versioning: connubial reciprocities of surface and space_monica ponce de leon and nader tehrani

this article explores geometry and patterning as a means of reconciling space and surface. in the work of herzog and de meuron and gehry, there is a divorce of space and surface. (gehry's skins have no meaningful relationship with the spaces inside.) office dA’s work seeks to create architecture where surface and space are “organically linked, with geometry and patterning as the agencies for their precise resolution.”

the terms for surface qualities of buildings have evolved from “facades” to “elevations” to now “skins.” causation can be traced to theoretical shifts and technological advancements. in san carlo alle quattro fontane, the façade bulges as a result of the interior spatial qualities, yet has autonomy due to its strength and objectification. renaissance and baroque structures, being bearing wall construction, are subjected to the inevitable element of poche. corbu’s free plan opened up the possibilities of the façade to define new spatial qualities. space became defined by shifting planes within a column grid.

office dA's work is focused on the tectonics of a building skin. they feel that the “surface of architecture is the arena of primacy... it is in this surface that architecture has found its most potent form of expression...” their work seeks to produce multiple effects, where the effects have primacy, not correctness. [primacy, not correctness. there is no singular way of doing something.] through material manipulations, buildings take on unfamiliar qualities that challenge the semantic readings of the architecture.

geometry and patterning are the means by which the designers create space. examples of built work include the hookah den at mantra, where a wooden slotted intervention creates a surface at the center of the restaurant that simultaneously defines the circular space within and residual space around, and an installation at the museum of modern art constructed using folded metal plates that challenges notions of stairs and surface.

transitioning from these interior interventions to architecture, the author’s offer that yokohama port terminal by foreign office architects may be the only example of the successful integration of program, structure and building envelope. FOA achieves this through the formal operation of folding. office dA’s tongxian art center project and its use of brick exemplify their integration of surface and space. this project uses brick as the formwork and the finish of the building. “spatial construction and surficial manipulation are construed as part and parcel of the same interdependent set of determinants. without surface, there is no space.”