The Modernist Filter – Fieldnotes

Illustration of South Norwood Library by Nicholas Macey

I was asked by the editor of B. B, Esq. – ‘The thinking man’s guide to the city. A resource for gentlemen with personality, style and a sense of adventure’ – to write the inaugural Fieldnotes column. The Modernist Filter describes the architecture that has been formative in my development as a Modernist. Beautifully illustrated by a former student of the Foundation course at Colchester School of Art, Nicholas Macey, this new online guide is full of promise and will be a popular addition to my browser’s bookmarks.

Filed under: Architecture

Designs for a 21st Century Pylon

A RIBA, National Grid and Department of Energy and Climate change funded competition to design a 21st century Pylon has been won by Danish architects Bystrup with their understated ‘T-Pylon’.

‘T-Pylon’ the winning design by Danish architects Bystrup

The Pylon Design Competition launched in May this year and the six short-listed designs were exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in September as part of the 2011 London Design Festival.

The short-listed models on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum presented viewers with the scale of the design problem

Our increasing appetite for energy is resulting in the need for more pylons and underground cables. This makes sense, however, questions surrounding the need for a new pylon design were left unanswered in the exhibition, only now with the announcement of the winner, and the publication of a press release have these questions been answered, albeit vaguely.

In 1993 the Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel wrote: ‘These discreet constructions – neither too much or too little – with arms that elegantly support the cables and lead onwards towards the horizon, appear to determine precisely the huge movements as if they were a choreography for electricity’.

Crouwel’s commentary relates to existing variations based on the original 1928 pylon design by the American Milliken Brothers, overseen by the British architect Sir Reginald Blomfield. Equally Crouwel’s description can be applied to Bystrup’s winning design, and it appears that one Modernist solution has been reconfigured into another Modernist solution.

Ironically the V&A is currently showing Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 to 1990, could it be argued that the Pylon Design Competition is re-presenting our post- postmodern culture? T-Pylon is a mere restyling of form containing the essence of the original, this essence being a basic geometric shape – the triangle – which provides continuity between the steel lattice-work of the Blomfield variations we currently live with and the T-Pylon prototype.

To complicate matters further, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has thrown in some adjectives that call into question the clarity of the competition brief, he says:

“This is an innovative design which is simple, classical and practical. Its ingenious structure also means that it will be much shorter and smaller than existing pylons and therefore less intrusive. This competition has been a great success in bringing forward new and creative approaches to a pylon model which has not changed since the 1920s.

We are going to need a lot more pylons over the next few years to connect new energy to our homes and businesses and it is important that we do this is in the most beautiful way possible.”

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne at the V&A with the winning T-Pylon maquette

The use of the words: innovative; simple; classical; practical; ingenious and beautiful are hazardous as they are open to interpretation. If the design objectives had simply asked for the structures to have less impact on the environment or use less material in their construction, we would have solid criteria on which to judge, aesthetics are problematic as one persons likes are another’s dislike.

This subjective dilemma is exemplified by the existence of the subcultural Pylon Appreciation Society who’s members are cheerleaders for Blomfields varients. And let’s not forget the work of German artists Bernd and Hilla Becher who’s photographic typologies of industrial buildings and structures provoke us into questioning our critical faculties in determining what is aesthetically pleasing.

In fact the competition is a reminder of a debate that raged in the graphic design profession after the publication of Steven Heller’s 1993 article The Cult of the Ugly, who’s subtitle reads: “Designers used to stand for beauty and order. Now beauty is passé and ugliness is smart. How did we get here and is there any way out?”. The ability to define and objectively articulate what makes a design visually appealing is determined by variables that warrant a critical vocabulary other than employing the ugly, beautiful dichotomy.

There’s an aggravating postmodern undercurrent to this modernist value-laden competition, where imposing man-made structures in the natural environment has political and social ramifications. T-Pylon is a step in the right direction (given that the designers were asked to ground themselves in reality), but is it an innovative or a radical departure from what we have now? Not really.

The spirit of this consciousness-raising competition can be found in the the plurality of crowning a winner: “As a result of this contest National Grid will now work with Bystrup to develop their T-Pylon design further. National Grid have also said they want to do further work with Ian Ritchie Associates on their Silhouette design, and New Town Studio’s Totem design. It appears that the judging panel are also not convinced the winning solution – at this stage – is necessarily the right solution.

Filed under: Architecture

Berlin vacation

On my recent vacation to the wonderful city of Berlin I visited two museums which couldn’t be more contrasting in their design and contents. First the Bauhaus Archive: Museum of Design‘ is a late work of Walter Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus. It was planned in 1964 for Darmstadt and was built 1976-79 in modified form in Berlin’ (archive website). As a design educator and writer it was an inspiring place to spend a few hours viewing work by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and one of my favourite architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Students of art, design and architecture should visit this at least once. One minor criticism, the visual communication is inconsistent, captions for work and information panels vary in their quality and typographic detailing, this is disappointing given that the architecture and the exhibits communicate detail, consistency and potency.

Bauhaus Archive entrance

Bauhaus Archive, architect Walter Gropius. Opened 1976

The Topology of Terror museum does not suffer from any inconsistencies and is a remarkable experience. Unlike the Bauhaus archive which promotes creation, craft and optimism, the Topology of Terror documents destruction, annihilation and genocide. The museum stands on the site of the Gestapo headquarters, the Nazi’s secret state police. The site is flanked on one side by the remains of the Berlin Wall – a monument in its own right – that is accompanied by an open-air exhibition.

The museum building (housing the permanent exhibition, library and conference rooms), and the rocky landscape in which it sits, is the result of a design competition launched in 2005 and was completed in May 2010. It is functional, grey, light in structure but heavy in atmosphere. Once inside the visitor is enveloped in an experience which is a contrast between architectural delight, and an overwhelming sadness for what the building represents.

The permanent exhibition is precisely and elegantly designed by Ulm-based studio Braun Engels Gestaltung. Comprising a mixture of hanging graphic panels and interactive displays the visitor is guided through a maze-like tour in almost total silence. The climate controlled building occasionally interrupts the monastic peace with a sinister mechanical sound of the automatic opening and closing of ventilation windows.

This museum is not for the faint hearted, the photographic depiction of Nazi brutality is presented without any censorship, and like the architectural meshes, grills and glass, a sense of openness and transparency is generated by the exhibition, history laid bare and as fact, it was a sobering experience.

Topology of Terror, architect Ursula Wilms and landscape architect Heinz W. Hallmann

Topology of Terror, architect Ursula Wilms and landscape architect Heinz W. Hallmann

Filed under: Architecture

James Stirling: Notes from the Archive

Today I met Sarah Handleman at Tate Britain. Sarah wanted to interview me about my zine ‘The Everyday Experiment‘. Before the interview we wandered around the James Sterling exhibition, this description from Tate’s website sets the scene:

‘It is eighteen years since James Stirling’s death, and he is long due a retrospective exhibition. Given his close association with Tate, in the form of the Clore Gallery and Tate Liverpool, Tate Britain is an especially appropriate place to review his work. This exhibition, curated by the renowned architectural writer Anthony Vidler, draws on the Stirling archive held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. It will be presented in the Clore Gallery, designed by Stirling and opened in 1987. Unfashionable at the time, it, like its designer, is the subject of renewed interest and appreciation. The exhibition will cover the whole of Stirling’s career, from the iconic Engineering Building of 1959 at Leicester University through to the late 1990s, including built and unbuilt projects, drawings, photographs and furniture.’

Sarah and I were inspired by Sterling’s plans, models and drawings and photographs. The muted colour scheme supporting the exhibits allowed them to breathe and provided a sense of calm and thoughtful contemplation. The small but constant amount of visitors were mostly male, suited and generally over 40 years old, suggesting that the academic nature of the collection was never going to bring in a family audience.

James Stirling, A House From The Architect. Photo: Canadian Centre for Architecture

Impressive as his work is, I am not a fan of his later post-modern work, in fact it was Sterling’s student projects that particularly appealed to Sarah and I. One of my favourite pieces in the show was A House From The Architect (above), probably because it is raised on Le Corbusier style piloties.

The first time I was introduced to Sterling’s work was via Geoff White who told me an anecdote about the building of the ‘old’ Ravensbourne College in Chislehurst:

Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, Chislehurst, 1976. Architect: Robert Matthews under the direction of Bromley Borough Architect, Aneurin John. Photo: Andrew Slatter, 2005

Architect Robert Matthews used red brick to fill in the spaces between the steel columns and the glazing. This followed the style of Sterling’s Engineering Faculty building at the University of Leicester:

Engineering Faculty building, University of Leicester, 1963 (with James Gowan). Photo: Quintin Lake.

The head of the graphic design department at Ravensbourne in the 1970s was Peter Werner. Geoff told me that Peter was not convinced that the red brick was suitable and would stand out too much, so he suggested to Matthews that he use grey brick. Werner’s request was refused, Geoff says that Matthews was adamant that red brick be used. When you compare Matthews’ and Sterling’s buildings you can see the way the sunlight renders the red brick luminescent, and I recall this effect when I first visited Ravensbourne in April 1993, and it created a lasting impression.

I departed this retrospective exhibition with mixed feelings, maybe because I was enamored by the beauty of the drawings, and execution of the models, but the buildings themselves polarise, they can be applauded for their inventiveness and tendency towards being maverick, however Sterling’s post modern pursuits will always leave me bereft of enthusiasm.

Filed under: Architecture

Cristian Zuzunaga and Kvadrat: the power of the pixel

Cityscape fabric for Kvadrat by Cristian Zuzunaga

‘I want to challenge the idea of the Burberry check’

‘I look rough today’ says designer Cristian Zuzunaga as I take his photo. I’m thinking the opposite and immediately I say empathetically that I feel the same about myself. Although we are both feeling a little off-colour at this breakfast press launch, Zuzunaga’s designs and our surroundings are the perfect tonic to lift our spirits.

This new range of colourful pixelated designs for the Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat are as captivating and playful as their designer is when explaining them. Zuzunaga’s designs communicate a love of modernism through the application of rudimentary right-angled geometric shapes that form their own architectural quality. Zuzunaga says he ‘grew up with post-modernism but when I discovered modernism through graphic design I thought wow.’

This Barcelona-born designer has skillfully married the warmth and colour of the Iberian peninsular with the cooler climate of Denmark, the home to Kvadrat – the textiles manufacture of choice for many architects and designers. The printed curtain fabrics represent the man-made cityscapes of Barcelona, New York and especially Shanghai where the adornment of buildings with LED screens have become commonplace and represent ‘fragments of our time’ according to Zuzunaga.

Educated in graphic design at the London College of Communication and the Royal College of Art, Zuzunaga has skillfully demonstrated his multi-disciplinary approach by applying basic design elements of colour, shape and line to textiles. In a collaboration with design consultancy Digital Tea, visitors to the showroom were greeted with a spectacular series of moving images based on Zuzunaga’s architectural-inspired designs.

Cristian Zuzunaga at the Kvadrat showroom, London

Kvadrat stands alongside Louis Poulsen and Fritz Hansen as international exponents of the Danish design ethos. Kvadrat’s confidence in their product and the way it is communicated is reinforced through controlled brand management by Peter Saville of Factory Records fame. Saville’s recommendation for architect David Adjaye to design Kvadrat’s showroom on the fringe of Shoreditch illustrates the level of investment Danish brands like Kvadrat place in design to add value to their businesses.

Adjaye has removed part of the Victorian warehouse floor to create a staircase down to the basement. The resulting atrium hints at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, and provides the necessary height required to hang meters of back-lit curtain fabric designed by Zuzunaga. The coloured glass panels that form the bannister are Saville’s homage to the pixelated squares on the Power Corruption and Lies album cover he designed for New Order.

Graphic design, architecture, interior and textile design all converge in Kvadrat’s design emporium where – to use Zuzunaga’s words – design becomes a ‘playful interpretation of reality’.

Fire, Cristian Zuzunaga for Kvadrat

This article was written for the London Design Festival Blog

Filed under: Architecture