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CriticalArchitecture
BetweenCultureand Form
15
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K. Michael Hays
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K. Michael Hays
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The criticalarchitecture I
ofMies vanderRohe
Among the principalproblemsthe
intellectualfacedin the firsthalfof
the twentiethcenturywas theacute
The problemforthe intellectual,then,
was how to oppose thisdebilitating L?
dismay,but firsthow to revealit-how
anxietythatderivedfromthechaotic to providea cognitivemechanismwith
metropolitan experience.In theessay whichto registerthe intensechanges
<<TheMetropolisand MentalLife,>> continuallyexperiencedin themodern
the sociologistand philosopherGeorg city.Many of thecentury'searlyartistic
Simmeldescribedthisconditionas <the experiments, fromthe woodcutsof
intensification of nervousstimulation,, EdvardMunch to the novelsof
resultingfromthe <the rapidcrowding FranzKafka,maybe seenas attemptsto
Edvard Munch
of changingimages,the sharp articulatethe abject despairof the
-The Scream,,
discontinuity in thegraspof a single individualcaughtby impersonal
1895
glance, and the unexpectedness of and incomprehensible forces.The
onrushingimpressions.These are the reklamearchitektur(advertising
psychologicalconditionswhichthe architecture)of Eric Mendelsohnand the
metropoliscreates.,, The typical factoriesof Hans Poelzig made manifest,
consequenceof this nervenleben, as ifto pin down and contemplate,the
accordingto Simmel,is a blase dynamism,the contradictions, and
attitude-a bluntingof discrimination, the disjuncturesin the processesand
an indifference to value, a languid reasoningof commerceand industry.On
collectivity.<<Inthisphenomenonthe the otherhand Dada's ferociousnihilism .-
1..
...
nervesfindin the refusalto reactto was an explicitattemptto demonstrate
theirstimulationthe last possibilityof the futilityof conventionalmodesof
accommodatingto the contentsand reasoningin thefaceof thechaoticcity.
formsof metropolitanlife. The self- As JeanArp put it, <<Dada wishedto
preservation of certainpersonalitiesis destroythe hoaxesof reasonand to
bought at the priceof devaluatingthe discoveran unreasonedorder.>>5And
wholeobjectiveworld,a devaluation Mondriannamedthe cityitselfas the
whichin the end unavoidablydrags ultimateformtowardwhichde Stijl
one's own personalitydown intoa tended. <<ThegenuinelyModernartist
feelingof the same worthlessness.,>> sees the metropolisas Abstractliving
convertedinto form;it is nearerto
him thannature.>>6 It is againstthis
metropolitanpredicamentthatthe early
workofMies vanderRoheshouldbe seen.
Eric Mendelsohn
Schocken
E?e
Department Store
Stuttgart
1926-29
K. Michael Hays
18
,Friedrichstrasse>
lithograph
1918
"~ L-~ f
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`r,
i.1
`;k
9 i! c
A~
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K. Michael Hays
19
This solicitationofexperienceis
intrinsicto the meaningofthework;it
servesto identifyand individuatethe
workitselfas an eventhavingsensuous
particularityand temporalduration,
bothof whichare infrangible to its
for
capacity producing and conveying
meaning.Nevertheless,Mies's
skyscraper projectis not conciliatory to
thecircumstances of its context.It is a
criticalinterpretationof its worldly
situation.
K. MichaelHays
20
I4,,
Berlin-he seems to have diverted his
efforts.These projectsabstainfrom
any dialogue with the physical
-u
particularitiesof theircontexts;as
peremptorily demonstrated in the
the
drawings, glass-walled blocks could
be reproducedon anysite withno
significant manipulationof theirform.
Though each buildingunit has been
adapted to the shape and size of its own
..''' Mies van der Rohe
lot (forexample,the Alexanderplatz ..
;;;
Alexanderplatzproject
project),the relentlesssamenessof the
unitsand theirundifferentiated order 1928
theprimarylocus of meaningis i?
MiesvanderRohe
Alexanderplatz
project
collage
1928
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K. Michael Hays
21
K. Michael Hays
22
MIR..--..
WAWAMUMEM .
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, ..... r. * ....
' -mo-w-
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9
GermanPavilion
in Barcelona
interior
?'
. . ..
GermanPavilion
in Barcelona
interior
?'-??
.. .ij
~3i'?: .',? ..... ... ,,,
......... ] .
.. . .. .. . ... .. - ,
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. ..
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K. Michael Hays
23
differentpartsofdisparatematerials:
the travertinepavementand walls
surrounding largepool, themarble
the
walls facingthe court,tintedglass
diaphragms,the onyxslab and light
wall, the chromiumcolumnsand !
glazing bars. The relationshipsamong
thesepartsare in constantfluxas one
movesthroughthe building. Because
thereis no conceptualcenterto organize .. ..,.:
: ? .-.
.
. ..
.
is total. It4 I
space Any transcendent orderof N. .,.,?"
i
space and time thatwould confer an ,'r
.i ,
.
i
K. Michael Hays
24
0000"
own formalstructures, it cannotbe
apprehendedonlyformally.Nor does it
simplyrepresent a preexistingreality.
The architectural realitytakesits place
alongsidethe real world, explicitly
sharingtemporaland spatialconditions
of thatworld,but obstructingtheir
absoluteauthoritywithan alternative
of material,technical,and theoretical
precision.A participantin theworld
and yetdisjunctivewith it, the
BarcelonaPaviliontearsa cleftin the
mm,.. continuoussurfaceof reality.
ir
..,.I
?
?f
.X
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, .,ii
".
r* it t 66
to
if.. a d, e
-ij Mies van der Robe GeorgeKolbe
GermanPavilion <Dancer*
in Barcelona GermanPavilion
1929 in Barcelona
drawingof 1929
interior
b c
GermanPavilion
in Barcelona
interior
1)
K. Michael Hays
25
i s
points added In
clarity. 1929 Max Ernst
publishedhis pictorialnovel,La Femme
Ioo Thtes (The HundredHeadless
=a=__
Woman), a purelymetropolitan
inspirationcomprisinga seriesof
collagesmade fromscenesgatheredfrom
._.
--...
popularnineteenth-century illustrated
books and magazinesonto whichErnst
graftedobjectsor occupantsforeignto
them.What resultsin such collages
as <<Tous les vendredis,les Titans
parcourront nos buanderie> (Every
Friday,the Titans will invadeour
laundry)is a laconicdisplayof
two incommensurable experiences
interlockedacrossthesurfaceof the
work.Like Ernst,Mies was able to see
his constructions as theplace in which
the motivated,the planned,and the
rationalare broughttogetherwiththe
contingent,the unpredictable,and the
inexplicable.This visionpersistedeven
in Mies's laterworks.The campusof
IIT, forexample,can be construedas a
redistribution of some of thedesign
strategies of the Alexanderplatzproject
and the BarcelonaPavilion-a subtle
graftingof an alternativerealityonto
the chaos of Chicago'sSouthSide.
Irar
Irv? top
10 0
Mies van der Rohe
I to"
Illinois Institute of
K. Michael Hays
26
Fromthe skyscraper projectof 1922 One crucialissue remainsunclear: But what,then,is the responsibility of
to the BarcelonaPavilion,Mies's whatis thepreciserealmof theoretical architectural criticismor of critical
architectural programwas a persistent interestin a criticalarchitecture? How historiography? Is it to teachand to
rewriting of a few themes. Beginning does one define or demarcate the spatial disseminate information about the
witha set of arbitrary propositions, or temporal interval that is the focus of monuments of culture? Is it to deliver
Mies rationalizedhis initialchoiceof a criticalexaminationof architecture? technicalinsightsand opinionsabout
themesby demonstrating the rangeof This discussionofMies suggeststhat the capabilitiesof the architector the
theirapplicability.He reusedthemin the realmof interestis in thedistance formof the building?Or is it, as has
changingcircumstances; he modified establishedbetweenarchitecture and been suggestedhere,to concentrate on
and refinedthemovertime. This sortof thatwhichis otherthanarchitecture. the intrinsicconditionsthroughwhich
repetitionrendersthe issueoforiginsor architecture is made possible?In order
one
firstcauses unproblematic, arbitrary No singlebuilding-neither the most to know all we can about architecture
cantus firmus being imitated and repeated distinguished nor the most pedestrian- we must be able to understandeach
its
so manytimesas to lose primacy. can reflect a preexistent cultural reality instance of architecture, not as a passive
withperfectfidelity.To theextentthat agentof culturein its dominant
Though the beginningof his authorship a workis architecture, it differs ideological,institutional,and historical
is arbitrary, repetitiondemonstrates qualitatively both from a representation forms,noras a detached,disinfected
the consistency ofMies's authorial of realityand from a reduplicationof object. Ratherwe mustunderstandit
motivation;it establishesthe other cultural activities. But the as activelyand continuallyoccupying
constancyof his intent.A persistently difference carries ideologicalmotivation; a culturalplace-as an architectural
rearticulated intentaccumulates it producesknowledgebothabout intentionwithascertainablepolitical
knowledge-morespecificand more culture and about architecture. It should and intellectualconsequences.Criticism
to
be possible recognize both the means delimits a fieldofvalues withinwhich
precise-ofthegeneralarchitectural
by whicharchitecture maintains its architecture can developcultural
programand allows thegrowthof that
knowledgeaccordingto its own special distancefromall that is outside knowledge.
beginningsand conventionsrather architecture and the conditionsthat
thanaccordingto thosederivedfrom permitthe existenceof thatdistance. Architectural criticismand critical
somepriorauthority.Mies does not historiography are activitiescontinuous
accepta preexistingframeof The kindof theoreticalstudysuggested with architectural design; bothcriticism
reference; he represents neitheran heredoes not assumetheprior existence and design are forms of knowledge.If
authoritative culturenoran of unchangingprinciplesfor criticalarchitectural designis resistant
authoritative formalsystem. interpreting architecture. Instead what and oppositional, then architectural
is assumedis a specificsituationfrom criticism-asactivityand knowledge-
Repetition thus demonstrates how which came the decision to make should be openlycontentiousand
architecture can resist,ratherthan architecture. This meansthateach oppositional,as well. We mustseek
reflect,an externalculturalreality.In architectural object places restraints alternatives to entrenched modesof
thisway authorshipachievesa resistant upon interpretation, not becausethe operationand canonicalforms.We must
authority-an abilityto initiate or situation is hidden within the object as striveto investcriticaldiscoursewith
developculturalknowledgewhose a puzzle, but ratherbecausecontingent somethingmorethancompensatory,
is
absoluteauthority radically nil but and worldlycircumstances existat the appreciativereflections or methodsof
whosecontingentauthority quite is a same level of surface particularity as the formal analysis for objects whose
persuasive,iftransitory, alternative to object itself. Interpretive inquiry lies in culturalmeaning is thought to be
thedominantculture.Authorshipcan an irreducibly architectural realm undecidable.It is preciselythe
resisttheauthorityof culture,stand betweenthoseconditionsthatseem to responsibility ofcriticismthatthis
againstthegenerality of habit and the generate or enable the architect's culturalmeaning be continually
of nostalgicmemory, and intention to make architecture and those decided.
particularity
still have a verypreciseintention. formsin whichthe intentionis
transcribed. 3
K. Michael Hays
27
;~~X:lc
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- \~"li-d
a
-)i-
'z:
a
e
I have benefitedfrom the
questions and criticisms
of RISD studentswho
participated in
my seminar,
<<Interpretations
of
;:1 Modern Architecture,
,
where many of the ideas
presented here were
~?
formulated; and from
the responsesof
colleagues who read
K. M. H.
~I
i;
?"';
: rx*.-~ "
1~"
~;?? a~;~
ir
Mies van der Rohe
t
Minerals and Research
~tt. Building, IIT
1939
K. Michael Hays
28
I 2 3 4 8 12
By culture, as I shall use The historicismof this The unfortunate Metropolisand Mies's well-known StanfordAnderson uses
,The
the termhere, I position has been oversimplification, Mental Life, friendship with the phrase <<winning of
understand a conceptual criticized by numerous packaging, and (English translation of the Dadaists reality, to emphasize the
unity comprising, authors, mostnotably consumptionof Colin Grosstadt und das Kurt Schwittersand reciprocitybetween an
,Die
on the one hand, Stanford Anderson, Rowe's <<collage city* Hans Richterand his object, its creation, and
Geistesleben,
thosetheoreticaland Colin Rowe, and David approach by various Dresden 903) in collaboration with the its interpretation.The
practical systemswhich Watkin. Watkin uses a epigones is indicative of Sociologyof editorsof support phrase captures the
,The <G,
authorize, promote,or Popperian argument theprevalence of this Georg Simmel, this reading of the 1922 notion that the
constrain the production against historicism attitude. Though Rowe Kurt H. Wolff, skyscraper.The understanding ofa
and use of ideas and without noting could not be fittedeasily trans. and ed. implications of Mies's building unfoldsand
objectsand by which a Anderson's earlier study into the architecture-as- New York, Free Press affiliationwith the may change in time.
societyor a place <Architecture and autonomous-formmould, 1950 P415 Dadaists have yet to be See Anderson,
Thus, it is in the Pevsner's <Sources ... <History,> sofar as we Piet Mondrian Walter Benjamin Intention
,Beginnings,
purview of culture that in are aware, relates to oDe Stiflf in <Reflections, and
,Arts Bulletin, Method,
the production of vol. 53 Sept. 1971 concatenationof events EdmundJephcott,trans. Baltimore
architectureis overseen PP274-275. and their stylistic 7 New York, Harcourt John Hopkins University
from above by a I shall not rehearsethese profile.In the Rosalind Krauss makes Brace Jovanovich Press 1975
dominant systemof criticismshere. For a framework of this a distinction between 1978 p243
values saturating recentdiscussion of discussion it can only what she calls analytic
downward, and interpretationsthat interestus verylittle; or narrative time-in II
generated or validated at emphasize the and, if we are interested which the viewer can Johnson p 94
its base by normative object's origins in the usefulnessof grasp the a priori Also see Mies's
standards ofpractice see S. Anderson particular morphologies, transcendentstructureof disavowal of
and methodologieswhich Presentnessof we are correspondingly the object-and real de Stijl in Peter Blake
,A
may themselvesbecome Interpretationand of unconcernedwith the time-in which the ,A Conversation
cultural agents. Artifacts:Toward a provenance of specific viewer encountersform with
Mies,
Historyfor the Duration models.* open to change and in <Four Great Makers
and Change of Fred Koetterand circumstance. The of Architecture*
in Colin Rowe developmentof each in G. M. Kallman, ed.
Artifacts,
wHistoryin, of, and <<The Crisis of the Object: modernsculpture is New York
K. Michael Hays
29