2004 Master of Architecture
Early Twentieth Century Pioneers in Reinforced Concrete

The initial urge to study early twentieth-century pioneers in reinforced concrete was motivated by the extreme elegance of the geometry employed to derive complex surfaces, and by its ability to synthesize constructability with a multiplicity of performances. Virtually every country has something to offer in terms of the evolution of reinforced concrete construction. France, Spain, and Switzerland produced key figures in the development and evolution of reinforced concrete. In each country, specific internal and external factors lead to rapid innovation and techniques with the new plastic material.

French concrete pioneers include François Hennebique, Auguste Perret, Le Corbusier, Eugène Freyssinet, and Nicolas Esquillan. Prior to World War II, concrete work was becoming highly refined as a utopian symbol of the progress of modernism exhibited in the early villas of Le Corbusier and structures of Perret. The “five points” of a new architecture were based entirely on optimism for the new opportunities that were provided by the material. Postwar, the material became a symbol of rebuilding of not only bombed buildings and infrastructure, but also institutions including the headquarters such as UNESCO in Paris. In Spain, the work of Eduardo Torroja and Miguel Fisac attest to the challenges of building in a country torn by civil war, including depletion of resources and isolation. Concrete offered a lean, affordable construction material and a quick means of construction as the economy rebounded. In Barcelona, Gaudí uses unprecedented geometrical combinations to synthesize all components of his projects from structure to ornament through complex geometrical principals that would anticipate the ruled surface geometry realized in reinforced concrete to complete the Sagrada Familia over one hundred years later. In Switzerland, works by Robert Maillart in reinforced concrete offered a quick, less expensive means for a new infrastructure to link the topographically rich country.

Modernism and Concrete

Even though the technical innovations are extremely important, in the context of traveling as an architect it was important to understand how integral concrete was to the evolution of modernism and the twentieth century in each country. New media heightened the awareness of architecture as an emblem of change and advancements. As governments, institutions, corporations, and individuals reformed, emerged, and capitalized on rebirth, concrete was the building material of choice to embody these new models. It was the universal symbol of progress.

A variety of discourses came to motivate many different configurations in this new plastic material: infrastructure is reduced to thin eloquent lightweight shells and streamline bridges in the works of Freyssinet, Torroja, and Maillart; Rudolf Steiner distinguishes the Second Goetheanum through nonstandard sculptural expressionism; Le Corbusier initiates an entirely new standard modular in concrete and bases his five points of a new architecture on the new possibilities concrete offered, and Miguel Fisac resolves multiple performances through innovative profiles and then later frees concrete from its rigidity with flexible formwork.

Patrons commission not only building projects, but also engage a new political discourse. This is apparent in the UNESCO world headquarters, where major architects specializing in reinforced concrete were chosen from three nationalities to design a headquarters for rebuilding and strengthening prewar institutions such as education. Le Corbusier was chosen to rebuild Ronchamp specifically because of his mastery of reinforced concrete as a new postwar image for the pilgrimage destination. Miguel Fisac was chosen to design IBM headquarters in Spain as a symbol of new progress in computation.

Context

What became obvious, especially country to country, was the lineage of master builders and their influence on one another. For example, in Paris it is critical to understand and see the innovation at Hennebique to understand the early apartments of Perret. His utilization of the Hennebique system on a large scale starts to anticipate the free plan that his one-time employee Le Corbusier later made famous. From this lineage, Le Corbusier’s five points are a natural evolution. Even within one individual body of work, the evolutionary dialogue translates and evolves ideas through the material. The prewar optimism of early villas of Le Corbusier shift to the unintentional beginning of Brutalism visible in the rougher, postwar Béton brut concrete of Unité d’Habitation and La Tourette. This is equally true in Spain. One cannot fully understand the work of Enric Miralles without knowing the layout of Barcelona and the architects who have influenced its culture including Antoni Gaudí. No doubt a similar dialogue exists between the work of Fisac and Torroja in Madrid.

Correlations

The trip also revealed unanticipated relationships. In many projects, the solid monolithic characteristic of the concrete could not be divorced from the delicate, transparent detailing of the curtain wall. Emblematic of this is the role of Jean Prouvé in the CNIT, Communist Headquarters in Paris, and the Unité d’Habitation. Prouvé, a French industrial designer, was the ideal candidate for designing thin, transparent assemblies to enclose and complement the monolithic concrete structures. This mechanized approach plays out most convincingly in the steel and glass curtain wall at the Maison de Verre designed by Pierre Chareau. Even though it does not showcase reinforced concrete, Le Corbusier is directly influenced by the Maison when faced with the challenge of designing his own glass curtain wall at Immeuble Molitor.

There was an obvious disparity between efforts to preserve the reinforced concrete masterpieces of architecture verse those that were applied toward engineering or infrastructural projects. The majority of the works of Perret, Le Corbusier, Fisac, and Gaudí were in excellent to decent shape and were easily accessible. When it came to infrastructural projects by Freyssinet, Maillart, and Torroja, less attention was paid in terms of preservation and most were not viewed or seen as having the ability to draw tourists. Many times the importance of these projects was unknown to the local society that inhabited and used them every day. Perhaps it is the ubiquitous nature of concrete, the utilitarian nature of infrastructural projects, and the often-brutal appearance that makes these pioneering works distinguishable and appreciable only to the discerning eye. Such is the case with the Freyssinet Austerlitz Parcel Service building in Paris, these remaining pioneering infrastructural works are hardly recognizable as the same project in the photographs of their construction.

Relevance

Although the majority of the work visited was not contemporary, it has renewed relevance today in relationship to computation in architecture. In particular, the equation-based geometry is relevant as architects become more comfortable using programming languages to manage and build geometry. Equations are inherently parametric and the constructible logic of the linear surface is easily translatable. Mathematics is the basis of this geometry and programming. Computational techniques have enabled new accessibility to what was once extremely laborious with analog techniques. The continuing construction of the Sagrada Familia using these new computational techniques is the most transparent evolution of these principles. Through computation, designers are expanding the possibilities and complexity of the rigorous early pioneering surface logic.

The concrete work pursued in this itinerary is designed by extraordinarily gifted designers and showcases the optimism of their generation with this material. Ease of construction and relative inexpensiveness of concrete was often deployed with less design consideration and by less skilled individuals. As the concrete slab typology became deployed so relentlessly, it shifted to also symbolize generic, low-budget, poorly constructed and detailed, modernist projects that threatened the loss of individuality and cultural identity. In particular, the later work of Miguel Fisac and his development of flexible formwork as well as the organicism of Gérard Grandval offer an early critique of this. It is possible to speculate that these critical projects anticipate a new optimistic direction for parametric variation and algorithmic formations in concrete.

Fellow Experience

The fellowship was an extremely important transition from graduate school to the profession. The knowledge that I gained through traveling continues to inform my research, teaching, and practice.