From paper to house. Small experimental architecture

FROM PAPER TO HOUSE: SMALL EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURES Lola O olini Depa men o A chi ec u e and U ban S udies, Poli ecnico di Milano (ITALY) In oduc ion “A no ice is he pe son who app oaches, o he i s ime, a ce ain ype o ac i i y in ela ion o which public opinion is o g ea impo ance.”1 As a lec u e in A chi ec u e o unde g adua e s uden s, I ha e o en e lec ed upon he meaning o ‘eso dio’, he I alian wo d o ‘begin’, which means s a , debu bu also, acco ding o i s e ymology ( he La in exo di i), “ o begin o wea e.” In ou case, beginning o wea e he ab ic o expe ise and knowledge, on which he h eads o he s uc u ed s i ches o expe ience will hen be emb oide ed. In gene al, he beginning is “ he depa u e”, “ he beginning o o he hings”2 and, om he eaching poin o iew, dealing wi h his speci ic phase ep esen s an in e es ing challenge. We ha e he oppo uni y o in oducing s uden s o hei u u e p o ession, di ec ing hem owa ds he opics ha in e es hem he mos and o e ing hem conc e e possibili ies o expe imen a ion. These conside a ions led o he eaching and esea ch p ojec “One Man Li ing” which, i on he one hand in oduces s uden s o he undamen al opic o a chi ec u e, ha o li ing (in i s meaning o minimal dwelling) on he o he , i o e s hem he chance o expe imen i “p ac ically” h ough c ea ing, in eal li e, a small space o one pe son o li e in. The easons The opic o li ing, as p oposed o he i s -yea s uden s, is aken in i s mos gene al meaning: he inhabi ed space is no conside ed only as a domes ic place, bu as a space whe e man li es and whe e he pe o ms speci ic ac ions, one o mul iple, alone o in e ac ing wi h o he s. This allows ex ending he ield o in es iga ion and ansmi ing he p ojec ’s sense o non-unambigui y o he p ojec . I is a pa icula ly opical subjec and can include new u gencies and hema ic ideas, as i is closely connec ed o he economic ci cums ances o he his o ical momen ; he con igu a ion o inhabi ed space is he “mi o ” o he changes o places and beha iou . Today, o example, we design no only o build om new, bu we eckon wi h exis ing spaces, his o ically conno ed and e hough o accommoda e new unc ions mo eo e spaces a e designed paying g ea a en ion o sus ainabili y, in e ening in eme gency si ua ions, using new ma e ials and so on. The “ways o li ing” ha e changed: people mo e, people li e “ empo a ily”, amily geog aphies change, new places, p e iously conside ed ma ginal o no e y a ac i e, a e colonized… The p ojec o li ing, in sho , opens up o newe and newe issues which in ol e he whole social sphe e and o e s ideas o u he s udy and in e ac ion wi h o he disciplines. F om he eaching poin o iew, i is also a opic sui able o he debu o young a chi ec s, as i can be di ec ly expe imen ed by hem: he house is he space we li e in, which can be measu ed in eal li e, in which he hypo heses o wo k can be e i ied. The a ea conce ned can be measu ed, he ma gins de ining i and he objec s i con ains can be analysed, he space necessa y o man o enjoy i and o his mo emen s can be e i ied, bu , abo e all, he heme o small li ing space can s imula e he s uden s o seek, in an ‘o iginal’, way p ojec solu ions ha a e no s e eo yped. In 1959 Le Co busie asked a young s uden : “How do you make a doo ? How big? Whe e do you pu i ? How do you make a window? Bu , inciden ally, wha is a window o ? Do you eally know why hey make windows? I so, you will be able o explain o me why a window is a ched, squa e o ec angula . I wan easons o ha , and would add: Think ha d: do we need any windows a all o-day? In wha pa o a oom do you make a doo ?... Pe haps you ha e se e al solu ions. You a e igh , he e a e se e al solu ions, and each one gi es a sepa a e a chi ec u al sensa ion. You see- hese di e ences o solu ion a e he e y basis o a chi ec u e. Acco ding o he way you en e a oom and acco ding o he posi ion o he doo in he wall, you ge a pa icula imp ession, and he wall which you pie ce akes on pa icula cha ac e is ics. You eel you ha e disco e ed a chi ec u e. […] Now y sol ing one o he mos in ica e o all con empo a y p oblems: he minimum house.”3 In o de o be able o conc e ely c ea e he p ojec , we decided o in e p e he mo e gene al opic om a pa icula poin o iew, ha o he “small scale”. A minimal home is no synonymous wi h a lesse home no he esul o a design simpli ica ion. I con ains a complex geog aphy o ac i i y and ela ions, o in e sec ed spaces and di e si ied needs, o be able o be unde s ood as a “condense ” o opics and design oppo uni ies. Abo e all, o a s uden in he i s ew yea s, i is o e ed as an oppo uni y o acqui e he p ojec - de elopmen ins umen s necessa y o any kind o wo k, on wha e e scale; as an oppo uni y o deal wi h a limi ed numbe o a iables, p ope o e e y a chi ec onic objec : unc ional, dis ibu i e, s uc u al, ela ed o he ins alla ions, mo phological and psychological; las ly, as an oppo uni y o in oduce he a iable o “ ime” as a design opic, hinking o lexible, e en empo a y a chi ec u es. By small s eps, owa ds building The design o he small space o li e in, which will hen be p oduced, is p eceded by some p elimina y exe cises, bo h o he analy ical and o he empi ical-p ojec -de elopmen ype: a his o ical esea ch on iconic small a chi ec u es and some ex- empo e p ac ical exe cises. On he one hand, he e is he objec i e o cons uc ing a cul u al con ex o e e ence which con ibu es o c ea ing ha epe oi e o knowledge and images which is an indispensable ins umen o he nex expe iences o he p ojec . On he o he , his is based on he con ic ion ha i is igh o b ing he s uden s immedia ely ace o ace wi h hei u u e ac i i y, h ough some b ie design exe cises du ing which hey can gain con idence wi h space, i s modula ions and he elemen s h ough which i can be modi ied (ligh , bounda ies, dimensions, ma e ials, colou s…). The analy ical and esea ch wo k p oposes he s udy o some small mode n and con empo a y a chi ec u es, h ough an in es iga ion o he da a and p oblems ha con ibu e o hei inal con igu a ion. F om a documen a y and in o ma i e app oach o he wo k o i s designe and o he his o ical-cul u al con ex in which i is placed, he a chi ec u e is edesigned and subjec ed o “disman ling”. I s o ma i e elemen s a e in e p e ed: space (dimension, dis ibu ion, unc ion), s uc u e, ho izon al and e ical bounda ies (walls, loo s, ceilings, connec ing elemen s), ligh (na u al and a i icial), ma e ials and colou s, ixed and mobile equipmen ; o make a h ee-dimensional model which es o es i in i s spa ial ela ions wi h he su ounding a ea. The se o all he wo ks aims o ace a hypo he ical e olu ion o li ing and o build up an a las o e e ences, use ul o subsequen design exe cises. Fig 1,2. Analy ic exe cise Pape Long House, Shige u Ban, 1995, Giappone. Tu bulence House, S e en Holl, 2005, USA. As a as he sho design exe cises a e conce ned, which we call ex- empo e due o hei cha ac e o a b ie du a ion and ins inc i e app oach o he opic, hese a e some e lec ions a ound he key wo d o he a chi ec u e p ojec . “Ex Tempo e” comes om he same La in exp ession which indica es he s a o he ac ion in he p ecise momen o he p oposal. They a e as exe cises, wi hou p io p epa a ion, which wan o ecei e a esh and spon aneous esponse, wi hou condi ionings. They ask ques ions, o e ideas and a e an oppo uni y o e lec ion and close app oach o unknown opics seen o he i s ime. The a ious ex- empo e ac i i ies include: “Folding A chi ec u e” in which he s uden s we e asked o design a h ee-dimensional space s a ing om a whi e ca d in A3 o ma . Th ough con olling he olds, he cu s and he cu ing o he ca d, hey cons uc ed he model o an a chi ec onic space ha is inhabi able, designed in ela ion o he human igu e and which can be measu ed in ela ion o i . S uden s could choose he scale and had o e i y he p opo ions. Fig 3,4,5. Folding A chi ec u e O he “Ligh ing box”, in which he e lec ion conce ned he key wo d “ligh ” and p oposed c ea ing a space, once again designed in ela ion o he human igu e and measu able in ela ion o i , wi h ligh going h ough i . The s uden s ecei ed a small whi e ca dboa d box measu ing 20x10x10 cm. and we e asked o design he ligh o i . I could be zeni hal, la e al, di used, e lec ed o spo . They chose he o igin and me hods o di usion o he ligh , hey made holes o cu he box ans o ming i in o an inhabi able space li acco ding o hei pu poses. Fig 6. Ligh ing box The e was also “Spaces in a box” whe e, s a ing om a small pa allelepiped ca dboa d box, unde s ood as a egula s e eome ic space inhabi able by one pe son, hey designed i s modi ica ions and al e a ions. They added walls, lowe ed ceilings, made di e ences o heigh , elimina ed pa allelisms and ga e new dimensions, in oduced colou and di e en ex u es. They c ea ed hei “Space in a box” o one pe son, played ou on he senso y expe ience o a non- con en ional space. A e hese, o he exe cises o gain con idence wi h space and i s a ibu es, cons uing i physically, e en hough in scale and beginning o use he a chi ec ’s ools. F om pape o house: he inal p ojec Speaking o he singula i y o a chi ec u e, E o e So ass said: “A chi ec u e is inhabi ed, while a is looked a ; his is a undamen al di e ence. A chi ec u e is a physical and senso y expe ience because you go inside i .” 4 We wan ou s uden s “ o go inside”, o p ac ise i , o go h ough i and no only ha … ha hey p oduce i as well. This way, a e he b ie p epa a o y exe cises, on pape and wi h pape , on an un eal scale, we gi e hem he chance o do hei i s eal p ojec , o expe imen , in sho , he whole cycle o an a chi ec u e. The wo k is o ganized in di e en phases; he con ac is s uc u ed on he basis o a call o en ies p oposed by a g oup o lec u e s. In o de o simula e eali y as closely as possible I includes he de ini ion o a clien , he p esc ip ion o dimensional equisi es, o he use o a speci ic s uc u al ma e ial, o limi ed economic esou ces and o d y building sys ems. The s uden s a e in i ed o design a minimum space o one pe son (hence he i le “One man li ing”) wi h di e en pu poses, as an eme gency uni , as he i s housing o immig an s and he homeless, as homes o singles, as s udios o a is s, as shel e s, e c... O e he yea s, a ious building ma e ials ha e been expe imen ed, which all ha e in common ha hey a e inexpensi e, ecyclable, p oduced indus ially and can be d y assembled. In pa icula , he ollowing ha e been used: ca dboa d, wood (USB panel), p e-pie ced aluminium p o iles (no mally used in wa ehouse shel ing) and PVC ubes (no mally used in plumbing ins alla ions). As in a eal a chi ec u e compe i ion, a ju y made up o ex e nal p o essionals (a chi ec s, lec u e s, pho og aphe s, designe s…) selec s he “winne ” om he nume ous pa icipan s: he minimal a chi ec u e, which as well as mee ing he equi emen s o he call o en ies, is able o exp ess i s own design poe ics and he bes syn hesis o composi ion. Fig 7,8. Ju y a wo k All he p ojec s a e hen s udied and de eloped in de ail, h ough inal d awings; he winne is ewa ded wi h he p ac ical ealiza ion as a eal, one o one scale, p o o ype. In his phase, all he s uden s o he labo a o y, wi h he help o lec u e s and u o s, a e engaged in a week o wo kshops. The esul , displayed on he Campus, is he One Man Li ing exhibi ion, wi h he p ojec s o he cu en yea and he cons uc ion o he selec ed p o o ype. Fig 9,10. S uden s a wo k Fig 11-15. Some o he ealized p o o ypes Re e ences 1 G. De o o, G. C. Oli (edi o s), Il Diziona io della lingua i aliana, Flo ence/I aly: Ed. Le Monnie , 1995. 2 AA.VV., T eccani 2014. Diziona io della lingua i aliana, Flo ence/I aly, Ed. Giun i Scuola, 2013. 3 Le Co busie , Le Co busie alks wi h s uden s, New Yo k/USA, P ince on A chi ec u al P ess, 1999, pp. 86-87. 4 D. Du a, M. In i i, E. Milia, M. Pi ola (edi o s), Maes i del Design, Milan/I aly, B uno Mondado i edi o e, 2005.