3 – 2018

Bones architecture

Now we are extending this theme somewhat further with current buildings in which the equation between structure and space has been convincingly solved. Above and beyond the recording of these buildings two further aspects are characteristic. One is the structure itself which, with increasing virtuosity, is today being made to speak—the buzz term here is “tectonics”— and the second is a kind of cautious classicism which, without exception, resonates in all the buildings presented. For us both of these are combined in the term “skin and bones architecture”, which is generally attributed to Mies van der Rohe but which in terms of a history of ideas originated in the 19th century. We see the widespread way in which powerful structures are today consciously displayed as an architectural response to imagined or indeed factual signs of disintegration in architecture. Increasing specialisation in the profession and the differentiation of various constructional functions can be countered by means of synthetic, “consolidating” aims in building. Here the load-bearing structure, preferably made of concrete, is the organising authority that ensures the “architecturalness” of architecture, as it were, far removed from any discussion with regard to references or images. Similarly, the “poetry of the load-bearing structure” has the ability to become a style in architecture and it would certainly not be wrong were we to speak once again about an “engineering style” or at least a “structural style”, which extends from the mid-19th century into our era. The essentialism that is also an element of the buildings presented here (what you see is what you get) plays the part of a powerful narrative which, depening on the zeitgeist, can be enriched with further contents such as progress, flexibility, connectivity, community or tradition.