"Architecture is not an experience whose meaning may be fully translated into other media. Like poem, its very presence is that which constitutes the means and end of the experience."
Alberto Perez-Gomez
The objective of this dissertation is to exam...
"Architecture is not an experience whose meaning may be fully translated into other media. Like poem, its very presence is that which constitutes the means and end of the experience."
Alberto Perez-Gomez
The objective of this dissertation is to examine the meaning of the repetition of forms in Louis I. Kahn’s architecture both in relation to his principle of "space formation" and in broader artistic and philosophical contexts. Numerous scholars have studied Kahn’s architecture with various perspectives since Vincent Scully first started in the 1960s. Some scholars have approached it mainly from phenomenological perspective which was based on Ontology starting from M. Heidegger to M. Merleau-Ponty. This phenomenological perspective has dominated the discussion around the meaning of Kahn's use of repetitive forms. Scholars have employed structuralist method of H. Klotz. Others embraced deconstructivist view of Michael Benedik. These various approaches seem to result from the "meaning-generating space" in Kahn's architecture. His architecture has often been described as "poetic architecture" because of the "meaning-generating space" found in his architecture. Kahn's work was produced within a specific cultural and social context of the 1960s, yet it resists periodical classification and categorization. Scholars have attempted to interpret Kahn's work with a single perspective, which is limiting the profound meaning of his work. This dissertation does not intend to examine Kahn’s architecture using a single perspective. Rather, focusing on the characterizing aspect of Kahn's work, which resists any categorization, it will encompass various approaches in examining the meanings of the ‘repetition of forms’ in Kahn’s architecture. By focusing on the fluid and profound nature of his work which allows for the crossing of the periodical boundaries, this dissertation will shed light on the artistic and philosophical meaning of his architecture.
Kahn's idea of the "repetition of forms" began to form during his study at the Beaux-Arts. Beaux-Arts architecture taught that each part in plan should be treated as an independent element and that it should be turned into a form through autonomous process. This architectural methodology based on efficiency and economy came into place by J. N. L. Durand who was in charge of education in the school. In addition to the architectural education at the Beaux-Arts, Kahn's work was also influenced by modernism. He often used geometric elements in his experimentation with the structure and the technique in the modern architecture. In the early 1950s, influenced by B. Fuller and A. Tyng, Kahn focused on the space frame or cell-based geometric features. It was the in the 1960s when the repetition of forms was first used in the Dutch structural architecture. Architects began to use the repetitive space in reaction to modernist architecture which pursued a single completed form. They attempted to identify ‘archetype’ that could allow for individual interpretation in the collective patterns. Kahn’s work showed the repetitive forms with geometric elements that were divided in small units. Due to this segmented features, Kahn’s architecture is classified as structuralist architecture. However, the structuralist perspective focuses merely on the visual aspects of his work.
Kahn began to break away from the cell-based repetition as he shaped his philosophy of "form as an essence." To express ‘form’ in its essence which did not have any dimension or shape, Kahn selected pure geometric forms such as circle, triangle, and square which were the diagrams in his work. In particular, he put priority on the form of square, and it was because it could express his thinking on ‘non-objectivity’ and ‘room.’ Kahn’s geometric experiments on plan were clearly distinctive from the modernist architecture during the period. Kahn's experiments with geometric elements developed into various forms and the geometric repetitive forms divided into small units marked his work since the 1950s. During this period, his work showed repeating diagrams in each individual project. This dissertation is to take a more extensive approach on the meaning of form repetition that is shown in space, not just in the plan, by introducing the concept of ‘repetition’ in philosophy and art.
In philosophy, the positive concept of repetition was introduced in the post-structuralism. "Repetition" in modernism was the one based on the "sameness", while the concept of repetition"in the post-modernism contains a nihilistic element. However, Post-structuralist J. Deleuze introduced the concept of repetition that acknowledges "differences." Deleuze viewed all that exist as changeable and that they were ‘generating all the time’ through the repetition of differences, not just existing at all times. Therefore, his concept of repetition was not based on the repetition as tautology but the ‘repetition that generates differences’ which creates a crucial change in the existing idea of repetition. Using Deleuze's idea of "repetition of differences" as the conceptual framework, this dissertation will focus on the expanding the meaning of Kahn’s repetition of forms, in particular, in relation to the experiences in the repetition in space. Deleuze's concept of the repetition has three aspects: the superficial repetition, the radical repetition, and the ontological repetition which is the 'resonance' of first two repetitions. The experience of architectural space can be explained with these three repetitions. The structure of repetitive shape or the image of elevation is considered a superficial repetition that is static, while the repetition that creates dynamic movement is described as the radical repetition. The ontological repetition is produced from the combination of the first two repetitions. The architectural space consists of the repetitive structure allows for the viewer's spatial experience based on his/her own will rather than that of the architect. This spatial experience resembles that of labyrinth space which allows for the viewer's own creation of the space. The concept of ‘labyrinth’ space was introduced by Dutch structuralist architects who sought for a space of multiple meanings. The concept of 'labyrinth' space was further extended to Deleuze's idea of "virtuality" which is based on the continuous generation of space.
Pop art and Minimalist art, which rebelled against the predominant Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s, actively embraced the method of repetition. Andy Warhol's photographic work featured a repetition of images from popular culture. Donald Judd's Minimalist work consists of repetitive units. This method of repetition found in Pop and Minimalist art is not a tautological repetition. It is "generative repetition" in that it expands the meaning of the work. Rosalind Krauss viewed the repetition in the postmodern era as originality of avant-garde art, which declared a complete break away from the previous modern art. This technique of mechanical repetition in postmodern art rejects the rational and relational composition in modern art as well as the representation of meaning produced by the formal relationships.
Like Minimalist art, Kahn's work based on a reduction of architectural mass into geometric cubic or rectangular prism shows
mechanical repetition and non relational composition found in Minimalism. In this sense, Kahn's work focusing on the concept of "generative repetition" is closely related to the artistic method of Minimalism.
Examining Kahn's work with a focus on the concept of "repetition of differences" produces several key points for the understanding of his work. First, the gap between units becomes a grid and the grids extend with seriality based on unit plan. Second, "the finding the way" in the space of repetitive structure requires bodily experience, which can be called a "labyrinthian spatial experience". The labyrinth space amplifies the viewer's sensation and experience and creates multiple sensation rather than a single visual sensation which in turn produces an ultimate architectural spatial experience. When the repetitive space is translated into a photo, the repetition of various scenes that show very subtle differences is observed. These scenes with subtle differences suggested a various spatial experience. The repetitive vault and regular structures found in Kahn's work generate various meanings according to the varying environments. Third, the repetitive masses in Kanh's work contains a seriality which consists of main spatial units, the connecting space, and the servant space that has mechanical space and stair hall. In his work, the repetitive main unit is a cube or a rectangular prism, which is described as the 'superficial repetition' as suggested by Deleuze. The connecting space and the servant space are dynamic space which creates movements. These spaces can be explained as the 'radical repetition'. The 'ontological repetition' which is made of resonance of first two repetitions produces the diversity of space.
In conclusion, my study on the meaning of ‘repetition of forms’ in Kahn’s architecture was to regard his architecture as a text. It attempts to prove that the repetition of forms in Kahn's work is not just visual expression but that it allows for various interpretations, enabling an indefinite extension of its meaning. This dissertation thus aims to provideanother possible interpretation of Kahn’s architecture which drew upon deeply philosophical ideas.