| Title |
A Study on Semper's Theory “Dressing”and a Contemporary Example - Applied to the Exterior Walls of the Institut du Monde Arabe by Jean Nouvel |
| Keywords |
Dressing ; Semper ; Textile ; Wall ; Nouvel |
| Abstract |
This paper attempted to examine Gottfried Semper's theory “dressing (Bekleidung)” and its aspects including the effectiveness and the limitation of the theory by analyzing the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) by Jean Nouvel for an example. For this aim, this study was divided into two parts: the first part regarding the theory of dressing, which included the concepts of tectonics, and textile, the theory of dressing itself, and the contemporary interpretations of the theory; the second part regarding Nouvel's IMA, which consisted of the study of the IMA's curtain-wall systems, the analysis of the IMA's exterior walls in terms of Semper's theory of dressing, and the examination of the effectiveness and the limitation of the theory. The IMA was chosen as an example of Semper's dressing theory among contemporary architecture, in that it revealed such characteristics as the "Wand" walls, spatial monumentality, textile ornamentation, dematerialized effects produced by elaborate craftsmanship, and spatial sensation in a structural-symbolic sense. Besides exposing the characteristics of Semperian dressing, the IMA evokes multiple effects of light and spatial dynamism. |