between the steel plat es a nd the colum ns and bea ms of th e skeleton
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho a or

61 M~..·. n dn
Il.<>h.co, Lok Sh"rt
("In", ' ru lln..nh,
Chiull" h Mll ·
1"'~ I I. H" nro nl,a1 I
~
.and ",,,,,,.1 ve ·
IInn.. "Thttc 1«.
11..110 .....- ....... 1....
u,~ m·d I-Ill'. m•
..~ ...r.rrn! in
"'""MC'.nd dolJ
un I M U mM' .i.....
.. ilh .. fi ~· rni".an l
'.. •. . •
•
"
,
fin'........u....:
tSJ'M'lh ,""~ l
- .. -
-,-t:':-":'h
rP. I~ .nd 1.1.1
I
It" I
[I
"
tl f
•
,
I
'. . '. .. . .
.I ',- .
q • • •
~, ~'"
was fi lled with co ncrete. The alum ini um fra mes of the windows were the n
mou nted o n the inner side of this assembly.
Critics accused Mies of the fa ct that the l-beams attached to the facade
were purel y dec orat ive.w Mies parried this criticism as follows:
•... fi rst I a m going to tell rou the real reason fo r those mu ll io ns , and then I
am goi ng to tell you a good reason by itself. It was very impo rt ant to prescn e
and extend the rhythm which the mull ions set up o n the rest of the build ing.
We looked at it o n the model without the steel section [f- beams ] attached In
the co rner co lum ns and it d id not look right. Tha t is the real rea so n, Now the
o ther reason is that the steel sectio n was need ed to sti ffen the plate whic h
covers the co rne r colu mns so this plate would no t ripple. and also we needed
it for strength when the sectio ns were hoisted into place. Now, o f co urse, that's
a very goo d reaso n - but the o ther on e is the real reason ,"?"
[66J T his quote clearly shows that M ies's principal concern was indee d urchitec -
Coni S 0 a recbc dE
, ' .
CD
tural expression. He sought to express I8l
CD
the co ncealed steel skeleto n using a
Cl
representative of tha t skeleto n: the I-
beam s moun ted on the fa cade,'?' Mies, o
c:
who found the rhythm of the steel skel-
'"
CD
eton too crude,quadrupled this rhythm
co . , ..
in th e l-beams. like Schinkel before
him . Mies represented a sym bolic struc-
..--.-. - --.-:< -- ... . , , ,
::::Jt>
ture. as o nly one of every four l-beams

fronts a column. On the ground floor.
suggestion briefly becomes realit y as
the load-bearing columns reappear
here. It sho uld be said that these col-
umns too a rc dad with fireproof mat-
erial concealed behind thin profiled
steel plate.
What makes the Lake Shore Dr ive
apartments except ional is the way Mies
deploys th e largely steel skin to articu- 64 Min ..,n<kr
RoM. ~Ir.r Shorr
late the steel skeleto n (fi g. 63 ). At th e same time the need to protect that skel- ()1'1~ 'p4-Mn>c'nh.
eton requ ires a link between skin and structure that prevents these two layers Oi4-'\lUh9-43·
IIIS I ). PLon of Irtin(l.
from becoming ent irely d isconnected. Here th e excision can be loca ted behind kw!. Sou,cc:
the steel plating. o ne of whose duties was to hold the fireproof layer of pou red ( ~ h ll18s ) P. II I
6S M on ...noo
concrete in place. Weld seams interrupt the excision at regular intervals. Roht.~Ir.rSh..re
This design . again. does not fundam entally alter the position of the skin !lr;"" , p,rl mtrm .
Oic,p' ( t<H3-I9SI ).
with regard to the structure. Here too. fa cade and skeleton are inseparably ln lrnur ,.( , douhlr·
bound. ,;,('<) I plrlmnll
Although Mies van der Rohe gives much thought on the exterior to the
aspect of architectural expression through representation. in the interior the
structure reappears as thick squa re steel columns which in their expression
resemble concrete o nes. lust as in the earlier Chicago towers. it is th e steel skel-
eton tha t constitutes a frame. This frame defin es the generic space for the scen -
ery which in turn determ ines the intern al layou t of th e apartments (fig. 6.. ).
Even though th e steel skeleton cannot be perceived in the interior, it still
operates as a frame. Just how generic the space defined by the skeleto n is can
be read from the apartment building's current use. Still considered a desirable
place to live. its int erior is regularly modified and refurbished. It is not excep-
tional for two a partments to be combined into one (fi g. 65).
•
66 I'rIl1< irl.. "f

r"In f" l'n d , ulI< rrtC'
Thr ee layers on equal foot ing
( IlI<,1 d . ~~nnc'
1 1rn~U('.
!>o.IU'''': ( Fr~ m rl"n

It sho uld he clear hy now that in build ings with a steel skeleto n, skin a nd struc-
l~ l r.I U
ture arc o bliged to join forces in the interests of fi re preventio n. The skeleto n
ca n be dad in gyps um and co ncrete for th at purpose hu t the steel can also he
en cased in poured co ncrete. This last-named Slr,llt:gy requires less steel, hen ce
the name concrete skeleto n. Although the development und ergone by th e
three layers in the concrete skeleto n hears similarities In I hat under gone in the
iron and steel skeleto ns. the fi re-resistant co ncrete versio n would open lip new
possi bi lit ics.
In 1879 the French structu ral engineer Francois Hcnnebiq ue Wd S engaged
in designing a villa in Lombardzeydc on the Belgian co ast. The brief called for
a steel structure. Ho wever, the neighbouring villa wh ich had had the' saint'
co nstruction had bu rnt to the ground sho rtly before. The steel skeleton had
succumbed to the heal of the co nflagration. Hcn ncbiquc then hit upon the
idea of inco rporating hot -rolled steel sectio ns in poured concrete.'?'
He understood the new possibil ities of the combi nation of steel and con-
cretc a nd dur ing the next rz yl'ars co nd uc ted research into th is new met hod of
co nstruction. He replaced the hot-rolled sectio ns with iron bars a mi reinforced
co ncrete was born (fi g. 66) .loJ In 1892 Henncbiquc had his syste m of rein fo rced
co ncrete patented in Franc" and Belgium .
The systtmt' /Imf/filiI/lit, developed by leaps and bounds. Many bridges.
buildings and reservoirs were built using it. By the tim e of }lennebiq ue's death
in 11)21, the number of buildings and civ il en gineering works erect ed using his
system had reached so mething like 4 0 .0 0 0 . In 181)8 Hcnncbiquc founded 1.('
Bt't01I armc, a magazine ded icated to disscmina ting a knowledge o f rein forced
16 1 J cu nc rcte."'4
con U Od au or
..
..tJ- _..L;j _ _ .. . ..± t::tE
•
"
e-_ Io...,...
67 le' C oin.
D..m -I okkIun
11"" -4l. T'tIr lwu rrn-
1TI<"" column. ~
brrn omilltd from
Ih "~I""
dr.w",~ lu t1......
IM
("" Ihlt ,hi. i. only
• fr.~_n l. li<>UK~:
1flunip:T .00
~UI><>IU" l'>llo-4 l p. Ij
61 le' C...h uOln.

• lrlklur"' (om ~ .
lionofUlIm -lno-k.
'9 ,. kton !1..,1-4 l. !MJur~r.
1flunlp:T .00
~"""'IU" 1~-4 l p. Jj
Dom-Ino: the concrete skeleton is disconnected
69 le' C~.
In 1914 le Corb us icr developed the Maison Dom- Ino for the purpose of reco n- M.i..... U..m-I"..
h "" -4 l. l m rrnoion
structing villages in Flanders and Northern France. He reali zed that the pro -
of inlrl"l"" ...ilh
d ucti on of vast numbers of inexpens ive houses requ ired an industrial mode of t1.nd.I..lIlN (UP-
ht"rd.. su ..r.r.
assembly com para ble to that of the ca r in dustry. IO'l U: Corb usier fe lt it must be
1fl<>r'ti,," '00
possible to reb uild the Flemish villages over the same period of time it had Sh_'l'\>lI l~ ) p. I~
taken to destroy them. H>l'> 70 M U ll. or ( 0 11 ·
t1rum"IIM llum.
The Dom -Ino unit is ba sed on a standard ized rei nforced co nc rete skeleton 1110 .J..drt..n a.:cord ·
a Id systeme Hennebique (figs 67 and 68). In opting for reinfo rced concrete U: inl'n Furd. SnUKc':
I fnrd I.,....,) p. In
Corbus ier assumed that this techn ique would facilitate the rapid and efficien t
production of houses. The Dom -Ino principle can be d istilled down to the fol-
lowing four pcintsr'< 1691
, ..
. .. I .. .. O(, I .. I .. C I." CI
...' ,01 tH ... .-U~.

.
U»"lI'.
IVI ''''' I
• " ""'4'
\11 11'... . .
l' " .. CAlf........,.

M.....n ().. m· l....
1 The structure is inde pendent of its cont ent.
lI~ ' . I. f'I.o n .al1
dwrih nr. (n r.hl), 2 The skeleton is cast in situ with out the use of co mplica ted forrnwork.
J...... d....llon ll. (Idt).
Sou«:r. ( ",>('\ i(lC"
3 An engineer's firm can be on call to manu fa cture the structure on site.
..00 !'oh_>f<W '*4 ) .. A seco nd com pa ny ca n be made responsi ble for producing the furnis hings
p. zund {..... I..nd
....&., dr..w,.." no.
a ided by standard ized cupboards. doors a nd windows.
'\U II An essential compone nt of th e production method Le Corbusicr propn~s
for th e Maison Dom -Ino is the complete independence between th e structure

(the co ncrete skeleto n) and the other elements (windows, doors and walls)
completing the building.'?" By using sta nda rd izatio n and a special co ncrete
techniqu e Le Corbusier hoped 10 produce the skeleto n cheaply: 011 the same
lime, a sta nda rd ized measu rement system meant tha t cupboards, doo rs and
windows could be man ufact ured bylocal industry (fi g, 1l9),
Le Corbusier felt th at costs co uld be kepi down by casting th e concrete
in situ without formwo rk. How th is was to be done is not exactly dear from
the relevant text in th e CEllvr{' CO",p l(I{'. l~ In principle he used a then current
construction technique which involved placing hollow bricks o n wooden
scaffolding and pouring the concrete o n top (fi g. 70). An adva ntage of this
method is th at the bricks act as permanent formwork a nd 01 1 the same liml'
cont S oa fOC a ,
72 k C... >rhulicT.
dni~n .kt~h ,01
I),mt -I".. hou,ins.
SouTcr: IB"niS"
and 51o"""... , ~ )
,.,.
bring about a reduction in weight.

Looking at the perspective drawing Le Corbus ier made of the Dom-Ino
skeleton (fi g. ('1 ) we are struck by a number o f details. For example, the tloor
slabs cantilever one metre in one d irection only. The perspective shows the
ca ntilever at the other side to be a mere ten centimetres. This points the skel-
eto n in a particular direction. In cases when the building ends in th e short
ca ntilever. the o utermost layer of the fa cade ca n run along the co lumns. In the
other di rection the facade in principle stands one metre away from the col-
umns o n the edge of the ca ntilever.
It should be said that th e famous perspective drawing of the Dom-Ino
skeleto n is in some ways mi sleading. It suggests that it is a building co m ponent
in its own right. However. by studying the design s Le Corbus ier made on th e
basis of this Dom-Ino principle. it p roves to be a continuous skeleton that was
cast in one piece. including the stairs (fi gs 67 and 71).
As the co ncrete skeleton is by its very nature fi reproof. the fa cad e no longer
needed to pro tect the skeleto n. This made the facad e as free as the scenery. In
the Dom -Ino system . th en. skin and structure can be fully d isconnected from
each other. Here the excision co nsists o f a mortar joint between the co nc rete of
the skeleto n and the brickwork of the facade.
Whenever there is a need for series of smaller rooms, an independent sys-
tem is required to segment the spaces. as with the Chicago steel skeleto n dis-
cussed earlier. In the Maison Dom- Ino (t914-t915) this system co nsists of the
non -structural partition walls. cupboards and doors. This scenery has been
disconnected fro m the structure in the same way as the skin (fi g. 71). The exci-
sio n is once again formed by th e mortar jo int or the contact plane between
non -bearing partition wall and conc rete skeleton.
Model floor plans v" of the Maison Dom- Ino (1914· 1915) show that th e place-
men t of these partitions and cupboard s relics heavily on the presence of the
co ncrete skeleton. All partit ion walls proceed fro m the positions of the columns.
No single colu mn is free-standing. Evid ently there is a difference between pus-
sessing freedom and exploiting it architectu rally,
Eleanor Grcgh considers the placement of the columns along th e' edge of
the rooms (in the width ) and the smooth fl oors without support ing beam s to
be key to th e funct ioning o f the Dom -Ino skeleton. T his is the essence of the
Dom-Ino principle for Colin Rcwc.too.!' ' In taking th is view Grcgh and Rowc,
and others besides. are looking ahead to qualit ies of the skeleton that Le Corbu-
sier would only develop in later designs, particularly the white villas. A~ for
00 " · " .0
T "" ,( ,."u ' 0.
lu (o nu" .., , .. '" " ...u o ....... [ ...u " o ..
Di"';Uf\n«Iion
t.ctWffn '''OCf<1r
..&drt.. n ~nd .ki n. - - ~• '"
P~n i.ol frmn, " f
..........y.
w i,i"n :
- m..rl~r jom l
t.ctWffn ' u"" f<1r
.1.rktu n <lnd J'l rtll lO<1
w.lI.
- mnrl~f jouml
htf......<I'.. no:f<1r S1fI'C1~'r
.LVI.. n <lnd f... ~Jr.. - -- - -- -
S« fiJ. jt> for q.,nd "'ern
"
Le Corbusier, fired by th e housin g problem dur ing th e First World War, he was
int erested not in freeing part itions a nd facades hut in findin g an efficient way
to produce housing,
Structure and sce ne ry
The ser ies of villa designs Le Co rbusier made in the 19 2m. gave him the
freedom to further explore th e a rchitectural qualit ies of th e Dom -Ino skcl-
eton . His resea rch into the potentials of the Dom -Ino skeleto n and the 'free
plan nin g' principles of the pia" /ilm' culminated in his design for th e Villa
Savoyc.
Villa Savoye: a fugue of structure and sce nery

In the Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, abandoni ng the structural side wall s of th e
foregoin g designs, took the colu mn grid to its logical conclusion. T he villa's
cont s oa fOC a ,
•
·- H-I .
'"
\- - .
•._-++
- .. " ,
.........
-,
,- - - .'- - - .- - - .'- - -1
L - -_ L_---'---
I _ _ 1_ _
• • •
• .-- -
,
-
- • I I
--- •
-J -
•••
•
•
l - •
, . -
•
- •
•
....,- •
; I I I
t - ~' •
• ... · ll--~--
• ,
_.
,,
,
,• • • • • •
• .... -... -.---...•
" 14 b Cor .........' .
\"il~ !>.l...~. Poi... y
( I<u 'i l. ( :..tum n
structure is based on a column grid of 4.75 by 4.75 metres: th ere aTC four TOWS Itrid. 1n Ih ll d r~w
inr:u n~..,..., Ih~
of colum ns in the width and five along the len gth. The skeleto n cantilevers
;'I"C'JUI. r;lin in IM
lengthwise as it did in th e Dom- Ino system o f 19 14. but thi s time 1.25 metres r:rid.. !ioou rLr. (lin u .
~ IWl l r·llI
(fi g. 74). The grid deviates o n several co unts in the lone round the central
1i bC... bul~.
ram p."! viD. s...""",. Pui~y
l l'il 'il. P\.o n..
le Corbusier sought for each floor J new relationsh ip between co ncrete
Sour«: l l\..niltff
skeleto n a nd internallayout (fig. 75). Each time it produced a different rapport l'ill ) rr. 41-. ,
between skeleto n and walls. O n the ground fl oor, th e pilot is engineer a partial
disconnection of the built volume from the gro und plane and the co nc rete
co lum ns on that level en able the facade line to billow freely. The walls defining
the internal layout of the servants' quarters and the ga rage are co nsistently
held clear of the colum ns at almost every point. 1nl

"
" "
Le Corbusicr perm itted him self one or
two deviation s in his applicatio n n f a
bcarnlcss fl oor. At the entrance, for
exa mple, we find three beams cmcr-
ging fru m under th e fl oor. O ne rests o n
a portal fram e that do ubles as an en-
trance gateway. A recess has been made
above the en trance at th e place where
th e beam pie rces the facade ( f ig. 76),
These beam s return in thelivi ng TOu rn
on the fi rst fl oo r, and in the sleeping
" quart ers on that same fl our a beam
reaches fro m facade to facad e, T hree factors explain these visible beam s: the
irregularities in the skeleton caused by the ramp, th e need to ens ure th e skel-
eto n's stability, and th e add itionalload th e skeleton has to hea r as a result of
the roof construction.
O n the fi rst fl oor we can once again ident ify a d isconnection bet ween the
column grid and the enclosure o f the spaces. The walls in th e sleeping q uart ers
engage with the columns in a ca t-a nd-mouse ga me, avoiding being touched
hy the colum ns wherever th ey can. Le Corb usicr uses such tactics 10 continu -
1741 all y demonstrate the di sconnection between structure a nd scenery (fi g, 77).
cent 5 0 a ho 000
At the e nd of th e ram p o n the rooftop level stands a fancifully curved wall. In 16 1.0'('. ..............
\'i14 5.0~. Poiw.y
principle this wall is part of the cha ngeable com pone nt of th e villa. Like parts
( ''i~9 1. l ntr.""r
of th e facade, it is co nstruc ted in a hybrid fashion. A conc rete skeleto n- like con- with truu ~lIrron '
in~ ,Ilt tor.m.
struction has been filled with holl ow bricks and th en ren dered wh ite (fi g. ; 8).
Soura: (Lt Corbu -
In all other respects th is wall has a perman ent cha racter, for we cannot imag- """' and Jr. nPrTI1
1931)
ine th e Villa Savcye without it. 11 re (:ori>uoorr,
A d ilemma presents itself. The co lum n has left the wall. so that the latter is VIi45.0.-orr. Poi w.y
h ill" '. Int.."", of
unconnected to the skeleto n and therefore free. Yet wall a nd skeleto n arc still ba,h",om ...ilh ft«-
fundam entally linked. The wall's position with rega rd to th e colum n and beam OI.OOinll column.
hram . OO 010....
is determin ed by th e composition the two elements a re en gaged in, a co mpost- _ h
tio n held captive within the box defined by the fa cade line. They arc locked in l ' Lt CothUMn.
ViII. 5.o....yr. Poi...y
a fugue, and arc th ereby eq ually indis pensable and, in arch itectural terms, ( I'i~'il_ Ca r(.., ut
equally permanent (fig. 79). "yin~ ........ . 00
n .. >f. phol0V.rhtd
Le Corbusier uses th e freedom the skeleto n holds out for the partition
d url n~ conOl ruction
walls to powerfully articulate the scene ry. As a result th e scene ry looks likely to ...or'" Smuu;
lt.O' Corhu.'ic'r .00
take over the role of frame. at least architecturally, The skelet on has admittedl y
InnnrM' II)' )
relieved the wall of its load -transferring duties, but as long as it fai ls to take 19 Lt Cofbusirr.
V,II. s.-,or. ""'..y
ove r th e wall's task o f determining th e building's character, the wall is not
( 19 l 9 ). fup or
trul y free. c...... ~t oJ<.tlI1on
. 00 ","n n",n ... H,
But the powerfully articu lated scenery ( all constitute a frame. Then, given
." ......ou
lu couu"u,
Coordm.'lOn of ,....
I.~ .....
wO'.",,: mot'Ut joint Se. n• ..,.
~Wftfl CU"'~t
.ulrto n.OO ~."' ion

... Ill,
See li&- J6 (,,, Itvt>d
SI,.. d .... - - - - - - - - .
the absence of othe r fram ed layers, the generic space defined by the scene ry will
be a polyvalent space. Most of th e spaces defined by th e scenery of th e Villa
Savoye, however, arc too closely tailored to the programme to he generic. This
ca n be best seen in the sleepi ng q ua rters on the first fl oor where the spatial 1151

di vision closely follows the Il l-ou t a nd
fu rnishi ngs. T he form of one of the
baths ca n he read in the fl oo r plan and
the sto ne couch is itself part o f t he
scenery (fig, 77).
Skeleto n and sce nery disconnected

b ut not freed
In t he- development frmn the Maison
Dom-Ino o f 191 4 1u the- Villa Savoyc we
sec th e scenery ste-ad ily gain ing indc-
pendence.! n I hc l xun -I01) unit o f 1914.
this happens on ly in t he structu ra l sense
althou gh h ere th e relationship betv...ccn
scenery and structure is com parable
wit h th at between partitio n wa ll an d
steel skeleton in th e fi rst Chicago sky-
scraper'i. In t he- stri ng o f wh ile villas,
sce nery and st ruct u re evolve in to t wo
independent layers, also a rchitecturall y. T he r im!iibrc is Ihe co ndi tio n for th is
",.am . r n'fC"l
I '1I'11-' lIl ' I. s.>un;~ freedom .
t hamr'un ' \Ill J)
In th ese villas the skin is still closely rela ted to t he st ruc tu re. T he onl'l'xcep -
p. ll'
lion is th e cu rved facade p lane o n the g ro u nd floo r of t he Villa Savoyc.
It is only later. wit h t he a rrival of the cu rtai n wall. tha t sk in a nd struc tu re
get fu lly discon nected. With the facade disco nnected an d t ran sform ed intoa
transpa ren t m emb rane. the skeleto n ca n be a rticula ted without restrict ion. Le
Corh usier co nt ri b u ted to th is p rocess hl' in t rod uci n g a cu rt ai n wall into h is
d esign fo r La cite- refu ge de l'Arm ee de Salu t (1932-1933).11) O thers had p re-
ced ed him in the sea rch fo r a stand-alone facade.
Stru ctu re and skin
~ lany }'ears before Le Corb us ier realized h is fi rst cu rtain wa ll , vario us architects
in Germa ny and th e Neth erlands we re engaged in d evelopin g th e free facade.
O ne major in fluence o n t h is development was the m odel made o f ~I i l's va n
dcr Rohe's design of 1919 -1921 fo r a jo-sto rcy apa rt men t tower clad in a trans-
parent glass skin. th e Glass Skyscra pe r (fi g. HI ). Although th e plans su p ply litt le
informat ion about how th e tower W<l S to be constructed . o ne t h ing is clear:
cent 5 0 a ho 000
Mies van de Rohe saw that applying a
glass facade wou ld allow great freedom
in the fo rm a bu ilding co uld take. Th e
glass skin cou ld be wrapped round any
form imag inable.
The Dessau Bauhaus: the curtain o

wall is freed
Waiter Gropi us, po ssibly insp ired by
Mies's Skyscra per project, designed the
new premises for the Bauhaus in Dessau,
which opened in 19 26. 11 is co nceivable
that Mies was in turn influenced by th e
large expanses of glass of th e Pagus •
Factory (fig. 81 ) designed by Gropius la Gropiuu nd

,"Ic-yn, h~ u.
and Adolf Meyer in 1911. Again , this fa ctory building can be traced back to th e
f a<lory (l'''' )'
old brickwo rk fa ctory of 1761 at Stanley Mill (fi g. 52). In the Fagu s Factory th e Souu r. l f r.mJ>lOft
l 'ilIj ) p, 11101
m ill's brick infi ll beneath the windows has ceded to a taut glass skin, its steel-
framed glass walls extending th e bui lding's full heigh t.
Back in th e 19th century the 'greenhouse builders' Turner and Burton (Kew
Ga rdens, IRolol ) and Paxton (Crystal Palace, 1851 ) had shown what could be done
by combin ing glass and iron. What was new about the Dessau Bauhau s, th en,
was not the use of glass in architecture but the disconnection between the glass
facade and th e co ncrete skeleton behind it (fi g. 83). This holds in part icular for
the large glass expanse of the three-storey block of workshcps.!'"
Shunning all co mpro mise, Gropi us spans a glass membrane in fron t of the
tloors and columns. T he fa cade has been radically disconnected from th e skel-
eton. O n axis with each column is a windbeam (fi g. 85), a hollow mullion set in
the fa cade and fastened at the upper storeys to th e concrete floor slab."! T he
windbcam not only takes up th e wind load bu t marks the po sition of the con -
crete column it fronts. Thus, together th e windheams represent the presen ce of
the skeleto n.'!"
Aside from the occasional attachment between windbeam and floor, th e
fa cade is held clear of the concrete floo rs. The genero us space thi s leaves marks
the excision. Gro pius permits himself a single strip o f wall below the fen est ra-
tion at gro und level.
The co ncrete skeleto n of th e workshop block cantilevers in two directions.
The dist ribut ion of forces acting upon it is expressed by having the projecting
beams taper towards th e facade. This articulation occu rs in one direction only. 1771

a) Gr"'f'ilU, S.u-
Mw.. Drnwu h ll161.
"
Cun.m w.Uof .1w
wurk.... >pL Sour~~
({ ;mpIlli l l1 lO l r.'"
a.. G""J'iUI, s.u·
h.o.... l.".....u h 9~ I.
C.omr t.ll" r<'"r«-
I,.,. in wh",h u ,n
be tftfI IIw u nl, ·
.........;nlll1.·....
In the other - the secondary di rection of the skeleton - there arc no beams tu
Iwnu t flghll
as G."l"' u IU,,· support the jutt ing floor.
h,u.... [~ u !I11ll» .
Cun , m w.ll 01.1w
wc.. ktoho(>t. window The combined frame
dtt.. lt ...-U....i1nlll..
The Bauhaus skeleton's expression as occasioned hy the curtain wall can also
k m! . TIw In"'" ......
i- on Itw riglll. he seen from outside. part icularly at the transparent co rners (fi gs HJ and 84),
SouK~ (ron! I _I
Although th e skin a nd the concrete skeleto n a rc nut CU I1!1l,.' ' 'l,."tJ ph ysically, the
p . l~
skin is still subo rd inated to the structure in term s o f its placement and sub-
div ision,
T he fra me is a combinat ion of co ncrete skeleto n a nd transparent curtain
Cont S oa r
Slruau rr . i k,n ~nd K rnrory
U U " . u t O Il UU
!c;.oPIU I I CO " . ' ''IO . . . ... (; I " " ' C IP .CI ..
Combinat f. u,..., of
~on..r1r ....d ..."n . nd - PoIyoo.1oftI .pact
f. u .k okli...,. poly_
U knl'r"':",
t:Ui..itm : Ai. p r
bC'IWffn lit",. and
fau .k rnindit:ally
pu...." ...C'd hy
cramf"-. St.uClw..
Sn- fi ~,,,. ..... \rtlrI>d •
U in
..
wall. The two enfold the large open space for the workshops, the generic space.
This generic space is left undivided; there is no scenery here. The form and
dimensions of this space make it polyvalent.
The frame is assembled from two distinct layers: struct ure and skin. When -
ever th e frame is formed by a combination of layers I use the term combined
frame. The difference between the combined frame and the earlier-mentioned
integrated frame (see the section 'The cast-iro n colum n', p. 53 ) is that the layers
constituting the frame arc still individually recognizable as layers in th e com -
bined fram e but not in the integrated frame.
Zonnestraa l; art iculat ing the conc rete skeleton

In the Dessau Bauhau s the structure is still articulated in part wit hin the skin's
taut membrane. In Zo nnestraal, however. the skin is entirely subordinated to
th e articu lation of structure. Here th e conc rete skeleto n is a frame that defines
th e generic space for the scenery and the skin.
In abo ut 1925 lohannes Duiker and Bernard Bijvoet put the finish ing
touches to the design for the buildings that made up Zonnestraal aftercare
colony in Hilversum. Instigated by the Amsterdam Union of Diamond-workers,
thi s sanatoriu m was to help tuberculosis sufferers regain their strength and
prepa re them for th eir return to day-to-day life ( T B was a com mon disease
among diamond-workers). In the first instance the architects' commission was
for a pair of pavilions for TB patien ts plus a main service block contain ing th e
adm inistratio n. kitche ns, recreational facilities and the boiler room.
The format of the aftercare co lony was influenced by similar projects in the
Un ited Kingdom."? These generally consisted of semi-permanent buildings in 1791
' . ...'1 .. .. 01: 1 .. ' .. ( 1
'7 l >U ilc-t ~ , oJ Bii·

" 1C'1 . (lrn>< lhu n
p...-i1" "•. I",,,n.
N ....1. fl ,k" n um
1'\I.u l. A~,'I\o,> n1""'"
of wn.: . t lt .L>lt1<>"
..il h . ,,,,,,,ut n lnf
" .... f~ pI.... oN I.""
~, l".tiully in l ilt
.. ; nlt, ~nJt ••n, ·
'''''''lJ.' In ,to.. ( m ·
Ir .l \'l' rl ~ '" .....",t :
( ,,", k. II'f n h~ hl c1
. 1. ,<11\, I p , U.l
cottage style. In d eed . Dui ker an d Biivo er's prel iminary d esigns for Zon nestraul
sho w semi-perma nent ti m ber buildi ngs.!"
T he fina l design. howe ver. is on e o f co ncrete and glass. In ret rospect. it is
cur io us that the architects, who had o n ly a lim ited b udget at their disposal.
o pted fo r an end uring and expensive material like rein for ced co nc rete.
The fact th at errors in t he co n st ructio n have un in tentio nally rend ered it
perish able ins tea d , makes th is questio n no less iutercsring. T h..· o n ly cx plana -
tio n is t hat Duiker and Biivoe t had their own agenda. T hey probab ly wan tc-d 10
ex p lore t he porcnt ials o f rein forced concrete in archi tec ture.'!" T he assu m p-
tio n that th ey had in ten tio ns of their own is strengthened hy the fa d that
the mod ern a rch itect ure o f Du iker and Bi jvoet was no t held in high esteem
hy the wo rk -ers' m ovement . Polak . for exam ple. on e o f tha t movcm cn I\; I..-ad -
i n ~ figures and respo nsible for comm ission ing Zonnestraal. kept silen t for
a lo ng time befo re open ly speaking nu t against mod ern a rch itect u re.'!" The
many d eviatio n s a nd unusual so lutio ns att enda nt o n t he concrct..' skd d ..m
o f t he m a in service b lo ck a re evidence t hat Duikcr and Bijvoet were cxp eri -
m cnting wi th the st ructu ral and architect u ral poten rials o f the con crete skel-
eto n.
Although th e use o f glass faca des in combination with a co ncrete skeleto n
in Zo n nest raa l at fi rst looks less rad ica l tha n in t he Dessau Bauha us - nil all -
envelo ping curta in wall fo r D uiker and Hijvoct - their d esign is no net helessa
step furthe r along the path In com plete independ ence for th e st ruct u re.
The realized share of Duikcr and Bi jvoet's project consists (If t wo pavilions
jl o l for ho usin g the pati ents and th e m ain se rvice b loc k alo ng: w ith a hand fu l o f

Structu r~, sl,," . nd K~
I , • •
•
• • . •
~. . •
•
•
•
f- .. Dui"r and Rij·
~. Zonnrsuul,
• . ~
I
I-
• • L
'-
Hl!vt'num lI 9)1)•
Grou nd floor of
.., !
m.in block. Souru:
~ (Ra", fbrnhard rt
;al, 19111 ) p. , 0(\
• '9 Du,ur . nd Bij ·
• • • • W>rI. l<>nnnl' u1,
H 'Mnu m (IU t ).
C4CU
• lltnooolh uyt
• • • P.vilion. Soorcr.
• (7.<W1rbrood ,~ l
.-' p . SS
,,
! 90 l>uikn.nd Bij-
W>(1. Znn~lra.aL
H ~u m 1I9).!.),
• Cono:;M~ WI<1un
• of nu;" block
..
..
smaller buildings. Of the two pavilions. the Dresselhuys has a tripartite config-
urat ion . a central po rtion including a com munal lounge and two elongated
wings of patien ts' rooms.
The wings have a concrete skeleto n placed longitud inally, with a span of
nine metres for each bay (fi gs 87 and 89). Steel-framed windows sit between
the columns and belo w the bea ms run ning lengthwise. As the bea ms have bee n
sha ped 10 meet the distribution of forces as in Dessau, the windows have cha m-
fe red corners.'?' The fl oors ca ntilever on two sides to receive the corridors and
the balco nies o f th e pa tients' rooms respect ively.
The far more complex mai n block is assembled from three long volumes
pinned in place by a cruciform upper storey. Each of the two a rms resting on
two volu mes oversails a road. The three volumes house th e ad ministration.

,.~ ... ( ~ " l) C (" I . ' C ' . ~ C (
91 l>uiln and flii·

V<>r1 .1 nnnnul .
IhM um ( l<,J}.Il.
-
l>o1ail OhM con.
cftt e skltton. The
t.ram l' J"C"n I"
oKu.mm<,due IM
btndln ttmomrn l.
Sou..c: ta.k. l\orn-
hard r! al. 1""'1 I
p . IOI
9 1 Duikt. ~nd flii'
w ... l , l ...........uul.
Ih~ m ( ' 9.111.
Th.. u b.,.am
9' 9'
rtnr1 U1 /M .km
10 uJ"I'C ,.... ........ .
'""
9J l>u ,k . I nd fI'I'
vorl. z..", nnllul .
IliMnu m (' 9}.1).
ConUTI.. okck1nn
tu irrcd durintt rn--
,"'It'onIn JuOI
the main kitchen and the boiler room respectively <fig. 88), with the din ing
halls in the crucifo rm upper sto rey.
Like the wings of the Dresselhuys Pavilion, the two elo ngated volumes of the
main service block have a concrete skeleton with bea ms run ning len gt hwise.
The cruciform level has a skeleton wh ich, save fo r the occa siona l deviation, is
sym me trical o n both sides ( f ig. 90 ).
Beam s rest ing on columns and canrilevering generously proceed in four
directi on s from a squa re itsel f resting o n four colum ns. Th is system ad mit s to
two dev iatio ns: in its sout he rn part a numbe r of beam s set widthways in the
roo f fl oo r above the stage adjoi ning the dini ng ha ll space, and on the west side
a more radical deviat io n to accom modate a generous stair.
Co untless det ails d raw attention to the fa ct tha t Duiker and Bijvoet at tached
great importance to art icul at ing the co nc rete skeleto n. The.' skeleto n t akes pri-
macy. defining the gen eric space fo r the skin a nd the scenery, As the facade has
been disco nnected here, the steel-fra med windows can be placed wherever the
[lal programme req uires. where glass is needed at the building's per iphery, the.'
Cont S oa r
94 lIui""r .nd Ri,·
~ , 7...onIW'C ruJ,
t1 i~...u rtl (19 }1).
UlIICn1t ~on
of 1114' "",in t>I<x"
with ahow il lM
."in.nJ "'"'"" of
tMunlral ."lu!m
glass skin is spanned over the skeleton; where an overhang, a cantilever or a shel -
tered. balcony is required, the glass is set back and the skeleton protrudes through
the glass membrane (fig. 91). One column stands dear of the facade, whereas an-
other is logically incorporated in it. Beams cantilever in a decorative gesture and
taper to accommodate the distr ibution of forces. Overhan gs extend both in-
wards and outwards and this is what is exceptional: the facade, the glass mem-
brane separating inside and outside, nimblychanges position so that at times the
skeleto n projects through it. thru sting large overhangs into the open space.
That Duiker and Bijvoet gave priority here to showing the expressive skel-
eton can also be read in a facade detail in the administrative wing. The concrete
skeleton set lengthways in this wi ng deviates on one count. Its northernmost
row of columns ca rries a cross beam; where this makes contact with the facade
the architects have expressed it as a square facet intruding on the membrane of
steel and glass (fig. 9Z ). Again, the fact that a photograph 111 was taken of the
exposed skeleton during construction illustrates how important articulating
the skeleton was for Duiker and Bijvoet (fig. 95 ). And the stripped concrete
skeleton during the restoration in ZOO I shows how the essence of this building
is defined by its skeleton (fig. 93 ).
In taking this course of action, Duiker and Bijvoet sidestep the problem of
the curtain wall as being an element that generales freedom for the skeleton
but also restricts the latter's articula tio n
with an omnipresent membrane of
glass. Wh ereas the facade is a n indelible
part o f Le Co rbusier's white villas, in
Zonnestraa l Duiker and Bijvoct demote
it tu seco nd place. As long as the fa cad e
has the: righ t degree of transparency.
the buildi ng will retain its character. In-
deed, the skeleton is just as expressive
•
when deprived of a facade (fi g. 93).
9S Duiur and Bi j · One might wonder whether a rticu -
......-I.h>n nnl'ul,
t li","", m 1 1~}1 l .
lat ing the: beams might not place restrict io ns on the free plan. in view of th e
Th.. n_'..'.. wl - fa ct that Le Corbusier preferred a beamless fl oor (sec elsewhere in this chapter,
<'tun " m inI! fu 'lh..
Umr' a_s....,...:
p. 72) to avoid referring to the struc tural grid. In the Dressclh uys Pavilion this
( b OC"Id>rn..d l~l l problem is partly eliminated by laying the beams longitudinally, T hese then do
p. S\l
noth ing to obstruct the parti tion walls, placed at three-met re inter vals. nf the
pa tie nts' rooms, In the main block. walls and fen estrat ion pay little heed tu the
play o f beams.
Duiker and Bijvoet regarded the posit ion o f partition walls as less crucial for
the architectural expressio n: as scenery. thei r posit ion was largely determined
by the programme (fig. 94). If the re was a beam in the way a recess was made.'
in the wall to accommodate it, and sometimes glass hands and roof light s were
the answer.
In the Vi lla Savoye there is tha t one exceptio n where a beam protrudes
ro u
(DU
~
0 I ' l_onl ....... co . .....e ,

AU"U ' O "
U CI f O_
Sk, ..
•
1.,
cont S oa fOC a ,
th ro ugh the facade above the fron t door (fig. 76); in Zon nestraal this is the
rule. Duiker and Bijvoet's fl uid treatment of the facad e and internal walls p re-
vent s the strongly art icula ted concret e skeleto n (bea ms included ) from pro -
hibiting a n o pen plan. This co mes across most clearly in the main kitchen (the
central portio n in f ig. 88). Here, the progra m me info rm s every aspect of the
space's subdivision witho ut the building's expressio n sufferin g as J. result.
Trusting in the expression a nd all-pervading order of the concrete skeleto n,
the in ternal a rr angement and form of the spa ce is here mad e subordi na te to
the skeleto n's a rticula tio n and st ructuring capa cities. Skin and scene ry fo llow
the programme, the ir expression subo rdi nated to that of the structu re.
Interplay of struct ure, skin and scenery
In principle we have covered every aspect of the three layers in question. Zonne-
straal would seem the perfect example of the fully articulated structu re that d efin es
a generic space fo r skin and scenery. The in terrelatio nship between layers can he
more complex, however. Van Eyck's Orphanage in Amsterdam and Hertzberger's
Cent raal Beheer office build ing in Apeldoorn will serve to prove that point.
The Orph anage; re prese ntation of th e fram e

When Aldo van Eyck landed the co m mission fo r the O rphanage (Bu rgerwees-
h uis) in 1955, the programme for this b uilding called fo r a design based o n a
d ivisio n of the child ren in to age groups. The brief ad ditio nally incl uded a
n umber of cen tral facilities. Va n Eyck elected to gather all these facto rs in to
a co m plex entity resembl ing a tiny city (fi g. 97). He spoke in that respect o f
' u nity through m ult iplicity and d iversity: u,
This unity through mu ltipl icit y a nd d iversity Van Eyck ach ieved by d ra w-
ing on three a rchitect ural sources.
In confi gu ring the bu ild ing as a whole Van Eyck gave o rganic shape to the
life enacted wit hin the O rphanage. Th is can be seen in the build in g's composi-
tio n, which arranges the various age groups in dusters round such elements as
the cen tral co urt and the ad m in istratio n block at the en trance. A blan ket o f
d o mes illustrates the act of acco m modat ing life in this ti ny city.
In organ izin g the st ructu re Van Eyck used a co lu m n grid derived from the
Modcm s -" , a shift in the compositio n, and asymmet ry. T he grid can be fch
everywhere. even where there are no colu mns, and is decisive for the system
governing the str ucture. To express the regularity of the grid. Van Eyck gives all
colum ns the same d iameter, regardless of the load they have 10 bea r. This has

,, •• - ) -
,
..l-Jl. •
........t-.
...--- -
I
.
~'--_' . " n " · "f
. - l.,1·1., resulted in major d ifferences in the quantit y
of iron reinforcement in eac h col umn.
". In representing th e o rder in for mi ng the

bui ld ing Va n Eyck applied a system o f archi-
•I
-• .... .1
t raves deri ving from classical a rch itect u re.
-I •
•••60 Resting on colu mns, t hese architraves rep rc-
J' ~ _I....-•••.• ""' .••.•• sent the span co nstructio n o n wh ich the
~ .' " .; _ -/ domes rest. yet are not pa rt o f the st ruct u re
•,
+ t hem selves. In t he Orphanage. su ppo rti ng
I:
JI
I - l ~.i , 0 " .,r
and t he representation of su p porting are kept
J.r- . ·.. . OM
... . ! ... separate. The actual su pport fo r the domes
co nsi sts o f co nc rete beams lying atop the
I
- j- '... architraves':"; these are beams cast in situ
after the archit raves were placed o n the co l-
91 ",nf.~". u m ns o r st ruct u ral wall s.
Orph.an.al""
At the edge. the beams' dimensions a re
Am••conbm ( ' 9'1 7·
1\16<>1. A<ri.ol r/>olO: limited as t he spa ns here are only 3.36 met res. At t he large spaces beneath sm all
hIlildin, UI' ( i'y~
domes, by co n trast. the columns are separated b y th ree times the d istance. Here
Soun:r: Clig...h'n
1'l'N ) r." the bea m s arc broader and deeper. Archi traves constitute t he underside of the
,. \',n Eye'"
formwork for the co ncrete gr id o f beams. Recesses in th e precast concrete clc-
Orph.on.oll<'.
Am..... d.om ( .~7· m cn ts accommodate the a rchi traves where these engage at the colu m n heads.
.ylIG) 1>rt.i1 .......•
The beams were cast onto the columns by way of t hese recesses (figs 98 and 99 ).
In, IM ( a.!·in ·. il u
' ....m .bo....., I .... The architraves fo r their part have a hori zontal opening cut in them . In the
•«h,lr,oy. Soun:r:
first p lace th is slit provides a n u nu sual p lay of light in t he spacC' beyond. T he
Van EY"k "ffK..
a« h;." dosed ends of the arch it raves atop the co lu m n go o n 10 suggest a Cl assical
cap ital (fi g. 100 ) . The arch itraves are not only set above the glazing h ut also
above t he b rick wall s. T h is st ren gt hens the continuit y of what Van Eyck term s
the 'arch itectu ral order' ( Du tch: bouwcrde ) in formi ng t he building.
[16) A syste m of three elements - dome. column and arch it rave - co nsti t u tes
cont S oa fOC a ,
99 V,.. F_~k,
- ,
Orph.an~. AmolCT·
dom h llS7 · ' 'll'l\O).
,,....=;;.,-
.
I
•
•
1 1 Ph<.. "",ph Iwn
dllnnll r;onllrudion
.n.rwi nll how lhe
I- •
br,m. "'"" t""'rrd
• t>rt-m IM dolTW'L
L - Al crnll'l' "Sill un
be- MTfIlho. ,k.1I in·
WIUd inlO the .1<10 ' "
Ilrrn~1wn dv . n;hi·
Ir,,,", whlk Ihe' ( on ·
UrlC""''' MinI
pourni. Souru:
Van Eyd, ln;hiw
100 Van Erd ..
OrpNlUjlC', Am".., "
d.l.m 1 1~7· 'y601.
v..... ,tln4t "'""""'...- . ... '" ..... . .. F.... ~ ekt.il. ohnw·
inll how ... pportinll
.and OlIJ'J""1rd N ·
mmu.1T , rt"uLoln!
in IhI: . n;hiln:l ul'l'.
T_ br.m he-ad.
wml>lM ••• Uf'!I....
Tlw u pti<>n Ir.n,,"
...'ts.... ·V. riou.
nwn,fC'ol.llOn. of
Ihc ·lr~h;lfdural
ordr1":S".,r«:
(St t, ,,"," I\NII) P -JDJ
th is architectural order which continues unin - '0' V, n [ yd..
terrupted throughout the entire buildlng.!" OrpNn'jlC'.AmolCT-
d.:Im (III"·I \IfI<I I.
The new technique of precast concrete allowed h~rirwol
Van Eyck to develop a number of standard dw d,ff""",' ...~
elements wh ich keep cropping up in changing

combina tions. In Zo nnestraal articulation of
the concrete skeleton is grounded in showing ,
the cast -in -situ skeleto n and the forces at
work in it: in th e O rphanage it is Van Eyck's
ideas on bouworde and style that determine
the skeleton's form.':" Van Eyck was not inter-
ested in showing the potentials of technology
and th e distribution of forces. The precast
concrete techn ique was merely a means of
working to achieve a new formal idiom . a new
style.
In th e Orphanage, the system of columns.
architraves a nd domes constitutes the frame
(fi g. 101 ). In principle th e frame is defined by
one layer: the load-bearing structure.t" The
conte S 0 a oerec ho oe L f
, ..... 1 .... 0 (, I .. . II ( 5 .... ( 1
0 o 0
l Oa Van Eyd .• 0 o 0 o
0 o 0 e
Orph~II.Ip', Amll ..r-
0 o
dam ( 1 ~7-'\l6dI.
0 0 0
R.... f p~n lohowm ~ 0 0 0 0
(tl'id of dumn.. 0 0
Sout(r. l u,td un
1999) p. 9'l
•
• ~•
o 0
e 0
•
0
0
•
0 0 0 0 0 0
o 0 0 0 0 0
o 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0
'"
0 ••• ••• 0 0
o 0 '.,
o 0
.,. ,,
•
..
• , •• 0 °
0 0 0
0
• ..
•••'" •••
,
0
•
•
•
.'.
••• ••• 0
'.' • •
frame in t u rn defi nes the ge neric space for the o ther two layers. the skin and
the scen ery. As described above, however. the architraves are not su p po rting
an d p lay no role in the struct ure. Bu t if the arch itraves are not part of th at
st ruct u re. which layer do t hey belong to? Strictly speaking, t he arch it raves
belong to t he skin or t he scenery, depending on th eir position and therefore
the role they fu lfi l. T hey belong to t he skin whenever th ey are pari of the faca de
an d d ivide inside fro m outside, and to t he scenery if t hey serve to sepa rate and
bound the internal spaces. But in both cases t he archit raves refer to the struc-
t u re, t he very layer they do " ot belong 10.
At fi rst sight the grid, determ ined by t he dimen sions of the small dome,
seems coercive to the O rphanage's in ternal layo u t. Unlike the freedom Le
Corb us ier creates usi ng the uni n terrupted ceiling to be able to place parti tion
walls at will . in Van Eyck's case the pla cement of the internal walls seems yo ked
to the grid of domes a nd t he grid of beams deriving from it; the freedom with -
in th e generic space seems tempered by rules.
In practice. however. the vaulted roof proves less decisive for the internal
["I layou t. T he grid size of 3.)6 squa re met res offers a wide array of po ssibilities. At
cont S oa fOC a ,
·· ..
• •• •• • •• •
• •••
- •
···.........., . ... ....... . ," . . .- . ..
...
-..
=J. ·"
• ••
..., - ...
·..... - ,.-_. . . ·. ..
" .
:.:: .. ::; .....
• .
"'. ... . . .....
T :: ... ::.: .:
00
~ ~/ :; ;-
..
0)-"" :",':: :;:, ' :. ". ( u
o
~
· .. -
·
·- .-
·..... .. -
•
·...... ...... ". ..•
• • ••••••••
··.... " . ..... ....... .- . -

•• •• •• •
~.
•
·.,
·• .•
.
..
..
..:.aJ ....
-. ....
.
· .. .....
.. .
.......
'
... . ..' ...

.. .
•. . •
,., ,..
10) Van f y< k.
•
Orph.o.nagc-,Amun·
places where the grid is too rigid. Van Eyck even mana ges to insert partition
d.m h'l~· I'lM l .
walls below the very centre of th e dome (fi gs 10 ) and 104 ). In practi<:lftlw
~auhtd roof pfOYft
like Duiker and Bijvoet , Van Eyck was unrestricted as to where he made
k-M &': i. i"" for lht
th e attachments thanks to the great fl exibility of th e light steel fra med single. inlnTlA! ~yuul
104 Van Ey<k,
pane glazing. This open attitude towards the grid, the organizer of th e struc- Orpho nagc-,Amlln ·
ture, means th at scenery and skin have been disconnected fro m it. dam (1\1i.7- I'IM).
PLon dtl..iL Tht
The excision between th e system of colum ns, arch itraves and domes (the
Ihi(k ~rty Itn"
frame ) on th e one hand and th e partition walls and glazing on the other, is .how whtJ-c, parl; -
ho n wall. dt..-ial..
located under th e arch itrave at times and under th e grid of beams at others;
from lilt ~r id
wherever possible, th e excisio n follows the cu rve of the inner side of th e dome
(fig. 103). Where a co rridor turns the corn er round a patio, Van Eyck even feel s
free to aba ndo n the grid a nd cut off the corn er to produce a tr ia ngular adjunct
(fig. 10 5). Van Eyck has thi s to say about the building's flexibility:
'The house's structure partly derives from and coincides with th e particu-
lar life pattern developed for the inhabitants by th e leadership team - this pat -
tern should support too. So though th e inherent fl exibility is able to accom-
modate th e furth er development of th e chosen life pattern and the mutation s
arising from it, the house's st ructu re is not fl exible to the degree that it ca n
support a life pattern targeted anywhere else th an at what gave rise to, and
coincides with, that structu re.'U'I
From thi s we can gather that Van Eyck did not believe that the speci fic
nature of his building could permit such a wide array of programmes.
Th is is driven home by th e following passage: tagl

..,
o., c.
I nul CO . . . , .. lo , . . . . .
Combinrd fr.",,", of
tw-,m.. column.,nd
damn fr«o I"" pLoc ~ .
. ..
.....nl '" kn>n'f . nd
Ikrn·,...rtl" lOn of
IIw fT,....,.
F..ui"">n;
- .
• ,..,nt hc'Iwnn
column + ,tI;hitr'w
,nd ktrM"I Y
• jOint hc'IWft'n
column + .",hi' "w
.06
' OS V,n f ,..:k.
OTrh,n.l~ t.A mottr ·
'A structure fl exible to this degree would have led to an unacceptab le ncu -
da m l . fl1· . 9foo ).
T..... int n 1u1 r hot... trality; like a glove that doesn't suit anybody because il fits everybody. This
........ n~ ,.,., ,il ffrr "
despite a distu rb ing reality in which many a "flexo phile" will disagree with
rnI w.~ in wbi<:h
,..., si&» r-"rM"b. me: ')O
mm llwuil i n~
Van Eyck pits fl exibility against character. Seen fro m his perspective Van
Sour«: ( li~td; j n
1<H9 l p . 9J Eyck's stance is a logical on e as the character of this build ing derives fro m the
fact that it was designed for th e specifi c social structure possessed by the
O rphanage. For him an other programme is an oth er organism and this requ ires
another building with anothe r co nfiguration ami another ch aracter.
Van Eyck co uld not predict th at his crea tion would work different ly in
,..,
practice, In spite of his idea s about fl exibility, the bu ilding has served several
other pu rposes since th e orpha nage's depa rture.'!' For man y years part of it
Cont S oa r
ho used the Berlage Institute for postgraduate studies in architec tu re; l.U at
presen t much of the building is occupied by the Esprit Ncderland clo th ing
cha in and the Lowe Lintas advertisi ng agency.IJ_\
It is p recisely because the scenery is changeable that the form er O rphanage
is able to accommodate functions as wide-ranging as these. To do so the
interior has had to be drastically modified at places. These modifications were
m ad e by Van Eyck's own practice but were not always appreciated by Van Eyck
him self.
At no time d id th ese mod ifi cations involve the frame; not one column ,
arch itrave or dome has had to pay th e price. However, some intern al and exter -
nal glazing has been moved, added or removed. Occasio nally. small makesh ift
co nst ructions have been erected inside the buildi ng to serve as meeting rooms
or ho use an cillary services.
With these interventions, the O rphanage has shown that a bui lding's char-
acter can incite oth er uses. In this respect Mies van de r Rohe is p roved right
with his statement , q uoted earlier, that flexibility and 'a dear expression o f the
structure' m ust indeed go ha nd in ha nd .v-
T he former Orphanage's ability to accept change can be attribut ed to the
interaction between structure. skin and scene ry. Although these three layers
enjoy a complex relationship, there is no question of a co mbined or integrated
frame. The load -hearing struct ure is the fra me for the skin an d scenery, yet at
the same time th is frame is articulated by an element common to those two
other layers: the architrave.
Centraal Beheer; combined frame an d polyvalence

In 1967 Herman Hertzberger des igned a building which on the su rface bears a
strong resemblance to the O rphanage. This is the office buildin g for the Cen-
traal Beh eer insu rance compa ny in Apeldoorn. The brief for th is design was to
hu ild workplaces where thousands of people spend eight hours a day for five
days a week. Unlike Van Eyck, Hertzberger explicitly set himself the task of
designing a building that is able to cha nge.
'In a co mpany like Centraal Beheer modificatio ns are the o rder of the
day.. . The build ing should be capable of taking up all such internal forces
while continuing to func tion o n all fro nts.
'Th is is not so when the b uilding is a fi xed orga nism with a predete rmi ned
form . This is why we sought to achieve a "buildi ng order'lthat is in a perpetual
state of emergence and yet always com plere,''»
To achieve this aim, Hertzberger developed a system based on J building
block with a fl oor unit of th ree by three metres. This area can accommodate

10 1 H trtl......' ".
CmlrHlIldl<ft.
o ne to four people and the attributes necess'Jr)' to them . Four such b uilding
ArdJo.><>m 1196,1.
S..urcr. H.ud1invr blo cks can. with the add itio n o f circulation space and facilities. he: combined
10)81 ) p. 1)1
into an 'island ' measu ring nine by nine met res (fi g. 1(9 ).
, 01 HmzhnJn.
r.....t• ...t Ikh<'«. A mu ltitu d e of such islands. Hnkcd by bridges. together constitute the: office
Apdd....rn h "&11.
space. Between the islands are glazed 'streets' wh ich criss-c ross the b uild ing
Inln .." . s,'ur(r.
nlKhj n~ I~' ) p_ like ic th-century a rcades and fl o od it with ligh t, The islan ds consi st of a struc-
,~
tu re of precast concrete elemen ts, su pplemented by concrete blocks for the
requ ired im perforate surfaces such .1:10 pa rapet s.
The isl ands ha ve been given a skin. a sma ll curtain wall wra pped aroun d
the o pen corners of the island ' towers' (fi g. 107). This is a complex d eta il wi th a
prccast co ncre te edge that doubles as seating fo r th e roo f terrace (fig. 110 ). a..
well as serving to d isconn ect the glazing fro m the structu re so th at this follows
the towers at a di sta nce, The glazing here recalls the curtain wall of the Dessau
Bauhaus (fi g. 83). This membran e. together with an ins ula tio n package o n the
roo f. is 10 keep as much as possible of the conc rete construction indoors.
The precast structu re is com plex in its composition. Eigh t Tvshapcd col -
umns, two to a side a nd set .11 a third of the d ista nce from each co rne r of the
sq uare. su pport a system of beams that in turn carries the fl oo r slabs. This
produces a ta ble sta ndi ng o n eight legs with uns uppo rted corners (fi g. 11 2 ) .
This structural principl e ha s much in co m mon with the system d eveloped by
Louis Kah n for the Richards Med ical Researc h Laborato ries (fi g. Ill ) in
Ph iladelphi a (19S7- 19f'l S).'jfI A syste m en tirely assembled frn m beams an d co l-
u m ns in precas t conc rete elements enables an extensive th ree-d ime ns io na l
cent 5 0 a ho 000
'09 1inut>nJn,
CmI,.ulIldwn.
Apddoom CI96] ).
Dr!...a 01 rblL
Sowo:r. (~
""'p-U.
"0 ,~.
Gn ll ......,.,
" ..dd o,n 0 9671.
llrtd of (VfUUI
...aD_hroof·.,..
oo:'.',nl { oIt Iof').
!iooKr:: ILuch,nl!l"
191171 p. 144
n, Kahn, Ridlolmh
2
M<'dil:&I Ilnt.n;h
lIb<.,.'u,in. Ph i...·
&-lph... ( '<j~7· 1 ~ 1.
;<O'ruo:'U Il', .""""
blni fn>lll ~
«)flUdf ,,",,,",no
...
·'> • ~n;r:: ( fra m ,*",
,.,." I p. I)'
, "I Ikn"'
d"",ljiiC~"
n. UnUM tktwn.
Aforkbonl I 71.
!ltNctu,.1 d cr.....
~ftJnsh·
Irypd~_ .
bIN from PftU>I

N"mo.and .nhomn..
Soul'l:r. ( ~
.9171 p. .".•
...
skeleton to be co nstruc ted with the island of 9 x 9 metres as its ba sic unit .
The system of beam s and columns is visible and articulated throughou t
the bu ilding, T his system dearly sho ws how the space is organized and gives it
its d imens io ns. In a structu re as arcbitecturally determined as th is there is still
the freedom to create larger or sma ller o ffice units, whose occupants invariably
loo k out on to o ne of the in ternal 'streets' o r 'squa res'.
Francis Duffy typ ifies the Ce n traal Beheer building thus:
' In Centraal Beheer the zany, inventive, and continua lly cha nging introduc-
tio ns of occ u pa nts of the bu ild ing - fu rn iture b rought from ho me, murals,
pets in cages, indoo r ho rticulture - only served to respect and rein force. by
u .. , ....\ ..... u
1""'''''''''1
eom"'nn1 f ",l'Il'
.kfi..... r..l ,....lmt
'f'o"'l'.
•
f .•",.." n: !Mot I· • .,
.&rrl;,;Mok. •
S« fill. ¥> f..t' ~nd
"J
con trast the o verall archi tectural fra me wo rk of the stru ng colum ns and big
spaces. devised by Hertzberger to acco m mod ate individu al choke.w
Duffy des cribes Hertzbe rger's d esign as a framework. But what is this
framework to wh ich he refers and how is it able to accom mo da te indi vidual
choice?
A system of generic spa ces

Does Duffy's no tion of 'framework' correspond to m y co ncept of fra me? Duffy
refers to 'the overall archi tectural fra me work'. In his eyes th is fra me wo rk is
everywhere. In m y terminol ogy too we can ide n tify a fram e.' , one for med by a
co m bi natio n of layers. lt is a combined fra me like the fra me in the Bauhaus.
The structu re belongs to the frame fi rst a nd fo remost, h ut so does the.'
scene ry of conc ret e block in te rnal walls, parapet s, fi xed be nc hes and the ligh t-
ing elements so cha racteris tic of Hertzberger. O the r components o f the fra me
arc the glazing and the concrete block external wall s, both elements of the ski n.
'94'
Cont S oa r
Here structure. skin and scenery present a combined frame. But what is it that
frees th is frame and what generic space defi nes it? All things considered. the
frame in Ce ntraal Beheer defi nes a complex system of generic spa ces. the
islands. These crucifo rm spaces constitute the basic units for all kinds of use.
These units can be variously clustered and interpreted without having to alter
the building in any way; and that is precisely my definitio n of polyvalence. The
polyvalence at Centraal Behecr can be attributed 10 the variously a pprop riable
system of spaces it contains.
When I visited the building in recent yea rs it was apparent to me that it is
st ill su ited to its pu rp ose after all that time. 1)3 After being restored a nd enla rged
the buildi ng looks as good as ever. The most signifi cant modification was to
inse rt a num ber of interview rooms. small spaces where conversations or meet-
ings ca n he cond ucted undisturbed. T his aside, the building has been able to
accommodate all the changes in culture and working methods of the past three
decades witho ut difficulty.
Skin and scenery
Unt il now, the reader may have had the impressio n th at the th ree layers dis-
cussed in this chapter enjoy a h ierarchic relationship in which the structure
has primacy. Obviously it is difficult to imagine a building without a structure.
T he two following examples, however. p ut this supposed prim acy in to per-
spective. Here the scenery in one and the skin in the other have gained their
independence and could function as a frame.
Patais des Beaux-Arts a nd the re prese ntatio n oft he skin

The increasing demands being mad e on the facade's insulating capaci ties means
that the skin has been able to gain ever greater independence. To avo id cold
bridges necessitates creating a thermal separation between the outer face of
(he facade and roo f and the bui ldi ng's structure. In such cases the facade can
be arti culated as an ind ependen t layer. This pri nciple has prod uced an enti re
generation of buildings co mpletely enveloped in a glass skin. the so-called
glass boxes. The facade of the new extension to the Bea ux-Arts m useu m in
Lille is an outstanding example of this pri nciple.
Although Neumeyer states that a dialect ic relationship exists between how
a bu ild ing is organ ized and how our perception is structu red (see elsewh ere in
th is cha pter. p. 59) , there is absolut ely no need to express the building's organ ·
ization in the facade. Strictly speaking, thi s desire to express the structure in 1951
Contendo su eto a deeecnos de autor

U I
I• • I
• -,- • • -T' _
• •
••
" I
"04 IM L\ "juri.
r~lo " <in Ik. UI-
the skin only serves to rest rict the expression of the skin itsel f. In the following
""U. hll~ t 1'W71.
l lin ;Rlt bU lkl lll[l. project the a rchitects have refrained fro m representing the structure in the
( Irif) .nd U!t"TI"" n .
»u"or:(Ihi.. &
skin. This gives the skin a more au tonomous position and creates for it the
Vi,. r1 IW; 1 " " Wo freedom to re p resen t whatever it is required tu rcp rcscn r. Jt ca n then act as ••
"s It>... & Vil.. rt..
large 'billboard' where images of all ki nds (an be evoked . The Dutch a rc hitect
roll..i. <k.I\r. u, -
ArII.. lilJ( h<N7l. Willem Ian Ncutclings states that with the increasing demand for thermal insu -
G ..... nd 11 1
latio n the sk in of a bu ildi ng has becom e entirely in terchangeable, Arch itects
tlM' n' m m wl. h
,C'O"",.III.<;'",,,r. can use it to represent whatever t hey wan t.!»
{It>ol 1\ Vjw I 1y.,l7/
In th e city of Lille in Northern Prance stan ds a m useu m designed in rc rb -
r·~
cen t ury neoclassical style. In 1997 it was given a bold new extension. The design
fo r th is exte n sion is the o utcome of a com petiti o n. The win ners. M yrto Vitart
and Jean-Marc lbos, decided to sin k t he most im po r tan t new space b elow
gro und .w In th is wa )' t hey succeeded in leavin g un built t he gro u nds at the
rear. To te rminate th is o pen expanse the architect s placed a blade-like b uilding
conta in ing a restaurant and o ffi ces (fi g. 114 ).
T h e blade buildi ng's composit io n is prototypical o f a spate o f buildin gs
erected at th e end ofthe zo th ce n t u ry. lt co nsists at ro o t o f J rou nd -co lu mned
variation o n the Dom-I no skele to n. A n u mb er o f col u m ns o n the upper floor
have been replaced by a sta b ilizing wall. T he con crete skeleto n is sh eath ed in a
case of in sula ting glass to avo id ex p os ure to till' o ut do o r tempenuu re. T h ree
sid es o f t h is box sport a l ra d it io nal curtain wall; the fourth side. facing o n to
the origin al rct h -centu ry b ui ld in g, is of struct ural glaz ing.
19 6 J It is th is wall th at m akes th e b uildi ng so spec ial. No t that a build in g wit h a

,,,.
\
116 IhosllcV it.",
P"lai. ~ llc" l.1l ·
Art'" Lilk ( 1997' .

Rrl'If'dlOnoftlK
old bu ikllnll in IM
.lructurIJ JJ.au
f"",.ok
117 Ibm l!< Vi,," .
P.Loi1 de> Ik. ... ·
Att.. l ilk 11991).
C.....'idor with
>!ru, tu • .aI po...
f"",.M. TM g1'U <>Il
,"" !rh-Moo . i&
...... ..,no" prln tC'd
., .,
structura l glass facade is th at unusual . but in
this case the facade takes the skin's articulation
tu an extreme. Vitart and loos have deployed. a
number of means to maximize a rticulation of
th is fa cade. Their stepping-o ff point was to
represent the relationship between old and
new portions of the museum. The structural
glass facade is in itself a virtually seamless
plane th at says little about the load-bearing
structure it front s. Facades like these bring to
m ind an imageless videowal l.
The a rchitects fi ll out th is image along un -
f"'lInn. On Ih, ,...11
usual lines. The facade is imprinted with a 0rJ'O'U, ... ~ r~lnl
pattern of silver mirro r strips (fi g. 116 ). O n the ., inll in R'<l .. "h .......
o ( l\old. So\lnr.
co rr ido r wall o ne metre behind the facade is {lm 6; Viu rt l9971
a red ground adorned with gold rectangles (fi g. 117). Visitors arriving from the r·.'
11' lho. 6; Vi',,'.
reth -centu ry building see the neoclassical facade reflected in the silver grid. P~l.il dn fl<oU I ·
Art.., lilk lI w71.
mixed in with the red a nd go ld of the co rrido r wall beyond. Past and present
h ,w du rc-d O\Tr
arc interwoven , giving Semper's not ion of enclosure (Um fried igu ng) an extra t.... wk'''n ...
rrotKIr.l'll<ln
d imension.
Here the glass box is the stro ngly articulated frame that defines the generic
space for the structure. In practical terms this frame holds little significa nce as
it is illogical tha t the concrete skeleto n would be replaced. It is no t entirely
inco nceivable. however. that at some time it is decided to keep the skin as a
whole and replace the buildi ng inside it.
In princip le the facade has bee n d isconnected fro m this structure. O nly
clamps attach the skin to the skeleto n at the upper sto rey floors. a situatio n 1911
Cont S oa r
, OG ,e ' e.
much like that in the worksh ops o f t he Dessau Hauhaus. Here, though , the
excisio n is n ot a generous gap bu t th e contact plan e between ski n and skeleton.
Wh ile the ski n of the Bauhaus worksho ps still ex presses as m uch as it can o f
the concre te skele ton. in l.ille th e observer is del iberately th rown nff balance.
All that ca n be see n no w through the facad e a rc t he a reas of red a nd gold
ap pl ied 10 the co ncrete, and th ese rela te mort.' to t he com positio n o f the facade
th a n to that of t he concrete skeleton.
nu. .. 0 11
..a"A·a"l
1'.01 . ..." a"l
..... . t .... I'O ..
h arnr. <l, .... t",. 1

,l..... r...&.
t.", i"'>n: <onlol<t
plo"" hn.....-rn "RI( '
11I' . ' IlWoo f od

~olKrrl k1nn.
~ fill· .11'> rn, Irvnd
Skin _
no
D.E. Shaw and the Mat ryo shka principle

When we d iscussed Mi cs van der Robe's Lake Sh o re Drive apa rt ments I showed
that in that building the steel skeleton was the fram e for a generic space in wh ich
the sce nery ca n be placed '1 1will . Stevcn Hell's d esign fo r an o ffice inte rior o n
4Slh St reet in New York, as discussed in chapter two, is another tn con tain a
stee l skclc ton,v' nut in both cases the struct ure's m at erial is of litt le conse-
quence and could just as easily have been concrete. The reason for re in t ro-
ducing the last -named case st udy at th is ju nctu re has In do wi th t he u n usu al
com posi tion of its frame.
Here as in the Lake Shore Drive apart m ent s t he skeleton d efine!'> a ge neric
space for the scenery, Th is sce nery and more especially th e cla d d ing of th e hall
registers as a freestand ing asse m b ly in the ge neric space as d efined by the skel-
eto n. The space th is sce nery d efines J d escribed in chap ter two ( p. 39 ) as po ly-
vale n t space (fi gs 120 and 121 ) . All t h ings considered , what we have here is a
Cont S oa r
tlO II..U. I).E.
!iluw. NowYOIl
( 199 1 · ~JI .
E.iplodrd nrww llh

Iht"""'"1 hiJh -
'......n"lI.IH..
tI '
!otww. s..... Y<>rl
' ~I · I99 JI. PluI of
~l .... ...ttn-. Tlw
I,
...
....... WioJiwflia
I J"t'. SouhA':
11 ...
fn ~w .......
19961 p. I,..
...
fram e within a fra me. By analogy with Russian
nest ing dolls I designate th is phenomeno n by
the term Mat ryoshka principle. Between th e
two fram es is an 'interstitial' space (fig. 122).
T his space defi nes th e excision between th e
fram e of the structure and skin and the frame
of the scenery.
Inside and outside, facade and interior are
... • .u 11oII.0.E.
!>Nw &: Co. ~
no longer related. This phenomenon is not just caused by the opposi ng
Yo n. ( 1991· 199 11.
demands made by architectural co nsiderations on o ne hand and fi re safety Inltfior of h.all.
Inlrnl'h.al ..-.
regulat ions o n th e other. The size of such buildings and the generic qualities of
10"'......."'"1
the space in big buildi ngs are addi tional reasons for wishing 10 disconnect the .nd"',n
build ing's co ntent - the programme - from its present ation. Koolhaas refers to
thi s as 'the architectural equivalent of a loboronw'w Accordi ng to him it is
impossible for a facade of a building in excess of a certain volu me to represent
th e co ntent, for the very simple reason that the facade's su rface area is 100
small when measured against what is laking place inside.
'..I
' .... .. 1 ..... D Co I .. I I. C " · ...C l
T
0'"'' O' 0.'........ , . . " . AI '" " " " O I H"
("oul lUH I C l .. . . ' ( " . U ..
~ . Im okkl.. n ,nd
lho: f~.a.k .Jriinf Ihf
'f'ok"f m .. hil: h the
\( nKry . ,10t'f irl'C'lv
okwl.. pcd.
M,l rru. hk' rn n< irk:
It'f \(ffOC"'y In lu'n
driinn 1!'If pt>l ~...lknl
'f"K f .
h . ;...>I1 I: Ilr ~ I'
hft Wf'C'n "m ,kfkl" n Se'''I', _
,od ttrr-um mrl,l
" ud .,. 11.
• "" io.ion J.: no! 'rrli·
uN<-.
~ n(t. ]6 lu' ~nd
. . . . . . AI ... 0 ""'''01 .. . . C ...... e "'U • • 0 .
IUI< , (0 " ' ' ' ' ' 0 . . . .. ,

""""" 0"
J _ "-
t
t •
i ~
l
•
,
,
.l ~,
-
•
SkI"
"l
Conclu sion
In this ch apter I outlined the d evelopment (If st ruct ure. skin a nd scenery into
independent layer s that together define the a rch itect u ral o bject. During th is
process the layers gain independence and rcgro up-engage in new coalit io ns and
then achieve independen ce once m o re. I used this p rocess 10 expand on th e
co ncept of frame and generic space. and to fu rther develop the terminology.
If we can d iscern in the p rim it ive h ut and th e timber-framed ho use that
grew ou t of it two di stinguishable layers. st ruct u re and skin. in the isth -cen-
1' 001 tury house the)' were jo ined hya th ird , t he sce nery. Refi nemen ts in building
cont s oa me a ,
technique and new ideas about archit ecture would retu rn part of th is layer to
the structu re and skin.
The arrival of the iro n skeleton ushered in a new generation of buildings in
which skin and structure function as a single entity. I introduced the no tion of
i"lt-gmtt'd !mmt to desc ribe fra mes th at consist of two or more Integrated Iay-
ers. The buildings discussed earlier in this co ntext are able to accommodate
changes in progra mme without the need for drastic structural or architect ural
interventions: here the generic space is a polyvalent space.
Du ring th e (OUf$(' of th e 19th cen tury th e skin became increasingly d ist inct
from th e: other layers. a development which in constructional terms reached a
provisional end with th e Chicago School's use o f terracotta cladding element s.
However, fi re safety regulations prevented the skin from achiev ing complete
independence fro m the steel skeleton.
New po ssibiliti es presented themselves with the emergence of rein forced.
conc rete. Le Corbusier was one of the first to explore the architectural qualities
of the concrete skeleton. To begin with , he o nly achieved a co nstructional dis-
connectio n between th e three distinguishable layers with h is Dom-Ino skel-
eton . ln the later villa designs the skeleto n a nd particula rly th e column beca me
more and more independent as an architectural clement, and the scenery also
achieved autonomy.
In their design for Zonnestraal aftercare colony, Duiker and Bijvoet succeed
in developi ng the co ncrete skeleton in all its facets into an archi tectu ral object.
Ostensibly Van Eyck is embroidering further o n this development with his
Orphanage but closer co nsideration reveals a shift occurri ng here between the
assemblage of elements that co nstructionally define the frame and the assem -
blage of element s that represent it. T hC' architrave used in the Orpha nage re-
presents the st ructure, but is itself part of the skin or the scenery, dependi ng
on its po sition.
h can also happen that J. number of layers o r po rtions of layers together
form a frame. This is true of Hertzberger's Centraal Beheer office buildi ng. For
situations like these I have introd uced th e notion of th e combine" [mmr.
The steel skeleto n, which evolved along lines co mparable to th ose followed
b)' th e concrete skeleton, is most d istinguishable from it in terms of articula-
tion. Fire safety regulations had p revented the skeleton fro m being left in view.
So to render the buildi ng's structure palpable, archi tects hold to resort instead
to representing the steel skeleton.
Since the 1970S the growi ng demand for thermal insulatio n has necessitated
excludi ng even co ncrete structures from ....iew, The facade of loos and Vitart's
new exten sio n to the Palais des Beaux-Arts shows how this has made th e skin
L,n dos 10 a 0'

- =....
. ... ~
-...... , ;;;;.
"
w•.• I
l:E
_ ~
-
1.I • I'::
n........F1...n.cc' '.th·a."'"" 8tbItoil~.... ...~ ...
~~- Sootnw-Gr...oit'-r
- -- - - -
IJ L..-,.---------- - -I
- /
,,'-------
Polyvalent Pofyvalent
114 U " ....

oto.:- rtw Jowl .
'>pmo n, ,.... d...... increasingl y a utonomous. Here too the f..cade Gm represen t the structure. Hut
I"'."" ,~l"""',,- A. the emancipated gl..ss fa cade mea ns that a nything can be repres ent.ed in it, nut
, l op I n' I....
n >f ..
necessarily the in terior activity but also e ther images o r references,
oluJ , Thod ,. · l astly. this chapter described how mult iple frames ca n work at di fferent
......... Iw1 Wftn •...,
III1ft ind,o.n ,...,
levels in a single project. This phen omen on I desig nated the Matryl)sl,ka prin-
dr&,...", d''''''n- ciple. By way of co nclus io n I have sum med up the en tire develo pment in a
....." ..n.
diagra m (fi g. 114).
A IhK. 11.............
ortkW.nl.. TIw One further topic threads thro ugh the cha pter as a wh ole. that nf the
....n- rrml to 11..
frame's artic ulatio n a nd the freedom the frame creates. This actually to uch es
Irrn' ........ n'J'ft' .
....." T1v I"IIIIWOI o n a mo re general issue. namely the relat ionship between fl exibility and expres-
l".. md•• tn
............-
sive architecture. Mies van der Rohe fel t that a flexible building demanded a
...t...it.... """"..
high -powered architectural expression (SCC' p. 63 of this chapter ). Van Eyck h)'
contras t was of the very o pposite o pi nion {see p. 8y·IJO ). )'et his O rphanage in
fact proved that Mies was right.
The issue of articulation and changeability is likewise linked to the auton -
o my of the separate Idyers and the proc ess they went th ro ugh tu attain it. The
•
• ••
" 11 ....•
•
...... ~
- em'rul Bdwft D.L!ob-
'---~/
\ _ _/ r--
"- -
PolJYllent Polyvalent Polyvalent
more au tonomous a layer becomes, the better it can fun ction as a frame: at th e
same time. being au tonomous allows it 10be articulated as an independent
layer. This ca n heighten the effect of the frame.
Structure a nd scenery enjoy mutual independence in the Villa Savoye. Le
Corhusicr th en uses th e autonomy of the two layers to articulate them individ-
ually. The autonomy he h imself crea ted gave him that freedom. This villa. how-
ever, shows that Mics van de r Rohe's postulatio n is not automatically reversible,
(or a forcefully articu lated bu ildin g does not necessarily make it a fl exible one
and . by extension. a frame.
Contendo siqeto a deescnos de auter
The development 4
of services and
access
contendo 0 0
•
Access and servic es occ u py a d ifferen t pos ition to the one occupied fly the
three layers already exa mined. This position is not only dictated by th e: fa ct
that both levers
•
o nlv• achieved autonomy• in the aoth cenrurv• but also beca use
they often play a less importa nt w it' in a n arch itectu ral se nse. In addition.
th ese layers have come to possess special signifi can ce for mass ho usi ng. It is
mass ho using, therefore. that feat ures most heavily in this chapter, although a
nu mber of case studies do relate to la rger buildings.
We ide n tified an in tertwinemen t in the d evelopment undergo ne by the three
layers o f structure, skin and scenery. Services and access by contras t evolved in
relative independence and can therefore be discussed individu ally,
From fl ues to se rvant zones
Reyne r Ba n ha m sees one o f the key tasks of buildi ngs to he that of creat ing ,I
' well-tem pered enviro n men t: In the introduction to his hon k o n this subjec t
Ba nham com plains th at arch itect ural histo ry le nd s to igno re the cnvi ro n men -
tal services that make o ur b uildings co mfo rtable.'! ' And when they do beco me
a subject of discussio n, the relevan t texts are lu m ped under th e head ing of
tech nology,
Now the well-tem pered environment is no t m y f irst concern here: my rea -
son for q uoti ng Ban ha rn was to d raw atten tio n to a forgot ten layer. the services.
I regard the role played by services in a building to be more than con trolling
the climate o f indoo r spaces. If Ba nh a rn concen trates part icularly on hea ting
and air-co nditioning. services in m y d efinit io n of this layer co m prise ('w ry-
thing to d o with the supply and d ischarge o f en ergy, wate r, air and info rma-
tio n.
The services layer can be subdivid ed in to th ree assemblies.
- pipes and cables fo r su pplying and discharging ene rgy. inform atio n, air and
water:
- appliances needed to regulat e the said su p ply an d d ischarge or them selves
requ rnng energy;
• spaces specially fitted o ut to ho use these a menit ies and applian ces. such <IS
kitchens, ba throoms and to ilets.

In chapte r two it was mentio ned that services co nstit ute a relatively 1l('W
catego ry of archi tectural elements (see p. 30 )' Although fl ues for discharging
smoke have been a ro und since ancien t times and the Ro man s even had run-
ni ng .....atcr <fi g, 126 ). services a nd the attenda n t pipes and cables only evolved
J1061 into an ind epe nde nt layer o nce gas and electricit y had mad e their en tran ce
Contendo su etc a deeechos o, autor

into th e home (fi g. 125 ). Th e possibility
of transpo rt ing ene rgy through pipes
and cables set in train the develo pment
of an ent ire gene ration of devices
•
intended to make home life more corn-
fortable. Another contributory factor
was the installation of a system of tubes
10 provide dr inking water.
Until th e mid 19th centu ry. Amster-
dam was supplied with water by boat.
Tow barges co nveyed water fro m th e '" us b n moJrmn
Landhau.. acou n·
river Vecht 10 various distribution points in th e town . T his was the on ly way 10
try huuw fuUor
o btain water unless you happen ed 10 have your own pum p or well. In 1851 a r>~ ul>ln.and
"'o1.aIlolionl for"...
company supplying dune water (Duinwater- Maatschappij '....) was founded
M1 'Kily and ",".1·
a nd the fi rst d raw-o ff po int was installed in 1854.,. j By 1866 th ere were 56 such in,.and Hrnlral
........m , k.ninll
poi nts. This was when the fi rst homes were hooked up to the network. By 1890
1Y' I ~m .
almost every ho use in Amsterdam had a water tap.':" O nce houses had been Advnt'..........1 from
I' ll. :\oolmr. l Itiik
attached to th e mains, an internal system of pipework was q uick to follow. ena - 19\III l p. 11
bli ng all kinds of sani tary facilit ies to be ins talled in th e home. ..6 ~.od and hr...
t.Ipo from Pom porii.
T he first fo rm of ene rgy to be co nveyed by pipes was coa l gas. Produced by SouIU" Hac H.a n·
the distillation o f coal. th is gas was ideal for provid ing artificial light in the ddohUd. 11 April
~
home. It was fi rst used in 180] for the public street light ing along Pall Mall in
U7 G.u lomJ'l
London (fi g. 117),,· 7 .lion, P.UM.aII.
lnnOOn ( &&07).
Du ring the co urse of th e 19t h century coal gas factories spra ng up rou nd Sower. t O·[Jra
the major towns. An underground network of pipes lead ing fro m these factor- 1\l70J p. I)
ies d istributed the coal gas th rougho ut the town. Gas lightin g soon became an
established fea tu re in the houses of well-to-do cit izens. The use of light ing gas
Cont S oa r
III I'ttn ,,. A"'o,lff -
J. m oho...." IIl ItM- ,.
.., ~ ,.....t ," .""', j:' .
t>, U 1r~. I I"'i~ .l~ / "'
rln;' ''< Il~ n>m p.onj'.
,.
:'>t"'lrC': (It ,ik I~ )
---.........
_- -
- "-'
-..-"--.-...-~ - _
,
...
for cooking and the ir nrod uction o f I he gt' ~·St' r.

all .lppM.ll us for hea ting w.rter
.1 S it is drawn . ma de gas an indi spe nsable commodit y in the home.
Electricit y was the next for m o f tra nspo rta ble energy to arr ive. A 1lT.'W world
opened up after Swan and Edison inven ted the incandescent lam p almo st sim ul-
taneou sly (in 1878 and 1879 res rcc tj \'c1 y ) . 1 4 ~ Now, every ho use could honk up
to a n above-gro u nd netwo rk of copper wi res to enjoy th is ne w and modern
form of ene rgy. Unlike lighting gas, electric ity is neither poi sonou s no r co rn-
bustiblc. T hese networks were the next to conq ue r the tow ns (fig. I l lt). Hcctricity
not o nly proved sui table for light in g hu t could also provide elwrgy for all kinds
of appliances. Boilers. toasters, fires. ventilat o rs and co okers were amo ng th e
m any electric hom e ap pl iances 10 I~ developed.
T he yo ungest me mber o f the fa mily of do m estic services is th e o ne dedi -
ca ted to receivin g and sendi ng informat ion . Developments in telepho ny were
m ade possible by the use o f clcctricit y, The netwo rks th is syste m required were
ultimat ely responsible fo r the a rr ival of the inrcmcr in homes d uring th e lINOS.
A new network for disseminat ing info rmat io n, d eveloped in parallel with that
of the telephone. was the coaxia l cable.':" 11 began with IOC'11networks for radio
a nd TV, Ihe so-called ce n tral aerial systems. In the 19i m the se were replaced hy
the local netwo rks we still have to day. Nowadays Ihis system also gives us access
to the in terner.
T his development is far from o ver. and soo n we will he speakin g hy cable
a nd watch ing by telephone. All th is will be possible than ks to the arrival
o f fibre cpric ca ble. Al though receivin g and send ing info rm atio n at home
Contendo su eto a derechos de auter

requires o nly a modest number o f cables, even
this network will in time sp read its wiring like a
fun gu s th rougho ut every room of the house, wit h
yet another device at the end of every wire.'so
Alt ho ugh pip es and cables and the appliances
they feed into are not amo ng the most appealing
elemen ts in arch itectural terms, the zoth cen tu ry
p rovi des us with a number of precedents in wh ich
domestic pipes and cables or appliances form part
of the arch itectural com position. In some cases,
they even attain the status o f frame.
Pipes a nd ca bles as liberators
Generally speaking, pipes and cables are a problem.

It is d ifficu lt to imagine that they can be so o rgan-
ized in a bui lding as to have a liberating effect. 119 Ournu and
Biiwud, M. oon dot
And yet that is exactly o ne o f the principles of the frame concept; to organize
\hrt.Panl l lI1U-
obstacles into liberators. A small example of th is on a conceptual level is the .'H . ). C ndU;I ...;.h
hllhl it, h c1.,ar"
independence a nd art iculation achieved b y the electric cables in the Maison de
art icula.rd. Sou Kr:
Verre desi gn ed in Pa ris by Pierre C hateau and Bemard Bijvoet (fi g. 129). ( Fu ta [tii..... RaUlhrl
rl aL I~ l r. 1111
To sho w off the modern ity of the lighting system the arch itects placed a
cond uit co n taining the cables so me di stance awa y from the wall. An oblo ng
metal box moun ted o n this tube contains the switches and a socket o utlet. The
switches a re of a type mainly used o n amplifiers and other electro nic appliances.
.....0 .. DI II'U "
IC I",""'U .....D
".wolfl
" ...
Th('(onJu;1 frtn .h.,
..-all.
h " i ....n: I",", >J><k"
brt....,..n " ,nJ u'laOO
.. all.
!in' till. 3~ fu r ~
_ <n - - - - - - - --!---b
Cont S oa r
The whole has a state-of-the-art look
unusu al for th at rime.
It is a n IIrd,;tat fml[ gestu re before
a nything else. namely to art iculat e the
cables and switches, a nd nut a dchbcr-
ale attempt to transform the ducring
into an independent layer. To empha-
size thi s a rticula tio n. however. the
cables have bee n fully extricated fro m
the wall ; and just as the colum n relieves
the wall of its hid -bearing duties. so
this tube frees the wall from hou sing
the cables.
1" r.. n,, ~ nd At th e same time o ne might object
~ C~nl",
that this project ing co nd uit is indeed a n obstacle and as such is restrictive on
I'nmrido u, "~ n.
1I" 7H",n l. how the space is used . To alleviate th is problem somewhat. the archit ects opted
u tffn .old..... hdt·
to place th e co nduit next to a steel column ,...hich also sta nds free of the wall.
d.,", f", I,", ~",h i .
'",IU", join wilh Whereas in the Maison de Verre the issue is largely one of articulating a
I ~ nulol"" ~nd
il tlK1u", ... ~
conce pt with no practical value. in Re nzc Piano and Richard Rogcrs's des ign
roml>inrd fr~lTlC'. for the Centre Po mpid ou ( 197 H 977 ) the ducting is organized with th e explicit
Sou",r: (Spt;nll..nd
&..k lm lp. 7l
aim of creati ng large open spaces.
The Centre Pompidou, one of the 'grands projcts' !" erected in Paris. owes
its great degree of flexibility to the independence of its structure. its mea ns of
access, and its services. particularly the ducting and the air-conditio ning un its
on the roof (fi g. 131). All three layers arc on the exterio r where they dictate the
(l N n l ' 0 " " 0 0,,"
1.... "0 ."01 0 0::; 111 1 e:O .. .. " "O. .. .. 1

~i.;~ inil.oll... ion~
I CI " IIIe: "'''U _
nc:..ulnn .. nJ u'\lC'
........ frn: I~ nh i ·
hillon ~ ..
I'.u " n: Ikot

~ rrli.;.abko .
Sn- fill . ,(> fu. kJ\'nd
..,I .
'.'
cent S 0 a recbc dE
look of the building. although the ducts contai ning th e pipes and cables make
the biggest visua l impact. Inside the building are large o pen floo r areas free of
pipes and cables and the appliances these feed into as well as all elements of
structure and access.
In the Cent re Porn pido u, structure, accesses and serv ices present a co m -
bined frame that defi nes the gene ric space for exhibitions. Though in principle
none of these three layers predom inates. the heavily articulated exte rn al ducts
determ ine the look of the frame. It is these togethe r with th e rooftop units that
give the buildi ng its distinctive appearance at the rear. At the fro nt the trans -
parent tubes co ntaining escalators prevail, and in the interior the art icu lated
structure is visually definitive for the open exh ibition area.
An appliance as fra me
The pipes and cab les entering a ho use are fed into appliances or mach ines that
take can' of the indoor climate. hygien e. lighting and the prep aration of food .
Sometimes these mac hines or applian ces are expressed as independent ele-
men ts. In th e preced ing section on pipes and cables we saw how the externa l
ducts and air-conditioning units of the Centre Pomp idou togethe r define a
pa rt of the frame. There. however. it is the position of those services that is
largely respo nsible for their liberating effect on the use of the space.
lames Stirling, in his History Faculty building for Cam bridge University.
mad e the air-conditioning uni ts a decorative element. incorporating them in the
large glass roof of the library reading room (fi g. 133). In articulating these units
the a rchitect is demonstrating the aesthetics of technology. Placing these appli-
ann 's on or rat her in the roof creates freedom for the spaces below. Unlike tra-
ditional heating with stoves. air-condi tioning is a means of heightening a space's
ability to change and therefore can be a fra me. I shall return to this subject when
d iscussing the ser vant shed. O n the other ha nd. air-conditioning usually con -
sists of pipes as well as the act ual units. It is th ese pipes which transfer the air
to and from the spaces in q uestion that define how those spaces can be used.
Of the other kinds of appliances used in a ho use or building, none provides
a clear example of frame behav iour. Besides appliances that take care of the
indoor climate. there is the category of appliances needed for the preparation
of food and for hygiene. as in kitchens and bathrooms. However. these appli-
ances are scarcely come across individually. Insofar as th ey co ntribute to liber-
ating the use and layout of the space, they do so by being clustered and placed
in spaces specially primed to accept them. so -called servan t spaces. [111J

-n !>(IIhn({.
Caml>r..f(lC'
l ·ni....n 't)' lI i" " r)'
Bui ldm ({. Cam - Serv ant spaces
I>r Idll" ('''"'4-''Iof>] I.
A,, ·, ..nd'llt>n, n..
uni,uni.; ul~lnJ in As I mentioned earl y on in thi s chapter. I understand servant spaces to be
Ihe' .,~ h "('<; lu rf
spaces specially primed for the placement of appliances belonging to the scrv-
ices. How these servant spaces arc o rganized largely determines whether the
services funct ion as a frame. You might describe servant spaces as the contain -
ers in which the services are assembled. But before I d iscuss th e various form s
in which th e se rvant spaces can he organ ized.! would fir st like to address one
particu lar servant space: the kitchen. The kitchen ca n on the one hand be a
servant space; o n the other. it may be litt le more than an asse mblage of appli -
an ccs.
There has always bee n a tendency in domestic construct ion to hide J.way
the pipes and cables and weld them with a nother layer. such as th e structure.
Th e kitchen . on the other hand. has inc reasingly become a n independent and
interchangeable unit since modular kitchens fi rst appeared. In the 1920s the
kitchen evolved into an independent co mponent of the house. This develop-
rncnt would ultimately take two direct ions. One would lead to the modular
kitchen , the oth er to fully integrated entities in which the entire kitchen co uld
in principle he installed simultaneou sly and in combi natio n with other sani -
tary fa cilities.
[Il al
Coni S 0 a recbc dE
'Jl
Modula r kitchens
The ergonom ic analyses made in th e
1920S and '30S [sec chapter two, p. 18)
concentrated mainly on hygiene and
the preparation of food. In 1928 Mar-
garete Schu n e-Lihotzky, armed with
these analyses. designed the Fra nkfurter
Kuche (fi g. 134) . a kitchen based on the
mi nimum necessities and intended for
application on a large scale in the
dwellings of the new ho using estates
(Siedlungen ] then being bu ilt ro und
Frankfurt.
.,. 1)4 5.; hulI~.
lihou ky. F..nkfurl (1'

O ther kitchens developed in the wake of this ' mi nim um kitchen' were
K\i<;hc' 11\l1& 1. s..urcr.
assembled from individual co mponents. O ne was th e modular kitchen de- 1R..- I9\ljl p. .....
IJS lw"n. BrUI'Tllfd
signed by Piet Zwart in 1938 for Bru ynzeel the door manufact urers { fi g. 13 5 ) . 1 ~1
ki•• hni 11....'11 l.
Co mposed en tirely of standard mod ules, th is kitche n proceeded less from the s.....rcC': (flruoo I,n )
p.lIS
mi nimum aspect than from a system that would provide an efficient kitch en in
every situation. Thi s des ign was the first step in a successful series of modu lar
kitchens.
Th is development saw th e kitchen change from a standa rd co mponent of
th e interior into a loose assemblage of appliances. Although th e elements were
still physically fixed to the ho use. the modular kitche n often led an existence as
fluid as th at of the furniture. The great capacity for excha nge enjoyed by th e
kitchen's element s meant that it was more a part of th e cha ngeable th an the
permanent aspect of th e home. So it is not so much th e kitchen elements tha t
co nstitute the frame as th e conta ine r of those elements.
All things conside red, then, the modular kitchen need not necessa rily be a
serva nt space, as kitche n elements ca n be placed in the living room with few
additio nal fac ilities involved . But this ch anges when the element s together
defining the kitche n a re fused into an object. As it happens, th is fusing into a
single object or a single zo ne is not just reserved for the kitchen. {1131
conte S 0 a oerec ha oe L f
In the home as well as in othe r building
genres we may d istingu ish a number of
princi ples fur ordering servant spaces.
I shall no w discu ss three such pri nci-
ples: the organization of services into
a n o bject for the st.'rl'tl Plt con" into a
ho rizontal or vertical zone for the.' serv-
em t Z(l t/(· a nd into a surro unding layer
fo r the st.'rwm ! j llt'l l.
Servant core
Moisei Ginzburg's kitchen design ca n
be rega rded as a pre." cursor of the scrv-
ant co re, Ginzburg was a member of the
sta ndard izatio n division (If Stroiko m.
,..•.•.•. th e plannin g depa rtme nt co ncerned
with build ing co nstructio n in the
- Sovi et Union. At th e." end of the
Strcikcm carried o ut studies into ways
1920S
of rat ionalizing housing."! O ut of these

studies ca me.' design s for co m mu nal
housing projects.
Given the scant means the So viet
Union had at its disposal to address the
gigantic ho usi ng sho rtage, arc hitec ts
were obliged to design m in imal house
.,6 C.""bur.. floor plans. O ne approach was 10 min i-
anal,...• ...r walkinll
di".r><.n and , ,,,",
." mil t" the services in these dwellings.
'm,n,mum k'l<hfl!' and the kitchen in part icular; thi s was replaced by a recess fo r coo king.
l w .l<,l). S.... nr:
G inzburg developed for th is recess a prefabricat ed element that could he
lCha n· t.talt" mnl....
''''n l p. 114 closed off. Proceed ing from anal yses of walkin g d istances with in the home, he
111 Fullr ., Oyma·
succeeded in reducin g th e kitchen area to a cupboa rd -sha ped o bject ( f ig. 136).
..o n Ilo u ,,", t '\14' )'
Cutaway U'''1<'' This reduced the fl oor surface area taken up by the kitch en fro m ].13 10 4.,)
mc1ric ....>Wlnll lh.r
sq ua re met res.''1-4 Glnzburg's kitchen cu pboa rd was ultimately reali zed in the
numcTOU. pnfal>ri ·
.".lnl ""viu'. in.idr. Narko mfin Building he and lgnatii Milin is designed in Mosco w.
Sounr: ( Ri- ud&
The American a rchitect Richard Buckminster Fuller, \·...ho had wo rked o n
•...,.., 1p.*",
developing prefab ricat ed houses in the 19 20 5, designed in the followi ng de.·c,lI,.h.-
the sim ilarly prefabricated Dymaxion bathroom." Fuller's idea was to pro -
duce a lightweight ind ustrialized un it lhdt co uld be inserted .IS easily into an
Cont S oa r
...n o .. .....
'11Ln . " D ~.o uyf l ....
,
1lw fMili..... (Or,
f....... llw inlffn"
L.ruut.nd ...... nd.ory
of the V""K 'PoKe
. nd bui lt YOlumc.
Elci : the nc,"",,1
",rf e of the f..: ililicl
,~.
'I'
ex isting house as into one under co ns t ructi o n. The technique Fuller used for
this bathro om would later serve h im for the Dymaxion House, an ind us t rially
manu factured dwelling d esigned by h im immediately afte r the Second World
War (fig. 137).
where Fuller accom modates the services in a number of o bjects, Silvy and
Prouve assem b le all services in their Ma ison Alba in a cent ral servant co re. As
we saw in cha pter two, the servan t co re o f Maison Alba defines a ge neric space
in which st ruct u re, skin a nd scenery can be placed at will. There the excision
b etween the fram e - th e serva nt co re - a nd the ge neric sp ace coincides with
the external su rface of t he co re and the few co n nections between it an d the
scenery. The space is n ot full y enclosed by the fra m e, the o uter co n fi nes ins tead
b eing defined lega lly by such aspects as the p roperty boundary and the lim its
th e urban plan im poses o n the bu ilt vo lume.
Servant zone
T he services can also be accommodated in a zo ne. T h is ca n house the pipes
an d cab les as well as t he primed spaces and appliances. Such zo nes ca n be
o rga n ized both horizontall y and ve rtically.
M any large 18th. centu ry houses o r herenhuizen are organized in two bays.
In th e broad bay are the large living spaces and in the na rrow bay the corridors,
stai rs and servan t spaces. Here, then, is a more o r less naturally evolved d well-
ing type based o n a serva nt lone and a zo ne ofserved' spaces.
T he herenhuis type evolved fu rt her during the 19th cen tu ry. This in t u rn
gave rise in the densely built -up working areas o f the large towns to a new
typo logy o f stacked dwellings sited in 19th -century d istricts su ch as De Pljp in
Amsterda m (fi g. 139 ). These houses too are di vided into a b road lone o f living [n sl
cont S oa fOC a ,
q uar ters a nd a na rrow zo ne o f access
and serva nt SpiKCS such as th e toilet
and kit ch en.
In the zo th f.: Cll I U r , ', th e time -bun -
ourcd pri nciple o f th e two -hay hou se
" ~ ' ..,, ~ OO ..
with ,I se rvan t zone and a served Lon e
ceded so me what to upa rnueut build -
o ings. That p rinciple has since retu rned
in the ind ustrial housing system the
Ccpezcd practice d esig ned fo r the li rm
" ' ( OH of Heiwo (fig. 140 ).
Each Heiwo dwelling consists of iI
lightweigh t steel skeleto n that allows

,
~
twu open tlou r .I reas tu be stacl...cd. The
\I .- ,
<'
N
I
skelet o n is placed out side the bu ilt \'1)1 ·
ume. Th is leaves the internal spaces
~ en tirely column-free. the facade's corn -
,[ position is likewi se independent of the
skeleton . Pre fabri cated synt he tic ca p -
'",.
~
sules con taining all services a nd
to the unit hang in a zone on one side
,lCH 'S S
of the skele ton.

- 37 3 - 1-- The arch itects haw designed the
un it in such a way that the livin g quar-
, ,, l rri<.aJ rlon vf ten, con tain no sin gle ca ble u r soc ket
" ' ,,"""' d .. dhn~. ou tle t. In th is sense the servant zone is much like a plug-in panel wh ich can be
in , ... l''' r on
A rn.' rrJ~m (...!~ tapped for electricity and a ir. T he heatin g (o r rather air-conditio nin g) is regu -
1 ~lh " .., Iury ).
lated fro m th is zone too. If the occupants wish to subd ivide.' the large open
.""'~. nd "",. unt
. J'....- n (k'ld ", n . nd zone they can do so usin g lightweight partitio ns and a wall o f storage u nits, As
l,~kl ) . r~ on ,.....
th is wall contains pipes and cuhles fo r the air-co ndi tio ni ng and elect ric ity it is
w ..... • • k M_S"'I,ln;~:
\C;" n""ll ' \ln) itself pl ugged in to the servant zo ne.
r·.u Here the services co m bi ne with the steel skeleton 10 form the frame. Th is
frame defines o n every floor a gene ric space in which th e scene ry a nd ski n ca n
be placed at wilt , The ski n can be freely subd ivid ed and it is even co nceivable
that it m ay project o utwa rds beyond the skeleto n, nays o r o ther annexes can he:
inco rpo rated in the fa cade to in crea se the size of the sp.u:es, At these poi n ts the
generic space is not en tirely contained by the frame and so a limited extcndabil-
ity obtains here. The excision between the services and the scenery is defi ned by
the co rridor between the prefab rica ted capsules and the wall o f storage u nits"
Contendo SU 10 a deescnos auter

' 40 c.q.."td ,Il<'1WO
dwdli n, ( '~ l .
A""oomtt,icoftM
"'nior. St..."""
Iiciwo fold". p. 10
141 Crprud, lkiwo
dwdlinp ll93<>l.
Plo.... Soura: Hriwo
fol<kT, pp, lI .od 7
14 1 C.q>t'lt"d.
"~w~of
Hriwo d_ ltin,
i /19110 )
'.'
""WO U."
IC . . IIID I
TlM' f",ilil in ,on,

Ij~"" ... IN "1''"''-
ddinin,dnnnlU
( l lw """""'Y ).
hci.....n : IIw >o,f<ll:'
of llw f,"",lmn " me' S<r<v""n
.nd Ih.....' n' und'nll •
""id.. Structure
~ hK- .Ill fu, ~nd
.,
When Louis Kahn was comm issioned to design a large complex oflaboratories
for the Salk Institut e. it soon became dea r to him th at the laboratory a reas
requ ired 3 great flexibility but at the same time that there would be spaces
where this was not th e case:
'O f course there are some spaces which should be flexible. hut there
are also some wh ich should be completely intlexible'w
During the design process Kahn's perspective altered dramat ically, and so
con U Od au or
_.""'1 ""DCI"U'C ' . "CI
w .'
'4<1 K.ihn. li.Ilk f I il

In'h l u' t .!'o.on I~ •
h9~ - ' \If'l7 l. ~ti"n
•
I
ohowi nll Viotrrn<kd . I
lI'rd...... Sour.;r:
IFr. mJ'lnn ,w~ l
,,,.
•
I
'.s EJu rnkr.nll.
I • :I
So;hool. Conolru<: - '••
lion Syt' rm. Prvrl -
ormrnl rn',"' f
(l9Ml. Sou,er.
Ul _ II I9111) P. pt>
,
!
- •
~- (
'"
did the design. In the original design the labo rato ries were accommodated in a
g igan tic space with a clear spa n whereas, in the final versio n they are stacked.
Kahn oversails the spaces with Vierendcel girders in structu ral span s that allow
'fi lled' and 'em pty' levels to alte rnate (fi g. 144). Th is use of deep o pen-fra me
girde rs creat es between them a ' level' wh ere tech nical facilit ies serving the lab -
oratory level are housed. The d eep girders oversail the labs without the a id of
colu m ns. creating large open spaces tha t can be subdivided at will. Kahn now
uses the terms ' wo rk levels' and 'service Icvcl s'. 1 ~7 Banham descri bes thi s princi-
pie of Kahn's thus:
' The basic fun ct ional and topological relationship, as he I Kah n ) sees il, is
between served and servan t spaces.. . ' 1 ~8
Alth ou gh Kahn con tends that he had d esigned a building for the present
a nd not fo r the future. his clien t Or Ionas Salk asserts that the b uildi ng proves
well able to accommo date the futu re: ' In th e laboratory bu ild in g the future
was built in toda y: I ~9 Here Salk is describing the frame's performance which in
this case is gro u nd ed in the principle of servan t a nd served fluor areas.
It is a com bined fra me of stru cture and services . The colum n-free space
between the two serva n t zo nes, between floor and ceili ng, is the gene ric space.
T his space is bounded horizontally by the skin.
1, ,11
Cont S oa r
Servan t shed
Banham claims that one of a build ing's key tasks is to create a well-tempered
enviro nment. Foster has taken this argument to its logical co nclusion in his
design for th e Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts; the logical conclusion in
this case being a skin tha tl iter ally oversails a wide range of functions. The skin
itself bears the responsibility for the indoor clim ate. which means that all th e
services perform ing this d ut y are incorporated in it . Th is is a concept th at
lends itself primarily to large mixed-use buildi ngs and 10 a lesser degree - at
least until now - to housing.
The Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts is a logical step in th e long evolu-
tio n undergo ne by industrialized building; an evolution that secs Foster build-
ing upon the wor k ofWachsmann and Fuller. It was Konrad Vv'achsmann who
in the 19 50S develo ped the th ree-dimensional space-frame. all of whose mem -
bers are intercon nected. I"'" It was Wachsman n too who predicted that a mar-
riage between the space-frame and air-conditioning could engender a new
generati on of build ings,"' One o f the first elebora ticns of this conce pt was the
Schools Con struction Systems Develo pment ( so w ) project ca rried out at
Stan ford Un iversity by a team led by Ezra Ehrenkra ntz (fig. 145). In this indus-
t rialized build ing system fo r schools, lightweight steel lat tice girders generate a
large colum n- free space. The air-conditioning eq uipment is housed in the
space between the girders, so th at the open, well-tempered environmen t has
beco me: a reality.I"J
The Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts is a logical sequel. Its structure is
a lightweight steel skeleton of 37 identical prismatic steel trusses clad both in-
side an d out and oversailing the building's interior in a single span {fi gs 146
and 147).AII services (the servant spaces) are hidden away in the space between
the structural components . Kahn's principle of servant a nd served spaces is
here applied to the full. Th e servant spaces are u nconnected to the served space
wherever possible, leaving one large undivided open zone: the generic space.
By incorpo rating the services in the ro of construction (heating. fresh air
intake, regulatio n of light, current, etc.) and in the walls (toilets) of th is huge
space, o ptimum use is guarant eed without the elements or system s req uired
for this presenting an im pediment.
The whole. except ing the head en ds, is d ad with three panel rypes: alu -
m inium sandwich panels, ventilation panels and glass panels. The head eleva-
tions are so constructed as to be able to accept any potential futu re expans ion
or contractio n. The enormous glass panels applied here without any kind o f
framework make this an open -en ded building in more ways than one.
T he gigantic roof cons titutes a co mbined fra me co nsist ing of services,

."
146 F<nICT. 5.0in••
bu'yC...un- lo, •
..
cht Y.. u.alArt~
NotWich (' , n). •
s..ur~ (<:~in.
HR _ IH .... '''''7) ,
• •
p.1l
141 M C.... s", n, -
bury u n.", for
lhot Vi' UAI Am.
Norwich (10)>7). ••
h OmIHrW; pro ~ . •••
l oon .nowinS IM
'",,,lructKm.
5oun;:..: (Qu..Jin.
Hrrvrt rt al. ' 'IlI7)
14' M 'rr. s"in , "

p. 7I
bury Cm.", fm
'~~~~~~~~~
14 7
IIwV i. ..... An..

Norwio: h (' , n).
InlR ior. s..u"e"
(Qu..JIIl. H..rYd
IH at IfIl7l p. ...
structure and skin. Thi s frame defi nes the generic space in w hich many activi-
ties can take place without the necessity for architectural interventio ns. This is.
therefore. a polyvalent space. Whatever arch itectural faci lities were fo und nee-
essary to accommodate particular program me co mpo nents have the aspect of
furni tu re in the context of th is immense servant shed .
1110 )
Cont S oa r
The access gains in de pendence
The ad vent of multi-storey buildings brought with it th e need to provide

facilities th at would enable room s o r premises located at above-street levels to
be directly accessed. The stair has long been the tried and trusted means to do
so. Stairs, galleries an d corridors as in the case of the Roman insula, do not in
themselves signify an independent system . This is only th e case when th e)'
together present a coh eren t system. Th e four layers discussed previo usly -
structure. skin. scenery and services - can be acknowledged in one form or
a nother in today's buildi ngs but . the presence of the fifth. access. is q uestio n-
ab le at times. A pavilion or a single-fa mily terraced ho use obviously has a front
door but does it have an independent access system?
The nebu lou s position taken up by access makes it diffi cult at times to
establish exact ly what the freedom is that this layer can generate. Inasmuch
as access is able to act as a frame. it often does so in comb ina tion with o the r
layers.
Like Sting and Sherwoodw I distinguish two types of access: vert ical. such
as the porch ent ran ce; a nd horizontal, such as th e gallery and the corridor.
Before expanding further upon these two categories. I shall begin by describ-
ing the corridor's origins and developmen t and the gradual transition of access
into a separate layer.
Peo ple and corr idors

The Ancient Romans had large apartment houses several storeys high called
insulae (fig. 149). Although these co ntained many stairs and galleries. they had
no co hesive and independent access system .
In the Middle Ages. dwellings in the for mer Western Roman Empire had
no access system in its own right. Each was reached directly fro m th e street.
O nce ins ide. one then moved fro m one room to the next. Even large buildings
of that time lacked a co hesive system of sta irs and corridors. the rooms being
linked to and reacha ble from one another. In palaces and the like. rooms were
stru ng toget her by align ing the doors between them in an enfilade (fig. 150).
When Vasari designed the Uffizi Palace (1560-1; 80 )164. the Floren tine govern -
ment offices of the new Tuscan state. he inserted. a pair of grand stai rcases and
a broad corridor to access the offices individ ually (fi g. 151 ). ln doing so he made
a distinction between spaces for circu lation and spaces to spend time.
This monumental corrido r is rep resented in the fa cade by a succession of
large. striking windows. The Uffi zi is arguably one of th e fi rst bu ildings to treat
access as a inde pendent system . Here the corridor takes care of circulation,

•
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... .
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~
' fl bJ
,
a .".
'4' Rom,n In...I, .

'S·
Clll....., y uunorm1·
relieving the offices o f this duty. T his pe rmits the last -named spaces greater
oX. !M>urcr. t Mullc-r
, nd V' >v!197f' ) freedom in how they are di vided up and elevates the co rridor to the slat m of
p .lL!
frame defining the generic space. But there is no q uestio n of alt erability as
' So P.l~ ..... ViII.
RoloM , Vil:rnu the layout of each office. though freed by the corridor. is still restricted hy the
t l V>6· 1 ~71.
f.n6b ok. Sour«:

position of the structural walls. These coincide with the partition walls between
t Lru ptn,G•• krt ai. rooms.
IOWJ ) p. .n
When ideas on privacy changed at the end of the ret h century. th,.. issue of
circulatio n in the home was raised. Elias describes how feelings of sha me and
embarrassme nt g rad ually changed d uring the co urse of that century. \Vith
society becoming inc reas ingly peaceful, people became more sensitive toward!'>
each other's behaviour and appea rance as individuals,
' Just as natu re now becomes, far more tha n earlier, a so urce of pleasu re
mediated by the eye, people too become a source of visual pleasure or, co n-
versely, of visua lly aroused d ispleasure, of different degrees of repugn an ce.'"'' '
Because of the privacy aspect it was no longer acceptable for one roo m to
be reached by way of an other. Each was given its o wn entrance, a nd thus the
co rridor took o n a function in the home.
O nc of th e first residen ces in England to include a co rridor was Beau fort
Ho use in Chelsea (1597) designed by John Thorpe (fig. 15j ).IMThorpe was clear-
ly aware of the power exerted by the corridor. as evide nced by the followi ng
words written by him at its place in the d rawn plan : 'A lung Entry th rough
all: I&7 From 1630 o n, the corridor would be an indispensable element in English
co untry houses.
In the Netherlands , th e incl usio n of a co rridor in d wellin g-hou ses was a
more g rad ual process. There are known examples of houses bui lt in the seco nd
half of the reth centu ry that incl ude a corridor. Here just o ne roo m, usually the
cent 5 0 a ho 000
'S' \ '-n. l!1firi.
Aon-ftu ( I~
t\IOl.c;..,....
...... .......,
...-.,dw
(~ .... )
"", I. -I '
' Sl' \ '- . , Uftiri.
~ h~
I'SAG). Thud lbw
P"n_h pUnw..
Souru: ( S.I ~
199) )
'SI ~.Ik.t1 ·
fun Hoo.ow. Chrlon
h W71. ln tlw cm-
Ira! u Kridor in,1w
plan u n l>t' rucI.1w
....td. 'A I".." Entry
Ihrou~ .11: Soun:r.
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I Summrnon 1'166 1
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binnenhuard (the living/dining room at the heart of the ho use), was exem pted
fro m circulatio n (fig. 1S4) .1t·· To begin with, th is was largely a q uestion of heat-
ing. T he binnenhuani (literally, 'i nner hearth' ) ",'as the o nly part of the ho use
to be heated. Much heat would have been lost had this roo m been used .IS il
way thro ugh.

It was on I)' in the second half of the tzth century that thelarge cana l ho uses
develo ped a fully sepa rated system of circu lat io n (fi g. I')) ). Each !loor had its
own co rridor accessing the rooms in bo th fro nt and rear sect ions o f the ho use.
A cen tral staircase in turn acccsscd the corr idors. In the rgth cen tury th e stair-
case was given a space of its o wn, .t monumental tn plit well (see figs 44 and
1; 6 ) ; a house with in a ho use. Thi s developmen t coinc ided with the emancipa-
tio n of the scene ry (see chapter three, pp. ;1 and 52).
The difference between the corridor's development in large d welling-
ho uses in England a nd the Netherlands rela tes to the difference in context in
which this development took place. In England the co rridor acted prima rily
to separa te residents a nd servants by providing the latter with the ir o wn cir-
cuit including separate stai rcases. This system of corridors and servants' stairs

•
- - .: :. "
•
/ IS 6 1~l h '(n1'ury
houW Wllh wp.,.IC'
, .1." h. lI. XtuKr:

(7..on lkuijl ' \NJI
, p. 4U
• 1S7 19l h·Ultlury
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meant that the servi ng staff co uld move imperceptibly fro m place 10 place.
arriving for dut y as if out of the woodwork. The residents co ntinued 10 use
their room -to-room circuit.
In the Netherlands the considerations attendant on the arrival of the cor-
rider were more pragmatic. such as the retention of heat. As time wen t by. the
need for privacy came to play an ever greater part in th is development. In the
Netherlands, however. th is privacy was to exist between members of the emerg-
ing middle-class family.
The corridor divided the isth-cenrury canal house into two zones . The wall
between the two doubled as an intermed iate suppo rt fo r the beams. This
meant that houses of up to 6 metres across could accept unint errupted spans. [n sl
Cont S oa r
This gave rise in the 19th cen tu ry 10 the typically Dutch two-bay house. a
dwelling di vided into a broad bay so me 4 me tres acros s co n ta ini ng the main
livi ng spaces. and a narro w hay some 2 metres across con ta ining co rr ido rs,
sta irs a nd small rooms (such as the zijkattlt'rtje o r sid e cha m ber) and servan t
spaces (see elsewh ere in this chapte r. p. li S) (fi g. 157).
The aim in both the English co untry house and the Dutch hercnhuis was
to have a system o f corridors and sta irs with in a single residence. The re was
no thing yet to be seen o f m ulti-storey housing with individual en tran ces. It
was o nly when the need a rose to stack dwellin gs that an inde pe nde n t e ntry
system was ad va nced.
Vertical access
From the 181h cen tury o n, dwellings stacked in blocks mad e a comeback in
ma ny Western European cities. Build ings with in ne r courtyards sprang u p
everywhere. from Milan to Hels in ki. from Paris to Berlin; the An cien t Ro man
insula ty pe hold em ba rked o n a revival. '''''' The ret urn {I f the large apa rtmen t
block too k the access's developmen t into a new phase. O ne of the cities where
suc h blocks a ppeared in grea t numbers was Par is,
The Haussma nn-led reb uildi ng o f that cit y introduced large residential
blo cks of If-shaped b uild in gs linked in pairs to enfo ld a ligh t court. The
ent ra nce po rch is in the pa rt o f the buildi ng facing the street a nd gives u nto
the m ain stair hall. T his sta ir, whose sheer o pulence o f decoratio n ca n vie with
the is tb-ccntury stairwells, leads to the frun t d oo rs of the more up-ma rket
apart ments on the street (If bo uleva rd side o f the block.
Walking thro ugh the porch and across the: courtya rd brings you to a second
stai r hall. T his sim pler versio n accesses the u ncm bcllishcd fla ts at the rear o f
the block whose o nly view is of the co urt yard,
In the plan show here (fi g. ISR) a thi rd sta ir hall call he seen. This is the ser-
vice stair (a') giving direct access to the kitchen s [k}, The kitchen in the rCM o f
the b uild ing is reached alon g the na rrowest o f passageways: henr the staff m ust
have almost literally stepped ou t o f the woodwork. The service stair ends ill the
att ic level containing the servan ts' qua rters. This separ ate access system for
the d omestic sta ff can be com pared with the syste m of stairs and co rridors fo r
the staff in English coun t ry hou ses, The l oth-cen tury Dutch writer willcm
Frcdc rik Hcrman... descr ibes the netwo rk of stai rs in ,1 11 apa rt ment bu ild ing in
a Parisian city block as follo ws:
(U I5J 'She descended seven croo ked fl ights o f wood en stai rs. Between each pair

v
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monn 'p.orlmnu
of flights was a small porch reached through a green wooden door. It was from t>uild .ng, Parit h 91h
one such door that she had emerged when Mm e Pauchard had gone before her <omtu ry ). C;round
and lint Rt...r.
up th e sta irs. So all th ose doors gave onto th e kitchens of the apartments. This Soun:r. (Ar m..ru.....
is how the serva nts had once travelled from the kitchen where they were sta- Fahbri rt al. '91s1
i lNFIIO
tioned to th e attic sto rey to sleep and down again at the crack o f dawn 10 make 'S9 Typil-al lIa"..-
mann 'porl """U
up the fire. all with out encountering the ladies and gentleme n of the house:
build i..... Par;t ( 19th
the staff carried out th eir dut ies away from th e rest of the living quarters. just <('nl u ry). fronl
r;o<..k. SnunC':
like the gas. the flues. th e pipes for waste water. the electric cables an d the wires (Aymcmi F-.nri
for telephone a nd television runn ing along the o utside of the rea r walls." 70 rt al. '97'S ) i p' 110
If the above-described ingen ious network of stairs enab led a great va riet y
Cont S oa r
a mo ng the dwelli ngs wi thin a given blo ck, il also reg ula ted t he social division
between them . Alon g the front facade were t he m o re expensive apartmen ts
wh ich co uld he seen fro m the boulevard, at t he rear the cheape r fl ah over-
lookin g t he cou rtyard and in t he a tt ic t he servan ts' qu a r ters.
The m od e of access in th ese Parisian housing b locks ma rks a sll'p alo ng the
ro ad to an independent access system. The int ricacy of th is system a nd its
in tertw inement with the unit plans prevent s it fro m achieving true indcpend-
ence. And o nce aga in the ubiq ui tou s structural wall s hamper the units' capac-
ity to change a nd th us also t he access's ability 10 fun ct io n; the access in thi s
case being part o f a co m b ined frame ( fig. 1(0 ) .
Po rch acce ss
In t he Netherlan d s, with its lo ng t rad itio n of house!'. reached d irect ly fro m
the st reet, a simi lar need 10 stack d wel ling!'. p resented itself at t he en d o f the
rc th ce n tury. The second h alf o f that cen t ury had seen chea p workers' dwell -
ings bu ilt on th e basis uf t he two -buy tcrh -cen ru ry Ilal'tI},II;s.. d emonst rating
t he grea t fl exibili ty of t his type . Examp les o f such dwel lings arc to he fo u nd
in those rc th -cent u rv d istrict s wh ere specu lative ho using was the nor m (fi g.
1.19 ). In t his t ype a na rrow. steer stai rwell accesses two 'alcove d welli ngs' per
sto rey,v'
A m o re up-ma rket variat ion is th e mult i-sto rey " t'(ct/hll is visual ly de fi ni ng
many 19 th.century mi ddle -class di st ricts in t he majo r cities (fi g. It'l l I, Ad d ing
an extra stair split t he house in to an upper a nd a lower d well in g. An l·ss,.. ntial
facto r in the stac ked hcrenhuis is that cvcry home has its ow n front door. Se t
together o n the st reet in pairs, o ne front door accesses the up per dwell ing and
t he o ther the lower dwelling. An ingenious system of stairs keep t he two routes
between home a nd fron t d oo r separate.
A subsequen t step in t he development was a mode o f access accommoda t-
ing six units at a tim e, A m on umen tal extern al stair lead s from the st reet to a
sheltered land in g. Here yo u fi n d fou r fro nt doors each o f which accesses one o f
fo ur u n its d ivid ed am o ng t he seco nd and third fl oo rs (fi g. 16 2 ).
If yo u take o ne of t he two doors st raigh t ahead o f yo u it open s on to a fu r-
t her in tern al stair that bri ngs you to o ne of th e two uni ts o n the seco nd fl oor.
The doors left and right o f t he landing give access to the fi rst-floor un its. At
streetlevel. nex t to th e mon um en tal sta ir, a rc a fu rt her two fro n t do o rs. T h ese
access two u n its o n the gro u nd floor,
T he access system o f th is 'Hague porch' (n am ed after the (i t y where it o rig-
inated l wind s its way u p through t he bu ild in g (fi g. 163 ). O n each storey the
fro n t door is sit uated differen tly and the access leaves a di tfcrcml y shap ed

.,. I.... h -~"'I U '"
doulok Mrnhui~
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BEGANE GAQNO le ETAGE
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ze verd iepinC BeClne cro nd 5thaal 1 : 200
... le verdiepinC
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dwelling floor area. The porch's infl ue nce is most o bvious in the ha)' co ntai n -
in(t.lWtln~m
lI'H HIl.wl. Fn",' ing the smaller rooms, kitchen and toilet. T he other hay of rooms en -suite is
f... .se, .. lIh .. ron~y
at1Kul.oIN ..ai, hall
identically subdivided on each storey and so exem pted frum the access's intru -
'61 Van.kn fh....k. sio ns on th e fl oor plan.
Ill' f ..nJ,a.:hl ht",. ·
in,. R..nn dom
I ' 'll ' ' ''lH t ~",r: The modern porch
IGrinbnl 19771
T he intricate build -up of the Hague porch Sil t uncom forta bly wit h the
p . 1I0
develop ment of rat ional fl oor plans. Arch itects with functional!... t leanings
were working to achieve a more lucid ly orga nized access type, Th is led them to
a new vertical t)'PC' th e modern po rch access. In thi s type, a land ing at each
storey serves two dwellings on th at level. O ne example o f hou sing acccsscd
th is way using a stair hall is De Eendracht designed on Vrocsenlaan in
Rot terdam's Bl ijdo rp d istrict by th e Rot terdam -based architect lohannes van
den Brock (fig. 164 ).
When de veloping his design Van den Brock soughtto foregro un d th e idea s
of light . air and space and the represen tat ion of the programme behind th e
fa cade. O ne means of expressing these ideas was 10 articula te th e access. The
stai r hall is represented in th e facade by a la rge rectangle of steel-fra med glass
which alternates with the fron tage in a rh ythm typical of th is architecture
(fig. 164). Whereas th e Hague porch forcefully a rticulates th e open ing 10 th e
street o nly. here the porch is articulated th e full heigh t of th e building th rough
its fen estration . elevating it to a n architectural elem...nt in its own righ t.
Sta ir hall a nd structure arc in fact made of th e same material, reinforced
co nc rete, and cast in situ simultaneously. This fusion of sta ir a nd co ncrete
skeleton gives a n integrated frame o f structure and dC(eSS very similar to the:
Cont S oa r
Dom-Ino skeleto n of 1914. The slabs and colum ns deployed by Van den Broek
give a greater freedom to th e internal subdivision (the scenery) of each fl at.
The o nly restriction on th e gene ric space in which th e fl at can unfurl is
im posed by the stair hall itself. The porch/stair assembly claims a part of the
floor surface area. resulting in th e fl oor plan so characteristic o f the porch-
access fl at. The place where the stai r hall takes a bite o ut of the floor plan also
marks the position of the unit's entran ce (fig. 165).
The excision is situated between the enclosing shell of the sta ir hall and th e
scenery attached to it. The scenery's great capacity for change can be att ributed
10 the freedom th e skeleto n provides. T he most signifi cant rest riction imposed
by the porch access on th e layout of each unit is th e position of th e front door,
which understandabl y will always need to give o nto th e landing. Consequently
there is little evidence of disconnect ion to be found here.
The full y disconnected porch

During the co urse of the aoth century the principle of th e modern porch
access as applied in th e Vroesenlaan project grad ually beca me standard proce-
dure. That more ca n be done with the vertical mode of access is clear fro m
Philippe Gezeau's housing project. wh ich I discussed in cha pter two. Here. in
DI . . .. DUC H.
(u .. DI . . . .011 )
Tlw 1fW~ drfinni br

lnt llair IWI Iw Ion
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o ft.." C.... n,;\I.lollon
. nd ean MOfJIon iznl
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orparalLnlllai. hall Ace. ..
• nd \lniL •
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,06
th eory, th e large platfo rms used to access th e un its allow the fro nt doors to be
placed anywhe re along them. The disconnection between stairs and fron t
doors gives a grea t freedom in th e choice o f dwelling types. Yet no use is made
here of th is d isconnection between access and unit and all fro nt doors are
aligned vertically (fi g. 167). It should be said th at th e position of th e lift shaft
puts restrictions on the units' capaci ty for cha nge.
Cont S oa r
, 0(; '( 1
161 Guc-.". U
hou.inlt in u...
drnh...q .
D
( l"".. l. u r k..kd
v""'" ut" fullM'
hori n h<..... nll
b1"d...
• 11101 l ·OIl.CO
lcou .....' ,. .... JI

The ""'u·... drfi"".
from p"" .1Ck I.... St•...,....
'P"' illlin ",-II i<1I •
I ml un .kwl",p s.,"
frft'ly. -_ .
The fr" nt .k.tlr <.In be
f....ny pu ud In the •
w.nhc1......-n kU'u Aan•
.Ind .. n ,1
b<i......., t .... ,n ltrf... t
hc1wt-tn the lI.llflpl.ll-
fo-rm "I""<•• nd 11...
..... w"-'Iut 11..... nil.
S« tilt. 3& for IcJrod
.., J
All the same. Gazcau's design treats the system of stai rs an d terrace-like plat -
form s as the frame. The addit ional du ties inspired hr the roomy plat form s
strengthen the character of the access and. con sequ ent ly. Its performance as a
frame .
cont s oa me a ,
Horizonta l access
Vertical access is efficient when there are large apartments an d few storeys. The
di sta nce between front door and street is com parat ively short. so that the size
of the nebulous intervening area between the front door of th e home and the
fron t door of the build ing as a whol e is kept relatively small. But in co mbi-
nation with small dwellings, such as one- or two-room fl ats, the porch access
system soon proves to be wasteful in terms of space and disproport ionate with
regard to the size of the living quarter s. A horizontal means o f access such as
that provided by an external gallery or Cl co rridor, can o ffer a way out. A fur-
ther advantage of horizontal access is that it ca n be combined with a lift.
In 1807 th e French utopian socialist Charles Fo urier devised a mode of
acco m modatio n for the proletariat. T his so -called phalanstere co nsisted of
several large ho using blocks set in the landscape. Toge ther the blocks were to
const itut e Cl great ' workers' palace', a Versailles for the masses. Inspired by the
phela nster e. Iean -Bapt iste Godin, an en lighten ed manu facturer of stoves and
heaters, designed a building to house his factory workers. This 'Pamilistere'
ma rked the emerge nce of a new type of residenti al accom rnoda tion.v'
This bu ilding in the North ern French town of Guise (fig. 169 ) resembles a
cross between a Baroque palace and the Roman insula. Th e com plex co nsists
of three linked blocks each with a roofed cent ral court . The units arc ranged
round these comm unal courts and reached fro m galleries encircling the cou rt s
on the inner side.
Each gallery gives access to all un its o n one level. In the corn ers of the bloc k
a re the stairwells accessing the galleries (lig. 170 ).
Typologically, the bui ldings seem at first sight to resemble the apartment
bu ildi ngs of Haussman n's rc rh-century Pa ris, with the one d ifference that like
the Roman insula, each building takes up an enti re block. Co nseq uently the
cou rts are much larger with many more units ranged around them.
As th e central court has a glass roof it can serve as a vast hall and its galler-
ies as balcon ies. mak ing it an ideal space for festive events (fig. 171 ). The gallery
access system is not an entirely new phenomenon: so mething resembli ng a
gallery ca n be found in the anc ient insula. Other precursors of the gallery
include the roofed or vau lted passages around the inne r side of cloisters, off
wh ich are the cells, and the co rridors of the Uffizi Palace.
What singles out th e Guise ho using is its systematic and large-scale use of
galleries. Indeed, the gallery as used at Gu ise is an inde pendently articulated
layer, As all stai rwells a nd unit entrances give onto th e court, urban lite in the
im mediate vicinity gravitates to this large open space. fl3)J

,'-' , ....tin.
h md,"t.....( rim.,.
fr.nu l ll w· ll n).
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s.ounr. l fltm'vulo
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cont s oa me a ,
As th e gallery is situa ted outsi de th e unit fl oor plans, it means th at these ca n be
subdivided with a greater sense of freed om th at with the po rch access. Nor is
th e position of th e fro nt door bound to one place only. Countermand ing this
is th e fact that th e gallery runs in front of th e units, ra ising the issue of privacy.
Accepting th is one reservation th e gallery is able to act as a frame, with the
excision between gallery a nd facade. In th is capacity as frame, the gallery in
principl e allows the unit entrance to be placed, and the space subdivided, in
complete freedom.
' ....u " i ..

lcoo". , c;...... c '.'CI '0.
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orpnitni.
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bci......, inlrrf...r
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Ga llery as street
The gallery type as used in Guise now enjoys th e broadest application. It can
be found in th e many gallery-access slabs erected during th e period of post-
war reco nstruction. On th e face of it. the gallery seems to have changed little
over th e years. And yet it has been th e subject of some interesting experi ments
a nd it is these I would like to examine now.
Ahhough the Guise gallery served as a theatre balcony in its heyday the
inhabitants of Guise would have been jealous of the galleries of the apart ment
building in Spa ngen. For th is Rotterdam d istrict Michiel Brinkm an designed
a housing project co ntai ning several large shared co urtya rds. All units are
entered fro m the co urtyard side (fi g. 17) ). Those on th e two lower levels have a
front door on th e ground plane whereas the two upper levels are accessed from
an external gallery also overlooking th e co urt (fi g. 174).
According to Donald Gri nberg, thi s means of o rganizing the block was a re-
action to the tradit ional 19th-century speculative housing block.vs It solved the
problem of fi re safety by accessing th e upper units off a raised co ncrete street
con U Od au or
, ,,
_.... - - •.....
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...
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(the gallery ) and brick steps instead of

the narrow timber int ernal stairs used
to access many tst h-ccntury upstairs
dwell ings.
The galler y itself deviates from the
norm. Brink man broadened it. transfo r-
ming it into a 'livi ng street. It was literally
used th is wa)' unti l the 195OS; the baker
and the milkma n ascended by freight
I ' , Hrin.......n.
.,. lift to th is second tier to make their
del iveries fro m door 10 doo r (fi g. 175).
Sp.n!C"' hou.. n".
In this project too th e discon nect io n between unit and access in princi pl e
Rnlln""m ( I ~ I""
1~1 1 1 . .."'n ,th enables the unit entra nce 10 he: moved . In th eory, then . each uni t is ,I freely
unll rn' r."" '''r. transformable living space. Brin kman used th is freedom to stack small a pa rt -
S" U'<C': H~rinhn ~
Nn lr· 7t men ts o n the two lower levels and maiso nettes on the upper two. He co uld just
1]4 B......m....
as easily ha w reversed the two types using the same access.
Sp. " !C"' huu ";..".
Rotl........ m ( 1"'1' - The broad gallery is not o nly special because of its dimensio ns; its archi tec-
IOJl ll.lntnior "f'kC'
tural design is also worth remarking on . The gallery's a rticulatio n is enhanced
..fhl........ S.......C':
lGrinb..lll 1llnl p. J by the materials used . the dwell ings bei ng of dark brick and the gallery of rein -
forced co ncrete. Interestingly. Ilrinkma n so ught to give the then new med iu m
of reinforced co ncrete an expressio n o f its own. To do so he d rew on the archi -
tectu ral expression of a timher co nstructio n.v- Thi s ca n he hest seen in the
suppo rts surro und ing the ent rances to the dow nst ai rs un its (fig. 17ft ), Here the
columns and beams arc sho wn as if they hold been stacked. Co ncrete co lum ns
bridged by a beam arc the struc tural suppo rt fo r a longer beam set lengt hwise
belo w the centre line of the gallery. Beam s placed tran sversely on this lo ng
beam in turn su ppo rt the galler y.
This di fferen ce between the materials of gallery a nd un it visuali zes the dis-
co nnectio n between the stack of un its and the means of access. The excision
co inci des with the d ividing line between concrete and brick, be tween gallery
and u nit entrance. The freedom the widen ed gallery crea tes and the po wer ful
articul ati on of th is cleme nt make Brinkman's gallery a well -defined frame. o ne
Cont S oa ,
115 "'inlnun.
Sp,on,", hou.. n80
Rult..ro..m h 9 1'i"
1911 1. MIlk drliwry
on plkry. s.>un;c;
(GnnM I I",")
p. ;t'>
176 Bn nl mn .
Sp.I nsm houtins,
Rn(tmi.&m !1919 ·
lUl l. Inln-><" 'I'.u
wilh raised "'M.
S n.. rue -
1I0Il af the (on(n1c
b.ah••• ra<k. Soum!':
(Gnnool 19nl
p· n
." .,6
I
t.. •
G o ....... c;
, ...... (,; ' OO ...C I,.n '0'
Thrplkryddinn
frum ...... liM IM
'l"'t w'lhin whi<h
CM unot u n bot ffftly •
<><pn i.N. Thr rn -
IIl n, co u n be '"",,y •
pl..ni ,n ,.... w.lI 1orJ"
...lInll un'llnd [loI1-
k-ry. r be w>Jrnn:l
pUny i n~il...:l ..Jd l ·
I i<'n~ Uon lnd i. h,,1d
in 110 <koign. Thn'C'''
..... priu..y u n lhr
il·1lcTyoitk,lmly Au u "
dn-prnnl ",'r.",""
b,,:iyon; inlrrf... c
bo.1 .......n f. , ..k . nd
,.lkry.
~ !ill..\ f> for ~
'n
that has inspired many architect s. The expressive'» exterior and wide range of
uses invi ted by this gallery enhance its performance as a frame, a frame that
defines the generic space for structure, skin and scenery,
The deck
In 19S2 Alison and Peter Smithson, infl uenced by the likes of l e Corbusier's
housing experiments (Unit e, Plan Obus), designed th e Golden La ne housing
project. This competition entry was intended to address the rebuilding of [1J1]
Cont s oa r
,•• .'
~
.
I,. A& P Sm;lh">n.

'" ...
G....kn L.M pr,,·
~I ( '~ll. s..U f(C':
(lI.... vd.nd R,....,·
lM.I'W91 p. SI>
' 79 A& PSmith.......
GoIdn. La"., pro-
;«1 ( l ~ll. Soun:r.
ILow.. '9f>31p. JO
110 All!<kn Lll"4' pro -
j«1 (IOXl ). Son:l1on.
S.......r. ( ViJ " Uo
1991) p. l~
l l . A&PSmllh ..,n.
(-....Mkn LIl..., pro-
~ ( ' l/ul. A ...·
llt.mt'I,ic of unll
.nd ~Jm. Sour«:
IS.I1 L1 h." n .nd
Sm;lh"'!l '''''1)
cont s oa me a ,
\, )'". "'-1 "
Lon don di stricts dam aged during the
r :
..
"-.D- ; :
" I." ..
( . .. :
.. 'a=
•• •
war. The project has u -storey-hlgh
blocks snaking in a twig-like config-
uration across the old urban fabric (fig.
.-'f ' ~.: I
178). The Smithsons reworked many ••

t 1I~1
l'
ideas from th is never-realized project
in their later Rob in Hood Gardens. " .. ,; :1'
altho ugh the access in this last-nam ed

project is less exceprional.v" - '"
••.. .. _'""11 1. '''1.
T he Golden Lane project comme nts I" I: k " •. 10'110. "
' ': 11 1 I .," U Ill'
on trad itional gallery-access buildings
with their one gallery per storey access- -
ing the flats on that level. With more • • •
than o ne sto rey 10 a gallery, the more t t

intensive use of that gallery upgrades it
1 :1';
~ .
to a street-in- the-a ir. com parable with
the widened gallery in the Spangen ~;'E" "'.,~
· ~, .;f ' 3 ~r
project."?
,.,
For Golden Lane the Sm ithso ns
".,I,UW
., ....: .
, '''" ' •. ".I:a

•"
•
•
- •
chose an access system of decks as wide .,
as th e block (fi g. 179 ). These decks give
, C '::>
•
access to th e dwellings on th e level
above and th e level below the deck. I1I A&P Sm' lht<m"
GoIdm UM pro-
Each deck accesses so me 90 un its. This
i«l (l9Ul. PLan..
co nfiguration enabled the Smi thsons to atta in a density of 500 units per $outcr. (Sm lth...n
hectare. Each dec k includes storage spacc and private ga rdens next to the
entrances; these garde ns add a measure of transparency and variety 10 the
.,.
and Sm ilhoon 19,..,)
block. T he decks were to take th e place of a city street, without th e latter's dis-
adva ntages.
'Two women with pra ms can sto p and talk without blocking th e fl ow, and
[these streets ) are safe for children, as the only wheeled. veh icles allowed are th e
trad esmen's hand and electrically-propelled trolleys.'I]!
It is not just articulation of access th at makes the deck a frame but also th e
fact that un its are loca ted below and above it. Yet th e deck derives its raison
d 'it r~ from an other layer, namely the structure. The deck is defined. by the
conc rete fl oor belo w and th e co ncrete fl oor above th e deck. Structure and
access are inext ricably linked a nd interwoven in an integrated fra me. The exci-
sion between th is frame and that which is freed by it, th e unit's space-defi ning
elements or scenery, is located above the fl oor of the level above th e deck and 11)91
con U Od au or
, ... "' ...... 0 G I .. UI C $ ~ "' ct
below the ceilin g o f the level below the d eck, a nd at every po int where struc -
tu re and scenery touch,
This use o f a d eck sol ves th e gallery's p roblem o f privacy and overlooki ng.
Once again, thi s mode o f access ha!' a built -in freedom . The Srn itbso ns d evel-
o ped the p roject from the three-room fam ily ho me h u t they could just have
eas ily have used a b roader u nit or even a two-sto rey apa rtment. They the m -
selves m ad e p rovision fo r the fa ct th at the o pen space a t deck level m ight
be b uilt -up w ith a n add itio nal roo m, as can he seen in the floor pla ns (fi gs Hh
and 181).
The o nly restriction impo sed here by th e m eans o f access is the position o f
the stair. A ho le needs punchin g in the concrete tloo r at the place wh ere th e
stair accesses th e unit. This fix es the po sition of the unit en trance fo r all time.
The Spa ngen project alread y sho wed us th at the gallery can be m O TI." than a
fu nct ional syste m fo r people to access their homes. In Spangen th e gallery has
swelled in to a sm all street ; in the following p roject, the gallt'ry beco m es th e
locus fo r a sm all front garden. In that sense , Spangcn and Gol den Lane jo in
fo rces in Kecs Ch ristiaa nsc's housing p roject.
The hou sing stand s un a site freed b)' dem ol ition in a po st -war resident ial
d istrict. A hundred three-roo m dwellings o ccupy two blocks distinguished
by a gallery type specially d evelo ped fur the p rojec t {fig. IX.. ). Galleries and
eme rgency stairs a rc ho used in an ind ependent assembly set a sho rt dista nce
in front of the actual block. O n the side facing the su n, broad tim ber walkways
link the gallery to the u nits. Oriented to the so uth (If west , these bro ad
I
GOl D ' _ ~ ... _,
l ", ~ "'''"10_1
Thc-<k.:k t"~
limit l ho\"r I nd \lo:1....
il ln dtwlor f_ly.
Oll<t dn:ickd .. n , tilt
row'",n ..f ,1It S ~, n
m lUll< t i. fnn! in •
rri nf.. ru..t U_ 'f1t .
h ( l,",n: ,hot l1"nn •
tott"n'n tllt ...... k I no!
thot un,tOlhon't Ind
hrit.... u,
'"'"' till-- J(l for kynd
'"
cont S oa fOC a ,
114 Ch riotwnw..
~"'''trul
h""oinS. Anw~·
f....,1 ( 1'1971.
(~lkrin ()f n r....-
.......r1 Kul.olio n
I 'S Qlri.llu n...,
Kotlwfbtrut
hou.. ng, A ~
f......-I I' W7J. PL1n.
Sour«: IChn ..;-
u n ... 'wB lp. n
3 3
2 1
11\ I ~I
,"
_o, .o, _u un
Ic " ..u, u ..u l
Tb<' fAlI«ydctl .....
......
fll'm OM.itk I ~
k...,l. w"h ,n ..hio:h
r ..:h un it can be
orp.nut<! &1 ... ;0.
ahho utth IlK , n" &!lI.'
;,. fiud..
TU'.kn in fronl of St tlKtutt'
un i•• ln-p It... ""lk ry ,
" , di.., ,,,,
(priu cy ). - ,
f.lU:illOn; ;n' .........
btlwll'nI f Mk.nd
•
plkry.
S« fill_ jl> fOI kttmd
,16
bridging pieces double as terraces, the units' outdoor spaces, thereby defining
an intermediate zo ne between public and private.
T he entire access system of terraces is a building in its own right, a frame
that frees the way for a variety of unit layouts. This system has been dis-
con nected from th e residential portion. T he excision lies between the terrace
Cont s oa r
and the front door. It is even co nceivable in theory at least th at the access sys·
tern - the most characteri stic feature of this project - will be retained and the
housing block replaced.
The co rrido r
Altho ugh the gallery does nothing to obstruct the systema tics o f the unit lloor
pla n a nd exerts litt le con trol over the positio n of the unit entrance. in general
it does hamper the privacy aspec t. Locating the access system in the cen tre of
the block. on the other hand, keeps visi to rs from passing alo ng the fro nts of
the houses.
Internal modes of access haw been experimen ted with in mass ho using
since the 1920S. The corridor access had long been applied in prisons, offi ces
and ho td s. ln such building types spaces are oriented to one facade only. wh ich
would be inco nven ient if applied to ho using. To be able to o rient a dwelling
with corridor access to front a nd rear fa cades means having it link running
either over o r under th e corridor, T his issue looms la rge in mo st designs that
include co rridor access. The adva ntage of this mode o f access is that it presen ts
no threat to home privacy. Pitt ed agai nst th at is the fact that the corr idor is
fully intern alized and receives no direct dayl ight. nor can it be articulated in
the fac ade.
Andrei Andreyevich 01 so lves the problem of unilateral or ient ation in the
design he made for a co mm unal apartment house o r domkonnnnna by using
interlocking dupl ex fl ats. Designed for th e OSA co mperi tionvv, 01'.'0 building
aC(l'SSCS the duplcxes with a co rridor on the fi rst 1100r . O n the gro und and
second floors the fl ats reach fro m fac ade to facade so that each unit is o riented
to both sides.
T he project consists of a main block of facilities such as crec hes and shared
kitchens, a nd severa l three-storey wings containing the fl ats. Strung off the
co rridor in pairs, the fl ats are narrow though each has its own outdoor space
(fi g. 187). As many functio ns in the bu ilding a rc treated as com mun al. the fl ats
themselves chiefly consist of living and sleeping q uarters and ;I pant ry of
so rts,
All fl ats arc organized on two levels. On the corrido r level. the flats are
oriented to o ne side only. On the level above o r belo....... they reach fro m facade
10 facade, As in today's porch access system . this gives a fixe d combina tion o f
dwelling type and access type. The presence of the corridor determines th e
cha racte ristic up- or down -goi ng section through the corr idor fl ats. Th is rule.'>
out the possibili ty of a complete disco nnection between access and unit.
The co rridor. tucked inside the building as it is, can o nly be articulated in

:tJGt.l11
,
th e hea d eleva tio n. Although th e co r- t 1--·"'""A( I
I
ridor is resolutely present in th e build-
• •I•
ing's interio r, it makes little im pressio n 1.. • •
•
•
on the o utside of th e block. • ••
As in the case of th e porch access, I •
• ,••
it is not always easy to assess the exten t
••
I,
to which co rridor access gene rates
parti cu lar frecdorns. Here too. a lot
!
I
••
depends on the outward form of th e I !,

structu re. In pri nciple. the corridor
I ••
I
ena bles dwellings of all kinds to d uster !;
ro und it. prov idi ng they have th e same
I
section. Shou ld the structure co nsist o f " 1 0 1, dllr ln
1111.. os . "'"'J~!l '
supporting walls, as it does in th e OSA
honrntry (19171.
design , then the gene ric space will be wedged between th em. Sr.... r~t: c • ••U ]
O ne disadvantage of the corridor is the lack of natu ral light . In the Unite -os
d'Habitation, th e residential block type designed by Le Corbusier, its a rch itect
so ught to improve th e quality of th e co rridor by widen ing it. It was to take the
form of a street. with the entrances to the apartments acting as front doors o n
th at st reet, each with its own letter box. light. sca nt th ough it is. filters through
th e stair halls into the corridors o f the Unites,I'" T hese buildings. whose first
protot ype was realized in Marseille. have propagated far and wide th e phe-
nomen on of the co rridor combined with duplexes. I will ret urn to th is build-
ing at greater length in th e next chapter.
O ne p ractice to take its cue from the Unite and its central co rridor was the
Dutch partnersh ip of Van den Broek and Bakema, Th e Hansaviert el residen tial
OU nO.OUL
IOl,oul ,.....
TM ro,rid.., dc1i nn
from 0 .... oidco IM
Joubk· h"'~1 ~ e
wuhin wh i<h n.:h .- - - x....,
u n il ca n be: ~l ·
."""". .
Slru Clu••
( 1(;......: IM inl..n..... Corridor

btlW<'n1 wallund
tkJors I'" ""ridol" Ind
u nit ..
,n
Cont S oa r
,19 I...C l>uoin.
l in .l t . M . , ,lI..
~ . _._.- •
( 19-4 ~ · l<Xl ). ~ 'i..n
,hmu"" u'uid", II
W1lh unit.. ~'UT(t:
( 11""" Il"T1_ .11
p . 107
'')0 V, n okn Rmd :
I~
A R.ikm, . lll n....·
..iff\t ll_ t r. Rnl,"
-
I J
( '91'>01. I'L>n. f...-~
. nd .....1"'". Sou r((': I
t ~",,"od N7~ 1
"'~ '"
, ,
,
,
,
• ••
~.
'-
rn Dg - ~.
••
.,
~ Ii 1 i 1 li I t:rj I ll! Ill! it II ! 1 J!
ptulli"mJ n i n mi
:. .a :. •• -. -.•
-* I:=- ... ~
• • • • •
-'- •'
,
'90
.' ,I I I I I I I ]
tower they bu ilt for In tcrbau. an international build ing exh ibition held In
Berlin in 1957, i!> likewise accesscd by corrido rs." !

Both this project a nd the Unite make use of d uplex flats. each of wh ich in-
cludes a full sto rey's difference between its levels. Van den Broe k and Bakcma
improve the relatio nship between levels by deploying split-level units (fi g. 190 ).
Residents can make their way over or under the corrido r with greater case.
This co nfigurat ion makes it possible tu range larger and smalle r units round
th e corridor. Equally, the size of unit s ca n be.' altered in the.' fullness of time."
th o ugh th is would he at the expense of the upstairs or downs tairs neighbours.
T his is the refore a case of dependant extendability.
As th e Hansaviert el bu ildi ng is narrowe r, its corrido rs are sho rter than
Cont S oa r
those in th e Uni te. Because th e ' 91 VAn dm !'ru",
Il< BaJ<.nn.., U.n....
architect s deploy a broa d co rri- WltMtll..-t, fltrlin
dor and include a balcony at the 119601. Soun:r.

(ShC'rwocrd 19]8 }
two ext remi ties, th is cen tral cor-
p. '"
rid or has become largely success-
ful as a social space.
The balconies at th e head end
betray th e position of th e co rri-
dor, as do th e balconies of the
flats in an alternation between
fro nt a nd rear facades. Though
these interventions do not exact -
ly visualize the corridor as such,
th ey do make it palpable in the
building's exterior (fig. 191). Once
again the mean s ofaccess dicta tes
th e section through the unit,
",
th ough the section here is more
co mplex than that in th e Unite. Half-storey shifts enable th e units of the
Ha nsavicrtel buildi ng to occ upy more th an one level (fig. 190 )•
..... "'W 'I.U L
(w... 01" II OU , . .... 1
. . . 11 ....'
ThI- ~orridOl drlinn

frum o n<' ..ok tht
....' t within whi<h
......h unit un lot
&-I<>rtd. 11m 'J'«t
, ..n lot (Onlinutd ""'"
mu... .....n onC' Itvd.. S<--,
E1,i""": t ml..rf~.. •
htf~n IIot ll...nd s."",...
fln,;,,",, of corrid.. r ..nd
unit. 51''''1....
",
C.onl S oa r
Fractalization oflaye rs
In this a nd the foregoing cha pters I traced the de velo pment of th.., fi ve layers.
'lo co nclude this pa rt of the book I would like now to ..'x.nui nc a part icula r
aspec t of those layers. when discussi ng the Spangen project in Rotterdam
I said that its gallery has its o wn supporting structure. I soli d the same abou t
the Koe koekstraat housi ng in Amersfoo rt (see elsew here in this chap ter, pp.
1) 6 a nd 141). In both cases the questions arises of whe ther this struc ture is part
of the layer I denote with the term structu re o r with the I..-rm access .
In fact this is symptomatic of a mo re general problem . The skin ca n also be
said to have its ow n struc ture. Fo r exa mple. the curtain wall of the wo rksho p
block of the Bauha us {sec cha pter th ree. p. 77) incorporat es a Sl: t numbe r tlf
windbeam s to take up the wind load of the co ncrete skeleto n they fro nt. The
co nstructio n of the facades with ribbo n wi ndows in Le Corbusie r's buildings
is another case in poin t.
What holds for the structure ' an Also hold for. say. the skin o r the scenery.
If we rega rd the serva nt co re of Maison Alba (sec chapter two, p. 4 1). then
str ictly speaking this prefabricated element has its ow n skin and its own spatial
layo ut and therefo re its o wn scene ry.
What we have here i\ a pheno meno n which . in 'lIl illogy with the: co ncept of
fract als used in chaos theo ry. I call the [mcmlimtion of layers," ! Th at wh ich
lakes place at the level of the entire build ing is repeat ed at a lower level as a
subsystem . T he skin ca n have its own subst ruc ture, the services rh..-i r ow n sub-
skin. and so for th, As lo ng as the role this substructure, subskin o r subscenery
plays is confi ned to the o ne layer. and the substru cture for example is no t part
of the main structure. then these subsystems belong to thel ayer in which they
MC active. Thus the struct ure of the gallery in Spa ngc n belongs to the ,1((C SS
and no t the layer named structure.
Conclus ion
Building services co nsist of pipes and (a bies, the appliances they serve a nd the
spaces pr imed to receive these, Bau hum has pointed o ut thut the services
evolved largely outside the architectural debate. O nly d uring the co urse of the
zoth centu ry do we see a tenden cy to express this layer in the a rchitecture. In
so me cases. the way the serv ices are o rganized and the form they take generate
freedom for o ther layers. It is then that the services act as the frame. Accom-
modaring th is layer in a zone o r co re leave!' spaces without cables and

appliances. generic spaces in other words. A space devo id of pipes and cables
gives great freedom to both scenery and use.
Fro m the Middle Ages o nwards, access has developed from a single hallway
or stair into a system in its own right, a n independent layer in the architecture.
The initial d riving fo rces fo r separating living q ua rte rs and circulatio n insid e
the house were privacy and a sense of embarrassment. if o nly for certain catego -
ries of reside nts. A desire for higher den sities and the co ncom itan t stacking of
d wellings led to ingenious systems of stairs, co rridors, landings a nd galleries.
The access system , o rigina lly interwoven with the fl oo r plan of the ho use,
grad ually beca me d isco nnected fro m it. At the same time access entered into a
new, constructional alliance, as stairs and galler ies became made of co nc rete
an d merged with the struct ure.
Next, the Modern Movement provided the architectural means to give
access a co unten ance of its own. Po rch stair and gallery were articulated indi vi-
dually in the desire to present the prog ramme in the facade, tho ugh the co rr i-
do r was still with held from view.
And yet access wo uld rema in a problem layer in do mestic architecture, a
necessary evil. The com parison Hermans makes in his novel Au pair be twee n
the dwelling access and the cables and pipes running alo ng the outer face of
the rea r walls in the co urtyard of a Haussma nnian block evidently still holds
true.
Fro m the exa mples described above it is clear that access can only gain
significance as a frame if it assumes an additional d uty. This ca n ta ke the form
of a street (Spangen) , a balco ny (Koekoekstraatl or a 'fro nt garden' (Golden
Lane). In that respect, the gallery and the porch have greater potential than the
co rrido r.
At the dose of the cha pte r I ente red into a pa rticu lar aspect of defin ing the
layers. Using a clutch of examples I sho wed that every layer ca n be bro ken
down into severallesser layers; every facade has its own structu re, a servant
sp;ace can have its own scene ry and so fo rth , I ident ified the existence of these
subsyste ms or sublayers as the 'fractalization of layers: At the same lime I sug-
gested that it is most impo rtant to keep principal syste ms and subsystems sep-
arate; it is the diffe rence between ma in and seconda ry issues.
Having d iscussed the live layers and their developmen t, we can no w exam -
ine the significa nce o f layers and the frame co ncept in dwelling design.

Contendo siqeto a deescnos de auter
The frame and 5
the changeable
dwelling

• • • •,0( .... 0 ca .. u ,( ' ."( 1
In the preceding cha pters we worked th rough t he fra me concept and exp lo red
t he related no tions of disco nnection , excisio n a nd liberar ion by analysing case
studies rep resen ti ng d ifferen t genres o f b u ild ings through the cen turies. Befo re
emba rki ng in cha pter six u n the ro le th e fram e concept ca n p lay in designing
d omest ic accommodati o n . I wou ld fi rst like to exam in e t he ideas and concepts
for changeable dwell ings th at have evo lved over th e years.
Dutch exa m ples abou nd in th is ch a pter. T hi s ca n he ascri bed part It· to the
accessibi lity of the sou rce m aterial and pa rt ly to the fact th at cha ngeab ility in
dwellings has been t he su bject of cou n tless studies and experimen ts in t he
Ne therlan ds . O ne reaso n fo r t h is lust -na med phenomenon is tha t Dutch
domest ic co nst ru cti o n is fi rmly p resided OVt' T by legislation that has its roots
• •
III ergonom ics.
The s pecific s of hous ing
Ho using, an d m ass ho using in particula r. d ist ingu ishes itself fro m o t he r ge nres
o n four counts.
1 It invo lves t he repe tit io n o f iden t ical entities, independen t dwelling un its with
a surface a rea somewhere between SO and I SU m' . These independen t dwellings
need isolating fro m each o ther in the in terests of soun d -proofing a nd fire safety,
T he established solu tion to this problem is that o f (ompartmclI talizatiotl.
2 Every d welling has its o wn en tra nce, Wh en d well ings arc nut sited at grou nd
leve l, th is q ui te o fte n results in a complex. access sySft'''' o f sta irs. lifts. corr ido rs
and galle ries where the d ivid ing line between p rivate and p ublic is uften
bl urred .
3 Each dwelling is in princi ple indiv id uall y hooked up to co m pan ies supp ly-
ing power, wa ter and info r m at io n a nd also to networks fo r discharging fo u l air
and wastewater. All these connect ions a nd t heir internal ram ifica t ions o ften
make for a complex system of service rims t hat greatl y in fl uences the way the
h o m e is laid o ut.
4 A dwell in g fu lfils m a ny d ifferent fun ctions o n a rel at ively sm all su rface area.
T his makes dwelling design a relatively co m plex task. Unt il recently th is entailed
spatially ammgillg the dwelling wi thin the smallest possible su rface area. an d it
is still a task in which d im ensi o ns and su rface areas dom in ate th e design .
To su m u p. there a re fo u r categories: nnllparttl.Ctltal;zdt;ml , access; ser vice
system and jpatial am mgemmt. T hese fo ur categor ies are related . respectively,
to th e foll owing layers: struct u re, access, services and scenery. I have chosen to
st ructure this chapter in ter m s o f t he fo u r categories d escribed abo ve,

- •-.,.• •
•
,- ~.,
1. .. ,
•
•I
.'
- ,- •
•
,
" .. I
- . J.....
•
._ .' I ., .I..
• •
• 11
•
J'
. " " /liP Smil h......

Goldfn Line' pTD-
Big projects, big assemblies as frame
if« (I'XI I. TM
pholo"",n l~gc' fn ·
l u ~ Ihe' bcrebed
With the period of recons truction following th e Second World War came an (I1ymCownl ry.
eno rmous increase in the nu mber of high-rise housing projects. Inspired by SouKr. l Vidnflo
lYY7 ) P.lS;~nd Con
C l AM principles, th e tower and the slab were regard ed as th e means to address Ani . N~ IWl>y\nn
the huge shortage of accommodation. During those years large high-rise Sord I!m).
SouKr. f \\'i~
developments sprang up in both Western and Eastern Europe. These included
1'1'1111'. 117
Markisches Viertel in West Berlin. Toulouse le Mirail in France. Roehampton
in London , Westd ijke Tui nstedc n in Amsterda m and the man y expansion
areas of Moscow, East Berlin and Budapest.
The deluge of high . rise schemes was accompanied by an element of mega-
lomania. The new d istricts were not to be a scattering of discrete buildi ngs but
large cohesive assemblages branching across th e landscape o r through existing
cities. wide-ranging groups of architects and artists worked on th ese more or
less futuristic com positions. Back in the early 1950S the Smi thsons had devel-
oped th eir Golden Lane proposal for the rebuilding of parts of l ond on. Blocks
whose un its were accessed fro m a deck (see chapter four, pp. 1370'. ) snaked
across th e bomb craters of post-war London (fi g. 193).
After the Smithsons ca me the futuristic proposals of the Dutch man
Consta nt Nieu wenhuys'v and the Frenchman Yona Friedman. 'A4 In England it
was the Archigram group of architects '" and in Japan the Metabol istsv" led by
Kenzo Tange who set about designing megast ru ctures.
Many of these big assemblies are in formed by a comprehensive access sys-
tem. As such system s are incapable of fun ctioning unaided, a combi nation of
access and structure is requ ired.
Cont S oa r
' 94 kwrb~tr.
Plan 000, ( ' ¥J<! '
A road as frame
19.!Jl. UrN.n pro .
r-al r.., Algitn. An im portan t forerunner o f such projects is l e Co rbu sicr's Plan ObU S. ' ~7
Soun:ol': ( """'ill"'"
Developed in 1930, t h is idea is the outcome of a stu d y le Co rb usier d id into
1Y64 1p. '~l
'9S r.., w thl.nln. new u rban potentials for Algiers in North Africa. Th is city. set aga ins t the slo pes
PLon Ohu.. ( ' ¥ J<!-
of the Atlas Mo u ntains. has few possibi lities for expansion. l e Co rbu sicr felt
19.!J1. Rni&nl
fori · r f11l J'"'"'t. tha t high -rise offered a way o ut. H is proposal resulted in a number of tall build -
pcnp«Iivoe. Soutt r.
ings several kilomet res long whose form refl ects tha t o f the la nd scape th ey
IM.a.: L.rod l~ )
,O" wind t h ro ugh (fi g. 194). One of th em, Redant Fort- L'empereu r, is J block w hose
height varies between 60 and 90 metres. It ca n be regarded as a vast Dom -Ino
skeleto n. its stac ked floor areas borne aloft by colum ns. The block is accesscd
from two motorways. one on th e roof and t he other halfway u p the b lock.
T h e floor areas co nstitu te the footprin t on which owners can b u ild their
homes as they see fi t; they are in effect stacked p lots for bu ilding on . "·~ The
colossal in frast ruct u re - access and st ruct u re co m bi n ed - is the su ppo rt 1K.,l fo r
many thousand s of residential u nits and literally provides a roof over every-
one's head (fi g. 195).
cont S oa fOC a ,
_
.-
••
.
VI AIlIJI: • • allLl: ,:0••
.--- .--
• •
• •
--
• •
...
l ---'=-==---"~_
' __
." ' 97
' 96 LrCorltu~.
I'LIn Obu. ( It ,...
This buildi ng site lifted into space. 'terrain a bat tr superpcse' w', is composed
' '1l-d . Do1. il rt.n
of open spaces 4.5 metres tall where the individual home owners can erect 3 uf Rb1on .Fon .
t·..... rnru•. S.. u,~1f'
one- or two-storey un it. The units themselves are reached from a corrido r.
tM1o:1..tOO 1'JIo)
Lifts b ring residents and visitors 10 a central road equipped with garages. The r · ~,,'
' 9 7 Lr C<>ftou.in,
scenery o f each un it is unconnected to and therefore independent of th e access
!'Lan Obw h ".\()o
and structure (fi gs 196 and 197). This megastructure possesses a comb ined WJ1 ). UnIt fl.ool-
r!n, ror Rrooo nt
frame of structu re and access, with the 4.5 metre tall space as th e generic space
for1- l'nnP'"nl r.
for each uni t. SOu't;If'I M.... lrod
l~ ) p.<t911
Redan t Port -L'empereur grew out of ideas le Co rbusier had about the city
in relat ion to indivi dual dwelling access. The plan failed to address the other
two catego ries. compa rtmentalizat ion and service system. its ideas being too
broadly presented for this purpose.
The strength of its imagery fired many others a mo ng the avant-garde. In
the 1960s th e futurists Yona Friedman'?' from Paris and Constant Nieuwenhuys
(New Babylon )'91 from The Hague developed proposals fo r urban megast ru c-
tures branching across the existing landscape and John Habraken in his book
Supports: A" Alternat ive to Mass HousingJ'l) quotes Redant Port-L'ernpereur
almost literally. Despite the great infl uence exerted by Plan Obus on the thi nk -
ing about housing and changeability, nothing like it has ever been realized.
Maybe th e idea was too rigorous and presupposed an excessively large initia l
investmen t.
Cont S oa r
' .... ... 1 ..... D (; 1 .. U t ( ' . ...( 1
.,. le c."hu..ioN,
lJnM. MnW1lk
1 '''~ S· I9'il l. Anlll
""'".~ Suu ru:

l J'n~nl ~nd Gt",kt
'....,
The Un ite: a link in the chain

A second project in which access and st ruct ure fi gure pro minently was "ga in
the work of Le Corbuslcr, Althou gh this design dues not step off from cha nge-
ability - this resident ial block was developed for the post-war reconstruction
of France - it is nonetheless a key link in th e cha in of development s frum Plan
Obus to th e desi gns of the Mctabolist s, of which more belowMo reover, th e
ideas o n suppo rt and infi ll as developed by Habrakcn (see elsewhere in this
cha pter, pp. 16Iff. ) are indel ibly tied to th e Unite experiment. As this project
marks th e fi rst large-scale practical application of ideas abo ut a d istinction
between structure and infi ll package, th e structu ral make-up of its individua l
un its merits deta iled examination.
Le Ccrbusicr's study into large residential buildi ngs resulted aft er th e
Second World War in the Unite d'Habitation , a residential block containing
32 1 apart ments, shops, an infa nt school, a hotel and a gymnasiu m."" This
Unite (fi g. 198) sees Le Corbusler putting a number of his ideas into pract ice.
Thus. for example, the d istinction bet ween skeleto n and infi ll elemen ts he had
explo red in the Maison Dom-Ino fi nds a reflection in th e one he ma kes be-
tween the Unite's skeleto n and the production of individ ual units. The dou -
ble-heigh t living space and the pilotis can be traced back to the Maison
Citrohan. Beyond that , the Un ite d'H abitation can be said to address th e prob-
lematics of com partmcntaliza tio n, access and services runs.
The Unite's design spra ng from th e notion th at a large resident ial buildi ng
with a great many dwellin gs, fac ilities and shops can lay the basis for a new
open city in green space, the Ville Radieusc. Placin g the building on pilotis
elevates it above th e ground plane so tha t th e landscape can cont inu e un der-
neath it.
Cont S oa r
..
:~ : ; , rs ,i , I •
- ,, ' 99 1... Ct>rbu.......
Un ll~.
,, I I • _. I
Muwilk
h H H 9U). (:o.,·
I I I I , , , ::: 1 i cq'tuJI modd wilh
..•-.
• •,
, . , I ,
I
, ,
,-- I ~
mncwahk unil alHl
U llfIOIII<'I ric of unil
• • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • ,I ,I .Jid OUI of I"" oUk·
Ion D an au'ono-
mow C'fll'ly.
, , , Sou ",,", (u Cnrbu·
• • • • , 'I •
• I, - ,-
5..... '~7 ) p.'" and
(Tay\o< 1978 l p. ,
~
U aoo uCorbuWn.
Vn il~. M arwilk
; h9~~- I'J'i1I.
• • !A.nll,ludmal_·
lion through.ut -
rlo" wilh alir~ ·
Le Corbusier has the dwelling units accessed off a cent ral co rridor. As in rroof fio.... "'""
third . lott)". s.."'n?
Ol's O SA design (see chapter four. p. 142) one corridor serves three levels. To
( u Cnri>Uun l'Hl 1
achieve the necessary compartmentalization Le Corbusier gives each u nit its
own structure. Each can. in a man ner of speaking, be slotted in its entirety
'"
into the main structure (fig. 199 ). Bu t o nly in a manner of speaking, as the
'structu re' of each un it ult imately owes its stabi lity an d cohesio n to the main
structu re.
The theme of the pull -out dwelling unit fea tures in num erous sketches,
d rawings and models. In the <Euvre Complete, Le Corbusier compa res it with a
bo ttle rack, with the un it as the bottle and the structure the rack. wt It is not
clear what Le Co rbusier was d riving at when he made these conceptual d raw-
ings. But if he really was alluding to the possibility of interchangeable units,
there is nothing to be seen of it in the fi rst Unite on site.
The main struct ure of the Unite d' Habitation consists of a gigantic con-
crete framewo rk cast in situ with a fireproof fl oo r every third level (fi g. 20 0 ) .
Slotted into this large framework are the units with their ow n structure of steel
Cont S oa ,
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r.:...
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10' uCoftou....,. •••

Unilt. " b rlotilk
J -bcams and lightweight box girders (fig. 2 01 ) . The l-bcams an: supported U Il
( '\I~ '· I ""l l. (;,id
ol urd bram' in lINo lead blocks atop the concrete bea ms of the main st ructu rc. Th ese blocks. there
UIIKT~f .Lfkt..n .
to act as impact sound abso rbers. serve as the excision. as this is when: th e
Sourcr: I "'.... 'llfr
1~I )r·I~7 mai n structure and that o f the unit have been di sconnected .
1 01 u C~ri>u,tn. The steel bea ms in turn suppo rt a timber floor system. Th e outer wall of
Unilt. " br....lk
(' <J.4 ,· llKll. Sallon each dwelling unit is a wood fra mework set a slight di stance away from that of
Ihroullh 11...... ...all
its neighbour and wit h a plasterboard cladd ing on the inner side. In the cavity
and ,"hnlt "f unil
in pLo..or:.and inlrn.... between un its and on th e rear side o f the fram ework is an insulating blanket of
r/>nI" o f ","rllll<lIl
.... lI...ilh. "'1 ptoOlrr·
mineral wool. The ceiling. which is also clad with plasterboard. hangs from
hooo rd , Wid, nlt_ wood mem bers themselves fa stened to the steel l-beam s of the Iloo r above
Sourcn: UI;,.;h
(fi g. 202 ). All fi reproof fl oo rs are topped o ff with a n additional walking tloor
1\lUlr·I ~.nd
IR..nnrr. K<'Ill",k r which they themselves support.'?"
fI al . I9\lSI p . \Ill
The double partitio n walls a nd the large cavity act as sou nd insu lat ion .I " ]
Inside the unit. the space-defining scenery h ides the co ncrete skeleton entirely
fro m view. It on ly shows itself on the unde rside of the buil ding in the form of
th e powerful pilotis which togeth er shou lder a load of 4 5,0 0 0 ton nes.
Much tho ught has been given to the issue of service runs in the Unite.
Besides the customary suppl y and d ischarge of gas. water and electricity there
cont S oa fOC a ,
•
F
. - •
~
•
I
•
I
•
• ••
.'
•
,
I
' 0) Leo Co rhu. ~.
Uni. /'. ""rville
(I....' · , 'X l ). S«tion
= , I I I !I 7
. nd plan of unit
ohowlnlill " m ·
~
,
[
:, S-l.-'
1/ ~ I
•
• --- .'- _-.
•
.l ruClion,.,n indi-
vidlWllWO-OI<lff1
'-
., ,"
.
r , .-
, ,-,
,
-".. .
•
..-_ .-__ ' ,

t nlUy. 11v O=lilo-
l IOn ducl•• ft In lM
Ihid ...Md w.lIlcwl
w,th Iht k,ldwm,
~ , with ,.... wl-.Il'W.tn
pipin" nd rubbioh
, hu tt in tlW' lo(ju' l'C'
.....h in m.. ,ornn
of ' .... lit,Mn.
Source ( Leo Cofltu·
1 .itI1941 ' pp. lIo.l l
- ..-
,
---
I
I "
«
• ••
I
* •I • "
;"
4,l
A• I J. ,r J"" " •, ,t..
L. • <cl •
L ) . ..
t
is 3 com prehensive ventilation system that also provides warm air. not to
forget the chutes for household refuse. All these services are hidden away in
sha fts placed every two units. The ventilation shafts are incorporated in a
widened sectio n of the skeleto n and th e rest occupy a corner of the kitchen
(fig, 203 ).
In principle the concrete skeleton of the Marseille Unite gives a great degree
o f freedom in three directions. wh ich Le Co rbusicr uses to design different
dwelling types in a variety of combi nations. The scenery has been unhitched
from the structure.
Despite this disconnection between the structure and the unit -defining
elements. changing the in ter nal subd ivision is no easy task. T he biggest stum-
bling block is the fact that the scenery also helps to separate one un it from
another. Not only that. the systematics and dimensions of the independent
'structure' of each un it (the assembly of steel l-beams and lightweight box
girders) is itself determ ined by the concrete skeleto n of the whole.
It is conceivable that un its could be combined by breaking though the
double partition wall. However. as the floor does not continue beyond the
un it. this would mean ope rati ng in a labyrint hine no man's land . making an y
Cont S oa r
....... I .... Oc. r Ol Hlc 1 . "( 1
kin d o f modificat io n all t he m o re d ifficu lt. Conseque ntly, noth ing o f thi s so rt
has ever b een attemp ted as far as is known. Mo st m odifica tions have bee n li m -
ited to adap ting t he sce nery with in th e un it, suc h .1S co mbining th e t wo narro w
ch ild ren's roo m s.
As it happens. Le Corbusicr never in tended t hese dwelli ngs to be chan ge-
able. In t hat sense, we ca n draw a parallel between the Un ite an d the Maison
Do m -Ino of 1914. Bot h wen.' conceived as post-war recon st ruct ion project s
t ha t needed b uild ing qu ickly and bo th an' informed by a separa tion be tween
structu re and scenery. be t wee n bui ld in g carcass and u ni t fin ish . Le Co rb us icr
designed th is sep aration bet ween the cast- in -sit u concrete skeleton and the
precast elements subdivid ing the u nit's in te rio r to speed u p p rod ucti o n . In
Plan O b us we ca n d isce rn a like separat io n b etween carcass (t he large con crete
infrast ructu re o f st ruct u re and ac.ccss l an d fi nish ( the ind ivid ual uni ts ).
With the excep tion o f Plan O b us, Le Corb usie r d id no t in tend t h is di visio n
between ca rcass a nd fi n ish to ge ne rate cha ngeab ilit y. Still . t hi s separatio n a nd
the t hinking beh ind it were essen tial cond it ions fo r a cavalcade of ex perimen ts
and d esign s explor ing th e ab ility o f d wellings to change. as we sh all sec la ter in
th is chapter.
Mega struct ure as fram e

W hen the Japanese archi tec t Kcnzo Tangc vis ited t he Uni te und er const ruc-
tio n in Marseille in 1948, he co nfessed that ' no p iece of architectu re h ad m oved
111(' so much'. T h is visit was u nqu estio nably o f semi na l infl uence o n Ta n go's
ideas abou t mcgast rucru rcs, bu t so were h is encou nt ers with the Smit hso ns.'?"
Tan gc was one of t he gui ding sp irits of t he Japanese Mct abolists. T h is
movemen t had a bo ld new o ut loo k o n hou sing, d escribed in the Mctabolist
man ifesto as follows:
'Sho rt- lived item s a re becomi ng m ore and m o re sho rt-lived . and the cycle
is sh rin king at a correspond ing ra te . On t he o th er hand , t he acc u m ulat io n of
cap ital has made it possible to b uild in la rge-scale o pe rations. Refo rm ations of
na tu ral to pography: dams, harbours, an d highways a rt.' o f a Sil l' and SCUP(' tha t
involve lo ng cycles of tim e. a nd th ese are t he rnanmad e wo rks t hat tend to
d ivid e the overall system of th e age. T he two ten denc ies - towards sho rter
cycles and toward lon ger cycles - arc both necessary to m od ern life and to
h umani ty itself." w
T hese Mctabol ist pri ncip les loom la rge in Urban Megasrru..-t u rc. a com pe -
tit ion design by Akira Shib uya, o ne o f Tange's pupils. T he separation o f str uc-
tu re and individ ual u n it as ex plo red by Le Co rbusier in the Unite a re taken a
stage further in line with Mctabolist id c-as. w hereas Le Co rb usicr's d esign

I~ Sh ibu,...
Um.n ~oIl'UC'
l u ", hyl\6 ). Soun:~
- • •
tNiuchu IQI>81
p.,..
IOS Ylibuya,
lIrhon ~T\K
, -_
_ --
.......~ 't.' '' L ''' · ''
~
I" ,... t,.,.,. ). Un;1
tIaur pJ..n.. Soun:~
(Niu" hu IV6lII
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-- 1
... .-
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- •
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..,
resulted in a static building, Urban Megastructure is a chan geable system.
Here. Le Corbusier's bottle rack concept for the Unite has beco me the build ing
itself.
Shib uya's Urban Megastructure consists of a gigantic concrete assem bly
integrating services and un it entrances, with units hal f-bu ilt into it and half-
suspended from it (fig. 204). Th is conc rete colossus is structure. principal
service core and unit access system in one and supplies everything th e un its
need to connect th em to the ground.
Each unit consists of two port ions. O ne is part of an enormous concrete
beam bridging the distance between two vertical circulation cores. Thick party
con U Od au or
106 Shihu y".
Vrb.on Mql"" lruo: ·
lurr ( 19f\6 1. Sr<lion
Ihroullh unit Thr
n U olun runs be-
''''''"' 'ht "'UN
livin~ qllollntn ,,00
in.l,v.tu.u u J"U1n.
!'<lunr. ( N iu~h kt
.<It>B f p. 7'"
.. -. - ..fJl9
~
- .= =-= ..
walls belonging to t he mai n su pporti ng st ructure take care o f t he co m pa rt-
m en talizatio n aspect. A seco nd port ion, slu ng und er the conc rete beam , con -
sists o f a duster o f ind ividual ca psules.
T hese capsu les ca n be hitched and unh itched at will. lOo T his enables units
to meet changing do m estic requirements. A new problem presents itself ,11 t he
poin t wh ere t he ind ivid ual ca psule ca n be d isco n nected . Tu be able 10 cha nge
or exch ange ca ps u les req ui res th at a sta nda rd coupling be attached 10 th e fixed
portion of the h ouse,'0' T hi s coupling mechanism represen ts t he exc isio n. T he
fac t t hat it is sta nd ard ized means th at th e ab ility 10 hit ch units In t he syste m is
enti rely dependant o n it. T his introduces th e subject of sta nda rd iza tio n and
com patibi lity, such as we find in ca meras wit h in terchangeable o bjective lens-
es, in to the province of domestic con struction.
T he co ncrete part of t he un it h o uses the t raditional Japanese livin g sp aces
for co m munal activities , whereas t he syn thetic ca psules are fo r ind ivid ual
dwell ing n eeds. T his d ivi des t he u n it in to ,1 trad it io nal, permanen t port ion
and a port ion able to exp ress the changi ng req u irem ents o f the indi vid ual ( fi gs
205 and 201l ).
T he t rad itional part adm its to a grid st ructu re based o n t he tatami. the
t rad itional Ja panese sleeping m at o f 0.9 )( 1.8 met res. Th is suggests t hat these
spaces are to so m e degree pol yval ent like their cou nterpa rts in rruditio na l
Japa nese dwellings. The trad itio nal lapa ncsc house h as a number of mult i-
p u rpo se rooms wh ich d erive t heir m ean in g fro m t he object s used there.I f the
box o f tea paraphernalia is brought o ut, th e roo m ins t he lea cerem o ny ro o m :
if t he sleepi ng mats arc roll ed and the tea ce remony box p UI away aga in the
sa me room beco m es a bed room.
But is the permanent part really t rad itio n al and does I be boundary bet ween
permanent and changi ng in ho m e life (t he excision ) rea lly coi ncide wit h t hat
between shared and in d ivid ual? Su rd )' perma nence and ch ange. bot h t ypical
aspects of mo dern home life, are int erwo ven th ro ughou t the ho use as a who le!
Cont S oa r
Although Shibuya intended part of the unit to be produced industrially, this
megastructure has proved as impracticable as the Unite. Firstly, there has nev-
er he..en mass production of dwelling units at a sufficient scale. Secondly, here
again it would be difficult to organize up-front investment in the gargantuan
fra me that makes this all possible.
" . .... .. . c;• •

IU"e,,,.. , . n C; _ U I D . .. .. 1
I' H' ."U)

Tlw inlcp.l('<j frame'
of olrU<llI~. "',.....
• nd ...........t livlnl{
-r.-:h fm'Sbolh IM
ft" m .1I<I Ih~o,~ni · $I...d ....
'.11 ion of indIvidual . _
(apollko. Act...
Eui.ion: IM link
~Wffn .tu.....tqu.lr· _.
I~A .l1I<I uf"U1n.
!io« tilt- Jl'I for kl:rnd
..,
Frame an d s upport
At the end of the 1950 S, the Dutch architect N. John Habraken, inspired by
l.e Corbusier and the Metabolists and unh indered hy the objections levelled
against rnegastructures, wrote his book Dcdragcrs Ctl de mcmcn l Ol , later trans-
lated as Supports: ,m Alternative to Mass Housing. In it Habraken unfurls his
solution to the problems of mass ho using, namely a system of suppor ts and
fin ishing elements. In his perspective, the government would have to provide
large stru ctures, supports, inside o r on top of which the occupants could build
their own homes. Habraken envisages such a suppo rt as follows:
'The support structure consists of a concrete constr uction of a number of
lloors o ne above the other, stretching out through the town. Between these
floo rs are the dwell ings, side by side. A zone at one side remains free as a walk-
ing gallery which connects freestanding staircases and lift shafts, placed at
regular intervals. Between two fl oors there is an open space, until recently taken
up by a dwelling but now removed. This space is limited top and bottom by the
support f loors, and to left and right hy the blind walls of the other dwell -
ings: W •1
This description exhibits much that can he related to le Corbusier's
Cont S oa r
........... Df. ..... 'C" "C.
Plan O bus. Desp ite the clear picture he

paints, Hab rakcn refra ins from actually
describing these suppo rts anywhere
in the book. O n the o ther hand , he is
profuse in explaining what is a suppo rt
is " ot:
'A su pport struc tu re is q uite a dif-
fe rent matter fro m the skeleton co n-
struc tion of a la rge building, altho ugh
IDI lI krn,. to th e superfi cial specta to r there may
Mlrron I .
appear to be s.im ila rities.'2<:4
.Jo.dc.l"n. Soun r.
U l......kn 1¥701 The lack of clarity this leaves prompted laco b Bakem a in 1965 to ask Habra -
."
ken to explain exactly what the d ifference was between a suppurt a nd the
accepted co ncrete skeleton. Habrakcn's a nswer included the following: 'Seen as
a building, the support wou ld not he a neu tral skeleton like Dom -ino: it wo uld
be archi tecture.P"
To clarify this sta tement Habraken showed the fa mo us perspect ive d rawing
of the Dom -Ino skeleto n struck through with a cross (fi g. 2oK ). Although the
suppo rt is certainly in no way syno nymo us with the Dom-Ino skeleton, it does
seem as tho ugh Hebrakcn is den ying the so urce of his o wn inspi ration by
cross ing out the Dom -ino icon . For although Dom -Ino had nothi ng like the
significa nce in 1914 that would be att ributed to it later, it ca nnot be denied that
it launched a train of tho ught that woul d gai n further shape in Plan O hus, the
Unite and the Urhan Megastructure.Habraken's support co ncept bui lds upon
th is line.
Systematic research into changeability

In 1964 Habraken together with nine arch itectural pract ices and the BNA (the
Royal Insti tute of Dutch Arch itects) established the Foundat ion fur Architec-
tu ral Research (Stichting Archi tecten Research or SA R) . T he twin ai ms of thi s
foundat ion were:
'a to explore ways of achieving the broad est applicatio n of ind ustrial manu -
fa cturing methods to the overall housing programme;
' b to assess how architects co uld co ntribute towa rds integrating indu strial
manufacturing methods into the housing procesli.'2""
SA R so ught 10 achieve these dims by focusing o n, amo ngst o the r things,' the
possibility of introducing sta ndard ized suppor t st ruct u res: of design ing them
and advancin g their construction.' >" SAR gave Habraken the opportunit y 10
elaborate his ideas fu rt her. The fo undatio n's working hypothesis includes the
cont S oa fOC a ,
following: 'In build ing pract ice the re is a di stinction made between "ca rcass"
and "fi nish': A wealth of new possibilities would arise if carcass and fi nish were
to become two dist inct products, to be designated as "dwelling str ucture" and
"infill package": '""
It is striking that in S A R'S statement of intent the word 'suppo rt' has been
replaced by 's tanda rd ized suppo rt st ructures', thereby shifting attent ion from
th e support concept to standardization and industrial production. Habraken
felt that the housing issue could be resolved only if the elements of th e infill
package, fro m which occ upants could assemble their own house inside the
support, were produced indust rially.v't ln Habraken's perspective, the home is
somethi ng that is created by its occupants.
'A dwelling is not a thing that ca n be des igned or made. A dwelling is a
result. The result of a housing process.v" The last act in this process is that of
the occupant who goes to live there. The act of living there is the only one act
whic h makes a dwelling of somethi ng (a space, a building, a hole in the
ground j."!"
Another new departure in S A R'S proposals (usually designated as SA R 65)
was to introduce 'modular coord ination?", a concept tha t does not occur in
the Supports book. Modular coord ination, along with the zoning principle of
the 10- 20 gr id attendant on it, was one of th e principal mainstays of SA R'S
work from the beginning. It grew o ut of the wish to industrialize building pro-
duct ion together with the ensu ing need for standardization.
In 1956, the European Productivity Agency published its fi rst report. In it
the EPA proposed a mod ular system for the construct ion industry based on a
module ( M) o f ten centimetres, or four inches. This laid the spadework for a
standardization that could obtain as much for Great Britain as for the European
mainland. The report also made provision fo r a system premised on units of
IM. 2M and 4 M. Originally, th e system was most infl uential in those co untries
where industrial buildi ng systems were already fa r advanced following the war,
such as Engla nd (school building projects) and Scand inavia (housing). The
Netherlands at fi rst took no part in E PA discussions on building construe-
tion."!
Modular coordination is a means of harmon iously integrating decisions
regarding the dimensioning and po sitioning of both spatial and built compo -
nents.w The system S A R developed to th is end b uilt upon the E P A'S modular
system but was more detailed. The basics of the SA R system are set down in
SA R'Sfi rst publication. S A R defin ed three zones. alpha, beta and gamma.
The alpha zone is given over to 'dedicated spaces' such as living room s and
bedrooms. In the beta zone are the 'utility spaces': th e wet cells and suchlike

'09 TWIn :<011....·
'-I
-i - I I I I I
1= -- /
tun:. ....J'r',r1 tu.....t I

un tM t U dni({n
mC1 ... ..t (1""'71. • \ ;\IU,\ImlJ.;
!oour. r. (Il~hukm.
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t
I
-
110 The- ,.,nin({
pri"'c irlr in ~n
C'Umr1dtu
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wuh ,•• 1. Suunr.
llIryn m ll'yl\<,l )
' ..
.... 1
•
- • 1 "
...
(fi gs 210 and 20 9 ) , servan t spaces in m y te rminology, T he ga m ma mill' is set
aside for access spaces such as galler ies a nd sta ir halls. Dimensions a rc coo rd i-
nated using a modular system based on the sta nda rd measuremen ts of HI and
20 centimetres (cf. the FPA modules ). This resulted in t he UJ.;W grid , a g rid of
j o-centimctre bands in which the sta ndard measures of 10 a nd 20 alte rnate. An
ingenious system of ru les determines which zo ne is In include material and
where t he margins lie. T h is syste m regulat es the dimensioning .1I1d placement
space o f both support structure and infill package.
cont S oa fOC a •
Th e aim of this system was to att une
producers of building elements to one
anothe r so that these elements co uld
be combined without d iffi culty during
construction. Yet modular coordination
remained gea red to enabling a distin c-
tion to be made between th e different
levels of construction. namely ca rcass -
and fi nish.
Although SA R ideas fi rst man ifested
th emselves in practice in high -rise pro-
jects such as th e IBB system (figs 209
and 210). th e ea rly 1970S brought a --
change of tack. Once high-rise had fa ll-
en into di srepu te, man y plann ed expan · I II ()o, Ion,. VAn
Olpkn.nd ""_
sion schemes were carried out in low-rise instead. From then o n. the architects
110 .).
allied 10 SA R applied themselves to the man y new low-rise di stricts such as M.u11oC11hft>N.
h 97z1. hOllW1rit:
Bloemcn daal in Go uda and th e new development s at Maarsenbroek (1 972 )
proin:lI"n opIil inlo
designed by De long. Van Olphe n and Bax (J0 8) (fi g. 211 ). But in a low-ri se ,url"Kt I nd ;nfill
context lacking the sha red access systems and la rge conc rete structures so r« k.t~. s."'''il":
( Iun ~, (J I~ n . 1.
characteristic of high -rise. the suppo rt co ncept seems curio usly o ut of place. , ..;'" d r . 4S
Unq uestiona bly. SA R has been a major co ntributo ry factor in th e thi nking
on changeability. Its support concept added a new d imension to the distinc-
tion between carcass an d finish proposed earlier by Le Co rbusier. Unfort unately
the great weight it placed on modular coordination has overshadowed the
ideas embodied by the support structure.
If the co mbination of support co ncept and high-rise evoked images o f
buildings of Metabol ic dimen sions. in a single-fa mily terraced ho use supports
seem academic. Bu t did th is put an end to th e idea of en abling cha nge by sepa-
rating carcass a nd fi nish ?
Compartmentalization and base building
T he stro ng associatio n of the notion of support in h igh-rise construction

necessitated introd ucing a new co ncept unrelated to a particular building
form . The idea of a base bu ilding (the Dutch word for it is casco, body) first
cro pped up in build ing practice in various places at th e end of the 1960s. T his
co ncept is not th e outco me of scholarly research or singleness o f vision. It has
Cont S oa r
not been precisely defined and can
cover a wide.' a rray of solut ions.
Maybe the base buildi ng co ncept is
best likened to a cocoo n, where life is
goi ng throu gh changes. In that sense a
base bu ilding unites the p rinciple of
secu rity and seclusion with the modern
desire for ada ptability and fl exibilit y,"!
Often a base build ing is a stripped -
down dwelling, an empty space with -
out scenery. T he underl ying co ncept in
most cases is a structure assemble..d in
co m partments and providing the
requ ired insulation between units. The
three projects d iscu ssed below sho uld
make clea r that the base bui lding co n-
cept is very broad-based indeed .
All the p rojects discu ssed un til now
th is chapter have involved multi -
III
,,, 11....1<....... storey housing. T he hostility towards

C.a":<lI""1t"1 t '97"'1,
high -ri se rea lly too k off in about 1970 . As said, this resulted in a dramat ic
Sou : I ,,",",oln n.
Gmli .J. 1976) change of tack in housing production . In a sho rt time designers and plann ers
". l.4~
had crossed over en masse to lo w-rise; wh ich is why all the case stud ies in this
sectio n are low -rise. The em phasis has shifted from problem s of access, as in
the o riginal support concept and ot he r large multi-storey assemblies, to the
quest ion of co rnpa rtmentalization.
Ba se bu ilding with o pe n zone

In 1970 the Dutch a rchitect Sj irk Haaksma.fi rcd hy Habrakcn's ideas, devel -
oped the Casco dwdling.!" Its two-storey tunnel -sha ped supporti ng structure
(fig. 2 12 ) has an o pen l o ne in the middle of each level fo r placing vert ical ele-
ments suc h as an access system o r services. In prin ciple the project is a low -
rise take o n Tweeli ng St ruktuur Ftwi n struc ture'), a suppo rt de signed to SAR
principl es (fi g. 20 9) . The open zone can be used for voids o r, if these are not
required , the central opening ca n he fill ed in with a wooden floor (fi g. 213 ).
The tunnel shape e nsures that the compartmcntalization necessary for domes-
tic co nstruc tio n is retained. The struc ture (the fra me ) defines the generic space
where scenery and services can be inserted at the occupan ts' discretion.
[1661 Disconnectio n between th e struc ture and the skin, scenery and services is
cont S oa fOC a ,
li S U....Um.a.
~ PfUI«' l tWO).
co m plete. As the open zo ne in the centre is an obvio us place for service runs. t~,il (0( middk
the services will be positioned in o r aro und th is zone. The excision is situa ted ,,,"" w,th hmOO
f1..ur , ..." TM~u:i·
wherever the glazing and internal walls attach to the sto ne-textu red struc-
'iun I,kn IIw form
ture. of,n L -_ I KKl of
~ K l oo x(o m m .
The void in the centre of th e structure allows a degree of freedom in where Snun:r: ( IInn Olrin .
to position the stair, free of th e piping and co nd uitry and the services th ese ("'ntik C1 ,I, 1976)
p. 1 4 ~
feed. Part of the skin, the fa cade, can also be placed as the occ upants see fit.
114 U ;U.l """,
The foundations are continued beh ind the house with a row of piles. As the C.uoo proi«t ( '97'0 ).
'Jbc, ~pro { bo~
facade belongs among the cha ngea ble aspects of the house. the generic space buildin,,l .nd pm-
is unbounded here and a state of extendability o btai ns at th e front a nd rear .il>k . dlu""", wilh
IIw orm lOne vi,;_
(fig. 21 4).
bk" cemre
As specifi c, and as flexible. as the Casco scheme is, in th e long run it di ffers
litt le in appea rance fro m single-fam ily terraced houses found all ove r the
Netherlands, partly beca use of its roof. Without the attic storey, Haa ksma's
Casco with its o pen central zone hol ds out interesting possibilities. You could,
for ins tance, top off this zo ne with a roo f light. Th e resulting bright central
zo ne would allow th e house to be made deeper.
In the Casco project, the abstraction of Habraken's support-infi ll ideas take
on a visual identity. The lucid, ico nic illustration o f th e Casco project makes a
particu larly stro ng impression and has often bee n published (fi g. 212 ). SA R
emb raced it at th e time, although the pro ject was not evolved accordi ng to SAR
principles of zoning and modular coordination."? Despite the advanced state

of plans to build, th e project remain s un realized.
Cont S oa r
' . . ... 1 . "O G I .. . . , C ' ....C I
,..... G I .... re
'---
'''(1 ' 0.
1M .lrU<.lure r1Uhln
.11 o. hn a.~ 10 ~
.rran(lC'd al ,,'ill. •
b.d .i..,, : .hf .....f""f
of lhf "nKIU'f. ----.
So« Ii[l. JfI f",lrttc"J
•
S"UCIu.r ~
"I
Double-height ba se bu ilding
If the flexibility in Haaksma's C iSCO project IS mainl y to be fo u nd in
the cen tral zone, in the next case stud )', a housing project in Pcrugia in Italy
(fi g. 216 ) , the freedom lies largely in the l o ne for the living quart er s. Design ed
by Rcnzo Piano ?", it proceeds from the idea tha t a base building ca n be easily
and cheaply manufactured from a factory-made structurc.t'v
Piano's two -storey base build ing is asse m bled fro m a pair o f storey- heigh t
precast concrete Ucshapes with the upper V invertcd.v" The tunnel th is creates
is six metres across and six metres h igh o n the in side (fi gs 217 and 2 18). Thi s
six-metre -ta ll space is able to include an upper flour consist ing of o pen -web
stee l joists and small p refabricated floor panels. The joists art"su pported b y gird -
ers fa stened to the V-shaped elemen ts th ree m etres above the floor (fi g. 219 ). A
bu ild ing con tracto r puts the base bui lding in place, leaving the o ccupa nts In
inser t the floors and glazing as they see fit.

The two U's co m p rising th e base building arc dearly and visibly articulated.
Likewise, the link between them is fini shed in full view in the interio r. The tun -
nel stac k ha s been ad dit io nally artic ulated by placing the glazi ng 1.2 m etres
inwards from the two ends o f eac h tu n nel.
At the places where the open -web steel jo ists o f the floo r units rest o n the
steel angle sectio n, frame and scene ry have been di sconnected at a precisely
d efinable point; this m arks th e excisio n. The same necessarily holds true for
the places when: th e in ternal pa rtitions attach to the co ncrete walls wh ich con -
stitute the fra me.
Although in Pcrugia the internal sta ir and serva n t spaces have been allo -
cated to the cen tral zo ne, in fa ct these elements could just as easily be placed in
van! S oa fOC a ,
-- -- --
..
n
"9 P...no.ho .. o·
in", f'ttllr;i, ( 1...: 8 1.
the zone alo ng the faca de. This can be
Un;l , OO pla n.
Sounr. ( ki-u.u done in com parative freedo m as the
1~ lr, 141
d wellings themselves arc not stac ked.
no Pi" roo, ht",. -
;nll. l'null" ( ''''781. although o ne restrictive facto r hen.' ill
l Jn<k, ,un..,,,,';,,n
the co nnectio n to the ma ins . pa rt icu -
11: l h~ '1"",
l>nnll
.oonnhlni. S.... n:r. la rly the d rai nage syste m. O nce this
t 11In i .98}1 p. ,06
poin t has been fixed, the se rvant zo ne
is to all intents an d purpows defin ed
for all time.
The aforement ioned disconnectio n
between frame and scenery creates the
generic space in wh ich scene ry a nd
services can be freely placed (fi g. 218) .
Th is freedom is most literal here as the occu pa nts, aided by sim ple reso urces,
can assem ble or remove the fl oo rs themselves ( fi g. 220 ). The only lim ita tio ns
are those imposed by the d imensio ns of the prefabricated infill package (based
o n a module of jo cm ) and by the fa ct that the f loor system used abi des by its
own rules.
(1 10 ) As every dwel ling has its ow n tunnel elemen ts, d wellings have a double wall
cont S oa fOC a ,
between them which takes care of th e necessary cornpartmentalizatio n. This
too is expressed in the facade.
CO '",,,,,, ... .. ,
n... comhin," """ of
"~Utr And " in
i ll<...... u..,,, IU be Struc;tu'l'
r....,1y lUhdividnl (Wft •
lwo .I",rp-
m i.......:IM in...,•
•iIk "I' IM . UlKt utr su ......,
.nd Ih.. f~,~d<'. pi'- ---0
liculut y IM . 1....10« .
IIb n .... ..hi/.h " ..:
- s.r. iCfl
u~ 110 0r , nU.
!o<'<' Iil-l6 fu, kgmd
, .
Polyva lent base building
On the fa ce of it, base building and po lyvalence seem to be confl icting con-
ccpts. A base building usually involves an inco mplete house, whereas poly-
valence relates to cha nge in use without the need for architectural interven-
tions. However, in th e next case study, a housing scheme designed by Herman
Henzberger, we will see that the two concepts can spill over into one another.
At the time when Haaksma was working on his Casco project, Hertzberger
developed h is Diagoon hou ses for a higher price market segment. According
to the folder circulated at th e time, the idea behind these dwellings - Hertz-
berger call s them 'skeleton houses' ?" - was that the occupants could do th e
fittin g-out themselves. They were given a skeleton o r carcass. UJ Unlike in
Haaksma's scheme, here the skin is fixed beforehand. The occupants can use
freestanding cupboard units to div ide up the space:
'The actual design sho uld be seen as a provisional fram ework that must
still be fi lled in. The skeleto n is a half-product, which everyone can complete
according to his own needs and desires.'lll
These cupboa rd uni ts are changeable scenery, as was the case with Dom -
Ino, in a standard range design ed by Hertzbcrger for th e occasion (fi g. 22l ).
The cupboard units have little influ ence o n bow th e borne is spatially
arranged. O nce in place, th ey are a subsidiary component of a combined frame
of structu re, scenery and skin. Their abi lity to change is of little consequence
for th e frame. As in the Centraal Beheer offi ce building, the generic space here
cont S oa fOC a ,
.._- .- .- ....-
.....- ' ...... .........

-
"'._-
."
.- . ~ , ......- .-.--
\ b QJ
• .. " •
-,
l'
-, t o \ \•
~\ \
•
<
'\ ' .'
,
• •
- •
•
... ,•
[11 1 ]
... -
con U Od au or
u s IIm l M !l"'.
Ih.a~nhou_
[>..Ift ( 19&7-1' 71I.

Plon.. Sour<r.
I l lkhj n~, 1~7 1
,,,
is a polyvalent space and th e changeability aspect is primarily rooted in th at

po lyvalence. Hertzbcrger himself co nfi rms that the cupboard un its a rc of
secondary importance in that respect. Uo4
Hert zberger achieves th is polyvalence primarily in th e way he organizes th e
dwelling spatially. Again. as in Ce ntraa l Behecr, he provides a spatial system
that ca n he inhabited in various ways (see chapter three. p. 91). Each dwelling
is assembled fro m a number of more or less identical spaces shifted half a level
with respect to one another. The same holds horizontally where these spaces
are shifted out of alignment depthwise.
Two imperforate vertical elements partially screen off the spaces from each
other ( fig. 223). O ne co nta ins th e sta ir, th e other the servant spaces including
th e kitchen. Between th ese two resolutely present elements is a void expressing
th e split- level arrangemen t. As th e spaces are all more or less the same size and
la)' equal claim to the core of servant spaces. the ir fun ctions are left un-
specifi ed.
In chapter two I defined polyvalence in terms of th e frame co ncept. I estab-
lished that th e frame defin es th e space in wh ich cha nge can occ ur. I also dis-
tingui shed three kinds of cha ngeab ility. The th ird of these categori es was poly-
valence: if the generic space contains no architectural elements a nd its form
a nd dimensions invite d ifferent kinds of use, we may speak of polyvalence;
in such instances th e generic space is a polyvalent space (see chapter three,
p.,6).
At the begi nning of chapter three, I expanded upon th e concept of poly-
valence aided by a number of buildi ngs whose space is specified architectur-
ally but can he variously interpreted in funct ional terms. O ne exam ple is th e
Bibliotheque Sain te-Genevieve in Paris (see cha pter three. pp. 54ff.). I would
not describe th ese buildings as having a spatial system. In housing. by cont rast,
the presen ce of a system of spaces is a key prerequ isite for pol yvalence, as th e
question here is not o f whether the building is to house a library or a festive
hall hut of which place is to receive which fun ction. Polyvalence in a dwelling
is not about whether it is I n accommodate eating. silt ing, sleeping. workin g [17)1
and so fort h, but about where th ese are to take place. This range of possibili -
ties calls for many places to choose fro m, or man y spaceS;;l system of spaces, in
fa ct.
The system of spaces in the Diagoon dwelling is bou nded h)' the materia ls
belon ging to the fra me's different layers. Bare co ncrete, breeze blocks and
wood -framed windows determ ine th e look of the frame, Here th e fram e is
less di stinct and more di ffi cult to read than in th e Centraal Bchccr office
buildin g.
All three base-building sche mes discu ssed above add ress the issue of CO ol -
partrncntalizat ion tho ugh each has. its. own way of ena bli ng cha nges in layout
a nd/or me. Th e changeability of the three designs varies. from the alterabili ty
of every layer except structure ( Haaksma's Casco dwellings ) to polyvalence
(the Diagoon hou ses).
In these three projects th e design premi ses place lim its o n the services'
capacity for change; the position of the kitche n and bathroom is fixed in
Hert zberger's design and delegated 10 th e central zo ne in th ose of Haaksm a
and Piano. Thai aside. serva nt spaces have greater freedom in low-rise th an in
multi-storey homing.
D'.GOO" "OU'"
'.....r".GI.'
""'" <om... " .".." ..r
llru.: IUlt. rac~. St'lIch...
~iU'.. ...,;U'... .
nd ..
~r1 u f tlw ""'nny nift
dmnn . roIynltnl •
.,...:t. A.cC"'
F.lrit.i" n : "...1 • _
.rrliul>lt. Strnct,
s..., fi,.. }tI rn. kvnd •
s<....,
n'
11 141
con U Od au or
Service runs as step ping-offpcl nt
for th e frame
Mu lti-storey housing can have a base

b uilding too. The main d ifference with
low-rise lies not so much in the base
b uilding co ncept, even thoug h thi s
origi na ted in low-rise construction, but
in the freedom for services and access.
If services are to have the abili ty to
cha nge , th en the fra me should free the
I
service runs. Each of the three exam-
ples to follow relates to a particular way
of reso lving the issue of conduits and
cables by tucking these away in a fl oor.
colum n a nd facade respectively.
-
Rut before discussin g these case
---
studies I wou ld like first 10 retu rn to
fE
~- +.L
the research d o ne by s .... R and the Opcn
Buildi ng Founda tion (Stich ting O pen -- ••
Bouwcn ), which too k over s .... R' S role in
---r- .~
1984. T his last-na med hody has been
part icularl y active in investigating the
problem of what to d o with cables and 22 7 Malura in fiU
~Y'ol(1l\,
Sou"r.
cond uits.
( Randrn "''Ill
p.. .
Matura floor sys tem

In 1984, with s .... R' S infl uence o n the wane, the Open Build in g Founda tion was
established , an act that effectively marked the end of S .... R activity. The OBf'S
sta tutes include the follo wing aims:
'I To restruct ure the b uildi ng constructio n market as a whole (particularly
publ ic housin g and ind ustrial and public-ut ility b uilding) with the aim of
creati ng an o pen exchange bet wee n demand a nd su p ply.
2 To attain a new o rder and o rienta tion in decision-makin g. The key issue
must be who d ecid es wha t and at which level.
3 To in troduce Mod ular Coordi na tion.v"
T he O pen Build in g Strategic Studies resea rch grou p (O pen Bouwen O nt-
wikkelings Model or 08 0M ) was set up at the T U Delft's Faculty of Arch itectu re
with the pu rpose of ach ieving these aims. Whereas S .... R objectives were largely 1'7S1
ta rgeted at the world o f architects, OUOM
shifted the accent more towards the
bui lding industry. The focu s nf its re-
search sh ifted towards find ing practical
solutions relat ing to build ing practice.
• •••• O ne of the most important areas o f
• •••• ()R()~I 'S research is the p roblemati c of
•••••
• •••• service runs, applia nces and their poi nts
o f co n nection. This rcoticnt ation with
u' " .v.Sinlw respect tu S A R originated in the view tha t
Auol u Jot, rn.idC'n·
service runs were the prim e obstacle to changing and adapting the inlill. One
IW ""dJ,n8 HI
'.hd! un;'.<on outcome of OROM 'S resea rch was the developmen t of the Matura infill sys-
OuoId,jk lI.nJrI. ·
tem. Ut'>
Uok,Amotnd.o m
( 2000), ~ n('W· At the co re of the Ma tura system is thc ' m atrix tile: an insulating tile with
hu lk! co<Tlponnu
groO\'l'S on two sides (fi g. 227). These allow service run.. to be taken up in the
it r-ortly .b .~
O"n" IM rurmn floor without the need for them to in tersect. Lastly, the floo r has a two- part
warrh",u ... (• •
polyu retha ne p rotect ive fi nish.
" ((hI I, Sour",:
(r' n .wuol r ,(\ The biggest advan tage of th is system is its rapid assem bly during building
co nstructio n. O ne disadvan tage is that the ncceSSd r)' protective fi nish ha m pers
the abili ty to m ake changes in the service ru n, as th is fi nish fi rst need s to he
broken o pen .
Van Randcn. O ROM 'S fo under, and SA a's founder Hah rakcn to get her set up
a company to make th is system o perational. Following it b u rst o f activity that
p roduced projects in Be rlin and elsewhere, the compa ny folded .
Floor as fram e
The inc reasing diversifica tion of the ho using market b rought a demand for a
wide array o f dwelling tyr es. Elaborate verticallayering ,..'as the result . Tu meet
a com plex housing m arket subjec t to violen t cha nges, developers became mo re
and m o re interested in fl exible ho use tloor plans and base build ing related
projects. T hus we sec the Nieuw Amcrika development team ( nC N A) n1 work-
ing o n a 'shell un it' p roject o n Oostel ijke Hand elskadc in Amsterdam. I am
treat ing th is project here ra ther than with the other three because its architec ts
solved the service ru n issue in a rem arkable way, They o pted for a dcmoun ta -
ble deck with the cables and conduits run ning underneat h it.
The projec t concerned is part of Nieuw Amerika, it u nitary development pl.m
by Rapp & Schculcn. This fi rm has designed an ensemble of th ree large. com plex
blocks tha t incorporate in part the o ld wa reho use b uildings on site. Th is plan -
n ing concept m akes pa rticular demands o n the b uilt volumes and fa cades.
con U Od au or
_. I
--
-- _.
-- , •• •, y -.
119 Pl<v. S inlw
Auotr...it. o..." lij~
fundd.u.k,
Am.., ..um ( ~ I.
PLon. of ,ot floor
_. . I .[DJ _. •
i._.
( ~) and 7t h·
• •
•
3i IMh !loon \bdow)
wi,h IYI" ...... IIni"
in Uw IofrI>ott ('0'-
-.. ._. . . -" . _.. ._.. .-. lion. SouKr. (n . v
lOOO l p.1I
• • •
-- •
,
I I
--
-- }, ,t --
-- •
t --
_. I o , •~
I
.r • • , -,
•
-- -- -- -- -- •
T he ce ntral bu ilding in the en semble - Nic uw Australie - takes its name fro m
a former wareh ouse (Australic). Co mpa rable in constru ct ion to the Ams terda m
Warehouse (see chapter two, pp. 35fL), this one is incorporated in th e new
apa rtme nt buildi ng. T he new portion stands alon gside th e former warehou se.
partly hunched over it like a lion grasping its prey (fig. uS ),
The old and new parts of the building are filled with 'shell units', In the new
pa rt the shells are accessed from a gallery, in the old part from a corridor (fig. 229.
top). The wall separating the d welling un it (type AA ) and the gallery co ntai ns
service d ucts so th at the unit is plugged into th e network of cables and pipes
(figs 230 and 231). The architects, the fi rm of nc v.declded on a raised floo r 10
leave the occupa nts to fi t out the space in complete freedom. The fl oor type in
q uestion is one used in com puter ro oms.s" It is assembled from small con-
crete elements of 60 x 60 cm su pported at th e corners by steel feet.
Th is floor system has left th e internal layout entirely free of th e service run.
It also means th at th e servant spaces - toilet. kitchen and bathroom - can be
placed anywhere. To generate this freedom does require making an extra
investment.P" T he future occupa nts can choose from a number of prefabri -
cared furnishing elements o r get their own interior built.
The generic space is defined in th e first place by a frame co nsisting of the [177]
con oa recbos dE UO
, D C;. H • • re , "
--
~
",
1)0 I> ~w . r-:inlw
Av...r ~ht. {)o...ld "kc:
U. ndrl. u dr.
structu re and part of the serv ices, part icularl y I he cables a nd ccnd uit ry, Access
Am" ..rJ.lm h ...,ol. and skin also belong to the permanent. i.e. the frame. T he re is no th ing re ma rk-
l"01Tlrlric r rot«·
able abo ut the way any of these layers ha s been a rt icu lated !>() far, T he o ne
Ii<m of un it I yp" ......
wilh doubk II"or. except ion is the structure of the ol d port ion , the form er warehouse. In (H ':V 'S
Thr >rn'I<C: ru nl
scheme the characteristic cast-iro n colum ns will stand freely in the liv ing space
.nd ~I"y ,an hr
orm on lhe: flLtht. (fi g. 229) end owing it with a d istinct ive cha racter. I .">
Sour<r: (n ~ wlOUO }
The galleries accessing the un its in the new part include private o utdoor
r· ' 4
1)1 I> kW. r-: IftIW areas fo r each un it. This layer is em inently su itable to he artic ulated . Likewise,
AV'lralit. (l".Ic:I" kr
the wall between access and unit can represent the system o f cables a nd con-
UandrM.a<k.
Am••rtdo m (WO " ,}. dui ts. It is this system. includ ing the d o uble floo r, that generates the freed om
Scrtiun Ihn.....h
to change the u nit. Again.the floor enables the service ru ns to di sconnect Irorn
vml~ >rn'KC:
.!'wh. Soun r: lI> n the scene ry and se rva nt spa ces. and therefore embod ies the excision . At the
wuo } p. •~
sa me time. this part of the fra me is the least visihie. a nd difficul t to express
architectu rall y under its protect ive layer.
"'" U_ . vl .... ul
loowl -l c . .... '<: "'&<:1 ' 01
Tl>r fr.me: io r rirna.

nly dcli nrd by lhe:
AnKrUrt .nd >rn'KC: S<-.y
run.. Th.. fume: p'n ' _ ,
c:n.n flft'dom f.... ~>("
. ",,,hrr p.lM ,of ,he:
........ic... 1.-1..,.,; lhe:
'Pr".ncn . nd
""w.n•.....,:.....
b.;i....n : .he: 'nl"'.... 51•...:11...
hrotWftn wnt"' c: .tu h •
•nd .......... y ..n. he: k<:" 1
..lit h~nJ,nd M' • _
r doul>lr l1o..... Si,"
.00 rnrry on lhe: •
athrr. ~"
S« 6... JII ror Jrsrnd
",
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
In fa u","'nod
P, ....a rrlli, Vu
C..... p.o ni.t. 1lDnW'
1' 'i'b\I. S" utu:
( Pwd IO l'i'b\l P. '\00
1'4 h u.l,unod
""........Ii. V...
u mp.on i&, Itnmc'
h~l . Pb.n of
offic.non tlw lint
.htn' Boon (Irit )
..nod ..put........" on
IIw fovrlh l•.p.l).
Sou n;r. 1PwdIO '961)
p• ..,
'JJ
• \
,.
\
, _.
\
., .
- -. ·, . --.J . \ ..
•
.• I,
, ', '
, . .. -"L--
. ••
- I
.I ~
: l\..t·.""a(,
I_a:
''·0'1):
".
•
•• - .~
" -~ "••
•
- -
,I-o--G . I • , .Z~
, • • ."
.. ·- ' ~
• •
• ~- -
~
•
•
• •
• , . ~
" ..
. ·· .
I , ", •,
:tri' . _~ a· .,
... •
· • • • j. . .
Combined frame of ducting and column

Another way of dealing with the service runs is to incorporate them in the
struct ure, part icularly the co lum ns. This is indeed the case in the project
designed in 1965 by Vincenzo Pausto and lucio Passarelli on Via Campa nia
in Rome. T he design's composition is unusual. The building has four dut ies
to pe rform; the two lowest basement levels are for parking. the grou nd floor
and the level belo w co ntain shops and the three storeys above these are given
ove r to offi ces. The top five levels boast up-market apartments (fi g. 233 ).
Each o f the four functions has its own architecture. The ground floor has a
set-back shop front; the offices are enveloped in a curtain wall which adheres
, ...... , ..... o c r.. . .. c " ...c.
'u hu -t,, ~nd

r......mh.Vu
c.. m r~n ....
Rom.-
( I~). !\r-ort mCTlI.
~nd poonlhtl\l._
Sou,"" " t ~ I" I~ I

r· ~u
, , 6 hu .,.,.nd
P..u.l relh. Vi..
C.. mr-o n i.l.lU"""
h \l'f>'S). Pm;.... 1
( nl umn uon l~ln lnll
Ynllibll"n dl)(1 •.
!M>uru" t ~ 1I> .....' 1
p. ~t ~
'n
- ~ . ,
to the building lines of the ru.. ighbour-
- - _. ing premises. The.' apartment s above

ignore the form of the building block
a nd the ensuing urban space. Lavi shly
=:_
--_. ".T
-- -~ decked out with roof terraces, Iht'y
-D- j I
I
I
resemble hanging ga rdens far above
the ground plant' of the city (fi gs 2JJ
•
,
_
."
D!
. ,
-- -- I d a nd 2 l~ ).
The building as J whole i!io based on

a structure of prccast co nc rete colu m ns
th rusting up from ground level (fi g. 2j.J ).
Each consist s of an assemblage of four smaller co lumns with a space ill the
cen tre fo r cables, pipes a nd ven tilation ducts (fi g. 2.\6 ).
The relat ivel y slender columns co mbi ned wi th their co nte nts co nstitute the
frame for the shops. offices and apartmen ts. Th is frame.' defines thl.' ge ne ric
spa ce for the scenery of these three d istinct programmes. The striking design
of the colu mns ma ke them in teresting architcc turally,
The grid module.' has been chosen so that the position of the columns is
unhitched from th,u of the inte rna l walls. There is nu need for th e two layers tu
relat e in the unit plan s either. Here the colum ns sta nd freely at times an d com-
bi ne with the.' walls at ot hers, Their divi sion into fou r mean s tha t the inte rna l
walls can attach to them from four sides. The stepped bu ild -up of the unit s
leaves the col umns outside the envelo pe on occasion, casting the resident ial
com ponent of the building into bold relief
Ho wever au dacious and engaging th is project may be, integrat ing the service
runs in colum ns is ha rdl y a long-term solution . On the face (If it. thi!> principle.'

would seem to den ote an integrated frame. This is di sproved on closer ins pec-
tion, however. As it involves the integration of two layers of different life spa ns,
in pra ctice th e colum n will not just he a frame for the scenery but also for the
services it co ntains.
Here. the hollow space in th e structure is insufficiently capable o f resolv ing
unpred ictcd future developments. If the cavity in the column were to be larger
a nd th e columns thi cker. then th ey would be better prepared for the unfore-
seen, for change. th ough with out guaranteeing success: the column itself
would look less att ract ive from an architectural point of view.
A co mpa rable project ca n be found at Val d'Yerres near Paris. Here the
a rchitect Gecrge Ma urios has run the cables through the beams as well as the
colu m ns.w T he project has a Dom -Ino skeleto n - a tabl e-like assembly o f
precast co ncrete col umns and beams supporti ng a concrete floor - with inte-
grated service runs. Its colum ns and bea ms a rc hollow and able to co ntain
.,.. c ,..
l' '' uu o> 0 CO ...... ID ' ' ' ' ' 1
,...n u u u l
of
"fh", « 'ml>i ""'hon
,olum n~ .nd d""'I' rtll
• J ~""'Ihe- '1""1" be
-- .
Sl.in
S<• ...,
frm y hd""okd .nd
tl'M' ( .It r....nl . 1
•I •• •
will.
b ci.i",n:'1'M' ...rt...."*" ,,".u
.11'.,>I" t be . "'CfIl1olnl +
..lIu mn .. Structure
Src- liJ.}to (or ~nd +
hn. k u
'"
th e supply and discharge lines. The whole can be typified as a ' plateau libre'
(fi gs 2j8 and 2 j 9 ). I}1
The projects Maurios designed proceeding fro m thi s system arc aesthe-
tically less interesti ng than the build ing o n Via Campa nia. T his aside. th e
objections levelled at the Rome building also obta in for Maurios' system .
Integrated fram e of s kin and serv ices

Th e French a rchitects Yves lion and Francois Leclercq take a di fferent line
on th e issue of pipes and cables. In their Domus Demain project the ser-
vices are taken up in the fa cade zone (fi g. 240 ). Th e rooms for ablut ions. th e
island kitchen unit, the toilet and the service ducts are integra ted in th is
lone.!}]
' )' ~t. U'K'"
V,I d "Yn m ( ' ~1<tl.
A~_~rM:- of rhC'
.,....nn .. f ,,",u mn.
,nd bC', m uh
"""" f..r KC'
, ..n.. !iPuru':
lI >u.:htnc- ''' ;of> I
, ,,
')9 M. .." ....
\",1 d "Yn rn ( ' \I1<t l.
S« lion lh .....,-" ,he-
~"Ium no ohow-mJ
~ ....., WTVM:-C'
/
..
.. .
j
1
•
." &
r
The arch itects describes it as an 'active layer': 'O ur approach is to bring the
techn ical fu nctions out to the facade and express them th rough an "active
layer" which will serve tech nical equipment; this vert ical hand will be consid -
ered as the light and services su pp lier for a more inert a nd passive zone. Th is
divi sion co rrespond s to the separation of responsibilities between the heavy,
approximate. structural work and th e mechanically precise, light, industrial
fi nish ing work.' l}4
The question is whether the facade ha s here taken over the role of th e
services o r th e other way ro und. Neither of these is true - facade and services
are integra ted . Here the fa cade has become the intermed iary In between inside
and outside in th e widest sense of the word. It regulat es not just the insulation.
vent ilation and dayl ight penet ration hut also th e supply and d ischarge o f clean
and dirty water. info rmatio n an d energy.
The facade zone has become entirely disconnected fro m th at part of the
scenery determ in ing the internal subd ivision of the spaces. At the same time
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
r
)
(-;.- J
- U-
n
L.
I ...J.
L
-r
• r r:
..' ••• . 40 Linn.od

l«kKq, Uomw
llnNin houlinS
proim (1944). Pl~ n
..... - . ....nlnC'fll
""jlh IOnn for ablu.
IKmulnng Ill<'
f~ . Sou Kr.
{ Lion 199J I p. J7
. 4 1 L;nn ~nd
L.«kKq, llum w
Ik mu n hou.InS
pro;m (1944 ).
SKlion. SouK~
(UooI 199JI p. 29
'-42 Uon .ncl
l«kn:q.Oomw
IHnuin housing
the facade zone seems also 10 be part of the scenery (fi g. 242). 10 the same way proi«t ( 19441.
F~ ~ from the
that every layer can have its own secondary structure, some layers can have
inoiok. ~u,~~ ( I.ian
their own scenery. Th is holds particularly for the access system and the serv- I'HJ) p. JII
ices. The servant spaces. after all , can have their own spatial divisions. as is
clearlythe case with Domus Demain.There too we can identify what is described
at the end of chapter four as the 'fractallzation of layers'. To separa te main
issues from side issues, however. the subd ivision of the servant space in the
facade zone should be treated as par t of the services layer.
The sanitary facade zone serves the zone of living quarters beyo nd it,
entirely freed as this is of all services. service shafts and so forth and therefore
con oa recbos dE uo
freely subd ivisible. lust as the facade
zo ne and scen ery can he said to he dis-
connected. so too arc th e facad e lone
and the co ncrete structure including
\ stairs and lift shafts. O ne frame creates.
• the generic space for a second frame;
the Matryo shka principle is at work
here (fi g. 2·U).
The Domus Demain project is interes-
ting because of this Mat ryoshka princi-
plc and the use of integr ated frames.
However, it is qu estionable whether
integrating services and fa cade was the
right thin g to do. Of course. th e idea of
integrating all links between inside and
outside in an active layer, a n interface
between hom e and ci ty. is admirable,
but danger lurks in th e potential differ-
en ce in lifcspan between the layers
together defin ing the frame. And there
1 4) Lion ~nJ is another problem . Th e two can be
k<;kKq. D"m".
said to be inco mpatible. as th e facade
Iltmlin h.ou.mtt
pro;«1 h ~. ). a nd services do not usua lly come under the same man agement.
uplodni ~irw of
The case stud ies described above all offer their own solutions to the prob -
fr'lM with "P.... C'.
JC'Iinmtt C'kmC'nh lem of service runs. In Domus Demain the probl emat ic o f ru ns and the appli -
hflnl oul
an ces they feed is literally pushed to on e side into the fa cade zone; in the othe r
case stud ies the solutio n is sough t in accom modating pipes and cables in the
frame in so me way. This creates an ambiguous situatio n. as it is. th e frame tha t
has to free the pipes a nd cables. We already observed in Via Ca mpania and
Domus Dema in that this requ ires addi tional facilities and conseq uently addi-
tio nal investments. Perhaps. then. it is more desirable to seek sol utions where
the changeable in dwelling req uires no architectural modification at all.
con U Od au or
OO"u S 0 .... ..' "A"' " IU .. . . n OIM f '
lu o. ' . 0 lI UU CO! UWl l .CO .. . , • • O, . . ...
lM in.'l!r• •M f•• 1tW'

01 « ...u nC' .lnk1urC' SkIll
.nd .".·u<kfi..... II>.
"PA'" in which "in
- -.
I frrrly
.nd~unt..
riM· .
t.1(i.... n .: hnr IM
I'oIrm iun "".11, m«t
IM {.uok 'O/lC'.nd
I.....1. IKlu ••I .... Il.. Strut;1.. , t
•
M' l ~luo rri"",irlr: ... ... "1.0 ,nos" "

fauok.nd ......io.nin u ..n .cO D... ...
lu rn ok11ne lM ' r '"
............ IM Kmrry u n
be' f,",ly "Ii'd.
E",i'lOn 1: .. htrr Ih,
(. u ok It_ mrrh .h,
.ttu<l urt.
Sk,"
•
...
Dwelling design a nd scen ery
A fourth aspect distinguishing housing from other genres is the spatial arrange-
men t of ind ividual dwellings. As th e scenery is responsible for th is. m ost
weight will be on this layer in the co ming sectio n. As we saw, base building
projects and projects that address the problematics attenda nt on service runs
give great freedom of choice as to how individ ual dwellings are laid out. Yet il
is open 10 quest ion whet her the service run issue ca n be resolved without th e
need for drastic architectural interventions. In principle. the aspect of spatial
arrangem ent in th e home is enacted lower down the plan nin g scale th an th e
first two categories. com partmentaliza tio n a nd access.
Movable s pace
In 192·h Cerrit Rlet veld designed th e Rietveld Schroder house in collabo ration
with its client and fu ture occupant. Truus Schroder-Schrade r (fi g. 245). This
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
...
,.,
14' R~Id.
x hrllo<Jo,r houOC'.
two-sto rey terraced house owes its great fame to its spatial organization. This
UIr«hl (1'1141.
lnlrrior with d ld,nll gains its finest expressio n o n the upper sto rey contai ning the living qua rters.
d" .... S.... KC:
where Rietveld and Madame Schroder co nstruc ted an o pe n space for living
((hony. ~ul1rr fl al.
,,,,,,,lI p.]. and sleeping. Rietveld wou ld have preferred to have made it o ne large o pe n
14' RM1\t>Id,
zo ne but it was Madame Schroder who wished for the present transfo rm able
SchrtWkr b" ute'.
Ulr«h l ( ' 1114). layo ut.e'" Slid ing and fold ing pa nels enable the space to be divided up at the
Sl«plnll quarter..
occu pan t's discretion . The living level. which include s the sleeping places, can
Sour~r. lO....ry.
flul..... c! al. lw l l be open ed up during the day into a single space a nd partitioned off at night for
p o,
pri vacy's sake into separate rooms.
Th is open, transformab le space is one of the chief reasons why th is design
is internationally renowned. The house is often regarded as the so urce ofi nspir-
at io n for the flexible floor plan . but just how fl exible is the Rietveld Schroder
house and what is the effect of the sliding parti tions?
In their design Rierveld and Schroder assembled the slid ing doors, windo w
arrangements, walls and stair hall into one large interrela te..d co m positio n (fi gs
245-148). This scenery is the frame for use, for spatial rituals, As some pa rts of the
enclosure are movable, the space itself is ' movable'; it can be changed over time.
The question remains of whether these fold ing a nd slid ing pan els can be
co unted amo ng the perm an en t aspects of th e house when the 'permanent' is
itself subject to change, The movabl e panels in the Rietveld Schrodcr house are
not merel y an assemblage (If screens and fu rni ture items. As we have seen. they
con U Od au or
are com pone nts o f th e total co mposi - I
tion of elemen ts together co nstituting
the scene ry. It is by being co mponents
of th is frame th at th ey ach ieve perma·
nence. The panels cannot be placed
just a nywhere or taken o ut; th ey are
only able to move with in a fixed pat -
tern . More than th at, the folding and -- ~ .
••
l
sliding panels are an essential element ..,
of the build ing and bound to its arch i-
tect ure ; they belong to th e delimiters of 147 R~ ....ld.
Sl:h rOdcr houw .
th e space - that is, to th e scene ry. Ulrn:ht h , l,.f ).
It might seem as th ough polyvalence o btains o n th e upper fl oor of the MoItOfl1rtrW: of the
IiVln.1rvd wilh
Rietveld Sch ro dcr house. But all th ings considered, th ere is littl e cause to use p.arl ition .. all~ .lid
th e living level in different ways as all functio ns have been given a logical place and foldrd a....ay
( Id t) and in pLKr
of th eir own. Obviously the best place to dine is in the co rne r at th at magnificen t (right)
window so that the places for sleepi ng and cooking follow logically.w 141 Rirl t<dd.
Sl:hrodn houor.
When th e panels a re slid open, th e various do mestic func tions a nd th eir
Vl m;hl ( 19l,.f).
territory (their functio nal zones) are temporarily broaden ed. But every place f inl lloo r J'lo n with
olidinll p.anilion..
has mo re th an just th e m in imum di mensions. The real ga in at th at moment
Sour«: lMuldrr
co mes from the visual en largement of th e space rather th an a ny increase in its and Ro.." 1' 71)
p.41
ab ility to fu nction.
Rietveld was unenthu siastic about the sliding panels, consideri ng th em to
be too co m plicated for daily use: 'Wh enever Madame Schroder demonstrated
how the part itions worked when Rietveld was there, he stayed o ut of it'.I.'3
For her the sliding panel s were of th e utmost importa nce. What mattered to
her above all was that the space co uld be experienced under changing conditions.
con oa recbos dE UO
' l ight isn't somethi ng static. It changes with the weather. This is most directly
observable in the Rictveld Schrodcr house with its transit ion s from o u tside to
inside, both horizon tal a nd vert ical. This satisfies a vit al condition for ~ tad arnc
Sch rod er. She doesn't passively u nd ergo the cha nges in light hut ca n experience
them m ore in te nsively th ro ugh cha nges m ade in the int erna l spaces by the
movable parti tions. Th is is a d yna m ic process d ctcrruirn..d by the occupant's
own crea tivi ty.'l}1I
The movable or active scenery transfo rms the Rictvcld Sch rodcr ho use int o
a large, dynamic art work of col o u r and light. In folding or shift ing the parti -
tio ns the space is made to breathe. The changeabili ty orchest rat ed h )' the seen-
cry. therefore. has more to do with experiencing the Sp,ICe.' than with fu nc-
tional flexibility,
I C ... OOIl ..Oull
1· 'l u n ol
A .~.,m of hinpoJ
.00 .J,.jIRLt ""'""IOn.
<kf,,,,,,,/w 1'. .11'. ..,",1
l"'inLt ...,,,·
b , i, iu n: nul
·rrliu hk.
s.., 6-.. jto fur 1~
k . ... ,.., - _
..,
-'-
Daytim e and night-time arra nge m en ts

The minimal living space available to designers of social housing has led
architects to seck ou t how tha t space can he hest used. The scenery ha s. a key
role to fulfil on this sco re. Wh ereas Rietveld used movable scenery in it private.'
hou se. Van den BTOCk in h is ho using o n Vroescnlaan in Rotterdam (De Een -
d rac h t: sec also chapter four, p p. ij off.} explored the possibilit ies o f movable
scenery in developing cheap ma ss housing. His concern was an efficient use
o f space.w' Van den Brock based h is project on thc di fference between day-
tim e and night -time arrangemen ts in the home (fi g. 250 ), At that tim e too
Ma rt Stam ca rried o u t theoretical research into the.' Wd } ' members o f a famil y
divide up their d ay. ~ ' fi e arranged the activities that occur da ily into a dia -
gram (fi g. 251).
con U Od au or
~
,
• • - -••
• •
-•
•
••
•
' SO v."
dm f1NC'l.
I)" F..rndr«hl .......·
ins. RoIt«dlim
IIIlJI·IIIJ,41.
1>.a1'1'~ .00 ""I".
Ilmr plan... ScouKr:
(Grinhnp; Im l
p. 11 0
• 'S' SI.m. d..,..m
~
.howinJ Ilw dody
«I,..;,," ofr.m,ly
QlC'mhcn. Soull:r:
(St. m 1\IlII ( l ll~ll
pp.ll·J)
III Vln dm Bmrk.
" 0 Dor IrndrKhI ht'lb'
12 0 11 15 16 V II8 19 20 21 2223241 2 ins. IWlt"dom
2 3 4 5 6
.0£.••• ••• •• •••••
_.
1 h 'ilJH 'ilu l. ln'" lor
_...
WADE.
" OEOE.
.1O, 1INC1
an Van dm f1mrk,
Dor Undr..:h l .........·
inJ. Rotlrniam
.....•- _-_..." ... ,,........ -

- .~
...._....1.·.•
~_ .. _ t t.A&U I IIlJI· l lllo4).
bplodnt .. irw wilh
-" "'........, hftrd OUI
.-
..-
-
.'
'
-,-
- SI With a net fl oor area of 66 squa re
metres, the porch -access fl ats on
v rocsenlaan can accommodate
a fa m ily with three children (fi ve
beds ). Van den Brook managed
to attain th is number of sleep-
ing places in th is m inimal dwelling by having th e various fun ctions in th e
home overlap using slidi ng doors and foldaway beds. The slid ing doo rs made
it possible to sepa rate off part of the living space as the master bed room . Th is
allowed the dwelling to continually adap t to th e twent y-four hour cycle as
lived hy the diffe rent mem bers of the family.
con oa recbos dE UO
In De Ecndrach t it is th e scenery. including th e slid ing pa rtit ions. that defi nes
the generic space, This generic space is a polyvalen t span'. Its polyvalence is
lim ited in scope a nd o bta ins most for th e living room/bedroom space. whose
slid ing doors enable it to be used in more than on e way. Unlike th e Rietveld
Schroder house. every fun ctional l o ne in De Eendracht is designed in term s of
overlap.
1t11l_ltnC H '
1"_ It._ U 01I1

A .Y"'tm l>f hin~
___=r _
. nd .Iid'ng ","" mo n.
dtfi.... Iht r n1yn lml
li" ing n u . PoIyv. 1tn1 . p« t com p',, 1Nl to,.
Ex.:..... n: 11<>1 ~ ..... I .rId .ltoo-p,ni: Q... f1t'fl
. r r hu l'>lt . SlflKtu'f'
St.. liJ.. j6 for ItgtnJ •
Acctl '
•
•
•S<
Sh ifts ar ound the se rva nt core

Half a centu ry after De Eendracht arrived o n si te there was a resurge of interest
in active scene ry. Advocacy plann ing. diversification among hou seholds. par-
ticu larly the rise o f one- and two-person households, and the cha nges in dwell-
ing over th e years - all thi s has meant having to develop dwell ing types that
are, to a degree, programmaticall y independent .
At the end of the 19805Margreet Duinker and Machicl van dcr To r rc designed
three housing blocks in the Dapperbuurt neighbourhood in Amsterdam. The
best -known of the th ree stands cm wagenaarstraat. Th e arch itects set out 10
develop a dwelling with rooms whose purpose was not fi xed beforehand.
Inspired by the Rietveld Sch roder ho use. th ey so ught to ach ieve their a im with
sliding doors.t-'
Each dwelling uni t co ns ists of a large space with a COTe o f services at its
centre. much like Maison Alba (sec cha pter two, pp. 40ff.). Ex foliating from thi s
central co re a rc places with different qual ities (fi g. l SS). The system of spaces
these comprise can be interpreted by the occ upa nts as th e)' see fi t <fi g. 2S6). A
short co rridor inco rporated in the (Ore preclu des having to CTOSS one roo m to
reach another.
con U Od au or
'" 255 l>Uinkr. V2n
doT TOfR',W2F'l&ol r-
otr&oll, D2r prr-
huurt. Am.lrrdim
h 9116- I9M I.
AlU,nomrlr1c.
5nurcr. IMidwl
1~ l p· 7'
2S6 Ouinkr. Vln
doT Torn.W211r l\&i' ·
otrut. D2Ppn-
buurt. AmotC'f....m
( 1 ~· I9MI.
Diffm'n l m"d" or
uw.Souru: ( &.;.11.
1991)
IS] Duinkr. Vln
,,6 drr TOfR'.W2(IftIUt ·
oI rut, Dl pJ'C'T-
buurt, Am.tC'f....m
Here the frame is determ ined by the assembly of the core of services on the ( 1 ~· I9M),
one hand a nd the scenery o n th e other. T his last-n amed layer consists partly of Inlr rior g ( un il
the boundaries of spaces (wall planes, th e inner side of the facade) and partly
of a number o f hinged and slid ing doors placed around th e core. O nce again
.....
./Mowing thdinll
the generic space defined by the frame contains no othe r layers and conse-
qu ently is polyvalent.
This polyvalence is confi rmed by the way the assembly of spaces is used in
practice. A user research study carried out by the Steering Committee for
Experi ments in Public Housing IStuurgroep Experimenten Volksbuisvest ing
or SEV ) showed that the units are used in many ways (fig. 256),.111 to the occu-
pants' sat isfaction.w' Wh at is less certain is whether placing the serva nt core at
th e centre is the only way to att ain a spatial structu re th at works well.
con oa recbos dE uo
· . c... ..u •• ay
IDII'. ' '', H."I
T
.... DU lDU ' 1
ne, row.",n orIhe'

f.... ilmn <ore and Ihe
'Y'I"" .. r h.ngC'd ..nd
.JiJLIljl d"..,. okfi..., _
' Y'lem of . "",n _"It
to ""<C'J'I d, tln..."
mo.>dC't.1f u>C',
h u . i..n: nu. arrt"..·
ble.
Sce fi... jto fo r Iqtcnd
.,
......... ... Open centre and sliding doors
ii ,
• A few rears later, and a few streets to
the north in Amsterdam , the architect
Licsbctb van der Pol realized a hou sing
u
project in which the scenery agai n plays
a key rule. Here loo the cha ngeability
1I aspect is targeted prima rily at being
Ii able' to acco mmoda te a variety ofhousc-
hold types. wh ere Duinker and Va n
der Terre place the core (If se rvices in
-so
-S9 Van d... " .I, the centre. Van der Pol develop s the unit
"uuwnr: un Pie-In round an open space, the hall. In the project on Picter Vlamingstraat the core
\1Imlnat..•.... t •
Am"erdam 11......1 ). of services is divided into 1\"'0 parts, one contain ing the bathroom set agai nst
1rr".al plon.
o ne of the pa rty walls and the other the toi let abutting th e entrance (lig. l S9).
Sou"c: 1.('1n>""
V..n <In "01 Hall, servant core and entrance occupy a zo ne in the cen tre o f th e unit, in
acco rdance with S AR principles. This leaves an opl'n zo ne at both fron t a nd
rear that can he va riously interpreted. The hinged a nd sliding doors in th is
unit contribute to the frame's polyvalence. but the fram e wou ld he polyvalent
even with a set of standard doo rs. As the hall is generously proport ioned and
invites more than one use, it is pa rt of the system of generic spaces.
The structu re is largely responsible for the freedom th e design creates .1I1 d
remarkable it is too. Load -bearing walls alternate with structural bea ms o n
colu mns standing defi antly in full view in th e cent rally situa ted la rge open
space. Though the structure raises few func tio nal o bstruc tions, its form is
reso lutely present. This is addit ionally stre ssed by placi ng each assembly of
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
160 V,n dtI' Pol,
h.....i n, o n PWtn
beam a nd colum ns at an angle in the unit plan as if to call attentio n to its pres-
\ " minp4TU I,
ence. The whole adds up to an exceptional frame defined by th e structure, Am.tn.um h OWl ).
C"I'I<~I.w modri
servant spaccs, skin and scenery (fi g. 260 ).
of Iht fume' with ·
We already saw tha t a stro ngly articulated structure can im part a sense of OUI f• .-.It. Sour.;~
l-t1nu" Van <In- PnI
order and perman ence when we examined the structure of th e Amste rdam 161 V, n okr Put
Warehouse with its cast-iron colum ns and timber beams. "'''u.in, o n pi(tn
\"minp4 ' &oI,
There is a striking sim ilarity between the Pieter Vlamingstraat project and Am.tn .um ( 19\11).
De Ecnd racht, Va n den Broek's housing on Vroesenlaan. Both use the modern IntrOOf rhoto in ·
d ud inl off-kihn
porch access system and both have a structural suppo rt of columns and beams , olumn. , n4 hc,m
between the two bays. But whereas in De Eendracht the concrete skeleto n was
more circumstantial than anything else - Van den Brcek might just as easily
have used load-bea ring walls with large ho les punched in them - Van der Pal
opts for a skeleto n with the express purpose of allowing fo r change, By a rticu -
lating the beam and column assembly she clearly shows where the ability to
change comes from and how the frame is made up .
Van den Hroek's dwelling uni ts have since been rigorously adapted th anks
to the building's skeleton. which even enables combini ng two adjacent un its
int o one. De Eendracht has begun a new life cycle. A second life cycle is equal-
ly conceivable fo r the project on Pieter Vlamingstraat. Here we can identify a
second fram e in accordance with the Mat ryoshka principle: a combined fra me
co nsisting o f skin. access and a powerfully articulated structure, Stripping
back th e un it this far permits changes in the spatial arrangement. though the
position of th e service shafts will inevitably be rest rictive.
The fi rst three case stud ies discussed in this section give the impression
th at the scenery can only define a polyvalent space when it is active scenery, [1931
con 041 recbos dE uo

The slid ing doo rs and panels seem to be responsible for the pol yvalent co ndi -
tion. But in the Rietveld Sch roder house we saw that the welter of sliding part i-
tio ns is not primarily co ncerned with the ability to make great cha nges in use.
They have more to do with cha nges in how the spacc is experien ced . The
"nu w." . ... c, . ....., "' ." ""'''O,NU.

", '" U.U , CO " .""D . .. ... c., .....C "AC' . ...
pOll 1
Tlw ck ..,Iy rrnornl
I
.. ,""110 '( lien,," "" lh
lhe.u· nd f.~
• ,cowrie 1h.l 1
J'>T' rrlot'>T ' dum
in rl.- Inllhe otrYk~
and ' he~..·
dclin,nl c!cmcn... SlrU"lu",
E.oci...,n I: wnn., the •
01,1>(1"'" and ....in Ac(orn
fnftIll.... otrYk'" and •
Malr" ~k.a r rindpk: ... .. . " , , "' N ••
tlw "' ry. "'hKh UUl . Co ,.. ," , . C. 1 .. , ltC .... (1 _
con.i in ""rtof
.hdml ""n,l i"n..
......
drIi ..... " ro~akn,
Es.: i. ... n "" nol

arrhut>k.
~ 11J. .Jf' fur ~nd
•••
project on Picter Vlamingstraat Sh H WS that polyvalen ce is much more closely
related to the spatial syste m than to the operational impac t of slidi ng doors.
Even a polyvalen t base building like Diagoon bears this out.
I would like 10 close this cha pter with an exa m ple in which access return s
to centre stage. It m ight seem strange to d iscuss th is case study here yet it will
become dear that this project too is co nnected to the issue of spatial a rra nge -
1' 9-41 ment in the home.
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
Gen eric space for access 16) V.n l«nl . nd
()co Wriin, lI"I ILm
In 19 81 the City of Rotterdam's ( 1\1111 ). A mnC'I rK
Depa rtment of Physical Plan - .. r llw ildinJ in
IIw n l, . ~KC':
ni ng and Urban Renewal held a ( RUouw, M uldrr ....
co m peti tion for a hou sing block .d. •\1111 ) p . ; 1I
at Kru isplein just south o f Rot -

terdam Central Station. 4 4 The
, b rief informing the competition
,
, was both experimental and com -
, plex. The apartmen t building
to be designed had to co ntain
three d ifferent types of dwelling.
Each type had to vary in size
between two a nd fi ve rooms. In
addition it had 10 be possible to
cha nge th em du ring use. All dwellings had to be modifiable by being corn -
bined or divided.
Man y of th e 197 entries were by stude nts a nd staff of th e Facult y of
Architecture at th e TU Delft. The winning design was by the Mecanoo a rchi-
tect ural pract ice, but I wou ld like to concentrate here on ' Hot Rats' entered by
Marc van Leent and Chris de Weijer (fi gs 263·266). They designed a housin g
block that gave shape to th e issue of combining a nd d ividing with a zone in
which stairs could be placed, shifted around or removed.
Here, structure, skin, scenery and services together form a co mbined fra me.
The units are assembled fro m one o r more compa rtments that can be inhab-
ited independently of one anoth er. The compartments a re o rganized in two
blocks; these constitute the frame for a six-s to rey-tall central well, th e generic
space for th e access. A gallery in this space accesses the units by way of stairs
a nd walkways placed at th e occ upants' d iscretion. T hese stairs and walkways at
the same time are able to connect two or more com partments, creating a larger
com po site dwelling.
Unlike Plan Obus or Urban Megastructure, access in th e Hot Rats project is
not pa rt of th e frame but is sited in th e generic space and thus co nstitutes the
changeable aspect of the design. All other layers belong to th e permanent. This
design is a response not to the problematic o f access but to that attenda nt on
th e un it's internal layout, namely the ability to change th e size of the un it. Hot
Rats po ssesses what Priemus has termed 'dependant extendability'.4 1 Whi ch
is why thi s case has been discussed at the d ose of the section on spatial a rra nge-
mcnt,

'''' ' 4
,,..14 ,,..14
164 \'IA Ift'fl lloo
0.- Wciifr. tI..1 Ila...
I ---'11-"-'
( I~). TypKlltlo.•..,
rUn.. S..ur..·:
( I\Lo uw. MulJn n
. ..f
~ ;;:- T'[
11. NIl2 ) p. '"
z6 S \'I n LcomIIOO
- J,;
l'1 .~
1" .....ci...' . II..III.. ..
( I \IIIZ). A..' .....mrln' f IF • 11 J
uf UnllUOO I>fMlJ '
L ._~
inll lt' IlC". 5onu tl r.
Ittu uw. Mukkr n
1I. I\IIIz ) p.)U
' ... n ....

'
'"
Ho T u n
( .. .. .. 01' .. , ... 0 <:0 "" "'0 ...... .L
... ....'<: ' P"U '0 '
o•• "'''1
Tho ........ nll ..........
1
JctiIlC" I ~ "",",to in
wh ich I,,", """'" '''n S1fu<I,. ,,,
be f1mr rU,N. •
b.o:iY<m: un., >urf""r i kon
bnn ll ' ''"' .1('"'" If..... .
....... 61- _'" fnr ~ 5<........,
•
- "': .....
...
.L
conte s o a oerecto oe L f
Conclus ion
Having expanded upon the frame concept usin g case studies in previous chap -
ters, the time had come to concentrat e o n housing. In this chapter I exam ined
a series of schemes, expe riments and stud ies, each of wh ich sought to add ress
an aspec t of the changeable in dwelling. 1 chose the fo ur catego ries that par-
ticularize dwelling design - cornpartme nt alization , access, service syste m and
spa tial arrange ment - as the leitm otif fo r chapter five.
The fi rst three case studies - Plan Obus, Un ite and Urba n Megastruct ure >
feature large assemblies that deal with access to individ ual u nits as well as with
suppo rti ng them as a whole. Hab raken int roduced the support co ncept relat -
ing to large assemblies to be develo ped by the com munity, with in which each
un it ca n be built to the occupan ts' specificatio ns. SA R. the Foundation for Archi-
tectural Research he helped set up. so ught to develop the suppo rt co ncept
joint ly with mod ular coordinatio n. These pro jects failed to take off. possibly
because of the colossal up-fro nt investments requi red for suc h large support
struct ures.
wit h the swing in the build ing co nstruc tion market fro m high-r ise to low -
rise, attentio n shifted from the large co mbined. support and access assemblies
to co mpartmentalization an d chan geabili ty within the compartment. Accord-
ingly, the support co ncept ceded to the base building concept. Although th is
nut ion has never been properly defi ned, it can generally be taken to mean a
dwell ing that is mo re o r less incom plete or not entirely determ ined. The case
stud ies we exa mi ned under this hea ding va ry fro m a fully stripped -bac k struc-
tu re - Haaksrn a's Casco project - to the polyvalent base bu ilding of Hertz-
berger's Diagoo n houses. Although all the case studies in q uestion co ncern
low -rise. the base bu ilding co ncept was found to wo rk wel l in m ulti-
sto rey hous ing, as exemplified by Domus Dema in and the Pieter Vlamingstraat
ho using.
A further spate of experimenting with changeability in dwellings also
described in this chapter, proceeds fro m the problem of service ru ns, the pip-
ing and d uct ing. T he case studies in q uestion showed three appro aches: the
raised serv ice fl oo r. service runs integrated in colum ns, and service runs inte-
grated in the facade. In a n um ber of these expe riments the pipes an d cables
were accommodated in the frame. the very fra me that is to free them. Th is
gives cause fo r uncer tai nt y as to whether the service ru ns in these insta nce s
belong to the per m anent o r to the changeable. It is this ambiva lence that can
lead to add itio nal investment.
In the fo urth ca tego ry - spatial arra ngement of the d welli ng - the scene ry " 971

ta kes o n a key role. It is conceivable th at th is layer too can give d well ings (a nd
their use) the q ua lity of being changeable. In the first th ree case st ud ies th is
was ach ieved w it h the help o f scenery with m any m o vable part". It is q uestio n-
able, however, wheth er suc h a n 'active' sce nery is the o nly possible cond ition
fo r design ing a d welling that ca n be used in more than one way - that is, pol y-
valcn tly,
Two cases - Pieter Vlami ngstraat and Diago cn - sho wed that the essence o f
polyvalence does not lie in slid ing d oors o r part itio ns. A dwelling rooted in
polyvalence d erives this q uality in the fi rst place from having a system o f spaces
that can be interp reted in d ifferen t ways. Th is is d ea rly exem plified by the-
housing o n Pieter Vlam ingstra at and the Diagocn houses. A rela tively neut ra l
rel ationsh ip between the vario us served and servan t spaces as in Diagoo n, ac ts
to e nhance th is q uality.
T he case stud ies 1exam ined in th is chap ter to gether give an overv iew o f the
series o f experiments targeted at th e changeable in d wellin g. It transpires that
th e fra me concept and the ana lytical ' too ls' evo lving from it can he m ost effec-
tive in analysing the nature and functioni ng o f these experi m ents. T he analy-
ses o f the Rictvcld Sch roder house and Ho t Rats demonstrate that so m etim es
a p rojec t's impact ca n be o ther than wh at our int uition lead s us to expect.
The analyses go o n to show that il is possible to have a fram e without that
p roject being d esigned o n the basis o f the fram e theo ry. The q uestion no w is
whether th e fra m e theo ry ca n be m e re than just a 10 0 1 fo r a na lysing exis ting
p rojects. I will see k 10 answer tha t q uestion in the next chap ter.

Combinations and 6
deliberations

167 T. !>I.. ofp..""';· In the fo rego ing chapters I analysed a great many C.1S(' st ud ies aided by the
1>1.. ho", wm !>; n. -
lico n. in m.lh.. .
a nalytical tools develop ed in cha pte r two. Armed wit h th ese analyses, I t hen
nu l ... t onkr _ develo ped t he frame COIKep t further. h ut there is sti ll th e q uestion of how It
D· Si' ........' e, "l .
~k i n .
'\ • !oo< ~.
ca ll be deployed as a d(.' s;g" ClltJUp t for d esign ing d well in gs able lu wit hstand
d. _ .""vie..... l im e. To exp lo re th is aspect . I shall begin by lis ting cver v imaginable combi ne -
", . ""'- ..
_. ~_ .. rion o f layers that could form a frame. From th ese I .. hall assem ble scvcra l
series o f such co m b in atio ns. Together these: series co ns ti t u te the ma terial wit h
wh ich 10 develo p dwellin gs accordi ng to th e frame co ncept. A grea t !n'llly
deliberat ion s still need m aking. however. before a dwellin g can be designed
using t his b asic material. T he exac t n at u re o f th ese dclib crurion s will be
add ressed in t he second part of t h is cha pter,
Com binations
A frame: can co ns ist of o ne: or mo re layers. There: is also t he Matryosh ka princi ple
to consider, as well as the po ssibi lity that part o f a layer belongs In the per -
m an ent and a not her part o f th at same layer tu the: cha ngeable••I S in the case: of
Nieuw Au st ralie (see ch apt er five, pp. 176f't:l. So a great m an)' co mbinat ion s a rc:
possible. If we leave asid e the Matryoshka p ri nciple an d t he spli t-lever effect.
we are left with 31 basic co m bina tio ns . So me arc more immedi atel y apparen t
in their effect t han others. Thu s, for exa m ple. a fram e fo rmed hy the structure is
easier to u nd erstand than o ne co nsisting o nly of the scenery, In th is chapter, how-
ever. we sha ll sec th at less obVIOUS co mb inat io n s can be su r p risingly ins igh tful.
.D "'i \ d. / D d.. "'i \ / !] "'i \ . d. / "'i \ d. · D /

D . ""l \ d. / D / . ""\ \ d. D ""l d. . \ / d. \ / . D "'l
"'i . D \ ei / "'l \ · D ei / D "'i / - \ d D 'l \ ei _ /
d · D '"l \ / '"l d . !] \ / nva i -i > D "'l \ / .d
/ . D "'l \ d "'l / - D\ d. D \ / - "'l d D "'I d / - \
\ . D "'I d, / d / · D "'I \ D d / - "' \ D \ d / - '"I
D "'I · \ d / a v n n>i '"l d / · D\ "'I \ d / · D
D\ ."'I d / \ / . D "'I d "'I \ / . Dd. D "'I \d. / ·
T he tab le gives all t he ba sic co mbin atio ns in mathem atical o rder u sing sym bols
(fi g. 2ttl ). T he left - hand p art o f th e co m b inatio n is th e permanen t cum po nen t
and the right -han d part t he changeable. Between t hese two parts is t he cxci-
sion, sym bolized by a dash . T he layers left of the: dash con stitut e the fra me. If
1100] t he frame is fo rmed bv, two o r more levers
, it is ei t her a co m b ined Irarn c o r an
Conlendo su etc a deeecnos de autor

integrated frarn e. H th e Matryoshka principle is in play, th e right -ha nd part of
the above series of symbols represents a second frame. Having said th at. the
basic combinations given above m ust be regarded as single-fra me comb ina -
tions without the Ma trycshka aspect.
Series of combinations
My research found me continually retu rning to the case studies. I additio nally
had discu ssions with archi tects and ho us ing developers.' :" All this added fresh
fuel to the ideas J had abo ut how a fra me can define generic space, int roducing
possibilit ies th at satisfy o ne o f the above co mbin ations yet a re not adequately
represented by any of the case studies d iscussed in the preceding chapters.
To arra nge the J.2 co mbinations into some kind of order. I have assembled
fo ur ser ies o f such co mbi nations. T his I did on th e strength of wh at are, at
root, design decisions. Th e fo ur combinations series are, co nseq uently, based
on the following dwelling design ingredients: base building. structural ",,,/I.
facade and basement (fig. 268).
Each com bination series proceed s from a particular layer (fi g. 268): base
build ing a nd structu ral wall from the structure, basement from the services
a nd facad e from th e skin. particularly the fron t facade. Each series can also he
defined in geometrical terms. Thus. for example. base building p roceeds fro m
a U-shaped tray o r com part ment. structural wall from a vertical plane set at
right angles to the fro nt o f the building. basemen t from a horizontal plane (the
gro und plane ) a nd facade fro m a vertical plane (the fron t facade ).
At every subseq uent step in the series a new layer is added . giving series of
fou r to six steps, Each co mbinatio n is illustrated by a schematic draw ing show-
ing the frame a nd the generic space belonging to it. As with the ch oice of the
se ries itself. defi ning each step in the series is a des ign decision , T he fo ur series
seek in the fi rst place to illustrate the methods used. As the series tread a m iddle
path between a schem atic overview and an initial design step. the drawings sit
somewhere between a designed d iagram and a d iagram matic design.
Two of the four series. base building and structural wall. proceed from the
structure. Altho ugh these series run part ly in parallel I fee l it makes sense to
develop the two individ ually as they possess widely divergen t q ualities. For
exam ple. the base building ser ies proceed s from a U-sha ped tray that is to con -
tain the layers to be added to it. The position of the layers ad ded to this series
at every subseq uent stcp is not determined beforehand . This is not the case
with the structural wall series; here the layers to he ad ded are always placed in
Contendo su to a deeechos oe autor

161 ~W:wof
tM fnur 'w ml>'n,·

tinn on••·..; N~
buikh nll' .truclur.al
..,tl,b...nn~n t ,00
fa< ohk. T'Iw on....
pro.;otN from'
comp. rt mn ll"
oi& fa<~" fl,ol ·
print , OO, fnmt
fa<:~ rnp«li'Ydr
'' /
•
the zone alongside the stru ctural wall. as th e gene ric sp.Ke invariably abuts thi s
zone. The load -bearing wall a nd the layers added to it thus constitute a frame
with a servant zone serv ing the space alongside that frame.
The basement co mbination series rem ains. limited to low-rise [that is, no
more than two levels). In th e case of the facade and structural wall series. a
multi-storey assembly is co nceivable by addi ng a stai r tu access the upsta irs
dwellings. The base building series likewise lends itself to multi -storey hous-
ing. Here access is a n independent system external to the home. whereas in
low-rise it is always directly related to the home's internallayout.
Base build ing series

The first series is based on the co mpartmem alized structure. This is the most
prevalent situation in ho using, as much for multi -storey build ings as fo r
single-family terraced houses. This ser ies comes the closest to the base build -
ing co ncept and therefore represents th e idea of seclusion. The first step in the
[I o a l ser ies is the co mbination jJ . ..... \. d. / (fi g. 269),1.et us a SSUI1Wd series where

each layer is successively added to the frame. beginning with the skin and con- 169 """"" bu,ldin8 1
with comhinalion
tinuing all the way through to the scenery: D . "'1 '\ ....
170 1\.0 huil<l inll l
with com hina tion
D . ') '\c::l /'
D "'I . '\ d. ....
D ,). '\ c::l/'
D "'l d. • \. /'
D ..... /' .\. d,
D "l .
The combination D . ..... \. d. ...... is the

basis for both low-rise and multi-storey
housing. Here the facade belongs 10 the
changeable, as does the access in multi-
storeyhousing but not in low-rise where
it is not an independent layer.
In the second step in this series the struc-

ture is provided with a facade. This gives
the combination D ') . \. d. /' (6g. 270).
The generic space determined by the
structure and the facade allows the
scenery and services to be placed at
will. The choice of access is free here.
This combination can be observed
in myanalysis of Piano's Perugia design
(fig. 27' ).
IJo)1
con oa recbos dE uo
, DG 'C " "C l
I" ....W t>ud",nlto In the next step in the series, the scrv-
Puno, i'mIf;L.Il w~1 1
ices arc aJJ,,'tJ 10 the base building. In
.. Ilh , .....""...' .....
D"L\ ci .... this combination. IJ ..... cl. • "\ /' • access
1'1 fl.tw bulldm(l. J
"'lIh u "'....
- is still part of the cb. mgcable WlTlpt)·
D"'l ci · \ .... ncnt . This can he useful if it gives the

1 7) Raw buolohll(l ~
...nh " _
access additional con necti ng dut ies •
•
D"'l \ cl comparable with those in th e Hot Rats
ea
project (fi g, l bto) ,
Adding d CCOS 10 the base building's sec-

". ond co mbi nation gives us :D ..... / • \. d.
This opc:ns up the po ibilu y of mult i-
storey stacking. Accc and skin have
the same status as the structu re, T he
kind of structure us..-d here fully frees
the: scenery and services.
The combination IJ ") / _ \. d. can be read as a variation on the Pieter Vlaming- I , .. IWor touildins.
Van ckr PoL Pirtr r
straat housing in Amsterdam (fig. 274). In this project the fram e at the second V4min~.l r ....t .
Matryoshka level is an expressively articu lated structure assembled from load- Am'terdim11991)
WIlh roml>ination
bearing walls and a rotated structu ral support of columns and beam.
D "l " . \.d,
'n 1t-o... 1>u,lJml'
wuh wmhlnJunn
D"ld, " ·d,
The fifth combination in the series is

IJ "'I d. / . \. (fig. 275). This can be
identified as an integrated frame de-
finin g a generic space for scenery. These
two last- named combinations are the
ones most commonly come across in
the practice of multi-storey base build-
II1gs.
The combination D "'I \. d. / _ • the sixth in the base building series. is entire-
Iy taken up with the perm anent. This combination may produce polyvalence:
although there is no single layer or part of a layer that can he changed. the way
the permanent defines the space nonetheless allows that space to he interpret.
ed and used in more than one way. How polyvalent the space is depends on the
degree to which the spatial system determined by the frame invites different
fo rms of use. The Picter Vlam ingstraat project can be read in this comb ination
too but this tiou' as 3 frame definin g a polyvalent system. Th is is the frame at
the fi rst Matryoshka level (fig. 262 ), [20 51
ConI 5 0 a ho
J]6 St ruo.1 ur.J ..... 11 Structura l wall se ries
. with n .m hin•• ion
D ."'I \ o:I. .....
In our next series. the fra me is formed by just o ne structural wall per dwelling.
The di.. . tancc between stru ctural walls (whic h a re taken 10 inclu de' the founda -
tions they stand o n) is such that the space In-between - the generic space - can
be' spa nned economically a nd using standard techniques (fi g. 276 ). Accord ing
to th is principle all o ther layers belong to the changeable. T his idea is best
illustrated by non -stacked housing o f up to three storeys.
The struc tural wall series ca n be' expa nded tu incl ude' co mbi n.uio ns of
structural wall and services, structu ral wall and acccss an d struct ural wall
co mbi ned with access and serv ices. T he enti re series then loo ks like this-
D . .... \. d./
Od _ ""l \' '''
O / ·""l \. d
n a > . .... \.
The first co mbi na tion co nsists ()f st ruc -

tu ral walls o nly. T he occ upan t/owner
has co mple te freedom tu develop a
house between the two walls and cha nge
it over time. All thi s is, of co urse, sub-
[ect to the prevailing ur ban plan and
local build ing reg ula tions.
OK V, the Rotterdam -based arch itectura l practice. has developed a type that
satis fies this co mhina tion. 1t is the result of a study th ey mad e of Mill in xbuurt
(fi g. 277). For this neighbourhood ren ewal project in So uth Rotterdam nKV
suggested sett ing jus t the structu ral walls in place. between wh ich occupa nts
co uld then e rect their o wn dwellin gs.
In the co mbina tio n 0 . .... \. d. '" no t o nly the skin, serv ices, scenery and
access arc free; th e floor s also be long to the cha ngeable. T his series ca n be
deployed as easily in a n undeveloped co un try as o n a VINEX site (sec ch apter
one, note 10 ). h would have ad mi rably suited the develo pmen t of do -as-
you-please plots o n Schccpst im rnerma nsstraat in Amsterdam's eastern doc ks
[J 0 6J a rea. I . ] I shall return to th is project in the epilogue.

t 11 l>IlV,dni~
for M illind .uurl in
R.... trd.am (:WOO).
8ui!d·;t-yuu ' w lf
unil~bc'fwttn sMn
. llVClura l ",ail•.
Soun:r. ( n no wool
." Rut of
...httpt-hmmrr·
Il\;In.-tr UI.!\orT\('l1-
n1and.Am••nd.tm
1.19 ~nJ(tur.aJ ",.11
• wilh wmhin.uion
D ei . "l " ,; in.
fully _.kn! ,ur
form inopi rtd by
llomlU Ilrrn..in
1 1~ 1
·"
The second combination in the series,
D d· "'l \. r , ca n accept a frame
consisting of structure and services
(fig . 279). The combina tion of struc-
tural wall and services ma kes the in ter-
mediate lone even freer in terms of
spatial arrangement and use; indeed.
by placing the services in a zone paral -
lel to the wall the rest of the space
between the structural walls is kept
clear of ducting and services.
con oa recbos dE uo
110 ~ 'U<l11 rIJ wIll The third step in the structu ral wall
J wnh ( o ml>i n.ol iun
C ;' . "\ ,, d
series is info rmed by the combination
III ~l nKIU'.J wI ll :0 ,/ _ ') '\ d. <fig. 28o} . With the access
4 with «>mllinl l;On
in corporated imid(' the wall , it g ives J
C d ;'. " "
(In<;r Ill"in In_r"nt structu ral wall fra me able tu su ppo rt
t,' Uo m ll. Vr-nuin
(111I'4 1
mult i-storey housing. Th e sta ir to the
upper tloo r can. if desired. be the pri -
vale access to an upper slnre)' dwelling.
In principle, the presence of it stai r fixes
the sto rey height and the position of
the en trance.
The com bina tio n IJ d. " . ""I '\ is appli -

cable to the last step in the structura l
wall ser ies ( fi g, 281 ). Here the frame is
fo rme d hy a combinat io n nf stru ctural
wall. access a nd services. Between these
'servan t walls' owners/ users a rc free in
how they spatially arra nge and g ive
shape to their house. Here as in the
structu ral wall variant with access, the
freedom in placing floors is limited by
the presence of the stair.
For each combi na tion in the structura l wall series it holds that a rticulating the
frame -c tbe structu ral wall wit h or wit hou t access and/or services - can enliven
the streetscape. Articulated to ward s the stree t, the struct u ral wall is a rcpet itive
element wi th a d ifferent facade between each pair.
Basemen t series
Th is series deviates so mewha t from b uilding practice as we kno w it. It begins
as a base empty excep t fo r co nnectio ns to the mains. In this series st ruc ture
a nd skin belong to the chan geable aspects.tu that sense the series accord s well
wi th a dyn amic perspective on d welling, a perspective in wh ich dw elling is a
' perma nen t quest for an eve r-new endn ~u re: l.~
T his cond ition is met by the combinat ion . IJ ""I \ d. / , Wit h no res tric-
tion s o ther than local planni ng rules, it is an entirel y opl'n 'plot' with just mains
conte oo S 0 a oerecro u0
co nnections. The next step in th is series is the co mb ina tion cl . D ~ "\ / . This ah 1\;1I,",,""
I
with rombin.alion
ca n consis t of an underlay (the fo undations ) along with services in the form of
.0" '\
a servant co re.1" " Access. scene ry or both ca n be added onto or around th is alt l\;II t,
with combin.ali<>n
servant co re. T he entire series looks like thi s:
.D~"\ d./
cl . D "'l \ /
cl "\ - D ~ /
d. / _ D ~ \
<I "1. /·Il ~
In the co mbina tion _ D ~ "\ cl '" <Ill

layers belong to the changeable (fi g. 282 ).
This co mbination also holds fo r semi -
•• perman en t co nstruction. If all th e lay-
••
• ers belo ng to the changeable there is no
t
• fra me, at least not in th e structural
,•••
sense. At most, it will be a planning
fra me such as a buildi ng line or an
envelope.
The second combination in this series

is cl . D "'l \ / (fi g. 283). This might
serve as the basis fo r a build-it -yourself
house. as an em pty plot occu pied o nly
,• by a servant core. The rest of th e co n-
"I struction wo rk is left 10 th e occupa nts.
! Here the ability to cha nge is lim ited
only by the pla nning rules o n site and
the prevailing build ing regulat ions. In
this co mbi na tio n we can discern the ser-
vant co re of Maison Alba or of Prouve's
later Ma lso n de L'abbe Pierre (fig. 284).
con oa recbos dE uo
" " WI " lO O G I IO U' ( ' '' ''C l
I'" I'n>uvt,
M"i.un dor t 'l hht
Pin~ ( I* l. c...rr
....n. dwdhnr..
S"Imr. (l11lbC1'
'",n ) p.l""
alS B.o~I}
...ilh coml>ill.lli" n
d. \ . D "I /
al6 R'II I1....oc,. lhr
dllfrfftll plw.n of
dw build·l!·,..... r-
w1f houw m>r<-d
f.., Itw Zllidbu" , 1
d lOl ,ilol of 11""" ","
Am>lt'rd,m (1'11Y91.
Sour«: (8ill ll,.....-
The servant co re ca n he extended with
'_' scene ry (fi g. 285 ). Th is gives the co mbi-
na tion d. \. • IJ "l / . In this vari at ion
the generic space is defined hy a cum-
bincd frame of services and scenery,
Th is co mbi natio n is effective o nly if
the space defined hy the scenery ca n he
in terpreted in d ifferent ways, in o ther
words, if pol yvalen ce obt ai ns.
Big Ho use. an Amsterdam -based prac-

tice, has evolved a sim ilar principle. In
their repo rt Opzomrretl, a land divisio n
- '- " ... -'- - stud y done fur the Zuidhuurt district
of Hburg in Amsterdam , they propose
dwellin gs that proceed from a ' basic
infrastructure' of fou ndation floo r,
cntran ee and stair,I\-" Owner/occupants
ca n then co mplete the ho use round
th is basic facility themselves (fi g. 2H6 ).
[11° 1
ConI tdo SL. 0 d ho

a '"
An access element can also be added to "7 B' ",Cl" 4
w"h rombtNlion
the servant core, giving the combina-
... .... . D "'l \
tion d. '/ . D "\ v. This frame too .U &. 1'
WIth aombi ' ....
allows a large degree of freedom (fig.
••
187). It additionally holds o ut the pos-
·•
•
, sibility of incorporating more than one
.........ant
1~'e1, although the freedom to do so is

restricted by the height of th e stair.
To com plete th e series we could also

envisage the combination d. \ ,/ . D ...
wh ich adds access and scenery to th e
• frame (fig. 188). Here too it obtains
that the system o f spaces defined by th e
scenery has to be polyvalent.
An interest ing variation on this last-

named combination is one in which
the servant spaces take up the entire
lowest level. This wou ld locate them in
a zone below the served spaces, com -
parable with the configuration in the
laboratories of Kahn's Salk Institute
(see chapter four, pp. 117ff. ).
A stair accesses the upper sto rey
floor, which at th e o nset can be inter-
preted as an empty plot. In th is varia-
tion part o f the excision cuts throu gh
th e layers. Structure and scenery alike
are as much part of the permanent as
o f th e cha ngeable.
[. nl
•
fII
••
I - ..::::.a.=::.
1-
It is co nceivable that the basement ( t he

fram e) cou ld he a rticulated as a st u rdy
plinth for an in formal superstructure. The
im age th is would create is com parable to
th at of t he housing d esigned in Almc rc
b y Pons Verheyen (fig. 2S9). ln vcrbcvcn's
design the basemen t accommoda tes th e
ga rage and an opl'n kitche n, with the
,a, \'nhr)m , more personalized livi ng quarters occu-
m"ckl "r d_llinp
In Mur w.....i j...
pying the free-form superstructurc.!"
AI""'K ('9<11l.
5<>u1l:1l': ( ~t i<mlw
....ningrw IOWl l
Facade se ries
r. 1] .\ The most surprising exam ples ca n be developed from the least plausible co r n-
' 90 c:iri.1ni.
1A'Il........ M" , ,,.,·
bin ations. What, for exa mple. arc we 10 th ink of a combi natio n in \... hich th e
La· , '£I lk ( 1~7 l. ski" co nstit u tes the perma nen t. possibly com b ined with services and/or acces s!
hrl"dnl ~
Alt hough mul ti-storey housin g is not inconceivable in th is series. it is logica l
h,p,hlth1lnlt dot
dout>k f"". tha t. given t he lack o f a st ruct u re in the permanent com ponent. this sail'S
focuses p rima ril y on non -stacked dwcllin gs.v"
The series p roceed:'> from t he combination "'l . !] "\ d. / , T he perman en t
part taken here b)' the sk in ca n be extended In includ e the layers of services
a nd acces s. T he series wc t hen get is as follows:
"'l .!] \ d. /
"'l d. , D \ /
"' / ·D~ "

"'l d. / .D \
Although the st reet fron tage is determ ined hy the frun t facade (the sk in ), t hi s
fram e works inwards to defi ne the generic space so tha t the dwelli ng ca n dcvel -
o p. cha nge a nd ex pand . The fra m e fu nctio ns as a kind o f stage set o r fo rmal
fro nt. Beh in d t h is facade a lightweigh t st ru ct ure, say a steel o r timber skeleto n
with it cross wall whe re necessary. can meet the needs of t he o ccu pa n ts. An
equally lightweigh I sk in com pletes the house fu r a sho rter u r longer ti me.
con U Od au or
Henri Ci ri ani's housing block at Lognes, Mame-la-Vallee, can be regarded as J9 ' h "..w I wilh
" ombtllll l io.>n
the inspiration for this series (fig. 290 ). Here. a monumental double facade .... . D '\d. ....
acts as a screen fo r the housing block, freeing it in a fo rmal sense. I1 resolves J9J fA(.IM J wilh
,omh.lIlIl.nn
the confl ict between the choppy sea of balconies faci ng south and the formal
....... . D '\ "
facade 10 the city.1S) Disconnected from the housing block. the facade ca n be lrur1rN by llomu.
llomuin h98-4 l
articula ted as an autonomous object.
The combination from wh ich the

facade series proceeds ( ""l . D \. d. / ,
fig. 291) seems to have little significance,
yet there arc many projects and types
to which it could be applied. Whoever
takes a dr ive through the old part of a
town will regularly come across facades
slung in a wooden framework;a method
for replaci ng the building while retain-
ing the facade.
The second combination in the series,

""l d. • D \. ,/ (fig. 292), is obtai ned by
adding the services to the facade. giv-
ing even greater freedom to the generic
space behind it. Let us suppose that the
facade is thick enough to accom modate
the mains connections fo r the service
runs and serva nt spaces. This will give
an integrated frame ofskin and services;
a servant facalk comparable with the one
in Lion and Leclercq's Domus Demai n
project (fig. 240).
121) )
con S oa ha dE all
2') F..Ikk ) wlIh With th e third com bination. "l ,/ . IJ
"ombln~llon
'- d , th e access has been int egrated
.... .... . D '\ ..
I M h u d t 4 Wilh int o th e fron t facade (fi g. 293 ). Thi s
"ombi n~l ion
.... .. ..... . D '\
co mbina tion ca n th erefore functio n as
In'f'lml by llomu. a fram e for several residential levels.
Dormain ( 1<}114 )
The fact that facade and access arc int e-
grated does tend to restr ict the floo r-
to -floor height d irectl y behind the
facade.
Lastly there is th e co mbination "l d. ,/

. D '\. wh ich integrates both access and
services into the facade (fi g. 294 ). T his
serva nt facade defines the generic space
in wh ich scenery. structure and part of
th e skin ca n be freely placed. T he com -
binations in the facade series thus gen-
erate freedom behind a form al fro nt
whose duty is to defi ne the urb an
space.
In ter ms of depth th e generic space
is lim ited o nly by the plann ing resr ric-
tion s in force a nd by th e ad m issio n of
natural light which in th e main occu rs
at th e rea r of the building.
Access o r scenery as departure-point

The four com binatio n series di scussed above arc based o n three of th e fi ve
layers: skin, services and structure. In principle it is conceivable that th e two
remain ing layers. scenery and access, co uld be th e depa rture-point for a series.
For some of these combi nations, however. it holds that th ere is no direct co n-
tact between th e layers that a rc to for m th e frame. This means that. even with th e
state of technology today, it is impossible to construct th ese combi nations.
A further objection is that these ser ies largely overlap with combinat ions
fro m one of the four other series, with ou t co ntributing a ny new informa tio n
of their own . Co nsequently, o nly the fi rst co mbi nations fro m th ese last two
series offer interest ing frames based on independent scenery or an independ-
ent access system .
uonte S 0 a recto uo
•
•
,
.'
'"
JF-~~
..- -- "9S Gurau.rw
~ 1'00rcq. Pu n.
(1'H41. b plOl.lcd
virw. Comt.iIWlion
.... . D"I'\ .a
196 HoIl. D.E.
•• "cow York
-1 Sh.ow,
( lw H ""I1I. S<:n>t11'
.i t fr,nw
197 WJoddftdon
-- _. •
- _._:::;..-
I
': ::-
Ground ftoor M.anor. Ay\nbury
{IJ 7..· , M9). Ground
lloor. Sourcr.
'" (Erih " n 1981) p. 81
The combination" . D "'l \. d. recalls Gazeau's project on rue de l'Ourcq

(fig. 295 ). O ther projects that satisfy this combination are Brinkman's Spangen
housing in Rotterdam and Christiaanse's Koekoeksstraat housing in
Amersfoo rt.This combination holds most significance du ring the design stage.
It ca n contribute to a dwelling's ability to change. if rearranging that dwelling
internally has consequences for the position of the front door. or if units are
being combi ned or split up.
The combination \. . D ""l d. " hears a resemblance to the combination
"t . D '- d. " in which the skin alone is the frame. A frame consisting only
of scenery where all the other layers are changeable. may sound confusing.
Examples of this combination are mainly to be fo und outside the domain of
housing. Ti me and again we see the existing scenery retained whereas the rest
of the house or building is demolished. Take the reuse of igth-century interi-
ors or, more speci fically, the case of the old Art Deco interior of 19 24 which
was moved from the Parisienne cinema on Nicuwedijk in Amsterdam to the
Film Museum in that same city. It is not inconceivable that Holl 's interior for
D.E. Shaw will one day get si mila r treatment (fig. 296).
cont 100 S 0 a recto a or

, . . ... , . ... 0 G ' '' UIC S .... C ,
191 Hot R.... h~lJ A most CU ri O US example is

Wl lh (om l>ination
D"l \cl . /
Waddesdon Manor in Aylesbury,
north of London. Built for o ne
of the Rothschild s, the house's
design is centred around the old
walnut panell ing salvaged from
rzth -ccntury Parisian houses
demolished by Haussma nn as
part o f his improvements to that
city.' '''' The pla n of the manor d early shows th e great variety in the dim ensions
of the rooms, tailored as th ey arc to the rooms where thc int eriors origina ll y
came from (fi g. 297).
T he next combi natio n in a ser ies ba sed on access would he / \. . Il ..... d ,
Here too it holds that a frame consisting of access and scenery init ially seems
to make litt le sense. But surely every design with a ((lUte llrf"it t'ctllmh' run ning
through it ca n in p rinciple be read as a frame wit h this com binatio n? Thu s. for
exam ple. we can imagine a fram e consisting o f an ent ra nce and a route with a
number of walls divid ing up the space. The po sition of the facade an d the roof
(the skin ) can then he determ ined and cha nged at will; the servi ces ca n he
regarded as items of furn iture.
If a deck were to be placed over the last-named combina tion, say a dome cl
Id Buckm inster Fuller, this would gives the combin ation "'I \. / • Il d. (cf. the
serva nt shed, chapter four, pp. 119ff.). Th e co mb inations "'I \. d. . Il / and
"'I \. d. / . Il are th e next two steps in the series. Even given th e sta te of build -
ing tech nology today it is hard to imagine th ese co mbina tio ns bein g put into
pract ice. They primarily serve as catal ysts for new co ncepts.
Combinatio ns can yield su rprising result s at tim es. Ta ke th e combination
D ..... \. d. . / ; here the changeab ility aspect resides in th e access. I po int ed o ut
th e benefits o f this when discussing the Hot Rat s project (sec pp. 195-196 and
fig. 298). Here access fu nctions as a kind of switch between the various cu m -
partrnent s. Adding, subtracting or movin g a stair or walkway modifies a dwell-
ing's size and com position .
Delibe rat ion s when des ign ing
Now that we have the combinations and the mort,' specifi c co mb inatio n series,
th e basic mater ial is read y. Th is ca n be used to design dwellings proceed ing
[ 116 1 from the frame concept. But th is set of co mbin ations and the ser ies we ba sed
con oa recbos dE uo
on it arc just the beginn ing; there arc a
whole host of deli berat ions to be mad e
during the design process.
Before com mitting a single line to
paper, the design er will need to estab-
lish what his or her perspective is on
dwelling and the home. The more pre·
ctsely that perspective crystallizes, the
more accurately the fram e's requi re-
ments can be form ulated . 199 Prouvt,
M I ...... Alh.a ( 1'l'SO)
In principle this perspect ive will be geared 10 determ inin g what kind of )00 V. n In'nl.nd
freedom the fram e sho uld enable. It will relate to the dwelling form, and to the , .., WriirT, HO! R.oII
( I ~JI
kind of cha ngeability desired. From the viewpoi nt of the in itiator, whether a
) 0' r>~y. Ni<ou ...
housing corporation or a property de veloper, the legal position and the AU.tnlit (1OOO)
fi na ncial secto r (subsidized rental, com mercial rental or private) will play a
part too.
T he plot type and the build ing form are infl uential o n the kind of frame
and the degree of changeabili ty. In a single-sto rey dwelling even the structure
can belong to the changeab le - as I showed in the case of Maison Alba
(fi g. 299) - whereas in mult i-storey housing it will be part of the permanent.
T he same al so holds in princi ple for the access. although Hot Rats shows that
there can be exceptions here too (fi g. 300).
T he bu ilding form also has a part to play in the degree of extendability. If
there is no ~pace to expa nd a dwelli ng at the rear, to the side, in front o r o n top
witho ut technical or legal problem s arising, there can be no question of
von 0 a recbos dE U0
' . ... .. 1 ..... D G( " II'e
) 0 1 V.n In f\>l. ~ .
•
Pic1n \ '1amlnl "
itrUI , Am . I d.m
•
•
(l " ~ ). Two fr mn
lha l """"k I I lwo
Irvri~ Lnd 1. IM
for It..
it r UCl Urf
Ion, Ift m (Irfl ). nd
kwIl.l~ poI yvl .
Itnt ""rnrry ( , ,~,)
fuf d u nlt" in l ~
ohor1n l('fm
)0) M In n de-
Roh.r. tkt nf l.o....
~ [)r;~ ' p. n .
lRftOlooildlnl·
O Il<1flO l lrfl } . nd
VIO Eyd .. Orphan .
' 1" ( ' i , hl}. Thr exte nd abilit y. O nce again . th is restriction is m o st likely to ap ply to m ult i-
it .... l ul~ tq'ft .
...nlnl by .,m I .
storey housing.
~lm • .anJ ptn:aot When choosing the fra m e. the nature o f the d isconnect ion and the excis io n
, nno: rn ~ I." h" r.on
""J'«li~ly
will also need co nsidering . How are the changeable layers fa stened to the fra me ?
)04 Pwno.. h.....- How the attach m en t between frame a nd changeable layers is effected (the cxci-
i n". ~'L.I h,~8 ~.
sio n ) is defi n ing for the way the dwelling ca n be cha nged o r altered. O n the (m e
Au~h ln,lIw
Iru"", Ihal . IT I.. hand. it is abou t wh ether a pa rtition wall o r a floor ca n be m o ved o r remo ved
1U1'f'U1111v urrr' using sim ple tool s. On the o ther, it is abou t wh ether the excision necessitates
.,..r ry lit..... 't"1ot-w
rnlo nl.n l ·~.m m aking an extra investment up front. T h us. for exa m ple. the Nicuw Australic
r""tnnl lo the ....11
housing required a n extra investment for the double floor so that cha nges tu the
fur 111.01 purr<-.
Sm! rcC': Uli ni 1~3 1 services could be effected wit h a maximum of freed o m (fi g. 3( 1).
p. lot>
Depend in g o n the choice of frame. the desig ner m ay decide that it sho uld
opera te at two levels. in accordance with the Matryush ka principle. Tht.'life S ~la n
o f the different layers may conceivably in fl ue nce the frame's m ake-up and the
d ecision to turn to a Matryo sb ka.
In the Mat rycshka prin ciple. th ere arc two fra m es working at different levels.
o ne in the m ed ium term and one in the extremely long term , A goo d exam ple
is a Matryo shka predicat ed o n a base bui ldin g with scenery in it that d efines
the frame for a pol yvalent space. as in Pietcr Vlamingstraat (fi g. joal. Hcre the
pol yvalence of the scene ry enables the d welling to he used in a mult itud e of
ways. Should th is fram e no lo nger suffice in the lo ng term d ue to u nforeseen
circu msta nces. it is usefu l to he able to fall back on a frame at the next level.
O nce the frame has been chosen, the questio n that then arises is how to
articulat e it. Articulating th e frame gives in sight into what belongs to the frame
and what to th e changeahle. ln th is sense. the act o f arti culati on m ight he de-
scribed as the fra me's ' instruc tio ns for use: The cleare r the fra m e exp resses its
[••11 auto nomy, th e m ore generic the space defi nin g it. At the sa me tim e. a rticulat ing
con oa recbos dE uo
'0'
th e fra me co uld give it a cultu ral significance.
T he process of acq uiring that signi fica nce in
tu rn lends the frame cultural durab ility.
It is not just a quest ion of whethe r the
frame sho uld be articulated but also of how
th is should be done. This choice ties in with
the architectural concept and the architec-
tura llanguage the architect wants to use.
In practice. not every layer. or rath er every
material, is su itab le for articulating th e fram e.
In cha pte r three we saw that issues of fi re resis-
ta nce and insulatio n are an impediment to
art iculatin g a steel and a concrete structure
respectively. In view of what is possible struc- '0'
turally th ese days. th e solutio n is often to have the structure represented by the
skin (fig. 303). In cases of a co mbined frame o f a part icular co mposi tio n, it is
conceiva ble th at other layers will come to represent th e frame.
Another alternative is for th e frame to be represented by th e excision, the
border along which th e fra me and the changeabl e are sepa rated. Thus, for
exa mple, the element att ach ing th e upper floor to th e supporting steel sections
in Piano's houses in Perugia (fi g. 304) co uld be a rticu lated in suc h a way that it
virt ually demands to be used to implement cha nge - th e art icula ted excision
as ins truct ions for use.
von 0 a recbos dE U0
, . . ... t .10 0 G I N U,e , •• ct
)05 ro.lC'f.
{]inulr"f1iu' ( I..n I
wilh c<>mbiuhon
" d ·D '\. "'"
Solll~r: (Ch••h",
t1to'rt rt »I. 19111l
1'. 11>
)06 (",",IUn.lIn -
"t\cod II. 'K,n
fur '),."''' nl. n .
K.> _ l lIWl l. • p" ' r
min And f~in f", ·
cin~ ...,...j
,.6
Frame a nd techniqu e
It is nut inconceivable that new ma terials USt,J with certain co mbi nations o f
layers can lead to new solut ion s. On the one hand, new materials ca n upen up
new possibilit ies a nd o n the other. certai n co mbinatio ns ca n he' a spur tn dcvel-
o ping new techniques.
O ne example of such a breakthrough satisfies rhcco mbinetion "'l d. • D \. ".
wh ich expresses the notion o f a servant fa cade but also holds gen erall y for a
servant ski n. In tha t sense this combination is co mpatible with th e ideas of the
serva nt sbed.
A prototypical example o f the above as applied to o ff ice co n st ructio n is the
Cllmatroffice concept designed by Norman Foster in associ at ion with Buck-
rninstcr Fuller (fig. J OS). Its large self-bearing skin with the air-co nditio nin g
integ rated in to it ovcrsails a space in which buildings can en joy their own
microclirnate.twTh is project is a forerun ner of the servant shed .
Wc ca n envisage a serva nt skin enveloping an accli mat ized. freely subdi vis-
ible space in hou sing too. To give such a frame the lo ngest possib le life it is wise
not to include mov ing part s or machines in the se rvant skin. Thi s. then, can be
a skin that ' breathes' and is self-suppo rti ng. B)' inco rporating natura l d raught
and hea t accumula tion it is possible to achieve a relat ively con stant internal
temperature and humidi ty.
The skin can be assembled fro m ceramic element s with a layer of gla ss nil
[120 1 the outside. In this combina tio n. the ceram ic material ensures that he at is
con oa recbos dE uo
accumulated and th e glass acts as a m in iature greenhouse. A system of cavities
behind th e glass and in th e cera mic elements can d raw th e passive solar heat
inwards in cold weather o r expel it in warm weath er. Rainwater discharged
through th e cavities strengthens the cooling effec t.
Another aspect worth explo ring is the extent to wh ich new materials for
their part can usher in new idea s about frames. O ne such material is Zappi,
developed at the Facul ty of Architecture in Dclft. Zappi unites the well-n igh
irreco ncilable prope rties uf glass a nd steel, the two basic materials of the
Modems.o" T he most marvellous frames can be devised in th is material.
Th ink, for exa mple, o f a tra nsparent structure. 1ST The Ge rma n artist lsa Ge nz-
ken's insta ll ation at Documents IX gives an idea of where th is migh t lead
(fi g. 306). 'Transparen t' steel could also have great potential for the serva nt
facade of Lion and Leclercq's Dom us Demai n (see chapter five. pp. IS lff. ).
Again, th e wish to ar ticu late the frame can ins pire new ma terial s and tech -
niques. A new m aterial might be develo ped that is stro ng enough to use in a
structu re in m ulti-storey housing, is also fireproof, has great heat insulating
properties and has sufficient mass to be soundproof as well.
Ways of resolving the issue of representat io n can also he so ught in more
traditio nal techniques. Thus, for example, the Meuli House designed by the
Swiss architectu ral practice of Bearth + Dc plazes at Flasch in St. C alico, Switzer-
land (1997- 2001 ) has walls so centimetres thick. Built of specially prepa red
concrete, they a re thick eno ugh to keep o ut the cold. Granulated glass m ixed in
with th e co ncrete keeps the wall's weight down and adds to th e co ncrete's insu -
lating properties. Of co urse. th ere many more exam ples we could add, real and
fictitio us, but that is not the aim of this study.
Conclusion
In th is fi nal chapter I exami ned the possibil ities of applying the frame concept
10 dwel ling design. I bega n by listing and discussin g th e )2 basic com binations
of layers that can be used to constitute the permanent. This catalogue of frames
I then d ivided a mong a quartet of 'co mbinat ion series' based on four ingredi -
ents relat ing to changeable dwellin gs: basement, base buildi ng , st ruct ural wall
and facade.
It is logical to assu me the struct ure to be pari of the perm anen t. This was
the case in all the exper imen ts done into changeable dwelli ngs cove red in
chapter five. Two of the four series, structural wall and base building, therefor e
proceed fro m the structure. The o ther two, basem ent a nd facade, deviate in

that respect and have to do with except ional situatio ns. Exceptional tho ugh
they arc. these situations may certa inly he relevant in light o f current develo p-
ments in the fiel d of ow ner designed an d built ho uses.
I rounded off ou r exploration of the basic co mb inations by exam ining
so me co mbina tio ns not incl uded among th e fo ur series. O ne had o nly access
as the permanent co mpone nt a nd a nother only the scenery. Part o ne of the
chapter concluded with the case study of Hot Rats in wh ich a ll layers except
access belong to the per ma nent.
In the secon d part of this chapter I entered into the deliberations that need
making to be able to d esign ho uses that ca n accom modate change. O wners ca n
decide which kind of frame they req uire. basing their decision on the typology
an d legal position of th eir propert y on the one han d a nd the kind of cha nge
ability they desire on the o ther. An im portant aspect here is that of a rticulating
the frame. T ho ugh desirab le for th e fra me's function ing. how does thi s art icu -
lation fit into the co ncept envisaged by th e arc hitect? And sho uld the frame be
a rticulated d irectly o r by represen tation! A striking a nd unu sual WilYof a n icu -
lat ing the frame is to br ing o ut th e excision.
The cha pter dosed with a refl ectio n o n whether the frame con cept gives
ca use fo r resea rch into new building materials a nd co nst ru ctio ns. and. co n-
versely, whether new materials and co nstructio ns m ight o pen up ne w possi-
bilities for the fra me.
The design deliberatio ns a nd th e basic combinations and their series.
together cons titute the mater ial with wh ich to design dwell ings that satisfy the
frame concept, The ai m of th is stu dy was to develo p the frame concept and the
hody of concepts attenda nt o n it an d this I d id in the fi rst fi ve cha pters. Buildi ng
upo n its predecesso rs. this fi nal cha pter was intended as a stimulating resource
for an yone involved in develo ping and design ing dwellings.
In the epilogue at the end of this book I shall show along mort' poetic lines
how designs can he made using this basic m aterial a nd armed with the above
deliberations; for when all's said a nd done, 'a rch itects design frames: J ')ll
Gen eral conclus io n
T he notion of frame is infor med by the boo k Earth Moves by the French archi -
tect a nd philoso pher Bernard Cache.!WIn it Cache asserts th at arch itecture is
the art of the fram e. He distin guis hes th ree pur pose's served hy the frame: it
scparates, selects a nd rarefies. In the foregoing study I proposed tha t the frame
has a fo urth fun ction : it frees.
Contendo su to a deeechos oe autor

Ultimately the frame co ncept is about generating freedom. The two layers d is-
ti nguished in chapter two ca n form a frame either singly or togeth er to gener-
ate th at freedom . T he colum n frees the wall, as we saw in the development of
iron. steel and concrete skeleto ns. T he scenery ca n free the space, as in the case
of He ll's design for D.E. Shaw. The skin frees the skeleto n and the scenery, as in
Burnh am's Reliance building and the Pala is de Beaux-Arts of Vitart and lbos.
The gallery gives freedom of choice in where to position the front doo r, the
co rridor gives freedo m in the fo rm of privacy, and so on . Each frame has its
own potentials and freedo ms, freedoms within the generic space determined
by th e frame.
The choice o f frame is important for the ch aracter that the perm an ent part
of a dwelling is to acq uire. Is that dwelling a cocoon, a tra nsparent space or does
the frame en able it to change skins? More im po rtantly, does the dwelling actu -
ally have a frame and generic space? Without a fra me there can be no change.
ability and without this capacity for change. life there can beco me stifling.
A condition for cha ngeability is th at there is a d isconnection between the
fram e and the cha ngea ble. The layers located in the generic space belong to the
ch an geable. Cache wri tes that th e frame separates. The excision is this separa ·
tion o r disconnection in physical fo rm; it is the excision that fixes the lim its of
the generic space."?
Although the excision is primarily there to physically express this discon-
nection, the form it takes is instrumental in defi ning the frame's architec-
tural impact.'?' The effectiveness of the fra me co ncept and the discon nect ion
between frame and cha ngeable layers, are first and for emost design issues.
Choos ing the righ t construction and materials for the excision is the archi-
tect's job. The buildin g ind us try can join in thinki ng about how to develop the
necessary prod ucts. But to leave it entirely to the building ind ustry brings with
it th e risk that th e techn ical solution for the excision would overshadow the
arch itectural impact of the frame.
In chapter two, expandi ng upon Cache's statement , I co ntended that articu -
lating th e fram e strengthens its effect and went on to illustrate this with a ser ies
of case stud ies. I would like now to return to the q uestion of how articulating
the frame can co ntr ibute to its effectiveness. In my a nalysis of the rst h-cen tury
house I stated that the impact of the frame, in t his case the scenery, is height -
ened by th e respect co mmanded by the internal cladding. It is this respect that
incites the occupants to keep using the space in question>"
Th is respect is exacted by the signifi cance the cladd ing in the 18th-century
house holds for those who inhabit it. Or, to quote Nouvcl on the rct h-ccnrurv
interior of a house in Paris:
Conlendo su 10 a deeechos oe autor

'Living on a Hau ssm an n boulevard you r ho m e h as mould ings, spaces in 0111
the ceilin gs. Yo u may not like th em, hut rarely do they aac k.'16.\
M ies van der Rohc's statement Ihat 'O n ly a clea r expressio n o f t he struct urc
co u ld give us an architectu ral so lu tio n wh ich would 1.lst: supports this arg u-
ment .v - As I pointed nu t in m y analysis o f the O rp ha nage, Van Eyck d id no t
share M ics' o pinion, rega rding flexibility as the ve ry opposite of archi tec t ural
expression." ! Ironically; t he O rph anage has itself since p ro ved suitable for
ho using a wide a rray of progra mmes.
T he id ea th at articu lation and archi tectural expression and cha ngeability
are mut ually exclu sive is widespread and has to d o with t he lo ng upheld d o gm a
o f f o rm f o llows Function . In chapter o ne I d esc ribed ho w d eterm in ist ideas
rega rdi ng the rclation sh ip between fu nctio n and form arc an obstacle to change-
ability. It is o fte n conclud ed that an in -b uilt abili ty to accep t chan ge It'ads In
form less, unarticula ted architecture: O1 S Van Eyck p u t it, ' like a glove that doesn't
lo ok good o n a nyone becau se it tits ever yone."?"
However, th is ignores t he fact tha t fo rm in a rchitec t ure h,1S its own nu-a n -
ing regard less of fu n ctio n , O ur study o f t he Orphanage made t h is ab u nd an tly
clear.
One q uesti on that remains to be answered is wh at fra me, gen eric space,
d isconnection , excision an d articula rion mean for th e p ra ctice o f dwellin g and
fo r t he dwellers in pa rticul ar. In th e ti rst place , the disconnec tion between
fram e an d cha n geable layers creates t he o p port un it y for occupants to sp arially
arra nge th eir ho me as they SCl ' fi t, possibly wit h the aid of sk illed workmen. An
even more interesting question is wh at effec t art iculatin g the fram e has on th e
occ u pants o f a dwelling an d , ult im ately. what tho se o ccu pan ts feel abou t that
d welling's a rch itect u re.
T here a rc a n u mher o f ways of resol ving t h is issue. First, befo re anything
else architec ture is about practical matters such as organ izing t he space inside
a house and m aking itl iveable: next. the arch itect ure of dwelling has to do wit h
light, spa tial p ropo rt io n. colo u r and tex tu re. In the words o f Le Corbusicr,
'Archi tect u re is the m asterly, co rrect and m agnificent play o f m asses b ro ugh t
togeth er in light.' I"; This. howeve r, is an issue on which occupants' o p inions
arc w r y wide-rang!ug. w hat oue considers 10 he beaut iful, anot her regards as
m erely o dd .
T h ere is also a th ird area in t he province of perce pt io n , namely the m ean -
ing an d st ruct ure of what we exper ience, wh at we perce ive. In ch apter th ree I
raised the sub ject of str ucturing the pe rception using a q uot e from Fritz Neu-
m cycr.e" In a n essay on tectonics Nc u mcycr ass erts tha t t he re is a relatio nsh ip
bet ween how a b uild in g is o rgan ized and how o u r perception of il is st ructu red ,

This perception relates to all the meanings we read into the mouldings. deco -
rative an d protec tive trim. tiling. fl oor coverings, co lumns. plinths. roofs, bay
windows and pergolas and plays a major role in how we experien ce the dwell-
ing as a whole. In that sense, a dwelling or building is a text. word less yet full of
meaning. a text that tells of its history and of its presen t occu pants.
In the passage o n Ncumeyer, I related th e way a building is o rganized pri-
marily 10 its structure. However. any layer can fulfi l a structuri ng ro le as an
art iculated frame. Once a rticulated, the frame will play a major part in struc-
lu ring ou r perception . The occupant. who can sca rcely ignore the fra me, will
attach certai n mea nings to it whether it is the struct ure, th e services or a ny
other layer. It is th en that the fram e acq u ires an elevated sta tus amongst all the
parts large and small perceived by the occupant.
As a result. the frame gai ns in impo rta nce and. co nsequently. in d urability.
Durability is not o nly a question of applying sustainable mater ials and stu rdy
co nstruct ions but of treating these with great care. If the frame co mma nds re-
spect. the user will look after it better. At the same time. the frame ca n beco me
its own set of ins tructions. It ca n br ing o ut the d istinction between the perma-
nent and the changeable. as in the ho using by Va n dcr Pol on Pieter Vlaming-
straat. where the art iculated structure 'calls attention to its presence: l6II
In conclu sion, I shall return to the origins of the fra me co ncept. Cache's
text on the fra me holds o ut niches yo u ca n nestle in and let your tho ugh ts
unfold . Whereas Cache develo ps the frame concept prima rily as a fo rmal cat-
egory, I have interpreted it along Hegelian hnes.w Freed om for Hegel was the
recognition o f necessu y.v' In th at sense, the frame is a necessity that gene rates
freedo m. Recognition (If the necessi ties of dwelling fro m " part icular pe rspec-
tive leads to recognition of what the fra me is and what kinds of freedom it
ge nerates.
I have applied this mode of thought primari ly to dwelling. but it is eq ually
a pplicable to other bu ild ing genres and also to urba n des ign and la ndscape
architectu re. In each case the issue is th at of what can form a frame and what
freedom a partic ular frame gene rates. Articulat ing the frame will have a d iffer.
cnt mea ning in each field . Thi s makes th e question of how this articulat ion can
heighten it!'. effect in othe r fi elds a particularly com pelling one. In that sense
I hope that others will nestle in my text to then follow a d irection of their
choosi ng.
(u sl

Epilogue
In this fi na l passage, I would like to show once mort: how the frame co ncep t
Gin fulfil a ro le in dwelling d esign usin g a detailed example No t th rough a n
ac tual d esign this ti me, but by describi ng t he six deliberat ion s proposed in
c ha p te r six in ter ms o f on e o f th c scr i cs of com bin atio ns .
I have o pted for the structural wa ll series. When discu ssing th is series in
cha p ter six I me nti oned th at its basic combina tion would have been admirably
sui table for de veloping terraced houses on the do-as-you-please plots along
Scheepst immerman sstraa t in Amsterdam's eastern docks Me.1 or Oostelijk
Havengebicd .
1\1)' in tent ion is no t to criticize th e so lu t io n as it now stands , na mel y o ne
d welling per plot designed by o r fo r its owner, I am merel y us ing th is site tu
d escribe how t he work ing meth od propo sed in ch apter si x can proceed. It is
cc ncei..ublc t hdl an experimen t along Ihe'it' li nt's m iglu have more (If a shared
basis in t he design . T h is is where t he frame co ncept '.111 co me in han dy.
T he design p rocess m ight p ro ceed as follows. An a rchi tect designs ,I frurne
fo r the enti re row o f houses. Envisagin g the houses ou t his .. ltc as the outcome
of a process, he (o r she) decides to begin th is pro ..:t'ss wi th jus t the hart.' m in i-
m um - a fram e based on t he st r uct u ral wall. Each house is allotted a st r uc-
t u ral wall ato p th e sha red foun dation . These walls have a centre-to -centre d is-
ranee o f {; metres." ? Each is I} m et res high and r u ns (ru m I he street to I he rcur
of t il e plo t. Two stab ilizing planes h ave been b u ilt into the p lot, o ne at the front
and th e o ther th ree-q uarters of the way hack. In the fro n t pl,lIlt' is a n ope ning
t he si ze of a broad front d oor.
As the architect wa n ts to show what the fra me is. be is faced wi t h th e qucs-
tio n of how to a rt icu late th e st r uc t ural wa ll. T he un -a of wal l at the fro nt g ives
h im a su fficient surface to do so, T h is b rings him to t he quest io n o f wh ich
material or co mbin a tion of materi als ca n be used to insu lat e a nd dad I he rei n -
fo rced concrete; at the same ti m e t h is claddi n g has to represent t he frame in
so me way.
Keeping in mi nd Mies van der Robe's ripo ste - ' It is radical an d co nso rva -
tive at th e same rime' zn - the a rc hitect d ecides to d raw on the latest tcchn o -
log ical advances o n t he one ha nd. a nd end ow the frame wit h meanin g u sin g
the t im eless law s of archi tec t ure o n th e o ther. Th is is .111 very well and good,
h ut now d own to business - fo r wh at a n- thelatest tech niq ues and whi ch new
m aterials can give the fra me th e d esired mean ing? The danger of cold bridges
preven ts h im fro m exposing the urea o f wall ,It the front . If he insists on a rtic u -
lat in g t he frame here he will h ave to take the necessa ry m easu res. Using a
su pe r- th ick concrete wall like th e ones used h~' Bcart h + Dcpla zcs for the house
In 6[ at Plascb (e ll ) is just not fea...ible with D ut ch b u ildi n g regu lat io ns an d , more

im po rtan tly. Dutch b ud ge ts. He the refo re o p ts for reinforced co ncrete with a
layer of insulat ion on the o u ter face.
After discussing t he m atter with numerous tec hn icians and m akin g the
n eces.s.a ry delibera tion s, t he architect decides to dad the front area with corn-
posite glass held clear of it an d lay a dam p-proof co urse along the in ner sid e.
The space between th e glass a nd concre te is filled w ith t ransparen t insulat ing
m aterial. T he glass itself is set back in the cen t re wit h regard to t he two sides.
wh ich take o n th e aspect of glass colum ns. The t ran spa rent ins ulatio n inside
and between t hese colu m ns illust rates the load -bearing fu nction o f th e struc-
tu ral wall behind . This effect is strengt hened by vertical lines etched in t he
prot ruding parts o f the glass.
Having ta ken t h is hurd le. t he architect then has to decide whether the frame
is to co n sist o f the st ructu ral wall alone or if o th er layers o r p arts o f layers are
to be invol ved . Is it to be a co mb ined or integrated frame or does it comprise
just one layer. th e st ru cture? As this p rojec t is abou t occu pants b uilding t heir
ow n home o n their own plot. th e arch itec t decides t hat h is involvement in the
p roject sho u ld stop at t he st ructural wa ll; t h is. then , is to be the frame.
With the frame's design now complete . t he moment arrives when the fu tu re
occupants p ut t heir plans in to pract ice. For t h is part o f th e story I shall co n-
cen t rate o n th e plo t at the cent re. An architect prese nts herself as a buyer. She
wa n ts to set up home here with her p artner. an artist, an d his daughter, She
u nd ertakes to d esign the house herself.
It is to be a house t hat can be variously used and in terpreted without requir-
in g architectu ra l inte rventions. Decidin g to p u rsue t he fram e concept consist-
en tly, she op ts fo r a ho use based on a second (o r seco ndary) frame whose poly-
valence is able to take up t he changes in do m estic life. In concrete term s. this
fram e co nsists of access. sce nery an d services.
To give the prim ary fra m e good visib ility. a full -length p assage runs alon g
th e wall o f undressed co ncrete. A narrow toplit slit has been left between the
wall and t he adjo ini n g rooms upstairs. so rhat the full height of th e wall can
be perceived. T he slit is in terru p ted b y th e fl oor joists o f the u p per storey
roo m s. The stair leading to the u pper floor is itself set back so mewhat from
the wall.
Every storey has its own co re of services. T hese scu lpt u ral objects dearly
identify t he space in which th ey stand and can serve a kitch en should one be
req u ired o n th at level. As a result c\'Cry storey can in p rin ciple be the m a in
level. The core n ot only h as a different for m on each storey but a d iffere nt
position with regard to the central service duct. Because of t hese d ifferences
an d the d ifferen ces in sto rey heigh t an d facad e. every sp ace has its own IU11

1 " l O C.UI
personal ity yet can be used in a m ultitud e of wap due to its relatively ne utra l
posi tion w ith regard tu the se rvices.
Seven years on . the house has beco me too sn1<\1I fo r the architect a nd her part -
ne r. T he studio and her own workroo m require ad d itional Iloo r Sp.lCl' and
there is now a ~l'(() IHJ chi ld. They sel! the house It) an actor and his ballet
da ncer friend . Each storey is given its oWI1 kitchen tu make it individually
in habitable. The pair let o ut the grou nd floo r to cover th e costs. Afte r the death
of his friend , the acto r sells the home to a silversmi th whu se ts li p his wo rk -
sho p on the ground floo r a t the fron t. 1le deci des to haw th elowest pa rt nf the
fro n t fa cade reb uilt to better presen t his b usiness tu the world at large. The
new Co rten steel platin g expresses the: fa ct that his workshop has been made
ext ra se( ure .. ,

Contendo su eto a derecnos de autor
Index
A I~I"""'U Di~ll" .. n ho"'_ 1 7 1. 1~4. '94. ''I',1.,,6

Alm... ... l u (J l " a rd'm« l.. In . 17a, J' O('>
AllItnf""'l . , ''', 11\ "ituw A'''1f .lif • In . l:O R. It.-.. lI R
An"' d" m . JS, A~, 107, I ~I , J..... , JIO. ll \. J If> lJoctJ, noml. lI . lt l
Am " .um ....."rrh........ J\, n.ln ....... ll<>m · lno. 69 ' , .\. :"'6, 96, "'1 . I." , 1~1" IH . 10;11. ,"'", Ill. lal
Apn d n . As, ..., 1:I<,"ulI ~lin, I~ l' la \o ....., " ,. ltl
A,d'''",lm. II I 1 ~iC'l Il ll'f> I-',..ibo n, &0-- RI. 8J
Aylnb".~. " t- t l ll ffy, F.. .I'''H
R......ma. I.• '4j ·14S. ,'' , t luikT, L. otli, 19·II<J, ill-liS, ~ ,,,'
1\1".....""1..1, 14J·1 4\ tJonooo hllY' ra.. il....... ""'·11 ,. R)
1I1n h"nl.Il ., Iof>. I I~ · n .... 14t- loonnt ru l, N. llO , "'-8ft. tOl
111.1.:. )l Dllin. L u n. 11
R..... hJ... n ... ~· 61 .1li [luinm, V,n <XI Torn' , lo,lll. I'll
B"ul1''''' 77- &<1 1, ... ... lIll. 146 W~~fltrU I , IYO. lo,ll
fkn lh &: 1)001'1,, ' JZ ' , 1:11 l.lurmd.I. KL .S8
&""1",, He....... Ul I lymnion ..... ,"'.,,~
lkrbl\... I I·P: , H Ewk .x. 1k~ " l · Arb,, ~
H..nnr viII" . H Ed; n, T A" 1. >11
1k.lin . s&. I, ,,. 'H. ISI. 17" F.cnJ h l. ' ~'· I.\l. IMIt. I..... 19'
Ril>li<>lhoi'o.l .... ~inl'" ("................ , ~.>,. ~. ~, In Fh renku nlt. F., "9
tl i~ H,...... are hil«U. lIO Sc. hoob tA>nllllkllOn ~rllfm1 l~mc:nl
11,;.....-1. 8 . 7'1-110, ~ ·1Il- ~. I"'. " ~ ""'lftl .119

n .«Klh",.. p",
ihun. 1o -~I .1I 1 L.ff,l, G., 60
"'au.on ok VC't•.,. I..... EUl<>r"m p,.o,h" I;Y ily AJ.nKY. ( t 'A l• •6, 104
]~'nll('>l ual . 79. 110. 11 4 ' M . 101 [:,d, A....n, 46, ....., '~ -o,ll . 101-10' , U 4
Ih anJ. S., J'l (>rp~n"r;c'. ~ &9'9 1. 101'101" 114
lI"nkml n . M '. In · l}l . JI~ "ltrof An'hi' ec' u,'. 11 . 17\-. I ~ U I
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Conlendo su eto a deeechos de autor
Sum mary
Th is study is gro unded in the fact that homes have an average life spa n of
about a hu nd red years. whereas households and hab itats can change radically
and repeatedly during that time. Consequently house designers are faced with
the task of giving form to a shelter for dwelling for a period du ring which the
composition of the household and the assoc iated spatial rituals will go through
ma jor cha nges.
Taking not the changeable bu t the permanen t as a depa rture-point opens
up new perspectives. The permanent. or d urable com po nent of th e house.
cons titutes the frame wit hin which change can take place. This frame defines
the space for change. T he frame itself is specific and has qualities that dete r-
mine the architecture for a long period of time. The space inside the fra me is
general, its use unspecified ; this space I have called genericspace.
T he notion o f frame is informed by the book Ea rth Moves by the French
architect and philosopher Bem ard Cache. One of Cache's assertions is that
arch itecture is the art of th e frame. He d ist inguishes th ree functions that the
frame performs: it separates. selects and rarefies. In the p resent study I propose
that the frame has a fourth fu nction: it frees. Take. for example, th e loadbcar-
ing colum n. It relieves th e wall fro m act ing in a loadbea ring capacity. it frees
the wall. T he non-load bearing wall can then be moved freely. A notio n essen-
tial to the fram e's functi oning is that of d isconnection . The colu mn ca n free
the wall by virtue of the fact that wall a nd colum n are not inextricably linked ,
in other words th ey can be d isco nnected.
In cha pter two I raise the questio n of what th e frame might consist o f. A
building ca n be separated up into a nu m ber of layers that together define th e
bu ild ing as a whole. Accord ingly. the building ca n be regarded as a co mposi-
tion assembled from these layers. Each layer is d istinguished from the others
by the special role it fulfi ls. In the frame co ncept it is assu med that every layer
m ay in pri nciple serve as a frame.
Basing my info rmation on texts by Laugier, Sem per. Loos. Duffy a nd Brand.
I have made a distinction between the following five layers:
Structure (colum ns, bea ms, loadbea ring walls, trusses and structural fl oors).
The structure transm its the loads to th e groun d.
Skin (facade, base and roof) . The skin separates inside and outside and at the
same time rep resen ts the building externally.
Scenery (cladd ing. internal doors and walls. fi n ish of floo rs, walls and ceil-
ings). This scenery defi nes the space includ ing its visual and tactile qualities.
Sen'ict'5 (pipes and cables, appliances and special amenities). The services
regulate the supply a nd discha rge of water, energy a nd air and also include the
applia nces necessar y to them and the spaces primed to accept these.

Aea'ss (sta irs, co rrido rs, lifts, galleries]. Thi .. layer take, ca re (If th e acre..sibil -
ity of the spaces an dlo r the individual homes.
Aid ed by various so urces includ ing Pricm us a nd Elsdonk. I have done re-
search into the fo rms the ch angeable ca n take. In principle I disrin gui .. h three
categories o f cha ngeabili ty: the alfm, blt', th e "'),"/("11/11"'(, and the plllyvtllnlt.
These th ree form s of changeabilit y can be linked with th ree 1)'PC"i o f gene ric
spact". Sho uld the generic space contain a layer that C.1O be cha nged then wcrnav
descr ibe it OI S alterable. Sho uld th e gene ric space 110 1 he bordered o n all sides
then it is a question of extendability. Sho uld the gene ric space co n tuinno oth -
er layers and il invites d ifferen t uses th rough its form and d imension s. then we
have polyvalence: the generic space is then a pol yvalent space.
In the introducti on I state that mv research is based in the fi rst ins tance on
knowledge registered in d esigns and real ized buildings. To be able h) ' read ' I his
knowledge from them it is necessaryt o analysethese plans. fo r thi .. weneedan
analytical 1001that is focused o n the kno wled ge in quest ion . The subdi visio n
into layers de veloped in cha pte r two is a so un d 100 1for suc h anal ysi s.
So as to be tter get at the prope rt ies o fl ayers and frallle,l have resea rched
the fi ve layers in thei r development into inde pe nde n t layers. The developmen ts
unde rgo ne by struc ture. skin an d !'.c(,' n,,' ry arc so closely houn d together tha t
the development o f these-layers has been described as a whole. Duri ng I he prn -
cess. these layers become in dependent and regrou p to form new coali tio ns and
then become independent again .
If we can discern in the pri mi tive hUI a nd the umber-framed ho usc' that
grew o ut o f it two d istingu ishable layers (structure '\Ild skin }, in th(,' 11Hh ·
ccn tury ho use they were joi ned by a th ird, scene ry, \ Vitb Ihe refi ning ( If applied
materials and the sh ifl in archi tec tural id ea!'. about e xposing the struc tu re. this
IJYl:r wou ld partially fuse agai n with the str ucture a nd the skin .
A new gene ration of bu ildings came into pia)' with the emergence of the
iro n skeleto n. In the fi rst generation o f thc,s(,' b uild ings the facade act s in a
loadbea ring capac ity, Skin an d struc tu re then togeth er con srinue th e fra me.
Th is I d esignate w ith the term ;1lt(~ratt'd [mmc. Thi s no tio n d enot es fram es
co nsis ting o f 1wo o r mort.' integ rated layers. Such build ing s "Ill house diffe ren t
prog ra m ml'S wit hout the need fo r rad ical co nstructio nalmeasu res: the gcnc r-
ic spa ce is. then. a polyvalent space.
IJuri I1g till.' cou rse of the 191h cen tu ry Ihe skin beca me increasingl y di .. t inct
from the ot her layers• •t development that in a st ructura l se nse reached .1 pro-
visio na l end with the applicat io n of terrucot ta elemen ts hy me mbers of the
Chicago Schoo l. However, fire regula tio ns preven ted the ski n fro m achie vi ng
co m plete independence from the steel skeleton.

New po ssibilities pre sent ed them selves with the arrival of non f lam mable rein -
forced co ncrete. le Corb usier was one of the fi rst to explore the arch itectural
qualiti es of the concrete skeleton. If to begin with it primarily concerned a
division between ca rcass and fi nish. in his later villa designs the skeleton and
in particular the column became more and more set apart and articulated as
an arch itectural element. while the scenery also gained its autonomy.
Duiker and Bijvoet , in their des ign for Zon nestraal aftercare co lony. suc-
ceeded in developi ng and art iculating the concrete skeleto n in all its facets into
an arch itectural object. Ost ensibly Van Eyck is embroidering furt her on th is
developm ent with his Orphanage hut closer consideration reveals a shi ft occur-
ring here between th e assemblage of elements that structurally define the frame
and the assemblage of elements that represent it. The a rchitrave used here rep-
resent s the structure but is itself part of the skin or the scenery. depend ing on
its positio n.
It can also happen that a number of layers or portions of layers together
form it frame. This is true of the Ccntraal Bchccr office buildi ng. In situatio ns
like these I have introd uced the notion of the combined fra me.
Since the 1970S the increasing dema nd for insulat ion has necessitated ex-
cluding even co ncrete structures from view. Here too the facade can represent
the loadbea rin g structure, The emancipa ted glass fa cade wr apped aro un d the
loadbear ing st ructu re gives the imagination free rein . conjuring up im ages
that m ight refer to what is inside the bu ilding but might well have other mea n-
mgs,
Chapter th ree b rings a further issue into play. the frame's articu lation and
the freedo m that th e frame creates. In principle it involves a more general
if-S ue, na mely th e relatio nship between fl exibili ty a nd expressive archi tecture,
Mics van der Robe felt th at a flexible building demanded a high-powered
archi tecture. Va n Eyck by contrast .....as of the very opposite opin ion. The irony
is tha t the O rphanage proves that Mies was right . T he Villa Savoye, however.
she ws tha t Mies van der Rohe's postulatio n is not a utomatically reversible, for
a forcefully a rticulated bu ilding does not necessarily make it a fl exi ble one and.
by extension, a frame.
After a description of the develo pm en t of struct ure. skin a nd scenery. it is
the turn of the services and access. The servant elements consis t of pip ing and
du ctiug. the associated necessary appliances and the spaces primed to receive
these. Banham has po inted out that the development of services has taken
place largely outside the a rc hitectural debate. Only du ring the co urse of the
loth cen tury do we see a tendency to express this layer in the architecture.
In some cases th e o rganization a nd form of the services go on to generate

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freedom for the o ther layers and "-0 the services work as a frame. Accom mo-
dat ing this layer in a zo ne or core pro d uces spaces tha t <Ire devoid of pipes,
(abies and appliances and therefo re ge neric. A span' unclut tered with servi ces
gives great freedo m for scenery and use.
f rom the Middle Ages o nwards access to a ho use evolved fru m ,I single cor -
ridor or stair into a system in ih ow n righ t.a n indepen dent layer in the architec-
ture. The prime d riving forces for separati ng living quarters an d circu lation
insi de the house were privacy and ,I sense o f embar rass ment. The desire for
higher dens ities and the concomi ta nt stacking uf dwellin gs led to ingen ious
systems of stairs. corridors. landings and galle ries. The acce ss. originally inte r-
woven wi th the floo r plan of the house. grad uall y beca me disconnect ed frum
it. At (he same time access en tered into a new, struct ural allia nce . Stairs and
galler ies were then made of concrete and me rged with the structure.
Next , the Modern Moveme nt pro vided the arc hitectural means to give the
access a co u ntenance o f its own. Po rch stair and gallery were articulated indi-
vid ual ly in the desire to rep resent the prog ram me in the facade, though the
co rridor was still with held from view.
f rom the exa mples described it transpi res that the access ca n o nly he clc-
vatcd to a layer of importa nce if given a n extra fun ctio n. This func tio n Illay he
represen-tative (the fore most sta irwcll o f the Hau ssm ann block l , o r the access
may be designed as <1 street (Spangen j. balco ny [Kue kuekstraat] o r fron t gar-
den (Golden La ne) , In th is respect the gallery and porc h have mo re po tential
than the corridor.
At the end of chapter fo ur I enter into an aspect of the defi n ing of layers .
Using exa mples, I suggest t hat every layer can imply one or mo re further lay-
ers. Every facade has its ow n structure, a serva nt space can have its own seen-
er)'. and !it) o n. I have indicat ed the existence of these sUbSp.h:llls or sublaycrs
as a fractali zing of layers. a no tio n cu lled fro m ch aos theory.
In discussing the fi ve layers wi thi n the wide fiel d of architecture the ques-
tio n ar ises of what has been develo ped in the W;ll' o f changeability in the pro v-
ince of ho usi ng. Acco rdingly, chapte r five exami nes a ser ies of schemes, exper-
ime nts and invest igat io ns which each seek to add ress an aspect of the
ch an geable in dwell ing.
1 ha ve ch osen to use the fo ur cb uractcr istics that pa rticularize housing
design as the leitmotif for this chapter. These fo ur fi eld s I have de... ign atcd with
the terms Cflrl1par rmeTlt flfizntiarl, lICCl'Ss' service 5)'S{(' r1J an d .~Pll t i(/I dfrllllg t'IIIl'/I'.
In the fir...t th ree cascs -. Ohu s, Unite, Urhan Mcgastr uc turc - wc can iden-
tify large struc tures tha t deal with access tu individual units as well as with
suppo rting them as a wh ole. Habrakcn develo ped the concept o f suppo rts.
Conten do su to a derecnos de; auter

relating to large structures to be developed by the com mu nity withi n which
each unit is huilt to the occupan t's specifi cations.
With a switch in the huildi ng market from hig h-r ise to low- rise. attentio n
shifted from the la rge co mbined support and access structures to compart-
m entalization and ch angeability within the com pa rtment. T he suppo rt con -
cep t thus ceded to th e base buildi ng co ncept. The cases discussed in th is ca te -
gory ra nge fro m the fully st ripped -back structure (Haaksma's Casco project )
to th e polyvalent base building (Hertzberger's Diagoon ho uses).
A number of expe riments done with th e changeability of dwellings pro ~
ceed fro m the problem of services, the piping and ducting. The cases discussed
here show th ree app roaches: accommodat ing the services in raised floors, in
colum ns and in facades. In some o f these experim ents the solution was so ught
in accommodating the pipes and cables in some way in the fra me, the very
frame that no..... had to bri ng abou t th eir freedom . It is this ambivalence that
can result in addi tional investm ents.
In arranging the space - the fo urth problem area - scenery plays a key role.
It is co nceivable that this layer too ca n enable changeabil ity in the ho use an d
its use. In the first th ree cases d iscussed, this happens with the aid of sce nery
with many movable parts. It is open to question, however, whether such 'active'
scenery is the o nly way to des ign a ho use than can he used in different ways, i.c.
is polyvalent .
Taki ng the exam ples of Pieter Vlamingstraat and Diagoon I show that the
essence o f polyvalence is not a q uestion of sliding doors and part itions. A
ho use based o n polyvalence derives this quali ty in the first instance from the
prese nce o f a system of spaces that can be interpreted in more than one way. A
relatively neutra l relationsh ip between the different served and servant spaces
such as in the Diagoon house, strengthe ns this q uality.
A pair of key notions are fort-grou nded du ring the co urse of chapter five ,
the support concept and the base building co ncept. T he support conce pt,
which originated with Le Co rb usicr's plan librc a nd Plan O bus, fi na lly gai ned
full expressio n in the supports of Habrakcn and S AR. This co ncept is pri marily
linked with access and the structure and ca n be characterized , using Heynen's
terms, as open and transparent. T he base buildi ng co ncept, which implies the
loadbeari ng struct ure if noth ing else, is less spec ifically defined with regard to
the rem aini ng layers and can possibly be best typified as a conta iner o r cocoon
that is able to accom modate change. In that sense th is co ncept ca n he said to
represent seclus io n and enclos ure.
T he cases from cha pter fi ve give an overvi ew of a series of experiments
targeted at the ch angeable in dwelling. It transp ires that the fra me theory (2391

developed in the preceding chapters and the acco mpanyi ng concepts provide
a sound tool with which to a nal yse the natu re and fu nctio ning o f these expcr-
imcnt s. The qu estion now is whether the (ri1l111." concept can yield more.' th'1I1
just a tool for analysin g e.· x i sl il1 ~ project s.
Armed with the ins rru r ncn ts of analysis l dcvelopcd ill cha pter Iwn. 1h'lve.·
analysed a series of cases in the chapters that follow. Th ere the frame concept
is d evelo ped fu rther. bUI Ihere is still the q ue stion of how il (a ll be deployed .IS
a d esign co ncept In design ho uses able tn wit hstaud tbc tim e facto r.
To explo re th is aSllC(t .1 present an overview in cha pter six o f every inl.lgi -
nable com bi nation of layers. This ca talogue of fra mes is then divid ed alllo ng
four distinct series of combi nations. T hese se.·ries them selves proceed from a
quartet o f basic ingred ient s fu r changeable dwellings: basemen t, base buildi ng.
structural wa ll and facade.
II is logical to assume the structure to he pari of the permanent com po nent
o f the dwe ll ing. Two of these fo ur ing red ients - nrl/clllml 1\'1111 and " 1/$1' ".,i{,l -
j"g - accordingly ensue from the structure. The ut her two - 1JdSI·"/l',,t and
filClll/t - an,' in that respect de viant and relate In exceptional circumstances:
circu ms tances which when seen dgdi m t the background of rece n t d evelop-
men u in self-b uild, can certai nly be d eemed relevan t.
The series of combi nations a nd their described q ualit ies m.l )' be rega rded
as the basic material with which to design ho uses according to the.' fram e con-
ccpt. Yel mJny other delibe ratio ns haw also In be made d uring th e design
pnlCt·SS. Tak ing the d wclling fo rm and the bu ilding t)'pnlngy o n the.' o ne hand
and the desired kind of changeability O il the o ther. the des igne r Coi n develop
his/her perspective and upt (or a spec ific ki nd of frame. 1\ 11 im portan t aspect
here is that o f articulating the.' frame. Whill' desirable fu r the frame's func tion -
ing. how dol'Sth is a rticula tion ti t into the CUI1Cl'pl en...isagcd hy th e a rc hitect!
The chapter closes wi th a reflection on tbc quest ion of whether the fra me
concept gives cause (or research in to new build ing ma terials and constructio ns
and , conversely, whether new ma tcri.rls a nd constructio ns might lead In new
po tcnt ials (or the frame.
The above-mentio ned deliberations toget her with the basic combi natio ns
and the com bination series, constitute the tools for designing ho uses th.u pm-
cccd frum Ihe frame.' ( u n,epL It Wd" the.' intenliun uf Ihi!l slutly tu dl'wlop Iht'
framl." concept i1l1d Ihe budy nf COnCl."pl" oIll cml.lll t on it. ;tnd Ihis I haw dum'
in tht' fi r"l fiv,,' chaplers. nlli ldin ~ upon its prl'dcce!>..ur~, the fi nal ( h,lplt'r !>t·,,'ks
to he a slilt1 u)Olling ft.·so ur(t' for i1l1}'u nl." in\!o l\'l'd in de.'veJ npin g and de.' !>igning
hUlIse.·" thal are ahl e In acco mmodale ' h.lI1gc.... The pnle.·nti.\ ls .lI1d limitalion s o(
the (rilllle concept (.m he (urther e.· xp!oTt.'d it S dl."signing prn( I." e.'d s,
con oa rec~ dE uo
Contendo su eto a deeechos de autor
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W&I. L • . d.. Ed, h ll.' " I . lk~ """l'tI. AmRtfWm. De
Arbcidtnpen.
Wciu . F~ .nd I. Fricden btrll- F,d _~ I IIIVI. 1,, ~,"'''' /kT/i"
'~}7. Jlclin, J nttf n.l ;"nal~ 8auaUMIellu nl 8(-rlin_
WtfkllfOe-p ".OM 11\111'1. <Jrett /10>.......... Slit:ht;nll Open
Bt>uwcn .
Willkr. M . l l ~ J. C....."'''' I .''On.- &Ib,-ktrt: llrc Hypn.
""..h i,...·' .. ... "! Dmrt. Roltt1dam. o ,G.
WooJ. D. ( .1001). ' Hei6titjuat ln ..: .. H I ( J.t>.t I: ..... " '9_
u ntcn. D. T. v. 119311. Lab.-owle. H",uL in:
.,,_ K. l'\acm M...-miU,," fMJ'dopnluo <'fhr"iltlb,
London. ),t...mill.on: '\l J ·W~.
Zantk.., jl. H.I. (1YII)). & " ...... '" " .... 'u""....
Hcr
_""if;" Jt .'44. Am.ltTdam. Arch itn:lur. 1:I<
Sal ura.
l .. >t!dln",.J., R. (19lI ll. /«11 Pu;u, ell lIer ",,,,,,,,,,i,,...
T_nnlr",, /, An,.t","'m.V.n ("" nn"P_
[147 t

Contendo siqeto a derecnos de auter
Notes
hll .od.. ctioll (w - ' ·"1 u ( ~ho: IWS!

• ' .....re'n, It An;hllfitUnl Fr~mrw<>rk.IJoctor~l" In 11 1h14 p. 1
Dc-Ulln + An;hi'"'lu~.f>ro<ftd, nll' Vol ume J. Rnuh. no..,rtw. Paul KJno &bo WftI IIlt fl,,,,", concq>t in rdo ·
~nd ....O«TlOn.. lld fT, h.:uhrnt An;hil«tu re of Iht lion to .l'dlil«tu..... llt rtp rdni , rthil OXl urt &illlt
Ddft UnJWnilyofToxh~,.. hW61 fr. mt" wllhin whio.-h lifo: 10 (1YC1N; il 10 lho: 11lt~ 1~ of
J lTu l~ l hUrNn tli\lnl.:<,. S« (Gitd ion·Wdckn l'ltl}) p. 7'1
) lfjibooo ) IS Ca.:...... inlnlTlOn 10 m.u .d.... Iic~lion of ITNlIl"
4 (Ol1m hof 19111 (l, }to )) pp. 11 ~ nd '7 """ him following in dw tooh l.,.. of dM' FmKh phi·
S I H-donk ~.w h .... inckr IWO) pp. .n if_ i...ophn Gilln lltJnu... Ildtult wt QU I 10 do jU\l rh~1
6 (Ri. wb d, 1911<» ,nd IRi-l3dl. 19117 ) in hili b"oks L·iTNIJl('·lI>OUV<'mrnt ,nd L' iTNIgt·krnp"
1 (Ilu; n IlJiIj· lwol ClldnJu ,O)A))
a (C>nInwn , uuptn t! ,,) . I\IlI ) ) I ", (c..:.... lm ) p. 11
IS lh..t. p. '"
Ch,pl.... (pp . • po) 16 C..Kht" ln t ... ~ IIW'" source of in'J'i•• lion. My
s C8oIIntYl'ifYS) kk, abnul the franw bty:ln. whnt~h, "',wn
'J'''''t.
10 v i..... iu n xnmym fu, Vitr&!"oI, b In (Im!, My fr,tne' ronctpl don not OOrld diR'CII,. on C..Jw bul
J wppkmenl h' Iht Fuu rth S,lio"'" PoIiq' DOUllllo:nl w.. born in 0.... of Tho: m~n,. ·niclln· in hi. 1nl
on Ph~ PIInninll ~ by tbe MUliu ry of .11 B,.......t I mnn ~mo:Iric'" ..-t,not ttM' ...hilox -
Hou wnll, SJ"li") PI, nninll ' .w Iht [ nvironmrnT lural idt~ of ~t
( v..... ). Thi••uppkmml &-Wlln~l" oilnin Iht .a ( HmzbtTvr l 'il'") I'P. I~· 147
lUI .wil.od ~llPo mn&l ion 10 br<kvriopo:d with Il)WOO I ' Wo: tohuuId &1... dUl inguioh be1lVtt11 dwnllU""l1"
houoin" unili dunn" 1110: d.n:.Jc.o lY'l'·WQi dur;n,lh<' <k>ill" pIw... ~.w chan,...,bihly dUrlnll u....
n (f1I" U n 19'\lll 1 11Iu.. for n..IImpk, f1lachtn ITI.ilkn , diil""tioo bt·
IJ ~ .100 l Tiltn 19'MJ.dwpln Iv.·Ho:I ondn-zork 1Wft1> fin.ihilil ~ inil ialt ,.w lIn,hilll~ wnllnut. Moky
n.ur de- ru imlcbritorlt t n in m om de- Jl('lin. _ n,nll: fo. hi. PM! WTil'" of aJ.opl~hiln~ ....nl oo:cupotlon oil'
pp. « tf. ,nd Iht !oow·k,f w ppkmo:nl \ogomrnl (btto.... OO:':upolion ) .and adlp"hilll~ en cou..
•) (f1" " w,:n llrum 19 j.B ) d'oo:.:up.ation du Iottm>m l (du. in" IXcu polio n )•
'4 ( .. U O I9ftS) Allhouj.h of p'oKtic,,) imponu"<,. lhi. di\linclion
. , ( Gu r: '9Ih ! p. ).46 bc1_ .:h.&nJl('abillly dUrlnlllh<, doni"" ph.aw,nd
. 6 111<, nOl ion ,,f ' p,IW rilu.d. (ruimlo:lHu r;l utkn ) durinll lOW i. ,,~n:C'ly ~In~ nl fm m,. ....... rdt . which
io tl.J'lll'Mkd llpon in t ~""". \loot! &1. 10}'I6) p. , 10<," primarily " Iho: rc'lm lial for ch~ n(l<'''''lil,.
17 IHo:rllN'll<'r 1'N' ) p. I . . durinll uK'.
I' Bijdc-nJ" k Iu• .:,kul,TN Ih...I J-llinp wilh • .non (B1achm- 1976) p. S
dorprKUTion pniod.tr murt nprnoi.... 1o rNinu in. IMo"'" 1979) p. "',
( Bijlkndiik lY'l7 ) '0 IPrinn.... I0}68 Ipp..+6·49
OUtinr: l.... J"\l lm )'r~n or to OOIl1C"O}O.OOO houoinr: S' (Ghiiom ' 9,,,,1
unil. h~vr bn-n buill y...rfyon ,vrr• •Aaordinr: tg SI 1 1l~ 1 9\I') P_ ' 4'
St..olw.i.. NItI!'Iotm.w. (cn l.on lkumbn ,'lIl_ IIw n C Elodonk and F...bt nJn l _) P. ~
tot,,) h.. uoinll.tlXk.:ompn~ 6.,11.9.000 unll.. l1K J-4 C.......no: 10 In IM finl p1",,<, ~ i~lnl With KooI.
largnr du.~ of Iho: vo.ooo onvn 10 mLo..-lIw \lod .. h.••'. InI·l1K Gnlnic Cily: 11Ii ,. ,"""I IM
Onl,. IJ.OOO or ... ~ unin art wllh.Jr~wn from lilt Jft'<"al. hr. noilno. inln-<h,nJ"'. hk , il,. ho.>ld. no r.....•
. tOl.k "" ,h )'raf. IO,OOCl lhtoullh dl'mnl'lion , nd "'"'0: for my iludy.t.ow••cr. l Koolhu.,nd M, u 19\1' )
dnIruction by fi~~.w lho: rnn.Ilnlnll)OOO Ihroullh . p.u)8
ch.n(l<'of functIOn. Moum,ng ~n . nnoW wilhd r,w.1of n CKoolhuil9\l7)
1) .000 11 wdl l,U!iOO ,...anon •.....,.,Jl(' (lot,,) " 'ICk ,6 An:hiltc1ur,,) .....mmu (or il m plytlmtmlli )'~
d,vKkd by '),'K>01fo... unit 10 hc- wiIM " wn. comp"nnIli lhat Ing<'I hn form pon nf I huildlnll.
If lilt enure houoi nll iloo;k """" 10 w n';\I of wm i· Eumplft of rinnrnli an' founJ..tion piln. i1~ I"'" inlt.·
po:rm,rwnl dwtllinll.. lhm uo,ooo URlIi would nm nal de""..... b.l IUil r~ roof 6nioh... ,nd dr.. n~ll<' 'Y'.
bu,1d1R1l ,n ntuUy for rq>!.ao::m>ml ,lant, quito: . oidt I"ni. Prinn"" i•• nothn 10 loO(' Ih<' ",nup! of tlnnrnl
f,om dntru.:tin n by fi~ .nd .:h,n!'" of fvnclion Ihi. w". in hi< "hp Ihni.. ( Prinnu. 10}68) p. "',
J1 l La Ullin I977 (17SJll p. u
Ch, pte. I lpp .11·...) ,a (Qw. h . " itTr .k Quinq l, lIlI)
" fly ptmU'nml i. mt".nllh...1whio.-h "l""('in!l., J9 Sempn ,1... d. . .... , lIm l ion to Ihi. u mil.am,..
Cfn~i n ","lInully.11 don not mt. n lilt rlnll,I,I M IXm pn" , B,I ) p. '"
uncN nll,nll. h m I.... potrnUnnll c. n be, .... hf«T In ",0 no.. conurt of ·tltTntnl' .. widdtd bySnnpn don
' N nllt in tilt Ion, ,un no! wrrnpond 10 myconcq>! of·an;hile(tu.al mrnl:
.ao ltlo:ttd 1'I07J P~"il" Ph.: Die' ,hoo!Ult f l'<'lhtll und Snnpn·. «on<:q>I mlUl bo: undtnlood in rht of
ok. xh rrn krn p. ~l prim.ol dcrntnl, in lilt way Ih.ol m.. Grtrl.r. dw inp;uWoo:<! [' 49)
con s o o ho a 0'
f....., nrntnl'. fr"m .. hi, h ......,y, h in~ d... ......., lire_ 6g \ C... ln 1""" ) p.jt
.... Ir l. r' ,th ,,1Oln y ""' I"kl'n" o.l.'l' tunhr .1>y R.o """lur
... (.'io<omprr ' '''''I) p n ",,·hi,.. h. lf, I... r u mr l " u nc Ihl' pI r'hr
... 'Wrlohr li"nh nik .... I..i.:kl lr ... h ~ ..... . n <kr V~ ,.hnh.-' Ii~'rn. lhor Iloo. " , h" " h ,n ......lh "
l ·n,I.......,~u njl;! krlnc .nJr.r . I. ... ~ Ku. ~.. okr " ', 11<1. C.....m"lt)' dniS, t>y lulu .. " lla hhaw r SI'''IJl~n n . .."
l'>o: . r il"', <I. . .., drr M~tl ....r1"" hlr . und T'l'p...h · "''' "'.. ,hI' p,or I" It Fn " "", " n,." o.l. lU. r . p...·n 101"
..i. k... .'I SCm"" l!lil ) p. ~ I",,"," 11><- .... ,<1' rI/ . ,..\ 1h.....,11 , drlininS lhr in'....
..) (H lt tlkll"" \I~ l lp. j' 'I"kc. h",,,,,,,," i. ",.. "I.... I.. UOf' ,.... II'.m inl<1'.lil'"I.
.... (11 ""' nn lll., lp ,' 7 ( t , ... n m~ n '....... 11.· ' "
"S In h.. l.uli... t l<r . n h" n ' u,. V" " "' IIIOoh rlhn 7' ( ~,...: ... hk""""" ,p· . U
ho""' lhr I.... n. " f I.... G.ft'k "'''nc k1l'rlc u n .... ,,,,.k._ 71 In h~"Q' Ih.. . an.-I.'f'u..... lI h.oJ ,~kc n I'Lo. .. .I h.olt .
.,, ~ '" •• • n inl"' pm.h..n 01 Ihr ra ,h(f ... " odrn 1"''' I'k ...m u.y u , lic-T
, ."" " U\I;' ,,, . (V'u""',,. 11'111' p. 117 1J (Ml'i ...hkl' . _l 1" t ~
46 (14 ' 8 ~1(11<1' 1'i'I~ ) 1'• .\1 14 'I,)ua ll,l .." H I J~ ". du tl~ U "~fU " " .In n"' .....' ...,
41 To . . .. i<l w nt""",, w ith tbe n"lwn of IUll<:I M,n in m"..I" ..... .I ,,"lurJ1C'O Jam r. 1n 1>I. (..,ttl•. ( >n • k
Ihc- Ilt..",I m 11U1l, ""nOf Ip.of(f I" " M" the .. -.or J " .k. J ,,,;t . k I>< "m... fll.>JO , . "1 u1 ui .ir In ........:
(If lI!ok (!)un". ''13~ ' r ,t>
41 (W... ,yl'>, t l ¥ )) p.l~ 7S ({. .... ,~lt l ¥ lI r · I""
49 ·):k n>nll' hrrr , .... up...i<l. I" ,11 u""" ,n ·. .. h il<'\; . 16 It " not Iha, " .."ItC' Ih. 1 t ..... . '1''''''' all h" i ..wlthl
I'" aI rkmrn l.' •• I1llroJ....t<! ,n , h..I'I... ,...,. in 11IylI. • ' .. , h~ l lltn c lw: ...to m",.~ 1Jl .",I ~ ill .l....ij(n .
So ·Ma i. In;-Inl •• il ~ "nr ditft ren..:: infin imenl pi" , ins ""'" ' nl ",," for ni .."'S d...dl ,nll·h.." f...
fUpf'.Onl<': .u n. I... ""'" ,," Jr 1'.1I....;... Jl .. ' , . , . . P l ..u ml·1ot I dr..",'" {,,, u..'I..,lJ l..on l\<'" "1 r1 ""·1I!
c .... 1 , . . , 10 ' , 1'• • <k \10',.c., h.,n r>-,...... I~ • .tv... ..." lr"''' ," M h.. " ,k '. hnJ om (I"" ll 1hjt. '.1.
d llodt. U" f'ofdt>. ~l, & u"'itt-. td tpb.,nt ,d'l.utl., !ic'l' ,,1.. . 11.1 1.0. M. t :- l, ' 1I." ," Jlr , n "n'ktl....~ r n
n.:.'l t .. C..urt>........ I'I'P j 1','" "nd".. iJ': 1 \I~" ..lln:hJf' <kI.. ...-roJ Mo " "" " . "In
5' ll>ttfr)"9')<1 1 Jh. ...~I.o. I lfl
S' 111.,11<1 ,~ ) P.ll 11 1Ic.~r ..-ht. ..'''. IUI....-J 1>-.' !wmrc' .m..n.. ulho.....
n Ahhou~h Ilw: word .1.1\'. ... u n .... u len looliu fl llv .....1." " .onp¥ Inrl....... c.l hy \'k,Ur! ·lr· Il'u(·oI'I h.."
I n'nIllJ.llty , 10 i' In lilt il I t &r. nd .t.- ~ :nhk.......h .I ~"" I...
u... ....>r1C'OI . m' [(fI.1>
.ml>Onlcn l ,1'110".". ·.-.n"'r..f " " hil...." •• ) " (SI' ,," O" ""d 'TIIIIllrt I...",) r· M
rk\Tlf:l1 I.: I' rrr i••, all ......,,,!> <Urn p141 ."d , k . , .. 10 19 ".. mlrd hy ~" " I r' I r. rlMf R",ha.d .\. k""Ilh,
ill m"'''1n1C- ' - 11.., (Br...... I'N~ ' pr ·" 'J (u ,lmll lY70) p, : 1
S4 V. rJcnl>urs i••",,,lw:I I" rrl'" to ' lw: n«J tu, .I,• . 10 f l ... nlrn 1.,.A.l 1r w.
u'nn"'''''n ,n Id " "" n .., ,·h" nSI'. b' !ily.\ Vff'lkn l>u " • • 1 ~' '''J kl''n l _I I·· .lI'
",\,,) p, !l .M ( \'mknh" ,~ IWO) I' I~ b TuJl l "or lM)
S1 (C..hr Iffl l p. Sf>
si .... n Souvd " ...OI.... lfT m ·mln f....' r.... corn· ''''
' " IMkldl(1.m 1_) p. 'iot'
~t"l>k . ' I.... ' ion. ( r-.; ,ih u" •.".., \ IS (l.rhhr-r r 1 'OlI ~ ) . n.1 ( St' hil ......... nn ' '''~ ~ 1
S9 In Ihio , " ntn l f.i...nnl.>n or u b " f ·;nlc1'll ll. 1 16 (1.-1>1>.-" ,...... 11" ;
~ "",I ..u1;.....I,,"": I b ..,nn lln 'oH.' p. li t ' 1 ......, ,,.d, nlllO s.. 1>0 111.'''•. S. h ,n",,1 .........l
60 t H."..., n 1_ ) p. U l . ""a"''''oI WIt h ,.... iJf'" ( k al> ' ~;'.>la.· I .. UJ ' (ltl' . M .
61 l " kI,OI W<jO l c t ~ lo;.U l l'p· 77' ''''
6. ( t....... llf' .Iod m a,,"do ~b"IUf'I ' YII Jl 1" U~ U (l.d>h.... ,""" .
6) lhc •• "',¥lw:'......n In..... u ll (}\l IfT k "' r1> .. r " , I; - Ig l ~l '~ ll ..n "nd l n nJrl' ,.....; ) p <,('t
m,,[r bu..... it filltd ..il h '''''ili."

. ;r./ n OUln m Ih ll 90 ( k J, Il ~,.tt ' ~ l) r, ll ~
"''''1, u ..>I. "n<! '"<'TI [ ~. I'" "M In " 'inlrT i. pn. ; ,h 1'", . 9' t l'nJ mnn ) I'· S~
...... ..,lar r ....'1¥. (Corn I"' '''' I\IY'I ) p. IUO 91 xn'I"" ', ~.,f( h...hhnlt'" io .lI'rl...~I>k ...... .. 1....
~ (w 't fl<" . 1Id W"dcl ~ l pl l ..
65 l l l" />.tr " nd Slrirwur> 1\1 11 / N', ~·W 94 11> u kinll ' h" 10,... ....lhu... 1l<t." h. nl,Il.,j. l>rid.
66 (Gu u u 1'H4 ) If...' .... , ,,,1olh,,, " f Ilw: ( :h..,,,jC" S,ho ... >1 """c . ,thcfl n"
I" Ih.. idf'" ...t xmf'C"' 1 hr) mi hw r.l "~ ln'l llw:
Ch.ple. ) (pp . ~" (>l l ......8n". "f I.... 1'" 1,,, I Io '" or i" 1(n.. Ga.. t. ... (Tu, nr!
61 C."n , f.o m .. horn , h i. dl'''T1 rl ~.n drTl_tu. ."J "un nn ' "nd 1.... 0)' .. .11 P.L..:t IP"U' If'l ).
ol l~hl lr m" d lht<1lhc l>T1Jl n. l ln l . (C. " n ' \19'>1p. .1" . (I u m p '..n 1 ~ ) p.''''
S« ..ton 1 ~ l ml n 19&11pp.7l" ;" SrTnptT ''lI u drd Ih.- e",">I.1 r "laq .. ~ JU'" .....(t<!
I I ~O) 61 tc,ny w<u ) p. lII ..,id (!icm..... 1..-.,1 p. 'M

95 ( :-O.... m(')Tl' lw I1r , ..... , ullf'('" " lhi. I..,.UftlC"tl l • • ",...ch 1.lhr ""ulpt: u' .11 iltl-
96 Van hod, cb imn! , ",'" m... h 6~. i"" l il y rr..J"",<..l pKt oilht' Illclr-tun d ur inp;con"ru<.li<tn. TM pl"'~ . .....
blond tH,"khnp.. t t_yc:llYMl, p. ~ l itllC' of _h ohot. """,m to bot nw"culou.lv It'OOl dnI
91 (s.r-.h '~il p-. It' II J ( hck , ~) p. li01
91 (Coria ''in l p. 'os 11 <4 " I d llCu. itd I' IrnSlh In thit et"'r ln. Ihr c" lumn
99 t 5f-1h , yII~ ) p. 110 ,.id In ' " mo<krn IwI ;';'t"'" ...... giru.'n1 'n tt..- f n(t1ilh
100 ( A",hil",l uu l hI.um ''lS11 opInt.in, mill. ",ilh ,""'i. ca.'-,ron e..Iun!n.. In fKt ,'''''
I Q' In Ihil M lnon.:", I~ili n .. p;Ttt1 Wllh So< hinl tl , MIft r , indpk of IM ,rid If il. UoId 1. lre hilf'<.'1UI'll .u c-lt >«.
f~h ltul lh., " ..... Iu '~ c..n n", "'" .no... n .. il ;,,00' m..... I". r u ml*' . IIlC' Il.id .kl, ni"" IM . .. In\t''m<'fIl of
. ...,
be ch... il~'ni.tnl in ,n lTl. ,,( 'h n""n~", . ""' (fic'bcllc",n Irm pk c..lun,", in fr:!'J'li.ln Anliq uily, _h Is rn Iht'
trmplf. , K.atn.ak. H~,l am Id"",inr: ,n 1tH- lin l
'QI (8 ilh nll:l" n ' 9ll1) p. ~S4 inw.an«' 10 tbt Modtrn. h~'U u ... of Ih n tlpn.if,c u... uf
I Q) Al thi. ' ,m", 10 .. lh", Am...,.iln Alb.TI ","h n .kwl · tt..- gl id in million 10 IM . oro. r. l~ Ikc-lrlo n
opcJ. n " ..nl upon thi. \ilffiC' " ."..Iu ,1! pr-i ndpk lI S Thr bram. W"'If call. onlOIlK p'fiMt ilrehn , . ......
IQ4 Cllilhng'un, ,3Jl p· W' wllhoull""" mnIi.1liocm ullriN, «J<lrkn- Tlul lhe a,o.hi -
IQS (L,., C.o, hw.i« 19H I pp. II<J If. tu..... arr llrubk 10 il<:I ... ""'Iml io nwk rYiJcn t tJ,-,hr
106 ( Ronlgn end Sto no' ..... I~ ) p. I ) (ad Ihill lhti. hon,, "'ul.lll......... Ol .",nlllhrnr-d wilh
.Q1 Ibid. P. J j , k illl whiko tt..- ..",ud", wa' btin,l l".... red (lig.. H I
.01 G,..,.h il lllOl oo tu poinl lh il OUl.. (G~ W;-9) p.I>J ,16 (f yc: k 'Y(\J) p, I S
'09 ""'''' CUI di,u'~n from eee o r \h.,.u,dlC'1 ,tu ll~ 121 f F)'d "'~9) p. 116
( :.>rho....... a;l.:.td ltH- a.hi<", o r Pn.n,....too w.. wdl .d Th~ Jo.nIC"f O'Y'otfI ...h Ihr 'i*'''' and, 11..., allu,h
il<:q u.amtnl with IlK ,~,~ Hmndtiq""'" On ItIC' roollloor in a WIKITk , kric1on, ,h., in"," donlC' ,.( lhe
ohkh L,., Cu rbulin ha. w, itl m ;'drmandel' Au~ r.:r~: Flo-rma u ltlC'd rl l Ol" , .... roof ron",,,,,, lion " f a limbn- '
Ga rlilnd. Early buildintt' tod pro;«u.. l'i IJ· 191]., ~ 1& (rillW:'d 110......,. bd<tnS tVlhr "">0;111 ''''. Thr d add 'ns "I
110 I Roni~, and ~<>flO1"O\/ 1964 l P. I SanJ Gu lan d, l he domn and I.... intn,,",inp; roo.>4" ' .>Wr ,ng J>d"IftJ tn
hrJ,i hu;ldjn~. and ",o~ to, 191" 191]., drawinp; tM w n
nm. I.,u ]., ''il l ' ' , 1'iI ']l and I." " " ' I£""k 1960 ) r. 10'\
' 11 I R.....-e '''7'61 P Ij ' )0 lltid.. p. ~
111 "J1Mo p'.." i"n uf thr . am p and tlK ,..,at< cunfoo nd IJl l1w plOf,u m lT\t' tu.! ",wn UnJngOM tnlJOf II.....J'-
Ihr S, id n"~ m. see . 1", Hn ' >.br'IJ"" , ..naly> i. in h.<al ion. d u,in, l he COnlf' \lCIKln wtlhou"lvw hn. nJ
Cl kru bngn I<N I) Pr. 1:0 -111 MTioln fll"lTOlWont lot the lktig n
11) I flonI[tfT ''*4 l rP- ",.,<.1(\ . )a Allhoup Iht' ltuiklln ' had pl"tt'¥l'd an idcill m«llnll
11 4 S« for r-umpk IG, oplu, 19.\01pp. 1) ·8] plsce for l1udntU .nd trKlw f1o, Ibtr", WI1 "nor d,..Jva n-
liS (hJrd 1\l'901p.ln ll V 1tH- 1arS" 1""11 ut' glil,," kft lill"" 'i*'r 10 hilnlt up
. 16 On..", a~ li n It..-.km uprnrnu.M t!TUC1U rt. .. d rawing.l
In..ribtd n l lin .d rawin g ...... Srunwrn. with f'1'ttil ,,1 I)J ~ lmlil.l ,how 10 loulr in tht O rplt l n..g<'
In thr Il.aUilUdnnj., ·bru u... if, an irup,ring buildinlt·.l1w ,il'" Will o rlnMT
" 1 l ll.al , E», nhilld c1 '" 19AI l r . 90 impon ilIKco before I....n Ihr C>Ili«' had It<<n domi<ikd
" ' \ M"k m I1 9 A9) p. 6lI ,n Iht' 1W"a• ...,. Wle l>ui!ding.. From I COnwru t ;M .. tt h
' 1' Autltoo. ;l in on 'h"kn ilf~ d... idn1 ..... lhi. i _. FI. RoM' II\, o lfi..:", miln.a8f'! oIl<.- Linl.... I ' k)-)OOO
li l"lll "" 10Tl'" of IM ilrchit«u who restored Zonnntru/) IM :I« Iht' d il( un ion o( rhe l ITooild inp in Ihll Chap-
f«k 1t..l lluiu , ddit>r"'ldy made a p" llhlbk COfl - ter, (ClMr , 19] j ) p_""
er""", Wkt.,,,,, .,
tht l>uildinl Md Mflt ~IVl.ltitd for 'n IH""Iz.twtgn- »OIl ) I'P. 91-9)
il Lmtttd p",od o( u.... f .om a con' ....... ' ion wilh him . ] 6 1....rd .996Jpp.jlJ ·] ,j
u n U -'U-1N>I. 1)1 (Duffy 19911PP-JI'>- Jl
Molnna o n Ihr Olhr. hil nd <on,cnd.,h.a, lhr g'''''' ' 'f'iI n 'JI VlSi ,td o n Frbrwory ' ''1 1O<l1
of th~ Cl>n.cfft", Ikdc1"n of, .. , . 1"" Prnodh u,", ~vil inn IJ9 (N.-utd inRi ' 99] ) P. ' 1
Ipi"... ItlC1rn l un,..,. be npl.ai.....J br llK buildi"" .... ' 40 (lDrMn 199] ) p. :ao
a. a p.uitnll' wln(l.. a. ,1'wv room. art Ih,,,,,,, m""rn ' 4' Sott lmonl ot hrn ( ~ ..nd I't.nilndo
wio:,k In hi. vir'w. il would be tIIO« logiuJ 10.upl""C' Marqun 1996 ) pp. u 8-' ) 1
lha llhr ceecrete Urinon was d imm .... ned tOf 'row_ '.p ( Kooltu"' I \l711' 99~I p- hl
F">fTl a ron","..I"'n w;lh him nn I" -'U-:ItIO.
u o l S,.l iing. 19M l p. AI elt lpl., <4 ( ~. IOS" 4 1l
121 Thr l)cllt J)mkn l;roup "","""" 10 ,hi. di.plill of ..... 141 {Ranh.lm l\lfl9 l p. 9
dw , ihu,inn of fo rea in IIlnh~u ..i¥clr do..'\l mcnt«l "+4 (GrOffl 1980) p_e~
dnuiption oi 7.on"...ot,:u1. 18.ok.Ranthard." al. ,,,s, ) ' 4S lhld. p- \I~
pp. 101. 10::' 104 ar><l ll: 146 Ibid. P. I~
.u Thr n iol.....t> ol th i• • nd oimi1ar pholo,uphl 141 \ O "[).,II 'i1O) P. J
Contendo su eto a derecnos ds auter

14& l(ll k~I II"~ lr., I ;,nl 1-o,,'ll ~ , .. I \'~.t ,n,,,,,, ·, (....1' 1' .... ~) pp, (>1.(>J
' 49 Tt", l "'l~ h I'\"ul ~nJ TC'l " <Irnm uniu II<"" ~ 110 It ...1",,"1(........ n tl> .l l ., Cc>COO' 1rI I n.:.. t ll . nJ
vi<., IPT T' inu " d u..nl lh., fir" uhl<- • ,h",,., ~ " ...t,,, "r hi, r n' fy ,.. Ih., "" ,·"mJ'C' I'''" n. Thi, i unh- .J...
Ih., ~onJ Wo.1d W~ •. llll<d.,uJ."" .." t!ol.,. ~ lI r. dll,ihk imm Ih.. "'•.:" • .,n ,l.., " ~ hrI n Iho/'1.f" ..."
'.." , t>"",d, ~ .",, ~· ) w •• ~n ~ 1_ ...'j'-It" nJ r><1 ,. ~ ,h..I JnJlln\ touI . 1... from ,h., /4.0.11h..1I., c ",,,,,,,••",nl
nukd In , .... h"m., h . t>". "' lIh ~ f.. u. -..·~ " ,h in !-I,........ ., tt>., .. nd lIf Ih.. ,.. ,... .n , ..nnI'(1I<' n .. ilh
It;"'lnjl: • ~n.>o« ..f f. " " ,h~ IIfM'I .. l ll.. !t'_>d i, .It,, ~ n ,... Ih'l' T.... o, 'YW I-o" ild " '1- . nd "'"-:~"'O("
" 'Inn ",~, ",u I.,d ~. I two ~,", '~1 ..f t .. , f"'lU<'n.-y hto f ~. ruhl..hnl ,n (I C rh""",, ,.. "' ) . ...1
n....h.lI","") ,..J .., (I.... C " "U tuin·, r ..."'........'\I,
nf I.... ..10 , ,,,.. ,. nl.J.. III , I> i. held i , Ihe' hl u , I> In h · 1.1Iil.hnlt .... . " .,. ,Cn ht-n "... ! ) r.".
""I'''' d...,I.'rnI by I:' n. nil. " 'illl"'""" il Ih., wi•.,_ 11, ("',i" .,,J h inlm b.-llI N 17) 11-" 70 ' 11.nd
...... " ~",JcT " f i"." I ~"d ,n IUtn'~li.." fur ~U ( Sh" """"" . rll l 1'1'. I ~~ ' l'>l'
J........,1<: ~ I'r-I '~n " ·;II> III .}.., f" 'n<T ~ 1'>k iu, u,... Ilz (( .k " Io. .....~ II'I'.~.lT.
(\"" .. huI" j , .. .., 1
151 Tbe It.~nJ. I'.<>ion • • <.,. u,·~I.·..k ,of 1..' ll-.. . nJ Chapl... S lPl' ' . 9-1911
rl~ illJ' '''' h u i14n jl: 1* ''''' h
m;lul nl ......... :o.hl1c. ~nJ II} ( \\ i ~ I..,. , .,ylI l
w .. I't....o.kn 1'''· h.n.- ., fmm Iy!ll " , IW \ 114 t l r~ n' l'h"I ... "" l r . U:j
' 5J I R.... J$ I117) ' J', 8. II~ (C." mr l" n ' YII'I l
'5) l'oJ m h."' m '.,,;V l pp. .... . 1 116 I 11.,... I ~"~ )
1S4 ( ;h ~R ' :O'... It"mni<.. ''''171p. 11. 111 Ob"l nlun, .hdl .\ lA 1.....l ...n lrnJ. Ih., I.,
ISS (RU....u ,y."l r · ..·o u " hu..... ~..,.... Ihr pl.n ll>'t urn.. '0 <If,," i", .... ~ ....
'5' ( Lo t" .... ' <1\1 . 1 r·'''-! p..I.... , ,~l. I M~, I od ''oIllo ll
'51 lhod , p. J", .,I (I... C., nJ Ju n "'.~I ' ¥ J.l ) p· 7
151 , ltoI "h~ ' yl> j ) p. : 0-4 119 I b "'r. k ""'ul.l 1.. ,.,
>II1.. odu, .. Ih" ' ''''''C'J '' in tli,
' 59 (M. Coy '''''71'" 1\ 1><.. 4. 110.. .h . to:"" ,k rnrn... n (''''''I. I f . ,,-la,..d •• ';"1'-
160 I K.....,rll l\/ll ' ) I'. ).LI J"'"" ~n A hrrn ~t" I.. M• •, It" ..... n ~ l ll~h" ""n ' ¥7I I
. 61 Ibtd P JH ' 90 , 1..,(~>t"", nJ lr~n nO'f1'l 'I/UI r 7
16J ( K.n h ~m '~ 1 r . lIto ' 9 ' CI-t. m l·lo " I l p .Uj
.6) ( ~lI\ " '\1:"11 J'I' ,,~ nJ j :'. t 'ohn_..,J ..;r,' 1rr· 1 7' 1 ~ ' 9J l W ' "J"" ' ~1
'6.4 IMu" . , '11"3I p. 1". '9J l l l. h•• ~ ..n '''' ~l ) r t>r .
.65 (U U. l...... (ll/wl1 r· ... o ' 94 I l n KrI ' \W~l r"' }.l 6?
,66 I h ~ ",, \I:-1 .1 '9S I h.1of"'IiltC"" l'J"'l l l r II\fo
16 7 (!'urn"""",," '~ l r1..1 " . Tf>. 196 In • .-"",,,,ul ><, n Je-oip. for . N'>.i<l.,n l ,,,] .1" ....1 on
11 i, inl... .,'lIntt 1....1 lh", J'C' uIJ do.; r,hr h.. " ,,-..n - SIT . >t...",.. ' 1'1(11 1", C... h..., p.,,"'-.J •dllkrrn l «,,, .
IH' n ,n Ir r nl. ....·,1K r llhlodr ' 1l",I,,,n t... lh.. l1l1 " " .n 'I " h ... . ,., br ".-
161 ( ~ I" .. h k l ~ I J' ~ ~ I>kd f'(lm r ,,'u ll U -w l',..d (on "'.. .vm " , n".oll\
169 Ttxo 11\..,1. h J'C'T"'Il'd ,n 1h4' c..unl'''' 011hr . I'il-'M'J pr' .t"'n". In thi, 1••01" 1. ,I knIflU. wn.,
f"," 1C'!' r""... n K n f m pu c (' OI rt of lh4' 14th" .. rla..r-d 'n ,h.. enn,...,., -kkt"n, / fI,. ,tt" \-l )
T~ fkl' .nJ the c nlr1C'1 "n IlK ..,I .nJ ..... ,1> I .... 'h '97 t h( ~ .. hu.... r .'N7Ip.'.. 7
ut ,.... !-k d n...,.nr' R ~, ) '91 IK. No ,.,:-1) r I'
110 l "-,rm'lI••.,.,..,) P- :0 '99 1"',..1 p. Z\
17' ( f nttrl l ~~ 8 ) zOO Th .. .,,.. hil:"m It"'''r b......1,ro... nd l'f'fn t ~ .. ,.
17z IEWIr-r-..y l."n)r r ' SO' '6~ plOO",nl d"",n'oll Ih., "" irl.. p"'''
17) tGnn""rg 1\177) 1'· 7. J O' A" f l 'tg,- I..." likn 1 "' lh~1 .. f. '{'A., ., ~t ,,,n
174 11...., h", ..'., UII i,knl" )' St" l'f , nw«h...1on Ih., zoz 1 1~ 1>, . u n wr"'r Ih , _>\;. ,n 11-0., '¥5''' .1.. " 11)'
""m l"'~ n ....,..,. ( ~J'C"" l BII ) 1'1'. " if. . I.c. Itl .,J".hn~ t" .." I ,,~lt . , . n .f, hi' l.oo1 il .. n
In The pJl"~.n Ihe' .. udml tb ,. dnij;nrd by Hrr"... n (ll\l~ l"'hh.h.nl ," l,.to, .ond l"n '" FnJ(t. '" l<ln
I krt~ " n W"'"'!"'f<l ...., / ,""'•. ,,,...,, l, n An"'Cf.t.nt IIl. h..i.tn ,.,~ ,
i• • .Jurr'! .......""'.. In Sp-.on l("" zOJ . l h l... kn ' 1/7Zl p. ""

1] 6 1\-..I<./l" '"",,71 PI'·IU u J Z04 1I.;J r "l
177 It l> " UI" , N I'>k .h.1lh r 'wn ilh"m, ....." t,utlJ ,.r J OS I tl<..",.a.II''' 'J!>u l lcn rt .1 ......' lr_)N
wil h Ihi. p.......' . 1 Ihe' I, n" l 06 ( . ~ . ' 'I'M) 1', '00.0
1 ]I I ViJ." h" \W~ ) P. H z0 7 ll>id.. l" ,.. 1. 0
179 In '~J; Ih., "'....... ,">11 ...-- C' ntl,n,,,,,,, U ~ A" h,· zo l lhid p. oo >l l
,....'u ( cu ~ l hrId I o.m prlllion f..r . ....... In " IIf «(>m · Z09 (I 1..hI ~ k .... '<J7l 11'f" '''It.
IIlun.a1 ' p;o . l m ll ......... Ihe' d..mltlfTll>l unL (_h.... u o I l n .. Il~ " •• ~rn ;, j,.~k in.. in I"" (...... 1Ip> ,of
......_ n In h ,"ll11,in rd tn l"'" hnid... ('11 wnr 1l",Jrw' ,.\"" .I.. ",,' .twell u n... .... h~ • ., I-o.... lt . .. " t

Notn
_ bl,,1d and ha~~ 1.,,, 1t bn:au... _d_lI. that i>., 1)9 Ihid , p' Jl
MUU'" .. ~ a'~ dwdkn.: i 1I~iJc#n I<N I (1<,1 ,.. n p_'10 140 Enlrylo. compn lhon for 1<-· 1RrnmC' " " f Un'
Ul (I 1.. hr..krn I9;"'l1 l p. ) houWn&- (Ot lm hof I~I (19Jl' )) p. J7
III h ... 1'If>'S) rr- o<'J.a and "" j.~ 14' (Sf. m l'l'l'l (t<,1Jl'1l
II} t Ru_ll l'iAl l rp, .tOot- j06 l oll f rom a,onvn..ollOn wITh M.'Ilfft1 I t"lIn k.rr on
114 ( Kn ll l",. ~l ~h y ql h. aool
liS tl lrynml~lp.2.u 10 If il bad b«n poo.o.ihlC'. forn.ampk.Tou...... in

1.6 lI.... ko.nw ull. hi. rn'l«1 Ca""o. ,,-t " it. qunt ion. thr oIidin l 0100.. for Ii ..... wall. not .>ne' "':ClIJ'lnt
..hit ...ntllltr he can d.. un to Iuvt tir... u"td thi s conctpl _ Id IuYr eholm Ihi, option.!n Ihto'l' Ih;' would
1'1 Tht rn>tt.t>. m.odt t>y Ih" r." j«l i. r"lk.-d in ha>'(' "'-rN ,Ilt ...... t by IS Iluilckn re" .... >n lh. I II.Kk
lilt u . ..nnWlI rep n for 1<,1 72. (u . 197a) p, J ''J'III I p. I -H l ll-lallw, Muldn n al. l'98a)
1" Thi. r n>i«1 w CillrTinJ oul in .......i.o t,,>o wIth a4S t Pt"iC'm" . I~ I p. ..,.J.46 1 tuvf tud , on llC'r..tKlR'
Pc1tr RKt wilh. amorlll" 1'1"""'"l.iC'Ihrth van dn Po! (1-I6- JOOO I.
1'9 ( S al... mu ra . _1 pp, ">4-11) Un nu.n ltt1'l~, b7·10-JOOO). 8iidmd iik and lI,ik.
110 Comp."blt with tht ...... fillU" .iun I..: C....rbu"" mc-nIr' or tiC'! Oo"rn """oin8 "",,,,"" 1101\, !t·U·lOOO
rml"~ in hiHomptt:iti"n <koipl fur ~".oou fJ. .nd 10- 1·1001). liuht-rl l. n Iknkrt (10-1·1001l, M..r-
( Ro.lot>illtr I~I1 p. 110 ll....... Ou ink.rr Ind PIU! s.a!t.".un, (hot h 9+1001)
11' l l k ru hc-.tttr 19'Il II P, 1~7
IU A fnl.kr .-...,." .... 10 Ihtw dwdli nll' d,_m'.....nl Chapl. ' 6 lpp '99-Usl
by.n npnlln~n•.oJ houoin(t fou nd ..io n (Sfio: htin(t 146 I ...... !l.ldeon>nution' wiTh.a""lRll. I ot"""'"
b J'C'rlmn>lrlt \\-'" nlnlCho,,,wl " .....11ot Irrm karU .. ~h n n dn Po! (a-I6-I<IOO). 1!crl1lln Br ftl hr'l'"
·Cu u .. _ Iulf_pn od uct _ .......... or houor _ 10 Ilt eom· ( 17·lo- JOOOI. 8iidmdilk and l >, ilr. rr>n"ln of 1IC1 O.-.... rn
pltl.... t>y IIw. rniJrnh atlhry see lil: h.:"... nll corpora!>on. (S·U· JOOO . nd 10-1·10011. Uuht-rl
IIJ U lnl / hc'rl!" ' ~I" ) p.I, ' lan IIrnkt ( lo- a-IOOI). Ma,V tC1 l>Uinkn and Paul
n 4 Fn'm .. con~r r ...lion wllh IIrr ~n Ikrllbr"n. s.tlomon. (boIh 9·S·IOOI )
ll· IO- .woo in Am.tnd.om loll ~ cm pl" pIoI. 0" ' ';''11 t>rtWC'f1l of. I and " mn.......
uS (n . " .. ''l'l'~) p, ~ w~ ha... b«n madt availll>lt on ~ h«pMim ......rnu.n.·
n6 ( Vmknl>" ,,", M"''' i rt al. I'NI' ) r p· n·'" .lIut in Aml lnd1m'l eester n dock> arra Of Oo.lrbilr.
111 A.kvd"p"",nl lum c... mpri.inll l kt O,..sen II.V('Illld>ird. ThooC' who buy Ihm! a.... ahlC' I... dWlln
hou.inll cor po•• tlOn. Woninllhtdriif Am.lnd.om .nd Ibeir tit........... ~ il Jnilln..... the' wl YIhry wlnt 11.
Iolun M.I.n J'n' l« lunlwlklo.thnll (Ian""" I _ I
11' " ~II al... "'n.id.-r.... 1I.inll tilt M.llIra 'Y'Im! ""I 14' (UC'Y"C''' 19lN 1p. I II
I""" fd l il la..lo.td IIw. tk1,billl" Ihr, dnlrN. hom a'....· ' 49 ~ rictlv If'r..kmlCo IIw fuu...ut".... a.... . comporlC'nt
wn.Jtlon " -,Ih P. ul dC' Vruum ..nd F... Il "i ~. J+ WO I of tilt .. rud ll.... . nd IM >«ond .trp In IIot ""'in add.
119 """" d "'llI... IM an:h,I« 1 tlot ralord 11"01' wa. In noI ju" ,he' ...-rvicC'l IIm but al.., r-an ,,( IM "'rudurC'.
CO'ot ~~ nu"", J'C'I Wlll.l rr mc1 ....... wilh n'" w••tr. Thi. J"" c for cllrlty'l ...k . foun.Ul ion pi," 100 ...."" h•.." b«n
i....l.....nl llw. r h and UWC'TlRlI. f n.m . u ....."r...llo n It n ....I .. f IIw. an.al"...
with ".1iI de' Vr m and h a H lIi ~. J·~-1OO1 ISO IRiS Il..uWI9lNI
1)0 (lIk ll l",,,ol p, ) IS' ( S . lit.....k ......,nllrud IW 1}pp. Ij l· l) )
I J' t M"Ic" 19N I pp. ""- ~'Il ISI In Th;' , _ the' f"adC' 1I ....lhurrortlnil-MWC' ......
1)l lh'd . p. "" i1IM md of ehl pln fou r. l ilt f.leadt. lik tY1'T}' mhn
IJJ A ,on""" i"" wilh clr....." f~ ( >« 1krn'll 1ll <it ran of . bulldiftJ. h&i ill own "" ....1 u..... Th it. io .. hal l
Mnu"n', . 1: ~ ... rro j('(1 in &r>lt in , h. pin ..... ) im mc· ..."' trnnr-d IIw fract . lizah..n ofll~ lI"w~. tilt
di.tltlr ",rinp I" mind. In d i.....t.. (;>c~ the' f..,.adc' IUMlrudu.... of IM fac....k htkmp nplicldy 10 IM .k,n,
;>ch ,. a hUl ldlnll \C'rvH.·... ln ",i nln th.. f;>e.odt .."""-,,t>- n Ihi••UbdrudU .... form . no rart ,,( IM ~ namnl
pa......" ....t u ..lIt1'llYand In >Ummn i' p..... icko coohnll >1:'. ...1 urr
VC'nTil.al" ",.1 n Ihi' ~" Ihe' d ,.....tc (oK.IdC' can be IS) ( Lt-uprn :woo}
, ..""...wd uf a' in",trallnll """.nd..-rvio;C'I IS4 Cb ik..... 19lIJI. Thil t...... indudn. dncr irtion ..f
a)4 ( Li" n ..nd 1--C'C1tn:'l1'i37J tM IRlrrior of W.Iddndon M..no r and lilt orillin of lilt
In Snuvd u.... l.... krm ·intnf.l(('·, ........a« ...... Th,np ~bddlRll of il~ "",nu
in coneec1,..n wilh Ihe' f",.. de of lilt IIll .. in Piri. ( Nij· ISS ThC' q,,",lion u. .. u.
ilrlhn Ihi. lOO a ,aOC' of ('aclal·
hui. 19l"Il1 iJ..lionoflivC'n, ... in Ih;' proi«l lllt """'llIr..d......
1)6 (M" ldn and lt" ulr. l971l p, }l n..thinllOlhe' than "" r rort IM u..in . Th .. in f.let mr. n.
1)1 Th.. Ir."d.m wu on ll,n,U" on Ilw. llmund tlont-. llu' IM .... in it odr·...rportlRll. But it i. 'hi.......... ' IIIK-
Whm M...J...... ~h rn.kr'Hh,Id...... 1cft h.. "",..ht h d IllrC' Ihal rnahlC'l TM 'olu mn· flft op.« I" bot dca r
.lr.n,he'nr1I(ln",alltd "J"Ulr. 'n" c...t. Thi. "a. w..>lI.... ""non!. S«n in Ihio lilhl _ can idm llfy two Intf _
1c'll".lIyht'fwrTn II\(' Iuthmom .nd tilt ....k ....r llraTnl 1a~.
I ) ' (MlIldrr . oo lU...... l97S lr.Jl IS6 IfA h" u l " nd V",,19\III 1
con s oa ha dE all
In 1~ AmtT ,u n <In", ' ". '" cnlt'''"' I\,UI,<",c tu.
I>crn d..inS r<"'C'~ .~h ,nl" .u n" " u ·n' .",mUCIC.
( ~"u1r... n .won )
Is' {C .. t.., ' <NSl p. H .
zS9 (C ,•.he. R 'm )
160 Wc u n d r f"I,~lId . on rlut ~orn ' ..n ll .1K
.....k ..f •• • ~"d ( Thno: . <'W. "h (t'ouf" ..... ,
n "I....... ,.,j 1hc i"' I"'lf1 ~ "" C ' " d"...."'...... t Km
16, .\I, i<k~l ,r~ ~ inlllhe j.~ me ~nJ J'...on u.... ' i<m
.k>'i"e '.um Ill<.... of ' '' . 'lid " . 0 .. on thi~ ,,'un t. The
" , hilnlU' .oI ' TC~ lIll(11 ' h•• •" r""" d, n .:t i " ~e'''ocn
{l,n. " .....t i" IUJ " ,(Ul i<",• •1 the IT . mc " tu " \.Ifk ....,11;
tn.h n'<j lK " mcr-c-tr . me" nl
16z s.-.. d l.pln thrt'(. p. S~
z6) ~ oc >lC 7 ... I I>" r<.,. 1""' 1) p. IO
z64 IS IU('\ h . ~llS lr.l ll

z6S Scor ~h;o l" "" .h. ..... p .1\<,r
z66 ( h .... . \Ol'ou lp. J< ~
z67 T .t, h i....' '''e e ll !or ;.-" u n l. •or .....l c1 rtYP'i-
Iiqoc ok. •·..I" nl('l • •>nnhlh b I.. ,ninc' (h eo.. ...,.
• ;... l'U ) ) p..1I
261 I Nr unlnT' '~'H )

269 S<-c ( hlplc. h ~. P. 'Y.\
110 I l lClld '''''l J P·H'
11' 'i« ..... ~ If o pt l. Ill:ll, 1;IhO I P. \ill
Epilo."e lPll. n fr n l J
Z12 l ~ ~ ...h,(.-..:. 1>.0..... 1111. mu . ".e"... nl n" 'e"(•• ,1I
d<.ofl,c, in t.. lhe tkak,pll1ocn' .. I d.....111nll.' ." .•, the T"'.,
t...... r m,((<nn "'. ~ ..,'" ,hi. ;t lf ~norif'<'lll"'" '" e.·....r
ht>llW tooe 1111 k.~ OM ~ t .... l " ".ur nl("IrA .
... ..... >f'( . lf l ' e .. IoJ he 1••r ' ''hr. I''....·' ..'n onr;.
•ilk Ih" . r l....n IU h... r n ,,-..d ~ I.II" f IO' )"
.......11 11" u:otu 'l('O
27) Sce . h.I.....' .h...... P. "-t. (C~" .... ' ~n l p. ,•.,

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Conlendo SU eto a deeecnos de auter

Frame and Generic

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-

\ study into the changeable dwelling •

010 Publishers. Rotterdam 2006

Conlendo su to a deeechos oe autor

1 The issue s involved

Determ in ism or cha ngeability 17

From element to layer 26

Five layers. five frames 34

3 The relat ed d eve lo pment o f structure . s ki n and scene ry

4 The develo p ment of services a nd acce ss

Pipes and cables as liberators 109

T he access gains independence 121

Contendo su 10 a derecnos o, auter

S The frame and the changeable dwell in g

Big projects. big assemblies as frame 151

Compart me ntalization and base bu ilding 16;

6 Comb inat ions and d eli berat ions

Series of co mbina tions 20 1

Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de auter

Conlendo su to a deeechos oe autor

Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de auter

Conlendo su eto a deeecnos de autor

Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

A house from 182 0

.., lK1ion "",.iod.

Contendo su to a derecnos o, auter

Dwelling and th e permanent

Contendo su to a derecnos o, auter

Contendo su 10 a deescnos auter

Contendo su to a derecnos o, auter

Contendo su to a deescnos auter

Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

Frame create an d accommodate t he

10 l'r ,... ipl hh.. In h is d cscription he lll,lkcs a

From e lement to laye r

To explore th e effect o f t he fram e and its relat io n to the ge neric space we

Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

Lau giee's primitive hut

Darwi nian, is his so-called Stoffwechseltheorie (untranslatable; literally "the-

l oos and 'Bekle ldung'

Th e layers of Du ffy and Brand

A R F. NO P IPF,S . No to ilet, sink, wa sh basin s, hot water, co ld water, gas, electri -

Contendo su to a deescnos auter

Weighing up .111 these considerations, I arrived at a system of five 'layers:" Each

Frame and di sconnection

Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

Five layers , fiv e fram es

D Structure as frame: Am sterda m Wa rehouse

Contendo su to a deescnos auter

S< ho<> .~n , ~OIlYn"

S<ho<'ttn, "'. ....

"l Skin as frame: SUV A. Basle

I)I kn"tt & d~

I" lirrros &. <k

\. Scenery as frame: D.E. Shaw & Co

fno .......... M n qun

- postal service." To fi t th e req uisite 26 unit s

Conlendo su eto a derechos de auter

Contendo SU eto a derechos de auter

and OUIC'I dw8L

DO". O' ' '' I U_'"

The d evelopme nt o f the scenery into a self·s u ffi cie nt layer

4' E.£nr .,.. h <rn ·

concealed behind boards or painted over. "