FORM AND FUNCTION
To carry on the previous study of form and function, today, our lecture was prolonged to futher understanding about this topic. First of all , two buildings have shown to us for giving own opinion and expression of the relationship between form and function through out these two buildings.
LONDON CITY HALL
OPEN AIR SCHOOL
London city hall, its shape is derived from a geometrically modified sphere. This hybrid form is designed to minimise the surface area exposed to direct sunlight. Besides, the specific sphere form of the building can only be used in this building because of the function of space inside. I think london city hall did have the combination of aesthetic and usefulness as a whole, including the plan and its form.
Open air school is designed with providing a new view of connecting classrooms and learning to the world around them. The school came out of the Open Air movement that intended to provide healthy learning environments with access to fresh air and sunlight- primarily to combat the spread of tuberculosis, But also with the intention that students benefit from outdoor lessons. It is more focus on "form follow function", there is nothing else can see in the building except function, there is lack of aesthetic sense.
Frank Lloyd Wright introduced the word ‘ORGANIC’ into his philosophy of architecture as early as 1908. It was an extension of the teachings of his mentor Louis Sullivan whose slogan “FORMS FOLLOW FUNCTION” became the mantra of modern architecture. Wright changed this phrase to “form and function are one,” using nature as the best example of this integration.
Organic architecture involves a respect for the properties of the materials—you don’t twist steel into a flower—and a respect for the harmonious relationship between the form/design and the function of the building (for example, Wright rejected the idea of making a bank look like a Greek temple). Organic architecture is also an attempt to integrate the spaces into a coherent whole: a marriage between the site and the structure and a union between the context and the structure.
In my understanding, the building's form is not neccesary based upon the function of the space. It may over twist the properties of the materials if the building was forced to follow.
So, during design, architect should be considered form and function at the same time, and work out with them into the same "language".
Why Is Adaptive Reuse Important?
Adaptive reuse is often used to turn old factories into lofts or office buildings, but the practice can be applied to any form of infrastructure. This process is important because it preserves our history while embracing growth and creating new opportunity.Even more important, adaptive reuse is significantly more sustainable than creating new structures from scratch. It keeps unnecessary waste out of landfills and limits unnecessary energy use from creating new materials.There are several great examples of adaptive reuse in Toronto, from ongoing revitalization projects like Market Street to already finished transformations like the Toy Factory Lofts. There are hundreds of similar projects going on in different cities, but these Toronto examples show how fruitful adaptive reuse can be.
Toy Factory Lofts
Built in the early 1900’s, this building originally served as Irwin Toy Company Factory in an industrial zone west of downtown that has undergone a dramatic revitalization as Liberty Village.
Completed in 2008, this award-winning example of adaptive reuse preserved the factory’s unique attributes and converted the space into a combination of office and live/work units.
The revitalized building is also home to Balzac’s Coffee and the Liberty Village BIA.
401 Richmond
Located in downtown Toronto, 401 Richmond began its life as a tin can factory operated by the Macdonald Manufacturing company. The building went through several different owners over the decades until Margaret Zeidler took over the crumbling walls in 1994.Margaret transformed the building into a thriving cultural center first with intense renovations and then by carefully selecting the right tenants. Ideal tenants for the space are non-profits and companies with a double—or triple—bottom line.
The building now hosts a large community of artists with twelve art galleries, thirty art studios and several offices belonging to creative professionals, and a green roof, showing just how drastic change can be.
The Gardiner Green Ribbon
Although it’s still in the proposal stage, the Green Ribbon could become one of the largest examples of adaptive reuse in Toronto. The Green Ribbon proposes creating seven kilometres of green roof over the existing elevated Gardiner Expressway, keeping the highway intact and providing Toronto with new recreational parkland for pedestrians and cyclists.
Inserting eighty acres of green roof in the city centre will reduce the heat island effect, create a sustainable environment and generate clean energy through the use of photovoltaics. This creative adaptive reuse of infrastructure that has suffered decades of neglect will enhance vehicular and pedestrian safety, protect a vital transportation artery and retain the existing structure for future reuse in a post-automobile era.
As Richard hill said, the purpose of the building don't really the only function of the building , it could be others, just depend how the user developed the usefulness of a space or building.
Architecture is aesthetically distinctive because it is an art of design - Richard Hill
Form and function has to be in a whole, building as a whole - Frank L. Wright