| Title |
A Study on Autonomous Architecture Through Comparing Peter Eisenman and Valerio Olgiati |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2022.38.3.167 |
| Keywords |
Autonomous Architecture; Peter Eisenman; Valerio Olgiati; Autonomy; Internal Logic |
| Abstract |
Autonomous architecture focuses on the system of formal elements that are essential in architecture. Both Peter Eisenman and Valerio Olgiati
treat the physical and functional elements in architecture such as columns, slabs, walls as the basic materials in architectural design; the
architectural idea, or internal logic of design, governs the shape and the arrangement of elements. Both architects refuse to adopt
extra-architectural discourses as it relates to social, economic, and political approaches. Even if arguments in philosophy and art are
accommodated, they are retranslated into architectural rhetoric where formal and spatial analysis override historical or theoretical ideas. Here
are the differences between the two architects: Peter Eisenman pursues the completeness of the formalistic system of the project itself
whereas the existential sense-making experience of the beholder that provokes the imagination and metaphysical thinking is of paramount
importance to Valerio Olgiati. Peter Eisenman produces architectural meaning by adding or duplicating unfunctional, but still fundamental
elements; and the axonometric format that shows the process of transformation of architectural elements is preferred. However, Valerio Olgiati
designs buildings by dividing one entity with one idea, and the design process is concealed to intrigue the beholders. Plans, sections, and
elevations stimulate the intellectual imagination, and realistic renderings with a poetic atmosphere are favored. Lastly, Peter Eisenman is
relatively indifferent to physical buildings since his true architecture is already completed in the drawings. But Valerio Olgiati concentrates on
the physicality and construction since it determines the success of the project. Their approaches of reserving the architectural territory by
concentrating on the essential aspects of architecture makes one question the way of doing architecture in practice and within academia in
today’s ever-changing world. |