After two years of studying architecture, I have begun to shape certain preconceptions in my mind. And although I am still to young to have set views about the discipline, nevertheless, here I write my 20 opinions/ assumptions about it so far:
1. Architectural form has no inherent meaning.
2. Architecture is a thing—a phenomenal presence—in which people experience their lives.
3. People assign meaning(s) to form.
4. Plurality and difference prevent a unified reading of a work.
5. Meaning(s) in buildings are constantly being rewritten or reevaluated.
6. Experience of architecture occurs mostly in passing (or subconsciously).
7. In their primal condition, buildings serve as reference points or markers: “let’s meet at the corner of…”
8. Non-architects mostly appreciate architecture for its beauty.
9. Experience of space prevails over aesthetics of surface.
10. Architectural space can always be reprogrammed.
11. Architects discuss volumes, space, scale, proportions, representation, tectonics, and other related topics because—in essence—they generate beauty and experience.
12. Materials, textures, graphics, and decoration always enhance the reception of a project, but can never replace spatial organization.
13. (“Good”) Architecture, although a product of its era, transcends the time in which it was built.
14. Architecture does not represent nor can it shape/generate ideology.
15. Recovery of a past is always-already a failed project. Architecture can never replicate that which has been lost.
16. Good architecture learns from the past and uses it to move forward.
17. Despite technological advances, craft remains inversely proportional to the quality of the material. The “cheaper” the material, better is the craft required.
18. Money can hinder the aesthetics of a building, but it can never dictate nor prevent it.
19. A building should be treated like a story or a puzzle, where the architect leaves signs for people to interpret at different levels.
20. The more layers of information a project has or considers, the more meaning people can interpret and so the better the architecture.
Recently I made use of Lego’s Design by Me service to purchase a model of one of my father’s architectural designs. The experience with the purchasing experience was bitter-sweet, but the model arrived and I was able to build it in under seven hours!
Visual interpretation of the negative space in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum.
My dad once told me that there are two kinds of architects: the ones who can understand spatial transparency (the privileged) and those who cannot (the rest). Robert Slutzky and Colin Rowe develop in “Trasparency” and “Transparency 2″ (from Architecture Culture: 1943-1968, by Joan Ockman) an understanding of how a building’s formal structure can demarcate spaces. They single out two types of transparencies: the literal and the phenomenal. The first refers to how a material like glass, although physically “transparent,” is still tangibly present in the structure’s form. In contrast, phenomenal transparency allows for a simultaneous perception of different spatial locations within the same space. The idea is that, like in an optical illusion, forms are suggested –or implied, as Peter Eisenman would prefer to say– rather than depicted. In other words, it allows for spatial stratification within given limits. Phenomenal spaces are never different, but differentiated. Like in Cubist paintings, phenomenal forms are suggested, not stipulated. The viewer defines what he/she sees.
Cover | Indice Anotado, 13 years of Mid-Career research investigations from architecture students of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
Jorge Rigau, FAIA, founding dean of the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico; Miguel Rodríguez, current dean; and funds from the Historic Preservation Office of Puerto Rico have made it possible to publish the Índice Anotado (Anotated Index). This publication documents the Mid-Career research investigations completed by students at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
These texts were completed between 1996 and 2009 and executed by students at the end of the 3rd year of study. Their topical range is extensive, and most are complemented by photographs, drawings and inventories that will be useful to others following similar lines of research. While the collection is mainly about Puerto Rico, some projects look at Cuba, Dominican Republic and Panamá.
The index is organized by themes, and while some overlap, researchers will have to asses the focus areas of each of their topics to find relevant investigations. The documents are written in Spanish, but the the index provides a blurb about each of them in English to expand the ideas to a larger audience.
Copies of the full writings will be available for public consult at the library of the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and at the library of the Historic Preservation Office. The Índice Anotado has been designed by Alberto Rigau and published by Editorial Revés.
Back in the 60′s, Puerto Rico’s government considered the development of a social housing project called “Habitat“. The monstrous structure had its life, for pre-fabricated pieces were actually ordered and many arrived on the island. Thankfully, it was never built.
As this cartoon from 1969 satirically emphasizes, the social implications associated to the design of this structure would have only lead to a catastrophe. It’s labyrinthic layout would have provided a space for crime and drugs to prosper, and a new meaning to the term “cacerío“.
It’s a learning experience to look back at these materials. As a designer, I can imagine all of the blind efforts that must have been pushed forward by the building’s creators. As this case clearly illustrates, designers have the responsibility of understanding the implications of one’s work, specially if the social impact is at a scale that affects communities or cities. Of course, you may think “duh”, but proposals like Habitat make me aware that not everyone out there actually thinks this way.
Today, there are a few of the prefabricated pieces of the Habitat still around Puerto Rico.
Recently my father, an avid architectural historian, managed to track 2 of them down in the town of Arecibo. These pieces never fulfilled their original purpose, but today form a new kind of habitat that keeps intriguing some of us whose curiosities never sleep.
Recently I have had the opportunity to work on a series of identity projects for a diverse group of clients. One of the most exciting has been the challenge to re-design the visual language of Puerto Rico’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
In a collaboration with Jorge Rigau FAIA and Miguel Ortiz, the approach intends to provide a framework on which SHPO can now establish a permanent visual structure. The project is currently being implemented, and a full system roll-out should be done in the next 2 months. Here I share some of the elements that have been generated. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are near New York City on October 29, AIA/NY is hosting a one night lecture event around the work of three Puerto Rican architects. One of them is my father, Jorge Rigau, FAIA. Sadly, I won’t be able to make it, but I am sure it will be a nice gathering, so check it out if you have some time.
Commemorative piece given to the 2009 recipients of Puerto Rico's Architecture Awards. Design and concept by Alberto Rigau. Fabrication by Roberto Pérez.
This past Thursday, Puerto Rico’s professional college of architects and landscape architects awarded the 2009 medals in architecture. These awards, named after Ricardo Alegría, are given to individuals and/or entities who are not directly related to the discipline of architecture but who have contributed to the field in a way that can be evidenced in a substantial body of work.
Previously, this prestigious recognition had been given four times, and to my knowledge, recipients were given only a certificate. This year I volunteered and gifted the College with a design of commemorative piece to be handed out in the naming ceremony. Read the rest of this entry »
As part of my explorations on the relationship between the disciplines of architecture and graphic design, a current work in progress delves into the subject of representation thru typography. Here letterforms (which designs are dictated by the medium) can be texture, but at the same time a message, which at the same time is a texture. The revelation of this meaning arises from the interaction the user has with the work. These are process photos. The project is half way in the process.
Architecture by Jorge Rigau, FAIA. Typography by Alberto Rigau. Scultpture and modeling by Jaime Suárez Toro.
The Iquique social interest housing project* by ELEMENTAL** and Alejandro Aravena.***
* ] ELEMENTAL Iquique social interest housing [ Looks to deal with extremely low-cost housing that can be a real means to overcoming poverty. The project intends to design neighborhoods of good quality, expandable housing units, which in turn can be well located in cities, and able to develop harmoniously over time. These structurally safe units would be built for $7,500 per family.
There were three goals: the best possible architectural design (having intelligence and precision in form), the best possible engineering and construction (using development and lab tests for new prefabricated components and seismic systems), and the best possible social and community work (offering pre- and post-construction guidance to residents).
** ] ELEMENTAL [ Based at the Universidad Católica de Chile's school of architecture, supported by a Chilean government grant and by the Harvard Design School, is an initiative to build seven exemplary projects of around 200 units each throughout Chile, bringing together the best practices in construction, engineering, social work and architecture, while at the same time aiming to offer a concrete contribution to housing for the poor.
*** ] Alejandro Aravena [ Architect Universidad Católica de Chile 1992, independent professional practice since 1994. Studied history and theory in Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (1992-93). Visiting Professor at Harvard University between 2000 and 2005. Professor at the Universidad Católica since 1994. Since 2006 he is the Elemental Copec Professor at UC and Executive Director of ELEMENTAL.
and created this interesting living space. The building, treated as a template, allowed the residents to customize their spaces.
Armando Rigau currently pursues a Master in Architecture I at Cornell University. He received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy with History and Spanish minors from Georgetown University.
