Table Of ContentTRANSPARENT PLASTICS
Simone Jeska
TRANSPARENT
PLASTICS
DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY
Birkhauser
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PREFACE 6
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLASTIC BUILDINGS 8
MATERIAL AND FORM - "FORM FOLLOWS MATERIAL?" 24
TRANSPARENT PLASTICS BETWEEN INTELLECTUALISATION
AND TRASH CULTURE 30
EXHIBITION
I
BMWBubble, ABBArchitects Bernhard Franken 40
EBo Bologna, MCA 46
"Light Building" Mobile Pavilion, AtelierKempe Thill 52
Cyclebowl, AtelierBruckner 56
RESIDENCES
Apartments and Studios in Cologne, BSK+ 64
Naked House, Shigeru Ban 70
LuckyDrops, Architecture StudioTekuto 76
HousingProjectin London, Ash Sakula 82
Cite Manifeste, Lacaton SVassal 86
House and Studio inAlmere, Arconiko 92
Semi-detached Houses in Mullheim, Pfeifer.Kuhn 98
CULTURE AND SPORTS
Museum of PaperArt, Shigeru Ban 104
Catholic Church Christus Konig in Radebeul, StaibArchitects with GunterBehnisch 110
DBUConference and Exhibition Pavilion, Herzog + Partner 116
AllianzArena, Herzog Sde Meuron 122
RESEARCH
GerontologyTechnologyCentre, BadTnlz, D.J. Siegert 130
RocketTower, Nicholas GrimshawSPartners 136
Festo AGTechnologyCentre, JaschekSPartner 142
Glasshouses, Graz,VolkerGiencke 148
APPENDIX
Bibliography 154
Index 156
IllustrationCredits 159
6/7
Since the mid-199Gs,synthetic materials - primarilytransparent or translucentplas
tics - have once again been making their mark on architecture. Artistically curving
tension structures made from transparent plastic membranes, but also industrially
manufactured plastic sheets are readily used instead of heavy glass constructions.
But the transparent plastics not only represent a less costly alternative to glass. In
addition, they evolve their own particular qualities that become evident through the
lightness of such constructions, the variety of forms and, last but not least, their
aesthetic effects- the upshot ofunusual[acade arrangements and structures. ///
This book is intended to provide the readerwith an overview ofthe potential uses of
transparent and translucent plastics in architecture, and demonstrate the broad
range of both constructional and architectural opportunities. Lightweight, cost
effectivesynthetic materials are particularlysuitable for use in the jacades ofware
houses or temporary pavilions. Tension structures made from transparent mem
branes can serve as climate-control envelopes for animal enclosures, glasshouses
or extensive biospheres, and are idealfor long-span atrium roofs as well as conser
vatories and sunspaces providing intermediate climate zones for the adjoining inte
rior spaces. In the meantime, they have become almost a standard solution for the
roofs to large sports arenas. But in housing, museums and schools,too, where high
demands are placed on the imperviousness, insulation and durability of the walls,
synthetic materials are being used more and more. /// Depending on the type of
building and the interior climate requirements, single-leaf, multi-leaf or multi-layer
[acade constructions can be chosen. These differfrom conventional wall structures
and open up the way for experimentation by the architectural avant-garde. External
walls are turned into air collectors or reduced to athickness of just afew millimetres.
plastic sheets are glued to the supporting construction to form a minimalist design,
membranes are attached with Velcro tape, which allows them to be removed and
washed; high-tech insulation systems are available, or translucent insulation is im
provised DIY-style. Facades become moving, adaptive "skins", large sections of
which can be opened up to the outside, or react to solar radiation levels. New pro
duction methods are tried out on double-curvature plastic sheets, and tension
structures imitate natural phenomena and become efficient minimal constructions.
/// At the same time, transparent plastics quite obviously serve as a source of
inspirationforthe artistic rendition ofthe[acade- coloured artificial light,pigments,
PREFACE
printing or coloured infills provide an effective advertising medium externally or-a
changing play of light internally. The alienation of everyday articles or the use of
waste products create provocations and challenge our visual perceptions
architecture becomes art. /// The projects shown here represent onlythebegin
ning of a new development;the potential of synthetic materials is illustrated in the
introductorychapterwith the title "Transparent plastics between intellectualisation
and trash culture". Plastics are notonly destined to be part ofthe new,digital design
and manufacturing process, which renders possible mass customisation in archi
tecture,but are also idealfor use as "bionic" building materials and are beingtested
from the point of view of sustainability. Demands for efficient constructions and
adaptive building envelopes,which adjust automatically to climatic conditions,de
termine the themes here and in the end lead to architectural designs that respond
dynamicallyto dynamic processes. /// These tendencies in contemporaryarchi
tecture, which are leading to a gradual renaissance for synthetic materials, are un
derstandable when we consider the relationship between form and material. The
chapter entitled "Form follows material?" presents an overview of developments
and the change in the meaning ofform and material in architecture,which has led to
a breakdown in the formerly clearly defined form-material relationship. In architec
ture,form and materialhave nowbecome autonomous parameters,opposites in the
shapes of the digitally created form and a materialfetishism,which focuses on the
sensual qualities of the material. /// But the fascination of synthetic materials
and the willingness of architects to experiment with such substances are not new
phenomena, as the chapter "A brief history of plastic buildings" reveals. Since the
mass production ofplastics began in the1920s,these materialshave awakened the
imaginations ofarchitects and engineers alike.Nevertheless,theircurrentvisions of
the future are less euphoric and less idealistic than those of the early pioneers of
plastic buildings. Once again, it is not the material itself that dominates or consti
tutes the starting pointfor a design. Instead, architects are seeking the right mate
rialfortheir architecture,whichfollows conceptual design approaches or notions of
form, and are aiming at atmospheric, sensual or provocative effects. In doing so,
immateriality and ambiguity- the characteristics oftransparentplastics- frequently
harmonise well with such design approaches and make plastics the current building
material of choice for the architectural avant-garde.
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Synthetic materialsfromthechemistrylabhavealways hadsome
thing remarkable about them. Even the alchemists of old were
searching for a synthetic substance supposedly more precious
than gold because itwould unite allthe positive properties ofthe
conventional "natural"materials.As plasticswere inventedin the
19th century and went into large-scale production in the early
20th, it seemed as though this vision had become reality.Archi
tects and engineers linked their hopes and dreams to this "mira
cle material", which apparently could be given all conceivable
characteristics. It combined lightness, strength, transparency,
thermal insulation capacity, light permeability and loadbearing
characteristics, and opened up a world of infinite shapes. Plas
ticsenabled plannersto thinkin terms ofbold,futuristic architec
tural and urban visions and to revolutionise architecture through
technoid spatial forms or organically curving engineered struc
tures. They were likewise a symbol of a better, promising future
that would know no housing shortages nor climate problems and II/cherdBuckminster Fuller'S"OymexionDwelling
Machine"of1927wasthedevelopmentofhISIdeefore
dojustice to the needs of modern society in every respect. III mobile,lightweighthouse.
The architectural applications conquered by the new plastics
were just as diverse as the plastics themselves. Plastic sheets
could be used to buildfolded-platestructures,or shells and pan
els for room modules or modular constructions; nylon ropes
formed long-spannets,andmembranesofeverykindwereinflated
to form dome structures, or stretched across an existing load
bearing framework. III The history of the development of
plasticbuildingscan be understoodonlyin the socialcontextand
by referring back to the countless experimental designs of the
visionaries and artists. This is where the fascination of the syn
thetic materialfinds expression;and in the end itwas mostlythe
bold visionaries who determined the direction of practical every
day building, whether in the formal-aesthetic or the technical
constructional aspect. In the discord between pragmatism and
utopia, a number of remarkable plastic butldtngs emerged, each
of which,however,represents amomentaryrespitein thisongoing
journeyof development.
1 SeeJoachimKrausseled.),R.8uckminsterFuller,ReinbekbeiHamburg,1973.p.133 2 Theideaofalightweight,mobileandatthesametimeprefabricatedhouserunslikeathreadthroughthe
workojBuckminsterFuller.Usingthesameprinciple,hedevelopedthe"StreamlinedOymaxionShelter"in1932,aresidentialtoweronacircularplanwithastreamlined,transparentenclosingfacade
whichshieldsthetoweragainstthewind.Arejinementandjurtherdevelopmentofhisideasresultedinthebuildingojaprototype,"WichitaHouse",in1945/46. 3 Kieslerunderstandstime-space
architectureastheembedmentojthechronologicalaspectoflivingintothespatialdesign;thehouseshouldnotbedividedintoself-containedrooms,butratherintojunctionalzones,whoseuseand
sizeshouldremainflexibleandchangeable.FrederickKiesler,Notesonarchitecture:theSpaceHouse,in:SiegfriedGohr,GundaLuykenleds.l,FrederickJ.Kiesler.SelectedWritings,Stuttgart,1996,
pp.23-2B 4 Theplastichousesofthe1930swereproducedbytheirmanujacturersforadvertisingpurposes.SeeArthurQuarmby,ThePlasticArchitect,London,1974,p.21.Intheearlyt940s,with
ABRIEF HISTORYOFPLASTIC BUILDINGS
THE BEGINNINGS: THE STUFF DREAM HOUSES
ARE MADE OF
The triumphant advance of plastics inarchitecturebegan with the
rapid progress in plastics research and the onset of the boom in
manufacturetowardstheend of the1920s.Theallureofthese syn
thetic materials provided creative minds like Richard Buckminster
Fuller and Frederick Kiesler with impulses for their architectural
utopias. III Buckminster Fullerdesigned his "Dymaxion Dwell
ing Machine" in1927.It was a"featherweight", mobile-house that
couldbe transported inone pieceto anyfarawayplaceand setup
in afew hours.The name "Dymaxion", a concoction of dynamic,
maximum and tension, is the expression of his intentions. Just
likethe advocatesof "white modernism",BuckminsterFullerwas
inspiredbyautomotive and aircraftproductionand sawthefuture
of architectureinthemass productionof industriallyprefabricated
buildings. But incontrast to his colleagues,hefocused on energy
conceptsandmobilearchitecture.JoachimKraussedescribesthis
conceptual approach as follows: "Within the constructions, the
distributionof buildingmassshouldmake wayforanorganisation
of energy-exchangeprocesses,the sturdy statics supplanted by
ephemeral dynamics."I "Dymaxion" consisted of a loadbearing
aluminium mastfrom which thefloors,hexagonal on plan,were
suspended by means of steel ropes made from piano wire. The
centralmastsimultaneouslyservedasaserviceshaftnotonlyfor
heat and power,but also for water and ventilation.The floors of
the house were made of pneumatic membrane assemblies and
thefacadewas conceived as adouble-leaf,self-supporting plas
ticenvelope- transparent,translucentoropaque- with avacuum
in the cavrtv.? III Whereas the transportable plastic house
was forBuckminsterFullerpartof aglobalsocialutopia,Frederick "SpaceHouse",FrederickKleslor,1933
Kieslerlinked the design of an organically curving plastic house
into his "time-space architecture" theurv.? He designed the
"Space House"fortheModernageFurnitureCompanyin New York
in 1933.The house was to be moulded completely in plastic so
thatthewalls,floors,ceilingsand columnswouldmergeintoone.
The interior extended as a continuous space over several levels
and could besubdivided into individual areas or segments as reo
quired bymeans of movable partitions.This streamlined building
anticipatedthe architecturallanguageofthe plastic buildings of
the1970s,with theiraptuseof synthetic materials. III How
ever,the practices of everyday building in those days were in no
wayableto takeup the ideasofthevisionariesand turn theminto
reality.Thematerialshad notyetbeenfullydeveloped,theirprop
erties had not been verified and their structural behaviour was
stilluncertain.Nevertheless,from thelate1930sonwards,initial,
cautious attempts were made to establish the new materials in
architecture"- adynamic thatwas interruptedby the outbreakof
World WarIIbecausetheplastics industrywas forced to concen
trate on supplying productsforthe war effort.
aviewtotheimpendinghousingshortage,theBritishdevelopedconceptsforprefabricatedhousesmadefromplasticsconsistingofself·supporting,multi-layersheets[see"Theall-plasticshouse",
in:BritishPlastics,April1944) 5 Archivematerialonthe1946fair:"Theplannedplastichouseforexportinordertosecurefood suppliesandrebuildingactivities"[buildingarchivesoftheBerlin
AcademyofArts];publishedinDerBauhelfer,No.6,1946 6 Theprefabricatedplastichouse"Deutschland"wasdesignedbyHansScharaunandKarlBottcher. 7 UlrichConradsandHansG.
Sperlich,FantasticArchitecture,London,1963.Gaff'suse01plasticsisnotcontrarytohis"organic"form01buildinginwhichhemakesdirectreferencestonature,thenaturalsurroundingsandthe
characterofthematerials. B ThehousewasfundedbytheDailyMailnewspaperandexhibitedattheIdealHomeExhibitioninLondon. 9 "Thegeneralconceptionofthehouse:Theroomsflawinto
oneanotherlikethecompartmentsofacave,andasinacave,theskeweredpassagewhichjoinsonecompartmentwithanothereffectivelymaintainsprivacy."CatherineSpellman,KarlUnglaub[eds.],
10 / 11
~[S&~uD~ ~G{]~[S[S~ & [j\] @)
~G{]~~u~
THE POST-WAR YEARS AND GERMANY'S
ECONOMIC MIRACLE - THE PLASTIC
BUILDING BETWEEN PRAGMATISM AND
EXPERIMENTATION
FROM THE HOUSE TO THE ROOM MODULE III in the
industrialised countries,the shortage of housing in the post-war
years led to ayearning for the prefabricated house.This method
of building,whichhad beenestablishedafterWorld WarI,encour
ages standardisation,mass production, transportability and the
straightforward assembly of prefabricated elements. The new
syntheticmaterials seemedpredestinedfor thismethod of build
ing,and comparedto conventionalprefabricatedtimberand con
crete elements theirlowerweightwould helpto reduce transport
and erection costs - an important advantage.A certain plastics
euphoriawas evident;some even proclaimed it to be the dawn of
theplasticsage,whichled to considerableresearchand develop
mentactivitieson aninternationalscale.Abuildingtradefairheld
inBerlinin1946exhibitedanumberof prefabricatedplastichous
es which were intended to be produced in large numbers in the
HousoinUlbono.illinois,BlucoGall.1952:pOlspoClivOV'OW
following years in order to overcome the shortage of housing at o/gmdonsldo
home and at the same timefor export in orderto help German in
dustrygetbackon itsfeet.5The initiator of this studywas the in
ternationalCommitteefor Building6 Housing,composed of archi
tects from the US and the UK as well as Germany. Five national
teams of architects designed Single-storey, modularhouse types
madefrom plasticsheetswith afloorarea of65m2,which could
be arranged as terrace or semi-detached houses."The pragmat
ic approach of thisstudywasreflected inthe designofthehous
es, which matched those of conventional house types. III
Buckminster Fuller's "Wichita House" was less conventional. It
was both aprototypical prefabricated house readyfor mass pro
duction and at the same time, the first time Fuller had been able
to realise his vision of a lightweight, transportable house. How
ever,the house was made chiefly of aluminium, notplastics. be
causeFullerhad acquiredaformeraircraftassemblyplantforthe
production, which was equipped for metalworking operations.
Theonlyremnantof his materialsconceptfor"Oymaxion"was the
wraparoundwindowsmadefrom double-leafPerspexsheets.The ThopOlspoctivoviow01thoInlOllOIshowsrnespllolconnocllng
IIImpandthosusponded-'iVingspholos-/dlowlng:Helboll
industrially prefabricated aluminium and plastic elements were
Gloonbolg/.
intendedto bedispatchedasabuildingkit to all partsofthecoun
try. Oespitethe greatinterestshownbypotentialbuyers,mass pro
duction nevergotgoing;the plastics industry,which was primar
ily concerned with the manufacture of everyday articles, at that
time showed no interest in the mass production of houses. III
PelelSmithson:ConversatlonswithStudents,NewYork,2005,p.43 10 Thearchitects'prioritywastofindnewhousingconceptsforurbanliving.Besidesthe"HouseoftheFuture",theydesigned
severalotherhousetypesbetween195Band1958basedonsimilarconcepts:massproductionincontemporaryconstruction,Integralgarden,open-planlayout,built-instorageandworkingspaces,
etc.arethefeaturesoftheirhouses. 11 ThehousewascommissionedbyCharbonnagesdeFrancetogetherwiththeengineersCoulonandMagnant,andwasalsodisplayedinTheHaguein1956.
12 ThehousewasfinancedandproducedbytheplasticsmanujacturerMonsantoChemicalCo.andremainedonshowfor10yearsatDisneyWorldinCalifornia. 13 Schein'Smobile100mmodule
(1956Jcanbeseeninconjunctionwiththeglowingcaravanfashion.Startinginthemld-1950s,caravansmade[rommouldedglassfiblehadbeenproducedintheUK.Themobileplasticroommodules
werenotintendedjustforholidayaccommodation,butcouldalsoprovidelivingaccommodationforfamilies;furthermore,theycouldbeequippedandusedforanytypeofmobiletask[e.g.exhibitions,
