Functionalism
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a
building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less
self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy
within the profession, particularly in regard to modern architecture.
The place of functionalism in building can be traced back to the Vitruvian
triad, where 'utilitas' (variously translated as 'commodity', 'convenience', or
'utility') stands alongside 'venustas' (beauty) and 'firmitas' (firmness) as one
of three classic goals of architecture.
In the early years of the 20th Century, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan
popularized the phrase 'form ever follows function' to capture his belief that a
building's size, massing, spatial grammar and other characteristics should be
driven solely by the function of the building. The implication is that if the
functional aspects are satisfied, architectural beauty would naturally and
necessarily follow.
Sullivan's credo is deeply ironic, considering the non-functional nature of the
intricate ornament he is known for. The credo also does not address whose
function he means. The architect of an apartment building, for instance, can
easily be at cross-purposes with the owners of the building regarding how the
building should look and feel, and they could both be at cross-purposes with the
future tenants. Nevertheless 'form follows function' expresses a significant and
enduring idea.
The roots of modern architecture lie in the work of the Franco-Swiss architect
Le Corbusier and the German architect Mies van der Rohe. Both were
functionalists at least to the extent that their buildings were radical
simplifications of previous styles. In 1923 Mies van der Rohe was working in
Weimar Germany, and had begun his career of producing radically simplified,
lovingly detailed structures that achieved Sullivan's goal of inherent
architectural beauty. Corbusier famously said "a house is a machine for living
in"; his 1923 book Vers une architecture was, and still is, very influential,
and his early built work such as the Villa Savoye in Poissy, France is thought
of as prototypically functional.
In the mid 1930s functionalism began to discussed as an aesthetic approach
rather than a matter of design integrity. The idea of functionalism was
conflated with lack of ornamentation, which is a different matter. It became a
pejorative term associated with the most bald and brutal ways to cover space,
like cheap commercial buildings and sheds, then finally used, for example in
academic criticism of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes, simply as a synonym
for 'gauche'.
For 70 years the preeminent and influential American architect Philip Johnson
held that the profession has no functional responsibility whatsoever, and this
is the prevailing view today. The most well-known architects in the west, like
Frank Gehry, Steven Holl, Richard Meier and I.M. Pei, see themselves as artists
with no responsibility to clients or users. Their buildings are works of art and
not subject to practical criticism. The position of postmodern architect Peter
Eisenman is based on a user-hostile theoretical basis and even more extreme: "I
don't do function." The debate about functionalism and aesthetics is often
framed by them as a mutually exclusive choice, when in fact there are
architects, like Will Bruder, James Polshek and Ken Yeang, who attempt to
satisfy all three Vitruvian goals.
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