| Title |
A Study on the Dematerial Expressive Properties of Outer Skin in Contemporary Architecture |
| Keywords |
time ; vibrant-plate ; active-plate ; tactility ; active-neutral envelope ; expression |
| Abstract |
Since the 1980s, architects have experimented on the inclusion of time and space in surface plates of their works. The expressive tendencies of outer skin in rectangular systems, pioneered by Jean Nouvel in his use of plates that change color along its movement, have now become a common feature in contemporary architecture through the works of mid-northern European architects. Shall we read this as a new adaptation of Semper's principle of cladding, or is it an extension of the expressive qualities of Mies's exterior envelope? Seeking an alternative solution to the rather dry skins of Corbusian modernism, architects of the following era, through high-tech, structuralism and symbolism, committed the error of indulging in the pure qualities of form and concepts. Inspired by the trials of continuous dematerial Fine Art from the 1960s to the '80s, architects have generated a new definition of cladding as 'active-neutral skin' and have tried out its positivist applications.
Analyzing the recent experiments in the expressive qualities of exterior skin from the works of Nouvel, Dominique Perrault, Wiel Arets and Herzog & de Meuron in their use of materials, methods of construction and visual effects, it can be argued that the new skin is inclusive of time, and has autonomic, constant and tactile formal features. Based on their immaterial vocabularies -movement, time and objectivity- these could be characterized as vibrant- or active-plates. |