Introduction

Diebedo Francis Kere is an architect and author, whose work primarily focuses on contemporary designs invoking ancient West African styles and cultures.  His most famous design works draw upon the ancient building practices of the Sahelian communities and have earned him the Prince Klaus Fund for architecture and development in 2017.  Kere has mastered the art of taking from ancient Sahelian practices and created an architectural style rooted in “sustainable, locally available materials'' (Met article).   In the July 15, 2020 article “Building on Architectural Traditions by the Sahel,” Kere stated “Architecture that melts into the landscape it sits within and is surrounded by—it is a thing of beauty,” and “It is not an easy feat to design a building that stands in the landscape as a monolithic presence yet is at one with its surroundings.”  In this essay, we will use examples taken from both Keres' article and our class lectures to create a set of criteria from which we can describe architecture which successfully becomes “one with its surroundings.”

“Building on Architectural Traditions by the Sahel”

In the original Met article, “Building on Architectural Traditions by the Sahel”  Kere states that “Architecture that melts into the landscape it sits within and is surrounded by- it is a thing of beauty.”  In this quote, he is specifically referring to the Village of Bamba, photographed in 1905 by Luis DeSplagnes.  While describing the photograph, Kere states that it is “near impossible to see where human-made structures end and nature begins.”  Kere also appreciates the image for its showcasing of a successful “interplay of interior and exterior in our collective existence.”  What we can learn from these quotes is that Kere finds an appreciation for structures that hold a special relationship to their surroundings, seamlessly blending into the terrain and appearing to be a natural phenomenon.  Kere also goes on to talk about the fact that the figures in the picture are resting outside of the structures in the background, further blurring the idea between inside and outside.  From the text, we can assume that Kere considers this image of Bamba to be an example of architecture that has a proper relationship with its surroundings.  Similar structures, such as the Great Mosque of Djenne, employ building and fabrication techniques similar to those of the Bamba villagers and are used by Kere to provide further insight into the relationship between a building and its context.  It is through an analysis of these two structures, combined with the information provided by Kere himself that we can create our set of criteria.

The Great Mosque of Djenne

In the original article, Kere states that “In the case of the fantastic Great Mosque of Djenne, part of its organic feel comes from its use of material.”  The material used for the great mosque is actually the “very earth it stands on” (Met.)  This mosque is created of earth-based mortar, which is then sculpted in plaster, achieving this sand-castle effect (Ingersoll.)  Not only does the material choice lead to a building that blurs the line between structure and site, but the fabrication of the building needs to be updated on a yearly basis, resulting in a large-scale community effort to replaster the mosque (Ingersoll.)  Every year, teams gather around from the surrounding village to race each other in re-plastering sections of the mosque, resulting in a structure that creates a community spirit while at the same time changes the structures form slightly as the year’s pass (BBC.)  The Great Mosque of Djenne is in a successful relationship with its context in the fact that the structure consists of a collaboration between the people and site in which they live.  The materials not only blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment, but it is a community effort which results in the preservation of this Mosque, evidence of a Mosque having existed in some way or another since the 13th century, and the Mosque standing today being constructed in 1907.  The Mosque is constructed and repaired yearly due to a repeated relationship between the inhabitants, the Mosque, and the environment in which they live.  It is by invoking that relationship that the Mosque is able to survive from year to year, while still maintaining its ability to tie in seamlessly with the surrounding environment.  This concept is not rare, in fact, the Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde in Colorado is another structure that appears to grow out of the landscape, and has many similarities to both The Great Mosque of Djenne and the Village of Bamba.

Mesa Verdes Cliff Dwellings

Mesa Verdes Cliff Dwellings are examples of a building complex that appears to seamlessly tie into the surrounding terrain. The Cliff Dwellings were inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloan and other various tribes from 7,500 BC to around 1285 AD (Kostoff).  Here we find multistoried sandstone structures held together with adobe, which uses the natural topography for shelter and defense. Utilizing the monolithic rock shelve it hides under, these three great houses once contained terraces and rooftop gardens which were conveniently sheltered from the hot sun during the day, and retained heat during the night.  The remains of the Cliff Dwellings describe a history of construction lasting four centuries (411, world architecture).  These dwellings show a changing relationship between the people who lived there and their environment, employing various techniques for masonry bond which shows a continuing evolution of the relationship between the people and site (Kostoff.)  Constructed of locally sourced materials, this structure may have been created to house a priestly elite, suggested by the lack of domestic facilities and room arrangement. Much like the Mosque of Djenne, Mesa Verde shows an ongoing people and site relationship, in which local materials are employed to create a monolithic structure that seemingly blends into the landscape.  It is from these examples: Bamba, The Great Mosque of Djenne, and Mesa Verde, that we can begin to understand what criteria are required to have a successful relationship between a building and its surrounding context.

Criteria

From the structures previously mentioned, we can clearly identify a pattern of design criteria that indicate a structure having a good site and contextual relationship.  The first being its use of natural materials and construction methods, derived from the readily available resources surrounding the structure.  In the case of both Mesa Verdes Cliff Dwellings and the Mosque of Djenne, the natural soil was used as a construction material which resulted in the building looking as though it “melts into the landscape.”

The second aspect one should consider is a construction method derived from a continuous relationship between the people and their environment.  It is through the construction of these buildings in which the culture of the local population is able to shine through.  An example being the Mosque of Djenne having its annual re-plastering celebration, or the four centuries of construction that occurred in Mesa Verde.  It is through this continual relationship between a people and their site that the bespoke and unique ingenuity of the inhabitants can be discerned.  This relationship creates what Kere describes as a literal and figurative timelessness to architecture which has a proper connection to its site.  As Kere states in his article, “Architecture connects communities across time; buildings can survive far beyond the people who designed and constructed them. Whether intact or partially in ruins, ancient architecture directly correlates with building techniques used today because they have been passed down from generation to generation.” (met article).  From this one can gather that for anyone attempting to create a proper connection between a building and its surrounding context, consideration for the historical building materials and construction traditions is necessary.

Benin National Assembly Building

From these two criteria, we can see how one may go about constructing buildings with a strong relationship to their surrounding context.  Successful contemporary examples include many of Keres own works including the Benin National Assembly Building in West Africa.  What is amazing is Keres ability to carry ancient materials and practices into the present day, constructing contemporary buildings inspired by West African material and fabrication methods.  “Finding parallels—intentional or not—between architecture that has existed in the Sahel region for centuries and my own contemporary designs highlight the constant evolution of my discipline. I don't mean "evolution" in a linear sense. Rather, I think that an appreciation of what came before must go hand in hand with an understanding of how modern conditions differ.”

 In this building, we can see that materials were chosen to directly relate to the natural look of the West African environment.  The result makes a building that blends seamlessly with the surroundings and creates a space that looks to almost be created by nature.  Not only does the building blend through material choices reminiscent of ancient customs, but one can clearly see the parallels between the Benin National Assembly and the Mosque of Nando, an example which Kares uses in his article, “Building Architectural Traditions.”  This building has a seamless integration of site and structure due to the ability to follow a history of utilizing local materials and methods while invoking a long history of a people's relationship with their environment.  Not only has Kare been able to continue this long dialogue between the West Africans and their environment, but he has created sustainable, habitable structures that live up to present-day standards as well.

Conclusion

In architect Diebedo Francis Keres analyses of the Bamba village architecture, he describes the buildings as being particularly successful in creating a relationship to their context.  Through an analysis of other similar structures such as the Great Mosque of Djenne and the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings, we were able to determine that buildings with a compelling relationship to their context are often created out of locally sourced materials, and are fabricated using methods that reflect a long history of a culture living within the region.  By analyzing the contemporary buildings of Dievedo Kere, we were able to put our criteria to the test, finding a contemporary structure in which the material choices and fabrication techniques tell a continuing story of a people and their land.  

Structures that blend into their landscape and seamlessly coincide with their surrounding context invoke ideas of community and history.  Structures that effectively relate to their surrounding contexts obtain a sense of timelessness and place.  Through the analyses of a few of these structures, we are able to get a better understanding of what makes these buildings so compelling, and why they are so successful and long-lasting.

How Does Newness Enter the World?

 1 Introduction  

Architecture is a continuously evolving art form with varying styles depending on the time and place.  The architecture we build defines our state in time and place, highlighting societal values and standards.  As society evolves, the architectural landscape is refreshed with newness in the form of new buildings which express these evolving values.  This newness, the bringing about of new architectural eras and styles, is the result of drastic changes in society which can be counterintuitive to the past.

2 Defining Newness 

Newness in architecture, for the purpose of this essay, is defined as the global introduction of new architectural eras such as the modernist movement and postmodern architecture.  Using the transition between modern and postmodern movements,  I will provide evidence that architectural styles such as these occur due to a widespread change of societal standards brought about by failures in the status quo and preconceived notions.  I will then show how a global change in societal standards brings about a transition in architectural eras, creating newness.  These new eras such as the postmodernist era do not stem from themselves, but arise when the old ideas of the past are proven to be hollow.

3 Modernisms and Enlightenment Values

Modernism, which brought about an architecture of simplicity, structural honesty, and rational construction of new materials such as glass, steel, and concrete was the defining architectural movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Modern architects such as Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe sought out a style of architecture to match the societal customs and new technologies of their era, coining phrases such as “A house is a machine for living in'' and “less is more.” The modernist architects were obsessed with the definition of the modern era, and the articulation of their peoples zeitgeist.  According to modernist architects such as Mies van der Rohe, “Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space.” 

But what was this epoch?  After the rise of enlightenment, with its insistence on rational thinking and scientific discovery, the world entered an era of technological discovery eventually leading to the creation of steel, glass and concrete.  The enlightenment also had long term effects on society including the growth of industrialization and capitalism.  Ideas of order, reason, honesty, and individuality carried themselves over time to become represented in the glass curtain walls and exposed steel beams of modern buildings.  It is also in these buildings that we can see the faulty ideals and hollow ideas which lead to Modernisms downfall.

One example of how modern architecture was made to obtain the ideals of modernism can be seen in the Case Study housing project of the late 1940’s.  Sponsored by Arts and Architecture Magazine, the Case Study houses were designed as a rational method to counteract the housing boom caused by returning soldiers after World War 2. When the Case Study houses were introduced, their aim was to carry modernism across American society, creating a precedent for affordable and useful housing.  Using materials such as corrugated steel, sheet rock, and glass, the modernist aim of the Case Study Project was to make high quality affordable housing.  

As we can see in Koenig's Case Study house #22, the project began to represent a higher income class than originally intended.  As one can see from the image below, the modernist architecture not only crystalized the technological aims dating back to the enlightenment era, but also symbolizes the elite wealth that its industrialization and capitalism had created. 

Figure 1: Case Study House #22 designed by Pierre Koenig and photographed by Julius Shulman.

Image source: https://emuseum.mfah.org/objects/42382/case-study-house-22-los-angeles-ca

This photograph, taken by  Julius Shulman depicts the grand portrayal of modernism in 1950’s modern architecture.  The Stahl house, an elevated building overlooking the city of Los Angeles, projects an air of sophistication and elitism to a housing style originally intended to be used by the American middle class.  

The Case Study house highlights the faults of modernist ideals in the fact that this house was photographed with qualities which make it unobtainable to the majority of people such as the pool, the view of Los Angeles, and the quality of the furniture.  Case Study #22 is an example of modern architecture becoming a hypocrisy of the original values which inspired the architectural movement in the first half of the 20th century.  

A second example to articulate the waning of modernism can be seen in the Levittown project, again as a reaction to the surge in housing demand followed by the second World War Levittown grew to fame for its large scale of similar residential buildings.  As America's first and one of the largest suburban housing projects, it was later criticised as bland, homogenous, and racially exclusive.  

Levittown is still inhabited by people today, and represents an urban sprawl that occurred as part of the return of soldiers after World War 2.  Due to its size and homogeneity, many architects consider Levittown a failure and a product of industrialization, with the construction of quickly fabricated buildings employing modular systems to erect many buildings quickly.

Figure 2: Levittown Development. This image depicts the homogenous nature of the Levittown development, rapidly producing a large number of similar structures

Image source: https://untappedcities.com/2020/07/31/the-controversial-history-of-levittown-americas-first-suburb/

Levittown shows us the modernist ideals of mass produced and functional housing translated into reality.  Levittown was partially prefabricated and partially a realisation of the Modernist dream.  Levittown did not achieve the larger aspirations of making a better society through architecture, nor did it contain the full mass-produced rationality of the great modern buildings such as Farnsworth house by Mies or Glass House by Phillip Johnson.  In its inability to create a better society, coupled with its homogeneity and wartime industrial influence lead to a backlash in architectural form as well as societal thinking. This shift in opinion stemming from the failures of modernism, created a newness in architecture due to the realisation that some of modernism's ideals were simply unattainable, leading to a dramatic shift in art and culture in the years after the second world war.

4 Modernisms Failures

What exactly was wrong with the modernist ideals? And what happened once these faults were realised?  In both the Levittown project and the Case Study House project, we see an emphasis on ideals originally popularised by the enlightenment period.  Things such as rationalism, individuality, and technological achievement were brought to the forefront of the modernist movement.  These ideas spread slowly throughout the west's architectural practices in things like the arcade and the growth of civic buildings and typologies, eventually leading to the austere and minimalist forms of the modernist movement.

In Robert Venturi’s book “Complexity and Contradiction,” he points out that the choices which define modernism, specifically the architecture of Mies van der Rohe, are really about ignoring the negative traits of Modernism as opposed to complete rationality in form.  “The doctrine “Less is More” bemoans complexity and justifies exclusion for expressive purposes.  It does, indeed, permit the architect to be “highly selective in determining which problems he wants to solve.”  Venturi goes on to argue that if some problems are unsolvable, an architecture of contradiction and complexity is better suited for addressing and bringing out those aspects in the overall design.

This idea of modern architecture lacking the ability to be all things can also be found in the idealised forces driving the style as a whole, what is seen as individuality can become elitism, rationality can become coldness and an embracement of technology can quickly become a capitalist drive toward homogeneous building.  It is in the extreme cases that one begins to realise that another kind of architecture must be needed to counteract and balance these extreme cases.  In that sense, one can argue that postmodernism rebelled from modern architecture by being a way to balance out society, to provide emotions and sensations not provided in everyday life, and to accept the failures that are inevitable in the human condition.

5 Post-Modern: A rising reaction to Modernism 

Postmodernism can be seen as a sort of newness in the world of modernism.  Postmodern architecture arose in the aftermath of modernism and the second world war as a counter movement to the failed attempts of modernism.  In the postmodern era, new architectural forms and styles grew which allowed a freedom of expression and individuality unlike the modern era.  This style of architecture broke the rules of modernism.

One example of post-modern architecture contrasting the rules and ideals of modernism can be seen in Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building in Pakistan, completed in 1983.  Kahn’s abstract use of geometric shapes and local materials breaks the modernist model by creating architecture which was “transcribed as part of the vernacular.” By incorporating local materials and using architectural space as a passive design strategy, Kahn’s architecture allowed the people of Bangladesh to express themselves through a new style of architecture.  Newness in this case is brought on by a respect for the natural environment and the idiosyncrasies of the region.  

Figure 3: Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building in Bangladesh uses large concrete walls to blend into the landscape in a way modernism never could.  Image source: https://www.archdaily.com/83071/ad-classics-national-assembly-building-of-bangladesh-louis-kahn

The National Assembly Building contains a series of rejections from modernism, achieving goals that the modern style could never achieve, such as a connection between the structure and the landscape as well as a sense of mass through dark concrete walls.  The national assembly building opposes the clear, clean minimalist aesthetic of the modernists and yet at the same time fulfills the role of a new national identity better than the mass produced repetitiveness of modern boxes.

Other aspects of the buildings form such as its mass, its size, its use of wide open windows and enclosed space allow us to feel as though we are fully trapped within a new world.  In this way, postmodern architecture can allow us to gain access to an array of new world-views and ideas which modern architecture was not allowed to express.    Although this building could have been more efficient and affordable to construct through a modern style, the use of local materials, solid mass walls, and enormous scale all helps us to create an identity completely bespoke to the people of Bangladesh.  

Without the work of Louis Kahn and his subjective experience of the landscape, this work would not have been made, nor would it have been as unique.  On the other hand, one could argue that many modernists from Le Corbusier to Mies van der Rohe could have proposed similar, industrial looking buildings which could not have fully captured the essence of the place like Kahn.  It is in Khan's ability to perceive what is special about Bangladesh, along with his ability to perceive and then articulate the landscape to such a meaningful degree, that he is able to provide something completely alien to the world outside.

Figure 4: Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building uses vernacular materials as a way to tie into the landscape and become a symbol of national pride.  Image source: https://www.archdaily.com/83071/ad-classics-national-assembly-building-of-bangladesh-louis-kahn

A second example of how Postmodernism was brought on as a counterbalance to the Modernist ideals can be seen in the work of Tadao Ando, specifically his Church of Light designed in 1989.  Ando’s use of thick concrete walls closed off the outside world, contrast sharply with the wide open glass panels employed by modernist architects.  

Another aspect which differentiates Ando from his modern predecessors is in the fact that the Church of Light does not draw its concept from a formalist approach, but instead uses a conceptual approach derived from the space in-between light and dark.  For Ando, the design was a form of communicating the metaphorical difference between light and dark spaces, allowing a new form that modernist architects could never have created.

Figure 5: Tadao Ando’s Church of Light provides a completely alien sensation compared to everyday life..  Image source: https://www.archdaily.com/101260/ad-classics-church-of-the-light-tadao-ando

This building's use of polished concrete, along with its precise work of sunlight and contrast, provide an alien world from the rationality one receives when looking at a modern building.  With its imposing sense of size and simplicity in structure, it is an example of why postmodernism was needed, and what strange new psychological wants could be fulfilled through a rebellion to modernism.

Ando’s building not only rebels in terms of space, but in its use of a conceptual method of investigation into the problem.  This building, using a metaphor of light and dark to convey a sense of salvation towards its churchgoers, is a form created out of Ando’s appreciation for a metaphysical idea. Rather than basing his design off of a budget or new building material, this building was inspired by the abstract idea which Ando felt needed to be enshrined in concrete.

In comparing Ando’s building to that of the Case Study houses or the Levittown project, one is given a higher sense of meaning and purpose in Ando’s work despite any relationship towards christianity.  This may be due to the creation of a centralised space, contrasted to the meaningless sprawl of the suburban landscape.  Ando’s creation of space is important because it highlights a strange sense of meaning, and articulates what is very hard to find out there in the rest of the world.  In that sense, Ando’s building counteracts the failures of modern homogeneity by honing in on a conceptual idea and articulating its feelings with surgical precision.

6 Conclusion 

Anndo and Kahn’s buildings are in many ways an argument for what architecture can achieve without the constraints of Modernism.  The ability to create a space with context, one other than sleek minimalism and technological advancement lends itself to a higher degree of architectural adaptability.  In both cases above, the buildings were designed to articulate their context to an exact degree, having the form of the structure and surrounding area create a synthesis which highlights the location and its purpose.  Modern architecture on the other hand, such as the case study homes, appear to be less suitable for the high degree of individuality which the post-modern buildings have, being able to craft a form completely unlike anything else.  

Throughout the various architectural eras, architecture has defined the cultural values and pragmatic necessities of its inhabitants.  When the old status quo fails to deliver the promises it once kept, a new world view may arise and change the cultural as well as architectural landscape.  With the monotony and failure of Modernist ideas and buildings, newness entered the architectural landscape in the form of many great works such as Tadao Ando’s Church of light and Louis Kahns’s Bangladesh National Assembly Building.  Newness is created out of the failures of the past, the articulation of a changing status quo for what our architecture should represent, and represents a growth from older forms and ideals.

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