Powerpoint 2007

Zoomorphic : 

Zoomorphic

Introduction : 

Introduction Zoomorphic is one of the most outstanding styles of architecture. It is a combination of biology and architecture which is characterized by animal forms structurally and ornamentally. Zoomorphic could be dated back more than one million years ago. The earliest known manmade shelter was in Olduvai Gorge, Kenya was the first zoomorphic shelter that has been found.

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a new method from the History of Architecture in the19th centuries of zoomorphic architecture. The objective of this study is to find other type of zoomorphic apart from those that are categorized by the book.

How many categories can zoomorphic be divided into? : 

How many categories can zoomorphic be divided into? Animal as a symbol Animal by function – statics Animal by function – dynamic Animal by accident According to Hugh Aldersey Williams’s book, it says that zoomorphic can be divided into four major categories which are

1. Animal as a symbol : 

1. Animal as a symbol A century or two ago classical paintings were more deeply comprehended because people knew that the animals they depicted represented episodes in the bible, myth or legend. “But what does it mean today that a dolphin might allude to the great fish that swallowed Jonah in the biblical allegory of Christian faith, or that the lizard is a representation of Logic, one of the Seven Liberal Arts.” In this type of zoomorphic these architects applied animal’s characteristics into their design on the basis of symbolism

Vila Olympica in Barcelona, Spain : 

Vila Olympica in Barcelona, Spain The first example of steel sculpture that I want to introduce in this categories is the Vila Olympica which in Barcelona, Spain. This is an element provided in the center point of the building; this fish is a 54 meter long structure. The second good example for this category is Fishdance Restaurant; this restaurant is located in Kobe, Japan. 1. Animal as a symbol

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This is another structure that stands as a sculpture in front of the restaurant. The city of Kobe is the Japan’s busiest port. Why fish? I understand that fish represents freedom of form and feeling. “Fish can represent flexibility” and at Barcelona it seems instead an assertion of stylistic freedom in contrasting to the ultra-Modernism” 1. Animal as a symbol

Reyes House in Oakland California, USA : 

Reyes House in Oakland California, USA This building is one of the examples of evolutionary architecture. This building’s design came from the shape of dragonfly that can be opened and closed manually, control of hot and cold weather due to the temperature and also humidity of the house. 1. Animal as a symbol

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I think that this building is the building that can adjust to the nature weather that can be changed to the needs of the climate and also the inhabitants supported with. “The synthesis of billions of years of evolution applied to immediate needs and circumstances of form, function and purpose.” 1. Animal as a symbol

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I have learned that these two examples are very important examples of symbolism zoomorphic in which they applied the shape of the animal into their design in very basic way. They believe that some animals have some special abilities; therefore, they use the shape of that specific animal into the design to serve those specific needs which sometimes can be very effective. The shape can create impacts on emotion. 1. Animal as a symbol

2. Animal by function – statics : 

2. Animal by function – statics Some buildings are sharing the characteristic with the animal in order to achieve some advantage from the shape of the animal that they are imitating. For example, the radiating shape of the shell is suitable for the design of the multiplex cinema. The spiral solution here provides cinema’s customers with an easily navigated environment.

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“There are basic forms, to be sure, but they illustrate a general principle famously elucidated by D’Arcy Thompson that some of the best structure achieved by man are also seen in nature for the simple reason that both buildings and organism must respond to the same physical forces” This type of zoomorphic is the way that they use the shape of the animal by the way they are statically. The advantage can be found within the shape of that animal. 2. Animal by function – statics

the Bell-tower in Atlantida by Eladio Dieste : 

the Bell-tower in Atlantida by Eladio Dieste The first building that I want to talk about is the Bell-tower in Atlantida by Eladio Dieste. This building came from the close up of a molluscan spiral which creates the golden section to build up this staircase. The golden section is the universal proportion which can create the proportional form that a lot of artists and architects use to create their works. 2. Animal by function – statics

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They have studied the golden ratio because of its uniqueness and also interesting attributes. This is one of the most important reasons that several architects use to create their works by this spiral shape. “While planning an architectural design, we follow the principle of the growth of living organisms” I realized that they paid attention to the idea of organisms along with their design. 2. Animal by function – statics

Opera House in Sydney, Australia : 

Opera House in Sydney, Australia The second building is the Opera House which is the most famous building in Sydney, Australia by John Utzøn. This building took the shape directly from the shells and each taking come from the sphere of the same radius. In the old times, the shape of the shells are much undefined geometrical shape. 2. Animal by function – statics

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During the rococo style of the eighteenth century, the shell appeared in many types of arts. “It was a great imagination; in Salamance, the house of shells is famous for its carved stone façade decorated with bivalves.” In these cases, this term of organic has no specific meaning, the architect only use the animal characteristic for visual appearance and decoration. 2. Animal by function – statics

3. Animal by function – dynamic : 

3. Animal by function – dynamic It seems almost too obvious to state that one of the differences between buildings and animals is that the latter are capable of movement while the former are rooted to the spot. This type of zoomorphic is the type that uses mainly the animal’s behavior while they are doing something. This type of zoomorphic uses the advantage of animal’s moving part to benefit the function of the design. For example, the pattern of the animal’s scale is suitable to apply to the design of the mega steel structure because the structure itself moves. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

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“It is clear that there are wider lessons to be learnt , not only from the static structures of living organisms but also from the mechanisms by which they and their parts are able to move” This type of zoomorphic needs some kind of understanding of the animal’s movement before it can be applied into the design in order to gain most advantage from the dynamic movement of the animal. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

Waterloo International Terminal by Nicholas Grimshaw : 

Waterloo International Terminal by Nicholas Grimshaw Nicholas Grimshaw is the most consciously and successfully continues the Victorian engineers. The site is tightly constrained by existing railway track, road, surrounding buildings, as well as by tunnels. Grimshaw’s solution was to bring the five tracks carrying the high-speed Eurostar trains in under long, curving arch and to relocate the traditional station open central area below the platforms in order to squeeze everything into narrow site. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

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The external structure at the west side uses panels of glass to support overlapping and the house of parliament to the east. The structure flipped round onto the inside and is covered in stainless steel. “The tapering asymmetry of the building brings animal similes to mind.” From the aerial view, the broad roof of the existing Waterloo station alongside looks like a caterpillar eating a leaf. The steel structure has to take up different kind of forces, such as, wind, snow loads and thermal. “The main force come from those trains arriving the station therefore, the freely overlapping glass panels accommodate these movement in all three dimensions.” Although the movement is very small in comparison with a mobile living creature, the solution reached is strikingly similar. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

Eden Project which is in England : 

Eden Project which is in England The second example of building that has the dynamics in its building is the Eden Project which is in England and the architect is the same person who creates International Terminal, Waterloo. He got this job because of his design in Waterloo. This building is a light shaped hexagonal bubble of a polymer that admits a broader spectrum of natural light more than glass. This huge structure is looking like a natural organism. At first it was just a regular hall, but lately because of its apparent that a series of ultra lightweight domes fit perfectly to the difficult terrain. The shape that they use to create this work is very interesting. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

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This is because they use the hexagonal framed shape to build the largest 65 metres in radius. “Refer to D’ Arcy Thompson, he said that this skeleton of array forms is the weightless underwater environment that delicate structures are sufficient to protect the soft body of the creature inside this frame.” The pattern of this building creates the dynamic feeling of animal skin, which protects the creature inside from danger. In my opinion, this building looks more likely to be a honeycomb by its shape of pattern and this shape fits perfectly to each other. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

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It is shown that this type of zoomorphic is used mostly for mega project or the project that requires large area because as the temperature changes the structure also changes, in terms of position. Also, the large project is capable of showing the continuality of the movement throughout the building. Moreover, the dynamic of animals are used in order to sustain the structure. 3. Animal by function – dynamic

4. Animal by accident : 

4. Animal by accident This type of zoomorphic is mostly happened by the help of technology. Sometimes when the architect is using computer in their design and it accidentally match with some of the animal characteristics. This type of zoomorphic is a coincident when the design meets with animal characteristic. The reason could be that when the design becomes more complex it somehow matches with animal’s form because the nature is also complex.

Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ron champ, France : 

Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ron champ, France This chapel blends with the existing environment; the walls follow the natural slope from the top of the hill. “The asymmetry, the curved wall, and the playful support of light make Notre Dame du Haut rise into the air like a representative of antinationalistic architecture.” Additionally, Le Corbusier turned his back on technology. He uses only free creativity and also returning to the principles of vernacular architecture.

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“The effect of architectural forms and the spirit of architecture in the construction of a vessel of intense concentration and meditation and in what he called an acoustic component in the domain of form. In other words, he seeks to evoke religious emotions through the play of form, space and light.” Its wall 3 meters thick provides total isolation and also provides silence to the chapel. Some critics said that this building looks like a duck but Le Corbusier did not plan it.

The Truss Wall House : 

The Truss Wall House The second example is The Truss Wall House. The house makes use of a flexible concrete construction system in order to re-evaluate the idea of the home based on the ideal pattern of movement of the occupants through it. The fluidity of the interior is enhanced by the chosen finishes. For example, the courtyard floor is made of liquid mortar poured into balloons and then packed to form a hexagonal array like that seen in tortoise shell and in many other aspects in nature. The designer did not plan the building to be organic but the observer is the one who come up with the idea of this building that is being similar to nature.

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As you can see, this type of zoomorphic is not very popular because the design came by accident. The designer did not plan to use the characteristic and form of nature. They did not use the advantage from these aspects but this style has been accepted as “zoomorphic” because after finishing the design process the designer could not point out what the form looks like due to its complication. This freeform can be described as nature, organic or even zoomorphic.

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It is known that, while environments may change, buildings tend to stay the same. “Indeed, monumentalism has been a defining characteristic of the art of architecture. Living organisms, meanwhile, are both adapted to their environment over the long term by evolution and capable of responding in various ways to its changes from moment to moment and day to day”

CONCLUSION : 

CONCLUSION From my research I can see that since the beginning of time people are very fascinated about animal’s ability such as the ability to survive in the extreme weather or an ability to move in such way that human can not overcome. The true abilities of animals are still in a blur. People were hoping that using some of the animal characteristic will help them to understand nature in the way that they never do before. I am still finding the building which is totally zoomorphic from head to toe (roof to foundation) as animal adapt the building should adapt, too.

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I can say that adaptation is one of the main goal of those pioneering the field of ‘bio-mimetic’. I hope that the ‘intelligent’ building in the future generation will be intelligent enough to adapt to the environments such as to open its windows like eyelids to the dawn and to sense the heat in the rising sun or respond to the chill breeze by raising the hairs on its back for insulation. Animal and nature still have many gates unopened.