2019 China Prize
The Influence of Megastructure Buildings on European Urban Space

Ideas about megastructure buildings have appeared frequently in the twentieth century and various grand theories and exaggerated concepts have come with it. In continental Europe, many architects and urban planners have designed various types of giant buildings. The original intention of these programs was to solve the problem of population density in the city or the disorder of the urban area. However, the realization of these megastructures has had such an impact on urban space in Europe. Do they really solve the original problem? How have they affected the past, today, and future?

This research explores the origin, development, and future of megastructure buildings based on practices in Europe and aims to understand how they have reshaped and influenced urban spaces. The final research results include a series of classification reports that explore the development models and influences of different types, scales, and functions of megastructure buildings. This comprehensive and objective evaluation can be used as a reference for contemporary urban construction and future development. Among many countries in Western Europe, I have chosen to travel to three of the most representative countries—the Netherlands, France, and Spain. They not only own the highest urbanization in Western Europe, but also are the most active places for architects to practice.

Introduction

The so-called megastructure usually refers to tall buildings or structures in traditional knowledge, such as the pyramids of ancient Egypt and the Great Wall of China. Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki originally added the “Mega-City” (megastructure) into the architectural vocabulary. As a member of the Metabolism movement, Fumihiko Maki first proposed the definition of “megastructure” in his Investigations in Collective Form. During the last phase of the industrial revolution, the rapid advancement of science and technology, combined with new ideologies, brought about the creation of megastructure buildings. A megastructure building is a kind of large-scale building, a mass-human scale form that includes a megaform and discrete, rapidly changing functional units that fit within the larger framework. It can also be reverse (as in Japanese Metabolism and Dutch structuralism). A megastructure can also be the result of an organic or geometric configuration of small-scale spatial or constructive units.

Definition and Features

There were a lot of ideas and projects about megastructures but in spite of this a clear definition was not given until 1964. Fumihiko Maki, one of the founders of the Japanese Metabolism Group, defined megastructure in his Investigation in Collective Form as: “A large frame in which all the functions of a city are housed. It has been made possible by present day technology. In a sense it is a man-made feature of the landscape. It is like the great hill on which Italian towns were built . . .” [1]

More and more people started to focus on the question: “What do megastructures really mean, for us, our lives and our cities?” Four years later than Fumihiko Maki, Ralph Wilcoxon defined the four key features of megastructures:

1. Constructed of modular units;
2. Capable of great or even “unlimited” extension;
3. A structural framework into which smaller structural units (for example, rooms, houses, or small buildings of other sorts) can be built—or even “plugged-in” or “clipped-on” after having been prefabricated elsewhere;
4. A structural framework expected to have a useful life much longer than that of the smaller unites which it might support. [2]

The definition given by Wilcoxon appears to be more comprehensive and precise. When it comes to the definition of megastructure, a lot of people may focus on the “mega,” but it means more than big. “Big” has become a common feature in the form that people can easily perceive. On the other hand, some features covered by the interior of the huge form are not so obvious. They are often more essential determinants. The megastructure is a complex building with multiple functions, large-scale, and standardized units while it can also be the result of an organic or geometric configuration of small-scale spatial or constructive units. I do not agree with Reyner Banham’s worries about megastructures as “a concept could absorb almost anything that could be stuffed into it—a grab-bag category containing anything that came to hand, so long as it was large.” [3] Megastructures pay attention to the overall whole of the internal spatial order and form texture, and do not need to highlight the performance of the structure. It seems more like a method to organize all different functions in a comprehensive system.

Buildings Visited in The Netherlands

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Amsterdam Central Station, Amsterdam
Eye Film Museum, Amsterdam
Silodam Residence, Amsterdam
Haarlemmerbuurt Pier, Amsterdam

National Archive, The Hague
The Hague Central Station, The Hague
Bezuidenhoutseweg 67 Office Building, The Hague
The Hague City Hall, The Hague

TU Delft AULA, Delft
TU Delft Library, Delft
TU Delft Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft

Rotterdam Central Station, Rotterdam
Groothandelsgebouw, Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam
De Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Cube Houses, Rotterdam
Markthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam
Timmerhuis, Rotterdam

Buildings Visited in France

Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris
Louvre Museum, Paris
Centre Pompidou, Paris
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Les Orgues de Flandre, Paris

Buildings Visited in Spain

Arenas de Barcelona, Barcelona
Encants Barcelona, Barcelona
Mercat de Santa Caterina, Barcelona
Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona
Sagrada Família, Barcelona
Torre Agbar Tower, Barcelona

Walden 7, Sant Just Desvern

Atocha Train Station, Madrid
Caixa Forum, Madrid
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid

Conclusion

Groothandelsgebouw is a megastructure in the traditional sense, that is, the initial stage of the design starts from the building volume, and its scale, function, construction method, social significance, and other characteristics all meet the definition of megastructure. The project Cube Houses, starting from a single small unit, continue to grow and superimpose under the control of the system and structure. Under the logic completely opposite to Groothandelsgebouw, another megastructure is finally formed. At this point, it is more like the Metabolism trend in Japan. It can be said that the two are different in terms of design concept, generation logic, and building type, but they all encountered the most common problems of megastructure architecture—too much pursuit of form and logic, and the loss of thinking and design of the most basic space. Megastructures are often easily reduced to a symbolic monument without regard to human scale. Therefore, this is also the problem that must be solved in the design of megastructures—How to combine large-scale space and small-scale space in the design, and use “dual scale” to design? The scale of each spatial element should be relatively uniform, between the separate parts, between parts and whole, and with the strive to be unified and coordinated on the overall scale.

However, these two megastructure buildings in Rotterdam, an extremely inclusive city, can be said to have used the advantages of megastructure concepts. In the process of urbanization, these two megastructure buildings have achieved their goals and resolved the problems that need to be solved at that time. In the later stage of use, some renovations have also been relatively smooth, and they still play their role in the city and still retain vitality in their neighborhood.

All in all, the megastructure has appeared very early in the history of human civilization, and its symbolic meaning is the most fundamental reason for its birth. Until the twentieth century, the rise of modernist architectural theory provided a theoretical basis for the imagination of megastructures, and the rapid progress of science and technology provided the feasibility of megastructures. In those eras when imagination and creativity sprang up, along with human's longing for utopian life and the pursuit of higher civilizations, the theory of megastructures continued to develop, and one after another, aggressive and bold proposals were constantly being proposed. Architects, planners, and theoretical scholars were constantly thinking about the larger city and the future. However, after 1960, some megastructure projects were completed all around the world, and some of the disadvantages of megastructures were gradually exposed. After fantastical imagination, people began to reflect on the feasibility of the megastructure and its adverse effects. And as people-oriented thinking gradually became mainstream, more and more architects started to pay attention to the relationship between human and architecture, space, materials, atmosphere, etc. These considerations of details also caused more and more people to criticize the megastructure. Therefore, after experiencing the golden age of the twentieth century, the trend of megastructure theory is gradually fading. Today, there seem to be fewer people still discussing megastructures. In the context of artificial intelligence, the explosion of information, and the pursuit of capital for profit, there is already too much at the material level, but our cities are increasingly lacking in spirit, humanity, and emotion. Our grand imagination of the future seems to have stalled, and those idealistic times are gone. The megastructure has not been able to be completely discussed, researched, and summarized by the academic community before it has gradually become the dust of history.

Karl Mannheim once stated: “Today's utopia is likely to become the reality of tomorrow, and various utopias are often just the truth of premature birth.” [4] In this day and age, perhaps we cannot just stop the imagination and exploration of megastructures. Constantly questioning, criticizing, updating, and improving the theory and practice of megastructures and megacities may be one of the best ways to explore the future living environment of mankind.

Notes

[1] Yao Dong, “Megastructure of 100,000,” Time Architecture, no. 3 (2011): 62–63.

[2] Fumihiko Maki, Investigation in Collective Form (Washington: Washington University School of Architecture, 1964), 8.

[3] Reyner Banham, Megastructure: Urban Futures of the Recent Past (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1981), 195.

[4] Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia (London: Intype London Ltd, 1929), 262.

The Netherlands

France and Spain