Introduction
Use of vague silhouettes in architecture was not common in recent centuries. According to Vitruvian’s triad on the beauty, completeness and straight of construction («firmitas, utilitas, venustas»)1 the idea of capturing inexpressible, immaterial and unclear could be considered as nonsense. However there is a rapid growth of interest in the revealing of «ephemeral» and spatial experiments in the second part of the 20th century. Today public attitude to the concept of immaterial is overcoming significant changes. Constructions which use metaphor of cloud, water stream and wind flow appearing around the world. The underlined illusory nature and mimicry of facades is becoming a subject of architects’ interest.
Theme of immaterial in architectural experiments from the second half of the 20th century to the recent days has gained interest architects2. This having brought architecture to the new type of representation that can react, change, sense and respond. The one which is not only visual or monumental but which creates immersive experience on the observer (aesthetics of «invisible/visible»).
Idea of immaterial has not got an architectural background. This begins with artistic idea of «ephemeral» and « inexpressible» which came from theories of light and air in painting, the cloud theory and literature science and philosophy. This theme became so appealing for architecture due to the development of technologies in the field of material and computer modelling (programming). Therefore a polemic on this new form of architecture restarted at the end of the 90s.
Theoretical concepts and practical realizations of «ephemeral» in architecture are not accidental. This is an integral part of social and cultural context which is motivated by new reality model. Relevance of this research is that it formulates dynamic spatial imagery, such as wind flow and water stream are actively used in architecture practices. This greatly influences experimental architectural thinking nowadays.
Spatial imagery3 in immaterial architecture4 aims to create new (more complex) order in architecture. Therefore it is important to track the tendency in its representation and philosophy5. The analyzing of the language of architectural representation and search for alternatives and the underlined connection to the Neo Avant Garde and philosophy of today lead to rejection of modernism and search for new spacial expression.
The international nature of the ideas and immaterial approach to architecture in spatial and optical experiments of the 60s created a foundation for a new image in architecture thinking. The idea was first formed at “air architecture” by Yves Klein.
Yves Klein is famous for his monochromes mostly known for his IKB (international Klein Blue). He was the only painter who received patent on his colour (more specifically paint recipe) and who was consistently performing conceptualization of his invention. Invention of air walls brought to the discussion a question of the relation between «material» and «immaterial» in art and architecture.
Klein was not an architect or engineer. During seven years of his artistic career (from 1954 to 1962) he created more then 300 monochromes and about 70 performances. He was one of the formers of «New Realists» and though Klein published several books but his architectural experience was extremely small. Yves Klein did not created any architectural objects. His projects could be considered to be chemical reactions, experiments with temperature or performances. He was interested in a thin “blue layer around the Earth”6(Yves Klein;1994). He was not interested in columns, walls or roofs but in the idea of the air under variable temperature and moisture content. Klein was developing a completely new platform of architectural thinking which declined the conception of architecture as a boundary.
Air architecture was identified and discussed as a part of Yves Klein’s artistic career. However, modernist thinking is multidisciplinary and therefore allows to look at Klein’s work from different perspectives.
Post World War II period and the period of Cold war7 cursed the reorganization of artistic, scientific, architectural and cultural boundaries. As this main qualities were formed by the first generation of Avant Garde and risky ideas on the disembodiment of the world8 were developed on the base of futuristic projects in pavilions of World exhibitions.
The idea of “immaterial” in works of Yves Klein can be characterized as complicated and dynamically developing, therefore this theme is complex. Firstly, because it aims to reveal immaterial in monumental and physical discipline (architecture) which is contradictory. Secondly, its background lies in art, philosophy and science fields.
This dissertation is devoted to creation of dynamic spatial forms. They are connected to the themes of «ephemeral» and «air» in the architecture practices which lead to the development of architectural design thinking in the space of today. The main task is to search for new point of view on this problem which means that the dissertation will set more questions rather then clear and finished definitions.
This dissertation aims to identify role of spatial experiments and the idea of immaterial architecture of the 1960s as well as its origins and influence on the modernity.
Appealing to the origin of this topic could clarify the characteristics of Immaterial architecture phenomenon as well as some aspects of the evolution of the idea of immaterial in the context of contemporary architectural practice.
Within the topic, I also trace some relationships between architecture and artistic, literary tradition of Yves Klein.
The detailed definition of influence of east philosophy on immaterial and ephemeral architecture (from Yves Klein’s project ) will be also considered as a part of research on the “ephemeral architecture”, ambient nature of the “void” and dematerialization of space.
Background
This dissertation is indirectly influenced by this selection of books. Works of Colin Rou«Translucency» where the author underlines different nature of translucency which then goes to theory of optics and utopian projects of German architects. Manfredo Tafuri «Choosing History» and «Architecture and Utopia» where the author summarises tendency of «disembodiment» of architecture. Also the idea of «air» in architecture is affected by Scott’s9 «Architecture and utopia». And generalising works of Mikel Hays, Perez-Gomez and Marks Wigley influenced my thinking in this dissertation. «Il Sublime e ora» by Marko di Mikelis (thinking on immaterial in architecture) changed my understanding of Yves Klein’s works which was formed by texts written by this artist and biographies. The works of Steven Holl architect and works of G. Eserman, U. Demishe, R. Skofidio and Johan’s Palasmaa (theoretics) shows modern approach to this topic.
The exhibitions such as Venice Biennale also influenced thinking of Yves Klein during his life therefore this changes are also reviled in this dissertation.
It is important to pay attention to the «Air architecture» which was proposed by abstractionist artist Yves Klein. This concept give impulse to further development into the idea of immaterial in the context of modern architecture. This also results in the need of identification of the concept of ambivalent nature of the «void» in his work.
This study becomes appealing because of an implication of new technologies in computer programming and building materials, especially semi-translucent concrete reflective porous materials etc. Therefore the work of Toshiko Mory on innovation materials in architecture (and relation between innovation and ephemeral) is also relevant as it creates opportunities to put forward immaterial architecture of Yves Klein. (Carson J. Dematerialism: The Non-dialectics of Yves Klein; 1990// also Clarke J The influence of Oriental Thought On Postwar American Painting; NY;1986 )
Part 1. Immaterial architecture
Part 1. 1. Idea of immaterial. The cloud.
As the conception of “immaterial” in such monumental discipline as architecture could be considered contradictory. Therefore this idea could not be based on architectural field only. Literature, art, philosophy and metrology10 also played important role in creating this new image in architecture as well as recent technologies of 20th century.
Also echoes of “immateriality” can be found at Dutch expressionism11. On the edge of the 20th and the 21st centuries ideas of “immaterial” and “ephemeral” were alined with the aesthetics of oblique function by Virilio and Claude Parent, nonlinear function and fractals. There is no coherent theoretical evidence, but a set of existing situations of development of this architectural thinking. Nevertheless its appearance in architecture is a complex phenomenon with its background and history with connection to other disciplines such as art, science and literature. The aim of this chapter is to define the origins and the base of the interest in “immaterial” at the period of the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st.
Industrialisation brought new life position and technologies to the world. Development of measuring technologies such as thermometers, barometers and equipment that brooders optics(telescopes and microscopes)12. This is partly influenced interest in the intangible and ephemeral.
An attention of 19th century’s artists and writers was paid to new theoretical and scientific innovations. Therefore Valery P romanticised idea of infinite and immaterial “Le grain mysterieux de l’extreme hauteur”.13 This line of “uncertainty” and “immateriality” at space was one of the first sources that lad to art and architectural reflections.