DESIGNING BUIULDING SKINS
by
Aijun Desai
Bachelor of Arts, Bennington College
Bennington, Vermont
June 1988
Submitted to the Department of Architecture in partial
fulfillment of the requirements of the degree
Master of Architecture
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
June 1992
© Aijun Desai 1992. All rights reserved.
The author hearby grants to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology permission
to reproduce and distribute copies of the thesis document in whole or in part.
Signature of the Author
Department of Architecture
May 8, 1992
Certified by
Fernando Dom6yko
Lecturer of Architecture
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by
MASSACHUSET-TS INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
JUN 05 1992
John R1Myer
Chairman
Deparment Committee on Graduate Students
DESIGNING BUILDING
SKINS
by
Arjun Desai
Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 8, 1992 in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Architecture
Abstract
This thesis involves framing criteria and
discerning issues to be considered in the
design of building skins in an urban environment. The 'information age' has paradoxically seen the demise of the facade as
an important signifier of cultural meaning.
Homogeneous and minimally articulated
skins have become silent and passive
masks, creating anonymous and unresponsive urban environments. In contrast,
the decorated facades of post-modern architecture have failed to address questions
of meaning and representation in a serious
and satisfactory way. Perhaps the problem
is not solely one of economic constraints
and misguided construction practices, but
a lack of understanding and evaluation of
the role of the skin, both as an architectural
element , and as a social and cultural phenomenon.
Thesis Supervisor: Fernando Domeyko
Title: Lecturer in Architecture
This thesis will use the ethnographic theories of Gottfried Semper as a basis for
establishing themes that have persisted in
the understanding and construction of
closure elements since the earliest shelters
of man. The issue of transparency and
spatial depth will then be addressed as a
modern social and architectural dilemma,
inseparable from the problem of designing
building facades. Thirdly, this thesis will
be concerned with skins that have a high
degree of operability, allowing them to
adapt to a dynamic and ever changing
environment. The vehicle for exploring
the problem of building skins will be the
design of a market building in the
Haymarket area of Boston.
4
Table of Contents
Abstract
1 The Design Project
2 The Urban Scheme
3 Semper's Four Elements
4 The Theory of Cladding
5 The Facade as Mask or Veil
6 Treatment of Materials and Modes of Production
7 Loos and the 'Principle of Cladding'
8 Transparency
9 Skins in the Information Age
10. Epilogue
References
Credits
Bibliography
The Design Project
The issue of a contemporary Semperian
ThetheoriesofGottfriedSemperconstitute
skin that has a great degree of flexibility
the conceptual basis for the design. A clear
was explored in this design project. The
distinction is made between the masonry
market building type was chosen as a ve-
work, the tectonic frame and the enclosing
hicle for the investigation. Traditionally a
walls. The actual articulation, detailing
frame structure covered with a protective
and form of the skin reflects its function as
skin, the market building provides an
a dressing that has its origins in the textile
adaptable shell foravariety of commercial
arts. Apart from fulfilling its role ofprotec-
and social functions. The operability of
tion,theskinalsoplaysamoremetaphorical
shutters or apertures creates a dynamic
one: that of masking or veiling, making the
urban condition, one that is dependent on
building presentable within its urban con-
the nature of the elements that wrap the
text, similarin mannerin which individuals
frame. Various configurations of aperture
surround themselves with a defensive fa-
or shutter openings sponsor different ac-
cade.
tivities by changing the relationship between the public and private realms.
The Urban Scheme
The Haymarket area of Boston offered an
ter. In this project, the market house runs
appropriate site as it is the home of an
informal open-air market which will be
along one edge of the block, facing the
same street on which the current market
relocated when the Central Artery project
exists. The design for the block includes a
is realized. The choice of market adopted
range of activities, some permanent and
requiring a substantial amount of infra-
in the design is that of the street market
house, historically placed at the center of a
busy thoroughfare. This type is essentially
structure, and others more temporary and
periodic. The lower level of the structure is
ashed which can range from twenty-five to
used for retail purposes and the upper level
thirty feet in width and as much as three
as office space. The design of the block
hundred
site is
includes two adaptable spaces: one at the
an entire block adjacent to the historic
centerof the site which functions as asmall
Blackstone Block and Government Cen-
courtyard or plaza, used by caf6s and
TRAL
The layout includes an
open and adaptable
courtspace in the
center, an inversion of
the outward looking
Boston block type. The
covered market house
is placed along
Blackstone Street, the
current location of the
farmersmarket. The
plansought to
continue the building
edge of Unionstreet, a
busy pedestrianarea,
into the block The
edge alongNew
Congressstreet is
maintainedas a
barrierto traffic and
noise.
feet in length.1 The selected
C
market stalls, or even for open air performances, and the other is a covered section
Boston. The attitude of the design was,
therefore, to allow for a substantial amount
of the market building which serves as a
of pedestrian penetration while maintain-
community meeting hall.
ing the integrity and coherence of the
Boston block. This was achieved by study-
The site is part of an active pedestrian zone
ing the quality of depth and visibility
through the buildings and the site. A pe-
which connects Quincy Market and the
downtown area to the Bullfinch Triangle,
The skin itself was
articulated to facilitate
a rhythmic experience
of depth. A pedestrian
moving along the
building edge would
perceive a sequence of
spatial transparencies.
the North End and the Haymarket T-stop.
destrian moving through would experience a rhythmic variation in spatial depth,
The Central Artery, which currently runs
in partaresult of the layoutof the buildings,
along one side of the site, will be replaced
and primarily due to the articulation of the
by a park after it is sunk underground. The
building skin. As an urban proposal, the
Artery project is expected to revitalize the
skin opens up the center of the site, under-
area around the site and serve as a link
mining the very strong hierarchy that the
between the North End and the rest of
block type suggests.
Buildingsare placed
on the site to allow for
a perceptionof depth
through the dimension
of the block The
intention was to make
the market visually, if
not physically, present
on all streets. Lines of
sight are used to
determine openings
between the buildings.
The plan of the project
shows the market
house along the upper
edge of the block. The
large hall to the left is
used either as part of
the market place or as
a community meeting
hall. Shops, cafts and
restaurantsoccupy the
ground plane of the
scheme with office
spaces above.
Longitudinal section
through the block and
court showing the
operable skin which
mediates the
relationshipbetween
the private and public
domains.
L.!LJLL~I...~.i________
7777 (1
I--------------77
*IT
d
Transversesections
through the block
showing the court in
between buildings.
I111 1 H I
!
flTEF
1~
EEEii
1111
Ifi
I
II
i
F
1
i.iiiin
Section through the
building and market
house. Skylights
control the entrance of
light into the building
and, subsequently, the
transparentquality of
the glass skin.
14
1
15
The Caribbean hut
that was displayed at
the Great Exhibition
in London in 1851.
16
QL
Semper's Four Elements
In 1851, Gottfried Semper published The
also included the making of tables and
Four Elements of Architecture in which
chairs. The idea of mounding was con-
he claimed thatthe wall of theprimitive hut
nected with terracing and even the ma-
was not constructed of stone, butof woven
sonry wall. The creation of the spatial
mats. The other three elements that made
enclosure was connected to actions of
up the hut were the hearth, the earthen
platform and the frame structure support-
weaving, stitching, knotting and knitting
which were also used to produce items
ing the roof. These elements were to be
such as clothing and baskets. Semper thus
thought of, not as 'material elements or
assignedatechnical skill toeach of the four
forms, but as motives or ideas, as technical
elements, the hearth involved the ceramic
arts.' 2 The
arts, theearthenplatform those of masonry,
idea of roofing was connected with a
the frame involved joinery, and the walls
number of frame-making activities that
were in the realm of the textile arts.
operations based in the applied
The wrapping ofa
frame with a skin to
create a primitivebut
flexible structure.
Semper had been in London at the time of
distilled form, offering a confirmation to
the Great Exhibition of 1851, held in Jo-
Semper of the ethnographic roots of his
seph Paxton's Crystal Palace. Paxton
theory. The crystal palace itself was evi-
himself had described the structure and
dence for the intransigence of the four
glass skin of his exhibition hall as 'table
ideas or motives despite the use of new
and tablecloth,' the flexibility of the glass
materials and technologies. Paxton's use
skin allowing the structure exceptional
of the words 'tablecloth' and 'table' to
freedom to adapt and conform to different
describe the glass enclosure and the
conditions and uses. Inside the exhibition
structural frame could not have been more
was a display of a primitive Caribbean hut,
appropriate in lieu of Semper's argument.
the four elements readable in a simple and
7-
~-
-
Joseph Paxton's
designfor the Crystal
Palacewhich housed
the GreatExhibition
in 1851. It was
essentially a tent-like
constructionof iron
and glass.
I~
-r~~
-
--
Section through the
facade overlooking the
court, illustratingthe
relationship between
three of the four
Semperian elements:
the tectonic frame, the
earth-workor
stereometry and the
textile skin.
19
The stereometry is
evident at the base of
the facade. Massive
concrete walls are
juxtaposed againstthe
fragile glazing which
is bolted to aframe
structure. Wooden box
windows are inserted
between the concrete
walls,framing views
into the shops.
A concrete colnn
and slabstructure,
punctuated by light
wells, constitutes the
tectonic element. The
column grid is dense
and screen-like to
emphasize the
presence of the frame.
Interiorpartitionwalls
are articulatedas
panels between the
colunns, similar in
intention to hanging
carpets.The overhang
of the roof is
pronounced in order
to accentuate the
hanging or drapingof
the skin.
21
Examples of woven
wallsfrom African
huts.
Textile motifs in the
work of Otto Wagner.
The Theory of Cladding
Semper was particularly interested in the
the kern-form and kunst-form or core-form
fourth element, the textile wall, connected
and the art-form. The kern-form is the
to the motive of 'dressing' a building. In
'mechanically necessary and statically
functional structure; thekunst-form, on the
fact, some ethnographic theories of the
time suggested that woven walls and spatial enclosures of branches, twigs or grass
other hand is only the characterization by
which the mechanical-statical function is
preceded the invention of clothes. Later
made apparent.' 4 Sempersaw thebare form
on, more solid masonry walls were con-
of the wall as being enveloped with a
structed from which the textiles were hung.
symbolic application, a result of the 'analogs of binding,' giving it 'greater signifi-
Semper insisted that the 'hanging carpets
remained the true walls, the visible
boundaries of space.' He saw the solid
masonry walls behind the hangings as
'necessary for reasons that had nothing to
do with the creation of
space,' 3
cance, artistic expression and beauty.' 5
The distinctions made by Semper are important in understanding the role of the
building skin within a larger ensemble of
the wall
elements. The skin is not a substitute for a
covering being the element of architec-
wall but plays a very different role, that of
tural significance and the wall itself having
signification and embellishment. It there-
only a secondary role. This distinction was
fore takes on an additional function to
also made by the archaeologist Karl
space-making: that of dressing the archi-
Botticher who saw every detail or element
tectural work.
as being comprised of two components:
El
1imdI
UI
_____
ll |1
The idea of an art- or
kunst-form wrapping
the core- or kern-form
is employed in the skin
facing the court. The
operable window
panels are clad with a
mechanical veil
emphasizing the role
of the elements that lie
behind them.
The Facade as Mask or Veil
Semper considered the act of masking the
the use of mask in Greek drama where the
kern or core-form a denial of materiality
mask becomes an expression of the inner
and a means for raising the architectural
thoughts and emotions of the character
work to the realm of art and the spiritual.
behind it, achieved through covering the
The mask or the veil was an essential
actor's face. Semper was insistent, how-
element to the art-work, allowing 'form to
ever, that the mask should not act as a
emerge as a meaningful symbol' and as an
deceit and the object behind the mask
'autonomous creation
of man' 6. Covering
should not be false.
or clothing involved a denial of reality
which allowed the art-object to paradoxi-
Thenotionofanart work being surrounded
cally reveal its true nature in the form of
by a veil was also echoed by Walter Ben-
symbols and essences. This is similar to
jamin who, commenting on Goethe's
Wahlverwandtschaften , wrote that
ing is a tangible and physical device to
"beauty itself is not appearance, but most
conceal an object or an inner order. It
certainly essence, admittedly one which
becomes analogous to a veil over an inner
essentially only remains true to itself be-
set of values or truths, not completely
neath the veil.' The veil and the object it
obscuring or revealing them, but allows
conceals together form a unity that consti-
fragmentaryglimpsestopenetratethrough,
tutes beauty. The naked object, that which
making possible an understanding of the
hasbeen unveiled,is somehow transformed
whole.
and not'true to itself.' The skin of a build-
The facade facing the
market building. The
shin changes in
thickness rhythmically,
creating the
impressionof
curvaturewhich is
perceivable when
strongshadows are
cast on it. The result is
a variationin depth of
the surface which
corresponds.to
changes in spatial
depth through the
building. Wooden
shuttersare embedded
behind the opaque
concrete panels, to
assist in thefunction
of veiling the interior.
Studies of the facade
underdfferent
conditions of light and
shutter configurations
illustratethe changes
in transparencyand
concealment, essential
to the act of veiling.
The facadefacing the
court. Studies uder
different conditionsof
lighting. Duringthe
day, the skin is
opaque, masking the
interior.At night,
when litfrom behind,
the skin becomes
transparentand
fragile, reveling the
depth of the building.
28
Ali
4111116f1
Treatment of Materials and
Modes of Production
Semper placed the four elements of archi-
materials which were listed as elastic, soft,
tecture within the realm of the technical
ductile and hard, corresponding to the
arts, adding a materialistic and utilitarian
textile, ceramic, tectonic and stereometric
aspect to his theory. The forms of architec-
arts respectively. Semper attempted to
ture, as well as the laws of beauty and style,
classify therules of production in the textile
originated from the production of indus-
arts in an emulation of the taxanomical
trial artifacts. In the textile arts, the actions
work carried out by the biologist Georges
of the hand in knotting, stitching and
Cuvier who established a classificatory
weaving formedthe basis for the production
of clothing as well as the walls of the
system for the physical forms found in the
animal kingdom. Starting with a discus-
primitive hut. The human hand possessed
sion of bands and threads as the raw ma-
a certain language in transforming raw
terial, Semper discusses the knot as the
'oldest technical symbol' and its different
transferred to the new one. The details of
forms . He then gives an account of differ-
joinery of the Greek temples built in stone
ent types of stitching, plaiting and weav-
were derived from the rules and logic of
ing, where the band or linear element is
constructing with timber. The theory indi-
transformed into a surface capable of
cates that there are certain vestigial forms
dressing or clothing.
which grew out of the characteristics of
one material but would inevitably be trans-
Semper also outlined ideas on material
ferred and adapted to a new one. Thus
transformation: when a new material was
forms could become detached from their
used to produce one of the fourelements or
technical origins and possibly disappear,
motives, forms and motifs arising from the
allowing an evolution of styles.
manipulation of the old material were
Detailsfrom Oo
Wagner, emphasizing
the textile origins of
cladding through the
manipulation of
materials.
Detail of woven steel
elements.
In the facade below,
the glass acts as an
undulatingskin,
creatinga rhythm of
shadows similar to a
hung fabric. The bolts
in the glassare
evocative of knots
used to bind a textile
to a wall.
Wooden panel are
bolted to a frame,
making apparenttheir
function as cladding.
The mechanicalveil
covering them is
articulated to
resemble a woven
screen or mat. The
operable elements can
be open or closed
giving an impression
of afabric being
pulled apart.
[I
The skins on the
market house are
screens inset with
operable shutters. The
screens are analogous
to stitches binding the
shutters to the frame.
_
__
_
_
-
11 0
C
0
o
C
C
_
The skin on thisfacade
is constructed of
concrete paneland
wooden shutters. The
shutters give the
impressionof stitching
the panels together.
The panels are bolted
to a frame behind
them, appearingto
float within a larger
fabricmedium.
-
Facadedetailsfrom
the work of Adolf
LooS.
40
Loos and the 'Principle of
Cladding'
The connection between enclosing a
Crime,' published in 1908, Loos con-
building and dressing the human body was
demned the use of decorative motifs and
also echoed by Adolf Loos in an article
entitled 'The Principle of Cladding,' pub-
symbols on a building facade, likening
them to the body-painting of primitive
lished in 1898. He traced the origins of
man. The undeveloped mind of the savage
building to the need for covering and shelter.
required him to use color and decoration to
Cladding was therefore the first architec-
distinguish himself, whereas modern man,
tural act, the first detail, and needed to be
possessing a more subtle and refined mind,
considered before the choice of structural
uses clothing to conceal rather than reveal
elements of the building. The function of
his individuality. This distinction in the
architecture was to instill sentiments in the
primitive and modern use ofdressing made
user appropriate to the function of the
by Loos was an important shift in under-
space. A bank would evoke different
standing the role of the facade: it was no
feelings than a prison or a church, and this
longer a 'neutral canvas free for every
would be achieved by a mask of materials
conceivable type of decoration,' 7 but an
over the structural elements. Loos, how-
element that mutes or masks a buildings
ever, protested imitation and surrogation
presence. In Loos's personal work, the
in the application of the dressing. It was
exterior of the building is stripped bare of
wrong to stain or paint wood to imitate the
any ornamentation or rich cladding, leav-
color of the wood itself or to paint stucco
ing simple and abstract modern forms. The
with an image of brickwork. The applied
interiors, however, are richly covered with
cladding should be called out as distinct
textured surfaces but without unnecessary
from the material it covers.
ornamentation.
In a later article entitled 'Ornament and
Transparency
The modem technology of steel framing
society. The phenomenon was interpreted
andplateglassallowedtheexteriorbuilding
by SiegfriedGideon as the'simultaneity of
wall to become transparent, leaving the
inside and out.' Private life and the public
private realm of the interior vulnerable and
sphere could become one and the same,
exposed. In addition, the tectonic element
with individuals carrying out their routines
also became transparent, naked and open.
unmasked, vulnerable and bathed in light,
This phenomenon was, in part, responsible
insidetransparentboxes. Transparency also
for prompting the theories and work of
resulted in a different perception of space,
such architects as Otto Wagner and his
one that Moholy-Nagy described as over-
followers. With the advent of modernism,
coming the fixations of space and time,
transparency becamepartofasocial agenda
allowing a simultaneous reading of super-
to redefine the realms of the individual and
imposed orders and layers.
In an article entitled'Plate Glass,' Richard
a metaphor of both emptiness and reflec-
Sennett discussed the ambiguous role of a
tion. Complete transparency renders the
glass skin resulting from its dual nature of
interior naked, playing a role of revealing
being both transparent and reflective. It
rather than concealing. By its mirror-like
allows a visual violation of the interior
behavior, glass is no longeramask ora veil
space and yet encloses and protects. The
to an object, but a device that holds and
glass skin, acting as a 'field on which the
equalizes images of the inside and the
exchangebetweeninnerandouteroccurs,'S
outside on a common boundary. The act of
isbothamirrortotheworldandamirrorto
looking becomes an act of self-reflection
the self.Unlikewallsconstructedofnatural
at the same time.
materials, the transparent facade becomes
The qualities of glass
were exploited in the
constructionof the
buildingskin. Under
dfferent conditions of
light, the mask would
reveal or conceal the
elements behind it.
Interpreting the writings ofGyorgy Kepes,
'transposing insignificant singularities into
Colin Rowe and Robert Slutzky identified
meaningful complexities' and building up
a distinction between aliteralandphenom-
a 'completeness by an ingenious transpar-
enal transparency, the former being a ma-
ency ofrelationships.'
terial property and the latter an organiza-
or masking an inner set of values and
tional one. The overlapping of spatial or-
principles also becomes a matter of com-
ders and locations creates a transparency
position and organization. Concealment is
of relationships which, unlike a material
achieved by a dynamic layering of spatial
transparency, 'ceases to be that which is
elements which results in a fuzziness and a
perfectly clear and becomes instead, that
multiplicityofreadings. Veilingis achieved
which is clearly ambiguous.'9 Moholy-
not only with a two dimensional skin ele-
Nagy, echoing a similar understanding,
ment but also a series of transparent and
discussed the effect of superimpositions,
overlapping orders.
0
O
A phenomenal
transparencywas
achieved by
juxtaposing diferent
ordersof column grids
behind the building
skin.
0
0
0
O
0
0
0
Qa
O O7O
0
0
0
10
The actof veiling
O
O
0
0
0
0
0
O
0
0
0
Operabledevices such
as shutters and blinds
were used, allowing
the skin to adapt
dynamically to the
changing environment.
Skins in the Information Age
In an article entitled 'Objects and their
temporary technological developments.
Skins,' Ezio Manzini discusses the con-
There has been a revolution in the inven-
temporary resurgence of interest in the
tion of new composite materials and a
nature of surface. The Modern Movement
tendency to flatten andminiaturize. Objects
subjugated material qualities of the sur-
today are 'entrusting a greater part of their
face in the interest of pure form. Abstract
expressive capacity and their performance
white planar walls were were deprived of
to the surface area.'l lThe surface can be
any articulation and even windows and
thought of as a resistive barrier or an in-
doors were made to disappear. Manzini
terface, playing the role of modulating the
argues that in the information age, the
exchange of energy and information be-
surface is once again taking on a dramatic
tween the outside and the inside of an
role in our environment as a result of con-
object.
40
The original textile wall hangings were
relationship between building and envi-
extremely versatile elements, capable of
being folded, rolled-up andremoved. Tents
ronment in a dynamic and almost organic
way. Manzini writes that 'the evolution of
used by nomadic tribes were transportable
reactive and expressive surfaces leads to a
and adaptable to different conditions of
whole new generation of sensitive and
openness and privacy. This flexibility was
communicative objects for which the cen-
lost when the textile wall was translated
tral point of the design is no longer the
into more durable materials. Today, how-
physical shape but rather the form of the
relationship set up with the environment.
ever, with the advent of new technologies
and a revived interest in the surface as a
reactive interface or membrane, the flex-
'behavior' and their 'personality', and for
ible qualities of the original fabric enclo-
this reason, exist on quite a different level
sures can be regained. Skins can be made
from anything that has been produced by
man hitherto.' 12
which are sensitive to the ever changing
environment, capable of controlling the
These are objects that are defimed by their
At the scale of the
block, shutters could
be opened and closed
to accommodate
diferent activitiesand
fiunctions. Illustrated
here are two
examples: one is a
daytime configuration
and the other a
nocturnalone. The
perimeterof the
building becomes like
an organism which
exhibits a behaviorin
adaptingto the
environment.
50
Epilogue
This thesis was an attempt to understand
graphic origins of the wrapping element
the role of a building skin as an architec-
and a rich conceptual basis for design.
tural element. With the advent of Modernism, any interest in the closure element
In the design project, themes from textiles
of a building was considered superficial
and clothing were used in the conception
and contrary to the tenets of the movement
of the wrapping of the building. The struc-
which stressed abstract and functional
tural elements and the interior spaces were
forms and spaces. The blank and silent
veiled or masked in a literal sense but were
modern facades eventually gave way to
always perceivable in fragments. The ar-
Post-Modernism and the attempt to re-
ticulation of joints and elements was in-
invest symbolic meaning in the exterior of
tended to reflect those of a hanging textile.
buildings. It appears that both these
The forms of a draped or folded cloth
movements never successfully addressed
influenced the slightly curved or undulat-
the question of the social, cultural and
ing nature of the skin, allowing a richness
architectural role of the building skin. The
of shadows and depth in an otherwise two
theories of Gottfried Semper provide an
dimensional element. By investing a sub-
understanding of the historical and ethno-
stantial amount of architectural interest in
the skin, the interior spaces of the building
This understanding of the exterior ele-
were allowed an openness and freedom
ment is very different from that of Post-
suitable for retail purposes.
Modernism which sought to embellish
facades with themes alien to what lay be-
One of the lessons learnt in pursuing this
hind them. Another lesson of this thesis
thesis was that the skin, although essen-
was that skins can take on modern archi-
tially a mask to an inner set of orders, can
tectural themes and ideas which are usu-
clarify and strengthen the architectural
ally only invested in the spatial and formal
intentions of a building. The mask is a
nature of a building. Unlike the blank and
device to conceal a certain reality or truth
silent facades of Modernism, the skin can
but, in doing so, can also reveal certain
become an element of architectural inter-
distilled essences of the object behind it.
est without being a lie or a deceit.
References
I J. M. Mayo, The American Public Market, JAE v. 41/5, p.4 6 .
2 G. Semper, The Four Elements of Architecture, Introduction by H. F Mallgrave,
p.24, Camb. U. Press.
3 G. Semper, The Four Elements
of Architecture, p.104, Camb. U. Press.
4 Botticher quoted in W. Herrmann, Gottfried Semper, p. 141, MIT Press.
5 Semper quoted in W. Herrmann, Ibid.
6 G. Semper, The Four Elements of Architecture, p.257, Camb. U. Press.
7 A. Moravanszky, Die Fassadender Groszstadt,Baumeister, p.30, v.11 1991.
8 R. Sennett, Plate Glass,published in Raritan.
9 C. Rowe and R. Slutzky, Transparency:Literal and Phenomenal,Perspecta, 1963.
10 L. Moholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, Chicago, 1947.
11 E. Manzini, Objects and their Skin in The PlasticsAge: From Modernity to PostModernity, Victoria and Albert Museum, p. 116.
1 2 E. Manzini, Ibid., p.127
Illustration Credits
p.2 Postcard of Persian Nomads, published by the Sackler Museum, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
p.6 Daidalos, v.6, 1982, p.71.
p.16 Gottfried Semper: The FourElements of Architecture, Camb. U. Press, p.29.
p.17 Daidalos, v.29, 1988, p.20.
p.18 Benevolo, Leonardo: History of Modern Architecture, MIT Press, p. 9 8 .
p. 2 2 top: Daidalos, v.29, 1988, p.38, 39.
p.22 bottom: Ford, Edward R, The Detailsof Modern Architecture, MIT Press, p.214.
p.25 Daidalos, v.33, 1989, p.63.
p.32 Gottfried Semper: The FourElements of Architecture, Camb. U. Press, p. 2 18 .
p.33 Daidalos, v.29, 1988, p. 2 8 .
p.34 Ford, Edward R, The Detailsof Modern Architecture, MIT Press, p.2 0 8 .
p.40 Benevolo, Leonardo: History of Modern Architecture, MIT Press, p. 3 0 0 .
p.42 Daidalos, v.33, 1989, p. 1 10.
p.47 Daidalos, v.33, 1989, p. 47.
All other illustrations supplied by author.
Bibliography
Auer, Gerhard: The Desiring Gaze and the Ruses of the Veil. In Daidalos, v.33,
September 1989.
Benjamin, Walter: Illuminations. Harcourt, Brace & World.
Frascari, Marco: The True and the Appearance. The ItalianFacadism of Carlo Scarpa.
In Daidalos, v.6, December 1982.
Frascari, Marco: The Particolareggiomentoin the Narrationof Architecture. In JAE,
v.43/1, Fall 1989.
Herrmann, Wolfgang: Gottfried Semper: In Search of Architecture. MIT Press.
Loos, Adolf: Spoken Into the Void: Collected Essays. MIT Press.
Manzini, Ezio: Objects and their Skin: In The Plastic Age, Victoria & Albert Museum.
Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo: Vision in Motion. Chicago University Press.
Moravdnszky, Akos: MetropolitanFacades.In Baumeister 11/1991.
Rowe, Colin and Slutzky, Robert: Transparency:Literal and Phenomenal.In The
Mathematics of the Ideal Villa. MIT Press.
Rykwert, Joseph: Lodoli: On Function and Representation,Architectural Review.
Semper, Gottfried: The FourElements of Architecture. MIT Press.
Semper, Gottfried: Excerpt from Textile Arts. In Rassegna 41, March 1990.
Sennett, Richard: PlateGlass. In Raritan.