High Tech Building Systems
High Tech architecture also known as structural expressionism, is a type of Late Modern architectural style that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture grew from the modernist style, utilizing new advances in technology and building materials.
Clarification[edit]
British High Tech architecture[1] is a term applied principally to the work of a group of London-based architects, British High-Tech Architects, who, by following the teachings of the Architectural Association's futuristic programmes, created an architectural style best characterised by cultural and design ideals of: component-based, light weight, factory-finished using standardised interchangeable highly-engineered parts, fun, popular and spontaneous Pop-up buildings.
Within the Architectural Association were a number of overlapping spheres of influence - the most notable being Archigram, a loosely arranged group including Peter Cook (responsible for Plug-in and Instant City), Mike Webb (Sin Centre) and Ron Herron (Walking City). Alongside Archigram were the mechanistic schemes of Cedric Price, who along with engineer Frank Newby designed a number of unbuilt projects, most notably Fun Palace, a community theatre to the brief of Joan Littlewood, and Potteries Think-belt, a scheme which would re-use decommissioned railway routes to create a university on wheels. Price also promoted the idea of architecture having a fourth dimension: Time. Alongside the aforementioned was the Independent Group, which influenced the British side of the Pop Art Movement, through architectural luminaries Peter Smithson a Head of the Architectural Association and Colin St John Wilson.
The British High Tech Movement remained in the ascendency from the 1960s until 1984, when an intervention by HRH Charles Prince of Wales over a competition-winning design for an extension to the National Gallery in London signalled an end to High Tech architecture in the UK. More, from that date, the group of leading so-called British High Tech Architects distanced themselves from the High Tech style in order to endear themselves to sponsors. By such, they would continue to design buildings of national and international significance. In satisfying the demands of conservative clients, planners, conservationists and funding organisations, the essence of High Tech was lost.
This article, British High Tech Architecture, traces the development of technological advances and industrial innovations that went hand-in-hand with the emergence of the High Tech style, and without which British High Tech architecture would have remained where it started - as the Pop Art[2] imagery of Archigram[3], one of the Architectural Association visionary groups.
Background[edit]
The history of light weight, mass-produced, component-based dry construction, which, as a means of assembly differentiates system building from traditional building methods, dates back to the 19th C. It started in the UK with Sir Joseph Paxton's[4] newly created building methods at Chatsworth House's[5] conservatory completed in 1840, and later at The Great Exhibition[6] of 1851, when he used steam-powered woodworking machines to manufacture batches of identical components. At the same time (1829), Henry Robinson Palmer patented corrugated iron[7], using his invention to construct a shed roof for the London Dock Company the following year.
Progress continued in another industry entirely, the lattice framed trusses required for airships developed by Barnes Wallis[8] at Howden, Yorkshire during his work in the 1920s on the R100 Airship[9] resulted in the development of light weight tubes made from spiral-wound duralumin strip in a helical fashion.
Later, solutions to housing shortage and replacement of other war-decimated facilities required fresh thinking about factory rather than site based building, such as the post-war building of Arcon prefabs in the United Kingdom in large numbers, and of system-built schools such as Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme CLASP[10], filtered through to building design in the form of High Tech System Building. Generally, it has been an engineering innovation that has given rise to architectural opportunity.
Between 1961 and 1967 in California, the SCSD (School Construction Systems Development ) project[11] offered architects and educationalists more options than had been available previously - providing greater column-free floor space by using longer spans, and flexible room layouts below. A deep structural zone into which power, H&V, lighting and concertina partition tracks could be accommodated reduced the need for the rigid restrictive planning grids that had hampered the earlier systems.
Further innovations: space frame roof structures derived from WWII aircraft hangar roofs, Rectangular Hollow Section (RHS) (to include Square Hollow Section) steel, known in the USA as Hollow Structural Section (HSS) developed in the UK by Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and advances in 'Patent Glazing' during the same period of time, which allowed greater freedom in both wall and roof glazing - presented architects and their clients with near-unlimited flexibility in a building's planning, layout of accommodation and use patterns.
The trend for light weight dry construction also had its roots in military fast-response use, when administration, storage or workshop buildings might be required at short notice. The Nissen hut from WWI, and later the Quonset hut (a derivative of the Nissen design) developed during WWII were both produced in large quantities. However, notwithstanding its origins for military use, light weight design principles were seized upon by American architect and philosopher Richard Buckminster Fuller[12], who advocated the use of slender or tensile structural components as they would be less wasteful of Earth's scarce resources than would be their bulkier traditional counterparts. His message became something of a creed for the generation of High tech architects. Fuller's designs used well-engineered batch produced components in designs for his renowned Geodesic Domes, although the term 'geodesic' is attributed to Barnes Wallis in his fuselage design for the WWII Lancaster bomber aircraft. German-born Konrad Wachsmann also taught the principles of this type of component-based building design at USC School of Architecture-SAFA.
Industrialisation[edit]
Industrial components, batch-produced in factories using newly invented materials or new manufacturing processes allowed the construction/assembly of High Tech buildings to move forward.
| Description of Advancement | How, Why and Where | Importance to High Tech Building Systems |
|---|---|---|
| Mass-produced identical timber components | Chatsworth House conservatory UK Joseph Paxton 1836-40 | First example of system building |
| Corrugate Iron patented | London Dock Company UK Henry Robinson Palmer 1840 | Introduction of versatile standard-sized sheeting material |
| Nissen hut | Primarily for military use UK Major Peter Norman Nissen 1916 | easily transportable, could be erected rapidly, providing versatile buildings |
| Light weight space frame | R100 airship Howden, Yorkshire UK Barnes Wallis 1929 | Light weight lattice beams to form space frame |
| Synthetic Rubber/Neoprene marketed | Dupont Company USA Trademark 1937 | UV stable dry application weathering strips for glazing and panel jointing |
| Quonset hut | Based upon Nissen hut design, primarily for military use during WWII USA named after Quonset Point 1941 | easily transportable, could be erected rapidly, providing versatile buildings |
| Geodesic space frame design | Lancaster Bomber aircraft fuselage UK Barnes Wallis 1942 | Geodesic design used later by Buckminster Fuller |
| Aluminium Patent Glazing bar | From WWII aircraft technology USA/UK/Germany | Light weight corrosion-resistant standardised glazing system |
| Large span space frame design | Atlas Aircraft Corporation USA Konrad Wachsmann Before end of WWII | Near-limitless options for planning and layout |
| Prefabricated Bungalow | Arcon UK Edric Neel, Ove Arup and others post WWII | Factory produced in large numbers dry bolt-together construction |
| Prefabricated House | Lustron house USA Carl Strandlund and others post WWII | Built from factory-made mass-produced enamelled steel components |
| Prefabricated House | Dymaxion house USA Richard Buckminster Fuller post WWII | Factory-made with fitted interior and 'Oast house' ventilation |
| Case Study Houses[13] California | Eames House Case Study 8 USA Charles Eames, Eero Saarinen 1945-1949 | Manufacturers' catalogue sourced mass-produced steel components |
| Prefabricated house | Maison Tropicale[14] prefabricated house France Jean Prouvé[15] 1949-1951 | Ultra light weight aluminium components suitable for air freight |
| Aluminium roof structure | Dome of Discovery Festival of Britain UK Ralph Freeman and others 1951 | Fully systemised aluminium roof structure |
| Consortia-led School Building system | Hertfordshire Schools, CLASP*, SCOLA and others UK Charles Herbert Aslin and others 1955 | Building systems with extensive instruction manuals *designed for use in areas of mining subsidence |
| Float Glass marketed | Pilkington Glass company UK Alistair Pilkington 1952 | Inexpensive viable alternative to polished plate glass. |
| Prototyping and launch of RHS (in USA - HSS) steel tubes | Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd UK Clydesdale steel mill and others 1959 | SHS and RHS widespread use |
| Pre-painted profiled sheet steel | British Steel Shotton Works UK late 1970s | Profiled, pre-finished steel cladding provided industrial aesthetic |
| Californian Schools System Building | SCSD (School Construction Systems Development) USA Ezra Ehrenkrantz 1961-67 | Much copied vision of High Tech Building System |
| American Pavilion of Expo 67 Montreal | Geodesic Dome USA/Canada Buckminster Fuller 1967 | Dome of near-limitless size constructed using mass-produced light weight components |
Technology Transfer[edit]
Using 'component-based, light weight, factory-finished using standardised interchangeable highly-engineered parts' as a template for High Tech Building Systems, in due course technologies developed in allied industries such as boatbuilding, vehicle manufacture or cold storage were transferred to High Tech building systems.
| Boatbuilding | Use of ocean yacht stainless steel rigging as structural cross-bracing | eg. Michael Hopkins (architect)/Anthony Hunt Patera Building, Stoke-on-Trent UK 1982. |
| Boatbuilding | Use of ocean yacht aluminium mast extrusions for primary structural elements | eg. Richard Horden Horden House[16], Woodgreen Hampshire UK 1984. |
| Cold Storage | Use of panels designed for refrigerated cold storage rooms | eg. Richard Rogers Rogers Wimbledon House, London UK late 1960s. |
| Vehicle manufacture | Use of vehicle body panel hydraulic presses to form building panels | eg. Michael Hopkins/Anthony Hunt Patera Building, Stoke-on-Trent UK 1982. |
| Vehicle manufacture | Use of synthetic rubber vehicle gaskets for weather-sealing | eg. Foster Associates/Anthony Hunt Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, UEA Norwich UK 1978. |
| Furniture manufacture | Use of scaled up furniture components for building use | eg. Fritz Haller Stahlbausystem designed alongside USM Mobel-bausystem Switzerland from 1962. |
| Early bi-plane aircraft design | Use of light weight struts and tension cables | eg. Patty Hopkins/Buro Happold Fleet Velmead School UK 1984-1986. |
| Light-engineering | Use of die-cast alloy castings for structural components | eg. Konrad Wachsmann hangar space frame node joints USA Atlas Aircraft Corporation before end of WWII. |
| Heavy-engineering | Use of heavy-engineering steel sandbox castings for primary structure | eg. Renzo Piano + Richard Rogers Pompidou Centre France 1977. |
References[edit]
- ↑ Davies, Colin (1988). High Tech Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27534-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Osterwold, Tilman (2003). Pop Art. Köln: Taschen. ISBN 3-8228-2070-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Sadler, Simon (2005). Archigram: Architecture Without Architecture. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262693226. Search this book on
- ↑ Colquhoun, Kate (2006). The Busiest Man in England: The Life of Joseph Paxton, Gardener, Architect, and Victorian Visionary. David R. Godine Publisher Inc; Annotated edition (16 Mar. 2006). ISBN 978-1567923018. Search this book on
- ↑ Engineering Timelines. "Chatsworth Conservatory and Lily House, site of". engineering-timelines.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ↑ Hobhouse, Hermione (2004). he Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition. London ; New York : Continuum; 1st Edition in this form. (1 Jan. 2004). ISBN 978-0826478412. Search this book on
- ↑ Mornement Adam, Holloway Simon (2007). Corrugated Iron Building on the Frontier. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-0-7112-2654-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Morpurgo, J.E. (1981). Barnes Wallis A Biography. Shepperton Surrey: Ian Allen. ISBN 0-7110-1119-2. Search this book on
- ↑ Airship Heritage Trust. "R100 Registration: G-FAAV". Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ↑ Russell, Barry (1981). Building Systems Industrialization and Architecture. London: John Wiley and Sons. pp. 392-9 and others. ISBN 0-471-27952-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Jencks, Charles (1973). Modern Movements in Architecture. Middlesex England: Penguin Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-1402-1534-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Seiden, Lloyd Steven (1989). Buckminster Fuller's Universe (Paperback 2000 ed.). Basic Books A Member of the Persius Books Group New York. ISBN 0-7382-0379-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Smith, Elizabeth A.T. (2007). Case Study Houses 1945-1966 The California Impetus. Köln: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-4617-9. Search this book on
- ↑ Peters, Nils (2006). Jean Prouvé 1901-1984. Köln: Taschen. pp. 46–47. ISBN 978-3-8228-4878-4. Search this book on
- ↑ Museum Boymans-van Beuningen (1981). Constructeur Jean Prouvé. Delft: Delft University Press. ISBN 90-6275-075-3. Search this book on
- ↑ Weston, Richard (2002). The House in the Twentieth Century. London: Laurence King Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 1-85669-219-1. Search this book on
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