IS BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE A NEW STYLE OF DESIGN?

A LETTER TO A YOUNG ARCHITECT

Alexandros N. Tombazis
Meletitiki Alexandros N. Tombazis and Associates Architects Ltd.
27, Monemvasias str., GR-151 25 Polydroso Athens, Greece
meletitiki@hol.gr


ABSTRACT
The paper presents a series of thoughts on what architecture
is all about in the form of a letter from a grandpa
architect to young architects. The letter touches the subjects
of architecture, sustainability and energy efficient design,
learning from tradition, the relation of architecture to the
other arts, the use of technology and mechanical
installations, the holistic approach to design, the elements
of which architecture is composed, the constraints in
architectural design, the notion of less is beautiful and
many more, giving in this way some food for thought for
the younger generations.
1. INTRODUCTION
Dear Friend, dear Colleague,
I do believe that we all agree that architecture and
practicing architecture is one of the most complex
endeavours that one can be involved with, which means
that there are many many facets of it which one must
address. I have, however, today chosen to write to you
about one family of concerns only, which although so
important is unfortunately too often ignored, maybe
because it is less glamorous than some of the other
preoccupations of us architects.
These issues come with many family names which makes
things even more confusing. Thus it started being called
solar architecture and then maybe climatic design,
bioclimatic design, green architecture, energy conscious
design, sustainable design, eco-friendly design, eco-logical
design and so on and so forth. Some of these names I find
too restrictive, some even misleading, although many of
them are useful in conveying some part of the message. The
problem is, I believe, that they sort of try to convince us
that that kind of architecture is something different,
which of course to some extent it is, but in my mind at
least it is not. So please allow me to give no name and
just talk to you about architecture.
2. BODY OF PAPER
I am sure that you choose to devote your life to architecture
because you agree with what Confucius has so wonderfully
said: Look for an occupation that you like, and you will
not need to labour for a single day in your life.
I am also sure that you are not here for the money, because
if you are, the best you can do is to leave quickly before it
is too late.
I do wish however to tell you how I started to be
interested in these matters, because it sort of shows what I
today believe. I started because technology has always
interested me and back in the seventies I thought that solar
was some form of a new kind of (although so old)
0 INVITED PAPERS 125
technology. Of course I have come to learn that
technology, although important, is for sure not the driving
force of these matters.
Remember that in Architecture you cannot just pick and
choose what interests or suits you, but you should approach
design in a holistic way, drawing strength and inspiration
from all the elements of which it is composed, as for
example:
-History/Culture
-Social considerations
-Symbolism
-Function
-Place
-Sustainability/Energy considerations
-Climate
-Laws of physics
-Time
-Cost/Benefit
Remember that, in composition, everything is happening at
the same time, just as the separate components relate to one
another in a jigsaw puzzle.
Remember that in Architecture you cannot simply switch
on or switch off. Every move you make has consequences,
in the same way as do the moves in a game of chess.
Remember that Architecture is all about the synthesis of art
and technique. Luis Barragan wrote something very
beautiful: if there are many equally valid technical
solutions to a problem the one which offers the user a
message of beauty and emotion, that one is architecture.
Throughout your life you will have to learn to live and
work with a split personality.
Remember that technology cannot and should not be a
substitute but rather an important support to rational and
creative thinking. Technical issues should not intimidate
you, otherwise you will always be frightened by them and
they will never be able to serve you.
Remember not to be carried away by new inventions. You
should learn about and make good use of them. However,
never use them as a substitute or as an excuse for forgetting
the basics of what has preceded. Inventions should offer us
an added value and should not take away from what already
exists. Only you and not they can solve each and every
problem.
Remember to think of services and mechanical installations
only as back-up systems to buildings. They should not take
over the building itself. Indeed, they should speak only
when spoken to and when asked to speak!
Remember that building, which is what Architecture is all
about, means injuring our planet. So, be gentle, tread lightly,
for we have only one of its kind. Buckminster Fuller called
it Our Spaceship Earth a beautiful metaphor.
Remember that, although we are trained (and paid!) and
strive to build, we should, as far as possible, consider the
debate, paraphrasing Shakespeare, to build, or not to build:
that is the question.
Remember that Architecture should be all about inheriting
from the past and passing on to future generations a better
life and environment than those we started with.
But why should environmental issues be an important part
of our architectural concerns? Is it because we have to save
our planet, is it our obligation, is it because we can save
energy and money in running our buildings? Of course yes,
and for many other reasons too, such as increased comfort,
reduced pollution etc. But for one more and most important
reason, because I believe that there is an inner beauty in
thinking and designing in this manner.
I wish to speak to you about the evolution of the notion that
Less is Beautiful. In the time and works of Mies van der
Rohe it was said that Less is more.
Robert Venturi followed up with Less is a bore.
And E. F. Schumacher with Small is beautiful.
I wish to suggest that Less is beautiful in the sense that
we are concerned and responsible to choose what is
necessary, neither too little nor too much, but just what is
appropriate from every point of view, more than anything
else from the point of view of concept.
Remember the issue of economy of means. It all depends
on your objectives. Act accordingly, always choosing the
Proceedings of ISES Solar World Congress 2007: Solar Energy and Human Settlement
126
most direct path. Larger, more complex and more costly
does not necessarily mean better very often it is the
opposite.
Remember to make climate your friend and not your enemy.
After all, it is much stronger than you are and can be very
vengeful. Designing with and not against climate is
something much deeper than simply saving energy and
respecting the environment, even though these factors, one
must admit, are important enough on their own.
You who have grown up in the world of your own Personal
Computer, much as I did in the time of handwriting and
hand-drawing, should remember another version of the
initials PC, that of Place and Climate. They always
go hand in hand, and are very much part of Architecture.
Come to understand the importance of place or topos, as we
say in Greek.
Remember to sense and feel the particular qualities and
values of each place. These should get under your skin and
should be your starting-point of design, whether they are to
do with the natural or the man-made environment. Listen
well to all the sounds before you make any decisions.
Consider the real design constraints as the starting blocks
and not the stumbling blocks of design. Since there cannot
be any design that is not the result of constraints, beware of
inventing your own fictitious ones, which would be
irrelevant and meaningless.
Come to learn and respect the basic theory and laws of
physics. They govern Architecture as much as they govern
our lives. Structure, mechanical and electrical installations,
acoustics and many other issues result from them.
It has been said that engineers are that species of animals
that knows more and more about less and less, until
knowing everything about nothing. Conversely, architects
are those animals that come to know less and less about
more and more, until they know nothing about everything.
Or, in other words, engineers are specialists, while
architects are generalists.
Remember that buildings are living organisms with
ever-changing needs. They are not the same during daytime
as at night, in summer as in winter. They need to breathe, to
perspire, to take off or put on clothing, to communicate
with their surroundings. They are just as alive as you and I.
The only thing they do not have is a voice to shout back to
their creator how stupid he has been, or legs to run away to
a safe place to protect themselves from where he has
condemned them to suffer.
Remember that foresight prior to the event, instead of
heavy doses of medicine when perhaps it is already too late,
makes both more sense and beauty. We too often rely on the
services engineers to act as surgeons, putting right all the
stupid mistakes that we have made in the first place. I find
that both a pity and a waste of their and our capabilities.
Remember that in Architecture you must know when to
stop, in the same way as a barber must, otherwise ...
Remember not to be seduced only by form at the expense
of everything else. Although form is the reason for being of
Architecture, it cannot be devoid of content, because then
one could speak about a dictatorship of form.
I recently read a saying which I found beautiful and very
much to the point. Form swallows function. I believe that
this goes much further than just the issue of function.
It really means that form has to be the result of many, very
many considerations and cannot only be a result of
aesthetics and our own egotism.
Remember that, contrary to what too often is the case, it is
very important that we architects approach our work with a
good dose of humility and a smaller dose of vanity and
egotism. Although it is understandable that artists have
some degree of egotism, without which they could not be
creators, we should remember that we architects do not
create only for ourselves. Remember that to the different
-isms that already exist in Art and Architecture and
already there exist enough you need not add one more of
your own, your own egotism.
We too often know the price but not the value of the things
we deal with.
Remember, too, that in Architecture, there is usually more
than one solution. And more than one way of getting there.
0 INVITED PAPERS 127
Learn that one can design from the inside out, which we
usually do, in which case the outside is the negative,
left-over space. But one can also design from the outside
inwards, in which case the inside, the building itself, can
be seen as the left-over space. This way of thinking is
sometimes a great help, giving you a new and creative
way of perceiving space. After all, what are the
elevations of buildings that surround a square? Are they
elevations of the buildings themselves, or elevations of
the square?
Remember that the beautiful interface of transitional spaces
has also to do, amongst other things, with time, and has a
lot to offer Architecture. One cannot always move directly
from white to black, light to dark, from inside to outside.
Intermediary shades are very often of the utmost
importance, from both the functional and the bioclimatic
point of view.
Remember that, usually, where there exist unlimited means,
very often there exist limited brains, and conversely, where
there exist limited means, there exist unlimited brains. It is
up to you to make your choice and act accordingly. Do not
complain if others have more at their disposal than you
have: make up for the lack by contributing ingenuity and
creativity.
Remember to understand the value and significance of
scale. In Architecture, scale defines nearly everything: it is
far more than just multiplying any given quantity n times.
Each scale has its own identity, needs and problems.
Remember that, although Architecture is in essence
sculpture, it is also much more.
Architecture is sculpture plus function, and then it is
sculpture plus function plus climate. I believe that only
when it incorporates these three elements, can we truly
say that it is Architecture. This is because, in principle,
sculpture can exist without serving a function, while
Architecture always incorporates the notion of function.
Within certain limits one can move sculpture from place
to place, but if you do so in the realm of Architecture, it
will be a different object because of differences in
climate.
Remember that, in addition to the visible, there are many
hidden dimensions in Architecture. Make use of them.
Learn to feel, hear, smell and taste just as much as you see
with your eyes. Time, air and many other aspects are all
hidden dimensions to be understood and made use of in
architectural design. In fact it is a very good exercise if,
during the course of your design, you step back and take a
moment to reflect on how your design relates to each
hidden dimension separately, and, of course, at the same
time, to all of them together, because that is how it works in
reality.
Remember that apertures, openings, solids and voids are
the language of which Architecture is made. They are not
merely elements of decoration or fashion, but elements of
such significance that, without them, Architecture cannot
exist. Think of them and use them as tools, in the same way
as does every craftsman.
Remember that balance and proportions are just as
important, maybe even more so, than quantity. Balance is a
matter of refinement and satisfaction; it is often critical to
the successful creation or ruin of your design.
Remember that in Architecture sound, shape and volume
are inseparable elements. It is easy to perceive shape or
volume, but sound is more difficult to define. They are,
however, siblings, created by the same parents. We
architects should speak about the shape of sound.
Remember that light is the soul of Architecture. Use it to
mould space from both inside and out. Hundreds of
quotations by famous architects exist glorifying the
importance of light. I consider light as the true poetry of
Architecture and ones preoccupation with it, a true love
affair.
Remember that the skin of buildings should function in just
as beautiful and rich a way as the skins of plants, animals
or human beings. We have to think of it in this way, a much
more profound way than just skin deep.
Remember that each material has its own properties and
requirements. Apart from practicalities, they serve so many
other important functions, too. Just as with human beings,
they must be able to coexist and work together.
Think of surfaces and textures as elements of a much
Proceedings of ISES Solar World Congress 2007: Solar Energy and Human Settlement
128
higher importance and value than mere decoration.
Smoothness, roughness, reflectivity, absorption, hue, etc.,
apart from aesthetics, are of high psychological and
environmental importance. They are the inseparable
partners of light and sound.
And one more thing: remember to act like a giraffe. Keep
your feet sturdily on the ground, your head, brains and
vision high in the air, and your heart somewhere in between.
You will need these three precepts all your life.