1984 Master of Architecture
The Architecture of Iron and Steel

The purpose of this study is to explore in depth the development of a particular aspect of building technology—the use of iron and steel. Through this study, I hope to gain a greater sensibility for these materials, their properties, and potentialities.

Throughout my architectural education, the curriculums through which I have proceeded have always shared a common deficiency, one which I suspect is common to the vast majority of architectural· schools today. While theory, history, and design philosophy have always been stressed, the consideration of building technology, the materials and techniques through which these ideas must manifest themselves has for the most part been pushed aside.

The opportunity which the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Foundation has given me to participate in their Traveling Fellowships competition has led me to formulate a program of study, the implementation of which, I believe, would serve a dual purpose. Not only would this opportunity serve as a major step, leading to the culmination of my academic career, but as a beginning step in the development of a solid base of knowledge and experience from which to begin my career as a practitioner.

Defining building technology in simple terms, as the way in which materials are used and labor is organized, I currently see it more as a means than as an expressive end. I am fascinated by the use of industrialized materials and methods—particularly the use of iron and steel. Not only do they reflect our society, but they are usually the most practical way to build in our age of high costs, low skills and rigid time constraints.

Through the tutelage of my thesis advisor, Mr. Henry Cobb, I have come to an understanding that certain practical truths exist today in the practice of building. Although these “truths,” which deal with the logic of structure, enclosure, materials, and other systems are not that which make a building architecture, it is the relationship between design intentions and technology which intrigues me. I believe that it is in the knowledgeable consideration of these “truths” and the economic and labor-related pressures of our day and their synthesis with an architectural idea that one can come closest to creating an architecture of today. Although architects will always work within the context that happens to coincide with their own interests, it is the architect whose efforts are reinforced by the ideas of the present who will be most successful.

At the same time, the visual possibilities inherent in the use of iron and steel as architectural elements excite me as well. This study would attempt to explore how, over the past two centuries, the use of these materials and their connected technology has informed the physical presence of buildings, being either expressed or suppressed or merely accommodated in order to achieve a desired image. In doing so, this study would examine the relationship between the creation of a building image, with its inherent meanings, and the societal attitudes and parameters from which it was born. The evolution of iron and steel technology is particularly intriguing to me because of the vastly different ways in which it has expressed itself over its short life span, presenting itself in a strictly utilitarian manner, as a form of architectural art, and even as a representative of the architecture of the future.

Project Parameters

This project will focus upon the development of iron and steel as building materials in Western Europe, beginning at the birthplace of this phenomenon—Abraham Darby's lronbridge (1777) at Coalbrookdale, England—and culminating at Piano and Rogers' Pompidou Center (1977) in Paris. Although I would propose that any Foundation-funded travel would be restricted to this area, one of my major concerns along the lines of historical research would be how information concerning this new mode of technology was transmitted and transformed as it crossed the Atlantic to the United States; in particular, the Chicago School and the development of the skyscraper through the use of the steel skeleton frame—a true American building type.

Method of Study

The examination of this topic of study would be carried out in a case study method, through the in-depth analysis of a selected number of buildings and structures. In each case consideration will be given to a variety of concerns, including:

1. A study of the theoretical work being performed at the time, or having previously been done by the architect, his contemporaries or predecessors, which might have influenced the work. Among these would be the work of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Louis Sullivan, Le Corbusier, and others.
2. A study of the relationship between the use of iron and steel technology and the formal design intention. This question would explore the determinacy imposed by the technology upon both form and image in relation to the extent of its use.
3. A study of the building’s plans, sections, and elevations to determine the extent of any spatial implications brought about by the use of iron and steel. Included in this would be a study of the effects of this mode of technology upon the quality of light, air, and the relationship of form to function.
4. A study of the development of new building and structural types which came about in conjunction with the development of iron and steel as a direct effect of this development or due to the new needs of society. Examples would include: bridges, warehouses, wintergardens, and railroad stations.
5. A study of large scale details. Of particular interest would be the treatment of the detail, whether as a utilitarian condition or possibly as ornament, and the relationship between iron and steel and other building materials where a mixed-use occurs.

Itinerary

Below I have listed, in order, the countries which I would plan to visit, along with buildings and structures which I have chosen as possible case study subjects.

England

Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, 1777, Darby
Menai Straits Bridges, Wales, 1818-46, Telford
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Clifton, 1831, Brunel
Kew Gardens, Palm House, Surrey, 1844, Burton
Oxford University Museum, Oxford, 1853, Deane and Woodward
Leicester University Engineering Building, Leicester, 1959, Stirling and Gowan

Belgium

Maison du Peuple, Brussels, 1897, Horta
Tassel House, Brussels, 1892, Horta
Galleries Saint Hubert, Brussels, 1846, Cluysenaar

Netherlands

Stock Exchange, Amsterdam, 1898, Berlage
Van Nelle Factory, Amsterdam, 1927, Brinkman and Van der Vlugt
Railway Station, Amsterdam, 1889, Cuijfers

Germany

AEG Factories, Berlin, 1907–14, Behrens
Fagus Factory, Berlin, 1911, Gropious and Meyer
Schoken Department Store, Stuttgart, 1926, Mendelsohn
National Gallery, Berlin, 1962, Mies van der Rohe

Austria

Karlsplatz City Railway Station, Vienna, 1898, Wagner
Post Office Savings Bank, Vienna, 1905, Wagner

France

Jardin des Plantes, Paris, 1833, de Flory
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 1843, Labrouste
Bibliotheque St. Genevieve, Paris, 1855, Labrouste
Metro Entrances, Paris, 1895, Guimard
Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1887, Eiffel
Viaduct d’Austerlitz, Paris, 1903, Formige
Galleries Lafayette Department Store, Paris, 1906, Chedane
Office Building of the French National Railways, Paris, 1908, Gouny
Maison de Verre, Paris, 1928, Chareau
Pompidou Center, Paris, 1977, Piano and Rogers