High tech architecture : the good and the bad

“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds” – Gilbert K Chesterton

The sarcasm in the quotation wouldn’t have caught my interest had we not been studying about some of the most incredible buildings of our times. A breed of buildings, collectively referred to as ‘High-technology’ architecture seem to be the norm of contemporary times, and seem to be solely dedicated to dazzling the spectators with their sheer size and randomness of placement of elements. While a majority are positively awe-struck, I myself had never felt this appalled at the success and reverence of a class of buildings that seemed so confused, received. Flouting all rules, ignoring all pragmatism, these buildings seemed more like a statement of the architect’s ego more than buildings constructed to meet their desired purpose.

The feeling invokes a déjà vu of being in one of those modern art galleries, where everybody around you is thrilled by the talent of the artist while you couldn’t possibly figure out the big deal about an unrelated mass of objects stacked randomly without any purpose or direction.  It is true, just like this art, these buildings too, do stand out. But if we were to reason this ethically, an artist was to spend the same amount of colours and canvas on any painting he wished to amuse himself and his audience with. An architect, on the other hand, would spend such a much bigger chunk of money on his stubborn-ness to build his fantasy, that it becomes an unforgivable felony.

Innately programmed to despise the lot of buildings that serve more of the passers-by, than the occupants who actually commissioned the project, I seemed to have developed a mental block against any glass and steel over-the-top construction. Any Landesbank, any Lloyds, any Pompidou would go down in my mind as another building with use of materials having probably the highest embodied energies and lowest thermal and acoustic performances,  which would conclusively make them the worst choice of materials for a building of that magnitude. In no way though, was there any lesser appreciation in my mind for the brilliance in construction technologies that the likes of Foster , Kiplicky and Rogers had achieved. Only the social perspective always over-ruled.

If the argument is about creating identity, we have enough examples to prove that identity is not directly proportional to the use of glass and metal in a building. For who can forget the creations of FL Wright, Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier , where each creation was remarkably different from its brothers and most importantly, served the purpose best!

As it is true with any new initiative, the high-tech architecture has received more than its fair share of criticism. A majority of the architect community had been pointing fingers at the arrogance and inexplicable ambition of the high-tech architects. Something, which I for one, believe, to have brought about a positive change in this form of architecture. The same architects have begun to work in the direction of sustainable design with the application of their technical geniuses.

The transition could also be credited to the emergence of auditor companies in the field of energy efficient design. The LEED or the DGNB or the other vernacular derivatives of the same, have, more or less made it mandatory for companies to achieve high standards of energy efficiency in their buildings. As important as it was, 10 years ago, for firms to make their headquarters stand out, in search of an identity, it is the same expectation today with the strife for the highest energy rating.

Everything, eventually, is driven by the market forces. Attaining a platinum rating in the LEED auditing is presently, more than just a badge. It is a matter to be flaunted in annual reports over the years, and an extra token to be added in the CSR and environment initiatives, and the rule of thumb is : every company needs it! No wonder, a flashy glass cube reaching 50 floors fails to suffice the expectation of the client companies. The new definition of high-tech has now become:  buildings with extra-ordinary technologies to save energy, along with the obvious expectation of over-the-top aesthetics.

By this definition now, it is a win-win situation for everyone. Who now, would have a problem with the Empire State building in Manhattan, the Swiss Re in London or the Parkview Green building in Beijing?  These are buildings which possess the suave, sophisticated demeanour of a high-profile commercial headquarters, without the questionable tinge of corporate greed and use of capital that in some people’s eyes, might have as well been set on fire instead! These are buildings that satisfy the architects’ ambition to be eccentric and esoteric, and as is every architect’s dream : to be remembered by their creations, years after their time. These are buildings that leave the owners smiling all the way, for all the money they are going to save over the many years of their operations. These are the buildings that create a professional climate where every employee looks forward to working, for all its comforts and additional savings. If there is any conclusion to make, it is, that there aren’t as many favourable arrangements in the world, benefitting all parties, as there is the further development of this form of architecture, and that it is here to stay for long and for good!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

My parents have probably not realised over the years that I am actually an adult now, and for that very reason I was expected to somehow screw up something when travelling from India to Duesseldorf. I was, of

course not of the same belief, until I reached the Zurich airport,that is, from where I had to take my connecting flight to Duesseldorf. It was as if the whole universe was conspiring against me, in order to make me miss my flight.I blessed the IGI in my mind when I saw the XL-size queues at the security check.Somehow, through some miracle though,I managed to be on time.I am sure that is going to earn me some respect now in the family,where I have always been the youngest ,and by corollary the least responsible :/

The first thing i notice about this country : so few people!  I am so used to bumping into random strangers on the street in India, in the metro and in the queues leading to the trial rooms in those malls, that German streets look as if it's the opening week of KBC and everyone is inside,glued to their TV sets, and as if KBC is a 24 hour phenomena here.Back home, however,that is also the result of crass men pretending to have mistakenly brushed against you,apologising for it with creepy smirks on their faces! Touch -wood, but here you can never expect something of the sort.However  skimpy your outfit maybe,you'd hear no whistles! On second thoughts,that could also mean that I am probably one of the uglier women here,but hey,that doesnt happen to any other woman either ,and therefore, all is right with the world again! It is pretty funny to see fb and gtok statuses of people back home,craving for rain and bemoaning high temperatures,when the rains here have pretty much driven me crazy. I don't find rains so "romantic " or "beautiful" anymore, since it is a twice- a-day phenomena and also the number one factor for spoiling all your plans.Nevertheless, whether it is the rain, or the greenery,or the superb architecture,or the butter smooth roads, Germany is alluring.full stop, no arguments.

FIRST DAY AND EVERY DAY :

first day turns out to be pretty much as expected. i meet a lot of people from Hochtief, all much much elder to me and with names pronounced in a way we Indians are not meant to roll our tongue.And remember. Thankfully at least I am not in Shanghai, where, in addition to these, I know my friends must be facing the problem of successfully distinguishing faces from one another.  But this problem does apply to the buildings and streets.They all look so similar and, it beats me,in a country facing no kind of scarcity, why should it be imperative for them to save paint and metal by not putting enough signboards declaring the name of the building on its facade? You look up a humongous building and after much circumambulation around it, find a

small board revealing the identity of the building, and that too, very very reluctantly.The names of the streets are more of a concern though, in the long run. It took me a whole week to be able to spell and pronounce the name of my street Skaggerrakstrabe 6,correctly.The Germans sure love their own wacky pronunciations, even more than the English.Somehow they choose to pronounce Strabe as Strasse,and the word for bye bye is tschuss, which would make every Hindi speaking  Indian suppress a smirk when they first heard how it sounded!

A month before I came here, I was made to forcibly practice the art of finishing my food in the mess.Germans wouldn't take it, was what Dad said.And so everyday in the mess, Mansha would hover over my head like a blood curling bird of prey threatening me with dire consequences if I didnt finish my food.Ah, its a lot tougher here, when I take up something in my plate that I have never tasted before,more so, never would like to see on my plate again, and am sitting in between 20 seniors in office, struggling to finish it.Lunch time is a careful battle between using the knife and fork correctly, since my arms never seem to have enough strength to cut efficiently with that couldnt- be-more-blunt knife ; tolerating items,at least one each day,taken in the excitement of experimenting, that spell acid to my tongue,and ensuring that my face doesn't show the pain the food is causing me; telling myself that I can finish the large quantity of food that the attendants have put on to my plate,assuming my diet wouldnt be any smaller than the localites; and most importantly,finishing on time. How skilled must Germans be, to eat so much, so efficiently and so bloody fast! Embarrassingly, I am usually the last person to finish the food ,on the table, with the additional guilt of everyone waiting for me. On top of that, they expect me to talk in between! Phew, multi-tasking has got on to a whole new level here.The few days that I finish first, I couldnt be more condescending! :D

PS : embarrassingly,i must ask,what really is the spelling of embarrassingly?